2nd Test Post

Here's the second test post.  Same thing.  You're going to Highlight the Words you want to use as your link.  Then hit Link, and add your URL.  Save your post, and then it will be there when you want.  If you want to add more, you just go back and edit your post.  Any questions?

Hugs,
Melinda

Test Post

I had a reader on my wordpress blog ask about linking up on blogspot.  Since I still have this one, I thought I would try to figure it out for her.  Here's the test post to add links and work on this. 

I'm pretty sure you highlight the words you want to link to, and then hit the link button next to the picture button on the top of this page. 

Step #1 (See Picture Below)
Highlight these words, and hit link here. 

Step #2  That brings up a pop up box.  You should see your words highlighted. 

Step #3  Paste your link into the box.  You can test it in that box (That's something wordpress doesn't offer).  You always want the link to open in a new window, because you want them to stay on your website as long as possible. 

Step #4  Then when you save your first post, you can copy the URL (the website address or the link) and do the same thing to link to that post. 

Step #5  is actually a screen shot of the second post I wrote for this test. 

This is Step #1

This is Step #2

This is Step #3

This is Step #4

This is Step #5

 Maybe I'm oversimplfying it.  Maybe I'm not understanding the question exactly right.  Regardless, this is how you add links in Blogger from a desktop.

Hugs,
Melinda

This blog is moving

I am moving this blog to my other blog.  Please check it out.  Everything will remain here for the time being.  Thank you.

Grateful Everyday @ mghollis.wordpress.com 

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Visit

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays hosted by the gracious Kate.  A party of bloggers across the internet that gathers to write for five minutes on a one word prompt, no editing, no backtracking.  Then you go back and link up and leave comments.  Comments are fun.


Today's word is Visit.


GO:


Visiting.  It's becoming harder and harder to visit.  The daddy that I grew up with is not the daddy I know now.  I often wonder how much he remembers of these visits. 


The traveling can sometimes be a pain.  I hate driving by myself, but we get along okay with a good audiobook or two.  And I can drive for a whole 12 hours now.  Not the 8 I used to do. 


But still I come.  Lynn asks, and I come.  I do have to be aware of commitments at home, but I'll come as much as I can. 


It's my duty.  My service.  My contribution if you will. 


Because it's so much MORE than a visit.  It's caring and providing for the one who raised me.  It's stories and hugs that I don't know how much longer they will last. 


The visit can be hard, because he seems a little bit further away each time.  One of these days, I will not be able to complete my visit, because he will be too far away for me to reach in this body. 


But God provides.  He comforts.  He gives the strength I need.  And one day soon, I won't visit Him. 


I'll go home.


STOP




A little bit of information, so that all of this makes sense.  I live in Kansas City.  My daddy lives in Nashville.  He has had approximately 11 strokes, and is now suffering from congestive heart failure and early onset dementia.  He also had a kidney transplant in 2000.  My stepmother is a CPA who works non-stop, but because Daddy is a high fall risk, she doesn't like to leave him alone.  I come when I can to stay with him. 


This visit, I brought my children. 


Hugs,
Melinda

Role reversal

I'm having a flashback tonight. I'm sitting in a kitchen chair. My daddy is teaching me how to tie my shoes. After watching him do it several times, I finally figure it out.

Today, I find myself in front of his wheelchair, helping him adjust his socks and making sure his shoes are securely on his feet.

This role reversal that I find myself in is uncomfortable, like too tight skin. It hurts to see my father literally breaking down before my very eyes.

I know that this is what God wants me to be doing. I know that my children are learning and watching. I am thankful for the opportunity to try to repay my daddy for taking care of me.

But it still hurts.

Dear Lord, please be with my daddy. Please be with us as we adjust to this reversal of roles.



Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Open

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays, an internet party where bloggers get together to write for 5 minutes on the same word, with no editing and no backtracking.  Come join in the fun!  This week's word is Open.


