Blog Reflection, #3: Encouragement

January 19, 2012 by · 2 Comments

So when I hop over to one

of my favorite blogs, I go for one of two reasons…

…the writer encourages me, challenges

me, or makes me think.

…the author has the ability to make me laugh and brighten my day.

I hope that’s true of my blog, at least most of the time.

Some days I share from the depths of my heart; other days, I tell you how much coffee I’ve had or what I ate for breakfast. Some days I’ve been laughing and smiling all day, others I cry

through my entire post.

Regardless of those things, I want barefootmel to be an encouragement and a place to smile, laugh, and cry.

Well, aside from the really, really weird days I have. Those could potentially be the days that you begin to read, roll

your eyes, and leave. 😉 (That’s ok…trust me.)

I seriously can’t believe I have five days (after today) left before my year is up. It kinda feels like a death, though I can assure you I’ll still be writing multiple times a week.

But honestly, it will feel really strange to have the choice of whether or not to blog each day. Yikes. Decisions…

I’m thankful for the chance to share some encouragement here and

there over

the last year.

And thankful for the encourgement I’ve gotten from others, too.

Nothing too profound, but definitely worth reflecting on.

G’nite. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, encouragement, where I am, writing

Just Liked This…

January 18, 2012 by · 1 Comment

I’m not big on quotes, especially when I’ m not even sure of the original source.

(But I totally swiped this one from a friend who posted in on Facebook today, and I know if she was reading this, she wouldn’ t mind a

t all. ;))

I just liked this…it gave me a lot to think about.

“The most beautiful smiles hide the deepest secrets, the prettiest eyes have cried the most tears, and the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.”

I don’t know that it’s completely true, but it did remind me today…

That life can sometimes be hard, but we

can still choose to be a blessing to others.

That people all around me are hurting…and often hiding it.

It’s up to me to love…and to be Jesus to them.

That I should pray for opportunities to love… and take them.

That’s all tonight, friends.

It sure gave me a lot to think on.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
John 13:34, NIV

Sig

Filed Under: encouragement, where I am

Blog Reflection, #1: What You See Is What You Get

January 16, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

What you see is what you get.

It’s cliche, I know.

But it’s truly how I try to live my life.

One of my least favorite things in the world is superficiality. (Read my bio…I think I actually wrote that, but I’m too lazy to actually go look right now. ;))

I also understand to a certain degree all that comes with trying

to live that way.

It means that the whole world…or at least the wonderful people who read this blog.

..know a lot of details

of my life. Some days I’m pretty fantastic with restraint and don’t share too much; others, I throw it all out there.

It’s me. :)

And while I make no apologies,

I also know I have room to grow.

I have tried to keep

true to one of my only blogging rules…never push the delete button on a post. 99.5 or so percent of the time, I have been able to keep to that rule.

I deleted one, and I don’t regret

it.

People who know me also know that I’m wildly emotional and full of crazy love. My emotions do go up and down, and I’ m well aware of that.

It definitely shows in my blog posts some days…and I know it.

But I want to be real.

That’s me, too.

This last year has been a surprising journey.

I’ve learned things about myself I didn’t know. I’ve gotten feedback from people that made me believe that I CAN do this writing thing.

I’ve learned the importance of being myself and standing up for what I believe in. Along with that comes the realization that I am an adult and, while people can and will disagree with me, I have a right to my beliefs, just as each of you also do.

But even more so, there’s the aspect of being Christlike in all I do. I still have a long way to go. I know what I’m like some days…even when it doesn’t show through on the blog. I know the impatience and grumpy moments that emerge sometimes, causing me to say things I shouldn’t and do things I regret. But at the end of the day I’m a follower of Christ and I should reflect him in all I do…regardless of my emotions and moods.

I’m me…just Mel.

What you see is what you get.

Thank you for reading in spite of that.

You bless me. :)

Sig

Filed Under: remembering, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

No Coffee…Just Diet Coke

January 12, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Golly gee, I’m tired.

I shoveled snow today for the first time in, oh I don’t know, my LIFE.

Kidding, kidding. It’s just been quite awhile. See, I have a hubby who usually does all that kind of stuff…and there w as

no way I was allowing him to attempt shoveling, though I’m sure if I hadn’t done it, he would have eventually. But he really needs to rest his arm, and we both know it.

