Build Me A Son

I subscribe to different email devotions. I thought I'd share the one below. My thoughts are shared after the devotion...

BUILD ME A SON

The following prayer was written by General Douglas MacArthur:

"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is
weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be
proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

"Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should
be; a son who will know Thee....Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease
and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion
for those who fail.

"Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a
son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who
will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into
the future, yet never forget the past.

"And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of
humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too
seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity
of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

"Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, 'I have not lived in vain.'"

Though most of us are not nearly so eloquent, I suspect that all
Christian parents have uttered a similar prayer. Mindful of the great
responsibility that God has given those of us with children, we pray
fervently that God would help us as we strive to train our children in the
ways of the Lord.

While still childless, Hannah made this vow to God: "O Lord of hosts,
if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember
me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male
child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life...." (I
Samuel 1:11). It was a vow she kept, and her son Samuel became one of the
greatest spiritual leaders Israel ever knew.

May Hannah's prayer and Gen MacArthur's prayer be the prayer of all
Christian parents this day.
-Alan Smith


God has blessed me with three girls and two boys. Being that this devotions was about boys, I'll keep to the topic of my boys.

I've said it over and over, how blessed I am. I'll never tire of saying it and I'll never stop believing it. I'm blessed in so many ways. One way I'm blessed, is to have the best husband in the world. I know we all feel "ours" is the best. In my heart I know he was meant for me. He was meant to be the father of my children. We are meant to grow old together.

The prayer above was written by General MacArthur, many years before I was born. When I read his prayer, my Knight came to mind. This is how I see him. He is all that, that prayers asks for and more. My heart's desire is for my Squires, my little boys to grow up and be the best "they" can be. Not that they have to "be" like their dad, but strive to be the best that "they" can be.

My Knight leads by example. He's a great role model. Not just for my boys but for those around him. He makes those around "want" to do better. He's a good leader with incredible character. God has blessed him and used him in mighty ways. God has brought him through storms. Like Job, he chooses to praise God and give Him all the glory. He continues to be challenged and stretched. Still he rises to the occasion. Reminds me of Matthew 25:14-29. I know it talks about "talents of money", but I believe it can also be applied to other areas of our lives, not just monetary.

One of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln says, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. " I find this to be so true. Power does not corrupt, but the "love" of power does. My Knight is the head of our family, he is a leader in his work place, he is a leader at our church, he's a leader in our community.

My prayer for my boys are that they grow up to be the men that God intends for them to be. That they be men after God's own heart. I pray they walk the straight and narrow road and not deviate. I hope they keep their eyes focused on Him who went before them. When they stumble and fall, that they learn their lesson and press on. My heart is full of hope for them. May they always know that they are not alone, that God is always with them. All they have to do is... follow in His steps...

Thursday Thirteen #19

Yesterday, Lisa asked a group of us to share 10 things that made us smile. I thought that would make a great TT list. Being that it's 5:36am, not much has happened today. So I will share 13 things that made me smile yesterday...

1- Thoughts of my Knight- he makes my heart skip beats.

2- Soaring Amongst The Clouds and her "isms"- she makes up her own words.

3- Still Waters and her logic- I kid you not, she's like Spock in Star Trek. She gets that from my Knight.

4- Daughter of the King's twinkling eyes- her eyes speak volumes.

5- The sound of my G.I. Joe's voice- he is 13 so his voice is sounding deeper, my baby is growing up.

6- My Warrior playing with his beanie babies- he had them sliding down the stair handrail.

7- Watching the Gypsy Kings video of the song, Volare- made me think of Abuela Caky. I remember her singing it once when I was younger.

8- Tuesday night, was the final of Dancing with the Stars. We are big fans of Apolo Anton Ohno. We taped it and watched Tuesday morning. I enjoy watching people dance. I also enjoy dancing. :o)

9- Tuesday night was the finale of The Bachelor- Officer and a Gentleman- the final rose. We taped it and watched it during lunch. The Bachelor picked the young lady we all wanted him to pick. :o)

10- My children are all outside practicing baseball/softball. Seeing them all working together, helping each other out fills my heart with joy.... how can I not smile at that?!

