When I don't know what to pray, I sing...

Take My Life - Francis R. Havergal

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

"Show Me Your Glory"

Have you ever woke up with a great song running through your head? I LOVE it when that happens. Then I know it's going to be a really good day! The song playing in the background is the one that was on my heart this morning. I just know that it's because God has really got me thinking about His Glory and how I won't fully know the greatness of it until I see Him in Heaven one day.

In Exodus 33:18 Moses encountered God and said "Now show me your glory." I've been asking God to do the same for me this week in His Word, and here is some of what I've found.

1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

Psalm 63:2
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 96:8
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.

Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

These are just a few examples He's shown me.

Hang on to your coffee and scroll down for more about how I got "back on track" this week when God showed me a glimpse of His glory.

Siesta Scripture Memory 12.1.09 "GLORY"

Well, I'm a day late, but better late than never. Yesterday Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary challenged us to pick something in our lives that we needed to "get back on track." My decision was an easy one. Lately, I have been lacking in regular devotion time with the Lord. It's a variety of things that I let stand in my way, really. I got off track on my "read through the Bible in a year" plan a couple of months ago and felt defeated. I wasn't able to fit the Fall Bible Study at Church into my schedule, so that was disappointing. Family, home, holidays...the list goes on and on. In the process of living, I forgot to tap into my Lifeline, Jesus. It's time to remedy that.

This time of year, I get a daily advent devotional in my in-box, in preparation to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. The scripture readings and devotional topics vary, but they all focus on one thing. Jesus Christ, Son of God. Yesterday the topic was "Glory." Here's what the authors had to say about finding glory in Christmas:

For one thing, you find glory throughout the biblical account of what happened at Christmas. Mary gave God glory in response to the news that she would bear the Savior of the world (Luke 1:46). When the angels announced to the shepherds that Jesus had been born, they sang out, "Glory to God in highest heaven" (Luke 2:14). And when the apostle John wrote about Jesus, he said, "And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son" (John 1:14).

Glory. It's just one of the many traits of the Father. And we can see it in His Son, Jesus. That brings me to my memory verse for the first half of December, John 1:14. I like the New Living Translation best.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

May you recognize His glory in your life today and always,
~Melissa~

Thankful Thursday, Thanksgiving Edition

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today we are together as a family and we are so very thankful for each other and the love that we share. Here is a collective list of some other things that we are also thankful for in our lives.

We are thankful that Uncle Paul is finally home from Afghanistan! :) Welcome home Uncle Paul. We missed you very much.

We are thankful for birthday fun this month. It was a happy birthday for LR on the 11th, Mom on the 22nd, and CD on the 23rd.

We are thankful for the roof over our heads, the food on our plates, and the clothes that we wear.

We are thankful for Max, our dog!

We are thankful for all of our friends.

We are thankful that we have a church to attend and that we have the freedom to worship whenever we want.

We are thankful for books!

We are thankful for school!

We are thankful for all of our toys.

And now we're going to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade together! Have a great Thanksgiving all, from our family to yours!

Company Girl Coffee 11.20.09

Good morning! This cup of coffee is for all of my young mommy friends out there in blogger land, and all the new moms that have or may eventually cross paths with me. It is a journal entry from March 13, 2002 and I was five months pregnant with my second child.

"Today I read about a woman's calling to love her children. I am so excited about increasing our little family from three to four, and the chance to finally be a stay at home wife and mom, turning my full attention and love towards building a home sanctuary."

"It says in Proverbs 14:1 'The wise woman builds her house...'"

"I must admit, that I am a little scared. I have so much still to learn about being a mother! How will I teach my little ones to love Jesus? To pray? How will I learn to discipline them in love? Or teach them to respect their elders and authorities? Loving them comes naturally, but there is so much more to raising children. The more I read and pray, the more I realize how much there is to this magnificent calling from God! Oh how I need to pray more! Oh how I need to glean instruction from the woman that Titus 2:3-5 speaks of!"

"Proverbs 24:3-4 says 'By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.'"

"Lord, help me to obtain wisdom, understanding, and knowledge through You!"

Well, I am still praying ladies! And I am praying for all of you new mommies and mommies with pre-schoolers and newborns. I have been there. My first three babies were a year or less apart in age. I leaned heavily on scripture, prayer, and the love of family and friends as I grew into my roll of motherhood. Still do!

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorite passages. I like the Amplified version:

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."

I am so thankful to be a mom. I am in a different season now, where my youngest of five is going to be three next week. I look back on my baby years with fond memories of rocking, snuggling and yes, late nights and moments of worry and discouragement.

Know that if you are in this place right now, I am praying for you. You are not alone. God is with you and He will "direct and make straight and plain your paths."

God bless you in your journey!
~Melissa~

Siesta Scripture Memory 11.15.09

For memory verse 22 I have chosen Colossians 2:6-7 "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

There are so many things that I love about this verse! I just had to include it in my memory verses for the year. Let me break it down a bit.

Continue to LIVE in HIM
ROOTED and BUILT UP in HIM
STRENGTHENED in FAITH and
OVERFLOWING with THANKFULNESS

When I read the words "rooted and built up in Him," my thoughts immediately go to Psalm 1:1-3.
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Verse two is what this entire journey of memorizing scripture has been about for me this year. I have really grown to delight in God's Word! His promises are unending. By His Word I am strengthened in my faith, and my heart overflows with thankfulness.

As Psalm 130:5 says, "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."

Company Girl Coffee 11.13.09

Wow! Another week has flown by and it's Friday again. As much as I love coffee, tea has been my choice beverage this week. I have been sipping an herbal blend that is supposed to help my cold. Yep. I've gone through all the symptoms. Sore throat, headache, stuffy nose, cough. In spite of all that, I'm in pretty good mood. It's been a pretty good week here.





Sunday night we celebrated my little girl's 5th birthday. (Even though her birthday is actually on Veteran's Day.) We had friends and family over for dinner, presents, and of course, cake! My friend Andrea did the girls' nails and hair. She also brought a special crown that lit up and everything! Add a favorite princess dress and you've got one beautiful birthday girl! :)

***Company Girl Coffee, Part II***

Hot cider anyone? I had to step away earlier because I just couldn't sit at the computer any longer. My head was too foggy! It is snowing pretty hard outside now, and I just warmed up some apple cider on the stove for my kids after a playful snowball fight. I don't know if we're in for a long winter like last year or not, but the first snow of the year (actually, this is our second) is always the most fun. :)

I've been listening to the Lifeway Women's Ministry Leadership Forum that Rachel Anne invited us to off and on today. There has been some really great interviews! I really appreciated the one about Minister's wives, because I fall into that group. I've mentioned before that my husband is a Worship Pastor. He is that, and oh so much more! Recently, he programmed the services from this Sunday to Christmas. He wrote monologues, planned videos, and will even be giving one of the sermons next month. He wears many hats in our church, and I am so proud of him.

Well ladies, I'm going to go fill my tea-cup, grab a warm blanket, and kick up my feet on the couch with a good book. Have a great weekend everyone!

~Melissa~