A Savvy Grandmother Turned Author

~We started our BeYOUtiful Mom Series with a thank you gift giveaway for our email subscribers and we will end our series with another giveaway for our Facebook friends!

Marty Norman has moved forward in obedience with the big dreams God has put on her heart! She is now giving away a signed copy of her book to encourage you in your walk.  A lucky Inspired by Family Facebook friend will receive a copy.  See below for details.~

Featured Author: Marty Norman

Life has a funny way of grabbing you when you least expect it. At least that’s how it is for me. Sometimes an experience or picture instantly touches the heart, resulting in revelation. Other times, the process of repetition is the catalyst that changes behavior.

But while my timeline on earth has shortened, my message has crystallized. I think about life differently. My focus is on eternity—there is nothing else.

As a grandmother, everything I do is geared in that direction.

Recently my youngest son turned forty. I wanted to leave him a legacy that had meaning for eternity so I made him a scrapbook, “Four Decades of Darin”. 

Using the old-fashioned, cut and paste method, I traced his life from birth to 40 years, capturing his unique essence as well as years of memories. I also wanted to speak blessing and the Word of God over him and his family so I chose specific scriptures and promises and put them under pictures and events to which they applied.

Creativity is my skill. Long ago, I discovered I’m better at writing than speaking. There’s something about transposing thoughts to paper that brings clarity. When I do so the Lord refines the words. Somehow, the keyboard and the Lord filter out the impurities and make it better. This was no different.     

Because texting and emails have made letter writing a dying art, my husband and I decided to include handwritten letters, telling him how proud we are of him and how much he means to us.

I know millions of grandmothers feel the same. I’m no different than they. You can find us everywhere, a generation of godly women who live by faith and biblical principles, women who walk with the Savior daily, passing on the love of Christ and their faith to others. As savvy grandmothers, we compile and share our testimonies and stories, using them to inspire and encourage those that intersect our world.

That’s why I wrote my book “The Savvy Grandmother – Building A Legacy Of Faith”, to encourage grandmothers to get their stories down as a legacy for future generations. Learning to tell our stories is a skill to be practiced, kind of like learning to dive off the high board.

One of the examples I give in the book is “One Brave Dude”, a trilogy in pictures that chronicles the journey of my grandson, Strother, as he took his first jump off the high board at age two and a half. A picture of trust and courage, it stands out as a metaphor for the faith walk.

In the first photo, Strother walks to the edge of the board, fear evident in his balancing arms and concentrating eyes. As he peers over the edge in the second picture, one can imagine his thought processes: What am I doing here? Kind of like when we peer into the unknown and ask, “Lord, are you sure about this?

In photo three, Strother, suspended in midair, has terror written all over his face. We, however, see from a larger perspective that which he does not yet see. There, in the water below, is his father, treading water, waiting with outstretched arms. He reaches out to catch his child the moment he enters the pool.

Isn’t that how the Lord is with us?

Standing with outstretched arms, our heavenly Father is waiting in the water below to catch us when we jump.

Each of us has a testimony of when we jumped and how God caught us.

A story of brokenness, we are witnesses to his outstretched arms, even in the worst of circumstances.

Eyewitnesses to the power of forgiveness, our testimony stands as a model.

 

For me, the story of my marriage, separation and reconciliation is a story to be passed on to the next generation, for it shows the mercy and faithfulness of God. I want to be sure my children and grandchildren know that part of my life.  I want them to know it happened, what the pitfalls were. But more importantly I want them to know there is a savior to whom they, too, can turn in such a time, whose outstretched arms are waiting to catch them when they fall or jump. One who heals wounds and restore relationships.

Now that’s a picture worth grabbing and taking hold.  Hopefully my testimony will one day impact the lives of my children and grandchildren, change behavior and make a difference for eternity.

Excerpts from “The Savvy Grandmother – Building A Legacy Of Faith”

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Book Giveaway details: One lucky Inspired by Family Facebook friend will have the opportunity to win a SIGNED copy of her fabulous book!, The Savvy Grandmother! A week from today we will announce the winner.  If you haven’t liked us on Facebook stop by and join in the fun!

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For free printable right click on image and copy and paste into your document & print!

Marty Norman M.Ed. is a published author, licensed therapist, workshop trainer, inspirational speaker, free-lance writer, mother of two, and grandmother of five.  Marty’s book “The Savvy Grandmother – Building A Legacy of Faith” was released in May 2012. Her first book “Generation G – Advice for Savvy Grandmothers Who Will Never Grow Gray was released in March 2008 by Thomas Nelson. She also sends out a monthly “Savvy Grandmother Newsletter” which can be accessed through her website www.martynorman.com.

images via flickr: Chris JL, notashamed, Nina Matthews

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