Wednesday, October 31, 2007

THANK YOU

for the two donations we have received for Chris to be able to go to the National Youth Conference in Atlanta!

Have a great day,

Melissa

Monday, October 29, 2007

This is going to be a very busy week, so I doubt I will get to post much.

The kids are going to be in a soccer tournament in Columbia, TN this weekend and we will leave Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon. They are very excited, especially Jacob because he will get to see his best friend while we are up there.

Also, because of my job change and also because of our barely being able to afford gas prices at the price they are at, we have made the decision to sell our Expedition and get something smaller. If you know of anyone who might be interested, PLEASE let us know. We have never had any trouble out of it. It needs new tires and a back headlight put in, but we are willing to do that before we sell it. It is a wonderful car for hauling kids around and I am really going to miss it, but the hubby thinks this is the way to go. Anyways, I am praying that everyone has a great week and stays safe. Love,

Melissa

Sunday, October 28, 2007

PLEASE LISTEN

This has been one of my favorite songs for awhile. I felt very led to post it tonight. Someone needs to hear it!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MOb8ihacSM4

Thursday, October 25, 2007

You HAVE to see this:

http://tinyurl.com/yxewot

Lost Hair Clips

I was racing around the house this morning (as usual) and needed a hair clip to put up my hair. Now-a-days it seems like I have to consistently go to work with my hair wet (Mom is always last in the shower) and so I just have to clip my hair up and run out the door. I hunted and hunted and hunted throughout my bathroom, bedroom, the girls' bathroom and bedrooms and could NOT find a hair clip to save my life. In my house they are like socks that dissappear in the dryer. I buy them and they always get lost or misplaced (no comment from my friends and family about that!)

The thought came to my mind that we are a lot like those hair clips. If we have given our lives to Christ, then God has bought us and owns us, just like I own those hair clips. Nevertheless, a lot of times some of us are lost from Him or we have gotten broken. Personally, I have been both! The good news is that God will always keep hunting for us and the other great news is that He can restore us when we are broken. What a great God we serve!

From a former prodigal with love and blessings to all,

Melissa (NO, I didn't ever find a hair clip. You don't even want to know what I look like today! :)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

National Youth Conference 2007 Atlanta

I am going to be attending a National Youth Conference in Atlanta on November 16th through the 19th with a few people from my church, including our Youth Pastor. Our church allocated a certain amount of money for this event and therefore only myself and two others were going to go. Chris would also like to attend, but the cost for him to go would be $225.00 plus hotel expenses for 2 nights (basically a total of about $450.00)

We originally thought Chris would be working in downtown Atlanta on those dates and that we would be able to expense at least 2 of my hotel nights and that he would have to be working at his job while I attended the conference.

Since then, his work dates have been changed until December and he would really like to attend the conference with me.

Chris and I have both very recently, since Fall Break, rededicated our lives and our marriage to Christ (even though we have both been Christians for a long time, there were still big areas of our lives that we had not let go of and given over to God). We both feel led to be involved in the Youth ministry in our church and have for some time now.

We are humbly asking that family and friends consider contributing to Chris being able to go with me to this conference and would appreciate any donation that anyone feels led to give. Lord willing, he will receive enough to go, but if not we are going to try and make up the difference. Any contribution should be sent to:

Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 176
Winchester, TN 37398

Notate on Check: Chris/Melissa Brown - Youth Conference 2007

Thanks to everyone for reading this VERY wordy and confusing blog and also thanks to anyone who might consider donating a small contribution. Have a great week and love to all,

Melissa

Psalm 40:1-16

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Fall Break














Okay, I don't even know how to begin really. Chris and I went to Destin, Florida last weekend with another couple and no children. It was a LOAD of fun! We dealt with something called the "Red Tide" (research it) while we were there and that was bad, but because we were with friends it didn't seem to matter so much. Also, someone caught a 844 pound Mako shark while we were there on Saturday. NICE..............
Both Abby and Emma made the basketball team and that was very exciting. The day after, Abby got to go to Gatlinburg with a friend and a few days later Emma got to go to my sister's house in Nashville. (I think Jacob just liked not having the girls around! :)

I am SO SORRY that I haven't posted in awhile. Life is busy and time is short, but I do know that I love you all and that I keep everyone in my prayers. I have been having a very hard time coping with the stresses of life lately and have felt myself slipping down a slippery slope lately and I am just so glad that God is such a loving and forgiving God!
Love,
Melissa

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Jeff - Great News!

My Dad went to see my brother today and he is doing great! He can talk by putting something over his tracheostomy hole. He looks good, and has a LOT of function in his arms. Still nothing in his legs, but WOW I don't doubt that there might be in the future. He has moved to another step-down unit and is feeling good. Thanks to everyone for their prayers!

Truth

You have probably seen this before, but it is a good read for everyone. Such truth!

Very interesting perspective by Jay Leno...

I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and
makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno!!

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll
data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source,
right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy
with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry
just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so
unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and
heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see
more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through
each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the
way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the
world is just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and
provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the
hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may
be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of
trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to
extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or
prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest
will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping
and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers
own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy
that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world
has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain
for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in
the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we
hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no
plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval
rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days
after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of
recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the
book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from
terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending
you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show?
Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a
look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused
you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to
kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom.
There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general''
discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of
Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it
leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash
with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the
corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
"justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a
murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his
wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the
TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird
cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is
exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several
times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and
with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Jay Leno
2007

Monday, October 8, 2007

Life moves fast......

I can't believe that my brother has been in the hospital for 4 months already! Just doesn't seem that long.

The good news is that they started him on a liquid diet today! This is huge progress as far as I am concerned and they are also in the process of completely weaning him off of his tracheostomy.

We have a busy week ahead and then we are leaving for the weekend (Chris and I only) and the kids are staying in Chattanooga. I need the break!

Hope all is doing well and love and blessings to all!

Melissa

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Jeff

My brother is doing really well. I haven't seen him, but my sister-in-law and father have told me that they are weaning him off of his tracheostomy tube and that he is in a good mood. This is incredible news considering what we had originally been told about his prognosis. Please keep praying for him and for his long-term outcome.

Love,

Melissa

Monday, October 1, 2007

First Day on the New Job

Well, my first day at Trinity Episcopal went well. I got to meet a few new people and the job seems like it is going to be fun. I am going to be working there in the mornings and also typing from home in the evenings. I also went to see my brother on Saturday and he seems to be doing well. Taking it day by day as far as he goes. We still don't really know the long-term prognosis/outcome.

The kids are doing great. We are extremely busy during this season of life and I STILL haven't gotten the kids rooms painted. I have to get that done soon or we may have a mutiny on our hands! :)

Well, just wanted to touch base and let everyone know how things are going. Wish us luck financially with my job change.....

Love,

Melissa