Happy Birthday Mom!

This Sunday (Nov 27) is my mom's birthday. In honor of my mom I wanted to post my Mother's Day message that I wrote on my "Facebook Notes" this past Mother's Day, May 2011.
This time last year I was home visiting my mom. She was recovering from knee replacement surgery, but she was quite a trooper...even the surgeon was pleased with her progress.
I love my mom and thank the Lord for her love and support.
So here's to my mom!!! Hip Hip Hooray and Happy Birthday Mom...love you so much!!!

I am in Tanzania for another Mother's Day and this evening I will attempt to call my mom to tell her that I love her...if the phone network here in TZ allows me to get through.

So this morning I was thinking about my mom and growing up and life and learning. When I was growing up I didn't appreciate my mom the way I do today. It seems the older I get the more I understand and appreciate so many things in my life.

I thought I'd list of few of the things that I just love about my mom:

1. Thanks mom for being such a strong woman! The strength she carries in her continues to amaze me even as a grown adult! I love it...love, love, love it! I was home last Oct/Nov and watched my mom recover from knee replacement surgery...she battled hard! She inspires me!

2. Growing up all my friends would tell me, "Your mom is so fun." She is a ton of fun! She is waaaaaay more competitive than I am and when we have "game night" at my Aunt Josie's house she is INTENSE about to winning! But she loves to have fun and I love that about her. I am much more serious than she is so I really have come to appreciate her fun personality!!!

3. The woman loves to pray! My mom accepted the Lord in her heart more than 20 years ago and her fervor for God's Word and prayer have only grown. She will pray for someone in need as long as it takes to see the breakthrough in their lives. This is the woman I've got in my corner praying for me daily! Yep! I'm blessed!!!

4. There is only one road for my mom and that is the road of faith! One of my favorite things about my mom is her faith in God. She doesn't let outward circumstances sway her from what God's Word says. She holds to His Word and prays it over each and every situation. People of faith move mountains! Oh yeh...she's moving mountains for the kingdom of God from her prayer room!

5. Her heart of compassion amazes me. When I was a teenager I would get stomach flu quite often and it would result with me vomiting and lying in bed with a fever for days. My memories of those days is my mom making her mint tea (she grew the mint leaves) and standing over me crying and praying and speaking words of love and encouragement...still stirs my heart today when I think about those days.

But my mom's heart of compassion goes way beyond just that. I can remember growing up and having people from the convalescent home over to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I remember going to the convalescent home and delivering pizzas. Stopping the car and giving homeless people food. Going over to the house of an elderly person and bringing them some food and praying for them.

Growing up we had all sorts of injured animals at our house that she would nurse back to life. Even now my mom feeds all kinds of stray animals that will let her touch them but no one else.

When Anjela died (Anjela was one of our Treasures at Treasures of Africa Children's Home) in January 2010 my mom called me and we grieved together over the loss of that sweet girl. My mom never met Anjela but she mourned the loss of Anjela with me as if she had lost one of her own grandchildren. That meant the world to me!

6. My mom understands me and all my quirkiness. My mom just stands there or waits in the car patiently for me time and time again when I run back in the house four times because I forgot my sweater, left my sandwich on the counter, need to use the restroom one more time, have to finish a phone call and all that nonsense that I do EVERY time we are together (from the time I can remember up to now). I remember one time about 10 years ago telling my mom, "I'm sorry for being so frustrating." Her response to me was, "You are not frustrating. You’re my Lydia D." She knows me! I am odd in so many ways but that doesn't seem to phase her one bit!!! :)


This is just a small list of wonderful things about my mom. It warms my heart to think of her and I look forward to seeing her when I come home for visits. She comes to the airport to pick me up with a homemade burrito in her hand!!! Anyone who knows my mom knows her burritos!!! YUM!

All the way from Tanzania I'm thinking about you mom!!!