Melody's Sofa

Life is a Tree.....and it all starts here....

November 15, 2006
Expect Miracles

It all starts here....
Think of the power in this one little seed.......to start a whole tree that will grow thousands of apples in it's lifetime, each apple holding within it hundreds more trees.....

think of the power in this tiny little seed.
...I'll be back later to tell you what I think.

Ok...I am back...I am sitting in bed right now with my comfy blanket and my sweet hubby thinking about this whole thing...and, I have been thinking about it all day....all year, in fact....figuring out the miracle of an apple seed has been the story of my life for quite some time..... The miracle of seeds is really the specific blueprint that is in each seed....every seed has a specific plan built in to it before it ever starts to grow into whatever it is destined to grow into.....

If you planted an acorn....

you would never, ever, EVER get an apple tree.

......and, many a girl (including me) has spent hours and days and years trying to be an apple tree or an almond tree or a pine tree or a palm tree.........when she started out as an acorn.....and, IF ONLY she would figure it out, and then embrace it.......she could understand, enjoy and thrive at being a beautiful, strong, enduring oak tree, and she would bless so many and affect so much if she stopped wasting time trying to be something else....if she'd focus on growing into the blueprint in that acorn.....and if a girl who started out as an apple seed begs, pleads, studies & pays-for all sorts of lotions, potions and techniques to become an oak tree......she'll just spend her whole life frustrated AND waste a whole lot of beautiful apples, too.

WHY do we do this to ourselves?

Rhonda read some lines to me over the phone, from a great book...a month or so ago.....about finding your 'sweet spot'....and....what she read turned a belief that I've always had absolutely upside down....you see, I REALLY used to believe that you can choose whatever you want to be, however you want to be, whatever you want to do.....and then, if you work really hard, and stay really determined.... you can just go and do it......and be really phenomenal at it....BUT, through lots of trying and failing and disappointingly succeeding and even going on auto-pilot....it all became clear to me (I'll show you this book in a minute) the book says...."You can not be anything you want to be...but you can be everything God wants you to be..."

WOW....what? really?
yeh.
really. I mean, let's be honest....really. It's true.

I'm going to quote some more great stuff out of this book.....this is good stuff. This is the kind of stuff that makes you want to know FOR SURE what kind of seeds are planted in you, what kind of seed you are......what is YOUR blueprint.....but, we are people, we are God's children....so, we aren't just an oak tree that grows into other oak trees....we are each a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.....there will never be another one created like YOU...or ME....I am the only me, ever.....YOU are the ONLY you, ever.

wow.

"The Author of the human drama entrusted your part to you alone. Live your life, or it won't be lived. We need you to be you.

YOU need to be you.

You can't be your hero, your parent, or your big brother. You might imitate their golf swing or hair style, but you can't be them. You can only be you. All you have to give is what you've been given to give. Concentrate on who you are and what you have. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

"IF YOU AREN'T YOU, WE DON'T GET YOU...THE WORLD MISSES OUT."

and the back of the book says...

"God made only ONE version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment."

These are things that I believe...I KNOW this is true....I know it because I have been all over the place...near and far from where I am destined to be....near and far from my one-of-a-kind assignment...and, I've been around people who are THERE, and there is nothing like it in the whole world...nothing more exhilirating and freeing and beautiful than someone who knows, accepts and goes 100% into the custom-designed blueprint for WHO they really are........

...and the cool part is finding out that it's the stuff that makes you happiest, the stuff you are very best at, the stuff that makes your heart sing....the stuff that makes you "look at the sky and say...'I was born to do this'" Problem is.....too many of us feel guilty when we're doing things that make us this happy....when really, TRULY, what God wants most for us is that kind of happiness....that's why He made us this way, that's why He put those deepest desires into us.....to be creative, to express ourselves, to read about and study certain things, to help in ways that only we can....they are different for each one of us, and we really need to listen.

So...here's another great book.

"Cure For the Common Life" by Max Lucado
You will be so glad that you took the time to get this book and to read it.....it's good stuff...and I'm so glad that Mr. Lucado knows who he is enough to share his gifts....that's what it's all about....we need each other to get through life.....and we all have a different job to make it happen....and they're all so important......

Be exactly who you are....and be even more of that tomorrow......
You are just right.....

