How are your eyes???

Hello friends,

Today the verse "He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor" Prov 22:9 is what God laid on my heart. We live in a world where everyone looks out for number one. How much can I do for myself, what will make me happier, what can I attain to gain stature and on and on. This in and of itself often times leads to misery and complete self absorption. In the proverb it says a generous eye will be blessed. What does the eye do? It sees of course. What does your eye see today? We must first look and be aware of what is around us. Who will you be looking for today and who will you see today who needs a helping hand? What will you do about it? One thing I have learned is that you can't out give God. So do an eye check today, see how your eyes are? Are your eyes good 20/20 or do you need some corrective lenses? God bless you today and know that God loves you more than you'll ever know.

Hugs and blessings,

The Power of Praise!!!

Hello friends,

I revisited parts of the book Prison to Praise and was blessed by the reminder of how the joy of the Lord is my strength. No matter what the circumstances, I must continue to praise and thank the Lord for all that He allows in my life, even when it doesn't make sense. "Praising Him isn't something we do because we feel good; rather it is an act of obedience."

"The very act of praise releases the power of God into a set of circumstances and enables God to change them if this is His design. It's often our attitudes that hinder the solution of a problem." In 1 Thes 5:18 we are reminded "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Not always easy but commanded by our Lord. In 2 Chron 20 we see the power of praise. A whole army was defeated when the Israelites simply praised the Lord and believed Him when He said that the battle wasn't theirs but His. As Merlin Carothers puts it " The enemy's arrows just can't penetrate the joy of someone who is praising the Lord. While we praise Him, He sends our enemies scurrying. Now that's powerful!!!!

So my friends, let's praise Him today. Praise Him for all that He is allowing you to go through and see what happens.

God of Wonders!!!

Here are some pics from our trip to the Grand Canyon. Tori came to visit for 2 weeks and we took a little mini vacation to explore God's amazing creation. His handiwork screams His name.
I spy Tori!



If you look close you'll see a squirrel begging for food, they are professionals! CLICK to enlarge

Vic and the kids. We sure miss big brother Dusty!
Lexi and big sister Tori!
Tori and Vic
I love this one. It's all about perspective!
Vic and Cameron
The beautiful Grand Canyon

As for me...

Hello friends, it's been a long time. I have been enjoying time with my family during summer vacation as I know it will be harder to find that time when I am back to work in August. The Lord has been revealing many things to me this summer as I have sought Him during this ever changing season in my life.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine what God is doing but the beauty of it is that we really don't need to. It has been challenging walking through the questions " Lord what do you have for me to do? What would you like me to stop doing? Is this all you want me to do or is there more? Am I doing too much, too little? I find that everything seems to be connected even when it doesn't appear to be. God uses it all to mold me and strip me of my flesh. What I do know is that He is with me and He wants to walk along side of me regardless of where I am and what He has me doing. Finding the peace and contentment is an ongoing prayer project but knowing that whatever my hands find to do I need to do it with all my might as unto the Lord.

Today I spent my quiet time in Psalm 55. The Lord really desires to minister to our broken hearts. In this psalm David was severely pained by the betrayal of a friend. Now that hurts. Our friends are those that we esteem highly and share intimate emotions and experiences with. We should be able to trust them, right? Well, as we all know we don't live in a perfect world. We are flesh and blood and we have a sin nature. However we have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. We have our Lord and Savior, the one who died for our sins, the one we call Abba Father who will never leave us nor forsake us.

What I loved so much about this psalm is vs 16. Remember, David did not always choose to follow the Lord. He made big mistakes in his past.However, in vs 16 it says "As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me. This was David taking a stand and choosing to have faith. God had delivered David many times in the past and when he took the time to remember what God had done for him, he knew that he could trust that God would do it again.

Let's be encouraged that no matter what we are going through, no matter the distress, God can and will hear our cries and He is faithful! Let us be people who choose the stance"As for me, I will call upon God." Vs 22 reminds us "Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." Remember the Lord is the one constant in life and the one true Friend. There is no burden that He cannot bear.

Be blessed knowing that the God who created this universe loves you so much, more than you can ever know. He desires to hear our cries and our praises. He is our confidant who will never betray us and we are safe in His hands. So whatever you may be going through, give it to God and make the choice to trust in Him and His faithfulness.

God Bless,

Home Run!!!

This was the last game of the season for T-Ball and Cameron went out with a bang. He was the final batter and he hit a home run!!!!! Sorry for the loud screaming but it was so exciting. My boy is #9 and I couldn't be prouder!

Thank you Lord for my beautiful children Lexi and Cameron. Tori and Dusty, I love you and am so blessed to be your step mom.

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