New Music

I added some new music to my playlist...I LOVE the music of Glee...and I like the show, but sometimes have a hard time with the content. Anyway, the music is amazing. These are a few of my favorites.

The Plan

Well, I'm back for yet another Meal Plan Monday...life if crazy these days, but then again it ALWAYS is!!

Here's what we'll be eating this week...I am on NO DAIRY now, so this should be interesting...

Monday: Chicken enchiladas or black bean/corn wraps

Tuesday: Grilled chicken, grilled veggies, baked potatoes

Wednesday: Asian Tuna Salad sandwiches

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Danny's "cooking"

Saturday: sandwiches/leftovers for lunch, eating dinner with our Kyrie Foundation peeps

Sunday: BLT sandwiches

I started reading the book "Crazy Love" today...I will post if God gives me something to talk about! :)

Blessings,
Melissa

Meal Plan Monday

Well, we survived "Birthday Palooza 2010", and I hope life will be a little more normal this week...whatever that is! Spring has definitely settled in and it will just be insane from here until the end of the school year.

My meal planning is going to interesting...my doctor wants me to try a non-dairy diet...she wants me to COMPLETELY eliminate dairy...ok, we'll see how this goes.

This week, I'll just be weaning myself off of dairy...

Monday: Green Chili Enchiladas & rice (already prepared, we will warm this up when we get home from a softball game in Kingman!)

Tuesday: Tuna Burgers & Roasted Red Potatoes

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Grabbing something on the way to a softball game in Mulvane

Friday: Date Night???

Saturday: leftovers for lunch, Chicken on the Grill, baked potatoes and salad for dinner

Sunday: Mitchell's Baptism/Confirmation party for lunch, ???? for dinner

Full Circle

"I think you've come full circle, Melissa."

This is what one of my dearest, truest friends said to me this morning. She was referring to a tough time in my life, a time that I really didn't think I'd recover from. She walked through the storm with me, along with several other close friends and God, of course. And now, the clouds are gone and we are basking in the SON together. The storms seem to have passed. The me I thought I had lost is reemerging. I've learned so much. I'm so thankful for the last year. I'm so thankful for the loss of my eyesight that caused me to see life so much more clearly. I'm so thankful for the loss of my safety net that truly bound me and kept me from experiencing life to the fullest. I'm so thankful for miscommunication that caused me to reevaluate how I deal with people in my life and how I prioritize...always putting God first. I couldn't be filled with more gratitude...God has allowed me to be fully aware of who and what is important in life. God allowed me to fall broken at His feet...and now He alone is building me up in Him.

In my bible study (Beth Moore's A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place) last week, Beth Moore talked about how God sometimes allows us to walk through a storm, through the fire, if you will. He does this in order to refine us, and to fulfill His purpose for our lives. She pointed out that even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked for God to take the cup from Him. He asked that if it be the will of His Father, that He not have to go through the pain and agony that would befall Him. He asked, His father refused. Well, my first reaction is...THAT'S JUST MEAN! If God loves me like He says He does, then why wouldn't He offer me every protection. He must love others more than He loves me. He must only be true to others.

Then the Truth comes through, loud and clear. God loves us enough to know when His intervention would cause us more harm than good. He knows what our purpose is on this planet. He knows what we need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose. He knows what has to happen in order for our piece of the puzzle to fit perfectly. He knew when He created Jesus that He would be crucified. He knew He would suffer and die. It was all part of the plan. It broke His mighty heart that it had to happen that way. Jesus was, after all, His Son. It hurt. However, He loved me enough to let Jesus suffer and die, in order to give me eternal salvation. It was the way it had to be.

God could save us from every heartache. He is big enough. However, He loved me enough to allow me to walk through the last year. He knew that every thing I experienced would ultimately draw me closer to Him. He knew that I would bring Him glory when I came around full circle. He walked every step of it with me. He was there to dust me off when I stumbled. He never once left me and sometimes I know that He carried me. He knew I'd be better off in the end. He knew what I would learn. He loves me enough to painfully watch my pain, but to stand back and let it happen. As a parent, I can relate fully. There are times I have to stand back and let my children fall in order for them to learn.

