Okay, so I wrote this yesterday on the plane, but the thing about being a gazillion feet in the air and flying over a desert is that there is no wireless connection. However, all this holds true today except the part about actually sitting on a plane.
I’m sitting on the plane on my way home from Las Vegas.
Oh yes, I have become quite the jet setter.
Unfortunately, I made a critical error and didn’t check in until I arrived at the airport, which placed me way down in the dregs of category B boarding. As I walked on the plane, I searched frantically for an aisle seat because, hello, claustrophobia issues.
Much to my dismay I now find myself seated next to some people who apparently indulged in too much Indian cuisine and adult beverages last night. The smell of scotch and curry is thick.
I’m not worried that they are reading this over my shoulder though because it’s safe to say they are out for the duration of the flight.
So now I’m just sitting here, breathing through my mouth, listening to some Christmas music because my iPod is on shuffle and it found its way to some holiday tunes. Who knew Christmas music could be so enjoyable in early September?
Oh, iPod. You know me better than I know myself.
Anyway, it was a great weekend in Vegas. I arrived around noon on Friday and Sophie picked me up at the airport.
We checked into our hotel and then immediately went in search of Mexican food because that is what we do. The concierge recommended a place called Lindo Mihoacan and the only reason I know how to spell it is because I still have the receipt from lunch. I couldn’t pronounce the name right now if you offered me a $106.
It was the first time I have ever been in a Mexican restaurant that didn’t know what I was talking about when I tried to order chips and queso. I was frightened for my palate.
I mean I once ate at a Mexican restaurant in Wisconsin and was able to order queso, which, granted, Wisconsin is the cheese capitol of the U.S. but still as far away from Mexico as one can get.
Which probably explains why the restaurant was called Charlie O’Brien’s Cantina.
The point is we ate a queso-less lunch, but did have some decent guacamole so all was not lost.
After lunch we hit the strip and played the slots for the next 24 hours.
Oh sure. Like we’d have that many quarters.
We spent most of the weekend at the Deeper Still event and it was incredible. Over the next week, we’ll be putting a lot of video and pictures up over at the Allaccess blog if you want to check it out.
You know, the last two years of my life have brought some huge changes. I resigned from my job and we became a single income family, which is a tricky proposition when that single income is based on a business that comes with seasonal fluctuations. I have been stretched and challenged in ways I couldn’t have imagined and have had my share of nights where I’ve been awake at 3 a.m. wondering how things would ever work out.
But in the midst of all that have come some of the biggest blessings of my life. I’ve seen God provide for our family in ways I couldn’t have imagined. After years of feeling trapped in a job that never felt quite right, I’m getting to do something that I enjoy.
And yes, there are still days and circumstances that are a struggle, where I still feel like I’m being pushed way beyond my comfort zone. I’m still learning to walk by faith and not by sight, which is hard for a semi-recovering control freak.
But like Priscilla Shirer said on Friday night, the purpose of the journey isn’t necessarily to get us to the Promised Land, but to get us to draw closer to God.
I find myself more drawn to Him than I’ve ever been in my life because He is where I find my provision. He is where I find my strength. There have been so many times in the last two years that life just hasn’t seemed to make sense unless I look at it through eyes of faith.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately worrying about what will happen or what won’t happen, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this once or eight hundred times, but I’m not a big fan of change.
But that’s life. It’s about change and it’s about trusting Him in the midst of those changes.
Even if some of them are as jarring as going from Travis Cottrell singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” on your iPod to being blasted with “Mary, Mary” by Run D.M.C.
On Friday night, Priscilla shared this verse from Job 42:5, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”
By the grace of God, my eyes are learning to see. To really see Him.
Oh that they would see Him more.
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That is so beautiful and so true..the closer to God stuff. And the curry…that’s true too, when it seeps out of someone’s pores, that’s just too much for me to handle.
I too have given up a high powered, high paying job to become a single salaried household. I do work part-time, but it doesn’t amount to very much. But I know that this is where God has me right now and I feel Him near me in this new life of mine telling me, “It’s time to be happy”.
Bless your heart curry. scotch and packed in a plane, weee- doggies!
Otherwise, it sounds like ya’ll had a good weekend. Have a good Monday and I’ll be looking for more weekend details in future post.
I LOVE what Priscilla said… “the journey is not about getting us to the promised land it’s about drawing us closer to Him.”
I have found this to be SO true in my own life.
Thanks for sharing!
Amen, sister. Love you.
Just wanted to share a neat thing that I learned this week about worry.
(sorry about the cut and paste)
http://wifeofasongwriter.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-09-07T22%3A24%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=1
I have spent this weekend learning about Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” and yesterday’s sermon at church was about Jehovah Jirah. This post feels like yet another reassurance from God telling me to trust & have faith. Amazing!
Mel,
I am writing about my journey with Jesus on a new blog he led me to start solely for the purpose of sharing my last 10 years of going thru a divorce and cancer and included in that is how God provided for our needs, how he brought me closer to him and how he healed me. I know what you mean about trusting him in times of financial lack and wondering how the bills will get paid or in our case back then, how I was going to afford groceries and shoes and clothes for the boys. It has been an amazing journey and I can say that I have not spent much time in a comfort zone. I am blessed to have met you and to watch the new ministry and season God has for you and Sophie. Now, when are we going to see you two on stage rappin’ with the praise team?
May God bless you with a special delight this week!!
Love,
Patty
I really needed to hear this today. Thanks so much for sharing and for being an encouragement!
Melanie – coming at you from a california girl….queso stops at the border! Seriously, good luck trying to to find it at a restaurant west of Texas! You’ve seen our commercials….California has ‘happy cows’, but they don’t give up the milk for a good queso!!!
In all seriousness….it is encouraging to read your words of faith and how the Lord is working in and through you. May He continue to encourage and strengthen you in Him and Him alone. Praising the Lord for and with you today….(and hoping you get some good queso this week)
missy
Loved this post because I can identify with you where you are in your life and where I am in mine and what God is teaching all throughout. Press on – Hebrews 11:6
Great post and I love that you said
” I couldn’t pronounce the name right now if you offered me a $106.”
Not one hundred dollars but 106, LOL
No queso?? What is mexican food with out queso? I would say hurry and hop on the next flight home but 1. You are home now and 2. You have missed a great weekend!
We’ve been a single-income family for awhile, but the income depends on the economy, so it’s in a downward cycle. I’m having to relearn some lessons God had taught me pretty well in the past. He is my provider, and I need to seek his will FIRST. I cycle back and forth between seeking him, and wondering how I can earn some money. Things definitely go better when I do the former.
Amen sister! My husband is a landscaper and we have been through the same seasonal issues. But we have seen God provide for us in times when we should never made it through. I would be at home debating what wouldn’t get paid that month, and then Kyle would call me to tell me that another account was just added or a big installation job came up. God is good and faithful. I really don’t deserve any of it, but He gives freely.
I just want to encourage you! I love knowing that God WILL do things in my life that I would never dream of. Not only will He take care of us (when we trust Him by stepping out) but he does it ABUNDANTLY!!!!
For you…..totally being in a new and exciting ministry has to be one of those WOW, GOD! moments. He’s really amazing!
I stayed home with my kids too….and honestly, it was the best decision. We consider it an investment! Now that I have teenagers (I work at their high school), the proof is in the pudding!
We didn’t go without anything that we really needed (even when we were in seminary and were really poor!).
Be blessed! You may not see all the why’s and how’s now….but later on you will.
Thank you for sharing your heart. Sometimes we think other folks don’t struggle with the same stuff we do.
I am literally and figuratively in the desert right now. I so needed this. Thanks.
Your eyes see Him so beautifully. Through the fear,the uncertainty, you travel the journey deep into Him. He has your back, and your future. I thought I liked your funny posts but your vulnerability is even more profound and compelling. Up in the air, yes, but with His sure catching Arms. Love, Annette
Curry–is that what it was? I went through several years at U of H, and could not walk into the university center where the microwave reaked of those middle eastern lingering olfactory imbalances.
Curry–is that what it was? I went through several years at U of H, and could not walk into the university center where the microwave reaked of those middle eastern lingering olfactory imbalances. Sorry. I’ve gotten in the habit of leaving two comments–more than my quota.
Oh how I wish I could have been there !!! Thank you for sharing a little piece with us. I love the goal not being to get to the Promised Land but to know God. That takes away a bit of the disappointment of not getting to the Promised Land yet and feeling a bit like a failure. What I do know is that I am learning more about my Saviour every day. That is ultimately the goal!!!
As for the queso – sry I didn’t come and have you bring me some cheese. We could have eaten that. Maybe you should just travel with your own – lol.
Amen, Sister, you are the miracle. You just are! Praying for your journey.
And this? “There have been so many times in the last two years that life just hasn’t seemed to make sense unless I look at it through eyes of faith.”
OH, I am walking this one with you. Thanks for making me laugh along the way. Wish you lived right next door–although the Mexican food in Colorado? It’s not da bomb. No. But the view is lovely!!
My husband and I moved in January of 2007 because a new door of ministry opened for him. I left a really good job in a larger city, and was not able to immediately find a new job in the smaller place where we now live.
God has since been opening other doors for me to do more freelance work, which has opened doors for me to do some volunteer work and to be more involved in my husband’s ministry.
As hard as it can be, I am learning that His way really IS best, and that He can enable us to, not just live, but to THRIVE in whatever circumstances He gives us.
Melanie–
great to see you this past weekend!
Any friend of Travis’ is a friend of mine…not to mention that you are pretty freaking hilarious.
Swing by my blog sometime…it’s not quite as awesome as yours (OR boomama’s), but I’m learning…I’ve been going for about 4 years and it originally started as a ministry to my choir/orchestra…it’s morphed a tiny bit now, but still helps me stay connected with folks…
See you SOON I’M SURE!
Amen and amen. I’m just going to travel vicariously through you. Hey, it’s much better than getting you to tote me along in your suitcase… and the breathing is better too.
All so so true. God just provides when we think we can’t even breathe another breath. HE IS SO good. I appreciate you!
I’m with you on every single word you said. From the salsa, to the sacrificing income to be home with my kids (it’s been a year now — giving Him LOTS of opportunity to show Himself!), to this season in my life where my eyes are opening more and more every day to see Him (He’s actually distanced relationships around me MAKING me look toward Him for companionship — I can see where it will be glorious in hindsight one day).
Preach on, sister!
Preach on.
Amen on all counts.
And why do people eat curry before getting on a plane?
Hey there – i have a week of blog giveaways going on this week. Love for youto stop by.
thanks, Leigh Gray
Amen and Amen. I needed to “hear” you this morning…because I so need to see Him more!
Thank you!
Tomorrow will be our last night of studying No Other Gods and I was just telling the ladies how much I love change. I could move a million times and be ok with it. I could have a different job every day and be ok with it. I could meet new people every single day and love every minute of it. But the thing is, I admitted all this love of change to them and sometimes I wonder if I am as willing to accept change if those changes come on God’s terms and not my own. Thank you for sharing what God is teaching you. I love how He helps the body of Christ learn from one another!
“By the grace of God, my eyes are learning to see. To really see Him.”
That sentence sums up my desire. And, it made me cry. In a good way though.
Hugs friend!
I am not a commenter on normal (I snicker at the word normal) days…mostly I just love reading your blog! This on rang so true in my heart. Why is it we seem to have such a hard time letting God handle our fianancial stuff. This is one of my biggest challenges. Thank you for your words today! It was worth the curry and confining spaces!
Andi
What a blessing to have your eyes open and to really see HIm – and to know that He knows your name! I went through a period in my own life when I “couldn’t look God in the eye” because of the guilt I felt for past mistakes that I had made. Truly by the grace of God, my eyes, too, were opened to who He is and who I am in His eyes. I sought forgiveness – it was given – and I broke free from the bondage of guilt and unforgiveness. Praising Him everyday since then! Blessings to you!
my mom encountered the same problem on the east coast recently. they asked if they could get queso and chips, and the waiter was like “what…?”
tragic!
Your blog is one of the best things about the internet. Just thought I’d let you know
I love your funny stories and I often share them with my friends and family… but when you share your heart and tell of how God is working in your life, it strikes a chord in my own faith journey. God is using you to reach out to others who need to hear His word. Thank you!
hi Miss Melanie!
just wanted to say hello and let you know how nice it was to meet you this weekend. wasnt it just amazing? my jaw was to the floor. Our God is so good–Everything and always More Than Enough. hope you have a wonderful day…
-Taylor
)
(the 22 yr. old student
You are an awesome testimony to what happens when we listen to and follow God’s prompting. Thanks for sharing your journey….
“So now I’m just sitting here, breathing through my mouth…” Hillarious!!! You crack me up.
Good stuff. And, you have Run DMC on your iPod? oh mercy.
Another great one, Big Mama. Change has so disrupted my life this past year (living overseas tends to do that anyway). But the Christian life is lived by FAITH. And oh my goodness, what a journey faith provides!
I love reading of all these awesome opportunities you and BooMama get to travel, meet and share. Highly unlikely I will ever get across the pond to go myself, so I rely on you to be blessed for both of us!
Coping with change and uncertainty definitely push me out of my comfort zone, but I know God is using it to draw me close.
Glad you survived your flight, and I look forward to your next escapade.
Thank you for your post. I have been reading regularly for about 6 months or so. I had no idea that you had quit your job to stay home so recently. I completely relate to what you must have been feeling, as I am in a job that I have always described as making me feel “trapped” and am desperately wanting to come home to be with my kids, even if only part-time. I am praying for the heart change of my husband, and for God’s provision in the change. Sometimes it feels lonely to feel trapped in your job, especially when it seems like everyone around you is managing just fine. Thanks for helping me not to feel so alone.
I just found your blog off of twitter and I am being sucked into it and I love that. I’m sure you hear things like this all the time, but I feel like your talking to my heart and soul. I am definitely doing to be a daily reader now.
Thank you for all the positive that you have in your blog.
Thank you for sharing that verse, wow! I want that for my relationship with the Lord.
Recently my husband has decided to work with FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and we are depending on the Lord for our money. It is always so encouraging to hear the stories of others as He continues to be faithful in that way. Blessings to you!
I relate. My husband’s job flucuates with the seasons; we have become a one-income family recently since I’ve decided to stay home; I lay awake worrying about how we will make it; my job as an RN never quite seemed to fit.
Ummm…I relate
. And I’m encouraged by your proclaimation to continue to trust God. I was watching my daughter today and thinking how she doesn’t worry. She knows she’s provided for. I want to do the same with my Father.
I am actually considering going back to work, in a slightly different capacity. It’s a scary proposition, but I will try to trust as you so eloquently describe.
We have been in the ministry for over 20 years and change has been the theme of our lives. I too stayed home with my boys while they were young. That is an investment I would not change.
I like you do not adapt to change very well. That is an understatement. It takes me about 2 years to get acclamated to a new place, and we usually are moving again by then. In the past 3 years we have moved 5 times. YIKES!!!
We moved to Fl. for my husband to go to Bible college. He pastored 3 churches there and then we moved to TN where he has pastored 5 different churches.
Each time we move has posed new challenges. We have struggled financially at times as well.
Now we are at a transition where we left a church a year and a half ago and have not been called to another church yet. We both are working part-time just to pay the bills.
God has been so faithful to provide all our needs according to His riches in glory. He has also taught us much in the way of faith and trust during these times of change. We can trust in the Lord with all our hearts. He is faithful. We just need to be obedient and He will do the rest.
Born and raised in Southern California…then lived in Las Vegas for 10 years..only to move to Nashville 3 years ago..I am sorry to inform you but I believe queso dip was invented by Southerners who thought salsa was too hot to eat. I had never in my life heard of queso dip until we moved to Nashville…
I think this is the first time I’ve really visited your personal blog and spent anytime reading. (I’ve really enjoyed the ones I’ve read and hate to admit that I like the Tori & Dean show too.) Anyway, you’ve about brought me to tears with this post (and I really mean that in a very positive way). I’m finally getting to know my Savior and really SEE him and it just fills me up so much. (So much that I’m bumbling through my comment here!!)
Thank you for eloquently explaining what I was feeling!
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