Please take a moment before you read this post and read this prayer of Isaiah 61, entitled "Beautiful Ashes" ...pray it with yourself in mind! He hugs like my Papa! It is what I think as Mr. Ray wraps his strong arms, thinned by treatment, around my waist. “You make this bearable,” he whispers as hisContinue reading "Hard Beautiful!"

“When God tells you to be brave, he will make it work. It won’t be perfect. It won’t be easy. But it will be your story and your best story.” -  Annie F. Downs“She walks in grace and dignity. She laughs without fear of the future.” – Proverbs 31:25 I have a warrior heart! The womenContinue reading "Tethered to His Mast: His Nightsong"

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. - Mark 4:39 I am comfy. There is Mint Chocolate Truffle Tea in my Clark County Public Library mug. I have my stretchy bleached brown pants, x-large t-shirt, and myContinue reading "Tethered to His Mast: Part 2: Lighthouses!"

  “There is faith that in the midst of the setbacks, God is setting up everything for the comeback of your joy.” – Ann VoskampIt was early afternoon when I pulled the weathered journal I had been keeping since 2005 out of my suitcase. I sat on the couch to journal about the night before. SophieContinue reading "Tethered to His Mast: Part One: So This is JOY!"

Everything feels abstract, as if looking into a kaleidoscope that is a bit askew. The caverns and dales of my mind can be toxic - filling a void full of illusion. I live there, amongst the bramble and waste. It is my Utopian world where I can rule. Every mistake is humorous and witty, everyoneContinue reading "I push towards JOY!"

UGH!!! This feeling - the air slowly seeping from the room, all inward thoughts, people looking at you through a microscope…when did I get so self-absorbed? Sometimes my skin feels too tight – thin and about to burst. I fear their might have been a misprint, a defect, in the manufacturing of me. It isContinue reading "Hi, I’m Melissa, and I have an Acceptance Problem!"

  It’s the soft part of the day where the sun blurs colors in halo; all feels warm and inviting. There is a corner seat with a small round table cloaked in a crisp white table cloth. Trimmed daises sit laughing in a vase on the windowsill. An older woman with green eyes sips hazelnutContinue reading "A Table for One!"

                "Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." - Jim Rohn14“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. 15Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all otherContinue reading "The Good Hurt!"

I begin with "MY SUPPLICATION"!I had intended to write about something else. In fact, I had two other blog posts in mind before Sunday evening. I have been away from the quill and parchment. A layer of crust has formed over the inkwell. I read an old story I began more than five years ago.Continue reading "I Found Beauty in a Book of Cinderella Quotes!"

 4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; itContinue reading "Sabbath…Holy Gratitude!"