GO:

The Cat who thinks she's starving.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.  Scratch, thump.  Scratch, thump.

The cat wants her food.  She knows where we keep it.  She wants me to open the door.

Scratch, thump.  Scratch, thump.  Thump, thump, thump.

I can hear her, you know.  It's a regularly accepted fact that I can talk for our animals, and right now she's saying, "Silly human, why is the door to my food closed?  Please open it right now.  You have nothing better to do."

I didn't want to write today.  I've been writing well for the past few days, and yet, no one seems to appreciate my writing.  I didn't want to open my heart to more criticism.  I want to leave that door closed.

And yet, I hear God saying, "Open the door today.  Open it just a little."

And I am reminded of what he says in Revelation 2:8.  Yes... Revelation.

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

God has an open door policy.  He wants you to come before him and lay EVERYTHING down at his feet.  He wants you to come through that door.  Do you have the strength to walk through?

STOP

Hugs,
Melinda

[eta - as soon as I hit publish, the cat was at the door begging for her food.  I had to take a picture.]

Inadequate Teenager

No, the title of this post does not refer to my oldest, Boo, who will be 16 in a month from today.  The title of this post is what I have realized about myself. 

You see, I have stage fright. 

That's kind of funny when I tell you that I also graduated with a theater degree.  But I do.  I have paralyzing terrifying stage fright.

I have become interested in practical evangelism (for lack of better words), and how can I personally talk to others about God and Jesus.  I was starting to get concerned when I realized that my "sphere of influence" has become rather limited in size.  I mean, I talk to people at church, and I talk to people at the girls' track practices, but that's about it, and most of those people attend church somewhere already.  So what am I to do?

Then I read this post on Facebook by the preacher at a church in Iowa.  (Emphasis is mine)
_________________________

I read several years ago that within two years of becoming a Christian, the only close friends they have are other Christians. This is because they no longer retain relationships with non-believers, (some non-believers don’t want to hang out with Christians or the Christians no longer do what they used to with their non-believing friends), or they have converted all their friends. This makes evangelism difficult since we usually think of evangelism as ‘inviting people to church.’ Once we’ve invited all the friends and family we have, we run out of people to invite.

So how do we go into the world making disciples as we are commissioned to do? One way is to literally go into the world. 

For many of us life is pretty routine. We get up, go to work, then retreat to our home as a place of quiet shelter, rest and recuperation. We may interact with a few people outside of work at the store, bank or gas station but these conversations don’t usually evolve into an opportunity to share our faith. So what do we do?

In order to show and share our faith, others need to have relationships with us. We need to find ways to develop those relationships. Here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head:

Join a hobby related club. Card clubs, (preferably not poker), running clubs, cooking groups or book clubs, shooting or fishing clubs, knitting groups, or any other groups or clubs give you an opportunity to meet new people and begin new relationships. If you can’t find a club for your hobby, start one!

Volunteer. The possibilities here are endless. Volunteer for a meals on wheels program, read to kids at the library, volunteer at a hospital. Look in the paper for local activities or events that are looking for volunteers and offer your services. When people work together, they tend to develop relationships. Build on these relationships so you may have the opportunity to share your faith.

I could give more, but I’m out of room. I know our schedules are already full, but isn’t the kingdom important enough for us to give more of ourselves to spreading its news? And didn’t Jesus command us to do this? 

If you have other ideas of how to get out into the world and make disciples, please share them with me. I’d love to pass these on.

_________________________

The author went on in the rest of this seven part series to say that it also takes a lot of time to build these relationships.  But it got me thinking about what could I do, where could I go to build these types of relationships. 

One thought was to join the D&D night at the local card shop.  The biggest issue is that it is on a Wednesday night.  Dale wasn't too happy about that, and I think the girls would not be either.

Then this other idea, this opportunity practically fell into my lap. 

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival held their first recruiting party in my hometown.  Instead of an hour away, it was 5 minutes from my house. 

