Hello All.....

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Just wanted to update you again.
My new blog is over at http://www.riversofwater.comfortinheaven.com  I put a subscribe button on the new blog.  If you find you don't have time to go searching for my blog and would rather just have an email when I do post you can sign up there.  Top of the blog on the right side.

I hope to see you all over at the new site. Same look, same content....just on my own server now.
God Bless~~

I have successfully moved my blog....

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I have been paying for a web host for numerous years and I finally sat down today and moved the whole thing to my own website.

Please come find me at:
http://www.riversofwater.comfortinheaven.com

I just wanted to have a little more freedom in what I could do and that part I am still working out but for the most part everything I had here has been moved to there :-)  including any comments this evening!!

I am not sure how it will work as far as those that were getting a direct email.  However, I know there should be an RSS feed that you can subscribe to.

If you have difficulties finding the new site let me know and I will try and work them out on my end if I can.

Blessings,
Melissa

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself....

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Day 2 of the Hospitality study today from She Reads Truth.com  today's verses were Romans 15:1-7
and Matthew 22:36-40

---We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves....
In regards to hospitality--it is not just about having people over to my house it is also equally important to be taking a meal to those in need, those that are sick, those that are elderly, etc.
--hospitality is not a chore to cross off the list it is a desire from the heart to serve the Lord--it is not to be done with a mindset of pride but of a mindset to please, to give of yourself and time.

--let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification....
We very much live in a society today where interaction with our neighbors is becoming less and less polite, less tolerant, a lack of communication.

Throw out all the non-sense and start loving on these people the way Jesus would.  Drop off cookies, drop off seasonal breads and offer a lending hand while you are there.  Just go over to say hello.  Go over and invite in person.  It is ok to serve up a pot of spaghetti, or taco's etc.  It is saying I value you and want to share a meal together.

--through patience and comfort of scriptures might have hope.....
There is that word again from yesterday, patience--a second reminder to not get so tied up in the details of what the event is to look like....it is coupled today with the word comfort....."comfort of scriptures might have hope"

Hospitality, just like anything else we do, should be done seeking the Lord.  and when we apply the scriptures above, topically to this concept, we see that God's word can ease all our fears and give us comfort that all will turn out just perfect when we seek Him first.

There is no place in God's word for stress and perfectness, these two words are diabolically opposed to what Jesus is about.  I have to admit this study is just as much for me as anyone else..

I love the idea of entertaining and having people over.  I also love the idea of having an immaculate house.....now you throw in 6 children.....immaculate and children just do not fit in the same sentence....its a fact.  I recently was blessed to be able to provide a meal for our teens from church at our house.  Once the teens were there I had a wonderful time, I enjoyed myself immensely and I think the teens did as well.  However, had you seen the video tape rewind of my preparations....not only would you be laughing hysterically and falling out of your chair, but you would have seen a woman who was not seeking the Lord....one that was frazzled, stressed, panicking, an emotional wreck.....granted there were some "wrenches" that popped up that put me into a state of mental failure...lol...my husband commented that if this was the way I was going to be it was not right....and I agree...and I could list off lots of reasons as to why I was so stressed and not in the right frame of mind focused on God....the fact remains, I took my focus off of glorifying God and tried to do it on my own.....

If we think about one example of feeding the 5,000 it was bread and fish, it wasn't elaborate it was about fellowship.  If we look at the Last Supper, it was a last chance to have food together with those that were dear to His heart.  Maybe we need to not take each other for  granted that we will all be here tomorrow and instead start having people over for dinners and brunches.

--the scriptures are here to give comfort to make the job easier to give hope.  So don't look at hospitality as overwhelming and is the food going to be liked or is it presented nice enough.  Everything will be just perfect when God is at the center of the whole thing.

-that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.
I have already touched upon this but it bears repeating that everything we do needs to glorify God.  In and of ourselves, as much effort we put into planning and cleaning it is all for naught if God is not first and foremost.
If we go into the planning and preparing as if Jesus was the one coming to dinner (by the way, he is always there) then you can relax and enjoy......

Jesus represents Grace unimaginable, he doesn't want perfection he wants you--fully focused on him, not worrying about coordinating napkins, plates, cups and tablecloths.  His words are freeing and meant to take the burden away.

--wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Christ received all of us with our imperfections and made us feel at ease, we need to do the same with each other and with ourselves.  Come and be welcome, come and relax, enjoy...Focus on the Lord and all will go well.

Matthew 22:36-40
--Thy shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

As passionate as we are about the Lord and worshipping Him, we need to put as much effort into serving Him a meal....and the Him translates to those outside our home when we invite them in....Food that is seasoned well.....Great tasting food seasoned with the conversation of the Lord.

Show the love of Jesus invite others in.  Even it its on beat up lawn chairs and stacked boxes...have a BBQ outside and let everyone stand in the shade....open our hearts open our homes to let Jesus shine through us.

Studying about Hospitality...

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Hello All,

I started a new bible study today.  It seems like I am constantly finishing up one study and then going onto the next one.  I find it is one of the ways to stay in God's word with this busy season of life.  This particular study is entitled Hospitality from She Reads Truth

I love the idea of Hospitality and in my head I picture every person I know coming for dinner or brunch or just tea on a regular basis!!

These were the verses to read today: Romans 12:9-13, Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 19:13-14

So as I read the scriptures I wrote down in my journal what is and what does Hospitality look like.

