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Written by Janiece Self As my grandson sat in a group circle of preschoolers being instructed to “always listen to the teacher,” he responded with,” but I only listen to God.” Well now, what a profound comment for a 4 year old and in any other time and place, Sunday School, at home, to a friend that would be the perfect thought or answer.  But in this case the teacher was the authority figure and each child is her responsibility.  The teacher makes the best decisions with all

First Day of Preschool Written by Janiece Self The first day of preschool.  Not sure this four year old had been waiting for this big day all his life, but everyone else seemed to think it was a good idea.  No time for tears, just mother’s directions to keep a clear mind and a sharp awareness of one’s surroundings; an important plan for a little boy of 4 and anyone else. I’m sure there were people he didn’t know as he made his way to his classroom, but many he did with one of

A Mission Work of the Community The Hope Chest Thrift Store’s success in this community is because of everyone’s generous giving and excitement about what we’re doing to help so many people. The store is really the community’s ministry; we are simply the managers. But because of our original location’s limited space, we were not able to utilize all the blessings that had been pouring into the store. Then New Hope Ministry (our main organization) was presented with the opportu

A huge Thank You for all the donated help and items! It has been a wild past six months around here! Usually, it seems like to most people that God doesn’t move very fast…but that has not been our experience with this expansion and moving all of New Hope into one new location. He has moved SO FAST with everything we could barely keep up. Most of the time it has felt like we were holding on for dear life! Through all of it, His power, and love, and faithfulness, and sovereign

Not Just A Grandma Written by Janiece Self I am not just a grandma when I write “A Grandma’s Point of View” article.  I am A Child of the King, a woman, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, great aunt, cousin, friend, teacher, student, neighbor, co-worker, employee, acquaintance, familiar face, a new face, a stranger. I was a child, and Lord willing, I will be a great-grandmother some day.  I am many things to many people each and e

I’m Free! Written by Janiece Self If you blessed enough to live in Iowa, the warm summer months are spent outside as much as possible. The out-of-doors brings joy to all ages. Unfortunetly, after spending the day outside, it was time to clean up before bed. A little boy of three does not appreciate those dreaded words: “Let’s take off your clothes, it’s bath-time.” NOOOOOO!! Is the instant response. My grandson does not hear his mother’s words as being a grand end to the perf

“IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBILITY” It’s a “step out of the boat and LOCK your eyes on JESUS” moment… (From Expansion Journal kept by Cindy Farrington, New Hope Executive Director) _______________________ The LORD did something back on December 12, 2018, to begin wooing us to take the next step for New Hope. When things began happening, it was SO spine-chilling that I knew I needed to record everything in a Journal. I hadn’t had so many “Only God” things happening since He moved me an

Hope Chest Needs to Expand! If you have ever been in our “Hope Chest” Thrift Store, you KNOW the need. It has been a huge success since opening in June 2016 and the outpouring of donated goods from the community has been unbelievable! We are able to help and bless SO MANY people with the donations, plus proceeds from the store go to help fund a local charity, New Hope Counseling Center. We are being SO blessed by the people of this community, who have made the Hope Chest so s

Grandma’s Teachers by Janiece Self Cellphones, computers, tablets, I-pods, TV remotes, touch screens, Bluetooth, GPS, MP3/MP4, multimedia receivers.  Do I need to say more?! If you are one of the people over 18 that understands all this, you may go to ♡ at the end.  But for the rest of us, we need at least 4 children 3-18 years of age on call 24/7 to correct errors or just assist us in all or at least most aspects of life.  Grandchildren are perfect to help grandma understand

Snow had fallen over night and the darkness had given way to a cold but beautiful winter morning.  The earth, at least from my window, which was brown the day before, was now glazed in shimmering white.  “NO SCHOOL” scrolled on the TV screen. It’s a SNOW DAY! An unexpected holiday and because we all have 4-wheel drive, this small inconvenience stops no one I know. Suddenly the perfect white carpet of snow turned into 10,000 footprints, sled marks, and shoveled heaps of snow t

Last spring the youth group at our church sponsored a fishing tournament. The team of two paid an entry fee of $25.00 with all proceeds going to their summer work/witness trip to Arizona. My 16 year old grandson willingly agreed to be my partner. That in itself was a BLESSING. Sure, we started with great expectations, it was a beautiful day and we had some great ponds to fish. We walked the pond edges several feet apart, but within talking distance if needed. We encouraged ea

As a child, my mother and I would make our own clay to shape and mold designs. I actually have a recipe: flour, salt, creme of tartar, water, corn oil and food coloring. It was fun to play with and all I had. Our girls played with homemade clay and then purchased play dough (which by the way has the ingredient, wheat). We were all told not to eat it, not that it would kill us, but it was just not a good idea. Why is it that when we are told or asked not to do something, we in

For more info. go-to https://www.newhopeministrycc.org/what-is-biblical-counseling Join the Warrior Brigade! New Hope Counseling Center is in need of additional Counselors and Prayer Partners to meet the current and future needs of the people on our waiting list. We will hold an 8-week Biblical Counseling Training on Thursday evenings beginning Sept 7th through Nov 2nd from 6-9 p.m. The only charge for the Training Class is to cover the cost for printing the Counselor/Praye

My granddaughter is almost 12 years old, but as a 3 year old, she had a very interesting conversation with her mother one day… “Mommy, who is that big guy?” “What big guy, where is he at?” my daughter asked.  “The big guy that eats pancakes at grandma’s house,” my little granddaughter answered. (I’m known in the grandchild circle for my homemade buttermilk pancakes).  My daughter’s thoughts were, oh my, who could this be? Maybe one of grandpa’s friends had stopped by at brea

I love for my daughters to text me pictures and stories of what is happening in my grandchildren’s lives on a daily basis. You just never know what it is going to be. One day my oldest daughter sent me a comment that her 22 month old son had just said to her. While in their regular morning routine, mom needing him to do something for her, my grandson suddenly said to his mother: “just wait a minute.” I wonder how many times a day this little guy hears, “just wait a minute,” b

On one particular Saturday I was praying before my noon meal and I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray:  “Please don’t let anyone drown.”  Although I was at home watching football, my youngest daughter and her family were spending the day boating at Lake Rathbun. At 1:19 pm, I received a text from my daughter that my 4 year old granddaughter had fallen into the water, between two boats without her life jacket on. They had removed it so that she could eat lunch and she was

My 8 year old grandson was so excited to show me, at a recent visit, his latest find while fossil hunting Sheol Creek south of Centerville. This creek runs through their farm and he and his sister love to fossil hunt while their dad or grandfather is doing field work. They have quite a collection and each item has a special story: day, location, who found it, etc. On this day, my grandson wanted to show me a shiny rock. He was positive it was gold; it looked like gold so it m

We are appealing to you, as prayer warriors, and asking you to combine your prayers with ACTION! The Word of God tells us that we are to pray for all those in authority. Those of us at New Hope are joining in with something that Aglow International is doing, and asking you to join in with us. There are those who are unhappy with the election results and are both determined and highly organized in opposing our elected President. Whether you agree with our new Administration o

I love to rock the grandchildren. When they are small, under 2 maybe, this is possible. Nap time is a great time to cuddle and rock, but can turn into a bit of a competition to see who can stay awake the longest or who goes to sleep first. It can be a challenge to make these little balls of fire sit down, let alone for a little “quiet time” with grandma, but on occasion, if it is their idea, I can sneak in a couple of quick rocks in the old chair. If you are really blessed, t