i know.

i have been struggling for quite some time now.

i even hesitate to put this down in writing
for fear.

fear of judgment.

but, i started this blog as a way of
putting my thoughts down.
so here it goes.

my mother in law is 89 and lives alone, a mile down the road from us.
the hubs and her have decided the best thing for her is:
moving into our single wide in my BACKYARD.

i have been struggling.
the words:
boundaries & privacy are my constant thoughts.

i know.
i know, that there are many, many families
who move their elderly parent into their homes.

i know.
i know, that this is temporary.

i know.
i know, i should treasure these last few years.

i know.
i know, i should be practicing compassion

i know.
i know, i should be showing more empathy.

i know.
that it shouldn't be such a struggle.

but, that sad truth is;
it IS a struggle-
it is a struggle for me.

in a way, i feel like a hypocrite.
that i am not walking my talk.
and that hurts me down deep
to my core.

i also know how i feel.

like my back is to a wall.
that all my choices have been taken away from me.
and that my voice is not being heard.

i know.
i know, that this sounds whiney and ugly
and not like the christian woman
that i profess to be.
which leads me to this;

i am torn and in need of prayer.

i prayed today for transition.
for the patience to deal with this transition.
that my husband would be able to not only
be thinking about what is best for his mother
but, what is best for us.

& i prayed for
a softening of my heart; a change of attitude.

i have been in prayer
and in the word.

today i found on
christian broadcasting network
this wonderful article and scripture:

Ensuring Your Peace

If you are struggling to find peace, you are not alone. Consider the following scriptural advice to help you find, or regain, that missing peace:

1. Change your focus. The Bible instructs us to fix "our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete" (Heb. 12:2). As we change our focus -- off of our problems and onto the Lord -- His peace will fill our lives.

2. Change your circumstances. Sometimes it is necessary to take a break from the things that trouble us, even for brief periods of time. Even great men and women of God have at times experienced times of devastating discouragement (1 Kings 19:3-5; 2 Cor. 4:7-10). Try altering your physical setting for a short time. Also, take a close look at your lifestyle. You may be lacking peace simply because you are not following God's pattern for rest.

3. Change your attitude. Are you facing a difficult situation? The Bible says, "Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do" (1 Thes. 5:18). Begin to thank God right now and soon you will experience His peace in the midst of the storm.

i am trying to shine & to smile. amidst the changes...
to go with the flow.
to change my attitude.

the hope is there. the love is there.
i am clinging to His peace.



always,

accepting challenges

via pinterest

our church has been offering 

different challenges for the congregation

& opportunities for growth.

two i am tackling:

new testament- 49 day reading plan

&

a prayer of thanksgiving

to do daily

i took the 

challenge of the 49 day

new testament reading.

i love to read!

lately i have

been reading approximately 2-3 books

a week

but, i had missed a lot of days for the 49 day plan

and wasn't looking forward to playing 'catch up'...

then on sunday 

the pastor said,

"i don't care if it takes you

49, 69 or 89 days

as long as you get through it!!"

yay!

then, tonight at small group

we were given a prayer;

our challenge is to

read it every day 

until our small group 

meets next month.

if anyone is interested in joining me, 

i will be reading this every day-

starting tomorrow morning! :)

for thirty days

i will commit to read it 

here it is:

My dear Father in Heaven-

I come to you today as a child of God

who has been adopted into your eternal family.

I come as a person who is a new creation in Christ

who is completely reconciled to you.

Not by what I have done,

but by what you have done for me

in Christ and on my behalf.

I thank you today that I am justified

because Jesus was made a sin offering for me and 

that you have made me the righteousness of God in Christ.