Lots of Love
melody

My South African Miracle Workers....

September 13, 2006

Expect Miracles

South African Angels
Before I can even begin to talk about my incredible trip to Africa....I have to tell you about Louise and Margot, the two who are responsible for generously bringing me and my American friends to the other side of the world and treating us like absolute royalty.

Louise puts together SOME kind of event, let me tell you. Never have I been to or even HEARD about a scrapbooking event like the one she puts on in Johannesburg. I could not believe the organization, the efficiency, the attention to beautiful and very special details, the pampering, the education, the inspiration, the entertainment, the shopping, the contests, the artwork that she provided to all attendees of her event and I was absolutely HONORED to be one of the teachers of the wonderful, gracious and receptive delegates who attended the event.....we all taught over 800 people over the 2 days of the event......it was wonderful!

And Margot.....OH Margot!!!! She is the ultimate travel and entertainment and hospitality coordinator....never was there an airport pick-up or bonvoyage, a driver arrangement, a dinner reservation or a safari that she did not perfectly coordinate with all the bells and whistles and very special treatment and care.......I can't believe the way she bent over backward for us....

And...they are both totally my heroes. I watched them pull all of this off with grace and beauty and a constant cheerful attitude....constantly making us feel like we were the most special people on earth....this was truly the trip of a lifetime.....and, I can't wait to go back....so, here's to YOU, Louise and Margot....the queen bees with your hive of miraculously effective team mates....sharing the sweetest honey known to man......I will forever call you friends and can't wait to see you again!!!

Then there's my awesome roommate....Annette Hardy from AMM.....oh, Annette, my new adopted sister.....she totally looked out for me from the minute we met in the Denver airport and I was totally drugged up on Dramamine.......she had to pick up my suitcase/hobo pile configuration more times than I can count and bungee it all back together....she totally put up with me.......and I love her.......I love her so much....
we had a total blast sharing our rooms in Cape Town and on the Safari and on the last few nights when we had our own room....I totally missed her!!!! We really bonded as sisters and she was one of my very favorite parts of my whole trip to Africa....you just never know where you're going to make a lifelong friend....I love you, Annette!!!

And...all of my travel companions...I miss you guys!!! We had the most incredibly magical trip starting from the very beginning.....and because of Becky Higgin's relentless asking of life stories and the question in my Instant Interview's book....we bonded more deeply than I have with my own family.....so.....Becky and Dave, Heidi and Ryan, Renee and Kent, Anita and David, Jessica and Joanna, Amy and Adrienne, and my buddy system buddy Annette....I just want you all to know that you truly changed my life and helped me figure some really important things out for myself, heal up some hurts and remember what life's all about.......I will never forget the time we spent together in Africa!!!

And...as soon as we all get done gathering the photos that we all took and are sharing....I will start posting them here and telling you all about the miracles of this trip.

I am so happy to be home and can't wait to get back into my blogging routine! I missed you guys!!!

Lots of Love
Melody

p.s. Check out Renee's posts about our adventures too...anyone else?
http://reneepearson.typepad.com/fertilepress/

Deserving Happiness?...what the?...

August 30th, 2006

Expect Miracles
Deserving Happiness???…what the…???

Do You Deserve To Be Happy?

What the heck kind of question is that??????? Where do we learn this stuff? Wherever we picked it up,,.it is time to unlearn it…we need to remember the way we felt when we were kids…or more like, the ways we didn’t feel…the things we never even considered…like whether or not we were ‘worthy’ or ‘good enough’…we just were who we were, who we were perfectly created to be….and we were happy to be here and happy about being happy….
I remember just dancing through life until I was about 11….and then something happened somehow in my brain that overtook what my soul always knew….I started thinking you had to ‘deserve’ or ‘earn’…and it’s taken years to recover from it….I’m still trying…remember my poem “I MADE YOU” ….that poem came from my starting to understand the nature of God’s unconditional love, acceptance and care for us individually….He made us!

I was browsing on the internet last night and found a poll that knocked my socks off and left me with my jaw dropped, made me want to grab every woman I know, gently put my hands on her face and say…”is this really how you feel?” …then hug her and remind her of the truth of things…..what happens when we are adults that makes us forget that we are absolutely right just the way we are????

