Poem: Blooming and Releasing

By Melissa McLaughlin Blooming and Releasing My soul revives in spring glory. Earthy scents of wet soil Touch my nose in the puffy wind. Driving on highways Once barren and dark The world heard God’s call, “Out with the old, In with the new.” Buds, blooms, and blossoms awaken In rarest hues reserved for spring, … Read more

Grateful as the Falling Leaves

Grateful as the Falling Leaves

By Melissa McLaughlin Grateful as the falling leaves Releasing their tiny grip In joyful abandon Tumbling free Following the wind’s touch Lighting darkened alleys With splashes of orange, red, yellow, and brown Piling high in gutters and ditches Filling the world with remembrance… What once was living, though now dead, is still moving Announcing God’s … Read more

It’s Time to Leave

What is God calling you to leave? It's Time to Leave

It’s time to leave. Leaving stirs up a jumble of feelings. Excitement and joy. Sadness and loss. At times we drag our feet when God calls us to leave. God calls us to leave our old life daily. Like it or not, we cannot remain spiritually stagnant. Either we are moving toward God or we are drifting away, because stagnancy allows the world, our own sin and Satan to pull us from God. And that they will. May we run to Jesus anew this day, for He is our treasure now and always.

Holding Loosely

holding loosely to this life holding on to God

By Melissa McLaughlin Holding Loosely There it was in a tangled knot. My mother’s precious necklace. This was a sweet heirloom, the necklace my father had given her upon their engagement. She passed this graceful keepsake along to me as a young adult. Because my mother didn’t wear a lot of jewelry and because they … Read more

One Thing You Lack

One Thing You Lack

By Melissa McLaughlin The Person Who Has Everything What do you get for the person who has everything? This is one of the big questions and sales gimmicks shoppers face during the holiday season. Each year it seems production and marketing companies get more and more creative in answering this call. Chia pets in every … Read more

The Best of Me

giving God the best of me

By Melissa McLaughlin Memory of Love They were just ages five and three. My two sweet daughters were preschoolers and our days were filled with alphabet songs, Raggedy Ann stories and make-believe veterinarian hospitals with waiting rooms full of stuffed animals covered in Disney band-aids. Our son was not yet adopted, so it was just … Read more