Stop Waiting for Someday

It's scary to think about the future, death, and your life purpose. Did you know your grandchildren's grandchildren won't know who you are? They won't know what you loved to do or which vegetable you hated most. They won't even know your name!

Think about it. In several decades, nobody will ever know you even existed. Your Facebook page will be deleted. Your house will be sold. Your money and property will be divided among those written in your will. Your dog will likely be dead by then. Your children will be very old, if they are alive.

There's one person, though, who will always remember you. There's one person who will always know you and love you. That person is God.

When everything you know is gone and everyone has forgotten you, God will still be there. You're not gone, or dead. You're with Him.

Until then, God has a purpose for you right now. We fall into the habit of "someday". Someday when you're an adult, someday when you get a better job, someday when you get married, someday when you get rich and famous, then you'll embark upon the greatest adventure of your life. Only then you'll be ready to fulfill God's plan for you.

That's not true! Someday starts today. I don't know what God's plan is for me or for you, but I do know that it's big. I do know that if you follow Him, you'll do things beyond your wildest dreams!

Remember God tells us, "I have plans for you -- plans to prosper and not to harm you." If you're waiting for "someday" now, you'll still be waiting for it when you're 30, when you're 50, when you're 87. God's plan for you starts NOW! It's already working. He's already laying the paths out and getting every little detail right so that it will be perfect for you. Today, with me, put God's plans for you into action.

Dear God,

I realize that you have amazing plans for me, beyond my wildest dreams! I don't know what they are, Lord, but I'm willing to trust you and take that first step in the right direction. Please help me to make good choices and live out your plan for me. I pray this in Your name.

Amen.

Dare to Dream

Have you ever dreamed of doing something or being something? I bet everyone has. Maybe you want to be rich, famous, beautiful, smart. Maybe you dream of going to the moon or exploring the ocean. Maybe you dream of being successful in your career.

Whatever your dream is, chances are it has been crushed before. I dream of being a mom, a dolphin trainer, a writer -- and a wife to Nick Jonas. That last one has been crushed too many times to count. It's kind of a joke, really, but still...even those hard to reach dreams have hope in them. There's just something in them that you can't bear to let go. You hope that maybe someday they'll happen. Maybe someday your dreams will come true.

Of course, this world tells you that you can't accomplish those dreams without money, beauty, a thin body, and fame. Those are the things you must have to be successful in life, so the world says.

The world is wrong.

A hard-working farm boy taught himself to read and write. He was poor and nobody knew his name. Until he became President Abraham Lincoln.

A young person in Texas dreamed of making it big. That person is now one of the biggest names in fashion history.

A pretty blonde girl had a great voice but she lived in a town where fame wasn't easily found. That girl is now the aspiring country singer Taylor Swift.

Let's face it: you won't be successful in life unless you do something about it. Your life will not change unless you change it. Yes, you'll need God's help, but the first step is dreaming. Believing you can do it.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to believe in myself and my Lord. I know He has great plans for my life, plans beyond my wildest dreams. I don't know what they'll be but I'm willing to wait and learn and prepare for the time when God's plans for me will unfold. I don't know about you, but until then, I'm going to dare to dream.

Reading isn't Doing

(This is not a post about dieting, that's only the intro.) =]
Kim and Sarah sat on the sidewalk. There seemed to be nothing to talk about or do, even though the whole neighborhood knew they were best friends.
Kim sighed. "I’ve been thinking about this dieting thing," she said finally.
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What ‘dieting thing’?"
"I’ve been reading all my aunt’s old books about it and have been poring through all my mom’s sugar-free, fat-free, low calorie cookbooks. I’ve done so much reading I’m sure I’ve lost tons of weight by now!"
In Sarah’s opinion, Kim didn’t have any weight to lose. Luckily, however, it didn’t look like she had lost any weight. Sarah was absolutely sure she wouldn’t lose any weight at this rate. "Kim, reading about dieting won’t make you diet!"
I can totally relate to Kim. Not that I want to lose weight, but in a different way. I am a huge reader. My all-time absolute FAVORITE store is Barnes & Noble. I’ve recently gotten into "How To" books – how to make face masks, how to be even more fashionable than I already am (hehe), how to train my not-so-intelligent but oh-so-enthusiastic dog (she’s blonde, can’t you tell?), and my recent favorite: how to get closer to God. I’ve read all the books – Totally God’s by Megan Clinton, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Don’t Waste your Life by John Piper – everything. I’ve been an enthusiastic Brio magazine reader, soaking up all the spiritual food that’s out there.
But, when it comes down to it all, I’m a horrible procrastinator. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow – that’s my life verse, quite frankly. So I know a lot about being a Christian and getting closer to God, which is why I started this blog. So you’d think I’d be a really strong Christian, or at least know what I’m talking about. The answer is simple: I’m not. I have a relationship with God and I love Him, but that relationship is sometimes put off for Facebook or for my dog (I know I’m so terrible). My relationship with God isn’t perfect – because – you know why? – because of ME. It’s completely my fault. I’ve read all the books, but it doesn’t help unless you actually go out there and do it!
Reading about dieting won’t make you diet or loose 20 pounds. Reading about playing in the NFL won’t get you there. Reading about being fashionable won’t make you an fashion icon. You have to change yourself. You have to go out there and do it to make your learning worthwhile.
I’m thrilled that you read my blog. I’m thrilled that God has given me inspiration in my every day life for this blog. But I would be sad if my writing wasn’t doing anything for you. Don’t get me wrong – learning is GREAT! You know how to do things when you read about them. But reading won’t miraculously change you or your relationship with your Lord.

God bless,
Melissa

p.s.: please don’t forget to comment, rate, follow, and tell your friends!

Ask God Someday

Sometimes I've asked my parents and other adults questions that they didn't know the answer to. "You can ask God someday," they would reply.

When you're 10 years old Heaven -- and God -- seem very far away. When you're 10 years old you want "real" answers, and the answer that I got didn't satisfy me.

When you get to Heaven, what will you ask God?

Some of my questions are
Why do good people die?
Why do some people seem to have so much?
Why'd you give me so many bad hair days?

I think God is actually happy to answer our questions! He loves us and gave us these amazingly complex minds so we can grow and learn and love. He longs for us to understand and love him. Just like a friend, when we know more about him, we find it easier to be his friend.

Just something to think about.

God bless,
Melissa

I So Hate Consequences

I think we can all relate to Relient K’s "I So Hate Consequences". The song talks about forgiveness and fear and responsibility.

And I so hate consequences
Running from you is what my best defense is
Cause I know that I let you down
And I don’t want to deal with that

Have you ever done something wrong and were truly afraid of what was going to happen later? I think we’ve all done that! We have to suffer consequences for our actions. When we do something wrong, we are punished so we will learn not to do that again. Worldly consequences may be terrifying (unwanted pregnancy, death, disease, car crash, arrest, fine, grounding), but eternal ones are even worse!

And after all my alibis desert me
I just want get by, I don’t want nothing to hurt me
I had no idea where my head was at
But if my heart says I’m sorry, can we leave it with that?
Cause I just want for all of this to end

Sometimes we feel like we don’t want to deal with our problems. "I want to get away, get away from all of my mistakes." Running away is not the answer. You need to be responsible and try to make the wrong things right again.
It may feel like you’ve done something so terrible that not even God can forgive you, much less your family and friends. Maybe you ran a red light, stole a DVD, or hurt someone. No matter what you did – no matter how big or small – there is always hope.
That hope is not found in running away, in fighting, or in separating yourself from the world. Your hope is found in Jesus Christ, your Savior. He’ll take you even if you’re broken and scarred.
Remember the parable Jesus tells about the prodigal son? The son takes his father’s money and high-tails it out for the big city where he gambles, parties, drinks, and lives in worldly splendor. He buys his friends, dresses in fine purple clothes, and eats only the finest food and drinks only the finest wine. Then what happened? He suffered the consequences. The son’s money soon dwindled away, and when the money was gone, the friends were gone. He could not even eat the food the pigs ate. Suddenly the thought struck him: his father’s servants were treated better than this! So he went back to his old home, prepared to beg his father for a job as a servant. When he was still some way off, his father saw him and ran to him and through a big welcome home party.
God is ALWAYS willing to take you back! That’s what he wants! He loves you so much that he’ll take all your sin and turn you into something beautiful, pure, and good. He’ll heal the wounds and set you on the right path. It’s called forgiveness, and it’s totally free. There is no fine print. All you need to do is ask Him.

When I got tired of running from you
I stopped right there to catch my breath
Then your words, they cut my ears
You said, "I miss you son, come home."
And my sins, they watched me leave
And in my heart I so believe
The love you felt for me was mine
The love I’d wished for all this time
I said the words I knew you knew
"O God, O God, I needed you.
Gone all this time, I needed you."

Little Pink Spoons

I love trying new flavors of ice cream. When you walk into a creamery, a feeling seems to well up in you that you can’t quite explain – you know what I’m talking about. You get so excited. You have to read every ice cream label and take your time to decide. What toppings do you want – Snickers, Heath, sprinkles? What type of cone do you want? Or do you even want a cone? You can have a cup. What size cup? How many scoops? One would be best, but surely two wouldn’t hurt….
Then there comes the most beloved desert ritual of all time – the tasting of the flavors. With all those choices, how could you possibly decide on just one? So you can mix it. But which ones do you want to mix? So you ask for a sample of Amaretto. The lady scoops some on a pink plastic spoon and you savor it. Yum. But what about Brownie Batter? And Birthday Cake? Sometimes we just like to see how many free samples we can get away with before we get kicked out of the shop.
And then you’ve found it. The best one. An excellent mixture of creaminess and flavor. You’ve proved that love at first bite exists. Now you want your friends to all get that flavor so you can all be fans and so pretty soon the whole world will be as happy as you. Soon, you hope, the whole world will experience that ice cream.
Isn’t that kind of like evangelism? Think about it. You’re hungry. You’ve tried practically everything else. For a while, you liked it, but you kept wanting more. Nothing was perfect. Then you found it. The One. It’s called Jesus, a perfect blend of love, power, peace, joy, and life.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were the little pink sample spoons? You may be the bit of Jesus someone will ever know. You’ve gotten this amazing thing – why not share it with the world so they can experience it as well? Why not be a sample of Jesus?

This, month, focus on being a little pink spoon for God.