So, enter Meanie Mel, who will be enforcing doctor’s orders for the next week. Trust me, I can be one stubborn, hotheaded woman if I have to be. (Ask Tobin next Friday if he’s sick of me yet.

Better yet, ask him tomorrow.

;))

So I decided that tonight I’ll have a step closer to a coffee date with you all and drink Diet Coke while I chat. If we’re being honest, there’s been far too much of it flowing through my veins lately, and I know a certain reader of my blog who has given up pop for the year.

So I won’t rub it in too much that I’m drinking SODA. Mmmmm….

Ok, enough. Really. :)

It was a really good day. I love Thursdays. Wonderful Bible study. Good chat with friends.

Lunch out and time at the mall play place…and for once it wasn’ t overcrowded wi

th kids. Home for Mae’s nap and time to get a few things done.

And you may have heard that we are finally getting some snow in this part of the country. Thankfully God decided to send us a real snowstorm…because I find 1-2 inches just. plain. annoying. Enough to slick up the roads and bring out the less-than-bright in so many drivers, but not enough to actually play in or build a snow sculpture of the Eiffel Tower or whatever.

Yeah, can you tell what’s on my mind?

I spent a fair amount of time tonight attempting to find hotels for our trip. I am thoroughly annoyed with the fact that our excursion to one of my top three dream locations EVER is complicating plans. Let’s just say it’s hard to book a hotel in Tangiers when we’re not exactly sure we’ll be able to go on the days we want. So I’m debating whether to book…and trust that it’ll work out. Or to book just our first night somewhere and hope that there will be open rooms for the rest of the nights.

This is the part of trip planning that I don’t enjoy. And yet, I’m really trying to focus on the fun.

We get to take a pretty cool trip for our 10th! And, it’s alone time for us…which we really need. It’ll all work out, even if we have no hotel room and

have to sleep on the beach. 😉 More money to spend on purses in Morocco that way.

I read a fabulous blog post here that just made me smile. I love her writing style…and this particular topic hit close to home. Please click over and read…I promise you it’s worth your time.

And I love that she wrote about laundry because, well, I can relate.

Says Mel, 20 minutes after starting the first of four loads for the night.

So I had kind of an aha!

moment in the waiting room yesterday.

At the time it seemed so pressing to share it with you all, but today, I actually feel the need to process a little more. So you’ll have to wait another day or two.

Hope your Thursday was wonderful…mine was. Completely. :)

G’nite!

Sig

Filed Under: friends, just life, travel, where I am

When We Break

January 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I was listening to a song on KLove a couple days ago…

This one. I really love

it.

So when I heard it for the hundredth time the other day, I was jammin’ and probably playing the drums on my steering wheel…and I almost missed this line…for some reason its meaning never registered before.

Why don’t you break my heart ’til it moves my hands and feet.

Yikes.

That was a good yikes, but still a yikes.

It got me thinking, though…how there are so many broken people right now.

People I know, people I don’t know…and me.

Yeah, I’m broken.

Truthfully, I’ve been breaking for awhile now, and it kind of just happened through different situations and circumstances…and life.

I suppose everyone breaks once in awhile.

But I don’t look at that brokenness as a negative thing…I see the potential for God doing some awesome things through it.

Then I started thinking about so many amazing people whom God has used because they were broken…not because they were perfect and flawless.

I’m gonna tell you a story. One that, amazingly, I haven’t shared here on the blog yet.

About eight years ago, there was this girl.

She’d been married about a year and was being pressured by people we don’t n ame here to find

a teaching job. She made a few phone calls, but her current certificate didn’t allow her to teach in the public schools, and so her job search was limited…and looking hopeless.

Until she stumbled on an open teaching position for 4th and 5th grades at a small Baptist school about 3o minutes from her house.

She interviewed and was hired not only to teach those two grades but also to be the volleyball coach.

She was hopeful and optimistic, though she knew her beliefs and standards didn’t quite line up with the school and church, which she’d be required to attend. (They were pretty conservative.) Still she thought there was potential for reaching lives and was excited to begin.

It was a tough year. More hours spent working than you can possibly imagine, including many Friday nights. An administration that was less than supportive and often made her feel inadequate. A big class with some pretty amazing students…but some pretty strong and stubborn personalities, too. Being so wrapped up in school that there was little time left for anything else.

