"I AM the Good News!"

Back in August, Chris was let go at his job. Since then, we have been praying and waiting for God to provide a new one. It's been a very difficult time in the wilderness, but we've weathered this before. This is the fifth time we have been through this since the lock-down in 2020. 

In the midst of this, we have also dealt with two vehicular incidents just five days apart (our insurance
is probably wondering what in the world is going on with us considering we have had to use the roadside assistance for towing TWICE in less than a week!). First, my daughter hit a deer on the way to work (praise God she was unharmed). Also, the van is clearly the R2-D2 of vehicles and is still fixable after countless mishaps. Five days later, she ran over something sharp that punctured one of my husband's tires on the Flex (which had been needing a couple new tires anyways). Thankfully, Chris and Uncle Frank (praise God for Uncle Frank!) were able to get the Flex up and running again; and are still working on the van. It really took some hard effort to put the tires and the much needed new shocks on the Flex before getting it to the tire shop for the alignment.

I can't say enough about how thankful I am that my baby is ok because both incidents could have been so much worse. I am also immensely grateful for Uncle Frank and how he has always been someone we can count on in situations like this. But, more than that, I know that I can count on God for our daily bread. If that's the one thing that I'm being assured of in these past few months, it's that undeniable truth. Every time I start to slip into an Israelite mentality of wanting to gather and prepare for more than I need for the day, He reminds me not to be afraid and that I'm worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31). As long as you remember who God is and that He will give you what you need for TODAY, you won't worry about tomorrow. All my "what ifs" and worries are settled every time He says, "Do you have what you need for TODAY?" I always have to admit that yes, my needs for the day have been met. "Daily bread, Melissa," he says. Daily bread.

As I have written about before, it's been crucial for me to reflect on all the past "manna moments" to remind myself that God is faithful. He has provided for me every day in the past and I can look back on it all and see how my God did not fail; and that's the story I'll continue to tell. I know that He will continue to give me the miracle of manna every day and that it will always be enough. Though, like I recently read in Lysa Terkeurst's book (Forgiving What You Can't Forget), it's easy to forget about the best bread that we truly need. Yes, we need the physical bread and provisions of life. Yes, we often need those miraculous moments of the miracle manna. But, we ALWAYS need Jesus; THE bread of life (John 6:35). There's nothing quite like a wilderness test to remind you that no one lives on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Jesus was tested with it, and that was His response when the devil tried to get him to focus on His physical needs.

I'm sharing this now because I was reminded of this while praying earlier tonight. My emotions had been stirred up a lot today for various reasons; one of them being this whole waiting for the job thing. Given that the election is just two days away, we have been aware of the fact that many places are probably waiting to see what happens on Tuesday before they make hiring decisions. Without wanting to put too much hope in something as short-sighted as elections, I just simply said "I just want some good news." He said to me, "I AM the Good News!" Read that again and think on it for a few moments.

As I thought about that response, I thought about the disciples. The Good News that Jesus kept telling them about often went right over their heads because they were hoping for Jesus to change their own Kingdom instead of receiving and building His. Just like I wrote about in my "Obama is Covered in Chinese Food" post in 2008, the Kingdom of Heaven is STILL here and STILL advancing every day! We must not be short-sighted! No matter what happens to help/hurt our nation (and the nations of the world), Christ is STILL King. He always has been and always will be and His Kingdom HAS NO END (Luke 1:33). No matter what happens, we can be content with little or with much; because we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:11-13). This world isn't all there is! Be GLAD of that! That truly is Good News! All of this is temporary and we're going to make it because Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). So, don't let your hearts be troubled!

 

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ and spread hope. It's no accident that that has been my word for this year. I knew that getting that word would likely mean that this year would be trying, because hope comes at the end of all the testing and persevering (Romans 5:3-5). He is the hope that never disappoints because He is faithful! This hope is a priceless treasure that lives in our hearts and we will not be crushed, abandoned, or destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) Through all the fiery trials and testing, we are being refined and He is going through that fire with us (1 Peter 1:7, Isaiah 48:10, Daniel 3:25).

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Pray, vote, and give thanks! God is good! He will provide for us and He will provide for you! To HIM be the glory in all things; because it's never about us! God bless you and God bless America!

Kingdom Thoughts

You are the Kingdom encounter this world needs. - Pastor Derek Coy. 

Think about the words above for a few moments. Ponder it. Let it sink in. If you're like me, all the turmoil in the world has probably had you thinking, "What do we do? What's next?" The answer is in those words that our youth pastor shared with us today. As Christians, we need to live our faith bolder and louder than ever before! We need to rise up, get involved, serve more, and take our jobs as Christians more seriously. It's time to BE what we want to SEE in the world around us!


Nearly two years ago, I shared on my fitness blog about hearing testimonies at church. The youth of the church were sharing about how they were "Kingdom workers." It was very inspiring to me! We need to have that attitude; the attitude of servanthood. We need to be happily working to see the Kingdom come and God's Will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). After all, is there anything else that will yield as much fruit as laboring for the Lord? It's like another phrase that came to mind from another sermon I heard several years ago. It was something like, 'you can either build His Kingdom, or you can build your own.' Which makes more sense? Which one lasts? My friend, Karen, once put it this way, "What will weigh more in heaven?"

I'm blogging these thoughts and putting them out there today because I felt very stirred to do so. There was a time where I blogged very regularly. I enjoyed it and felt like God was inspiring and fueling me to write and share with others. My life has drastically changed since those days and I haven't blogged as much for a variety of different reasons. Aside from obvious factors (such as simply not having the kind of downtime that I used to) another big one has slowed me down: self-worth. Even though there have been times where God has had me encouraging and sharing with others that it's never to late to serve and be the kind of person He's called you to be, those very words have been hard for me to embrace for myself. I keep comparing myself to previous versions of who I was. I often reflect on my teen years (where I was growing in the Lord the most) as well as in the years right before my divorce. I think more highly of those Melissas than I do this one; even though I never thought I was good enough THEN either!


Derek's message today strongly emphasized that we need to embrace our identity in Christ and reject any lie that would contradict the truth of who we are in Him. I think the main thing that I deeply need to comprehend is the fact that I am NOT unusable by God! At every age and stage of my life, I felt like I never had the kind of faith or testimony to be the kind of person that I THOUGHT I should be. I have been like Moses; chosen by God but reluctant to be who He says I am because I don't see what He sees (or think that I'm "almost" there, but not quite and therefore can't do it). So many things have been on the back burner of my life for all sorts of reasons, but none of them more than the stupid lie of, "He can't use me anymore. My life isn't what I think it should be, so I'm done."

What I need to focus on now is not in who I was or who I think I should be. The only thing I should EVER be focusing on is who HE is and whatever HE wants to enable me to be! God brought the Luke 19:26 to my mind as I was pondering all the Kingdom thoughts during the service.
 
These words of Jesus have always been a little confusing to me. I have never fully understood the meaning until God showed me today how it directly applied to me. In the five years since my divorce, I have tried to wrap my brain around how God could still love or use me after I've committed my personal "unforgiveable sin" (divorce). To me, it doesn't make sense how he could forgive me when I don't fully forgive myself. Beyond that, how on earth could He be so GOOD to me when I still don't feel deserving? For three years, I was running and drowning in pain and grief until I made faith my foundation again in 2013. In no time, he was accomplishing the impossible for me: He found me the perfect job, a house of my own (right next to my parents), an amazing boyfriend (whom He quickly revealed to me was to be my husband), followed by a wedding, the selling of my new house for a profit, and another new and amazing job!

1st Wedding Anniversary Selfie 

 

 

Everything keeps getting better and better; and that's where that verse comes in! I truly believe that faith and thankfulness is what has brought about the blessings in my life! Just like Job, He didn't "take away" anything from me to punish me or anyone else, but to give me a better life; not because I deserve it, but because He truly loves me! He gave Chris and I to each other because we have content, grateful, and faith filled hearts. We appreciate what He's done and continue to give thanks for what He continues to do in our lives. We strive to pay it forward and bless others as we have been blessed. This is also where the other part of that verse makes sense as well. Chris and I were rescued from lives where His work was hindered by the bad choices and attitudes of the people we were with. They were not content with anything they had (including us) and so they lost the blessings that they never knew they had because it was never enough for them. They thought they had nothing, so that "nothing" was taken from them but has become EVERYTHING to us! Chris is a priceless treasure to me that I feel grateful for every day! It kind of feels like finding something precious or rare that someone else discarded; you just wonder how someone couldn't know what they had when it was theirs! Sometimes, they figure it out later on, but it's usually too late. God will give the blessings to the people who treasure and appreciate them!

Grace and peace to you, my friends! I hope that someone is blessed by reading this because I was certainly blessed today! Remember, be a Kingdom worker because that is the type of person and encounter that this world needs! We will begin seeing changes in our communities and all over the world if we continue to advance the Kingdom of God instead of just trying to build our own castles in the sand. We MUST put our time and energy into the people and things that will weigh the most in heaven! YOU matter to the Kingdom! God can and will use you to bless others and He will bless you right back as well! May your faith fuel and fill your heart with contentment and joy! God bless you!