Meet Melanie Shull.

Hope brings us joy. Joy gives us hope. Therefore, we can conclude...Joy is hope.

Joy is faith. Does your faith bring you joy? Is your faith strong enough to believe that what God says He will do, He will do?

What runs through your mind when you see or hear the word joy? For part one of this blog series, I want us to discover what joy is through Mary's encounter with God's messenger.

Fall is also a time for examining the year's harvest. What are we gathering that's of eternal value? What are we bringing into the barns that is useless? How have we spent the past months? Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to till the ground of our hearts? Did we work with Him to plant good seed? Have we engaged with the Spirit to nurture, nourish, and grow God- pleasing fruit?

Believe me. I get it. Life is hard. Circumstances can be unbearable at times. But, what if I told you there's a struggle we should not be weary about? One we should embrace everyday with the energy, power, and joy of Jesus Christ?

Harboring doubt will never allow us to arrive at the Truth. Don't take a wrong turn. Only the Truth brings real joy and satisfaction.

My summer has been filled with lasting impressions. The imprints from God's fingertips have shaped my perspective to see Him in ways like never before through some amazing authors.

It overwhelms me at times as to how God orchestrated the selection of my parents for me through adoption. God knew this gentle man, who loved Him with a whole heart, was the daddy He designed to make a deep impression on this little girl’s heart for all eternity.

When I finished writing Unlocked Hearts, Unleashed Joy: Forgiveness Is the Key, the following words to this original song, along with the melody, seemed to pour out of me as the pen in my hand scribbled thoughts so fast, I could hardly keep up. May they minister to you as they have to me. 

Drawing confidence from our own well of flawed self worth will never sustain us, especially when life gets tough. We were not created for self-fulfillment, but to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 

Few people have influenced my life in the area of politics as much as an American patriot named Rush Hudson Limbaugh, III. For more than 30 years, whether you loved him or hated him, this one-of-a-kind American Patriot ushered Conservatism, without apology, to the forefront of the political debate. A pioneer of Conservative Talk Radio, his influence inspired millions in recognizing how America truly is the most blessed and greatest country on earth.

Until we know God, we will never know love like He means for us to - spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. For God is love. He is the essence of true, eternal, unconditional, unwavering love to which no other love can compare. Once we've experienced and are grounded in the love of the Father, then all other acts of love will be an extension of God's heart, flowing straight from the Source, as God ordained it.

God never points His people to a man-made political ideology. He actually commands that we not veer to the left or to the right, but instead remain steadfast in walking in the way of His Truth. Our purpose as His people is to follow His lead while leading others to do the same.

God's call on our lives always involves our exiting the old to enter the new. Let's call it The Principle of Exit to Enter.

Over the last couple of years, I've struggled with a tangled up situation - something I was quite aware of that I couldn't solve by myself. I knew when the time was right, I would be released and untangled, but until then, I had to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. If I continued to acknowledge Him in all my ways, then He would direct my path. (Proverbs 3:5-6)