CHILDREN ARE AN INHERITANCE FROM THE LORD

There is nothing that compares to the joy of spending time with grandchildren! I suppose the reason is that I am not as exhausted as I was with my own children. Raising 6 children often found me in a distracted frame of mind, unable to focus in on them individually as much as I would have liked. Anyway I think everyone of my 14 grandchildren is the 'cats meow ': intelligent, talented, funny, athletic, witty..........

This morning Parker , 7, ran to me and threw her arms around me in a big hug, looked up into my eyes and said, "I love you, Grandma" . Then hugging me even tighter she said, "you are so warm and I am so.......cold". Ooooolala! My heart was more than full. 

The BIble teaches that our children are an inheritance from The Lord ! What an inheritance! My hearts desire is to be the kind of grandparent that mirrors the amazing, loving God that I know. I want to be a warm, sheltering harbor for them when they are cold and hurting or overflowing with joy and fun. I want to listen to their hearts beyond what their words might be. I want to be one of their first flesh and blood examples of what Jesus is like.

Lesson of love from the Dahl house: Matthew6:33.                                                                                  

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" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you as well."

God loves to pour out love upon those who seek him .

The Joy of Chocolate Strawberries

Last night 3 of my grand daughters came for an overnight stay. Our adventure for the evening was to make chocolate dipped strawberries ! The girls love to try doing something they have never done before. They greet every new experience with exuberance and excitement to learn; overflowing with the joy of being "big enough"!
For me the joy comes from being a part of teaching them an attitude of fearlessness when attempting something new. They have no need to fear failure because I am standing right beside them to guide them and lend a helping hand. When their little hands tremble, my larger hand is available to steady and support their beginning steps.
I wonder if God feels the same about us when we flap our fledgling wings and attempt to do something that challenges us? Writing a blog definitely falls into that category for me. I am more than a little computer challenged!!( My poor daughter Rebecca has been answering nonstop phone calls as I seek instruction.) And yet,I somehow know my Heavenly Father is as close to me as I am to my grand daughters, ready to step in and guide my hand if I tremble with fear of failure or ridicule.
The best part of moving forward in spite
 of anxiety is the sweetness of the fruit of success,whether it is chocolate strawberries or a blog successfully published!
Lesson in love from the Dahl House:
Hebrews 13:5-6
For God has said, "I will never, never fail you nor forsake you". That is why we can say without any doubt or fear, "The Lord is my Helper and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me."

Continued open hands

I have walked with God sometimes with the palms of my hands clenched tight and other times with them held wide open .

Lesson in love from the Dahlhouse:

Try opening up your hands and lifting up your troubles to The Lord, Jesus. Your posture will improve! It might even put a smile on your face:)

Open Hands
Attitude, attitude, attitude! My attitude toward events taking place around me plays a monumental part in determining whether or not I finish my day in peace or anxiety, joy or anger. Recently while reading Love Does by Bob Goff I was impressed by an interesting theory. Bob who is a lawyer said that he requires his clients to hold their hands open, palms up on their laps when they are being deposed for an upcoming court case. The open hand stance helps his clients to relax and remain focused. As soon as their hands clench up they are more apt to become agitated and confuse their statements.
While meditating upon that idea I remembered years ago being told that when walking or standing I tended to exhibit poor posture because my shoulders would roll forward along with my head. My instructor advised that I turn my hands palms up and open. My shoulders automatically rolled back and my back straighten and my head was raised up. This simple action put my body in a healthy posture.
Like a lightbulb going on in my head ( so often that is how it feels when God speaks to me in His soft, gentile voice) I realized that posture has everything to do with a good attitude in life.
When I open my hands to God and lift my troubles up to him,the negitive emotions fall away. I begin to relax and become clear minded and focused. Peace takes the place of anxiety. In actuality the difficult situation may not have changed one bit, but my attitude has changed and I am in a more healthy place to face the challenge before me.
It has been almost two years since I last blogged. My good intentions to journal my walk with my daughter through pregnancy with breast cancer evaporated when her entire family of five moved in so my husband and I could help. That enabled her husband to continue to work. At 63 I became a full time mom again. Oh, the joy and fatigue!
I have so much to share about the last 2 years but.......later! My goal is to share with you the story of my life as I have walked with God, sometimes with the palms of my hands clenched tight and