I've been a people pleaser for most of my life. With a basic need to love and be loved, humanity continually fights the temptation to manipulate others in order to be loved. If we are honest with ourselves, people pleasing is manipulation. It may not seem that way to us because we don't feel we are evil, mean … Continue reading People Pleasing Problems
Author: Melissa
Pastor | Ragamuffin | Family | Friends
For the glory of God and the good of the world.
Gates of Time
This summer I was at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum - a memorial to the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Federal building which killed 168 people. It is a beautiful and power memorial. We were only able to view the outside memorial due to the hour of the day but the … Continue reading Gates of Time
Lesson Learned
The youth in my youth family teach me a lot of things. There are the very useful things like how to master the Wii, how to SMS bomb someone, how to have fun, how to fart on demand (okay, I already had that mastered.) They remind me that you can make a difference and that it is … Continue reading Lesson Learned
Silent Cries from the Street
When I was in high school I read a book that overall is not a book of classic greatness or literary genius. Although I still spy it on occasion in certain bookstores along with more popular novels by the author, it doesn’t seem to have garnered much favor with readers nor is it one that I … Continue reading Silent Cries from the Street
What I'm Looking For
There are a lot of ways I could answer the statement, "What I'm Looking For". I'm looking for a piece of paper I lost yesterday; some passion fruit juice; a solid reasoning for why we have an appendix. But those aren't the answers for today (although if you can provide the answer to any of … Continue reading What I'm Looking For
God Can Be Pushy
Yesterday I posted this tweet after my evening walk. (Prepare yourself. It has all the coma-inducing sweetness of newlyweds.) https://twitter.com/melissahatfield/status/209828463664840704 Tonight I started my walk with a good deal of wind. I mean that literally and am 100% referring to a flow of gases outside my body. Okay. Maybe 95%. Anyway .... instead of … Continue reading God Can Be Pushy
Been "Gon" A Lot
If I needed motivation to quit some things, I found some today via a letter that my 7-year-old nephew wrote as part of a class assignment in first grade. Dear ant moe I miss you so much becuse you have been gon a lot You'r been on misson trips and going to the zoo. I … Continue reading Been "Gon" A Lot
Hanging with Condemned Men
When I was in Uganda in 2009, I spent some time with several men on death row at the Luzira Maximum Security Prison inKampala, Uganda. The inmates are referred to as “condemned men”. As we went through all the security points and the long walks through various hallways and doors, we finally arrived to the … Continue reading Hanging with Condemned Men
Quitting Things
On Sunday, I preached a sermon that I struggle to practice. Nothing new there. The gist was that you cannot help everyone so do for one what you wish you could do for everyone - something I've been challenged by for 9 months since hearing Andy Stanley say that to a bunch of us at … Continue reading Quitting Things
Rusted Out Buckets
Sometimes it takes me a long time to figure things out. To do what I know. To follow where I’m led. To surrender to what is right. To let go of what is wrong. I chase after vanishing winds. I harness nothing which powers nothing. I put my energies into bags with holes and rusted-out … Continue reading Rusted Out Buckets
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