Inspired to Journal

There are many reasons I write. I began to enjoy journaling when Ashley and Paul were babies. I quickly became discouraged by the limited information their "baby books" contained. I dutifully documented each milestone and new tooth, but found nowhere to record the funny things they'd say or do. There was no page to hold their mother's thoughts as she rocked them back to sleep in the quiet of night.

As my children get older, I enjoy reading through memories that I likely would have forgotten. One day, when they are older and perhaps have children of their own, they will be able to read the stories from their childhood and their mother's thoughts as she watched them grow.

No one knows when God will call you home. Several months ago hearing the word cancer from my doctor made me think about this. A lot. Fortunately, the outlook was very positive and praise God I am now cancer free. But the reality is that one day, I may not be here and I always want Ashley and Paul to know how much they are loved.

So, the journal writer turns blogger. The blog will provide a way to digitally preserve precious memories while sharing them with family and friends. I enjoy scrapbooking, but never seem to have the time. I am hoping this will be a more efficient way to share the stories behind the photos.

Leaving a Legacy

I have fond memories of my grandparents. As I grew up, I took notice of the qualities that made them who they were.

Grandmama and Granddaddy Armstrong (my mother's parents) lived in Creswell and we would often visit them on Sunday afternoons. Without fail, Grandmama would invite us into her tiny little kitchen for "a party". She always had grape soda and snack cakes/cookies on hand to entertain her young guests. If I had to choose one word to describe her, it would be selfless. She always gave the best she had to someone else. When I think about Granddaddy Armstrong, I picture him playing his guitar quoting Scripture from memory. Or letting me style his hair when I was little. And getting me to try and spell "Nebuchadezzar". I can see him chuckling right now. It has been ten years since he took his last breath, and my eyes still fill with tears when I think about how much I miss him. Ashley and Paul would have really liked him.

Grandmama and Granddaddy Rath's home was in Roper and their cottage was just down the road. I remember that they were always very neighborly and could be often found visiting friends. Grandmama loved her rose garden and always seemed to be bringing someone a colorful bouquet. I can easily picture Granddaddy with his Polaroid camera making that silly noise with his tongue to get you to look at the camera. And the saying 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' could have been his motto. Granddaddy could take what one might consider junk and make it work again.

I can see a little of each of my grandparents in myself. I love hosting children's parties, gardening, and photography. And one day I hope to have the level of Biblical understanding that Granddaddy A. had after a lifetime of study.

I am so grateful for the Christian heritage my grandparents had in common and instilled in my parents. My grandparents left behind a legacy of their Christian faith and used their talents to serve God. I see my parents following in their footsteps.


Now, as little eyes watch me everyday, I find myself thinking about the legacy I want to leave for my own children. As parents, we have the opportunity and responsibility of continuing our spritual legacy through the lives of our children. Our actions speak louder than our words, so modeling our faith in our everyday lives becomes critical. Just as those before us have used their individual talents to serve God, we must do the same.

In adition to modeling our faith, praying scriptural blessings for our children is crucial. Pray that God will fill our children with His Holy spirit and show them how to exercise their spiritual gifts and enable them to bear all the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Eph 5:18, 1 Cor 12:4-28, Gal 5:22-23).

What will your spiritual legacy be? Every moment matters.

Glimpses from the Past

One of the college courses within my minor inlcuded a course in family relations. One of the requirements was completion of a family history project. I realized that unlike most of my peers, I had the rare opportunity to interview all four of my grandparents. Now, 11 years later, all four have been called home to meet their Heavenly Father and be reunited with their loved ones.

Having grown up near my grandparents, I knew them well, but learned much more during those interviews. Stories about their childhoods, marriage proposals, and even what my parents were like as children were recorded on video. These stories along with photos and family genealogy were gathered into a book to complete the project. Who knew a class assignment would become something I would eventually treasure? While the video quality isn't the best, I'm planning to transfer these videos to DVD to give to our family members at Christmas. I hope they will enjoy them as much as I have.

Each family has its own unique stories. There are anecdotes my parents share that no one else can convey quite the way they do. So, the next phase of this project will be interviewing my parents using the same questions that I posed to my grandparents. If you would like to preserve your family memories for your own children through the use of oral histories, the interview format I use can be found here.