…it was on Oprah.com and was entitled “Are You Happy With Yourself?” …of the 60,000ish people who responded, here were the results…

Are you happy with yourself?
Yes 25%
No 75%

Number of responses: 62643

In what area do you feel you've failed yourself the most?
Career 12.3%
Children 8.2%
Romantic relationships 17.3%
Friends 4.8%
Personal goals/dreams 57.4%
Number of responses: 50791

When you look in the mirror every day, how do you feel?
Proud 4.6%
Satisfied 25.6%
Disgusted 30.4%
Ugly 21%
Out of control 18.4%
Number of responses: 56485

Is how much you dislike yourself a secret you keep from other people in your life?
Yes 74%
No 26%
Number of responses: 54746

How do you escape reality?
Use drugs/alcohol 5.9%
Sleep 12%
Gossip about other people 2.5%
Have sex 1.2%
Isolate yourself 29.7%
Overeat 26.8%
Other 22%
Number of responses: 54806

I feel worthy and good enough
Some of the time 39.7%
Most of the time 27.3%
Almost never 27.5%
Never 5.5%
Number of responses: 56262

Seriously, gals…..how did this happen?

What I know deep down in my knowingest heart and brain space is that we can’t get to the places that we want most…in the relationships we want most unless we know the truth about how wonderful we are….unless we know and remember that there’s no such thing as being ‘worthy’ of love or happiness…God’s real intent for us is joy joy joy, really…we are loved and wonderful and just right, just by being God’s children…we can always improve and we can always work a little harder, but we are loved and cherished TODAY…and we will be tomorrow…and we’ll always be enough…no matter what. I really believe that and I hope you do, too. I hope you do because there’s others who need you to remind them of the truth…your daughters and your friends and even the women you admire…

But…believe me when I tell you that sometimes I listen to the mean, dark, taunting words that silently come from everywhere but Heaven…you know…the ones that say “you will never be good enough” or “you don’t deserve those things or those people…” …and, for some reason, those yucky words are sometimes more believable that the truth…what would the truth say? WHAT DOES THE TRUTH SAY? It says “there’s enough happiness and joy out there for everyone, more than enough…go out and absorb it…breathe it in and breathe it out and there will still be more there when you breathe it in again…” and “you don’t have to earn happiness, it’s what is intended for you…” and “…you are more than enough, you are magnificent!”

I love this picture because it is the picture of JOY…I look at it when I want to remember the kind of JOY that God really wants for all of us…He really really does.
Imagine the newly talking 2 or 3 year old little girl in your life…maybe it’s your daughter or your cousin or your granddaughter…imagine her coming to you and asking…”what will it take for me to be good enough to earn happiness, and earn your unconditional love?”

Ridiculous! We are that same pure and wonderful little girl that we were when we could just form words…what if we REALLY went to God and asked that question? What do you think He would say? Would He say…”come back when you have a degree from Harvard and 14% bodyfat and check to see if I love you then, if you’ve earned your happiness and self-acceptance…” yeh, right. Why do we let ourselves believe those kinds of deceptions?

I think we ALL know that He would say…”I have always loved you and I always will…I love you when you make mistakes, and I’m here to help you correct them…I love you when you fall down, and I’m here to help you back up…I love you when you achieve your goals, but I loved you anyway…I love you no matter what…you are JUST RIGHT, just the way you are…I know that because I made you that way…”

That’s the truth.

Hope you guys are doing great and I hope especially that you are not in the kind of pain that it looks like 75% of the population is in…living with not being happy with yourself. My challenge is that you go and ask the Guy who made you if you are ‘enough’…you’ll get an answer loud and clear…..you are wonderful and the best thing you can do for the people that you love and who love you is for you to accept the truth…that you are wonderful and you ‘deserve’ all the happiness in the world….

Lots of Love
Melody

We Might Wobble, But We Don't Stay Down.....

August 23, 2006
Expect Miracles

We Might Wobble, But We Don't Stay Down....

“Love works in miracles every day: such as weakening the strong, and strengthening the weak; making fools of the wise, and wise men of fools; favouring the passions, destroying reason, and in a word, turning everything topsy-turvy.” -Marguerite De Valois

Do you know what is a miracle to me? What people make it through.....