11- The thought that my Knight will be working out of our home tomorrow Friday. I love it when he's home.

12- I finally found a song that I've been looking for quite some time. I didn't know the name to it, but a jazz station played it. They happen to have a website and I was able to find the title. It's called, Europa- Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile by Gato Barbieri. If click on the name and scroll down, you can hear the song. :o) It was one of my favorite songs when I was a teenager. Now that I've found it, I'm going to order it. :o)

13- The thought that one day I'll be with my Lord and Savior.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.

* sadness- My friend's nephew died in a car accident. He was 19. Brought back memories of when my brother passed on, he was also 19.

* joy- My Warrior got a good hit off of the league's best pitcher- Big Al, he's 12. Not only that, but he got on base too. This is the second time he's done that. Oh... there is only one other player who's done that and he's 12. My Warrior is 10. :o)

* contentment- Spending time with my family, sitting, talking and laughing.



Soup
Name a car you’d love to have.

* Would a motorcycle count? I'd like to have a Gold Wing. Not for me to drive it, but for me to ride it with my Knight. IF that doesn't count, then I'd like to have an RV.



Salad
Describe your typical morning routine.

* I log on to my computer and read my online devotions. Get my emails and read the ones that are asking for prayers. I go see what my children are up to. Help with school work (we homeschool), if they need it. Start a load of laundry. Watch the news. Check to see if I have errands to do. By that time, it's lunch time. You see, I get up around 8-8:30a. My children let me sleep in. :o)



Main Course
Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?

* We all know what famous is, or we think we know what it is. So I looked it up. Dictionary.com says: famous- 1) having widespread reputation, usually of a favorable nature; renowned; celebrated: a famous writer. 2) informal. first-rate; excellent: the singer gave a famous performance. 3) notorious (used pejoratively). Not only did I look up this word, but I looked up the other words in the description of this word and the description of the words those words too.

So, what is famous to me, might not be famous to some one else. With that said, my answer would have to be yes. I have emailed someone famous... my Knight. Yes, he did/does reply.



Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?

*Yes....

Y-hot

Y-rock

To partake in other feasts visit Friday's Feast a buffet for your brain.

Thursday Thirteen #18

I'm blessed to have five children. My dream was to have a dozen. Ok, you can pick up you jaw from the floor or wipe your computer screen from what you just spewed on it. I've always wanted to have a large family. I was always thinking of what I would name them. I even bought a book of baby names when I was in 10th grade!

In my family blog, A Glance Into My World, I wrote an entry about how fascinated I am with names. I shared about what our names means and the story of how we came to be named. If you are interested in names you can go to Baby Names World and search for names.

On my TT #16 list, I wrote a list of girl names I liked. To be fair, I thought I'd share some boy names I've always liked.

* Joseph

* Daniel

* Giovanni

* Andre

* Andrew

* Manuel

* Alejandro (Alexander)

* Demetri (Demetrio)

* Caleb

* Michael (Michaelangelo)

* Anjelo

* Paolo (Gianpaolo)

* Giancarlo

I know, what can I say, I have something for Italian names. :o) Do you have a favorite male name? Care to share it? Is there a reason why you like it?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Tell about a time when you had to be brave.

*I've had to be brave a few times. So lets see... oh, ok. In 2003 I was diagnosed with chiari malformation with a herniation of 12mm and hydrocephalus. Chiari malformation is a brain disorder. Basically it's a disorder which causes the brain to herniate down into the spinal canal. My herniation is 12mm. Hydrocephalus is a cerebrospinal fluid build up in the brain. This explained why I had been suffering with debilitating headaches all my life. I had to have two separate brain surgeries. The first one was to install a shunt, to help drain the cerebrospinal fluid. The second one was a decompression with duraplasty and a laminectomy of C1. Which means, they had to create a little more room to alleviate my brain. Their is no cure for chiari. This surgery is a last resort. Only done when there is a threat of symptoms getting worse. Having any kind of surgery is dangerous... specially when they put you under. I had a peace about both surgeries. I knew that a God was in control and whatever happened it was for the best. I hope that in the eyes of my five precious children I was a brave mom.

