The Tree

Today, the day before Thanksgiving we went on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.  We went with our dear friends, Michael and Marty Short and their children to the family farm. 

The kids got a ride up the hill.

MOO!  They were not happy that we made them move out of the way.

An old dried up spring.

Our motley crew.

 

A very cool tree we found.  It is a thorn tree. 

Before decorations

 I am now sitting here looking at our cedar tree (before decorations) that we found this morning. It's kinda thin, a bit straggly in places and definitely not a prefect full tree you can buy at many Christmas tree lots. It reminds me of how I was before I found Christ. A bit of a mess, straggly and definitely not perfect! In a while we will decorate it, add lights and this straggly tree will become beautiful and perfect to us. You see that is what God does with us. He takes our messes, our straggly lives and transforms them into what He wants for us when we yield to His plans and trust in His guidance. Am I perfect...far from it, but I am fully of joy, I have hope and I am blessed beyond measure. It may not make sense to the world for I do not base my life or my blessings on material things and ya know what that is ok with me. I know where I place my trust and hope and I pray you, my friends, find that hope if you haven't already.

Our straggly tree has transformed into a beautiful little tree.

The Slide

What a journey I am on! You never know what you will encounter on a journey, good and bad, you may have to face both on a journey.  This week has been one of many emotions.  Some great, some not so great.  My attitude has not been the best and I have fallen a few times.  Fallen to the temptation of Halloween candy, carbs and just not wanting to exercise at all.  Attitudes and thoughts such as, "When do I get to stop exercising, why do I have to fight for every ounce?"  Just mucky thinking.  Then something happened! Something remarkable!  Something awesome!  Something that just proves to me that I have to PUSH through those mucky thinking days!

What in the world does this slide have to do with pushing through you wonder?!  EVERYTHING!  This is similar to what I faced at Kingdom Karnival with my children at our church.  It is a 24 ft tall slide that you have to climb to the top of.  Oh, it's easy you say, NO IT IS NOT! It was a true work out!  It was a climb up that thing and I had NEVER done anything like this in my life.  Not even in my childhood.  But I DID IT!  I climbed to the top.  Okay, let me back track a little.   You see I got half way up and my legs started hurting.  I was fearful I was going to injure my knee or ankle again. (I did aggravate the tendonitis in the ankle.) I was using the ropes on the sides to pull myself up.  It literally was like climbing for my life.  I even stopped and thought I can't do this, I am just going to go back down.  But when I turned around all of these kids (including mine) were there climbing up too.  Then this precious little girl named Kayleigh, who I just love to death, came climbing up to me and said, "You can do it Messa! I know you can!" It was exactly what I needed to hear! I climbed up there and then sat at the slide thinking WOW I did it!  I slide down and it was crazy fast.  But I did it!
   Kayleigh's words reminded me that God is FOR ME!  He will never forsake me in my weakness!  I know He is for me and He used Kayleigh to remind me that He is there saying, "You can do it Melissa!  I know you can!"  Thank you Lord for sending Kayleigh up to encourage me!

This song says it all.... God is for Me by Kari Jobe

Wonderfully Delicious Cake!

Ok so my Fishing series didn't go as long as I wanted it to. Sure I could have taken a spin on the reel on a lot of different subject but lets get serious here, how many more blogs do you need to read about casting out your hook and reeling in the fish...in other words fishing for souls. Seriously, this blog is suppose to be about my personal walk with God and if you get blessed by it great and if not great....seriously it's not really out here for you or for me to gain readers or popularity. I hope to minister to my readers but if not then I hope it glorifies God!

A friend of mine sent me this little story and it ministered to me. I needed to hear it tonight and thought instead of it just ministering to me I hope it will minister to others. I have NO idea who wrote it just know it has lots of truth! Enjoy!

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanantion!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everthing is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.

"Yuck," says her daughter.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?" "GROSS, Mom!"

"Would you like some floour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Mom, those are all nasty!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God know that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will make something wonderful!

God and the fishing line.

Ok so yes that's a strange title, I'll admit it! But there's a reason for the title. You see last week when our area was hit by a storm that took out our power for over 5.5 days I took the kids fishing daily. Sometimes for more than 3 hours at a time. Which I have to say for our kids to stay focused on one activity for that long is a miracle. Even today the kids asked if I would take them fishing when they get home from school.

Anyways during our fishing trips God has been showing me some things. When I started writing this today I thought it might just be a short little post but I have realized that what I am learning and God is showing me is a lot more than I thought. So this may be a series, not sure how long it will go but I will let you know if it's over. Just keep coming back and checking.

