James 2:18 says "But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds".
You may already know, Chris and I lead a small group Bible study in our home with several friends. Out of that an idea was born. Not only did we want to study God's word, we wanted to live it. We (our group) have begun a non- profit organization called Screaming Life Ministries. Our mission is this: Screaming Life is a group of Christians who believe that everyone has been blessed with talent and together we can give back to our community in BIG ways! Screaming Life was created to share our lives with other Christians, engage in our community and most importantly, share God’s Word. Be prepared for amazing events and fellowships, in hopes to provide to those in need, who may be your neighbor!
We have planned our first event for Saturday September 10 and it is a benefit concert for the family of Forest Jones. You can read about this tragedy here. Forest's family incurred a lot of medical bills followed by funeral expenses with no insurance to offset the costs. My heart breaks for the family and friends.
Here's the awesome thing... We had been wanting to move into action, but none of us really jumped on it; until one of our members, a 15 year old girl, said "We need to do something for this family". That was all it took and within days we were on the move. This to me says, never underestimate yourself or the impact you can have on people. Most people probably discredit teens as flighty, self centered or uncaring. But 1 Timothy 4:12 says "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young". This young lady is living proof that no matter your age, you can make a difference.
You can see the event page here and keep track of our progress. This is such an amazing opportunity to help our fellow man and really show the community what it means to be a Christ follower. I am humbled and honored to be able to serve the Lord in this way. Please pray for our ministry as we are in the baby stages of learning what it means to be a non profit organization. There is a lot of paperwork to be done regarding taxes, bank accounts and the list goes on and on.
If you've read this far, thank you! I'll update here on the blog as the event gets closer and once it happens, you can expect a pic heavy post LOL! Love you all, and thanks for reading :D
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Visual vacay
Just a few pics from my recent weekend away with Debbie
Overall, it was a great trip. I felt a little guilty that Debbie had to sit in meetings while I enjoyed the pool, but I worked through that pretty quickly! I'm telling ya, I could get used to chilling in the ocean breeze and just raising the little flag on my chair to order lunch which they would then deliver to me. I think I should have been a princess ;) Thanks again to my buddy Debbie for the fun times!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Life's a beach... no really
An awesome opportunity presented itself to me in the way of a girl trip. This weekend I'm going to Hilton Head S.C. with one of the coolest chicks I know, Debbie! I am so excited to get to have some girl time as well as beach time :D I've never been to HH, so if you have any ideas for sight seeing or fun stuff to do, let me know. Otherwise, I will happily vegetate on the beach under an umbrella, which isn't too bad if ya ask me!!
So nothing else really to do, except pack lots of sunscreen (as I am quite pasty) and prepare for an amazing time!
So nothing else really to do, except pack lots of sunscreen (as I am quite pasty) and prepare for an amazing time!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Would you rather? Beauty ??s
Magdalene of I'm not skinny, so what? tagged me in this and although I'm a bit late doing it, I had a lot of fun!!
1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows?
I would definitely part with shadows and palettes before my mascara and lip gloss! I could handle a naked eye if I could jazz it up with liner, mascara and a red lip :)
2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
I like my hair, so I don't think I would dig being totally bald. However, if you're talking just cut it real short, I would do that as long as my hair were long enough to donate to Locks of Love.
3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
Pink! Most definitely :)
4. If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
Clothes, because every time I go shopping for clothes, I talk myself out if it. To get stuff that fits me nicely usually means spending more money than I'm comfortable with. Not to mention, as a mom I rarely get to try on more than a few things at a time before Lilly gets bored!
5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?
I would rather the eyeliner as lipstick for several reasons actually. For hygienic reasons, the mouth is one of the dirtiest places on your body. No way would I put that bacteria near my eyeball! Secondly, I have some nice eyeliner colors that could easily double as a lip color, just add a balm and BAM!
6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
Sephora. The selection is great, plus I get my aunt's discount at the one in the Penney's near me WooT!
7. Would you rather use only one eyeshadow color or one lip color the rest of your life?
As much as I love different shadow colors, I think I be apt to settle for a neutral eye. Changing the lip color can change the feel of the look completely. Pink, red, coral, bronze, the possibilities are endless.