God is looking at the end game. He is looking at us through eternal eyes. He wants me, you, us...He wants us with Him for eternity. He will do anything or nothing, in order to get us to that place. God is merciful and full of grace. It hurts Him to watch us suffer. He always offers an escape from the poor choices we make. He will never turn His back on us. And when we come full circle and we turn our gaze on Him...well, no moment was ever sweeter.

I'm so thankful that He loves me so much.

If you are going through a tough time right now. Be patient, put your heart in His hands and let Him carry you. He has a plan, and He's never wrong.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Many Blessings,
Melissa

Following Him...Remembering Her

Today marks three years since Kyrie Thome was held in her mother's arms and slipped off to Heaven. She was taken away by an aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer. She had suffered long enough. Her parents graciously chose to let her go rather than to put her through more invasive treatments that would mean more pain for her without well-defined results. Such an act of mercy...to let go when it's the hardest thing to do. Jordan and Lacie are amazing people.

In the last three years, Kyrie's little life has been the catalyst for GIANT miraculous occurrences. I have witnessed so many wonderful things that happened as a direct result of her life. Perfect strangers have become fast and life-long friends, children have been called to "do good", families have reconnected, people have come together to raise funds for research, awareness that was nowhere to be found is now springing up, people care because they want to and not because they have to, faith in the providence of God has been tested and proved, relationship both earthly and divine have deepened, hearts have begun to heal, lives have been inspired, people have been called to ministry...and the list goes on. She changed the world. Like the flutter of a butterflies wings, she had an affect and it still ripples outward. This little girl was so loved and wanted here on earth. She is so loved and wanted in Heaven. I stand amazed at what God has worked out for good through her all to brief existence on this planet. I truly believe that her tiny fingerprints are still on every good deed that her life and her earthly death inspired. Her influence will be eternal through all of us who refuse to let it go...all of us who are determined to continue her goodness.

If you've never taken the time to learn about Kyrie and her family. Please go here and do so. I promise this little girl and God will change your lives in miraculous ways. You can also watch the tribute video below that her aunt Megan produced in her memory.

I vow to remember each day that this life was precious and it was taken by something that can strike any family at any time. I will not stop fighting until a cure is found. We are well on our way, but we need to do this together. Please join us.

Special thanks to Kyrie's family for allowing me to share pictures of their special girl. I am so thankful God brought you and your beautiful family into my life.

Many blessings,

Melissa

Menu...Not Sa Much...Plan Monday

First of all, Happy Easter!! Yesterday was an amazing celebration of our Risen Lord! I was so excited to praise Him for all He has done. A really good day.

Our plan this week is once again to just get by with meals! Mason has his last two flag football games, Danny is working late one night, and Friday night we will be setting up for the Kyrie Foundation Kropganza! So, the plan is to eat leftovers tonight, Taco Tuesday, something easy like sandwiches on Wednesday, leftovers on Thursday and grab something easy Friday night on the way to Wichita. We will be at the crop all day on Saturday and Sunday I will be doing the shopping for next week... It's life and we just are going to keep on rolling with it. So far, no one in my household has starved. Even though Mason is on an eating RAMPAGE lately. He informed me on Saturday that kids are supposed to have 6 meals a day, and at 5 pm on Saturday, he had only had 3... Go ahead, call SRS!

Hope you all have a blessed week!
Melissa

Jesus is Our "Yes"

My kids are famous for ruining really great surprises that I have tediously planned for them. They will undoubtedly ask for something that I have to say no to in order to protect the really amazing secret that I have in mind. I will tell them, "Just be patient and you'll be happy you waited. I promise." Sometimes they listen and wait patiently. Most of the time, they end up making such a fuss about me saying no to one thing in order to give them something better that by the time the secret can be revealed, I'm so ticked at them for being bratty that I could care less if they are thrilled with my original plan for them! Anyone who has spent anytime with a child can relate, I'm sure. Can I get an 'Amen'?

