Melissa in the House

I Samuel 22 1David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2  And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him. 3  Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4  So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. There is a huge significance between Judah and Moab.  Ruth 1 In the days when the judges ruled, [ a ] there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2  The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was ...

I Samuel 17: 45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty , the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel . 47  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord ’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” Do you  hear the victory in David's voice.  Can you hear the voice of truth in his proclamation?  Goliath may come against him with sword and spear and javelin, three aggressive weapons, but David has come against him in the name of the Lord .  There is just something powerful about that name Jesus....

Last Spring the boys and I were studying life science and plants.  I told them we would have a garden, but they had to be on-board with helping me plant the seeds.  Let me first say, I do NOT have a green thumb and have tried for years to have a successful tomato garden or cucumber garden, and I normally have to buy my flowers already grown at the garden center and plant them. I began studying on soil because my neighbor who happens to have a green thumb stressed to me that it's all about the soil first, sure you need a sunny spot in your yard, but even if you have the perfect spot, the soil has got to be right. I began first getting the soil ready.  We started to make compost with some help from youtube videos, gardening websites, and of course my neighbor's tidbits.  Then I studied what else is good for vegetable soil.  Next thing you know, the boys and I are buying styrofoam cups from dollar tree and mixing our soil, planting our seeds. ...

I decided two years ago to quit drinking coffee. I completely cut out coffee altogether and switched to decaf.  Coffee had become "that thing" in my life. I started drinking coffee again because in my mind, the justification for coffee had more advantages than disadvantages. I just missed "that thing" every morning. Where am I going with this story? Well, after reading Samuel 11, and putting together my faithful 100% blog about God, it is apparent that God has "that thing" too.  I have concluded based on biblical evidence that God's Thing is you and me, and Israel, and if you are a direct relative to the Jewish nation of Israel or an adopted heir to the blessing of Abraham, you are "that thing" that get's God going in the morning.  You are "that thing" that he stocks up on and  is in the cupboard, or the photograph in the wallet. So if you started your day out discouraged, don't be, because you get God motivated and st...

Today's reading covers I Samuel 10.  I want to italicize and grab these verses as our key discussion.  The theme of this post  is God Faithful, 100 percent.  I Samuel 10:17-19     17  Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the  Lord  at Mizpah   18  and said to them, “This is what the  Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed  you.’   19  But you have now rejected  your God, who saves  you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king  over us.’  So now present  yourselves before the  Lord  by your tribes and clans.” Have you ever got the call or you happened to ease drop in on a conversation that is got people talking....Did you hear so and so did so and so.   Sure, we've all been there at some time in our life.  "Are they ...

A year ago, my family decided it would be a great way to kick off the fall with a fun filled camping trip up near Helen, GA.  Sincer we had not been on a vacation the summer leading up to this point, it was very inexpensive way the kids and I could get a change of atmosphere.  The boys love to be outside, and I have to admit, my husband and I love the outdoors, but camping is not my idea of a weekend getaway for the simple reason that it takes lots of work. Brian's idea of camping and my idea of camping are two different ideas.  Let's start with my idea.  I enjoy a rustic cabin around other people, or a campsite that is very close to other people. with electricity and water.  Brian likes rustic camping, seclusion, boiling your own water, building a fire, cooking on the campfire, and basically living off the outdoors.  My first suprise leading up to our camping trip was an outdoor toilet.  I was very surprised, and realized he wanted to do whatever ...

Psalm 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. We will be studying Judges 15 today, go ahead and read the chapter and I will give a brief overview. It is at the time of wheat harvest and Samson goes to acquire his wife the Timnite and brings a young goat.  The young goat is a customary gift and dates back to Genesis 38:17, remember the story of Tamar and Judah?  The young goat has been very instrumental and symbolic with the Israelites, remember the Passover in Egypt? His father says, "Huh, you can't go to her, she is now with your friend.  You didn't want her anymore." Samson is full of rage and frustration, and we know enough about his character so far, do you think he has good anger management skills?...nuh uh.  Who can he blame, who can he direct his anger toward....the Philestines.  Did I mention already it is wheat harvest.  Can you forsee the trouble ahead.   We can now add another charac...

