The Last Day of MEGA May

This has been a month of heartwarming stories. I'm so happy that six readers shared the stories of their mothers. I'm happy that 46 readers posted at least one comment and a few of you several. Commenting really gives that two-way street that blogging is meant to be.

Very soon I'm going to put the names of the readers who posted comments and shared stories into a hat and draw out the name of the winner of the MEGA May gift basket.

I'll be announcing the winner sometime this week. When I started this blog, I did it to have a way to converse with readers and to start a source of stories that inspire women.

No matter what career we choose as women, we always have family to care for and love. (We won't talk about children in the teen years. GRIN) And I think it is heartening to hear the stories of other women who show strength and bravery in this life that can be so hard at times. From what readers and authors have posted, many of us are in the sandwich generation where we have adult children and parents who need us. We carry a heavy load of love.

I hope you'll invite friends to join us here at StrongWomenBraveStories.blogspot.com so they can be inspired to stand strong for themselves and their families.

Every woman has a story. Share yours!--Lyn

Pat Jeanne Davis Tells about Her Mother's House & Her Mother

Another Christian writer shares this tribute to her mother.

"It was my mother’s house—a two-story, semidetached, red-brick dwelling—with a flower garden and many trees and shrubs in front. It was my home, too. And a safe haven for many in need of comfort. Some came through its doors to stay for only a week and others for longer periods. This included children, grandchildren, siblings, friends and members of Mother’s church. Each found in my mother a sympathetic heart and words of encouragement. “This’ll always be your home, too,” she’d say to me. Her house was very modestly kept with simple furniture, worn carpets and many plants. At times it seemed overcrowded with people living there.

I was pursuing my career goals then and wrapped up in my own world. Even now I feel ashamed that I didn’t do more to keep the place looking tidy. When my mother no longer needed her home, it became mine. So, seventeen years ago, as a newly married couple, my husband and I took occupancy. Since Mother’s death, we’ve done some remodeling. We’ve added rooms, replaced doors and windows, removed carpets to expose hardwood floors, and stripped wallpaper and painted the walls lighter colors. The former owner would no longer recognize it as her house.


Fifteen years ago we adopted a newborn. We turned Mom’s old bedroom into his nursery, and I hung a portrait of her in the room. I felt so sorry for our little one that he would never get to know his grandmother. “Your grandmother planted that dogwood tree. I gave it to her for Mother’s Day,” I told my son as we looked through the same window that she had looked through for twenty-five years. Two years later Joshua was born. Again, I had feelings of regret that my mother was not around to enrich his life. I tried to keep her memory alive by talking to my sons about their grandmother. “Grandmom would be so happy to know you both are here,” I would tell Johnny and Joshua. My husband and I provide a positive and nurturing environment for our boys.

I’m trying to set a good example of a mother and homemaker, because I had a wonderful role model in my own mother. One day this house may belong to one or both of my sons, and it will be their privilege to make it into a home. It’s the giving from the heart from those in the home—not the appearance of the house—that creates the lasting memories for others. I still miss my mother after all these years. Her Godly influence lives on in me and is felt by my children.

Drop by www.patjeannedavis.com to read more from Pat.
Thanks, Pat--Lyn

Author Cindy Kirk & Her Mother's Secret

Today, a longtime friend Author Cindy Kirk shares a special story of a mother's love. Here's Cindy:

"From the time I was a little girl, I always wondered if I was adopted. I didn’t resemble either of my parents or any of my relatives. Whenever I asked I was told that I looked like my father’s mother who had died before I was born.

I didn’t find out until after I was an adult and my mother had died, that I was a product of donor insemination. (I was contacted by a “sibling” with whom I share the same donor father) Thankfully before I said anything to the father I’d grown up with, I discovered that my mother may not have told him about the insemination. What would make me think that?

The fact that “his” signature on the authorization form looked more like hers than his. The fact that he once told me he’d never met her doctor, which said the form wasn’t signed in front of the doctor or his staff. And the fact that my father was so opposed to raising children that weren’t his biologically that he’d refused to adopt. Would such a man have agreed to donor insemination? That my father was opposed to adoption may give you the impression he wasn’t a good or kind man.

Nothing could be further from the truth. But for some reason, he refused to look at options that would give my mother what she so desperately wanted…a child. My mother was a strong woman and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if she’d done something to make her own dreams come true. Do I feel bad that she lied? I feel bad that she felt she “had” to lie. I feel bad that my father didn’t care enough about what she wanted to find some middle ground. I truly believe it would have been a shame if she’d never had a child. She was such a good parent. And so was my father.

She and my dad had been married had been married forty-eight years when she died of cancer. They had a happy marriage though I’m sure keeping this secret weighed on my mother’s heart. In “Your Ranch or Mine?” my Silhouette Special Edition, coming out in July, the heroine (Anna) has a secret that weighs heavy on her heart. Unlike in my real life story, in the book the secret is revealed and Anna discovers the truth really can set you free…"

Thanks, Cindy. That is a more than interesting story. And I'm sorry too that your mother couldn't open your father's eyes to her deepest need. I think this is one of those occasions where love can cover a sin. And I and many others are happy you were conceived!--Lyn

Wendy & Her Mom

Here's a story from another reader who wanted to honor her mother. Here's Wendy:

"At 19 my mom found herself pregnant. She waited until Christmas to tell her parents, and I was born barely a month later. They welcomed me with open arms. We lived with my grandparents. I guess I need to add that during this time my mom helped to raise my Aunt's kids as well. She has 6 kids and had an abusive husband, so the kids always came to my mom for things. When I was only a few years old my grandfather learned he had cancer. He died when I was three. During his final days he wanted to die at home, so my mom and grandma took are care of him and allowed him to do that. She was only 23 when he passed away.

From then we lived just my mom, me and grandma. My grandmother couldn't work, due to health issues, and weight, so my mom worked to support us all. Plus to help care for my aunt's kids. My grandmother got sicker and towards the end of her life, she wanted to die at home, so my mom had to quit her job so she could be there with my grandmother and allow her that small gift. I turned 11 the day we buried my grandmother and my mom was going to be 31 in a few months. So by the age of 31 she had lost both parents, her main support system.

