(in)courage – Parenting Teens & Thriving
I had the pleasure of co-leading the Parenting Teens & Thriving (in)courage group during the Winter Session with my friend, Kate Battistelli, (psssst her daughter is the awesome Christian singer, Francescia Battistelli, just in case you were wondering!) We came together with a wonderful group of ladies and just loved on them throughout the entire session. We talked about some very serious subject matters, but we also tried to have a little fun as well. We discussed the book by Dr. Gary Chapman The Five Love Languages of Teenagers, which I also went into detail with on Light Love Hope because of the much needed information provided within the pages of that powerful, life changing book.
We were a little sad when the Winter Session came to a close, but we looked forward to the Spring Session.
And …
It’s here!!
The Spring Session will run from May 26 through July 4th! Yea!!
This time around, I have the privilege of co-leading the Parenting Teens & Thriving Spring Session with Susan Lawrence Choate! Oh, you’ve seen her work on Light Love Hope before as she wrote about the Trip That Was Never Supposed To Happen … and it … was … beautiful. Just like Susan!
So, with that said … if you’re looking for some encouragement as you parent your teens or even if you have tweens at this point and need a little help as you get ready to dive into those teens years … we are here for you!
Please join us for the Spring Session of (in)courage by clicking here. It will take you to the sign up page. If Parenting Teens & Thriving doesn’t interest you, that is okay, too, as we have a TON of other groups you can sign up for. Just take a look around and see which group would be a better fit for you. No pressure, no worries. Just a LOT of women waiting to love on other women to encourage them, uplift them, support them, and let them know that they are truly not alone!
We hope you’ll join us all at (in)courage!
Blessings to one and all,
~Shirley
God’s NOT Dead
My daughters and I set out on an adventure yesterday determined to find only things that brought joy and happiness along our path. We haven’t spent a whole lot of quality time just the three of us as we have done family things together for as long back as we can remember. That was always important to us, but now that they’re getting older, THIS is important, too. The reality of the situation is that my babies truly aren’t babies any more. Time is slipping away and is going way too fast. No amount of begging and pleading will make time stand still, so I must just seize the moment with them, live, laugh, love, and enjoy! I intend to do just that! Now, more than ever, I need to be sure to nurture the friendship aspect of our relationship. As I move from being their mother, directing their every steps and tending to their every need, to friend, the one they look forward to hanging out with and doing fun things with … these are the moments that will turn into precious memories that hopefully my children will treasure for years to come and look back fondly on if the Lord should call me home.
We stopped to eat at their favorite restaurant where any onlookers would have sworn we hadn’t eaten in a very long time with the way we were savoring and enjoying every bite. We just haven’t been there in forever, so our taste buds were dancing with delight. Once all of the little tummies were satisfied, we went on to the movies!
My oldest daughter mentioned the movie God’s Not Dead to me before. It, apparently, was mentioned at the Christian school that my children attend, and it interested her a great deal. I listened as she talked of what she had heard the movie was about. To be honest, I wasn’t that interested in the movie upon hearing about it. For me, I know that God’s not dead. I don’t need a movie to tell me that or to convince me. I know in my heart, and that is all that I truly need. But, it kept coming up in conversation a lot. So, last night my daughters and I went to see God’s Not Dead.
Even though we had just eaten, we stopped off at the concession stand as my oldest daughter just had her braces taken off a few days earlier. She hadn’t been able to enjoy movie theater popcorn in a year and a half. We knew going in that she would have a large tub of popcorn pretty much all to herself, and that was perfectly fine with me.
We took our seats right square in the middle of the theater. People started filing in, and this proved to be a very popular movie even though it has been in theaters a few weeks now.
The movie begins with a cross necklace wearing college student being warned upon registration about a particular professor. He was given the opportunity to switch classes, but he really needed this one so he stayed with it. It didn’t take long to understand why the warning was issued, though. On the very first day of class, the professor, a known Atheist, went through his usual lecture of how it would save the class a whole lot of time if they would all just write God is dead on a piece of paper with their signature. Then, they could move on to more important things that semester, according to the professor.
Several people looked around in the class as if they were unsure of what to do. Then, they started writing on their paper and passing it to the end of the row to be given to the professor. One student, however, felt very strongly about his beliefs. He sat there contemplating what to do. He knew in his heart that he could not deny God. He knew that he could not deny God’s existence and that he could not deny that God was very real working in his heart and life. He knew that although it would not be the most popular thing to do and that it would not score any points with the professor that he had … HAD … to do the right thing! And so, he refused to write that on the paper.
