Blogging is like Following Jesus
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
That is the question. Not for me though. I mean – I know I don’t blog as much as I used to. My day by day blogging has slowed down. But I still feel the need to come here and get thoughts out every now and again. I try at least weekly!
But I have a folder of blogs I used to read on my computer. I just had to clean it out. As I clicked on my friend’s blogs…I found their most “recent” blogs to be as long ago as 2009! I mean – that’s over 7 months ago.
Blogging is like following Jesus. When someone starts a blog they are blogging every day about everything from what’s for dinner to what color shoelaces are on their shoes. When we start following Jesus we’re all gung-ho – professing our love for our Lord and Savior on a daily basis. Then like the lapse between blogs we sort of trickle away and we’re not professing it as much as we used to, but we still talk about it now again.
And then there really are those who just quit. No warning, no indication, they just quit blogging. No time? No desire? No reason to blog?
Jesus followers can do the same thing. Maybe something happens that makes them turn their back on Jesus. Maybe they are angry…maybe they figure it was just a phase and think life was much better and they were much happier when they weren’t trying do the right thing living with God by turning away from all of the hurtful and unhealthy things they used to. So they just quit. Stop going to church. Stop reading the Bible. Stop speaking His name….
So why don’t people just delete their blogs? Perhaps it’s because they know one day they may just want to come back to it so they leave it there floating in cyberspace taking advantage that it’s there when they want to use it again.
Thing is – we don’t have to delete Jesus either. He’ll just be there – floating in Heaven waiting to take you back whenever you are ready. Always there with forgiveness and open arms.
Thing is ….one day cyberspace WILL be gone! Heaven….Eternal Life….will never be gone.
But I have to say…is it fair to take advantage of Jesus like that? He went through a lot just to offer us that forgiveness. Shouldn’t we honor Him with just a little more consideration to the fact that he DIED A HORRIBLE, PAINFUL, EXCRUCIATING death for us? Why don’t some of us remember that by remaining faithful to Him….just as He has remained faithful to us.
God is doing amazing things….
Posted by Melinda | Filed under 1
In Spiked Student MInistries! (Well everywhere really, but I’m talkin’ about Spiked today!)
Last week God took our plans…turned them into His and completely changed it up. But the result was phenomenal!!!
Last Wednesday we walked into the Spiked Room with a plan for the night. Used to be a time that when things were not going according to plan I would get stressed out….but when things aren’t going according to plan when we are talking about sharing God with the students…it’s usually a pretty awesome experience and last Wednesday was no different. He took the next few weeks of Student Ministry in a completely different direction for us and the consensus is – - – the direction is good…and the direction is GOD!
Last Sunday – same thing happened for our Middle School kids. Walked in that room with a plan and God blew the plan up into a pretty awesome, fun and hilarious service. I still chuckle about it! Kids said it was cool….and since it was about God there’s nothing cooler than kids thinking God is cool!
So tonight we follow God’s direction for Spiked and I can’t wait to shake it up a bit again! It’s so totally gonna rock!
Sometimes God just makes you say….
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
WOW!
That’s how I feel about last night’s Spiked service. Last night we did the Testimonial wrap up of our SCARRED series. Students have been finding out about SCARS. Yeah – we all get physical scars. Cuts and scrapes – they hurt when you get them. They may even bleed…but they go away. What about EMOTIONAL scars? We tend to lug them around with us as things happen throughout or lives that cause us pain! Sometimes we try to hide it until it eats away at us until we just explode in an emotional outburst. Sometimes we just try to deny it and pretend it never happens…until it sneaks back up on us. But God totally intends for us to DEAL with it and then use it for a greater purpose. So teens have been learning how to recognize God’s intent that we find safe friends to open up and share with and help us recognize that we can use our hurts to minister to others.
Last night we kind of led an open mic night. Teens said some pretty awesome things. Shared some pretty heartbreaking stories…and then shared how coming to Spiked and experiencing Jesus has changed their heartbreak and turned things around.
I’ma tell ya what – our teenagers said some pretty powerful things about God last night and some new serving adults got a real taste of why we do what we do in Spiked Student Ministries every week. It wasn’t planned…it wasn’t rehearsed…it was just God – doing what He does. Tapping shoulders…touching hearts…taking charge! And it was awesome!
How is Married Life?
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
Just wondering – - – when does that question go away? It’s been 2 months and everytime me or my hubby encounter someone the first thing they seem to ask is “How is married life.”
I’m just wondering…what is the answer they expect to hear? Of course it’s great – not much different than dating life…we are still in love and now we just have a piece of paper and some rings to make it more “permanent’.
By now are we supposed to be like “Married life sucks! What a mistake! I wish I could take it back!” or what? LOL!
Well folks – married life is grand. I love my husband, he loves me and Taira is all up in the middle feeling the love, too!
I’m going to start askng all my friends “How is Single life? How is married life (even though you’ve been married for years)….How is divorced life….How is separated life…..How is parent life….” LOL!
Life is a Roller Coaster
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
My motto for yesterday was ”Life is a roller coaster and I’m about to throw up!” You know- you get on that nervous high – you feel like you reached the top and you have that “Top of the World” Leonardo Dicaprio Titanic moment….then you plummet rapidly back down to the bottom so quickly that you get nautious and you want to throw up. And then Rose is prying your cold dead hand off of hers saying “I’ll never let go….I’ll never let go!” Yeah- I just did that. Compared myself and God to Rose and Jack from Titanic. LOL!
Anyway, I’m having that kind of “What the crap God” moments and I get an e-mail from one of my BFF’s (who did not know what was going on at the time) of just the following four scrips. I’m definitely leaning on the last one at this point. But it was right on time and I guess God prompted the sending of this e-mail so I would have one of those “Jesus Take the Wheel” revalations.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace
of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. (Philip 4.6-7)
O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the
faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. (Psalms
31.23-24)
In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my
refuge, is in God. (Ps 62.7)
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in
truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will
hear their cry and save them. (Ps 145.18-19)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths. (Prov 3.5-6)
Roaming Gnomes of Hwy 85
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
Months ago I re-routed my usual driving path from cutting across SnowHill Road to going all the way down Guess Road to Hwy 85. One ADD morning I happened to notice a garen gnome standing on the Broad Street overpass when heading northbound. It looked like someone walked up the concrete slant near the retaining wall and put him up there. I’ve been quite amused.
Then the garden gnome changed from one standing up to one lying on his tummy! Guess what happened to the standing up gnome? They moved him South bound. So now on the same overpass there is a gnome in both directions. I wondered if there was some sort of scavenger hunt thing going on and they are just waiting for someone to find them. But now I think, that due to the time they’ve been up there (or at least since I have noticed) that someone just put them up there to be funny.
Well I decided to Tweet about the roaming gnomes to see if maybe someone in TwitterWorld also knew of their existence and lo and behold – Beth Fraley who lives right off of Duke Street, acknowledged their presence. Now I don’t feel so alone. And so it seems that the roaming Gnomes of Hwy 85 may have very well been around long since before I even noticed them.
So don’t wreck your car – but go check them out!!! Here’s the Northbound gnome:
Maybe the Indians are onto something…
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
NATIVE AMERICAN PROPHECY
American Indians are a diverse ethnic group. Their languages, customs, social systems varied greatly. One common characteristic found in many Indian nations was an affinity to the spiritual side of life. Out of this came man prophecies.
One of the most fascinating set of prophecies comes out of the Hopi nation located in the Southwestern United States. Many prophecies foretold by the Hopi appear to have come true. Some of these are:
“The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.
“This is the First Sign: We are told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana men who took the land that was not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder.
“This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true with his eyes — the white men bringing their families in wagons across the prairies.”
“This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. These White Feather saw with his eyes — the coming of the white men’s cattle.”
“This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.”
“This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider’s web.”
“This is the Sixth sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun.”
“This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it.”
The OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO…..?????
“The greatest environmental disaster with no end in sight! Eleven workers dead. Millions of gallons of oil gushing for months (and possibly years) to come. Jobs vanishing. Creatures dying,” Seize BP said in a statement.
“This is the Eight Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like my people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn their ways and wisdom.
“And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of my people will cease.
While you enjoy Memorial Day off…
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
There’s no school today
Kids are sleeping in
For some there is no work
So no ritual to begin
Its a 3 day weekend
So some take a quick vacation
Without a second thought
To all the grieving in our Nation
On this day across this country
Families are grieving
Some do so for deaths so recent
That they’re still disbelieving
Parents mourn their sons or daughters
Children mourn their dad or mom
Sisters, brothers mourn their siblings
Wondering how they can go on
All the loss and death with honor
Taken for granted every day
Those we don’t know who serve for us
Who let Freedom guide their way
Who fought wars past and present
Who risk or gave their life
And leave behind their children
Their husband or their wife
So today while you’re relaxing
Being lazy….having fun
I hope you’ll take a moment
Before the day is done
To honor those who’ve fallen
And those who risk it all
To fight for Liberty
And Justice for All!
Melinda Ann Duarte Hester
CONGRATULATIONS DOUGIE AND K.G.
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
They’re tyin’ the knot tonight!
Weddings Weddings everywhere. We have yet another wedding to attend next weekend. It’s great to see how God is joining hearts!!!
Who have you prayed for today?
Posted by Melinda | Filed under Life
So….you feel like you’ve accomplished something. You got up this morning, read a few chapters in the Bible with your morning cup of coffee, said some praises for things going right in your life and asked God to move in some things that haven’t been right.
But who have you prayed for? Other than yourself, your wants, your needs, praises for your life? Are you willing to admit maybe you haven’t prayed for someone else?
Well now is as good of a time as any to stop what you are doing and pray for some people around you. People who may be going through the storm and need your help in asking God for some peace, healing and comfort and hope in His love in bringing them through the storm.
I think God might listen a little more when someone who takes the time away from concentrating on themselves and genuinely prays for someone else!!!
How can I pray for you today?