She never once got support from my biological father. She tried but back then, well child support wasn't as widely done as it is now. So we made do with what we could. There were times we went without lights, because it was either pay the bill or get food. There were times she worried we'd not have a place to live. We moved around a LOT. When a home was beginning to be too much for us to pay the rent we would move. During the time my grandmother was dying she promised her she'd go to school to be a nurse, so we struggled so she could do just that. I remember helping her study for tests. She got her LPN and decided to go to work rather than going on for her RN degree because we needed the money.

I can honestly say while she worried the times we did without would be some of my worst, I remember them fondly. We had fun. I got to play Little House on the Prairie. During it all she worked hard to make sure I knew she loved me, and while she could have made the choice to either never have me, or give me away she didn't. That took alot of guts especially in a small town during the 70s. She did a great job, she took care of me, she showed me that women could be anything and that while life sometimes doesn't go as we plan, there are hidden blessings in there. I'll admit that when my grandfather died she had a lot of anger towards God. But she always made sure I went to church, and that I knew she was angry but that didn't mean I should be. She has found her way back to God over the years and now I see her with a stronger relationship with him.

She married not long after I got married and over the years while we've remained mother and daughter we are also best friends. She is the strongest woman I know. I could tell you more but I think I might have said more than you wanted. I'm not sure. I know that my mom found herself a single mother without her parents by the age of 31. Her only sister was in her own situation and really offered us no help. She tried to help her sister's kids as often as she could and in anyway she could. At various times they all either nearly lived with us, or did in fact live with us. She never turned them away, no matter what they needed she tried to provide it.

We were all a team, my mom, me and my cousins. She really had only us and we had her. We made it. And she showed me that I could do anything and I'd always have her to support me. I'm very proud of my mom and I hope to be as strong as she is."


Thank you, Wendy, for sharing your mom's story. Her life is an inspiration.--Lyn

Author Ramona Richards Didn't Know the Challenge Love Would Bring

Love Inspired Author Ramona Richards didn't know how strong she was until she became a mother herself. Here's Ramona:

"I come from a long line of strong women. A healer and a midwife. The wife of a tenant farmer who raised her own siblings after her mother died. A musician whose shop-keeper husband lost his business during the Depression. My own mother married an over-the-road truck driver, which meant she spent much of her adult life raising two kids on her own.

I, on the other hand, was the pampered one. While I am old enough to remember when tape recorders were reel-to-reel and televisions only black-and-white, I grew up smart, fat, and sassy. School work came easy to me, and I spent my days curled under a tree with a book. Only after I got married did God send me to the forge for molding.

In 1987 I gave birth to Rachel, whose severe disabilities came as a total shock to both of us. Doctors told us she wouldn’t live long, and my own deep post-partum depression complicated the grief that rocked us. We had to mourn the child we had been expecting and find the depths of our love for the child we had. That last part was the easiest; the rest tore us apart.

Rachel and God have given the doctors a run for their money. She’s still here, and I’ve been a single mom since 1993. The healing came slowly; the times were rough. God has been answering prayers left and right, however, and since 1998, I’ve had a series of caregivers (Phyllis, Kim, and Marti), who adore Rachel and make it possible for me to keep a job, write, and travel. (To see more about Rachel, click on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys5oxl3Uw5k

And everything I’ve been through has an impact on what—and how—I write. In The Taking of Carly Bradford, Dee’s grief and her healing journey in some ways mirrors my own. I also talked to other parents who had lost children, and I drew on my memories of when one of my best friends was murdered.

But The Taking of Carly Bradford is not just about loss and healing; it’s also about finding triumph in our lives through faith and friends. It’s about a little girl who has an unshakable belief in God’s provision—and in His warriors here on earth. It’s about how love can bloom in the midst of trial, and how Jehovah Jireh is always, always by our side when we need and call on Him.

Let’s hope that, like little Carly Bradford, we never forget that."

Thanks for sharing that Ramona. Ladies, don't forget to drop by www.loveinspiredauthors.com and enter the contest there. It's open till June 15th. And on there you can read more about Ramona and her books.--Lyn

Book Monday--Author Linda Hall & Shadows on the River

Today's book is by my friend Linda Hall who writes compelling suspense spiced with a great romance.

"SHADOWS ON THE RIVER is the story of Ally Roarke. When she was a young teenager she saw her best friend pushed to her death. Here are Ally's own words: "I was only fourteen when I witnessed a murder on the riverbank. A murder that went unpunished. Unless you count what happened to my family. We were forced out of town by the teenage killer's prominent parents. And the murder was forgotten—by everyone but me. Now, the killer is a respected businessman. I can't let him get away with it. But I'm a single mother with a child to protect, what can I do? The new man in my life, Mark Bishop, warns me to be careful. For there's already been another murder. Close to home."

What others are saying:- "With a voice well suited to mystery and suspense, Hall creates an almost gothic atmosphere and a wonderfully satisfying conclusion in this final installment of her Shadows series." Romantic Times 4 stars


A bit about Linda: Award winning and twice Christy-nominated author Linda Hall has written fifteen novels plus many short stories. She has also worked as a freelance writer, news reporter and feature writer for daily newspaper.She grew up in New Jersey where her love of the ocean was nurtured. Most of her novels have something to do with the sea. When she's not writing, Linda and her husband enjoy sailing the St. John River system and the coast of Maine. In the summer we basically move aboard their 34' sailboat aptly named - "Mystery." Linda invites you to her website: http://writerhall.com

Shadows on the River can be ordered from most online bookstores such as amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-River-Steeple-Inspired-Suspense/dp/0373443366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243103383&sr=8-1

or can be ordered from her website: http://writerhall.com "

Sorry, Linda, but when I saw your name for your sailboat, I thought better than "Misery." I have never sailed but it looks like hard work to me! Bravo for you and your dh.
And thanks for writing another book I can get my teeth into and enjoy--Lyn

Reader Edna T Praises her mother

Throughout this month, I have been touched by the stories from readers about the strong women in their lives. Today, Edna T shares about her mother.
Here's Edna T:

"The woman that I respect the most was my Mama. She was born 1898 and lost her mom when she was four at the birth of her sister. Her dad let some of the relatives raise the sister but mom had to stay and do work that any 4 year old should never have to do. Then her dad remarried and the step-mother was not good to her, but she survived and became a very good person.

She married my dad when she was 20 and started having babies, she had 10 in all with one set of twins, I came late when mom was 45, so I am the baby of the family. My Mom always gardened, and did all the things what a woman of that time era had to do. She had no running water, no electricity etc, until later on. My Dad died with cancer when I was 8 in 1951 leaving Mama with 4 kids to finish raising. My brother next to me was 7 years older than I, then another brother and an older sister.

