Today's Discoveries

Today is great, but weird.  And as Cecily put it, "it is leap day, no wonder why everything feels weird!"   Those are my thoughts exactly.  On this day that comes only once every four years I cannot explain the weird, good but crappy-ness of this day.  Today, this is my attempt to put together the good, and the weird, of this leap day 2012.  

So here it is the good the bad and the weird, Leap Day edition:

Good:

• It was spring-y outside this morning on my walk to class (a nice 48 degrees and sunny and windy morning).
• Waking up slowly.
• Catching up with friends.

Bad: 

• As I left class the sky turned ominous-looking and, see ya later Mr.Sun rain is on its way.
• Wanting to snuggle under my favorite blanket all day long.
• Having an exam to study for while having absolutely no motivation.

Weird: 

• Wisconsin weather in general is just inexplicable and crazy, but I have learned that Patagonia is my best friend in these weird weather times.
• Having a coffee pot break thus making our kitchen a steam room complete with foggy windows.

Another Really Really Really Good:

God.  He knows exactly how I am feeling through this weird day without giving me the ability to express it.  Through the Word, He has been sending me words of comfort and wisdom and giving me purpose in these seemingly insignificant days.  

Today, He is teaching me how to Pray, how to be constantly in conversation with Him.  He is teaching me that prayer is an amazing form of WORSHIP.  

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. -Colossians 4:2

I will strive to do just that.  Today, I am striving to devote myself to worshiping Christ in prayer.  I am striving to be watchful of the little things in my life on this day being thankful for each and every weird thing.  

Happy Leap Day

72 Days of Freedom

72 Days for the 27 million

Starting yesterday Passoncity Church in Atlanta, Georgia began this period of 72 days last night.

This art installation created at Passion in January was rebuilt and now stands at the Church being a visual reminder of the 27 million people in the world that are trapped in slavery right at this moment.

Modern day slavery is real.

The human trafficking industry is thought to bring in around $32 billion dollars.

Indifference is not an option.

These 72 days, from February 27 to May 8, are meant for prayer, reflection, and action.  For more information on what you can do and for specific topics to pray for visit the website: 72daysforfreedom.com

Servant's Heart

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others about yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Lord, prepare in me a servant's heart.  Let me serve without being served, expecting nothing in return.

True Silence

A very wise person gave this to me to read:


True silence is a suspension bridge that a soul in love with God builds to cross the dark, frightening gullies of its own mind, the strange chasms of temptation, the depthless precipices of its own fears that impede its way to God.

True silence is the speech of lovers.  For only love knows its beauty, completeness, and utter joy.  True silence is a garden enclosed, where alone the soul can meet its God.  it is a sealed foundation that he along can unseal to slacken the soul's intimate thirst for him.

True silence is a key to the immense and flaming heart of God.  it is the beginning of a divine courtship that will end only in the immense, creative, fruitful, loving silence of final union with the Beloved.

-Catherine de hueck Doherty, Poustinia

Running running running

I love running.  That is just one of those crazy things about me.  I love everything about it.  I especially love that I get to run everyday with an amazing group of girls.  Running track at UW Madison is the one of the greatest things I get to experience in my college career.  I love each workout, although many kick my butt, and I love every long run.  

Running the 800m has challenged me in ways I never thought possible.  I never had to rely on God and His power in workouts before running track in college.  I have slowly learned what it looks like to rely on Christ in every aspect of my life, using prayer to strengthen my mind and my body.  

Last night, after many injuries (a torn ACL and ongoing plantar fasciitis) and setbacks and three years of training, I finally got to race wearing the Wisconsin jersey!!!  This was the most amazing experience.  The excitement of my coach and my teammates made that race unforgettable.  I ran the 600m last night, and despite not running the best time in the world, I had so much fun.  I have found my love for racing again and cannot wait for outdoor season to start up.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity to represent my university doing something I so dearly love.  

Liz and I after running the 600m at
the Red & White Open (2/17).

True Love

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come and the voice if the turtledove is heard in our land.  The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.


So happy to be a part of this amazing love story.

The Future

The future is a vast, unknown place where hope and dreams can be fulfilled or be changed completely.  The future is scary, yet exciting.  The future will soon become the present and then the past.  It is in this ever changing aspect of time that I find the most uncertainty, but along with that uncertainty I also find exciting moments of hope.  I have always struggled with the concept of future and what my life will look like a couple months or years from now.  Somedays I find it hard to concentrate on the present moments that God has given to me.  I tend to lose focus, gazing into the future while dreaming about what is to come.  This sense of being lost in the present has come to full force in the past few weeks.

A few weeks ago I got an amazing phone call.  I had applied for an internship to work at Saranac Village (a Young Life camp in the Adirondack Mountains) late fall.  After volunteering a month last August at Saranac, my heart was touched in ways I never dreamed possible.  I absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere that this particular Young Life camp offered.  The final week I was there, after a few great and insightful conversations, the wheel was set in motion for me to consider applying for an summer-long internship position.

After a lot of prayer about what this upcoming summer would look like and a lot of wondering where God really wanted me, I took that final step and started filling out the application.  Then it was out of my hands.

Almost two weeks ago as I was walking to class I got the call.  I was officially offered one of nineteen intern positions at Saranac and I was going to be one of the waterfront interns.

Honestly, I am still have moments when this does not seem like a reality, that I dreamt it all.  But, somehow, someway God has given me this amazing opportunity to serve Him, touching the lives of college and high school students this summer.  I feel so incredibly blessed to be doing what I love, working on the water all the while worshiping Christ and letting His light shine out from the work I do.  I could not have asked for a better way for my summer, and I am especially excited to see just what God is going to do in me and for me in this experience.

This is one of those things that I just want to get up and dance and celebrate everyday.  At the same time, thought, I am scared that I am looking towards the future too much.  I pray that I keep my head in the present, loving my amazing roommates and friends, just being present.  I can only hope that I keep my head on straight and fully enjoy the last few months of my Junior year of college.

In the Life of Mel

It is officially a new year, and although this is old news (yes, I am a month late... oops!), I am still embracing the newness and the new possibilities and opportunities I have to look forward to.  The start of the new semester has been filled celebrations, joy, laughter, friends, and surprises.

Also since the last time I posted, I got the amazing opportunity to travel with my family to the Dominican Republic (I can officially check that off my bucket list) for Christmas.

After the DR, I was off on another plane headed to Baltimore where I got to see some amazing people whom I worked with during the month of August at Saranac Village (a Young Life camp in upstate NY).  After the ball dropped on New Years, I headed in a car to Atlanta!

Travel was my middle name during winter break.  Atlanta welcomed us weary travelers with open arms as we headed to Day 1 of Passion Conference (there probably will be a few posts about this later as well).  Passion was one of the best experiences of my life; being surrounded with 45,000 college students worshiping and praising God was an eye opening, once in a lifetime, experience.  I was moved to actually take a stand for Justice becoming an active part in the movement of freeing the 27 million trapped in slavery today.  The 4 days spent at Passion were, all in all, indescribable and life changing.

After one last worship session led by Chris Tomlin and the gang, some amazing people and I headed back on the road with our eyes focused on our final destination, Virginia.  After a crazy, and semi-scary, experience through a teeny-tiny old Southern town just to find a Sonic and many gas stops later, we finally reached Ashburn, VA.

Ashburn was my home for my final 2 days of adventure.  And, after a quick pit stop in DC and a delicious lunch with friends I headed back to an airport.  I hopped on a plane a whopping 16 days after leaving for the DR with my family.  Milwaukee bound I reflected on just how blessed I truly am in my life.  Flying always provides me with the quiet time I need after a long vacation to revisit the places I have gone and the ways God worked in the situations I was placed in.

My travels were a whirlwind, but I would not have had it any other way.  I got to experience a vast amount of God's beauty, both in scenery and in the way He moves in those I am surrounded with on a daily basis.