Happiness

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements in life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. Charles Kingsley

7 Steps to Success

7 Steps to Success:

1 - Make a commitment to grow daily.
2 - Value the process more than events.
3 - Don’t wait for inspiration.
4 - Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.
5 - Dream big!
6 - Plan your priorities.
7 - Give up to go up!

I want to do more than exist....pay good things forward!!!

Wow!! I did not write this,  but I really wish that I did!!! The way this quote is explained is exactly how I feel most days but I couldn't figure out how to say it out loud.  Making a difference in someone's life has to be one of the best things you could do for someone.  I feel this way most probably because I have friends like this that have made a difference in my life. I've seen it.  Knowing that I can cheer someone up or make them a believer is my passion in life and it gives me a sense of purpose.  I've been in the deep pit after losing my daughter and I know all about that desire to want to feel loved and inspired again.  Grief is a strange thing....takes a long time to embrace and a long time to understand.  It comes from out of nowhere.  You think you are good and your pain from a loss settles, but the triggers of the hopes for your loved one flash before your eyes and the experiences you could have witnessed send you thinking for days. One day you are doing well, and then gradually you find yourself  sad again. When things happen in your life that bump you off your desired path, it is good to have people that love and appreciate you by your side. They will lengthen their arm with an outstretched hand when you fall and pull you out of the pit and encourage you to keep going......they know because they have been there.  My dear friend who knows my familar pain and is an amazing friend to me doesn't even realize how much of a difference she makes in my life everyday.  I've told her several times but I don't think she truly believes  it. She is very humbled.  Amazes me!!! I want to be that person you know that you can depend on and look up to, and I want to know that I can make a difference in your life.  SERIOUSLY!!!!

It's a rare find to meet loving and non-judgemental friends these days.....it exhausts me trying. I think most people are hurting and lost and not sure what to do anymore.  They have no direction.    I am so very grateful for those dear friends that have been so loving and open-hearted to me with no judgement when I had no direction. I can remember a specific time when I became ugly with hurt and cryed out in grief and pain.....most people did not know what to say or how to fix it.  I gradually became difficult and grew distant and was struggling with every emotion known to man. My dear friends sat with me out of their comfort zones and showed their face.  They were the face of Jesus to me......a kind of love I never knew.  Sounds REALLY cheesy....but it's true!! There were many friends and family that loved me through a very hard time in my life and they continue to love me today . We all hope that these kind of people would surround us in our own life.....it would sure make life easier to get through.  Pay it forward when you receive it!!!! 

Proverbs 31:25

Be authentic and true to yourself and do it with enthusiasm!!!

In today's world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, find the courage to keep being yourself.  Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and beauty like no one else.  Be the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms.  Don't hold back and don't be afraid of what people think.  Above all, be true to YOU, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.  No it won’t always be easy; because when it comes to living as a compassionate, non-judgmental human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime, comfortably in your own.

Live with Passion!!! Passion is something you must be willing to express if you want to inspire others.  You can gain a lot of influence just by publicly expressing that you are excited and passionate about a topic.  Expressive passion is contagious because of the curiosity it stirs in others.  You’ll get people wondering why you love what you love so much.  Naturally, some of them will take the time necessary to understand what it is about the topic that moves you.

In life, you get what you put in.  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.

About me

My husband, Kyle, and I married in 2007.  The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful Rhodesian ridgeback named Zuri and the most amazing little boy, our lil’ monkey, Kade Patrick. And then we will always love and remember our other Rhodesian ridgeback, Maxi Poo who is up in dog heaven and our beautiful daughter whom we lost at 35 weeks of pregnancy, Cora Capri.  We also have 3 other babies in heaven that we lost to miscarriage as well.

I love all things creative.  I love to spend my timing making and designing things.  I love to paint, design and hand make jewelry, dabble in cooking; do landscaping, and interior decorating.  There never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish everything on my to-do list.  I also LOVE music.  These things are my therapy.  These are things that make me come alive.

I am a working mother who has an unwavering desire to maintain my personal relationships and commitments to my women’s study groups, spend time with my family, be in the Word, create the menu for the week, grocery shopping, workout, clean house and laundry, walk the dog and try as hard as I can to keep my sanity.  You been there??

This is my journey to follow hard after God, one step at a time, and to be real about it.  My journey has had its share of ups and downs.  I care not to ever visit the darkest of those days and yet one of the most amazing days in my entire life brought me more joy that all the joys combined.  Nothing can describe hearing the cry of your newborn son unless you have been there.    It was in those days in the summer or 2009 that I found a new meaning in life.  A rebirth into the person I was supposed to be. That day on June, 23 2009, my life was forever changed and I will never be the same again.   I am grateful for every lesson I have learned along the way. The blessings and joys have taught me to really appreciate the good things in life and to never take them for granted.  The sorrows and sadness taught me empathy and love.  There were so many people who loved me during those difficult and dark times.  I know now, didn’t realize it at the time, but all of those people were answered prayers.  Everything they did and said helped me to get through each day.  When I could not get out of bed, months after losing my daughter, there were those friends and family that came and sat with me, called me, cooked me meals, and sent me cards and flowers. They showed me LOVE.  Love was not always words.  These people came by my side not knowing what to do or say, and they loved me enough to sit with me.  They didn’t have to say anything.  I didn’t expect them too.  Just their presence helped me to not feel so alone.    

We were never meant to do life without God.  The moment we try it may feel like we don’t need him anymore.  And then it isn’t long until we are back in His arms praying for His grace and mercy.  My husband and I love serving a Savior who is also well acquainted with sorrow. I could relate.  I love to surround myself with people who follow Jesus Christ. I seek to be in a loving, life-giving community where we as believers seek to lift each other up as we strive to serve our Lord better and more deeply. It’s not about me; it’s about Him.

I decided to write this blog because it is the baby steps I am taking to write my story into a book. Along the way, and while I brush up on my writing skills, I hope to connect with others that love God the way that I do.  I am not a writer, trust me.  But Cora inspires me to do this.  She will always be the inspiration behind anything good that comes from my writing. This was never about me.  It’s about telling my story so others could find hope in there difficulties and trials. 

Just so you know……I post when I feel inspired, which is either often or not at all. Please check back from time to time to see if I’ve had anything to share since you last visited.  If anything that I share moves you to share, then please comment.  I’ve love to hear your thoughts.

Through Him,

Melanie

Just Be

This is one of my favorites songs that I had to share.  It moves me everytime I listen to it! 
You need to pause the music playlist in the right column in order to listen to this video.

Tiësto feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw- Just Be

I was lost and I'm still lost
But I feel so much better

You could travel a world
But you can't runaway
From the person
You are in your heart

You could be
Who you want to be
Make us believe in you
Keep all your light in the dark

If you're searching for the truth
You must look in the mirror
And make sense
Of what you can see

Just be...Just be

They say learning
To love yourself
Is the first step that you take
When you want to be real

Flying on planes
To exotic locations
Won't teach you
How beauty feels

Face up to the fact
That you are
Who you are
And nothing can change that belief

Just be...Just be

Cause now I know
It's not so far
To where I go
That I respond
It's inside me

I need to just be
Just be

Just be...Just be...Just be

I was lost and I'm still lost
But I feel so much better

Cause now I know
It's not so far
To where I go
That I respond
It's inside me

I need to just be
Just be