Safe

In the news now-a-days, the things we hear can really scare us: murders, kidnappings, viruses, diseases, job losses, accidents etc. We start thinking about those things and worry if they will ever happen to us. We forget that God isn't just looking down from above and watching us here on earth as if it were a Broadway show. God is right here with us. He is right next to me and right next to you as you read this. God didn't make you and then say "alright, I got you started, now you're on your own!" He wants to point us in the direction, the path He has made for you. When you're scared, weather you don't know if you or a loved one will be here on earth tomorrow, or if you're home alone and you hear a strange noise, God is there to give you peace and comfort, and joy while He's at it :).
Genesis 50:21 "So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Ruth 2:13 "Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
The scriptures very often speak about peace and comfort. I think God really wants us to know He is here, there and everywhere! In the Ruth passage, she calls herself "not one of God's servants". She acknowledges her sinfulness and recognizes that despite that, God goes out of His way to comfort her and keep her safe. Jesus' death on the cross was His protecting us from sin, death and the devil. That is the ONLY thing we really need to be afraid of. But that's over now. Jesus, His Father in heaven and the Spirit, have defeated that and now we can live in Their peace until They call us to our eternal Home.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!
Melody :)

So Very Thankful!

SO I just have to express how so, very thankful I am to be a part of the family God has placed me in! I have missed spending time with them and this weekend has been so fun. Something that I can share, that I know not everyone can, is that my family shares the same faith. We are not only a family here on earth, but we are family in a spiritual way too. Not to mention the craziness that goes on when we are together ( my little cousins and my big brother are wrestling on the floor being obnoxiously loud) But that's what makes this time so great. My house is dead silent most of the time, so my loud extended family makes me laugh and smile because I don't get all that craziness at home. I love them because they are so different in and of themselves. 
I have to tell a quick story. It will probably embarrass some people, but what the hey! My cousin had the idea to have the family right what they are thankful for on a Popsicle stick and then she would read them out loud ( Erin is 9 by the way) SO my new sister-in-law had the hilarious idea to right that she was thankful for intercourse ( I mean what new married person wouldn't be) But Erin read it as insurance and the whole family broke out in laughter once we told them what is supposed to say. That is for sure a memory that I will NEVER forget! But it's those little, funny moments that make me so thankful for my family, They put I smile on my face and make me laugh. Even though we are so different, God placed us together because we all need each other and fit together perfectly. We have our moments, but what family doesn't? The most important thing is that we all have the most important thing in common: believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior and sharing that faith with each other. 
So as my cousins bite and pumble each other at thhis very moment. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday season as we prepare for the coming of Christ OUR Savior. 

Now Thank We All Our God

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite times of the year. We have cemented traditions for Thanksgiving in my family and I can never wait for the time I get to spend with my extended family. So, obviously that is something I am thankful for. But what is true thankfulness? What does that mean? When you're looking on the outside it's pretty simple: you are given something, you enjoy someone or something and you're thankful for it. But for us as Christians, Thanksgiving is SO MUCH MORE! It goes deeper then thanking our friends and family members for things. We have a God who has given us ALL things. We can't possibly thank Him enough! Before He even created the world God knew that He would have to give up His Son's life for us. How can we possibly thank Him for that except with our lives? We need to thank God for the blessings He pours on us each and everyday. Because weather you notice it or not, He has blessed you today. Did you wake up? Did you see when you woke up? Do you have a bed to sleep in? We don't think about those little things enough and that's when we get discontented. Christ has given us every one of those things. We praise Him in our worship and in our studying of His Word to thank and praise Him for all He has done. But that still couldn't be enough for what He did. Thankfully, He took care of that. By Jesus' death on the cross, there is nothing for us to do but to proclaim Him as our Savior and live to only honor and praise Him. How easy is that?! I love going to Church, I love helping my friends who are in need. I don't do it all the time because sin is the true me. But when I have the Spirit of Christ living in my heart, those things feel wonderful to do and THAT"S how we give thanks to God.

Hymn Now Thank We All Our God by Martin Rinkhart
1 Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom His world rejoices;
who from our mothers' arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

3 All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
the Son and Spirit blest,
who reign in highest heaven
the one eternal God,
whom heaven and earth adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore. 

Dependant On HIM

You know when you were younger and you would think about the day when you got your drivers license and never thought it could actually happen? Well I had those days and now I DO have my license. It's really great and I have love the independence it gives me. If I want chocolate, I can go get me some chocolate! Whenever I want. It's really awesome :)

Dependence is something that everyone wants in their life. It's something that we look forward to ever since we were little kids. But when we get closer and closer to being those independent adults, we realize life isn't as easy as it seems. It's hard and a little scary at times. We soon notice that being independent isn't as fun as we thought. We really can't do everything on our own. We will still call our moms or dads needing to hear their voice. We will always ask for money from our parents (I mean lets be real here). When you think about it, we can't live without other people. Even when we are to that independent age, we look for that other person to be with through life. Have you ever thought about that? 
 God has created us to be dependent beings. We can't live COMPLETELY on our own because we need our Father, God. He is there for us through prayer and His Word to help guide us through life. Yes, our earthly parents will help provide for those earthly needs, but our Heavenly Father is there to provide us with Salvation! He wants us to come Home for that big family meal, and yes! He wants us to live at home with Him ( now that will be nice;) Don't be afraid to be a little dependent, especially on your Heavenly Father. He wants you to stay close to Him!

