Sweet Memories, They Do Make Me Smile

These are memories from when my children were very young. Now that they are all adults, let me tell you a little about them:

 

Benjamin helps me, with much patience, with my computer problems.

Sarah shares books and movies with me.

Rebecca sent me flowers when my kitty died.

Caleb got me dark chocolate for Mother’s Day.

And any time Ping-Hwei says, “Open your mouth,” I do not hesitate. I trust him to give me something good.

 

June 8, 1998: Sarah told Kathy today, "I know I'm supposed to love Jesus most of all, but sometimes I love the cats a little more."

 

June 9, 1998: At the optician's today, Sarah asked Murray what 700 plus 700 was. Well, what's 7 plus 7? "14," she answered. So 700 plus 700 is 1400. Sarah smiled. "There's no such thing as 1400. Hundreds stop at 900."

 

June 13, 1998: This morning, little Benjie, 18 months old, pinched Kathy. It hurt, and made her mad: "Benjamin, don't pinch me!" He chortled, "No, no, no."

 

June 16, 1998: The back yard grass got really long, so that after Murray cut it, it needed to be raked. Ping-Hwei raked it, and Sarah helped Murray put the grass in garbage bags. She came in the house and told me, "I helped Daddy clean up the hay."

 

June 18, 1998: Benjamin cried for hours this evening, and little Sarah came upstairs from the basement and rocked him to sleep. Kathy said she was a good sister, and Sarah said, "I was downstairs looking around, and I thought about how Mary took care of Jesus, and she didn't look around, so I came up to take care of Benjie."

 

A few days ago, Rebecca noticed the cat box and said, "Somebody needs to clean this cat box. Angel won't even go in it."

 

June 22, 1998: The other day Murray was out with Rebecca, and she saw a horse at a store, the kind kids ride for a quarter. In the car, she said she wanted to ride next time she was there, and told him, "It said, 'Warning, ride may start with a jolt'. I hope my ride starts with a jolt. What does that mean?"

 

June 27, 1998: Rebecca is weaving pot holders, some with cotton loops and some with nylon loops. She asked me if when I made pot holders as a kid, if I had cotton loops. I said I didn't remember, and she said, "Maybe they didn't have cotton way back then."

 

Murray used some tools, and asked Rebecca to put the hammer away. She said, "I'll put away the nose head, too." (needle nose pliers)

 

July 9, 1998: It's been raining a lot lately. Yesterday Ping-Hwei said he didn't like the rain because he didn't want his feet to get muddy. He asked if it was okay if he asked God not to let it rain any more.

 

July 19, 1998: At church Doug always says, "God is good" and all the people say, "All the time." Then Doug says, "All the time" and the people say "God is good." Yesterday Murray was telling me about a new book he got for Sarah, and he read from it that it said, "God is good," and quickly, Ping-Hwei said, "All the time."

 

July 27, 1998: Last night was YMCA night with the church. After swimming, Caleb reached into his locker to get his shoes out. He jumped up with surprise and said, "The bottom of the locker is dusty!" (He must not have been used to dust at home, right?) 

In My Inbox

When worries filled my days—about the future, about my family, my faith—God popped some verses into my inbox.

 

Matthew 6:34: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

 

Looking more at Matthew 6, I’m reminded of the uselessness of worrying about things over which I have no control.

                                                                                                                                                                       2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

 

1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

 

And the verse which I often use in my prayers when I wrestle with the thoughts in my head.

 

Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

 

Ephesians 3:17-19: “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

 

Lord, wrap me in the immenseness of your love. 

Guest Author, Janyce Brawn

Janyce Brawn shares a little with us about her writing journey. And, her book sounds like a lot of fun.

 

Hello, my name is Janyce Brawn. I live in NWPA with my husband and our “nosey” Boston Terrier, Gracie. Our three grown sons’ pranks and struggles over the years have inspired my writing and illustrating. Life in general has a way of sharpening your outlook and honing your skills. I’ve written and illustrated books since I used crayons for the pictures of the stories that my twin sister and I wrote in elementary school. We would make up plays of our understanding of Romeo and Juliet and add goofy lines for the neighborhood kids to laugh at. We let our imaginations soar, the sillier, and improbable, the better. My sister and I devoured Nancy Drew and any other mystery books we could get our hands on growing up. Often we would pretend to be explorers and go into the woods and nearby creek pretending to be Nancy Drew and her girlfriends. We discovered our own “secret place” under pine trees, and a “witch tree” that had a long, low branch that we would climb on and bounce up and down as if we were on a magical ride.

