Dear 16 Year Old Me...

I recently watched a video about melanoma that was created by people who wish they could have told themselves something about the symptoms and effects of melanoma and skin cancer so that they would done things differently when they were teenagers. This morning, I could not get this off my mind....

Dear 16 Year Old Me,

You should know that high school love does not last for most people and broken hearts are a real thing. I wish you would have known that when God called you to ministry, that it wouldn't always be in a building that is called a church, but it would be an inner city middle school in Las Vegas (like you ever thought you would live in a place called "Sin City"). You will have the opportunity to influence and change the lives of about 1,000 students and their families in the first five years of your teaching experience and you will actually be good at it and enjoy it. Your confidence will be found in Jesus more than anything else and you will relearn the lesson of finding your security, dignity, and strength in Jesus time and time again. Your first year of college will be hard and a little lonely, but stick it out... you will end up loving the experience and the people that you are around. You will travel to Africa multiple times and kids will love you there and not just because they know you were on homecoming court or you were semi-popular. Popularity doesn't matter forever, love for people will though. Stop worrying about what others think of you. They don't always really care or matter honestly. You will repeatedly get the opportunity to fall more in love with Jesus because of others in your life and especially because of the people you surround yourself with while you're in college. They will speak life into you and help your hurting heart and deep scars heal without ever even knowing it. After you move to Las Vegas, there will still be more heartache and more pain and more scars but you will still choose to trust the God that makes all things new again and you will get to renew your heart, especially your mind, in some times when you are completely alone. You will lose relationships there but you will regain the friendships that God desires for you. Your salvation will be the very breath of who you are and you must solely lean on Jesus several more times than you would ever think. You will find that your deep dark secrets and guilt are held in the hands of the God of the universe and He will change you completely and forgive you and open wounds so that they are healed. You won't marry your high school sweetheart (or sweethearts :) ) but you will continue to have relationships that make you who you are. You are good enough, no matter what you have continued thinking during your teenage years. There will be some time periods where you become depressed and life becomes dark but God will restore your yearnings for Him and you will not be able to get enough. You're going to make it. I promise. You will. Trust God and believe Him and surround yourself with people who really do love you and care. They will encourage you to trust Him more and more. You will have to wait for some things longer than others but they will come when He desires them to. Again, you will make it. You will.

Love, 27 Year Old Me

The Question of Ministry

This morning at Hope, we had a church planter that will plant a church in Salt Lake City in March of this year. He made a comment in his message and testimony, "We are called to be Christians everywhere." So true. Aren't we? I had no control before I mouthing "Mmhmm" aloud. I have been so challenged in this alone this week and last month. Every place we are is supposed to be ministry. I don't have to work for a church, a Bible group, or anything else to be Jesus. Jesus didn't start this grand scheme of craziness and chaos in order to share His life with people. He just lived. Bottom line. Everywhere He was, He shared the love of the Father. He didn't wait to go to the synagogue or a great meeting of Believers to perform a miracle. He did it in the simplest of ways in the most (what we would consider) meaningless places... street corners, water fountain, hillside... you get the point. In fact, the story I remember the most about Jesus actually being in a "church building," He turned over the table and got mad at the people for being too religious. Is that we have become? In our perfect, little worlds of comfortable seats and messages that convict us for a few hours... would Jesus turn over our tables? Would He rock our boats? Would be willing to walk on water in the deepest of waters to trust Him?

My prayer for you, and me, is that we would be Jesus in the simplest, insignificant ways... everyday, everywhere... we would be lovers of His very being and we would prove it to the world around us, not just because of what we say, but what we do as well....

Going to do that today... Melis

Good You. Grateful Me.

Jesus is beyond so good to me so I just wanted to share a few stories from the past month where He demonstrated His love to me.

1. The week before Halloween, we had a Spirit Week at school. Of course, that means I get to dress up.... so I decided to be a ballerina. I watched a tutorial online to make my tutu and was ecstatic about this cute thing. (Not that I'm overdramatic or anything.) I made the tutu and the night before I was supposed to wear it, I decided it looked funny long. After I cut the length, I realized that it looked funny short, then I realized it looked like it needed more. This was at 9:00 pm. Of course, all craft stores close at 9 and I just hoped that Wal-Mart's fabric section was still open. Called them, they were. Walked into Wal-Mart at 9:30 and had to wait a few minutes, got to tell the lady cutting fabric I would pray for her entire family. That was cool. As I was walking out, there was a homeless man outside (there are never homeless people outside this specific Wal-Mart). He asked for some money, I just took him back inside and bought him some McDonald's. He had the brightest blue eyes and I was overwhelmed with the thought of feeding Jesus... his eyes seriously shown. He was so grateful and it was a night changer for me. I think that God opened up the eyes of the sweet Wal-Mart employee sitting eating in the McDonalds as well. How good He is to us... all because of my tutu trouble.

2. A few weeks before that, I was out with some students feeding the homeless. We walked down toward the freeway where many of them stay and sleep. My students had never seen that before. Diana, one of my sweet girls, looked at me and said, "That's a life changer." You're right Diana... it is, gives me chills as I write this.

3. I was at school this past week and have really been convicted that I need to pray for my school more than I do and pray specifically for students who have reached out to me. I think I lost it last year and I really lost my connection with a lot of my kids. I feel like I have a much better connection with my students this year and am grateful because it is all Jesus. As soon as I was convicted about this, the next day was horrendously awful. However, the next day was incredible and the day after that, even more so, and after that, (it seemed unlikely) even better. Yesterday, Jesse, a student I had 2 years ago, came by and was telling me about God continuing to change his life. (So proud of these kids who have really surrendered their lives to serving Jesus!) It was so motivating for me and he has committed to pray for my students, along with David a student I had the same year in the same class who gave his life to Jesus fully last year. How good Jesus is that they would share that with me.

I love the people that Jesus places in my life and the goodness that He gives me daily. He doesn't have to do it and He chooses to. He is good and I'm so grateful.

He is a love like no other... Melis