We all four were the youngest of the tribe. Mom washed clothes with her hands for people and ironed, she finally got a winger type washer but had to draw water from a well and you can be we lazy kids didn't do anything that we could get out of. She sewed. made cakes and did anything she could to get enough to feed us and keep me in school.

That was my choice not hers as she had only a 4th grade education. I was the only one out of the 10 that graduated HS and I did it on time, that was because I loved to read and the school library was the only place for me to get book, I read a book a night.

She became a Christian late in life after I married and boy was she a Christian, when she lived with me she would pray every night and we could hear her in her bed talking to God. Thank the Heavenly Father He got a good one in her. She never had a bad word to say about anyone even before she got saved, she was just a very loved SOUTHERN LADY, but her Dad was a full blooded German.

My mom fell the night my oldest son was graduating from HS, in 1980 and never recovered from it. She had already had to start living among us kids as she could not take care of herself. She passed away in June and was buried on Father's Day. And even after 29 years, I miss her so much and even talk to her sometimes, wishing she could see my grandbabies."

As I always say, "Every woman has a story. Shares yours."--Lyn

Kara Lynn Russell & "Millions of Cats"

Today another Wisconsin author, Kara Lynn Russell is sharing the story of a woman who never married but was willing to "mother" her young siblings in hard times.
Here's Kara:

"Before I wrote romance, I was a children’s librarian and I truly enjoy children’s literature. I also enjoy finding out the story behind the story. For example, did you know that author L. Frank Baum was attempting to create a truly American fairy tale when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?

One figure in children’s literature, that I admire and who is all but forgotten today, is Wanda Gag (pronounced Gog.) She is the author and illustrator of Millions of Cats, a Newberry Honor book in 1929 and the oldest American children’s book still in print. Wanda Gag was, in her own time, a successful artist as well as a children’s book author and illustrator. Success did not come easily, though. She was born in New Ulm, Minnesota in 1893. When she was 14, her artist father passed away, leaving Wanda as the head of the household. At that young age, she became responsible for six younger siblings and her seriously ill mother. Neighbors criticized her for continuing with school instead of working full time. But Wanda insisted that she and her siblings would all get a good education. She even rejected offers to adopt her younger siblings, insisting that they should all stay together. Wanda worked hard to support her family, raise her sibling and pursue a career in art.

Eventually, Wanda was able to leave home and attend art school in St. Paul, Minneapolis and New York. She settled on the east coast and became first a fashion illustrator and then an artist, producing drawings, lithographs and watercolors and finally after much rejection, a children’s book author and illustrator. Wanda died of lung cancer in 1946. Two of her books, Millions of Cats in 1929, and The ABC Bunny in 1934, were Newbery Honor Books. Two more books, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1939, and Nothing at All in 1942, were Caldecott Honor Books. She also received the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award posthumously for Millions of Cats.

Wanda was undoubtedly successful in her career and I enjoy her work, but I think her greatest accomplishment was in raising her six younger siblings and insisting that they all get an education. Perhaps conquering the worlds of art and publishing seemed easy after that!

****

Kara Lynn Russell is the author of the Orchard Hill Romance Series from White Rose Publishing. The stories are available for download now and in three print volumes on December 4. Also in December, ask for The Prodigal Father from Five Star Expressions at your local library. Visit her on the web at www.karalynnrussell.googlepages.com.

Thanks, Kara!--Lyn


Technorati Profile

Love Inspired Author Missy Tippens Honors her grandmother

Today, Missy Tippens, a newer Love Inspired Author, guests and tells a precious story of love and family. Here's Missy:

"Lyn, thank you so much for having me today. I wanted to share with all of you a little about one of the strongest women I’ve known. My grandmother.

Nanny was born in 1900, and I remember being enthralled to hear about all the changes that took place in her lifetime--the airplane, TV, computers, microwave ovens (which she refused to use!). But in some ways, she was a woman before her time. When she was a young woman (about 18), she decided to go to business school. After a year there, though, she got meningitis and had to leave. Then sometime after that, her father died from the flu epidemic of 1918. That left my great-grandmother with five children, the oldest already married, with his own family, so he couldn’t help out. My great-grandmother wasn’t able to hold her family together, so they had to put three of the younger children in an orphanage. But my grandmother was determined to get her family back together.

Using the limited schooling she had achieved, she took her mother and moved to Jenkins, Kentucky, where she got a job as a bookkeeper for a coal company. Once she was able, she got her youngest sister out of the orphanage and took care of her and my great-grandmother. (The twin boys were nearly old enough for independent living by then.) My great-aunt always praised my grandmother for all she did for their family. And you know, my grandmother took care of her own mother for the rest of her life, even after she married and had a family. My grandmother also helped my grandfather start a dry cleaning business.

Then she opened her own clothing store—where I got all my clothes while I was growing up! Even though Nanny was a career woman, she still made time to spend with her grandchildren. She was only 5 feet tall, but I would sit in her lap while she rocked me in her rocking chair even after my feet dragged the floor, even into my college years. I loved Nanny so much. She died in 1990, and I still miss her.

So during this month of Mother’s Day, I’d like to honor my grandmother for being a strong woman with a brave story. For being a determined woman. And a loving woman."

If you'd like to learn more about Author Missy Tippens, drop by www.missytippens.com OR
www.lifewithmissy.blogspot.com

Drop by www.eharlequin.com and order her latest Love Inspired Romance!



Thanks so much, Missy--Lyn

Another Reader Darcie's Mother-A Southern Country Woman

I'm truly inspired by the stories of Mothers that have been posted. Here is Darcie's tribute:

"My mother was a simple southern country woman who was loved by everyone in the community. We were poor and she worked very hard in the fields growing produce to sell as well as to can and feed us and anyone else that needed food. She often plowed a mule as we kids sewed the seed or as we chopped the weeds. She was known as "Big Mama" to the kids in the neighborhood, I guess cause she was 6 foot tall and a plus sized lady. The coffee pot was always hot and the table was laden with old fashion county eats including the best chicken and dumplings ever as well as scratch made "cathead biscuits, gravies,cornbread, field peas, fried okra, dressing steak and gravy. Often there were at least 20-30 folks there to be fed at meal time. It was all simple food but was plentiful because she raised it.

