Quick Update from the ever-crazy Brown House

I hardly know if I am coming or going and sanity is something I have long ago given up hope on.  Emma is cheering this year, Abby and Emma both are playing soccer (practice everyday and sometimes 2 games a week) and all three of the kids are very involved with church - not to mention school.    I know that one day I will look back and miss these days, but right now I am just praying to make it through them.  We have all remained healthy so far this school year and I am praising God for that!  As a matter of fact, I am trying to make it a daily practice to look around and give thanks for all the good things in my life.   Why not? - it sure is a lot better than dwelling on the negatives!  I am still trying to work on my own school - which seems to fall to the bottom of the list most days, but still wanting to work towards completing my Religious Studies degree at Berea.  Chris is traveling a lot these days and I am co-leading a Wednesday night study at my church and will be hosting a girls only study this Fall for the girls in Youth at Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian.  That is my love.  If I could study God's Word and/or lead studies every day I think I would die a very happy woman.   It has taken me a long time to realize my calling, but finally I know that I just love to help others in their journey to study the Scriptures.   

Praying that this post finds all in good health and in constant pursuit of their journey with Christ.   Love to you all - Melissa

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear; then righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

A Fig Tree Can't Bear Olives

The Fig Tree

We have been going through a situation in our now "previous" church that has caused some great division and dissension amongst the family of believers.   Needless to say, this has mad me very sad.  It seems like this "thing" has grown legs and sprouted tentacles and is entangling people.    Rumors are being spread and there has been division caused between people who love each other and have such good, sweet hearts.   It is so sad to see the body of Christ act the way I have witnessed it acting the past few weeks.  But, God is good and I know he is working all things together for the good of His people and for His glory.   Yet, it is still a hard thing to witness.

A sweet friend of mine reminded me this morning of the following verse and I thought I would share it with you.  It comes from the book of James, chapter 3, verses 8-18:

New International Version

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8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! 11Can both fresh water and salt^a water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

My prayer for  all of those still drudging through this situation is for them be peace-loving, full of mercy, bearers of good fruit,  impartial and sincere.   You see, when we align ourselves with Scripture and what God's Word says, there can be no room for division - He will show you the truth and the light and, in turn, you will know where you are supposed to be, whether that be at your current church or another.   He is truth and light.   He will reveal Himself to you and show you Truth.  No darkness can dwell within us or around us  if we are in His will.    Oh if only people would we humble their hearts then God would turn His gaze upon them and bless them.    Lord, help us to be humble..........   

Peace ~ Melissa

What Have You Learned?

Is it just me or were our parents right?   I sure do remember mine telling me to enjoy my childhood - that it wouldn't last long.  Boy,  they were right about that!  I also remember them telling me they knew more about life because they had lived it, and I remember thinking I didn't want to know that they did.  You know why? -  because I "knew" more. I was smart, I was educated and  I was going to change things!  I was going to be different!  I was going to be a better parent, a better spouse and a better person for my community.  I was going to help change things, but first and foremost I was going to have a much more exciting life!  I was going to go places, do things, and never, EVER think like my parents did.  

And now I am 40.  I am married.  I have three kids.  I haven't  "changed" things much that I know of, except a lot of diapers and my hair color.  And, to beat the band, I find myself thinking and saying the same ridiculous things my parents did, except they don't sound so ridiculous anymore.  They sort of ring true.   And the ringing in my ears of the "truth" of their words, has a certain bite.   No matter how true, there is still the bite!

But, the bite for me, honestly and much to my dismay, is not that they were right.  Oh no! the bite for me is that I know they were right.  You see, I miss the slow pace and smallness and security of the world I grew up in!  I miss the fact that without a doubt I could meet up with my best friend on our bicycles every day after school.  I miss going out to the garden with my mom during the summer to pick the ripest tomato for lunch (yes, that was our lunch, along with some slices of white bread and mayonnaise.)   I miss the fact that I knew we were going to sit down as a family every night and eat dinner, and I even miss the fact that I had to clean EVERY Saturday morning without fail.   My most favorite is the fact that no matter what, we were going to go to church every Sunday morning as a family. Those were some of my best memories.

Our world is so vastly different today.   I have given up any chances of a career for 15 years in order to be at home with my kids and STILL can't seem to find the time to make sure we have dinner together EVERY evening.  As hard as I try, I still can't seem to keep up with the pace of our lives.   As educated and willful as I have always been against such a fast-paced culture, I still can't help but be sucked in!   And honestly, I can't even at this point put into words what I feel inside.

