Family Member Update

For those of you who are praying with me about my family member, I thought I would post an update. Test results confirmed that it is colon cancer. This Friday they will go in for a Cat Scan so we should know on Monday what stage it is in and if it has spread beyond the colon. Please keep praying. It is a blessing to me to know that others are standing with me in prayer for my loved one.

In Christ,
Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 3.12.10

Good morning! I'm glad you stopped by today. I'm afraid I don't feel much like talking this morning, but won't you please join me in prayer? I received some news yesterday about a family member that has laid pretty heavy on my heart since then. I don't feel like I can give specifics here because this family member is pretty private, and kept to themself, but I ask for your prayers because they are close to my heart. I can tell you that it is not one of the seven of us though.

At first, I wasn't sure what to do when I heard the news. I was kind of numb. Then I began to pray. I prayed the Word mostly. Scriptures on trust filled my thoughts. Psalm 9:9-11 is one that particularly comforted me.

⁹ The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

¹⁰ Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.

Then, I began to sing. Yes, when I feel burdened or sad about something, I sing. There is a song that's been playing on our Christian radio station a lot lately and the words of the chorus keep playing over and over in my mind.

"All of creation, sing with me now, lift up your voices lay your burdens down..."

Sing and pray, trust in God and His Word. I lift up my voice and lay my burden down. And I feel better. The life of my loved one is in His hands. I believe that. I should know more today, or at the latest, Monday. For now though, thanks for praying with me.

What do you do when you are feeling sad? Do you have a favorite scripture that you refer to? I'd love to hear what comforts you when you're down.

Many blessings and have a great weekend!

~Melissa~

His Very Own

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. -Titus 2:11-14

Praise God that there is a redeemer, God's own Son, and that He calls us His very own!

The Garden of God's Word

I haven't really had a chance to sit down and write about it, but I've been processing Sunday's message from James 1:21-27 these past few days. I've heard sermons on the topic before. Be "doers" of the Word, and not merely hearers. It's certainly not a lesson you hear once, and then move on to the next thing.

This time the words of verse 21 echoed in my heart as I listened to the Pastor's message.

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (NASB, italics mine)

When I heard the word "implanted," I immediately thought of a garden. Not the kind of garden that you walk through in the Spring and it's in full bloom and picture perfect. No, I am talking about a garden that has just been planted. I found myself thinking back to the Fall when my mother and I planted daffodil bulbs in the front and back of my house. Together we watered the soil to loosen it. Then we dug deep down to make the perfect nesting spot for the bulbs to rest safely during the winter. Dig too deep, and the bulbs would not be able to make it to the surface in the Spring, but too shallow and they would freeze during the cold of winter and not grow at all. It would be months before I would see the results from that labor of love, but the preparation in advance would be worth the beautiful blooms that would come with the fresh, Spring, sunshine.

This is how I look at God's Word, implanted in me. God takes care to plant the seed of His Word in my heart. He takes care to prepare my heart to accept it, storing it for just the right time. He waters it and cultivates it in the garden of my heart. As I am reading it, I may not even be aware of the roots that are growing, deeper and deeper in my heart. It may be a season before I see any growth from it. Then, just when I need it, the warmth and grace of God's Son shines on me and there is the Word in all of its beauty.

The Message puts it this way: So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

God is the great "Landscaper" of our hearts. But we must read His Word. We must receive it in humility and allow it to saturate our hearts. Then, we will have the roots that allow us to be effectual doers of the Word also. And we will be blessed in what we do. (James 1:25)

Heavenly Father, give me the humility to receive your Word with joy and the wisdom to carry it out in love. In your Son's name, Amen

Company Girl Coffee 2.26.10

Good morning girls! I've got a cup of coffee in hand, and I'm feeling much better this week. Grab your own cup and stay for a spell. Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers last week. There's nothing harder than taking care of your family when you feel like you're the one needing a little TLC. Most every one has fully recovered now though, and we're back on a normal routine.

I woke up this morning and my first thoughts were of Jesus. Isn't that great? I love chatting with Him in the morning, even before my feet hit the floor. Something that I read at the LPM blog (Living Proof Ministries) resonated with me this week. She (Beth Moore) sent out a challenge to be in the Word in the morning. Even if it is only for a few minutes. For me, even to just read a short devotional before I get going with my day is encouraging.

I have a lot of books placed strategically around the house to remind me to take time to be in God's Word. I re-located one of my favorites when I was cleaning out my book shelves in the corner of my living room for one of the small things this week. It is "Praying Through God's Word Day by Day" by Beth Moore. I love to take to Word and write it down in the form of a prayer. God doesn't need to be reminded of His promises, but oftentimes, I sure do.

Lately, there is a couple of verses that has been going through my head over and over. I memorized them last year for the Siesta Scripture Memorization Team, but at that time they didn't really find any real significant meaning in my heart. It seems like I meditate on them and pray them almost every day now. Perhaps that's why it was one of my memory verses last year.

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:34-35

Girls, do not throw away your confidence! You will indeed receive what He has promised. God is faithful, and He always keeps His promises.

I pray you have a great weekend!
~Melissa~

Please Don't Follow Me Just to Get Your Name Out There!

All right, this is just a short post to apologize if I offended anyone by blocking them from joining my blog. In the future, if you are that person and would like to join, please identify yourself in the comments section. If I have never heard of you then it is likely that I will block you because this is my personal blog that I share with family and friends. It is not a blog to join if you would like to advertise your organization or promote your cause. I don't even really have that many followers, so you'd be better off latching yourself on to someone else's blog. Again, my deepest apologies if you sincerely wanted to follow my blog with genuine interest in what I have to say here.

To my regular followers, I am sorry if they used my list to tack onto you.
Thank you,
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee 2.19.10

It's Friday morning, and the fog has lifted here. Yes, I'm talking about the weather! But I am also talking about the really thick fog that I feel like our family has been walking around in this past week. (I wrote about it yesterday) Now that I'm on an antibiotic for bronchitis and my DH is on one for his sinus infections, we are finally starting to feel better. Thank goodness for that!

Despite this bout of illness, we have had some pretty great moments happening here too. Last Friday we took our older three to see Avatar in 3D. They thought that was pretty cool. My 6 year old finally lost his front tooth that's been hanging on by a thread forever. My 7 year old is very excited about his solo part in the 2nd grade "round up" in March. And of course, my two youngest that are still at home, always find a way to make me smile.

Yes, life continues on, even in the fog. Sometimes you just have to slow down, turn on your headlights, keep your eye on what's right in front of you, and enjoy the ride as best you can while you wait for the fog to lift. :)

I plan to get plenty of rest this weekend and take it easy until my family is back to full health. That will give me plenty of opportunities to stop in and say hello to other Company Girls. Thanks for stopping by for coffee today! Have a great weekend!

~Melissa~