The Maestro (the director) was talking about all the different roles they have to fill and talking about this character and that character and what he is looking for.  I decided to talk to him about the role of the Fairy Godmother after his speech.  (They are including fairy tale characters this year.  We can talk about their relevance to history later.)

I was PETRIFIED to talk to this man.  You can ask Dale.  I kept wavering back and forth (and still am) about do I want to audition, or do I just want a stage manager position?  Do I audition?  Do I not audition?

And as I was thinking about this whole incident later, it occurred to me that I felt like an inadequate teenager.  It doesn't matter that I'm a year and a half from turning 40.  It doesn't matter that I am raising two children.  I still feel like an inadequate teenager.

I feel like a teenager when talking to my dad.
I feel inadequate because I don't have a "paying job."
I don't feel successful because I haven't had that paying job in several years.
I feel like a teenager who shouldn't have kids, let alone a child old enough to drive and to start thinking about college.

I don't feel adequate enough for Jesus to have died for me.

And that's why my stage fright prevents me from auditioning.  I have never ever felt like I was adequate to the task. 

So that's where I'm at right now.  I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to audition for a role, if I'm going to become what equates to one of their stage managers, or if the balance of work, time, and family is going to be doable at all.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Probably because I crave your prayers.  If I got a role, it would mean an incredible amount of work, plus I would miss Sunday morning services for the month of September and a good portion of October. 

Secondly, because of the memory verse that is written on my board at this very moment.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  I Peter 5:7 

God cares.  He cares enough to take my anxiety.  He cares enough to send Jesus, that even though I AM inadequate, he died to take away my sins, anyway.  And in doing so, made me adequate.  With him, I have success.  With him, I have victory.

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - When

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays hosted at Kate's blog.  Write for five minutes, no editing, no back tracking.  Then go back and add your link and comment on the post before yours.  Comments are part of the fun.

It hit me tonight, I say "when" a lot. 

When I get back on the bike...
When the snow melts...
When I lose 50 pounds...
When we save the money...
When I get time to sew again...
When my children are older...
When I get this...
When I do that...

When, when, when.

But the simple truth is that I have one life, and God game me the same number of hours in a day that he gave you.  And I am supposed to live it fully for him.

One of my very favorite verses is "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord."  So no matter what I do or when I do it, I do it for God.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Hugs,
Melinda

Freedom of Information Act

What is the Freedom of Information Act?  The best description comes from straight from the government website:

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.

Initially enacted in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson, the Freedom of Information Act did not take effect until July 4, 1967 (and was actually replaced by a virtually identical bill before it was enacted).

It only applies to executive branch agencies and there are several exemptions in place, such as to protect privacy, trade secrets, financial and geological, and the one probably used the most, national security.

Gerald Ford wanted to strengthen the FOIA with amendments in 1974 after the Watergate scandal but was talked out of it by Donald Rumsfield, Dick Cheney, and Antonin Scalia, who argued that it was unconstitutional.  Congress overturned his veto.

It has been amended several times since it was first enacted, most notably to include digital and electronic files and to both protect former presidents but also to protect any information they may acquire.

So what does all that mean for us?  That means that if you want to get some information from an agency like the CIA, you fill out a form that says you think they have the information you want, and could you please see it?  If it doesn't fall into one of the exemptions, there's a chance they will send you a copy of it.  It's supposed to help the government remain "open and transparent" with the citizens. 

So how does this help me?  I don't know.  I may get to a point in my research that I have to file a FOIA request in order to get any more information or a sense of what happened.  It's good to know this option is there should I need it.  For now, I'm going to try to get as much as I can without this step.

Hugs,
Melinda

[A good portion of the historical information came from this Wikipedia article on the Freedom of Information Act.]

 

This post is part of my 31 Day Writing Challenge, that I am dreadfully behind on.