Soup
Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing?

* Ah... that would have to be... Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End

Salad
Name an item you try to always have on hand.

* A card. You never know when you have to send someone an uplifting note. Oh, and coke. I'm a coke addict. Coca cola that is. :o)

Main Course
Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it!

* That would have to be my family room. It's the hub of our home. Our navy blue, soft, leather sectional couch sits 10. The two seats in the end recline. The couch is up against our 8 foot wide and 5 1/2 foot tall window. The window looks over our pool and 4 out of 5 of our acres. There is a door to the right of the window that opens up to the pool patio. We have a counter that separates our family room from the kitchen. The counter is filled with picture frames, which contain pictures of my family. The wall to the left of the window has a bookcase filled with movies we've collected through the years. On top of that bookcase, we have trophies our children have won. Up against the wall to the left of that is our pine wood, entertainment center. Which holds out tv, dvd and cd player. To the right of the center is where we store some of our cd's. To the left is where we store some more movies. On top of the entertainment center we have some more picture frames with pictures of my children and some more trophies. The wall to the left of the center has some more picture frames. One of the picture frames is a collage of pictures my children put together for me for Mother's Day last year. It's one of my favorites. The pictures are all in black in white. Across our blue couch we have a solid oak wood couch with clue cushions that were upholstered by Daughter of the King. It seats three people. On our couch you can always find a soft blanket or a throw. In front of our entertainment center I have a couple of baskets. Some hold my boy's school work. On holds 10 scrapbooking albums. Another basket holds some more cd's. The ceiling in our family room is high vault. We have a long white fan. When you look up you can see a wooden rail and the hallway upstairs. You can also see pictures hanging on the wall. They are drawings that we made by Still Waters. One picture frame has magazine that some pictures of Soaring Amongst The Cloud was featured in when she use to play soccer. The family room is my favorite room. It's were we all hang out.

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you?

* Mmmm... I really don't consider myself as being spiritual or religious. I do have a personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. On a scale of 1-10, how much I love Him, I would say 10. Do I always show it... no. But I strive to show Him every day.

To partake in other feasts visit Friday's Feast a buffet for your brain.

Thursday Thirteen #17

In honor of Mother's Day, my list will be about what I've learned from the two most important women who raised me, my mom and my abuela. Now there are many things that I've learned from them, but since this is a Thursday Thirteen list, I have to limit my list.

* I remember my mom taking me and my sister up to the front window of our home. She would have us looking out the window right around the time my dad was expected to be home. When we spotted him, she would say (in Spanish), " Look who's walking up the side walk! IT'S the BEST DADDY in the WHOLE WORLD!" - I learned that a wife has the power to build up or tear down her husband... I learned to edify my husband.

* My abuela didn't learn to drive till she was a grandma. - I learned that you are never too old to try something new.

* While I was growing up, my abuela had two jobs. She worked as a housekeeper/nanny and she worked at the hospital as a unit secretary. She never complained. - I learned there is good that comes out of having good work ethics.

* My mom always had dinner ready when my dad got home from work. We always ate together. - I learned that having a routine is good for a family.

* My mom always enjoyed (and still enjoys) watching, I Love Lucy. Probably cause she was free spirited and spontaneous like Lucy. I remember many last minute, "let's go to the...." trips. -I learned that spontaneity brings balance.

* My mom had (has) a temper. At times she would punish me out of anger. -I learned that punishing out of anger is wrong.

* My mom was always telling my brother (in Spanish), that he should treat ladies like the petal of a rose. -I learned that we (men and women) matter... we are worthy.

* I am 43 years old. In my lifetime, I don't ever recall ever seeing a blemish on my mom's face. She rarely used make up. If she did, it was a little rouge on her cheeks and lips. -I learned that their is nothing like natural beauty. God fashioned us after His own image... why mess with it?!