8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?
Summer clothes in winter, hands down. I can't stand being hot. It makes me sweat, after a while no one smells that pleasant and frankly, it makes me grumpy as all get out! No one likes a grumpy Melissa >:/
9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Bright nails. My personality is fairly bubbly so they suit my personality better. Sometimes I can pull off vampy, but it's more of a seasonal look for me.
10. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?
I like messy buns but since I have not mastered that art, I'll stick with pony tails.
11. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
I would rather skip nails but cannot imagine a life without lipgloss!
12. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? Or sharpie them in everyday?
I kind of don't understand this one, either way wouldn't you have no eyebrows? I guess if I had none, I'd have to Sharpie them in. I am not a fan of the "Whoopie" look. (Did you know she has no eyebrows?)
13. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
I'm more of a makeup junkie, so once again I have to sacrifice the polish.
Feel free to tag yourself on this one if you want to, it was lots of fun :)
1. Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows?
I would definitely part with shadows and palettes before my mascara and lip gloss! I could handle a naked eye if I could jazz it up with liner, mascara and a red lip :)
2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
I like my hair, so I don't think I would dig being totally bald. However, if you're talking just cut it real short, I would do that as long as my hair were long enough to donate to Locks of Love.
3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
Pink! Most definitely :)
4. If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
Clothes, because every time I go shopping for clothes, I talk myself out if it. To get stuff that fits me nicely usually means spending more money than I'm comfortable with. Not to mention, as a mom I rarely get to try on more than a few things at a time before Lilly gets bored!
5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?
I would rather the eyeliner as lipstick for several reasons actually. For hygienic reasons, the mouth is one of the dirtiest places on your body. No way would I put that bacteria near my eyeball! Secondly, I have some nice eyeliner colors that could easily double as a lip color, just add a balm and BAM!
6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
Sephora. The selection is great, plus I get my aunt's discount at the one in the Penney's near me WooT!
7. Would you rather use only one eyeshadow color or one lip color the rest of your life?
As much as I love different shadow colors, I think I be apt to settle for a neutral eye. Changing the lip color can change the feel of the look completely. Pink, red, coral, bronze, the possibilities are endless.
8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?
Summer clothes in winter, hands down. I can't stand being hot. It makes me sweat, after a while no one smells that pleasant and frankly, it makes me grumpy as all get out! No one likes a grumpy Melissa >:/
9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Bright nails. My personality is fairly bubbly so they suit my personality better. Sometimes I can pull off vampy, but it's more of a seasonal look for me.
10. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?
I like messy buns but since I have not mastered that art, I'll stick with pony tails.
11. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
I would rather skip nails but cannot imagine a life without lipgloss!
12. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? Or sharpie them in everyday?
I kind of don't understand this one, either way wouldn't you have no eyebrows? I guess if I had none, I'd have to Sharpie them in. I am not a fan of the "Whoopie" look. (Did you know she has no eyebrows?)
13. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
I'm more of a makeup junkie, so once again I have to sacrifice the polish.
Feel free to tag yourself on this one if you want to, it was lots of fun :)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
I love my fiends... I mean friends!
Tonight was our small group Bible study and if I may say so, it was awesome! I love digging into God's Word with fellow believers and the intimacy that comes from sharing your true self with others. Tonight's study was both refreshing and invigorating. Since it is summer we have decided to meet every other week, and I really miss these peeps when we don't get to see them.
We talked tonight about our personal "fig leaves". What does that mean, you may ask. Well, my interpretation is that they are the outward things we do to cover our mistakes or sins. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they sewed together fig leaves to try to cover their nakedness. So in an effort to apply that to our lives, I asked "What do you use as "fig leaves" to try to cover your mistakes?" For me, I know I sometimes have a hard time apologizing. I tend to try to do things to make up for the wrong I do and say. If I am mean to my husband, I try to do more housework, because that it one of his love languages. I would rather forget about my bad behavior and just cover over it with nice gestures.
