Melanie's Mind

Updates!

2010-05-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

So Jp and I are getting married in less than 3 months! It's coming up so fast! :) We are so excited and cannot wait! We also were blessed with a place to live, which is my great aunt's condo that she is not living anymore since she is in a nursing home. We are lucky because we only have to pay the association fees, which are cheaper than any place we were looking at! It is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with a porch in the back and it's lovely. We replaced the flooring with beautiful tile, and will be replacing the carpet as well. It looks great so far. We just picked out paint colors yesterday to add some color and we are so excited! We are so happy that God provided us a place to live that was affordable and temporary since we do not know where He will have us live yet once we both get out of school. God is truly faithful!!

God has blessed us very much, and we continue to ask for His blessing in the area of finances for us and direction. School is expensive, and we have decided to not take out student loans, but instead to rely on God to provide for us the money to complete our degrees (with grants, etc). The wedding stuff is pretty much in order as well. We will be mailing invitations soon, and having bridal showers, etc. I can't wait! It's all happening so soon but I want it to come sooner! Jp and I are ready to start our life together and go on our cruise! ;) haha We're ready to not have to say goodbye to each other every night, but instead look forward to falling asleep & waking up together each night and morning! Married life will be a great new adventure, and I'm glad I get to share it with him :) I love Jp so much and am so thankful that God brought him into my life. I honestly do not know what I would do without him. He has truly made me a better person and I probably don't deserve someone as wonderful as him, but I am very thankful. I can't wait to be his wife! July 31 come quickly! :)

I dont even know who reads this anymore, but anywho, those are some updates :)

Last day of dental shadowing...but awesome surprise!!

2009-07-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

So today was my last day of dental shadowing...I am very sad. But God totally gave me the best last day EVER!! Brenda usually always tells me information about who the first patient is and she told me that “our first patient has a daughter who plays on a TV show called Lie to Me”. I was like “NO WAY! I LOVE THAT SHOW!!” So I was super excited to meet her mom!! The mom/our patient’s name is Sonia Raymund, whose daughter, Monica Raymund plays Ria Torres on the “Lie to Me”. Jp and I watched the whole season (13 episodes) in basically 2 nights. We are addicted!!
Ria is one of the four “detectives” on the show who solve the cases and she is the “natural”. She is the young latino girl in the picture above. It was awesome to talk to her mom because she gave me some inside scoop! They are shooting at the end of this month for the next season! She also told me that her daughter’s character is going to change a little. They want to make her look younger (she is 26 but playing a 24 year old) and they don’t want her character to come off so “tough”. So that just totally made my morning even better!!! It was awesome. Also Brenda’s oldest daughter came in and told Brenda that she is having a baby boy! She has just found out the gender that morning. What a miracle a child is! The next patient brought things back to reality because she had just lost her husband last Tuseday. He passed away in his sleep about the same time last Tuesday as the time she was coming in for her appointment. So you can imagine the emotions she was feeling. She is an older lady, and if you would like to pray for her, her name is Carmela. She’s just having a hard time in dealing with her husbands death and the whole process that goes with it. (Isn’t it crazy they make people deal with all the legal stuff during their time of mourning...it stinks). The third patient was hilarious. She was like a 30 year old with a 5 year old personality. She could not sit still for anything and she just kept talking. She was so funny! She told me she hates the dentist and that they need a seatbelt just to keep her in the chair! She has veneers, a tooth implant, fillings, a bridge and almost anything you can think of in her mouth. Our last patient had anesthesia before we worked on her teeth but she had good teeth naturally. We put varnish on her teeth, which is a protective covering of the margins of your teeth. Brenda basically painted it on with a teeny tiny paint brush. It was cool. So I had a very fun and interesting last day. It was sad to leave, but they did say “We might see you soon!” You never know what God has in store ;)

Compassion

2009-07-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the song "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath and it started me thinking about a lot of things...

God cares about each and every one of us. He knows EVERYTHING that is going on in each of our lives...even down to the tiniest details. As I'm sure we all have heard and know, that God has every hair on our head counted (Matthew 10:30). How cool is that? Watching the music video to this song just made me realize how many people pass by me or I pass by them, and we don't even share eye contact. How many of us would go up to a complete stranger that is crying and just show them compassion? Or what if it IS someone we know, but either isn't our friend or could be our enemy? Triple J's message on Tuesday night discussed loving your enemies. The Bible says that of course it is easy to love your friends; even sinners do that. But loving your enemies is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. It might be an easy concept to grasp, but a hard one to put in place in our lives. Love your enemies? Well why would you want to love people who hurt you?

