Grandmas Matter!

There is an article which has been "floating around" the internet where it talks about elephant grandmas; apparently research shows baby elephants are more likely to survive if there is a grandma elephant in their herd. Newsweek Tech and Science reported on this; they said - "Turns out grannies are very important to baby ellies. New research conducted over four decades in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park shows female elephants with a living mother have better chances at reproduction and give birth to babies more likely to survive." They studied 3,000 elephants in Southern Kenya for 42 years and discovered, “having an experienced mother, one who knows how to respond to their calf's demands and how to keep them close by, makes a huge difference in whether a baby elephant survives—having a grandma adds much needed extra help.”

Impact Future Generations on Purpose

What we say and do now has the potential to influence not just our children and grandchildren, but our great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren and following generations. Be intentional. Grandparent on purpose. Focus upon handing down the faith so not one of those who follow you are lost. Not one.   #grandmas #handingdownthefaith#itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose

A Prayer for Your Grandchildren, Because God is Bigger!

Are there storms on your grandchildren’s horizons, or are they already caught in a torrential downpour? If so, what is the reality of their storms?

• Are they one step behind the other students in their class?
• Are they pushed to excel?
• Are they having trouble making friends?
• Are they addicted to video games?
• Are they navigating two homes, two schedules and two set of rules, all in the wake of divorce?

There is power in Jesus’ name. He is, “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). With that in mind, let us pray:

Help Your Grandchildren Learn to Pray!

If we are serious about knowing and walking with God, we must be people who pray. If we are serious about helping our grandchildren know what it is to know and walk with God, we must do all we are able to do to help them learn to pray.

We - and they - may think prayer is difficult, but you are able to help them learn to pray by teaching them to pray Scripture back to God. Pick a passage and make it into a Scripture prayer, then connect with your grandchildren and share the prayer with them. Make it your and their prayer for a week, or even a month. As you all pray God's Word back to Him, you will all learn more about talking with God - and most importantly - you will all learn more about God and walking with Him. This is handing down the faith and it matters!   #grandmas #handingdownthefaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose 

Be the Precious Gem to Your Family

Oh yes, we grandmas (and grandpas, too) are a precious, valuable gem; people of great value to our families . . . or at least we have the potential to be this for them. But, what does it look like for us to be this "precious gem"? Let's look at these verses for some insight . . . 

Be a Grandma with Joy & Laugh Lines!

A few months ago my grandsons and I were talking about the Fruit of the Spirit when my nine-year old grandson said he thinks of his poppa and I when he thinks of the word "joy"; my six and four year old grandsons agreed! This is one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever said about me!

While we certainly want our lives to reflect the love of God, reflecting the joy is extremely important. And, when we are people who show joy; who are quick to smile and laugh, who consistently greet our grandchildren with a smile on our face and a twinkle in our eyes, our grandchildren will be pointed to God. Why wouldn't they want a life of joy? And, why wouldn't we want our grandchildren to not just see us as people who live joy, but to remember us as such!

In this life our grandchildren will see no shortage of angry, cranky people; don't let them put you in this category. No! Live so you are firmly in the joy "category"! Live a life of joy, because, sometimes the face of God comes with laugh lines!   #grandmas #handingdownthefaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose 

Everything is Possible for God & A Prayer for Those We Love

Pray. It is one of the single-most important things for us to do for the grandchildren God has given to us. It is one of the single-most powerful things we are able to do as well as we approach our loving God who wants us to bring our concerns and joys to Him. He promises to hear. He promises to listen. He promises to answer. And God ALWAYS keeps His promises!

As a mom and grandma, there isn't anything more important to me than for my son, daughter, daughter-in-law and grandsons to grow to be people who know and love Jesus. This world is at times a scary place; it seems evil is laughed at, discounted and accepted like it has not been before . . . at least in my lifetime. As I think about the things I want to pray for those I love, I think about the things Jesus prayed for His disciples, and for all of us, as recorded in John 17. 

Jesus prayed His disciples would be protected by the power of God's name, so none of them would be lost. He did not ask God to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one, so they - and we - will have unity and the world will believe.

I believe there is good reason to pray these same things for my family and others as well . . .