Now there IS a time to act, but I believe that we ought to start with prayer. We cannot face evil without first going to prayer and leaving it in God’s hands. When we go to action without God’s direction, we get what we have now. A mess. Just as the Israelites did many times.
Elizabeth Boles shared earlier this week the Reason to Pray and so many benefits to prayer. One of them is to pray for our leaders and restore our nation to God so that we can live peaceful lives. 1 Timothy 2:2
As Christians, have we truly fallen before God to pray for our nation? Oh, we say we pray and we might even throw in a sentence prayer or two now and again. But let me ask you, “When was the last time you really spent time in prayer over our nation?”
Are we desperate enough to give up a meal, get down on our knees and cry out to God over the sins of our land? Are we willing to humble ourselves and ask forgiveness? God is calling to prayer. He wants to see that we are desperate for Him to do something. Let’s start with prayer.
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God promises that if we, HIS PEOPLE, will humble ourselves and repent of not only our own sins but also the sins of the nation that He will restore our land. Let’s claim it and do it. Let’s Start with Prayer.
Start with Franklin Graham’s prayer in 2016
Let’s Pray with Dr. Franklin Graham. This prayer was during the conventions in 2016, but his prayer is still valid today. Pray with him now.
A Prayer Resource to Continue in Prayer
A few years back, Anne Graham Lotz set up several Initiatives to Pray. It’s all written out to guide you through serious prayer for ourselves, our churches and our nation. You can find these prayer guides on her website. There are two that I especially like concerning our nation.
An Urgent Call to Prayer and
A Distress Call to Prayer.
Go to Anne’s website and download these prayers. Use them in your daily quiet times. it might change your own heart.
Let’s Send out a Distress Call to God
God would see that we are serious. Commit to praying for our elected officials, confess the sins of our country, and plead for God to help us turn things aroud.
Will you join me?
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Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.
Deuteronomy 8:6
First of all, Who Should Pray?
Everyone should pray at all times of the day, every day. Everyone should let their requests be made known to God -Philippians 4:16. God will supply every need of yours (Talking to everyone) according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus -Philippians 4:19. Everyone should pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
And For Whom Should We Pray?
We should pray for ourselves, our family, friends, church family, co-workers, neighbors, homeless, anyone struggling, and your enemies.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:44
God also wants us to pray for our Nation -Psalm 22:28. No
matter what nation you are in. God wants everyone’s hearts, not just some. He
wants us to pray for the world –John 17:9.
When we listen, God will ask us to pray for certain people as
well.
What Should We Pray?
There are many different ways in which we can pray. In my post “Why
We Pray and the 12 Forms of Prayer” I go through 12 ways to pray.
Here I am going to add to my list because there are so many ways that we can
pray.
1. Adoration and Blessing: Adoration is a deep love and respect, a form of worship. (Psalm 84:11, Luke 4:7). A blessing is God’s favor and protection. (Nehemiah 1:11)
2. Communion: Communion is sharing or exchanging your intimate thoughts and feelings with God, all day, all the time. (Psalm 72:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
3. Petition: Petition is your formal request to God with respect for a particular cause. (1 Timothy 2:1)
4. Supplication: Supplication is when you ask or beg for something earnestly or humbly. Lifting up your needs. (Psalm 119:170, Matthew 6:9-13)
5. Intercession: Intervening and praying on behalf of another person. (1 Timothy 2:1, John 17, 2 Corinthians 1:11)
6. Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude to God (Philippians 4:16, 1 Timothy 2:1, and a lot of the Psalms have thanksgiving prayers)
7. Praise: Praise is when you express admiration, respect, and gratitude toward God. (Acts 13:2-3)
8. Spiritual Warfare: Spiritual Warfare is when our Spirit engages in or is involved in war or conflict with our own mind or when dealing with Satan and demons. (Ephesians 6:11-12, Romans 7:23, Hebrews 2:15)
9. Agreement: Agreement is when you are in harmony or accordance in opinion or feeling with the person you are praying with or in agreement with God. (Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42)
10. Faith: Faith is complete trust, confidence, or a strong belief in God. (James 5:15)
11. Consecration: Consecration is making or declaring something. (Matthew 26:39, 1 Timothy 4:5)
12. Watch and Pray: Watch and Pray is when you are constantly aware and praying. (Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38, Luke 21:36)
13. Immanuel prayer: There is a bit to learn with this prayer. You can learn how to do this prayer at www.immanuelapproach.com. The Immanuel approach is the same thing but a different name for Emmanuel prayer or Immanuel process. Immanuel means God with us. This prayer deepens intimacy with God, resolve past pain, and discern God’s guidance. Related scripture can be found in Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:21, John 15:4-5, and Revelation 3:20.
