Browns R Us

Wow, I am living testimony to the power of prayer! I can literally feel myself being prayed for this week. I have total peace about my surgery tomorrow and God has really spoken to me this week also about several things that I need to hand over to Him. When we let Him, God truly does a powerful work in our life. The hard part is that before we are blessed, we have to completely submit to Him and His will for our life and also humble ourselves before Him. I have been talking with a friend of mine about being in the "wilderness" lately, i.e. feeling like everything that can happen has happened to us lately. She gave me such a word of wisdom - God leads us into the wilderness sometimes to mature us and also to speak to us. We have to be willing to go there and be patient while He completes a good work in us! I keep telling myself everday that God is for us and never against us and where I am at right now is just exactly where he wants me to be!

I have been meaning to post some pictures of this past weekend. We celebrated my father's 78th birthday at Miss Mary Bobo's in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Oh my! All I have to say is GO! Best food I have ever put in my mouth - ever! Now I know why Food Network has been there. Make sure and get reservations first though because it is very hard to get in. Then we toured the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was so much fun, especially dealing with Abby my "would-be" prohibitionist. I think she thought she was going to go straight to hell just for being there (she has a little to learn about God's grace and a little less to learn about legalism.) It was a load of fun! We had a really great time as a family. Thank you Melanie for planning the day.

FYI - Just as Chris, the kids and I were about to head out Saturday morning to meet everyone in Lynchburg we had a water pipe break in our kitchen and our kitchen was flooded for about 20 minutes solid before water could get turned off at the water mane out front. That was an adventure for sure. We have it capped off now and fans have been running for several days. More reason to re-do the kitchen as soon as we can!

I will be thinking of everyone and praying for you all as I recover tomorrow and Friday. Love to everyone! Melissa

Okay, I admit I am getting a little nervous about my surgery on Thursday. For those who don't know, I am having my thyroid gland removed on Thursday. I will stay at least one night in the hospital (and hopefully that is it!) and then be home hopefully sometime Friday afternoon/evening. I plan to be back to work on Monday. Please pray for Chris and the kids - that they won't be nervous about this and that Chris will be able to get them around to all of their activities. :)

Also, Chris found out this morning that his company has started lay-offs and "reorganizations". We are really seeking God's guidance and provision about this and are hopeful that Chris' job won't be affected.

God is good all the time and he knows the plans He has for our family and yours. I pray that we all are able to discern God's will for our lives and that we can hold fast to our faith and rest confidently in God's unchanging love for us.

The link below leads to a news report of what is currently happening at Pine Ridge Reservation (the reservation our family went to serve on in June). Please keep the people of Pine Ridge Reservation in your prayers. Link below:

http://www.blackhillsfox.com/NewsStories.aspx?StoryID=11942&CatID=1

Chris is gone and I have a million things to do. We have practices and homework (yes, already!) and dinner to cook and so on and so on. I wish I had a robot!

I am VERY excited about school starting back and all the stuff that goes along with it - ballgames, new church classes, the kids being gone all day - did I say that?

We have finally gotten semi-organized for the Fall! Believe it or not, I am only going to focus on one volunteer project this Fall and that is helping with our new 6th grade ministry at church. It should be exciting. I love the age of these children - they are so much fun. I am going to try not to overcommit to anything this year and just keep up with the evergrowing faster pace of my children and their activities. It is becoming more evident to me that these days are going to go by very quickly and I sure hope I can enjoy them while they are here!

Challenge: Pray for your kids today. Pray for their safety, salvation and and that they will sense the presence of God in their lives.

Well, I am officially feeling older and older and older:

Dropped another one off for Middle School Day Camp today. I was so impressed with the way the school had things set up. With our new principal Mrs. Stewart in charge, I believe that Abby is going to have a much better experience than Jacob did 2 years ago. And boy am I glad of that!

Also, my 20th year reunion from Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee is this weekend! No comment.......

Gearing up for a busy weekend - yard sale, football scrimmage, soccer scrimmage, boat-riding with dear friends, etc. Hope everyone has a great one!

Well people, we are living proof that God does have a plan and that He also still performs miracles. As we prayed this morning before work, Chris said "thank you Lord for giving us the tenacity to stick this thing out." HA, that is SO true! Sometimes that is really all there is, just hanging in there and sticking it out. (Very hard for a romantic drama queen like myself. I want a fairy tale all the time.) Oh well, if marriage teaches you anything, it is that life is NOT a fairy tale. I will say, however, that it does get better with time.

Happy Anniversary Chris! 14 years married and 19 years putting up with me. Wow! Love you, Boo

If you never have had the opportunity to watch The Last Lecture, then please do right now. So sad to hear about his passing and I am sending up prayers for his wife and three small children.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

I was thinking this morning about what a rough week this has been for me. From Sunday on it seems like I have been under constant attack and haven't done such a good job standing firm against it. Honestly, I have just given in to it. I have allowed myself to be selfish and critical this week and I hate that! I have found myself falling into old patterns during the past week and I really hate that! Sometimes it seems that we are alone - without a prayer partner in the world or without anyone to talk to about our problems, but I really do believe that this is when God can be at most work in our lives. If we recognize our complete need for Him during these times and cry out to Him, then He WILL answer. So, I am dusting myself off this morning and getting back on the horse. Pity party is over. For those of you who have had the unfortunate opportunity to be around me this week, I am sorry. I have not been a good witness nor a good friend to be around. With that said, this is the devotional I had this morning in my inbox:

". . . let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16 NIV).

Last fall my husband and I were traveling in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Frequently, we would see a lake with a beautiful reflection of the rugged snow covered mountains. It was an awesome scene. I could not help but think, "Does God's love reflect from my life? Do others see Jesus in me?" As I was considering these questions and the possible answer, the thought came to me that in order for God's love to reflect from my life, the love of God's Son, Jesus, must shine in my heart. Just as it is the shining sun that causes a reflection to appear on the lake, so also without the sun shining on the water, there is not reflection. I live in Oregon where we have many days of cloudy, rainy weather. It is easy to allow these dreary days to depress my spirits and weary my soul. However, the clouds and rain cannot obscure the love of Jesus when I remind myself that it is God's Son who shines in my heart. God's love will reflect from my heart when I read and meditate on God's Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart. When our hearts are overflowing with God's love, our lives will reflect the love of Jesus. He will help us as we:

Show concern for others.

Be a good listener.

Reach out to others, not waiting for them to reach out first.

Be cheerful and positive.

Be hospitable.

Be generous.

Be their prayer warrior.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video?viewkey=2275da59ba352aa5070c

http://www.godtube.com/view_video?viewkey=2c8d6d5f61d0ddb88acd

James 1:2-5

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

I love this verse. I think because I have been through so many trials in my life (like all of you I am sure). It is so interesting to me to know that when I am enduring trials in my life, whether it be financial, dealing with kids, my career (or lack thereof), etc. that God loves me enough to put me through it. He loves me enough to test my faith. He loves me enough to develop my perserverance. He also loves me enough to give me generous amounts of wisdom if I only ask.

So trust God with your trials. Trust Him that he is doing a work in your life and that He loves you enough to do so! Basically, hang in there. God is good. He means only good for your life - not harm.

Happy Anniversary to my niece Marcie and her husband Nick! I love you both.

God has really been speaking to me lately about the power of words in our lives. Anyone who knows me knows that I am fairly outspoken (to say the least). One person I have been very outspoken to in my life is my husband. Chris and I both have used words in our marriage to hurt each other. We know each other well enough to know that words are the weapon that wound each other the most. I have been very convicted over the past few months and especially in the past few days over taking responsibility for the words that I speak. Words are VERY powerful. They have long lasting effect in our lives and in the lives of others. I am making a conscious decision to try with God's help to speak nothing but words of blessing on others (including my husband - especially my husband and children). God calls us to speak encouragement to others. Never are we to speak critical words or words of discouragement to others. Never. It is not scriptural. Words have a long-lasting effect on others and I pray Lord that you will help me to speak only kind words to not only those that I love, but all those around me.

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

James 3:9-12

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Happy 4th of July from the Browns!!!

Really, does it get more beautiful than this?

There is a time in life when you stop existing and you start living. There is a time in life when you are given a new chance and new dreams. There is a time in life when the old is to be forgotten and the new embraced. There is a time in life...And that time is now...

copied from the web.