Madeline L’Engel and her book, A Wrinkle in Time, fascinated me with her unique names of characters, mystery, connected and disconnected family elements, and wonderful possibilities that all stoked my imagination. My own stories then took on an other worldly aspect.

In college, I studied art, Spanish and English as a second language and then taught for over 25 years, retiring to finally write and illustrate. I have illustrated for the Time of Singing Poetry magazine, one issue of 12-15 pen and ink illustrations each, for over 20 years. My creative works have always nurtured my spirit.  After my husband and I put our young sons in bed, and had our story time, I’d make jewelry as something feminine to balance all the maleness in my life.  My creativity grew to encompass poetry, inspirational articles, illustrations, and illustrated prayers in the Penned From The Heart anthologies, and with illustrating the chapter books Angels in the Forest, and Compassion in the City- Amish stories by Tim Moriarity.

 I love to explore imaginary worlds where I can create unique, fun characters in unusual situations. This is true in my new middle grade fantasy novel, David and the Drainosaurs. This story evolved from an exercise I did with one of my English as a Second Language students. We picked an alphabet letter (D) then opened a dictionary to the d section and closed our eyes and picked 3 words. We chose: drain, dinosaur and diamond. My student wrote his story and I wrote mine. My simple paragraph evolved from a paragraph to a picture book to a novel after winning a writing contest. The judge, an editor, told me it was a fun story but should be developed into a novel. So, my journey began, with my critique groups helping me hone the story and conferences feeding my knowledge of the craft of writing.

Likewise, my main character, David is also on a journey. He accidentally drops his mother’s diamond ring down the kitchen sink drain. In a struggle with a dinosaur-like creature, Princess Doris Drainosaurus, who thinks it’s her kingdom’s missing crown, David shrinks and falls down into Drainovia. He has three days to find the real missing crown to exchange for his mother’s ring or be stuck forever in a land where doors fly, hats teleport and treachery abounds.

In the story, David’s character goes from a basically selfish boy who wants to do only ‘his’ thing. He has to learn to put others’ needs before his before he can have any success in his quest. This parallels life too. When we serve others, we are rewarded more than we can imagine.

I hope you read my book. I’m working on a companion coloring book to go with it. Books 2 and 3 are in the works with coloring books also. You can follow me as Janyce Brawn on Facebook and you can write me at: janyce@janycebrawn.com.

Thank you for allowing me to share a bit about my writing and life. 

A Variety of Interesting Books

This is Your Time by Ruby Bridges. By the woman who, as a six-year-old in 1960, became the first black child in her all-white school. She tells how she spent her entire first grade alone in the classroom with a wonderful white teacher, because the parents of the others in her class would not let them attend. She tells of some of the children she has met while speaking at schools over the years, who give her hope, the young peacemakers.

 

The war comes to Plum Street by Bruce C. Smith. Looks at lives of a few families in a small town in Indiana, before and during World War II. This book is easy to read and has detailed descriptions of life at home and at war. Topics include shortages, rationing, and lines; factories that switched from making cars and other home items to war manufacturing; the news they heard from the radio or paper, sometimes delayed; women going to work in defense factories; news about local men and women who were killed, missing in action, or in POW camps. Marriages before husbands went away and babies born while they were gone. Descriptions of some of the war action and soldiers’ travel overseas which included local people, in the Pacific, Africa, Italy, France, Germany. It tells of soldiers’ returning home; lessening of rations until sugar was the last thing rationed; final news of those who died or who left prisoner of war camps and returned, or whose bodies were never found. Beginning new lives.

 

The Heart of a Hero by Susan May Warren. A story about professional rescuers and soldiers, and a beautiful description of Jesus’ forgiveness—“Because if Jesus can forgive you, if he paid the price for those sins, what right do you have not to forgive yourself?”

