Love Sundays (Mother's Day at New Hope Church)!

 

Mother's and Daughter's and Daughter's who are Mother's or about to be Mother's

 

 

Best Mother's Day Every

She's the youngest
She's home from war
She's healthy
She's going to lead worship on Sunday with her sister Kelley
She's one of 5 children who call me mother
She's loved more just like the other 4
and she's one of the 5 who will make this the best mother's day ever

remembering this scripture today:

"Her children stand and bless her. her husband praises her."

My Friend, My Sister(s) in Christ

 

 

 

Holly fixing her hair before having her picture taken

 

I could not sleep tonight so I am up and writing about the reason I could not sleep. You see, tonight was the night I presented the devotions at my friend's bridal shower. Since I wrote a post last week about my birth sister I thought I would follow it up with a post about my sister in Christ, good friend, funnest person on this earth, Holly. She will be getting married in less than and month and I am very happy for her but ... the reason I can't sleep is 'cause even though I am happy for her I am sad because there will be a distance between Holly and I after she gets married 'cause she's moving to Nebraska, to be a farmers wife. It will be a great loss and since I am prone to have "attachment disorder" :-) it will be extremely hard to have this good friend move away from Minnesota. I see Holly most every week and we, Holly, my other sisters in Christ Andrea, and Lisa have this yearly tradition of enjoying taco salad with homemade salsa (by the golfer) each summer. What I love about our time is we share with one another Bible verses that we can be praying throughout the coming year for each  other. This year Holly has been praying Psalm 91:1 for me, and I have been praying Hebrews 12:5b-7 for her. With Holly I not only receive the gift of an amazing friend but the gift of an amazing praying friend. I love you Holly and I will miss you big time!

 

Below are the words that I shared with Holly this evening:

It is a delight to be here this evening to celebrate and honor you, Holly as you get married to Chris in June.

When I thought about what I would share tonight I felt sad … ‘cause I thought about

how much I would miss our summer time taco salad’s;

how I would miss “hearing” our love language  of “sarcasm” with one another

and how I would miss our hug’s and check-in’s at the front desk

But then I thought about how happy I am for you Holly. How happy I am that you met Chris, that you love one another well and that you plan to be a farmer’s wife for the rest of your life ….

A farmer’s wife must be strong … not just strong enough to pail hay, drive the John Deer tractor, or bring in the crops but …

1. strong in who you are

2. strong in your ability to study the Bible and pass it on to others

3. strong in your prayer life

4. strong in your relationships

5. strong in your love for others

6. strong in your joy

1. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in Who They Are
We've all heard those age-old questions, like, "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Where am I going?" Isn’t it great Holly that as a Christian woman you know who you are? I love that you know you are a child of the King. You know who your creator is. And it is my hope that knowing who you are in Christ will give you satisfaction and strength.

In the scriptures in Ephesians 1:4-6 The Lord says:
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

2. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in Bible study, Bible knowledge, and passing that knowledge on to others
Staying in the Word daily builds up our bodies. It's like those exercises that you have to do so many repetitions every day in order for it to do any good. We've just got to keep reading, studying, and memorizing God's Word to keep fit and strong. When questions and things come up, we need to know what the Bible says about it. If we're grounded in God's Word, we are better able to be strong and resist temptations too. We need to have the answers and Bible knowledge right there to grab and use as things come at us. In Psalm 119:11 the Lord says: I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. And in 2 Timothy 2:1-6 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,  and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.  Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.  An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.  It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.  Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Because I would love to encourage you to be strong Christian woman of the word I have this gift for you (Give the gift of the Bible Study)

3. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in their prayer Life.
Making prayer a vital part of our lives gives us such strength. It uplifts and strengthens us as we go on our way. Prayer is such a powerful thing. We have loved one another well by praying for one another. Thank you Holly, for praying for me and it has been an honor to pray for you! I believe that to be a praying wife is the most powerful way you can encourage your husband Chris.

In Psalm 55:17 the Lord says Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
And in 1 Thessalonians 7:17 He says that we are to Pray without ceasing.  

