So you are making the enemy mad?

Good! This blog has been in the works for a week, but I honestly don't know if would have been complete had today not been like it was. I've learned over the years there is a difference between bad day and stressful day. Bad lasts longer than stressed, stressed days need exercise, chocolate, and quiet moments with God to just let Him love you. Yep a stressed day and a bad day are two different things. A stressed day can become a bad day if you let it. For me this day was a stressed day, I just needed the complaints to stop and a minute for things to go like I needed them to. God knew today would be like it was, He knew when I got up and I had a song on my mind and a prayer on my heart. He knew I would need to start the day full, because it would drain out quickly. I wish I could tell you I went through today with a smile on my face and a Pollyanna outlook. If you know me, you know my face tells a lot. In other words, I can't fake the Pollyanna outlook if I'm not feeling it. God will get me there, but for now I am who I am and you more than likely can read it on my face. A work in progress, that's me, but I am enjoying the journey. So for those in my path today, I'm sorry. My helper button has worn off and I just can't fix it all. Sometimes we just need someone to listen, to say thank you, and to realize we are doing our best. Moving on.......


I am quicker at realizing the enemy's schemes throughout the day and stressed is one of them. God has broken me from trying to please everyone, but at the same time it makes the enemy mad and he tries to do what he can to put that chain back on me. Hence the struggle sometimes between flesh(trying to keep everyone happy) to the the Spirit(doing the best you can with all that He has given you). God knows my heart, but sometimes that doesn't always come out. Some people will never be happy regardless of what you do (or don't do). The enemy knows what you are struggling with, expect that battle and prepare for it. When you start to feel overwhelmed, get still. God will love on you and remind you whose battle it really is. He can't fight if we are still trying to fight it as well. Take heart if it feels like(or you know) that the enemy is mad at you. It means you are on the journey to what God has called you to do. The enemy wants to keep you wandering not focused, take heart in the focused moments God's got this! The enemy's desire is to keep you so busy that you never slow down long enough for God to show you what He has called you to do and what your gifts are. Find them and better yet start using them or working toward that and rest assured the enemy will head after you. Some days it just has to make me smile and thankful he considers me a threat.

Stressed day, don't let it turn into a bad day. You can't fix it all, but you can talk to the One who can about it. You can't do it all, but you can do the best you can with it. Wearing yourself out will never finish the list, so take time for you. Discouraged, find someone to encourage. You make a difference even when you think you aren't. Most of all, don't be so hard on yourself. You are not a failure, you are a royal heir, child of the King. Do what you do and be who He made you to be. Trust Him enough that everyone won't like you, and that's okay...they didn't like Jesus either. Sometimes I think we forget how much He was talked about, taken advantage of, yet He knew how to keep the main thing the main thing. Wow...what a lead to follow. So thankful He knows what to do and gets it.

Enjoy your journey!
~Melissa

God take the pieces....

It is a precious indescribable moment when God shows you a glimpse of some of the pieces fitting together. Somehow He knows just the right moments to peel back the layers and say take a peek. He knows if He can show us just a tiny glimpse of the picture version of what's in our hearts that we can keep pressing forward. I've learned there is a part of me buried so deep that only He gets. There is a part that only He knows is there because even I am not sure how the part will be played out just yet, but He does. We all have one. Think to yourself for a minute. What's that thing you would do if you could? I mean if there were no rules, no requirements, no parts from others to play, just you doing what you know He called you to do. I bet just thinking about it brings a smile to your face, I know it does mine. As much as I have moments where I know I am in my sweet spot, something inside of me tells me there is still another season to come. For now though, my focus is on keeping balance. Life can so quickly get out of a balance that it is scary. We can go through the course of a day and not even realize how much we through things out of balance by what we said, worried about, or became frustrated over. When we finally get still, we realize how much of our time has been spent being busy or maybe even some things we could consider "good". My heart doesn't want to miss any more God assignments. I've already asked Him for forgiveness because I can look back over the last six months and see a few I missed ;(. When God whispers, sometimes it is for that given moment or season. He knows what needs to happen to meet the need at hand and if we don't listen, He'll find someone that does. Time is a precious gift from Him that we can invest in others. Time is a gift that can be eternal because only He knows what investing that time will mean to someone else. Word of caution....if the enemy can't make your schedule busy, he'll try to make your mind busy worrying about your to-do list. Put the enemy in his place and remind him who you have placed in charge of your day(and your to-do list).


