Ice and Sin

These are some pictures I took this past winter. They look pretty good to me on these hot summer days! :-)

If you've ever been in an ice storm, you know how pretty it is when the sun is shining and all the ice is sparkling. However, even though the ice is pretty, it's dangerous! People who don't see the danger of ice or ignore the danger will get out in it and end up getting hurt. Sin is that way. It may look pretty, but like ice, it's very dangerous. The devil is deceptive, and has a way of making sin look pretty. People let that 'beauty' lure them into dangerous territory, and before you know it, they've fallen and been broken. I've learned from experience that the best thing to do in an ice storm is stay home. :-)

Also, the ice accumulated! Our power lines were weighed down with it. Thankfully in this storm, the ice wasn't so thick that it caused our power lines to break. (We have had that happen before. It's not fun!)  Like the ice on our lines, we can get 'weighed down' under the load of sin. In Psalm 38:4 David said, "For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me."

The good news is we don't have to stay weighed down by our sin! Because Jesus died on the cross, our sins can be forgiven. I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I hope you all will have a great weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by. :-)


Take care,
~Melanie

Encouragement from God's Word

Hello, friends! I hope you all are doing well. Things here are going well. I've just been away for a while taking a break. There's so much happening in our nation and the world that I've felt the need to sort of back away for a bit, and spend more time with the Lord and His Word. I have a little notebook to write down thoughts as they come to me, and so much of what I've written over the last few months are verses, songs, and thoughts about resting and not worrying, remembering that our time here on earth is so short, that I'm just a pilgrim passing through this world, and that my treasures are stored in heaven.

I'm so thankful that God isn't caught off guard by what's going on in the world. As Christians, we can trust Him to be with us through whatever may be in the future.
 
So many Bible verses have been coming to my mind lately, and I believe it's God's way of helping me in these trying times. It's so important to read the Bible and even memorize it!

Psalm 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:105 - Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Romans 15:4 - For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Below are some verses that have been coming to mind these last few months. I hope they will bless you and be as comforting and encouraging to you as they have been to me.♥

Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. v.10a - Be still, and know that I am God:

Psalm 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 56:3 - What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 

Psalm 119:114 - Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Isaiah 26:3-4 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Matthew 6:19-21 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. vs.31-34 - Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 11:28-30 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John 14:1-3 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. v.27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:33 - These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Philippians 3:20 - For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.  

Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

James 4:14 - Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

To all of you who have checked on me while I've been away, thank you. I hope you all have a great weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by.♥

Take care,
~Melanie

Grandma's Bible

We have a 'snow day' from school/work today, so I thought it would be a good time to finish up a little post I've been working on....I love snow days sprinkled here and there. :-)

Last summer I was given something very special....my grandma's Bible.
After she passed away in 1983, one of my aunts inherited it. A few years ago I mentioned to Mom that I would like to have it someday. I was so happy to hear that my aunt said she would give it to me!

 This Bible was given to Grandma in 1975. I don't know where any of her older Bibles are, or if they're even still around. As you can tell from the worn cover, she spent a lot of time with it in those eight years...it was very important to her. This wasn't a Bible that sat on a shelf untouched between Sundays! Even though I was very young, I can remember her reading it.

I love seeing her handwriting and reading all the little notes...very special.

...her church bulletin dated just a couple of weeks before she died.

The cover is pretty fragile, so I keep it put away in a little box and take it out from time to time and look at it.

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. ~Romans 15:4

I love this verse...we learn from Scripture, but it's also there to comfort us and give us hope!


Take care,
~Melanie

Grateful

Wow, what a drastic weather change we've had!

I took this picture earlier in the week. It was so nice and warm outside.

The fall colors have been so pretty here! I've really enjoyed them. :-)

The leaves smelled so good...I love the sound of them crunching under my feet.

Now the weather has turned very cold, and winter is still more than a month away...brrr!! I love winter, but I really do hope a brutally cold one isn't on the way!

~♥~

Things have been a little crazy around here the last couple of weeks.

Katie started having stomach pain the day after my birthday. It would come and go, and we just couldn't figure out what it was. After dealing with it for a day, the pain just kept getting worse, so we put her on the prayer chain, then took her to the ER late on October 30. She was feeling really bad, and we found out appendicitis was to blame. Oh, how hard it is to see your child sick! She had surgery in the early morning hours of October 31st.  Her appendix had already perforated by the time she had surgery, but thankfully, the infection was contained to one area. We prayed that God would guide the hands of her surgeon and that everything would go smoothly. 

