Thursday, February 23, 2012

At the end of my rope...


Ever feel like you've come to the end of your rope and you can't take another step?? That was me this past weekend.

To be honest, the past 3 weeks have been very filled from early morning til late at night as I've been working on numerous ARME projects and then completing Nursing paperwork and competency testing for another Travel position. Then last week (before this past weekend), I'd spent orienting at the new hospital where I'll be working as a travel nurse for 8 weeks. On top of 12-14 hour days at work, I was coming home at night to work another 3-4 hours on upcoming ARME Bible Camp programs. Then when I was about to drop, I'd grab a few hours of sleep before I'd get up to spend time with God and then start my day over again.

By the time this past Friday came around, I was exhausted. In fact, I was BEYOND exhausted…my physical strength was gone and my emotional energy was zapped. (I felt like a Zombie!) However, I couldn't stop and rest. I had a full weekend ahead of me as I'd been asked to speak at Mtn View Church here in Arkansas. I would not only be speaking for the Divine service Sabbath, but I had a Friday night message to give, as well as messages all Sabbath afternoon. In my physical and emotional exhaustion, the task looked completely impossible. Although I'm usually bustling with enthusiastic energy when it's time to share, all my energy had vanished, and I found myself looking ahead at the upcoming weekend with great apprehension. "Oh Lord," I prayed… "I don't think I can do it! Why did I commit to speak THIS weekend? I should have put it off to another date!"

Exhausted, discouraged, and feeling like I was facing an impossible mountain, I collapsed Friday morning on my bedroom floor in prayer. "God, I'm at the end of my rope. I feel like I can't take another step. I have no idea how I'm gonna get through this weekend. I'm so tired I can barely think right now, and yet I am suppose to give four messages this weekend and lead united prayer TWICE!!! How can I do this? I feel like I have nothing to give."

I prayed, read my Bible through tears, and prayed some more. "God, if you want me to do this… you have to fill me…you have to give me supernatural strength and inspiration!" Despite my earnest prayers, no angel came to my side (at least that I saw) and no lightning shone across the sky from heaven. I felt no supernatural surge of strength and I began to wonder if I was about to finish my speaking career once and for all.

But sometimes, God is silent for a reason, to test us and to grow our faith. Finally, realizing that time was running out and I needed to get started on my day and final preparations, I told God, "I'm gonna walk forward by faith trusting you to fill me and give me what I need. I don't feel it now, but I will walk forward anyway."

At that very moment my friend Kim texted me… "Just walk forward by faith Mel, and God will give you strength." I'd asked her earlier to pray for me as I was struggling, but she had no idea the nature of the battle. Tears flooded my eyes as a deep peace filled my heart. It was like God was just confirming what I had just decided. The timing of that text couldn't have been more perfect or providential… At that moment, I knew for sure that God was going to walk with Him and give me the strength. And that this would not be the end.

What looks like the end for us may be the beginning for God...

And God proved Himself faithful! In fact, this past weekend at Mountain View Church was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. Once I got up to share, it's like this supernatural strength and enthusiasm flooded over me and I spoke with a power and clarity that I have never experienced so completely and fully before. It was amazing, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was NOT me, but God working through me. The whole weekend was a complete miracle and God worked in a powerful way and hearts were changed. But the biggest heart that was changed was mine!!!

I've talked about the Holy Spirit's filling and I've prayed for it for years. I've felt touches of it here and there, and I've always known that God was walking with me. (I have many stories and testimonies to prove this!) However, I've never realized so clearly what God truly wants to do if we will only allow His Spirit to completely fill us and use us. Unfortunately, I had to come to the complete end of myself (the end of my rope) before I realized what I'd been missing, before I realized what He wanted to do. But it was beautiful, it was amazing, it was life-changing. And I will never be the same.

After this past weekend, I re-dedicated my heart, life, lips, voice, and service to Christ again and I told him… I don't EVER want to speak again unless I know that YOU have filled me and YOU are the one talking….not me!!

Truly His power is made perfect in my weakness...

 Zech 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Storm Came…and the Daffodils are paying the price!


Some of you have written and asked me… "How are the Daffodils? Did the storm ever come?"  For those of you that remember my post from January 6th about the "Daring Daffodils"... the STORM did finally come!!! And regretfully our poor Daffodils were NOT ready!!

I actually thought it would be just a few days or weeks before we had our first hard winter freeze or ice. But it took longer than I thought…actually, over a couple months longer! It's now mid-February and it's not until THIS week that we really got hit with hard winter weather for the first time here in Arkansas. So I don't blame the daffodils for doubting and continuing on with life unprepared...

And isn't it much the same with us… We've known all our lives that hard times are coming and that Jesus really is coming back soon. But "soon" - how soon?? Most of us probably think, "I know they keep talking about it, but they've been talking about it my whole life! Seriously, I can't see things getting bad that soon. Despite talks of economic disaster and chaos things in the world seem just fine, we probably have plenty of time…"

If we talk like this, we'd be like the men from Bible times...