Life sometimes hands out blows that seem inconcievably harsh....and, you sure can tell a lot about a person when you see how they handle those blows. I have seen people make it through so much sorrow and hardship and disappointment...and just hop back up and keep going.....maybe through tear-filled eyes, and with scraped-up knees, but they get up and keep moving......life made 'em wobble, but they didn't fall down.....

And...I really believe that we are all like Weebles...remember those? I remember the commercials about this toy when I was a kid....and then we got some for Christmas....and it amazed me that no matter what you did, how hard you tried to get them to lay down or stay down.....they would always pop back up and upright.....

Once we taped their heads to the floor with masking tape....just to get them to stay down....but, as soon as we took the tape off...BLOOP...there they were!!! back upright!!!....wobbling then settling into a straight upright position........

I know for sure that things happen in life that tape me to the ground....but my Spirit still has everything in it to stand straight up......pointing towards Heaven....no matter what happens, how much things get to wobbling, I'll never stay down.....and, neither will you.....we are just not made that way....we are made to always get back up. There's always that something inside of us that we can dig deep for that will make us BLOOOOOP right back up when anything and everything tries to hold us down.

Remember that...don't ever forget it....please don't let me forget it, either.

Hope You're Having a Great DAY!
Lots of Love-
Melody

Mission Accomplished....

Expect Miracles
August 16th, 2006 (Happy Birthday, Max!!!)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

So....I missed a few days, didn't I??.........

Monday -SUCCESS & GOALS THAT MATTER - I made a goal to get some rest...and I've been trying really hard to do that...and to start drawing & creating again, and I did that this week, too.....how are your goals going? What successes did you have this week?

Tuesday-WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? - uh...I totally hate getting my picture taken and I had to do a magazine photo shoot on Monday....I started seeing the difference in the test shots between a real smile and fake smile...so I had JQ and Kenna...the dynamic duo from customer service at Chatterbox, come up and do a comedy routine to help prompt a real smile.....and, then I was laughing too hard....so, we'll see how the pictures turn out..and if my nostrils were flaring or not from the laughter......but, I found a way to overcome my fear.....and, it might just be my first magazine cover...I will let you know!!

AND TODAY IS WEDNESDAY AND LAST WEDNESDAY I STARTED EXPECTING MIRACLES!!!!
....and guess what? It happened....MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.....a miracle showed-up at my door after driving 5 hours with her 2 little kids and that miracle stayed all weekend!!! See, it works!!!

Each of my days are miracles. I won't waste my day; I won't throw away a miracle. -Kelley Vicstrom

Lori and I met about 12 years ago at a seminar.....we both went gung-ho until selling health magnets (don't ask....) anyway...she lived on the other side of the state and the big conference was here in big old Boise.....and we met....and we totally fell in girlfriends-forever love with each other...........and then the bottom fell out of the health magnet market. (you heard about that, right?) and we both went our separate ways with magnetic insoles in our shoes....and years went by....7 to be exact, without speaking to each other...even though we always thought about each other....and then somehow, through the MIRACLE of the internet, she found my email address and we got back in touch again....and for a few years wrote back and forth longingly............then, last January we decided we coudn't wait any longer and she got in her car and drove 5 hours to see me!!!! It was absolutely wonderful....she was in the pitts and needed a boost...and we had a blast....and she remembered her goals that weekend and started up on her big dreams again......

.....well, she knew i was looking for a miracle....and some fun.....my FUN CHALLENGE...and she showed up on Friday morning....and MAN did I ever need her..............and, we had the BEST weekend....so, see....I was expecting difficulty, I had my teeth gritted...I was ready to take it on....and then, through the door comes this little message from Heaven that there's always light in the darkness......
...these are pictures from our January visit...I lost my cord to get my pictures off of my camera for this visit....but, I can tell you now that I do not look as rested as I do here..............and, I love the photo of Marq and I because he was doing so so so good then...and WE were doing so so so so good then...and I know that miracles will happen again.

So....keep on expecting miracles.....keep on keepin' on as my friend, Joe Dirt says. Miracles will always come....even if they're small, they really are BIG....big enough to change everything.

Where there is great love there are always miracles. -Willa Cather

LoTs and LoTs of LoVe..............
Melody