|

Has God Called You To GO?

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Melinda Todd

Heart tugged and stirred. News flashed across the screen calling for my attention. A whisper danced across my soul some 12 years ago.

I’m going to Haiti someday, it said.

Um, wait a minute. What? I shook my head and went about my business for the next many years. But the seed was planted.

And then the announcement of the mission trip at church came so many years later and I knew. Knew without a doubt I was going. That deep in your gut knowing.

Haiti happened last year. Sprinted into my head and burrowed into my heart. As Jeff Goins puts it, I was Wrecked.

You can’t unsee it.

Can’t unfeel it.

Can’t unlove it.

But what do I do with all of it? There will never be the old normal in my world. Never again.

God, what do I do now? I’ve fallen head over heels. How do I function now? What do you want me to do?

In the last year the answers have trickled in. And now, I return in 13 days bringing my husband along this time. Praying he falls head over heels in love with the faces and country that have captured my own shattered heart.

Every detail God has met. Every. Single. Detail. - Can I get an AMEN? *We are SO close to raising our goal of $5,000 to give to the orphanage. |*| << That close.

And yet, I will admit that I still have some fears and anxiety.

What if something happens to us? What if we die? Gulp.
Will our kids be okay?
What if one of our children gets really hurt while we are gone? What if my hubby or I get hurt?
What if we get sick?
What if we hate it?
What if my husband hates it and I love it?
What if I hate it and he loves it?
What if the folks at the ministry don’t like us?
What if we all don’t get along?

And the most exciting and yet scary question of all?

What if we get the confirmation that, yes, we are moving to Haiti to be missionaries?

Because ultimately that is why we are going. Yes, we’re going to serve. But we’re going to see if this calling we feel is meant to be.

We believe that He is calling. But we’re willing to admit that we’ve been wrong before.

We are willing to do Anything He asks us to do.

Willing to risk it all. To be the Jesus Freaks and have some shake their heads at what seems insane and dangerous for a family of six.

This calling may not look at all like what we think it should. But to ignore the call would be disobedient.

So we jump off the cliff with both feet and hands flailing, trusting God to help us soar and land where He intends.

Has God been asking you to GO?

It doesn’t have to be overseas. Perhaps He is calling you locally. Are you pursuing his prompting or ignoring it?

Please share in the comments. We’d love to be able to pray for and with you.

And if you would be so kind, we ask for your prayers. That our gracious God would give us answers and for safety for us all. As well as for the concerns listed above.

Blessings,

This page contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, my family receives a very small commission on any purchases made from the links above. Thank you so much for supporting us in this way.

Posted in Words of Encouragement | Tagged Go, Haiti, missionaries, missions | 2 Comments

Do You Make This 1 Mistake?

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Melinda Todd

It was one of those hard mama days where I was flustered.

My four kids were fighting with each other and I couldn’t wait to get out of the store and go home.

I raced the cart across the parking lot to our white van, threw open the sliding side door and told them to, “GET IN!“ And then I stomped back to the back door, clicking my unlock button and wondering why the door wouldn’t open.

And then I realized there was no Camp Gilead sticker on the back window. Gulp. I peeked around the back of the van to where my children stood, wide eyed and mouths hanging open, looking at me like I had lost my mind.

“Oh my gosh!” I said as I walked over to the children, spying seats inside a van that did not belong to me. My eyes widened further as I glanced inside and discovered a man sitting in the driver’s seat.

I apologized profusely. Embarrassment danced across my face. Of course there had to be someone in the van. Not only could I not find my own vehicle but I had to pick the same van with someone inside it!

I shut the sliding door and looked around for my vehicle. It was parked in the exact same location, one lane over.

When we got to our van, I turned around and caught the attention of the other owner of the identical van. I laughed, waved, and pointed at my van. He smiled and waved back.

Once we were all safely inside the van we actually owned, I laughed. I laughed until tears danced down to my chin. And the kids giggled right along. I had to apologize to them for telling them to get in a stranger’s van.

It can be so easy to get so caught up in our busy lives that we miss the details telling us we’re making a wrong decision. Like hijacking someone else’s car in a parking lot.

Have you ever made a mistake like this one? Maybe you missed a word while reading and it changed the whole meaning of what you were taking in? Witnessed part of an event and made assumptions about the entire story?

Or have you ever tried to get into the wrong vehicle? Please tell me I’m not alone!

When we are feeling frazzled, we need to make a conscious decision to slow down and calm down before we make any decisions.

“Emotions are indicators, not dictators.” Lysa TerKeurst

I love that phrase. But I admit that it can be hard when emotions are overwhelming your soul to see things as they really are. When anger and frustration roll in, I lose sight of what’s going on around me because of the tunnel vision of my own emotions.

Calming down requires deep breathing and prayer. Once I get myself under control, I start to see the big picture of my current moment life. Emotional tunnel vision has consequences. Like scaring the bajeebers out of some innocent man waiting for his family in a parking lot.

What do you do to refocus when emotions start steering you in the moment? Please share in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends. Maybe they need a little giggle at my mistake today.

Blessings,

Posted in Words of Encouragement | Tagged emotions, funny stories, mistakes | 6 Comments

1 Simple Life Hack to Memorizing Scripture In Record Time

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Melinda Todd

How do you memorize scripture when time is short? I have one hack that will have you memorizing scripture in no time at all utilizing something you use every single day.

Using the calendar on your smart phone.

What? I know, this will revolutionize how you memorize scripture.

Super simple, so give it a try and let me know how well it works for you!

