It's been over a month since Lincoln Taka Williams came into the world! He was born on March 13, 2016 weighing 7 lbs 1 oz. I was blessed to be able to be with him for the first three weeks of his life as well as at his birth. Miyoko, my oldest daughter, did really well during the labor as did her husband, Jason. It is amazing to see the births of two grandchildren within 3 weeks of each other! Little Lincoln Taka is such an active boy with a gentle personality. He rolled over from his tummy to his back at two weeks! He is all boy. I cannot wait to have the Williams move to Denver this summer from LA. It will be so good to have family nearby. I am blessed!
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If you have ever become a grandparent, you will understand when I say that there is no feeling like it! Being able to watch your own child give birth to a child, was surreal and amazing! I was in the delivery room during the whole labor and was able to witness my daughter, Manami, be a courageous and strong mother-to-be. The longest labor that I had to ever endure was 8 hours from beginning to end. My daughter persevered through over 31 hours of continual contractions! She was heroic! Then, when baby Emi cried out for the first time as she entered the world, I had tears of absolute joy. It is truly a miracle to see the birth of a new life! I am still in awe...
Frank and I have been trying to figure out why the bushes in our front yard have been dying. We fertilized them. We trimmed them. We watered them. THEN, my friend, Fiona, tagged me on Facebook with this photo that my neighbor took.
All the deer have been eating our bushes! At least all our hard work to keep the bushes alive has kept these beautiful deer alive as well! We had an amazing four weeks in Africa. Frank and I visited four different churches where I was able to do a grace series for the women, and Frank preached about being a Christian businessman. We met amazing people in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Thank you to all the people we met in each of those cities! We have new special friends in each of you! You inspired Frank and me with your love, your sacrifice and your commitment to God! Hopefully, we will get a chance to visit you all again!
Of all the blessings I have in my life, nothing comes close to what I have in my marriage with Frank. He has been the love of my life for 30 years and 11 months! Frank is my soul mate, best friend and hero throughout these years. I could not be who I am today without him. To celebrate our 30 years, we took a trip to Africa to visit friends and have a bit of a vacation as well. We just returned from the best anniversary trip ever! We went to Victoria Falls and onto a wonderful safari. We were able to sit in jeeps with no windows or doors! The animals have been in this reserve for 30 years and feel comfortable around the jeeps. The rhino in the photo was just a few feet away from us. We were in the middle of a herd of water buffalos, a pride of 20 lions, and a herd of elephants. We even got to watch a leopard play with her cub for an hour. It was the most touching scene! I am so grateful for my loving, faithful and wonderful husband! Thank you for a beautiful and memorable trip honey!!! I love you forever!!!!
It's been a long four years of hard work and effort for my daughter. For those of us who have been through it, we know how much of a nail-biting time college acceptance time can be. Not only that, I can't believe that in two short months, my baby Mimi will be graduating from high school. She was not only accepted into NYU and Pepperdine but also to my alma mater Tufts University!!! She was also waitlisted at Harvard University, my husband's alma mater! Wherever she ends up going, I am and will forever be so proud of her. She is not only intelligent, but she has a beautiful heart. Her smile and her laugh are contagious with her bubbly joy exuding from her. I wish her the best and feel truly blessed to be her Mama!
Did you know that there are presently about 1500 billionaires in the world according to Forbes Magazine? You and I may not be billionaires in the world’s eyes, but the Bible tells us that we have been blessed with incomparable riches through God’s grace.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God… (Ephesians 2:6-8, NIV) Though you may not feel it, you are richer than any billionaire through his grace! Treasures are often found in dark places.
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. (Isaiah 45:3 NLT) I did not realize that some of the treasures God wanted to give me were hidden in darkness. I had to go to dark places—through dark times—to see his grace more clearly and plainly. That is where he went to give us his grace. And that is where his grace shines the brightest... We can sometimes feel insignificant, small or even worthless. Negative perceptions from our backgrounds and our upbringing can influence our thinking. Grace teaches us to think differently about ourselves and about others. God wants to work powerfully through us through his grace.
You don’t have to be perfect to be used by him. God already knew that you are full of flaws, defects and blemishes. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! (Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message) We can often feel unlovable, especially if someone really knew us. A lot of us walk around hating ourselves even as Christians. We, then, assume that God couldn't love someone like us. Ask yourself: Would God sacrifice his Son for someone he didn’t love? When someone mentions grace, we understand that it is God's love that motivated him. But do we really appreciate and comprehend its true and incredible meaning? The Bible says that we were enemies of God—rejects in God’s eyes and unlovable because of our sins. We were sinners who did not deserve to be loved.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. (Romans 5:8-10, NLT) The reality is that Jesus died for you when you were the most unlovable, not when we were the most righteous. To God, you are always lovable, because nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God! (Romans 8:39) |
AuthorI love writing. It has always been my passion. I also love people and helping others. Archives
May 2022
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