People Experience This in the Mundane

After one neighbor was arrested a while back, and one on suicide watch, I'm just here to say you don't have to go to Africa to share the gospel. I mean really. Despite what the modern day church might display. Quiet frankly, I moved to this little city to "get away" from chaos. To live a safe, comfortable, calm life.... you know, one where neighbors don't knock on your door at 1am or at any hour really…. a place where I can just do my own thing.  

I don't live in the hood, not even close, more a 8 square mile city where mommas drive Land Rovers and daddies BMWs, festivals, parades and our own episodes of Desperate Housewives happen. Top schools and children riding bikes around downtown freely. The train constantly rolls on through like nothing abnormal.

I thought that these 8 square miles were full of people who didn't need anything from me. I thought my own space was what was best to prevent immense heart break again- if no one knows my story, we don't have to discuss it. If no one knows my gunk, I don't have to know theirs. Keeping my front door shut, away from the mess in a urban-want-to-be suburban community is not what it seemed it would be.

Somewhere after you get the  brilliant dumb idea to throw a neighborhood BBQ and you reluctantly begin letting them in, one by one because you can't be THAT rude neighbor. By all means you just threw a BBQ….. And somewhere in the letting in of one by one, the gospel happens.  It doesn't look like some religious psycho rubbing oil on peoples heads or standing on the rooftop screaming scripture through megaphones. It doesn't look like starving dark skinned babies in Africa and it doesn't look anything like what I had planned for.

People experience in the mundane. In the mundane the gospel finds people. The mundane changes things and then the changed start serving at your local church with you and it's no longer "Keeping my front door shut, away from the mess in a urban-want-to-be suburban community".... And somewhere in that mundane of reluctantly letting them in one by one -- you just begin realizing that your front door of what you thought would be shut and never opened is the hub of "My life is a wreck, Can I come in?"…. And you begin to buy more groceries each week and you look like an extreme game of follow the leader heading to church each week. And you no longer drive 15 minutes to someone else's house for community group, but have it in your own living room…. with all those one by ones who somehow convinced you to let them in months ago.


I gave up a few months back and left a key for the normal people to just let themselves in. I gave up trying to have a life closed off that didn't involve telling people my story or letting them run the risk of hurting me. I gave up at the proper need for everyone to have a chair at my dinning room table, because it only can fit 4 maybe 5 people around, and sometimes usually there's more- and the kitchen floor is fine for dining too, I've learned. 

I've watched mommas rock babies and I've handed tissues out for the tears in my 700 square foot space.  I've seen people I now love most make brave choices and trust a God that is far bigger than comprehendible. I've prayed prayers, bold request that seem impossible, over people on my hardwood floors - Prayers that I never knew would be possible to come out of my mouth, not with my plans of keeping my front door shut.  

I've learned it's good live in the mundane, to love the mundane. It's in the mundane of eating dinner, walking to the post office, drinking tea, watching the CMAs and such that the gospel comes. It's not only on flights to the nations and in the brush of Africa that I've seen hearts healed. It's not only in the mountains of Nicaragua that I've watched Jesus show up. It's in my little 700 square foot house that sits within the 8 square mile city my heart beats wildly for that the gospel is found.

It's there. It's in throwing a neighborhood BBQ you begin to trust that God wants your front door swung wide open even if it hurts, is messy and insanely uncomfortable at times. It's in folding your neighbors laundry that Jesus begins to take off some of the deadbolts around your heart holding your door tightly shut. It's in this mundaneness that Jesus repairs your own heart. You tell these one by ones your mess and gunk and they find hope for their own stories. 

It's there in those 700 square feet that Jesus opened my front door for me and offered what I knew but refused to admit these Land Rover driving people and myself needed- Grace.  And it's there He carried me through great fears of opening my heart and life to anyone.

What a loss this season would be if my door would have stayed closed. What if Jesus would have not consistently brought people knocking on 2S? And what if Jesus held back and never gave strength to swing wide open my heart, mess, gunk and life? What if? What joy I would be missing out on. What salvation could have not come. What hurt and healing I would never have known. What fear He would have never carried me through…. 

It's just in the mundane He's healing me so greatly by doing the thing I wanted least - experiencing community.  

