Delilah - Dear D

Hi,

First off, I love your show!!! Last night, you mentioned a profound book that touched you so much you went and bought your friends' copies and I am curious as to the name and author of the book. It was "The Spark" or "The Shark" or "The Star" or probably nothing like that knowing me. HELP!!! I'm always up for inspirational reading. I highly recommend Denise Jackson's (wife of country singer Alan Jackson) book "It's All About Him."

Thank you very much!

Kris

Dear Kris,

The profound book I mentioned is called "The Shack" by William Young. It is truly the most wonderful book I have ever read, outside of the Bible. My friend Sara called me last week from Pennsylvania, and said "I rarely endorse a book, but you HAVE to go get this book and read it. It will change your life."

In order to appreciate that statement, you have to know Sara. She is not a woman who is flowery of speech, she isn't one to hand out compliments in order to win someone over or butter them up. If she speaks a compliment, she means it. If she shares a bit of wisdom or insight, she has learned it the hard way. Her faith is strong, but she isn't "religious," something about her I love and cherish. She loves God with all her heart, but like me she can be a little rough around the edges, not prim and proper nor tries to follow the rules. She is a woman whose opinion I trust because I know her to be a straight shooter.

So when she urged me to go get this book, I responded and got a copy the next day. I read it on Good Friday; stayed up until 2:30 a.m. reading it. I could NOT put it down. It touched my heart, no, it touched my soul. It spoke to the very core of my being.

If you never read any other book in your life, do yourself a favor and get "The Shack." I have no idea who William Young is, but I can tell that he is a man God decided to use to share His love with a multitude of people via this small story. His illustrations are precious, his insights God-breathed. Sara told me she has purchased 25 copies and handed them out to friends and family. So far I've given out 24, and I have another 25 on backorder. I am hoping the copies I shared with people will get passed on to touch even more hearts.

Thanks for listening! God bless,

Delilah

I am a 15-year-old girl that has never met her dad. I feel so incomplete by not knowing him. I live with my wonderful aunt who tries to shield me from the hurt of my mom and dad deciding they didn't want to take care of me and my four other siblings. It is really starting to take a toll on me. What should I do? Should I try to find my dad and tell him how I feel or do I go on with my life pretending I don't have a dad? I am really confused. I know that I have a whole lot of time to think about this but I want answers now. Please help me Delilah.

To pretend you don't have a father is absurd; if you had no father, you would not be alive. You very much have a father, a man who, along with your birth mother, created life through their union. What you don't have is a "dad," a man who is there to raise you and love you and care for you. I have 10 children now, I just adopted two more little girls. I am a single mom, and none of my kids have a "dad," a man who is here day in and day out to love them and care for them. Two of my children have a biological father who sees them once or twice a month, but he does not take them to baseball practice or to Sunday school. He does not interact with them except when it is possible to do so since he lives in a different area.

But what my kids DO have is a mom to love them, care for them, protect them and pray for them. It appears you have that in your aunt, a woman that God has placed in your life to meet the needs of your heart. Instead of longing for what you do not have, I would suggest you thank God for what you DO have and learn to be content with that. Someday your mother and father might realize what a gift they were given in you and your siblings. They might stop doing the destructive things they do that cause them to be unable to care for you, but then again, they might not. Instead of longing for that day, and missing out on all the blessings that God has given you, try to focus on the many good things you have in your life, and thank God for the people who love you and who are there to care for you.

In the end, love is all that matters. And you seem like a very loving young girl, so don't let the mistakes your parents made steal your joy or make you feel unloved. You are very much loved, by your aunt and others I suspect, as well as a loving God!!

You are such a ray of tranquil sunshine for so many people and you really do change moods, lives and spirits for the best. I'm a married mom of four precious young children. Kohlton is 8, Lukas is 7, Erica is 4 and Matolyn is age 2. How is it that God sent me pieces of my own heart as gifts that He calls children? I recognize these blessings and truly do try to appreciate every moment, even in the midst of the chaos we sometimes have with our daily running and keeping up with our lives.

You do manage to slow us down and keep things in perspective, although there is not one night that goes by listening to you that I'm not in tears at some point. (I'm a sappy, hopeless sentimental and the thing is, I'm insanely in love with my children.) They have brought a joy to us that only a loving parent could understand. As you well know, it is beyond words and I'm unable to even articulate it. I can barely see my computer screen through my tears as I think of my love for them. If you come up with a way to freeze them in time so they don't forget all of the special moments they have with us while they're little, please let me know. I think my biggest fear is the loss of this purity, innocence and unconditional love that they have for my husband and I now. It's like being with the love of your life and all the while knowing that someday they will fall out of love with you and the love they once felt will be forgotten. (I really am sane...I promise). I'm just a certifiably sentimental mom.

I just want to preserve it all and so many of the songs you play are just so on target for the feelings and love I harbor for my blessing of a family. For Valentine's evening, we will be listening to you and dancing around our kitchen as we so often do. On behalf of all of your listeners, may God bless you and your family. Thank you for all you do.

Thank you for your letter, your words went straight to my heart as I was upstairs earlier, laying on the bed next to my young son who was crying because he had a bad day. I cut his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and wonder "Will he remember these when he is grown and on his own?"

