Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / The Grandparenting Journey w/ Special Guest Melissa Henderson

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The Grandparenting Journey w/ Special Guest Melissa Henderson · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to have an award-winning author and special fellow grandparent on the show today, Melissa Henderson.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Melissa writes inspirational messages, sometimes humming with humor.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Melissa is an elder, deacon, and Stephen minister and the author of Licky the Lizard and Grumpy the Gator.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: She has a special message for all you grandparents out there.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Biological, adopted, or designated neighborhood grandparent.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: You are needed.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Melissa, this sounds like an encouraging word.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's great to have you back on the show.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you, Karen.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate this special opportunity to share about grandparenting because I love being a grandparent.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I know you've been on here before with Sandra, and uh it's just my pleasure to welcome you in.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, as a fellow grandparent, I'm excited for you to share with all the grandparents listening.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, what would you like to share today?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, I would just like to share that grandparenting can happen in different ways.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's a biological grandparent, adopted grandparent, or a community grandparent.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And all of these ways are opportunities to shine the light of Christ.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in our family, I'm called Mimi because our niece, who is now almost 20, couldn't say Melissa when she started talking.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: So she would get the mmm mmm mmm sound, and she started calling me Mimi, and that precious name has stuck with me.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm Mimi to our family and our community, and that's a name that I love to hear called.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I hear it from my family, and I hear it from the children on our street and the children in the community that will see me at different places, and I'm either the lizard lady or because of Licky the Lizard, or Mimi, Mimi's here, so I love that.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's just a wonderful thing to be a grandparent, and not everyone has biological um the opportunity to be a biological grandparent.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, God gives us all different gifts and different blessings, and we can be a blessing to others by being the community grandparent.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there's like I say, on in our neighborhood, on our street, our community, um, you know, Mimi is is available for playtime or conversation time or reading time or whatever the little ones need.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just blessed to be a to be a meme.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's wonderful.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: And and I know there's a lot of different names for grandparents.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Some folks, you know, before a child is born, will say, Oh, I want to be a Mimi or a Nana or a or a Gaga or you know, what other uh for the men, granddaddy or granddad.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but sometimes it's the children that pick the name for us, and that's what sticks.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: And in our family, uh my husband is Bop, not Bob with B-O-B, but Bob B-O-P.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: And our grandson who will turn eight this year, he's the one that chose that name, which which we had not heard before.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, and he as well in our community is known as Bob, Bob and Mimi.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're Bob and Mimi are outside to play.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: So and whatever name we're called, we're blessed to be called those names, you know.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I I did want to mention that um, you know, some children have grandchildren have their grandparents close by, and some don't.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we moved from Virginia eight years ago to South Carolina to be near our first grandchild.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And now there's two grandchildren, Rowan, who will be eight, and Eden, who will be five this year.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that is, you know, such a blessing that we were able to do that, to move, make that move when our uh son said, hey, you know, our son and daughter-in-law were like, we're having your first grandbaby, can you move?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, sure.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: We had not planned on moving, but but uh sure.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we're so glad, we're so glad we did.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And along with um being that biological grandparent, like I say, in the community, we also have the special gift of being surrogate grandparents to uh children that their grandparents don't live close by.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: So we have often have the bubbles out front in the front yard.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we have frisbees, we have bad mitten, we have different things that the neighbors can play with.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's funny to see the children come and play, but it's also funny to see an adult stop by and blow the bubbles, you know, when no thinking no one's looking.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we all love bubbles.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, me too, me too.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: And and sometimes we have um little ones show up at the front door and knock on the door.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And Mimi, can you come out and play?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I can.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so we come out and play bubbles.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: My my I refer to my little boyfriend next door came over the other day.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I heard a little knock at the door and then a loud knock at the door, and I went to the front door, and there he was.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Mimi, can you come out and play?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, yes.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um so that that's you know, a a way to shine the love of Christ um through our biological grandchildren and like I say, the community grandchildren, sometimes we can just listen.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the the young ones just want to talk.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: We don't need to fix a problem, we don't need to, you know, say you should do this or that.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: We just need to listen.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's an important part of being a grandparent.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes, you know, if there's a serious situation, of course, contact the parents and say, you know, there there's a concern.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: But sometimes the little ones just need to tell us what happened at school that day or what brother or sister did that day, you know.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's uh and listening ear is so, so important.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and then too, we um we are blessed by getting little bouquets of clover sometimes and dandelions from the kids in the neighborhood and our grandkids, you know.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: I I love those little gifts, you know, the those things that mean so much.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: They're just the simple gifts.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I I just want to let everyone know that you can be a grandparent to any child, you know.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just have that listening ear, have that look them in the eye, and have that ability and willingness to listen and to uh be ready to have a shoulder to lean on, have a an ear to listen to what they have to say.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and that that's just so so special.
