what has been happening in my life..

I often am amazed by watching God work in, around and through me. When I am joyful and looking for glimpses of Him and when I am sad, weary and not looking for glimpses of Him. God is always God. He is always teaching me to be more like Him. He is always drawing me closer to His heart.

In the past few weeks, I have experienced God using me inspite of my weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I have seen Him give me words when I felt like I had none. I have seen Him stop me from hitting burnout with a timely bout of illness that forced me to rest for almost 3 weeks.

He allowed me to spend time with dear friends in Florence, Italy a few weekends ago.

He brought my brother and sister in law to visit me for a week. It was so good to see them! After taking them to the airport on Tuesday morning I cried most the drive back.

There is something so sweet about face to face time with people who have known me and loved me for a long time. I enjoyed taking them to France

and Switzerland

and other parts of Germany while they were here. They got a lot of rest... which I think they needed. :-)


I was able to take them to these places because... drumroll please.... God provided a car! :-)

I love how God has taken me through this car process... a lot of waiting on Him and watching Him handle the details. Isn't that how life usually goes? When we allow God to really be in control of our lives He works things out for our best.

Biography poem

So my dear friend Bekah who has a birthday this weekend... had this on her blog and she ended it with.. "Try it"... so here I am trying it... not because I am bored... but because I miss my friends and Bekah is one of the dear friends I miss a TON.

So here it is.. the biographical poem... these things are hard for me to do...

Melissa
Loyal
Sister of Matthew and Michael
Lover of beauty, connections, and travel
Who feels joy usually, forgiveness quickly, and sunburns occasionally
Who needs close friends, variety, and trust
Who gives grace, truth, and the occasional witty remark
Who fears moths, being misunderstood, and not making a difference
Who would like to see the people I love, how to live a balanced life, and if the dollar will gain strength any time soon.
Resident of Kandern, Germany
Wright

A near death experience anyone?

Enjoying a cappuccino in Florence Italy this weekend.

I was reading in Romans this weekend and came across chapter 6 verse 13. "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness"

"as those who have been brought from death to life" I know people who have had "near death" experiences. Those people view life differently after that experience. They appreciate their life more. They value everything around them, all their experiences and relationships, more than before their life flashed before their eyes. They tend to live more intentionally and with more purpose.

It is like they were given a whole new chance to live a whole new life!

And that is what God has done for us! Given us a whole new life! I sat there reading in Romans and marveling again at the amazing gift of life that God has given to me.

I suppose that those who have had near death experiences can more fully understand the sheer awesomeness of this gift and how such an experience changes your life. But since I was saved from eternal death to eternal life it dramatically changes my life.

I should live every day, every moment, through the eyes of one who had a near death experience and lived to not only talk about it... but to live more alive and with more purpose.

Anyway, I was just struck again with the awesome magnitude of what God has done for us and I wanted to share.

And here is a photo from Ethiopia... I hope to write more about that soon.

Lord, give me YOUR eyes

I arrived back from Ethiopia on Saturday morning. Sunday I went to a wine festival parade in a nearby town. As I watched the parade go by, tears stung my eyes as I thought of how these people in their cultural costumes need Jesus just as much as the people in Ethiopia.

We all need Jesus, no matter if we have a house with 20 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms or a tent with no bathrooms that you share with 143 others or a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath house.

Jesus goes beyond our circumstances to the core of who we are inside. It is not our outer circumstances that define us.

A friend sent me a link to this song by Brandon Heath called Give Me Your Eyes. As I watched it tonight I was reminded of what God showed me at the Parade yesterday.

Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

Ethiopia

So tomorrow morning I get up at 3:30 am to begin my journey to Ethiopia. I will be returning home on the 20th of September.

Why am I going?
Because I am part of a leadership team that is helping to prepare the next generation of leaders for Agape Europe. We call the 2.5 year program, Next Generation Leader Development.. or NG for short. 20 participants from all over Western Europe are gathering to begin this program together in Ethiopia. We (participants and leadership team and guest speakers) will be out of our normal elements to learn about community, leadership, serving, shepherding, stewarding. We will be praying a lot, building houses, discussing and learning.

Many of you know that I respond involuntarily with tears and a deep heart connection to some key events... 1 being when someone comes to know the Lord as their saviour and the other being when I hear stories, see photos or see video footage of people who are desolate. Many of my dear friends have spent time in Sudan and Burundi and their stories choke me up every time. I know that my instant reaction to a story is empathy. It is not hard for me to imagine the way a person feels.

I know that where we are going we will be around many Christians. I know we will see and be among extreme poverty. I know I cannot walk away unaffected.

And there is much unknown about this trip.. but the one main thing that I know.. beyond a shadow of a doubt.. is that God knows! And in that I want to rest.

Pray for me?