A Refreshed Perspective

     "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Such a popular saying from my childhood that did nothing more than put a temporary band-aid on an ever growing problem. I know that my family members were only trying to get me to build up a resistance to the mean and cruel things that people will say to you, in part to make themselves feel better and in reality to tear the object of their words down and make them feel bad about themselves. 

     Let me insert the brief version of today's story. I went shopping for a new outfit for several events that are coming up. I went to one of my favorite stores and began to look around. It wasn't long before I discovered several things that I would like to try on in hopes that one of them would be that one thing I was searching for. Well as luck would have it most of what I had picked looked much better on the hanger than it did on me. Not my desired outcome, but reality nonetheless. I had one last dress to try one. As soon as it slipped over my head I knew that this dress along with a black or fuchsia shrug or a denim jacket would be the perfect outfit for all of the upcoming events. I stepped out of the dressing room to get a better look only to hear several of the employees make extremely rude comments. This time no matter how hard I tried to ignore the words, they hurt. They hurt worse than the stones that could have been thrown. The exact words are irrelevant, but it leads me to remember something I heard not too long ago. Words have power. Spoken words can never be taken back. Their message can have one of two outcomes: edification or destruction. Words of edification will build a person up. Words of destruction bring with them curses, hurt feelings, damaged spirits, and probably a whole host of other things that I don't even know about. 

     My self worth cannot come from the numbers on a scale, the size of clothing that I wear, or from the images seen on television, magazines, and the Internet. Those only give a false sense of what is really beautiful. Beauty, true beauty is measured in things that cannot be seen by the human eye. Beauty is seen in the way you treat other people, how you interact and react to situations. Beauty radiates from your soul. It can't just be an outward appearance. You can put all kinds of things on the outside of your self that will disguise what you are like on the inside, but at the end of the day you are left with the ugly on the inside when all of the outer things are removed. Your actions, thoughts, and words reveal what you look like on the inside, How do you treat others? How do you react to a certain situation? Do your words edify or destroy?

     Now don't get me wrong, I want that physical beauty that is so prevalent in society, and I have put forth an honest effort to get to that place. I have made changes in my diet, my exercise regimen, and have increased the amount of water I drink everyday. The results are starting to show. The scale has lowered fifty pounds. It's a good start but no where near where my end goal is at right now. I have to be a Lady of Perseverance. (I don't even think that one is in the book.. but it would be a good fit if you ask me.) I have to persevere to reach my short and long term goals. I have to persevere to find the place where God wants me to be. It is important to finish well. I want to finish well like Joshua did. I want to get to the end of my life and know that I did my best to serve God and do the things that He intended for me to do. What better of a greeting when you get to Heaven than "Well done my good and faithful servant."

     "I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me?..." I want my children, be they my own one day or the ones that I have been blessed with to teach, to remember that my words were encouraging and positive. Did you know that every interaction you have with a child is stored in a sort of bank: positive and negative. It takes seven positive interactions to balance out just one negative interaction. Sort of puts things in perspective. Negative words and actions will destroy a relationship much faster than what I originally thought. It makes me even that much more aware of the way my words are presented and hopefully received. 

     This post certainly did not go in the direction that I originally thought that it was going to go. I guess that's what God had planned for me to write about all along anyway.

Until next time,

~Melody~

The First Bump in the Road.. Am I willing to compromise?

     A journey with no trials is hardly a journey at all. It would be merely taking a stroll down a path. This is not what I have been called to be a part of. I am choosing to walk down a narrow path. It will lead to things greater than anything I could imagine, and trust me I have a REALLY good imagination. I knew that this first bump in my journey would come eventually. I had no idea it would be so soon.I am faced with a question. Am I willing to compromise the calling God has on my life for momentary pleasure? Is it worth it to give up the blessings for temporary satisfaction? I can only come up with a resounding NO. I am not willing to compromise. It is high time that I stop waiting for someone else to do the work that I know I have been called to do.
     Lady in Waiting calls this mindset being a lady of diligence. I want to be diligent about so many things in day to day life. But more than anything else I want to be diligent in my love relationship with my Heavenly Father. This is the diligence that will reap the biggest benefits in the long term.
      Now about this bump in the road. I got a surprising phone call from a friend a couple of days ago. It wasn't the caller that was such a surprise, but the message that the caller had for me. I had dated this person while in college and had greatly enjoyed our time together. My friend had a question for me. I was nervous as I was listening to him talk and hearing the voice of God telling me that my answer had to be NO. I knew that this friend was speaking from his heart and that he truly meant what he was saying. However I also know that right now is my time to be single and being involved with someone is merely Satan's way of distracting me from my end goal. I gave him the answer he didn't want to hear, and I knew that this was going to lead to a lengthy conversation about why I had said no. I knew he would be trying to convince or persuade me to his side.
     I asked him some hard questions. Are you willing to come to church with me? The answer was no because he had responsibilities at his church to fulfill. I understand having responsibilities. I have them too. However, I know that there are times when I will be gone or have to do some other things. Just a different perspective I suppose. It was at this point that he asked some questions of his own. The one that I remember is that he wanted to know why I was so insistent on him meeting my church family. My answer was multi-faceted. First of all my spiritual parents are there. I'm not going to be in a relationship with anyone with out that person having met them and their approval. They are special people that God has blessed me with and their authority is one that I respect greatly. Besides those wonderful parents there are the men of the church that are looking out for me as well. My friend was not too keen on meeting them. This brought up a red flag for me that just helped to confirm the rightness of my original answer.
     You know I think the deal was sealed when he asked me why I was sticking to what I believed so strongly. Why couldn't I just let it go and be happy with him? I could be happy with him, I think. How long would that happiness last? Is it just another way to fill a void in my heart? Is it another vain attempt at meaningfulness? Is it trying to find my worth in a man who cannot and will not ever be able to meet all of my needs? What is the ultimate price I'm paying? Is it worth it?
     I am confident that by not compromising I have chosen what is going to be in my best interest. I am not willing to compromise and run the risk of missing out on the blessings God has for me in light of obedience. I am not willing to compromise the ultimate happiness found in God for temporary pleasures of self indulgence. I am done with those indulgences that don't get me any closer to my end goal of success.
    For my first bump, I think it was rather enlightening when looking at the end goal and how many ways Satan is going to try to trip me up along the way.

Until next time,
~Melody~

A Lady of Reckless Abandon

A Lady of Reckless Abandon

     Think about what you know about me. Is this honestly a phrase that you would pick to describe me? I know that it is not one I would have chosen for myself. I am overly scheduled at times, relying way too heavily on my calendar to determine what I can or cannot fit into my schedule. I am careful and guarded about the people that I truly let in and those that I keep at an arm's length. I try to be careful with my words and actions. I have been known to be a people pleaser and to hide behind that all to easy to wear happy face that makes those who don't really know me believe that everything is just fine when in reality my world may be crashing in around my feet. Nothing about that screams reckless. However since starting to read Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones, I believe that a lady of reckless abandon is exactly who I want to become. 

    Society has put such stringent expectations on single women. By age 31, I should have a fabulous job making an income that would allow me to be self-sufficient without a husband. I should also be married to my perfect mate and have 2.5 children. By society's standards, I am a complete failure. I don't have a fabulous job making an income that would allow me to be self-sufficient. I most certainly am not married to an earthly man with 2.5 children.  However, I am not choosing to evaluate my life by society's standards. If that is the only weighing mechanism that I have to evaluate it with, I am going to end up depressed and seeking fulfillment in ALL of the wrong places. My fulfillment and worth cannot come from the presence of a ring on my finger. Nor can it come from a husband and children. If my fulfillment doesn't come from my heavenly Father, then nothing on this earth is going to fill that void. Trust me I have tried to fill that void with other things. The only thing you find there is more longing and an even deeper dissatisfaction with your current circumstances. For now I am allowing my husband to be found in God. There is no greater husband I can ask for. He is the only one that can truly meet all of my needs to begin with and when I fall more and more in love with Him, great things are sure to follow. 

     As I was reading, I was reminded of the story of the alabaster box. It caused me to stop and think. What is in my alabaster box? Am I willing to break that box at Jesus' feet? My box was filled with dreams of the perfect husband and family. Do they even REALLY exist? The answer was clear. The only person worthy of what is in my alabaster box is Jesus. He is the only one who can fulfill my wants, desires, and dreams. He is the one who will give me all I am searching for and more as long as I continue to be obedient to Him. In obedience I am breaking that box at His feet and watching expectantly for the ways that He will provide and meet my needs. It will by far outweigh anything that I have planned for or dreamed of. This is reckless in deed, for me at least. Giving up control of what I had planned and the way I wanted things to go, that is reckless. But this is a journey and the end goal is to become the best that God has for me to be. 

     I am reminded of the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth made the decision to follow Naomi wherever she went. She left behind familiar people, places, and even religion. She went into the unknown and reaped far more blessings from obedience than if she had continued to do things her own way. I pray that I am able to live in the same kind of reckless abandon as Ruth, making new friends, living in new places, and doing new things, whatever the Lord requires of me. Again this is going to be such an amazing journey, with results that are as of yet unknown to me, but "ancient history" to the Father of the universe. 

Until next time

~Melody~

The Journey Begins

Matthew 28:19-20 says " Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey evertyhing I have commanded you..." The word go in this instance is not a command instructing a person to begin to perform an action. In this case the word is demonstrating an action that is already taking place. Besides that these are red letter words. IMPORTANT words. Words from my Savior to me. Who am I to continue to sit in my comfortable chair in a comfortable sanctuary in a SAFE building when there are people that have not yet heard about the saving grace of God through His son Jesus Christ.  I wish I was the one that came up with this... However I can't take credit for it. I heard it at church and added a little bit of my own words too. I bet by now you must be wondering what in the world I am talking about with the whole journey theme and all. Let me explain.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is calling me to be a full time career missionary. Scary sounding I know with the state of affairs in the world today. Trust me this is not something that I am considering lightly or with reckless abandon. I have prayed about this and continue to receive confirmations that I am indeed called to go and work in some capactiy on the mission field. The location of where I am headed has yet to be revealed to me. I know that when it is time for me to go, I will know the location. For now the only thing I can do is continue to pray and seek God in what He would have me do with this calling. I believe this is enough of an introduction into my journey. I expectantly look forward to the development of this journey. 


Unitl next time
~Melody~