• 7:39
  unknown: Yeah.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just going on and on.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: You can tell I love grandparenting.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's all right.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And there's other ways too, um, to grandparent volunteering in the community, local food banks, shelters, clothing drives.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: That also offers opportunities for grandparents to interact with all ages.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You meet new people, uh, make new friends, develop relationships, and you know, just things that you might not think about.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Grandparents are are active all the time.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Whether they're able to get out in the community, whether they're able to write a letter, send a text, a voicemail, you know, write a note.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Those things mean a lot.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we save all the little notes and thing drawings that our grandparents or our grandchildren make, but also they save some of the things that we give them too.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, grandparenting at home, grandparenting in the community.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's all important.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I can tell you you are a blessing to your community just by being available and accessible.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Jesus uses that.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, shine that light of Christ to to the to the little ones, the um of all ages, you know, teenagers and young ones, all ages.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the faith that you share may be the only uh opportunity or door to faith that some children experience.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, some children are live in a home that are filled, that's filled with faith and sharing about the love of Christ.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: But other homes are not that way.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: So when we share our joy and the love of the Lord, you know, we are experiencing a blessing by sharing that love of Christ, and we're able to bless others with that, that love.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, there's just many different ways to show the love of God to grandchildren and all children in the community and to everyone, adults as well.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: We can't forget the adult, you know.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: We need that love too, yes.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's true, that's true.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I do um I do a lot of vendor events where I'm able to share about the books that I've written, um, Licky the Lizard and Grumpy the Gator.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then I have other stories in different guideposts, magazines, and books, and and various anthologies, and and uh so often I write about our grandchildren.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And even my blog is usually something that the grandchildren have done or made us laugh, you know.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um I do write, you know, experiencing a life with a little bit of humor sometimes, you know, the good and the bad, but there's a lot of humor too.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So they will grandchildren will definitely make you laugh at the least expected moment.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So true.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and um, do you have any questions for me?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, first I had as a follow-up, you know, you were saying that you were called Mimi, which I love.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's uh uh my um my son-in-law's mom.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's her name as well.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And she chose that.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm grandma because you know that's been a part of our family growing up.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: But my my youngest granddaughter right now, we have a third one on the way, praise the Lord.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, but my youngest granddaughter, she's a year and a half, and now she's starting to call me Nammy, and I just love that.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's so special.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And when you hear them call those names, oh what a what a joyful moment, you know, to hear those names called.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it is so true.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: But no, I I do want to thank you so much for being here, Melissa.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, your joy is contagious, and I can just tell how much you really enjoy, you know, blessing children and your community.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I know some fantastic books that parents and honorary grandparents as well, you know, can can share with uh their little ones.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then also you have a teacher's kit uh for one of your books, Licky the Lizard.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about that.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: The teacher's kit was created by an educator that taught children for over 30 years, and she came up with the idea and she said, Melissa, you need a teacher's kit to go with Licky the Lizard.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, in that teacher's kit, um, we've got the unit plan, about the author, discussion questions, STEM activities, Bible verse activities, maze, a coloring sheet.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's so many things.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it comes with uh 25 copies of Licky the Lizard.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then people have an opportunity, schools and preschools have an opportunity to make their money back by selling the book to you know, some of the parents that might want the book to take home.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I'm I'm blessed to have that opportunity to share with uh the children the the uh teacher's kit.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's been very successful so far.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very excited about that.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if anyone wants to learn more information about that, jot me an email, uh, contact me, and I'll be glad to get the information to them.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll have a link to that teacher's kit in the show notes.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: But where is the best place to find you online?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: The the best place, well, email, of course, um, which I think we have that, ahenderson312 at gmail.com.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm also very active um on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, all those good places.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then I do have a blog, which is um www.melissa ghenderson.com.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you can read my funny stories about our grandkids and just funny stories that happen to my husband and me.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: We our family motto is it's always a story with the Hendersons.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: So something's always happening.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, this has been a treat, Melissa.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's so great to have you back on the show.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing your heart for kids and grandparenting with our listeners and uh just for being here today.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And listeners, be sure.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and I'm sorry, go ahead.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, I was just gonna say thank you.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: What a great opportunity.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate being here.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you bet.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Pleasure to have you.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And listeners, be sure to check out the show notes for links to Melissa's website, to her books, and to that teacher's kit.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for joining us today.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Share this episode with someone you want to encourage and come back next week.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, have a blessed week.