Company Girl Coffee 10.30.09

Yesterday Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary posted a really terrific devotion about Jesus, our King. Her willingness to share from her own personal experience really got me to thinking and brought a lot of scriptures to mind, but one in particular is on my heart this morning.

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"

There's that word "hope" again. I sure have been coming across it a lot lately. The greek word here is "elpis," pronounced "el-pece." It's origin is from the word "elpo," meaning "to anticipate, usually with pleasure." Another definition is "the expectation of good."

HOPE. We throw the word around casually in everyday conversation. "I hope you have a nice day." "I hope you feel better soon."

What I truly desire though, is that Hope shines through in my life. Christ is my Lord and my King, and the reason for my hope.

Now I've come full circle to Romans 5:1-2 and my post Cup of Hope, from last week.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

Rejoicing in my King,
~Melissa~

SNOW

Perhaps I spoke too quickly when I said it snows here on or shortly after Halloween! This morning, October 29th, I woke up, grabbed my cup of coffee, and taking advantage of the quiet house set to reading my devotions. The first kid to wake up was my 2yr old. He crawled up on the couch with me and snuggled in. Then, out of his mouth with excitement came not the normal "good morning mama," but "snow mama!" I looked out the window and sure enough, it was snowing. It has changed to mixed snow and rain now, but I can't help wondering if this is a sign of things to come.

Here are a few verses that sprang to mind as I was lamenting the cold snow outside:
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 55:9-11
9"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Psalm 147:16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

And perhaps the most appropriate for this season in my life as a wife, mother, and homemaker:

Proverbs 31:21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

The Sights and Smells of Fall

This morning it is cold outside. I woke up to our first official "frost." There is was, blanketing the lawn, toys, and windshields of our vehicles sending a signal that winter is just around the corner. We usually get our first snow on or shortly after Halloween here. So before winter settles in, I thought I would share a few of the sights and smells of Fall around our house.

Leaves...piles and piles of them! My daughter was disappointed because they finally started to build up in the yard, and then the rain hit! We never had a chance to rake them and jump in them. Yesterday the weather cleared and she went outside and started to rake. There are still plenty of leaves yet to fall, so hopefully the weather will stay clear this week.Toothless grins! LR, who turns five in 17 days, just lost her first tooth yesterday! It's been wiggly for a while now. She was so excited. My baby girl is growing up.Cookies! Friday my DH got into baking mode and whipped up a batch of sugar cookies to cut, bake, and decorate with our kids. They turned out great! The close up picture turned out blurry, but my MIL called it the "Easter basket" cookie. There are sprinkles of every kind piled high. It was decorated by a very eager 6 year old. :)Cinnamon rolls anyone? This morning I got motivated and the smell of cinnamon filled the house as I baked up a nice surprise for my children. (No, sorry, they are not homemade!)This week we will have some pumpkin fun. I'm looking forward to letting my kids show their creative side painting pumpkins. Last year I had my own fun and after Halloween I made the pumpkins into pie! Pumpkin pie is another sight, and smell that I love, love, love, this time of year. I keep a bunch of pumpkin spice candles on hand to fill my home with that fresh baked aroma. :)

While we are on the topic of aroma, a passage of Scripture came to mind this morning when I was baking cinnamon rolls.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" -2Corinthians 2:14-16

The "fragrance of life." Now that's a fragrance worth wearing. In any season. How will you spread the aroma of Christ today?

~Melissa~

A Cup of Hope

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." -Romans 5:2b-5

Good morning girls! I only have a minute or two before the kids are up and things get crazy around here. I wanted to share this passage today because it has been on my heart a lot lately. I've been listening to a sermon that my DH preached back in June. (The one I sent to Rachel.) I have a lot of friends that are currently walking through some tough trials and I have been praying this scripture over their lives.

Here are some things that stand out to me:

1. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God... this is an amazing thing! The glory of God is so incredible, SO powerful, that it is our source of hope.
2. We rejoice in our sufferings... wait a minute! We're supposed to rejoice in our sufferings? Remember what I just said. The glory of God gives us hope, and if we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, then we can rejoice in our sufferings.
3. Suffering produces perseverance... God knows that when we suffer trials, it is hard. He wants us to walk through them, (and He never leaves our side) so that we can develop perseverance. Paul realized this when he asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh. Three times he asked, and God said "My Grace is sufficient for you." -2Corinthians 12:7
4. Perseverance produces character... when we walk through trials, it builds character into our lives. The kind of character that we want to model for our children. My kids' elementary school has a motto "character counts." They give out awards to the kids who model good character to their peers. I want to teach the kind of character to my children that will stand the test when they have to make tough decisions, or walk through difficult times of their own.
5. And character produces hope... did you see that? AND character produces hope. We've come full circle here. It's a process. You can't jump from suffering to hope. There's those two small things in between. Suffering produces perseverance, in turn produces character, in turn produces hope. BUT through it all, remember #1. We rejoice in the HOPE of the glory of God. Hope is there all along. It is the starting point, and the ending point! We just have to look to the Source.
6. And HOPE does not disappoint. Why? "Because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom God has given us."

Whew! There's a lot to take in there. I'm still processing it myself.

For my friends, whom I love, that are in the suffering stage right now, know that I am praying for you. God is faithful, and He will see you through. For those of you out there that have persevered, built character, and are walking with hope right now, take a minute to think about who you can be praying for that is in need of hope.

May the God of peace bless you all this weekend!
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee 10.16.09

"Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them." -Psalm 119:140

Welcome to Company Girl Coffee! This is my memory verse for the second half of October. If any of you have read Psalm 119, you know that it's a long one! 176 verses to be exact. This little nugget jumped off the page at me and reminded me how faithful God is to keep His promises to us.