Dear Beth,

So there you stood telling 6,800 women about how life brings breaches.  You stood stretching your arms out wide as to create a gap or space- the breach; you just went on despite my need for you to stop right there and move on to a different topic because quiet frankly, I've grown extremely tired of listening over and over to how not repairing a breach is living sin.  It’s just a little too “up in my grill” for as of lately.  It’s far too “you don’t even know my details so please don’t tell me what Jesus wants me to do”…..  

And point after point we went on… 

Trust is restored when breaches are pulled back together - I get it, but my breach can’t be pulled back together, not in this state of existence anyway... I get a bunch of church women got to get on up out of their seat and repent for whatever crisis broke out this week, I got you girl.  Point made and point taken. Repair that breach or else you're choosing to live in sin. 

Onward….. yet, I’m still over here with the biggest gap, we’re talking the Grand Canyon ain’t got nothing on my kind of breach.…. We're working with a I can’t even tap one toe over that line which might seem as a step towards repairing a breach.

You gather the people around who love Jesus and myself dearest and they'll tell you this isn't one of those "go repair" situations (and let's not confuse repairing a breach with forgiveness).  They'll assure you that grace found me and Jesus has proved more than faithful in my fuzzy details. They'll ask you to join them in begging a holy God to come and restore the holes in my heart.  They'll tell you it's not right or fair. They know how it's actually painful for my eyeballs to watch 6,800 women sit and not go immediately to pull back together their own gaps, because my fuzzy details are wishing I could.

And just when I was about to count you out, move on and realize that for the other 6,799 in the room, those words pouring out of your mouth was for them (and myself too in other sorts of ways)… But this, this one ragged sentence came out of your mouth so softly. I mean nothing but a bare whisper.  Under your breath to the point that I don’t really even think you know it came out of your mouth, frankly an after thought or like a moment of washing your own self in this truth, like you too weren't really sure if the other 6,799 women need to hear it because it's for the 1 in 6,800 situations. It's the truth I so deeply needed someone to verbalize for alone, my fuzzy details. 

“It’s ok to not repair a breach sometimes too because an allegiance was torn, you trust God and do not go back to your sin, He will mend that breach…" 

Sometimes you don't need to restore the breach. 

Sometimes Jesus just wants us to trust him to repair the breach.
The breach within my soul, not externally is what He wants.
To pull the Grand Canyon of my heart back together, when it seems impossible.
But he is able.
  

Jesus, He just wants us to trust him when the breach shouldn't be repaired. 

Stitch Fix: It's a Real Thing Y'all.

I seriously thought this was all a joke and spam-ish when I first heard about it, but it’s not.  3 fixes later, I’m here to tell you world about this goodness of Stitch Fix. 

There is this site where they send you 5/6 clothing items in a box based on the style profile you fill out on their site.  I've done it and kept everything in my box that they send because it was all so so cute… and if you’re like me, I hate shopping for "grown up clothes" or just flat out don't have time to look for clothes, blah blah blahhhhh

So you get the box at your front door and you try on all the clothes, then log online and “check out” to purchase what you do/don’t want.  Then, you throw the items you don’t want into the PREPAID postage bag they send you in your box and drop it by the post office. 

DONE. Cute clothes and no hassles of shopping and on and on and on.....

Here’s the link to sign up --- I am literally obsessed.  It's every girls dream to have clothes shipped right to your front door. 

ORDER YOUR 1st STITCH FIX!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Emily!

We go way back..... back to the first day of kindergarden was where we met (insert sentimental moment).  This past weekend was Em's birthday! Now we're old,  have "big girl jobs" and live in random parts of the country.  But for memories sake, let's throwback to when we were in high school.... to some times we thought we knew it all, did dumb stuff and some days we don't ever want to relive.  

So thankful for my bff Emily.  Let's just take a moment to process I knew this girl when learning my ABC's, math facts and all that other stuff.... DECADES have passed full of sleepovers, tears, bad haircuts, dateless dances, ditching dates at dances, pool days, skipping class, vacations and more chaos that should seriously remain off the internet.

 First day of senior year breakfast.... and ya, not in class on the 1st day of school. Whatever.

 Where we met.

Graduating and thinking we owned the world, but actually dumber than ever. 

She Stayed in Asia. And Her Parents Reaction.

It was supposed to be a 2 week mission trip.  In and out. Round trip plane tickets were purchased and today she would have landed, safe and sound in America- drinking Starbucks (but, I'm drinking it right now for you friend!) and catching up on sleep in-between swapping stories with friends about the 2 week trip.

