Linda Newton: BLOG

I wrote this story to help young moms find “me time” in the midst of their demanding days. The principles can work for well-worn women on the “Menopause Express” who have difficulty locating their keys, as well. Blessings to you busy women as you read.Basket CaseIt’s a miracle, I thought as I sank into the overstuffed chair. They are both asleep at once. Could it be that I could actually have some me-time? A mom can dream, I thought to myself.
When it came to planning a family, all of my research stated that it was a good idea to have your kids close together so they could entertain each other, and grow up with a close relationship. That sounded good on paper, but having my son just twenty-two months after my daughter was born was a lot more work than I anticipated. Now after weeks of stress negotiating a potty-training two-year-old and a cranky six-month-old teether, I was on my reserve nerve!  It was more than I could imagine to have a moment to myself
.Music! [...]

I spent the weekend with some wonderful women at the Ashley Inn in the beautiful Cascade Mountains of Idaho! I talked about having a positive perspective and I shared this story from Chuck Swindoll. It’s a letter from a daughter who was away at college to her parents at home. For those ladies who asked for a copy, here it is. It makes us all count our blessings~
 
A Clear View from Mt. Perspective
 
Dear Mom and Dad,
 
Just thought I’d drop you a note to clue you in on my future plans. I’ve fallen in live with a guy named Jim. He quit high school after grade eleven to get married. About a year ago he got a divorce.
We’ve been going steady for two months and I plan to get married in the fall. Until then, I’ve decided to move into his apartment I think I might be pregnant).
At any rate, I dropped out of school last week, although I’d like to finish college sometime in the future.
ON THE NEXT PAGE SHE CONTINUED:
Mom and Dad, I just want [...]

I just left some amazing ladies from Fremont and I am heading for another ladies’ retreat in the Cascade Mountains of Idaho next weekend. I LOVE WOMEN’S RETREATS! We women spend so much time worrying over and taking care of everyone else, but for at least one weekend a year, we deserve to take time off kitchen duty, rest and play, connect with other ladies, eat chocolate and fill our tanks with instruction and inspiration. 
 
If you don’t have a ladies’ group at your church, I would love to help you with some ideas about how to start one.  Maybe you are the catalyst God wants to use to make that happen. 
 
Remember, we retreat so that we can advance!

Here is a poem I shared this weekend at a "New Thing!" retreat with some awesome ladies from Faith Community Church of the Nazarene. I got this from a gal years ago when I shared my testimony at a Women’s Aglow. I use it when to illustrate how Christ came into my life and healed my hurt. I was asked by several ladies for a copy…so here it is~
 
It’s Okay, Mama, Mama
You could never love me, Mama.
Not like I needed to be loved
I cried when I was little
Needing you, Needing you
Needing your eyes to be soft
Needing your lips warm on my forehead. 
Needing you to say
“It’s okay baby, baby
Soft, Soft.”
 
You could never say those things, Mama.
Your eyes were dull
Your lips a hard line,
The hardness all over.
You could never say,
“Baby, baby.”
 
It’s okay, Mama
I’m all grown up now.
A long time ago when I was cryin’
He came, he came.
His eyes were soft.
His lips warm on my forehead,
He said, It’s okay, [...]

Bling From the King~Gems of Encouragement from God’s Word
 
For the past few Blog posts, I have been spelling WIN. Acronyms help me remember things, since the only thing I seem to retain these days is water!  For the W and the I, you can checkout my Blog at www.LindaNewtonSpeaks.com.
 
The “N” in WIN, is to NEVER forget God’s power to provide. Solomon instructs in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Those words helped me focus on God to get me through the dark days in my abusive childhood.
 
In our doubt it would be easy to languish in despondency over what we perceive is God’s inaction or jump ahead of His timing and do things for ourselves. The latter didn’t work too well for Sarah, Abraham’s wife, as we can see illustrated in this story in Genesis 16.
 
Sarai, as she was called [...]