What matters most.....

Call me reflective, but that's the way the last 24 hours have gone. In the last twenty four hours God has yet again proven Himself faithful yet again. So bear with me, but chances are if you are reading this you can relate to some part.

Events like tornadoes and storms tend to put life in perspective. They remind us yet again what matters and what doesn't. They remind us of what God values and what we should. They remind of us of what is going to matter for eternity and what only matters for today.

Last night was a rough night for my community. There were people that lost their lives, those that lost everything they owned, and those that have spent the day cutting up trees and hanging tarp. It's hard enough when you watch trees on tops of houses on TV from some other state. It's another thing when you drive your route to work, church, and home and see trees on tops of houses. It becomes real and it hurts. You may not even know the people in those houses, but you hurt for them. I cried the whole way home today at what I saw. Tears of pain for those cleaning up, but also tears of thankfulness because last night could have been so much worse. We had three rounds pretty much take the same path through our area. An area that in storms passed has not typically been where the tornadoes hit. Our entire state learned three years ago not to take storms lightly and that saved many lives last night. Some have a new meaning of safe tonight.

Let your tomorrow be different than today. Take what He has en-grained on your heart and walk with it into tomorrow. Stay focused on what He has called you to do, bloom where you are planted for now, and love people. Time is short and we don't always get to see the puzzle lid before we are handed the pieces. We think we want to, but if we did, we may hand the pieces back to Him and ask for another puzzle.

Love people and just enjoy the day He has given you. He will give you the strength to handle what He has planned for it. We run tired(frustrated and stressed) when we add to it what we have planned as well. Let Him dictate your plans and just follow His lead. He will take care of the rest and work it out better than we ever could.

Rest well readers tonight! I'm looking forward to some good sleep. Last night was a long night. Take care of each other, help out when you can, and pray for each other. God can be where we cannot be and do what we cannot do. I'm thankful last night wasn't as bad as it could have been. I've seen the damage and it could have been worse. I'm thankful for friends who text and start praying from a state away. (Talk about nerve wracking when you realize a big city like Nashville is mentioning your little community).  There is peace when you know you have people praying.

Focused on the journey!
~Melissa

Just Me

I've got a couple of blogs in the works, but tonight I just feel like being me a for a little bit. (Hence the Just Me title of the blog).

There is a sweet family going through something tonight that no one should have to. Yes it's a part of life, but once you walk down that journey it's one you would never wish on anyone else. Life is short. Reminders of that are everywhere. Anytime a life is taken too soon(and in the last four years anytime one is taken by a wreck), I tend to get nostalgic.

Don't let the mess of today keep you from seeing the message of tomorrow. Confidence is not in knowing you can do anything, but that He can do everything through you. I've been on a journey and I hit a turning point a couple of weeks ago. To put a picture with the words I quit circling the mountain and started to climb over it. That's a blog in the works for another day though, but I firmly believe the best is still to come and that God is just getting started.

God's peace is worth more than anyone's approval. You have to get up and over the mountain in order to step into the promise land(the promise, the dream) God has placed within you. He didn't plan the seed not to bring it to harvest, He's just been waiting on the right time. (and for you to start walking where He said to step). More on that later :-) He's still writing.....


Take some time to notice those He has placed in your life. They are all there for a reason and to make you into who He has called you to be. In some way He can use them all to make you a better you, if you let Him. Stay focused on Him knowing that He knows your heart, He designed you that way, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine. Let go of the things that are temporary and stay focused on what will really matters. If you are caught up in a feelings moment and not sure what's what on those two, take a breath and ask Him. He'll show you what He's focused on and that should be where you are as well. So many times we focus on the pebble in the road when God has more ahead of us. One more thought on that, Ask God for discernment about those who are supposed to be on your journey. Distractions can come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances. They are different for everyone, so ask Him to show you the ones in your life so you can quit focusing on them.

Don't let what the enemy is doing around you affect what God is doing in you. Take it from someone who almost let some of the mess he was throwing my way defeat me. I'm thankful God got a hold of me that night and spoke into my life words that only He could. Don't let the mess of your day defeat you. You were made for more than that because your Father is the King of Kings. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. There are things that you can do that no one else can. He gave you the heart He did for a reason. Use it for Him.

