by Sharon O | May 31, 2018 | Uncategorized
Graduation is coming up for four of our grand children.
Three are leaving middle school and heading to high school and one is leaving high school and heading to being an adult with a job and soon a car.
Life is passing us by so quickly, I can remember when each of them were tiny little bundles.
Then they grew up. Where did the years go?
This Sunday we are having graduation party for Faith, high school has been a journey of ups and downs, she will be very glad to leave this ‘time of her life’ behind.
She has a nice job at a auto part store and she has a nice boyfriend.
I am amazed at her maturity and her growing up in front of us, she started out so tiny.
Life will be different for her. The youth days are leaving and she is 19 now and navigating her way to adulthood.
What would I tell her now?
To not take life too seriously. To eat good and get enough sleep. Exercise is good for the body and spirit.
I would tell her to manage her money well and not get into the trap of debt.
Keep your faith for it is your foundation of your life. Don’t forget God, he has never forgotten you.
I would tell her to remember no one has the right to hurt you with words or with physical actions.
Be strong for yourself and remember who you are, never lose track of that.
Remember how far you have come and how hard you have worked to get there.
I would remind her of the sister’s who are watching her.
For the 8th graders, I would say to them almost the same things.
High school can be very positive and fun, make the most of it. Find one or two friends and keep them.
Stay out of ‘middle school’ drama you are not there anymore.
Find your niche, what you enjoy and what you are good at and create space for growth.
Remember it’s only four years and it will go by very quickly.
I would tell them to listen to your parents and don’t be afraid to talk to your grand parents, we might be old but we are wise in our knowledge and guidance.
I pray for all four of you. Faith, Hannah and Alexis and Samuel.
May God grant you good years full of life experiences and lessons to be learned.
Please know we will always be here for you. We will always love you no matter what you do or don’t do.
You are amazing and gifted. May you all use those gifts to be a better and kind person.
Congratulations… you made it. 
by Sharon O | May 28, 2018 | Uncategorized
This is memorial day weekend, a time for family, an extra day off of work for most and outings with friends.
The other part of this weekend is remembering the fallen.
Those who have gone to war, and not returned home.
Memorial, as in remembering. Also called Decoration Day. A day, May 30, set aside in most states of the U.S. for observances in memory of dead members of the armed forces of all wars: now officially observed on the last Monday in May. (from dictionary.com) Memorial: preserving the memory of a person or thing.
The first time I experienced a military memorial service for my best friend’s husband I was in awe of the uniformed military men who folded the flag ever so carefully. Then the gun salute… it was sobering and very sacred. The hush in the air made it almost an eerie silence.
We have a very large military national cemetery in the Portland area and when you go there you see the many stones with names on them. Each one were military or married to a military officer.
Those who served and those who lost the fight. I can’t imagine being a parent of a lost soldier. It’s hard to think about and imagine what it would be like to hear ‘they are not coming home’.
So often we minimize the sacred moments, the traditions, the flag which represents our freedom.
So often it becomes just another fun holiday to enjoy with each other, rather than a sobering remembering that freedom cost someone something.
When I sing God Bless America land that I love, I see freedom. I see patriotic moments. I see honor.
It is also a prayer request, God Bless America.
We need blessings, we have gone so far off in different directions. Yet I remind myself there are still good and honest people who are proud of our country and what our freedom’s stand for.
This is not just a weekend for fun and playing. It is a time for remembering and time to pause and say Thank You.
It is a weekend for patriotism and love for our country.
by Sharon O | May 25, 2018 | Uncategorized
Yesterday was a birthday to celebrate for us.
Our oldest grand daughter Faith Elizabeth turned 19. Now she is a full fledged adult and almost ready to drive. Ready to graduate from high school after a few little glitches. We are so proud. She has a nice little job and a nice boyfriend, too. Hard for me to realize she is grown up.
When she was born she arrived almost 8 weeks early weighing in at 2 pounds 11 ounces.
She was beautiful and very alert and strong. She was 17 inches long with very skinny legs. I was amazed at how tiny she was and in reality she was a pretty big baby in the NICU side where she slept.
