Off My Rocker and On My Knees E-Book

BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 108

Beschreibung

If grandmothers ran the world, grandkids would always be within arms' reach. Even if we live right around the corner, our grown children and their children lead busy lives and "Grandma time" often isn't as long, or frequent, as we wish it could be. Off My Rocker and On My Knees helps make the most of the time we do have, together or apart, by helping draw us closer to God and our grandkids. Topics covered include faith, prayer, worry, playing favorites, how to keep from becoming a Nana Diva, and much more. Sprinkled throughout the encouragement are creative ideas on how to put our grandmotherly love into action. This devotional will inspire and encourage readers as they celebrate the unparalleled blessings that being a grandmother brings.    

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Off My Rocker—and on My Knees:52 DEVOTIONS FOR DEVOTED GRANDMOTHERS

Copyright © 2017 BroadStreet Publishing Group

Written byVicki Kuyper

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5320-4 (hardcover)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5422-5 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise marked, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®, copyright © 2014, 2015. Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NIRV are taken from the New International Reader’s Version. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked GW are taken from GOD’S WORD Translation. Copyright © 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked ICB are taken from the International Children’s Bible®. Copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version. Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

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Cover design by Chris Garborg, garborgdesign.com

Interior design and typeset by Katherine Lloyd, theDESKonline.com

Printed in China

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Contents

1Off My Rocker—and on My Knees

2Let a Little Child Lead You

3Spoiler Alert!

4Return to Sender

5Story Time

6Photo Finish

7Mimsy: Pro Wrestler

8It’s All a Phase

9Priceless Inheritance

10Food for Thought

11When Your Worst Dreams Come True

12The Language of Love

13Forget Decorum … Let’s Play!

14A Word of Advice

15Nana Diva

16Playing Favorites

17Gift Wrapped in Love

18For Mature Audiences Only

19Hero Worship

20Make a Joyful Noise

21Faith in Action

22Our Pride and Joy

23Three Little Words

24Special Delivery

25A Commotion of Emotion

26Just Say Whoa!

27Listen and Learn

28Tomorrow’s Unwritten

29A Little Bit of Heaven

30Who’s in Charge?

31Heavenly Hotline

32Burdens and Blessings

33The Source of Joy

34Healthy Habits

35Rooted in Faith

36Expanding the “Grand” in Grandma

37No Matter What

38On the Road Again

39Childproofing Gets Personal

40Through a Grandmother’s Eyes

41The Best of Intentions

42Celebrating Sundays

43Faithfully Focused

44Breathing Room

45Enough Is Enough

46Every Tear Counts

47Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

48Fretter’s Anonymous

49Memory Keeper

50Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall …

51Stage Grandma

52Hello, Good-Bye …

1

Off My Rocker—and on My Knees

Get down on your knees before the Master;

it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

—JAMES 4:10 MSG

If grandmothers ran the world, our grandkids would always be within arm’s reach—at least until we needed a little quiet time to relax and reenergize. But life doesn’t often work out that way. Even if we live right around the corner, our grown children—and their children—lead busy lives. “Grandma Time” may never be as long, or frequent, as our hearts wish it would be. What’s more, instead of living across town, grandkids often live across the country. Or even on the other side of the world.

In some instances, miles don’t separate us from the little ones we love. It’s fractured family relationships. Perhaps the time between visits is measured in years. Perhaps they’ve stopped altogether.

Regardless of what separates us, God provides a wonderful way to hold our grandchildren close, even when we’re far apart: prayer. To begin, all we need to do is get on our knees before God’s throne. We don’t have to literally get down onto the floor, especially if we’d have to pray for the strength to get back up again! But we do need to humble our hearts, figuratively kneeling before the almighty God who loves our grandchildren even more than we do. That means we can trust him with all of their tomorrows, as well as whatever is on our heart concerning them today.

Prayer is more than asking God to keep our grandkids happy and healthy. It’s a way of strengthening a three-way relationship between God, our grandkids, and ourselves. As we talk to our heavenly Father about the grandkids he’s graciously brought into our lives, he transforms our worries and longings while transforming us. Through prayer, God helps us mature into the grandmothers our grandchildren need us to be.

Dear Lord, thank you for the family you’ve given me, each and every one, big and small. Help me place every concern I have about them into your able hands today. Amen.

LOVE IN ACTION

Set a specific time to pray for your grandchildren each day. Let them know when that time is. Then, whenever they notice that time on the clock, they’ll think of you thinking of them—which draws you all closer to each other and to God.

2

Let a Little Child Lead You

“Take off your shoes,

for you are standing on holy ground.”

