Lessons from 2014 make for a stronger 2015

It's New Year's Eve time for reflection on the last 365 days.....

This could be a long draw out post, but it won't. Too much to do today before heading to my home away from home. (No I'm not talking about work, I'm talking about Hendersonville). The lessons from 2014 could fill a book. I've written more blogs this year than in years past, and there were still countless blogs that never made it to the computer. Those blogs stayed between God and I. One day they may be ready to type, but I'll let Him tell me when. 2014 was a busy almost whirlwind year. Looking back on it now, it had to be to propel me to this season, this point in my life. There is a shift going on in the world, in the heavenly atmosphere...things are changing, but the One who has never changed knew exactly where we would be at this time in history. He knew before Jesus ever was born how the events of 2014 would impact society. It's time to push down the fences and choose a side. It's time to make sure the light of His love shines through. It's time to listen when He says move and listen when He says do. Quit reasoning away that voice when you know it's Him.

I learned a lot in 2014, but the most important thing(and I'm ashamed to say this at 32) is that I finally saw me as He sees me. I can now look in a mirror and see me through His eyes and not my own. I know how to say Hush it to the enemy when those feelings come into play. Looking back over 2014, I can see how God put me where He wanted me right when He wanted me there. I can also sadly see some things I missed all because I was "too busy" or not focused on what He had called me to do. Those are moments not to look on with regret, but to look on and remember to not let 2015 have any of those. Moments are never wasted if we allow Him to use them to make us stronger. 

As you think back on 2014, smile at the 365 days that have passed. Even for the days that made you cry, smile because He carried you through them sweet readers. God has even more amazing things in store for 2015 I can feel it and I believe it.  Give Him your ALL(feelings, thoughts, chains(He already has the keys), situations, YOU) and watch Him move in this upcoming year. You say it's impossible, He says just watch. Trust means letting Him guide and stepping where He steps. Trust is knowing that regardless of how you feel or what others around you say, He's got your this and that because He has you! Trust not only unlocks chains, it breaks them to the point of not being able to find them again.

More to come tomorrow ;-)
Enjoy the last of 2014...
~Melissa

Just give me Jesus....

I heard the Jeremy Camp song on the radio yesterday......and it has stuck. I've actually been trying to pull up the YouTube video so I could add it in here, but it's not working. I'll take that as God wants me to just type first. There is a part in the song that says...you can have all of this world, just give me Jesus. December has been a different kind of month for me. It's like I finally got off the mountain and found my way headed to the next part of the journey. I can't explain it, but finally things clicked. God hasn't changed some aspects of my situation, but He's changed me. So many times we ask and ask for Him to change something, but He's waiting on us to let Him change us. What's changed? I finally listened. I wish I could tell you I slowed down and listened, but I didn't. I finally got tired of going around and around the same mountain. I got tired of the Motions. Discernment has always been there, but oh how precious I've found it to be lately. God's longing to show us ourselves through His eyes. He's longing to peel back the layers of our heart so He can show us just how it works. Too many times we apologize for the heart He gave us. It's not too big and we aren't too slow. Things don't always have to be planned out, but learning to listen when He says go and to apologize when you realize you've missed Him is priceless! God's plan always prevails, the choice becomes get in the middle of it or be left out.

Know who you are in Him. Get so lost in Him that you have to look through His eyes to find yourself. When you know who you are in Him, who He has called you to be, and what He has called you to do......the peace is beyond understanding. When you break the chain of people pleasing and finally move forward in the I'm the me He made me to be, the peace is beyond understanding. Word of caution(and I've learned the hard way.....)....be careful as you walk forward of who you let speak into your life. Well meaning people will try to "speak" into your life. Always run their words by the Spirit of the One who called you and is living inside of you. I've witnessed this more than once over the last couple of weeks. Something happens on the inside of you when the words being spoken are truth in love and are a part of His plan. There is also something that happens on the inside of you when the words are not from Him....that uneasiness in your Spirit is there for a reason. Let Him take care of those words ;-) When God is moving in your life, the enemy takes notice. Remember it says in scripture more than once that the demons and evil spirits knew who He was. What the enemy means to discourage you, should encourage you. God hasn't counted you out even though it may "feel" like it. In fact, what is going on right now is a shifting and a falling into place. God's moving things around to accomplish His plan and purpose for not only your life, but the lives of those who He has planned for you to minister to. The One who has called you is faithful and He will do it. 

