Recent Personal Headlines

Fireworks Over Lake Huron Blew My Mind...I was home in Michigan over the 4th of July and had a fabulous visit with my family, even though we were missing some of the gang. (sniffle, sniffle) On Friday, we headed to Lexington to catch the local fireworks at the beach, but the crowds were incredible, and parking was scarce. So we opted to drive North up the Lake Huron coast a few miles to another familiar spot in the hopes that we could still see the fireworks from that location, too. We set up our chairs and blankets and waited for some sky action, and the wait was well worth it. The locals near the park put on their own marvelous fireworks display about 9:40 PM, and we ooohed and ahhhed over each burst for 30 minutes or more. We were so close. It was as if we were having our own private fireworks show. There were only 2 other families at that beach, and so it was all pretty special. Just as the neighbors finished their fireworks, we could see up the beach that the Lexington Harbor fireworks were underway, and so we caught 2 shows back-to-back. It was incredible to see the fireworks over the water, which reflected the brilliant hues wondefully. My brother-in-law took over 900 photos with my new camera just to see what it could do, and some of the shots are amazing. What a great night!

Once a Klutz, Always a Klutz...While in Michigan, I tripped on a door jam between my parents’ kitchen and dining rooms, and really banged up my middle toe on my left foot. I thought it hurt worse than your typical stubbed toe, but when I checked on it a couple of hours later because it was still hurting, I was surprised to find it swollen and quite purple all the way around my toe. After a FREE family medical consultation with my Mom, sister and sister-in-law, the original diagnosis was that I had broken my toe. So I wrapped and taped my middle toe to another toe and went about my business as usual. After 2 days, the swelling decreased immensely, and today is day 10 after my injury, and the bruising is nearly gone, the pain is minimal, and I feel pretty good about it. So did I break my toe? Not sure, but if I did, it certainly didn’t keep me down for longer than 10 minutes, which was a major praise.

It Sucks To Be Me...Quite Literally. I finally broke down and bought a new vacuum cleaner. I looked at the Dyson models at the store, but somehow I couldn’t justify forking over $400 for a new vacuum for my one-bedroom apartment. HA! So I settled on a bagless Bissell with the hypoallergenic filters, and it has done a marvelous job so far at less than a ¼ of the price of a Dyson. I was rather overwhelmed by the crud it pulled up out of my carpet, and I keep a pretty tidy house. So naturally I had to remove, empty and clean the dirty filters after that first night of use, which led to a major migraine headache and fun with my allergies for a couple of days – probably from inhaling the said dust particles. Oh well, at least the carpet was clean. HA!

What Would You Do?

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in history. I love history and learning about the past. I love stories, and every life is full of stories if you just pause to listen.

World War II history confounds me. My grandfather died in the war, and naturally, I think that drives my thirst for knowledge to know more about that time period. His parents, my great grandparents, both emigrated to the United States separately from Germany. They met here in the States, married and had 4 children in Michigan. Their one son, my grandfather, was drafted into the army and left behind my grandmother and his 2 very young daughters to fight against his parent's homeland and ultimately give his life.

I've watched countless documentaries and films about the war. I've spent hours researching the subject online, reading books, studying articles about those years. And the one question that also emerges for me is what would have I done if I had been there? Would I have been one of many who turned in my Jewish neighbors? Or would I have stood against the barbarity? Would I have helped to save the lives of those around me? Or would I have considered my own well being above that of others?

I'm not Jewish, but I have long been interested in the chosen people of GOD--their heritage, their culture, their plight, their survival. I grew up in a Christian home, loving the stories of the Children of Israel throughout the Old Testament. I envy their ability to look back at history and see their heritage not just over decades or centuries but over thousands of years. These are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and they certainly haven't had it easy. They have endured so much over the centuries, and yet here they are still with us, still living amongst us, and whether they acknowledge it or not, GOD is still watching over them even now.

This morning I watched a Netflix selection on my laptop, The Children of Chabannes. It is a documentary about a village in France that integrated hundreds of Jewish refugee children from Germany into their local public schools at the beginning of the war. Truthfully, I don't often hear good things about France during World War II. Most see the French as giving early concessions to Hitler. They did give him half of France without too much trouble, and the other half, lead by the Vichy government, did little to stop the atrocities affecting Europe or their own region. So in my limited study, I haven't really heard many positive stories about France in the war, but this story was different.

This Creuse region in southern France, which was part of unoccupied France under the Vichy government, protected these children in their remote country setting, educated them, fed and clothed them, and ultimately helped the children escape into safe zones where a great many of them emigrated to the United States and other parts of the globe. Towards the end of the war, the safe haven came under attack, and the Vichy government feeling more pressure from Germany, started rounding up more and more Jewish refugees and sending them to internment camps throughout Europe – even children.

Only 12 children were successfully removed from the Chateau de Chabannes, and of those only 4 died in the concentration camps. But as one of the French teachers stated in the documentary, “That was four too many.” That statement burns in my brains. It reminds me of that scene at the end of Schindler's List where he looks back at his life and feels he could have done more. He, who had saved so many, still saw little windows of opportunity where he might have done more. That is so convicting!

My story is still being written. I don't live in war-torn France in the middle of the twentieth century. I don't have an opportunity to hide or protect young Jewish children. But am I doing what I can to help those around me now? Or am I one of the many who would just look the other way?

LORD, I don't know where these thoughts are leading, and I don't know exactly why this story is tugging at my heart like it is. I don't exactly know where to start here, but I do know that there is always opportunity to do more. Please lead me. Please direct my steps. Please...

Open the eyes of my heart, LORD.
Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see YOU.
I want to see YOU.*

*By Paul Baloche

Difficult People: I Think I Am One...

