Thanksgiving 1967

I remember the walks with Grandpa Wood collecting Popsicle sticks, soda bottles and colored leaves. We made a sailboat out of the sticks, turned in the bottles for three cents a pop and pressed the leaves in books.

This walk was to be the last walk together since we were moving out of state. I wanted something to remember this walk by. Autumn was a season away so we collected two maple leaves from Grandpa's front yard and place them in my book He told me that he wanted to see the leaves each time he came to visit. I told him I wanted to see the Popsicle boat we made together as well. I never got to see that boat. The week of Thanksgiving 1967 Grandpa passed away and Grandma threw the boat away.

It took a while for me to get over the lost of this special man. Thanksgiving brings mixed emotions for me. But the memories of Grandpa brings joy into my heart. His unconditional love and enjoyment of the simple things like spending the time playing with his grandchildren helps me to appreciate my time with my grandchildren. I now take those same walk with my grandson collecting leaves and creating memories for him. When my granddaughters come to visit I get down on the floor and create pieces of art with paper and crayons.

I can only hope that when they grow up and become grandparents that they remember the time with me and pass on the memories to their grandchildren.

My prayer is that all grandparents realize the role they play in the lives of their grandchildren and bring many blessing to them. I also hope that my Grandpa is looking down from heaven and is proud of the grandma I have become.


© 2010 Dawn M Sexton

Happy Abba's Day

I honor you Abba by writing this blog on Father's Day. I am humbled by your willingness to sacrifice all for the love of me, saying thanks just is not enough. This is done so that You and others would know how grateful I am for Your unconditional love. When calling out for help You rally around me and get the work done with your grace and peace.

Trusting is difficult for me. I have not always been able to trust in the love of a father. So it was hard for me to get to the point of giving you my complete trust. My grandfather was one of the few people who gave me unconditional love. Unfortunately he died when I was ten years old. It was his love that sustained me until I received Your love. It is Your love that sustains me now.

There are days that I doubt your love for me. It is that old broken record feeding me thoughts that I am unlovable, unworthy and that I should just give up any hopes. Than hearing that small faint whisper in my heart saying, “ Abba loves you” brings me back to your presence. Thank you, Abba. I love you too.

Happy Abba's Day to the greatest Father that anyone can hope to have.

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. It is a day of giving that special someone in your life a token of your love. It could be in the form of a card, a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. Whatever it is, you are declaring your love to another.

Jesus declared His love to a lost world when He gave the most valuable gift of His life for us. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." John 15:13 (NIV)

I want to give my life as a gift back to Jesus. Today is a start of a new relationship with him. May this Valentine's Day be a reminder to me that His love is the best gift that anyone could ever ask for.

My First Time

This is my first time writing a blog with my new laptop. I got to thinking about all the first times in my life. I can't remember my first step or my first word. I don't remember the first house I lived in or my first day in school. What I do remember is the first teacher who took the time to care about me, my second grade teacher Mrs Keacher.

Mrs. Keacher always seemed to bring my spirits up when thing were going wrong for me. I spent most of the first grade year at home because I had my tonsils taken out and thing went wrong during the surgery. I was not fully out and jerked when the doctor starting to cut. The inside of my throat was damaged and I had to learn to eat and talk all over again.

When I did make it back to school, I was too far behind to pass. The school past me anyway and second grade became a hardship for me. Mrs Keacher took the extra time to help me. I know I could not have made it without her help. She was the first person to show me compassion.

So this is for all those teachers out there. Thank you for all you do. Thank you far all the sacrifices, times and compassion that is given to us. Thank you Mrs Keacher.

DuMBoSDawn

I forgot

I forgot to give my grandson his meds today. Without it he was unable to sit on the bus or behave in school. He could not focus or function as you or I can. When he arrived back home he was flying around like a gaged animal. My heart aches for him because you know he does not want to be this way. I can only pray that he when he grows up that he is able to lead a normal life.
I prayed for this for all my children and now for all my grandchildren. I pray for them because I know that God does answers prayers. This helps me to make it through each day with all the uncertainties that life throws at them.
My son lost his job. He and his wife are homeless and living in their car. So I pray knowing that we have a loving God that cares what happens to them.
Not only do my family need my prayers, I need to pray for my friends, the church and my country. I need to pray for what is happening all over the world.
I am glad that God hears my prayers.