At His Feet,
~Melissa 

God has someone who needs to hear this tonight. The enemy has tried to keep it from being posted. (I'm in my third browser to finish it). God just be you and do what you do. May the One who needs to read it, read it. The seeds you placed in my hand, I place back in yours to plant and then make grow. Thank you for letting me be the me, You called me to be.

Peace vs. Chaos

I told someone yesterday that there had to be a blog in the day. God doesn't waste a moment, He uses all of our feelings, all of our diamond days for His glory as long as we let Him. This morning the verse 1 Corinthians 14:33 has been in my Spirit. It says God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. Looking through the various translations of this verse, chaos and confusion are also used for disorder. This time of the year emotions are on a heightened state. People are running around in busy mode, but let's not forget what should be our focus of the day. If you are feeling chaos and a sense of disorder...stop. Go back and look at your day, your week, your moments....where did you slide from peace to that sense of chaos?  Now run back as fast as you can ;-)

I don't know about you, but once you have felt His peace you don't want to lose it. Peace amiss the storm, peace knowing He's got it all under control, Peace knowing He's got you......that sense of chaos and disorder is NOT something you want to feel. Now once you run back to that moment of peace, ask Him to show you where you took a turn. Which window did you open that let the enemy in? What door do you need to shut? It may not be a physical door you can shut, but you can stay focused when around that door on the One who has called you. (Remember He is faithful and He will do it). He doesn't leave you to fight the storm alone. Trust is sleeping in the boat letting Him worry about where the boat is headed and what it is about to encounter.

My week started out with peace, but it ended with a feeling of chaos. Through lots of tears and sorting it out, I found where I took a turn. I found the window that I left opened. Sometimes we open windows in our state of busyness and don't realize they are open until we find ourselves in a state of chaos and disorder.  Run back and close the window.....God will help you. I may blog about some more of that in detail later, but not right now. God's still working on healing the scars the chaos left. I'm so thankful He uses them to make us stronger though. The enemy would love for us to stay defeated....don't let him win! Don't stay in the state of chaos, disorder, and confusion....It's not of God and not what He has planned for your journey. He wants you to learn from those chaotic, confusing moments and move forward. God has a unique plan and the more you find out about it, the more the enemy seeks to make you forget it. Be who He made you to be. People can either like that person or move on, but regardless He is smiling(which is what it is all about in the end!).

Peace in Him also creates a confidence in Him. Word of caution...let Him be the words that come out of your mouth. As you start to see in His mirror of confidence, it will start to show on your outside. It may not always be well received by others. Stay focused on Him and let Him take are of the words and shinning through to others. Stay focused on Him and let Him worry about letting others see Him.

Focused on the journey,
~Melissa

The other side of the mountain....

The Bowlings have a song(which is #1 this month by the way) called "I Know Enough". This song has ministered to me in more ways than one since I first heard it. However this week, God has taken it to a new level.

"I’ve been on the other side of the mountain
 Seen the night give way to day
 Delivered over and over
When it seemed there was no way
Been rescued by mercy, lifted by love
I may not know much
But I know enough"

From the start of this week till now, I've watched God move this mountain climber. I had asked Him to move the mountain, actually it was probably more like beginning. I was tired, burned out, and wanted Him to do what I didn't believe I had the strength to do. I needed God to breathe life into me again or at least re-inflate what I had let out. How many know that so many times we ask God to move the mountains in our lives, when most of the times He wants to show us we are strong enough to climb that mountain with His help? The mountain will defeat us if we never realize we are strong enough to climb it. We have to trust Him enough to let His will happen. If we keep doubting ourselves, please others more than Him, and let our feelings dictate our actions, we will stay on one side of the mountain. Once you put it all(and He means ALL) in His hands, get ready. He moves as only He can and does what He has been wanting to do all along. He can break the chains of people pleasing and show you how much confidence you can have when you seek to only please Him. He can take a meeting headed in one direction and when He intervenes, a 180 happens(in a good way). He can take a feeling and replace it with peace. Peace that you would put into words if you could, but the they just can't be found. His peace doesn't always mean you know how it is going to work out, but you know Who is going to work it all out. Stay strong and walk with confidence forward on the journey with Him. Peace comes with confidence not because you think you can do anything, but because you know He can do EVERYTHING!.