Dr. Zhivago

When I was in high school, I decided to read lots of classic literature.  Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Three Musketeers followed by the Man in the Iron Mask, the Count of Monte Christo. 

And Dr. Zhivago. 

I don't remember much about the book or the movie, only that it was some of the hardest reading I have ever had to drag myself through.  (I just explained it to Boo.  Les Miserables in Russian.)

Imagine my surprise then, when doing research for my 31 days series, to come across the following note on the CIA page:

Doctor Zhivago

CIA Publishes Doctor Zhivago in Russian and Exposes Life in USSR under Communism.  The CIA has declassified 99 documents describing the CIA’s role publishing Boris Leonidovich Pasternak’s epic novel, Doctor Zhivago, for the first time in Russian in 1958 after it had been banned from being published in the Soviet Union. The Zhivago project was one of many CIA-supported covert publishing programs that involved distributing banned books, periodicals, pamphlets, and other materials to intellectuals in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This collection provides a glimpse into a thoughtful plan to accomplish fast turn-around results without doing harm to foreign partners or Pasternak. Following the publication of Doctor Zhivago in Russian in 1958, Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the popularity of the book skyrocketed, and the plight of Pasternak in the Soviet Union received global media attention. Moscow had hoped to avoid these precipitous outcomes by initially refusing to publish the novel two years earlier. There is no indication in this collection that having Pasternak win the Nobel Prize was part of the Agency’s original plan; however, it contributed to appeals to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and it was a blow to those who insisted that the Soviets in 1958 enjoyed internal freedom. Of note, the documents in this collection show how effective “soft power” can influence events and drive foreign policy.

Interesting, huh? 

Hugs,
Melinda

Eagle Watch

The girls and I have been watching some different Eagle Cams, cameras that are set up over a nest.  We've been watching two pretty intently, and I found a third one today.

They are keeping journals about the eagles.  They are supposed to record the temperature and any behaviors that they notice while we watch (just 5 or 10 minutes until hatching occurs).  At some point, they are also supposed to write a report on eagles for me as well. 

So, links...  This is the first one we found thanks to a Twitter friend.  It's in Minnesota, near Minneapolis, and according to what I learned, they layed their eggs really early.  They are expected to hatch near the end of February.

The second one is at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.  I have to say, I'm the most excited for this one, because it's supposed to start hatching any day now!  If you have any questions, the people on the chat at Livestream seem to be really knowledgeable and friendly and will answer just about any question.  (Including the square root of Pi.)

I found the third one at Livestream as well.  It's in Virginia, and they haven't laid their eggs yet, but they are expecting that to happen any day now, as well.

It is has been so very fascinating to sit and watch these beautiful birds.  If you get a chance, just sit for a few minutes.  You will really enjoy watching these majestic creatures of God.

Hugs,
Melinda

[eta - in case anyone doubts my sanity, here's a picture of the setup.  Nest approach, camera 2 and camera 1.]

Isn't this an interesting picture?  It's both nests at the same time.  The right nest is at 19 degrees today, and the left nest is at 27. 

Finishing my story

So I have this series that I started, called 31 Days of Random CIA Facts.  Maybe you've read some of it, maybe you haven't.  I was fooling around on Pinterest the other day, sort of trying to clean up some of boards, when I discovered something interesting.  This pin has been repinned 100 times. 

Which means that the post it links to has been read 100 times. 

Which means that people are interested in this story. 

Which means I need to finish it.

So, I'm going to start working on it again.  I'm going to do the research, and I'm going to find the words, and I'm going to finish the story.  It may not be within the "31 days" time frame, but that's okay.  I will do what I need to do.  This story has been rattling around in my head for 21 years, another month isn't going to hurt.

So watch this space.  There will be some more information coming.

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Keep

This post is part of the fun that happens over at Five Minute Fridays.  You write for 5 minutes, unedited, no backtracking, just write.  Then go back over and comment on the person before you.  Comments are half of the fun.  Today's prompt is Keep.