14. Repentance: Repentance prayer is repenting for sin asking for forgiveness. (Matthew 3:8, Luke 5:32, Acts 13:24, Mark 1:4)
15. Binding and loosing (taking authority): Binding and loosing prayer is when you bind or put chains on something or a situation, such as bind the devil against his attacks, bind under law or authority, bind to a spouse, etc. or when you loosen something such as loosening chains, break free from someone or something, break free from bondages, or to declare something that is unlawful. (Matthew 16:19)
16. Fasting: Fasting prayer is when you fast and pray, saying a fasting prayer is asking God to help you with your fast and to focus on God, rely on him for wisdom and guidance. (Esther 4:3, Matthew 6:16)
17. Declaration: Declaration prayer is like the consecration prayer- when you declare change, you declare breakthrough, or declare something in your prayer. (1 Chronicles 16:24, Psalm 22:22, Psalm 51:15)
18. Proclamation: Proclamation prayer is proclaiming your prayer. Praying out loud to God. Sometimes Satan wants us to be silent so we should proclaim and say them out loud. (1 Peter 3:19)
19. Prophetic: Prophetic prayer is having a conversation with God, not only talking to him but listening to what he has to say and acting or responding accordingly. You can pray with revelation, given to you by the Holy Spirit. You can receive prophetic insight before you pray but use that when you pray or the Holy Spirit can guide you while you pray. Prophetic prayer can be intentional or spontaneous. Know when and how to apply this prayer. Some situations require God’s immediate intervention. (1 Corinthians 14:32, Romans 16:26, 2 Peter 1:19)
20. Praying Bible verses: Praying Bible verses is when you turn to a scripture in the bible and pray it over your life or someone else that needs prayer. For example, I pray strength among other things over my children, one scripture is “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” -Philippians 4:13. So, I pray it like this “Heavenly Father, My children can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens them. Amen”. You can do this with many verses in the Bible for strength, faith, courage, peace, provision, direction, protection, joy, compassion, justice, wisdom, guidance, hope, love, fruits of the spirit, and the full armor of God. Praying Bible verses is praying God’s Word back to him.
21. Promises: Promises prayer is praying God’s promises to you back to God. When you look for scripture that has promises that relate to your situation, pray that scripture and trust God to bring them to pass. (2 Corinthians 1:20, Psalm 106:12, Joshua 21:45)
22. Travailing: Travailing prayer is a very intense form of prayer. It involves expressing a great deal of time and emotional energy. The manifestation of the grief of the heart of God or God desiring to manifest a measure of life or growth. (Mark 6:7-13, Mark 3:13-15, 1 Kings 8: 44-45)
23. Listening: Listening prayer is when you spend time with God and just listen for what he wants of us and being obedient. (Luke 10:39)
24. Prostration: Prostration is when you put your body in a submissive position in the presence of God, whether it is kneeling or bowing, but with your hands on the ground. Submitting fully to God in prayer. (Numbers 22:31)
We should pray always: Pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions will all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
-Ephesians 6:18
When we pray we don’t have time to sin, to turn away from God or our faith. We will notice more prayers answered when we pray without ceasing and with faith.
Making time for God should be a priority in our lives. Pray when
you first wake up thanking him for letting you see and live another day. Pray
during the day about your day, safety, guidance, family, among other things.
Pray at night before bed, before you fall asleep.
OK, Where Should We Pray?
We should pray anywhere and everywhere but also God wants us to pray in our prayer closet: Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen Matthew 6:6
You
can pray in your bed, in the shower, on the toilet, while making breakfast,
lunch or dinner, in your chair or on your couch, in your car, at church, at
work, at school, or anywhere else. You can make time for God at any time of
day. You can pray to God in your head all day long, having one constantly long
conversation with him.
Why Should We Pray?
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1. We are God’s Children and should have a close relationship with our
Heavenly Father. He wants us to have a relationship with him. He wants us to
dig deeper.
3. We give thanks to God for all he’s done in our lives and for our
many blessings. We have so much to be thankful for and we are beyond blessed by
our Heavenly Father. Why not take a moment out of your day to let God know how
thankful you are.
4. It helps us call on God, depend on Him and trust in Him. Having a conversation with God is one of the best parts of the day. It’s one way we really get to know him and how he works.
5. It gets our hearts ready for what God wants us to do in our lives
and what he wants to for us.