Our life was kind of like the Amish people except we did have electricity. We did not have television or other entertainment. We worked so hard we were glad to go to bed at nightfall. In the later years we ran a meat packing place and mama often killed the animals, dressed them put them in the cooler till ready to be cut and wrapped for the customer's freezer. She knew ever cut of meat there was even when a lady tried to get her to cut Pork chops from a side of beef..... she cut the rib chops and asked the lady, "is this what you want ?" of course that was it. She just did not know how else to explain what she wanted.

My mother was the brunt of most jokes because she never got the punch line till it was explained to her. She was happy most of the time and went around singing gospel songs. I am proud that she raised me to work hard and to know the importance of an education. She was so happy when I graduated from nursing school and became a Registered Nurse.

I try to live my life now according to the way my mother lived, even though I am disable on the good days I do my best to help others or at leave get them to smile or laugh. One of my favorite things to do is to see someone having a bad day and tell them, "SMILE MAKE EVERYONE WONDER WHAT YOUR THINKING" God Bless you and yours and may everyone have wonderful memories of their mother. Remember to enjoy your mother while you can and most often it is the little things that count the most.

Be Happy......... Smile make others wonder what your thinking!"
Darcie"
What an inspiring story, Darcie!

Author Roxanne Rustand Praises Her Mom

Roxanne Rustand is back today to tell us about her mom whom I also love. After all, she loves my books! Here's Roxanne:

"Strong women, brave stories. What a wonderful theme Lyn has, to carry through all of her novels! I love her books for that very reason--along with the wonderful writing, of course. I think so often of my own mother and grandmother, when I see Lyn's brand. My mom grew up during hard times, as everyone of that generation did. When the depression hit, her family lost the very rural Kansas farm they'd been living on--which had never prospered at any rate-- and they ended up living in a dirt-floored basement. Not a house--because nothing but the basement of this place could be completed, after times got hard.

Mom talks of how my grandmother tried to keep it clean, but how do you keep a home and four small children clean with a dirt floor? During those years, a toddler sister drowned and the beautiful, eldest sister was killed in a car/train accident on Christmas Eve. Life must have been unbearably difficult on many levels, yet my grandmother soldiered on, baking bread every day for the neighbors, bartering it so that her children could have a ride to grade school and have an education. To attend high school, my mother had to move to a distant town and work as a live-in maid.

After that, this girl who grew up dirt-poor gathered the courage to move even farther away, to attend nursing school in Winfield, Kansas, where she became an R.N. Despite her early poverty and hardships, at the age of 93 my mother is still one of the most gracious ladies you could meet. She is still fiercely independent, still maintains her own, beautiful home, and refuses to have regular help despite some physical infirmities that make some days very painful for her. Though it's more of a challenge for her now, she is still a delightful hostess who loves company and must have everything "just so," and she still has a wonderfully sharp sense of humor.

She also still has her strong Swedish stubborn streak--inherited from her indomitable mother--though when she digs in her heels, it's always with a firm smile. Maybe that's part of the secret to overcoming troubles in life--the tenacity, stubbornness, determination and faith in God to take what comes and to rise above it--along with a dash of humor!

Book Monday-Love Inspired Author, Roxanne Rustand newest Suspense

Today it's my pleasure to feature, Deadly Competition, the seventeenth book by a dear friend, Roxanne Rustand. She writes romances with suspense and yet a quirky sense of humor and a love of animals. Which pretty much describes her personality. Right now she owns 3 horses, 2 dogs, 8 barn cats and that's after all her children have left home. I don't want to tell you about her son's pet snake....

Here's the scoop on Deadly Competition--
"The single mother hasn't been found. And all her daughter, Sarah, has is her uncle. Clueless at parenting, Clint Herald seeks a loving, responsible nanny. What he finds instead is a stranger as mysterious as his sister's disappearance. Mandy Erick is secretive and seems scared, yet she's so good with Sarah that Clint can't help but trust her. In fact, he even enters Mandy in the town's Mother of the Year contest. But attention is the last thing Mandy wants. Her time in the public eye may prove just as dangerous as she fears. Excerpt: "The single mother hasn't been found. And all her daughter, Sarah, has is her uncle. Clueless at parenting, Clint Herald seeks a loving, responsible nanny. What he finds instead is a stranger as mysterious as his sister's disappearance.

Mandy Erick is secretive and seems scared, yet she's so good with Sarah that Clint can't help but trust her. In fact, he even enters Mandy in the town's Mother of the Year contest. But attention is the last thing Mandy wants. Her time in the public eye may prove just as dangerous as she fears. Mandy Erick flinched as the door of the Greyhound slid shut behind her. The bus lumbered away, taking with it her chance to reach Texas or California or Oregon anytime soon. Leaving her standing on the edge of Loomis, Louisiana, a backwater town in the middle of nowhere. Though maybe the middle of nowhere was the safest place for someone who'd had to leave her old identity behind."

To purchase: http://www.eharlequin.comstore.html;jsessionid=00C164E53E0203C5C0D554CDC6E6A90D?cid=359

For more about Roxanne Rustand, visit www.roxannerustand.com and her new blog "All Creatures Great and Small."--Lyn

Reader Amber Pays Tribute to her mother

Another reader shares how her mother drove her nuts for her own good. (That's one of the things we moms hate to do but it's out job!) Here's Amber:


"I wanted to tell you a little bit about my mom, the strong woman I have come
to respect more and more as the years go by. My mom and I always "butted"
heads while I was growing up. She was out-going, and I was a book worm who
liked to keep to myself. Over the years, she pushed me past my comfort zone
to become independent and self-reliant. I fought her all the way because I
just didn't want to have to take responsibility for things that may have
been easier for my mom or dad to take care of. Still, she kept up the
persistence, even when I made it difficult for her with my teenager
attitude.

Now, at 24, I see the sacrifices that my mom made to help me become a
strong, faithful, convicted and respectful woman. I am proud to tell people
I am her daughter. I was never a rebellious child when it came to drugs or
hanging out with the wrong crowds, but I would hurt her with words and
actions of indifference toward her. I know now that my mom and dad could
not have gotten through the difficult growing-up years without their faith
in God and each other.

My husband and I were married last October, and I can only hope that
we are able to raise our children with the same consistency and moral
values that my parents instilled in me and my brother. Now, my mom is the
person I go to when I need that wonderful, motherly advice and she has
never given up on me or made me feel unworthy. She is the strongest woman
that I know.

