Month: June 2015

The Man

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Blessing = Love

When we are raising our children, the time is so consumed with day to day care that we just do not see the time passing so quickly. As they learn to walk, ride a bike, or drive a car, we think the time that they will be older is far away. Then one day we wake up and they are adults! 27 years ago this week, I was allowed by God to become the mother of a very special man. He was strong willed while still in the womb, but brilliant and filled with wisdom beyond his years. I have been blessed by the so many parts of his life, and God has let me be there to get to know him. I am proud of everything he has ever done, even the mistakes he has made, because he has taken all opportunities to learn about life. So I celebrate this special man this week. And I wish for many more years to watch him grow and change!

The Man

It is hard to believe the small hand is now a man’s hand.

More than anything,

This young man’s hand has known work, play, and love.

His strong build carries God’s questions forward.

 

Always wondering.

Always searching for truth.

Yet confident in his steps.

But understanding fear.

 

A man that knows when to say he is wrong.

A man that calms those that love him.

A man that knows to ask for help.

God has his life stretched in the future.

 

And the strong hand reaches for each line in the sketch.

Searching to make the way right.

This strong hand gently touches the ones he loves.

God blesses those that are called his friends and family.

 

I am proud that God chose me to have this man.

When this man touches others,

They will know God’s presence.

God has blessed me.

All will know this man by his strong mind and his strong heart.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

 Take time this week to tell one that has entered your life as a blessing just how much they mean to you. This one will be encouraged and you will receive even the greater blessing! I am so very happy you joined me this week. I hope you are inspired to love this week!

Love,

Rennae

Family and Traditions

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Summer Rumble

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Summer Rumble trial

These summer storms can be very much like life. Everything seems calm and settled, then out of no where the rumbles begin. At first the struggle seems lighter and totally manageable. Then with every second of the situation, explosion seems inevitable! Wham! Pop! Boom! It is over. The outcome may or may not be what you expected, but you can sigh a relief and sit back to enjoy the victory of making it through the rumble. To your amazement you even have this sense of joy and pleasure, because you held out with hope and peace knowing you would be delivered safely. Enjoy those rumbles this week and when you have made it through them all–dance, sing, recite poetry, and smile!

Summer Rumble

 It is quiet.

The sun becomes covered by the clouds.

The angels begin to clap their wings.

The electrons form a straight line of energy from the sky to the ground.

 

The wind kicks up.

It swirls and it twirls.

I hear it coming through the hills.

I hear it moving through the trees.

 

It is a hum at first.

Then it sounds louder and louder.

Large drops pop against the concrete.

It feels like you are pelted by a bb gun.

 

Then it flows.

A constant stream pouring straight down.

The wind passes on.

The angels move to another location.

The electrons take their dance on down the road.

 

The smell is so incredible!

Smelling the rain is like no other scent.

The rain just causes all the other smells of the earth to rise.

The dirt lifts its older smell to mix with the rain.

 

The pure liquid becomes the saving grace for each blade of grass.

Each flower feels the pelting and perks up to reach the next ray of sun.

Then as quickly as it arrives.

It then descends.

The rumble roams on across the land.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Rumbles can be such blessings. Look for the learning that you are being provided through them this week. I am so very grateful that you have chosen to be with me. May blessed storms and dancing come your way!

Love,

Rennae

Blessings

 

The Goodbye Ceremony

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 “How lucky I am to have something that

makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Winnie the Pooh

It is that time of year when we vacation, visit, and have family reunions with loved ones. The hellos and welcomes that come with these visits are so good for the heart. This is how I feel when my children and I visit. The anticipation and excitement of times together and moments of catching up are so joyful! But with the welcomes, also comes the goodbyes. These are the painful moments. It seems no matter how hard you try and how much your brain tells you they will be back and you will see them again, the tears rise to the surface, your throat swells, and your heart starts to ache. At these times we have to remember the hope of return. We have to remember the opportunity to love. We have to remember why these relationships are so important, and how blessed we are to have these relationships. So cry, wipe, cough, and cry again. Then turn your goodbye tears into smiles with hope until the next welcoming! And most importantly give thanks for these precious relationships!

 The Goodbye Ceremony

I know there has to be one.

Just like there has to be a hello.

Why do these times get harder as they grow older?

Why is it such a hard thing to do without such sadness?

 

You miss them so much.

It feels like you lose them each time.

It is silly.

You really don’t, but in your heart you do.

 

It’s just when they go out into the world again.

Their independence grows.

The one thing you always wanted for them-independence.

Becomes the one thing you so dread.

 

Deep in your heart it is only a short separation.

But shallow in your mind it seems forever.

You talk to them during that time.

But you yearn for their closeness.

 

They are amazing individuals.

Doing amazing things.

So they have to go out into the population.

But you still want to hold on to them.

 

I feel like a giant magnet pulling at me,

When they say goodbye.

It takes every bit of energy in my body to pull away.

Trying to keep them safely attached.

 

I feel like my heart and my brain,

And my blood and my muscles,

Will explode out of my body.

Then the final break is made.

 

I wave goodbye.

I say I love you.

And it is done.

The goodbye ceremony is over again.

 

And you have to stop and say,

I am so glad I have this ceremony,

Rather than not having any one to join me in this celebration.

Having no ceremony at all would be loneliness.

It is so worth having even though it is so hard.

A goodbye ceremony means

There is someone that you can love.

And someone loves you.

 Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

 I hope we have given you hope for your summer visits with friends and families. Thank you for being with me this week. I am holding back tears and sending smiles until we visit again!

Love,

Rennae

Relationships

Change

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6 4 2015 JPEG

We all experience change. Actually we experience change continuously. Sometimes we experience it so much, we do not have time to stop, recover, reflect, and move on. This is why we have to remain so faithful in hope. This is not easy to do, but it is so necessary. See—we all have so much to give to this world, and if we cannot heal ourselves, it is difficult to give. Even though change is inevitable, take time to heal. You are the hope in this world for someone else, and if you are not there someone will be lost. Hold on to the hope in the change, and be the change!

Change

You know sometimes it just hurts. It hurts so bad you can’t even describe it. Your heart and body feel like they are being pulled apart from the inside out. You know God is there, But the pain is still great. You want peace and calm so much, But the decisions bring chaos and turmoil.   You lose friends. You lose confidence. You lose yourself.   So many questions without answers. So many dominoes falling at once. You can’t see the glory. And you don’t understand how within seconds one’s life can change.   It is said over and over again that change is good— Change is good. Change is for a reason.   Is it the change that occurs once or twice within a life time, Or is it the change that occurs ten to twenty times? If it is good, how can it hurt so much? If it is so good, how can the despair dig into your heart?   How can emotions that seemed long ago Resurface at such a frightening rate. Fear permeates your body.   Somehow a hole opens and becomes larger and larger, Leaking your soul to the world. And when the hole seems like it can get no larger, The light finally begins to repair it.   The hole becomes smaller when all is given up. The shadow of sadness remains, But the brilliance consumes the shadow.   Growth comes. Growth hurts. Growth is the repair of the soul to live again. Then change begins again.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

 You do not always know who you are here for in this world, so take care of yourself in the middle of change. Thank you for reading today in order to keep your hope alive! I am blessed you are there for me! Love, Rennae Journey