I thank you today that my life is now hidden with Christ in God

I thank you that you will never count my sins against me

I thank you I am blessed

I thank you I have been rescued

I thank you I am redeemed

I thank you I am free from condemnation

I thank you my mind is renewed

I thank you my life is transformed

I thank you I am like a tree by the river

I thank you I am bearing fruit

I thank you I am connected to the vine

I thank you I am God's workmanship

I thank you I have been chosen

I thank you I am on over comer

I thank you I am filled with the Holy Spirit

I thank you I can do all things through Christ

I thank you that you answer prayer

I thank you for the power of faith

i plan to read this prayer through

every morning while

having my morning coffee.

if you decide to join me

in saying this every morning

will you please let me know? 

i would love to hear from

and share it with you.

shiny blessings. :)

prayer

source-pinterest

i sit in a warm

and cozy home

with the glow 

from our fireplace

bringing me

joy and comfort.

i sit and

 watch the news;

the devastation

that is expected

on the east coast from

hurricane sandy,

and i feel

so very thankful

for all my

blessings.

sure

the wind is blowing

and it is raining here

at home...

but, it

makes the excuse to

not go outside for my walk

seem so trivial

when i think of 

what is going on

over on the east coast

and for that matter

 all. over. the.

world!

 praying

 today.

prayer

you know how when
something or someone
keeps popping into your head

those whispers that God sends to you?

you ignore them for only
so long until you say;
okay God, i hear you!

well, a lot of changes have
been going on in our sweet family
of late.

the biggest change being
the move of one of our
daughters and her family
to vienna, austria for missionary work

the other being our youngest
daughter who along with
her fiance will be moving
next week to california. (only two states away) ;)

none of our girls
have lived with us
for quite some time,
in other words;

we have adjusted to being
empty nesters.
quite nicely, in fact! :)

but, we enjoy a lot
of family time and
many get togethers
with our girls and their
families
so my husband and i
are trying to adjust to
these changes.

we also have been
experiencing changes in
our church family as well.

so, yesterday
a new sermon series
began for september.
you guessed it.

on prayer.

a few points/notes
i took were:

*it is not how you pray
but, THAT you pray.
* God is working on
what he wants for you.
*God is not hiding from us.
he WANTS us to know him.
*prayer is getting dialed in
with God.
*prayer is a relationship that
God is calling us into!
*prayer is getting in tune
with God.

so, okay sometimes
it is a whisper that he
sends my way...
not this time!
take a baseball bat and
just smack me upside the
head!
i need to pray more!

and then, what happens?!

i get my email from:
time warped wife
and it is all about
a challenge to pray!

not just any prayer...
but, to specifically pray
for our spouses.

yep, smack me with
the baseball bat again!

i have decided to join
the challenge that
time warped wife is issuing
and pray daily for my husband
and our marriage.



i am going to listen-

be in tune and have a
better prayer relationship
with God
which in turn can only
better my marriage and
my life in general.

on this labor day
amidst all the picnics
and family time...
may you have time to
glance over at your spouse
and say a prayer of thanksgiving
for him!

blessings,

tuesday and happy thoughts!

today i wake early
shower and dress for
a two hour drive to seattle

i am heading to my oncologist
today for a six month check-up.

praying & thinking
only happy thoughts!

my wish is that no one else
ever has to hear these words;
"you have cancer"
ever. again.
that a cure would be
found in our life time.

for now, i drive the
long and seemingly
forever drive...
with a little cloud
over the one shoulder
until i hear the oncologist
say, the tests are
"clean & clear"
 :)

may you have a lovely
day, filled with lots
of happy thoughts...

as for me?
i take my life verse with me-

jeremiah 29:11
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.

shine, my friends
shine.

when bad news comes

yesterday a family my husband & i
know quite well,
was given the news
that no one wants to hear
and SO many, many do hear.

a wife & mom was told
she has cancer.
it came as a huge surprise
to everyone

she went to the ER
because she was not
feeling well,
they suspected kidney failure
and when all the test were said
and done
she has advanced stages of bone cancer.

she can do treatments and
her life expectancy can be five years.

oh dear.

her husband stood last night
in our doorway
crying and broken.

he said he is not
ready to lose his wife
and i began to weep.

all i could do was reach out
and hug him
and whisper in his ear
that i would be praying for
him.

they have small children
who have been sent to
stay with family.

after our recent
cancer diagnosis & surgery for my husband
i  fall on my knees-
thanking God for the good outcome
for my hubs


now, i am praying for
the jacklin family

1 thessalonians 5:17-18
¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

cancer is ugly
it is time for a cure

i know too,
that our God is never
far away
and i am thankful.