Because God loves us each and every day, even though we hurt Him over and over again with our sin. God showed mercy on us, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". (Romans 5:8) Wow. That is amazing. And we are blessed that God's mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). The lyrics to the chorus and one verse of the song are here below in case you don't know the song or just want to read it. It just makes us more aware that we need to have compassion on others just as God has compassion on us. We need to care more, love more, trust more.

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

I’ve been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you’ve seen the people all along

Third Time's a Charm...

2009-06-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today was my third Tuesday dental shadowing. I had a surprise!! When I first got there, I looked at the schedule of names of the people we were seeing today. The third one down was....Ethan Wright! I was like...”I wonder if it is THE Ethan Wright?!”. So the first patient we had was a heavy smoker of cigars and his teeth were stained...BAD. I honestly didn’t think that it was going to come off, but magically...it did! They looked so much better than when he first came in!! Then the second lady we had, had beautiful teeth, and it was an easy clean. Then our third patient was...Ethan! How funny is that?! So it was cool to talk to him and awesome that I found out he is coming to ALIVE tonight! Then I got to watch Brenda clean his teeth. Probably weird for him. Then our last patient needed full mouth x-rays, which I got to help with. Then Brenda cleaned her teeth and we were done for the day. Only 1 more Tuesday left...I’m so sad
:(

Recap of the last week: This post is full of surprises! Jp surprised me last Tuesday with a bigger diamond on my engagement ring! We had turned in my ring to get a scratch off of it, and since Jp took it in while I was at work, he worked his magic and got me a 1 carat diamond for the center! I was shaking when he gave it to me! Proposal all over again! He is the best :)

Then, Jp's bank account got hacked into an he went in the negative 68 dollars. Not good. Hopefully that will get worked out.

Also, we had Jp's little cousin's Sweet 16 birthday party on Saturday at Jp's house, and Amber (the birthday girl) got her face smashed into the cake...not cake smashed into her face...vise versa! Jp and Kevin pushed her face in the cake as she went to blow out her candles!!!This is her and her mom! When she was running, chasing her offenders, she gave her mom some cake...in the face! This is the crazy family I'm going to be apart of...and i LOVE it! <3

She was such a good sport! We had a lot of fun with the pinata too. Even though Jp and Jason got a little carried away. All in all, it was a great party, and she loved it!

Second Day Dental Shadowing!

2009-06-16T10:33:00.001-07:00

So I had my second day of dental shadowing today. It was awesome. The first patient we had was a man who we got to give antibiotic shots to in his mouth. I had my gloves, goggles, and mask on and got right in the action :) Then the second patient was a lady whom the doctor had to numb her with a needle cause we were doing a deep root cleaning. Then he offered her use of the office iPod for her to listen to. How awesome is that! Also they gave her a neck pillow for her to relax. Crazy! She had major tartar behind her bottom front teeth and I didn’t think it would be able to come off. But it did! I was super shocked! Her teeth looked great after that!

So that took about 3 and a half hours, then Brenda and I just talked about dentistry and she showed me some before & after pictures of people who had major work done. This one guy had tiny baby teeth cause his real teeth were grinded down so much, they were almost half the size! But then he got porcelain veneers and he looked amazing! It’s so crazy to think how your smile can totally change how you look!! It was a professional looking smile :) So I asked Brenda how much veneers are typically, and they are about $1200 a TOOTH!!! Oh my goodness!!! But they really are worth it because they make your smile beautiful :) Anywho, I can’t wait til next Tuesday. Each time becomes more fun than the last :)

Here. Today. Now.

2009-06-11T05:53:00.001-07:00

So I was reading Beth's blog about the daily verse, and I signed up for it. Today's really spoke to me...

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

If you're thinking about the future more than you're living in the moment, reconsider. Yes, planning and strategy has its place, but so does being aware of what God has for you right now. Work toward balance in this area and embrace what He's placed before you for today.

Obviously Jp and I have a wedding ahead of us, and I haven't been overwhelmed or planning like crazy yet, but I'm taking this as a "caution sign" to not get so caught up in all the planning for the future, that I miss the here and now. So I will keep my balance, and see the beauty of what God has for me today.

:)

First day as a dental hygienist......'s shadow :)

2009-06-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

So today was my first day shadowing Brenda, a Registered Dental Hygienist at Today’s Dental. It was an awesome experience! I need 16 hours of “observation” before I can even apply to the Dental Program, which is why I am shadowing. Plus I’m getting an actual feel on what it will be like as a RDH. I learned some very interesting things today. Let me share them with you now...

Did you know that you are supposed to brush your teeth AS SOON AS you wake up...before eating breakfast or drinking anything? I had known people who had brushed their teeth before breakfast, but do you know WHY it is important? Here’s why: bacteria and plaque form on your teeth overnight and then you eat your breakfast and drink your coffee which bakes it on even more. Then when you go to brush your teeth after, it has created a shield, blocking you from removing the bacteria in your mouth. Brenda gave the following analogy: “You don’t want to eat your breakfast on dirty dishes, do you? Your teeth are the dishes, and you want them clean before you eat or drink anything.” Good illustration, I thought.

Also... Did you know that people normally chew on only ONE side of their mouth? For you weird ones out there, you may chew on both. Anywho...guess which side of your mouth is cleaner?...the one you chew on!!! Most people may think it should be the opposite but actually since food is being chewed on that side, it is pushing around the tarter and plaque which is keeping the bacteria from forming in one spot. There ya go.

Overall, I had a really great time. The people there are extremely nice, and encouraging me to do what I love. I got really excited being there today, and I felt really comfortable. I also got to do the x-rays on the patients! How awesome! I can’t wait to go back next Tuesday! :)

It's been a loooooong time...

2009-06-01T07:26:00.001-07:00

Okay. So I haven’t blogged in a long time. No. A realllllly long time. Since the last A-team meeting. Strange...since we just had one yesterday. I guess they get me thinking...? Yesterday’s A-team was really interesting. Triple J described out some really good points to leadership. So anyway, let me shortly recap what’s happened since January 14th: I got engaged to the best guy ever, one of my best friends started coming to church, and I finished my first year as a college freshman with all A’s :) That is just a small description of some of the big things that have happened. There have been many little changes personally, some that I can’t even remember, but I know have made me a better person. God has really been pushing me to rely more on Him, and I realize that when I do, things work out better than if I try it on my own. Trusting in God is so important, but can sometimes be the hardest thing, especially for me. Lately, there have been a lot of changes that have caused me to trust in God to provide. And He does. I’ll be honest; since Marble Maintenance had been slowing down a lot, Jp had to pick up his job at CFA. We are trying to save up money for our wedding plus future life, and minimum wage is not the best. But, we know that God provides for his children, and will take care of us. Anyway, I was reading this passage in my devos this morning, and I really like the principles it describes. Read it.

Colossians 3:12-17 (New Century Version)

12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

Also, Jp sent me a couple verses this morning, (from Colossians as well...weird!) that I really like. So here ya go :)

Colossians 1:10-12 (Contemporary English Version)

10Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better.
11 His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.
12I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you [a] have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light.

Thank you for taking the time to read. One of my goals is to start bloggin regularly again. Help me reach it :)

<3 MRS

The motions

2009-01-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

So last night at our A-team meeting, Triple J talked about this song by Matthew West called "The motions". Nobody could sing it, (both because they couldn't ;) and cause they couldnt remember how it went lol) so i looked up the lyrics cause the song came on my Pandora radio.

This song explains a little about how I'm feeling, and probably other people too. So please just read the lyrics. This is a condensed version, cause it repeats...

This might hurt
It’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care
If I break
At least I’ll be feeling something

‘Cause just okay
Is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

No regrets
Not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love
Make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something

Take me all the way
Take me all the way
Take me all the way

We all need to live our life to the fullest for God each and every day. I've been struggling in this area, and I know I can be better. Right now I need encouragement, probably just as much as anyone else does. Don't just walk through life. Make something out of it, and do it to Give God Glory. Have a great day.

Remember...

