Psalm 103 - Bless the Lord, O My Soul!

This psalm renewed my spirits this morning.  I hope you are encouraged by it too.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The LORD performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Bless the LORD, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
Bless the LORD, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the LORD, O my soul!

The Playroom!

We have this little room above our garage that immediately became the kids' playroom when we moved in last Summer.  Because it is not heated, it got a little neglected over the Winter.  Every time someone would go to put something away, it would just get tossed in there instead of put back in its place.  That's how it ended up like this...

Before

For the past two weekends I have asked the kids to give me an hour a day to work on the mess.  At first, it was really hard to know where to begin.  With some loving direction, they sorted, organized, threw out trash, and finally got it all clean.  Now it looks like this...

You can see the floor!

Games, Craft Supplies and Puzzles

Reading and Drawing Corner

I'm so extremely proud of my kiddos for a job well done!  Just in time to enjoy it with company next weekend!  Way to go!

I could still use one more set of shelves in there for storage, but that'll have to wait.  Garage sale season will soon be upon us and I'll keep my eye out for just what I need.

Full to the Measure

"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."   
-John 1:16

I love this verse!

Paul uses this same word "fullness," in Ephesians 3:14-19, when talking about the love of Christ. In both cases, the greek root word is pleroma - definition - fullness, fulfillment, completion (Strongs concordance 4138)

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Emphasis mine.)

Filled to the measure. What does that mean to you? To me, that means never empty. Christ's love never runs out. Out of His fullness we have all received. And there is more where that came from. Grace upon grace. We have eternal access to this power, this love, that strengthens us and fills us up on a daily basis.

That, my friend, is a love worth celebrating!

May you be strengthened out of His glorious riches today,
~Melissa

April Flowers

FFA Wa-High Greenhouse

Last week I went on a field trip with my 1st grade daughter and we walked though this greenhouse.  The minute I stepped in, the sights and smells brought me clear back to my childhood.  When I was a kid, my parents owned a hardware store.  In the Spring, I would always go on trips with my mom to go pick up flats of flowers from very large greenhouses to sell at our store.  We even had a little greenhouse of our own in front of our store for the plants that needed the extra warmth.  I have such wonderful memories of going with my mom on those trips, and then helping her water the flowers when they needed it.  It makes me smile to think about it, and share it here.

Today's Small Thing  over at Home Sanctuary is to celebrate your history by finding an object in (or around) your home that brings a sweet memory to mind. 

The above picture is what came to mind when Rachel Anne talked about sweet memories.  It's been 25 years since we closed the doors to our store, but the memories will remain in my heart forever.  Now I have children of my own, and I love to take them with me to our Dollar Plus store.  They help out in any way they can and we are making memories of our own.  I hope that one day, they will look back and smile on these days with fond memories of us building something together.

Why not join us for Company Girl coffee today and share some sweet memories of your own? 
Blessings,
~Melissa

Rachel Anne Ridge Art and Home

My wonderful friend, blogger, and artist, Rachel Anne Ridge is having an open house over at her new website this week!  You can visit her over at www.rachelanneridge.com and view all of her beautiful work.  In addition, she is running a special this week, through Monday that gives 15% your purchase of a canvas, and if your order is over $100, shipping is free!  Use code OPENHOUSE. 

Her canvases are an expression of her faith and would make a great addition to any home.  I have one of her originals hanging on my wall that I won several years ago at Home Sanctuary and she is having another giveaway in honor of launching her new business.  You can get the details here.

 Whether it's a piece for your own home, or a gift for a friend or family, you'll love what you see at Rachel Anne Ridge Art and Home, so let's get shopping!

Spring Break

This week we're on Spring Break. We spent 5 days on the West side of the mountains with family. Even though it was raining most of the time, we still had lots of fun. We stayed one night at my sister's house, and three nights at my mom's. 

We arrived home yesterday, just before my DH got home. The kids were so happy to see daddy pull in the driveway, they didn't even let him get out of the car before giving him huge hugs! :)  I kept forgetting my camera everywhere we went, but here are a few photos.

View from Grandma's House

Me, My Sister, and my Grandma

Cousins with Great Gram

Indoor recreation - Coloring Grandma's table cloth

Fields of Daffodils

Then we came home to this!

Is this Spring Break, or Winter Break?

A Foundation that Lasts

What's a girl have to do to find the right foundation?  There are so many brands out there, and then within those brands, there are so many choices.  You have to be careful to buy the right color that blends with your skin tone.  Then there's foundations for dry skin, oily skin, old skin, spotty skin and more.  There's liquid foundation, tinted moisturizer, and perfect match.  With all of the choices out there, it's no wonder that I just don't wear it at all. 

But I'm not just talking about makeup here.  In fact, I'd like to address a different foundation all together.  A foundation that lasts beyond any other.

Jesus talked about foundation in Luke 6:46-49:

 "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

There are three things I'd like to point out here that lead to a solid foundation in Christ.

1.  First you have to come to Jesus.  Have you accepted Jesus into your heart as Savior?  If not, I would encourage you to do so.  Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Accepting Christ into our heart is the way we receive forgiveness for our sins.  Revelation 3:20 says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."  All you have to do is say a simple prayer and invite Him in. 

2.   Hear His words.  Reading God's Word on a regular basis helps us grow.  My kids are in Awanas and one of their Discovery lessons was about why God gave us the Bible.  There are many reasons (I won't go into them all here), but one of them is so that we can know how to live.  Psalm 86:11 says "Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; Give me and undivided heart, That I may fear Your name."

3.  Act on His words.  James 1:22-24 says "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."  We can't just read His Word, we have to apply it to our lives on a daily basis.  We have to allow it to change us, making us more like Christ.

Come, Hear, Act.  These are the three invitations of Jesus in this passage.  When we do these things, we will build a foundation that will last forever.  A foundation that will not be shaken.

Psalm 62:6-8

He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.