Three years ago today, my mom went to her eternal home in heaven. Naturally, thoughts of home are at the top of my mind this week.
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My mom spent a lot of time in the kitchen of my childhood home, cooking for her family of nine hungry people.
I remember making Christmas cookies in that kitchen, and listening to my mom talk on the phone. And how could I ever forget the time I was eating breakfast at the kitchen table and heard, through the open window, my little sister yelling for help in the backyard, where she was hanging by her shorts from the old apple tree?
I grew up listening to the radio in that kitchen. The radio programs of my youth were all of the Christian-teaching variety. Haven of Rest. Back to the Bible. Insight for Living. Unshackled. Focus on the Family. The Children’s Bible Hour on Saturday mornings.
My mom loved those programs, even supported many of them financially. When I became a mother, I always felt a little bit guilty that I preferred inspirational music over radio preaching in my house. Were my children missing out because solid Christian teaching wasn’t soaking into their subconscious minds whenever they happened to come into my kitchen?
I don’t know. The music was therapeutic to me, and hopefully the Christian instruction came in other forms.
My mom and my daughter Lilly in the kitchen of my childhood home, with the radio visible in the background.
Given how much the radio was on in my mom’s kitchen, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that my earliest childhood salvation experience is connected to one of those very programs. I was in kindergarten, eating lunch in the kitchen, and the radio was tuned to the Gospel Hour with Oliver B. Greene.
I don’t remember this, so you can decide for yourself if it’s a valid experience. But my mom told me that I prayed to receive Christ as my Savior during the program.
I know God doesn’t have grandchildren, meaning you’re not a Christian just because your parents are believers. As for whether asking Jesus into your heart really “takes” if your mom remembers you doing it but you don’t, that might depend on whether you’re Baptist or Reformed. (I do know I questioned my salvation for many years, eventually settling the issue once and for all when I was in my mid-20s.)
My point—and yes, I do have one—is that the Christian teaching programs my mom listened to are as much a part of my childhood memories of her as all the Christmas cookies and Italian pasta dinners she used to prepare for our family.
These days, Unlocking the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith is my go-to teaching program. I tune in on Spotify, rather than the radio. But I rarely listen to an episode without thinking of my mom and the legacy of faith that she left me.
♥ Lois
The Christian radio programs my mom listened to are as much a part of my childhood memories of her as all the Christmas cookies and Italian pasta dinners she used to prepare for our family. Click To TweetP.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.
30 comments
Your story parallels my own. Thanks for the memories! The radio was on in our house whenever we were awake, and my dad made sure we were awake whenever he was! That old radio was tuned to the same radio programs you mentioned. When I was fourteen, I prayed to ask Jesus to be my Savior one night as I knelt by my bed after hearing a story on Children’s Bible Hour that scared me into making sure I would go to heaven if I died that night like the girl in the story. Like you, I learned more about what it meant to be a disciple of Christ in my early 20s when I rededicated my life to Him after watching my husband pray to receive Christ. I also prefer praise music or old hymns playing in the background rather than preaching these days. I prefer to listen to specific Christian teaching on podcasts when I’m not reading the Word for myself. I do appreciate the Christian influence in my home while I was growing up. I was blessed.
Aw, Juanita … thank you so much for sharing your story and memories here. You’re right … we do have much in common. I used to love Children’s Bible Hour so much … wasn’t it Uncle Charlie who was the host? (My goodness, I haven’t thought of that in decades!) Yes, we were both blessed to have that godly influence in our childhood homes. ❤️
Those are such sweet memories of your mom, Lois. I remember recording Adventures in Odyssey from the radio onto cassette tapes so we’d have them in the car to listen to when we’d travel with our girls when they were young. Technology has come a LONG way since then. 🙂
Oh yes, Lisa … we listened to a lot of Adventures in Odyssey when my girls were growing up too. Mostly on CD or online though. 🙂 Even today, there are times when the conversation at hand prompts one of us to quote from one of those much-loved episodes!
My mom and dad also listened to Christian radio (Moody specifically) during my growing up years–my grandparents too. And though I don’t remember specific sermons or teaching that I heard, I KNOW the constant flow of biblical truth had to have impact. Seems to me, even the atmosphere is purified when God’s truth is wafting on the airwaves! And surely inspirational Christian music does the same.
I love how you put it, Nancy … that “even the atmosphere is purified when God’s truth is wafting on the airwaves.” 🙂 It’s neat to think of so many people growing up in homes where the radio played such an important role in spiritual formation.
Aw! This sounds like such a sweet, happy home. I wonder if she had as much trouble keeping tidy with that many kids as I have with only four kids?
I’m glad you got your salvation questions settled and that your mom did get to enjoy your children for a little while. She sounds so wonderful.
Yes, my mom was wonderful, April. She always was a fastidious housekeeper, but when we were all still at home, I’m guessing there were plenty of times when things got messy, laundry piled up, etc. We do the best we can, right? The way I see it now, some things are more important than an always-tidy house. 🙂
Oh friend, I was thinking of you this past week and the anniversary of your mom’s home going. This is a cool memory and insight. Radio ministries (like Unlocking The Bible of course!) have had an impact on me too!
Yes, of course! My mom introduced me to all the programs I listened to as a kid, and you introduced me to the main one I listen to now. 🙂 Hugs, friend.
Awww, Lois. It’s already been three years? I’m sure you know it has; time has traveled faster than I realized. I loved reading of your mom and the radio. I recognized and have listened to every program you listed here. 🙂 I love the impact her choices had on your formation. Whether you prefer teaching or worship music, they both draw us closer to Jesus, don’t they?