Praying for a sweet family tonight and asking God to just pick them up and carry them as only He can during this unexpected journey. Praying for safety tomorrow as the severe weather approaches. Be prepared, but remember you know the One who can speak peace to the storms with just one word.

Staying focused on the journey,
~Melissa

Do it afraid

I honestly didn't anticipate writing this blog tonight, but He has other plans. He only started it a couple of hours ago.

I don't know what you are dealing with today, what may be causing you to feel fear, but God says do it afraid. You may have read this title and thought what in the world, bear with me and I'll try to explain.

So many times we let fear paralyze us from doing what God wants us to do. We come up with every excuse in the book of why we can't do it, even though He said to do it. When in all honesty, we are just trying to justify our fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of stepping out of the comfort zone, fear of moving forward when you don't know where you are going, just plain fear in general. The hardest thing to do is to move forward even when you "feel" afraid because you know He's got your back. That however is what we have to do in order to make progress on this journey. The enemy wants us at a standstill, because he knows the more we move forward the stronger we become.

When you know God says it to do it, you can trust that He has already paved the way. Why then if we know this in our hearts, do we still let that little four letter word dictate so much? That goes back to that comfort zone thing. If you'll step out in the direction He said to do, you may feel afraid, but do it anyway.  Eventually your feelings will catch up with your actions. So many times we have that reversed and let our actions catch up with our feelings(in that case you end up stressed and frozen still).

Honesty check, taking off the mask moment...we are all afraid of something. Some of you are going to read this next statement and go yeah whatever, but here goes. I have a fear of public speaking. Yep the enemy knows it too. I am slowly making progress in that area. I get nervous and almost sick every time I do a webinar or a presentation. The feeling lasts until I get started and then peace takes over. I've learned to do my part and He comes through with His part(In other words if I will just start talking, He starts calming). I am perfectly comfortable in a room full of kids talking, but put me in a room of adults and yeah the nerves kick in. God's been dealing with this fear area because the enemy still has a hold on a part of it. (My computer screen, my phone etc. are my comfort blankets. I can speak into your life via technology or a card, I can pray for you when it's just me and God or I when I can type it out. However there is a fear when it comes to opening the mouth. That's a blog for another day though because God is still working on it and bringing me to me do it afraid moment.) The enemy will use what he can to keep you from doing what God has called you to do. (Hence the title do it afraid).

What has God asked you to do? Is there an area where you "feel" afraid, but you know God is dealing with it? Do it afraid. Step out and start, God will take it over from there.

Focused on the journey,
~Melissa

He's Alive! ....now live like it

This weekend has been refreshing. I love Easter. Here is I guess what you could call part three of my Easter weekend blogs. 

Day three can be known as victory day. We get so excited at Easter and we should as we celebrate our risen Savior, but guess what...He's alive everyday. The same Jesus that rose on the third day, conquering death, hell, and the grave is alive and walking with us daily. If we truly let that sink in to the very core of who we are, it will change our world(or at least it should). 

It should change how we look at our day, our situation, and the things that happen to us. I'm one of the world's worst about stressing in the moment, getting all worked up about something, and then after I've tried to figure it all out I go running up to His lap for Him to settle me and tell me He has it. He has been dealing with me on this subject lately. He doesn't want us to stress about it first before we run to Him. As soon as we start to feel it, He wants us to give it to Him. Honesty check: This is NOT easy!! Our natural tendency is to deal with the "stress" and then run to talk to Him about it. At some point the stress gets to be too much and we start to get quicker about running to Him. 

This past week God actually was pretty blunt with me about some things in my world that I had been letting "defeat" me. Stressful situations are going to happen, but when we take on the stress as if it were our own it starts to wear at us. After some time, the wearing begins to change who we are. God made us to be who He called us to be. He made us to play the part He designed for us not what someone else wrote out for us to play. Life is too short to let the things of this world defeat us. God has given us the power to be victorious and to walk that out each and every day. The same power that raised Him from the grave lives inside the hearts of those who are Christians. That very truth right there should keep us smiling every day. The battle was won on the third day. The world needs to see us walking out that truth. The world needs to see Christians living like He's alive. I know this is an area where I have to do better. The world needs to see a difference in Christians. The world needs to see us walking out what we say and putting our feet to our words. It's not always easy, but He is there to help us if we'll just let Him.  

