From the Heart, My Favorite Things RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE, Grandtot Catch-Up, Maine (Days 3 and 4) AND Pod People

Good Friday morning!

I'm going to jump right into today's post with FROM THE HEART...

Followed by a myriad of other "thangs!"

FROM THE HEART - I want to share an article by Focus on the Family about grandparents. (I also want to make sure you know I was never a youth minister. Everything posted below is from the article.)

In my youth ministry days, I was always a little disappointed to hear that youth workers ranked pretty low on the list of “top spiritual influences” in teenagers’ lives, but it was true. Researchers found that parents and grandparents, not youth workers, were at the top of the list. But should this be surprising given the Bible’s verses about the importance of grandparents?

So, later in my youth ministry career, I turned my attention to helping parents leverage their well‐deserved position of influence in their kids’ lives. I conducted parenting seminars, wrote books on parenting and championed parent ministry in the local church. I did this for more than twenty years.

Strangely, it never occurred to me to help grandparents as well — until recently.

That’s because I am now a grandparent. And it’s also because I have discovered that grandparents are, for the most part, a forgotten, marginalized resource in the church.

Bible Verses About Grandparents:

I did a Bible study a few years ago on grandparenting. I learned that the Bible does not marginalize grandparents at all. Instead, it has a high view of grandparents and gives them a vital role in their grandchildren’s lives. There are a few Bible verses about grandparents that demonstrate this role.

One good example is in Deuteronomy 4:9. “Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

Notice the word “and” in that last sentence. We aren’t finished when our children grow up and leave home. God’s people are instructed to teach at least two generations (children and grandchildren) the stories of our faith and the greatness of our God.

Another example is Psalm 71:17‐18: “Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”

This verse kept me going for a long time in youth ministry. But this verse applies directly to grandparenting. In most cases, when the Bible speaks of the “next generation,” it is referring to our immediate families. “All who are to come” references our children’s children, namely our grandchildren as well as our great-grandchildren.

Throughout scripture, you find that grandparents (often referred to as “elders,” “forefathers” or “ancestors”) are crucial to God’s plan of salvation for the whole world. Grandparents have the responsibility of making sure that the baton of faith gets passed from generation to generation.

What if we could mobilize the more than 30 million Christian grandparents (in the United States alone) to take their role as spiritual leaders in their families more seriously? What if those grandparents intentionally committed to teaching their grandchildren about the love of Christ? How many children do you think this would impact?

Let’s take the Bible verses about the importance of Christian grandparents seriously. Remember, they are uniquely positioned and equipped to share the good news about Jesus with the people they love the most.

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I love the phrase "intentionally committed" when talking about the grandparents' role.

I also love this article!

My Favorite Things RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE - Actually, I have two new favorite places to share.

1. If you haven't been yet, Urban Suburban Antiques (located behind The Filling Station in Crestwood) is one of the nicest antique stores I have visited recently. While the pics below depict some of my favorite booths, there are SO many other things to see in this store, big and little.

And as someone mentioned in a recent review, they have a nice Ladies' Room, too...

Which is always a plus.

2. If you get off Exit 284 on 65-North, bear to the right and in a minute you will come to a small strip mall on your left which has a store called Home Re-Decor (which is attached to a Mexican restaurant).

Re-Decor is a lovely store, and while I've only visited during the Christmas season and more recently, at the beginning of the Spring season, it is a wonderful place to spend a little time enjoying pretty smells, pretty things and pretty music.

RANDOMNESS #1 - GRANDTOT CATCH-UP - Just a little something quick to represent February!

This one is constantly trying to keep up with the "big kid" in her life...

And one day she'll be taking dance classes, too, I bet!

This one got to play in her first snow last week...

With her big, handsome brother!

Is it just me, or are ALL of the Grandtots growing bigger and older at a tremendous rate of speed?

Nana, however, appears to just be growing more and more weary.

RANDOMNESS #2 - MAINE (DAYS 3 AND 4) - I may have forgotten to mention it, but Mike and I planned our trip the week AFTER the the last peak weekend. In other words, the crowds in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor were gone.

I'm not sure Bangor ever has crowds (the town where we stayed), but if anyone was ever walking on the same side of the street as we were, we had our masks on...

And so did they.

If we passed anyone on a trail, masks were worn.

Restaurants were not crowded in the least, and we were able to take masks off as soon as we sat down at our table.

All in all, the rules were the same in Maine and Alabama.

Okay. On Days 3 and 4, we spent all of our time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park (which are located next to each other). The drive was only 40 minutes from where we were staying, so we were able to visit both of those locations several times during our week in Maine.

