Author Archives: Melissa J

Good Bye and Thank You!

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I have had the great privilege of blogging for Families.com since August of last year. Not only is Families.com a great website, but it is filled with great people with wonderful hearts. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this internet family to share my love for Christ with others and will continue to do so through the Christian forums. However, I really feel led to move my focus to some other areas of my life. Don’t get me wrong though, I really have loved my job so it’s with a bit of sadness I … Continue reading →

Battling Our Giants

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In 1 Samuel chapter 17 we can read the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was truly a giant believed to stand about 9 feet tall! He was said to be a man of war even from his youth. One look at him brought on enough fear that many from Israel turned away. The reward for taking on this mighty Philistine was said to be great riches and servitude by their people. There was a cute young shepherd boy named David. He came forward with great faith to defeat the giant. He is not believed to be older than fourteen … Continue reading →

Mature Christians

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You can be a Christian your whole life and still not be mature in your faith. Fact is we will spend our whole lives with the opportunity to grow and still not have achieved the perfection of Christ. Thankfully God isn’t looking for perfect people, just hearts that long to know Him and follow Him. I’ve been a Christian a long time but I would not necessarily consider myself mature in faith. I am impressionable and vulnerable to temptation that can cause me to backslide into old habits. I want to grow and mature but the truth is, I lack … Continue reading →

Modeling Mentors

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In thinking about mentors in your own life, what is it about them you find inspiring? Whom you chose to model aspects of your life after is truly important. I have various mentors around me but perhaps those with the most important impact on my being are those who model a Christian walk with the Lord. The Bible shares a great deal about the importance of good company. Here are a few points: Proverbs 22:24-25, “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for … Continue reading →

Reaching Our Youth: Middle Schoolers

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Passing through the doors to where the middle school youth meet during church I saw girls laughing with one another, boys playing the interactive Nintendo Wii; to the right was like a little café where Italian sodas and perhaps even coffee could be purchased to raise money for the youth. The youth had what seemed to be an elaborate sound system and crew, 3 huge screens for videos or viewing the words to worship music. There was no shortage of places to make myself comfortable: barstool seats at a café style table, a gigantic beanbag to lounge on or, what … Continue reading →

Life’s Tests

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Not one of us will be exempt from the testing of our faith in this world. And when stepping out in faith we often experience risks, changes, sometimes tragedy, or face any number of different problems. Abraham understood this, Moses understood this, Job understood it and most definitely Jesus knew this. 5 of Life’s Tests: Change: Change can be a frightening thing especially if we’re used to taking control of our own lives. I’m an analytical person. Organization and direction help me to feel safe and in control. So when there is change in my life it is a test … Continue reading →

Tearing Down Walls and Starting New

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One of the hardest things to come to grips with before I’d truly turned my life over to God is that God was really capable of changing me. I lacked the faith He would because I’d cried out to Him and didn’t initially see anything great take place. Perhaps the reason I wasn’t seeing change in my life was because I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to let go of my old life. Once I was ready, I was at a point where I wanted to throw everything down. This is exactly what God wanted and needed from me. Because … Continue reading →

Reaching Our Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

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Reaching Infants When first coming to our church I was surprised to learn of the Sunday school teachers’ dedication to infants and toddlers in the way of teaching. Some might be wondering how an infant can be taught about Jesus. While I was working in the nursery as a helper at my last church, I took the advice of my wise aunt to talk to the babies while holding them or playing on the floor with them. My aunt would say to a baby, “See those trees? God made those trees for you.” I began mimic her ways as well. … Continue reading →

Reaching Today’s Youth

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I’m really excited to be starting a small series of blogs focusing on today’s youth. I will be attending various successful children’s and youth ministries in my home church and blogging on each experience. My hope in observing is to learn about what it is that draws kids today to a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to know what tools the youth and children’s pastors and teachers are using as means to reach out and impact the hearts of our young generations. I want to know what works and how I can make a difference in the lives … Continue reading →

The Blessings in Making Good Choices

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It’s pretty much a no-brainer that good choices are more likely to bring good outcomes, but I’d like to dig a little bit deeper here and look at why there is blessing in making good choices and why we should avoid doing foolish things: Father knows best: God has good reason for commanding us to abstain from sin. Sin brings destruction in our lives and sin is what separates us from a relationship with our loving Father who is the giver of every good thing. Those around us: The choices we make don’t always just affect us; they may affect … Continue reading →