For example: We got our growth hormone test results back for our daughter this week and she is not growth hormone deficient. She has Ketotic Hypoglycemia, which can be monitored through her diet, and she will most likely grow out of it. Praise God!

And also: Last month we lost all the meat in our freezer...worth a large sum of money. We've been offered half a cow but we need to come up with the money to pay for it. This would feed our family for probably a year. My husband was offered a video project this week, not knowing what they would pay him. The couple payed him $300, which is a big chunk of the money we need.

Those are just two examples of His faithfulness. I could go on and on about how He has provided for us. I test His promises again and again and He always comes through. He is a good God. A loving God. A trustworthy God.

How are you leaning on His promises today?

Have a great weekend all!

Faithfully and completely His,
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee 10.9.09

Good morning! Coffee's on, or if you would like, I also keep a variety of hot teas around this time of year. Our weather turned VERY cold overnight here! I should be used to it by now. We pretty much have Indian Summers and early Winters.

We've had quite a week here emotionally. It started off normal with a pretty boring Monday, but then things picked up on Tuesday. I finally took my daughter to be tested for Growth Hormone Deficiency. It's one of many tests that she's been going through to test for Hypoglycemia. It all started back in July. You can read that story here.

The test was only supposed to take 4 hours. We went to check in and that was the first delay. The check in was all the way across the hospital from the fusion center. Then, the pharmacy had a problem sending up her meds for the procedure. I am still not sure what the mix up was there. So a test that was supposed to start at 9:30am was now starting at 11:30am. Of course, there was a problem putting the IV in. I have yet to see anyone get an IV in my daughter on the first try.

For the next three hours, they drew blood every 15 minutes while I read to my daughter, and waited. I watched her go from perfectly healthy, to pale, tired, and very upset. I know all the signs. At one point in the test they almost had to stop because her blood sugar dropped below the designated "stop test" level. A second test showed it was still ok. My daughter was anything but ok. Don't get me wrong. We were at a children's hospital, so she was being cared for well. But I knew that when the test was done, we were going to be there for at least the afternoon, possibly admitted overnight.

My concerns were confirmed when the test was finished and she was given a cracker and some Gatorade. She began to throw up and the attending nurse called her doctor. He told her to change her IV to a sugar water solution to bring her blood sugar levels back up and he'd be in to see her at 4:15pm. Eventually, I got her to keep some ice chips down. By the time the doctor stopped in she was looking a little better, but still didn't want to try food. He said that if she wouldn't eat and drink on her own by 8:00pm, they would have to admit her. Thankfully, I finally got her to eat some of the mashed potatoes that were with my dinner and then she had a dinner plate of her own around 7:00pm.

We made it home by 8:30pm with instructions to feed her a snack before bed and wake her up for another snack at 1:00am. I kept her home on Wednesday just to restore her energy level before sending her back to school. We should have our test results back at the beginning of next week. Hopefully we'll know once and for all what the problem is and what we can do to help her.

Over all, I am a very lucky mom. I have five pretty healthy kids. We have our little problems here and there but nothing serious. I am thankful for that. I am also aware that there are parents and children out there that are not as fortunate as we are. So my friends, if you are one of those parents, or if you know someone close to you that is experiencing some tough times with a child of their own, please share with me. I will add them to my prayers. I am not one of those people that says "I'll be praying for you" and then forgets. I consider it a privilege to pray to our awesome Lord on your behalf.

Thanks for sharing coffee with me today....and for sharing your lives with me.

From my heart to yours,
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee 10.2.09

Good morning! The little boy that I watch is taking a nap and my youngest two are playing nicely, so I thought I'd take a minute for a coffee post! I hogged all the coffee this morning due to a horrible night's sleep, but it's feeling like fall out there finally, so I can offer a cup of hot apple cider!

Does anyone else ever wish you had a tape recorder going in your head when you get a good idea to write about but don't have time to sit down and do it? That's been me all week. I've resorted to keeping a notebook nearby at all times so that I can just quickly jot down what I'm thinking. Sometimes it's a scripture that comes to mind, sometimes it's an entire devotional. Other times, I just wish I could sit down and write about what my kids are learning in school, and here at home. I've always been a big journal person, but this season in my life is tough to find time for one blog entry a week, let alone my personal daily journal!

This morning I was really meditating on my current memory verse. It's Hebrews 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe".

This verse has really been applicable in many areas of my life as I have thought about it in the past 24 hours. There are so many things in this life that cause us to be "all shook up." There are the major natural disasters, like the 7.6 earthquake that happened two days ago in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. Then there are the personal shakers. Sometimes it might be an unexpected bill that throws the budget for a loop. It could be that things are getting a little shaky at work, as they are for my DH right now. Or maybe it's just a random phone call, like the one my friend got yesterday, that shakes you up. Whatever the cause may be, we all have shaky moments.

But there is One who will not be shaken. He is Jesus Christ. He is our Rock, our Stronghold, and our Fortress. So whenever I feel like my world has been shaken, I am going to remember Hebrews 12:28. And I am going to be thankful, and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. I might even give a shout "Hallelujah!" because God deserves my praise no matter what the circumstances might be. :)

Have a great weekend all. Don't forget to stop by for more great Company Girl Coffee over at Home Sanctuary!

Siesta Scripture Memory 10.1.09

How fitting that my 200th post would be on October 1st, and it would be about my memory verse! I have had so much going on in my life lately that I have felt a little shaken. God is so good though! As I was reading my Bible and wondering what verse to pick to memorize this time around, Hebrews 12:28 jumped off the page at me!

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe"

WOW! Talk about perfect timing. I am so VERY thankful that God's kingdom cannot be shaken!

What a great God we serve!