Grandchildren the Summer, Fall & Praying for Them

One month from today my grandsons begin their new school year -the summer has just flown by! I suspect this last month will do the same as they will be going on vacation, their poppa and I will have our yearly summer days of fun with them and it looks like they will participating in the Mud Run again this year - a busy August for sure!

It is National Ice Cream Day!

I have three sweet boys at my house today and since it is National Ice Cream Day, we are celebrating! The first thing the boys wanted to do to celebrate was to eat ice cream - of course! So, while I do not typically let them have ice cream at 9am, since it is National Ice Cream Day, I said, "Yes!"

It is likely they will have more ice cream later in the day . . . after all, it is National Ice Cream Day!

So, in honor of National Ice Cream Day, here are some fun facts about Ice Cream which I found at this link . . . 

Heritage

When I was a child I looked forward to visiting my grandparents; and especially to sleep-overs! I have many wonderful memories of riding in my grandpa's car on the way to their house in the country for a sleep-over (they lived about six miles from my home in a small, "Norman Rockwell-town"). My grandpa always asked me to sing my Sunday school songs in the car on the way to his house . . . and I sang them at the top of my lungs! (It always embarrassed my older sister when I sang in Sunday school, but my grandpa loved to hear me sing - which amazed and delighted me!)

I remember the aroma of fresh-baked bread in my grandma's kitchen . . . and being given a fresh-from-the-oven slice of bread with Peter Pan Peanut butter on it . . . is there possibly a better, or tastier treat???!!!

"God Knows Something We Do Not!"

I talk a lot about handing down a heritage of faith to my grandsons; this is something which really matters to me. I want my grandsons to grow up to love, know and walk with God, all of their lives. So, we have conversations about Who God is and how very much He loves them. My husband and I do activities to get the boys' attention and help them understand how much God loves them and they are able to love Him back. We talk about how much God loves them and they truly are able to love Him back!

Please Share Your Prayer History

I (Lynda) am working on a new book - The DNA of Praying Grandparents & Parents. I hope to complete it the beginning of September, but am asking for your help. I would love, absolutely love to be able to include a chapter which shares accounts from people across the country - and even from around the world - about how God has answered their prayers. 

So, I am asking for your help. If you would be willing to share your, "Prayer History", some of how God has answered your prayers, or the prayers of your family, please email me at lyndagcj@gmail.com  I'm not looking for pages and pages of your "Prayer History", just a few sentences or a paragraph which share about a time when God answered your prayers.

I would be honored to include in my book how God has answered your prayers - please email me and feel free to share this with others who you know have experienced the way God answered their prayers as well.

#grandmas #handingdownthefaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose

Notes from Jesus

As surprising as it may seem, the Summer is half over. For me, the first half has been filled with lots of wonderful time with my grandsons and has just "flown" by! I'm sure the second half will go quickly as well, so I want to be sure I make the most of the time I am blessed to spend with these three boys. 

We are working on a project to help them learn to pray Scriptures back to God and pray for the pastors and teachers at church. We are also taking time each day they are here to read one devotion from the new book by Mikal Keefer and Group Publishing - Notes from Jesus.

Joani Schultz (one of the Grandmas with Heart) sent me this book to review and today I'm very happy to let you know about it. 

Please Help Get the Word Out

For seven years I've been writing grandma's cookie jar and am honored by how many of you check each day, or every few days to see what I'm writing. Thank you!

This year I - with seven other wonderful ladies - started a new blog - Grandmas with Heart. While there is some "overlap" between grandma's cookie jar and it, we do post articles unique to it as well. So, today I'm asking you to please check out Grandmas with Heart - if you have not already - and to please help us spread the word about Grandmas with Heart. Please "like", "follow" and "share" as well as invite the grandmas (and grandpas and parents) you know to check it out, too.

Thank you!

Experience Joy

How often have you heard grandparents and parents say, when talking about the children they love, the most important thing to them is for their grandchild or child to be happy? Our world chases after happiness. We think more, bigger, better, newer, cooler will all equate to happiness. But it does not. Oh, yes, people may be “happy” for a few moments, until what they have is no longer more, bigger, better, newer or cooler.

Happiness depends on situations, and as we know, situations change – all too fast. What people are really looking for is joy; and it is not found in things. So, where do we find joy? God’s Word tells us – look at Psalm 100 . . . A Psalm for giving thanks.

God Delights in His Creation

In one of the devotions in the Grandmother's Bible from Zondervan, Jan Silvious focused on Psalm 139:1-12. She said, "It's true it's all about God, but in the long run, He is all about you. He created you, gave breath to your lungs and sustains your life . . . His love for you is without bounds. His interest in you is intense. . . He created you with purpose and ability . . . He is God. He created you and He absolutely adores His creation. Pass this good news on to your grandchildren. They know you love them, but the greater news is God, Who created them, loves them without limit."

Faithful

Faithful is a word we use as Christians, but do we really understand what it means? Dictionary.com defines it as follows . . .

Reaching the Hearts of Your Grandchildren

One of the things I want to do here on the grandma's cookie jar blog is to let you know about resources and opportunities for you which will equip and encourage you to hand down the faith to your grandchildren. So, today I am very happy to let you know about two opportunities for you to hear from John Stonestreet (president - The Colson Center) and Larry Fowler (president - Legacy Coalition). John and Larry will be discussing "Four Big Cultural Shifts and How to Help the Next Generation Navigate Them" and "The Amazing Influence of a Grandparent", respectively, on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT in Petoskey, Michigan and Thursday, August 2, 2018 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT, in Traverse City, Michigan.

I Have a Winner

I am happy to say DeeDee McIntyre is the winner of one  Personalized Dog Walker Athletic Dept. T-Shirt. (You will find all the details at this link.) 

Thank you DeeDee for reading grandma's cookie jar, please email me by July 18, 2018 at lyndagcj@gmail.com  so I am able to have it sent to you. Thank you also to  GiftsForYouNow for making it available for me to review and give away.

Give Your Grandchildren What Truly Matters

It is very important; absolutely essential, for us as grandparents to remember you can do which is vitally important for your grandchildren. What is this “absolutely essential … vitally important thing”? It is to give your grandchildren something only you are able to give - your attention.

I can not over-emphasize how important it is for us to give our attention to our grandchildren. When they want to talk to us or ask us something, we need to put down what we are doing (especially if it is using our smart phones, computers, tablets, etc) and look them in the eye while they tell us whatever it is they want to tell us.

Facebook Profile Photo Frames from Grandmas with Heart

If you are on facebook you may be interested in the Grandmas with Heart profile photo frames. Just click on your profile photo and when the box pops up you will see two options - change your photo or add a frame. If you click on the add a frame, and then type in "grandmas with heart" in the box above the frames, you will see the frames we made . . . here's a look at the Grandmas with Heart facebook photo frames . . .