Responsibility Matters

Good morning! I'm getting a bit of a late start this morning, but it's for a good reason. This morning I went to my kids' Awards Assembly at their school. I've known for a little while now that my 3rd grade son was going to get a Character Counts Award for Responsibility. It was all I could do to keep it a secret. He was so surprised when his name was called. I am so proud of him for showing responsibility both in school, and here at home.

It was a pleasant surprise to me when they reached the 4th grade names and they called out RL's name to come forward and receive the award also. As she walked by, she looked at me with a big grin on her face. I'm so glad I could be there for both of them. The award is such a great way to boost their confidence.

Responsibility. It's a big word, isn't it? I've tried to teach my children what the word means. Today two of them were honored for it, but every day I watch for opportunities to praise my children when I catch them acting responsibly. Things like doing their chores without being asked, being prepared for school on time, completing their homework without being nagged, or picking up their toys when they are done playing.

Yes, I'd like to think that I'm raising responsible children. So today, I'm very proud to see their hard work recognized in front of all their peers. In the end though, what matters most is that they continue to behave responsibly, even when no one is watching. For one day, we will all be held responsible for our own actions.

"But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another." -Galatians 6:4 (NASB)

Have a great weekend all!

~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 3.4.11

Good afternoon! I have been a busy mom lately, but I thought I'd take a minute and chime in for some Company Girl Coffee.

The other day when Rachel Anne posted "Grab Bag" as the Small Thing of the day, it reminded me that I never gave a final update on my 28 bags in 28 days. We finished well over 28 bags. It was a mixture of clothing and toys to donate, and lots and lots of trash. It's amazing what you collect when you live in a home for 6 + years!

I learned I big lesson about myself last month. I tend to hang on to things because I think I need them to hold on to the memories. It's as if I think the stuff I own makes up who I am. As I was sorting I really had to ask myself why I wanted to keep certain items. It was very good. Not only was I cleaning up the clutter in my home, but also getting rid of a little "heart clutter." God really helped me work through some tough things that I didn't even know were there.

I still have plenty of time to work on de-cluttering and packing. And God still has plenty of time to work on me. I love the way Natalie Grant puts it in her book The Real Me. "I am not the woman I was five years ago, and hopefully I am not the woman I will be five years from now. I am evolving, changing, becoming. It's not so much who I am but that I am a work in progress, striving to become more like the one who made me."

Have a great weekend everyone! This post is linked up for Company Girl Coffee!

~Melissa

SSMT Verse 5 - Strength and Peace

March is here. As short as February actually is in days, it seemed long to me. Spring seems so far away in February. But March, now there's a month with hope of Spring! Yes, there is still snow outside. In fact, it's snowing as I type this. But I still hold out hope that the weather will begin to change and the ground begin to thaw.

But that's enough about the weather! On to my new memory verse for SSMT. I was really encouraged by Beth Moore's post this morning. I almost chose one of the verses she shared. It's so simple, yet so powerful. "March on, my soul; be strong!" (Judges 5:21b) That's definitely one that will stick with me and I will use it whenever I feel discouraged.

In Psalm 42:5 the Psalmist also speaks to his soul. "Why, my soul, are you so downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." I've often quoted that psalm to myself in difficult times, but that's not my memory verse either.

The verse I chose this time around addresses two things that I need today, and every day. Strength, and Peace. And where do these two things come from? The answer is in Psalm 29:11, my new memory verse.

"The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace."

Interesting, the heading in my Bible says "The Voice of the LORD in the Storm." Reminds me of another passage in Scripture. You might be familiar with it.

Jesus had just fed the 5000, and He sent the disciples ahead of Him on the boat, while He dismissed the crowd. They were a good distance from the shore and there was a pretty strong wind blowing that night. We'll pick up the story from there in Matthew 14:25-32

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage, it is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it is You," Peter replied, "tell me to come to You on the water."

"Come," He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?"

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (NASB)

Just like that. The wind died down.

Notice it didn't die down before Peter stepped out onto the water. Peter just listened to the voice of Jesus when He said "Come." I can't say I blame him for getting scared once he stepped out. He must have thought something like "Whoa boy, what have I gotten myself into here?"

I have to admit, I've stepped into a few situations where I've felt the Lord leading me at first, but then, in the middle of it all, gotten that sinking feeling. You know, where you think you're in WAY over your head?

That's when we need to take a cue from Peter and call out to the One who commands the storm. The winds will die down, but until they do, take His hand. Listen to the voice of the Lord in the storm, and remember:

"The LORD gives strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace."

May you feel His strength and peace today whatever you're going though!

~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 2.18.11

This morning I opened my bible to the designated reading for today and this is what I found:

"I love You, O LORD, my strength." -Psalm 18:1

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you don't know what to do? David, the writer of this Psalm did many times, I'm sure. What was his answer in his distress? Praise the Lord.

It's been a tough week here. "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

Two kids have the flu, the rest of us are fighting colds. "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

It's my husband's last week on staff at the church we love so very much. "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

I'm overwhelmed with packing and trying to stay on top of everything else that needs to be done. "I love You O LORD, my strength."

David had the right idea. He goes on to say in this Psalm "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (Psalm 18:2 - NASB)

Just reading those words I am encouraged. I begin to feel like I can take on whatever comes my way today. That's the great thing about storing up the Word in my heart. It's hard to harbor negative or discouraging thoughts when I'm meditating on, or even quoting out loud verses from God's Word.