But, it all went down a different way.  My email flooded for 2 weeks with the below quotes....

"should I really be feeling like this?"
and "I don't know that I can ever leave...my heart has literally been ripped out of me, like worse than when I was in Africa for a FREAKING year." 
and paragraphs of "I know this is basically the most unsafe country I can possibly be living in, but I feel total peace and like this is normal"
and tons of "MELANIE!!!!! No one understands. I'm here sitting like WHAT THE CRAP IS JESUS DOING. MAKE THIS MAKE SENSE TO ME BECAUSE IT DOESNT BUT IT TOTALLY DOES" 

.....Then finally the email that summed the 2 weeks up arrived, right there in my inbox. Weeks of doubts and confusion from my computer to hers-- miles apart all made sense. "....so then they flat out said without me even mentioning how I felt 'we think Jesus told us you need to stay, so you're welcome here if you don't go back'...."

We processed. We talked. We Skyped-or-tried-to-skype-broken-connections two days before she was scheduled to leave.  I cried like a baby over her complete obedience to Jesus. She cried over explaining to her parents that she was not coming home in now 36 hours.

So there it happened.  I packed belongings and fruit rollups into boxes with her parents and walked into the post office shipping 5 boxes addressed to _____________________ . (because we can't even say where the heck she is for safety, y'all.)

I think it's time someone just declares freedom over not returning home.  If Jesus brings you to the broken nations to preach His gospel, and if He then obviously tells you to stay- don't get back on that airplane home. It is ok to stay.  

I personally will pack your belongings and pay the postage to mail everything you might need - I got your back when you do something radical and just need your clothes shipped to you....

I watched my Asia stayer's parents experience no sorrow or doubt, but rather praise God for His goodness in keeping their daughter in one of the most dangerous nations of the world. I listened to them explain how they are thankful that God is using their daughter because THIS IS WHAT THEY ASKED HIM FOR... They asked God for unsafe, broken, discomfort, radical, irrational, irresponsible decisions for His glory to be her life story.  

I think it's time some parents of this "Christian" american world begin hugging their babies a little tighter when putting them on airplanes for 2 week mission trips and send them off to the 4.5 billion lost souls of the world.  I'd like to hear a little more "Do what Jesus calls you to do." and no more "you had better come home.... then we can talk about you going back" from the "Christian" american parents.

I hope that when you, parents of this world, lay your head down on that pillow tonight, you begin to plead with God to create in the hearts of your children an obedience to go and preach grace. I hope you ask the creator of all things to take your babies from your safe, secure, controlled home to be sheep among wolves for His glory. I hope you understand as parents what I am graciously begging you to do.

There are some of you parents who have adopted beautiful children from the most corrupt nations, and we need to beg God to send your adopted ones BACK to where you rescued them from, so they might be the voice proclaiming eternal rescue to those yet to be adopted and living in utter poverty and hopelessness.    

There are some of you parents who won't let your kid go to summer camp because it could stir up something radical inside them.  So help us if you kid falls madly in love with the gospel and becomes a doctor that performs surgery in Africa for the name of Jesus. Or teaches english in South America...Or owns a business in America and gives all the proceeds to fund the nations rather than to your retirement.  So help us if your kid does not go to college because she moves to the middle east and fights against slavery. [Are we beginning to understand my point?]  So help us if the "Christian" american parents of this world don't read their bible seriously and begin to understand the greatest thing they can give to their children is the freedom to do what Jesus calls them to.      

It just doesn't matter about all the plans that were made and what life was going to look like after that 2 week mission trip or how you dreamed your child to grow up.  There's a higher calling, and my sweet Asia stayer has got it right.  Her parents have got it right.  She has figured something out that all the rest of us haven't.  Her parents have submitted their everything to the one who desires to protect and keep their daughter safe, because their daughter is HIS daughter- they both love her..... and these parents have resolved to trusting HIM.

 I think this explains everything flooding my heart presently.  I hope you'll watch it.  And I hope one day, when I have my own babies you will remind me of this blog. And no I don't have kids or understand the faintest thing about parenting, but I know full well--- I saw good parents as I packed belongings into boxes. Ones who cheered on their daughters radical obedience and thanked God for answering their prayers of taking their child from their safe, secure home to be a sheep among wolves.

When Am I Getting a Real Job?