6. Gives us an opportunity to listen to God. We should take time out
of our day to listen to God and be obedient.
7. We can pray for God’s guidance. Where is God leading us, what
does God want us to do? He answers all of those questions when we pray and ask
for his guidance.
8. We can make requests, pray for our needs and desires spiritually,
physically and mentally.
9. We ask for God’s blessings. God wants to bless us and pour his
favor on us.
10. We get to Praise God. No better time of day than Praising God for
who he is. Praising and Worshiping God is such an intimate time with God, you
really don’t want to miss this time with him.
11. Show God in one way that we love him. He wants to be shown our
love. He shows us his love every day in many ways, we can show him that we love
him back.
Finally, there are many was that we can pray. I listed many ways that we can pray in “what should we pray”. Those are all ways in how we should pray. God listens to all prayers, he sees and knows your heart. There is no specific way in how you should say every prayer. As long as you are praying to God our Heavenly Father there is no wrong way to pray. God hears our hearts, even our complaints, struggles, and when we mourn.
One way we can pray to follow the pattern of The Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6:9-13
Pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
Job 22:27
In closing:
No matter who prays, what we pray, when we pray, where we pray, why we pray, or how we pray, we should pray to God our Father.
God wants us to pray at all times, with all requests, everywhere
we go, with all kinds of prayer because he wants to have conversations with us.
He hears us and he wants us to hear him and obey him.
Spending time with God in prayer is the best kind of relationship
we can have with God. He wants our heart and we can give him our heart by
praying.
I like to keep a prayer journal, I write in it every morning. This
gives me a chance to go back and see what prayers have been answered and it
keeps me focused in what I am praying for.
Do you keep a prayer journal? Why or why not? If not, have you
thought about starting one? Let me know in the comments.
Please share this on your social media with your friends.
I thank Him daily for loving us (me) so much that He sent His Son to earth to live a perfect life, to suffer the cruel death on a crimnal’s cross, but then rise again just to save us all from our sins. Praise His beautiful name! [Read my testimony of faith on my memoirs blog.] But I want to know Him more. I want to grow closer and closer to Him.
Salvation Goes Beyond the Altar
But it doesn’t stop there. Our salvation goes beyond the day that you kneel at an altar and confess your sins to God.
Yes, I believe that we are saved by grace, it is not of works lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8). Yes, I believe that we are made into a new creation. The old is gone and the new is here! 2 Corinthians Praise the Lord!
But we are also called to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior (2 Peter 3:18). If we gave birth to a baby and that child remained a baby forever, we would be saddened. It would break our hearts if the child never learned to walk and talk and live a productive life. Yes, we would still love him but we would desire so much more for him.
The very next verse in Ephesians 2 says, For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Salvation Leads Us into Service
So our salvation should lead us into service for God .. living a life that glorifies Him and leads others to Him. ie. growing in grace
2 Peter 3 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “
And the Apostle Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 4:1-6 (AMP), So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation], 2 with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another in [unselfish] love. 3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. 4 There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of us all who is [sovereign] over all and [working] through all and [living] in all.
Live a Life Worthy of the Call
So, I too, encourage you to live the life worthy of His calling. We need to work to live holy lives to the glory and honor of God and also, to be a light in the darkness so that others can find the way to Christ.
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In order to “leave a legacy” for our children and those around us we must first grow ourselves. And how to do we grow? First, we study the Bible. We fill our minds and saturate our lives with His Word.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Growth through Bible Reading
Bible reading and study teach us how to live for Him. It corrects us when we are wrong, encourages our faith and keeps us on the narrow way. And because we need this encouragement in a moments notice, we should memorize the scriptures. King David said, “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”-Psalm 119:15. If David needed it, so do we.
Secondly, we must communicate with God. Yes, pray to God and practice His presence every day. Communicating with God includes worship and adoration, repenting of sin, interceding for others, and yes even petition for our needs.
Growth Through Fellowship
Thirdly, we need fellowship with other believers. We are not an island. Without faith and encouragement of others, we would fall too easily. Solomon declared that “two are better than one because if one falls the other can help him up. Three are even better! (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) God promises that whenever we gather together even in a group of 2 or 3, that He will be in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) Realistically, we need each other so don’t neglect the meeting together of believers.
Growth Through Sharing
And finally, we need to share the Gospel. We are not blessed with salvation so that we can keep it to ourselves. We are commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations”. Even without this command from Jesus, sharing our faith helps us (Matthew 28:19) stronger in it. It confirms in us our belief in Christ.
Let’s do this, friends!