God take the pieces and fit them together as You have planned for them to. The best is yet to come as I focus on Your assignments and not on mine.

Just sharing my heart...

Alright this is looking to be one of those my heart with some meat squeezed in posts. God actually started writing late last night, early this morning. So much has been on my mind lately. I'm thankful He gets it. God understands where we are and He gets our feelings. I've felt worn all day today. I've been tired, overwhelmed, and if you ask my body it would probably say stressed. I love how we try to say oh I'm not stressed, but if we would ask our bodies they would SCREAM out something different. I've known it for the last few weeks that the balance of my life was slowly becoming lopsided. So I dug my heels in the sand this weekend and said God I needed a word. He knew I did, but what I got was a whisper of I've got this.  Well duh....my heart knew He had it, but my feelings and head were having trouble catching up. I knew the balance wasn't there and honestly I knew the buttons that had made the scale start to tip, but the real question was how to back track? It's HARD. It's hard when you recognize the scale is tipped and you need to readjust, to readjust. It's hard to know just how to go about putting the scale of life back in balance, God tells us what to do, but the actions to words require even more. Can I get real for a minute? Have I said yes more than I should lately? YES....Have all the yes's lined up with God's assignments? No....I can look back and see where the shift happened. I can see where the line should have been drawn and I kept on. Now I'm trying to put it in reverse and get some balance back. I don't like how the last two weeks have gone. Pretty sure God doesn't either....So tomorrow starts the putting it back in perspective and that will probably involve the word no.  In case you haven't encountered the enemy this way yet, he's sneaky. The enemy knows just what our flesh needs, and he will do everything he can to feed it.

If you haven't seen the news lately, watch it. The situations in Iraq and with Israel are heart breaking. It's time to break the fence down that some Christians have been walking on and get serious about what God has called us to do. It's time to get serious about sharing God period. I'm not a gloom and doom end of the world is coming, but folks it is. The signs are around us and there is a sense of eternal urgency in the air. We need to get busy about things that will matter in eternity and let some of this non-essential stuff fall to the waste side. (Hello Melissa...that means computers, printers, and phones..long story, but God just stepped on my toes as I typed). Is what you are doing now, what you would be happy doing if He were to come back this very minute? If you ask yourself that question and let it sink in, it will change you. There are Christians having to not only speak about their faith, they are dying for it. Let's at least act on the faith we talk about here in America. Get off the fence and either be hot or cold period.

This whole Robin Williams thing has touched a lot of people and left many in shock. Let's let it change us in a good way. Love people where they are. Pray for God to do only what He can in their lives. Listen to people. So many times people just want to be heard, be that ear for someone today.

I'm not perfect. There is a lot of this journey I'm still trying to pass without a re-test, but I'm making progress. I know who I am in Him. I know what He has called me to do and not to do. My heart's desire is to please Him. There is a fine line between the disease to please and the call to love. If you look at the fruit of the last two weeks, I'm not sure what you would see. Revelation from God this afternoon was precious. The more determined we are to do what He wants us to do, the more the enemy is determined to keep us doing anything but that. Your this and your that are your this and your that, because you were never meant to carry them on your own. I'm convinced the more complex my this and that get, the more I know it's more of a God thing than it could ever be a Melissa thing. The lesson isn't learned until the application has taken root. God let it take root. Thank you for knowing my heart and for whispering as you do. God's timing is perfect and His methods are supreme. There is a stirring in my Spirit and a peace knowing the battle isn't mine. I would love to tell you if you see me tomorrow you won't see my overwhelmed face, but I don't know. I've asked God for one of those moves as only He can, but this child of His has to remember the plan may not always make sense to the student, but the teacher always know the purpose and the intent.

Until next time,
~Melissa

You're getting closer....