The professor wasn’t very pleased at this point, as you can imagine. This college Freshman was going up against the professor, of all people … in his class … in front of all of his students. How dare he, right? Ah, but this young man was brave and he accepted the challenge offered by the professor. At the end of every class, he would be given 20 minutes to state his case on why he believed that God was not dead. The professor would carry on with his class as usual with his beliefs, but this college Freshman would be given the opportunity to prove this to the entire class. The college student took it one step further and said that they would put God on trial with the professor being the prosecutor, with himself as the defense attorney, and the entire class as the jurors. They would get to decide for themselves.
Being one that does not like to have a movie or a book spoiled for me, I do not intend to do that here today with you either. Instead, now that you have a pretty good idea of what the movie is about, I will tell you of my experience while watching this movie.
As my daughters and I sat there listening to the arguments on both sides from the professor and that of the college Freshman, tears began to fill my eyes. There were several instances within the movie itself where God moved in other people’s lives. There were several story lines going within this movie, not just that of the college Freshman trying to convince his classmates and professor. There were other people’s lives involved and intertwined in the movie plot. It pulled on my heartstrings. From verbal abuse, to physical abuse, to being cast out of the family, to being told the character had cancer, to a dear family member having dementia, to a great tragedy occurring … this movie spoke to my heart in so many different ways and before I realized what was happening, tears filled my eyes and spilled over until they were streaming down my face.
Ordinarily, I would say that this movie was powerful. On second thought, it wasn’t the movie, the actors, the characters portrayed, nor their lives … it was the message behind it all that was powerful. The message … God’s NOT dead.
He’s not.
He’s very much alive and working in hearts and lives EVERY where to this very day, right this minute.
Lives … have been spared.
Hearts … have been changed.
Yes, there are still bad things that happen to good people in this life. There are a million questions that remain unanswered, most leading to us wanting to yell “WHY?!”
I don’t know why, dear ones.
But, what I do know is that God is real. He is alive. And I believe.
But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:33 NLT
I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.
Luke 12:8 NLT
What makes you happy?
Beautiful words from our Quiet Computer Guy, Gregory C. Johnson.
What Makes You Happy?
Quite the title; isn’t it? Do you really know what makes you happy? Have you ever just sat down and thought about it? Coming from the background I did, growing up where I was mired in a negative environment, and where I was never really was shown any love or affection by my family … I wrestled with this for many years.
There is one thing that stands out for me where I can go and feel the joy of happiness; music. I have been enamored with music since I was very little. My grandfather gave me my first drum when I was three years old. As a small child, I would sit for hours in front of the stereo singing along to my parent’s records. Even thinking of that now brings a warm feeling to my heart.
As I grew older, my mother supported me and my fascination with music. She started me with drum lessons; I then took up guitar and bass guitar. There were even some piano lessons in there for a while.
The first band I played in was our Youth Choir combo at church. I have played many places over the years in many different situations from small clubs to large summer festivals. Playing or listening to music has brought me many happy moments my life.
Yet, music is not what really truly makes me happy.
As I said earlier, I wrestled with the thought of true happiness for quite some time. I didn’t find out what true happiness was until later in my life when by some miracle of God’s intention someone was brought into my life that showed me how being truly happy could feel. So now, I suppose, you think you know how this all turns out; you meet the person that makes you feel all warm inside, it becomes a mutual thing, and you live happily ever after. That is the way things are supposed to work out, right? But that is not what God intended for me.
As happens with many things in life, things were not meant to be as what my heart’s desire prayed for. When that happens, it is our nature to question why, to wonder what is wrong with us, to put blame on God for putting us in a situation that causes our heart to ache. I went through that same thing. Then I realized that God put me into this situation for a reason. I sat and meditated for many an evening looking for some answer. Over time, I did begin to realize that what I was looking for – love from someone else – was not the only thing that could make me happy. With God’s help, I discovered that giving love without condition is another thing that can truly make me happy. It is the joy of doing something for someone for no reason. It is the joy of surprising someone with a small gift or a compliment that makes them smile.
I am content and happy with the situation I am in thanks to God’s design of bringing this special person into my life. She has helped me become a better person over the years without ever knowing the kind of effect she was having on me. She is still the number one thing that makes me happy, but my eyes and heart have been opened to letting in other avenues of happiness to make my life complete.
So what makes you happy?
~The Quiet Computer Guy