Your sister in Christ
Melody :)

Honesty

Sometimes honesty can be a really hard thing to do. It can easily hurt someone. It's hard to be tactful but yet it is something that needs to be done. We are surrounded with lies in this world, and I think it's about time we have people step up and be honest. 

There is one big problem with honesty though,one that I need to address. It's something that I am dealing with right now. When I said that honesty can hurt someone? Yeah, well it has hurt one of my very best friends. She was told that sharing her struggles publicly was a selfish thing. I can see why that might look that way. But if you are honest with somebody about something, you really need to understand where they are coming from. You can't assume the worst. I am not saying that we all need to agree and be happy-go-lucky friends to each other all the time. But if two people are truly friends, they need to express their honesty maturely. They need to go to that person and say that it hurt them or it was offensive to them. But by no means do they need to shoot them down. Who knows? Maybe that will cause the other to say hurtful things right back if that's what they call honesty. This is SO easy to do, and it's so hard to overcome. But when you need to be honest with someone about how you feel, know their side of the story. Say it tactfully, and be loving in doing it. Because most of time, you're not looking to end a friendship. Heck, you wanna fix it and help them understand how you feel. SO next time you are about to be honest with someone, pray and ask God to help you say it in a way that is pleasing to Him and that will honor Him. That's how I try to start all my posts. Sometimes I don't remember to do so. But when I ask God to speak to you all through me, I know that He will. 

Love and Blessings to you this Thanksgiving!
Melody :)

Catching Up

So to catch you all up on what has been happening in my life lately:

I only had a three-day school week last week! We had a teachers conference and went to a resort/water park Thursday and Friday. The Lord new I needed a break, like a BIG break, so going to this (with friends) was just what I needed! After about forty-eight hours at the park, my friend, Emma came with me and my parents to my Uncle and Great Uncle's houses. We have been ALL over the state this weekend! The time I had to relax and kinda forget about life was amazing. After breaking out in tears during chapel on Tuesday because of being so overwhelmed, God said "I'll take care of you. You got this!" Why did I ever doubt Him?

Being with my family and one of my very best friends this weekend, I realized just how blessed I am. It gave me peace of mind, that whenever I am having a rough day, I have people who are going to be there for me 100% of the time. God placed them in my life, and I in theirs because we need each other. We will bless each other, and we will want each other in the good times and the bad. Looking in the dark sky tonight, with the shimmering stars and listening to calming music, made me feel close to God. I was admiring HIS creation. What HE put in place because He knew that I would admire it tonight. Did you catch that? He knew that I would admire it. He made it for me and you. God has formed us in the womb by HIS OWN hands. He wants us here. He love us and He wants the love right back. 

Having the time to notice what He has done for me this weekend has strengthened my love for Him. Not because He gave me what I wanted, but He proved Himself to me even more. He doesn't want me to forget that, and He doesn't want you to either. Christ died to prove Himself, His love for us. Just look around you and you'll see.

God blessings to you this night!
Mel :)

Life is Crazy!

I apologize for not posting in forever! Life has been insane and I have been dealing with some pretty serious stress. It has caused some light depression to come on and I haven't really wanted to post because I felt like there was nothing good to share. But whose life is all good all the time? No ones is! 

Life is filled with ups and downs and today is gonna be a day when I share some of those downs. With school (overload of homework) and being in my high schools fall play and dealing with personal/ relationship problems, it's been an overload. There have been a few days when I told myself that it was too much and I couldn't handle it. Well thats just it, I can't handle it, only God can help me. 

Things have finally been slowing down now that the play is this weekend. All this past week I have been up till 11pm or later doing last minute homework. It's not been like me to put aside homework till the day it is due, but I have been doing that ALL week and that creates even more stress for me. Luckily, some of my friends are going through the same things. I haven't been alone in this struggle and I know that is God working in my life. 

I have so many blessings through all these struggles and it has strengthened my trust in the Lord. That doesn't mean that I think that everything is alright all the time, because it's not. Not at all. I have times where I need to cry and the tears don't come. There are times when I feel completely alone, there are times when I just want to be done with life. 

The good thing is, those things, those feelings don't last forever. God is always with me, He knows my thoughts and understands and won't let me down. 

Hope all of you have a great weekend!
Melody :)