Thirty-five years ago, we said, “I do!” We still do!! Tim is a daily example of Christ’s unconditional love to me. I am so grateful for him! We had these photos taken during cherry blossom season this year. A special thank you to Kyohei Nishimura for the beautiful photos. He made us look good!
I’ve been doing some “spring cleaning” here at the blog. I removed some of the clutter in the tabs and there is a new bio links page. I created this for people who come from Instagram. Instagram only allows one link in your profile. You may notice an affiliate link for Rachelyn Jewelry. This is not a monetized blog and I do not run monetized social media. Rachelyn is a sweet Christian young lady that makes beautiful high-quality jewelry. I share it on Instagram occasionally.
I have also started another blog for our supporters. This helps us to keep them updated more regularly. If you would like these updates, you can subscribe to Japan for Christ: Melton Ministry Updates.
It looks like my summer plans are going to be different than I thought. Last week on Friday, I had quite a fall off of our deck. I hurt my left ankle and my right knee. Today I had an MRI to determine the damage. The good news is at this point no surgery is necessary. Also I didn’t do any real damage to my left ankle so even though it’s swollen and black and blue, I can put some weight on it to get around. The bad news is I have a fractured kneecap, a fractured tibia, and a damaged Vastis Lateralis muscle. Due to the severity of the injury, I am in a cast. The doctor felt like the brace was not supporting it enough and if I had any further injury it would mean surgery. That means I am in a cast for 4 weeks and then I can go back to the brace. I would appreciate your prayers.
Waiting for my MRI.
My sweet hubby went through the drive-through at Starbucks since they opened today after our lock down.
I’m back home in my husband’s recliner.
I have been working on lots of projects, but most of them are finished. The ones that aren’t will have to be on hold. I do have some projects that involve sitting so I hope to whittle away at some of those during this recovery time. I have some studying I would like to do, so I will definitely be making time for that as well.
One of my projects involves doing some spring cleaning here at the blog. I’ve already started on it and it seems to be helping with some of the issues I’ve been having. I’m also going to need to learn a new program for my photos that I keep putting off. I guess now is the time. I appreciate your patience until I get some of these issues resolved and can get into a regular posting schedule.
Thank you for your prayers. They mean more than I can say.
I’m sorry that I have not been blogging over the last few months. Furlough has been soooooo busy that I can’t seem to keep up with everything, not to mention making time to write blog posts. I did post recently at In Her Shoes. If you would like to read Reminders Along the Roadside, click here.
One exciting bit of news is that we are to be grandparents for the first time in November. We were able to be a part of the gender reveal. We were thrilled to find out that our first grandchild will be a GIRL!!!!
We are definitely moving into the busy mission conference season. We are headed out for 10 days on Saturday. We are looking forward to reporting to 4 churches during this trip. Thank you for your prayers.
until the next time…
I’ve been doing a whole lot of housekeeping at home and here at the blog. This has been a month of stepping back, catching my breath and planning for the future.
I’ve updated my list of books read in 2018. I also started a page for books read in 2019. I’ve never been one to share a list like this on my blog. I get many of my recommendations of books to read from other bloggers, so thought I would share in case you may looking for recommendations yourself. If you look at the list for 2019, you will notice that they are all fiction at the moment. I am currently reading four non-fiction books. I am almost done with a couple of them. It takes me a little longer to get through those as I meditate on what I am reading. I am also taking notes on two of them. They are so good, I don’t want to forget as I am prone to do. I will share them with you when finished.
Do Not Depart is starting a new Bible memory project. I encourage you to join in. They also have a Facebook group that is great for encouragement. Our church has taken on a rather ambitious Bible memory project this year, so I won’t be joining in on this one. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with the church project and continuing with reviewing some of my other projects. I keep repeating to myself that “something is better than nothing.”
