Message to My Children: Twenty Things I Want to Tell You Before I Die

By Colette M. Owens

Do you want to leave a legacy for your children of not only physical things but of your thoughts, ideas, and life missions? When we have our parents and grandparents with us, we often take them for granted, assuming they will be around forever. It’s not until they have passed on that we realize we should have spent more time with them, getting to know them and their philosophies on life.

Message to My Children was created so that your family doesn’t have to go through that! They won’t have to wonder what you thought about God, love, and relationships. You can tell them through the written word. This is a lovingly crafted book of spiritual advice and life lessons from author Colette M. Owens. Following each chapter is an area for readers to write down their own lessons that they wish to pass on to their kids. Families will be able to hand down their filled-out copies as valuable keepsakes chockfull of wisdom.

Use this book as a starting place to tell your loved ones how you feel about what’s important to you. Give them something tangible that they can have long after you are gone. Leave a legacy of love to your children and their children for generations to come!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664287112

Colette M. Owens

Colette M. Owens, MSOL is dedicated to leaving a legacy of L.O.V.E. to her friends and family. As an actress, singer, author, motivator, and relationship builder, she believes that each of us can effect change in those around us and, by doing so, change the world. A mother of three adult children and blessed with four grandchildren, Colette knows the value of having a strong foundation of faith and family.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Colette M. Owens.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright

© 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL

VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,

Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living

Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale

House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8712-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8713-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8711-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022923299

WestBow Press rev. date:   01/31/2023

This book is handed down with love

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Dedication

To my grandmother, Marie Neal Tyson

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I wish that I could sit at your feet one more day.… I would soak it all up, I’d never look away. What I wouldn’t give to listen once again to all the stories you had to share, all the wisdom you’d impart. Time has yet to heal the hole in my heart. I will continue to live my life in a way that you’d approve and fill the hole of your passing with memories of you.

Special Thanks

To My Wonderful Parents

Frank & Lea Wooden

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I will never be able to repay you for all that you have done for me. The sacrifices, love and support have helped to shape me into the person that I am today, and I am forever grateful.

Contents

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Preface

1     Love God

2     Love Yourself

3     Love Others

4     Life Is Meant to Be Lived

5     Laugh Often, Mostly at Yourself

6     Embrace Change

7     Dream Big

8     Fail a Lot

9     Forgive Easily

10   Keep It Moving

11   Make an Impact

12   Watch Your Words

13   Put a Spin on It

14   Guard Your Heart

15   Lost but Not Hopeless

16   Seasons vs. Cycles

17   Recognize Your Angels Along the Way

18   Leave a Legacy of L.O.V.E

19   Write the Vision

20   Pray and Meditate

Conclusion

Preface

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When my children were young, I spent so much time running around doing things that there was very little time for reflection. It seemed as if there was never a dull moment between scrapes and bruises, school, and playtime. I was like a firefighter, always on high alert and ready to put out the next fire. I thought in terms of what I needed to teach them at that moment to get them to the next milestone—how to read and write, how to spell, how to tie their shoelaces. You get the picture. It was not until they were older and out of the house that I realized that there was still so much I had to say, so many lessons that I was learning and that I wanted to give them a heads-up on, things that I wished I had been told earlier.

This book is my feeble attempt to do that. I don’t pretend that these are all of life’s lessons, but these are a few of the ones that are important to me. It is my hope that, as you read, you will come up with lessons and messages of your own to add. I will leave some blank pages at the end of each chapter for you to do just that. Together, we can leave a legacy of love to our children and their children for generations to come!

One last thing, I am a believer. I believe in God, and I believe in his son Jesus Christ. That being said, some of my lessons are based on biblical principles. Even if you do not believe as I do, I believe that you will find value within these pages.

A Personal Note to My Three

Beautiful Children

The love I have for my children plays in my

heart like a beautiful melody.

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You Are Loved

It’s that simple. From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, I love you. I love everything about you, even the stuff I don’t like!

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Courtney, you are my firstborn, and it seems like only yesterday that I felt you kick inside me for the first time. I was in the car with Pam and Jodie, going to hang out, when I felt my stomach jump. It scared me at first, then I was in amazement. All the reading I had done had not prepared me for the feelings that came over me in that instant. Suddenly, it was real—you were real—and my life changed forever. I loved watching you grow into who you are today. As a child, you were very independent. Not much has changed there! When you were about two or three, we were over at