How do you measure success? Bank account balance? Square footage? Number of toys? Test scores? Wednesday morning I was in a panic. I was measuring my success by my student’s performance on a test. What if they performed badly? What if my pass rate failed. I was allowing my entire school year to rest on the merits of one test. But God, who is rich in mercy, reminded me of...
Thriving!
Just recently, I was asked to speak at church in my area. I was asked before everything was shut down. So I just assumed the date had been cancelled. Five days before I was scheduled to speak, my friend called to confirm. I had nothing… I was busy with work, so I had very little time to prepare. But I felt as if God wanted me to say yes to...
Choose Love
Fear is a powerful motivator. It was present in the garden. (Eve feared she was withholding.) Feared caused Abraham to lie about his marital situation. Pharaoh was motivated by fear when he oppressed a nation of people. The Pharisees feared loosing their status so they crucified an innocent man. The Holocaust was motivated by fear of a people group. The Jim Crow laws were motivated by fear. Separation, greed, cruelty,...
Faith that Pleases God
I’ve been meditating on this scripture the last two mornings: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NKJV Steven Furtick said, “Faith is God’s love language.” I want to speak God’s love language. As I meditate on this scripture, I’m asking God, what does...
Love Well
Yesterday at church we had a guest speaker, Nick Gough. He was very prophetic but had a pastor’s heart. One of the things I discerned about him was that he loved people well. And while I was in awe of his prophetic gift, what I really craved was his unconditional love for people. My heart yearns to love people well. I want to love without judging. I want to love...
Positivity
Each year I am overwhelmed by students asking for letters of recommendations. To help write a letter that is personal, I ask the students to complete a survey. This response captured my heart. What was your favorite memory from my class? “My favorite memory of calculus BC would have to be being greeted by you everyday. No matter what was happening that day or how long the week felt you...
Good and Loved
How to wait on God – Lesson 7 One of my favorite Christian artist, Travis Green, has a new album debuting in October. He has released one of the songs from his new album to YouTube, Good and Loved. I had listened to it a few times but was not particularly impressed. But God would use this song to reveal to me the most profound lesson of all: “Melissa, while...
This is How We Fight
At this moment, I have been hurt by someone. I have been praying, avoiding, and maybe a little sulking. In a month I will be speaking at the Belonging Conference in Apex (ironic right?). Yesterday, as I I was driving to church, I was preaching to myself. God was giving me my sermon for the conference. I love it when God does that! He was showing me connections in the...
A Sweet Aroma
It was eleven years ago. I was standing in front of my class teaching and this young man walked in. At our school, some of the higher functioning students with mental disabilities came to our rooms to collect the recyclables. He was one of those students. He walked right in and interrupted my lesson to tell me he had seen Horton Hears a Who over the weekend. He went on,...
What is your Why?
Can I ask you a question this morning, my Facebook friends? Why do you what you do? Why will you get up and go to work this morning? Why will you pray today? Why will you post or repost on Facebook? Why will you do laundry, wash dishes, make beds? Why do you vote for a particular candidate? Why do you go (or not go) to church? Why do we...