Thursday, May 8, 2008

To The Greatest Moms I Know...





~My Precious Mother~



Who can find a virtuous (excellent in all forms) woman. For her worth is far above rubies. Strength and honor are her clothing. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31



On this Thankful Thursday I would like to thank God for some of the most wonderful, dedicated, and selfless moms I know, who have been so influential in shaping the lives and character of their precious children.

First, I want to thank God for my own mom, who is now with Jesus. She is and will forever be close to my heart♥ There is nothing I do or say that has not been impacted by her remarkable influence in my life. I miss her more and more as the years go by. She was the greatest example I have ever known of what it means to live a self-less life, and the most generous woman ever. I love you mom...

I’d also like to honor my husband's mother as well. She was such a gift to me and I’ll be forever grateful for the son she raised. She is also now with Jesus. My advice to all of you who still have your mom’s is to enjoy them while they are still with you, and let them know how special they are each and every day!


Also, I would like to ask you to keep in prayer some very exceptional mom's who will never again experience a Mother's Day in the quite the same way. These are courageous young women that I personally know and love, and who now have children in heaven. Each holiday is filled with many different emotions, but I think that above all of them, Mother's Day must be one of the most difficult.

Today I would like to honor four of these amazing ladies who have taught me what true faith, courage, and devotion is really all about.

♥ By now I'm sure most of you reading my blog know what a special relationship I have with Tonya Nason. Tonya and I met at St. Jude while our son’s were undergoing treatment. Not only did we become best buddies, but so did our boys. If you have not had the privilege to get to know her, please stop by Safe In His Arms. She's warm, she's witty, and she has an astounding passion for Jesus. I love you Tonya, Happy Mother's Day to you!



♥ The next mom that I've come to love and admire is Heather Duckworth. Heather has stolen the heart of so many. As she journaled about Jacob's battle with cancer, Heather recorded the largest number of visits to her site in the history of Caringbridge!! Can you imagine? Well, you would only have to read one entry before you're officially hooked. Her love for Jesus, her children, and her unique spirit of Joy permeates all she does and writes about. I'm so blessed to know her and to be called her friend. Stop on by and visit Heather at Faithful Froggers and you'll see what I'm talking about!


~Heather & Donnie~


♥ Another special friend that I have connected deeply with is Susan Pauxtis. I also met Susan through Caringbridge. Her brave son Timmy fought a courageous battle with brain cancer. From the very first time I dropped by to visit their site, I was captivated by her writing and her love and dedication to the cause of fighting these horrible childhood diseases. Since Timmy went to be with Jesus, Susan and her family started a Foundation in his honor. She recently sponsored her first “Timmy Tour De Shore”, which raised over, $70,000.00 to help fund research for childhood brain tumors. They have already set the date for the next one in October. Susan has been a tremendous support for all of us mom's who are still in the battle. I love you Susan, and I pray your Mother’s Day is one filled with beautiful memories of sweet Timmy.


~Susan & Timmy~


♥ Finally, I'd like to end by honoring one other special friend of mine named Dawn. As you might have guessed by now, I first met Dawn through Caringbridge also, but I finally got the privilege of meeting her in person while Jordan and I were at St. Jude for one of his six-month check-up’s. Getting together with her has become one of the highlights of my regular visits to St. Jude. She works as a Volunteer at Habitat for Hope, encouraging, visiting and bringing dinners to needy families who are staying in Memphis while their children are in treatment. Dawn lost her precious son Shae to cancer 7 years ago. She continues to bless me and countless others in so many ways. Happy Mother’s Day to you Dawn, you are a true blessing.




Yes, these are my many heroes. These are the brave one’s who never gave up in the face of insurmountable odds. Who stayed the course and ran the race set before them. They are champions who remained faithful until the very end. While it is true that their precious children are now in heaven, they never lost the battle. What a glorious passage we find in 1 Cor. 15,

“…when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”


I would also like to wish all of you a great Mother's Day! I've never met so many dedicated, loving mom's. I continue to glean from each one of you, and it's been such a joy getting to know you all.
Please join us at Sting My Heart to see what other grateful hearts are thanking God for.



30 comments:

lori said...

Would you STOP! I have tears running down my face!! What a list....YOU must add yourself to that list...you bless near and far! Your wisdom with words blesses me more than you could possibly know!!

HAPPY MOM'S DAY girlfriend....
those are some lucky boys you've got!!

hugs,
lori

Anonymous said...

Lol..computer decided it didn't like what I wrote and erased EVERYTHING...so...Lol; I really loved the post you wrote because it shows that though we depend on Dads to fix the things that are broken...moms are really the heart and cornerstone of a child's life; She is the warm, cuddly teddy bear that is always there and make those little hurts always much better than what they were before. God bless the mothers who guided us and the future mothers we raise and love ourselves.

LAURIE said...

What a beautiful thankful thursday. and a tribute to some Moms who have really gone thru the fire with their kids. - God bless, Laurie

Denise said...

You are so precious. Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute, you touched my heart.

Nancie said...

Such an encouraging tribute to mothers! That must surely include yourself too as you are such a loving and godly mother :)

Thanks for sharing this awesome list and those mothers you mentioned are truly great mothers! Thank God for mothers who love God, their children and others.

Blessed Mother's day!

Anonymous said...

Dear Susan,

Thank you my friend. I am so honored that you chose me as one of your special mom friends. You have just given me the best Mother's Day gift with what you wrote. I do love that picture of me and Timmy.

I will be back before Mother's Day to wish you much love, and to send many blessings your way for a very happy Mother's Day with your family.

