The Chronicles of Melinda

Last night we had movie night with the teens at NHC. Well since the youth room is still in chaos we used the big Hitachi from downstairs and hung out up in our new lobby.  American Hero Subs, chips, popcorn and drinks on tap and some fun hang out time was had.  I was thinking - these kids could be out getting in trouble or insituations that would tempt them into doing things they don’t really want to do.  So it was nice providing a decent environment for them to hang out in. Think we’ll try to do it more often.  Not every kid is involved in sports or some extra curricular activity that will keep them out of trouble.  So my goal is now for us to be the back up for those kids.  Oh yeah - I met a new friend last night…Pablo.  He was pretty cool.  Hopefully we will see him on Sunday.

On that note - Kimber is on the road. So continue to say your prayers for her so she arrives safely in Wisconsin.  Just wanted to say thanks on her behalf to everyone who helped get her on the road.  I really think she was overwhelmed by the help.  This just goes to show how important a church family is!

Well she accepted a job back in Milwaukee.  God didn’t provide any other opportunities asking her to stay in NC…so it’s been decided this is what He wants.  She planted a good seed here in our youth program as a most awesome Teen Community Group leader and perhaps God has a plan for her to share what grew from that seed somewhere in a Youth Ministry program in Wisconsin.  Who knows! 

I know I will miss her - but Doo Rags off to Jesus for cell phones.  1000 miles won’t keep us from keeping in touch through those long late night phone calls about our youth, our spirits and our common threads.  I’ve spent many a night (and early morning) being inspired and restored by my conversations with Kimber.   In a matter of only a few months it’s those same phone calls that have put together a friendship that I know God had planned all along.  At least I know we’ll still be able to maintain through the power of the cell phone.

So yesterday we spent the better part of the day packing up boxes, picking up the Monster Truck and tow dolly and loading up the Monster Truck to get her ready for her ride.  (Special thanks to Carrie for taking care of Mini-Me last night so we could get-er-done). Chris Dula, another most awesome youth volunteer, joined us last night for some KFC followed by some grunt work and then the rain came down and we left the LIGHT work for Adam and Complany to finish up today.  No - literally - most of the tough stuff is done.  They’ve got like - a couch, 2 beds, a computer desk and a washer to load.  The rest is already in the truck.  I just think it’s awesome how our Youth Ministry Team takes care of each other in times like these.  Packed up in two days!  WE ROCK!

By this time tomorrow Kimber and Christian will be making that 1000 mile trek back to good ol’ Wisc-ohn-sin!  Please say a few prayers for safe travels as she hauls the Honda behind the 24 foot Monster Truck to her “new” old home.(I’m gonna get it for this - but here is the Hot Truckin’ Mama…)

On that note - seems God has some reason for putting all of my closes friends at what he decides is a “safe distance.”  I maintain some pretty tight long distance friendships.  Most of my closest friendships are maintained by telephone and e-mail.  They are too far away to meet me after work for coffee or stop by the house.  I figure - this is God’s way of making sure the friendships stay in tact and don’t get lost in the hustle and bustle that is my life.  God knows I am far too busy to entertain friends on a daily basis.  (And yes…I’m busy doing things God wants me to do lately…not just doing my own thing).  If  all of my closest friends lived right around the corner they might get caught up with ”she doesn’t have time for me” syndrome” that’s a result of being spread out too far and too thin and as a result some friendships might be tarnished. I guess God is just making sure all the time I get to spend with my closest friends is always true, quality time filled with his Blessing.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 

If I didn’t have to come to work - - - this is the kind of day you sleep in and be lazy.  Possibly clean house (nah - I go for lazy).  But here I sit at work watching the rain really come down outside my window.  Ever focus on the drops as they make their way down your window?  Follow it from the top down.  Just something to do.

Anyway, one of our Spiked youth that got saved this Sunday started a new blog.  Check it out!

What is the ultimate result of the decisions and choices we make for our lives?  Here are two possible results of decisions or choices that end up having a negative impact on you:  REGRET…isn’t this what you might feel when you realize that the decision or choice you made long ago continues to bleed into your current life and hinder happiness?  LEARNING…isn’t that the final result that will influence future decisons or choices?  But I’ve decided that the one true result of even those decisions we wish we didn’t make is PURPOSE.  The final, overall result will serve nobody else’s TRUE purpose, but God’s.  Yeah - that might mean it has some purpose for you…but all in all that still results in a purpose for Him that He is going to put his stamp on.

I truly believe that God doesn’t make or give us the answer for all of our choices and decisions before we have to make them.  I truly believe that sometimes…he leaves that to us.  I believe this because no matter what the result of our decision or choice, be it good or bad, in the end it will still turn us to Him and the long term results will glorify him in one way or another.  Yeah, I am admitting that we might have to fall on our face, stumble and suffer (and presevere of course because that leads to building our character and finally our hope in Christ Jesus as stated in Romans 5 )as a result of the decision/choice that WE made.  But when we look back on it all we can say is “God brought me through it even if it wasn’t the best choice or decision I could have made.”  So who gets the glory?  DUH!  So yeah - this also means HE is giving us the opportunity to make the result or decision that may bring us all the happiness in the world.  And when that happens…we, being God-fearing christians,  STILL give all the glory to…you guessed it….GOD!

And so yeah - in the long run we do indeed learn as a result of our past decisions and choices that we need to consult in Him ALWAYS when it comes to making those decisions and choices that will impact our lives. No, I’m not talking about deciding or choosing what flavor bubble gum to get…I’m talking about those serious choices and decisions that affect our lives forever because we will look back on them years from now and reflect on the results.  So I’m telling you to P-R-A-Y before making any of those decisons and choices that fall into that category.

Yeah we need to realize that if God’s not in it when it comes down to making that decision/choice…we may want to hold off on it and give him a little more time to show up and let us know if He’s got an answer.  But  maybe you’ll be praying and waiting and then that “do or die” moment in making the decision/choice is at hand. 

Well if that’s the case you can rest assured that even if the results of your choice or decision with no obvious direction of God seem to have wreaked a little havock, caused a little pain, stepped on a few toes (you get the idea) in the long run they will be truly favorable when you look back and say “God brought me through it”.  That’s when you know…God has a purpose for everything in our lives…the good and the bad. 

Name:  Melinda
Age: Old enough to know better, still to young to care
Height:  5′7″ on a good day and depending on my shoes
What color is your hair?  Dark Brown
What color are your eyes?  Hazel
What do you think is your best feature? My eyes
Right or left handed? Right
Where were you born? New, Bedford, Massachusettes
How many different places did you live growing up? 7 (Military brat-USCG)
Where did you graduate high school? Yokota AFB Japan
Do you speak a different language? Si - yo hablo espanol!
Occupation:  Animal Cop
How Much do you Love your job?  We have a love/hate relationship!
Marital Status: Single
Have Children?  Yes - 1
What kind of car do you drive? Honda CR-V for everyday travel Chevy Dually for doin’ country things!
What do you like to do in your spare time?  “Spare” time?  Ha! Ride Horses, write poetry, ride my four wheeler, spend time with my daughter and my friends, work with youth.
What scares you?  Tornados
What makes you happy? See my previous blog!
Do you have any special talents? Poetry - written and spoken, drawing
Three words you would use to describe you: Outgoing, Independent, Passionate
Three words someone who knows you would use to describe you: Friendly, Reliable, Engergetic.  But I think it’s funny I just asked one of my close co-workers I’ve known for 10 years and he said I was “like a tornado!”  Energetic, Unpredictable and Devastating.  HA HA!  Does that mean I scare myself?

FAVORITES AND HAVE YOU EVER?
Tattoo? 2
Body piercing? ears
Favorite vacation spot? Vacation?  What’s that?
Ever been to
Africa ?No
Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Not 4 dinner…but I’ve eaten plenty of cookies
Ever Been On t.V.? Yes.  No autographs please!
Ever steal any traffic signs? No, but I’ve been in possession of stolen goods!
Ever been in car accident?yes
Favorite salad dressing? Honey mustard or Italian
Favorite pie? Key Lime!
Favorite number?
26
Favorite movie? Legends of the Fall, Gladiator, Color Purple,
Favorite holiday?Any hoilday that gives me a three day weekend!
Favorite Food? Shrimp, shrimp and shrimp

Gone on a blind date? Yes
Watched someone die?  Only if animals count!
Been on a plane? Yes – don’t care for it
Been lost? Yes
Swam in the ocean? Yes
Cried yourself to sleep? Yes
Recently colored with crayons? I’m a mom…what do you think?
Sang Karaoke? Yeah!
Paid for a meal with coins only? Yep!
Made prank phone calls?  Only to people I know…ha ha!
Caught a snowflake on your tongue?  Yup!
Danced in the rain? Yes
Written a letter to Santa Claus?  Yes – and FROM Santa Claus! (That mommy thing again!)
Been kissed under the mistletoe?  Not in a very long time!
Watched the sunrise with someone you careabout?  Yes!
Blown bubbles? Umm – I’m a mommy!  Helloooooo!
Gone ice-skating on a lake? Yes
Gone to the movies by yourself ? Nope

FOR CHRISTIANS
Are you a Saved: Yes
How long have you been Saved?  1 Year
Have you been Baptized:  Yes
What is your favorite Bible Scripture and why: Romans 5:3-5
Favorite Christian Song: I Can Only Imagine, Amazing Grace, Footprints in the Sand, Whatever You’re Doing, Shackles, Forgive Me, Does Anybody Hear Her.  (Yeah - as IF you could have only one).
Are you a regular attender at a church?  Yes
If so, what church? New Horizon Church
Do you serve at your church? Yes
Where is your primary ministry? Youth
How many Bibles do you own? 3 more than I did a year ago! (3)
Greatest Influence in your Christian Life:  God of course!  And he blesses me with many who help me in my spiritual walk!

Are you not entertained? Are you NOT entertained?  Is this not why you are here!

I got a little raw with the kids tonight.  Totally laid it out there.  Hurt a little bit to open up a little som’n som’n with these kids - but it was what they needed to hear and what I needed to say.

• That God knows everything about them - the good and the bad. 
• That it all serves a purpose - the good and the bad.
• That they need to love themselves before they can love anyone else - God and others.
• That we have to deal with feelings we don’t want to in order to get our rhythm back and God wants us to do that. 
• That God created them just the way they are for a reason and they need to love themselves because He loves them no matter what.

Spence helped kick out a little demo on the drums about what it’s like when your rhythm gets off and James strummed out a nice acoustic version of Whatever You’re Doing.  I think it hit home with quite a few of our kids and and they rallied around each other.  THAT is what it is all about. Not only these kids encountering God and having supportive adults…but these kids connecting with each other in a God nurturing environment and rallying around each other through their pain.  I didn’t put two and two together until awhile ago - but this was a perfect message to prep these kids for going back to school. And before leaving for the night even one of our adult leaders approached me to say thank you for the message…and that it was what THEY needed to hear.  God is good and I feel pretty good about what He used me to do tonight. 

On another note - the Youth Room is now in tear down mode.  Time for a change!  Stay tuned.

Adam, our youth pastor at NHC is feelin’ pretty bad and has been for the past several days so say some prayers for him. I think he has the collywoobles and it’s been going around so I’m actually glad he is keeping that stuff at home, though I do miss him a little (ssshhh don’t tell him). He is, as he put it, “sick as a dog” today. Now where did we get that phrase? I mean I work in the animal field and while I have seen plenty of sick dogs…dogs in general are not sick. It’s like saying “You’re sweating like a pig.” Pigs don’t really sweat - so why would we say we are sweating like a pig when we are sweating profusely like Dula after he gets the smack laid down on himin football or basketbtall by the youth? HA HA!

Anyway- ADD moment - back to our regularly scheduled program. I’m layin’ down the message for the youth tonight. Not because Adam is sick - - - but in reviewing this rhythm series this particular weeks theme really hit home so I requested to deliver this message weeks ago. I’ve done a lot of praying, reviewing and reflection on this message. Maybe too much - since I had a bad dream about it the other night. But I knew right off I wanted to share in this message with our youth. It could get pretty raw with them tonight - but as their leaders and mentors I believe that sharing a piece of us with them helps them to relate better to us. To know we aren’t just preaching to or at them, but we have experienced some of the same things they may be going through helps them to connect.  When they can relate to us  they come to open up to us about their lives and God and we get to share where God falls into play where they may not think He is.

We are covering a series called “Rhythm” this month. The first message centered around God’s intention for us to be in rhythm with his song. That he created us to be in rhythm with Him. Last week centered around us being in Wonder with God. How to stay in Wonder with God and not get caught up in other things so that we lose sight of that. This week is about being in Rhythm with ourselves. In other words…we cannot be in rhythm with God if we aren’t in rhythm with ourselves and comfortable with who we are and who he created us to be. So say a prayer or two that God moves through this message straight into their hearts and minds so they can see what He has to offer…even in the painful times.  So right now it’s all about that.

On that note, during an awesome worship set today Yvette rocked some LED ZEPPLIN and some of our youth got to share their energy by throwing out inflatable guitars and running rampant through the crowd to hype up the peeps. My friend and her sister attended today and they refer to NHC as the “Rock and Roll Church” so NHC did not disappoint.

Pastor Dave laid out a pretty serious message today about how we may take on more plates than we can handle sometimes. I have to say - that hit home. Guilty as charged. I for one, know that sometimes I need to learn to say no. Sometimes, well no - pretty darned often, I know I tend to not know how to use that No word when I know I should. Did it today!!! I know I use staying busy as an excuse to not deal with things I know I need to. So I’m going to start now. Please don’t be hurt when you ask me if I can take on something or do something if I say no. Davie laid out the 4 plates God intends for us to carry. GOD - SPOUSE - KIDS - HIS (God’s) PURPOSE/PLAN FOR MY LIFE. So when it comes to taking on things I gotta make sure I’m putting God first. Now I don’t have the spouse - so I guess I get to skip ahead and put Taira second. And then comes God’s purpose and plan for my life. I’ve got to start recognizing what that truly is before taking on anything else. However, there’s not a doubt in my mind that tonight - he plans for me to share a piece of me with these kids because in doing that - I will be sharing HIM with them.

Yo Adam - Read any good books lately?

• Hugs from friends
• Smiles from strangers
• Friends…period!
• Friendly text messages
• E-mails
• Cards or handwritten letters in the REAL mail (cuz who gets THAT anymore?)
• Random phone calls from friends for no reason at all
• Finding old friends
• My daughter
• Riding my horses
• My always happy to see me dogs
• Having hay and feed for my animals
• Sundays at NHC
• Youth
• Babies (even the ones with stinky diapers)
• A made bed, vacuumed floor, dusted furniture, clean dishes
• Candlelit rooms
• Shrimp (oh yeah!)
• Fresh shavings in a horse stall (gotta be a horse person to relate).
• A fresh mowed yard and bush-hogged pasture (this made me happy just yesterday)

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