GO:

The Lord bless you and keep you...

To be honest, I've had that song in my head ever since I saw the word was keep.  So I've spent a bit more than 5 minutes in trying to find the verse that it's from and a copy of the song that I grew up singing. 

I love choir.  I loved every moment I spent under the teaching of my director, Mr. Craig Jones.  I still remember all the words, and most of the songs that I learned.  This song was so very beautiful.  It was graceful, and soaring, and ... beautiful.

So here's the verses from Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

And here's a video of the Harding Academy Chorus singing "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" under Mr. Jones. 

 

The song is a benediction, a prayer.  We usually sing it when we are saying goodbye.  It's a precious blessing, and I hope the Lord grants you peace.

 

Hugs,

Melinda

 

[eta: This is what I left on Facebook for Mr. Jones to find.  Mr. Craig Jones, this post is for you. It's not eloquent, but... Thank you. Thank you for teaching me to love music, to sight read, to appreciate the value of P.D.Q. Bach, and for Wednesday night Bible study where I learned to love the book of Romans. Thank you.]

FMF - Wait

This post is part of Five Minute Friday.  Come see what it's all about over at Kate's place.

Waiting.  It seems like I've done a lot of waiting.

"God, I want another child."  "Wait."
"Lord, I need to move to Nashville." "Wait."
"Why can't you heal my mom?" "Wait."
"Jesus, please fix my marriage, and fix it now."  "Wait."

Waiting on Him, on God's promises, can be so very hard.

But waiting helps us to rest, to renew.  Waiting helps us learn to focus on Him.  Waiting helps us to lean on God, to trust Him and trust that He knows what's best.  Waiting helps us to soar!

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) 

Hugs,
Melinda

Oreo Lasagna

This is for my bikeschool and fmfparty friends on Twitter.  I must be crazy, but I try to participate in two different Twitter parties every Thursday night that of course, meet at the same time.  Chocolate was involved in both discussions tonight.  I mentioned that this recipe came across my Facebook feed tonight.  Only problem is that there was no link to the original poster.  My friend Bing helped me locate it.  I present to you:  Oreo Lasagna via The Halfbaked Life.  Please pay her a visit, drop in, and tell her how wonderful her dessert looks.  

Lasagna for dessert...ABSOLUTELY!! This Oreo Lasagna is perfect for a pot luck dinner, family dinner or end of summer party!!

heart emoticon OREO LASAGNA heart emoticon

Serves 16
Prep Time - 10 min
Total Time - 4 hr

Ingredients
1 package oreo cookies
4 tbsp. butter, melted
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. skim milk
12 oz fat free cool whip
6 Snack Pack Fat Free Chocolate Pudding cups (or make 1 package of chocolate pudding)

Instructions
1.Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick spray
2.In a food processor, or in a zip closed bag, crush the Oreo Cookies (I used the bag version and it was super easy without all the clean up of the food processor)
3.Set aside 1 cup of crushed Oreos for topping
4.Combine remaining crushed Oreo's with melted butter
5.Press buttered Oreo's into the bottom of the prepared dish
6.In a small bowl whip the softened cream cheese using a handheld mixer until light and fluffy
7.Mix in sugar, milk and 1 1/4 cups of cool whip until well combined
8.Spread cream cheese layer over the Oreo crust until smooth and even
9.Layer chocolate pudding in an even layer over the cream cheese
10.Spoon remaining cool whip over pudding and gently smooth
11.Sprinkle on mini chocolate chips
12.Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours but overnight is best
13.Serve & ENJOY!!