 

Strait of Hormuz by T. Davis Bunn. Suspense, takes place in Switzerland, France, and Israel.

 

The Promise of Dawn by Loraine Snelling. In 1909, a family emigrates from Norway to Minnesota and works to have a farm of their own.

 

A Promised Land by Barack Obama, the first volume of Mr. Obama’s presidential memoirs. 

Guest Author, MaryAnn Diorio

This is an excellent article on forgiveness. Thank you, MaryAnn.

 

 

“Deck the Soul with Boughs of Forgiveness”

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: I originally wrote this article one Christmas, but I believe it applies throughout the year.)

CHRISTMAS! The word evokes many feelings, depending on our experiences. For some, Christmas is a happy time, filled with beautiful memories and joyful expectations. For others, Christmas is a depressing time, a season one wants “to get over with” as quickly as possible because of bad memories associated with this time of year.

Having ministered to people for many years, I have come to the conclusion that depressing memories at Christmas time are most often related to problems of unforgiveness. Hurts from the past become more pronounced during the Christmas season, but the reason those hurts still affect us is that we have not let go of the bitterness associated with them. In short, we have not forgiven the people who have hurt us.

Why do most people have such a difficult time forgiving? I believe the main reason is that they do not understand what forgiveness really means. If you are one of those people, what follows may help you:

LET’S LOOK AT WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOT:

• Forgiveness is NOT letting someone off the hook.

• Forgiveness is NOT condoning evil.

• Forgiven is NOT being a doormat.

• Forgiveness is NOT having to trust again the person who hurt you.

• Forgiveness is NOT a feeling.

• Forgiveness is NOT an option.

NOW LET’S LOOK AT WHAT FORGIVENESS IS:

• Forgiveness IS taking the person who hurt you off of your hook and placing him on God’s hook, then praying that God will have mercy on him.

• Forgiveness IS acknowledging that evil was done but choosing to bear the consequences of that evil without retaliation.

• Forgiveness IS taking charge of your emotions.

• Forgiveness IS setting boundaries with the person who hurt you, even refusing temporary or permanent interaction with that person, if necessary. An example would be a wife who is being beaten by her husband.

• Forgiveness IS a decision.

• Forgiveness IS obedience to God’s commandment to forgive.

No matter how badly you have been hurt, choose to forgive. It’s the best thing you can do for your own well-being. Unforgiveness chains you emotionally to the person who hurt you. Forgiveness breaks that chain and sets you free.

What better time is there than the Christmas season to forgive those who have hurt us? The very essence of Christmas is the truth that God forgave humanity through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Who are we not to forgive when God has forgiven us?

So this Christmas, forgive! But don’t just forgive. Ask to be forgiven. As the Word of God tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All of us need not only to forgive but also to be forgiven. And as long as we are on this earth, it is never too late to forgive or to be forgiven.

____________________________________________________

Copyright 2015-2021 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

 

MaryAnn Diorio is a widely published, award-winning author of five novels, two novellas, and eight children’s books. Her novel, In Black and White, won First Place in Historical Fiction in the 2020 Christian Indie Awards Contest. MaryAnn’s latest novel, Miracle in Milan, takes the reader on a tension-filled journey back in Italy, where MaryAnn’s trilogy, The Italian Chronicles, also took place.  MaryAnn is married to her awesome husband of 51 years. They have two amazing adult daughters, a very smart son-in-law, and six rambunctious grandchildren. When not writing, MaryAnn loves to read, play the piano and mandolin, and make up silly songs with her grandchildren. You can learn more about MaryAnn and her writing at https://www.maryanndiorio.com

 

Title: Miracle in Milan - A Novel

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Blurb: A young, female auditor discovers convincing evidence that the man she loves is an embezzler.

Psalm 119:169-176, Taw

ת Taw

May my cry come before you, Lord;

    give me understanding according to your word.

May my supplication come before you;

    deliver me according to your promise.

May my lips overflow with praise,

    for you teach me your decrees.

May my tongue sing of your word,

    for all your commands are righteous.