Beautiful post, friend.
Thank you so much, my friend.
Lois, such beautiful memories! I wasn’t a Christian until well into my adult life, but I listened to Christian radio as a new believer and to all of those programs you listed! I played them for my children, and they rang through my kitchen as they did through your beloved Mom’s. While my two oldest children remain prodigals and disconnected from our family, my youngest daughter has the fond memories you have of those programs! Thank you for sharing these sweet memories with us today!
You’re welcome, Donna. 🙂 It’s so wonderful to hear from others’ whose lives were profoundly touched by all those same radio programs. You left your children a wonderful radio legacy too (even the ones who don’t realize it yet). Hugs, friend.
We must never underestimate the power of a seed.
Amen, Jan!
What wonderful memories tied to the legacy of a Godly woman!
That’s a great way to put it, Lauren. 🙂
Oh wow–this strikes such a chord with me, because Christian radio was one of my lifelines when I first became a Christian. I was the only saved person in my family, as far as I know, for many years. When I first told my mom I had gotten saved, her response was, ” Oh no.” I wish I had thought to ask her at some point what past experience she’d had with saved people to make her respond like that. (Though I never heard a specific testimony from her, I have reason to believe she did come to believe later in life.)
I had gone to church with a school friend and made a profession in 3rd or 4th grade. But I struggled with assurance for years and count the time of my salvation in my teens years. My parents weren’t antagonistic, but they didn’t share my faith and enthusiasm, either. So I spent a lot of time in my room with programs like Haven of Rest, Unshackled, The Quiet Time with Albert H, Salter, Nightsounds with Bill Pearce. Bill Pearce had a particularly soothing voice, and his program came on late as night.–a perfect set-up for going to sleep
When I was a young mom, we lived in the same town as a Christian college and listened to the radio station associated with them. They played their chapel hour about the time I was washing dinner dishes, and it was a big help to me when quiet time reading was harder to come by with little ones in the house. That station also had Children’s Bible Hour as well as some old classic radio programs like The Shadow and Fibber McGee and Molly.
The last several years, I tend to turn on Christian radio when I’m in the kitchen for any length of time. We have a local BBN Radio station here, which also broadcasts online in several different languages. I enjoy Stephen Davey while my oatmeal is simmering, and I’m so thankful they’ve started replaying Elisabeth Elliot’s old Gateway to Joy program. When I am in the car or dressing for the day, I listen to an audiobook or music from my own library on my phone. More often than not, I am drawn to instrumental music as well. But when puttering in the kitchen, I like the radio–maybe from long habit. Now it’s my special companion during Christmas and Thanksgiving baking.
My husband’s mom also loved Christian radio. Her husband was somewhat antagonistic to Christian things during much of their marriage, but she could listen to the radio in peace in the kitchen.
Thanks for this trip down memory lane! I probably should not have taken up so much space in the comments with it, though.
I hope such sweet memories of your mom are a comfort on this anniversary.
Thank you, Barbara. For your kind words and for sharing your trip down memory lane. 🙂 You are always welcome to take up space in my comment section–I love the stories you share from your life, both here and on your blog. I don’t think I knew you were the only Christian in your family for so long … what a gift those radio programs were to you during those years. 🙂
Thank you for sharing these precious memories of your Mom, Lois. Does that mean you came from a family with seven or eight children? What number are you? Did you enjoy growing up in a large family?
Yes, Lisa … I am the sixth of seven children, with 16 years between my oldest brother and younger sister. 🙂 I did enjoy growing up in a big family. My mom had three boys and then four girls, so I was much closer to my sisters growing up. Living near my parents in their final years gave me an opportunity to know my brothers better–only one of my siblings lives near here, but the rest visited frequently. I also love the fact that my children and all their cousins have gotten to know each other pretty well over the years, in ways that I never knew my much-older cousins. Now I’m curious … did YOU grow up in a large family too?
I loved reading your memories of your mom and the beautiful legacy she left. Praying for you and sending hugs as you mark this anniversary. And I’m sure the music you played will have left its mark on your daughters. Even when I’ve really benefitted from someone’s preaching it doesn’t stick with me in the same way that songs do, but I can usually remember song lyrics even years after I’ve last heard them!
Thank you so much, Lesley. My older daughter is the same way with song lyrics–it seems like she just has to hear a song once to know it forever!
Precious memories of a heart-giving Mom. She gave in her personal way and again via a radio that was on for her benefit yet how the programs benefitted you as well…to a deeper level that we realize. Lois, these lifelong memories are beautiful. And I so love that lavender house.
Aw, Linda … thank you for your kind words. The house was an awful army green when my parents bought it in 1972. My dad painted it a light yellow color when I was growing up (a vast improvement over the green). Some years later, he saw a Victorian house with a lavender/fuchsia/white color scheme and decided he wanted that for his house! As you might imagine, the “purple house” was well known in the small town where I grew up. 🙂
We are so blessed to have such rich legacies!
So true, Susan. 🙂
Lois, how precious are these memories! I hold many of these same ones. My mom always had WFME, the Christian radio station in NY on. And when we AM finally brought us WWDJ, she was thrilled as there were even more programs to now hear. Funny to me that when life brought a crisis, it was to Christian radio that I turned to keep my mind focused and my faith steady. In fact, I still listen to Insight For Living, only on my laptop rather than the radio as it is without static 🙂 {{hugs}}
Joanne, I had a feeling you might be able to relate to this post! Technology has improved things for us, but solid teaching is still solid teaching, isn’t it? Hugs back, friend.