When am I getting a “real job”? A real job?  Well, never.  Plain and simple, I am not.   Yes, I graduated from college and turned down multiple job offers that would be steady paychecks, health insurance and comfort.  I probably have lost my ever-loving mind and am irresponsible, irrational and crazy to believe that this is my real job and I can succeed in this dream.  So there, to answer the question you citizens have been begging an answer for- I am not getting a real job, or at least until Jesus tells me otherwise.

Now, take a deep breath and count to 10 before I explain myself because I understand all your cries of outrage.

Can we just take a moment to realize, I was the one who chose this? It’s not like a series of unfortunate events got me here, well kind of, but that’s another blog for another day.  I denied offers and opportunities for steady income and 8 hours a day behind a desk.  I sent the emails of thanks and rejecting what this world told me for years I was being educated to do.  I did it. 

Why? I don’t know why quiet yet but I know this is right where Jesus wants me.

So when I leave an event earlier than all the rest or when I spend my evenings responding to emails and working late it’s because I chose this, and I want this.  I want this more than most anything this world can give me. 

Please don’t pity me or try to comfort with “I can put in a good word for you if you apply for this job here….”.  I am not looking for a new position that will ease my life or maybe make more sense to the common mind. 

I don’t want a “real” job because I am happy here, even if it seems like the worst thing in the world to you.  Even when it is confusing, odd and I just really have no clue how to make, fit or deal with whatever, I am happy. Trust me this is not the most glamorous decision I have ever made and nor do I want to pretend as though it is.  But I tell you for certain, this is what Jesus wants right now. (and there, I just pulling the churchy/ religious" card" on you!)

My name is Melanie Slates, I am 22 years old, I quit my “big girl job” at age 21, turned down other offers and to the regular workforce of America I have “lost my mind” for this, The Media Slate.  And quiet frankly, it was the best thing I ever did.  

Obedience proves greater.

So there I sat and she was jumping, literally overjoyed by the persecution she faced.  We're talking singing this "I got persecuted but I am victorious because I have Jesus" chant over and over with arms in the air and feet dancing.  Truthfully, it was the complete opposite I was prepared for.  I tend to plan for for tears, hopelessness and complete panic over loosing a job.  Let alone figuring out how to explain to a new employer in this world that she's looking for a position because she was asked to stop talking about Jesus with clients, and refused.

It's not that she is clueless to the struggles that will come and the reality that bills have to be paid.  But she simply believes there is a God bigger than loosing a job over her unwillingness to deny her Savior.  She is solely satisfied in her obedience because Jesus is the affection of her heart.  The story is so much bigger than "how irresponsible and ridiculous to loose your job rather than just stop talking about Jesus"


Does anybody see it?  We are missing the entire point.  We've become so blind to obedience.

I don't know when the "christians" of America are going to stop setting their entire lives up and living in sin for the sake of worldly comfort.

Revelation 3:15-16“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

I don't know how to clearly communicate the utter tragedy and devastation that builds in our own lives by choosing comfort over obedience to Jesus.  I don't know when this will begin to take importance in more lives and catalyst to action the "christians" of America.

I know several selling their possessions to board a one way ticket, because reality is, death is likely the outcome for teaching the gospel in the middle east.  That is radical obedience and I know full well they are not lukewarm and the kingdom of God is theirs today and when struggles come.

I know one girl barely out of high school abandoning the american dream and a white wedding dress for an orphanage in the middle of Africa.  She no better is displaying the gospel to her fear-ridden parents who will spend days and nights apart only able to rely on Christ for safety of their child.  Her obedience is beautiful.    

I know one risking a paycheck and loosing an image held by thousands from confessing sin to bring forth freedom and that is choosing the gospel as most valuable.  That is what the people of the American church need to see by their leadership.

I've held the sleeping baby mid flight of one family transplanting to Ethiopia with three young children because the gospel needs to be taught.  Jesus does not call parents when their children are old and grown.  He calls us to obedience when it is hard, messy and irrational.
 

People who radically follow Jesus have no fear of worldly consequences that produce uncomfortable circumstance.  Obedience proves greater.  Jesus proves better. 

"If anyone wants to learn obedience, he must abandon reason."-Watchman Nee 

This world sees consequences to the obedience of the gospel as miserable and punishment.  This world sees obedience as unreasonable.  It is no punishment to suffer as response to obedience.  It is no punishment.     

I have to believe that out of the sufferings of obedience better things come.  Things that carry the kingdom to this broken world.  

Obedience proves greater.  It always will.