--Showing love--affectionate--preferring one another--not lazy--giving our best effort--serving the Lord

--patient in getting things ready and prepared--praying throughout--beforehand, during, end--given to hospitality--second nature, not arduous/not grudgingly

--Invited all walks of life to join for supper--chose to eat with all types--serve the lost--do not hesitate to show hospitality to our children--show hospitality to those newly come to the Lord....

I always find it amazing how the Lord directs issues in my life....I am currently reading The Rewards of Fasting by Mike Bickle and Dana Candler...one of the areas of a fasted lifestyle is serving....and this from what I read just today..."Serving others is the second of the charitable deeds Jesus spoke about.  In spending our time and energy on others we are fasting what we could have used to further our own interests.  .....We are spending that time for the benefit of others.  This is at the heart of what it means to have a servant spirit....we trust the Lord to work for our increase in a way that surpasses what we could have accomplished by spending that very same amount of time on our comfort...we get more done by investing time in serving and allowing God to reward our labors."

You just can't put this stuff together on your own, God orchestrates all of this for His glory.  That last paragraph goes hand in hand with hospitality.  To get in the mindset to serve and to do so willingly, readily, to not belabor the preparations, but to go in with an open heart, one of weakness, that I cannot accomplish it on my own but only through the Lord.....  That I cannot do anything to make the event/meal worthy, it is only through letting the Lord have control and a desire to glorify Him that I can serve and offer hospitality to others...

Looking back at my notes I am seeing key words that stand out at me....love, and that starts in the heart, not a just love to do it to show off, but a love of those coming to visit and a love for the Savior. A strong desire to serve.  I see what I wrote down as not being lazy, not the exact word in the bible, I think the word was slothful....but if we are going to invite people over even if the house is a mess, give our best effort.  We may not have the best stocked pantry, but give what we can at all times.

I see the word P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E.....oh my that one speaks volumes to me...I get so wrapped up at times being the "Martha" of hospitality...the stress involved because I want it just perfect....because in my head that is what it would like if I did not have 6 children going from room to room throughout the day.....instead I do have the 6 children in this season of life, and I need to embrace this when it comes to hospitality and not let the little messes overwhelm me so that I don't enjoy the upcoming event.  I need to rest in the Lord that if he allowed the hospitality to take place He would allow the grace to overflow me so that others would not be sitting there looking at my little messes but enjoying the time. 

 I think I am not the only one in this position...I don't know if it comes from the fact that we have seen to many Martha Stewart shows and the glossy magazine photo's of perfect tables and family rooms or what, but when you have six children there is bound to be a dirty sock someplace out of order or at least 20 random Lego's about the house..... I just need to stop stressing about all of those, and celebrate that the Lord has blessed me with company....

Praying....anyone else ever thought about praying for an upcoming meal with friends....FAIL over here....it just did not dawn on me...the one person who can make it all so much easier for me if I would just ask HIM....praying!!!

The verses also spoke to me about serving my own family....How many times a week or a month do we look at serving the next meal as something to cross off the list, or something we are forced to do, or grudgingly, or as an afterthought.....SERVE, serve our family, put our love into our efforts, give our family the best we can....not saying it has to be served like at a 5 star restaurant, but just thought out, not thrown together...prioritize, plan, prepare....

So this is the first day of the study, if you care to join in and comment as we go along for the next three weeks it would be great to hear your input.

Have a blessed evening,

Melissa

Leaving Facebook

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Well it has been a busy year with getting our new house and trying to get all settled in....Life always becomes so busy and then I realize I need to pull the reins in and simplify, streamline, my life, my priorities...

So as of November 1st, I am leaving FB.  There are three groups on there that I use for reference, but the app is gone from the phone.  I deleted 99% of the friends on there and deleted any pages that were likes, unsubscribed from groups etc.

I am hoping to do a little more blogging than the last two years but I will also be on Instagram under riversofwater if you would like to keep in touch with me as well.

There are no guarantees that I will be able to keep up here as well as you can see from the past, but I do hope to as the Lord allows!!!

This is from this last week down in Florida, we attended my In-Law's 50th wedding Anniversary celebration where they renewed their wedding vows.

So, yeah, comment to let me know who is still around and getting these emails :-)

It's been a while....

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Hello everyone,
It has been a while and I don't even have much time today to stop and chat!!  I just wanted to update you all...after two years and three months we have finally had an offer to buy our house!!  This just happened last Friday and we hope to finalize and close on April 21st.

So I am in the midst of packing up the other half of the house since I had half done from getting the house on the market in the first place!!

We are really excited to see where the Lord would have us to be next, we are hoping to stay in this general area of SC and would like to find a house with 4 bedrooms if possible and a minimum of five acres.  As of next month if we have not found a place we will move into our travel trailer until we find just the right place.

In the meantime, I am coordinating the Ladies Mother Daughter Luncheon for our church coming up in early May.  This details for the most part are taken care of, we just have two major projects left to complete.

This next Sunday we have our Teen Afterglow at church.  This is a the last Sunday of the month and one family provides the evening refreshment for all our teens.  I had volunteered for this before I had been asked to do the Mother Daughter Luncheon and I had chosen March in case we were going to be gone throughout the Summer possibly camping.

So my husband is gone all this week until next Monday, I need to pack, I need to teach Kings Kids this Wednesday, Teach Sunday School, prepare for the Ladies Choir performance this Sunday, watch the nursery Sunday and then prepare all the food for Sunday evening........deep breath.....the Lord will get me through this busy week!!!

I need to do another post about reading the book Trim Healthy Mama and how much success I have had, however, that will have to wait until another day.

I pray all is well with the rest of you!!!