Because I would love to encourage you to be a praying wife I have this gift for you (Give the gift of The Power of the Praying Wife and for Chris The Power of the Praying Husband)

 

4. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in their relationship with their husband.
We are gathered here tonight to honor you Holly and your marriage to Chris. The strong Christian women I've known over the years have all had a strong and good relationship with their husbands. I think that's so important. When you marry Chris, he will become your husband and he will be the second most important person in your life. How you interact with him is going to affect how strong you are. Always remember to be building him up and you will be strong.

In Proverbs 31:28 the Lord says: Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. 

And in Ephesians 5:22-24: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.   

Because I would love to encourage you to be strong in your relationship with Chris I want to give you this calendar. On it is marked every 15th of the month because you will be married on the 15^th of June. I believe that if you intentionally set aside that day each month to date one another for the rest of your lives that you will remain in love with one another just as if it were the very first day you were married. (Give the gift of the calendar)

 

5. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in their love for others.  There's nothing like concentrating on others to give us a boost. They say having a genuine love for others is like drinking one of those sports drinks. It will restore all those minerals you've been missing! Think about how love was a big part of Christ's life. It definitely should be a big part of yours Holly. I am confident it will be and as you continue to care, reach out, encourage, and pray for others you will be strong.
John 13: 34-35 states:  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Because I would love to encourage you to be a strong in your love for others I want to give you this package of note cards so you may encourage others as you have encouraged me. (Give the gift of note cards)

Finally,

6. A Christian Woman Should Be Strong in their joy.
Holly, maybe at some point you have memorized the last part of Nehemiah 8:10, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

It's such a simple phrase but so powerful. We can tap into His strength daily by having His joy.  We don't need the latest outfits, a membership to the gym, a really nice home, a new John Deer tractor or financial security. We just need to find the joy of the Lord in our lives and we'll find our strength.

Let’s Pray ….

 

 

 

 

 



My Sister, My Friend

Mary Catherine with her granddaugher, Gigi

 

Just 5 minutes: no edits, no rewrites, why? Cause it's Five Minute Friday over here ...
http://lisajobaker.com/

Start:

I often write about my husband and my kids but I do not often write about the family I grew up with except today. It's different, because today is my oldest sister, Mary Catherine's, birthday. May 3rd is a day each year I pick up the phone and sing Happy Birthday to my sister. We both laugh and then check in with one another.

My oldest sister has been more than a sister. She has been a friend, a mentor and at times my mom. She was the one I took the phone call from the day my mother was killed suddenly in a car accident. She wanted me to be brave ... she wanted me to possess and exhibit courage the next few days as we planned the service to honor my mom and who she was.

It was just two weeks after I heard of my mother's death that I found out I was pregnant with our first child. When our daughter Lisa was born I did not know all there was to know about being a mom and taking care of a baby but .... my sister Mary Catherine knew. She was a wonderful mom, loving and compassionate. It seems that many things I would experience in the years to come would call me to be brave, to exhibit courage .... I'm grateful for my sister, my friend, my mentor and at times my mom! Happy Birthday Mary Catherine!

Stop:

Linking up and love this quote from Lisa Jo's post "Brave is a whisper some days and others its a battle cry."

Sleep Number Bed ....

It would appear that we are sleeping but not :-p ....

Although we did enjoy checking out the sleep number bed as our good friends Ken and Ginny looked on and took this picture.

It was "red shirt Friday" and most Friday's Terry and I remember to wear our red shirts in honor of our troops! It was also a snow day which was a pleasant surprise! I stayed in my pj's most of the morning and then in the early afternoon about 4:30 we met the McMillan's at Milton's a quaint little restaurant in Crystal for some dinner before heading down to the Minneapolis Convention Center to check out the Home Improvement Show. We walked around and literally laid down as we checked out all the show had to offer. Ginny and I of course found much to laugh about and we convinced the men to buy us some home made salsa and jam and wait for us while we both got our wedding rings cleaned. After leaving the show we traveled back to Milton's to order the Banana Foster (to die for) dessert. We ordered it to go and then went back to Ken and Ginny's and enjoyed the vanilla bean ice cream with fried bananas topped with an amazing Carmel sauce. Overall a won.der.ful evening of fun with friends!

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Daughter-in-law!

 

 

I love when I hear my older brother Pat introduce me or tell others that I am his favorite little sister ... I often wonder why he states this and then I am reminded I'm his only little sister. It's kind of like that with Renee. When I say my favorite daughter-in-law, because we only have one son, Renee is my only daughter-in-law ... but she truly is my favorite. I could not ask for a more caring, sensitive, loving and supportive daughter-in-law! I love everything about this girl and I love that my only son choose her to spend the rest of his life with. so ... A very Happy Birthday Renee!

 

Friday, April 5 came around and we were happy to be together as a family again for Friday night pizza. We were especially grateful to celebrate Renee and her birthday along with our littlest, back form Afghanistan, daughter's new friend, who happens to be a boy, named Dustin's birthday too. (I'm pretty sure that was a run-on sentence) :-)

(Hence the reason the cake states: Happy Birthday Renee and Dustin).

 

We have a family tradition of Friday night pizza. When our kids were little we began to have Friday night pizza which often included a movie and games. When our first grandchild was born more than five years ago, our daughter said to us ... let's start our Friday night pizza time again so .... each Friday we gather together to have pizza. Any of the kids that are available come.

On Friday night, April 5 at 6 pm we gathered together to celebrate Renee!

 

I realized as I typed this blog post that when my only son Adam had a birthday I did not write a post about him (sorry Adam) but it is easy to include him on this post. It's easy because Adam is married to Renee. Adam and Renee have a tradition of having not just a birthday celebration but a birthday week celebration. So we had fun starting out Renee's birthday week celebration because her actual birthday is not until today April 13th!

 

So Renee here's to your birthday week which I am sure has been and will continue to be fun for you. We love you so much and we pray for this year ahead as you welcome the next generation of Pederson boys into your (our) family to be a blessing in every way. Praying  for you as "God's chosen woman, holy and dearly loved, may you clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience ...  and may you continue to love with genuine affection and take delight in honoring others. We love you very much!

Faith, Hope and Love ....

 

 

Ok I'm doing it again ... stealing my oldest daughter's post

just like I steal my singing daughter's pictures:

Get Clarity With Gratitude

Sometimes things get fuzzy. Where you want to go, what you want to do, and who you want to be can get a little out of focus.
When things get out of focus for me I get cranky. I suddenly am “put out” by all the things that need to be done. I am irritated by the ones I love. I feel overwhelmed by my state of lack (read: all the stuff I want but don’t have).
All of this is a clear sign it is time for me to bring in gratitude.
There is never a time we don’t desperately need gratitude but it is ever more apparent when we are reveling in confusion and negative thinking.
I felt that over the weekend. After an awesome homecoming with my sister Ashley + a fun afternoon with my family I found myself “put out” by the following evening’s event with them.
A huge traffic mess on the way to my parent’s house, my mother’s request that we “shutdown all devices” for the night so that we could be present and participate full heartily, a food plan I am following right now that meant my inability to partake in evening pizza and cake all led to an incredible “pissed off’ feeling.
Imagine…being “irritated” by a request for being present. Whew!
The last few minutes of the drive out to the boon-dox (yes that is the official city my parents live in) I finally got my gratitude on.

1. My lil’ sis is home from Afghanistan. SHE IS HOME!
2. I get to hang with her new BF.
3. My parents are facilitating love and joining as a family.
4. The kiddos will be there.
5. Kelley always gives a rocking time.
6. More opportunity to hang with my bro and sis-in-law who I don’t see nearly as much of as I’d like to.

Okay…Feeling better now. AND… More clarity.
I love my life. I am so grateful for this awesome family. I GET to hang with them and laugh and love. Yes. That FEELS like clarity.
As I delve deeper into Danielle Laporte’s Desire Map I can see that I deeply DESIRE gratitude. And how, above all gratitude offers me even more of my other desired feelings. Really you could set gratitude at the foundation of all desired feelings and be one step closer to building the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
This month in IntenSati class (@PrAna 10am on Saturdays) join us for a great workout and deeper conversations on clarity. This week we bring more clarity through gratitude.
A little fun work for you: Every time you have a pen and are writing down: your grocery list, your to-do list, a note to a friend, a entry in your journal, or a reminder to your self, include a single gratitude. One thing you are grateful for in your life.
If you don’t use pens (frankly lots of us don’t) every time you: send an email, a blog post, a FB update, a tweet, a VM, or add an appointment in your calendar, include a gratitude. One thing you are grateful for in your life.
If you do it I guarantee you will have more clarity by the end of this week.
This months affirmations:
Now I am the voice
I lead not follow
Every day I show the world
Joy is possible
I forgive and I surrender
Practice makes perfect
My state is clear
I do what I love, I love what I do
I am ready, willing, and able
I am grateful
I play full out
Without a doubt, Watch me
Watch me
Focus on the good
Have faith in the possible
Get stronger every day
Live full and free
Watch me Now!
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend”. Melody Battle
I’d love for you to share a gratitude in the comments below. Get your clarity rolling right now!
xoxo, LVA

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Beyond the Yellow Ribbon committee has a busy week

By Tim Hennagir on April 4, 2013 at 9:24 pm

Beyond the Yellow Ribbon-Monticello steering committee members had a busy week getting ready to welcome home the 257th Military Police Company.
More than 400 yellow ribbons were tied in town and along the route the unit will travel when it rolls through Monticello Thursday afternoon. Welcome home organizers asked the public to line the unit’s anticipated point of entry and route through town to the Monticello Community Center.
“I handed out over 100 posters but I have no idea how many were downloaded online,” said Michele Hertwig, steering committee member and owner of MAJIRS! Advertising and Design.
The committee met Monday night to finalize its plans for the 257th Military Police Company’s welcome home celebration.
The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon-Monticello steering committee meets the first Monday of every month at 6 p.m. in the Academy Room at Monticelllo City Hall.
“We have just finished our action plan and will be submitting it to the director of military outreach (DMO) and the Yellow Ribbon Recognition Program Review Board for approval,” Hertwig said.
The BTYR program provides a network of resources and volunteers to assist soldiers and their families as they serve our country.
“Our mission is to develop a Yellow Ribbon Network that will unite, honor and embrace those affected by military deployments,” she said. “Actively showing support will help to enable a successful transition all the way home.”
At a higher level, a Yellow Ribbon County unites key areas and communities throughout a county to create a comprehensive network that connects and coordinates county-level agencies, organizations, resources and employers for the purpose of proactively supporting service members and military families.
A Yellow Ribbon County connects and supports communities to provide support at the local level.
The 257th arrived at Fort Bliss, Texas, March 23 and completed its demobilization process after arriving. The 257th Military Police Company partnered with the Afghan National Army to support operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during its overseas deployment, said Capt. Troy Hyland, who commands the company.
According to Hyland, the main focus of the unit’s demobilization process during its recent stay at Fort Bliss was decompression.
The 120-plus members of the 257th Military Police Company left Minnesota May 28, 2012, for training prior to their overseas deployment. According to a Minnesota National Guard Operation Enduring Freedom unit overview background sheet, the unit conducted operations in the northeastern part of Afghanistan.
Sgt. First Class Dennis Galvin is the 257th Military Police Company’s non-commissioned officer in charge. He flew to Fort Bliss to assist the unit with its de-mobilization process. “I am the full-time staff behind NCOIC and did not deploy with the unit,” Galvin stated.
The unit completed numerous medical and dental exams, mountains of paperwork and counseling re-employment, education benefits, medical benefits and re-integration during its stay at Fort Bliss.
According to Galvin, the 257th arrived at the St. Cloud Regional Airport Thursday afternoon at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the secured Minnesota National Guard Aviation Facility.
The public wasn’t allowed to greet unit members there. Buses transported unit members to the Monticello Community Center.