So how does fishing line apply to our lives? Have you ever wondered why it's important to have some kind of weight on your line? Ever casted your line with no weight? What happened? Ever reeled in you line and got so anxious that you jerk the line? What happened? Have you ever caught a fish without using any bait? Do you celebrate even when you catch something small or nothing at all? Have you ever gone fishing unprepared? These are just a few things I will discuss in the next few posts. I hope this series will encourage you in your walk with the Lord. Make sure to leave me a comment and let me know what you think! (please)

So Let me share a bit here before I go any further. A few of these things happened to my kids last week, such as casting with out an anchor (weight). I sat back on the first day I took the kids out and watched Jaron repeatedly cast his line and it plop down in front of him. He was extremely frustrated and almost quit. It was his first time fishing and he had it in his head that he knew what he needed to do. No granted I am not a fisherman. I have only fished when I was his age with my brothers and the kids in the neighborhood. But I knew what part of the problem was. When he could take no more he threw the pole down and said, "I quit!" I asked him if he needed some help and he was so angry he wouldn't listen to me. So I took over. I added a small weight and a bobber replaced the bait (worms-so fun!) and casted the line. When he saw his line fly through the air yards away he was amazed. He asked me what the difference was and I smiled at him and said, "I added the anchor and it helped the line fly!" Had Jaron just completely quit that day he would never have caught the fish he did on that cast.

We are just like that line you know! When we try to do anything in our lives without an anchor in more instances than we realize, we plop! We need an anchor that will help us fly! That anchor is Jesus! We don't plop when we trust in Him and seek His will in all things! Sure things don't always go our way. There were many times Jaron cased out his line to reel in an empty hook but that's just how things happen sometimes. Does this mean God isn't there or that He causes things to happen....NO! There are times when it may seem that way but seriously, is your focus on giving God the glory in all things or is your focus more on you and how He can serve you?

Our Heavenly Father is not a waiter to serve us! In fact we were created to have fellowship with Him and if we are seeking that fellowship, serving HIM will come from the love we have for Him without conditions! So many times I have heard people (including myself here) say, "If God will do this I will do that!" It's bargaining with God and God DOESN'T bargain! There is no instance in the Bible that says He will bargain with you for YOU to get your will. Our purpose is to serve HIM and if we get blessed while doing so great! But if not even more so I will serve Him.

Today are you anchored in the Lord? Are you trying to cast your line in life without an anchor that will help you soar? Why not cast your cares on Him! The one true anchor that will never leave you or forsake you!

Lord in my life I pray I will stay anchored to you and no matter what comes my way I know that You alone will help me succeed in all I set out to do if it will bring YOU glory!

** come back tomorrow to read the next insert in this Fishing line series!

Today's post is just for you Lord.

I have no idea what You are doing or why You allow things to happen. I am thankful that today I was not hurt when the tire blew out but at the same time I feel like everytime we get a blessing immediately it is stolen from us. Just like today, when the wheel blew out, Lord the financial blessing we got yesterday was going to be used for something else...instead we had to use it for this tire. I am thankful we have the money, I am thankful I was not hurt and that I was only going 25 mph instead of the 60, I am thankful that I got stopped at the light before it blew other wise I would have been doing 60. Lord, now once again I need you to step in and provide again so that we can take care of that other need we were planning to use that money for. Sometimes I just don't get it! Either way I will worship you and I trust that You alone will provide for what we need.

Things I am Thankful For:

*My loving and merciful Lord and Savior, who provides all we need, at all times!

*My loving supportive husband.

*My 4 wonderful kids; Jaron a fantastic big brother who although is just like me in looks and personality (which is great for him but we butt heads a lot) is just one of my little heart beats. Kristofer, my special little kid who struggles through every day events but is a lion full of courage and a kitten who is tender hearted. Eli our youngest son who is super tenderhearted, is a protector of his sister (when they aren’t fighting) and a constant buddy to his brothers who he adores. Sara, my only little princess who is all girl and all tomboy. She is one of the best surprises and blessings!
Last but not least, for my little angel boy, SeanPatrick who would be 11 and is celebrating this thanksgiving at the feet of Jesus with my grandparents, Mamaw and my Uncle Bob.

*For my parents, who help us so much more than I could ever repay, for my brothers and sister and their families.

*For Sean’s Mom and brother’s and sister’s who our kids adore!

*For my friends throughout the US and in other countries such as Dominican Republic, S. Africa, Germany, China, Japan serving our Lord and winning souls for Christ.

*Good heath and healing knees.

*The ability to walk without crutches or a cane.

*A warm house and a running vehicle.

*Our funny kittens- CC (fostering), Sugar and Mr. Jingles, our dog Izzy and our wonderful ferrets- Woody & Uno.

*A wonderful church.

*A beautiful sunny crisp day to take my children to the park while the turkey cooks and Sean sleeps after working all night.

*Thankful that although Sean has to work 32 hours from last night till Sat. he has a job in this economy and is making extra money through overtime while helping a coworker who’s husband is battling leukemia.

*This computer and the ability to talk to friends across the miles through the internet…thank goodness for the internet!

*For Facebook.com of which I have reconnected with old friends from high school and college and can keep in contact with close friends in Florida.

*For Myspace.com of which I am able to keep in contact with cousins, aunts, sibs and friends who are not on Face book (come on gang Facebook is better!)