2008-12-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

My friend sent me this, and I thought it was cute...a good reminder

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in
traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and
is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and
spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college
student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of
not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the
same spot every day is a slave to
addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through
the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this
moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with
those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to
us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive,
show patience, empathy and love. --Matthew 5:44

"But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you."

But if we are the Body...

2008-12-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

As some of you can see, I get most of my inspiration for blogging from songs. As I was driving back to Gville this morning, this song came on... I think it sums up a lot right now...

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Christians are supposed to be welcoming and inviting, not to make people feel like they don't exist anymore. We are supposed to love EVERYONE. People need to let go of whatever grudges they have and start acting like Christ Followers. Accept people. Embrace people. Love people.

Thoughts

2008-10-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

There you go changing my plans again
There you go shifting my sands again
For reasons I don't understand again
Lately I don't have a clue

Just when I start liking what I see
There you go changing my scenery
I never know where you're taking me
But I'm trying just to follow you

It's out of my hands
It's out of my reach
It's over my head
And it's out of my league
There's too many things
That I don't understand
So it's into your will
And it's out of my hands

There you go healing these scars again
Showing me right where you are again
I'm helpless, and that's where I start again
I'm giving it all up to you

Move me, make me
Choose me, change me
Send me, shake me
Find me, remind me
The past is behind me
Take it all away
Take it all from me, I pray

Philippians 4:19

--"My God will use His Wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need."

Movin' On

2008-08-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

So I was listening to the song “Movin’ On” by Needtobreathe and it reminded me of last night…

For those of you who weren’t there (which would be few, since everyone who reads my blog goes), last night was our final “official” time in youth group. Triple J made us cry with videos and memories, but it was still an amazing night. Just to see how far each of us have come and now to the point that were all leaving for college is incredible. I’m so proud of all of us, and I cannot wait to see how God uses us while we are away (or here) at college.

Some of us are going far away (Tori, Jessica and I) and some are going close (Alex, Kaydee, and Alyson), but no matter where we are this next week is bringing HUGE changes in our lives. We are finally realizing what it means to grow up, move out, and take on responsibilities. Kinda scary, or at least for me. I feel that I’m leaving everything behind and starting a whole new life, (which I guess I am), and I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I don’t want to leave my family, my friends, or my boyfriend. I don’t want to leave my church. But see, the key phrase there is I don’t want. God will help me adjust to the changes, and I just have to rely on Him when things are tough, and be confident that He will comfort me.

I officially leave Thursday night, and go to orientation allllll day Friday (Alex’s birthday) [SORRY! I LOVE YOU!] Then school starts on Monday. Blah. But I know this is the time to remember, and that it will be fun.

“Wise decisions aren’t always popular, but they’re always right”

Not the healthy, but the sick

2008-08-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

So Jp and I went to a church up in Gainesville last weekend, when we were moving some of my stuff up. It's called The Rock, and we really like it. They had the Sheriff of Alachua County and the Director of Jails come in and speak. They talked to us about ministering to the people in jail. Stepping outside our comfort zone, and helping. Not just supporting, by donating money, food, or clothes, but donating time, effort, and commitment. The average reading level in the jails is 4th grade. They have over 900 inmates, when the capacity is 700. There are a lot of things they need help with, and reminded us that those are the people Jesus came for. Sinners. Not the healthy, but the sick. It was really cool to hear them speak. If you haven’t already heard this song, listen to it. "God of this city" by Chris Tomlin. It's amazing. And speaks directly to this topic. As does Robin's blog, posted on August 2nd.

Necessities

2008-08-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

So I was listening to this song today. And it made me think. What do we want, and what do we actually need? What are our necessities? What couldn't you go one day without? God is definitely a necessity, and this song shows it. Here are the lyrics...

Something about Your love
Fills me up like an ocean, Lord
You consume me
Something about Your grace
I can’t explain why You give it to me
It’s a mystery

You’re my necessity
You quench the thirst in me

I don’t know what I’d do
I couldn’t go one day without You
You are like water to me
I can’t live, I can’t breathe
Your love is everything that I need
You are like water to me

I need to take You in
Like oxygen, every second
Just to make it through
Without Your touch
This world would be too much
I depend on You

You’re my necessity

Raining down on me forever
I need You to flood my soul

Just think about that. Don't go ONE DAY without God. We need Him to live. Remember that! Have a great day!

