Mel's Heart

Blogging Break

2007-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends and Family, Thank you for reading my blog over the past year or so. I'm taking a break, mainly so I have time to work on other things. One day I'll return, and I'll let you know. Blessings - melanie

Just the simple things

2007-03-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

I have my husband back! hee hee Basketball for Scott and the boys was officially over MOnday pm when Zach's All Star team came in second place. We all wish they had won. But mostly I'm glad it's over. It exhausted all of us and challenged our marriage. Scott's being a coach and age commissioner for the community basketball league was more time consuming than we anticipated. He did a great, great job. I love to see Scott in action because his passion is youth sports and he is truly so great with kids. Such a motivator and encourager.

But I've missed the simple things. Last night Scott grilled hamburgers and then just the two of took the dogs for a walk. It's such great weather and we took the dogs to Champion Forest where they can run in the woods, and all that makes me so happy.

Today I cleaned and did laundry and did some work and i'm ready to leave tomorrow for the Hearts at Home conference in Detroit. How fun!

Where are you planted?

2007-03-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

I was blessed yesterday by two things. First, I went to a Bible study group in Indian Trail. They had just finished doing the study at the end of my marriage book. So we just talked and I just shared some of the things God continues to teach me in marriage. They were such a fun and loving group, a group of women so obviously seeking God. So in doing ministry I was blessed. And you know, I've been so busy that just for a moment I had thought about not going. I'm so glad that I did, however, because it was such a great feeling knowing that the book I wrote helped women in their marriages.

Then my devotional ran yesterday and it was an invitation to have a relationship with the Lord, or to recommit to a relationship with the God who loves you. It was part of the devotionals that run through Proverbs 31 Ministry - see sidebar. I got an e-mail from the office that many people had responded that they accepted Christ. How amazing. How much fun it is to be obedient to God and to know that He's using me. There is truly no better feeling!

In Psalm 1:3, 4 we read:"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers."

So it makes me think about: Where are you planted? Wherever you are planted is the place God wants you to bear fruit, to take whatever that next step of obedience is, to cling to Him. And then we will bear fruit and prosper!

Company in town

2007-03-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've been having fun with my relatives. My sister Natlie and her daughter Christi and her son Matthew came into town Saturday. Of course, we immediately were off to a basketball game, All Stars this weekend. I'm glad they got to see Zachary play. That was special. Christi is so fun and so grown-up - driving in just a few weeks. She and Natalie are starting a cleansing fast - does not sound like fun to me! But I admire them!

We celebrated Matthew's 13th bday by letting the boys skip school Monday to go to Dave and Buster's. We've had that planned forever, so even though Tyler missed last week with being sick - again - I let him go. Tyler has called Nat/Christi/matthew about a million times before they come to visit. Now of course he thinks he needs a cell phone - that 7 year old! I don't think so!!!!!!!!

Then Nat and Christi went up to the mountain house to enjoy some girl time, while Matthew is staying here in boy world. He just fits right in - likes to hang out and do the boy stuff, and he brought his unicyle - very cool.

I wish my relatives lived in town.

Heartlight devotional

2007-03-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

/\-----------------------------------------------------------------
\ / HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine -- http://www.heartlight.org/
--\/------------------------------------------------------------------
March 4, 2007

/--- READY TO CHANGE THE WORLD? -----------------------------\
ACU students do every day! Click to find out more
about Abilene Christian University, recognized as one of
"America's Best Colleges" by the U.S. News & World Report.
\- http://ads.heartlight.org/serve.cgi?req=am_track&go=34 ---/

=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

I Got God!, by Tammy Marcelain

Special Note: Tammy has been very open about sharing her son's
journey in his battle with a brain tumor and the challenges
involved with doctors, chemotherapy, radiation, and faith -- see
the links at the bottom of this page. She is part of The Coffee
Group.
Jack and I were sitting on the couch the other night. We were watching our favorite show, Deal or No Deal. This show drives me crazy. When I say "our favorite show," I mean my kids' favorite show. I just enjoy being a part of their excitement and listening to their advice for the contestants. My oldest son, Derek, is always pushing for the contestant to open one more suitcase. Jack and I are both saying take the money and go home. My daughter, Sophie, doesn't give her two cents very often.
Jack was playing his Game Boy at the same time we were watching the TV. He was sitting right next to me. The commercial for H & R Block came on the television. You've probably seen them. The punch line is, "I got people." You hear it a half a dozen times during the commercial.
At the end of the commercial, Jack, with his nose in his Game Boy, says, "I got mama." Tears, tears and more tears streamed down my face. I said, "Yes, you do Jack."
My meager human heart was swollen with emotion!
My meager human heart was swollen with emotion with those three words: "I got mama." I love Jack so much. Even now, to write those words makes me cry.
What must God feel when things are hard for us and we say in no uncertain terms, with no waiver in our voice, "I got God."
There was no waiver in Jack's voice when he said, "I got mama." Jack knows I can not fix his brain tumor, but I am by his side ALL the way .. and God is at our side ALL the way.
I don't know God's plans for Jack. I pray for healing, but I don't know if that is in God's big scheme of things. However, no matter which case gets opened, there is peace and confidence in knowing, "I GOT GOD!"
God has said,
"I will never fail you. I will never forsake you"
(Hebrews 13:5 NLT).
---------
(c) 2007 Tammy Marcelain and The
Coffee Group

Thank you, friends

2007-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

I got so many supportive phone calls and emails after sending out a big prayer request last night. I had just hit the wall - tired, Scott leaving all week, basketball practice every night, speaking Weds. - and then Tyler woke up sick and the doctor said expect him to be out all week. Poor guy - and poor me:) is how I felt last night.

It's not my favorite thing to ask for help, or frankly, to need help. But man - i'm so glad I sent that email because I was just overwhelmed with love and support. I never would have felt that if I hadn't admitted my need.

My next post is from heartlight devotionals and it just put everything in perspective.

Things that have made me smile lately

2007-03-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

1. Tyler talking with a lisp because he's missing his two front teeth

2. Sitting in the gym at a basketball game, with Scott on one side keeping the clock, and Zachary on the other side keeping the book.

3. My twin sister natalie and I were talking about how tired we are all the time- one of our favorite topics of conversation. She said, yeah, i decided to just accept it and i fix a big pot of coffee in the afternoon.

4. Natalie and her kids are coming to visit in a week!

5. Zachary made the All-Star basketball team.

6. Walking the dogs on a sunny afternoon.

7. I'm going to a conference in two weeks, started to think i need a couple more professional outfits - and was completely blessed with two new jackets this week. The first one came from wendy in the p31 office - she found a cute jacket at walmart for $1, and it fits great! Then my friend Debbie had a pink and brown jacket that doesn't fit and she brought it over Friday - and it fits and i love pink and brown. Isn't that cool?!

8. That I get to go this conference! I'm going to the Hearts at Home conference to help out my friend and fellow Proverbs 31 speaker,Renee Swope. It will be so much fun and the way it all worked out is a miracle.

9. Amy and Mike bought a new house!

10. Encouragment, challenge, prayers, and listening ears from good friends.

11. Hearing from two Bible study groups who did my What a Husband Needs from His Wife book/bible study.

12. Getting my hair colored and i like it.

13. And the one that made me laugh out loud. I woke up one morning with dog hair stuck to my night cream lotion - Emma, yellow lab #2, likes to sleep with a pillow. If you don't laugh, you'll cry!

Response to basketball and holy ground

2007-02-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

This is a a response form my friend Butch Ferguson, who will soon have his own blog up and running. I liked it so thought you'd enjoy it too. He has a great sense of humor and a heart for God. His wife and my good friend Mandy will have a blog soon, too!

"Thanks for sharing your heart and your mission for God, even if He has you on short-term ground. Thanks for being obedient. Sometimes I am blinded to God's message and wonder if I would have been as discerning as Moses. If it were me confronted with a burning bush, I probably would have yelled, "fire", then try to stomp it out with my size 11 desert sandel. I may have even called for one of the faithful followers bring me a goats bladder of water to try to douse the fire. Either way, I would have snuffed out my opportunity to hear God. I'm ignorant that way. That's why I pray, almost daily, to have God keep me grounded and know that He is God. " Butch

Basketball and Holy Ground

2007-02-24T03:11:00.001-08:00

No, I am not worshipping basketball! I'm just learning some things in the thick of basketball season.

We are a basketball family. And I am so thankful that God truly has given me the ability to enjoy this sport. I love watching my sons play and Scott coach. Maybe it all started went I went to the ACC tournie many years ago while I was pregnant with Zachary...

BUT - things have gotten over the top around here. Along with coaching Zach's team, Scott is an age commissioner for the community league. And right now we're in the tournament. This means there are games every night and all day sat and sun for about 10 days. So he has to be there.

Okay, okay, but THEN - there's more. We're using the Union Academy gym and Scott is in charge of opening and closing this gym every time it's being used. Not great, but okay, God we can handle this... but THEN - here's the tough part, Scott was out of town last week, not available to open and close the gym, so who do you think got to do that most nights? That's right, me.

So I have been praying every second because let me assure you this is not what I want to be doing. I have gotten busy. I'm preparing talks, writing book proposals, editing devotionals, trying to work out at the gym and keeping up with the rest of our lives.

And an amazing thing has happened. I have seen God's supernatural grace just land in me and He given me a gracious attitude. Most of the time:)

As I've been praying about it, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind Exodus 3:5 "... for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." This is where Moses stops to investigate the burning bush and then God speaks to Moses and tells him his calling.

We all have holy ground in our lives, a place made holy because God shows up. Moses was being a shepherd, pasturing the flocks, when God changed the common to holy. I think about how Moses could have just passed by that burning bush and really missed out on a lifetime of knowing God more intimately.

We have that same opportunity to see the holy ground right where we are. For me the holy ground in my life right now is basketball. I want to see God in this. I want to see his grace transforming me and breaking me free from any other strongholds in my life.

The sin tendency I have to fight against is anger and resentment and withdrawal from Scott. I really don't want to do that. Scott knows this has been too much, neither one of anticipated how demanding the schedule would be, he's not going to do it again next year, so why make all of us miserable? I don't want to punish Scott with my bad attitude, and I don't want to prove that I am right about this being too much. It is what it is... how will I let God in? How will I let God use this to make me more like Him? How will I trust Him in this? How will I partner with God to love Scott in this? I'm choosing God.

Deuteronomy 10: 20, 21: "'You shall fear the Lord our God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God...'"

Thankful for friends who seek God

2007-02-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today I am feeling so thankful for friends who love and follow God.

Today Scott was feeling disgruntled and tired and grumpy and frustrated, mostly about some work stuff. I was gone this morning, and by the time I got home Scott had changed. He was at peace. I could just tell immediately. I asked him what was different. He said he just lost focus for a bit - and he remembered to put his eyes on the Lord, and it's going to be okay.

A friend just called to give me an update on something she had asked me to pray about. She was having a really bad attitude about a situation, and she was really frustrated and just vented some yesterday and asked for prayer.

And then this morning she did something incredible - instead of hanging on to that crummy attitude, instead of choosing to sin, she humbled herself this morning and fell on her face and told God she was just desperate for HIm. She knew that she needed to change her attitude but He was going to have to come through - and boy did He. The situation she was involved in had a good outcome and i could just hear in her voice the joy she found in obeying God!

Then the other friends who inpsired me are the Whalens. Marybeth's blog- see sidebar- is one of my favorites because some days it's about her every day life - which is very different from mine, and other days it's about more weighty matters.

The day that really stood out to me was "About paying off our college loan" on 2/14. her husband Curt blogs sometimes and she's got a link that day to his comments about their debt. It just moved me to tears because of their faithfulness to God. They could have taken an easier way out probably, they could have said this obedience is too hard - but they didn't. Step by step they have been faithful in paying off their debt.

So thank you my dear friends for your faithful example of following the Lord, of pressing into Him, knowing that He is the source of all we need and all we want to be. These friends are an example to me of Phillipians 4: 8,9: "Finally brethren, whaever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

No, this is not my own dog in such an undignified pose, but it looks remarkably like jenna. It just cracked me up that someone would go to such lengths for v-day!

Today I want to remind you that you are infinitely loved by God. Here's some verses to really soak in and really, really, meditate on how much God loves you now and forevr!

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God, and such we are. 1John 3:1

The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the other people... but becaused the Lord loved you. Deut. 7:7

The Lord has loved you with an everlasting love jeremiah 31:3

"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands" Isaiah 49:16

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" John 3:17

Nothing can separate us from God's love! Romans 8:38-39

Big Butts

2007-02-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

There's always a Tyler story. This past Sunday as we were getting ready for church, Tyler told me about this tv commercial he saw. He told me that there was a lady in a dress and she was asking the man if her butt looked big in that dress.

I saw this as an opportunity to teach tyler the ways of women. I said to him, "Tyler if a lady ever says that to you in your lifetime, the correct is always no. Just say no."

And then with a little smile, he said to me, "like I shouldn't tell you your butt looks big in those pants because it does."

so there. sigh. and yes, my butt is big:) A few weekends ago I went away with my good friend Karen - who is maybe a size two, by the way - and we agreed that one of the biggest differences about being in your forties as opposed to earlier years is that everything shows up - if you eat a cookie, it shows up; if you don't drink enough water, it shows up on your face, etc...

So I've worked out several times this week. Leigh's blog - see my sidebar has a good blog about weight - she said call overeating what it is - sin! It's a good one if you want to check it out.

I'll post a photo here of karen. We went away to the mountains just the two of us. What fun. We've known each other since college days - 25 years. We loaded the car with enough stuff for two weeks, just in case we got snowed in, which unfortunately we didn't. We turned a 3 1/2 hour drive into a 7 hour drive by stopping to shop along the way. We sat by the fire, read mags, watched movies, ate cookies and nachos, and talked and laughed. We both actually did some writing - see her on my sidebar, Karen Rinehart, author of Bus Stop Mommies column. Life is good when you have a good and old friend.

No footholds

2007-02-09T04:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon it felt like Satan had set up camp in my house. By late afternoon, the seven year old was crying in his room where he was having a timeout; the twelve year old was teary and more dramatic than he normally is; and I wanted to cry!

I thought for a little bit about what on earth had gotten us to that point, and soon I remembered that it was plain and simple spiritual attack. I am speaking this Sunday and it seems each time the enemy (i'm going to call him stupid like chris nole in california does) finds a new way to create some chaos in my life.

So I just said no, stupid is not getting a foothold in this house. Not in our thoughts, not in our emotions, not in our actions. So I gathered the boys around, we held hands, and I prayed for God to be our warrior, to surround us and Scott with a hedge of protection, and to fight off stupid.

So then we pressed on and went about our business - homework, laundry, dinner. Things didn't turn around immediately - but eventually they did! Scott got home from a three day trip earlier than I expected - thank you Lord! and we had a sit down family dinner.

Then Scott got out old videos because he's getting ready to convert them to dvd. We gathered around and watched videos of times when the boys were little and it just tickled us all! We were laughing and giggling and our hearts were transformed!

God really answered that prayer. Thank you, Lord.

Snow Day

2007-02-02T03:11:00.000-08:00

We got real snow in Charlotte! About two inches. It was so pretty. Since I grew up in south Florida, snow is still a big, big thrill to me! The kids got to stay home from school and the best part was that Scott was off work, too. Thank you, God! Tyler and the dogs immediately went out to play in the snow. It was fun to see all the neighborhood kids having snow ball fights and building snowmen.

One of the best parts of the day was just sitting on the couch and catching up with my husband. What a wonderful man I am married to. It is such a huge blessing in my life to be married to someone who is my best friend, who shares the same goals and priorities, someone who loves God and loves me and the boys.

One of the things we've been talking about some over the past year is Scott's love of coaching and working with young people in basketball. He is just so good at it and has such a passion for it. He is one of the commissioners for our community league and he helps coach at Zach's school. He loves doing that, but sometimes he wonders about going back to teaching and coaching. We were both teachers for many years so we know that along with some great days of feeling like you're really having an impact on young people, you have just as many ordinary days where you think what am I doing? Maybe God has gifted him this way to raise up our two sons, and just to do the other stuff part time.

And the other thing is he loves being a pilot and he has an awesome job with a great company. So we're just praying and he said he's just being still and waiting to hear from God.
psalm 46:10 Be still and know....

As for me and my dreams - I really want to continue to speak more, to write another book - hopefully I'll hear back from Harvest House soon about some book ideas. When I am writing and speaking for God, there's just a sense of rightness that feels better than anything else i've ever done.

So it was fun just to catch up with Scott and to talk about our dreams and to pray. We took the new truck out in the snow later and went out to dinner. There was not a soul on the roads! I love the way the South shuts down for a little snow. To Scott who's from Minnesota it's pretty funny.

Oprah and Proverbs 31 and Southbrook Church

2007-01-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

My friends were on Oprah this past Monday and I still cry just thinking about it.
It was an extraordinary family show - and 5 friends from here were featured because they've all adopted Liberian orphans. For anyone wanting more information about this story/adoptions/Proverbs 31 - I want to give you some info.

southbrookchurch.com Our church here in Weddington, NC where many, many families have adopted Liberian orphans.

Proverbs 31 Ministry - see the link on the sidebar - this is the ministry I speak for, the ministry that Lysa TerKeurst is the President of. Also, Marybeth Whalen on my sidebar speaks for P31.

Mark's blog - Mark, married to Cindy, is one of the Dads who was on the show and his blog is listed on my sidebar.

One of the things that Mark said has stayed with me - and made me cry!
He said something like this - So many people tell us what a great thing we did by adopting, but what they don't know is the blessing is all ours.

Amen!

The most awesome thing about the show is that God was mentioned over and over and over - more than I think anyone hoped for. And God kept up with the surprises - Lysa's book is on the oprah.com website! I think you go to books mentioned in shows, or something like that.

Also, the Proverbs 31 website has a place where you can click if you want to know more about Jesus and indicate if you became a Christian and lots have!

What's Happening

2007-01-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging much, have I? I'm going to get back into at least my weekly routine.
What's been going on here is just the usual stuff - basketball, school, dogs, scott's schedule is getting busy again.

As for me, I'm going through the weirdest nonwriting stage. I mean that is really weird for me. I am usually always writing something - at least in my journal, or a blog, or an article, or a devotion. I've actually been pretty frustrated, and I'm just praying through it. My friend Marybeth, a writer and fellow Proverbs 31 speaker, said the wisest thing - maybe I shouldn't fight where I am, or feel frustrated. She said she's learning that there's a reason for those nonwriting phases. Maybe what I would write at that particular time I'm just not ready to write. Maybe God has more to teach me about that subject. I loved that advice! So wise!
It reminded me of something I read by Don Miler - live what you write, or better yet, write what you live.

Last week I went to visit my friend Lisa Whittle, a writer and speaker who I met through She Speaks last year. While I'm mentioning She Speaks, this is Proverbs 31's annual speaker/writer conference held the third weekend of June - click on Proverbs 31 on the sidebar and then you can find the She Speaks link. This conference is really expanded this year - sessions for speakers, writers, and what's been added this year is a track for teens and a track for women's ministry. Wow! I've been to She Speaks three times and I feel passionate about it because it's very much where God confirmed my calling to write and speak. The strength of the conference is that it's like a spiritual revival. It's just incredible to be around like-minded Christian women. I highly recommend it! Email if you have any questions.

Okay, back to Lisa. She's got a book coming out this month and she's waiting to hear from a publisher right now about another two-book contract. Oh, waiting is so hard! So we talked about writing some and I shared with her some book ideas. Then that night I sent these ideas to my publisher. Now I'm waiting to hear what they think. If they like something, then I'll have to write a proposal, and then I'll have to wait on their response to that. I'm definitely ready to write another book, so please pray that my ideas will be accepted!

Friends on Oprah

2007-01-24T04:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends - I hope you'll watch several friends of mine from church on Oprah on 1/29. How exciting!

Dear Friends,

We wanted to let all of our faithful devotional readers know that Lysa TerKeurst, President of Proverbs 31 Ministries, will be on the Oprah Winfrey TV show on January 29th to share the amazing story of adopting her two sons from war-torn Liberia, Africa. Please join us as we pray that Oprah and her millions of viewers will see God’s hand in Lysa’s story; that seeds will be planted and His mighty Kingdom will increase; and that, above all, God will be glorified!

One person truly can make a difference. If you would like more information on adopting children in Africa, please visit www.acfinet.org.

If you are interested in helping children in Africa through sponsorship, Proverbs 31 Ministries has partnered with Compassion International and supports their humanitarian efforts in Africa and other areas of the world. For more information on sponsorship, visit Compassion International.

We treasure your friendship and prayers!

Proverbs 31 Ministries

Proverbs 31 Ministry

2007-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Hi friends, My devotional is published today through Proverbs 31 - check on the link on the sidebar.

not just a cold

2007-01-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, the cold I thought I had is not just a cold; it's the flu. Yucky. I've never had it and it just makes you think you've missed a few days of life. I've been sleeping pretty much since Thursday pm. But if I had to get it was a good time to get it because Scott was in town and he's held down the fort.

We're looking forward to new tv shows starting - Scott loves 24 and i like american idol.

Okay, that's pretty much all I have to say. Yes, i'm soliciting sympathy. And I'm really not as shallow as this blog entry makes me seem.:)

Bad Mom Award

2007-01-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

Tyler brought to school a book which he got from his Mimi - I think- for Christmas. It's called There's a Hair in my Dirt. It's written from the viewpoint of a worm and has all sorts of scientific stuff written in a fun way.

Well, Tyler came home yesterday and the first thing he pointed out to me was the bad word in the book. It's the "a" word. Oh my. I had no idea it was in there. Really. Fortunately, his second grade teacher is an angel with a sense of humor, so hopefully she won't hold it against me. We blacked out that word with a black sharpie. Hopefully there's no more.

I have a bad, bad cold. Gotto go sit on the couch. Taking lots of medicine.

Speaking of writing, here's a book update

2007-01-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

My book What a Husband Needs from His Wife Total Sales (since June 2006): 12, 141.

I have no idea if that's good - although my sweet editor tells me it is! Sounds good to me:) Yahoo!

About writing

2007-01-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

Before I write about writing I'll start with a few words about the weekend. This weekend Scott and Tyler had so much fun in Minnesota. They saw relatives, friends, and Tyler got to do some things he can't do in Charlotte - like gathering eggs from Linda's and Harold's chickens. I'm so thankful for all of our relatives in Minnesota, wish MN wasn't so far away. I'm also so thankful for the time Scott and Tyler had together. They are two peas in a pod and just had fun together. I was really missing them both by Sunday pm.

As for me and Zach we had a really great weekend. Yes, quiet. Zachary spent a good deal of his day Saturday and some of Sunday at the Union Academy gym being the substitute "commissioner" in Scott's absence. Zach is as much a basketball fanatic as Scott. He's also extremely responsible and loves being in charge of the gym! He did a great job. .
That left me with a lot of free time. I went shopping at South Park Mall Friday with my good buddy Karen Rinehart- see her listed on my sidebar. She's an awesome columnist - "Bus Stop Mommies" is her "handle." She writes about every day life with great, great humor. I didn't buy anything but she did and that was fun.

I saw Zachary for about an hour and then he had plans with his good buddy from UA. So I had the whole night free. Normally, I would have made plans with a girlfriend, but I decided to use the time to write - and I did! I wrote some more on Saturday when Zach was at the gym. I went to see my friend Mandy's new horse - loved that! and then Sat. pm Zach and I ordered pizza and watched a movie. I love hanging out with that boy.

A friend recently asked me how I write. Well, I had to think about it - but this is generally what I do. I pray, read Scripture, take notes as the Holy Spirit leads me to Scripture about the topic I'm considering. I might read a book by an author who inspires me - lately I've been reading about Grace, a book by Joyce Meyer. She is a great teacher of the Word and that's what I really love.

And then I sit at the computer - and write! I used to write with pen and paper, but after writing my book, I am totally a computer writer. I love the ability to revise easily, cut and paste. On that note if I'm working on anything significant, I print it out, even a rough-rough copy, and/or I save it on a memory stick. I've had some mishaps with losing stuff and don't want that to happen again.

And then I go do some laundry, take the dogs for a walk, sit outside if it's pretty, just do something else for a bit just to refresh my brain.

And then i go back to the computer. And write. And write. If you want to be a writer, you have to make time to write! You have to say no to many, many other things. I did that when I was writing my last book - a deadline will make you very motivated! - and I'm getting back into a more serious writing mode now. For me, writing is very much a thinking and praying and writing process.

i know that I know that this is what God called me to do. and there truly is no greater feeling. I love "partnering" with God as I write. that's how I think of it. Sometimes I'll go back and read something i've written, and think wow, I like that! And I know that the Holy Spirit really was working through me then. One of my prayers for speaking/writing is John 14:10 "' I do not speak on my own initiative; but the Father abiding in me does His works.'"

Sometimes I get in an incredible zone and the words flow freely. Other days it is pure obedience to sit at this computer and just put some words down. Either way - I love it!

Check out Marybeth's Blog - see my sidebar - she wrote some similar things about her calling to speak and write. One of the things that Marybeth and I both do is to constantly take notes on ideas. I have a pad of paper in my purse, a journal by my quiet time spot, and a computer file started on each writing idea. I have learned that I generally don't remember an idea unless I write it down. This really helped when I was writng my book. I was able to pull from my journals and files I'd already started.

So there's some ideas on writing. Mel:)

Tyler and talking

2007-01-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

Scott and Tyler left yesterday for a trip to Minnesota to see the relatives. They were both so excited about it being just the two of them. When Zachary was younger, he and Scott went to Minn. several times, so now its Tyler's turn.

Tyler woke up and I swear THE MINUTE he opened his eyes he started talking. Now, if you know tyler, that's no surprise! but this was a lot of talking even for Tyler! He was still talking as the two of them headed out the door that morning.

I was giggling so hard! Scott's eyes were bloodshot from not sleeping very well and all I could think is they were going to have a long day! But I talked to him later and they were both doing great. Scott is truly one of the best dads in the world. I got a keeper in him:)

As for me and Zach -wow, it's quiet around here! and we're enjoying it! I had almost the whole day to myself, and it just feels so different not having to think about tyler. I'm really trying to use this time to enjoy hanging out with Zachary, pray, study the Word, exercise - as I mentioned in my previous post were some of resolutions. Okay, and shop some.

And it's going well with those resolutions - yes, I know we're not far into the year at all, but I am concentrating on one day at a time. I'm also trying not to have an "all or nothing" mentality, esp. when it comes to exercise. Some days I may just walk the dogs, but that's better than no exercise at all! Right?!

Happy New Year

2007-01-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry to have been gone so long from my blog. Just needed a break... family has been sick... holidays have been busy...you know! You've probably experienced much of the same.

For Christmas we went to my parents' beautiful new mountain house in Cashiers, NC, where we met my folks and my brother and sister in law. We had so much fun - hiked in the woods with the dogs, played lots of games. We have three favorites - Dutch Blitz, Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase. We all love games and now it's fun that Tyler can really keep up with us!

Scott introduced a new tradition which he learned from Linda - thanks Linda! - a ginerbread house making contest. He bought all the supplies, we divided into teams and went to work. I do think they were all creative in their own way. The basketball court came from the Chitwood boys; the redneck one from the creative O'Stubbs minds came with a still and an outhouse; and mom and dad and i did the best we could:) it was so much fun and definitely a tradition we'll continue.

Scott has been home a lot - I'm sooo thankful for that. We've had a break from basketball, and yes I'm thankful for that too, but we'll start again Sunday and I'm really ready. Thank you, Lord, for a change in attitude. Scott explained his basketball love in a way I could really relate to. He said just like I need things to look forward to - time with friends, reading, shopping - and these different things refresh me. Well, that's basketball for him. Okay:)

New Year's Day night all four of us went to the Charlotte Bobcats vs. Minnesota Timberwolves games. Kevin Garnett is one of the best basketball players ever, and one of Zachary's favorites, so it was fun to see him and to see Z. enjoy it. Aren't you impressed with my basketball knowledge:) hee hee - I am.

As for resolutions - yes I make them and I'm not legalistic, just like to have goals.
Exercise regularly
Eat healthy
Study God's Word
Write (thinking about a new book proposal)

Today I'm going shopping with Scott for clothes for Scott - that's a rare occasion!

Merry Christmas from the boys and girls

2006-12-13T03:23:00.000-08:00

Here's Zachary and Tyler with the ever-present dogs, Jenna and Emma. We're all looking forward to school being out - zach gets out friday, tyler next weds. We need some hangout time and some not getting up in the morning time!

Today I fly to Tampa for my tv interview! Tyler is sick, so please pray for him. It's so awesome that my good friend Karen is staying with the kids. I'm not very relaxed about leaving the kids, but I feel totally confident that she can handle anything! I'll actually do the interview tomorrow betweeen 10 and 11. It will be taped - not sure when it will be aired but I'll keep you posted.

Then Friday I was going to go to Atlanta but decided not to. Just too much going on. I miss my friends there and it was going to be so much fun to have all that time with Amy... another time. Scott and I will go to some Christmas parties and basketball games this weekend and I'm really hoping he'll have some days off next week. I miss him...

Thinking of Minnesota

2006-12-05T06:39:00.001-08:00

This morning was wonderfully cold - about 25 degrees. I needed a few things at the grocery, so decided just to run in on my way home from dropping off Tyler at school.
I parked in front of the Harris Teeter and decided just to leave my car running while I ran in quickly.

Doing that totally reminded me of being in Scott's hometown in Backus, Minnesota. Scott grew up in a little town and I grew up in the suburbs, so I love seeing where and how he grew up, hearing stories. I remember one of the first times I went to Minnesota how everyone ran into the store and just left their cars running and I just thought that was cool. And they'll leave their cars running a long time sometimes, like when they go to a restaurant.

I remember being fascinated with things like the plug in heaters at parking spaces, ice fishing, snow mobiling, walking in snowy, quiet woods. What a beautiful place. I know my Minnesota relatives get very tired of snow and cold by the end of the winter, but for a few days I always love it.

When Zachary was younger, Scott took just Zachary to Minnesota a few times and they had such a fun time just the two of them. Now this January Tyler will take a trip with Scott, just the two of them for the first time. Tyler talks about it a lot and looks at the calendar to see when it is. There's only one problem - Tyler hates to be cold. He usually just cries when he's really cold. We'll have to get him some really warm clothes and he can stay inside a lot.:)

I love you and miss you, Minnesota friends and relatives!

This Week

2006-12-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

As my friend Catherine says, life is rich and full...

1. Last Saturday I spoke at my church's Christmas Tea. This is the first time Southbrook had this event and it turned out so great! Each table has a hostess who is in charge of decorating her table in a Christmas theme, so each table was just unique and beauitful. I was so honored to speak, very emotional speaking at my own church, a place i've loved for 8 years, and just looking out at so many people who have been such awesome friends. I was more nervous for this event than any event I've ever done! Thank you to those of you who prayed for me!

2. Then I raced to pick up Tyler for his guitar lesson! He got an early Christmas present of a guitar and is taking lessons from a former neighbor, Garrett Osepchuk. I think he's going to love it!

3. Then I went with Mandy to the 91.9 Christmas concert - New Song, Todd Agnew, and Rachel Lampa sang and it truly was one of the most worshipful events I've ever been to. I lucked out because Mandy's husband Butch was out of town, so i got to be her date. I will definitely make plans to go to this next year, that's how good it was! I introduced myself to Joe Paulo, whom I had emailed about my book because the Vaughans told him about it. And then Mandy introduced me to Leslie and I gave her one of my books. just figuring the more hands it's in the better!

4. Zachary's first basketball game of the season was Sunday and he scored 19 points - yahoo!

5. Then just playing catchup this week, doing some writing, got a cold, scott's been gone but got home last night.

6. Wednesday I went to Concord to see my good friend Karen, my college buddy. We had fun as always. She has the biggest live Christmas tree I've ever seen in a house!
Next week I fly to Tampa for a tv interview about my book - i'll post more about that later, just please pray that God will get the glory and that my book will get in the hands of those who need it. I was worried about who would babysit overnight - and Karen's going to do it! Her kids are older, so she can spend the night here Weds. and that will just ease my mind so much!

7. And finally I'm praising God for these book sales: 2025 books sold in November, for a total of 10,501 in the six months your book has been out.

Proverbs 31 devotional

2006-12-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Hi friends, I will write a longer blog this week, but just wanted to say I'm excited to have my first devotional published with Proverbs 31 devotions. You can click on the Proverbs 31 link on my sidebar and then you'll see the devotional there. You can also sign up for the devotions and receive one each day. If you haven't done this, I think you'd really be glad you did as they are a quick way to set your eyes on the Lord at the beginning of the day.

The Christmas Tree

2006-11-26T04:54:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did, and I loved just being at home with good friends. Scott made the turkey and it was so good! I made dressing using Granny's recipe. And then friends made everything else. How nice!

Well, Friday I got up in the attic by myself to get out the Christmas decorations. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is because of this - we do not have a pull-down ladder to our attic - i'm just going to say that was a stupid move by the builders. So I have to get down the ladder, carry it upstairs, climb up the ladder, stand precariously on the top, get down about 10 boxes of Christmas stuff, and carefully carry each box down. It actually was quite dangerous but I was determined to do this by myself for one reason - to avoid fighting with Scott. That's right. He hates getting Christmas stuff out of the attic. So maybe I'll fall and hurt myself one year but at least Scott and I will not have been fighting. hee hee

Tyler and I loooove decorating. It makes it so much fun to have tyler be so enthusiastic! We always get a live tree, so maybe we'll get that today or tomorrow. Last year we really didn't do much Christmas decorating, as I was trying to meet my Jan.1st book deadline, so this year we'll go all out.

2006-11-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, family and friends!
And a special congratulations to my in-laws, the Laposkys, and welcome to their new baby Reese!

Battle with Truth and Thanksgiving and Worship

2006-11-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

Today I had a victorious breakthrough on some junk I've been battling - praise God. To be honest, I battle constantly insecurity. And I share that because I think so many women battle that same demon. And yes, I think it's a demon spirit straight from the pit of hell.

So here I am in a calling of speaking and writing. I have not doubted this calling since about four years ago when I began to know that this is what God wanted me to do. I question my ability, but not calling.

I love to write so I don't have insecurities about that - at least not usually:)
But I do have insecurities about speaking. You see, there are many, many things in my past and thoughts in my head, saying things like, what makes you think you can speak? what makes you think anyone wants to listen to you?

So as I've been writing a talk this past week I have just felt so defeated. And then I was just so mad at myself for feeling that way. And then God reminded me not to get mad at myself - to get mad at the enemy, Satan.

The breakthrough came this morning as I was reading from
Galatians 4:4,5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?

You see, I was trying to go back living under the Law - I was starting to get into old patterns of thinking I had to earn God's approval of my speaking; that's what the law is - the opposite of grace, as my friend Kelly Tyler and I were talking about recently. When we live under legalism, we feel guilt, condemnation, insecurity. The Law puts our eyes on ourselves - our own performance, our shortcomings. Living in grace puts our eyes on God,exactly where they need to be.

Gal 4:9 says that turning back to that way of living is turning back to what is absolutely the most worthless way of living. It's living in slavery and bondage - bondage to self, bondage to others' approval, bondage to fear, bondage to performance, bondgage to the worlds' inaccurate measure of success.

Thank you Lord Jesus that you set us free! We are your precious children so we can walk in your love and truth and grace.

Soo.... How do we live in grace, in the Spirit?
1)fill our minds with God and His truth
2)thank Him
3) praise HIm

So that's what I'm doing today and this day forward! I hope you will do the same! Amen!

Bear One Another's Burdens

2006-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Galatians 6:5 says that "each one will bear his own load." So we each have individual responsibilities - for example, today i am doing mounds of laundry, which is my responsibility primarily, even though the family does help. I swear the boys would wear dirty everything before it would occur to them to do laundry..

But Galatians 6:2 tells us "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." So there's also a time when we can ask for help from others.

So I was thinking about that today and I just felt so thankful that I have neighbors who are true neighbors in every sense of the word. We help each other out all the time.

This Thursday I woke with a start, we were late getting up, it was pouring down rain, and the power had gone out. So Tyler and I were searching the house for a working flashlight, and Tyler came to the rescue with his very own flashlight! He threw on his clothes, we realized he'd missed the bus, so I ran across the cul de sac with him through the rain, banged on Suzanne's door, yelled frantically - can you take tyler we missed the bus - threw him in Suzanne's house without even waiting for an answer - ran back home to shower in the dark and get zachary up.

I was rushing like a crazy woman because it was my carpool morning and I am already notoriously late. Plus on Thursdays I just stay at zach's school to tutor. So we rush to Holly's wear I put on my makeup and blow dried my hair - and we made it!

So today I'm thankful that I have friends in my neighbors who help bear my burdens.

This week

2006-11-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

This week...

Monday was Zachary's 12th birthday. We had celebrated with friends over the weekend, so just had a little family celebration that night. Later Tyler had boy scouts...and later Scott and I had a huge fight - more about that in a minute.

I have to be somewhere every night this week - not my favorite thing at all. But last night I got to see a friend who is in town for three weeks from France, where Todd and his family are missionaries in France. They have been there 8 years - I think that's right - and spreading the gospel in France, or any part of Europe, from what i hear is slow going. But Todd continues to be so passionate for the Lord. He just loves God and wants others to know him. So it was so worth going out to see him.

The finale of ballroom dancing was great... and I think the best man won! Go Emmett!
I wish I were a ballroom dancer. There. I said it.

Okay about the fight - really Scott and I haven't had a big fight in a long time. You know the bottom line is that we as Christians have an enemy. Satan does not want us to have a good marriage. As my good friend Kelly V reminded me, we have to be filling our minds with truth constantly and speaking truth constantly. The other thing is the flesh - basically I have a strong selfish streak and so does Scott - and so do humans! But we can learn to crucify the parts of us that God wants to decrease so that our characters reflect more of Him.

It seems since I wrote that marriage book that I just keep finding out about more and more failed Christian marriages. And I found out about one this week. And it just grieved me, and I cried for them, but I think I also cried because Scott and I hadn't reconciled before he left. It just made me think, how ridiculous it was that we were fighting. That we were giving the enemy territory into our life - and neither one of us want to do that!

So we had a good talk. We basically just need to spend some time together. It seems that we are always working on balance, trying to find a place where we both are pursuing our dreams, spending time with each other and investing in our kids. His travel makes that really hard sometimes. But that's our life - and we have a great life. And tomorrow night hopefully it will work out for us to go to dinner and a movie,which has always been our favorite thing to do.

Houston was awesome!

2006-11-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well, what a whirlwind last month was. I'm glad for the rest this month. But, just wanted to say the retreat in Houston was so awesome! The women were so much fun, laughed a lot and loved God deeply - my favorite combination! I immediately felt at home with them, and the whole weekend I just felt from God a confirmation on the particular message I gave that weekend. And each time I speak now I feel a definite confirmation that this is what I want to do with my life - write and speak for God. There are definitely times of hard work, but the blessing of walking in obedience is huge!

A very awesome result of all of last month's speaking and radio interviews - my book sales were the second best so far! Yea! Every time I speak to a group about marriage, I see why I wrote that book, I see why God had me write that book! I just heard a very alarming statistic about Christian women - 40% are involved in pornography. Now we always hear about men and porn, so interesting to hear about women. Satan does not want marriage to succeed and he continues to attack. I pray for protection of your marriages!

This week i've just enjoyed a very normal week of seeing friends, catching up on laundry, watching some of my favorite shows, such as Ballroom Dancing!(go Emmett!) and hanging out with my family.

Today I had an appt. with a nutritionist, I guess that's what you'd call him. He's really a chiropractor who specializes in nutrition. I will find out more on Monday, but one of his recommendations is to get off caffeine - oh bummer, but I knew that was coming! Basically, I'm tired of having low energy so I'm going to do what he tells me to do!

Zachary turns twelve this Monday. Wow. He's getting so old. I sure do love him. I really missed my family when I was in Houston, but then I enjoy them more when I get home.

About my last blog

2006-11-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

well, I got a couple emails about my last blog. Yes, I did "go off" a bit, esp. on homeschooling. Well, my dear friends, I want you to know if you're reading this, then it's so not about you! I am blessed to have so many loving, encouraging, and understanding Christian women in my life. We support one another and encourage one another in the call God has placed on each of our lives, and that will look different for each one of us.

No, the blog I wrote had more to do with Blue Like Jazz and then just a snippet of a conversation from another women who I don't know very well. Maybe she just needed to encourage herself that day, and maybe I came across as judgmental in my blog. If so, I'm sorry, because that's not what I intended. God has just been showing me that there's a whole world out there of other who love God, but their lives look very different from mine. And that's okay and good!

Okay, enough about that - I am off to speak at a retreat this weekend in Houston. Very excited to speak the truth, will be talking a lot about God's love and recognizing flesh patterns and lies. Please pray for me! thanks - mel

God in a Box

2006-11-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

Today I’m on a bit of a soapbox. Maybe this is influenced a little by Blue Like Jazz writer, Donald Miller. Maybe God is just nudging my heart and telling me that sometimes I live in such a bubble.

I am a born-again Christian, and there is truly nothing I love more than Jesus. Now I haven’t always been able to say that. But I can say it now and know that I know that’s true to the deepest places. There’s no place I would rather be than with Him.

But honestly sometimes I have a hard time with other Christians, well, specifically the judgmental “Christians should…” kind of Christians. The kind that put God and being a Christian in a box. I had an encounter with one of those people recently, just a very brief thing. And all I felt was this completely yucky spirit of religiosity. Let me tell you. I am not about religion. I am about Jesus Christ.

So on that note I’ll just yell loudly on my blog.

Being a born-again Christian does not mean you have to be a Republican. It doesn’t mean you live in the suburbs. It does not mean that you can quote Scripture right and left. Not all Christians go to church every Sunday. We mess up a lot, we don’t always do the right thing; we are, in short, a work in progress.

We laugh loudly at potty humor, sometimes in my house, and we love redneck humor. We watch reality tv shows and love them. I read many nonChristian books.

And we don’t all homeschool. Let me go down that trail a bit… as more Christians are homeschooling, I see some who have the attitude that it’s the best thing for Christians to do, or it’s the right thing for Christians to do. And I swear they wouldn’t admit but deep down inside they have the attitude that it makes them better Christians for doing it.

I think homeschooling is great – if that’s what God has asked you to do. Period. The end.

So for all the non-homeschooling Christian moms, I’m just going to say this- I am so glad to send my children to school each day. It’s okay to like being away from your kids while they’re in school. Don’t we moms create a lot of guilt for ourselves, or should I say satan sure helps us feel condemned?

Now we have prayed about homeschooling, we definitely would homeschool if God clearly led us that way, but God hasn’t and for right now I’m glad about that.

And about being a Christian, maybe this ranting and raving sheds a bad light on me as a Christian, but I think really the world is looking for honesty, at least that’s what has always been attractive to me in other people. I mean after all, look at the Psalms. Every emotion in the big is there, so thank you, Lord Jesus, for loving me and for continuing your work in me so I become more like You. That’s what being a Christian is about – loving God and bringing Him glory. It’s not about putting God or anyone else in a box. So there.:)

Friday

2006-10-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-04T03:18:00.000-07:00

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.

i've been busy

2006-09-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

HI friends, I haven't blogged in so long so I wanted to at least put a little note on here today.
Today I am so thankful for this beautiful fall weather - I actually have a sweatshirt on!
Today I am thankful that I feel full of the Holy Spirit, so I'm having a great morning of writing!
Today I am thankful that Zachary is home for fall break through next week, so we'll get some hangout time together.
Today I am thankful that my sweet husband Scott got to spend time with our friends the Wassers while he was in Colorado on a business trip. I think he's ready to move!

Okay, and the thing i'm really thankful for because it just makes me happy to watch - now don't laugh too hard - is the tv show Dancing with the Stars. I looooove that show. I am such a dancer wannabe. That first week when Emmett Smith did so well, I played the tape of that over and over. It just made me happy! So at this point with three weeks down, I'm still a fan of Emmett...

I'll write more later - melanie and by the way the clock on my computer will not stay on the right time so no, it's not 5 am!

Moses again

2006-09-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

I've written about Moses before, but I just have to do it again as I revisted this Scripture and was just so moved.

Deuteronomy 32: 2, 3
The Song of Moses
“’Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as dew,
As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb,
For I proclaim the name of the Lord’
Ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.'”

The story of Moses is one I can relate to. Now you might have an image of Moses as some ancient man, wandering around the wilderness. How could this man be someone we can relate to?

Here’s the real story of Moses.
He was a man raised in the home of Egyptian royalty, never really fitting in because that was not his true identity. Then he discovers who he is, leaves the comfort of his Egyptian lifestyle to live with his people, the Hebrews. You have to remember that he probably didn’t even know their language. They were oppressed, slaves.
But that’s who Moses chose to be with.

And then he’s a shepherd, just an ordinary guy doing his job when the Lord speaks to Him in a burning bush.
Moses tries so hard to remind God that he is not qualified, just not qualified. He tells God his insecurities, just to make sure God knows, as if to look in God’s eyes and say are you sure Lord? Are you sure you remember how insecure I am?
God assures him. Yes, you’re the one and all I want is your willing heart. I got it from there. You say yes and just watch and see what I will do.

And then Deuteronomy 34 is a chapter which just makes me weep. Moses is about to die, but before that happens, God has something to show Moses. The Lord and Moses are standing on the top of Pisgah and the Lord shows Moses the promised land.
And the Lord says to moses, there it is but you will not go there.

Now in my simple heart I always have a hard time with Moses not being allowed to go into the promised land. One act of disobedience disqualified him. Number 20:12
But you know what. I think Moses was so completely satisified in something else. When he was younger I’m sure all he could think of was living in the Promised Land. Got to get there! And he was faithful…

But somewhere along the way, I believe Moses’ perspective began to change. He began to realize that the journey, this intimate walk with God was all that He needed. Moses spoke to God face to face (ex 33:11 Numbers 12:8)

This man Moses, who doubted himself so much, moved from an unexpected place to a sure place. In fact he found the surest place, the heart of God.

I want to be like Moses, so content to walk intimately with God, so content in the surest place of God's love.

Children of God

2006-09-11T04:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was fortunate to attend this incredible conference at my church, called Grace Life. My dear friends Kelly and Phillip Vaughan put on the conference, and it was so exciting to hear God’s truth preached and to see with my heart the Spirit moving as people came to a new and deeper understanding of God’s love.

At one point in the conference there was a very familiar picture of Jesus, the one done in pen and ink, where Jesus the Shepherd is hugging tightly a little lamb. His face is partially buried in the lamb’s wool and you can tell He’s just hugging that lamb half to death.

That picture just spoke to the longing in my heart to be loved like that, to be hugged tighter than tight.

I’ve heard recently that at least 2/3’s of our understanding of God as our Father comes from the nature of our relationship with our parents. So this picture combined with this thought made me think about my boys.

More than anything I want my two sons to know God the Father as their Abba Daddy. I want them to know God not just in their minds but in their hearts. I want them to know that God the Father wants to hug them tighter than tight.

And I was thinking about how they’ll know that. They’ll know that, at least partially, in the way Scott and I love them.

So what can I be or do as a Mom really to be Jesus with flesh on, Jesus’s love. So many things…

One of the things I really want them to know in their hearts is that they don’t have to do a thing and I’ll love them. They don’t have to be good at basketball, they don’t have to bring home A’s on their report card, they don’t have to do all their chores, and I will love them.

The truth is that all the above things make me very happy and are important. I want them to work hard to reach a goal, I want them to be responsible members of our family… but I want them to know for sure their performance is separate from God’s love, or their parents’ love.

So how do I communicate this?

I tell them every single day I love them. I kiss and hug them all the time, even if they wipe off my kisses or squirm. I just do it more. I watch Zach shoot hoops in the driveway even when he doesn’t ask. I stop whatever I’m doing to snuggle with Tyler on the couch while he watches some silly kid show on tv.

I look deep in their eyes, I listen and nod my head. I smile with a smile that says you are the most precious treasure in my life.

Each time we as moms enjoy the “being” of our children, instead of the “doing,” we’re saying to our children, God loves you because you’re His child. You were in God’s heart before He formed you in your mother’s womb, He can number every hair on your head.
1 John 1:3 How great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. And such we are…”

Happy 40th Birthday, Scott!

2006-09-08T05:06:00.000-07:00

My sweet husband turns 40 tomorrow, so I'm just going to say happy bday to him on my blog today. I can't believe he's finally 40, as i've been in my 40's a while now:) Thank you, God, for this man who is my best friend. A man who loves You and follows You and is about Your purposes. Thank you for Scott who is one of the hardest working men I know, who walks in integrity, who is all about honesty and loyalty. Thank you for a husband who knows how to be an incredible father to two little boys. He knows when to be silly or when to just listen or when to give advice. Thank you for this man who has shaped me and molded me by his truly unconditional love. My life is better and I am a better person because of my life with him. I love you sweet husband.

Wise Words from Friends

2006-09-06T02:54:00.000-07:00

I love the lyric in a song by Watermark which says, "You've spoken the truth into my life."

I'm blessed to have friends speak words of wisdom into my life. Here's a few words which have influenced me in such a positive way lately. Thank you, friends!

1. One friend told me "just love him and pray," when I was having a strife-filled day with my husband.

2. "The only place we will not feel the spiritual battle is when we're praising God. That's the only place to find true rest."

3. When I was striving and working hard on an idea that just would not come together: "put it aside; that's not God's agenda for you today."

4. "I want to have a purposeful life this fall. I don't want just to do things to do them. I want my activities to be what God wants me to be doing."

The Sidebar

2006-09-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

Check out my sidebar! I finally have links! Thank you, Jenny, for stepping me through this computer stuff! Just the most basic computer things give me a run for my money! Let me explain these links a bit and I hope you will enjoy them the way I do!

Proverbs 31 Ministries - the ministry that has supported and encouraged me in my journey as a godly woman. I will soon be joining their speaker team!

Harvest House - my publisher, a link to my book

Christian Book Store - Amy's online Christian bookstore

Jenny's blog - a long distance friend who write beautifully and will soon be a missionary to Africa. She makes you think deeply!

Jenny's Princess study - Jenny's bible study

Bus Stop Mommies - Karen Rinehart, a very funny writer about every day life of a woman, and one of my best college buddies.

Amy's blog - amy is the sister of my husband Scott's college buddy, also a beautiful writer!

Mark's blog - Mark makes me want to cook - need I say more!

Marybeth's blog - a writer, P31 speaker and homeschool mom to 6. It's fun to have a glimpse into her very different world.

Leigh's blog - Leigh is a Christian speaker and writer who just shares her heart and gets right to the heart of the matter.

Enjoy!

Follow the Leader

2006-08-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

Emma, the one year old, follows her leader, Jenna, as this picture illustrates. Emma knows that Jenna is the Alpha dog in the house, and she just is happy to go where Jenna goes, as she's showing in the pool, dog-paddling behing Jenna. She does the same thing on walks - she will not bound into the woods unless Jenna goes first.

This has been such a good thing in training - and I use that word loosely as we all know Emma is not really trained. Jenna is such a well-behaved dog and Emma has adopted so many of her good habits. I'll just attribute her bad habits to her dad/master scott.:)

So I have been sensing the Holy Spirit reminding me to follow my Leader, not to go ahead or lag behind.

I was reading this morning in Isaiah 30: 1- 5 where God speaks harshly: "'Woe to the rebellious children,' declares the Lord, 'Who execute a plan, but not Mine.' And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin; who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge in safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation...shame...and reproach.'"

God reminds me in these verses about the dangers of executing a plan that is not His. In other words my own plans, my desires, my own agenda. And the result is awful - humiliation, shame, reproach.

God wants us to consult Him, to follow His commandments because He loves us. His commandments are for our good and for our protection. His will is perfect. As I follow Him, I become who He created me to be. I can remember in my younger years, and even some now, when following God's ways seemed restrictive rather than freeing to me. I believed the lie that becoming a woman for God would rob me of who I was meant to be.

Instead, quite the opposite is true. As I obey God, I become more and more the woman He created me to be. As I obey I experience freedom from sin's stronghold, I abide in His love, and I find myself delighting in His ways for me.

In the above verses where God refers to the people returning to Egypt and the safety of Pharaoh, I think about the old ways I'm tempted to return to. Old ways of the flesh, strongholds of sin. These old ways are so familiar, so ingrained in me, that I find myself responding, reacting automatically. I have compromised the promises of God, a place that is not necessarily a place I can figure out or control, for the false safety and security of my old ways, simply because they are familiar.

More and more I grieve if I do this, and more and more I pray for the blood of Christ to cover me and the power of His resurrection to free me from strongholds.

The same chapter of Isaiah offers a path to follow completely opposite of returning to Egypt. Isaiah 30:15 "In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength."

The Lord longs to be gracious to us, waits to have compassion on us (is 30:18) He's waiting for us to turn to Him, not to return to Egypt. Then He will show us exactly how to walk. "'This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or left.'"

Thank you Lord, that You promise that when we seek You we will find you, we will hear your voice, and You will show us the way.

My Husband and His Dogs

2006-08-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

I have a great, great husband. He is an awesome husband to me, makes me feel so loved, and he's an awesome dad to our sons, I mean really really awesome. He just knows what to say to them, how to advise them, when to be serious or when to be silly, when to pray with them.

Okay, so why are there pictures of the dogs while I'm blogging about my husband? Well, plain and simple, Scott and these dogs are one. They are a part of him. If you've been reading my blog over the past few months, you know that I have, at best, a love-hate relationship with these dogs.

Jenna, the wonder dog, playing our favorite game Rummikub:) with Scott. She's brilliant, loyal, obedient and she was very cheap.

Then the top pictures is Emma, emma, the thorn in my side. Just look at that picture. There's not a whole lot going on upstairs with that dog. granted, she's only one year old, we haven't spent time with her the way we did Jenna, but all in all, she was not the best decision we've ever made. She's a purebred, expensive, and then she required very very expensive shoulder surgery, and she still limps, by the way. She's eaten the book of Genesis out of one leather bound bible, and then she ate the ENTIRE leather-bound Bible I got to replace the first one. So now I have a bible missing genesis...
anyway...

What does this have to do with my husband? my marriage? actually quite a bit. I believe one of the purposes of marriage is to minister to one another. That means dying to my "self," putting scott's desires above my own. And having these dogs is one small way to give to him.

The other morning Emma knocked over Tyler's new Sponge-bob lego creation, the one pictured in the previous blog entry, and it just made me so darn mad. It made me sick and tired of dealing with those dogs, all their incoveniences. So I told Scott, we had quite a fight, eventually resolved it, and there you have it. The dogs are still a part of my life, still a way that I can love my husband by having them.

I'll end here with an excerpt from my book, What a Husband Needs from His Wife, about how marriage can be used by God to refine our character as we practice living beyond ourselves.

"Marriage can actually be a training ground where our character is refined, and we become more like Christ. In Malachi 3:3 we’re told that God is “like a refiner’s fire.” God uses the fire, or challenges in marriage, to refine our character. My study Bible explains this refining process. “In the process of refining metals, the raw metal is heated with fire until it melts. The impurities separate from it and rise to the surface. They are skimmed off, leaving the pure metal. Without this heating and melting, there could be no purifying. As the impurities are skimmed off the top, the reflection of the worker appears in the smooth, pure surface. As we are purified by God, his reflection in our lives will become more and more clear to those around us.”

Marriage is fertile soil for spiritual growth as day in and day out in our relationships with our husbands we come face to face with many opportunities to choose our own selfish ways or God’s ways.

The very ordinary course of a wife’s day brings opportunities to refine her character. Just today I am struggling with my attitude as my husband’s work schedule has changed – again. He was supposed to be home Wednesday night, but now it’s Friday and because of a malfunctioning plane I’m still not sure when he’ll be home.

So how will I handle this small challenge? Will I be gracious and loving with my husband, as he’s frustrated too? Will I feel sorry for myself, as I get my sons to yet another basketball practice and baseball game? Will I be resentful as I walk the two dogs, something he would normally do?

I know these small obstacles may sound petty, but I want to be honest about what’s in my heart this morning. This is the opportunity God has given me this morning to refine me. I have tears in my eyes because really I just want my husband home! I don’t want to be refined! And then God brought me this verse this morning. Deuteronomy 8:2: “’You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” After reading this verse, I prayed that God would till the soil in my heart, so He would find a heart fully yielded and committed to Him. God gave me His strength to respond in a way that glorified Him.

What challenges has marriage brought to you? What opportunities has God presented to help you grow in spiritual maturity? In every day situations and in crisis we make choices to walk in the flesh or walk in the Spirit. Choosing to walk in the Spirit leads to growth and maturity. We can choose complaining or thankfulness; forgiveness or resentment; patience or irritability; love or selfishness. Hebrews 6:1 commands us to “press on to maturity.” Each choice we make in the Spirit, in other words in obedience to the Holy Spirit and in the strength of the Holy Spirit, leads us to maturity." pp. 185-186

Tyranny of the Urgent

2006-08-22T07:57:00.001-07:00

A long time ago I read a little book called Tyranny of the Urgent and I've been thinking about that lately. I've been so aware of how the urgent task can pull us away from what's truly important. For me, that urgent task usually has something to do with the household, something tangible such as laundry, which can be checked off the list. Or the other pressing task usually relates to writing or promoting my book, What a Husband Needs from His Wife.

I've been trying to let God set the agenda for my day. Now that's hard for me. I like to have a general plan. And there's nothing wrong with that. It makes me more productive and there are times when things just have to be done. But being led by the Spirit is something I really am learning and trying to live out as I get older. That means instead of making my plans and asking God to bless them, I ask God, What are Your plans, Lord? And then I join God.

So for me this past week I've sensed God telling me to enjoy the moment and just go with the flow. Yesterday that meant on the way to do my plans, I got a very unexpected cell phone call and did my first radio interview on my cell phone - a call form England! It was actually scheduled for next month, but the caller was confused so we just did the call! Interesting...

Then today Tyler and I had a completely clean slate. We played legos, watched a little tv - his choice, of course, did some crafts with scissors and glue and everything! played more legos...watched him play a computer game. Now during these things I just had to tell myself not to hop to do dishes or laundry or to answer the phone. I just was with Tyler, trying to be focused on him.

I was telling a friend how differently I've parented my first child Zachary, as compared to my second child Tyler. Part of the difference is their difference in personalities - zachary's quieter and tyler is mostly talking and in action. but he can also be quiet and enjoy things like his legos for a long time, too. I think the main difference is that I don't take the time to be quiet and still with him the way I did with Zachary. Tyler's always had the companionship of a big brother so hasn't needed my companionship as much.

These are just observations, none of it good or bad. Just the way it is. But I found today that I really enjoyed being Tyler's mother as I just enjoyed him. I'm fortunate to have the time to do that, I realize.

So I'll end with encouraging you to think about these things: where is the spirit leading you? are you following the Spirit or asking God to follow you? Ecclesiastes 3:1 says there's an appointed time for everything. So what is this a time for in your life?

More about relationships and self-righteousness

2006-08-08T05:34:00.000-07:00

I feel very strongly this morning about these thoughts. And they are directed to myself as much as to anyone reading them.

My thoughts this morning are about our tendency to self-righteousness. We have a tendency to think we have the answers for others. We see a friend in a situation or going through a struggle and it's so easy to think, if she would just______________, then that would solve her problem.

Maybe it's the way she disciplines her children; maybe it's the way she's interacting with her husband; maybe it's decisions about a career.

We think to ourselves and maybe even say to her or worse, another friend, things like, "You need to get a handle on those kids and send them to their rooms for a few hours." "You need to speak up and let your husband know what you think and feel." "I don't know why she's working. They don't even need the money."

In a nutshell, self-righteous, just like the Pharisees. Maybe we truly think we have good motives. Maybe we just want to help... maybe we've seen something work in our own lives and just want to share the same helpful advice...

It's as if we have these yardsticks by which we measure ourselves and others. These rules of a good Christian and godly living. Sometimes we're aware of them, sometimes we're not, but God sure is making me aware of my "rules!"

Some of the rules I'm becoming aware of in my life...
A good mom...doesn't let her kids watch too much tv, feeds her kids healthy meals, does crafts, reads to her kids, spends quantity and quality time with her kids, doesn't scream at her kids.

A godly woman... has a quiet time every day, serves at church, doesn't let a curse word slip out, doesn't fight with her husband, is at home more than working away from home...

And then there's Jesus who says "the greatest of these is love." "love covers..."
What if instead of self-righteousness, we rained down mercy and love. It would sound like this. "Being a mom can be exhausting. Do you want to come over and hang out for a while?" "I'll be praying for you to have peace with your husband. I know you want that too."

Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy."
I'm praying that I will be like my Father by being merciful. Instead of offering the yardstick of my Christian rules, I want to offer the balm of my Father's mercy and love.

Understanding

2006-08-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we just want someone to understand. Not to solve our problem, not to tell us we're right. Just to understand.

Some friends I know went through a time of misunderstanding. Not too long ago I was frustrated with my husband about not understandng what I wanted him to undertand about me.

I've been thinking lately about relationships and how it's a guarantee that relationships will let us down. We will be disappointed with our friends and our spouses. Friends will not respond the way we hope, not be there the way we expect, basically they'll be human.

And husbands will just be male and we'll be female and sometimes there's just a sliver of common ground that is just not enough.

I was feeling these things one morning, telling God about it, and came across a verse that just comforted me so much.

This high priest of ours understands...Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
Our God understands... every single thing we think or feel. He understands. What a promise and comfort to rest on. Of course, we have to pour out our hearts to Him so we can receive His understanding. Too much of the time we go around thinking about these disappointments with others, feeling frustrated or hurt or sad or angry, but we fail to tell God all about it.

Thinking about it is not the same as praying about it. In fact it's just the opposite. Thinking about a situation usually means hanging on to it, letting the hurt fester or the anger grow, which usually leads to sin, which leads to the lack of what we want.

In prayer we release it all, find God, and in Him find the comfort, the understanding, we so long for.

Random thoughts

2006-08-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

1. Who created the fashion trends of today? 13 year olds?! I do not like the styles right now. Everything looks funky, trendy, or too much skin, and made for the very young. Or it looks old ladyish. nothing for the 43 year olds out there. I'm just going to buy some coordinates :)

2. How many corn dogs can a mom feed her child without feeling guilty? I don't know because I don't feel guilty yet but i'm getting close.

3. If someone would sell an energy pill with no side effects, I would spend a lot of money on that pill. And if it helped you lose a little weight I'd pay more.

4. I do not like seasonal allergies.

5. I really, really love a house full of boys. One of the greatest things about our neighborhood is a group of boys from 1st grade to 8th grade plays so well together. I love when they're all in the pool, or shooting hoops, or playing some video game. Of course there are times when I love having little girls in my life too, ones to color with, or read to or do something a little more "pink."

that's it for now... i'm sure i'll have a few more vents in the coming days.

Tuesday

2006-08-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

Zachary had a much better day at middle school, thank you, Lord! I asked him why it was better and he said he had a better attitude and he just knew what to expect. Just so I wouldn't go wild and crazy, he added that he still doesn't like school.

Last night was "Tuesday night Bible study," for lack of a real name, a group we've had every other week at my house over the summer. This past year Mandy and I led a Bible study every week on Nancy Leigh deMoss's Seeking Him - very good! This summer we combined with Suzie Pace's group. Their group had done the book Captivating the previous semester and loved it! It's very informal group, some of the same women come every week but then some new ones every week too. And we take turns teaching or "sharing," as we women like to say.

Last night was one of those nights where God just really showed up for me. Someone else was scheduled to teach but couldn't, I really didn't know what we'd talk about but really wanted it to be meaningful in some way for those who took the time to be there. God reminded me of one of my former teaching ideas.

So we did this and it just led to some good sharing and praying. Lord, thank you that You created us women to need each other. There is something about having other women understand what you're feeling, why you do things even if they don't make a whole lot of senes, that is very comforting.

That night there were words of encouragement, exhortation, challenge, truth, love, mercy, and prayer. That's what being a part of the body of Christ is all about.
So thank you, dear Tuesday night ladies.

Middle School

2006-08-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

Zachary started middle school, sixth grade, on Monday at a year-round public charter school called Union Academy. This school has a great reputation as being friendly and academically challenging. We decided, with zach's agreement,to put his name in the lottery, he got on the wait list, but then later got in, and now.... zachary's not thrilled with the whole thing.

So much of what he's feeling is from the newness of middle school - lockers, uniforms, changing classes - but some is from going to a different school without the people he's known for the past six years and none of his best buddies. Of course, now he thinks that everything would be better at the regular middle school.

Our approach right now is to pray, to listen, to encourage Zachary to give it time, and for me, his mom, to try not to cry! There's such a strong part of me that just wants to swoop into his life and make everything feel better. But i know, just as God knows in each of our lives, that the easy, comfortable way is often not the way God chooses for us. I am sure this is a time of building zach's character. More than I want him to feel good, I want him to be a young man who learns to rely on the Lord, who trusts his parents because we've prayed for what's best for him. A young man who trusts God, who looks around him and befriends others who are lonely or hurting.

okay, God, and I really just want him to like middle school at least some point this year!

Eli, Missy, and Kathy

2006-07-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here's photos of Missy, who's expecting baby number two, and her 1 and 1/2 year old Eli who is truly the cutest baby ever. And my sweet mother in law Kathy. If Kathy had a dollar for every basketball game she's attended of her own four children and her grandchildren, she'd be a rich woman! Both Zach and Tyler were so glad that she watched them play basketball. Thanks again for coming, Kathy and Missy and Eli!

Company

2006-07-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been rich and full and fun! One of my best friends, Chere Wasser, surprised me with a four day visit. I was totally and completely caught off guard. Scott and Amy did a good job working that one out! Chere and her family used to live here, Adam's a pilot, our kids are the same ages, became friends through Southbrook and have just shared so much of life. In fact they're the wassers who are mentioned in chapter 10 of my book. Thank you, Chere, for coming! Scott says I laugh more when I'm with Chere. What a compliment to Chere! This picture is Chere (long hair) and my good friend Holly.

Then my mother in law Kathy, my sister in law Missy and my 1 and 1/2 year old nephew came for a visit. We had so much fun, mostly just hanging out. I so appreciate the effort it took for them to get here all the way from Minnesota. And Eli just stole my heart. Everything he does is cute. I will post pictures soon! I have to admit, I have forgotten how busy a little one is. I have a renewed appreciation for everyone in the baby and toddler season of life!

Missed You

2006-07-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

When I sat down for a quiet time after being away on vacation, the main feeling I had was one of missing God. Yes, I saw God in the gorgeous nature of Maine, and yes I read my Bible and pryaed while gone. But it was different.

When I sit down in my chair in my living room, just me and my Bible and my coffee and the dogs in the early hours, I feel... like I've come home. I just prayed and read the Psalms for a long time, and as I did, I realized again that one of the prayers I've always prayed for me and Scott has definitely been answered. I've prayed for years that Scott and I would hunger and thirst for God all the days of our lives. And I realized that Friday morning that I was thirsty for Jesus, for more of Him than I'd experienced while on vacation. That's a good feeling, and that's a place I always want to be, wanting more of God.

Sitting there with God is such a peaceful and sure place to be. It's a sense of intimacy with God that has developed over many years of quiet times. It's like the feeling you have with a good friend or spouse, when you don't have to talk. You can just be, and the silence is comfortable and comforting. I love to just "be" with God.

More on Maine

2006-07-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

I prayed the whole week before going to Maine that we would see a whale and we did! That was a highlight for me! I just think it's amazing God created a whale. We went out on a four hour whale-watch boat trip. I and my sons took dramamine, knowing how we all tend to get seasick easily. My poor sons did not feel so well, at all! but amazingly I did not get sick. So I got to see the humpback whale. When you're looking in the water for a whale, the first you do is look for its spout. Sure enough, that's what we saw and then we chased it down. We spent about fifteen minutes watching it rise and dive. Very cool.

The other photo is of the whole gang - my mom and dad; the four chitwoods; nat, donna and her two kids, Christi and Matthew; and my brother Scott and sister-in-law Margaret. Thank you Papa for an incredible trip!

Bar Harbor Maine

2006-07-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad rented a house in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine, invited the whole family and so here we are. It's beautiful, great place to hike,when it's not raining as it has been quite a bit. My parents have been coming to Maine for over twenty years, I think they've hiked every trail possible. My kids aren't so sure about the hiking thing, at least I should say Zachary's not so sure, but he's doing great. Tyler is truly our joy boy and makes everything an adventure.

In the meantime... my book came out on July 1st. Yahoo!

Long Time and She Speaks

2006-06-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

It feels like a month of Sundays since I've posted on my blog. So much has been going on... kids got out of school and we've had lots of days with boys in and out of the house. I'm working on redoing the downstairs, so had to make some decisions about that, went to the She Speaks conference - more about that in a minute - and tomorrow we leave for a week in Maine. I'll take my computer with me, so I'll blog about that while in Bar Harbor...

About She Speaks...
She Speaks is the annual writers and speakers conference put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries (go to proverbs31.org for more info on them) This ministry is near and dear to my heart for many reasons - one reason is that they published an article I wrote on marriage, this was seen by a publisher who called me, I submitted a book proposal, it was accepted and published as What a Husband Needs from His Wife. It's in the book stores July 1st!

So this conference is awesome. I'll just go ahead and say right now, if you're interested in writing or speaking - go to this conference. Next year they'll have a women's ministry track, so if you're in your church's women's ministry - this will be awesome!

But honestly, the best thing about this conference is the spiritual impact. God shows up there in a big way! There is something about being with 300 like-minded women, women who love God passionately and who seek Him and who want to know and respond to His calling on their lives, that is so powerful. It was 3 years ago when I went on the writer's track, before I even had an inkling of what God was about to do in my life with writing, that I knew that I knew God was calling me to write and speak for Him.

One of the blessings this year was going with three of my best buddies, Holly, Mandy and Kelly. Oh what fun we had! We laughed, prayed and got tired together - not a whole lot of sleep at these conferences! Not to mention other good friends like MaryBeth,Lysa, and Renee there, also. Oh how blessed I am with women friends who love you and purseue you, Lord!

Got to go shower as the painter's coming...more on this later.
Psalm 31:19 How great is your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You.

Rainy Days

2006-06-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a much-needed rainy day. Thank you, Lord. Days like this are what I have always thought of when I've thought of North Carolina. Growing up in south Florida, it was just hot. And hotter. No seasons. It certainly is beautiful there, and I'm so glad my parents still live there but there's a certain kind of beauty that is so unique to North Carolina.

I remember driving to Maggie Valley, North Carolina for our summer vacations and just marveling at the wild flowers growing along the highways. I remember loving hiking in cool mornings and nighttimes, wading in crisp mountain streams, finding treasures like mica in the rocks, picking flowers that didn't grown in florida. I think all those summer vacations just knitted my heart to North Carolina.

So when we got a chance to move to Charlotte almost seven years ago it just felt like home.

I've always loved rainy days. I don't miss florida's constant hot weather but there is one thing i miss about the weather there: many summer afternoons would bring rain, filled with lightning and thunder. It usually didn't last long, just long enough to come in from the beach for a little bit. So I really miss storms. that might sound weird but i do.

Rainy days invite us to slow down, stop moving, curl up with a book, a puzzle or a board game. We have a new favorite game, by the way, introduced to us by the Blairs, called Rummikub. It's addicting!

I'm trying to take some time to slow down and just curl up with my thoughts, my Bible, and the Lord and just spend some time meditating on His goodness.
Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good

Book Excerpt

2006-06-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Since my book comes out in less than a month on July 1st, I'm going to start including some excerpts. Here's one.

Last year we decided to put a pool in our backyard, and it’s been such a great addition! My sons swam several times a day, and we had plenty of friends over to share in the fun. The ideal pool scenario for me includes floating around on a raft with my ice-cold diet coke. My sons loved it when I would I get in the pool with them. However, they would have nothing to do with creating my ideal pool scenario.

Every time I swam with them I had to actually, well, swim. No floating allowed. In fact each time they were in the pool they wanted to play some type of game—sharks and minnows; marco polo, and all sorts of competitions they invented. I accommodated at first, but finally I’d had enough. I explained to them that when I was growing up in Florida with a pool in my backyard, my girl friends and I did not play games every time we got in the pool. We floated, sunbathed, talked and the only game we played was pretending we were mermaids. So that’s what I as their mother, a former girl, wanted to do in the pool. Needless to say they were quite disappointed in my girlyness.

Even at a young age males and females differ from one another, as my summer pool experience reminded me. In addition to differences from the way you were raised, in your marriage you’ll experience countless situations where the differences between a female wife and a male husband are glaringly evident.

It helps to remember that God planned this difference: “… male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). If God planned us and fashioned us to be different, we can count on God to have done this for our good and for our advantage. But it doesn’t always feel that way, does it? Many times the differences in my husband have made me think, What is wrong with this man?!

There are two approaches we can take about the gender differences. First, we can magnify the differences into a negative. Focusing on the differences leads to trying to change or fix or husbands. We’ve probably all heard that a man goes into a marriage expecting nothing to change. On the other hand, a woman enters marriage expecting to change her man. If we take this negative approach, the differences will divide us rather than complete us.

my hair

2006-06-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, got my hair cut and colored by someone new yesterday. Love the color and my hair is in great condition now, after being really dry. I have a very short bob. very short. shorter than i thought. I had a little extra coloring in a spot at my hair line. I was thinking what could i use to get that off? then i saw the magic eraser, the little sponge that takes off scuffs from the walls. sure enough, it takes off hair color, too. i cracked myself up!

hmmm why do I always want the hair I don't have? I think it's like that with women and a lot of other issues - we compare ourselves to other women's bodies, hair, clothes, homes, abilities, and as you get older... wrinkles... and it sure is easy to find yourself lacking in the comparison.

but i am certain that this is a ploy of the enemy to keep us dissatisfied with ourselves, thus not ever enjoying being who God created us to be.

I read a great question in Dan Allender's to be told, a question which has helped me value my uniqueness and i hope it does you too:
"What about God am I most uniquely suited to reveal to others?"

Another book excerpt...

2006-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

A Wife Is Not the Holy Spirit

A word of caution: Being your husband’s helper does not open the doors for you to give your husband advice, suggest, manipulate, nag, direct, fix or in any way to try to change him. Unfortunately, we women try so often to be our husband’s Holy Spirit. Many men commented on their distaste for wives who try to change them. “It does not mean to tell me what to do all the time,” explains Phillip. Tony said, “Do not confuse helper with director or critic.”

Get out of God’s way and let God change your husband. “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, the may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives” (1 Peter 3:1). Did you notice how a wife can influence her unbelieving or disobedient husband? Without a word! By her behavior!

As wives our first job assignment is to be a helper to our husbands. Being a helper means being our husband’s friend, serving him, and developing closeness with him. Only as I look at my role through God’s eyes can I embrace this job assignment from God. One friend wrote in an e-mail: “I think when God made me a wife, he gave me a very special and honored title.” (Amy A.) What a sweet and right perspective she has of being a wife. May you and I have the same perspective as we treasure our role as helpers to our husbands.

just life

2006-05-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

1. If you do not have seasonal allegies, be really thankful.

2. Last weekend I got to go on a girls' weekend with some of my relatives: my aunt kathy, my sister-in-law Margaret, my sister Natalie and my mom. Margaret and my brother Scott flew here from NYC; Scott stayed here for the weekend with my Scott and the boys, and then Margaret, AK and I drove to Asheville about two hours away, where we met up with nat and mom. We had such a fun time! Asheville is a city I'm now in love with, lots of art galleries, cool restaurants, book stores, shops of doo-dads. We just shopped and talked and enjoyed the time with each other. Then Sunday we went to the Biltmore - very beautiful but i'm not into old stuff. that's the truth! I was happy to go but that's enough for me for awhile!

3. My sweet husband held down the fort, along with the greatest uncle Scott, but then had to leave to work Monday and did not get home till late last night. That was a bummer. I was so sad yesterday. and so were the boys. We just really like to be together! The Fergusons invited me and the boys over to dinner - thanks friends.

4. Zachary got into Union Academy!!!!!!!!!!! We are excited about this, Zachary is going to be excited but getting used to the idea right now. UA is a public charter school, take kids by lottery. It's smaller and more academically geared and they have a basketball team! We prayed about this and believe God opened this door, so it will be exciting to see what it's like. The only thing I'm not sure about is they have a year-round schedule, while Tyler will still be on a traditional schedule.

5. Today is the last day of basketball for Zach for a while, then they get out of school June 8th. We're ready for summer!

6. As for me, I'm enjoying my decorating, need to pick out a paint color
and I'm feeling the urge to write! So back to the computer!
I just went to look up a verse in Deuteronomy but couldn't find it because that was the part Emma ate. Be calm, accept the dog, love the dog....

Just Tyler

2006-05-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

There's always something going on with Tyler. He's not one to just sit. so he lined up his pokemon cards along with some silly rubber duckies and created some scenario. He does this kind of thing a lot, very creative, wonder what he'll become...
Baseball is finished. He played catcher some. He liked it more than he had liked soccer, but he says basketball is still his favorite sport - thank goodness.
Really, Tyler just wants to play and have fun! He loves swimming with a mask and snorkel.

Results of American Idol

2006-05-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else cry at the results of American Idol?! I'm not ashamed to admit that I did... Even though I was hoping for Katharine, Taylor is amazing and just seems like a great guy. When the camera showed his father crying, I lost it!
Again, it's just so exciting to see someone's dream come true!

american idol

2006-05-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Before I find out the winner tonight, let me just say I thought both katherine and taylor were awesome and deserve to be in the semi-finals. I have been a katherine fan since the beginning so I would vote for her if I voted. I do have to say that I think Taylor was really at his best last night. Great purply jacket!

I love watching American Idol because I love watching people pursue a dream. I admire people with passion, people who persist and press on and just go for it.

On that note we watched American Inventor some. That was so touching and inspirational.

You Always Know Where To Find Me

2006-05-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

On my way home from dropping the boys off at school i was listening to Watermark's song, You always know where to find me. Oh Lord, what a comfort. Lord, You know I'll wander from You, in my heart and my actions. You know there'll be times when I choose other loves before You, times when I'll doubt Your love, times when I can't see You clearly. I'll have a divided heart and I'll choose to be own my master.

But God in your love you'll pursue me. psalm 139 asks where can I go from Your Spirit or where can i flee from Your presence? You reassure me that you will find Me, for even the darkness is not dark to You. You will find me. You will find me.

Thank you, Lord, that You did not create me and then desert me. Not at all. You created me to know me and for me to know You, to be all that I am to enjoy You and to glorify You. Thank you, Lord.

I love the story of the prodigal son, a child who chose to wander away from the one who loved him most, his father. And his father, like our heavenly Father, waited and don't you know he prayed with tears and grief for his wandering son. And then in Luke 15 I can just imagine the father standing out in front of his home, looking and wondering where his son is and what he's doing. Then his heart leaps for a long way off he sees a figure approaching and he knows it's his son. He can't run fast enough to embrace his son.

Wherever we've wandered, even if only in our thoughts and hearts, the Father longs for us to return. He'll embrace us with open arms and a heart bursting with love.

25 Things I want to have, do, or be

2006-05-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a little challenge for you: Make a list of 25 things you want to have, do, or be. This idea is from something I read recently. The author said to do it quickly, do it honestly.
Here's a little of my list:
self-discipline in eating and exercise
not to crave chocolate chip cookies
a family room decorated in blue and tan
2 sons who know You and follow you all the days of their lives
more energy
a teacher of God's word
to write another book

see... you can do this and then look at your list and decide what you really want. Live PURPOSEFULLLY.
Do I really want self-discipline in eating? then a good place to start is at the grocery store, making healthier food choices.
Do I really want to be a writer? Does my life show this? Do I spend time every day writing?
I hope you make your list! It's been fun and challenging for me. Try it!

Fun stuff and the wassers and laughter

2006-05-13T05:06:00.000-07:00

I am redecorating downstairs. It started with the carpet, because sweet emma peed on every inch of it. So I now have a tan carpet, called tall latte and I loved it and my friend Mandy is helping me choose other new items. She really has a gift - she can see the big picture and she can be decisive - and she can tell me what I like! I get overwhelmed with all the choices, want to make the "right" decision - one that will make my family happy and me and not waste money. She said if you really like blue and you have the money to do some new things - then go for blue! So that's what I'm doing. We drove to High Point Thursday and went to a huge place called Furnitureland South. I think we'll be going back to make a purchase there. How fun and what a blessing that I can do this!
I can drive Scott crazy with all this. He really doesn't want to talk about the decorating. He just wants me to decide and do it and call it a day. I guess it's like him trying to talk to me about buying a shed for example or perhaps a car. Those are things I really could care less about. Just make a decision and I'll be happy! and happy that I didn't have to decide!
We were bickering in the car after going to a furniture store together yesterday. He turned on a Watermark CD and put it on a song which totally reminds me of our good friends the wassers. Chere and Adam always made us laugh and we always know they're praying for us, as the song says, so when it came on i just burst into tears. It made me miss them so much and in that instance i was reminded of one of their greatest gifts to us, laughter.
Last night I went to the mother/son dance with my sweet sons - i'll post pictures when i get them developed. Both boys danced with me so that was a great mother's day present. Today basketball and baseball...

My hope is in You

2006-05-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

My hope is in You... My hope is in You... this refrain from a song keeps echoing in my mind. Not sure why... but it's made me search my heart to see where my hope is. First, God knows we need hope... He promises He is our hope...read Psalm 39...

As I'm pursuing some dreams in my life, dreams which God has planted in my heart, I've seen my ego getting involved in ways that are yucky. You see, my dreams are for God, for God to be glorified in my life through writing and speaking specifically. But boy it's so easy to let my ego and pride get in there... am I getting paid what I "should"? Am I as good as she is? When will my time be?

Can I honestly pray, Lord, take everything away except a heart for You? Can i honestly pray, Lord, I don't want this ___________ (you fill in the blank) if it's about me in any way.

I know some friends who are wrestling wtih this, too. All I know is if God is not in it, then it's not good or perfect or pleasing or acceptable to Him. And then I really don't want it. I honestly want what God wants more than what I want.
Sometimes I get to that after a struggle, but I do always get to that point and pray that I always will.

Then longer I live a life abiding in Christ, the more I know the Lord, the more I want to know the Lord, the more I cannot imagine a life apart from Him. I have prayed a prayer for me and Scott for years, Lord make us hunger and thirst for You alone. and I have seen that prayer answered in my life and my husband's.

I am also discovering that the knowing God also means knowing yourself better and better, knowing more and more what i was created to do. Not for my own purposes but His.
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, ... our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Ephesians 2:10 for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The every day life I live as a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend is the realest part of my life, but it's easy sometimes to get too caught up in the dreams of speaking and writing. The way I love my husband, the way I do the laundry, the way I giggle with my boys... is real and can be offered up to Him in praise just like writing a book can be offered up to Him.
Gotta get going with this day...

Show Me Your Glory

2006-05-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

Moses prayed to God,"Show me your glory!" in Exodus 33: 18. Now Moses prayed this after he had been walking and talking with God for some time out in the wilderness. In fact in Exodus 33:11 it says that Moses and the Lord used to speak face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. So Moses had incredible intimacy with God. But he still prayed to see God's glory.

I've been wondering what Moses really meant by that question. I think as I've meditated on this verse that Moses wanted to continue to be sure of God. And I think really key is that he wanted to continue to know more and more of God.

That's what I want. I want to know God more and more each day of my life. So I've been praying that prayer, "Show me your glory, Lord God." I've been thinking about how we see God and what is God's glory.

God's glory is who He is, His nature,His character, and the more we know Him, the more we see Him. We have to be purposeful about seeing Him,about seeking Him more than anything else in our lives.

I've seen God's glory in many ways this week... red cardinals at my bird feeders; snuggles wtih my puppy dogs; wise words from godly friends; a gift of a bracelet with all my favorite colors; hunger and thirst for the Lord in the lives of other women around me; changes in my husband's heart; a bunny rabbit out back at the farm; rain and pretty purple pink flowers; a church where God is worshipped and lifted up; the certainty of His Word.

Thank you, Lord, for a few glimpses of His glory. I'm going to continue to pray that the eyes of my heart will see His glory.

Dreams

2006-05-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

"Our deepest wishes, our deepest dreams are known only by God alone, for He sews them into the fabric of our souls."

What's the dream in the deepest part of your soul? I used to think that I really didn't have any dreams. I married a man with lots of dreams - he doesn't have enough lifetimes to live all his dreams! What about you? Are you more like me, or Scott, or somewhere in between?

God has always known my dreams and He has used my whole life to show them to me. My dream was to be a writer, I just didn't know it! I was afraid to look! I was afraid to see what was there!

As I began to follow God more closely, I began to trust Him to be with me as I took baby steps toward my dreams. When I was a stay-at-home mom for the first time wtih Zachary in kindergarten and Tyler a little guy, I began to write my first articles, had some published. I was encouraged and kept going...

But being in a place where I wanted to write articles and could write articles started a long time ago. It started in a home where I was surrounded by books, a family who sat in a room together reading silently instead of watching tv, keeping journals as along as I can remember. God gave me a love of reading to such a deep sense that it's like food for my soul. I would hate to live without reading.

Then I went through a broken engagement that broke my heart, but God used this time in my twenties to reveal to me I was living a false life. I was a business major because I thought it was practical and realistically I could find a job. I was attached for 7 years to a guy who had a charismatic personality but it left me in the shadows, hiding and having no idea who I was.

So God used some pain to shatter some of those chains. I became an English teacher, a step closer to my dream, but not really. I loved English, I loved kids, I loved teaching - but not necessarily all together!

Then in charlotte I've met other women who share some of my dreams, who love God the way I do and they've all been a part of this tapestry God is sewing.

Now I love writing, and I love teaching God's Word and well, I love teaching my own kids! So I see how God has sewn all these experiences into my life to use them for His glory.

And I think that's what are dreams are all about. God created us, gave us dreams which would bring Him and us pleasure!

Games We Play

2006-05-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

I was thinking recently about all the games I've played with my children. I'm not sure why that's something we've always done, but I think it has something to do with one of my ideas about motherhood. I think I've just done with my kids the things I like to do. That's a good philosophy. I think if mom is happy and doing some of the things she loves, then that will naturally be a joy she shares with her children and her enjoyment will be contagious!

My mom always did that with us. She loved crafts and art, nature, reading and she passed on those loves to her children. Of course, not all her passions caught on. She also liked to sing and sang every song on the face of the earth to us. Well, that little pasttime did not stick wtih me...

So I love playing games. Here's a few ideas that might inspire you.
For younger kids - card games - concentration, finding matches, war, uno, go fish. For older kids - scrabble,boggle, trouble, and yahtzee are a few we love.

Puzzles - Growing up I used to love doing puzzles with my aunt kathy. Now that's one of our favorite things. Especially in the summer we like to have an ongoing puzzle set up on a table.

Scavenger hunts - I've always done this with my kids, even now and they love it. When they were younger, I would draw a picture of a couch, for example, and they would have to find a clue at the couch. etc... I'd usually end with a piece of candy or a quarter. As they got older, this was a great game for teaching reading. I'd stop drawing the picture, and they'd have to read the clue. Sometimes the treasure is freedom from a chore, or maybe a reward of extra tv time.
Another fun scavenger hunt is the "out of place" scavenger hunt. Put something out of it's ordinary place, the phone in the fridge, for example, and then they'd find something out of place where the phone goes etc.

Charades - a great one for even little kids. Little kids can act out simple things like "baking a cake." Older kids can learn the real deal of charades. This is a game we always played on family vacations growing up. I can still laugh really hard remembering my parents acting out the song "Papa get the hammer there's a fly on baby's head" - or something like that!

We have had many picnics with the stuffed animals. Stuffed animals can be used in many ways - a puppet show behind a big chair or couch; one time we made a graph of all the different kinds of stuffed animals.

For the more active types - bowling with empty 2 liter bottles and any kind of ball; long jump down the hallways; cooking with cheerios and pots; indoor tennis with a baloon; and of course a nerf hoop indoors, like us! Building forts with blankets and pillows is fun, too. And add a flashlight and your kids could be happy for a long time!

Just a few ideas... let me know if you have any good ideas.

an ordinary day and thankfulness for no more foot pain

2006-04-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

This morning was chilly and rainy and I had stayed up late...a great day to stay home. So I did. I haven't done that much lately. Last fall when I was writing I was home a lot, so this year I've been out and about more. I had a long quiet time, praying, reading my Bible, and reading old journals, which are my prayers and writing ideas and Scriptures I like.

I was reading one of my journals from 2002, and it reminded me how different my life was then. Scott has lost his USAirways job and the future was uncertain, we had to sell a house i loved, I was a preschool asst. teacher - definitely not what I was called to be! And one of the things I haven't written about was my constant foot pain.

I've had feet problems for over ten years. I had one foot operated on, afer trying many other treatments. The treatment worked on that foot, but then about a year later the other foot started hurting. It's plantar fasciitis in case you've ever heard of that. Basically, it's pain on your heel that really never goes away. So I tried cortisone shots, orthotics, a new treatment about a year ago called shockwave. It was helpful but didn't take much of the pain away.

For years now what I can do physcially has been limited by my foot pain. It has made walking for exercise impossible and even daily chores like cleaning the house were difficult. I really could not be on my feet more than an hour, had to wear nerdy shoes, just hurt all the time,gained weight, blah blah

Well, my friend Mandy just happened to mention that she'd been seeing a chiropractor, it had helped with some foot problems she'd had... Then I went to my family doctor to beg him for another cortisone shot. He said, Melanie, you've had this for years. Why don't you just try the chiropractor. So I did. And Oh my it has worked! My foot pain went away in about two weeks. Not totally all the time but most of the time my foot doesn't hurt.

I don't want to take that for granted! thank you God! I've been taking walks, I can shop more - hee hee. And that pain is just not dominating my life.

Emma Ate My Bible

2006-04-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

She sure looks sweet, and she is but...
In case you haven't read a previous blog about our nine month old purebred yellow lab, I'll give you a recap.

Jenna is the perfect yellow lab which we rescued from the pound about three years ago. She is truly the smartest and most loyal dog I've ever known. She cost $79.

Then someone in the family really wanted another dog. I'll just point out that someone was not me. So we got an adorable yellow lab puppy and named her Emma. She is a purebred from a kennel. Way too expensive. And then she had a defect, she was a lemon, and needed surgery. I can't even say the amount. Let's just say I could have had quite a wardrobe with that surgery money.

To keep it short she has been a challenge. I'll give you an example.

A little while ago I came home one day to discover Emma had chewed Genesis right out of my Bible. That's right. Genesis. Actually it was just chapters 1 - 17. So could I live without these words of God? I decided no I could not, so I brought a brand new leather covered Bible, exactly like my old one.

Last week I left the dogs inside instead of putting them outside where it was thundering and lightening. Even though we have a covered back porch, I knew they'd be scared in a storm, so I left Jenna in the house, and Emma locked in her kennel inside.

When I came home later, I saw shreds of paper and leather in the dining room. Emma had eaten my Bible. That's right. She ate it. All that was left of a big fat leather bound Bible was a few shreds. And it was my new Bible, not the one from which she'd already sampled Genesis.

Hmmm... we're still waiting for her to quote Scripture.

Book Update

2006-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's the Cover! I've actually had the cover for a while, had to get used to it. Now I like it, wasn't so sure at first. I'm now listed on Amazon.com - thanks Kim for letting me know about that! and I'm listed under Harvest House Publishers' authors. I got a birthday card from them today. Very nice, very encouraging. It's fun to be a part of them! They are a very supportive and encouraging publishing house.

This week I have some publicity stuff I have to write up for them. And the publishing date is still July 1st.

Refreshed

2006-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Last night we all went to bed early - just felt like we needed to catch our breath! God refreshed both me and Scott last night, sat outside this morning - a gorgeous spring morning. There's an old farm behind us, and to some it might seem junky, but to me it is beautiful. I love old barns, old farms. There's lots of cats and i can see the old man who lives there every now and then. My mom painted a picture of his barn and we went over ther last Christmas and gave it to him.

So thank you, Lord, for refreshment this morning. Now we're going to do a little yard work and go to our friends' lake house for the day.

Speaking

2006-04-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I spoke at my friend Lisa's Bible study class, a marriage class I was in last fall. It was such a great Bible study, such an encouragement in my marriage. Such a sweet group of women who truly have sought God in their marriages. They let me practice on them this morning. Thank you friends.

I just listend to my tape - the first time I've taped myself. Well, it was okay. Heard too many "ums." I've given a couple of other talks on marriage, but this particular talk was new, one I definitely felt God lead me to give, on "stinkin' thinking," lies we believe in marriage. I love the topic because understanding how to be free from believing lies in my marriage has truly transformed my marriage.

As for speaking, it's still a challenge, keeps me totally dependent on God. I am sure this is something God has called me to do. In fact three years ago I began to sense a call on my life, wasn't sure what it was, but gradually figured out that it would involve speaking/teaching. And then I got the book contract and that confirmed it. I actually had panic attacks - yes, real ones, not just feeling scared - over the thought of speaking. But God has continued to walk hand-in-hand with me, and I want to be obedient to Him in this area.

So I've had some small speaking gigs, and I can say that the fear has subsided and I've even enjoyed it! Please pray for me in this area!

Pure Heart and Bad Cooking

2006-04-06T03:52:00.000-07:00

"God, the Father, is so interested in me – not because I’m so great – but because he wants to see in my life that His Son did not die in vain. It blesses God to know that I DO consider Jesus my hero, that I am grateful every minute of every day for His sacrifice.

For me, to live IS Christ.

How about you?

©2002 Rhonda Webb"

I found this quotation on a speaker's website and it just lept off the page and into my heart. As I pursue this still very new journey of writing and speaking, I want to have a pure heart,a heart that wants to do only what God wants me to do and one that wants only God to have the glory.

Truthfully, though, I'm so excited I wrote a book and that my dream came true. Yes, I definitely know that God orchestrated the book and inspired me as I wrote. I continue to pray every day that my readers' marriages will be the ones to benefit from my book and that it will point readers to know how much God loves them.

But then back to me, hee hee. See, I have been an "all-about-me" girl for much of my life (are you reading this, chere!)

So I continue to hold loosely to the blessings in my life and to hold tightly to the hand of Jesus.

And God gives me plenty of opportunities to remain humble.
This is just one little example.

I am not a good cook. I have many excuses, chief of which i've always had a traveling husband, why cook a full meal for me and the kids, and then when he does get home he's tired of eating out big meals, blah, blah, blah.
Well my friend marybeth (see her great blog at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/marybeth) has great, easy recipes sometimes on her blog, so i decided to try one.

This is the recipe - put boneless chicken breasts in the crockpot, pour over it barbecue sauce, cook on low. Then shred chicken for barbecue sandwiches.
Okay, can't get much easier. Well, it was dry as sawdust. No one would eat it. Scott tried to doctor it up some. I said to him, "It's awful, isn't it?" He agreed, then I got mad at him.

That's me and cooking right there. Keeps me humble.

Spring has sprung

2006-04-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Finally it's warm here in Charlotte! We've got the windows open, we've been for walks, Scott worked in the yard, we're talking about flowers to buy...

This beautiful painting is by my mom. Isn't she talented? She did this painting for me for my bday last year, as she knows I love flowers and pink! So this painting is in my pink room, my guest room.
(by the way - I downloaded this photo all by myself, quite an accomplishment!)

God knows we need and love new beginnings. He created the seasons, a day and night so we could start all over the next day. He says many things about newness in His Word.

Lamentations 3:22, 23 The Lord's lovingkindness indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away behold, new things have come.

Isaiah 43: 18, 19 “’Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.’”

These are some of my absolute favorite promises! What new thing does God want to do in your life? If you have any other verses about newness, let me know and I'll post them.

Four Personality Types

2006-03-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

Florence Littauer’s book Personality Plus for Couples provides a profile of four personality types. Each person has a predominant personality type, often with one other type being a close second. As you read these descriptions, think about which category you and your husband fall in to.

The Sanguine personality type, also called the Popular Personality, applies to those who are the “fun-loving, sunny, outgoing personalities who draw people to them because they seem to be having such a good time…. These boisterous individuals bring fun and drama into almost any situation, love the spotlight, and enjoy motivating others. They initiate conversations and can instantly become best friends with everyone in a group… they can also be disorganized, emotional and hypersensitive about what others think of them.” p. 19

The opposite personality type from the Sanguine is the Melancholy, the Perfect Personality. The Melancholy is “deep, thoughtful, introspective, serious, and perfectionistic… These perfectionists thrive on order, and you can depend on them to complete a job on time. But their perfectionism may make them critical or pessimistic, and they drive themselves crazy with their efforts to measure up to their own high standards.” p. 20

The third personality type is the Choleric, the Powerful Personality. These people are “the dynamic leaders of life and their motto echoes Nike’s slogan of ‘Just do it!’… Their self-discipline and ability to focus make them strong leaders. But their drive and determination can cause them to become workaholics, make them opinionated and stubborn, and leave them insensitive to other’s feelings.” p. 21
The opposite of the Choleric is the Phlegmatic, the Peaceful Personality.

Phlegmatics are easy-going, pleasant, and peaceful. Phlegmatics “think in terms of conserving energy and feel that if you ignore something long enough, someone else will do it. … Phlegmatics dislike risk, challenge, and surprise and will require time to adapt to changes. Although they avoid situations that are too stressful, they can work well under pressure. However, their lack of discipline and motivation often allow them to procrastinate in the absence of a strong leader.” p. 21.

Scott and I are complete opposites, no surprise to those who know us well. Have fun with this and let me know what your personality types are! It really has helped me to have these insights. Instead of saying what is wrong with that man! I'm more like to see that's the way God made each of us.

Basketball Season

2006-03-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

This photo is of Zachary and Tyler playing basketball in our dining room. This hoop in our house came about after being at the Sheley's house in Minnesota. They have a hoop in their basement, so when we came home, the guys really wanted one. We have no basement, there's not enough room in the bonus room, therefore the hoop is in the dining room. They have so much fun together that I don't even mind that it's the focal point of downstairs.

One of my favorite things in the whole world is to watch Zachary play basketball. Tyler just started so I love to watch him, too, just haven't had as much time to do so. Scott comes from a b-ball family. His nephew's team in Minnesota made it to state. His Dad and sister coach. Scott and three sisters played basketball growing up. It's just in his blood. Scott coached Zachary's and Tyler's teams this year and was one of the commissioners. If he could figure out a way to coach youth sports for money, that's what he would do. He is so gifted at it. Maybe one day.

All this to say... I love basketball but I'm glad it's over. Of course we have to watch the tournament on tv...

A Clean House

2006-03-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

This little picture cracks me up. It says, "I dreamed my whole house was clean." It is on a notepad that my friend Donna included wtih all my very nice Christmas presents.

I really like a clean house. Not a perfect one, by any means. Just cleaned up and tidy. Quite often I wish the cleaning fairy would come. Then I would just wake up and the house would be clean.

Saturday morning I woke up early, finished writing, and then started cleaning and then Scott helped me for hours. There is something about my husband sharing that load with me that just meant so much to me. I didn't need a cleaning fairy!

The truth is it feels rewarding to work hard and then have a great final product to show. That holds true with cleaning and my book. I sent the last 20 pages on Saturday. Thank you for praying! It felt harder to write those pages than writing the whole rest of the book!

