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Dear friends, family members, and to whom else it may concern,

Recently I have had numerous people talk to me about dating. You may wonder why I'm opening up to the public eye about something everyone keeps so secretive. However I think it's time we break down the walls of awkwardness and just be real with people. The common questions I get 'Why aren't you dating anyone?' or my personal favorite 'When are you getting married?' The answers are the same and quite simple; I'm not interested in that area of life right now. The past year and a half God has brought several amazing guys into my life, but there's a reason why it didn't work out with them. While I'm still questioning God on why nothing happened, I'm believing in faith that God has the perfect plan for me. I have my whole life to be with someone. I am barely out of my teenager years. I am still praying and seeking wisdom from God and friends where life will lead me. I'm waiting, waiting for God to ordain my love story and have me joined with my husband (whenever that may be). Yes there are societal pressures to hurry up and get married but to be honest I'm not ready. There are several things I want to do prior to be married (like graduate college). Until then I will focus on more important things and just talk to my best friend who is married what life is like for her :)
In Christ,
Mel

"All things come together for the good of those who love God." Romans 8:28

A New Adventure

As many of you folks know I have had a burning desire and call to spend my life on the mission field. I find joy, fulfillment, and happiness pouring my life into others, sharing the love of Christ, and enpowering people to help them improve their lifestyle and situations. For His glory, not mine. To see the kingdom expand. To share the hope and peace that lives in me, that deserve to know about. In 2009 I went on a mission trip to Cluj,Romania for roughly a week. As me prior to this trip what I wanted to do with my life I probably would've said to be an RN or own my own cafe/bakery (still a dream!). Coming back from this trip my world was rocked, and God continued to change my perspective on life and started showing me glimpses of what my future held.

In 7 months, 28 days (not that I'm counting) I will be leaving the good ole US of A to embark on a new adventure. I will be heading to Guatemala for 2 months to minister to prositutes, rescue them, feed the hungry that may be living in garbage dumps, clothe them, and much much more. I'm so excited to see people's lives changed, falling on their faces worshipping God, and turning their lives around for the better. This is just the beginning of what God has planned for me, my team, and the people of Guatemala.

Cupcakes, moving, and insight

It's literally been forever since I last blogged but I'm back at it again :) So what have I, Melanie, been up to the past few months? Well I went to California on vacation, climbed Half Dome at Yosemite, got a wisdom tooth out and still dealing with my battle scars from the IV, oh and I'm moving tomorrow. It's off to school I go. The past few weeks since getting back from vacation have been busyish, but I've still managed to have time to read a few books and get some last minute baking in! I'm actually finishing up some chocolate ganache cupcakes. I got the recipe from DC Cupcakes, and man I haven't tried them yet, but the batter is fabulous!

Anyway, it's back to reality I go. I'll be spending my days as a typical college sophomore would. Which I'm not sure what that all entails, but I do know that I will be cooking this year and have a full kitchen so that excites me. Hey, maybe I'll just turn my apartment kitchen into a bakery and not be poor after all!

Let us not forget as Christians we have a duty, the duty has been listed numerous time throughout the New Testament, you may know this as the Great Commission. As Jesus once said, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. If you're a college student who is a Christian I urge to follow through with this command and share the gospel with friends, professors, and other faculty you may come in contact with this year. It can be a very scary thing, but the Holy Spirit will guide you through it. Blessings and may you have a good school year!

Stop Making Excuses Part 1

True or False: All people are guilty before God? True. How is it possible that all 6+ billion people on planet Earth are guilty before God? Well it is, according to Paul when he wrote Romans. Paul states in Romans 3:23 that ALL have sinned and fallen short of God, therefore we are guilty. Paul also gives a clear example of people, Gentiles, falling short of God in Romans 1:18 to 2:16 and then continues with showing how merciful and gracious God is. God doesn't show favortism, he shows love. A love that we don't deserve, yet we're given at the cost of Jesus dying for us on the cross.
Whether you're a student who's just trying to get by without going into a large sum of debt, or a parent who's trying to good, you stand guilty before God. Yes, even the so-called innocent people in this world that haven't even heard of Christ Jesus. In David Platt's book 'Radical' he answers an important question he has been asked numerous times.  
       "What happens to the innocent man in the middle of Africa who dies without ever hearing the gospel?" Platt answers by saying "I  believe he will undoubtedly go to heaven. There is no question in my mind."
Do you get what Dr. Platt is implying here, nobody is innocent, not even those who haven't heard the gospel? If this man was innocent before a holy God he wouldn't need a Savior to come and rescue him from his sins because he's already innocent. Sadly enough these "innocent" people don't exist anywhere. We've all fallen short of God. It goes back to Adam and Eve in the garden when they took of the fruit they weren't suppose to eat. So we can thank them. Because of the fall of man there are people all over the world that stand guilty and not innocent. We need a Savior and the gospel.
      Platt ends this truth with this "All too often we view heaven as the default eternal state for humankind. We assume that our race simply deserves heaven, that God owes heave to us unless we do something really bad to warrant otherwise."