Boy, am I glad that God is merciful and full of grace, unlike me. I wonder how many times in my life God has had to tell me no in order to save me for something even better! How patient He is with me, even when I stamp my feet and act like a spoiled brat when I don't get my way. I have prayed earnestly at times for something I really thought I needed, only to be told no...or perhaps, just be patient. When I think of all the jerks I might have dated or even married it turns my stomach...I'd pray for things to work out with them. "No." was the answer I received and boy did I pitch a fit. I'm so thankful that the Lord knew that Danny was on the horizon, He allowed me to save my heart for him. I'm so thankful for the many times He told me no. When Madison was a year and a half old, I decided that it was time to start trying for #2. I thought we'd try a month or two, and we'd be on our way. Not sa much...Mason was born when Madison was 4 and a half. We struggled for almost 3 years with infertility. At the time, I didn't understand why God kept telling me no. Everyone I knew was pregnant, but not me. As I look back now, I know that had things happened according to my plan, I would have been pregnant through some really tough times. I also know that it would have affected where we now live, the friends we have now, etc. I also know how that time and trial deepened my relationship with Danny, God and even afforded me some precious time with Madison. God knew something better was on the Horizon. He already knew the ways He would bless me. He knew the yes was on its way.

My bible study this week looked at the old and new covenants, we were looking into how and why Jesus fulfilled the law and made the old covenant obsolete. I can't seem to paraphrase this any better than Beth Moore says it, so I will just quote her. She writes about the new covenant being better than the old.

The new covenant is established on more profitable and valuable promises. The Greek word for promises, epaggelia, is primarily a legal term denoting a summons or a promise to do or give something. The same Greek word is used in 2 Corinthians in which we will find the key that unlocks Hebrews 8. "No matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God" (2 Cor. 1:20). Every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is God's yes!

Every time the Israelites slaughtered another animal, God shook His head no. It was not enough. The offering was accepted only on the basis that a yes would finally come. That afternoon on Calvary God cried out with agony mingled with relief, "Yes!" At that very moment all of God's promises found their fulfillment in Christ. The old covenant was based on a shadow. The new covenant was based on a Savior. Christ made it possible for an external covenant to be obsolete and a new covenant to be injected straight into the point of our need, the heart. His perfect Spirit enables the internalizing of the new covenant in every receiving heart. We needed a yes, and He met our need. Do you sometimes wonder how God could seem so different in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament? We know that He is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). What could have happened? He is the same God. He simply has a different answer: yes!

Test God's new program for a moment. Think of any promise and determine whether His yes is Christ.
*Will He heal you from the ravages of sin? Read Isaiah 53:5.
*Can He make something good come from something bad? Read Romans 8:28.
*Read Romans 8:29. What is His purpose? To __________ us to the _________of His ____.
*If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, will He always be with you? Read Romans 8:38-39.
*Will He bless you? Read Ephesians 1:3.
*Will He meet your needs? Read Philippians 4:19.

We could go on and on. All of God's promises in Christ are yes! Since Calvary, God stands before us 100 percent in the affirmative. He died to say yes! You may be asking yourself, Is she saying that God never says no? He certainly does, but His no is given only so that He can say yes to something better. God's no is a street sign to direct you to an oncoming yes. He says no to premarital sex so that He can say yes to the blessed intimacy of marriage. He says no to addiction so that He can say yes to freedom. If He has been forced to say no to you lately, rejoice! He is directing you to a point at which He can extend to you a resounding yes! Keep driving in His direction. A better yes is just around the corner!

Many people think of Christians as people who serve a God that only and always says no. May this be the generation that seizes every opportunity to attest to a God who says yes - yes to salvation (praise Jesus!), yes to forgiveness, yes to abundant life, and yes to a mansion in glory. Christ is God's yes!!

I thank God for the yes He provided in Christ Jesus. I thank God that through Jesus we have the promise of salvation and an eternity with God. I also thank God for the times in my life that He loves me enough to tell me no. I praise Him for knowing what is best for me and loving me through the nos of life and right into the yeses.

If you feel like God is telling you no right now, just be patient. The yes on the horizon is SO much better. God never makes mistakes.

Many blessings,
Melissa