God is here for me in the good times-

& i am thankful that i have a God
whom i can turn to
when the bad news comes.

five things friday

what i am thankful for on

 day 4.

coffee dates with my husband

five things friday~

1. the hubbie and i are going on a 'day date'! 

we are taking the whole day ;

errands, coffee, shop, lunch & an early matinee.

oh yeah, how lovely! 

2. my hubs had to meet my son-in-law

yesterday and pick up the 2 1/2 year old

grandson because i was watching his 1 year old cousin...

when little guy got in the car-seat he turned to

'gramps' and said, "i love you gramps"

oh yeah, heart commence melting!

3. two of my loved ones in need of prayer- 

this on my mind/heart today

4. i actually purchased my first couple

christmas presents the other day...ho-ho!

this does not in ANY way make me more

organized than last year, i am sure i will still

be running around like an idiot again this year! 

5. the frost on our grass this morning was just beautiful.

it makes me want to put on some boots & a scarf

for my 'date' with the hubbie! :)

what do you have on your mind today?

do you have plans for the weekend?

have you started christmas shopping yet?

is there a prayer you are in need of?

i hope that whatever you do this weekend

it would be filled with joy and happiness!

may you be blessed,

p.s. have you checked my swap my closet page? :)

thrifty thursday

3. i am thankful for a warm & cozy home

i want to thank all
of my friends for
offering unspoken prayers
i so appreciate them

today, on this thursday
i am posting some outfits
for what i am calling a thrifty thursday...

my outfits will be what i have worn
over the past week-
at least one or more of the items
will be thrifted! ;) hehe

the military coat was one of those goodwill finds

that i almost screamed when i saw it...hurried and put it

in my cart and kept an eye on it at all times so no one would 'steal' it...hehe

i love this coat! 

this coat is originally from american eagle-

to complete the outfit: 

scarf/nordstrum (full price! EEK) 

bootcut jeans & black t-shirt/old navy 

red cardigan/was BRAND new with tags from 

local consignment shop called: labels! 

navy blouse/thrifted @ value village

skinnies/jc penneys

and to complete this outfit?

take a look at these shoes...:)

these adorables are one of my latest thrift finds. i found these at salvation army-

the color is a bit odd, kind of a wine color... but, i do loooove them!

sweater/local consignment shop (labels)

 brown turtleneck/target

skinnies/jcpenneys

brown booties/so old i cannot remember! :)

sweater/consignment shop (labels)

lacy dress/target (last christmas)

skinnies/jc penneys

and i wore this outfit with a new pair of

thrifted boots!

i love these boots! i found these at labels (local consignment shop)

i gifted one of my thrifted pairs of boots

(over the last month i have found THREE pair)

to my daughter because, 

the sweet mustard heels (i blogged about them here) didn't fit her and

i wound up keeping them! hehe

which i should've taken a picture of

since i wore them on sunday! ;)

last but not least is a close up of my 

new glasses!

i adore them. 

dark purple and a bit larger than my other ones...

and i bought them online so they were a LOT cheaper than my other pair...

gotta love that! :)

may you have a lovely thursday

i will be babysitting today

two little cousins who

are beginning to really bond

and play well together...how fun!

