Mothers

First of all "Happy Mother's Day" all you mothers. May your children rise up and call you blessed. May they appreciate the life you helped to give them and all your sacrifices throughout the years.

Yesterday at church we had a wonderful service honoring godly mothers. There were several poems and songs. Anyone who wanted to share about their mothers was encouraged to do so. Terry S. was the M.C. and did a wonderful job sharing about his mother, grandmother, and other older ladies of the church. One thing he asked was for us to share our mother's favorite verse.

When my mother died we were asked what her favorite verse of the Bible was so it could be used at the funeral service and in the bulletin. At the time I had no idea. Later I got my mother's Bible. What a blessing that has been. I like to read through the Bible in a year. Some years I use my mother's Bible as I do this. It helps me feel close to her as I read her markings and comments she made in it. Let us leave this legacy for our children.

In the inside cover of my mother's Bible she had written what her favorite verses were. They are found in Job 19:25-27. Since it isn't long I will include it here as it is so filled with hope.

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Isn't that beautiful? If Job could write this while he was being tested with such a great test that few of us will ever experience, and believe it, can not we? I can and do!

Also she had written that Psalms 139 was her favorite Psalms. It is a Psalm of David and talks about God searching and knowing us. How we can't escape from His presence. How He knew us before we were even formed. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." Again some very precious verses filled with hope.

I love that I had a godly mother who certainly wasn't perfect but tried to live her life of faith and teach it to us children. She loved her family and was such a good wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. I don't think she ever met anyone she couldn't love.

So my post is mainly about my mother with some pictures from the past. I've included pictures of my grandmothers and mother-in-law as they, too, were important figures of godly mothers in my life.

My mother loved to camp and was great about organizing great events. Here we were camping at Beaver Lake State Park. She always made every event so fun as she was filled with joy and life. She loved to cook and we could go to anything she helped to plan knowing we would be filled with lots of good stuff.




See...here Mom was putting out a spread on the back of their pickup. She always served Dad as though he were a king. It was the same weekend and we went for the day to Linton and fished on the Missouri. Don't you love her fun hat?


Here was another camping trip at Lake Ashtabula. Mom and Dad had a nice camper but Mom wanted to camp back in the primitive camp. We had a tent, too. Mom was enjoying a nice Sabbath nap with the poodles. The apricot poodle, Muffin, was actually hers but she never took him home. So I raised him along with Dukey. They were known as "the Boys."

My grandparents Moldenhauer lived in Kulm when I was a young girl and woman. They would come to church in Alfred. My grandfather was a lay pastor there for a few years. My mother would always ask them to come over to our house after church if we weren't going any where else. Here my mother was playing her old pump organ for Grandma Hulda. Whitney now has this beautiful old organ. Grandma was a woman who always loved children. She had 16 of her own! I have many happy memories of her.

Here Mom is with her mother, Amelia. She was another faithful example of a godly woman. Mom would invite her to our home a lot as well. But she had to be shared with my mother's many sisters who would all want her at their houses on Sabbaths as well.

I shared a special kinship with this grandmother maybe because I was named after her, Kimberly Amelia. She was so very dear and special to me.

Grandma lived in Jamestown for all the years I knew her. Here I was visiting her as I often did with the boys. She always had her favorite old chair sitting in this spot in the living room. How I miss her and her home where she always welcomed me with open arms.

I also have a wonderful godly mother-in-law. I really couldn't have asked for a better one. Here my in-laws had come out to my parent's farm for dinner. My in-laws must have been around the age Tim and I are now.

We needed a family picture for some reason. My beautiful mother-in-law always had such a lovely smile.

Indeed I was blessed. If you have a godly mother please "rise up and call her" today.

I leave you with one of my favorite verses from III John verse 4.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.