Have a blessed day. Until the next time…
It seems I’ve taken a little bit of a blogging break. It was not intentional. I have been without a computer for almost two weeks. It is now in the repair shop and I hope to receive it soon. I hope you are enjoying this holiday season!
It’s been a little while since you have heard from me. I didn’t intend to take a break, but the blog had to take a back burner as things have been piling up. I’m not sure why it seems I am unusually busy this spring. I usually have my spring cleaning done by now, but I have barely started. 😮 It will probably be summer cleaning this year!
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This week is a big holiday week in Japan called ‘Golden Week.’ We like to get away for a few days during this time. Our usual destination is my husband’s parents’ house. My MIL is currently in the states, but we decided to come anyway and spend time with my FIL. It has been nice to get away and escape the busyness of the city. They live in the country. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk this morning along country roads and the river lined with trees.
Since my MIL isn’t here to visit with, I’ve been able to do some reading, studying and writing. These are all things that I haven’t had enough time for in recent weeks. I’m thankful that the Lord has given me this time to come away from my normal routine. I didn’t realize how much I needed it. If I had stayed home, I probably would have started that spring cleaning…
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We just started a new Bible study at our church using Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. We just finished The Renewing of the Mind Project and felt that this would be a great study to do next because we can incorporate a lot of what we are learning about renewing our minds with the Lies Women Believe study. One of the ladies discovered that the older version of Lies Women Believe has been translated into Japanese. That is an added bonus!!
A moment of transparency here…I’m behind in my Bible memory projects. I’ve had a couple of comments recently from ladies that said my posts on Bible memory spurred them on in this vital area. Those comments have helped me to not give up when it would be so easy to do. It’s ok to be behind. Something is better than nothing.
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What are you working on? Is there a Bible study that is helping you? Are you working on a Bible memory project? I’d love to hear from you!
until the next time…
“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
~Luke 2:19
I often think about the phrase, Mary “pondered them in her heart.” Sometimes I see what appears to be the Lord working and I ponder on what He may be doing. I have a sheet in my prayer notebook that I have titled “Ponderings.” On this page I list things that I want to pray about, but don’t really know what to pray. Those things are between me and the Lord. I sit back and see what He will do and thank Him that He has everything under control. As I sit here and type this out, I realize that is how I should be thinking about every area of life. Not just the things that I don’t really know how to pray about.
Another pondering today has been about my walk with the Lord. I was listening to a podcast on my morning walk and one of the speakers was introduced as a woman full of theology. Then the one introducing her said “I want to be like her when I grow up.” I want to be a woman full of theology that affects every area of my life. I am far from perfect. I sin. But as I age and grow closer to my God, I pray that I will sin less and less. The other question I ask myself is “What am I doing to become a woman full of theology?” I have some spiritual goals and these are all good. I need to be in the Word and I need to be in it more. That means I will have to make some serious choices about how I spend my time.
And last on the pondering list today is this blog. I do not plan to quit. I am amazed that I still have an audience when I have been so sporadic with posting. I’m glad that others can read past writings and benefit from them. My problem is that I am completely out of inspiration. So I am praying about what direction the Lord will take me here. You can help!! Is there anything you would like to hear? What are some of your favorite posts? How can I be a blessing to you, dear reader?
until the next time…
I am grateful for those of you who still read my ramblings. I am not one of those bloggers who posts daily or even weekly lately for that matter, but many of you are still here. Thank you!
I returned to Japan from my unexpected trip to the USA and hit the ground running. Ten days after my return, my hubby and I went away to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it has been 30 years! I am thankful for the good man that the Lord gave me to go through life with.
And now, the Lord has allowed me to slow down for a few days and spend lingering time with Him and catch up on a few things. I thrive with routine and am hoping for some of that soon, but it isn’t looking too likely with summer upon us.
One thing I am doing is making time for reading. I am currently reading Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. It is exactly what I need to be reading at this time in my life and I look forward to sharing it with you in the days ahead. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it!
until the next time…
Drinking at the Springs 