It all came to a big collision sometime in the middle of April.

This girl…Mel…she broke.

She couldn’t do it anymore.

The months she’d spent pouring into these kids lives felt like a waste.

She didn’t feel welcome at the school or the church. She’d been told by people in power that she was different and that she wasn’t a good fit for the school or the church. She wasn’t eating or sleeping well.

And it was time to go.

And so…go, she did. Without the chance to say goodbye at all.

It was devastating and made her want to turn her back on all she had always said she believed.

I left that school in April, sure that no

school would ever touch me again.

After all, who hires a teacher who quit her previous job a month before the end of the school year?

I was also fairly sure we might never look for another church…because for those first few, raw weeks following the end of this experience, I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with Christians.

But what I love about this story was that…to God be the GLORY…it didn’t end on that April night when I packed up my classroom into the wee hours of the morning and left.

Tobin and I took some time to process and search…and heal.

The parent of one of my students in that class called a week or two after everything blew up. She didn’t push, she didn’t make me feel guilty.

She just wanted two things. To listen. And to love.

Theresa became one of my dearest friends. (And her daughter, one of my former students and now my friend, is Maelie’s middle namesake. :))

We went to her church, ABC…and felt like we were home.

We were loved and cared for during our year there…giving us a chance to get our feet underneath ourselves again to prepare for the next adventure.

Indonesia.

I won’t go into being used by God there…because really, He knows it. We don’t know so much.

We know that we were used, but we also know how much people were used in our lives during that time.

And then it was time for the next adventure…here. :)

On that April night when I thought my teaching career was over…and possibly my faith, too…God took this broken mess and used it.

That’s why the line in that song is so precious to me…and why He is so precious to me.

Because when we break, that’s when He does some mighty things.

Break my heart ’til it moves my hands and feet…

Sig

Filed Under: remembering, what I'm learning, where I am

12 in 2012

January 1, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Happy New Year, friends!

And, welcome to my version of a bucket list…12 challenges I have for myself to complete during the year 2012.

Some are fun, some are easier than others, and some could kill me. (But…relax. If I die, at least you’ll have my wonderful blog to remember me by.

;))

My goal with thi

s?

Is to LIVE.

To live fully the life He has blessed me with. To be myself…including the crazy…and to stretch myself to limits I didn’t think were possible.

This list is not to be followed in any particular order…just to be completed by December 31, 2012.

We’ll have to see how it goes. I make zero promises. :)

By December 31, 2012, I hope to:

1. Start…and finish…the canvas painting for Maelie’s room.
2. Redecorate our front living room. (The purple needs to go! Soon.)
3. Start an Etsy store so I can sell my jewelry.


4. Take some kind of lessons…guitar, voice, djembe… still deciding, but leaning toward djembe.

:)
5. Complete a marathon.
6. Run a 5k in less than 30 m

inutes.
7. Continue blogging at least three times a week once January 24th has passed.


8. (Re)Learn how to sew and make a bag out of some of my Indonesian batik I still have.
9. Finish the rough draft of my book, Lessons From Indo: On Life, Love, and Squatty Potties, and submit it to at least one publisher.


10. Continue developing discipline in my life by spending time in God’s Word each day…whether two minutes or two hours.


11. Guest write for another blog at least once.

(The Patch doesn’t count. :))
12. Go on an actual vacation with Tobin (and no Mae) to celebrate our 10th.

(This might make me cry…)

Wish me luck!

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, goals, just life, running, where I am, writing

11 from 2011

December 31, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Wowsers, it seems like 2011 flew!

Today is a brief (or not?) recap of 11 highlights of the year. (In really no particular order. Promise.)

#11: barefootmel.com is born. Truly this one has been an adventure. You have no idea the things I have learned as I’ve
splashed my life out every day for you all to read. It’s been fun, it’s been frustrating, it’s been time consuming, it’s been healing. I am so thankful for words and how God gives each of us different abilities to use them.

#10: One more hole. This year I did something I’ve wanted to do for years…pierce my nose. Yes, it hurt. But I’m so glad I did it…and I love it.