May your hand be ready to help me,

    for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, Lord,

    and your law gives me delight.

Let me live that I may praise you,

    and may your laws sustain me.

I have strayed like a lost sheep.

    Seek your servant,

    for I have not forgotten your commands.

 

 

Father, you know that I have strayed. Thank you that you seek me still. Thank you, Lord, that I can cry to you for help. Help me praise you, Father. 

Sweet Memories, Fun Times

March 19, 1998: It's snowing today, and this morning, Sarah said, "I know why it's snowing. Tomorrow's spring, and so the snow wants to say, 'Good-by!'"

 

Later, we were joking around at breakfast, and Sarah said, "I was so happy, my shoe fell off."

 

March 22, 1998: Sarah asked Murray, "When we're not at Grandma Brinkmann's house, does she speak English?"

 

Sarah wanted some of Murray's drink, and when he said no, she said, "Please -- I won't say ‘Ew’ for your germs."

 

Murray told Sarah that Rebecca had had tubes in her ears when she was a baby and, no, they weren't still in her ears. Sarah asked, "What part of her body did they come out?" Murray said her ears, of course. "What part of her body did they put them in?"

 

April 1, 1998: We recently got some new pillows. Sarah went to bed with one of them, but she thought it smelled unfamiliar. "When will it start to smell like us?"

 

This weekend, the kids asked Murray if they could get a toy from a vending machine in a grocery store. Murray helped Sarah buy her toy; she may never have used a vending machine before. He showed her the hole where to put the money, and the handle. She put the money in, and he said, "Now, turn." Obediently, she stood and spun herself around in a circle.

 

April 3, 1998: Yesterday Rebecca informed us, "I know exactly what I'm going to do when I grow up, and I'm not going to change my mind this time." She is going to work with snow leopards, either in a zoo, or hiking to find them in Asia.

 

Last night Sarah was trying to get me to put something away for her, and I was trying to get her to do it herself. She said pleadingly, "That's what Mommies are made for, to help people."

 

Murray has taught the kids that April fool's jokes are for all of April, not just April 1. This afternoon, I told Ping-Hwei to do his Chinese school homework. A few minutes later he told me, "I can't find my Chinese homework." I said he needed to keep looking for it. He said, "April fool!" He was so proud of himself, he kept saying, "April fool; I tease you."

 

April 9, 1998: The other day I was singing "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down." Sarah started singing, "A spoon full of mud helps the sugar go down," and I said, "Oh, Sarah, stop that silliness." She protested, "It's just silliness, not meanness."

 

April 30, 1998: A while after telling them that they could play out for 15 more minutes, Murray went outside to tell the kids to come inside, and Sarah was angry that the time was already up. She said, "It was her that wasted all our timeout here!" Pointing at Rebecca, she shouted, "Her!"

 

May 2, 1998: Yesterday, Caleb went horseback riding with the kids from the Visual Impaired room at school, and, of course, he's been talking about it for weeks. Yesterday morning, I was singing with Benjamin's toy radio, "Zippity do-dah, zippity day!" and Caleb said, "I think today's going to be a zippity do-dah day."

 

May 4, 1998: After going to their room for bed, Rebecca read to Sarah, both sitting on Rebecca's bed. There were some loud words after a while, and Murray looked in. Rebecca was kind of mad: "She promised me she would stay awake, and she keeps falling asleep." "But there's no way people can keep from falling asleep when they're that tired," Murray explained. "But she could sit up, and she won't." When Murray next looked, Sarah had her hands on her cheeks, holding her eyes open.

 

May 8, 1998: Rebecca was doing her spelling words tonight, and spelled, "constellation." “What does it mean?” I asked. "When you constellute someone," she responded.

 

May 28, 1998: Rebecca had a question about her shoes today: “Can we throw these away? They're broken (cracked) and have spider blood on them. “I don't see any spider blood on them, Rebecca,” Murray said. “Well, I know they do, because I stepped on a lot of spiders."

 

June 5, 1998: Tonight Caleb told us that he had heard once of a man who had been building a cage for alligators and one of the alligators had bit his hand off. Sarah asked, "So was he able to build the cage?"