* Abuela was a very kind, loving and giving lady. Even when she was treated unkind, she abided by the Golden Rule: do to others as you would have them do to you. There was a person that was interested in a family member. In the beginning this person treated her kindly. Once the person married into our family, this person wanted nothing to do with Abuela. This person wouldn't even acknowledge her. It hurt to see this, but she was still kind, loving and giving of her love and time. -I learned that love can overcome any obstacle.

* Abuela always wore soft, cotton batas. That's Spanish for house dresses. LOL! Her dresses were always made out of pretty, small flower prints. She didn't wear bright colors. They were always soft pastels. -I learned that it doesn't matter what's "in" , if you like it wear it. Oh, guess what's my favorite style dress... soft, cotton country dresses. I have over 12 of them hanging in my closet. :o)

* When my mom met my Knight. She said, that's the one you should marry. -I learned that parents do know best. Who else would have your best interest at heart?

* My mom and abuela always had a rocky relationship. They were (are) both strong willed, independent women, with big hearts. It was always best if things went their way for all those around. LOL! -I learned that I can't always have it my way. That it's not all about me.

* My mom doesn't tell me that she loves me. Words don't come easy to her. She does show me, in her own way, that she loves me. She'll call and tell me to be careful in the parking lots. That I should do my errands during the day. To be careful when it rains. Not to go out when it's too late, that the roads are too dark. She'll read articles to me over the phone. Tells me about radio segment she heard, regarding a health issue. When I had my two brain surgeries, she came to help take care of me. It's her way of saying, I love you. -I learned that actions speak louder than words, but it's good to hear the words too.

I love my mom. I love my abuela. They helped to shape me into the woman I am today. I owe them so much. I know that girls sometimes wince at the thought of being like their mom. There are things about my mom, that makes me think, "I don't want to be like my mom." BUT when I think back, there are many things about my mom, that I'm proud to think, "I'm just like my mom!"

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Name something you would not want to own.

* At this present time, a Suburban. Gas prices are over the top. With all the running around I do, I would spend a fortune in gas. I do wish I had a mini van. I miss my van. It was totaled two yeas ago. I was sentimentally attached to it.

Soup
Describe your hair (texture, color, length, etc.).

*I have soft, thin, curly hair. It's dark brown with natural almond highlights. I have gray hair scattered throughout. It's about 5 inches past my shoulders.

Salad
Finish this sentence: I’ll never forget ___________.

* How even though I was surrounded by loved ones, I felt alone and empty when I was told my brother had died. How on the delivery table, right after I had delivered Souring Amongst The Clouds, I looked at my Knight and told him, "Let's have another one." Ten months later, Still Waters was born. ;o) How I always said, "I don't want to be thirty and pregnant." Guess what, on my 30th b-day, I was pregnant, with G.I. Joe, and The Warrior was born 2 1/2 years later. I have so many, "I'll never forget..." moments.

Main Course
Which famous person would you like to be for one day? Why?

* If only for one day... I would like to be Audrey Hepburn. I wrote an entry about Audrey Hepburn a while ago. She was what I envisioned a lady would be like. She always seemed soft, sweet, gentle, loving and kind. But always had this look of wistfulness. I would like to know what she was thinking and feeling. Not to mention that I thought she had an incredible sense of style. She was a great humanitarian. She was an extraordinary lady.

Dessert
Write one sentence about yourself that includes one thing that is true and another thing that is not.

* This should be fun. Which one do you think is true? I'll post the answer in a couple of days... 1- I enjoy reading but can't because it makes me dizzy. 2- I'm a morning person.

Thursday Thirteen #16

In my family blog, A Glance Into My World, I wrote an entry about how fascinated I am with names. I shared about what our names means and the story of how we came to be named.

I thought I'd share some names my girls are thankful I didn't name them. I don't know why, because they are truly beautiful names. But I guess, when you are use to hearing your own name, any other name would not be the same...

* Penelope

* Anastasia

* Gabriella

* Samantha

* Mia

* Maiya

* Isabella

* Natasha

* Aphrodite

* Danielle

* Annabelle

* Guinevere

Share a name you like? Is there a story why you like it? Where did you hear that name?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants