"I Just Got a Job!"

Ok, so I just got a call from my girlfriend, Donna (she's also our senoir pastor's wife). She is the HR director for a educational company in Baltimore. She asked me if I would be interested in grading papers from home for her company. The pay is only $7 or $8 an hour, but that's more than what I make now. I was dumbfounded and for a moment was completely speechless. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I said yes, of course I would love to grade papers. She said ok and we hung up. I looked at my parents and Scott and said, "I just got a job!" I'm still totally stunned!

I am consitantly amazed at how God moves and directs our lives. We open up our lives to Him and He cares for us. He just plops things in our laps sometimes. His blessings abound and never cease to amaze me!

A Day With Nana and Papa...

Natalie went with Nana and Papa today for the whole day to Lancaster County. It was a nice respite for me to have the day to myself. Scott and I had lunch at Chili's and then we went to the Apple store. I ran some errands and cleaned up the house before settling in to make a few books.

I think that Natalie had much more fun than I did. My parents wanted to go to Lancaster County, PA today to find some significant places in the Martin family ancestry. (I will tell you more about the adventure into the Martin history in another blog.) Natalie thought they were taking her car, but there wasn't a whole lot of room for Nana and Papa's stuff.


So Natalie decided to just walk...


Bye!!!

Ok, so now they are ready to go. Say CHEESE!

Their day included visiting some graveyards were our ancestor who first came to America in 1732 are buried. Natalie helped push the stroller.

She was fascinated by the gravestones (sounds a little morbid, huh?).

And here we have a diaper change in the middle of a graveyard, which is in the middle of a corn field.


They stopped at a little Farmer's Market where Papa bought Natalie a big pumpkin and a little pumpkin.

Natalie is washing her "Pup Pup's" face after dinner.


All in all, they all had a blast! Natalie was so good and Nana and Papa treasured every moment in their hearts. Mommy had a nice day "off" too.

This is Me.

I'm Melis, and this is me in a nutshell:

I grew up in Wisconsin. Lived there for 18 years (except for a 2-year stint in Indiana) before heading off to Bible College in Minnesota. I thought I would meet my husband there, but that was not the case. I actually met him when I went home for the summer after my first senior year.

This is my man 3 weeks before we met. Hot, right?, except for that blasted 'stache! I met my man in 2000 when he came on staff at my home church as the Worship Pastor.  We got married the next summer and we stayed in WI for the next 5 years. 

Along the way I had a girl-child and finally moved from my hometown to the East Coast. I quickly discovered that I was meant to live on the coast. I love, love, love living here and hope to never leave. Over the past two years I've been pregnant 3 times with only one of those ending with a baby in my arms. The man-child was born this past spring.  I have been blessed to be at home with my children since before my oldest was born.  God has been very good to us along the way. 

Every once and a while I'll get an hour here or there when I get to step away from my role as Mommy, Wife, or Pastor's Wife and I get to just be Me.  During those precious moments I like to read, write (blog), hang with my girls doing whatever--coffee, shopping, movies, spa days, anything.  I'm a blog junky!  I love to read them, write them, wish I could design them (anyone want to help me???).  I contribute to the coolest Mommy blog out there.  It's called I'm a Lazy Mom and is based on the idea that being a lazy mom is preferable to being a crazy mom.  I would love to write for more blogs.  Maybe someday someone will even pay be a bit for posting.  Oh and don't even get me started on my full-blown addiction to Facebook.  I had a fleeting fling with Twitter, but now it's all Facebook.

One of my greatest passions in life is seeing women find wholeness and healing through an honest relationship with God and with one another.  I serve my local company of women through the Exectutive Board of Destination: excellence, an exciting cutting edge ministry to women.  

I have a great many dreams of future ministry and life.  I would love someday to write a book or books.  I'd also love to travel and speak into the lives of women.  In the meantime I am just enjoying everyday life with the most amazing family and friends!  I absolutely love my life.  I love my rockin' little family more than anything in this world.  We are simply the coolest group of people you will ever meet and my highest priority in life, second only to my relationship with Jesus.

So that's me.  In a nutshell.  I hope you'll come back often.  I love you.  You are a most precious creation of a loving God.

Are You a Book of the Bible?

This is me...


Go to www.quizilla.com/users/reflectedgrace/quizzes to see what book of the Bible you are.

(I stole this idea from Morlie's Blog page.)

Scott and the Transvestite...

So last night we were at the mall and Scott decided he was sick of his long hair. (I personally like his hair longer.) So we went to Penny's and Scott asked how long the wait was. The lady said it would be about 5 minutes. So I headed off to Williams-Sonoma (a virtual heaven on earth as far as I am concerned!). I was standing at the checkout just getting ready to pay and Scott called. He didn't say anything, all I heard was background noise. Finally he says, "Oh my gosh, I think I just did a really bad thing! Oh my gosh!" He met up with me a few minutes later and was breathless. So I finished paying and as we were walking out he began to tell me what happened.
It went something like this...
So Scott was sitting there waiting his turn for a haircut and saw a "guy" came out from the back salon. He went behind the counter and talked with the receptionist. "He" was dressed from head to toe as a women. He had a skin tight v-neck sweater and a short skirt on. His hair was fashioned in a short bob. He carried himself very femininely in spite of his five-o-clock shadow. Sooo...Scott, being the discerning person that he is, knew the moment he saw this "guy" that he would be the one to cut his hair. Without thinking he stood up and took off. As he walked away, the guy called out "Scott?" "Scott Ball?" But Scott Ball was all ready halfway out the door of Penny's and wasn't looking back. That was when he called me.
The way a person dresses and carries themselves says alot about who they are (or at least who they want people to think they are). Scott felt horrible and relieved at the same time. He was ashamed that he just walked out on the guy, but relieved that he didn't get his hair cut by him either. I couldn't believe it! How could you do that? How could you be so judgmental and prejudice? But then he asked me what I would have done if it had been me waiting for a haircut. Whoa...That's a good question! I honestly don't know what I would have done. I don't think that I would have had the quick reflexes or courage to just walk away like Scott did, but yet, I would have had a hard time letting the guy cut my hair too.
Pastor Alan has been speaking from the 23rd Psalm lately and just last week spoke on leaving behind goodness and mercy wherever you go. So I asked him, "did you leave behind goodness and mercy?" It's a hard call. The guy never met Scott. He didn't know if Scott had to leave for an emergency or maybe just didn't hear him call his name. But it doesn't really matter what the guy thought. Isn't it a heart matter for the believer?

So I ask you, what would you have done? Was Scott totally out of line? Did he leave behind goodness and mercy?

That's ELMO'S World!

La la la la.... Natalie loves watching Sesame Street after breakfast and before her nap. It's her routine. She knows it's coming and looks forward to it. This morning she was just relaxing on the couch with her nuky (only during Sesame Street, bedtimes, and car rides), baby, and burpie. I was cleaning the kitchen and just happened to look up. This is what I caught her doing.

She holds her burpie up under her nose like that when she's sleepy. But what I caught her doing was holding the burpie up to Elmo's nose on TV. I waited and waited to see her do it again so I could snap a picture, but she saw me with the camera and came running. The moment was gone.

Later, I looked up and she was dancing to the Elmo music on a water mat she has. She likes to watch the fish inside dance along.