'Til it's gone...

2008-07-25T00:36:00.000-07:00

God works in mysterious ways, but I'm sure you already knew that.

How many things do we all take for granted? Waking up in the morning? Always having food? A place to live? All our loved ones still living? Recently, I've read things, such as Kaydee's blog and Robin's blog (Amazing. Homeless project. July 14 and 15--read!!!) which emphasizes just some of the things I take for granted. Also, I just had a dream about losing someone I love (in this case, Jp), due to my actions of pushing away.

I say that God works in mysterious ways because He always reminds us of how powerful He is, especially when we try to show Him how powerful WE are. Face it, none of us are more powerful than God. Christ gives me the strength to face anything. (Philippians 4:13 CEV) The first word is also the key word: Christ. We get our strength through Him. In Jj's message a while ago, he said when life starts to become about us, that's when we have our problems. (I dont remember the exact words, sorry triple j) Lately, I think that's what I've been doing. Sadly, I haven't been putting God first, nor admiring Him for his power. God definitely reminded me of that tonight, in my dream, that He has the power to take anything away, so we better not take anything for granted.

"You never know what ya got, 'til it's gone..."

Thank You (It's that simple)

2008-06-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

I was listening to this song this morning (one of my favorites) and I felt it necessary to share...

What if in morning when I wake up
Even before I fill my coffee cup
I said thank You
Thank You

What if I look at the day and the hours ahead
And before I move forward I bowed my head
And said thank You
Oh I said thank You

What if I looked at my life in a different way
Took a little more time to stop and pray
I know it would change all the moments in between
So here I go

Thank You for everything
Thank You for loving me
It don't even matter what tomorrow brings
Well I will sing my

Thank You for sun and rain
For what You give and take away
For all Your goodness I will always say
Thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

What if I lost everything that I had
I could smile and somehow still be glad
And say thank You
Thank you

Cause life is joy, life is pain
But the prayer on my heart will never change
I say thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

This song really makes me think because how many times do I just stop and thank God for everything He has done for me, instead of being angry with what He hasn't done? This past week I definitely gave praises to Him because He has done a lot for me just in the past week. Given me things that I worked for, shown me things that I was doing right, and other things. So let this just be a reminder to me, and to all of us, to not forget to thank Him for EVERYTHING; not just the big stuff. Its about the small stuff, too.

=] enjoy

Work it Out

2008-05-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

So i dont have a lot of time to write, or make this long....but i just wanted to remind everyone that even though things might look like they are headed for the worst, if you rely on God, He will definitely provide =] He works it out!

That situation just happened to me =]

YAY!!!!

Rescued

2008-05-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm new to this whole thing. Bear with me =]

So lately I've been struggling a lot.
There's been so much on my plate,
and it seemed like everything was falling apart.
Could anything else go wrong?
This song is how I was feeling for a while.....

RESCUE ME

I've drifted so far
Can't even see the shore
I've been lost in the waves
But haven't been fighting
I'm sinking fast
Oh is there an end to this
I can't breathe I'm in too deep
But You can save me
I'm crying out to You

I'm drowning in my decisions
And I'm frustrated and I'm disappointed
It's my world You see and I want out

So come and rescue me
I'm here on bended knee
And I'm crying out to You
All I really, really want is to be free
So take my hand here I am
Oh come and free me
So take my hand here I am
Oh come and rescue me

Buttttttttt, this morning, God totally broke me down. I was listening to this song and I started crying. Heres part of it...

Jesus if you're really there,
I need you now cause no one cares
Is anybody even listening

God will never walk out on you
He'll be the Father that you never knew
He loves you, more than words can say
He won't leave you when you need Him the most
His love is unconditional
And you know, you put a smile upon His face

=]

I've realized why I've been the way I was...I was drifting...but the coolest thing about God is that He wants us. And He was trying to break me down so that I could see that. And it worked. I was letting other things occupy my time, and I was definitely stressed with finishing school and IB exams. I tried to do it alone, and figure things out on my own, but God showed me that I cant. I need to trust in Him, and allow Him to guide me. What JJ said a while ago: if you are close with God and stay with Him, He will make your path straight. That is extremely true. We have an awesome God, who desires to have a relationship with us; we must always remember that!!!