Really. But in case you are nervous for whatever reason, know two things: 1) there was zero rebellion attached to the decision; and 2) there will be no more piercings for Mel. :)

#9: Four more wheels. We got by for sixteen months with one car, and I think it taught us a lot about not needing everything we always thought we did.

However, with Maelie getting bigger and busier and me often feeling trapped, we knew we needed to buy another one eventually. That happened on a Sunday morning (before church!) in October. We’re really thankful for that silver Mitsubishi in our driveway.

#8: Road trip fun.

In September we took our first true “family” vacation, visiting Green Bay, St. Louis, and Southaven, MS in the span of ten days. We had a wonderful time with family and friends and discovered that traveling with a one year old can be done…and can even be fun!

#7: Guestwriting: In May a short piece I wrote was published on one of my favorite blogs. And in October I started writing (very sporadically) for an online newspaper in our area. It’s good, and I’ve enjoyed getting my feet wet in the writing arena. (Now I just need more time!)

#6: Coffee love: Yeah, I love coffee, and that’s not news to anyone here! In August I started working at Café Firefly, a (somewhat) local coffee shop. It was a fun job and I loved meeting some new friends there, but sadly, it just didn’t work for my family’s schedule, and my last day was a couple weeks ago. I’ll miss it and am thankful it’s a short hop away so I can still say hi. :) (And caffeinate myself.)

#5: Immanuel: In June we joined Immanuel Lutheran Church and have loved getting involved there through Bible studies and praise team and volunteering. When we think back to previous years and how we’d talk about what we were looking for in a church, we realize that Immanuel fits those things. The people there are becoming our family, and we love them…and love worshiping our God with them.

#4: Home: In July, just one day shy of a year after we moved to 127 N.

Wisconsin, it officially became ours.

I’ve gone on and on about that enough on this blog, but it doesn’t mean that it’s any less important to us.

We’re home…in a neighborhood we love and a community we’re slowly becoming a part of.

It is so good to be home.

#3: Holy cow, we have a ONE YEAR OLD!

In June, our sweet Mae turned one. We celebrated by throwing a big bash for her and inviting our new friends and neighbors over for a BBQ. Over 50 guests, 100 hamburgers and hotdogs, and the cake to end all cakes made up of 86(?) cupcakes. It was a memory we will always cherish. :)

#2: Milestones: Along with a growing and changing daughter come those milestones…some sad, some happy, some
in-between. There were first steps that all too quickly turned to running, first words that soon turned to constant chatter, first haircuts, new things discovered each and every day. And while there’s a twinge of sadness that Maelie is growing up so quickly, we are learning to love and cherish each moment spent with our daughter.

She is an amazing person, and being her mommy
has without a doubt been the highlight of my year.

#1: Where I am: It’s a category on my blog that I post about often. Truly, it’s been an upside-down, rightside-up year.

There have been joys, sorrows, times of growing, times of struggling, gains, losses…but in all of those things, my Father has never left
me, and each day I am learning to love Him just a little more.

I pray that will continue in 2012.

And I hope you are as blessed as I was this year. :)

Th anks to

all of you for being

a part of my life. I love you.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, where I am

Christmas Blessings

December 23, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Maybe yesterday’s heart spillage was healing for me.

I went to bed and woke up feeling like I actually slept…which is something I haven’t felt for weeks.

And?

It was a good day.

Like, a really good one.

There were smiles and laughter.

The laughter began early when we discovered that our gymnast-of-a-daughter was turning somersaults in her crib. I kid you not. We’ve seen her do it once before but thought it was a fluke…apparently not. Seriously?!?!

There were reflections on the season

and moments of rejoicing. Mostly due to the fact that I took some time to truly think about what I wrote about Mary yesterday. I decided she’s definitely one of my heroes.

There was a 3-mile run spent singing along to my favorite Christmas songs. (Sorry if you were driving by and happened to hear me…it is very hard to sound good when you’re out of breath and wearing earbuds. But I SANG. And it was really good.) And to make you laugh…I know all the words to You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. I blame Newsong for putting it on their Christmas CD.

😉

Maybe the biggest blessing of the day was being able to encourage a friend. You know how when you are hurting and feel like you are the one needing the encouragement? This opportunity fell into my lap…and it made my heart happy.

Sometimes my favorite thing in the world is making someone else’s day a little brighter.

I’ve talked about JOY over and over…knowing full well that it’s often a choice.

