Somebody's Mother (revised)

I revised this poem in honor of The Addict's Mom site:)
Somebody’s Mother

Somebody’s mother is crying,

Fearing her daughter/son is dying.

Dreading the next phone call

Drugs may have ended of it all.



A beautiful life is no more

Cocaine, pills and alcohol opened the door,

Each time led to one time more,

Innocence, can you be restored?


Oh my child, cannot you see?

Your lifestyle affects more than me?

You try to cover your pain,

But it keeps recurring again.

There is another way out,

Oh yes, it makes me want to shout,

A savior to redeem the sin,

Who can make you feel clean again,

He can make all things new,

He loves and is waiting for you.

He gives you a chance for new life

He knows you are sick of the strife,

Of living in this Hell on earth,

He came that you would find true worth.


He sees not as others see,

He remembers the sweet little child,

Who made her mother’s heart whirl,

The songs you sang even in night

“Some day it’s gonna be all right.”


So don’t make her cry any more,

Turn and walk through a new door,

To wholeness, happiness and more,

You can reach a new level, I know

Today

Donna Collins Tinsley copyright 2002 7/11/02

9/6/11 revised version

Heart-Broken Mothers

Heart-Broken Mothers; I know a few:) I found this old devo and I don't think I have posted it here, yet.


“Lord, why a broken heart?” was a question my Bible Study mentor, Anita Smith once asked in prayer. Her response from God seemed to be, “So you’ll have more pieces to give away.”

Have you, as a parent ever felt heart-broken? Maybe it is because of a physical ailment your child has or an addiction they can’t seem to overcome.


“God, please don’t break my heart!” may be a cry from your heart.


As a mother I have had my heart broken, many times over but how else doe the healing comfort of our Lord come to me, that I am able to reach out in turn and bring healing to others? I may never be able to lower myself to the depths of prayer that is needed to bring my children to the Father, unless pain of our life has brought me to a low and broken place.



Brokenness brings us to the depths of crying out, “Lord, without You, I have no hope or possibility of ever seeing my dreams for my family come true. Brokenness leads us to cry, “Have mercy!” Brokenness leads us to the depths of humbleness that we would not ever realize on our own. When things are going well in our lives we don’t have the quality of clinging to the Lord, of constantly praying and seeking Him that we do when things are hard. Ask the woman who lost her husband unexpectedly, the woman who has lost her sight and mobility to MS, or the woman whose child is in constant pain, or wrestling with extreme anxiety and depression about the nearness of the Lord that brokenness brings.


“Be broken, cries the Lord, “so you can truly hear, perceive and know Me and my purposes. I see you; I know you and your every teardrop. They do not fail to touch Me. I love you and the things that move you, move My heart also. It is not My nature to leave your family in devastation and pain. I will restore, I am a Mighty God of restoration and I change not.


You are broken for My purposes, which are that an outpouring of My spirit will flavor everything you say, do or touch. Draw near, broken wounded child, it is I who can bring healing and I will. It is what I do best….heal, love and restore the heart-broken mothers and their children. In My time.

He won't brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won't disregard the small and insignificant, but he'll steadily and firmly set things right. Isaiah 42:3 The Message
Donna Collins Tinsley

"Deliver Me" will rock your world!

Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy

Dianne E. Butts has compiled a much needed and encouraging book. Nearly every story I read I thought "this is my favorite" and then there would be another one that stole my heart.



There were so many stories of babies, mamas and dads that were struggling with delivering these children, and the decision of letting them live. The drama in each story was incredible. Deliver Me shows that there are so many families that have relatives that have had an abortion; There were so many good resources in this book. Those alone would be worth the price of the book. Pregnancy resource centers all over the country should stock it. If everyone that read this book decided to give their copy to a local pregnancy resource center many people would be helped. Also You might consider putting one in your local library.



In the part titled, "For, By and About Men" I really loved reading the stories written by men who realized too late that they weren't being a man by not protecting their unborn child. It started with a great story called, "Cowboy Up" by Scotty Vaughn. He writes:

"I've learned God doesn't call us to brokenness but through brokenness. Brokenness is a place on the trip but at the cross of Christ there is restoration. If you'll understand and embrace your loss then Jesus will go through that with you. Then He will empower you to help other people make different choices."



I also loved the stories of the Lord giving children to someone either naturally or someone stepping in to parent a child who had no father, as in the story called, "A Father After All."

Dianne's comments were timely and poignant. She aptly ended the book with a story about abstinence.

Deliver Me, is a great title and a great book. I pray that the Lord deliver all the families who deal with the pain of abortion, through the reading of Deliver Me.
Donna Collins Tinsley

A complimentary copy of Deliver Me was provided for review by the publisher through http://www.bookcrash.com/.
http://www.amazon.com/Deliver-Me-Healing-Unplanned-Pregnancy/dp/0983164908/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Authenticity through brokenness; A Key to parenting

You Can Raise Courageous and Confident Kids: Preparing Your Children for the World They Live"
By  Mary E. DeMuth

I was hooked on this book from the allegory at the beginning: "When he walked down the peopled street into the free, wild unknown, Jacob had no tools to navigate the world. He dropped his satchel and faced the confusing world lost and alone" to the very last page. Mary gives us the tools to use, so that our children will not have to feel lost and alone navigating the world.
I am a great fan of Mary E. DeMuth, both of her fiction and nonfiction. As I was reading this book, I thought how it would help so many people in the "Adult Children of Alcoholics" groups as they have had parenting at its worst. They sometimes talk about their childhood's and how they were parented. It is obvious although some have made great strides not to parent in the same way they were parented they could so benefit by Mary's books. When we have a "lost childhood" we sometimes don't know how to parent.
Many times as I was reading I wished I had grown up in the type of home that Mary is giving her children right now. Although she sometimes feels as we all do, that she fails her children at times. She has written some powerful, helpful things to steer us on in "You Can Raise Courageous and Confident Kids: Preparing Your Children for the World They Live"

Mary also gives questions for group discussions at the closing of the book that could be used as a personal Bible Study. Great addendum!
The story at the end of this book showed the very best scenario and I had tears running down my face as I saw what a beautiful send-off we can give if we really get the hang of raising courageous and confident kids. It would be a great gift to give at a baby shower.
Mary is a master storyteller but she shows authenticity through brokenness and for this reason I recommend this book.

Donna Collins Tinsley

I was very late getting this review written and for that I apologize:)
http://www.amazon.com/You-Raise-Courageous-Confident-Kids/dp/0736929711/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315832138&sr=1-10