Have you tried this tea?

I am thankful for Good Earth’s Herbal, cafeine free Sweet and Spicy Tea?  I can’t believe it doesn’t have sugar!  On these chilly nights, it is great to snuggle up with a cup of tea.  Soothes the rough spots in your day.  Let me know if you try it and what you think.  (yes…..I wish someone would write me a comment ….. any comment on virtually anything!)

 

Thankfulllllllllllll!!!!!!!

I really have been posting daily thankful notes……but on FACEBOOK!  (www.facebook.com/melissasalomon)

 

Thankful for the power of friends…..

I am thankful for the power of friends….some I have never met face to face but heart to heart.  I have stalked the blog of two gals — the Opel sisters — very talented women as they went from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Utah to take jobs in the scrapbooking industry.  I have admired how they incorporate the things they love into their scrapbooking work.  I have “lifted” some of their work (this is ok in the scrapbooking world….we are a generous bunch!) and TODAY I got a mention in their blog!  Sweet!  Not only did I get a mention but the LWML got a mention.  This is a missionary organization that raises millions for mission work all across the  globe by filling these tiny boxes with loose change (and more)….. a perfect example of the power of one, the power of the insignificant, the power and multiplicative (is that a word?) power of love.

http://bethandsusanopel.typepad.com

I am also thankful for an endowment fund that was established yesterday which will have an impact on the ministry in Mexico!  Check out our work on the ministry in Mexico blog: www.cptlnmexico.wordpress.com

I’m on a daily roll……of thanksgiving.

Hmmmm…..daily thanksgiving….I like the idea!  As I said yesterday, I am challenged to post what I am thankful for.  It is a retraining to force quit the negative in general and recognize the great things in your life and reach for the attitude of gratitude that can totally change your outlook on life….how you respond to others and how they respond to you!

I am thankful for healthy kids.  Elizabeth has had a cold and despite some cough medicine she had a dry cough much of the night.  Those seasonal illness are more of a nuisance that anything else…..a blip on our radar….for the most part we go about our daily activities.  It makes me think…..and here is the thanksgiving……that my kids are very healthy.  It stirs something in my heart for those who have so much more to face with their families or themselves……debilitating disease, serious injuries…..cancers!  I am so thankful for health.  Reminds me too (grrrr…..not too happy about this realization) I have to do my part to promote good health……eat right, exercise……

I wonder if in every moment of thanksgiving there is a call to action too?

Thankful for moments….

I was inspired by a friend to think of and record things I was thankful for every day until Thanksgiving.  I posted the challenge on FACEBOOK (www.facebook.com/melissasalomon)  It is always good when you can train your mind to focus on the blessings of each day.  Somehow our brain wiring always wants to go to negatives or critical thoughts.  Fight it….that is a good fight!

Life is made up of moments.  Does this happen to do you too, that a certain realization, thought, joy happens in a moment like a flash!?  I am so grateful for those moments.

I am grateful for moments of challenge……because they force me to think differently.

I am grateful for moments of grace and goodness……because they remind me God is near……(and the realization that they are gifts because often I am not very deserving….!)

I am grateful for moments when I see the “big picture” of what we are trying to accomplish….. because I know those moments are a gift and I am motivated and moved by that understanding.

I am grateful for moments that I am encouraged by others……and when something pops into my head of an idea I can use to encourage others (shhhh….. making a mini book made from a Starbucks cup for our organizer of our Living Nativity — she has been great in wading  through a lot of chaos toward a great event….)  because it reminds me that small offerings can have a lasting echo!

More to follow………..

Iowa friends and Iowa cornfields…..

I was invited to visit Iowa and update some faithful supporters (thanks to my most gracious and lovely hosts, Lynn and Ellie Menz and Kathryn Sprecher) of our work in Tijuana. It was harvest time and unseasonably great weather. It was cool to drive through endless fields of corn or freshly harvested fields.  I had several stops in central, northern and western Iowa….from beautiful little country churches to larger churches, to a hispanic congregation in Denison.  The final event was a banquet for the wonderful IOWAY volunteers who have a passion for blessing people all around the world……we in Tijuana have been the grateful recipients of that blessing.  It was great to prepare the presentation and see the impact they have had in our lives over the four years that they have been visiting us and supporting us.

I realize I don’t do that enough…….count my blessings…..and especially see how unexpected some blessings have been or how very small and seemingly insignificant blessings at the time have become large blessings as they have matured.  I am going to try to do that in my own life more.  I learned also you need to not only see and count the blessings but celebrate them.  Despite the challenges and trials that sometimes occupy much more real estate in my mind that they should, seeing the wonderful things that God has done for me or allowed me to witness or be a part of is so amazing.

“Summing it al up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.  Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4: 8-9 (the Message translation)

Life is crazy…..

…..work backload, don’t know if some vendors are going to come through for me on some essential things for the weekend, mom sick and needs extra care through weekend, family drama, good friends struggling with health and other serious issues, cash tight, need to pack for trip to Iowa on Friday, laundry not done…etc. etc.  There was an old TV commercial for a bath liquid and the stressed lady would say, “Calgon, take me away!”  There are days like that…..there are weeks like that…..there are seasons like that!

I am focusing on the fact that my strength doesn’t begin and end with me.  At times like these I am grateful for my favorite verse and God’s promise: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.”  (Proverbs 3: 5,6)

Moving forward, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, not able to see the whole thing just a bit at time. Trusting on God.  That is my plan. I have seen it work before ….

