The Warmth of Friendship - "Guest Blogger"

Let’s face it, it has been a cold few weeks. Just when you thought the chilling temperatures were on their way out, in comes another front, another system of bad weather. It is still Winter after all, it is a season that will come and eventually go.
There is no better time to put on something warm, drink a nice warm cuppa your favorite and wrap up in your most favorite blanket! The feel of fuzzy socks, fleece pajamas and your hands wrapped around your favorite book. Nice, Huh?
It is a very similar feeling when I am surrounded by the warmth of my friends. Maybe it is a text that says “Hey, just making sure you are staying warm?” or a phone call saying “Brrr!!! is it cold at your house?” followed by giggles from the end of the line.. Sometimes it is a general prayer for God to watch over us all through the winter storms. This is the most special kind of warming, the kind that warms from the inside-out.

Proverbs 17:17

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Maybe some of your friendships have gotten a little “chilly” and your blanket has gotten a few worn holes? Maybe you have neglected to mend some of those tattered threads? What better time to share a little warmth, spend a little extra time mending than the current wintry season. Sometimes just a little extra  and winterizing goes a long way.

Our friends can warm the coldest of days. You may want to try a new recipe?

Instant Drink to Warm Weary Hearts

Ingredients:

50% Affection

30% Commitment

20% Devotion

0 %  Selfishness

When I find it most difficult to follow the recipe? I often look to the one that created the most perfect blend for friendship – the Creator. We were not created to be alone, we were created to have fellowship one with another.

Proverbs 18:24

²⁴ One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

We can all make preparations for the cold – making sure that we have what is needed to stay warm. Our relationship with the Creator and our earthly friends is like having a warm blanket on a cold day…

My prayer is that you stay warm during this season of cold, taking special care to “winterize” the things that are important….and may you always be surrounded by the warmth of friendships.

Link for other posts on The ChatterBox 

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ~Psalm 139:14

This is the key verse and foundational verse for my book Just Be!. It is a truth that many people - men and women alike - fail to know about themselves. Or maybe we just choose to overlook it. Do we not believe it? Do we doubt it because of what others see in us? Do we doubt it because of what we see when we look in the mirror? Whatever the reason, this is a truth that we all need to hold onto and believe.

Have you ever felt like those around you are judging you based on your appearance (your smile, your hair, your voice, your hands or feet, your laugh, etc.), your personality, your talents and gifts? I know I have. I've been told how unfortunate it is that I have such a strong personality (I think mainly by those that I have not allowed to push me around LOL). I've also been told how my laugh is so annoying because it's loud - not quiet and dainty. I've had just about every aspect of "me" criticized at one point or another. But you know, I finally realized that these "opinions" of me do not matter. Why? Because "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" by my Father who loves me and makes no mistakes and deliberately made me the way HE wanted me to be made. He made me for a special purpose and I am no accident. He made YOU this very same way. You are no accident. You are made for a special purpose. You are made exactly the way He intended for you to be made.

There will always be someone that thinks they are better or smarter than you. There will always be someone who thinks they are better looking than you. But God made you, well YOU!! He made you unique. You are one of a kind. There is no other like you on earth. Sure, you may meet someone that has similar traits and that you have a lot in common with. But, you are the only you on the planet.

The next time you're around someone who seems down and just not happy with themselves or feels overly criticized, come up along side of them and remind them of how special and unique they are...remind them that they are "fearfully and wonderfully made". Be encouraging to someone today. And be encouraged yourself in knowing that God has a special purpose and plan just for you...a job that no-one else other than you can do because it is what you were created for.

Look in the mirror and see the beautiful and wonderful woman you were created to be.

Making Plans

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

Plans.....I've made so many plans. Begun so many things only to stop and start another. Sometimes feeling as though I'm on a roller coaster ride that just goes back and forth, up and down all of life's ins and outs. It gets confusing sometimes, knowing which way to go and which plan to follow. Never did I ever think that writing would be one of my plans. In fact, writing was NEVER one of my plans. It was the same thing with speaking in church in any capacity.

If you had asked me 10 years ago what I'd be doing today you most likely would have heard something like this: I'll have a couple of dessert café locations. Or maybe I would have said that I'd have a large bath and body product shop that was booming. I might have even told you that I would be working in a hospital as a Cardiovascular Tech. It could have even been that I'd have several nail salons with several strategically placed in clinics or drugstore/pharmacy clinics. Yes, I've been a chocolatier with a dessert café, I manufacture bath and body products, I am a Cardiovascular Tech, and I am a licensed nail tech. So every single one of those things was truly a possibility. But I NEVER would have guessed a Christian writer or speaker would have been on that list.

For several years now I've felt that writing and speaking was something I should be doing. I just never made those plans. Something happened about a year and a half ago though. After having been working in children and women's ministries for quite some time, speaking and teaching, things began to change. I began to change. My desires began to change. And, my plans began to change.

God spoke to my heart one day about the women and children I'd had the privilege to work with...He told me this was just in preparation for the future. I cannot fully explain what I felt or what I "heard" but I do know that God was leading me to something bigger. Not for me....but for all of His people. Not through MY words, but through HIS words, through HIS message for all of His daughters.

So, I made the plans, the Lord determined my steps.

Dream Big....Small Start

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin."
~Zechariah 4:10

Sometimes we are just afraid to dream, much less dream BIG!!  And when we do, it's tough when we realize that those dreams don't just happen overnight.  There are small steps to be taken just to achieve those dreams.  Taking small steps can oftentimes be discouraging.  But it shouldn't be.  Everything has to begin somewhere and somehow.

Take joy in every small step and every small beginning you take.  And then watch God work on your behalf.  With God, all things are possible.  And by taking those first small steps, those first small beginnings, you are putting your faith in Him to handle the big stuff.

Holy Conduct

As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. ~1 Peter 1:15

What do your actions tell the world about you?

New Facebook Page

I've just set up a new Facebook Fan Page for my book.  It is at https://www.facebook.com/handmelodie

Please feel free to like my page and to share it with your friends and family.  I will be posting frequently to this page with not only updates regarding any of my published works, but also with devotions and other inspirational materials.

Ready for Ordering!!!

My book is now officially available for ordering.  You can order at: www.melodiehand.com/order-now.html   Be sure to order a copy for a friend.

Just Be! - Almost Ready

My first book, Just Be!, should be completely ready sometime this weekend.  It has been a long process, but one that I am sure will be worth the wait.  I've proofed, reproofed and proofed some more.  LOL  Every time I think I'm done I find something else that I want to change.  But this is the last time.  It is done.  Just waiting on the approval process and then it will be ready for print.  YAY!!

When I Grow Up...

We always have a tendency to put our kids on the spot about what they want to be when they grow up.  Well, I'm still working on figuring that out.  LOL

I've done a lot of things in life...Nurse Tech....Cardiovascular Tech.....Nursing Home Activities Director......Chocolatier......Nail Tech.....Product Manufacturer.....Secretary for various companies.....Website Designer.....the list goes on and on.  And now, add Writer/Author to that list.

If you had asked me when I was in middle or high school what I wanted to do with my life I would have told you that I wanted to be a Physical Therapist.  I even went to college for a couple of years with that as my major.  But it became clear to me that being a Physical Therapist wasn't REALLY what I wanted to do.  The truth was that I really had no earthly idea what I wanted to do with my life. And sometimes I am still at a loss.

I can say with certainty that if you were to have asked me if I'd ever have a desire to write I'd have told you absolutely not.  Back then I didn't even like to read.  The only reading that I did was curriculum related materials.  I had "better" things to do with my time than to read.  LOL

However, I can now say that when I surrendered myself completely to God it became clear what I was meant to do.  And it wasn't just ONE thing.  No, I've got my hands in a few things now.  Each one has to do with tending to people's needs and caring for others.  Nail Tech stuck.  It puts me in a position to help people feel good about themselves.  And the one thing that I never in a million years thought I'd be doing is writing books (I now LOVE to read, by the way, and have a very large collection of books that is growing constantly).

My point is this, don't be upset if your child doesn't know what he or she wants to do with the rest of their lives.  Just support them in their interests.  Nurture their natural God-given talents.  And just pray that God will lead them in the right direction.  They'll figure it out eventually.  And don't be surprised if their interests and talents change over the years as they mature.  Just be there.  Just be supportive.  Just love them for who God created them to be.

When I grow up.......
I want to be all that God created me to be.
I want to use all the gifts and talents that are unique to me.
I want God's love to show in me for the world to see.
I want God to be proud of me.

Pre-Order Now!

I am now accepting Pre-Orders for Just Be!  at www.MelodieHand.com.

Local Orders:  Please go to the website above and click on the "Contact" page.  Use the form on that page to place your order.  Be sure to provide an email address for Paypal billing as well as a phone number so that arrangements for pick-up can be made.   Shipping Fees will not apply to local orders that are PICKED UP in Clayton, NC.

Non-Local Orders:  Please go to the website above and click on the "Order" page.  Orders are processed through Paypal.  Shipping fee of $3.50 is applied to all orders (this fee covers shipping for up to 3 books to the same shipping address).  More than 3 books will incur additional shipping fees (exact shipping will be billed).

Thank you.
Melodie

Welcome

Welcome to Just Be! blog site.

Just Be! is my very first printed publication.  And I'm very excited to be sharing it with women all over, from all walks of life.

This is a project that God laid on my heart in 2013.  Yes, I was a little slow at being obedient and getting the job done.  But, thankfully I serve a forgiving God.  :-)

More information about the book will be posted soon.

This blog site will not only be used to let everyone know about the books that I write.  I will also be using this blog to share some of life's "stuff".  Good and bad, that may come my way.  Hopefully, someone will get something positive from it all.

God bless.  Know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.