All I know is this - Lord, help us.  Help us to slow down.  Help us to live simply.  Help us to go visit with someone on a Sunday afternoon without thinking about where we need to be next.   Help us to sit on our porch and talk with our kids and tell them how things "used to be"..............

Are You Joking Me?

Last week a friend of mine was telling me about a lady at our church who makes prayer shawls.  She told me what a ministry it was for this lady and how much comfort and love people feel when they receive one.  They are not "magic" nor do they make you "closer to God", but they are a symbol of positioning ourselves in prayer and reminding ourselves that we are covered by God.  

Long story short, I wanted one.  I thought "that is so cool!".   I wanted to ask the lady at our church for one, but didn't want to impose upon her, so the thought left my mind........until today!   No joke, look what was on my porch when I got home.   I told NO ONE about wanting one of these, but guess what???  God heard me!   He loves me so much he sent me a prayer shawl from the wife of a co-worker of Chris who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.   I laughed out loud as I opened the box!!!

Unshaken

Over the past week I have had many people ask me how I have remained so positive during the health issues I have been facing.   I sat down tonight and tried to put some thought into that.    Why have I not been fearful?   Why am I not spending time worrying about the outcome?   Let me tell you why.   I BELIEVE God.   Very simple.  I believe His Word and I believe in Him.

Let me tell you, getting to this place in my life has been a long hard road - and it came at some very big expenses and tolls on my marriage and family, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, because this is what I know - God is faithful.   No matter the outcome, He has a plan for you and for me!   So tonight I leave with you two passages of Scripture that are dear to me and I also pray that if you are feeling discouraged or down-trodden, that you turn you eyes upon Jesus.  Call upon Him.  He will answer - I promise.

II Corinthians  4:8 
We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair;  we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed.


Psalm 62: 1-8
¹ My soul finds rest in God alone;
       my salvation comes from him.


 ² He alone is my rock and my salvation;
       he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

 ³ How long will you assault a man?
       Would all of you throw him down—
       this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

 ⁴ They fully intend to topple him
       from his lofty place;
       they take delight in lies.
       With their mouths they bless,
       but in their hearts they curse.
       Selah

 ⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
       my hope comes from him.

 ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation;
       he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

 ⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God ^[a] ;
       he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

 ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
       pour out your hearts to him,
       for God is our refuge. 
       Selah

The Day God Whacked Me Over the Head! :)

So, in my usual hurried state, I left work last Friday at 1 p.m. got into my car to head to get some lunch for the kids and then rush home to start work at my second job by 2 p.m.   I got into the car, started it, drove to the edge of the parking lot to pull out onto the main road here in Winchester and BAM - cold sweat drenched my body, I felt like I was going to throw up, and the my left arm went completely tingly and partially numb.   WOW - let me tell you it was a scary feeling.  I immediately called Chris and stayed on the phone with him until I could drive myself to our home.    I went inside, told Abby something was not right and asked her to call her Dad back while I changed into more comfortable clothes and tried to lie down.   Chris in turn called my Dad and he came over and immediately took me to the hospital.  While at the E.R. I felt worse and thought I was going to pass out and also noticed that my left leg then went tingly and numb and that I was having trouble talking.  The left side of my face was drooping.   It was at that point I looked at my Dad and said "Daddy I am scared I might be having a stroke" and he replied with "yes, I think so too, but I didn't want to say anything."    I was monitored and given Ativan (in case it was an anxiety attack), taken for a CT scan and had an EKG - all results were normal, but still things were not right.  I was admitted to the hospital for monitoring overnight and then released the next day on a regimen of aspirin until I can get into a local cardiologist.  It was decided that I had suffered a TIA - even though they are fairly rare at my age and I don't have many of the factors that would predispose me to such an event.   A TIA is sort of a "warning stroke" - many people call them "mini-strokes".   They manifest all symptoms of a stroke, but do not cause any actual tissue damage in the brain - which is a very good thing.  Bad thing is that most people who suffer one, have a very high risk of suffering an actual stroke within the next year - sometimes within the next week.  

Now on a positive note - God has been so faithful to show me many things this past weekend as I have had the time to quietly listen and seek His voice.   I knew I needed to slow down.  Actually I had already withdrawn from most of my volunteer work at church and was looking at ways to minimize my work a little in order to lessen my stress.  With a husband who travels and 3 kids, it is very hard to hold down 2 jobs and manage the children's coming and goings to school and sport activities.   For those of you who know me well, you have probably heard me say over the past 6 months that I have been trying to discern God's will for me right now and where he wants me in ministry.  You have also heard me say many times "I wish he would write in on a big white board in the sky for me so I didn't have to try and figure it out on my own"!   HA!  It occurred to me as I was sitting with a dear friend on my porch yesterday morning, that he did just what I asked Him to do - only He wrote it on the white board and then whacked me over the head with it!  I love it! It made me laugh out loud.  You see, I am a fairly strong willed person and although I had been trying to lower my activity level and slow down in order to figure out where God needs me to serve him, I was only slowing down "just enough" to suit myself and still be able to do the things I wanted to do.   Well, my friends, it seems God has something entirely different in order for my life.   So, as I sit here this morning with time to blog, I ask for your prayers for my physical recovery but most importantly that I will now sit quietly and listen to what God has for me to do and obey His call WHEREVER it may be He is leading me.   He is so faithful and good to us and He knew exactly what it would take for Melissa to stop and listen.    So, I sit quietly before Him this morning and listen and wait upon Him to speak........

That feeling....

Is it only me or does this time of year evoke a feeling of new beginnings?  As the kids start their preparations of going back to school and we get all our supplies in order, I always feel the need to clean, organize and get a calendar together  detailing all our different schedules.    It makes me feel like somehow in control of what the school year brings.  

Control......what a word.    Let's think about control -

God is ultimately in control..........
We can't control other people - nor should we have the desire to.......
We can't control many circumstances, i.e. sickness, death, etc.......

But there is one thing that we are called to control and that is ourselves.   We are to have control over our own bodies and minds.    We are to control our anger, our eating, our drinking, and especially our tongues.   So, as we start this school year off tomorrow, I am making it my goal to to focus on controlling my situations or those around me - my husbands, my kids, etc., but to concentrate on what Christ tells me to concentrate on:   SELF-CONTROL.   Many people are in places of bitterness, resentment, anger or depression because they try to control things that are out of their control.  Wives want to change their husbands.  Moms want to change their kids.   Husbands want to change their wives.   Then, when this doesn't work, people are left wondering why.    The reason is because we are called only to control ourselves.    Today I encourage us all to take a look at our own lives and see what we might to be rein back into control.  Whatever it is, there is one things that remains true - through Christ we can bring our lives back into order and back under control.   His grace is never ending!    Thank you God!

"Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city."

It's That Time of Year

Well my friends, school is getting ready to start back up and I think we are just about prepared here at the Brown House, except for the fact that I have been "itching" to get  more organized!   This is usually where I call in my sister, but this year I think I am going to try and do this thing myself.   I am looking for ideas on how to get my laundry done more efficiently and sorted and distributed to all three kids in a more organized manner.  After it gets to their room, it's their problem!  :)    I am also looking for weekly menu ideas and lunch ideas for the kids to take to school.  If you have any ideas, please share them with me!

On a deeper level, we are in the midst of making some decisions regarding our church and whether or not the Lord may be calling us to another place of worship.  Please be in prayer for our family as this is a very big decision for us and not one that we take lightly.   As we step out in faith regarding the calling God has on our family and how we are to be serving him, I would ask that you be in prayer for us - that we will hear God's voice clearly on this subject.   This I know, my God is faithful and has a wonderful plan for our lives and that is what I am standing on today.     Love - Melissa

Fall Bible Study Announcement

Ladies,

It was decided at last night's meeting that we would continue meeting this Fall on Tuesday nights at my house at 7 p.m.    Below is a link to the book I was talking about - 'Life's Healing Choices'.   This is a book and study guide combination which I can purchase through Amazon for about $23.00 per person.   It is an 8 week study and an 8 week commitment on working towards healing in any area of your life in which you struggle.   This is a great opportunity to invite a friend and also a great opportunity to not only get healing, but also train ourselves how to help others in difficult situations.   

http://books.google.com/books?id=JpvFmietwI0C&dq=life's+healing+choices+by+john+baker&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=6TZQTJChBJHY8gaizsjVAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

If you are interested in joining our group this Fall, please email me or call me at 931.307.0760 and let me know for sure that you will be attending so that I can make sure and purchase enough books.   Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 31st!

Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think may be interested in joining our group this Fall.    I will say this, this small group of ladies has truly been a blessing in my life and I pray that you would consider joining us as we press forward in growing to be more like Christ.