Here

My first 5 Minute Friday post in a while.  (And it's not Friday here yet, no, but it will be by the time my head hits the pillow in a little while. So here goes anyway!)

HERE

I almost don't want to intrude on the thoughts, feelings, peace, gratitude that well up right now when I think of that word. I am here. And I'm good with that. (Grin.) You don't know that it's significant, but I do. You don't know that I have wrestled so much - not with where I am, but with just ME. (Or maybe you're one of the ones that does...) :)  But for the moment - for today - for tonight - I'm at peace.

He's at work. There's no doubt about it. This peace is not from inside me, except for it being from the Spirit inside of me. So thanks, Lord. I know tomorrow is coming - with hormonal insanity and three kids and me and a couple of cans of paint and a new closet thing with its 248 pieces and they call those instructions?... But for tonight there is the God of peace. And He will be with me tomorrow, too.

5 Minute Friday at lisajobaker.com

Right HERE.

Right here. With me. Once again, Lord, You have shown up HERE in such a sweet, surprising way. 

This evening I while I was dreaming and thinking of planning a worship retreat/seminar I kept recalling the words to a Psalm but couldn't remember where it was from. A quick scan through my son's Bible didn't help. So I thought I'd look it up on my phone, which led to downloading an app so I could search Biblegateway more easily.

: )

So guess what showed up when I opened the app and tapped on the Bible reading for today? Yep. The very exact Psalm that had been rolling through my head for the previous hour. (Psalm 63)

So I say again like I was singing earlier tonight, Lord...

"I don't want to talk about You like You're not in the room. I want to look right at You. I want to sing right to You."  Please keep me reminding me again and again and again that You really are HERE with me - HERE in me... Christ in me, the hope of glory... and that it doesn't matter if HERE is in California or if HERE is in Peru, You are with me and my soul can find rest and peace in You because You are the One who satisfies my heart and soul. Right HERE.

_____________________

 Wanna play? Hop on over to lisajobaker.com and join the party!

To Join the Dance?

This week's 5 Minute Friday writing-without-stopping-just-for-the-fun-of-it prompt is: DANCE.   Ready?  Go!

I hear the music.  Literally.  Loudly.  Coming from somewhere a few concrete backyards away it would seem.  It's 11:15pm (yeah... not technically Friday here yet so I feel like I'm cheating!!!) but surely at midnight and likely until the wee, wee hours of the morning I'll be hearing the music and the people will still be dancing because here in Peru? The parties don't end early.  : ) Frequently on the weekends I can hear the faroff nightclub music still pounding at 4:30am.  Sheesh!  But here's the thing...  Will I join the dance or not?

Now, no... I'm not literally going to go dancing.  But I still have a choice to make as I snuggle down into my bed tonight and every other night like this.  Will I grumble and gripe about how much the people here love to party and celebrate and how I have to listen to it even at midnight when I want to sleep? Or will I appreciate it and thank God for the people making the music and pray for them to know Jesus and smile at the beauty of a people who aren't afraid to make a bit of noise when they're happy?

Goodness, it can be so much more complicated.  I know there is a lot of icky that can go with the all night party... but MY choice is mine to make...

(And STOP!)

Wow, 5 minutes goes by quickly. : )  And goodness it's hard not to go back and EDIT.

Wanna try?  Come join the party...  (Maybe even dance a little!)  http://lisajobaker.com/

Risky Writing?

Risk... That was the writing prompt that Lisa-Jo posted on her blog today for her famous "Five-Minute Friday" writing challenge. For a long time now I've been intrigued by the idea... Five minutes of free writing with no editing and not too much over-thinking... It has always sounded fun. But have I ever done it? Nope. Am I finally? It looks like it.  I used to have a speed-blogging tag that I would write under occasionally but lately I haven't even had time to risk spending five minutes to write just for fun.  At least that's how I've felt.  Silly really, because I can spend or waste five minutes doing other things pretty easily without feeling bad. So why not the writing? I guess because it's riskier because it's out there for the whole two of you who still look at my blog every day to see. : )

But I think it's time and I'm hoping to, if nothing else, start risking again to write here out in public because one thing I've noticed lately is that when I write things down that I am afraid to admit I am even thinking or feeling... that in the writing down I am more honest. More honest with the thoughts and more honest with what I KNOW and maybe have forgotten is the TRUTH.

(And with that, my timer has gone off and I'm done!) : )

See you next week!!!!!  : )

Well hi!

Just wanted to say hello to you all after a month of bloggy silence! This has been quite a month... camping, first days of school for Mikaela, Toby AND Lowell... lots of stuff! This morning I got to go to a Beth Moore simulcast event (she was in Green Bay... it was broadcast live in over 500 satellite locations) and I was SO blessed. God spoke to me about so many things I REALLY needed to hear right now.

