Happy Mother's Day!!!

To all of you in blogland and to all of my very precious mommy girlfriends, I wish you a Happy Mother's Day. I pray that you know how loved you are and how blessed we are to have been given this privilege of motherhood. The job is never done, there is always something to stretch us just a little further than we think we can handle, but the rewards are inexplicable. I pray that we will all embrace the job that God has appointed us to. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Here are some encouragements from God's holy Word:

"Children are a heritage from the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. " Psalm 127:3

"Blessed is he whose quiver is full" Psalm 127:5

"Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Gal 6:9

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." Proverbs 31:28

Motherhood is a race of endurance, so press on. Don't give up, embrace the good times as well as the bad times. Know that we were not called to be the mother of our beautiful children for no reason. Let us allow the Lord to have His perfect way with us by using our children to help mold us as well as we are attempting to mold them. As Paul says in Philipppians 3:14 " I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." May He continue to give us wisdom in leading his children in a world full of darkness. May our children be a light to a dying world. May He bless and multiply our efforts this day and every day forward. God bless you my friends. May we look forward to the day when we hear the words " Well done thy good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:21

Hugs to all
In His service,
Melanie

Devotion for today

Well here was the devotion from "My Utmost For His Highest." It was such a true reality. Be encouraged in those down times, those times of darkness and stillness. This is when God does His best work. I pray that you all find comfort and encouragement from the truth that follows.

Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in "the shadow of His hand" (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a "darkness" that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11 ).

Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? "I am Almighty God . . ."— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.

Blessings & hugs,

Melanie

The ChristmasTea at CCGV

Here's our worship ensemble for the tea. Belinda, Candace, Demell and myself. These 3 are sisters. We decided to go with matching jackets this year!
Me & Terri
Me & Julie
The gang...Becca, me, Julie & Terri. What a blessed 3 nights this was. Thank you God for these amazing friends that you have blessed me with. There is nothing better than having true friendship!

Every year our church hosts a Christmas Tea. It is simply amazing. The speaker, the food the music and the spirit of God are all over the top. Because the church has grown so much this year we had 3 nights for the tea to be able to accommodate over 700 women. It is so amazing to be a part of this event. If you are in the area please consider checking it out, it is an absolute blessing!

Pooped!

This is one of Missy's favorite spots. She was wiped out! She's 9 months old now for those of you who were wondering. What ever happened to "She's never gonna be allowed on the furniture!!!" I'm such a push over, but she's so darn cute!!

Snow Dog!!!

Lexi's very first snowman at 8yrs old. She was so happy!
Missy, our snow dog.
Missy ate the almonds that were falling off the snowman. She also gave him a gastric bypass as she wouldn't stop digging the snowman's belly.

Missy got some new coats for her first snow. She fought it at first but then gave up and went about her business. I love her in pink!!!

Are we in Las Vegas?????????????

This is at 4:00 before it really started accumulating. A 7 minute drive home from work took me 35 min. The roads were slick and the drivers were very cautious. Did I mention I got stuck in the middle of the road?????????? Yikes!



this was at 4:00 when I got home from work, can't believe this is my house!
SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOHOOOOO! OH WHAT FUN FOR THE KIDS!!Cameron humoring me by the tree, all he wanted to do was play, not take pictures!

Lexi's always up for a picture.

I have better pics in the evening when it was at around 3-4 inches but uploading is very slow right now, so I will try later. Missy had a blast too. Her first snow. At first she barked at it, later she enjoyed running around and chasing snowballs.

I also have pics of the aftermath this morning. Because we are not used to this kind of cold, all of our trees which took 8 yrs to grow are destroyed. Now I know how my mom feels in Florida when a hurricane hits, so sad!
The aftermath. The tree that has been growing for 8 yrs! Waaaaa! Here are the kids this morning!
This was last night at around 6:00 and it was coming down hard!Lexi making her very first snow angel!

Devotion from Streams in the Desert

Good morning my friends. It has been a long time, I apologize. I have not had much time for my hobbies but am doing very well. Being in the classroom after all these years has posed some challenges but nothing that can't be overcome. I have been getting every sniffle, cough and cold imaginable but God is good. He sure is teaching me resilience.
I do however think of all of you often. I wonder when I will create again and wonder how your lives are and what God is doing. Please leave me a message if God is doing something in your life, I am so encouraged by that.
This morning in my quiet time I read a devotion from Streams in the Desert that really spoke to me. I know times are tough right now for so many and it is often difficult to see the light. This devotion put a beautiful perspective on things. Sometimes the darkness can be the most beautiful place to be, it's all how you view it. Here is the devotion:

In the famous lace shops of Brussels, there are special rooms devoted to the spinning of the world's finest lace, all with the most delicate patterns. The rooms are kept completely dark, except for the light that falls directly on the developing pattern, from one very small window. Only one person sits in each small room, where the narrow rays of light fall upon the threads he is weaving , for lace is always more beautifully and delicately woven when the weaver himself is in the dark, with only his work in the light.
Sometimes the darkness in our lives is worse, because we cannot even see the web we are weaving or understand what we're doing. Therefore we are unable to see any beauty or any possible good arising from our experience. Yet if we are faithful to forge ahead and "if we do not give up" (Galations 6:9), someday we will know that the most exquisite work of our lives was done during those days when it was the darkest.
If you seem to be living in deep darkness because God is working in strange and mysterious ways, do not be arraid. Simply go forward in faith and in love, never doubting Him. He is watching and will bring goodness and beauty from all of your pain and tears. J.R. Miller

The shuttles of His purpose move
To carry out His own design;
Seek not too soon to disapprove
His work, nor yet assign
Dark motives, when , with silent tread,
You view some somber fold;
For lo, within each darker thread,
There twines a thread of gold.

Spin cheerfully,
Not tearfully,
He knows the way you plod;
Spin carefully,
Spin prayerfully,
But leave the thread with God.
from the Canadian Home Journal

To you, all my friends, from church, school, family and cyberspace, I pray blessings upon your lives and the joy of the Lord to fall upon you.

Hugs,
Melanie