She had quite a few visitors and phone calls during her stay. My mom and dad even made the long drive to visit her. :-)

She was able to come home November 1st, and was back in school just a few days later. We're thankful she is recovering so quickly.

These verses kept going through my mind as we went through this ordeal...

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

~Isaiah 26:3-4

Everything is healing up nicely, though she did develop a rash around a couple of her incision sites. The doctor prescribed a cream for it, so hopefully she'll be all healed up soon. She has one week left of a ten pound lift restriction, then she can pick up Oreo again! :-) As you can see, our big loveable cat exceeds ten pounds.

We're so grateful for the good medical care Katie received, and that God's healing hand was on her every step of the way. I'm so thankful to have a heavenly Father who cares about us and is always there to supply what we need. 

Take care,

~Melanie

Missions Trip

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that Katie and twenty-four of her friends left this morning on their ten-day missions trip to Mexico and Guatemala. Please keep them in your prayers. It's been a very busy summer filled with fundraisers! The whole group needed around $30,000, and it all came in- we're so thankful! I'm trusting the Lord will do great things through this wonderful group of people! 

Take care,
~Melanie

Vacation and Thinking about Life

Hi, my sweet friends. I hope you all have been doing well. Our last day of school was June 5th, so we're out for the summer!

We took a vacation to Shenandoah last week. I've lived in Virginia almost my whole life, and had never been to this part of our state. Skyline Drive is so beautiful! We were wanting to see more of Skyline Drive, but the weather wasn't very cooperative, so we just had to enjoy what we could.

 We thought this was pretty cool. He was doing a great job painting.

Katie at one of the overlooks. What an amazing view!!

A deer right off the road just stood there and let us take pictures.

 This is the cabin where we stayed. It was a very nice place. It was so peaceful and quiet, except for the cicadas!! Oh my goodness, they were everywhere!

All in all, we had a nice vacation, though it was tinged with sadness.

A friend of ours was killed in a car wreck on Saturday evening, June 8th, two days before our vacation. She ran off the road and hit a tree. She was by herself, so it's unclear as to why she ran off the road. At first, we wondered if we should even go on vacation, but we decided to go ahead with it, and I think it was a good time to just relax and think. 

Emily was a sweet 19 year old young lady. Her memorial service was on Saturday...it was beautiful. The service was held at her church. Katie goes to their youth group. The church was packed, and people were just standing wherever they could find a spot. We got there about 45 minutes early, and were able to actually sit down. There were lots of pictures, and even some videos of her singing with some of the local Christian youth in our area. She had such a heart for missions, and had been on numerous missions trips around the world. Her latest project was that she had made an alphabetical list of all the countries in the world, and would pray for one each day, then cross it off the list.When I got home, I printed off my own list of countries so I could pray for them, and keep her project going. 

The last time I had seen Emily was May 15th. I had a doctor's appointment that morning, and stopped by the Lifeway Christian bookstore afterwards. I shopped for a little while and found something I wanted. When I got to the counter to pay, I noticed Emily was working there, so we talked for a moment or two, and then I left. Little did I know that her memorial service would be exactly one month later. Who would have thought that would be the last time I would see that young healthy girl?  It's times like these that really make you think about the brevity of life, and how we should enjoy each day and not take life for granted.

This is a picture of Emily. She had posted it on her Facebook page about a month ago. It was on the front of the program when we went to her memorial service. During the service, we found out that Emily's mother had asked her a few weeks ago what she wanted to do with her life. She was interested in a lot of things. Emily told her mom that if she had her way, she would spend hour after hour worshipping God, and asked her mom if she could get paid for that. I thought that was just amazing. Now that's what she's doing, and we all take comfort in that, and look forward to seeing her again in Heaven.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
~James 4:14

Well, I thank you all for stopping by. Make the most of your days, my friends, and be certain you're ready to meet the Lord. There is nothing more important than that.

Take care,

~Melanie

Recipe for Strawberry~Rhubarb Jam

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all having a great weekend. Thankfully, I've had a very productive day of housecleaning. Now, if it would only stay this way! :)

Recently one of my new blogging friends asked me for my mom's strawberry rhubarb jam recipe, so I called my mom and she gave it to me to share with you all. She said a neighbor had given her this recipe many years ago. It's not very complicated, but it is so delicious!