Notes
Each serving is 8 WW+ points
Nutritional Info
Calories 309 Calories from Fat 127 Total Fat 14.1g Saturated Fat 7.0g Cholesterol 20mg Sodium 265mg Potassium 46mg Carbohydrates 42.9g Dietary Fiber 1.0g Sugars 28.4g Protein 3.5g
Vitamin A 6% - Vitamin C 0% - Calcium 7% - Iron 6%
Nutrition Grade - D
By MJ

Communion Bread

The church I attend has communion or The Lord's Supper every Sunday.  One of the older ladies of the congregation taught me how to make the unleavened bread, and I would like to share the recipe with you. 

Communion Bread

• 3 c flour
• 1/2 c Crisco or margarine
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Mix with fork (or blender) until crumbly.  Now, her directions say to use 1 T water for each 1/3 c of mix.  Personally, I divide the mix into half, because it stores pretty easy.  I'll add about a cup of water to the half I'm making, until it clings together. 

Then roll out the dough to 1/8" thick on a well greased cookie sheet.

Here's the interesting part.  Take a plastic ruler and score the dough into 1/4-1/2" squares.  Yes, a plastic ruler.  I actually have two.  I have a full 12 inch ruler and one that's about 6" long.  The short one makes it easier to go across the pan the short way.

Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, until it is more than light golden brown and doughy, and less than dark golden brown and crunchy.  After it's through baking, use a pizza cutter to fully cut the squares apart. 

Again, my friend's directions say to serve 100 people it takes 1 1/3 c of mix and 4 T water.  I use about 1/2 the mix and 1 c of water. 

It is such an interesting way to serve the Lord and His church.  I have prayed many times for the people while making this.  I really enjoy serving God in this way.  I hope this tutorial helps you to serve Him as well.

Hugs,
Melinda

Menu Planning

I've talked to a lot of people recently about menu planning.  "Do you do it?  How do you do it?  I can't do that because it's so complicated."  It's taken me a while to get my habit down, but once I did, I learned that 1) It's really not complicated, and 2) It saves me a lot of money.

So, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself a very simple question:  What do you and your family like to eat?  Our family is pretty simple.  We like things like Jambalaya, Gumbo, Spaghetti, Cheesy Chicken, and White Enchiladas.  Things like pork ribs, and burgers.  Chicken.  We eat a LOT of chicken.

I can't really remember the process that we worked through to get to this point, but here's what we do now.  On Saturdays (normally), we sit down and say, okay, what practices do we have, what meetings, what do we have to do in the evenings?  Then I say, "Okay, everyone.  I need a crockpot meal, and a casserole, and then we have 5 other meals.  What do you want to eat for supper?"

That's the kicker.  I make sure and involve EVERYONE in the meal planning.  That way, the picky eater gets something she likes, the have to have meat at every meal hubby gets something he likes, the growing like a weed teenager gets something she likes, and I can throw in my favorites every once in a while.

So the other part of our planning is knowing what type of meals we need when.  As an example, this next week, track practice starts on Tuesday, and we have church Wednesday night.  So I know that I need a meal in the crockpot Tuesday night, and that I'm not cooking Wednesday.  That means I need to have around 4 stove top meals and 1 crockpot meal on my list.

And that's it.  I'll make a list of everyone's requests for the week, and I put them on the whiteboard, and then I know what I'm cooking for the week. 

This is the whiteboard I mentioned.  I put my list of menus for the week on the small one and erase them as I cook them.  You can see that I have 4 more dinners planned for the rest of the week.  The larger one underneath is where I write my grocery list as I run out of things.  (I try to use fresh onions, but I'm out of the dried ones that I keep on hand.)

The other thing that seems pretty self explanatory (but probably isn't) is that after we decide what we want to eat that week, I take the recipes and go through my pantry and fridge to see what I already have. Then I add what I don't have to my grocery shopping list. 

About breakfasts and lunches:  I take the easy route.  95% of the time, we eat cereal for breakfast.  And lunches, well, Dale takes leftovers, Boo likes to eat canned soup, and Little Bit likes to eat macaroni and cheese.  I eat leftovers or hot pockets.  Oh well.  To each his own!

