A Breath of Fresh Air

Enjoyed rereading this post of ten years back when life was a bit different. I told someone at work the other day that I never had to use an alarm clock but reading this reminded me that was the only way to have privacy for quiet time. 🙂 It was a fun reminder!! God is so good.

Melony's Blog

I had a great day yesterday. My favorite kind of day is a day when I can just stay home all day and play homeschool mom. I didn’t get to do that for the whole day but let me tell you about my idea of a perfect homeschool day.

My day currently begins at 5am when the alarm sounds.

I climb out of bed and shut off the alarm. Then, I climb the steps in the dark so I won’t wake my three boys that sleep in the open room at the top of the steps. I step carefully because occassionally 🙂 there is something to step on! Then, I proceed to my son Jesse’s room. Be careful where you step in there, too.

Then, I switch on his light and speak a gentle “good morning” to him to get his day off to a good start.  I creep back…

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New Beginnings!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I have needed to write and update you all on our family and our new place and work.
Jim retired from the pastorate at the beginning of September. We were in a very special place for our last church. We were way up north in Bear Lake, Michigan. What a magnificent spot! We loved living there so much. We took walks together almost every day. Jim was very busy as our church was right in the middle of their building program. As the building began to take shape both Jim and I sensed that God would bring someone else along to enjoy the new building and take over as the new shepherd. It was a bit of a shake up for us but more and more we came to realize that God will bring great peace to those who trust the outcome to Him.

We began packing our things and within hours of realizing God was going to move us Jim received word on his job and just a short time later I too was given a position with the same company.

Jim has been busy every weekend moving our things out of the old place and into the new. God worked out our housing in His equally amazing way. Our days are full of work and our nights are starting to settle into something more peaceful.

Our little house is cosy and warm and some new friends from our new church live just a few doors down.

Andrea had applied to Youth With A Mission for Discipleship Training School in early August and just received word yesterday that she has been accepted for the school that begins April 1. We are so excited for her. She is studying Spanish as her school is in Tijuana. Please pray with us that she will be well prepared in every way and that her funds will come in a timely way as confirmation of God’s direction.

Thank you for praying for our family during our transition time.

We love Bear Lake and our church family. We left a huge part of ourselves there as our youngest son Andy stayed and is establishing his own home there. God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

Home and Family

Ah the seasons of life. Jim, my hubby is a pastor and today he preached a funeral for a lady that I had never met. Jim had met her just last year when he preached her husbands funeral. When Jim preached today he spoke of the verses in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 where the text talks about different seasons of our lives, the time to laugh, the time to cry… It was a great message as usual. It made me think a bit more about the season we are in. It is a little sketchy and always changing but we are in another new season. We have raised several children together. We have eleven children and many have established their own homes and have lived independently for many years while two children still live at home.
Andy is 18 and loves to work and is hardly ever at home. Our youngest daughter, Andrea is 16 and will begin her senior year of high school homeschooling when she returns from Mexico in a few months. So, our house is much quieter and emptier than it has been in a very long time. Our first child was born almost 38 years ago. He came into our home when we were busy in Jim’s first year of Bible College. We had moved hundreds of miles from family to attend Bible College in Springfield, Mo. Jimmie, our son was born a few weeks after we arrived. I began babysitting for girls in college who lived in the same student housing where we lived. I just watched the babies in the time of classes so most of my sitting was finished by 3 PM. Most the babies were very young and in diapers. It was busy but exciting and gave me a chance to visit with other moms. I never took any classes myself but I did help Jim read his assignments and write papers.

Now, we like to get away and day here and there and visit our kids and grandkids. The kids are scattered over Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Wisconsin, Florida and Mexico. It is such a treat to go visit with them and see how their lives and families are changing with seasons of their own.

I love this season. I love having grandchildren. They energize us. They love us and always seem so happy to be with us. I am so thankful for the seasons God has ordained and for the way He gives us strength and joy in each one.