Jesus quoted the Scripture when Satan tried to tempt him in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to him "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.' " (4:1-4)

Ouch! Take that, devil! But it didn't end there. Watch what Jesus does when Satan tries to use scripture against Him:

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand it is written 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" (4:5-7)

Whew! Good answer! Now check this out:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, "YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. (4:8-11)

Wow! Not once, or twice, but three times Jesus countered temptation with scripture. What an incredible example of how to fight off negative thoughts, temptations, weariness, and discouragement.

We all have our bad days. But the next time I'm tempted to give in to those overwhelming feelings of defeat, I will stop and think of Jesus. And you can bet that I will be quoting, out loud, the words of the Psalmist and King David:

"I love you, O LORD, my strength."

Have a wonderful weekend all. I'm linking up with Rachel Anne for Company Girl Coffee over at Home Sanctuary today!

~Melissa

Siesta Scripture Memory Verse 4

It's time for another Siesta Scripture Memory Verse! So far I have memorized three fabulous verses and they have really stuck in my heart. Not a day goes by where I don't think of and sometimes recite out loud at least one of them! God is so good. He is revealing new things to me in His Word on a daily basis.

On Sunday my Pastor was speaking on God's will for our lives and He touched briefly on how it is God's will for us to be sanctified, that is, to become more like Jesus. After listening to him speak on it, I thought to myself, "well, if it is that important to God, then it is that important to me too!" So I went to the Scriptures to investigate.

Do you know that Jesus prayed for us to be sanctified, as He Himself was sanctified? You can find His entire prayer for the disciples (and us) in John Chapter 17. It's a beautiful passage of Scripture that shows his heart for us. I want to just give you a glimpse of it here though.

Starting at verse 17 Jesus prays "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word..."

Those first words really stuck with me. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." What a great reason to crack open my Bible every day!

Some day I'd like to memorize this whole prayer. But my memory verse for the second half of this month actually comes out of a prayer from the Apostle Paul's heart. It's 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."

Oh yes, the God of peace is Faithful. And He who began a good work in me, (and you) will be faithful to complete it!

Blessings!
~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 2.11.11

T.G.I.F! I'm happy to have made it to the end of the week. I have been trying to stick with my 28 in 28 challenge, despite this cold that we're passing around. We've thrown out plenty of garbage, packed boxes of things we don't need and stored them in the garage for the move, and bagged/boxed up items to donate. I am going to reach well beyond my goal of 28 bags by the end of this month.

Today was the 100th day of school. LR was so excited! She's been looking forward to it for some time now. The kindergarten classes celebrated together with a popcorn party and lots of activities involving the number 100.

This morning with my 4yr old I finished off one of the hardest puzzles we've ever done. It took us a few days to complete it. Everyone pitched in to help. We didn't realize until we were half way into it that all the pieces had two holes and two prongs. It made it rather difficult because they all seemed alike. The picture was also a lot like a painting, so the colors all blended together. I'm glad it's done. Now we can move on to the next one! :)

Today we got an offer on my dad's house. I'm happy that there is a couple interested in buying it but I have mixed feelings about the possibility of that chapter of my life being closed. I have a lot of fond memories involving that old house. Growing up we would go and visit my Grandma there and after she passed away, my dad moved in. I was living in Seattle at the time, so I would go over and just hang out with him. I miss my dad so much. It's hard to say goodbye to a home that has been such a big part of my life, but I know the memories will remain stored up in my heart forever.

Speaking of memories, we only have two Sundays left at our church. Last week was my husband's final sermon. He did a great job. He got a little choked up when he was talking about how it's God's will for us all to be plugged in at a church. We are going to miss our church family so much! Our time there has been wonderful.

Things are really coming together for the new store. My DH has been planning and ordering, preparing for the big convention that he and my Father in Law will go to in two weeks. They will be ordering all the product for the store there. When they return home from that, they will begin setting up shelves and preparing for opening day! It's all so exciting!

Well, I've got to be moving on to the next thing on my list, but I'm looking forward to getting around for coffee this week. Have a great weekend all! Thanks for stopping in to visit. :)

~Melissa

28 in 28 Update

Well, we are slowly but surely packing and purging. I love my husband for getting on board and helping me along with my goal to slim things down around here! He has taken the laundry room on as his personal project. Funny, it was exactly a year ago that I went through the laundry room and did a massive clean up myself. We have such a large, long laundry room that it collects anything and everything! He's already thrown out two big bags of trash.

I started in on the kitchen and have already weeded out a box of old appliances/pots and pans that I no longer use. That was just from one corner cabinet (two shelves and a lazy susan). I still have plenty of spaces to go. It's funny how much we keep around, even though we don't use it.

I'm having trouble convincing my kids that some things just aren't important enough to keep around. For example...Valentine's Day is just around the corner. We still have some valentines floating around out there from last year because my kids have trouble getting rid of anything that's been given to them as a "gift." Just yesterday my 9 year old daughter informed me that she was going to keep the empty heart box that held the chocolates her Nana brought to her because it's "pretty." Anyone have suggestions as to how to get them to throw stuff away without hurting their feelings and seeming harsh?

I've lost track of what number bag we're on at this point...I know it's more than 9. Still more to come though...we've been here six and a half years now. This clean up was long over-due!