Thank you, Mom--Amber"

Thank you, Amber, for sharing your story and your mom.

Lyn's Grandmother-Dee Dee

Today is my day to share another family story. My mother's mother Louise who was called Dee Dee (a popular nickname in my family) passed away when I was in first grade. I remember my mom coming to my classroom to get me at Glen Flora School in Waukegan IL, sad image in my mind. My main memory of my grandma was that often when I would visit her house, she would say, "Look in the oven. There's something for you." I would peer inside and there would be a miniature apple pie! Just for me.

My grandmother lived in a time when a woman had little control over how many children she had. She gave birth to my eldest aunt Alyce in 1912 and then didn't have any more children for nine years after she had an operation to remove benign fibroid tumors. Then she started having a baby every other year until she was 43. So she had a total of 7 live children and one late miscarriage. The miscarriage occurred after she mixed cement BY HAND with her husband to put the sidewalks in around their house at the corner of Washington Park and Lloyd. So there was a four year gap between my mother Catherine and her sister Louise my aunt Dee Dee (I told you it was a popular nickname!)

My grandmother was tireless in her efforts to raise good children and be a good housewife in the bargain. And I honor her for this since she did it without hot running water, a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, convenience meals, pizza delivery (for those nights when she was too tired to cook) and any other modern convenience that we take for granted.

Life used to be more physically demanding and men and women used to literally work themselves into early graves. In spite of all her work, she never lost the zest for fun. When my mother was a child, every Halloween, my grandma would make their house a fun house for her and the neighborhood kids--bobbing for apples in the laundry tub on the back porch. Making popcorn balls at the kitchen table. The haunted house in the parlor. In the summers at the end of long hot days, she would pop popcorn till she filled the same laundry tub and then she would tell her children to go bring a friend. She often suggested they bring the poor "only" children like my unofficial aunt Audrey who lived behind my mom. The children would sit around the kitchen table, eating the laundry tub of popcorn and my grandmother's home-brewed and bottled sarsaparilla.

I've attached a photo my dh snapped a few weeks ago of my grandparent's house, which looks newly sided. My grandfather built the house himself. A carpenter was building his house a few blocks away and my grandfather would go to him and ask how to do something and then he'd go back and do. When he was all done, someone explained to him what a carpenter's level was! So the house may be a bit off-kilter but it's still standing!

And my memories of my grandmother though few are still fresh in my mind!

Elizabeth White, Mary of Bethany & Gilly

Today, it's my pleasure to host a dear friend, Elizabeth White. Here's Elizabeth.

In the course of writing a book about a professional ballet dancer, one of my favorite characters from Scripture came to life-a woman who knew Jesus as friend, teacher and Lord. Mary of Bethany, as best I can discover from studying New Testament commentaries, was the rebellious younger sister of Martha and Lazarus.

We don't know exactly what sins she had committed, but she knew the forgiving mercy of Jesus of Nazareth to the point that she dumped a pint of priceless nard on His head. She then bathed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, anointing Jesus for the sacrifice he was about to make. Her faith endured testing when her brother Lazarus died-but exploded in joy when he was raised to life by the Teacher.
So what does Mary have to do with my fictional ballet dancer? Well, Gilly Kincade first showed up as a teenager in my 2007 release Off the Record. She had sass, artistic talent, and a passion for sharing Christ-so much passion that she launched a waterfront homeless ministry called “Peanut Butter and Jesus.” I couldn't resist following Gilly's career as a burgeoning ballet star in Tour de Force, set to release in early May.

All of us, even strong believers like Gilly, face trials that test us and strengthen us. Often the very thing that makes us unique or favored is ripped away by circumstances or our own mistakes. Shattered dreams can either send us into self-pity or bitterness or they can force us to seek after God. In Tour de Force, Gilly is chosen to dance the lead in a new Christian ballet by brilliant young artistic director Jacob Ferrar. The Sweetest Perfume, based on Mary of Bethany's sacrifice, seems like the perfect vehicle for Gilly to use her gift of dance in God's service. But when the gift smashes like an alabaster jar in her hands, she must rebuild her faith and figure out where her attraction to Jacob fits into the mix.

I truly identify with Gilly. More than once my dreams have come crashing down, forcing me to submit to whatever God has planned and trust that He knows best. And time after time I have found Him faithful. Once I thought I would have a career as a singer. When it became clear that wasn't going to happen, I mourned for a bit, then shrugged and went on with raising my children, teaching music part-time, and writing fiction for a hobby.


A few years later I sold a novella and realized God had supplied me with a new dream. But the publishing industry is one long lesson in delayed gratification and humility. I've learned that all “gifts” ultimately belong to God. Ten years and fourteen novels after that first novella, I'm teaching high school chorus again and wildly happy spending my days with music-crazy inner-city teenagers. My definition of sacrifice, like Mary of Bethany's and like Gilly Kincade's, is submitting back to God what already belongs to him. My source of strength. My source of joy.

The 2nd Story from a Reader--Gee's Tribute to Her Mom

Today, another reader shares her tribute to her mother.

Here's Gee:
"I can think of many woman that deserve a Mother's Day Card but there is nobody like my mother, Doreen B. She raised us 4 children on her own and never gave up. She worked and made sure we had the best that she could get for us. She lived miles from us until about 7 years ago then she moved here to Idaho to be closer to us all.

This past year her health has not been the best but she never gave up and she puts her love in the Lord and what he can do for us all. Even at the age I am at now--she is always there to be my mama. I can still call her and tell her, "Mama, I just need someone to talk to." So we can talk, pray and laugh. She knows my dreams for my children and for myself. She knows the heartache I continue to hold onto to help my husband in hopes he will accept Jesus as his personal Savior. She knows I have a strong heart. But what she does not know is I got that strong heart from her.

My mom deserves the best..."

Thanks, Gee, for sharing your tribute to your mom. And she does deserve the best. It was my pleasure to send her a special Mother's Day postcard.--Lyn

Love Inspired Author Anna Schmidt & Her Love of History

Today a fellow Wisconsin author, Anna Schmidt, tells about her mother's heritage.

