Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sheltering our Grandblessings



What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance.  They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life.  And, most importantly, [chocolate milk]. 
                                                                                ~Rudolph Giuliani


Children are the crown of the aged.  (Proverbs 17:6)


As grandparents, we are in a unique position to make a difference in the lives of our grandblessings. Paul spoke to Timothy about the influence his Grandmother Lois had on his life.  That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! (1 Timothy 1:5).  Faith handed down.  Don't you love that!  We touch the hearts of our grandchildren by handing down the faith.

Pawpaw Kuhn
Mawmaw Kuhn




















I've heard it said that when there are more Godly grandmothers, there will be more young men like Timothy.  I have three grandsons -- Ethan, Landon and Camron.  God has something special for their lives.  But unless I am faithful in prayer, living an authentic life, and reflecting the joy of the Lord, they will miss a positive influence in their lives.  

Sarah Morgan is our princess.  I know it is her Mama's desire for her to grow into a Daughter of the King as she teaches her femininity, modesty and finding the sacred in daily life; Nana and I will also have opportunities to influence her in these ways.

PawPaw Clemens
Nana Clemens
I'm thankful I don't have the whole responsibility for this influence.  Pawpaw Kuhn and Pawpaw Clemens share that responsibility.  I'm thankful they live Godly lives.  Pawpaw Clemens is the one who opens the Word and offers it to my grandchildren every Sunday.  Nana teaches them the stories of the Bible in Children's Church each Sunday. 

Sharing grandparents is a great thing for kids, but, unfortunately, I've seen some engage in struggling matches about which grandparent is the favorite.  The kids end up being pulled in opposite directions, and are forced to be unkind or even disrespectful. If you are a grandparent, nurture your grandkids' relationship with the other set of grandparents. 

Another way we bless our grandchildren is by providing products for their  parents that gives them wisdom as they raise their children.  Shawn's mother gave Shawn and Melanie Train Up A Child by Michael and Debi Pearl;  they also publish an excellent free magazine on training children (subscribe on their blog).  I recently purchased Growing Grateful Kids by Sue Larson.  Melanie has benefited from it, and has already purchased a copy for a friend.

Lastly, ask to spend time with your grandchildren so the parents can have a date or an overnight anniversary trip.  When you encourage alone time for parents, your grandchildren always reap the benefits of happy-in-love parents.


If you, like me, like to gain wisdom from others on the subject, read The Power of Godly Grandparents by Stephen and Janet Bly. I put The Grandmother's Bible on my wish list.  You can even purchase it in hardback, large print and Kindle.  I know true wisdom comes from God -- through His Word. After all, if grandchildren are the crown of old age, I want to do all I can to keep the jewels shining bright.



        

                                                                                                                                  Linked to:



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Pure Imagination




20 comments:

Amrita said...

God bless you for encouraging good parenting an d grandparenting.

Rebecca said...

I surely appreciated the paragraph with the words "...when there are more godly grandmothers...."!

I SEE that you've been holding/hugging babies. What a delight. As for the Grandmother's Bible, I looked at it once and decided to stick with my own. I thought it unusual that the print would be so small---at least the edition I handled had print that was difficult to read.

Deborah said...

You are so blessed to have this time and influence on your grandkids. I wish mine were closer!

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

What a blessings...oh your words just hit straight to my heart...more Godly grandmothers produce more Timothy's...oh that is now engraved on my heart.
I am not a grandmother yet, but hope to be this year, God willing!
Great resources and wonderful words.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Sarah said...

Godly grandparents are a blessing. I loved the quote! :)

Anonymous said...

And someday those grands will have grands of their own and remember the model you set for them! It's an amazing life cycle we create when we teach love and respect. Your grands are so fortunate to have four solid grandparents setting examples for them every day.

Christy S.

Joyful said...

A wonderful lesson in good grandparenting. You are so blessed to have a Godly group of family members and extended family members. Thanks for dropping by my blog today and for praying for my mom and I. God bless.

pam said...

Thanks for peeking into my world. I so look forward to the day that God might bless us with grandchildren. So amazing!

Clint said...

Great post! Love your thoughts. I am reminded of the many times friends of ours (who are also grandparents) will express their frustration and bewilderment at the fact that their children have chosen not to raise their grandchildren in the church. God bless.

Esther Asbury said...

Lovely post and I so agree. Papa's and Nana's are SO IMPORTANT in a child's life. Glad my daughter has wonderful grandparents on both sides and she loves them all dearly!

I Am Not Superwoman said...

I found you on a blog hope. Great post. Godly grandparents have such an influence on their grandchildrens lives. Keep it up. Following you.

Samantha said...

Amen. Godly grandparents and parents are such a blessing.
Such a beautiful post, I am so excited to be a new grandmother.
Thanks for also sharing the book links, I am going to check those out !!
Blessings to you dear friend. ♥ ♥

Janet Ellis said...

I so agree with you. My prayer for loved ones is that they will be surrounded with Godly people who will lift them up. You are surely a blessing to your family and to so many others. ~Blessings, Janet

Amy said...

What an inspirational post! I am getting this book for my parents.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my blog. Have a blessed weekend :D

http://socialstudiesmomma.blogspot.com/

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What a wonderful and inspiring post.

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK for grandparents and caregivers said...

What a lovely post to encourage all of us grandparents to purposefully seek to impact our grandchildren for the Lord, which is my heart's desire as well. And such good advice about supporting "co-grandparents." I am so blessed with all of mine and we have visited together, traveled together, and continue to pray together for our grandkids! It's such a joy! :)

Thanks for the heads up on the Grandparents Bible. I was just looking at Teen Life Application study Bibles with my granddaughter last night. :) Fun to know they now have a grandparents Bible as well. Have a blessed Spiritual Sunday. :)

Nikki (Sarah) said...

this is really nice....Came from Spiritual Sunday....Glad I did. ☺

Anonymous said...

You are so full of God's love! Keep spreading it around.

~Love Lis said...

What a wonderful post! You can never post too much about your grandkids. Thanks so much for linking up! Your pictures are so cute!!! :) HUGS to you!

Charlotte said...

What a beautiful tribute to grandparenting. Thank you for sharing with us on Spiritual Sundays.
Blessings,
Charlotte