I may not know much, but I know enough. I know what it's like to worry about things and to let those things snowball into bigger things. I also know what it's like to trust Him and walk in that trust. The latter may not be the easiest, but once you experience that peace that passes all understanding.....it makes anything else seem just wrong.

On the journey,
~Melissa

My heart.....

On to the blog I wanted to write earlier and it just wouldn't come....the words are ready to flow now.

A smile on the face or a "it's fine" does not always mean that everything is. We tend to get so busy that we neglect to slow down and really listen to what people have to say. We see a smile on their face or look at them as they must be fine their status said so and move on with our day. When those may be the ones who are secretly crying out for just an ear to listen. They are ones that know in their heart God's walking with them, but oh how they wish their head would be quiet. They shed tears in the car, in the shower, or in bed at night because they hold it in when others are around. Tears are not a sign of weakness, in fact tears are sign of movement. Tears mean something is either breaking or being put back together. Tears mean growth. Holding them in and ignoring that you have those feelings leads to a cold heart, a lukewarm spirit, and an attitude that just wants to give up. Now let's get real for a few minutes. I'm thankful for friends who see past the smile. Friends who just know when something is up even though they may be a state away. I'm thankful for friends who listen and remind you of His promises. The last year and half have been a struggle, more so the last five months. Busyness has crowded out quiet and I've plastered the smile to just keep trying to convince myself I didn't feel like I was drowning. Life is tough and you can only walk on water when you maintain a focus on Him. Take it off for a second and you will go under and "feel" like you are drowning. Best news is....put your focus back on Him and start walking on top of the water again.
I got my focus off of for a couple of hours today and to say I started drowning would be an understatement. The best thing that happened was my visit to the chiropractor. It forced me for a few minutes to get quiet and focus(what else can you do on a traction table) and to say God started speaking life back into me would be an understatement.  God breathed peace that I still don't understand, but thankful I am.

God has revealed more than I could blog about in the last 72 hours. He's reminded me of the call on my life. He's reminded me of who I am in Him despite what others say or think. He's reminded me grace is a daily thing and new each day, use what He's provided for today, there will be more tomorrow. He's revealed promise after promise. He's reminded me of who He is in me. God's been turning the heat up with a fire that only He could light. The enemy wanted me to see myself through the eyes of others(as just a "special education teacher", as just a "single female"....yep those have been words used in the last week even), but God broke through. Precious friends spoke life back into me Sunday night and reminded me that I was an anointed child of the Most High and that He was my covering. Confident in myself...no, but confident in what He can do...more than ever. He's the same God that has walked me through the two darkest days of my life and not only walked me through them, but took them in His hands and worked them for my good. He's the same God who has spoken words for me to share over the years that to say they were on timing would be an understatement. He's not just up to something, He's doing a new thing. A confident thing where I walk forward letting the stress go and remembering that it can not defeat me. Thankful the enemy sees me as a threat...one day he'll back off and learn. Until then my God is greater and the plans that are still are in store are for my good and the best is still to come!

Regardless of what the world(or well meaning people) have told you....if you are a Christian and have a relationship with the Most High....He knows your name. He not only knows your name, but He knows your voice. He knows when you are asking for something from the heart or when you are asking from your feelings. He knows when you are hurting and He knows when you are hiding. Defeat is not from God and He doesn't give up. He will tell you when it's time to move on, but until then press on knowing that He will grow the seeds you are planting in His time. God has a story written just for you and only He knows the end.  You are precious and He loves you more than you could ever know.

Confident on the journey,
~Melissa

Word for the day...He will do it

This may have been just for me, but just in case someone else needs to hear it. Here is my conversation with God from just a little while ago. This is not the blog I intended or thought I would write tonight, but the course of today has produced this one.


The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 

He did more than just whisper this verse to me tonight. He pretty much said it very loudly. I needed it that way though. I didn't expect the rain to fall like it did today, or the fog to be like it was tonight. I had things that I needed to accomplish today, but God had another plan. He needed me to get still for a minute and listen to Him. He needed me to pause my busy mind and listen to what He knew I needed to hear. 