Unexpected Visitors

We have been enjoying or enduring some blizzard like weather the last few days. Yesterday afternoon Jim and Andrea and I were sitting in the living room enjoying watching the birds out the front window when we heard a car pull into the driveway. Soon a friend came to the door and asked if she and her children could come in out of the storm. She could no longer see the road in front of her. What a surprising diversion from the otherwise quiet and uneventful day. We enjoyed meeting her children and visiting about the weather and bird watching. What a sweet surprise. Then, a few hours later while Jim was out feeding the wood burner we saw our neighbor running to our door. I quickly went to the door and was met by Alex, his very large golden lab and our own Sarah the border collie.  Before we could share greetings both dogs and Alex were running through the rooms of the house. The dogs were finally rounded up and redirected to the great outdoors with much snow and laughter.

I’m so thankful for my warm house this year as never before. We have had the outdoor burner for two winters now and their have been some very challenging colds. Today boasts double digit negative numbers. Our cheap outdoor thermometer cannot even accurately keep up with these wild temps. I know how blessed we are to have a nice home, fine wood burner and pile of wood. Thank you God for supplying our needs. Thank you God for unexpected guests- in whatever shape they come in.

Sunrise

I am sitting here in semi-darkness looking past the twinkling strand of white Christmas lights that provide my porch light to the pale pink horizon. The sun seems to be getting up earlier these days. That makes me happy. I will walk earlier each day. I love this quiet time when no one else is awake. I pray. I listen to the Psalms being read. I dream about the future. A rabbit just went by my big window. Praying for my friend. Thanking God for my family scattered around the house. My kids live all over but four are here under one roof along with their families. I am so thankful for God’s blessings. Thankful I can still walk and cook and read. Sight is so precious. We talked yesterday. If we had to lose our sight or hearing. Which would we choose. I think my hearing is already leaving. I love music but I love to see creation and baby faces. So thankful I can have it all right now. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Homekeepers and God’s Great Gifts!!

This was a good homemaker encourager. Just wanted to share with you all after our mtg. last night.

Melony Pierpont Evans

I am so thankful to God for His awesome ways and plans. I am so grateful for His design.  I love being a Christian, a wife, a mother and a homekeeper. Tonight our church ladies will come together for our final study of True Woman 101. Tonight we read and pray together about having a special signing party for the True Woman manifesto.

All week I have been reading blogs of other God fearing homekeepers. I love that word so much more than homemakers. God is, of course, the true homemaker. He assigned us as ladies to be the home keepers! I am so thankful to be able to be at home with Jim, Andy and Andrea, to cook, bake, create, read, learn, sing, prepare meals, eat with my family, help them with their work, clean, organize, walk, pray, study Bible Studies and Sunday School lessons, prepare for Kid’s Klub…

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Let’s Get Fired Up!!

This was a cheer that I remember from my school days. I thought of it this morning while preparing for my Kid’s Klub lesson. Kid’s Klub is an after school program that our church does for the public school. We meet once a week and have a lesson, game time, songs, and a snack. It is a great opportunity to share Christ and what He has done in our lives with young kids.

This week I will start a three part lesson of the life of Anthony T. Rossi – the man who was born in Italy and came to America when he was just 21 years old. He knew how to say “please”, “yes”, “no”, and “I’m hungry”. He had just $30. in his pocket. He had a job and place to live his first day in America and before long began frequenting a library to read and learn. That is where Tony first read about Jesus and he understood that Jesus had died for him and this gave Tony a burning desire to read the Bible. Soon Tony had given his life to God and his story is amazing. I cannot wait to tell the kids the story.

Over and over in Tony’s life he came up against problems and questions. Each time he would pray and ask for God to give him clear direction. As Tony lived to please God and follow His direction, God prospered Tony and gave him ideas. Tony was a prosperous businessman and inventor and entrepreneur. He became known as “The Orange Juice King”. He used his blessings to bless the lives of others and shared his wealth starting a mission, a tape ministry and a retirement village for missionaries.

I am praying for the kids to hear about how God loves them and has a plan for their lives. I am praying that he will insight each of us with a divine excitement to serve Him with all our hearts. I am praying that these boys and girls will give God their hearts and lives and that they will be changed forever as only He can do.

If you are a child of God, pray with me as we meet each Tuesday. Thanks.