"My love of history came down to me from my parents -- especially my Mom. I truly think she would have been happy to have lived in an earlier time! At any rate although she had less than a high school education, she was an avid reader and loved (as I do) puttering around in antique shops and looking at items with an eye to who might have held them and used them before. She taught me that if we pay attention to what has gone before we can avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Clearly we are two generations of cock-eyed optimists!

But writing GIFT FROM THE SEA (my latest novel for Steeple Hill and the sequel to SEASIDE CINDERELLA) was a pure labor of love. The idea was to bring two people together who would have been natural enemies in the years of WWI -- an American nurse and a German seaman caught my heart.

Believe me, my hero and heroine totally took over once I brought them onstage and the exploration of the question of forgiveness became the focus for the story and their ability to find love.

Disagreements between nations are really (IMHO) disagreements between governments. When we are brought face to face with another individual whose ideals, traditions and even faith differs from our own, each of us must decide -- do I respect and value this person even thought his or her values and beliefs may differ from my own? And if I do then how to begin a dialogue that will lead to understanding and acceptance and true peace on earth. Blessings to you all."--Anna Schmidt
PS: Hope you will watch my website www.booksbyanna.com "Stories of Challenges Met with Courage, Faith and Healing" for some exciting new opportunities to win free stuff coming later this summer!!!

Thanks, Anna, my own mother always stopped at any little town museum we passed through and I did the same for my children who also became lovers of history.
Anna has already sent me signed copies of both her books--SEASIDE CINDERELLA and its sequel GIFT FROM THE SEA--which will be included in my MEGA May gift basket drawing.--Lyn

Book Monday--Bestselling Author Robin Lee Hatcher

Today, it's my pleasure to tout my friend inspirational romance author Robin Lee Hatcher's newest title.

Who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?

Put up or shut up! Complaining about Bethlehem Springs' dissolute mayoral candidate, Gwen Arlington is challenged to take on the role herself. For seven years, she’s carved out an independent life in the bustling mountain town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, teaching piano and writing for the local newspaper. But now she’s a single woman running for mayor — and in 1915 this decision is bound to stir up trouble.

Morgan McKinley is fed up with the delays that hinder the construction of New Hope Health Spa, a place where both rich and poor can come for rest and healing. New to the area, he has determined that serving as mayor would help him push through his agenda for progress.

Gwen and Morgan each want to prove they are the most qualified candidate, not only to voters but to each other, and so sparks fly as the two campaign. Although Morgan has learned to guard his heart as fiercely as Gwen guards her independence, could they learn to be allies instead of adversaries?

This first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs Series provides intriguing insights into how women challenged convention and shaped America in the early twentieth century. To buy a copy: http://www.robinleehatcher.com/bookbuyoptions.html

A reader's opinion:

"Robin Lee Hatcher is such a diverse writer. She encompasses so many different genres and her books are just a pleasure to read. One of my all time favorites books is Robin's book "Ribbon of Years" for the originality she uses in her writing style. A good example of women's fiction is her recent book "A Perfect Life", but "A Vote of Confidence" looked different than anything I had previously read by Robin so I was excited to see what it would bring to the table. Here again Robin shows her diversity in styles as she presents a book that takes us back in time and introduces us to a single woman in a time when women have the right to vote, but that is about it ... A fun read in the same vein as Deeanne Gist or Cathy Marie Hake... I really enjoyed this book - a new winner from Robin Lee Hatcher!" — via Amazon review 5/1/09

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. To learn more, visit http://www.robinleehatcher.com and watch the book video there too.
She makes her home in Idaho where she enjoys spending time with her family and her high-maintenance Papillon, Poppet.

Brenda Minton & her mom Rosetta

Today, another Love Inspired author shares the story of her mother. Here's Brenda:

"When I think of strong women, I think of a woman that I didn’t have in my life for long enough. My mom, Rosetta Kasiah, lost her struggle with breast cancer 27 years ago. I was fourteen. As a child I wanted her to fight harder, to not give up. Looking back at her life, I realize now that she fought harder than anyone. My mother not only fought cancer, but she was also a polio survivor. She grew up in the 1930s and 40s, in a family with nearly a dozen children. Life was not easy, not by any stretch of the imagination. But my mother survived. She overcame her disability.

As a matter of fact, growing up, I never realized she had one. She didn’t talk about it. She didn’t let it stop her. She was beautiful, caring, and always busy. She worked our farm, she worked in the school cafeteria and she made a career out of selling AVON. Avon was the place where she shined. She went door-to-door, taking me with her. She knew everyone, and everyone loved her. In the fourteen years that I had her in my life she taught me lessons that I didn’t realize she was teaching me. She taught me to fight for what I wanted, even if it was just an orphaned baby bird or a possum. Yes, a possum.

My room was a menagerie of orphaned animals and bird’s eggs. She was willing to go sledding with me, and to sit outside and watch my latest fantastic bike trick. She taught me to dream. My mother also encouraged my love of books. Each month that we got the form from Scholastic, I would pick out several books. Old Bones the Wonder Horse, Black Beauty, King of the Wind and many more. I still have several of them. One of the sweetest memories is of the two of us on the couch reading ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL out of Reader’s Digest. We loved those stories and we loved watching PBS together. The other thing my mom did for me: she sent me to church. She always felt self-conscious in dresses, so she wouldn’t go. But each Sunday she would wake me up and send me.



I didn’t know until later that her faith included time alone with God, and the blessing of ministries on our local TV stations. My mom was the one of the strongest women that I know, and I wish I could have known her better. Lacey Gould is the heroine in THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR, my May Love Inspired. Like my mother, Lacey had a difficult childhood, but she wanted better and she was willing to work hard to change her life."

Thanks, Brenda--Lyn

Sandra Robbins Honors Her Mother

Today Sandra Robbins shares a story about her mother. Here's Sandra:

"A few years ago my grandson asked me a question that made me smile. With the true innocence of a child, he looked at me and said, “Were our ancestors the ones who lived on the plantations in the old South?”

I struggled to keep from smiling as I replied, “No, you’re not descended from material wealth, you have something even better. Your ancestors who scratched out a living in the rich soil of the South left you a heritage of love of God, love for family, and a work ethic that makes you productive.”

These traits have always been most evident in my mother. Raised as the daughter of sharecroppers during the Depression, she dropped out of high school to marry my father. She never had a diploma, but she was the most well-read person I ever knew and could discuss any topic.

