Melissa's Idea Garden

I challenge you to read this book! If you have not already read it, put it on your Christmas list or check it out from your library. But it is a book you will enjoy reading and that will have a profound impact on your life (in my humble opinion).

I read about this book a couple of months ago on a blog somewhere. I don't remember where, but I put it on my Shelfari as a book I wanted to read. I have a stack I have been working through and not much time to read, so I hadn't gotten to The Shack yet, but a couple of weeks ago, my mother-in-law asked me if I had heard of The Shack. I told her I had and I wanted to read it. She said she was just about finished with it and would like to see what I thought of it, so she mailed it to me. I finished it today.

It is an amazing story! It is the story of a dad's anguish over the brutal kidnapping and death of his daughter and how that anguish grows inside of him...cutting him off from others and more importantly from God. But he has an amazing experience where he gets to meet God and he learns more about the true nature of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost than he had ever experienced before. By the end of the book, he is a changed being and I believe any who read it and really think of what it says will be changed as well.

I have long had problems with the judgmental behavior of Christians. It seems to be to be so opposite of what Jesus tells us. I hear so many Christians focusing on the laws of the Bible and it is like they are following the paths of the Pharisees and others who forgot to focus on the spirit of the law instead of the word of the law.

We are supposed to understand how God wants us to behave, but we are not supposed to judge others. Jesus died so that instead of being ruled by sin, we could be ruled by mercy, grace, forgiveness and love. He didn't just hang out with tax collectors, prostitutes and other 'baddies' as a way to tell us we are to reach out to those that are 'morally' less than us. He hung out with them because he loved them. Of course he hopes to help them come to him, but first and foremost he loves them as does God.

Jesus tells us that there is only one commandment we need to follow and that is to love God above all others and secondly to love one another as we love our selves. If we spend our time loving God and loving one another, so many of the sins we commit will fade into the background. Sins often come as a result of us wanting to be better than others or of us straining against the rules that we perceive are designed to control us. If love and relationships become the number one goals of our lives, the other things will fall away. A person who loves their spouse and works on that relationship won't be tempted to pursue another. A loved person feels more fulfilled and stealing to have something they don't have is no longer a motivator.

This book states what I have long felt in my heart in a wonderful way. I really hope you will take the time to read it. You won't be disappointed (unless you want to continue to live under the rule of law).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, another busy week has come and gone. The fence work has been going along (slower than I thought it would be, they have completed one of the four sides). Two of the sides are going to be chain link and they say those will go up in about a day. But the vinyl part of the fence is very complex. They spent all week this week working on it and setting up the posts for the chain link fence. I am ready for the puppies to go outside. Our house just isn't big enough for the two of them and I am very tired of cleaning up puppy messes.

But we have had a little fun this week. Yesterday, I took the kids to FunQuest for a homeschool skate. I really appreciated the fact that they are reaching out to homeschoolers and are trying to set up a reasonably priced fun time for the children. Jack and Katrina had fun skating, playing laser tag, and Katrina spent some time in the big playplace.

The puppies have been trying to figure out if they like one another or not. They seem to think each other is a neat chew toy. But things are starting to smooth out.

Today, we all went and got haircuts. Mine isn't complete as I plan to get a perm next week. Katrina has been growing her hair with the express purpose of sending some to Locks of Love. So, today ended up being the day. She went with a layered look hoping for more curls. I think we may have to make shorter layers in order for her curls to show up more, but I think it looks cute (she is still trying to decide).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Overwhelmed With Joy is hosting Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style, 3rd Edition.

If you are wanting to try out some new recipes this year to wow your family, be sure to go check it out! And don't forget to share one of your tried and true recipes with everyone else!

Below, you will find a recipe that my mom passed down to me. Old-fashioned cooking at its yummiest!

Happy Cooking!

Mincemeat Stuffed Apples
Sheila Elaine Lemley Orndorff Galford, my mom

Ingredients:

6 baking apples, cored
6 tbsp mincemeat
6 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel upper ¼ of apples
3. Fill each with 1 tbsp mincemeat
4. Sprinkle each with 1 tbsp brown sugar.
5. Pour ½ cup water into baking pan
6. Place apples in pan
7. Bake 45 minutes, baste frequently
8. Serve with whipped cream

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday, we left fluffball here with Daniel and took Ginger for some fun one-on-one time. Unfortunately, Ginger and fluffball aren't getting along all that well. Hopefully, they will come to like one another. Anyway, we took Ginger on a visit to my dad's mountain cabin. As you can see by the pictures below, she had a wonderful time!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When we first built our deck last spring, we built in extra big with the intention of installing a hot tub in the next phase. Well phase two came this past week when we finished paying off our Hot Springs Grandee Hot Tub, which was delivered yesterday. And, boy did I miss some shots for my blog! It took them two hours to get lined up with the crane to maneuver the hot tub into place and seeing a several hundred pound hot tub hoisted through the air and heading towards your French doors...nothing quite like it! But, nothing was damaged and I regret to say I missed the great installation photos. Here is what it looks with the cover on and inserted into our deck.