DuMBoSDawn

Resolution

I don't make New Year's resolutions because I know I would not keep them. Believe me I have tried. I don't lose the pounds, save the money or get organized. What I try to do at the beginning of each year is start fresh. This is something I do at the beginning of each month, each week and each day. Sometime I have to do several times a day. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't make mistakes.
What gets me through each day is knowing that I don't have to do it a lone. Jesus is there right beside me. He sometimes goes before me and sometime pushes me. But he is always doing it because of the love He has for me. My hopes, my dreams and my life is wrapped around Him.
My prayer today is that those who take the time to read this today knows that they are being prayed for. There is nothing that you can't do when you do with with Jesus. If there is something that I can pray for you. Leave it here and it will be done. Not because I am making it a New Year's resolution. It is because I am starting off fresh today.

God Bless, DuMBoSDawn

Snow

My cousin who lives in Niagara Falls, NY posted on her Facebook account that they were up to 34 inches of snow. I was quick to respond that I thought that our 24+ inches of snow was a lot and that she won. Her sister went on to post, “no, Dawn we lost”. It was just a matter of perspective.
There are those who believe that Jesus lost when he die on the cross and they buried him. His suffering was unmeasurable for our sins. Yet through the eyes of a Christian He won.
Jesus suffered this is true. He did die and was buried. The good news? He conquered death and is victorious.
I now claim this victory and proclaim it to a lost world. Each day my prayer is to live such a life that others see that they too can be winners in Christ.

God Bless, DuMBoSDawn

Discovery

One of the reason I am making a point to blog everyday is to keep my focus on what God has to show me. I want to treat each day like a journey to some great discovery. Even if the discovery is finding out how to work the side mirrors on my car.
I have been driving my car for a number of years and was frustrated at the fact that I could only control the driver's side mirror. My thoughts were how short-sighted was the manufacture company of the car to make it so that the control button only controlled one mirror. I would have to roll down the window to adjust the other mirror or get out of the car all together.
One day I notice that the control button had two arrows pointed in opposite directions. So I turned the knob. Well what do you know. I can now control the other mirror.
It wasn't the car company that was sort-sighted. It was me.
Sometime I do the same thing when trying to see what God is trying to do in my life. I think how short-sighted He must be. He doesn't understand what I really need. But in reality it is me who is sort-sighted and do not understand His plans for me.
I want to start each day seeking after Him and discovering His will for me.
God Bless, DuMBoSDawn

Prodigal

As I listen to today's sermon, my first thoughts were, How many times have I heard the story about the Prodigal Son? and What new insight could I possibly get from it?
I was surprised when I left with tears in my eyes. For the first time I realized the great dept of God's love towards me. It did not matter how far I ran or what I have become or done, God welcomes me back into the fold rejoicing the news to the outer most places of heaven.
There is nothing humanly possible that I can do to take away God's love. He waits eagerly for me to return. I just need to take the first step, even if it means crawling the whole way.
My prayer is that we all come to the knowledge that God loves us with a never ending love.
God Bless, DuMBoSDawn

Facebook

I could not sleep last night. My mind was focus on what I would write for my second blog. There is so much swimming around in my head that I spent the night tossing and turning.
Here is my choice topic: Facebook.
A dear friend of mine turned me on to Facebook. With every new applications she discovered she would draw me in deeper. Before I knew it I was spending hours and hours playing.
I decided to take a break for a week. It was like an addiction. The first few days were hard. By the end of the week I was not missing it at all.
When I did get back on, all my fishes were floating, my crops were wilted and my food were spoiled. I flushed the fished, plowed the crops and cleaned the stoves. I started the week with a clean slate.
How nice that would be if we could do that in the real world. Than God showed me that we can.
Everyday when we give our life over to God's control we are given a clean slate. He flushes our worries down the drain, plows the mistakes under and cleans all our sins away.
How great is our God.
My prayer for you today is let God take your worries, mistakes and sins away. Start this day and New Year with a clean slate.
God Bless, DuMBoSDawn