I wanted to send out a quick note today to kick off our brand new year! I pray God's richest blessings upon you and your loved ones! Maybe you're like me and you want more than anything to live your life smack dab in the center of God's will and be just exactly where He wants you to be in your walk with Him!
Just yesterday evening I asked The Lord to send a revival to my cool heart and a fresh vision to my mind! Do you ever have that realization that you need a spiritual renewal? Sometimes we lose sight of what's most important or we get comfy (or just plain lazy) and forget the promptings the Lord has given us in the past. He has a plan for each one of us that brings us closer to Him and keeps us moving ever closer to the goals and dreams He has set for us!
I don't know about you, but I do not want to look back and see all the things I know God wanted me to do with the time He gave me and realize I had accomplished little of what He laid on my heart! Right now I can think of many things that God wants me to do either personally or for my family! Can you think of things that you have been putting off? What is holding us back? What's keeping us?
Sometimes fear overwhelms me and keeps me from going forward. I forget it's not about me! My lack of ability has nothing to do with what God wants to accomplish through me! Other times it is poor time management or procrastination. Unfortunately, I seem to be really "good" at that! Maybe we're listening to "naysayers" and care too much about what people think of our hopes, dreams and ideas! I'm a firm believer that God is the One that plants dreams in us! So pray about your dreams and ideas! I try to take all my thoughts and ideas to Him and if any are contrary to His will for me I trust Him to remove it; if my dreams are in line with His will for me then I trust Him to bring them to life!
God is SO good to hear and answer our prayers...and so quickly, too! I woke very early this morning with the burden of personal revival on my heart and like I do every morning began talking with The Lord. As I prayed my mind was flooded with reminders of Who God is and all He has done for me...how He gloriously saved me! How He brought the sweet gift of a wonderful husband that so lovingly cares for me! How He miraculously made me a mother 12 years ago and has blessed us with eight children so far! Jesus, sweet Jesus, What a Wonder You Are!
As I recalled all these things and many more, my heart began to swell and now my cup overflows once again! Revival! It came...when I asked!
So, whenever our hearts become cool or we allow fears to freeze us, I pray that we will quickly be like Mary, Jesus' mother, was as told in Luke chapter 1 and Luke 2:19 and reflect on all of God's greatness and goodness and ponder them in our hearts!
God bless us as we grow in grace,
Melissa
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Commandment #11
Bringing up children "in the nurture and admonition of The Lord" is quite fun! Our children sure keep us entertained and on our toes every day! One evening after jammies all ten of us were gathered and scattered about the living room and the girls were jabbering on to Daddy about their day. Someone mentioned that our 5 yr old, who shall remain nameless, (at least in this blog), was still having "issues" with keeping her undies fresh and clean. Of course that's not a direct quote from the children, they prefer to be more detailed in their descriptions, except of course when I need to interregate them, then everything is a "ya' know that thingy?". Well, anyway, back to the story...I was sitting on the floor, with the little one on trial standing just barely behind me on my right side and Dad was across from us on the couch with the other 7 sisters scattered about here and there. He proceeded to calmly talk with her about her icky habit, trying to stress the point that it is crucial that children listen to mom and dad, get to the potty quickly, the virtues of keeping oneself clean and dry...you get the point. After he'd talked to her, he was ready for some feedback, so he asked her, "Now, (nameless one @least for mommy's blog), what does The Bible say about that?" To which she readily replied with certainty in her adorable little "elmo" voice, "Thou shall not poop ya pants."
Can you just see us (you've been there,too!) everybody's looking around at one another, eyes wide, lips squeezed tightly trying to hold in the belly-laughs that NEED to erupt...staring at Daddy for clues as to the acceptable time to, shall we say, "let it rip"? Poor Daddy...he held it together long enough to respond with, "wwellll, a' ye-e-es, yes it does, sort of. Thou shalt honor your father and mother, by listening, obeying and...not pooping your pants." Then we all lost it! Hilarious times! My friend, Alice, after I told the story to her, said, "She even said it in the KIng James!" So funny!
Life is a joy! I know, not always. That's life. But Jesus is JOY and He lives in my heart, through His sweet Holy Spirit! The Bible says that His joy is my strength (Neh. 8:10); and in His presence is fullness of joy (Ps 16:11); and He wants His joy fulfilled in me! (John 17:13)!
Just imagine that!!! Believe that! Meditate on that! It overwhelms me from deep within to know that Jesus Christ The King prayed to Our Holy Heavenly Father for me! Read John 17! Jesus, on His face before God Almighty, pleading for His little sheep, the ones in His fold then and future...you and I who have received Him up to this day and all those who join the fold in the future, our children, our grandchildren...on and on! He prayed for us!
What an encouragement! Do you need encouragement today? I know you do. I do! Where do you look for a lift, a boost? God blesses with loving friends and even kindhearted passersby to encourage us from time to time. But they were not created to fill us to overflowing! Only God Himself can do that! He's given us everything we need! The Scriptures are the rich, everlasting Truths that will fill us deep within, if we'll but pour over Them and hide Them in our hearts! Through the goodness and treasure of God's Word we are rooted and grounded! It is the Living Water that never runs dry! Let God's Word day by day become part of your being; feed the spiritual woman and starve the carnal woman!
Exchange your troubles and cares with God for His goodness! Tell Him all about it! I try to discipline myself to take all my questions and concerns to Him first of all! Do you need help with keeping your home in order? Mill it over with God. Do you need to know how to help your child get through a rough time? Ask God to love her through you! Are you having trouble talking to your husband about something? Talk to God about it first and ask Him to take care of the matter for you or show you His timing and give you His voice with your hubby. Train yourself to talk with and walk with Him throughout the day! When news comes, bad or good, share it with Him first! Try to thank Him all day long for everything that comes along! (Psalm 119:164)
Jesus is my Encouragement and my Joy! My days nurturing, training and discipling my children can get ugly sometimes, like yours! Disobedience, bickering, whining, grumpies are just not pretty! And some days, I am ugly! I fail at leaning on the joy of The Lord for my strength and my spirit gives in to the very same ugliness the children can display! Sin is very, very ugly. But God has the perfect step by step plan to restore those days and moments and it can be redeemed again and again and again, as many times as we need it! It doesn't expire! It is First John 1:9 "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to CLEANSE us from ALL unrighteousness!"
What sweet relief! God's way of escape! I'm so thankful He doesn't leave me to myself! What a tragedy that would be! I encourage you, my friend, don't despair! We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus' blood is a propitiation for our sins for all who believe! (see Romans 3:21-26) He forgives and He restores!
Life is a joy! My children are a delight! I ask The Lord to open my eyes and keep my vision renewed each day, so I am able to bask in the hundreds of blessed moments that, when on my own, I would miss!
Growing in grace, Melissa
Can you just see us (you've been there,too!) everybody's looking around at one another, eyes wide, lips squeezed tightly trying to hold in the belly-laughs that NEED to erupt...staring at Daddy for clues as to the acceptable time to, shall we say, "let it rip"? Poor Daddy...he held it together long enough to respond with, "wwellll, a' ye-e-es, yes it does, sort of. Thou shalt honor your father and mother, by listening, obeying and...not pooping your pants." Then we all lost it! Hilarious times! My friend, Alice, after I told the story to her, said, "She even said it in the KIng James!" So funny!
Life is a joy! I know, not always. That's life. But Jesus is JOY and He lives in my heart, through His sweet Holy Spirit! The Bible says that His joy is my strength (Neh. 8:10); and in His presence is fullness of joy (Ps 16:11); and He wants His joy fulfilled in me! (John 17:13)!
Just imagine that!!! Believe that! Meditate on that! It overwhelms me from deep within to know that Jesus Christ The King prayed to Our Holy Heavenly Father for me! Read John 17! Jesus, on His face before God Almighty, pleading for His little sheep, the ones in His fold then and future...you and I who have received Him up to this day and all those who join the fold in the future, our children, our grandchildren...on and on! He prayed for us!
What an encouragement! Do you need encouragement today? I know you do. I do! Where do you look for a lift, a boost? God blesses with loving friends and even kindhearted passersby to encourage us from time to time. But they were not created to fill us to overflowing! Only God Himself can do that! He's given us everything we need! The Scriptures are the rich, everlasting Truths that will fill us deep within, if we'll but pour over Them and hide Them in our hearts! Through the goodness and treasure of God's Word we are rooted and grounded! It is the Living Water that never runs dry! Let God's Word day by day become part of your being; feed the spiritual woman and starve the carnal woman!
Exchange your troubles and cares with God for His goodness! Tell Him all about it! I try to discipline myself to take all my questions and concerns to Him first of all! Do you need help with keeping your home in order? Mill it over with God. Do you need to know how to help your child get through a rough time? Ask God to love her through you! Are you having trouble talking to your husband about something? Talk to God about it first and ask Him to take care of the matter for you or show you His timing and give you His voice with your hubby. Train yourself to talk with and walk with Him throughout the day! When news comes, bad or good, share it with Him first! Try to thank Him all day long for everything that comes along! (Psalm 119:164)
Jesus is my Encouragement and my Joy! My days nurturing, training and discipling my children can get ugly sometimes, like yours! Disobedience, bickering, whining, grumpies are just not pretty! And some days, I am ugly! I fail at leaning on the joy of The Lord for my strength and my spirit gives in to the very same ugliness the children can display! Sin is very, very ugly. But God has the perfect step by step plan to restore those days and moments and it can be redeemed again and again and again, as many times as we need it! It doesn't expire! It is First John 1:9 "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to CLEANSE us from ALL unrighteousness!"
What sweet relief! God's way of escape! I'm so thankful He doesn't leave me to myself! What a tragedy that would be! I encourage you, my friend, don't despair! We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus' blood is a propitiation for our sins for all who believe! (see Romans 3:21-26) He forgives and He restores!
Life is a joy! My children are a delight! I ask The Lord to open my eyes and keep my vision renewed each day, so I am able to bask in the hundreds of blessed moments that, when on my own, I would miss!
Growing in grace, Melissa
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Bones in Your Heart!
Welcome to my brand new blog for moms, wives and Christian women!
I am a born again Christian (22 yrs!), wife of Jeff for 21 years, and homeschooling mom of 8 beautiful daughters! God has formed our family through adoption! I wanted to share this blog to encourage Moms! I especially have a heart for adoptive Moms and foster Moms, as I am one!
That's why my blog title is "Real Mom"! Mothering is the real deal! Whether you are parenting your biological children, your adopted children or foster parenting children, YOU are a REAL MOM! Dear Mother, no matter how a legal document reads, no matter what the attitude or opinion of social services may be; no matter what your position or title is in the minds of others, in God's mind the reality is that you are a real Mother! Foster and adoptive moms especially need this encouragement! We often hear that our child's biological mother is their "real" mom. While I praise God for my children's birthmothers, I know that God made me their Mommy! When my children chat about their "real" mom I cheerfully, lightheartedly tell them, "I am your real mom!" I'll pinch my arm and say, "See there, I'm 'real'! I'm your REAL, living, breathing, loving, 24/7, Momma!" You can just see the light come on, so to speak! They grin and ponder what I'm saying and realize, hey, my momma is my real mom!
Our sweet girls also know that they grew (a looong time, Lol!) in their Momma's heart! I would have been so honored to carry them in my womb, but that was not God's plan! One day three of our little girls were telling me how they wished they had grown in my tummy. I shared with them that I prayed for them for a very long time! I knew they were out there somewhere; I couldn't see their faces and I didn't know their names, but I just knew God would bring them to us one day! I told them how I prayed for them everyday and asked the Lord to watch over them and keep them happy and safe until He brought us together! It was so adorable when a few days later one of them, three years old at the time, asked me, "Mommy, did you have bones in your heart?" I said, "What do you mean?" She says, "When we were in your heart did you have our bones in there?" I grinned so big! How precious and literal their thoughts are!
The Bible says in Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward!
As a woman who is barren there was a time when I thought that verse excluded me. When God began filling our home with children and as I am growing to know Him more I eventually came to realize that this verse absolutely includes me! He was blessing me through the fruit of another's womb! How exciting is that!
There is so much I'd love to share with you and I look forward to the opportunity to be your cheerleader! Being a sweet, willing helpmeet to our hubby, being a Godly mother, and some days just simply keeping our chins up can be a struggle! My prayer is that I can be one of your #1 cheerleaders! "You can do it!" "Don't give up!" "Jesus loves you! He will never forget you! He will help you today!"
May God bless you in a sweet special way today, dear friend!
An everyday Real Mom,
Growing in Grace,
Melissa Scott
II Cor 9:6-8
I am a born again Christian (22 yrs!), wife of Jeff for 21 years, and homeschooling mom of 8 beautiful daughters! God has formed our family through adoption! I wanted to share this blog to encourage Moms! I especially have a heart for adoptive Moms and foster Moms, as I am one!
That's why my blog title is "Real Mom"! Mothering is the real deal! Whether you are parenting your biological children, your adopted children or foster parenting children, YOU are a REAL MOM! Dear Mother, no matter how a legal document reads, no matter what the attitude or opinion of social services may be; no matter what your position or title is in the minds of others, in God's mind the reality is that you are a real Mother! Foster and adoptive moms especially need this encouragement! We often hear that our child's biological mother is their "real" mom. While I praise God for my children's birthmothers, I know that God made me their Mommy! When my children chat about their "real" mom I cheerfully, lightheartedly tell them, "I am your real mom!" I'll pinch my arm and say, "See there, I'm 'real'! I'm your REAL, living, breathing, loving, 24/7, Momma!" You can just see the light come on, so to speak! They grin and ponder what I'm saying and realize, hey, my momma is my real mom!
Our sweet girls also know that they grew (a looong time, Lol!) in their Momma's heart! I would have been so honored to carry them in my womb, but that was not God's plan! One day three of our little girls were telling me how they wished they had grown in my tummy. I shared with them that I prayed for them for a very long time! I knew they were out there somewhere; I couldn't see their faces and I didn't know their names, but I just knew God would bring them to us one day! I told them how I prayed for them everyday and asked the Lord to watch over them and keep them happy and safe until He brought us together! It was so adorable when a few days later one of them, three years old at the time, asked me, "Mommy, did you have bones in your heart?" I said, "What do you mean?" She says, "When we were in your heart did you have our bones in there?" I grinned so big! How precious and literal their thoughts are!
The Bible says in Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward!
As a woman who is barren there was a time when I thought that verse excluded me. When God began filling our home with children and as I am growing to know Him more I eventually came to realize that this verse absolutely includes me! He was blessing me through the fruit of another's womb! How exciting is that!
There is so much I'd love to share with you and I look forward to the opportunity to be your cheerleader! Being a sweet, willing helpmeet to our hubby, being a Godly mother, and some days just simply keeping our chins up can be a struggle! My prayer is that I can be one of your #1 cheerleaders! "You can do it!" "Don't give up!" "Jesus loves you! He will never forget you! He will help you today!"
May God bless you in a sweet special way today, dear friend!
An everyday Real Mom,
Growing in Grace,
Melissa Scott
II Cor 9:6-8
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