Someone very, very dear to our hearts, turned sweet sixteen this last week…
Our resident budding Betty Crocker, baked Audra’s requested Raspberry Laced Vanilla Cake.
Our resident budding Betty Crocker, baked Audra’s requested Raspberry Laced Vanilla Cake.
And it was scrumptious…
Her meal choice was Meaty Cheesy Manicotti and it was sixteen kinds of wonderful.
I picked flowers from the garden and our country roadside,
Found sixteen pink candles,
And stood for a while admiring the beauty of the Lord’s creation in the hydrangea’s,
And thinking of His goodness in Audra Elizabeth’s life.
And finally started arranging flowers for a sweet sixteen celebration.
Dearest Lord and Giver of every good gift,
Thank you for this darlin’ “child of mine”
Help me remember that Audra is Yours, totally Thine
Thank you Lord for sixteen wonderfully blessed years
Sprinkle her path with joy after seasons of tears
Found sixteen pink candles,
And stood for a while admiring the beauty of the Lord’s creation in the hydrangea’s,
And thinking of His goodness in Audra Elizabeth’s life.
And finally started arranging flowers for a sweet sixteen celebration.
Dearest Lord and Giver of every good gift,Thank you for this darlin’ “child of mine”
Help me remember that Audra is Yours, totally Thine
Thank you Lord for sixteen wonderfully blessed years
Sprinkle her path with joy after seasons of tears
Guide her Lord each and every hour
Protect her Lord, especially as she drives, with Your almighty power
May we praise You continually as the candles flare and we joyfully sing
She is Yours Lord, be her every thing
Be more than the delicious icing on her cake
Give her wisdom and discernment to choose the real, to weed out the fake
Continue to pour out on Your songs, words and melodies on this dear writer’s heart
And when it comes time for her to live out Your intended purpose, give her a lovely start
Thank You Lord for sixteen years,
She is lovely, so very dear
So I give her back to You each day
Have Your will, Keep her in Your way
Guide her Lord, give her wisdom beyond her sixteen years
May everything she holds close be gifts of all You hold dear
We believe she’s a beautiful gift, a lovely, equisite flower
Let her live be lived extraordinary, by Your Spirit and mighty, all surpassing power
Give her everything she needs for her life’s work to do
Let her be firmly planted and rooted alone in You
Let her blooms and fragrance be evidence of Your amazing grace
Give her the will, the strength and the courage to run Your intended race
And allow her to finish well
Your goodness Your glory, Your story to tell
Lord, allow her to finish well
Once a wee little bundle; but now sixteen, is still our Baby Girl
Life this summer seems so busy, like we are on a tilt-a-whirl
Make every day count for Your kingdom and Your glory
Thank You Lord for Audra Elizabeth and that You have already written her life’s story
May she always and forever reflect Your kingdom and Your glory.
Protect her Lord, especially as she drives, with Your almighty power
May we praise You continually as the candles flare and we joyfully sing
She is Yours Lord, be her every thing
Be more than the delicious icing on her cake
Give her wisdom and discernment to choose the real, to weed out the fake
Continue to pour out on Your songs, words and melodies on this dear writer’s heart
And when it comes time for her to live out Your intended purpose, give her a lovely start
Thank You Lord for sixteen years,
She is lovely, so very dear
So I give her back to You each day
Have Your will, Keep her in Your way
Guide her Lord, give her wisdom beyond her sixteen years
May everything she holds close be gifts of all You hold dear
We believe she’s a beautiful gift, a lovely, equisite flower
Let her live be lived extraordinary, by Your Spirit and mighty, all surpassing power
Give her everything she needs for her life’s work to do
Let her be firmly planted and rooted alone in You
Let her blooms and fragrance be evidence of Your amazing grace
Give her the will, the strength and the courage to run Your intended race
And allow her to finish well
Your goodness Your glory, Your story to tell
Lord, allow her to finish well
Once a wee little bundle; but now sixteen, is still our Baby Girl
Life this summer seems so busy, like we are on a tilt-a-whirl
Make every day count for Your kingdom and Your glory
Thank You Lord for Audra Elizabeth and that You have already written her life’s story
May she always and forever reflect Your kingdom and Your glory.
Amen.
That was the most beautiful birthday poem I have read….ever!
Just gorgeous, Lora!
Love,
Adrienne
P.S. Please please post the raspberry laced vanilla cake recipe!
Happy Birthday Audry Elizabeth!
Your tribute from your mother was beautiful and moving.
The cake looks so delicious.
I feel I could eat half of it right now.
May the Lord bless and keep you!
Joy
So sorry 'Audra' Elizabeth.
What a wonderful prayer for every mother! It was great to see a post from you today! Tell Victoria from one Betty Crocker to another, her cake is beautiful!
Dawn
Beautiful post..it brought tears to my eyes!
Happy Birthday Audrey Elizabeth!
How beautiful! Your daughter is very lovely, and what a sweet spirit she has. Her smile tells all.
The cake looks so delicious! My mouth watered when I saw it and the manicotti!
You are blessed, and Lora, your poem is so very beautiful. Your daughter will treasure it always.
Many blessings to you.
Andrea
For the record, I think God has already given her a "lovely" start! What a beautiful prayer of consecration over her life. Call me when you need to over the next couple of years. I've walked this road; it's not always an easy part of parenting to swallow. Still and yet, it's good and right.
And by the way, you're planning my next birthday bash. That cake?! Oh my, it reminds me a bit of what I ate last night (as seen in the posted video); I'm finishing it off tonight, this my final night in my mountain retreat. How I ache with the leaving.
Peace to you this night, Lora. I'm adding you to my blog roll if I haven't already. I'm so bad about those things.
~elaine
Wow..Amen to that prayer full of Thanksgiving to God. She's a beauty in your garden Lord. May your glory be seen in Audra Elizabeth's life. This family is already a beautiful arrangement. Thank you God for your grace on display. B
Happiest wishes, dear! You are definitely a sweet sixteen. The Lord perfect that which concerns you!
Thank you so much for praying for our sweet boy this past week. Looks like he may get to go home in the next few days. I am so thankful for my new blog friends….and plan to spend some time reading blogs one day this week…
Remember that Tuesday night I will be drawing for the June giveaway…a $75.00 "Card Box"!
Every comment counts for an entry. Plus in thanks for all the prayers said for my family this month…I am going to add 3 other special "surprise gifts"! So there will be 4 bloggers that get blessed this week!
Thanks for the well wishes everyone! 🙂
Three things~
First – Happy 16th Miss Audra! God bless you sweet girl.
Second – Post the cake recipe!
Third – post the manicotti recipe!
Or email them to me through my blog if you don't want to post!
Love your sweet family,
Jan
One more thing!
Lora: The poem was absolutely amazing and God-given!
Jan
I'm saying "amen" to Ga Jan's comments!! POST THOSE BABIES!!!
Happy 16th!!! What a precious day of celebration you had! A beautiful day for a beautiful young lady.
Blessings,
stephanie
Ummm,I'm a couple of weeks behind but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Love love love the pictures of the flowers!)
What a beautiful prayer. Belated birthday to Audra. *hugs*
Lora,
Oh wow…I'm just catching up on some of my favorite bloggy sisters. I COULD STICK MY WHOLE FACE IN THAT CAKE! Does she have a recipe? Mamma Mia that looked good!
Hey, by the way, my blog moved from blogspot over to Typepad….
http://pairofbartletts.typepad.com
Blessings,
Jen