First, and foremost, I want you to understand Maine is an extraordinarily beautiful place.

I mean it.

Anything and everything is picturesque and lovely and charming and quaint. I have six more synonyms I could use in the last sentence, but I don't want to appear pretentious. I also have six synonyms I could use with "pretentious," but I'm working on keeping things a little more "to the point."

Mikie took many pics with his phone this trip...

And I never even had to ask.

I'm hoping it is something that will continue if and when we take other trips. (His phone takes epic photos!)

You know how there's a Chick-Fil-A or a McDonald's every few blocks in the South?

Well, in Maine, Dunkin' Donuts is their Chick-Fil-A and/or McDonald's. They are EVERYWHERE, and they always have a line of cars around the building in the drive-thru.

Just a little Fun Fact for you and yours!

The town of Bar Harbor is so pretty, and even visiting after the final peak weekend (which meant a lot of the restaurants and shops were closed for the season), there were still plenty of things to do, see and eat...

Without the crowds.

Mike and I decided to go on a two-hour Nature Cruise in the Atlantic Ocean around the Porcupine Islands.

The Porcupine Islands are a group of islands immediately off the coast of Bar Harber that supposedly have a shape similar to that of a porcupine.

The porcupine shape thing is a stretch, for sure.

Bill, our expert tour guide, even thought so.

The sky was dark and the day was cold and the ocean was extremely choppy.

Bill kept telling us, "This is nothing! We've had waves come over the side of the boat before!"

It was definitely rough, and I was concerned about losing my "never-been-seasick" status, but for some unknown reason, I'm exceptionally resilient when it comes to the rocking of the boat.

I am also ridiculously proud of the above factoid, which is kinda sad.

Heavy sigh.

Speaking of Bill, here is a picture of a truly amazing man.

He was a career educator, and worked on the side for many years on rescue operations all over Acadia National Park and the surrounding waters.

He was a wonderful storyteller and guide.

When he was telling us how old the islands and other land formations were, he gave us the scholarly number of "thousands and thousands of years." Then he paused and said, "And if you want a more accurate account, Genesis 1:9-13 tells us, "On the third day, God created the land, the oceans and all the plants. And God saw that it was good."

Bill quickly became my favorite Mainer...

My favorite tour guide...

And perhaps, my favorite older gentleman of all times.

This particular Porcupine Island has been home to the area lighthouse for many, many years.

Beautiful place to live, but it looked extremely lonesome.

Our last sight to see before heading back to Bangor for the evening was a pretty famous place called Thunder Hole.

If you're lucky, you visit at the exact time the ocean crashes into the rocks and sends a huge spray of water up, up, up into the air.

The above picture was taken by Mikie.

The photo immediately following this sentence shows what Mike and I missed!

Maybe next time!

RANDOMNESS #2 - POD PEOPLE - For no other reason than Roxie was home for a day and night, we all got together for lunch after church a Sunday or two ago.

It was a wee bit chilly on this particular day, so to get outside for just a few minutes, Mike and I decided to open up the empty pod sitting in our driveway.

The reason we have an empty pod in the our driveway is because we are emptying our basement before some demolition occurs...

And some new walls and water proofing are added...

Etc., etc., etc.

This particular Sunday was going to be the only time an EMPTY pod would be in our driveway.

Two flashlights, two glow-in-the-dark remote control crazy cars, two kiddos, one Pop and one Dad at a time climbed into the pod and closed the doors.

I was wary about the kiddos wanting to play in the pod with the doors closed, but they would have it no other way...

And the noises that came from the inside of that pod sounded like there were 30, maybe 40, Grandtots jumping around, yelling, laughing and generally having a fun time.

You may want to know where Nana B was during Pod Time. I was in the pod for the first 20 minutes, and I started getting a headache not unlike the ones I used to get in the laser tag setting of long ago.

As you can tell, no one enjoyed the pod more than Pop.

While the older Tots played outside, the younger two played inside.

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA (A/K/A NANA) - Sometimes when you ask Eden to smile for a picture when she is busy playing, she will give you this look.

I do not take offense. In fact, I think it is pretty funny.

I've been taking pics of kids a long time, and it's going to take more than a cute baby glare to make me stop.

Eden may have met her match with Nana B!

It was much quieter and calmer in the house.

I spent the rest of our visiting time going back and forth between the two entirely different play areas...

And my headache was better during my time INSIDE...

Until the "piano recital" started.

What can I say?

The piano is going to be a work in progress!

I hope your upcoming weekend is full of good moments and sweet things.

I will talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda