Worth a Repeat

In honor of breast cancer awareness month, I thought this might be worth repeating. I wrote it 6 months ago after my routine mammogram came back with something suspicious. As it turned out, all was fine and next week I'm due for my 6 month follow-up. I'm a smidge nervous but only slightly more than I would be anyway. Prayers would still be appreciated though. Thanks. For more information on Breast Cancer click here on Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Be Blessed.
Melanie

My Lockness

Deep within my right breast,
lurks a mysterious little something – I've named it Lockness.
Now, you might be thinking this girl’s insane but just sit tight and I’ll explain.

You see, I recently went for my annual exam
And was handed a script for a mammogram.
I know it’s important for this to be done; I am afterall at year 41.
So I made my appointment; I didn’t have to be pushed
To lay my breasts down and get alternately squished.

I was neither surprised to receive the next call.
“Additional views needed.” It’s routine, after all.
So I promptly was scheduled, put my right boob on the plate
and was then sent to the hall and asked…to just...wait…

Well, wait I sure did for what felt a long time.
Others came and they went; I felt less than fine.
Red flags shot up as people whispered my name.
“Just gathering information” was the only answer that came.
There’s an area of concern, I finally was told.
An ultrasound was needed. I suddenly felt cold.

I was led to a room and asked to lie down.
The last ultrasound I had, my belly was all round.
But a baby was not what this was about.
I tried to stay positive and fought off my doubt.

I could view the screen easily and was fascinated to see
What looked like an ocean – well, it did to me.
And that’s when I saw it – what they were looking for.
A dark shadowy something. Was that it? Would there be more?

She zeroed in on the area and measured, more or less.
And that’s when it struck me – that monster called Lockness.
It bobbed up and down, this threat in my breast.
I thought “I’m so weird” while she finished the test.

But happy I wasn’t and I started to pray
For peace while I waited to hear what they had to say.
Would my lockness have teeth? The radiologist wasn’t sure.
But a biopsy would certainly tell everyone more.

I met with a surgeon the very next day.
She doesn’t think that it’s cancer. It doesn’t look that way.
She said cancer cells are jagged and much darker too.
But go ahead with the biopsy - try not to let it worry you.

So, a core-needle biopsy I’ll soon undergo.
And await the results that will finally show
If a cancerous threat lurks within my breast…
This suspicious area I call Lockness.

25 Puns to Ponder about Your Faith

I saw this on my previous church's website and loved it.

According to Websters, A pun, or paronomasia, is a form of word play that deliberately exploits ambiguity between similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect.

Puns make us think, just a bit more about the meaning. They are brain teasers that make us ponder. Can you ponder these about your faith...

1. Give God what's right -- not what's left.

2. Man's way leads to a hopeless end! -- God's way leads to an endless hope.

3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him be the period. (love this one!)

6. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period. (this one too)

7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.

8. When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

9. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

10. We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.

11. The church is prayer-conditioned.

12. When God ordains, He sustains..

13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

14. Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

17. Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.

18. Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.

19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

21. He who angers you controls you.

22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

23. Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

24. Be fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.

25. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. (I used to remind myself of this quite frequently).

Be blessed.
Melanie

A Little Boy's Insight

The last two nights, I've attended funeral services for my very best friend's mother. RJ and I have been friends since we were five years old and I have always considered her mom like a second mom to me.

RJ's 4 year old son is having a hard time processing all of this. He dearly loved his grandma and she dearly loved him as she did all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Looking at her in the casket, he didn't quite understand who that was. It sort of looked like grandma and everyone told him it was her but to him, there was clearly something missing and he determined that with everyone telling him that grandma was in heaven that this was obviously "fake" grandma.

The next day, still trying to process it all, he told his mom that "God took "real" grandma to heaven and she's feeling better now and He left fake grandma here in the "treasure crib". To him, the casket looks like a giant treasure box but since it has a pillow and it's cushy inside with sides that are high, it also looks like a crib - a treasure crib.

A treasure crib... In that casket truly was a treasure. I looked at Mrs. B's hands and saw hands that had prepared some of the best lasagnas a person would ever eat, played endless card games, sewed everything from dresses to costumes and everything in between. From those lips had come a clearly distinguishable voice, one that makes me smile just thinking of it and one that is carried on very similarly in at least one of her grandchildren. And that now still heart, until just a few short days ago, overflowed with love for her family and friends. But there is something very empty about that treasure now in that 'treasure crib' and that sweet little 4-year old boy knew it. He knows that his "real" grandma, the real treasure, is in Heaven with Jesus.

Matthew 6:20 says "Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where moth and rust do not decay and where thieves do not break in and steal."

In this world, relationships can fail, loved ones die and jobs and finances are never truly secure. When it comes to what we treasure - those things we count on to carry us through the hard times and the things we look to for joy and peace, the only way to tell what's real and what's empty is to place it against the backdrop of eternity.

Jesus is the true Treasure in Heaven. The better we get to know Him, the quicker we'll become like my friend's little boy desiring nothing less than the real thing and recognizing empty treasures when we see them.

Be blessed and hug someone special today just because you can.
Melanie

Waiting on Him

I've been feeling a bit down the past couple of days. Nothing major; just homesick, I guess. I miss my friends in PA and I really miss my job there. If you've read some of my previous posts, you have an idea of how much I enjoyed working there. The people were great but it was more than that. I got to be a very small piece of something much bigger and I liked it - and miss it - very much.

A dear friend gave me a book called Praying for Purpose for Women by Katie Brazelton before I left and it is proving to be quite a blessing to me. There's a good reason no one has ever accused me of having the patience of a saint. I very much want to find God's purpose for my life here and I'd like to find it now, thank you very much. I'd love to just jump right into our new life with both feet and pick right up where I left off in PA. Unfortunately, I seem to be a holding pattern right now. We're new, no one knows us and we have very few connections here with anyone. It's very much a place of starting over and until people get to know us better, they'd just as soon I keep my feet to myself - for now anyway.

In the meantime, thankfully, Jesus will gladly keep walking with me and my antsy feet as I do my best to be faithful to bloom where I'm planted. It's all in His timing.

Be blessed.
Melanie

God's Chisel

Saw this on a friend's Facebook page. Thought I'd share it with you.

Be blessed.
Melanie

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It's Kindergarden All Over Again

That's what it feels like. My kids will start getting ready for their first day back to school in about 7 hours from now. And because they're really nervous about it, so am I. I promise I'm nothing but understanding and encouraging words to them about all the new friends they're going to make and how nice the teachers all seemed, etc. but inside I feel just like I did on their first day of kindergarden. Everything is so different and foreign and not at all familiar. What makes this especially difficult is that on their first day of kindergarden, they were excited; the anxiety back then was all mine. Now, they're scared - at least they were when they went to bed. I pray they're feeling better in the morning. Me too.

Prayers are gratefully accepted here.

Be blessed.
Melanie

Florida livin' at its' finest...

...for my 9 year old son, anyway. While my daughter has been working herself into a tizzy contemplating the injustices of a "stupid" dress code wherein children are forced to tuck in their shirts, my son is all about the gators and lizards and frogs, oh my!

Side note: Sierra even sought out and introduced herself to the school principle last night at orientation just to ask if they are ever allowed to untuck - the answer? "Rarely". She politely responded with an "Ok, thank you" but as we walked away, she turned to me and said with utter frustration, Rarely! What does 'Rarely' mean!?!

Anyway, here's a sampling of Justin's summer adventures...

Crikie, what a beauty! After weeks of scanning every lake we passed by in hopes of catching a glimpse of an alligator, he was beyond thrilled to see, touch and, ughh, sit upon this very real gator at - of all places - a McDonalds in Orlando!












Catchin' lizards wherever they hide.















He caught a little guy just like this on top of our front door post. It took standing on a chair and a long stick to get him but he got him and played with him for hours. Not sure the frog had as much fun but he was set free by day's end.







Be blessed.
Melanie

No More Life As Usual

In church today, the pastor challenged us to ask ourselves if we would be willing to let God shake us up a little and bring us out of our "life as usual." I couldn't help but think about our new life here in FL. Definitely not life as usual.

We've never lived in an area like this before and honestly, it's going to take some getting used to. Now don't get me wrong; I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just not what we're used to - it's different and that doesn't automatically mean bad.

I'm the first to admit we've been downright spoiled by always having easy access to whatever we needed right at our finger tips and rarely more than a ten-minute drive. We're typical suburbanites. Work, shopping, doctors, friends, church, school - you name it - all right there. Here, in our little corner of central Florida, if you're not passing an orange grove, you're passing a lake...a big one, so that means it takes a little while to get anywhere 'cause you've got to get around that orange grove and around that big ol' lake.

The general pace around here is slower than what we're used to also which is, for the most part, fine with me since I tend to pace myself rather slowly anyway but is still one of the things we're having to get used to. When we want to go somewhere, we're used to getting there NOW. It seems a major drag to have to take all that extra time to get around that, albeit pretty, lake. We whole-heartedly believe in stopping to smell the roses but wonder why it is that some people have to take so L O N G to smell them. Let's sniff it and move on, people...gotta go Go GO!

For the record, I really do like it here. While our drive to Walmart would probably be a lot shorter if it weren't for the lake, I really do find it rather peaceful looking at it on my way. Though I doubt any of us would say no to an offer of prayer for our time of adjustment. I completely believe God has a purpose and a plan for us here which is why I can accept and even look forward to breaking out of my "life as usual".

How 'bout you? Be blessed.
Melanie

Home Sweet Home Prayer

My 11 year old daughter wrote the prayer below a few days ago. We have finally arrived at our new -albeit temporary - home in FL (the new one will be ready in a few months). To truly appreciate it, you have to realize that she was devastated about having to move away from her friends and school and her life in PA. Her heart was broken and many tears were shed.

When she read this to me, I cried and thanked God for her grateful heart and her desire to seek and see His hand in her life. Praise His Name. ~ Melanie

A Home Sweet Home Prayer

Dear God...
Thank you God for bringing us here .
We praise you and love You too.

Thank you for all the wonderful things you have given us.
Thanks for bringing us here for this
Home Sweet Home.

You taught us to believe in you
and You taught us how to trust You.
Now all we have to do is follow your way and live
in this Home Sweet Home.

We may be far away from our friends
but that doesn't mean You're not near here.

When I was little, I didn't know You
but then my parents told me about You.

You always know what's about to happen
and if it's bad, You're always there to protect us.

When we're scared, You help us not to be.
When we're sick, You heal us.

I love You and thank You for this wonderful
Home Sweet Home.

Amen.

Choking Back Tears

It's officially begun. The dreaded goodbyes. The part I've purposely been pushing from my mind for weeks now is quickly becoming unavoidable and I'm sad.

Yesterday, some of my co-workers took me out for a "farewell" lunch. There were thoughtful gifts and kind sentiments from a pretty wonderful group of people and I couldn't help but get choked up. I'm so gonna miss these folks, the ones who were able to make it and those who couldn't. For the last three years I've had the privilege of working with people who are so gifted in what they each do. I have so much respect and admiration for each and every one of them.

Then today I met with someone I usually only deal with through email, though occassionally face-to-face. She hugged me before she left and wished me well and told me I would be missed. I'll miss her too.

Next week will be the worst. It's my last week and even as I type that, I'm choking back tears - unsuccessfully, I might add. I've loved everything about working for my church, from the people I work with and for, to those involved in the ministries I help serve. I wasn't wanting to go back to work three years ago and I hated the events that made it necessary but I couldn't be more thankful that God opened that door and shoved me through it. It's been one of the best experiences of my life and a big part of me truly wishes it wasn't coming to an end.

Oh, here we go again. Where are the tissues...

Be blessed.
Melanie

All This Moving Stuff

Howdy folks! Have I told you lately how awesome I think God is? Well, based on the date of my last post, I haven't told you anything in a month and a day so I guess I haven't. Well, He is.

Preparations for our move to FL have been progressing nicely - THANK YOU, JESUS! Every time a potential glitch has popped up, God has smoothed it out. More than that, everytime my worries and doubts have popped up, God smoothed those out too, with specific-to-my-prayers scripture. I have been loving this time with the Lord. I don't think I've ever experienced Him like this before. I know I haven't.

My friend asked me recently if this move is different from the other moves we've made and my husband asked me something similar as well. This move is different. For instance, when we moved from Virgnia Beach, VA to San Antonio, TX, God gave me a peace about that. Throughout this whole process though, God has, little by little given me not just peace, but a confidence that He is leading this and is working out every detail.

I was on our church's annual women's retreat down in Rehoboth Beach, DE when my husband called to say we had an offer on the house. I told you in my last post that in our heart of hearts, we weren't really expecting the house to sell. Not in this market. So I was more than a little shocked when he told me. One of my very best friends was on the retreat with me and I was afraid to tell her. I knew she'd be upset - shoot, I was upset. My mind immediately went to all that we'd be leaving. Our friends, my kids' schools, our church, a job I love with people I absolutely respect beyond words...I thought of the devastation this would be to my kids...This is the closest I've lived to my mom, sister and her family in NY in 14 years and now I'm going to leave? Again? I was completely torn in half.

But God was SO good to me. He made sure I'd be in the best possible place to receive this news - this women's retreat. The speaker was a woman by the name of Sharon Thomas with Established Footsteps Ministries and she spoke on, of all things...moving! Moving from one spiritual place to another and making sure to build your "house" on the Rock. It was so fabulous. Every message was SO specific, SO encouraging. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I think I did both at different times.

But the best came late Saturday morning. Every year, an hour of quiet time immediately follows the Saturday morning message (and precedes LUNCH & 5 hours of free time). We are encouraged to get by ourselves to pray, read our Bibles, answer some questions based on that morning's message and just basically reflect on what God might be saying to us. The weather was gorgeous so most of us, myself included, chose to go down to the beach. I got as close to the water as I could - without letting it actually touch me. (It was, afterall, only April. In Deleware. The water was freezing!)

I began to pour out my heart to God - my fears, my worries. I desperately want to be doing the right thing by my family. I think now of the story where Moses tells God that if He wasn't going to go with them into the promised land, he didn't want to go at all. That's pretty much how I felt. I believed that moving would ultimately make life better for my family but if He wasn't leading it, if He wasn't behind this, I didn't want to go anywhere. I asked Him to please not allow us to get one toe out of His will. And I do, afterall, have plenty of good reasons to stay. I've changed so much in the last 5 years and feel like I've experienced the biggest growth spurt of my life with regard to my relationship with Him while here. I don't know what a future looks like somewhere else but I could see possibilities for each of us for continued growth and ways and places to get involved if we stayed.

I had my Bible with me and began to read various scriptures. Through those and through what God spoke to my heart, my faith grew a little bit and I began to believe He might actually be behind this move. He told me through His Word that I could trust Him and to remember and think of those things that I know about Him; that He is the Good Shepherd who never leads His sheep astray. He reminded me that He doesn't stay behind in PA while we move elsewhere but He would go with us and, in fact, has gone before us. It was this back and forth conversation with Him. It was the coolest thing ever.

And that's kind of how it's been throughout this whole process. Another friend of mine told me that during the retreat, God had put it on her heart to give me this small binder full of index cards on many of which she wrote, by hand, scripture verses about trusting God for my future. Verses like Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Those verses in that binder are like gold to me. A treasured gift. One I carry with me constantly, refer to frequently and add to periodically.

Yes, God is awesome. I'm just sayin'

Be blessed.
Melanie

Results, Travel and Plans, Oh My!

Happy Sunday, folks. I completely overslept today so no church for us. Man, and I really wanted to go today. Oi.

Well results from my biopsy came in the very next day and they were negative - no cancer. It was a (and forgive my probably misspelling) fibroadnoma. Thanks so much for your prayers. It truly means so much to me that folks I've never even met took time to pray for me. That's such a God thing. I love Him - and you - for that. I have a follow-up this week with my doctor who will explain exactly what a fibroadnoma is (which is good since I really haven't had time to look it up) and to discuss options like to remove or not to remove. From my understanding at this point, I shouldn't need to remove it since it's no more likely to turn cancerous than any other cell in there. That being the case, I don't believe I want to have my breast opened up again no matter how teensy the opening. The only thing I'm concerned about is that ever since the biopsy, I have this very uncomfortable lump there. My guess is that it might be a hematoma and if it is, I don't know what they typically do about that.

In other news, the reason I didn't post my results sooner is because the very next day we took off on a very long drive down to Florida to...HOUSE HUNT! I'm not sure that I've posted before that back in February we put our house up for sale. We weren't sure if it would sell with the market the way it is AND we didn't know where we would go if it did. We were considering NC and FL because we have friends and/or family in both places. We were all a little shocked when a serious buyer came along two months later. So far things seem to be going well and though there are still a couple of things that could trip this up, we are trusting God that if this is indeed His plan for us, all will go well. We want nothing more than to be in the center of His will for our family wherever and whenever that takes or keeps us.

So within a matter of days, we looked at 20-30 homes in central FL and ultimately decided to build in a town that we had originally said we didn't want to consider. This is a very funny testimony in the making if this goes through all the way, I'll tell ya. Well funny to us, anyway.

SO, now all we have to do is start packing, find a rental place in FL we can live in 'till the house is ready in Sept/Oct, figure out what in the world we're doing with the animals 'cause of course we're going away on vacation about the same time as the move...sigh... Can you sense my joy? Anybody got some boxes? Anybody wanna help? C'mon, I'll make lunch! All prayers are appreciated as always.

And as always, I pray YOU will...

Be blessed.
Melanie

Way To Go, Felicia!!!

Don't know if you're an American Idol fan or not. I haven't been up to this point but then all it takes to become one is to have actually known one of the contestants. I used to go to church with Felicia until about six years ago or so. She's the pastor's daughter and she's always been a powerhouse of a singer. I LOVED listening to her sing. Before last night though, I hadn't heard her since we left Virginia Beach so I was so glad to hear her again and more than a little surprised by how much her voice has matured. Her style is still all Felicia but even better than I remember. I know God is going to use this time in her life for His glory whether she makes it another round or not. Of course, I did do my part by voting like crazy in hopes that she does in fact make it another round or two or three...

Be blessed.
Melanie

Lessons from a Volcano

This morning, my son gave a book talk at school. The kids were instructed to pick a book, read it through and create a project to go with it, either a model, poster, diarama, etc. and then present it to the class and parents. My son decided to do his on volcanos because...well, he's fascinated by natural disasters, frankly.

Last week, we finished his volcano book together and the Lord showed me something really cool. This book was good and I learned a lot of stuff about volcanos I certainly never knew before. One of volcanos they showed was Mount St. Helens in Washington. That's a picture of it above. Throughout the book, it talked about the volcano's power and showed picture after picture of the devastation left in the aftermath of an eruption (incl the one above). Beautiful, lush landscapes and thriving villages utterly destroyed and left a dead, ugly wasteland. Or are they?

According to the book, while volcanic eruptions can bring absolute devastation, they can also bring renewal. Because of the minerals and nutrients in the ash, not only does plant life grow back quickly, it grows back even stronger than before the eruption. As my son and I read that, I sensed the Lord saying to my heart that that's what He can do in a life entrusted to Him.

I can think of several examples right off the top of my head of people whose lives have felt or currently feel like a volcanic eruption, feeling devastated by life's circumstances. I recently spoke with a woman who's been there. I asked her what she was able to hold on to during that time. The first thing she said was the Word of God - her Bible, sometimes literally walking around clutching it. She then said that in spite of how terrible the circumstances were, she believes that because of what God did in her through those circumstances, today she is stronger and in a better place emotionally, spiritually, etc. than she ever was before it all began. I didn't say anything about the whole volcano thing but it was if the Lord was saying to me "See? I told you; this is what I do."

Most of us with a sound mind would never purposely seek out painful, life-altering experiences any more than we would purposely seek to suffer the devastation of a volcanic eruption (with the exception perhaps of those who study volcanoes - called 'Volcanologists' in case you wanted to know, though it sounds more like a Star Trek term to me).

As hard as it may be to swallow, it's no secret that God sometimes allows hard times to come into our lives that would like to shake us to our very foundation. But, like the volcano, if we entrust our lives and those hard times to our always faithful God, He promises to give us "beauty for ashes" Isaiah 61:3.





Be blessed.
Melanie

What Were They Thinkin???

UPDATE: Because one of the contestants who made the top 36 was ruled ineligible, FELICIA BARTON IS NOW BACK IN!!!!!!! There is no one who can who can mess with God's plan for His child - wherever and however He chooses for it to take her. I LOVE IT!!!!!

I have never been a huge American Idol fan but I've been watching ever since I learned that Felicia Barton was going to be on. See, Felicia is the daughter of our pastor from Virginia Beach, VA and I haven't seen or been in touch with them since we moved from there about 6 years ago. I couldn't have been happier for her getting on the show.

I missed her audition show but have watched faithfully since, hoping to see her and hear her incredible voice. Unfortunately, they sent her home tonight. What were they thinkin??? I was surprised a few times by the people they sent packing and possibly even more surprised to see the ones they kept! I don't know how long Tatiana's voice, however great it is (and it's pretty stinkin' good), but I don't know how long that's going to carry her. God bless her, but she's really annoying to watch. And Nathaniel? Oh.My.Word The blubbering has got to stop and that's all I'm going to say about him.

Instead, back to Felicia. In case you're not sure who she is 'cause frankly they didn't spotlight her nearly enough, check out the video below. This is what everyone will be missing. I think she's fabulous and know God has a wonderful plan for this child of His.

Be blessed.
Melanie

There's Hope for My Soap

I have a little confession to make. I'm a soap opera watcher - Guiding Light, specifically (and As the World Turns occassionally). My grandmother listened to Guiding Light when it was on radio, my mother grew up on it and continued to watch, and I, in turn, grew up watching it and got hooked as well. When I was in high school, it came on at 3:00 in the afternoon which was great. I'd get home from school, watch GL and when it finished, I'd go deliver my newspapers (this is back in the day when kids were still able to have paper routes). When I started working full-time, I understandably, had to stop watching though I would catch up on days off or when home sick or something. After I became a stay-at-home mom, I started to watch fairly regularly again.

As is common with the soaps, they all go through periods where they make a bunch of bone-headed moves like getting rid of characters that are fan-favorites and GL is no exception. They have certainly made their fair share of bone-headed firings or lame attempts at keeping favorite actors. The late, great Michael Zaslow comes to mind. He played Roger Thorpe, making that character the.absolute.best bad guy you ever loved to hate.

Over the years, I've been disappointed numerous times by the actors they let go or the characters they killed off but none so much as when they got rid of Grant Aleksander about five years ago; he had played Philip Spaulding for the better part of 22 years(thankfully no one is ever really dead in soapdom). That was, to many GL fans (myself included), the worst move in a long history of bad moves. I continued to watch though (mostly online at night) until a little over a year ago when the storylines became just too boring to take and too many of my favorite actors and characters had disappeared (Jerry ver Dorn as Ross Marler; Paul Anthony Stewart as Danny Santos; Laura Wright as Cassie; Ricky Paul Golden and Beth Ehlers as Gus and Harley and others too). The powers that be over at CBS and Guiding Light were, in my opinion, causing a slow, painful death to my favorite and the longest running soap in daytime history and not doing enough justice to some of my remaining favorites like Ron Raines, Kim Zimmer, Robert Newman, Jordan Clark and others.

BUT, and the point of this entire, likely interesting-only-to-me post, a glimmer of hope has returned to my soap in the long-awaited return of Grant Aleksander. Yes, Philip Spaulding has returned to Springfield and though it's only been two days, I am delighted. I have been looking forward to this week for about a month, and, at least for a little while I think, I'm going to enjoy watching my favorite soap again.

Hope you've had some fun little something to look forward to this week too.

Be blessed.
Melanie

Here We Go Again

Have I ever told you that my husband and I have moved eight times in 14+ years of marriage? I would never in a million years have imagined that I would move that frequently. I am a native New Yorker (Long Island to narrow it down a bit). For generations, my family were native New Yorkers. Now they'll correct me if I'm wrong but my grandmother grew up, since infancy, in the same farm house that she later moved back into with her own husband and children and lived there 'till she died at 96 yrs old (of course by that time it was no longer a farm house though still a large house). Three out of her seven children continued to live in that same house and eventually added spouses and children of their own. Three of the remaining four were within a 30 minute drive (one of which was only a couple of blocks away and still lives there to this day) and only one left the state for South Carolina.

My point is that, for me, moving around this much feels unnatural. BUT, for better or worse, we've decided to do it again. Yes, we've put our house up for sale in good ol' PA and are hoping to head south again, possibly to FL or NC. We are so praying that we are sensing and following God's lead on this and would welcome your prayers for wisdom and direction. 'Cause otherwise this is a pointless, unfun challenge to my meager domestication abilities.

I am not exactly a housekeeping goddess and now with the house up for sale and in THIS kind of housing market, everything has be as near perfect as possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a slob or anything but under normal circumstances, if I go to work and the beds aren't made, no biggie; dishes left in the sink? I'll get 'em when I get home or perhaps before bed (the next day?). Laundry up the waazoo and not one pair of clean socks left? Well, Target's up the street if you're THAT desperate. Just kidding, but you get my point. Oh the pressure!!!

I will say though, the house looks pretty stinkin' good. I could actually live here...'till June, 'cause we really want to be out by June.