He's alive...let's live like it! Trusting Him doesn't always mean He calms the storm. Trusting Him means going inside the boat and resting with Him. He has already won the battle and you are more than a conquer. Don't let the enemy tell you otherwise, after all he's a liar by the way. Do not let what the enemy is doing around you affect what God is doing through you. 

Focused on the journey,

~Melissa 

The day in between

I wonder sometimes what they must have felt that day in between. Those that were closest to Him had watched what He went through. They had watched Him hang on a cross, be beaten, and endure so much. They knew what He had promised, but I'm sure there physical self was mourning the One they loved that had left them. As someone who has lost someone close, I get that. I get that they were sad, but I also have to think somewhere deep inside of them they knew what He had promised. It was a day in between and most were probably just silent, still trying to process what all Friday had entailed. They were still trying to wrap their brains around what they had witnessed. I imagine there may have been some analyzing and what if's going on as well as some venting ;-)

The day in between was the bridge to victory. It was the middle to their sandwich so to speak of what the enemy thought He had done and what God was going to do. So many times we let the day in between defeat us. We spend the time that we should just be silent trying to figure out what God is doing. The day in between is when the promises have to be louder than the reasons. The day in between may seem like the enemy won, but hold on to the promise that God is not finished. God doesn't want us to lose faith on that day in between. 

It may look like the enemy has won on the day in between, but don't lose heart, God is not finished. He may seem silent, but He is working it out on your behalf. Don't lose hope, His promises are true and they will not fail! 

**I use "day" as a figurative and relative term. The day in between may be more than just a day. Hear me though sweet reader. God is working it out on your behalf. Just becuase it seems like things are at a standstill and the enemy may "feel" like he won....He did NOT! Victory is just around the corner and God is going to do what only He can do. 

Focused on the journey,

~Melissa 

My cross, His choice

I've watched our passion play for years, in fact this is my third year on the media team, but this year has been different. I don't know if it where I'm at in this journey called life or what, but there were several scenes that gave me chills last night. To think of what He did for us..... That thought should be what keeps us going each and every moment of our lives. He did so much for us that day when He chose to take our cross, that it should make a difference in our lives each moment we breathe. Sadly we let the world crowd in with thoughts and doubts and we turn our focus off of where it should be.

He chose the cross that day not because of anything I had done for Him but because of love. What am I willing to do for Him? It wasn't His cross He carried that day, it was mine. He had done nothing to deserve the nails that were placed in His hands and feet, but He chose them just for me. He didn't have to go through it all, but he made the choice that love was a greater sacrifice than the pain He was physically enduring. He knew what was going on around Him, but He also knew what His Heavenly Father was doing as well. He had a purpose and He knew the plan. He endured the beatings, the mocking, and the crown of thorns that day knowing that one day I would be on this journey. He knew me and all that entails even then, but He still chose to do what He did. He loved me more than I could ever even fathom to do what He did that day. He took a cross I didn't even realize I had and bore a weight that I didn't even know about to change a life that would walk this journey. He knew us even then. He knew how would we fall, how we would mess up, and how we would make mistakes. He still made the choice that day, because He also knew how we would love, how we would touch the world, and how we would share Him. He made that choice that day because He knew us. He knew me. If you let those three simple words sink in, they are life changing. He knew me then as He knows me now. He made a choice that changed eternity because He loved me. All He wants in return is me. Not the me that I think I am or the me that others think I am, but the me that He knows that I am.

It was my cross that day, but it was His choice. He didn't have to go through with it, but He walked that road because He knew there was a higher calling and purpose on His life. He knew on that "Friday" that Sunday was coming. He knew that pain would have to happen first before the victory. He knew that thousands of years later that choice that day would still be impacting and changing lives for eternity. He didn't have to make that choice that day, but I am forever thankful and grateful that He did.

Focused on the journey,
~Melissa

Made for More

Okay well God and I had another one of those LONG talks Sunday night....actually He did more of the talking and I just had to listen. If you have ever been to God's woodshed, God's time out speech, it's not so fun. He was blunt last night and not so gentle. See I've been letting some mess get me down. I've let things defeat me, discourage me, and well pretty much keep me in a funk. When God not only starts talking His time out speech and your quiet time lines up with it as well, you better be listening. Yes I was listening ;-) The mask is off a little tonight, so be gentle as you read.

He has been whispering for awhile, you were made for more than this, but I guess I had a hard time letting the words sink in. Why is it we can believe Him to move mountains for others, but not ourselves? Why do we trust Him for everything under the sun besides what we need to trust Him for? I have prayed and believed Him for parking spots while in college and I have prayed and believed Him for healing when I was sick. So why are those middle issues so difficult to lay down? Because for some reason we think those are the things we can "handle". Those are the issues that we feel like(and most of the time) do try our hand at first and only, ONLY, when we have given it our best shot do we stop and run to Him. Hear me loud and clear....because I have learned this the hard way, so if I can save someone some stress...take it...Run to Him FIRST!!! Don't wait until you have to drag yourself to Him crying and covered in mess to clean up. Don't wait until the enemy has pretty much got you believing you will never do anything. Don't just believe God to move on the weekends. Guess what;-) He is full of surprises and even likes to show out during the week too. (That's a blog for another day, about God's tired of being in a box).

You were made for more than the mess you find yourself in during the week. You were made for more than the way others treat you. You were made for more than the way others speak about you. You were made for more than the way you speak about yourself. (Ouch...). To quote Casting Crowns, we were made for more than just to survive...we were made to thrive. God sits waiting for us to ask Him for what He wants to give us. (Hint: if you listen really close, He will tell you what to ask for). God's waiting to bless us, but we are frozen in our tracks because of __________(fill in the blank stress, frustration etc.). You were made for more than your "this" or your "that". The enemy wants nothing more than to keep you feeling defeated, in isolation, and discouraged. If he can convince you that you can't do anything because you are_________(fill in the blank...I mostly get single and female) then he wins. God has plans for you more than you could ever imagine. Guess what He even unlocked the chains around your feet that have kept you frozen? Now He is just waiting on you take the first step. Too many times we let others tell us what we can and cannot do, when God says..wait just a minute....I have plans for them! Get out of your comfort zone, let God show you what He can do through you. It will be more than you ever imagined.

So back to my woodshed talk with God....He was blunt and I won't even say gentle this time. I cried my way through and then cried some more. I'd like to say it got easier after that, but it has been a minute by minute press on. It's minute by minute telling my flesh you were made for more than this, of making the decision that what someone said was not going to get me, was not going to frustrate me, and was not going to make me cry. Please hear my heart....this is not an easy process, but if you never start walking forward to this you will never be free. I'm a stuffer. I will let it all build up inside while hiding behind this mask of every thing's fine until it gets to be where I can't handle it anymore. You may find this hard to believe, but I am shy. I have been hurt too much over the years and I tend to put a wall up for awhile in a friendship/relationship. I've learned the difference in a friend and an acquaintance the hard way. I've learned the difference in those with an anointed relationship and those with an anointed religion.

Think back to some God moments in your life. For me the most vivid was the bus wreck and the miracles that still continue to happen from that day. Think back to some times when you know God moved on your behalf. You were made for more than to let your current mess define you or defeat you. (In His words, He said...so you who walked off a bus that hit an 18 wheeler is going to let this little mess defeat you?  Yeah I told you He was blunt). You may not feel like it some days, you may even doubt yourself at times, but keep telling yourself He made me for more than this, He saved me for more than this, and He believes in me. Your feelings will eventually catch up with your words. Believe God is moving and doing what His thing on your behalf, not just all of the others who you are praying for. Faith is believing you can have what God says you can have. If God has shown up for you before, guess what...He will do it again. Why do we doubt when we already have seen Him move? (He asked the disciples the same thing when they were on the boat in the middle of the storm). 

So I'll tell you the same thing He told me Sunday night. You were made for more than this. Don't let the mess of your "this" and "that" became what defines you or defeats you. You are not defeated unless you surrender. The mess can either make you messy or give you your message. It's your choice.

Focused on the journey,
~Melissa

Wisdom for the week (a peek into my journal time last night)

Journal time had a lot of meat in it last night, so I thought I would share. Some may come out to be blogs later, but anyways. God's done a lot of talking over the last week(yes I've been listening). So here goes ;-)

• Sometimes God has to move us or asks us to move out of our comfort zone to enter int His zone. It's only for a season why He molds us, reshapes us, and gets us ready for the next season and harvest time. 
• Don't let the way someone treats you define who you are. They may step on you during this season, but God will bring you to a season when you will step over them and on to better and brighter things. Rise about the mess others would rather you stay in. 
• So you're uncomfortable...good that means you are listening. Often times we don't listen exactly to what He is saying as long as we are "comfortable". 
• "and lo I am with you always": God never said go and make disciples by ourselves. For some people we can, but for others we may just need to live it out first and let God do the rest. 
• "stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord" "Be still and know I am God": You aren't standing still if your mouth is moving. You aren't standing still if you are still trying to reason and figure everything out. God can't fight your battles if you still are. 
• The enemy wouldn't try to keep you feeling defeated if he wasn't afraid you could defeat him. 
• Sometimes God opens a door not to show you what you can do, but what He can do through you. 
• Uncomfortable...good. God just tapped you on the shoulder and said watch "I'm going to do more than you can imagine." 
• "So you don't fit in a box child? You finally figured it out...(or better yet listened.) Silly girl...I didn't make you to fit in a box. I didn't make you to fit in a mod. You can't just play a part, I didn't write, it's just not who you are. I made you for more than this. There are things that only you can do, things I set apart just for you...now go do them :-) " 
• The Parable of a Sower: God keeps taking me back to this passage of scripture. Last night He started writing and all I could say was wow. It stepped ALL over my toes, but yet made such sense.(I personally love it when He does that).  A blog will come as soon as He finishes it. 

There is a sense of expectancy and a sense of something is about to happen. The bones are about to have life breathed back into them and the best is still to come. God is moving and doing what He does best. The pieces are starting to turn over and He is putting them in place, one piece at a time. Thanks for letting me share my journal time with you. I typed it out just as He gave it to me last night. There was a lot of meat, I'm still processing some and more blogs may still come later. Be Blessed this week Readers! You were made for more than the mess the world wants you to stay in. Press through it, there is a message on the other side!

Focused on the journey,

~Melissa 

Celebrate you!

In my longest I can not remember looking at a picture and not criticizing myself. I have always been big and a heavy girl. ( I refuse to use the F word). I was blessed to go to a high school were my size wasn't an issue. I had friends who loved me for me. I had people that loved me for me and that's all that mattered. I had grown up with most of these people, so I think at that point they just saw me for me. When I got into college and into the work force, I quickly realized size mattered. It shouldn't, but people judge you based on what they see first and then they may take the time to get to know you. I took a lot of what other people thought personally(way too personally) and it started to affect my self image. I couldn't look at a picture and not see myself the way others saw me, until..........

Until God started revealing how He saw me.....When you grasp how God sees you, I mean truly grasp how He sees you, it is FREEDOM. I finally asked Him one day to let me see myself even in the mirror, as He saw me....God says we have not because we ask not, so ask! He was faithful to answer.

So many times we put off things while waiting for that special day. We find ourselves saying, oh I'll do that when I get married or I'll do that when I have a family. Well guess what....everyday is special. Everyday is a gift from God and we should celebrate it. So that being said, I decided I wanted some pictures. It had been 14 years since I had Senior pictures done and it was time for some pictures(that were not taken with a phone). I had kept putting it off because in my mind I kept saying that's what I'll do when I get engaged, married, and start a family. Well I'm almost 32 and that day hasn't happened yet. I was tired of letting what was traditional or expected get stuck in the waiting game box. I wanted a day to feel special, to be that princess for a day, and to simply celebrate me.  (We ALL need a day like that. We all need a day when we just celebrate the me He made us to be and not the me that others tend to make us be).