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more thoughts on these four growth factors. I have searched out some fellow bloggers who can so eloquently speak on these things and I have asked them to write encouragement to us to help us grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Join me here on the blog every Monday to be instructed and encouraged. Have you subscribed to receive our updates? You can do so just below in the blue bar. Just add your email address and click submit!
Growing in Grace;
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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” -Proverbs 1:7
What is the Biggest Issue in our Society Today?
I believe that the biggest problem plaguing our society today is that few people heed this very true proverb.
Entitlement,
selfishness,
rebellion, and
staying on an “even keel” with others’ opinions or beliefs has rendered too many people ignoring God. People seem to forget that God Almighty, Creator of all, is the very reason we exist.[ctt template=”1″ link=”A3vG9″ via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]People seem to forget that God Almighty, Creator of all, is the very reason we exist.[/ctt]
All the riches in the world, the highest education attainable, fame, and all that the world deems notable is nothing,…
NOTHING…
compared to Almighty God and the wisdom He gives.
Accept or Reject
For centuries, some have accepted and some have rejected all that God offers us. Pray, especially during this Christmas season of love and giving, that the wisdom of our Lord will fill us. Pray that more and more people will come to know Him.
As we celebrate the greatest Gift of Love that God brings, ask for the wisdom to share Jesus with everyone you meet!
[ctt template=”1″ link=”701Je” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]As we celebrate the greatest Gift of Love that God brings, share Jesus with everyone you meet![/ctt]
May I introduce my college friend, Glenae Atchison as a contributor to this website. You may recognize her name if you have been to my Facebook page, Leaving a Legacy. She posts there on a regular basis.
Glenae is a native of Indiana and a long time resident of Mississippi. She graduated from Asbury College in 1983 with a BS in Music Education. She and her husband, Skip have been married for over thirty years. They have two married children and three grandchildren. Glenae is active in choir, two group Bible studies, United Methodist Women, and is a certified lay servant in the United Methodist Church. Her favorite activities include singing and playing the piano, sewing, quilting, making Swedish weave blankets, and, of course, spending time with her grandchildren.
As you will see she is ‘made from the same cloth” as I. And now her first post on the subject of prayer. Continue reading →
10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to theLord.11 And she made this vow: “OLordof Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to theLord, his hair will never be cut.
.
Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
1 Samuel 1:10-11, 18 (NLT)
When I read about the anguish in Hannah’s heart, my own heart is pricked.
Do I Pray with Deep Anguish?
First, while I had a great desire to have children, I don’t know this kind of pain of waiting years to be blessed and seeing others around me having children when I did not, however, I do know about pain of a different kinds=. I have actual pain from my chronic illness, I have aching pain for family members that are far from God, I know the pain of rejection.
But I wonder at times if my pain has been deep enough for me to cry out to God in “deep anguish”. I wonder if I have ever fallen before God begging him to work in my life or in the lives of others. Do I fall prostrate before God, asking and fasting while I pray for Him to intervene?
When we say that we are praying for someone, do we really pray for them or do we just hope that things will get better for them? Do we actually take the time to stop and focus on God and ask Him to intervene? I have recently made an effort to always place the person’s name in my prayer journal app. (See Prayer Popper) I don’t say I will pray unless I place them in this journal. This brings them to my mind occasionally and I do lift them up in prayer for a moment. But I still wonder if I am praying or just wishing and wanting. Do I get serious about intercession?
Secondly, Do I Believe God will Answer?
After Eli blessed her and asked God to grant her request she “went and ate with her family and was no longer sad.” She accepted with confidence that God would now answer her prayers. She was no longer distraught over her situation. She left it in God’s hands.
When we are distraught over our situation, do we take it and lay our concern on the altar and then go away “no longer sad”? Or do we pick up our concerns and take them with us?
Are we content to trust Him no matter what His answer may be?
Hannah was able to leave her request at the altar. She went home and was happy. She had not received her heart’s desire yet but she now found joy in her God. Her faith held her up.
Our hope should be in God not in our desires.
Are we devoted to God regardless of whether God has met those desires? Are we willing to give back to God the very things for which we are praying?
I challenge you to lay your burdens on the altar of God and leave them there. Remember, he promises to give rest to our souls if we bring them to Him and let Him do the work.
I believed several lies about prayer and buttering up God.
