You Are Never One of Many to Me...

"You are never one of many to Me. You are precious and dear to My heart, yes, even as a very special treasure. For I love you more than you can ever comprehend, and I long to gather you in My embrace and hold you close to My heart. Do not hold Me at arm's length because you have a sense of unworthiness. Have you not read that the redeemed are brought near by the blood of Christ? Your sins are not covered: they are washed away!! They are not only forgiven: they are forgotten!!"

Adapted from "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts

I read this today and loved the way the writer reveals the heart of God.

"You are never one of many to me."

A Quick Trip...

As I type this I am driving, okay not driving, riding in the van on our way home from Nashville.

Denny and I had a GREAT time last night in Nashville at a fundraiser for S.E.E.K. a ministry that helps people in Kenya. We had been talking about wanting to get away for an evening, just the two of us, when we received the invite to this event. It was an excellent benefit put on by Barbara Mandrell's daughter Jaime.

We got to see our friends Matt and Christy again. We always love hearing Christy sing, and Matt was tearing up the mandolin (impressive).

We also loved hearing Mike Farris and The McCrary Sisters. Oh my. SOOOO incredibly talented. I had never heard of them prior to this, but obviously others have, because Mike has won a Dove Award. Which is probably the most prestigious award given to Gospel Artists.

And I also THOROUGHLY enjoyed watching my musical hero, Barbara Mandrell, enjoying the evening. If there was a "congregational worship leader" present, she was it!

I haven't heard any totals, but I know that there was a lot of money raised. Glad we traveled, and got to be a small part of God's plan for this ministry.

Here's some pics from the evening.

Mike Farris and The McCrary Sisters

The Mandrell Sisters...still lookin' GOOD!

Matt and Christy

In Need of Something Real

I have found myself in a bit of a funk lately. I would love to tell you all about it, but I haven't quite figured it out myself. I can't "label" it. I'm not sure why I find myself at this place. I'm not sure how to describe it. But in the midst of the "funk" I've yearned for something real, and I CAN describe what I mean by that.

I've yearned for "real". Real stories of God, not in Bible days, but in modern day, and how He's moving in the lives of His people here and NOW. I haven't just yearned for it, I've been desperate for it. I'm not sure why that desire manifested itself, I just know that it has burrowed it's way into my heart.

What I love about God and the way He works is that HE knows what we need, when we need it. I hadn't told anyone about how I was feeling. To be honest, I hadn't even had any long discussions with God about it. But one day this week I was sitting at home watching TV, when I felt a stir in my heart and I said to God, "I need something real Lord."

About that time Denny said, "I want to read you a story from the book I'm reading. I think you'll like it."

To be honest, my first thought was a sarcastic "Great. Denny's gonna read me a story."

Denny came into the family room and sat down and started reading. He hadn't spoken three words before my tears began to flow. I felt God's presence immensely. I got up from my chair, trying to hide my tears, and turned off the TV so I could give HIS story my full attention.

Denny began reading a story to me about a man named Richard Stearns. He was the CEO of Lenox a company that sells China and dinnerware. One day a friend who worked for World Vision was speaking with Richard, and he said something to this effect, "Richard, World Vision is in need of a President, and every time I pray about who it should be, you come to mind." Richard, basically said, "I'm not interested. I'm not the man for that job."

I'm not going to tell you all the details, but in short, the rest of the story was about the incredible way God revealed himself, in the next six months or so of Richard's life, through people and circumstances, until Richard knew that he WAS the man God wanted to lead World Vision.

I was teary eyed through the whole story as Denny read to me the MANY ways God revealed himself in the here and now. A modern day man. A modern day God. And as Denny read, my faith increased.

But it didn't stop there, God continued to give me more stories throughout the week of how HE is showing off in the lives of modern day people....and in doing so He showed Himself greatly in my life by fulfilling my desire for something "real".

I'm so thankful for Jesus. Thankful for the personal relationship that He has invited us to have with Him. Thankful that the relationship is REAL. That He answers when we call to Him. That He met me in the middle of my "funk".

How is it that you need Him today? What "real" thing do you need? May you call on the One who has proven himself faithful for generations.

"Call to me, and I will answer you...." Jeremiah 33:3

(the book Denny read to me from was "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns)

BTW, in case you're wondering, yes, Denny is still a Children's Advocate for Compassion International, but we obviously support all who help those in poverty.

25 New Questions

My friend, Mary, tagged me on Facebook with these 25 questions, so I thought I'd play along and answer them too!

1.1.21. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT? Uh, shaving my legs? Maybe? Not sure. Can’t really think of any scars. Just emotional ones. Ha.

2. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP? I don’t know, I’m asleep. "Denny?" Denny says “no”.

3. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? Primarily Worship Music. My favorite recordings are live worship services. Though I love a variety of styles of music. If I’m not listening to worship music, I’m typically listening to country music. But I'm havin' a hankerin' for some Gladys Knight right now.

4. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want” ha.

5. WHAT DO YOU MISS? Knots Landing. Ha. I don’t know, what do I miss? Hmmm…missed stopping at that red light today. Tee hee

6. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC? Yes, actually, I do. And then I go into a panic attack and it’s all downhill after that.

7. THE LAST THING TO MAKE YOU CRY? An e-mail I typed to some friends this week

8. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? McDonalds Fish Fillet

9. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME? pink

10. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED: 55

11. FAVORITE QUOTE? Can I put a scripture? “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things, things that you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

12. FAVORITE PLACE? Home

13. MET ANYONE FAMOUS? Yep. Spent a couple weekends hangin' out with Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor from the Young and Restless) I’ve met Barbara, Louise and Irlene Mandrell. Rupert from Survivor. Had a brief conversation with Beth Moore (Bible teacher) one time. Travis Cottrell. Lisa Whelchel (facts of life)…

14. FIRST JOB? First real job? Was a teller at a bank.

15. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOULMATE? Hmmm…don’t know.

16. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY? no

17. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST? Hmmm…don’t know.

18. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON? Not typically, but it sneaks up on me every once in a while, and I have to nip it.

19. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES? Well since my given name is Melissa, I’d have to say my most popular nickname is Missy. Quite a few relatives call me Missy Jo, My Grandma nicknamed me Greta , friends at work call me “donk” and others call me “Miss-I”.

20. IF YOU HAD A SUPER POWER WHAT WOULD IT BE? I had to ask my 8 year old what he thought. We decided it would be to fly.

21. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Since I work at a CBS Affiliate I should name all CBS Shows. Ha. I do like the amazing race (and many other CBS shows). But to be honest, I’m in a season of life that is busy enough that I don’t do “appointment” TV. The only TV show that I ever really watch fairly routinely is Anderson Cooper 360.

22. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES? Love them

23. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Don’t really have a favorite ice cream flavor. I do like butterscotch Sundaes.

24. FAVORITE SEASON? Let me just name my least favorite - winter

25. WHAT’S ONE THING YOU’RE WORKING ON? A new CD

Let me know if you play along and answer the questions too. I'd like to read your answers!

Nice to be "Off"

Vacation. I love it.

We've been on vacation since July 2nd, and I have SOOOO enjoyed it. We actually did a "staycation" this year. In January, we made a commitment to ourselves to pay off some debt, so when it came time to plan a vacation, we went back and forth on what to do, and decided to stick with our commitment, and we stayed home. That was just one of the reasons.

Another reason that I looked forward to a "staycation" was I didn't want to think. I didn't want to think about where we were going, how to get there, what we had to take with us etc, etc. Our family has had a really busy life the past 9 months and I felt that we simply needed "down" time.

I started feeling myself slip into the "off" mode about a week or two prior to vacation. For instance, e-mails that I would normally answer, didn't get answered unless they demanded a response. Sorry.

The only thing that I was not looking forward to about staying home was, I didn't want to cook. But God took care of that. On Friday, July 2nd, we had a check in our mail for $400. We figured since the timing of the money came exactly at the timing of the vacation, God was wanting us to have a little extra cash to enjoy extra "vacation" things. So we ate $400 worth of food and gained 300 pounds. ha.

We cleared our schedules of all responsibilities, including worship leading. We commited ourselves to nothing, and only did things we wanted to do. We joked about our house being a condo and our pool being the beach, and we did what we would do if we were at the beach. We swam every day, read books, soaked up some sun, ate out, went to the movies, ate out, went to a theme park, ate out, went shopping, ate out....you get the drift. Now that I think about it, I haven't done my hair since July 3rd. Poor Denny.

Anyway, all that to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed my family. I have thoroughly enjoyed turning "off". Escaping. Resting. Playing. Only doing what we wanted, when we wanted. I pray that if you need rest, that God will grant you rest as well.

Tomorrow....back to real life.