I was informed recently of a family in our community that recently went through a touch experience and were open to recieving meals.    I felt led to step up and make a meal for this family.  The directions were as follows.  You go online, set up an account, pick your date and dish, post it, and let them know ahead of time.  I signed up for meatballs and spaghetti, the family was gluten-free, so I spent a considerable amount on the noodles. The special instructions were also posted: Bring the food to the front of the house.   They have two friendly dogs. If no one is home, they will put a cooler in the back.  It seemed simple enough, except for one thing, I just don't like strange unfamiliar dogs...period!!!  I can tolerate animals, especially dogs, but when they are questionable, it makes me fearful. I asked my hubby to take the  meal out for me this evening because I knew he could handle the situation bette...

One year for Christmas my parents bought me a sewing machine.  I had wanted to learn how to sew for a long time and since I had my own home now, this would  be a great opportunity to sew curtains for the baby room and make valances for the living room.  I opened a brand new chapter in my life...sewing.  My first sewing machine was a Singer. The bobbin sat vertically underneath the needle.  I followed the instruction book on how to thread the machine properly.  It was great at first but then I realized that not long after I would start sewing, the thread would get jammed.  The more I tried to sew, the thread would get jammed even more.  I would then have to take the thread stripper and redo the seam.  This process would go on for hours.  I would cry not understanding what was happening.  I was beginning to think that my sewing machine was broken. When the machine would stitch, the stitches were jumbled together, they didn't look ...

I never thought a person could be attached to a bird, but it's true, because I was attached once to a little finch.  His name was Peeper.   The first year Brian and I was married and expecting, living up in the mountains in the woods got very lonely and I was so happy when Brian's parents gave us Peeper.  Let me tell you about this little finch.  It was about ten years old, it first belonged to Brian's brother, he joined the Navy and gave it to his parents.  They took the bird and cared for it for several years, then the bird was given to us in hopes we would be responsible.  As I was expecting, my motherly insticts kicked in and I remember really wanting to nurture this bird.  In the morning, I would take the covers off Peeper's cage and say sweet things to the bird...crazy...right?  "Good morning little Peep Peep, how are you doing this fine day?" I would say.   I would then get a response back...peep peep peep, guess tha...

I will never forget the morning my second son, who at the time just turned two, decided to drink a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.  It sounds worse than it really is, but I found this out later.  We were getting ready to leave out the door, both Isaac and Joseph went to preschool for a good portion of the morning during this time, I had just finished getting both boys ready, when baby Jacob begins his hungry cry.  I breastfed all my boys and was very intune with his hungry call.  I hold Jacob and sit down in my bedroom, relaxed, I proceed to breastfeed my baby.  The other two are in my bedroom waiting for me and Joseph decides to go in my bathroom.  Almost always I had everything put up very neatly and kept, however, the previous night, my oldest son had a boo boo and the hydrogen peroxide bottle was left on the counter.  Joseph decides to take a plastic cup that happens to be sitting on the counter and pours himself a glass of hydrogen peroxide....

A few years back, it was the summer of 2006, my husband and I had a major change in our life and he accepted a job in Atlanta and we moved from our quaint home in our quaint town of Ellijay, I say quaint because it was, everything was cozy.  Life had been easy street for us during our four years of marriage, other than raising little babies, me trying to finish college and Brian working long hours at his job, we really had it very good.  We had just remodeled our home in the mountains prior to him accepting this new position, it came suddenly, it was an offer he couldn't refuse, and so we bought another home closer to his job.  Our new home was gorgeous, but later we would live to tell a real estate nightmare and how God turned our situation around. It was early fall when I decided to get out of the house and drive around our neighborhood to check out the garage sells.  We lived in a very large neighborhood, it was the size of a small town, and twice a year they ...