be blessed,

being thankful

thankful

1 & 2

1. i do not know what i would do without a praying family

2. for friends who love & truly care

~~~~

this being the second day
of november already
got me to thinking
(i know sometimes that is a scary thought!)

but, it reminds me that
this month is a thankful month
we have a holiday for it...
don't get me started on
how we have to actually be
reminded to be 'thankful'

i plan to take each day and
at the top of my post
have something i am thankful for,
the rest of the post might
be something totally random
but, i am going to add a note of thankfulness
at the top!

this post has two at the top,
because yesterday was the first day
and i didn't do it! ;)

i went to town with my girlfriend
yesterday to celebrate her birthday...
oh my, we stopped along the way
for latte's and giant cookies then
drove to a nearby town where we
went shopping then back home to
our mall for more shopping and
lunch at red robin...mmmm

i came home stuffed to the gils
but, also filled with the love
of a dear friend-
who truly loves me

to say i am thankful
is an understatement.

again, i ask for unspoken prayer-
we know that Jesus is our intercessor
and he knows the needs that are on
our hearts today, how wonderful is that?
i am thankful for family and friends who
pray for each other.

five things friday

one. heading out for the day
with eldest daughter and little guy-
coffee, tar-jay and accessorizing
little guy's halloween outfit
makes for a sweet day!

two. i plan to make some
goodies this weekend...
caramel corn and chex mix
are on the agenda!

three. asking for unspoken
prayers for someone i love.

four. buying skirt hangers
to finally hang my awesome
vintage pencil skirt collection

five. scoring while thrifting
this week. i walked out with
5, yes...i said FIVE pairs
of shoes/boots! this is after
looking since summer for
boots for fall...i scored
three pairs of boots, a pair
of mustard yellow bandolino pumps
(which i am gifting to my middle daughter
who works in an office), and another sweet
pair of oxfords! my thrifting luck has been
AWESOME of late! :)


what is new with you?
have you anything special planned for
the weekend ahead of you? (besides lots of candy buying/eating!)
what's on your mind today?
can i pray for you?
rejoicing or not
my wish is that you have a
most wonderful weekend!

be blessed,

sight unseen~

i mentioned in my last post here
about a desk my daughter's friend
was selling on craigslist...
my daughter told me about it
and i bought it from her friend
sight unseen

i loved it
right away-
what a little beauty!

i am going to move it into
my library/craft room
and this will be where
my little sewing machine
will sit waiting for me to
be crafty!:)

so my dilemma is this
i want to paint it
my hubs and daughter
think it is perfect the way
it is, all beat and vintage looking-
(of course, i will win! hehe)

so that means when it is
all painted and in the actual
room with the sewing machine on it,
all cute and lovely
i will need to post again! ha

today my little grandson decided
that granny's new desk
needed some 'work'-
so he got his tool belt and
tools and began to sand, saw
and hammer!! :)

being a granny is far more
fun than i had ever imagined
that is for sure-
when he sees
me or my hubbie and runs to us
with his arms open wide and a
huge smile,
well this granny melts into a puddle
of gooey love!

may you be blessed today,
and if you would
i have an unspoken
prayer request...
for two people whom
i. love .very. much.
i do not feel comfortable
sharing their needs right now
but, i would love for you to
lift these two loved ones up in
prayer.
our Lord knows their needs.

thank you.

and we are off!

this weekend
our girls came home from
their mission trip-
my hubbie and i had to
pick them up in seattle...
so we swung by and picked
up our grandson who was beyond
excited to see his mommy and auntie.
we were not even ten minutes from
his house when he asked, "are we there yet?"
(the drive to the airport takes 2 hours! )

when we arrived at the airport
we went immediately to the baggage area
where we were told the passengers
would be arriving...
we staked out the escalator
where we knew they would
have to ride up.

so we waited for them
and waited and waited-
little guy, started to get antsy
with anticipation-
he was so cute to watch...

finally we found out they

were coming from the other side

of the baggage area and 

gramps and the boy

started going up and down

the escalator to kill some time...

until he saw his mommy 

and his mommy saw him and

started sprinting to him!!!

oh, my goodness...sweetness!

after traveling and being up for over 24 hours,

she still had this gorgeous smile...

today, after church

the family all got together

here at our house,

for lunch and to hear about the trip-

they have stories i haven't 

even begun to hear...

but, i did get to see some AMAZING pictures!

now, i am sitting here-

packed for my quick little get away 

with my hubbie and our friends...

so the pictures and stories will need to wait

all i can say is it was wonderful to see their

