Friday

I love Fridays. It's like I can breathe a little easier, the week is coming to an end, time to relax and have the family together.

1. Some more answered prayer - Scott has had only day trips this week and has been home every night. That makes such a difference.

2. One day this weeek was just trying - I won't go into details, but i'll just say I wanted to give up and crawl back in bed - but I didn't! Thank you Amy and Mike, for being there for me. Then later that day Scott called me and told me he doesn't have to work the wkend of 11/3. Thank you God! I am going to be away that weekend for a retreat, so i was trying to figure out what to do with the kids. If you know me, you know I don't like leaving my kids, so while I knew it would all work out, it was stressful. So when I got that news that was just such a gift from God! I just felt at that moment that God cared so much for me, He is so personal. I also felt rewarded for pressing through some trials, even if they're minor, to get to his blessings.

3. One of the things that I've been writing about is how God's love for us is so intimate. He is not a far off removed God, as so many people mistakenly think. I found this beautiful quote below and I'll share it with you to remind you that God wants us to come to Him and pour out our hearts to Him about everything. Happy WEekend.


Emile Griffin wrote a little book called, Clinging, which my aunt dot sent me. “this is the one intimacy of which we need not be afraid, for it will not disappoint or betray us. On God we can loose all the intensity of what we are, all the passion and the longing we feel. This is the one surrender we can make in utter trust, knowing that we can rest our whole weight there and nothing will give way.”

Just LIfe

I haven't written much about what's going on with all of us, so I'll just give a little up date, from youngest to oldest:)

Tyler is seven and in second grade. He has the greatest second teacher ever, Mrs. Shumate, at Wesley Chapel. This is the same teacher Zachary had. She loves him and helps steer all his energy the right way. She has three boys herself so she knows how to handle them! Tyler loves her, loves school, loves friends, would rather play with friends than anything else in the world. I love that about him - but it can make me a little crazy too! Some days just have to be stay-at-home, no playing with friends days and he does not like that! Yesterday in the garage he and his buddies created a band out of stuff they found in the garage and now he's all about that.

Zachary is going to be twelve next month and he just looks so grown up! He loves basketball still - in fact today he woke up at 7 am, turned on ESPN, looked at me with a big smile, and said, I just love basketball. It's 7:30 am and he and Scott have already left to spend the whole day - till 6pm - at WCWAA basketball evaluations. They love it, they'll do the same thing tomorrow - they've done this three weekends in a row - and i'm about sick of it! I love their passion but I get a little lonely. One of the things i've always had a hard time with is Scott being away on weekends. Maybe tonight he and i will go to a movie...

Scott and I are most of the time on the same page - and that is really God's work of transformation in our lives. As I'm going to groups speaking on What a Husband Needs from His Wife, I am reminded so many times of how far God has brought our marriage. Even yesterday when I was ranting and raving a bit about basketball, we still were laughing and not getting too worked up and trying to listen to one another. In our early days, all we did was fight and I cried a lot. The main point of the book is that God can transform a marriage that is surrendered to Him. I continue to press on in God's grace and power.

As for me,lots! I'll include this schedule so you can please pray for me. I've seen such incredible answers to prayer - I wrote about a couple on the previous entry.

I have two radio interviews this week for the book - weds, and thursday.

I'm speaking on my book (about marriage) on 11/2 Thursday am to a local MOPs group - it's Weddington Community Church which will meet at Siler Presbyterian,right down the corner from Southbrook. If anyone wants to go let me know!

Then I leave friday 11/3 to speak at a retreat in Houston. I am so excited! Marybeth connected me with them - thank you, friend.

Then I speak on 12/2 at Southbrook's Christmas Tea - what an honor to speak at my own church.

Then I fly on 12/13 to Tampa for a TV station interview on my book!

So life is rich and full and I'm so truly honored to be able to preach for God! May all I do and say bring Him glory. 1 Peter 4:11 Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God, whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

Answered Prayer

Hello friends - Today I want to tell you about two incidents of really incredibly answered prayer. I've learned from this several things: ask friends to pray for you! Ask specifically! and look for God's answer. These answered prayers have just reminded of the incredibly personal, intimate God we have.