And here is a picture of what the tub looks like uncovered and out in the open (though we chose to recess ours).

We also picked up another item for the deck that had been on our wish list. A firebowl. We tried it out Tuesday night and it is lovely!

We can't wait for the snow to fly so we can enjoy our firebowl and sit in the hot tub. When we picked out the hot tub, the salesperson informed me this was the same model that is in the White House! Wow...we are in some good company, here!

In addition to the excitement of lining up the hot tub delivery, the construction (destruction) of the hole in the deck, and getting the gears in motion for our new fence, I also got the Xterra's oil changed, tires rotated and got it cleaned up real nice. I had a test in my class this week, plus worked in class on a group writing assignment. Jack has not been feeling well all week, and finally took him to the doctor on Friday. He may have inherited my family's tendency for migraine headaches! Yikes! And Katrina and I went and picked up the newest addition to the family. And no, he doesn't have a name yet, but he is fluffy, cute and has an adorable tail! He is lovable, and hates, hates, hates his collar and the leash. He and Ginger have played some together, but they haven't yet come to a friendly understanding. So without further ado...here's the little puff ball (who doesn't stand still for photos).

In case you haven't heard, the Obama girls are looking at getting a Goldendoodle. Their father had promised them a puppy once the election was over. Of course some people have to get into it and try to tell them what kind of puppy to get. I hope the girls are able to find the puppy of their dreams and that other people will keep their noses to themselves!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Before we went trick or treating on Friday, we had a photo session Friday morning. A gentleman in our church has a photography business and I thought it would be fun for the kids to have their pictures taken in a photo shoot:) We had tried to get together before the leaves had all fallen from the trees, but between inclement weather and busy schedules, we missed some of the prettier days. But in the end, we got some great shots. You can check them out at my flickr account

Friday night, we got home about 9 from trick or treating and went to bed around 10:30. We were up at 7:30 to head to my mom's church for the Holiday Bazaar. It was amazing!

Other things at the Bazaar included a raffle for some great gift baskets. Unfortunately we didn't win any, but all of the money went for the churches missions projects, so it was a great cause. There were various crafters set up in the gymnasium. And baked goods were available too. Down the hall, there was a room of yard sale items (and bags of clothes for 5.00 a bag). And for lunch, I ate some of the best BBQ I have ever had! And I brought some home too! We stayed until a little after 12, then we had to head home for our next great adventure. While there, the kids, Ashley and I picked up a bunch of great deals and some delightful hand-crafted Christmas presents!

The Markham Family Winter Sign

This sign says it all!

After the Bazaar, we headed home and unloaded our goodies, rested very briefly, then we headed up to Smith Mountain Lake State Park. They were having a Goblins and Goodies event from 2-4. We enjoyed a hayride, painting some pumpkins, coloring some Halloween coloring pages, looking at live snakes and bats, and Katrina participated in the costume contest. Jack didn't feel like dressing up again. Katrina won first place in her category. Jack would have won had he dressed up, I believe. Katrina was very tickled to get her bag of goodies.

We returned home, got together with our neighbors and headed into Lynchburg for dinner at The China Super Buffet. Yum! It was a long and busy day. We had a wonderful time!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

We had a wonderful time trick or treating last night. The kids got their costumes together and I took pictures as we were leaving so they would be looking their best:

First we went to the town of Bedford for Spooktacular. Something I have read about every year, but we have not gone. It is a program put on by our county parks and recreation department. There were several games for the children to play (free of charge) and depending on how well they did at the game, they would get a prize that matched their skill. Katrina's best gift was a cute stuffed bat. Jack's best gift was a pumpkin faced yo-yo. They also won lots of candy and had fun just playing the games. We were there about 45 minutes.

It was still early to trick or treat so I suprised the kids with dinner at Burger King. Then we headed over to drop in on some friends of ours to show off the kids costumes before we started walking through the streets of Bedford. Every year we trick or treat somewhere different. Living out in a rural area, it is hard to trick or treat nearby.

We walked about 3 miles in a 2 hour time period. The kids got lots of yummy candy. The thing I liked about trick or treating in Bedford were the great decorations. People there really went all out and made some beautiful displays! The other thing I really enjoyed about our evening was the great costumes and seeing so many adults joining in the fun. If we go back to Bedford next year, I will be in costume too.

I took a bunch of pictures. If you would like to see more of the kids and our Halloween fun, go check it out at
Flickr.

We got home about 8:45. The kids looked through their goodies and by the time we got to turn in, it was around 11. We had a 7 am wake up call (and I was tuckered out from all that walking, plus three wake up calls in the night from Ginger).

So come back tomorrow and I'll fill you in on what we did today:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)