With Love, Susan

Anonymous said...

happy mothers day! what a wonderful list of TT. may God bless you more.

Melanie said...

OH, Susan... what a beautiful, beautiful post and tribute to some VERY special Moms.

Happy Thankful Thursday and Happy Mother's Day to you!

luvmy4sons said...

Oh, my. Thank you for blessing me today. Inspirational!

Nise' said...

Thank you for sharing these wonderful moms with us! Thank you for the reminder to love on our moms, MIL and other mother figures while we are blessed with their presence here on earth.

Aisha said...

Beautiful Post, Susan. It gave me an idea to post something for my mom on Mother's Day! :)

Heather said...

Thank you for honoring these women. What a hall of fame for mtohers!

Greg said...

I am a New York Times bestselling author working on a new book about mother-daughter relationships and thought you might want to contribute. Please visit my page for details about submitting stories for Mom's Little Angel.

Gregory E. Lang
Author of “Daddy’s Little Girl,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Dad,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Mom” and more.

Susannah said...

This was just a special, special tribute, Susan. I've "met" Tonya and Heather through your blog... both delightful, joyful ladies. I'll have to meet the others too.

You brave Moms are my heros, and an example of the Lord's faithfulness to his own. Thank you for being such a bright light in the blogosphere.

And Happy Mother's Day!

Much Love, e-Mom

Kelley said...

Susan,
This is a beautiful tribute to some very beautiful women! WOW, what an honor to be able to lift them and their families up in prayer. Thank you for sharing all of them today! What really strikes me about each of them is their genuine smiles and their obvious LOVE for Jesus!! I would add you to this list as well...

Also,thank you for your kindness at my site. You have become a dear friend and your encouragement is HUGE to me!

Love,
Kelley

Heather said...

For MOther's Day your sweetheart could serve you shrimp in a blender! :) Sorry about the liquid diet. That stinks. I hope you can get some relief from this TMJ!

Tea with Tiffany said...

Tears like Lori. Stunningly beautiful tribute to moms.

Thank you for your friendship and the prayers you continue to pour out on my behalf. I feel your love filling those dry places. Thank you, thank you.

Love you,
Tiffany

Darlene said...

Wonderful tribute to moms. Moms are truly a gift from God. I know I am so thankful for mine. Have a great week and Happy Mother's Day!

Kim@Seasons of My Heart said...

WOW...what an amazing Thankful Thursday post!!

You too, must be added to the list of AMAZING Godly, Mom's. Your faithfulness to the Lord and your family shines through all you do!!!

Praying that God blesses you in HUGE ways as you celebrate Mother's Day with your precious family.

Blessings sweet friend,
kim~

Tracy said...

What a touching, incredibly beautiful tribute to so many amazing Mom's God has privileged you to know.

Wow, truly Heroes, indeed. I can't even find words to express my thoughts about these precious ones.

Thank you so much for sharing this. Happy Mother's Day to you! You are one incredible Mom (and Grandma) too!

Blessings,
Tracy

Peggy said...

Thanks Susan...what an aMazing Heart! Your mom must be proud!(excuse me very pleased)
I agree just add your name to the list! What a extremely AWESOME tribute to all these moms! Each one is deserving of a SUPER hug and wonderful mother's day! How heart breaking yet what beauty in the heart of mothers like you!
How treasureable and you're right
how painful Mother's day can be!

May the Lord hug our moms and the children of all the Caring Bridge!
May HE give strength and healing wings to the rest! This was the first time I clicked on one of your Sites on the left: & I had to choose the Lonliest Road Campaign,
that moved me beyond words and then you added this awe-inspiring
tear-jerker! I'm out of kleenex and who knows how many more TTs wrote on their moms!

Thank you so much and Bless you this weekend!I appreciate so much the words of wisdom you gave to all who are fortunate enough to still have their moms here!Happy
Blessed Mother's Day! Peggy

Love Bears All Things said...

A beautiful tribute!
Mama Bear

Unknown said...

Oh Susan,

What a profound and honoring post to our Lord and to those who are amazing people. I too have tears.

God bless you and each one of them. Love and hugs, Lynn

i said...

What a lovely post! Such beautiful tributes too! Thanks for sharing! Thanks for dropping by too and leaving a lovely comment. Have a blessed weekend ahead!

Tracy Berta-daughter to the King, wife, mother, speaker, writer said...

Susan, what a beautiful list! The precious tributes to your mother and mother in law were beautiful, but then, the lovely words about your four friends....wow!

Susan, you are such an inspiration and such beautiful person....

This was my first tag and wanted to share it with you! Hope you have fun!
If you're reading this MeMe (from Evan's Garden) then tag, You're it!

Here are the rules for this one:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful tribute! Have a blessed Mother's day! And thanks for visiting me yesterday!

Lelia Chealey said...

Absolutely beautiful Susan~ALL of you mothers.
Love,
Lelia

Faithful Froggers said...

Oh, Susan, you are just precious! Thank you so much for praying for me, encouraging me and being my friend over the years. You are a blessing!

Of course, I have to add you to the list of moms! You are just amazing and I look up to you so very much!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day! Enjoy every minute!
Love & FROG . . .

Tessa said...

What a wonderful post ... dedicated to all the mothers who are heroes! I love it! Happy Mother's Day to you!

eph2810 said...

What a beautiful post honoring moms, Susan.
I have 'met' Tonya, but I have not had the privelge to meet the other couragous moms. Thank you for pointing us in their direction.

Thank you for sharing your grateful hear with us.

Be blessed today and always...