Here’s How:

Go to your calendar and create a new event.
Type in the entire verse as the title of your event.
Schedule a time for the verse to pop up – try to pick one that is convenient and when you are not going to be driving. Be sure to create an alert for your verse so it shows up.
Now select repeat and click on the everyday option.

Your verse will now show up daily on your phone. Recite it out loud as you read it and then allow it to go away until tomorrow or you can hit snooze and have it pop up again in a few minutes and recite it again.

As the verse becomes easier and easier to remember, go in and edit the bible scripture and remove a few words from it. Click save.

Now when the scripture pops up, you will have to remember the missing words. Do this until you can recite the verse from memory!

Tada! You have just memorized scripture in a very easy and fast way!

Now it’s time to start the process again with a new bible verse!

Share this secret with your friends! You could even have a bible memorizing challenge and keep each other accountable.

You will be memorizing scriptures like a rock star in no time at all!

What other ways have you found to memorize scripture easily? Share in the comments below.

Encourage someone else by sharing this post on your social media outlets and click LIKE at the top.

Blessings,

Posted in Words of Encouragement | Tagged memorize scripture | 2 Comments

What Happens When We Ignore The Sexually Abused

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Melinda Todd

When I was young, I often wondered if I had a stamp on my forehead. It must have read “Invisible” or “Damaged” – how else did broken, sick men know to try and take advantage of me?

Sometimes, those feelings can still be a constant battle. When a friend ignores a text message. Not being invited to an event. Feeling alone. Invisible.

When asked how your week is going, you smile and say everything is great or okay because to admit that it’s not, would show weakness. We learn we can’t show weakness because weakness breeds abuse.

Besides, we know we’ll get the brush off anyway. No one really wants to hear how your week is going. Very few actually want to engage in the down times of life.

We know we are a burden. A burden on those who know. A burden on society. A burden on ourselves. Probably a burden to God himself.

When sexual abuse is ignored, we learn we are alone in this world. Buck up and take care of your own. For what ever reason, we weren’t worth the effort to fight for. And we tuck that knowledge deep down into our souls, stitching it into the gaping crevice in our hearts, so we never lose it. Never forget.

With great effort, we eventually learn to fight. To claim our lives over the abuse. To shout, “ENOUGH!” from the roof tops.

A glimmer of hope that says we are worth MORE. And we grab onto it like a lifeboat adrift in an ocean full of hands trying to pull us back down. To keep us down. To keep us quiet.

There are many who don’t want to acknowledge the abuse. Afraid perhaps, that our mess will some how splash up on them. They will try and pacify us with platitudes like, “I’ll pray for you.” or “You just need to forgive and move on.”

And once again, we are left alone. Ignored.

Yes, we do need your prayers. Please, if you make this promise, do it. This battle is hard. Sometimes minute by minute. We never know where the next trigger might come from. Tv? Someone standing in the grocery line who smiles a certain way at us? A stranger’s stance that reminds us of our abuser?

We do need to forgive. But how? Many have no idea how to take the steps to move towards this. Is it just a prayer? Years of counseling? Do we need meds? Is there a step-by-step book?

The sweetest words we could ever hear? “How can I help?” Please offer to pray right now. Please offer a listening ear. Please don’t ignore me. Please see me. I’m here. I’m broken but I don’t want to stay this way.

* If you understand these feelings because you’ve suffered abuse, subscribe to my site right over there in the sidebar and you will get my step-by-step ebook on forgiveness. >>>>>>

As the body of Christ, how can we do better at taking care of our wounded? Leave your suggestions and thoughts in the comments. I love hearing what you have to say!

Blessings,

Posted in Sexual Abuse | Tagged how i forgave my molester, sexual abuse | 6 Comments

It’s Just Dirt

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Melinda Todd

My son rolled in the dirt on the first night of the camping trip. Dry, powdery dust loomed about and covered him from head to toe. And he loved every second of it. No regrets. Just good solid boy fun. And some dirt. And a whole lot of happiness!

How often do we choose to live like a 2 1/2 year old? Joyful and free. And remembering, it’s just dirt?

Countless people have told me they could not go to Haiti. They could not even contemplate living there. There are bugs, big spiders, disease, danger, and it’s far from home. Too far.

And on some level I can agree. But I feel like I left my heart anchored there. I flew home only to keep tugging on the chain that won’t break free from the soil it planted itself into.

When I think about Haiti I feel excitement and heartache. They dance together, sometimes a slow waltz and other times as a frenzied tango.

I can’t tell you why exactly. And I can’t tell you that I don’t have anxiety sometimes when I think about actually living there. Day in and day out. Gulp.

But what I can tell you is that we are all called according to His will but we are not all called to do the same exact work.

My friends who work in the medical field have my utmost respect. Because I couldn’t do it. And I don’t want to.

I can live with dirt and bugs (please Lord, no snakes) but I couldn’t live with blood and guts.

You may not be called to be a missionary over seas – shoot, I might not be either – but you were put into your own mission field. Maybe it’s in an office, a doctor’s office, or a library, but you’ve got a mission. Perhaps working with the homeless, a pregnancy crisis center, teen moms, widows, or another area of need. There’s a field to be filled everywhere.

See a need? Fill the need.

It’s actually quite simple. You’ve got to be open to it.

And if you get a little dirty, remember, it’s only dirt. And you’re washable.

* If you could do any kind of mission work, what would it be? Share in the comments! I love to hear from you!

And check out our GoFundMe campaign for our mission to Haiti! We’re 39% funded as of St Patty’s Day! That’s awesome stuff God’s doing!

Blessings,