In her early twenties, however, she experienced something that threatened to end her marriage. She was a young wife and hadn’t traveled much from her familiar surroundings of the rural South. When my father was struck with mastoiditis and an abscess on the brain, she found herself alone and plunged into the world of a big city hospital among strangers. She was scared and knew the life she’d envisioned with her husband might end. As my father hovered between life and death, this young girl turned for strength to God.

When despair threatened to overtake her, someone would pop into her life, and she knew they’d been sent by God. One person she often spoke of was a woman who appeared one morning and insisted they go downstairs to have breakfast together. She’d hardly left the room since she’d arrived, and the invitation came at a time when she needed a break. Another time she heard a slight cough in the hall and threw the door open to find her brother standing there. He’d driven the long distance in a farm Jeep to bring their parents to spend some time with her.

As her husband improved, she heard the doctors tell him he lucky was to be alive. When he was dismissed from the hospital with his head swathed in bandages, this young girl made all the arrangements for their return home by train and delivered him safely.

With my father’s life spared, they went on to have four children and were married for sixty-two years. My mother never worked outside the home, but she had a ministry. After her experience in the city, she learned to drive, and her car became known by everybody in her town. She was always the first to arrive with her car’s trunk loaded with food when death or illness struck a family. She went on to serve as first lady in her town and her county as my father attained various elected offices. But she never forgot the days when she sat by her husband’s bedside and trusted their future to the Lord they served."


Thanks for sharing, Sandra--Lyn

Audrey Hebbert tells the story of Gwen Edland

Today, Audrey Hebbert, a new friend, shares a story about a woman we can all admire. Here's Audrey:

"Gwen Edland is a strong woman. Rather than relaxing in retirement, the 74-year-old Nebraska great-grandmother has become a globetrotting evangelist, sharing the gospel even in the world's more dangerous places.

Sometimes teaming up with organizations like the Omaha Rapid Response Team to offer food and supplies, other times organizing her own team, Edland has prayed with thousands to receive Christ in more than 67 nations, including Iraq, China and Russia. A registered nurse, certified teacher and licensed pastor, Edland has given away countless Jesus and Passion of the Christ videos, and the evangelistic pamphlet, Step Up To Life, which has been translated into more than 28 languages.
(Gwen, Ken & Waheed)

“Being with Gwen is like being with a modern day Moses because it seems like the sea just parts and we walk right through,” said David Collins, Life Care Pastor at Trinity Church Interdenominational in Omaha, Nebraska. He has accompanied Edland on trips to China. “It's an astonishing experience. She's so dedicated and so focused in her devotion to the Lord.”

Everyone loves Gwen Edland, including children, young people and adults, all the way up to one of her best friends and primary intercessors who is 92 years old. Edland always greets everyone as if they were her best friend. She sincerely inquires about people; she dances with the children in the street; and always has a joke or upbeat comment to make. Yet this is a strong woman who gets the job done for her Lord.

“I always assume I have a green light until God gives me a red light,” she says. A red light does not signal stop, but rather, figure out how to change tactics and get the job done anyway. On May 8th Edland will leave Pastor Rafael's house in Uganda around 7:00 a.m. with an eight-person team, headed for a temporary clinic. They will diagnose illness and dispense medicines, and share the love of Jesus with an amazing number of people who have lined up along a dirt path until evening, when they move to the area where they conduct evangelistic crusades until after 10:00 p.m. Then it's home for dinner and rest until the next morning. Somehow this team will find time to deliver sewing machines to people who need to earn money where there are no jobs.

The team will conduct a women's conference, minister to 50 Ugandan pastors, speak to 97 million muslims on the radio each weekend, and conduct a mass wedding for couples who have become believers and are convicted that they need to be officially married. Gwen has been collecting wedding dresses and rings for the “big wedding.” Since I've known Edland, she's had signs and wonders on her short term missions trips. Her first was in 1993 when she went to Sweden. Without knowing the language, she understood everyone she talked with, and they understood her. Since then she's escaped flying bullets, safely walked the most dangerous slums in Venezuela, handing everyone a Step Up to Life, and watching them stop to read it. She's prayed for people with amazing results, and saw a woman come back from the dead.

Read more at http://audrey4j.blogspot.com/2009/02/raised-from-dead.html.

I wrote Green Light Red Light, a novel describing her work in China, where she slips past the Communist officials, shares the gospel with them and everyone in her university-sponsored English classes, and has fun along the way. She plans to be in China this year, July 11-August 15, her 17th trip since 1993.


You'll find the book at http://www.amazon.com/Green-Light-Red-Audrey-Hebbert/dp/0976522233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241109229&sr=1-1, and more information at www.audreyhebbert.com "

Thanks, Audrey!

Janet Dean & Rahab

Today my friend Janet Dean tells the story of her heroine:
Here's Janet:
"Adelaide Crum, the heroine of my debut novel, Courting Miss Adelaide, possessed strength and courage to do what was right, no matter the cost. Her father left her mother when Adelaide was a baby. Her unhappy mother was unaffectionate and critical of her daughter, but Adelaide found solace in God’s love and in her church family. When Adelaide learns a group of orphans are coming to town, she sees this as her chance to mother a child. But rules prevented single women from having custody. The selection committee turns down her request for a child.

Adelaide suspects Ed Drummond of abusing Emma and William, two of the orphans in his care. Since Ed is a respected member of the community, her concerns aren’t taken seriously. When circumstances bring Emma into Adelaide’s home, the little girl’s behavior heightens Adelaide’s disquiet about what’s going on in the Drummond household. She investigates, incurring Ed’s wrath, but she won’t back down even though her actions risk her business and even her life. Through all her difficulties, Adelaide leans on God and never falters. In the end, she saves the children, gains true love and a family.
Numerous strong women come alive in the pages of the Bible, but I’m particularly drawn to Rahab, the prostitute in Joshua 2:1. Rahab faced great peril in order to save the Israelite spies sent by Joshua to search out the Promised Land. Rahab had heard how the Israelites’ God freed them from slavery in Egypt. She’d heard how their God parted the Red Sea and given them the towns across the Jordan. Rahab acknowledged God, saying to the spies: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath.
When the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab to turn over the men staying in her house, she hid them on the roof among stalks of flax, and then told the king the men had left the city. After obtaining the spies’ promise to save her household when they returned to capture Jericho, she let them down by a cord through the window of her house built on the town wall. In the end, Rahab’s courage not only saved these men and her family, but her son Boaz is named in the lineage of Jesus. God uses those even with imperfect beginnings for His purpose.