So I contacted my friend Karen and set up a photography session. Tonight I got to see the pictures and I had tears in my eyes. For the first time since I can remember, I saw myself as pretty. I saw myself as not heavy. I could see myself as He sees me.  It's hard to put into words how freeing that is. The best way to be would be to quote Tasha Cobb's song "I hear those chains falling". I heard chains falling tonight.

Don't put off something just because you are waiting for that special day. God made you who you are for a reason. You are who you are for a reason. You are complete just the way you are. I think too times we can't see ourselves in that light because we keep looking for something that is going to make us complete, to make us whole. God does that when we let Him in every little area of our lives. Too many times we give Him our "this' , but hold on to our "that's". God knows how to handle our this and our that. He just needs us to pry our fingers from around them and let go. Letting go means releasing it into His hands and not trying to grab it back. (That's a blog for another day).

Celebrate you! Not the you others think you should be, but the you He made you to be. When you know who you are in Him, you can do what needs to be done and know that He will shine your heart through regardless of the task.

Smiling on the journey,
~Melissa

Are you Determined?

 Determination(Webster definition): a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult

This word has been in my heart this morning, along a question God asked me. You always know your day is going to be a time of reflection and thinking when He wakes you up with a question. He asked me very plainly, very bluntly almost, Do you trust me enough to take care of you even if no one else does?

I've learned a couple of diamond days in a row will lead to a blog. If they don't, I've missed something somewhere.  I would be amiss to say I almost missed it this time. A tweet/status post from Joyce Meyer stopped me in my tracks last night because it was so on time.(I shared it last night on FB for those wondering) I was getting my running shoes on and was preparing to take off. I had been weathered enough and was ready to find a way to go to sleep in the boat. This storm business was going on long enough. Little did I stop and slow down long enough to realize I could have stopped the storm inside at any time. The storm on the outside was out of my control, but the storm on the inside was all mine. Sometimes He will let the storm rage on the inside until we finally get focused enough to listen and then and only then will He say Peace. Until He speaks peace, you have to do all you can do to stand. The wind may be blowing all around you, but dig your heels in and just listen.....the words you are longing to hear are coming soon. His words of Peace may not stop the outside storm just yet, but they can stop the one on the inside.

I can look back now with eyes that see how the storm on the inside got so out of control. The lack of quiet time during the outside storm to get away for a minute and just speak peace. Sometimes you need a minute to just get away and refocus. Take that minute or else the storm will continue to grow. The lack of someone speaking positive in my storm. All around I had someone feeding my fears, my insecurities, and my doubts.  I started the week determined to speak life, determined to stay focused on the positive, and determined that God had a purpose in all of this. By the end of the week, the only thing I was still sure of was that God had a purpose in all of this. The other two had been squashed and beaten down. Too many times we listen to those we shouldn't and do not seek out those we should. It took till the end of the week before I finally listened and found the one person who was in "my storm world" that said I'm praying for you. Those are the only ones we should listen to. Yes the storm may be raging, but if we stay focused and know God has a purpose in everything we can be determined to finish the course He has planned for us.

The enemy laughs at the determined Christian until that person is willing to say to stay the course with actions and not just words. The enemy loves when we doubt ourselves, when we feel defeated, when we question what we have to offer, and when we start looking at how we can give up. The enemy knows that if he can get us to that point and keep us away from those who will help refocus and speak life into us, he can pretty much hand us our running shoes and we will put them on and take off. Hear me when I say this....that is a crucial point in the battle. Don't give up regardless of how hard it is. Determine to stay the course and trust that God will take care of you and all that entails through it all. (God reminded me a sweet truth about revenge being His to repay. Do what you can and God will do what you cannot even if that means standing up to those who walked on you.).

So what are you determined to do? What has God purposed in your heart to stay the course and finish? He never said it would be easy, but He did say He would walk with us each step of the way. The storm may continue to rage on the outside, but on the inside you can sleep in the boat with Him. I have learned a valuable lesson and one that I have to re-visit often. God created me to be me. The enemy wants to make me doubt that truth and will do everything in his power to keep me there. The enemy will use everything(and everyone) he can to make the determined Christian put on their running shoes and take off because he knows God is about to show up and show out. Stay focused and remember who He says you are in the process. He never said it would be easy, but making diamonds never is.

I am determined now more than ever not because of what I can do, but because of what He can do through me. I won't back down in fear and I'm not running away from this season God has called me to. Giving up isn't an option because He doesn't give up. Giving up and Moving on are two different things(but that is a blog for another day). When you ask God for a heart of discernment, be prepared for His eyes through situations, which can be harder than you think. God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the call. Watch for wolves in sheep's clothing and know that the enemy will put people in your path who at first glance are there to help, but turn out not to be. Finally when you have done all you can do, stand. Just stand still if the storm is raging inside and out. Don't let the inside storm cause you to run backwards, just stand. God will take over and speak peace to the inside so you can keep moving through the outside storm(even though the winds may be howling and the waves getting rough). Don't let your do define or change your who. Let your who define and change your do.

Staying the course and focused on the journey,
~Melissa

Be prepared, because my God is bigger than this outside storm and the blog that will come once He shows up and out in the outside storm is going to be AMAZING. Just know that it is in His timing, not mine...so only He knows when that will be.

Finger Painting

I didn't set out to write a blog today, I really didn't. Too much for a Facebook status though.....

God knows my heart. He knows when my words get jumbled and more of Melissa comes out than Him. He knows what I struggle with and how hard I have to fight against keeping my flesh silent. It seems like the more I press in towards Him, the more the enemy presses on towards me. That's the battle going on in the world we live in. The more we set out to follow God in obedience, the more the enemy sets out to defeat us.  When we are defeated, we are powerless to do anything because we don't feel like we can. It's at that point the best we can do is to stand up and keep walking.

Why don't you just trust me? The Father asked His child one day. You keep walking like you know the way, but then you start to feel the heat and stop and take a seat. You look it over and start to doubt, even though I never called you out. You see a mess and I see a message. I never said do it all, I just said you had to call. Trust me, I know your heart. All I need is for you to do your part. Peace will come when you learn to rest, that I simply do know what's best. ~God

How many remember finger painting when you were younger? The kids put their fingers in the paint and put it on the paper and just have fun. Most of the time, especially when they are younger they don't set out with a set picture in mind. They just know they are enjoying the moment. In the end, they always bring the picture up for you to see. To you it is a masterpiece. It may not look like, but because the child(whom you love and care for) made the painting and enjoyed it...you see something beautiful in it. You find what they made and you talk about it even though your actual eyes may not be able to see it.

Start the day like a child finger painting. Put your fingers in it and just have fun creating. At the end of the day see the day like the parent sees the child's masterpiece. It may not always look like something beautiful, but if you gave it your all and did what you could, it is a masterpiece to God. See He sees your heart through the colors of the day. He knows why you did what you did. He knows why you thought what you did, why you said what you said, and why you went where you went. He knows you. He doesn't see a jumble full of colors on a piece of paper, He sees the heart through them and to Him it is a masterpiece.

Ask Him for His eyes to look back at the day. You may feel like you made a mess of it. You may can only look back and see the places where you jumbled your words because you were nervous(in a webinar that was recording). God sees courage and knows you did better than you think. God also sees the conversations you had and He knows the heart behind them.

If you haven't figured out yet through some of these blogs, I am awfully hard on myself. God only expects me to be me, the me He made me to be. I still struggle with expecting myself to be the me others want me to be. I don't know if that struggle will ever completely go away, but it is getting easier. Some days are harder than others. God give me holy duct tape and take it off when you want it off. Oh how I must make Him laugh and probably look at me and go Melissa really. I ask Him to shine through, yet sometimes more Melissa gets out than God. He sees I'm strong enough to climb the mountain and run the race, yet I want to complain about every pain and hurt.  Oh I'm learning.....

As Joyce Meyer likes to say, I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I'm not perfect by any means, but I am learning that there are lessons to be learned in those imperfect moments. He transforms the image I see daily, but I have to remember to look in His mirror. I'm a Princess loving some grace. Grace really is an amazing thing and I will forever smile on that note ;-)

Focused on the journey,
Melissa