1. Last week I was preparing for a talk which I would present Thursday night. I was practicing it and afterwards I prayed this: "Lord, please anoint me and this message. I just feel like the message is a little flat. Please just sprinkle some of your magic dust to make this message come alive for the women I'll be speaking to." Now I promise you i have never ever prayed for God's magic dust.
Then the very next morning i have an email from my friend Michelle that just blew me away. The email was a virtual florist note of encouragement to tell me she was praying specifically for my event Thursday night. It was a picture of a little fiary and this is what the note said:
"Just sprinkling some pixie dust to sparkle you with extra good luck!"
Wow! I need your prayers friends!

2. Yesterday I went to Shelby, NC to speak to a Mops group. Holly went with me and when we got there we sat in the car for a minute and Holly prayed. Part of her prayer was this:"Lord, use this message in at least one person's life and Lord, I ask that you will reveal to us that person."
So then I give my talk on marriage, during the talk Holly shared her story about moving from PA to NC, and the minute I finished talking one girl came up to Holly and said, I went through exactly what you described and could totally relate. Then I sat down to talk to her and she said, I could have written your whole book about marriage. I have been through so many of the things you went through in your marriage.

Isn't that incredible?! What a loving, personal, intimate God we have. Thank you Lord for your love! So friends I encourage you to pray pray pray and look for God's answers - and keep praying for me! mel

Influential Books

Today as I'm writing I'm skimming through some of my favorite books and I'm just reminded of how influential these books have been in my life. So I thought I'd share and encourage you to be a reader for learning about God. I would say that in the past three years of my life so much of my spiritual growth has come from just reading the word of God - truly nothing can replace that - and then reading other books.

Battlefield of the Mind Joyce Meyer
The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
Lies Women Believe Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Boundaries Cloud and Townsend
Search for Signficance McGee
If You Want To Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat Ortburg


I read all the time and read all types of stuff - nonfiction i read Christian but fiction I read everything. I love a good story - especially an edgy adventure/mystery with a little romance. In fact if anyone has any good suggestions for that type of fiction, let me know!

Writing

I'm writing today on my blog about writing. Lately, I'm back into being very purposeful about writing. Really, I have to be because in the next month I will three talks and end with a weekend retreat. Wow! I am so thankful for these open doors, know that they are divinely appointed. Please pray that I will be filled with the HOly Spirit as I prepare the messages and then filled with the Spirit as I deliver them. May all that I do in this speaking/writing ministry be to God's glory.

I am officially a Proverbs 31 speaker! There's a link on my sidebar for this ministry, Proverbs31.org. This ministry has had such an impact on who I am today and the calling on my life. As many of you know, they published my article on marriage, it was read by Harvest House publishers, which led eventually to my book, What a Husband Needs from His Wife. It is such privilege and honor to be part of that team.

Meanwhile there's life... and writing...and life... I'm the kind of writer who would love the hours of 5 am to about 11 am totally free for writing. Just a big chunk of morning time with nothing to do but write would make me incredibly happy. I'm a morning person, most creative then, just wake up with all kinds of ideas in my head. Plus writing is thinking/praying/reading/writing/revising... it's such a thinking process for me. So I get in this zone and I just want to stay there! Can any writers or speakers relate to that?

But how incredibly unrealistic is that?! There's the dogs waking up, the kids to get off to school, then ... life! My husband has been on a business trip all week, tyler has had strep throat for the second time...and laundry and meals and homework and practices and phone calls...and exercise and housework and you know, the stuff of life.

So Tuesday I just struggled and fought with the "interruptions" of life because all I wanted to do was write! Sometimes I get in this mode where I'm bubbling over with ideas and I'm afraid that if I don't get them down on paper they'll be gone...

I am in a time in my life where I am learning to have balance with these new responsibilities of speaking and writing... The really cool thing is that while I was just driving home from picking zach up at basketball practice at 8:30 at night I had some really great thoughts for a talk I'm working on.

So the truth is it's always about trusting God to do what He has called me to do. He will make a way, one step at a time. I don't have to try to orchestrate the perfect schedule for writing.
Proverbs 3:5&6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.