My second book, Courting the Doctor’s Daughter releases May 12. Mary Graves faces supreme challenges as she battles for her adopted son. I hope you’ll look for Mary’s story on bookstore and discount store shelves. Thanks for having me today, Lyn! No matter the era or the circumstances, to raise children takes courage and strength. God bless loving mothers everywhere. Happy Mother’s Day! --Janet "
Same to you, Janet--Lyn

Book Monday-Susan May Warren's Nothing but Trouble

Today Susan May Warren tells us about her latest in PJ Sugar - Trouble Collection, another Romantic Comedy/Suspense. Here's Susan:

"It's not fair to say that trouble happens every time PJ Sugar is around, but it feels that way when she returns to her hometown, looking for a fresh start. Within a week, her former teacher is murdered and her best friend's husband is arrested as the number-one suspect. Although the police detective investigating the murder--who also happens to be PJ's former flame--is convinced it's an open-and-shut case, PJ's not so sure. She begins digging for clues in an effort to clear her friend's husband and ends up reigniting old passions, uncovering an international conspiracy, and solving a murder along the way. She also discovers that maybe God can use a woman who never seems to get it right.

PJ Sugar knows three things for sure:

After traveling the country for ten years hoping to shake free from the trail of disaster that’s become her life, she needs a fresh start.

The last person she wants to see when she heads home for her sister’s wedding is Boone—her former flame and the reason she left town.

Her best friend’s husband absolutely did not commit the first murder Kellogg, Minnesota, has seen in more than a decade.

What PJ doesn’t know is that when she starts digging for evidence, she’ll uncover much more than she bargained for—a deadly conspiracy, a knack for investigation, and maybe, just maybe, that fresh start she’s been longing for.


Behind the Pages
Sometimes, do you feel like you just don’t fit in? You look around you and if anyone knew how difficult it was just to put yourself together, to smile when you feel completely overwhelmed, to even figure out what you were making for supper, they’d know what a mess you were. Maybe you totally relate to those words in 1 Peter – God’s elect, strangers and aliens in the world. Do you feel like when you look in the rear view mirror, all you see are your mistakes? Maybe not. But if so, then PJ is your gal. I wanted to write a story about the person in so many of us who just wants to get it right…but can’t seem to stay out of trouble. My friend and I have what we call the “stupid mouth” club…and we report our weekly foibles
(usually on Monday, after Sunday church!).

PJ is our charter member. She’s the girl that changes her mind, always hopes for the best, is always discovering that she is just a little different than everyone else. PJ is us. And that’s good news. Because God loves PJ. He loves her messiness, and her impulsiveness, her heart bent toward others, the hope that fuels her actions. And He has a plan for PJ – one that includes her weaknesses as well as her strengths. Yep, I need to hear that – need to hear that I don’t have to be perfect for God to love me, use me, sing over me. Need to hear that although I don’t fit in, well, I’m not supposed to…in fact, I’m supposed to be a little…alien. So, to all the PJs out there – and anyone who knows a PJ -- this book is for you.

Thank you for reading PJ’s adventures – I hope you come back for her continuing craziness with Boone, and Jeremy and her PI dreams, in the next book: Double Trouble. And meanwhile, may you live with joy on the outside the unique and delightful person God has created on the inside. In His Grace," Susan May Warren

The Launch of Mega May, Reader Jane S tells her mother's story

Today--May 1st--is the start of MEGA May on this blog which celebrates strong women.

This month several readers have sent me stories of women they wanted to honor. Others sent me the names and addresses of women whom they wanted me to send a Mother's Day postcard.

During this month ONLY there will be messages five days each week. And also this is the ONLY month that I will be holding a drawing for a special gift basket of books from the authors who have posted stories and many of my books and goodies. (The basket is very similar to the one pictured to the right that I'm donating to Brenda Novak's Diabetes Auction.)

If you sent me a story to post or if you make a comment, you will have your name entered in the drawing. So be sure to make a comment at least once this month!

I hope you will reap blessings from reading the stories of more strong women this month. I'm looking forward to each one.--Lyn

"My Mother is a Strong Woman by Jane S.

My Mother turned 80 years old on New Years Day. She married at 16 to a 35 year old man, my father. He had lost his second wife to cancer. She was friends with his second wife. People said her marriage would not last but it lasted 36 years when my father died. My Mother had a hard life. My Dad had a nervous break-down early in their marriage before us five kids were born. So he worked as a junker to earn a living. He would haul away stuff other people did not want, clean out their sheds, barns, basements, whatever.

Our home was furnished with furniture other people would throw away. He would sort and sell newspapers, aluminum, copper, brass and whatever he could from the stuff others threw away. My Mom could not budget for us when we went to school because they never knew when they would have work and when they would not. However she would separate into envelopes what was needed each month as it came in to pay the telephone, electric, and for coal to heat the house. We had a wood burning cook stove and her and Dad would cut all the wood to heat the house with.

We had a coal stove in the living room. Sometimes when we have ice storms, I think coal and wood would be good because we never missed being warm without electricity. We grew up without inside plumbing. My Mother would have to take the chamber pots out and empty them every morning. She washed our clothes with a wringer wash machine and clothes were hung outside to dry. When it rained they were strung all over the house. She would heat water over a hot fire to wash the clothes in.

As kids we grew up learning how to make the lye soap she washed the clothes in. I have always told my two daughters (one is now 28 and the other is 22) that I knew how to survive because my Mother knew how to not let people walk all over her. She fought to get anything and everything she could to provide for us. My Dad became disabled when he had a stroke at 55 and my Mom had to fight for every dollar of assistance we got. I have had to use a lot of the skills she passed on as I am disabled myself now. I know first hand some of the hardships she endured to provide for us kids.

My daughter yesterday wrote me an email to tell me how she is finally learning how hard it was for me to provide for her the best clothes, food, and such growing up and she truly appreciates it now. My Mother is 80 years old and suffers from dementia. She is starting to have attacks and it saddens my heart to hear of the things my brother has to put up. We are at the point of praying God takes her home so she won't go downhill anymore. I am 58 years old and I learned how to survive during rough times from my Mother."

Thank you, Jane S, for sharing your mother's story. She certainly set an example of devotion for not only you but your daughters and all who have read her story here. Thanks again.