Over the course of the last three years, we have experienced some hard “stuff” both professionally and personally. We would unanimously use the word “robbed”. Robbed of co-workers through their untimely deaths. Robbed of time with our daughter. Through those experiences, I believed the lie that I wasn’t praying “good enough”. From that standpoint, I began “buttering up God” by using more flowery words, going on about His greatness, increasing the time spent in prayer. However, the more things spiraled downward the less I felt heard, the more I felt the need to “butter up”. Finally, in frustration with seeing very little change, I decided to give up on prayer. Prayer was obviously not working the way I was praying.
Jessie was a piano student of mine years ago. I love to watch the children under my direction blossom into beautiful Christian adults. Jessie wrote this on Facebook not too long ago and I felt it deserved more coverage. She has a good lesson here for us all.
We limit God when we define His “answers” as only the ones we want.
– The promotion at work
– the relationship status
– healing from illness.
We forget that God allows ALL things to be worked together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)
What does it mean for God to bless a person?
So much of today is defined in a moment
We don’t know something… Google it-
We want to watch a show but it isn’t on tv at the moment… Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.
We can buy anything at the touch of a finger ….. instant gratification … but with God… There isn’t an “app for that”.
photo credit: Timothy Uza: modified by Mandy
So much of our lives are gratification- quick, simple…
Just a touch away to find almost any answer to any question
But God doesn’t work that way.
Maybe it is because of what I have been going through
– lots of doubt, struggle, failure… And the silence from God.
Every pastor will tell you, “Be ready when you pray for that!!
I WASN’T!
And in this silence, I hear that still, small voice tell me…
[ctt template=”8″ link=”7WpUm” via=”no” ]”brokenness is a blessing.”[/ctt]
I have learned so much in this place
– yet struggled the most…
[ctt template=”8″ link=”7Yi25″ via=”no” ]But one thing I know is that prayer- and answers to it- aren’t always the ones we want[/ctt]
They are the ones we need
– to teach us to depend on Him
– to teach us that on our own we can’t make it
– we were never meant to
They are the ones we need…
…to teach us
…WHO really matters and WHAT really matters.
And to teach me…..
….. what an answer to prayer – what a blessing – is.
It isn’t what we want…
…. it is what He knows we need…
Because He can work ALL things
all failures, all mistakes, all character flaws,
all of the broken places in our hearts that limit us from experiencing life and life to the FULL
all let downs,
all regrets…
He can work ALL things together for the good…
For those who love Him…
For those who are called according to His purpose.
-Jessie Bongiorno
______________
Author Biography
Jessie Bongiorno, 29. I grew up in a Christian home, as they say; my dad became a Christian when I was really young and he shared the gospel with me and when I was seven- I accepted that I was a sinner who desperately needed the blood of Christ and ever since then I lived my relationship with Christ.
God- being the faithful God He is– stuck by me throughout all kinds of doubts- a slight time of “rebellion” when I was a teenager and by the time I was college bound- Christ spoke to me- yes He did. One day- I was driving down the main road in front of my community college- trying to figure out my future- my career choice- my friendship choices- relationship choices- pretty much just trying to figure out who I was and as drove down that road in a car all by myself a thought popped into my mind.
“It sucks trying to figure out life alone. You don’t have to do it alone.”
Those were the words I heard back after the words I only merely thought. I remember thinking there is only One Person who could say those words and really mean it. All of my life, my entire childhood spent studying the words of life and these words suddenly… came to life. I knew in my heart Who Jesus was… Who He is- He is the way the Truth and the Life- I thought to myself. Then the next thought popped into my mind.
I have a choice- I can choose to believe these words- that they are true- put my…. Faith into these words…. Or I can continue driving down this road… alone. I chose my faith- and I asked Christ again to join me on my journey in life- and for the first time in my life- Christ- the Bible all of it really became not just words on a page- or rules to follow- but for the first time… this was personal- and to me, I began to see that the Christian walk- is a relationship with Christ.
I’d like to say everything was all nice and happy ever since then- but things actually got really hard…. My faith was tested throughout my years as a college student on a secular campus- but my faith grew all the more because of it! And while so many my age are chasing happiness- I am chasing wholeness and I like to share some of my pursuits along the way to encourage others. Because if there ever were a time to share good news- if there ever were a time we need to be bold in proclamation- now is that time.
With love, Jessie
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Glenae is a native of Indiana and a long time resident of Mississippi. She graduated from Asbury College in 1983 with a BS in Music Education. She and her husband, Skip have been married for over thirty years. They have two married children and three grandchildren. Glenae is active in choir, two group Bible studies, United Methodist Women, and is a certified lay servant in the United Methodist Church. Her favorite activities include singing and playing the piano, sewing, quilting, making Swedish weave blankets, and, of course, spending time with her grandchildren.