Stay tuned for part 2.

The Pearl

In every oyster there lies the ability

to produce something rare.

Truth like a grain of sand will produce

the pearl that is hidden there.

Young woman you are often mocked and scorned.

And told you never should have been born.

You want to run away, to hide your heart.

Your heart is wounded, bleeding and torn.

God makes not mistakes

every life is special,

every life is planned.

Seeds can sprout in sand.

Open yourselves up to the Spirit of God

Grow in grace and maturity

Be what He wants you to be

Your beauty your strength lies deep within you.

Young woman, young girl,

open yourselves up to God.

Allow Him to reveal your pearl

~Sylvia Hannah, Becoming a Lady of Virtue

Living in 2011 (2 blogs in 1)

So what have I been up to lately? Well I'm glad you asked! I've been working, being lazy, and working more. It's summer so it's perfectly okay to be lazy! But as summer has continued to go on I've become more aware of the society I am living in. What I mean by that is, I've become more aware of modern day issues (history is repeating itself), I've noticed why people don't like Americans through my observations at work, and I've began to realize who I am as a person and who I want to be.

The American Society:
1. We're very impatient.
2. We think people can read our minds.
3. The majority of our food isn't healthy.
4. We're a soda drinking country beyond compare.
5. If someone messes up, it's likely to ruin our day.
6. It's weird if someone offers to do a good deed for you.
7. Calling yourself a Christian in America is a lot different than if you were in Asia, or somewhere where Christianity is illegal.

So why am I writing about the American society? I don't have a specific reason, it is just some things I have noticed the past few weeks I've been working. I think often times people get too caught up in themselves and forget that we are merely just humans, mistakes happen, and we shouldn't get worked up about it.

I'm currently in the slow process of reading 'Crazy Love' and watching Andy Stanley's sermons on 'The new rules for Love, Sex, and Dating.' Through this God has taught/shown me some awesome things. Some of my closest friends are in serious relationships, aka close to getting married. They're just about 2 years older than me and it is so crazy be we're still young. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy for them and am glad God has blessed them with such amazing men in their lives. God has also blessed me with some amazing single girls, which is great. But through listening to Stanley's sermons it's come to my realization how much I am longing to know who I will one day marry. With my friends talking about wedding stuff and me not having much response it's made me a little jealous. Sometimes it's hard to be around them because we're just in completely different points in our life, but this has all made me realize something; I'm not ready to settle down and get married. I'm spending my time being single, growing in God, becoming satisfied with where I am in my life, and becoming the person who I am looking for to spend the rest of my life with. With all of this, I'm learning it's perfectly fine to be single, my happiness shouldn't be found in a guy, but rather in Christ himself. I need to learn to become satisfied with the people who are in my life now, the situations I'm in, and not worry about what the future holds. I can't tell you how many people have told me, 'stop worrying about the future, God has a plan.' But to me, it's so much more than that.

What are some things that you are holding onto? Have you figured out the direction your life is headed? I challenge you to seek God in absolutely everything you do. He gives us guidence and direction.

Untitled (Potentially Part 1)

I started reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, probably 3 or 4 months ago. I got to about the fourth chapter or so and stopped reading it. I could say I stopped reading it because I got 'busy', but in reality I stopped reading it because it was convicting. Really convicting actually. It got so convicting to the point that I was questioning whether I was truly a Christian and if I was living my life for myself or for God. So I put the book down feeling convicting and hoping all of this would go away. Maybe I was feeling convicted because I was angry at God for taking away someone that was special to me. Maybe it was because I knew I had lost my 'spiritual high' after coming back from Passion. Or maybe it was because I was lacking motivation and just didn't feel like loving God. However, today I decided to pick the book up again. I decided it was okay to feel convicted and guilty. While reading and once yet again feeling super convicted, I thought about a mission trip I went on 2 years ago. It was to Cluj, Romania. For a week I was surrounded by extremely poor, starving people. I went through an extreme reality check and culture shock. I witnessed poverty and hopelessness right before my eyes. Then remembered I wrote a poem about this trip Senior year of High School. I wrote it for my honors English class, and also as a reminder for me to realize how I have changed, for the better. This poem may not make much sense to you in this post, but to me it's a great reminder of who I should be living for.

As the American's arrive

Tears of joy fall like a river

To them we bring hope and love

Neither of us speak one anothers language

We only know 'hello' and 'thank you'

Luckily communication survives

Muddy, torn clothes is all they have

Scarped feet, and dirty skin

Running water is nonexistent

They draw their unclean water from a well

Playing soccer is what they love

We try to teach a new kind of love

We sing songs and share our faith

Some listen. while others cry in fear

My perspective on life has changed

I don't need materials to live

We've only been together for a few hours

But everyone is smiling

And wanting to play "Rata rata gasca!"

All we have to give is Christ's love and a hug

As the American's leave

Tears fill their eye, their hope is gone til we return

So I ask: Who are you living for? Do you really need to keep up with the Jones'? Is Jesus who you're living for, or is it you or someone else? Is it time for a reality check on your spiritual life? Just some food for thought.