Ode to crafty moms

2006-03-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Whoever thought glitter was a good idea was wrong. This morning while I was writing, I thought to myself that six year old Tyler had been awfully quiet for an awfully long time. Every mom knows this moment. On the one hand you’re a little concerned about what your young child is doing. On the other hand you’re just so thankful for uninterrupted time that you ignore that little voice telling you to check on your child.

But then… I realized Tyler had discovered some glitter and paint and was in craft mode. Normally I am a crafty, let’s-be-creative-and-get-messy kind of mom. But today that mom is not here. No, today the “I need to get things done” mom woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I found Tyler at the kitchen table happily making a sign for his dad. He wrote “Dad” and drew a cute picture of himself with the paint. Then, the finishing touch, he unloaded an entire container of glitter on this picture. When he saw me looking at him, he held up his creation, and with a big smile asked, “Won’t Dad like this, Mom?!”

Did I praise my creative son whose grandmother is a professional artist and who would have certainly congratulated him on his spectacular art? Did I think what a sweetie-pie for making a sign for his dad?

A few particles of glitter actually stuck to his painting when he held it up, but 99 % of it fell on the table, the floor, and him. I put my hands on my hips and without as much as a “good job” told him he would be helping clean up this mess. “Go get the vacuum!” I commanded with my don’t-mess-with-me voice.

“But mom I don’t know where it is,” explained Tyler.

“Oh yes you do and if you really don’t then why on earth don’t you you’re almost seven for pete’s sake.”

As I helped him retrieve the vacuum from the closet, the dogs thought they’d discovered some treats on the floor. So they sniffed the glitter, got it all over themselves, and walked on the carpet. Then Tyler realized he had glitter all over his hands, which was now all over the vacuum. He washed his hands, and had to go potty while there, leaving glitter from the sink to the commode, and other private places.

“Okay, go change your clothes and I’ll just clean this up myself!”

“But, Mom, Dad’s really going to like my picture.”

Baptism

2006-03-15T04:37:00.000-08:00

Tyler got baptised last Sunday! What a special day. I have always prayed that my sons will be men of God. Earlier in the week, Tyler had heard me talking to Ginny about her daughter Campbell getting baptised. When I got off the phone, he told me he wanted to be baptised! Yeah! I love that it was his idea, no one we even asked him about it. About a year ago he prayed to have Jesus in his heart, and in Sunday School they've talked about baptism. We just were waiting for him to be ready!

Our whole family has been baptised at Southbrook - Scott and I about five years ago, Zachary 3 years ago, and now Tyler. Our church has been such a part of our lives in Charlotte. Although it had changed so much in the past year, it still is a place where people truly love God and our pastor preaches God's truth. Amen!

And yes, these pictures are in reverse order. Oh well...

Seeking Him

2006-03-12T04:55:00.000-08:00

I am in a Bible study Tuesday nights with a great group of women, women who truly love God and want to know Him better. This week's lesson was on honesty, specifically about being honest with God. Our legacy from Adam and Eve is to try to hide and pretend with others and God. How silly! What can we possibly hide from God! And God wants us to be honest so we can be cleansed of our self, to be filled with Him, to be used by HIm.

So that takes us to confession, which seems to be a recurring theme in my life.
Confession is being honest with God about our sin, really about our independence from God. So I am just going throughout the day trying to pray all day, to confess as God brings things to mind. What a blessing to be free from sin! While we were yet sinners Christ died for us... Romans 5:28.

And then that leads me to cleaning out in general. I really to get rid of stuff. There was that time I threw away the really important check, but that's a story in my book!

To me there's just something cathartic about getting rid of old stuff, stuff I'm not using or don't need anymore. If you think about it, there's a great spiritual parallel there! I am seeing many old ways of doing things in my life. The big one I'm learning about right now is not responding out of my own thoughts and feelings and will. I take all that captive to the Lord, confess it if it's sin, and then let Him fill me.

Mel and the girls

2006-03-11T06:43:00.000-08:00

If we had to have dogs, they had to be girls. So here's my girls, Jenna and Emma. There's just enough boy stuff in my life - burps, farts, sponge bob, legos, basketballs, you know.

For Mike

2006-03-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

This picture is of some of our bestest friends in the whole world Amy, Mike and their baby Catherine (photo is missing their 3 y.o. Caroline - she's off with the boys somewhere). Mike was giving Scott a hard time about his photo being on my blog, so I know deep down inside Mike wanted his picture here, too.

This gives me a chance to say what a blessing these dear friends are, friends I know we'll share life with, even share eternity.

God's been good to me

2006-03-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am tired but feeling reflective. So I'll share some thoughts before I go to bed really early- even skipping idol.

God is so good. REally, really good. What an amazing thing His love is. It's not a distant, far off, let me see how you do before I decide if I love you, kind of love. It's just love, pure love, because God is love and He cannot be separated from His character.

My heart is just full of the way He has been so good to me. I never want to take His blessings for granted, although I know that I do. So thank you, Heavenly Father, that you know me by name. Thank you for my sweet husband, that you knew He was the one I needed. Scott has sharpened me and has shown me so much of your light and your love. Thank you for the good, good friends in my life who love you and pursue you. Thank you for today at the pond with Holly, good talking, little boys having adventures in the woods, while three dogs crashed around getting muddy as can be.

Thank you for the things I've been learning about You, the way you're opening my eyes to new things, the way Your Word leaps out at me, that I hunger and thirst for You more and more and that You give me that desire.

Thank you for taking away my fears and insecurities so I can be who you created me to be.
2 Timothy 1:7 for god has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and power and discipline.

You have circled this mountain long enough

2006-03-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

These verses from Deuteronomy have been in my heart and mind lately.
Deuteronomy 2:3 & 7 "You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north
...For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wonderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing."

God has been saying to me the past few years that it is time to move on and get over myself! I have circled the mountain long enough, in the sense that I have allowed fears and insecurities to keep me from doing what I believe God is calling me to do - write and speak. The forty years lept out at me because I really began to have my eyes opened, in a spiritual sense, at the age of forty. And what a comfort to be reminded that God is with me every step of the way.

I went to hear Marybeth Whalen speak on motherhood, and she gave such great reminders of what a blessing and a calling it is to be a child's mother. One of the verses she mentioned is such a beautiful promise for whatever challenge we are facing - trials of motherhood, marriage, facing fears, etc. Psalm 37:24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

The only reason I can move ahead one step at a time is that I know that I know that God is with me, holding my hand. I'm not walking behind or ahead; I'm walking beside him holding His hand. That's a good place to be.

2006-03-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

I just got some photos developed so thought I'd post them. The family photo shows us by the pool - the boys jumped in yesterday after I dared them. Scott didn't think that was such a good idea. Oh well. They had fun!

Tyler's picture is from Christmas. Both Zachary and Tyler love legos. The only problem with Tyler and Legos is that he wants to play with whatever he's created, but he also wants it to stay completely in tact. He's actually kept this Turbo Tank together.

Zachary will be shooting hoops in the driveway this afternoon. It's a beautiful warm day. I have no idea how to turn that photo so it's just staying like that.

twenty more pages

2006-02-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

I know the Holy Spirit will inspire me... I need to write 20 more pages in the next couple of weeks for my book. Hmmmm... Please pray for me!

I read this in a marriage book i've really enjoyed called for women only.
It's food for thought for us wives!

"Most married men don't want to abandon their wives to do 'guy things.' They want to do guy things with their wife. They want her to be their playmate. It's no different from when they were dating. For a guy, a big part of the thrill was doing fun things together.

The woman who is having fun with her husband is incrediblly attractive. If you see a woman out playing golf with her husband, I guarantee that all the other guys are jealous. Getting out and having fun together falls off in marriage because of various responsibilities, but men still want to play with their wives."

Moses was not just an old guy

2006-02-23T04:32:00.000-08:00

For a long time in my Christian faith, the Old Testament was a mystery to me. Moses just seemed like some old guy that was really irrelevant to my life. But then about 3 years ago I began to sense a calling on my life, a calling about writing and speaking for God. I was afraid, very afraid. Really afraid of failure.

I read a book called Shadow Women by Angela Hunt (I like most of her books, by the way!) This was a very different type of book for me to read. It's the historical fiction version of Moses told from the viewpoint of three women in his life - his Egyptian mother, his wife, and his sister. This book was so timely and just made me looove Moses.

I could so relate to him. He was so afraid, too. When Moses realized God was calling him, he tried really hard to talk God out of his plan.(exodus 3 & 4) Oh, how I can relate to that!

I've been thinking lately about Moses seeing that burning bush, the one that was on fire but not being consumed, the one God used to get Moses' attention. What would have happened if Moses hadn't stopped? What if Moses had just ignored that bush?

Well, Moses would have missed out. God would have chosen someone else to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. God's will would have still been accomplished, just not with Moses.

I don't want to miss out on being used by God to accomplish His plan. I want to have eyes that see God working and I want to join God in His plan.

This morning I watched Joyce Meyer, as I do many mornings. Now I know some people are not crazy about her, but I love the way she speaks honestly about God's truth.
A woman, I think called Penny, was talking about how she'd had back pain for 20 something years. She was about my age, and she grabbed my attention because of the darn foot pain I deal with.

She said that she was praying one day and had the thought that she needed "to run for a miracle." She knew that thought was from God. So she did something radical. She began to train for a marathon. Now this was a woman who had sever pain, took lots of pain meds, and had never run. She cold have easily ignored this thought, but she would have missed out on what God had in store for her, a huge blessing!

So she trained, and on the morning of the race she had such severe knee pain she could hardly move. But she was determined, she showed up at the starting line and about one mile into the race she realized her back pain was gone! She finished the race. Her back pain has never returned.

This story made me cry! The thing that stayed with me was how she had a miracle in her life, but how she had to be a part of making the miracle happen. She had to be obedient in what God called her to do. Then she waited with faith for God to do His part.

Sometimes it's easy to think of God as a magic fairy who will wave His wand to accomplish the miracle we want. I'm sure that happens sometimes, but this story, and the story of Moses make me think about how God wants us to respond to Him in obedience first. I think I'll go think about that...

Front Cover and Galley

2006-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Friday I got the galley of my book and have one week to proofread it. A galley is the edited manuscript, and now I and some proofreaders check for the little stuff, like punctuation, typos, etc. It's interesting to see how my editor reworded things to improve them, thank goodness for editors! And my editor, gene skinner, has been so nice and encouraging. what a blessing, especially on my first book.

Then today I received an e-mail of the front cover! All this is making it seem very real. I really wrote a book and it's going to be in the book stores - yahoo!

The only slightly bad news is that they need 20 more pages. Wow. I feel like I wrote every word I could possibly think of to come up with the original 69,000 words. But I know the Holy Spirit will inspire me. That's what happened so many times before. I would sit down at my computer, not having an idea, and then I'd just start to write ideas that I had not previously thought of. That was God at work in me!

Amazing Grace

2006-02-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

When Zachary was little, I sang Amazing Grace to him and rubbed his back as he was falling asleep. I loved that little tradition. Today our worship band played a beautiful version of Amazing Grace. That reminded me of how sweet it was to sing to zach. And then I pictured God's grace - His love, His favor, His mercy raining down on his children. He just loves us because He made us to be His children. Just like we love our children just because they're ours.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God, and such we are. 1 John 3:1

Amazing Grace,
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost,
but now I'm found.
Was blind but now I see.

Friday Night and God's Word

2006-02-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight all the Chitwoods will be home! Yahoo! All of us love to be home together, hanging out, watching our taped shows - Survivor and (and Dancing with the Stars if I can sneak that in on the boys), watch basketball, order Dominoes and eat chocolate chip cookies. We haven't done this in a long time(well, except the cookie part) I'm so happy that we all like nights like this.

This morning's verses have really given me pause today.
Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I come to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

Then I remembered
Ephesian 6:12 that the word of God is called the Sword of the Spirit.

Hebrews 4:12 the sword of God's word is sharper than a two-edged sword.
and another connection
John 1:1 Jesus is called The Word.

The first verse in Matthew made me think about how powerful and strong Jesus is. Yes, He's love, but He's TRUTH. I love how absolutely uncompromising Jesus is in this verse. It also makes me think of God in the Old Testament where God is I AM.

One of the gifts God has given us is His written Word. By reading Scripture, meditating, and applying its truth we have everything we need for living.

There was definitely a time in my life when I didn't believe that about Scripture-that I could find the guidelines for living right there in the Bible and that this was all I needed.

My belief system in the past was a hybrid of my own thoughts, Satan's lies, self-help books, cultural influences, humanistic education with a little pinch of God's word thrown in for good measure.

It worked fairly well but then I had some experiences that God used to sift out the false beliefs. Now I am learning step by step how to live by His Word. I'm glad about that. And I really think this will be a lifelong process.

It's been a fun week of getting out of the house and seeing friends and shopping a little. Last week with the kids sick I think I left the house for about an hour on tuesday and then friday to pick up scott from the hospital. that made for quite a long week.

I'm supposed to get the galley of my book any day. fun! happy wkend!

T-Day

2006-02-12T04:17:00.000-08:00

My next book, according to Scott, should be called What a Wife Needs from her Husband. I can assure you I could write that book in about a week. No problem reaching the word count on that one. Scott's best buddy Mike said, how's that book mel wrote working out for you, with sarcasm and a big grin. ha ha.

The past two days have been t-days, transition days. If your husband travels, you might know what I'm talking about. These are the days we adjust from him being gone a lot to now being home, which is what I want but at the same time it can be a hard switch. Scott says I have saved up all my complaints about him while he's been gone and I just need to get them out of my system. That's not far from true. And I've given him very little sympathy for his knee surgery. No, I am not a florence nightingale, or whatever her name was. Thank goodness.

At least we can laugh a lot now. That's the biggest difference as the years have gone by. We're angry less or for a shorter amount of time and we laugh at ourselves more.

So why did God ask me to write this book about what a husband needs? For me, for me to learn to put my eyes on God and see His perspective and purpose for marriage. It's not about happily ever after, as I try to make it. It's not about me, as I try to make it. It's about God. He put His stamp of approval on marriage, on oneness in marriage, knowing that quite often it would be the most challenging and rewarding assignment He gives two people.

Other reasons? Certainly. I hope God will use my book to make others examine their marriages honestly, and surrender it to God. But sometimes I want to tell Him, God you chose the wrong person. I am so not a worthy representative of You. Quite a few people told God that. I think of Moses. He tried really hard to get out of his calling to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. It makes me think of
1 Corinthians 1:27: but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the things which are strong... Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."