Be blessed.
Melanie

Friday Favorites

Ok, let me say right off the bat, I have not been terribly consistent with posting things on a specified day. Honestly life gets so busy and even with ADD meds, I can still be pretty flaky forgetful. That being said, under the inspiration of a couple of people - a blog I visited recently and a Facebook friend, I have decided to designate Fridays as Friday Favorites. Each Friday I will post about one of my favorite things; it could be anything - movies, food, songs, a childhood memory - anything. I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear back from you. Feel free to join in and add a Friday Favorite to your own blog and let me know 'cause I'd love to check it out.


My first Friday Favorite is........ My favorite scene from my favorite movie, Singing in the Rain. This was hard to pick too because I just love the whole movie and I couldn't very well put a two hour movie on my blog (could I?). Hope you like. This scene makes me smile no matter how many times I see it.

Be blessed.
Melanie

How's Your View?

And what's the view like out your door this morning?

















Hope God wows you today too. Be blessed.

Melanie

What Will They Think of Next?

Did you know that your fingers have a little bone called a volar plate? Well they do. It's there to prevent your finger from bending backwards or "hyper-extending" as the doctor would say. Wanna know how I know that? 'Cause I broke mine. Yeah, I'm a dope.

About a week and a half ago I was outside with my son and as I swung my arm, the tip of my finger hit the car and bent my finger back further than it's meant to go. Then I saw the prettiest stars. Anyway, I finally went to the doctor this past Monday and xrays confirmed the minor break. I actually chipped a piece of the bone off. You can see it in the xray - which I got to keep.

Now what's cool is this neat finger splint that was made for me; I think they called it a ring splint. Well I just think they come up with the most clever stuff. The orthopedic doc wanted to buddy tape my two fingers together but because I do a lot of typing on my job he suggested this nifty little thing. I have to wear it for a month but I have nearly full range of motion (or at least as much as the broken bone will allow until it heals) and the splint prevents further hyperextension.

I wish I had asked if it came in colors. Pink would have been nice.

Flashback Friday

Anne over at My Tiny Kingdom had a great idea for Fridays called Flashback Friday. I'm not following along exactly as she said 'cause I honestly had a bit of a flashback of my own today and thought I'd share it.

I was asked today what Bible verse would I share with someone about to have a baby. I knew just the one it was and I'll never forget when God gave it to me. I was just home from the hospital with my firstborn and attempting to nurse her in my glider chair (it took a while to get the nursing thing down). I sat there, hormones raging, rocking and looking at this precious little miracle in my arms and feeling overwhelmed with awe and love and also the weirdness that I, the youngest in my family, was now a mother myself. I started to cry and pray asking God "Are You sure you know what you're doing allowing me to be a mother? I don't know what the heck I'm doing; kids don't like me; I've never even babysat in my life. I know nothing about kids. Lord, look at her. I need Your help if I'm gonna do this even close to right." He then reminded me of James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I laughed and felt so grateful that God would not only give me what I lacked and do so generously but also that He would never think I was jerk for asking even the most basic questions. LOL I'm still grateful and I'm still asking and He's still providing. Praise His Name!

Lemme tell ya, It was fun going through all those baby pictures of my sweet girl too. I think I'm gonna like Flashback Fridays.

Be blessed.
Melanie

Advice For The Ridiculously Picky Eater

Ok, I need help. My 8 year old son is THE worst eater. E-VER. No kidding. I thought my daughter was bad and she was, but she has greatly improved and I don't really think she was quite as bad as my boy. Peanut butter, grape juice, chicken nuggets and a multi-vitamin are what keep my kid alive. There has got to be a better way than the daily arguments over eating that take place in our home to get something healthy into this kid who likes NOTHING. Some sneaky creative ways to slip a veggie or fruit into something? Keep in mind I'm a lousy cook domestically challenged.

Ok, watcha got?

Melanie

Siesta Scripture Memory

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

At the end of December, Bible study teacher/author, Beth Moore, issued an invitation to one and all through her blog to join her in striving to memorize two scriptures a month. On the 1st and 15th of each month, you can pop on over to her blog at Living Proof Ministries and add the scripture God has placed on your heart to memorize. She also includes memorization tips, etc. You can click here too for the original post where she went into detail about the idea. I've had a sense in my heart for some time that God wants me to hide his Word in my heart more than I have and I thought this would be a great way to start doing that.

So that's my scripture above. With some of the circumstances that have, in the last couple of weeks, surrounded me and people that I care very much about, I found this scripture very encouraging.

What has God given you to stand on recently?

Be blessed.
Melanie