I wish I was here this weekend to hear the message of Sunday at Windingwalk at 10:45a.m.  If you are around, come on over (www.concordiachurch.com)   Help us evaluate and test run the family FAM JAM format.  I know it will be a time of encouragement and faith building.  Let me know how the welcome team does….. lots of friendly and great people serving on Sunday…..I organize tasks but it is the people and their unique talent and heart for the mission that makes the welcome genuine and nourishing…..and an extraordinary place to be (nothing I have anything to do with….it is just a gift from God).  I love working with the people at Concordia……hey, I’m feeling better already.

Is life crazy for you too?  Come on by on Sunday….I think you will feel better too as you explore what it means to trust and lean on God.

I have a friend in Uganda. His name is Charles.  He has a quick and broad smile and a compassionate heart.  He wrote this short devotional thought. It touched my heart and I wanted to share it here.  What a beautiful thought that the our acts of love leave a fragrance on our own hands.  This made me think of the opposite too….how are we tarnished when we acts in ways that are unbecoming?  I will remember that today.

Melissa

Devotion: Fragrance On The Hand Of The Giver

from LHM International Blog by Noel H.

The owner of a large estate once gave his gardener some red roses to take home to his wife. The flowers, however, never made it to their intended recipient. On the bus that afternoon, the gardener sat next to a widow who spoke of her loneliness. Knowing his wife would understand, he gave the roses to the lonely widow and brightened up her day.

But the widow didn’t get home with them either. At the grocery store, she came upon a tearful young girl. The girl’s mother was very ill. “Here,” the widow said, handing the flowers to the girl. “Give them to your mother; tell her I’ll be praying for her tonight.”

Gratefully, the girl accepted them and took them to her mother. The roses cheered the bedridden woman, but even she didn’t keep them. “They’re too beautiful not to share,” she told her pastor when he came to visit the next day. “I’d like the church to have them.” So the pastor took them and placed them in the sanctuary where his congregation could see and enjoy them. After the service, the minister gave single roses to some of the church members as they left. The beauty of the flowers was extended once more before they wilted.

There’s a beautiful poem entitled, “Flowers Leave Their Fragrance on the Hand of the Giver,” and the words are true. Every good deed, every selfless kindness, every thoughtful action which comes from a heart full of faith — a heart touched by the abundance the Lord has freely given — has a way of blessing the giver and multiplying the gift. Like the ripple effect of a stone tossed into water, the circles that emanate can reach many unseen shores.

So it is with the greatest love of all. Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross comes to us through God’s Word. By the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we are made clean and acceptable to God through faith in the salvation Christ has won for us. God’s fragrance, the perfect sacrifice of His Son, is offered to everyone.

It is free. Share it the next chance you get.

THE PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for Your love. Help me today and always to have the courage to pass it on. Amen.

Biography of Author: Pastor Charles Bameka has directed LHM-Uganda since 2002. From an office in Kampala, volunteers and staff help people in need through Equipping the Saints, Bible Correspondence Courses, and the This is the Life TV program. Ministering to those living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (more than 500,000 are afflicted with this disease) is a critical aspect of LHM’s mission there.

Pray…think….deliver (part II)

How often we pray a quick “ohhhhh, help me God” when we are tackling something challenging…..and this is usually on the fly!  I do it.

How often we run through a mental “to do” list or think about a project and say “this goes first, then this….I need this and that to complete”?  I totally do this.

I am realizing that I do this way too often and don’t really take the time to pray things through (spending some time reading God’s word……then—and this is the big one—–really meditating what God wants to communicate to me and teach me).  Neither do I always take the time to really think things through…….. What is the reason for this?  How is this advancing my ultimate purpose ? Is this connecting with who I intend to reach?  Just who is my audience?  Is this the best way to accomplish my purpose or am I doing it this way because I’ve always done it like this before?  Are we using any kind of filter other than expediency and familiarity?

I know, we are busy …. way too busy for our good, it’s true!  I am realizing that whether I am being a mom, a daughter, a friend or whether I am working on a project, I need to take some time to pray and think……because I want it to count, I want it NOT to be busy work but really accomplish the things it should for the people that are important to me and the projects that will be better for my unique, creative gifts and talents and really achieve the goals that impact people positively.

The “deliver” part….well, that’s for another post.

What are your ideas for taking the time to really PAY ATTENTION to your life?  You can share them with me by leaving me a comment! I love comments….

Pray….Think…..and Deliver!

I belong to an organization that raises millions of dollars for support of mission work all over the world and is committed to encouraging all women of the church to grow very close to God and to serve His church with the gifts He has given each woman.  Man, these women lean hard on God, work hard and pour out their hearts and best efforts in service with no reservation or equivocation! I have the privilege of leading a national team of women who come from diverse backgrounds and who are generally new to the organization.  They inspire me deeply and have taught me things that have had a profound impact on my life.

My friend Angelina, I found out just this weekend, actually made the decision to retire early because she wanted to serve the church and the organization well in this appointment to the Heart to Heart Sisters Task Force.  She said she prayed long and hard about this decision and knew this was the work to which she wanted to devote concentrated effort.  She said, “Yes, I pray and think but now I want to deliver well!”

Wow! What an inspiration.  I am going to post this to my wall in my office:  “Pray…..Think…….Deliver!”

Here is Angelina, me and the Vice President of Gospel Outreach, Marilyn McClure. This was our interdepartmental planning meeting in St. Louis this weekend (where we plan the entire biennium!) I am very excited to work with Marilyn…..she is a close friend, former career missionary….a godly woman of bold faith and a gentle spirit…..and my mentor!