sweet faces yesterday and have all my chickies

in one nest today!

we leave first thing in the morning (5am)

i am taking the laptop

but, i have a limited amount of time

on this getaway...don't want to waste it!

so we shall see what i post!

:)

i would ask

any of you who are willing to pray-

to pray for my step dad

he fell yesterday and is

in the hospital with

broken ribs, collarbone and punctured lung

please pray for healing and quick recovery

along with prayers for my mom

who i am sure is having a hard time

watching her husband

in this much pain.

thank you bloggie friends

for the support and love.

be blessed,

i send shiny smiles & hugs your way!

half of 30

oh my goodness
today marks the
fifteenth day
i am now half way
through my 30 for 30 remix!

last night my girls put on
a talent show at our church
to help raise funds for the two of them
to go to Africa on a mission trip

it was very succesful
they had a great turnout
and with last nights
free will offerring
they are at their half way mark
for raising funds
so they are pretty excited about that!

there were many performers
a 2nd grader from our church played the keyboard and sang
an 8 year old performed a gymnastics routine
and my daughter had lots of her
 college friends who sang
along with the
middle daughter/son in law duo
and myself!
i felt the many prayers-
i had not done a solo
for a few years and thought i
might be a bit rusty
but, i felt uplifted as i was on stage
and i know i was being prayed for
so thank you to all who offered
them up it helped
i didn't embarrass myself or my family...lol

here is what i wore last night to the
talent show:

the creamy ivory dress is from old navy, purple cardi from the gap, necklaces are thrifted as are my favorite little leopard flats
and underneath i wore some jegging type pants from forever 21

so now we are ready to head back
to church today...
and i am on nursery duty
so usually i don't wear a dress or skirt
we are going to thai food afterwards
to celebrate the youngest daughter along with
one of the son in laws birthdays...
so this is what my day looks like
on day fifteen-

white peasant top, i love this comfy thing...which i thrifted some time ago, the jeans are bootleg from kohls, i am wearing the sweet leopard flats with this outfit and the best scarf ever...is from PARIS!  i purchased this scarf in a little market, on our walk up to the St. Pierre de Montmarte! if you know anything about Montmarte it is crazy beautiful...a church that sits on a hill overlooking all of Paris...it was amazing! (google it if you get the chance)
my prayer is that you have a wonderful
& blessed day
spend time being thankful
for the gifts you have been given
i know for me...i have so much to
be thankful for and i give thanks today
for it all!

blessings,
melody-mae

number fourteen

as many of you know
i have three daughters
that i am extremely proud
of and so honored to
be called their momma...

two of these daughters
the middle one and the youngest one
have felt the calling
to go on a mission trip
and so they will be
heading to South Africa
in July for two weeks
i of course as their momma
am very nervous
for their safety
but, am proud of them
and their strong faith

they have been
having bake sales
selling bracelets
they have a
few car washes scheduled too
but, tonight
is a Family Friendly Talent Show
they will be speaking about
their trip
and there will be
many performers
one which will actually
be my daughter and her husband
i love listening to them
they truly have a God given talent
that they use for Him!!

now about midway through
the program
little ol' me will be singing
i will be singing with my son in law
accompanying me...
i pray that i will be a blessing
that it will honor God above all
and that i will be able
to get through it
and not embarrass
myself or the girls! :)

prayers would
be appreciated
that the show is a success
and for me too!

so i am still sitting here
in my sweats
i am heading to the church
early to help set up and
so i plan to change later

i promise to post
my outfit picture
along with tomorrow's
outfit in a post together!


i hope your saturday
is a happy one

be blessed,

melody

an april fool!

today is april fools day
so far no jokes
& pranks, here.

when the kids were little
we use to have fun with
jokes and craziness

but, today
i think will
be just like any other
friday for us...
that is okay by me
i am not much for
pranks and such
unless of course
i am the prankster!!! LOL

how about you
what have you done
if anything for april fools?

it is raining like crazy
today...just nasty
i do not have any
desire to go out in it
but grocery shopping
and coffee are calling my name!:)

so i tried to find
something that was
a bit warmer for this
cold wet weather...
here is what my
day thirteen looks like-

jean skirt (i wear this thing like a pair of trusty jeans!) are from walmart, grey leggings are from aeropostle, converse, the scarf  was thrifted and black jacket is from macy's.

tomorrow will be a crazy, busy and exciting day
i could totally use some prayers for confidence
