Gratefulness – M E L C H E E

11/4 grateful friday pt I

November 4, 2016November 2, 2016Leave a comment

Give thanks to the Lord… 1 Chronicles 16:34

Last year in my first year of blogging, I featured a series here on New Day called “Grateful Friday.” Each 4th Friday I’d offer a post listing things for which I was particularly thankful from the previous days or weeks. Here’s one of those posts.

I thought I’d bring that little bit of blog tradition back to the site over my two November posts this year, so here’s pt. I:

The grace of God. I mean, you knew it was going to be first on my list, right? I don’t know where I’d be without this undeserving gift, this saving power that fills my each and every day. For me, grace is God’s love at work in my life. It is the source by which I’m able to know Him, grow in Him, and abide in Him. Each morning, as soon as I’m able to clear the night’s fog from my mind, I turn to the Word and embrace the new grace given. So thankful for it.

Daily tangible blessings. You know, things like food, clothing, shelter? In this day and age, it’s easy to get caught up in things of the world and take things for granted. Ask the man on the corner with the sign what it’s like to not know where you’re going to sleep that night, or from where your next meal is coming… Our aim? Give thanks for all God provides, then help others in need. Get outside yourself sometimes.

Family and friends. I should say, true friends. I REALLY should say, those I need, who support me and are truly there for me. I think of one particular sister-friend who’s become my unofficial therapist – always advising with a heart of truth, praying, and just being genuine. Those who’ve indicated in one way or another that I’m no longer “fit” for their “list,” well I’ve moved on from them and recognized who they truly are and what they stand for (that’s another post…). And so thankful for my family – they’ve stood by me through some hard times this year, and we’ve endured other seasons together. At the end of the day, I know I can count on my blood.

This blog space and the privilege to serve. I’ve said plenty of times before just how thankful I am for this space to write of and share the goodness of God! I recently tweeted, No better words, to me, to write than those that express the unending love of Jesus Christ. Glad to be the called. And that is so true – I’m not just saying it just to be saying something, but it’s where my heart is.

That’s it for me for now. I know your “grateful” list has a few things on it – tell me about it!

When GOD Says

January 29, 2016May 27, 20187 Comments

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Blog Graphic-2

Isaiah 43:19 is my life verse for the year. Might be the life verse for my LIFE, we’ll see. I’ve discovered that when God leads you down an unexpected path, you have to press in and find the good. You have to seek the new thing God is doing, else you’ll miss out on realizing His amazing grace.

This post may be a bit all over the place, but I want to share the story of my season at the end of 2015. It’s captured through the following words which I journaled on New Year’s Eve:

2015 was a good year, but the period between November 13 and December 10 will go down not only as the highlight of the year, but as the season of my life so far.

On Friday, November 13, I found out I was pregnant! From then to December 10 — what a journey. The nausea, tiredness, thoughts about the direction of my life from that point forward, etc. — it was happy, hard, exciting. Then, as quickly as it all seemed to have come, it was soon over. On December 8 at my first prenatal appointment, the doctors could find no heartbeat in the six-week-old life inside me.

So many feelings, so many thoughts. When it finally hit me, I was crushed. I’d gotten used to, and even embraced, a life without children, but now that we were truly without this wonderful surprise that had come our way, it was the worst feeling ever.

On December 10, I had the surgery to remove the fetal contents of my uterus. I wish I’d thought to say a prayer just before or say good-bye, but I didn’t. I was given a two-week recovery time after the 10th, and I allowed myself to heal, feel, be emotional, whatever it took and was needed to get through. After the two weeks, I just pressed through to now, the end of the year.

It’s amazing how I could fall in love with a six-week-old being. But in all of my life, I’ll never know of a greater earthly love, nor will there ever be a greater earthly loss than what was at the end of 2015.

The next day, January 1, 2016, the first part of my journal entry was this:

2016 has started, and I must stand in this new day, much as I wish I could hold onto the latter days of 2015. I’m in pursuit of the “why” of that season — why it came generally, the timing of it, my thoughts and feelings during it, and the abrupt ending of it. Every day I’ll be looking for these answers…

What has pursuing “why” brought so far? I do know that even with loss, I count it ALL a blessing! God chose my husband and me to be the source of life for an angel, and I’m thankful for that.

Next, I was reminded that believers are called to put total trust in God. It’s His will, when He says. When we were married, my husband and I left it up to God as to whether we’d have children. When pregnancy wasn’t happening, we didn’t allow our hope to wane, but put our focus on our nieces and nephews, and were thankful to be able to love and enjoy and support them. But when GOD says, Let there be, it will be! And tough as it may be, when HE says it’s done, it’s done.

Lastly, God brought me to His Word and the life verse above. I remember feeling the need to purge in the weeks following the miscarriage. I went through clothes, books, and other belongings and threw away or gave away things I didn’t want or need. I shut down all of my social media accounts, took a blog break, cleaned out email folders, paper files, etc. Even spiritually I was letting go of old thoughts, people connections, saved Bible teachings and studies that weren’t food for me any longer… I mean I needed to do this. Looking back, I realize I was starting over. I was beginning to forget the former things (Isaiah 43:18), and was daring to believe there was a new path ahead of me.

Is starting over easy? No. To be honest, I’m still seeking, still pursuing the why. I don’t know if God will impart anymore to me than what He has already, but I pray to have a spirit ready to receive. Here at the start of 2016 I’m focused on physical healing, but I remain so grateful for that season in 2015.

Remember: It’s about when GOD says, even if it’s meant to include a loss. His will is perfect, His love is abounding, and His grace is amazing.

God has brought us all through our various seasons. I pray these words have encouraged you to keep pressing through to the new!

Grateful Friday

July 17, 2015November 24, 20228 Comments

Giving thanks always for all things unto God… (‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ KJV)

Here we are at post three for July and at somewhat of a celebration for my blog. I’m six months in and I am enjoying every minute of it! Grateful Friday is a week early this month, and today I’m sharing a few words and passages that I keep close to my heart as I make my way through this writing journey. Or really, through life. I have plenty others that are favorites and for which I’m thankful for how they’ve shaped me, but I’d be here all day if I shared them all. So…

First, my own early words. Sorry, but I HAD to start here. The picture below shows a recipe I copied by hand from a magazine, which I then presented to my grandmother as a letter. (As you can see, I had motive.) On more than one occasion when I was little, I’d find something to copy, not knowing that it was a sort of foretelling. I appreciate that my grandmother, rest her soul, kept a few of my “letters,” and every now and then I pull them out and remember my meager beginnings.

Next… “Want to know God’s will for your life? Then answer this question: What ignites your heart? Forgotten orphans? Untouched nations? The inner city? The outer limits? Heed the fire within! Do you have a passion to sing? Then sing!… Do you hurt for the lost? Then teach them! As a young man I felt the call to preach. Unsure if I was correct in my reading of God’s will for me, I sought the counsel of a minister I admired. His counsel still rings true. ‘Don’t preach,’ he said, ‘unless you have to.’ As I pondered his words I found my answer: ‘I have to. If I don’t, the fire will consume me.'” (Passage from The Great House of God by Max Lucado)

Third… “Living in God’s true love is a process. First, God loves us, and by faith, we receive His love. We then love ourselves in a balanced way, give love back to God, and learn to love other people.” (Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – a Daily Devotional) Understanding love is so important in any type of ministry, right? It has to be at the center of it all. Joyce gives a concise but clear statement on the process of love, how it flows from God to us. I pray my words always come from a place of love. And speaking of…

And last… “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” This is from 1 Corinthians 13. You can read the full chapter here. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It’s beautiful and poetic. And as I just mentioned, love must be at the center of our work if we are to fulfill God’s calling.

How about you? What verses or quotes have inspired your journey?