Fitness Matters

When you're not in good physical shape, it affects you mentally too. For me, the most important benefit of exercise is that I am a better mother. -Virginia Madsen

Today over at Home Sanctuary Rachel Anne is encouraging us to exercise! Just 5 minutes of movement to get your blood pumping and make you feel better about yourself! Check out her encouraging post and then go take 5 minutes to get energized!

Some of the things I do when I can't actually turn on my Wii Fit, which is my exercise tool of preference:

• Stretch in the kitchen while waiting for meat to brown, water to boil, or toast to cook.
• Do a little strength training by striking a plank pose while swishing my mouthwash at night.
• Practice side leg kicks just while talking on the phone.

Well, you get the idea. It's all about creativity. Anything to keep me fit while I keep up with my children! :)

Siesta Scripture Memory 7.1.09

I can't believe we are half way through 2009! One of my big goals for the year has been to meditate on and memorize scripture more. For this reason, I joined the Siesta Scripture Memory Team at the LPM blog. The goal is to memorize two verses a month. That's 24 verses memorized by the end of 2009! I have been so excited about God's Word this year that I had to go out and get a special Scripture notebook that I could record verses in that speak to my heart. It has become my very own praying God's Word journal and I flip through it often when I am feeling discouraged, weary, or just need to be refreshed. I am really learning how much power there is in praying the scriptures!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 has been a familiar verse to me for many years. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

More recently, I was encouraged by Romans 15:4 "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Through the endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Hope is the word that I am focusing on for my 13th memory verse of the year. It is Psalm 147:10-11

"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."

The word "delights" in this verse translates "to be pleased with, be favorable to, accept favorably." God is delighted when we put our hope in His Word, and His unfailing love.

I pray you are encouraged by this promise today.
~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 6.26.09

^{Ecclesiastes 3:11} He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Girls, that means me and you! He has made (insert your name here) beautiful in her time. Sometimes I think, no, I KNOW that we cannot fathom how beautiful we are in God's eyes. How I wish that I could be chatting with you face to face this morning, because some of you (including me) need to hear this! You are fearfully and wonderfully made - His bride, His inheritance.

This is my prayer for you this morning, that no matter how you might see yourself in the mirror, you will know that He sees the reflection of Christ, His Son, in you.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. -2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Thanks for stopping by this morning. I hope that you will let Him fill your cup to overflowing with His love for you this week.

~Melissa

Praise the Lord!

This morning I just feel like praising the Lord! :)

"Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"
-Psalm 147:1

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Happy Father's Day to my husband, my friend, and the Father of my children. You mean everything to me and the kids! We love you!

Company Girl Coffee 6.19.09

Good morning! I just got done with my insurance exam (we're switching Life Insurance companies) and I'm ready for coffee! Actually, I have an appointment for coffee with a friend at 10:30am so I need to prepare for that but feel free to stick around, read my post about bathtubs, (see below) or just linger a while and listen to the music. :) I sure do love my coffee time with all of you girls and I'll be checking in with you later this afternoon for sure!

Quick question before I go...Now that it's summer and I have my older three kids at home for lunches again, can any of you help me think OUTSIDE the lunch box?

~Melissa

How Big is Your Bathtub?

I've been Spring cleaning in the bathroom this week. I've sorted the medicine cabinet, gone through the drawers, cleaned the outside of the toilet, wiped down the light bulbs...etc. The number one thing that I dread in the bathroom is without a doubt, hands down, cleaning the bathtub. I don't care how many products there are out there that say "no scrubbing necessary," you just HAVE to use a little elbow grease on the bathtub! It's a pain, and I've been avoiding it all week.

Until this morning. I had a little change of heart when I read this:
He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. -1 Kings 7:23-26

For those of you who may be wondering what "the Sea" was, it was basically one very large bathtub! Actually, it was one large bathtub that held several baths. The "Sea" was to be used by the Priests for washing. Did I say large? I meant gigantic! Think about it. One cubit is about 18 inches. I don't know about yours, but my bathtub is about four feet, or a little over two and a half cubits long, and maybe one and a half cubits high. That is nothing compared to Solomon's bath!

I'm still trying to picture it. I mean, I've heard of claw foot tubs before, but entire bulls? A dozen of them? I would love a nice large jet tub that I can sink into and disappear someday, but I think I'll pass on the one that I need a ladder to climb into! Who's going to clean that? The housekeeper? I certainly would not have wanted to be Solomon's wife back then.

All I'm saying is that today I am going to tackle my tub, and I will never complain about cleaning it again. Well, until next Spring and then I'll just sit down and read this as a little reminder of how lucky I am!

^{Colossians 3:23-24} Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.