Has the word or promises God planted in your heart taken root yet? Does it feel like the seeds that He planted are about to be washed away from the storms that seem to keep coming? Rest assured God is faithful and what HE promised He will bring to past. It may feel like it's about to be washed away, but it's not. The enemy doesn't like seed, and he will do what he can to make you forget the promises God gave you. God wants you to know that the word He gave you, the promises He made are still true. He has called you to the season you are in and not because He is going to make the storm pass, but because He wants you to learn to sleep with Him during the storm. It may feel like you are in this alone, but you aren't. The One who is walking alongside of you knows more about the storm than anyone. He knows the parts that will be played, the words that will be said, and the actions that will be displayed. God called you, He's faithful and as the verse says above He will do it. It doesn't say He might or He will think about it, but He will do it. God takes care of those who trust in Him and walk with Him. Remember where He's carried you through before and what He has already done. So many times we forget those moves of the past because we are so focused on what we need Him to do now. Along this journey God moves more than just us, but He begins to move through us. The one who is in you is greater than the storm. There is a rainbow through this storm, hold on. Did you hear it? God just whispered peace not to the storm, but to your heart. He wants to shine through you while you rest and trust Him. Oh how He wants us to put our feelings in His hands, but that's a blog for another day. There is an anointing that comes after the storm. 

He knows your heart....Do you?

So November has been a month of revelation and growing(in more ways than one). During one of my lovely truth sessions with God, He asked me a question. So many times I've been known to quote and say how thankful I am that He knows my heart. So He asked me, if I know my heart. I sat there with a puzzled look and I think He could tell. He went on to explain. So many times we are thankful that He knows us and sees our heart, but have we ever stopped to look at our heart the way He does. Why do we apologize for things that are a part of the way He made us? I've often times said I care too much or my heart is too big and I told Him this week how sorry I was for those statements. We can never care too much or have a heart too big. He made us that way for a reason. Now our focus may get off and we may care about the wrong things too much or let our heart be focused on fleshly things for too long, but caring and having a big heart are part of what makes me me. God forgive me for the times when I have apologized for the heart you gave me, my heart. Help me to always see it the way you see it!

Take a minute today to let Him show you your heart the way He sees it. Then take that revelation and walk forward into the next season of your journey. Seeing yourself and your heart the way God does unlocks chains that allow you to freely walk from one season to the next. Stay focused on those truths and remember the chains have been unlocked and broken.

How blessed and sweet it is when we realize the keys to unlock the chains the and the stones to slay the giant have been in our hands all along. How even sweeter it is when we realize the power to use both has been inside us as well. #He'sgotthis

Retracing Steps.....

This past week I was reading through Luke and read the story of when Jesus was 12 again. This was a story I had read multiple times over the years, but this time it had a whole new meaning.  The passage I'm referring to is Luke 2:41-52. Allow me to share a few of the truths and/or nuggets He shared with me.

 Verse 43: After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it

How many times do we start back home or to the land of comfort only not realizing we have left Jesus behind? Think about every mountain top "experience" you have had over your journey with Him(or at least the last couple). As you headed back home from the mountain top experience, did you take Him with you? or were you so caught up in the routine of heading back home that you didn't realize it. How many times have you started on a journey only not to be unaware that you left Him behind? 

44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

Let me park on that first sentence for a second. Oh my how this stepped on my toes and painted such a picture of what I'm sure most of us have done more than once. How many times have we started on our journey, thinking we were walking with Him? How many times have we gotten ahead of Him only to realize, wait a minute, where did He go? I think we all have had times on this journey where we have gotten ahead of Him only to stop and realize oops. How many times have we gone longer than a day before we realized the One we thought we were walking with, is really behind us? 

You know how the story ends. They find Him sitting among the teachers right where they left Him. He lovingly told His parents, why did you search for me, didn't you know I would be about my Father's business? 

How many times do we head out on our journey only to realize we got ahead of Him? How many moments and missteps does it take before we realize we aren't walking with Him but ahead of Him? We frantically and anxiously go on a search, but guess what? He never moved, we did.  He has always been right where He said He would be.