family – Through My Eyes

Vintage Movie Review – War Room

A few weeks ago, while in a thrift store looking for some denim for a craft project, I picked up the movie War Room. I had heard of the title but had no clue as to what the movie was about, except it was made by the creators of “Courageous” a popular Christian-based movie.

Without giving all of the movie away I can tell you it is a powerful movie about a broken marriage and how one elderly woman and God help to put the pieces of a young couple’s marriage back together.

The war room is a closet in the house of an elderly lady whose husband has passed. The closet had been emptied of all clothes and accessories and replaced with a lamp, Bible, and notebook. To find out what happens in the war room, you will want to watch it on your favorite streaming service.

The movie was made back in 2015, but the tools it teaches are badly needed today by a lot of families.

Watch War Room and see how God works his way through this family to heal it.

Repairing Family Ties

If it were possible to receive an Academy Awards for the number of times your heart has been broken, that might would be me. Despite the disappointments and disrespect, I pick up my heart up and continue on this life’s journey, realizing it’s not me it’s the time we are living in.

While I get this is a different generation, I miss the strong family ties I grew up with. Yesterday, my first great-grandchild was born. This is a child I may never see because I have not seen his father in more than a dozen years. I also do not have a connection with my other four grandchildren because they live out of state. When I lived out of state, I called home routinely and came home when I could. Not this generation. This generation takes the phrase “out of sight out of mind” literally!

Despite it all, I am still hopeful that, at some point, these family ties will start to mend. Grandparents and Great Grandparents do add value to the family unit. I loved my grandparents and, on occasion, visited my great-grandmother. My time with this older generation provided knowledge I would never have gained otherwise.

I sometimes anger when other women talk about what a burden their grandchildren are or wish they wouldn’t come over so often. I interrupt their conversation to tell them how lucky they are and how I would be grateful to have that connection. They lower their heads and usually don’t say anything else.

If you have strong ties with your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, be grateful! Don’t let another minute go by that you don’t let them know you appreciate them.

While I can’t change my family dynamics at this time, I certainly hope I can change someone else’s!

Hug someone today. It’s not harmful to your health but can be healthy for your heart.

Don’t forget to like, share, and follow. Have a great day.

Genealogy 101

Last year I briefly touched on Genealogy. Here’s more of the meat of the subject. I never knew when I first started my journey some thirty plus years ago that I would still be working on this. Yes there have been time I just pushed it aside to do other things but I somehow keep coming back to this huge puzzle.

If you are not familiar with the subject watch the movie “Roots”. While there is a lot in the movie I don’t agree with and some down right untruths, it is what initially motivated me to explore my own roots. It was how they conducted the search that interested me.

Fortunately for me our local community college that has a library dedicated to genealogy and family history. Lets begin at the beginning. Let me just say, if you plan on just using Ancestry or one of the other online sites they are helpful but you won’t find everything there. I started my search before Ancestry went online so I went to a lot of courthouse and walked a lot of graveyards.

Here are some great links to begin your research:

Welcome to NGS’s Free Genealogy Resources

This site is great for beginners and has downloadable forms you can print. One in particular you will need is the family group sheet. This site gives a lot of detail. You also might want to visit the following sites

https://www.ancestry.com,https://www.cyndislist.com and https://www.pdffiller.com/jsfiller-desk18/?flat_pdf_quality=low&mode=force_choice&requestHash=1a4b6441fad602df5076b9b3b8de4db4d7d87ff9a4af340a0a1a0769a64d6b4e&projectId=1441784578&loader=tips&MEDIUM_PDFJS=true&PAGE_REARRANGE_V2_MVP=true&richTextFormatting=true&isPageRearrangeV2MVP=true&jsf-page-rearrange-v2=true&LATEST_PDFJS=true&jsf-document-scroll-zoom=true&jsf-redesign-full=true&act-notary-pro-integration=false&jsf-dss-v2=false&routeId=e2eb102734cb1c24fb2836d9cc9bfab3#9b9794ea705f4efa9a21318c84c23213
This link will get you to an online fillable ancestry chart that you can either fill in online or print out and use. Also, https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy,https://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-resources/50-free-genealogy-sites

You can begin now by filling out the following form:

The family group sheet is the first sheet you will need. Start with your family and complete as much information as you have then do one for your parents, grandparents, etc.

As you collect your data keep a research log to keep up with where you found the information.

If you appreciate this information and would like to start digging your own roots, don’t forget to like, share and follow for more tips and resources.

Have a great day.

Closure

I am listening to Lady Soul by the Embers. Somehow it seems fitting to be listening to something old as my sister and I prepare to close today on the family home. While the music soothes my nerves it also reminds me of the good times my family and I had at the beach.

I can’t bring my parents back but I can remember the best of them. Lately with the state this world is in I have also been reminded of the values they taught me that other people don’t seem to have. While we did not always see eye-to-eye, we did always have respect for each other.

So today as we make an important step toward the closure of our parents’ estate, we will also find some closure ourselves. We have walked away from the homeplace feeling good that we “did right by them” as my Dad would say. While for the most part we have moved past the grief we can now move forward in our individual lives.

We will move forward and show the world that the best of us is yet to come!

God bless each and every one of you. The fact that you have tolerated my rants about life just makes you a part of my circle of friends. Thanks for reading and following me on my journey of life.

Christmases Past

Our Christmases of the past make me wonder what this Christmas will be like, for sure nothing like the last.

My Mother always enjoyed Christmas and last year was no exception. She laughed and ate well but somehow I knew it would be her last and three days later she did pass.

The parades we may have no more. As a family we have decided to take a risk and still get together. Family is not something we are willing to comprimise on or have the government tell us what to do. Families shape us in a way nothing else can. They define our moral structure, they support us when we are in need and celebrate us when we succeed.

After all, in sickness or in health our Heavenly Father still joins us. He still supports us and still celebrates with us even if our earthly family is unable to. Even if you do not have family, reach out to help someone to have that special Christmas.

This year is particularly hard. We have had many losses. Our Mother was our greatest loss but we have also lost our freedom to show our face, our religious rights and the right to an honest election. The old saying “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” is true for the most part. While we struggle to regain our footing, our faith is something that will never waiver even if we can’t attend church. I carry my faith with me. I am not ashamed of it and will always protect it. I am very vocal about my rights and desires to live a normal life and do not apologize for that. Dispite the evil in this country, I still stand for American and what our forefathers fought for.

Whatever your plans are this Christmas, keep Christ in your plans and hold your family close to you even if that means being six feet apart!

God bless you all.