One of the last things Beth said was to keep speaking faith to each other. You know how there are times when we need a shoulder to cry on or someone to nod along in understanding... but other times, we need a sister or brother to just speak some FAITH to us! I know I need that right now. I'm sick of whining and feeling sorry for myself and really don't need anyone else to join me in feeling sorry for me. I need people to get in my face and speak the truth (in love, of course!) and remind me of what I know already!

Can any of you relate?

Well, I'm thinking that this blog is one way I can throw some faith out there in someone's direction... maybe even just back at myself. : ) But either way, I'm hoping to be sharing some more soon about what God's showing me. He's doing some deep cleaning in my heart these days and it's not pretty... but I know it's needed. And I know He's good.

What's He been teaching you lately? Any words of faith to share? I'd love to hear it...

See ya soon (maybe even with some pictures!),

Melissa

UGGGHHH...

Well if you're reading this on my blog (and not in Google reader or something like that) you might see that things look a little different. I'm playing around with changing the look (and title!) of my blog and it got goofed up and I don't have time to do anything else, so for now (after I change just ONE more thing...) I'm just going to leave it alone and hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to work on it because I'll be at the coast with my hubby celebrating our 13th anniversary WITHOUT OUR CHILDREN and it seems very logical that I would spend some of my free ttime playing with my blog. Ideally, while I'm sitting on the beach listening to the waves. (Though I suspect the wind would blow sand into my keyboard and that would not be good... so maybe not on the beach.) Can I just tell you I can't wait????? Not to work on my blog... to get away! It's been a year since we've gone anywhere without the kids and while I love them dearly, I am really ready for a little time away - and I know I'll love them even more when I come home. : ) And I can't wait to spend some time reminiscing with my hubby about when we got engaged and stuff like that (b/c that's where we're going!) Maybe I'll see you there...

And I quote...

As I pulled Toby up onto my lap this afternoon, I asked him, “When did you get so big?”

His answer?

“Last night. I think… I did.”

So there you go. J

Travel Update!

In case you’ve been wondering…

· Toby’s birthday party Sunday: simple, done and fun!

· Plane tickets: obsessed about and finally purchased this morning

· Other documents prepared and being sent to Oregon and on to Bangkok tomorrow

· Meeting Thursday with United States Citizenship & Immigration Services to figure out what’s going on with Kamin’s visa

· Lots of praying and praising and thinking this all seems impossible but knowing with God everything is possible.

And this weekend? We’re going camping. Because it was planned a long time ago to go with some good friends and their kids and it will be good to be in the mountains one last time without a toddler, spending time together and taking a break from the preparations, paying attention to my kids who are getting less than normal right now since I’ve been staring at plane ticket options for days at a time (or so it seems) (I’m so grateful for our local grandparents!) and breathing a bit before this rollercoaster starts up again next week.

So now you know. : ) And I’ll say it again… God is good!

Melissa

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."

Psalm 139:9-10

Hmmmmm.....

Well, I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend and I hope the rest of you did too, (whether you are mothers or not!) But I was busy and didn't have time to write anything for the blog. So I thought I'd share this thought-provoking quote my friend Lisa gave me last week (instead of adding nothing!!!) While there are some parts of it I don't completely agree with (or would say differently), it still resonates with me.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brillant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlighted about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson

What do you think? Back next weekend... : ), Melissa

GLORY!!!

I am SO tired and promise that I will give you a better report soon (hopefully by next weekend!) but I wanted to tell any of you who were praying for our retreat this weekend... It was amazing! God absolutely blew us away. It was 7 weeks ago today that we had our first planning meeting for this retreat. That's not very much time!!! But it was very obvious that God had been organizing things and planning and preparing for much longer than that. I'm gonna end for now with a modified (by me) version of Ephesians 3:20-21 because it covers it all... "Now to him who DID immeasurably more than all we askED or imagineD, according to his power that is at work within us, TO HIM BE GLORY in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." I can hardly wait to tell you more... Until then... Y, Melissa

Please Pray for Me!

I haven't posted much lately because I've been busy being self-controlled (grin!) and also getting ready for our church's women's retreat next weekend (Feb 29-Mar 2). Like I've mentioned, I'm speaking the first night about God's love and I'm leading worship for the rest of the weekend. The other girls and I who are speaking have all been feeling like God REALLY has big plans for us all at this retreat AND that the enemy REALLY doesn't want any of it to happen. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me, Annette, Monica, Kathy, Gina & Jamie as we finish preparing this week, we would be so incredibly grateful. I probably won't post anything again before then, but you can be sure you will get a report when I get back!!!!! Yay God!!! ~Melissa

Happy New Year!