First week of school and the lessons I have learned can't fit on the pages of a blog or a book. The truths that are starting to take root while they have been felt are not ready for a status or a blog, those will come in time. One thing I do know...the closer you get to that sweet spot, that spot where God has planned for you to be, the spot where calling meets purpose and calling becomes life, that is when the enemy starts to get antsy. I've seen it more than ever this week as I look back on some of the various events. A child of God who is walking, talking, and moving in what he/she was created for makes the enemy a nervous wreck. The closer you get to that sweet spot, the more the enemy wants to send something to throw you off course. For me, he throws doubt, discouragement, and my mouth in my way. God's been teaching...you can only doubt yourself if you quit listening to what God says about you. Doubting yourself, a child of God, means doubting God. Hmm...let that sink in. Discouragement can only take root if you listen to what others say about you and continue to push play instead of delete. God only called you to be you. He knows you are not perfect and He knows you will mess up, but He also knows what you can do when you let Him take over. Then there is my mouth....(and all of my elementary teachers smile...) my mouth has gotten me in trouble for years. I have learned (FINALLY)....be quiet and just be you. When I was younger it was because I talked too much, now it is because I talk trying to please. God knows we are not going to fit in with everyone or be in every group, guess what....He's okay with that. God has placed people in our lives that love us for who we are, messes and all. It's time we start being thankful for that, spending time with those, and moving on from the rest. Why it has taken over 30 years for that to finally take root, I will never know, but God and I have talked about a few reasons. Let why you do what you do be to please Him, not others.

I've asked Him some pretty specific questions this week. I've asked Him to move, shake, and remake some areas. I know that means pain, but I also know that's the only way for growth. I'm still waiting on my specific answers, and I know they will come in time. For now, I have to be content with the answer I have gotten...you're getting closer. Closer to that sweet spot where calling meets life and where purpose meets breathe. Closer to where pleasing Him is the focus and pleasing others is not even in view.  Being busy is from the enemy, being productive is a gift from God. Take heart though today in knowing that the enemy would leave you alone if he wasn't so scared of you. God's moving, get ready! Time is precious, be about His business and let Him allow the rest to follow into place. Serve people, Love them where they are, and know that He takes care of the details. One last thing....make sure if you are always the one giving that you take time to pour back into you. Feeling worn and stretched is not a good feeling. I know I've been there this week. The rubber band will pop if you stretch it too thin, and the only person left hurt is the one holding the rubber band...aka you. God knows your limits better than you know your limits. Listen when He says stop...rest when He says rest. If you don't take care of you, the enemy wins because you can't get closer to the sweet spot of purpose that God has planned for your life.

Until next time,
~Melissa

So you tell that mountain....

God knows our hearts....we've heard this truth for years, but have we ever stopped and thought about what it means. God knows our hearts, He knows us. God knows when we are struggling with something, when something is bothering us, when something has upset us. He knows us. God knows when that smile on our face is there because we know it should be, even though we are trying not to cry. God knows when we push on through things even though we don't "feel" like it. He knows us. He knows us and He sees when we are trying to push through our feelings and knowing that eventually they will catch up with that smile. He gets that, but at the same time He knows us. He knows that if we don't truly deal with that feeling in God and me time....it will resurface. Some feelings are meant to just turn over to Him. He can only change/fix/heal when we release "it" from our grips. So we are upset, He gets that. The choice though comes when are we going to ignore that we are upset or deal with it? Dealing with it means moving on without that same "it" resurfacing. Break the chain of stuffing it, and turn it into throwing it on the One who can take that feeling, dry those tears you keep holding back, and use it to make you an even better YOU!.

Looking back on this week, what I've learned now that I've taken a minute to reflect on it, I could write in a book.  The book will have to wait. I'm sure the lessons as they deepen will turn into blogs at some point. I've always said my mess will never be wasted, if He can make it into a message. The enemy gets threatened and scared the closer we get to God and the closer we get to seeing the calling He has placed on our lives. The enemy would much rather us stay in a people pleasing, climbing the ladder to success mode than to find out love is stronger than people pleasing. Actions out of love lay a foundation for growth and are the blue print for a plan that only God could design. With the way the last couple of weeks have gone, I must be getting closer to discovering that sweet spot again that God designed just for me. God knows our hearts. For the past two mornings, I've woke up with the same song on my mind. That's not a conciedence, that's God. It's not even on my iPod. God knows our hearts. He knows what we are trying to deal with on our own, yet will never go away without His help. So I'll close this blog with that song....Here are the words that have been playing in my mind and Spirit. "So when you feel defeated know that God keeps His promises. So you tell that mountain, just how big Your God is!." In the quiet of this morning, God put the pieces together and left me with peace. Not Melissa trying to make peace happen, but God making it happen. Don't ever think He doesn't get or understand what you are going through. He does. He knows when are you trying to press through it. Let Him be your strength and watch how much you can lift.

Keep focused on the journey,
~Melissa