—EXODUS 3:5 TLB

Grandchildren are an invitation to worship. Their curiosity and wonder help reveal the holiness God has hidden all around us: The wildflower tenaciously growing through a hairline crack in the pavement. The bee that dances on fragile flower petals then nimbly takes flight, carrying with it half of its body weight in pollen. A grandchild’s delighted giggle when toddling barefoot across the lawn for the very first time.

Children help remind us that there’s nothing ordinary about an “ordinary day.” We’re constantly surrounded by miracles, a gallery of masterworks created by an almighty Artist. As we grow older, it’s easy to become accustomed to the world we live in, to mistake what’s familiar with the commonplace. But through God’s gift of grandchildren, we can humbly become students and allow our grandkids to lead us and teach us. Through their eyes and experiences, we can relearn to see the world around us—and God’s hand at work in it—in fresh and wonderful ways.

Vincent van Gogh said: “If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think sometimes I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning, and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.”*

From the moment of birth, each grandchild has so much to teach us, so many unexplored journeys to take us on. Let’s kick off our shoes, grab their tiny hands, and allow them to lead us back to the wonder of worship, closer to the heart of an infinitely creative, innovative God.

Dear Lord, help me pay attention to the lessons you want to teach me through my grandchildren. Reawaken my heart and soul to a deeper level of worship and awe. Amen.

LOVE IN ACTION

Play hide-and-seek with your grandkids in a whole new way. Take a walk in the park or around the block and search for little unexpected treasures hidden along the way. Together, thank God for each one.

*Vincent van Gogh, quoted in Debora Silverman, Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000), 173.

3

Spoiler Alert!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming

down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who

does not change like shifting shadows.

—JAMES 1:17

We’ve all seen the T-shirts. Perhaps there’s one hiding in your very own closet. The words may differ, but the message is the same: “Nana’s the Name and Spoiling Is My Game!” It seems to be a grandparent’s rite of passage to extend to our kids’ kids everything we withheld from our own children when they were young. Candy before dinnertime. That overpriced, made-to-break “toy of the moment.” Ten bucks to blow on anything they want. We bend the rules and empty our pocketbooks, all in the name of love.

But is love really what’s driving us? Or are we simply using our grandkids as an excuse to shop? Maybe it’s our own desire to be loved pushing us to try to buy our way into the “favorite grandparent” slot. Or perhaps we honestly believe that accumulating stuff and getting our own way is what will make us, and our grandkids, happy.

How we show love to our grandkids may be how we expect God to show his love for us. Yes, God blesses us beyond measure. But that doesn’t mean he fulfills our every wish and whim, treating our prayers like a Christmas gift wish list. He loves us so much that he wants what’s best for us, what will help our hearts become more like his. Sometimes that means providing things that give us great joy. Other times that means allowing difficult, painful situations to enter and continue in our lives, coaxing us to grow and mature. Often our greatest challenges can give birth to our greatest strengths.

Let’s love our grandchildren the way God loves us—unconditionally, sacrificially, and wisely. And let’s remember how much our heavenly Father loves us, in good times as well as bad.

Dear Lord, teach me to love my grandkids from the purest, truest part of myself—the part of my heart that most resembles you. Teach me that at times, the word no can be an act of love too. Amen.

LOVE IN ACTION

The next time you’re tempted to buy your grandkids something, ask God to show you the whys behind your potential purchase. If those reasons fall short of what you believe pleases God, ask him to show you another way to lavish your grandkids with love—and act on that.

4

Return to Sender

“I prayed for this child, and the LORD

has granted me what I asked of him.”

—1 SAMUEL 1:27

In the book of 1 Samuel, we’re told that Hannah, one of Elkanah’s two wives, was barren. For years Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, provoked Hannah, trying to make her feel inferior and often bringing Hannah to tears. Hannah brought her tears and heartfelt longings to God in prayer, and as Hannah’s words in verse 27 attest, God answered her prayers with a son. She named him Samuel, which in Hebrew sounds similar to the phrase “heard by God.”

But verse 27 doesn’t tell the whole story. Hannah continues in verse 28, “So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” After Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought her living, breathing answer to prayer back to the temple. There she handed him over to Eli the priest, who would raise Samuel to adulthood as a servant of the Lord. Out of gratitude for God’s gift, she gave that gift right back to him.

Like Hannah, we’ve prayed for a child—a grandchild. And God has graciously granted our request. We can’t help but have dreams for those grandchildren … that they’d be healthy and happy, have families of their own, succeed in their endeavors, and follow in the footsteps of their heavenly Father. But our dreams may not always line up with God’s will or the free will of our grandchildren. That’s just one reason to adopt Hannah’s prayer as our own.

By dedicating our grandchildren to God, we recognize that these precious children are not really ours. They are not even wholly their parents’. First and foremost, they’re God’s. They are his unique creation, dearly loved and fully known. By giving them “back” to God, we’re simply acknowledging his sovereignty in their lives—and ours.