Did the fig leaves work to cover their sin? NO! Do my own acts cover my mistakes? NO! So one thing I learned was that I need to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. I need to own up to the mistakes I make and ask forgiveness from the one I wronged. In the spiritual realm, there is only one way to cover our sins and that is to ask forgiveness from God through Jesus. His blood is sufficient to cover all my sins, past, present and future. What a reassuring thought that is!
So I pose this question to you, my fellow readers... What are your "fig leaves"?
We talked tonight about our personal "fig leaves". What does that mean, you may ask. Well, my interpretation is that they are the outward things we do to cover our mistakes or sins. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they sewed together fig leaves to try to cover their nakedness. So in an effort to apply that to our lives, I asked "What do you use as "fig leaves" to try to cover your mistakes?" For me, I know I sometimes have a hard time apologizing. I tend to try to do things to make up for the wrong I do and say. If I am mean to my husband, I try to do more housework, because that it one of his love languages. I would rather forget about my bad behavior and just cover over it with nice gestures.
Did the fig leaves work to cover their sin? NO! Do my own acts cover my mistakes? NO! So one thing I learned was that I need to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. I need to own up to the mistakes I make and ask forgiveness from the one I wronged. In the spiritual realm, there is only one way to cover our sins and that is to ask forgiveness from God through Jesus. His blood is sufficient to cover all my sins, past, present and future. What a reassuring thought that is!
So I pose this question to you, my fellow readers... What are your "fig leaves"?
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Did everyone get their hat?
I'm throwing a pity party and you're invited! Today seems like it was Monday and nobody told me.
Chris noticed two really big water stains on our ceiling and went upstairs to find that our hot water heater is leaking... a lot. Note to builders, the attic is not a great place to put a hot water heater. Lilly is over tired and has been a total drama queen tonight so it's an early bedtime for her tonight. I sat down in my recliner only to find that it is now broken. An issue with the phone company from a year ago that was supposedly resolved after I complained to several government agencies is resurfacing. Let's see what else I can complain about, right?!
Well, boo I say! Trials come at us in life and it is then that we find out who we really are. I was reading from my C.S. Lewis book, Mere Christianity, today and stumbled upon a great truth. Or not so great truth depending on how you look at it. "We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected: I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”
So how will I respond to this? Admittedly, a bit pessimistic. I start to wonder what else will go wrong? But I will choose not to lash out in anger. I know there are "rats in the cellar" so to speak. So my goal is to not let my current woes become an excuse for treating people poorly. Because, in all honesty, that is one of my faults. I can be quick to temper sometimes, just ask my husband :( My prayer tonight is that I will not let the rats out to play.
Chris noticed two really big water stains on our ceiling and went upstairs to find that our hot water heater is leaking... a lot. Note to builders, the attic is not a great place to put a hot water heater. Lilly is over tired and has been a total drama queen tonight so it's an early bedtime for her tonight. I sat down in my recliner only to find that it is now broken. An issue with the phone company from a year ago that was supposedly resolved after I complained to several government agencies is resurfacing. Let's see what else I can complain about, right?!
Well, boo I say! Trials come at us in life and it is then that we find out who we really are. I was reading from my C.S. Lewis book, Mere Christianity, today and stumbled upon a great truth. Or not so great truth depending on how you look at it. "We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected: I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”
So how will I respond to this? Admittedly, a bit pessimistic. I start to wonder what else will go wrong? But I will choose not to lash out in anger. I know there are "rats in the cellar" so to speak. So my goal is to not let my current woes become an excuse for treating people poorly. Because, in all honesty, that is one of my faults. I can be quick to temper sometimes, just ask my husband :( My prayer tonight is that I will not let the rats out to play.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
MIA??
Judging by my blog, it looks like I fell off the face of the Earth! But not really. Last week we had an awesome vacation in Florida, got to see some friends and spend lots of time with my favorite brother :) Just a quick update because I feel like I'm neglecting poor MRM. I'm heading to a friends house to chill in the pool, because, dang it's hot up in here! I'll write a more detailed post soon, but the cool water is calling my name, can you hear it? Because I sure do... melissa... Melissa... MELISSA!!! See it's getting louder so gotta go for now! Hope you're all having a GREAT summer!
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