Well, I believe it's officially 2008 in every part of the world, and my blogging break is officially over as well. I'm planning on resuming my blogging, with a few changes. If you've been here before, you probably already noticed I changed my template. I was just ready for something different. The most significant change will, however, be in the frequency of posting. I'm going to try to limit myself to 2 posts a week (probably just on the weekends). One will be about life in general (the kids, the house, my hubby, my morning commute from the bedroom to the kitchen to the laundryroom... you know. Exciting stuff like that.) The other post will be about whatever I was learning or thinking about that week. Now. I have to say that if my husband were here he would be tempted to tell you about how I am the QUEEN of plans and ideas... and how few of them I follow through on. But I have no problem with that. : ) (He is right, after all!) But this is the direction I'm going for now and I will be perfectly content to tweak it if it doesn't work and I get obsessed with blogging again. : ) So that's all for now. I hope to write some more this weekend and update you (maybe only you if you're the only one reading this, Dad) on what else is going on in life and in my head. Have a great start to a new year! See you soon! Y, Melissa

Excuse me... I have an announcement to make.

(Drumroll please...)

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I am pleased to announce to you all that, after much procrastinating and avoidance of the finest kind, Lowell and I officially and finally finished and filed our taxes tonight!  (What???  Were you expecting something more exciting?)  And we even figured out that since taxes were due on April 17 this year (I can't remember why) our 6 month extension was good until Oct. 17 so we are actually 3 days early!  (So very sad, I know.  Especially considering we are getting a rebate.)

 

So, I just want all of you who care to know that hopefully I will be returning to the normal blogging schedule tomorrow (whatever that is.)

 

And if you don't care...  well, you know anyway.  : )

 

G'Night!

Taxing my Brain

I'm giving myself literally ONE MINUTE to tell you that I am working on our taxes this week and probably won't be doing much/any blogging until they are done...  seeing as they are due Oct. 15 and that is coming up soon.  Which is why we're finally getting them done. 

 

OK.  Time's up!  : )  Bye!

Thank You Beth!

Beth Moore and her daughter have a blog over at Living Proof Ministries and I love it. Today in particular she wrote something and I think she was talking to me. So rather than write anything today I'm just gonna send you on over to her place so maybe you can be blessed to. CLICK HERE. Cuz I'm sure I'm not the only one God was talking to. : ) Blessings to you Friends! ~Melissa

Hume Lake here we come!!!

Lowell and I leave today for one of Hume Lake's couple's conferences. This is the 4th year in a row we've gone. I'm very excited and hoping it doesn't rain too much. Mikaela and Toby are going to be staying on the Friesen Farm with my sister Coleen and her fabulous family. If you want to have an idea of what we'll be doing, after you finish reading this, click HERE and scroll down a little. Then click on the Fall Couple's #1 Video link to watch a video of last year. Pay attention and you'll see me in a black sweater shooting a shotgun (yes, I promise that's me) after a few seconds of the video starting. (And I'm not doing the skeet shooting range again this year b/c my arms get too tired holding up the gun. Yes, I'm a weakling.)

And if you have even more time, click on the tab up at the top of their page where it says "Fun" and select "Video archive" and watch some of the videos they have produced over the years. Funny stuff!!!

OK, Have a nice weekend everyone! I'll be back next week to tell you about everything Lowell and I learn!

~Melissa

I Only have a Minute...

Because Mikaela is setting up a card game for us to play even as I sit here, so I have to hurry. I had a lot of things to talk about until I started writing and then they all ran away as fast as they could (probably chanting "You can't catch us! We're all of your good ideas that will inspire your readers and make them smile!" though I don't know how that could be chanted.) Mikaela is ready now. One last thing. I got to talk on the phone last night with my sister-in-law Carmen who is living for Jesus in Thailand. And SHE has already gotten a copy of the Christian Leader magazine for this month and got to read my article. Funny thing is, we haven't seen it yet. Somehow it gets to Thailand faster than to Fresno. : ) Who knew!?! Have a great Saturday everyone! ~Melissa

Pachelbel Bedtime

Thank you Stacie for sharing this with me! Now I can share it with my little bloggy world (maybe...) I laughed and laughed. All you with little ones out there are sure to enjoy this!

Wow! It worked!

You'll have to read below to know what I'm talking about...  but you can now fully expect to see more pictures on my blog b/c I just figured out a really easy way to do it.  

 

(And by the way, that's Toby's new Hot Wheels bike he got for his birthday.  It looks even cooler with the stickers on it.  It's very much like the one his Daddy had when he was a little boy which is why his Daddy wanted to buy it for him.  Our generation is SO being taken advantage of by the toy manufacturers who are now remaking all the toys from our childhood!)

 

(I'm really going to go pack now.)  (Really.)

 

 

Dirt and Deer and Bears, Oh My!

We got back yesterday from a 4 day camping trip at Hume Lake. The weather was beautiful, the kids were OH-SO dirty, and we saw LOTS of deer. One even wandered through the back of our campsite a couple of times. And though Stacie thought she heard a bear the first night, it turned out just to be somebody snoring. We were with our friends Stacie & Carlos Parra and their kids Natalie and Caleb and we had lots of fun swimming in the lake, hiking to the Little Brown Church, exploring Boyden Cave and Kings Canyon, getting sticky making smores, playing in the dirt, and just being together. I'd love to tell you more about it but I have a LOT of laundry to do and an ice chest to clean out. I'll TRY to post some more pictures later today (if I get the laundry done!)