to share in a large group...
more on that in tomorrow's post.

smile today...you never know what your smile
might mean to someone today!

blessings,
melody

a visit over coffee

                                                            http://cupofcoffee.us/coffee-cups/black-coffee-mug.htm




today if we were to meet for coffee
i would probably come to the coffee shop
and need to vent over a nice hot steaming latte'
maybe even a  grande mocha today, with whip! ;)

we changed our insurance as of january 1...
my hubs going with a lessor deductible
than my youngest daughter and i
oh my goodness, what a headache it has been
i went to pick up my prescription today
and they said i wasn't covered and it was going
to cost over $300.00...i walked out without my prescription!
i need this drug, i have been on it since finishing chemo and
will be on it probably for the rest of my life and lets just say
i cannot afford to pay $300 each month, that is just ridiculous!
so if i met you today
i would be a bit grumpy and complaining about healthcare and what
a huge mess all of this has been

sitting and visiting with you would be
such  a TREAT for me
curled up on a couch at my favorite coffee shop
i would be able to share my ups & downs with you
the good and the bad...the things that make me smile...cry
and if you wanted, you would be able to share the same with me

i would ask you how your week has been
what is going on in your life...
i would try to be a good listener, sometimes i find this hard
and i am working on it!

have you been shopping lately?
bought anything fun?
i went thrifting the other day and
found a couple cute little tops...
still trying to phych myself up for the 30 for 30 remix
i know this is something i NEED to do (not shop)

so you pledge to pick 30 things from your closet
and remix these 30 things for 30 days...and you cannot shop
except 'shop your closet'
your shoes count in the 30 things but, coats and accessories do not...
i am thinking of starting next week...oh my!
maybe i need to shop this weekend before i commit! LOL

so what else would we talk about over coffee?
do you have things weighing heavy on your mind?
we have had some losses in our community and
i know that some of you in blog land are having a
hard time right now too
so i would probably offer to pray for you if that
was something you were comfortable with...

venting about the the stuff that bothers us, visiting & just talking...drinking coffee, even praying about our concerns...maybe a quick visit to the local thrift store? :) :) ya know, one last shopping trip?
now that sounds like a very wonderful coffee date to me!

what would you order if we met today for coffee?
would you have things to vent about, talk about...pray about?
i know one thing for sure, i would be ever so thankful
to meet you over coffee...
and would leave so refreshed that i could take on most anything life
through at me, how about you?
oh yeah it is coffee time!


be blessed-life is great-you are loved!
melody-mae

monday, monday!

so here it is another monday
when you have had a relaxing weekend
monday's seem to jump out at you
screaming... here it is again

 I welcome another monday with open arms
thankful for another day, thankful for my blessings
but deep,deep in my heart there is an ache today
for my dear friend Wilma and her sweet family
her little  2 1/2 year old grandson really he is a grandBABY... has been battling brain cancer
they have flown to phoenix for proton therapy
been to seattle for chemo,he has had surgery, more treatments...and on friday the mri
showed the tumor had doubled in size, plus there are spots on his spine
his parents have decided that after a year of surgeries and treatments
the chemo isn't working and they will no longer submit him to them
hospice is being called....
my heart breaks...shatters into little pieces for this young family...and for my friend as she watches and feels helpless
they are praying, oh yes, do not get me wrong this whole family and our community is in prayer for the sweet family. we are not giving up, by no means are we giving up. my mantra when i was diagnosed was: there is always hope!
i believe in the power of prayer, i truly do...and so i lift up my prayers today...for peace and comfort...that the whole family be surrounded in love, that they would feel the arms of Jesus comforting them.
i would love it if you my friends, would also lift up the family.
 the little boy's name is: Cash...thank you.

i am posting some happy photos!
if there is one thing i can learn from all of this...
there is not a day that goes by that i am not thankful for my family!!!
these were taken over christmas break, ones that bring a smile to my face everytime i see them.

 gramps and jack...getting ready to hand out the gifts on christmas day

our little lane is sitting up!

 jack helped auntie tessa roll out dough for gingerbread men and ginger-dinosaurs! ( i think the tongue shows how much he was concentrating!)

these eyes... make this granny's heart melt!


may you have a blessed monday. go. now. hug your loved ones.

blessings,
melody