I Worry That I Worry Too Much

At our mid-week Bible study tonight, "Preacherman" gave us all a wonderful (and much needed) reminder that worry is not good for us.  In fact, he said it kills and deforms!  Some days I'm good at remembering this.  I roll with the punches, go with the flow, do my best, let go and let God...you know all the cliches.  However, there are those days when worry sneaks in and begins to eat at me.  It starts by taking little bitty nibbles around the edges of my mind.  Before I know it, I'm being eaten alive in big gulps!  When that nasty little guy called Worry creeps in, I need to pray and watch for God's lead.  He takes care of the flowers and birds and says I am so much more than those!!!  I know He will take care of me.  I just need to get out of the way and let Him!

In honor of Poetry Month, here's a little something I hope you will like...

Your Ways...Not Mine

Let me not care what I have or will gain.

On the throne of my heart, I allow only You to reign.

I boast only in You, my greatest treasure.

I will put You first in my life forever!

When I'm in a hurry, Lord, slow my pace.

When I'm running ragged, gently put me back in place.

Remind me, oh, Lord, when my plans fall apart

Your ways are not mine...control the desires of my heart.

I will only be satisfied in the very end

If I can look back and say, You, God, are my friend!

Melissa B. King

January 2000

Silence of the Lambs

Yet another kitchen disaster!!!  I'm going to try to post some photos with this blog.  We'll see how that goes.  The story starts with me finding the cutest picture in a magazine while standing in the grocery line.  (Next time I'll just buy some chocolate and eat it while I wait!)  I looked at the picture and thought, "I can do that with the girls."  The picture above is from the magazine.  The first part was easy.  I sliced store-bought pound cake and cut a chunk out of the bottom of each slice so "legs" were formed on each end.  Then I dipped the legs into warmed chocolate icing.  The directions said to put them on wax paper-lined cookie sheets and chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes.  So, I did.  While they were chilling, Cassie and I put their little faces together with icing, chocolate chips, jelly beans (for the ears), and little pieces of fruit roll pieces that I hand cut into the shape of tongues and hair bows.  Next, we were to spread white icing all over the chilled "bodies" and stick mini marshmallows on that.  The cookie face was also supposed to be "stuck" to the body with icing.  Here's where the slaughtering started!  When I tried to lift the bodies from the wax paper, they stuck.  So, if the picture posting works, you will see a tray of "leg of lamb" stumps.  I actually managed to complete one lamb according to the directions, although it does not really look like the magazine picture.  For the second one with legs intact, I decided it would be easier to lay it down flat and place the face cookie on in a way to make it look like the lamb is looking back at us.  The other picture is of the lamb parts all piled in the container to take to share tomorrow with family.  Yes!  I am taking them.  Do you know how much I spent on all of those lamb parts???!!  Anyway, some might call it a failure.  I, taking after my daddy, call it modifying.

Resurrection Rolls

I have to start by saying that this is not an original idea out of my mind.  I think it came from a magazine or website somewhere.  But, it is a really cool thing to do with kids as a way to talk about the burial and resurrection of Christ.  It requires a can of crescent-style rolls, regular size marshmallows, melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  The pure, white marshmallow represents the body of Christ.  As you place one in the middle of the unrolled wedge of dough, read John 19:38-42.  Roll the dough as you normally would, sealing the marshmallow inside.  This represents the wrapped body.  Brush on a mixture of melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar to represent the spices that were used to dress and seal the linens around the body.  Place the rolls in the tomb...the oven.  Bake according to the package directions.  As the rolls bake, read John 20:1-10.  When the rolls come out of the oven, break one open.  The marshmallow is gone!  At least it is no longer visible.  Although you cannot see it, you still experience its sweetness.  Don't we experience the sweetness of Jesus in our lives even though we cannot physically see him?

I thank God for His plan to save us from our sins!  Had His Son remained wrapped in those linens and sealed in that tomb, I would still be doomed.  But He arose!!!  He is alive!!!  And because of that, I can live eternally in Heaven!!!  So, Happy Easter to everyone...what's not to be happy about???

Happy Poetry Month!!!

Yes, that's right!  April is National Poetry Month!  So, I thought I would share some of my poetry.  In celebration of the month, why not pick up your pen and give it a try yourself?  No, it does not have to rhyme.  Just put some thoughts on paper.  Enjoy...  

The BIG Boss

Monday through Friday, August through June,

I am working hard to improve and fine-tune.

My boss knows she can count on me.

My students know what I expect to see.

When evaluation time rolls around

I don’t worry about what was found.

What would it be like to sit face to face

And be accountable to the Giver of Grace?

If twice each year I had to go before

God’s evaluation, would I do more?

Would I get up earlier for Him each day?

Would I live every minute in a different way?

What if God said, “I am firing you!

You are not doing all you can do?”

When I slack off, Lord, please forgive.

My daily job should not be why I live.

My job should allow me to earn a living.

But, real-life should be found in the service I am giving!

Melissa B. King

January 27, 2008

Reconciled Statements

Romans 5: 10 was up for discussion in Sunday school this morning.  It states, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."  First, we talked about that word enemies.  It means more than kids who can't share the slide on the playground or middle school girls who like the same boy.  So much more!  Being an enemy of someone means working against them.  Working to undo everything they try to do.  Trying to foil their every plan.  Being an enemy of God means being totally against Him!

But then we hit the word reconcile.  I kept thinking of bank statements.  When you reconcile a bank statement, you make it balance.  If what you have recorded in your register does not match what the bank says you have, you start searching, looking for the error, trying to bring it back into balance.  It is possible at the end of this process to be left with a deficit.  That is not a good feeling!  I got our check register so "out of balance" one time that I could not find the error.  I COULD NOT reconcile it.  I took it to the bank and a kind lady there worked on it for days and got me all straightened out.  (Sorry, Daddy!  I know you tried to teach me better!)  How nice it would have been for her to say, "You know what I'm going to do?  I'm just going to deposit what you need to bring you into balance.  Don't worry about it!"  I assure you that did not happen.  But that is what God did for us.  Seeing all the deficits and wrongs and times we stubbornly worked against Him, He still supplied what we needed to reconcile us.  Even though what we needed to make up the deficit and fill in the gaps was the very life of His Son!  The blood of Jesus blots out the mess we have made of our lives, our check registers if you will.  He reconciles the life, in which we fall so short of His expectations, and makes us perfect or complete.  He balances our books and leaves us with the joy of living an abundant life and hope of living eternally with Him!