But unlike you, I have grown children who I talk to often, and they remember...my oldest bio child, the only one I raised from birth, remembers the bedtime stories and the silly words we used to communicate. He remembers the time he was in the car seat and a cop used the bull horn to pull me over, I was speeding and had the music cranked so loud I could not hear his sirens! The "music" was a silly kids song tape that my son made me play over and over and over again..."Itsy Bitsy Spider" blaring from the speakers drowning out the cop!! Funny, that child is a police officer today, and LOVES to remind me of that time, and the TWO tickets I got as a result!

He remembers, and he is a wonderful young man today, in part, because of the love that was poured into him when he was a child. That, combined with God's love in his heart and the goodness God placed in him has created an amazing young man. I pray my young children will have as many precious memories, and will remember the lyrics to the silly songs I write for them and sing off key.

May God bless you and your children this Valentine's day and always. May tragedy never enter your home, may they grow to be strong and wise and true. May you always feel this blessed....

Delilah receives lots of email from listeners just like you! Whether celebrating a marriage, or requesting a favorite song, sharing a favorite recipe or memory, or simply needing some soothing advice, Delilah is blessed by heartfelt stories every day.

Today Delilah lends a helping hand. She received an email from Jessica, a high school teacher at Miley Achievement Center of Las Vegas, Nevada. Jessica explained that her students are at risk of not having a prom because the school lacks the necessary resources and most of the students cannot afford formal attire. Delilah sprung into action and immediately contacted her friend Carmen, who owns a consignment shop, and inquired about any formal gowns she might have available for the teenage girls. Carmen was so gracious and willing to help, she actually donated 20 dresses to the cause. We'd like to give a special thanks to Carmen's Consignments of Port Orchard for helping to make this high school's prom a reality!

Please read Jessica's email below, and if you are compelled to help us create a memorable event for these students, you can send a cash donation to Delilah's foundation, Point Hope, which will go towards purchasing a disc jockey, shirts and ties for 25 young men, as well as decorations, soft drinks and other refreshments for the dance. For more information, please contact Steve at stevep@pointhope.org.

My name is Jessica and I am a high school algebra teacher at Miley Achievement Center in Las Vegas. I have been listening to your station since I was in 6th grade! I have come to write this email because our school is facing a dilemma so I am reaching out to you for help. We may not have a prom! Our students are severely emotionally challenged (behavior issues) and the population is very low. Most of our students are underprivileged (group homes, foster homes, etc...) and do not have much in terms of money. Therefore, we cannot charge our students for prom tickets. As a result, we need food, drinks, a DJ, prom attire for our students, etc. I am not asking for everything; we are trying our best to cover as much as we can. If there is any way possible that you can help, or even have an idea for us please let me know. We would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for all you do.

I was listening to your show last night and heard you mention you were looking for stories about how everyday people are helping the environment. I wanted to share my story with you. A couple years ago my friend began work on turning his energy inefficient ranch home into a high performance energy efficient home for him and his family. Throughout the process I helped him do as much work as we could before bringing in the specialist to install solar panels and radiant floors. We planted over 40 trees and 50 shrubs along his property, installed bamboo and cork flooring, and added extra insulation to the home. During this process we did so much research that we wanted to find a way to share with every homeowner how they too could save money while also helping the environment. We decided to create a website to share our knowledge and help others do the same. The website www.greenandsave.com is designed for individuals that want to take baby steps to going green or even jump right in and go hardcore. I hope that you find the site interesting and that you share it with your friends and listeners.

Hello Delilah!

I love your show! I am a faithful listener. Here is my story:

My husband and I separated almost a year ago. We had our problems just like any marriage. The problem is, I bailed out instead of staying to work the problem out. We now talk and see each other from time to time, but I want more!

I have told him how sorry I am for leaving him, but he doesn't know if we can ever be together again as husband and wife. Delilah, I love him so much with all my heart and soul, and would do just about anything to have him back home so we can be a family again. He says he has too much on in his mind to make that kind of decision right now, because I really hurt him when I left. He is the one and only love of my life, and I know I messed up by leaving. You have helped so many people - can you help me?

Your dedicated listener,

Clarissa

Dear Clarissa,

Since I made the same mistake about 16 years ago all I can tell you is to pray. I had a tough marriage to my first husband, and instead of getting help so that we could work it out, I gave him an ultimatum and he left. I was so in love with him it nearly killed me.

I wish I had made different choices, but I learned so much over the years. Now I know that I probably could not have stayed in the marriage because there was active alcoholism, but I wish I had learned about the disease of alcoholism BEFORE I separated from him. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but I should have taken care of myself and gotten my head on straight BEFORE I threw his bags out on the porch.

You have told him how you feel, now take care of you. It isn't his entire fault that the marriage failed, so you need to figure out what your part was in it. And once you figure out your issues, work on it. Find a good counselor, find a support group, take care of YOU and leave the rest in the Lord's hand.

And pray. Pray hard. Pray every day. Ask God to work in this situation, and if it is His will, to bring you two back together.

Delilah

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