I remember how we prayed over her and asking for her health to stay strong and her ability to eat good.
She was able to go home after 3 weeks weighing just over 3 pounds 9 ounces. So tiny and so precious.
I like this picture it shows her tiny hands.
At 5 1/2 months she weighed not quite 8 pounds. The normal size of most newborns.
I love this pre-school picture of her, it was one of my favorites.
I watched her for almost four years then she went to pre-school and a new babysitter who we trusted. It will forever be a special memory for me, the days and hours we spent together.
It is a great thing to be grandma and caretaker too.
.
She is grown now and she is beautiful 
Our Faith Elizabeth.
by Sharon O | May 21, 2018 | Uncategorized
Today is saw a question on face book and it made me stop and think.
It said, “You have 168 hours each week to spend on something. What are you choosing?”
That is a great question and sort of goes back to what I just wrote about.
Frittering away our money, our time and other resources is just plain wasteful.
What would it look like if we purposefully laid out our ‘time’ in focused chunks?
I know when I am writing I set aside a few hours to do that, since it takes time to process.
How much time do I fritter watching TV? or on my phone? or on the internet?
It is a great question of quality vs quantity.
How do we spend our time and how do we decide what matters?
I try to find good honorable choices. Books written by my friends are good.
Reading blogs of those who I know and encourage is good.
How much time do I prepare for meals, or shopping? It seems like the store is my go to place at least a few times a week. Maybe I could better plan using a list (gasp) Yes my husband has suggested a list.
I don’t use one but would it make it easier if I did?
How much time do we waste in a doctor’s office waiting room or sitting in the car in traffic?
Time is a gift to us. If we wake up and we are breathing the rest of the day is a bonus.
It is truly a blessing to be alive so let’s make the best of it and be productive.
Let’s choose to be wise in our time use. Let’s choose to be positive and encouraging.
Let’s choose to be productive and mark off those ‘to do’ items that haven’t been done.
Ready for the challenge? ready to change the chapters of your life for the better?
Let’s press forward and do it.
picture from Toby Mac – speak life
by Sharon O | May 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
Our Pastor has continued on the new theme of the time is now.
I find it very encouraging and also challenging, for the time is now for many things.
Our personal lives sometimes have new changes coming as we prepare and wait for the ‘newness’ to settle around us in a new home or in a new job.
The school year is soon to be over and the children will be anticipating summer, or making plans for jobs or college if they are old enough.
There will be many choices as to how to spend our time and also where we choose the direction of our goals.
Our Pastor talked about how the enemy prowls around and waits for any thing that can distract us.
He said he hustles our heart for the treasures inside for where our treasure is kept, there is our heart.
That is hard to grasp sometimes.
God doesn’t want something from us he wants something for us.
It is a blessing of spirit, and a generous attitude.
That is way different than we have been told throughout our life time.
When we give our lives to the Lord many blessings rain down upon us as we serve him.
Choices about generosity determine where our heart is resting in.
For instance my husband and I sponsor three little girls in Haiti through compassion ministries.
I feel the small amount that we pay is nothing compared to the larger amount that we fritter away each week; not counting each time we go out to eat, or purchase a ‘must needed item.’
The time is now to make decisions as to where we spend our time and our money in the future.
It is more blessed to give than receive and I see that when we get a letter from these three girls.
Their prayers for us, are precious. Their thank you notes are genuine.
As Pastor said today, “we do not give from our wealth for we all are wealthy.”
We give from our heart. God was generous to us first by sending us his son.
He looked at humanity and said, “you can’t ever earn your way to heaven, I will do it for you.”
It was a generous gift. It is for believers only. Pastor said, “it’s like receiving a medal in the Olympics on a raised platform that is used for presentation of what is due.”
We receive it just as a new graduate receives their diploma.
Pastor said, when we are generous we receive our joy. It is all about a heart condition.
The time is now for us to decide, about giving, keeping and being genuine.
It is a blessing of spirit and generosity of choice. What shall we choose?