But that's it.  That's how I do our menu planning and our grocery list.  It's really not that hard.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

Hugs,
Melinda

Great Actors

Dale and I always like to talk about what being a "great" actor means.  We both think that it means that you aren't even aware that the actor was in the movie or show until you see the credits.  They can change their voice, their appearance, so that they disappear into the story they are telling.

There are some actors that are "good" but you know they are there, like Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman. 

People like Gary Oldman, who was Dracula, and Beethoven, and a wizard, those are "great" actors.
(Johnny Depp could be considered "great," but he very rarely has a great movie anymore.  They tend to be campy and too similar to each other.  Transcendence might be the one that isn't the same as the others.)

I would like to suggest that Christopher Heyerdahl could be considered a "great" actor. 

He has been in a lot of shows that we watch, and we don't even realize it at first.  (Gotham, Sanctuary, Stargate Atlantis, Twilight to name a few.)  I really enjoy watching him work.  If you haven't seen him yet, take a moment and look up his work.  Enjoy!

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Share

This post is a part of the wonderful fun of Five Minute Fridays.  Enjoy!

Sharing.

I never know how much to share here, even though it's my own blog.  I never know how much is too much.  This part was too much to share, so yes, I did edit it out.  Do I tell you that in serving my dad in November that I got to share way too much of the ups and downs of his life right now?  Do I share how scared I am?

Oh yes, I am scared.  Terrified, really.  When we lose him, and it is "when" not "if," I will be an orphan.  I will be "the head of our household" (even though we are all in different households).

I'm scared of homeschooling my children, even though I also know it is the right thing to do.  I'm worried that Boo isn't as advanced as she's supposed to be and will graduate "late."  I'm scared that Little Bit will never learn her times tables.  I'm scared that one day CPS will come and take them for no good reason other than I homeschool.

Do I share with you how scared I get when they get sick?  Especially right now.  Even though Dale is employed, and even though we are "technically covered" by insurance, I worry that there is no overlap, and that we'll be stuck with an astronomical medical bill? 

How do you share your hopes and your dreams and your fears and your concerns and not seem like you are going insane? 

Simply this. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)

There is a music group from where I grew up that used to sing Proverbs 3:5-6.  If I can't find a recording of it online somewhere, I'll try to come up with my own.  But seeing how this is supposed to be a 5 minute prompt, and it's taken me an hour and a half to chase this rabbit trail, I think I'll wait until tomorrow.  :)

And another rabbit trail.  Apparently, I don't use the words God, Jesus, or Lord enough on this blog.  Maybe I am too scared to do so, but I'm going to try to change that from here on out.  I need to share about my faith more often.  Okay, done with rabbit trails.  Good night.  :D

Hugs,
Melinda

FMF - Send

Here am I Lord, Send me. 

Isaiah spoke those words without even knowing where God wanted to send him to.  Wow.  I would love to have that faith.  We send our missionaries, we send mail and email, we send written checks.  But how much faith does it take to say, "Lord, send me.  Let me be your hands and feet.  Use me."

There's a song on the radio right now.  The artist is singing about how he hates the poverty he sees, and all the injustice, and asks God, "Why?  Why don't you do something?  Where are you?"  And God says, "I created you."

Lord, please use me.  I am a mom, and a wife, but I am your servant first and foremost.  Please let me be totally and fully yours.  May your words flow from my mouth.  May my hands find your work to do.  May my heart be a reflection of your heart.  May I see people through your eyes and see them the way you see them.

Here I am Lord.  Send me.  Send me wherever you need me to go.  Even if that means staying right here.

Stop

Five Minute Friday is a weekly linkup of writers who get together and write on a one word prompt for 5 minutes.  No editing.  Then you go linkup your post here, and comment on the person in front of you.  That's it.  It keeps stretching me and growing me as a writer.  I really enjoy it.  You should try it sometime.

Hugs,
Melinda

Isaiah 6:8 (NIV) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”