Strawberry~Rhubarb Jam

10 cups of chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen

8 cups of sugar

3 boxes of strawberry jello mix

*Optional-one small can of crushed pineapple, not drained.

Directions:

Combine rhubarb and sugar in a large pot and cook on low. Stir occasionally until it melts together and becomes syrupy.

If you choose to use the pineapple, add it here, then turn the heat up and boil hard for ten minutes, stirring frequently.

Add in the jello mix, stirring as you add.

Fill jars and seal.

Makes five pints.

In light of our recent election, I just wanted to share a bit of Scripture.

Romans 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

I Timothy 2:1-2  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

I have many concerns about our nation, but I am so thankful that my hope does not rest in any national or state leader. My hope is in the LORD!

~Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. ~Jeremiah 17:7

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. Thanks for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

This 'n That

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a great week.

Our weather here yesterday was 70°...hard to believe for January. Then, last night it dipped into the 30s, what a swing!





Just a little peek of winter here...these are seed pods on our Rose of Sharon. I thought they looked like little brown flowers.



Our bare flowering cherry looks like he's keeping warm in his ivy coat. :)



Katie missed school Wednesday and Thursday because she was sick. I think she must have gotten what her dad had last week. She's feeling better now and even made a chocolate cake. What can I say....she is her mother's daughter. :)



Unfortunately the bug decided to visit me too. *sigh* At least I have the weekend to recuperate. I hope to be feeling better by Monday. Thankfully, this bug doesn't seem to be too bad or last very long, mostly just a low fever and tiredness.

I wanted to give you an update on my cousin's wife, Tanya. She is still in the hospital fighting the cancer. It has spread to her lymph nodes and stomach, so she is going through treatments for that right now. The doctors are hoping that the cancer was caught early enough, and that she'll be OK. She was moved to the rehab floor of the hospital today, and she's hoping to go home in a couple of weeks. Thank you for your prayers for her, and please continue to pray for her and her family.



As I've read through my friends' blogs lately, I've seen so many troubling things...financial problems, sickness, death of loved ones, loss of jobs...I've been praying for so many of you. Many of my own friends and family are struggling with problems as well.

Does anyone else remember this old hymn?

The Solid Rock
words by: Edward Mote
verse 1-My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
verse 2 -When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the vale.
verse 3 -His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
chorus -On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.


It's wonderful to have the blessings of a job, health, home, and family, and I'm so grateful for my blessings, but God has been reminding me lately that we should be putting our trust in Him first.
Loved ones will pass away, jobs will be lost, and health will deteriorate. But, when all these things happen, God will still be there. How comforting to know He's with us, not just in the good times, but also in the trials of our lives. No doubt this world is on shaky ground, but I'm glad God is in control and none of the world's turmoil catches Him by surprise.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Welcome to my new followers, too. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care,
~Melanie

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus;Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

This simple little chorus has always been such a blessing to me.

It helps me to remember what's most important.

Hope you all will have a great week.

Melanie

This Generation

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well.

We had a wonderful church service this past Sunday. Our youth group went to our district youth convention and had a great time! I always enjoy it when they come back, and we get to hear their testimonies.

Our youth leader said something that has really stuck with me. He said that he noticed a couple of the kids on their cell phones during the message. He asked them to put their phones away, and then realized they were paying attention and following along with the Bible on their cell phones! That was so amazing to me!

The guest speaker even asked the kids to text message their friends and let them know where they were and what they were doing.

We hear so much about the evils of text messaging and cell phones, and I know there are legitimate problems in that area, but I thought it was so neat to hear about them being used for good.

America's Christian youth of today are in training right now to become the next pastors, missionaries, youth leaders, evangelists, deacons, etc.. They're also in training to become the next moms, dads, teachers, doctors, ... (well, you get the picture!). As Christian parents, we have such an awesome privilege and responsibility to raise our children for the Lord. Isn't that something to think about??

As Keith Green said, "This generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls." I think that is such a profound statement. How are we doing?

For those of you unfamiliar with Keith Green, he gave his life to the Lord in 1975, then was killed in a plane crash (along with two of his children) in 1982. But in that short amount of time he wrote some amazing songs. His wife, Melody, wrote a biography of him called No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green. If you don't have his music or his book, please get it! I know you will be challenged! There is no doubt that his influence is still here today even though he's in Heaven.

Have a great week! :)

Melanie

Good Friday

Thank You, Jesus, for dying in my place.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.