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation...But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness," II Pet 3:3,4,10,11

This is a good challenge for me today… "What manner of person ought I to be?" Am I preparing to stand through the fire and live for eternity…or am I just thinking about the joy of the moment or about what I can do to increase my pleasure for tomorrow? Let's learn something from the Daffodils...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My Perfect Valentine...


I've been a hopeless incurable romantic since I was about five years old. Like so many other girls, I’ve spent hours dreaming and praying about my “perfect valentine” – the guy who would send me a card full of “I love you’s” and a dozen red roses on Valentines.

Well the years have come and gone and I'm way past the age I thought I would still be single! I’ve continued to grow through experiences of both joy and pain, and I still haven’t met my prince charming. But my life is so full and complete in Christ, and I couldn’t be happier! While I haven’t always gotten what I asked God for (I’m still waiting for that guy that will send me a dozen red roses), I have to admit that I’ve gotten so much more than I imagined possible.

Let me tell you about my perfect Valentine...my prayers all these years, and the love that has come true! (Click on "My Perfect Valentine" to read…)

Used by permission of SetApartGirl.com

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Live, Laugh, Love…with ALL your heart!!


With another passing year and another passing birthday I am reminded of a couple things. For one, I am realizing that the years are moving all too quickly and before I know it, they will be gone! (LOL - sounds like I'm really getting old, huh?! But you'll understand when you realize what I got for a birthday present this year!!) And two, I need to take advantage of the time I have to live and LIVE MY LIFE TO THE FULLEST FOR GOD!!!!

These thoughts have prompted the writing of this blog as, according to my mother, I have just turned 26 years old!! (For 26 years I've had a VERY full life as I've spent the first 15 years at home, the next 3 at Oklahoma Academy until I graduated from high school, then one year in Norway, 3 years back at OA working as staff and teaching Elementary school, 4 years in College (with a break in between for overseas Student missionary work in Guyana South America), and now I've been a nurse for almost 9 years!! Yes Sireeeeee….that's a lot of math to be figuring! All I can say is these 26 years have been packed indeed and good thing my mom's memory is better than mine - LOL!)

So as I enter another year of life…what is on my heart…

LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE…to the utmost!

You couldn't complain much around my house when I was growing up. We were always taught to look on the bright side. If tempted to give up on a difficult task, my mom would speak up in cheer leader fashion, "Remember that we are CANS - can do, will do, have done! No CAN'Ts allowed here!" (This was amazing since she herself often lived with chronic pain from a back injury and she was often tempted to get discouraged. Yet when those times came, she'd just encourage my cousins and I to gather around and we'd read the Bible and talk about Heaven together. It was her escape from the pain and what a beautiful escape it was. I'm so excited that someday it will be a reality…not just a dream! What special memories!) Despite many personal obstacles, Mom always encouraged and pushed all of us forward. (And she continues to do so to this very day!! She amazes me, and I think I could safely say that she is still my biggest cheer leader!!)

Another favorite quote of hers, I often heard when I started to grumble or complain was, "Melody - Life is what you make it and you will find what you are looking for!" (In other words, "Stop complaining and buck up!") It has shaped much of my life since… for I've discovered, LIFE TRULY IS WHAT I MAKE IT!!!! If I'm looking for the bad, if I'm looking for things to grumble about, if I'm looking for difficulties, if I'm looking for faults in others, I will find them. But if I look for the good, if I look for the blessings, if I look for the ways God is leading and ways to praise Him, I will always find them! Wow!!

We've all heard the popular "feel good" saying: Live, Laugh, Love! Probably a few of you have it on your wall or coffee table (just like me). Yet it constantly reminds me of the priorities of my life, and the priorities that I strive for in my heart. Let's spend a few minutes and reflect on this inspiring slogan:
LIVE!

What does it mean to truly live? Does it mean we tour the world and accomplish all our "bucket list items" before we actually kick the bucket?

I think that it's all summed up in my favorite verse: John 17:3, "And this is LIFE eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Another powerful verse says: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." I John 5:12. The life that God gives us is not a mediocre life. We aren't giving up anything good so that we can have this life, for the life that He offers is so much MORE abundant than anything we could EVER create for ourselves!

LAUGH!

What does it mean to LAUGH! Is "laughing" even spiritual?? I think that one attribute of God that we often forget about is His sense of humor. (I mean - come on, He made us right? He had to have a sense of humor to do that!)

Listen how one writer describes God's sense of humor:

"Unfortunately, many people in the world picture God as a serious old man, burdened with the incredible task of managing this vast, complex universe and providing adequately for all of His creatures, especially for the fickle, fallible, unpredictable human beings. But God is not old. Neither is He young. It is the passing of time that makes one young and then old. God exists outside of time. God exists in eternity, in an eternal now. And God is not serious, at least in the sense of being burdened with a task that is too big for Him. Is it more difficult to manage the universe than to create it out of nothing? Creation is filled with the humor of God. Consider the giraffe, the kangaroo, the zebra, the ostrich, the hyena and the baboon."

I love that one part where the writer says, "Is God more burdened in ordering the universe than He was in creating it out of nothing?" Hmmmm….good question, huh?? So why are we so often stressed when the waves crash and the strong winds blow?? As another friend of mine often says, "We need to keep our eyes on the face of God - if He's not disturbed or distressed, we have no reason to be either! However, if He's crying, we should be crying too!" But all too often, we mix it all up - as we do most things in life. We laugh when God is crying, and we cry over things that God only laughs about. Want a practical example? We are laughing in our pleasure and plenty, and God is crying for a world that has yet to hear of Him! On the reverse, how often do we find ourselves crying about our trials or the way that Satan makes our life difficult. But God's not crying! In fact, we're told in the Bible that He is laughing, because He knows the devil's day is coming…and soon, sin and evil will be no more! (Ps 37:12,13)

So friends, let's not just learn to LAUGH and have JOY in life, but let us learn to LAUGH at the proper things!

LOVE…with all your Heart!


I think this is my favorite of all! LOVE…what a beautiful gift!! What a beautiful gift we can give to others. But it will never equal the magnitude of the gift that has been given to us.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

He so loved us…that He gave…He gave that we would not perish, but have life…He intended that we not just have any normal life, but life more abundant. And that LIFE He gave, not for us to hoard and keep for ourselves, but for us to share with others. However, we can't share what we don't have. We have to be filled with Him before we can give to others and we have to be emptied of ourselves before we can be filled. And the only way that we can truly be emptied, so that we can truly be filled, so that we can truly LOVE is to be surrendered to Him…for even we cannot empty ourselves of self. It's a work that only He can do!

The "I love you" box...

About 18 years ago (1994, in fact, to be precise) I gave my mom a little "I love you" plaque. On the box I wrote the date with the words, "Don't forget - I love you!" Well…the next year, she gave it back to me with her words under mine: "I haven't forgotten - I love you too!" Well…this started a tradition, and off and on over the years since we have exchanged the box with our birthday wishes, Valentine's greetings, Mother Day wishes, or some other day celebrating our friendship and love. The box has been handed to each other in person, and it has flown across oceans. (It found me in Norway in 1995 & it followed me on my travel nurse career when I left to work in California for the first time in 2006.) While I don't remember all the memories or occasions that we exchanged this box over the last 18 years, the tattered box and the inscriptions scribbled over decades are priceless…in fact, much more valuable than the goodies that usually come inside. Why? Because they represent a life that we've shared…a life lived to the fullest, a life of laughter, and a life of love. There has been trials and dark valleys over these past 18 years…but those times have only made us stronger and helped us become what we are today! And there have been many good times.

It's been four years since I last saw the box…and honestly, I had forgotten all about it. But when I received it again (today) for my Birthday and Valentine's combined, I couldn't help remembering and being thankful….thankful that I have people in my life to share such special boxes! :-)

"Live, Laugh, Love" may be a cool slogan, but I believe these words should portray something deeper…deeper than what the world has made them to mean. A life is not just to live, but to be lived to the fullest for Christ - with all our might. Ecl 9:10


When we say "Laugh" it should mean something deeper than the passing glee of a joke or having a good time. It should portray a joy that goes to the depths of our very soul! A joy that cannot be shaken and trusts Christ even in the dark valleys and through the storms.

And when we think of "Love," it should mean loving with all our heart. A heart that looks above its own needs and desires and is willing to sacrifice for the better good of others, and most importantly for the glory of God.

"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Duet 6:5


So, as I celebrate another year of life, I have to smile…smile that I have the gift of life and smile that I am loved, not only by friends and family, but by a Heavenly Father…a Father who doesn't just TELL me to live and love, but shows me how!!

 With all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my might… 

Just imagine if we really LIVED this verse to its fullest!

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Challenging Prayer Thoughts...



Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. --Andrew Murray

I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.—John Wesley

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan --John Bunyan

Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer. --François Fénelon

There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire off their guns anywhere. Possibly somebody would be killed, but the majority of the enemy would be missed. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. --Corrie Ten Boom

When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't pray, they don't. --William Temple

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task. --Phillips Brooks

The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds

Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons; but they are helpless against our prayers. --J. Sidlow Baxter

God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. -- Oswald Chambers

There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him. --William Law

Rich is the person who has a praying friend. --Janice Hughes

Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent. --Leonard Ravenhill


Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. --Oswald Chambers

I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach; A minister's highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray. -H. MacGregor

Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask. Billy Graham, Encounter Weekly, 1996

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Come Join us Feb 18th - Praying for Rain

For questions e-mail: armebiblecamp@gmail.com or call: 503-482-9439