But at the same time, making that choice to find JOY in my days has become almost habit. I think that’s a good thing.

I’m really looking forward to celebrating the next few days with family and friends.

I hope you are feeling blessed this season.

If you’re not, take some time and count those blessings…you’ ll be surprised how much JOY is in a day.

:)

Love to you…and thanks for praying.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, what I'm learning, where I am

Two Thoughts

December 22, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I was reading some of my favorite blogs tonight and was struck by two different thoughts that somehow tie together in my mind…and actually make sense with the place I am tonight.

I’ll start with a very UNdetail-oriented overview of life lately.

It’s been really hard. And I can’t give you details, just ask for

your prayer.

At the same time, I know that this difficult time…this brokenness…is what God is asking me to do right now.

And it WILL be good and it WILL be what He wants, but that DOESN’T mean it’s easy.

I haven’t been able to talk through things with anyone. At times, I desperately feel the need to process what’s going on in my heart, but I’m seeing the wisdom in the fact that, through circumstances, God is asking me to wait before I talk. (New concept for me, definitely. ;))

And so I wait in what seems like darkness and oblivion.

And I choose to trust though I’ll admit that I don’t understand.

And through tears, I find JOY buried somewhere deep in side.

..choosing to see it in the small things that make up a day. A hug from my daughter, a text or call from a friend, a promise from the Word, a cup of coffee.

The last two weeks have been spent walking this road, doing just these things.

And then I think back to Mary…and how she did these same things… on a much greater scale.

What was being asked of her, she never would have chosen. The road of judgment and fear and unknown that He asked her to travel…she did so with complete trust.

I’m sure there were days when it was dark.

I’m sure there were moments when she just couldn’t understand why God chose her to carry His Son.

I’m sure she sometimes had to dig deep to find JOY in the midst of something so unknown…so scary.

Yet, she chose to be obedient and do what God asked of her when He asked it.

I’m not sure these two connect for any of you…but it’s where my heart is tonight.

What I love about God’s promises is that they are just that…PROMISES.

He doesn’t leave those He loves brokenhearted. Without hope. Unloved. Forgotten.

He does exactly the opposite. He heals the brokenhearted. He gives a Hope that is more sure than anything.

He Loves with an everlasting Love.

And He is with me always… never leaving my side.

I ask for your prayers…but I also completely trust my Father.

Sometimes life is hard.

But my God is still so very Good…and I cling to that. :)

Love you all.

Sig

Filed Under: what I'm learning, where I am

She Spins

December 13, 2011 by · 2 Comments

She discovered spinning several weeks ago.

She’d turn herself around fast, get dizzy, fall over, laugh…

And repeat.

Over and over.

It w as

a riot w

atching her. (And we totally got it on video ’cause I know you’re all wondering.) 😉

And at the same time, I think I was a teeny bit jealous. Of my daughter.

Yeah.

Because she spins.

She spins with a reckless, carefree abandon, completely giving herself the freedom to be

herself. Yeah, she bumps into things. Yeah, she falls down.

Yeah, she totally looks like a goof.

And some days I would like to do the same thing.

To spin myself in circles until I’m so dizzy that I fall over. To let out some seriously loud laughter, not caring who might be watching or what they might be thinking.

Her spinning that night continued for quite awhile, and she still does it sometimes.

She’ll take a break from building a block tower or giving her “baby” a ride in the shopping cart…

and spin.

I have no idea who taught her how to spin…we didn’t. But it’s almost as if she uses that time to just…be. To say, hey, this block building and shopping cart pushing is getting to be too much…I need to turn myself in circles for awhile.

Just so I can let the world know I’m Maelie.

I’ve had a tough few days…nothing completely horrible, just some realizations and situations that are stressing me out.

I don’t deal well with things like that, and so at times it all makes me want to sit in a corner and cry until there are no tears left.

Thankfully, I have an 18 month old who needs me, and so I can’t do that. :)

I’ve tried a lot…I’ve prayed. I’ve written things that will never move past the draft stage.

I’ve sung. I’ve cried.

And today…I just felt like spinning.

So I grabbed my daughter by the hands, and we turned some circles.

Giggled. Made a memory.

And it felt SO completely good.

Hi.

My name is Mel.

And I spin. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: just life, Maelie, where I am
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