We all know, work with, are related to or have some interaction with difficult people. People that frustrate us. The acquaintance that just knows which button to push. The coworker that likes to lay the blame on our door for every error. The relative that always reminds us of something in our past we would like left forgotten.

Yes, people aren’t perfect. We are, each of us, hopelessly flawed. Truth is that most of us probably ARE that difficult person in someone else's life, whether we know it or not. We’re selfish beings who want the best for ourselves and don’t always recognize or care how something will affect someone else. We have a difficult encounter with someone, and we’re so quick to defend ourselves or prove the other person wrong. We’ve got to get out the facts, set the record straight. At least I am that way. I get frustrated and want to correct the wrong at all costs, and today, I’m more than a bit convicted of it.

I can’t always control the circumstances. I can’t set the tone for every meeting. I can’t prevent people from speaking their minds or taking a conversation down a negative path. And I certainly cannot control how others in the discussion respond either. BUT I can control my own response. My reaction, my response to the situation or conversation is what I am culpable for. I am held accountable for my own actions and thoughts, and my response is exactly what I need to master or rather turn over to THE MASTER and get HIS guidance with daily.

LORD, help my response to always be one of love and not disgust, of compassion rather than debate. Help me to turn to YOU in my frustration and to seek YOUR counsel above all else.

Again, that new take on the Serenity Prayer comes to mind...

GOD grant me the serenity
To accept the people I cannot change,
The courage to change the one I can,
And the wisdom to know it's ME!

I’m Going to Michigan in the Morning. Ding Dong, the Bells Are Gonna Chime...

Not sure why My Fair Lady tunes (or at least my own rendition of songs like I’m Getting Married in the Morning) are dancing around in my head today, but there you have it. I’m in a show tunes mood, I guess. HA!

I’m off to my beloved home state tomorrow for a long weekend with family. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve totally waffled back and forth as to whether or not I should make this trip. Should I take the time off from work so soon after being out for 2 weeks to go to England? Should I have the AC in my car looked at since it just stops working whenever it feels like it? Should I stay home and take care of stuff around my place -- like cleaning? Somehow though, I kept coming back to a conversation I had with a friend of mine over a year ago. She and I were discussing our vacation hours, and I was debating whether or not to take some time off. My friend piped up with a direct response that has played over and over in my head since.

"Mel, no one ever gets to the end of their life and says, ‘I wish I would have spent more time at the office.’ No. People most often regret not spending enough time with family and friends while they are here. Don’t forget that."

My friend had just been diagnosed with cancer, and her words made quite a deep impression on me and even now, they still play over in my head. So, I’ve decided to take the time off...off to bond with my nieces and nephews, off to play games with my Mom, off to laugh with my Dad, off to chat with my Grandma, off to share England photos and stories, off to stroll along the beach with my sister, off to catch up with my brothers and sister-in-laws, off to be harassed by my brother-in-law, off to enjoy the fireworks over the lake and maybe enjoy a real grilled hamburger again...

Yep, this is Melanie, and I’m signing off now for Michigan. WOOHOO!!

Have a blessed and safe Fourth of July, All!

Smile

I heard this Chris Rice song again recently. OK, the truth is that I listen to this song A LOT, but don’t tell Chris, he’ll get a big head. Once again, I was struck with these lyrics. I’m single, and like a lot of singles out there, I struggle with that status. Not all the time, mind you, but more often than I’d like. It is part of being human and having a sinful nature. GOD has blessed me in so many ways, and yet I still want that something more. I long for it, and I’m constantly sharing these thoughts with GOD.

The first time I heard this song, I started crying. Yes, Chris Rice has made me cry on more than one occasion, but it’s a good thing--honest. I heard the song as a love song, and I thought it was so sweet. Then suddenly, I got it. This wasn’t just another love song. This was a love song to GOD.

Here I am longing for a love of my own. I’m aching for that one thing that seems always just out of reach. I’m stuck, as it were. I’m frustrated. I’m struggling with the discontentment. Well, along comes this Chris Rice song about aching to be with THE ONE, the same ONE who should be the REAL love of my life, and these lyrics just bowled me over.

I'm a dreamer. My head is always off in the clouds somewhere. But instead of thinking and dreaming of THE ONE, I'm pining for another lover. I’m whining down here because I went to another party alone, or I just got invited to another bridal or baby shower. How selfish, am I? The GOD of the universe loves me, has given me the very best (HIS SON), provides for my every need, and desires my soul. HE wants me. HE wants me. I already have HIS love. I didn’t earn it. I can’t earn it, but there it is...the only love that will ever truly endure, and HE has given it to me as a gift.

So where is my desire to be with HIM?
Why don’t I ache to be in HIS presence?
Why don’t I ponder Heaven more?
Where is my passion for HIM?

Am I tossing aside the LOVER of my soul in hopes of something else? What am I thinking? That other love will never compare to HIS. It can’t compete.

OH LORD, teach me to make this song my daily prayer to YOU: “I just want to be with YOU. I just want this waiting to be over...” Yes, it would be nice to have a someone special here to smile for and with, but should that day not come, LORD, teach me how to wait for YOUR smile.

Smile
by Chris Rice

How far are you, how close am I
I know your words are true and I don't feel them inside
Still I believe you'll never leave
So where are you now

You're all I have, You're all I know
Your breath is breathing in my soul
Still I am gasping, aching, asking
Where are you now

Cause I just wanna be with You
I just want this waiting to be over
I just want to be with You
And it helps to know the Day is getting closer

Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feels like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile

My journey's here, but my heart is There
So I dream and wait, and keep the faith, while You prepare
Our destiny, til You come back for me
Oh, please make it soon!

Cause I just wanna be with You
I just want this waiting to be over
I just want to be with You
And it helps to know the Day is getting closer

Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feels like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile