I'm Back...

Well…

It has been a while!

I have been b.u.s.y.!!!

Remember a few months ago when I wrote about time?!?!??? 

(and being too busy)

Turns out, God had me study and prepare that lesson for myself! 

(Gotta love it when HE does something like that!)

So yes, I have been very, very busy.  

And God has been very busy in my life too.

As many of you know, I went back to school in January.  I am working to finish my undergraduate degree through Liberty University online.  AND…I LOVE it!!!  Don’t get me wrong.  Going back to college after a 20+ year break is hard. Really, really hard.  But I am enjoying the challenge.  I have wanted to finish my degree for such a long time.  Realistically it seemed impossible and I never even researched the possibility.  It was just a dream and I thought it would never be anything more.  But while sitting at a Women of Faith event last November, I felt God leading me to visit the Liberty University booth.  I walked to that booth with no plan, but I knew God was leading me.  By January, the financial aid was in place and I began classes.  So here I am…working towards a degree in Psychology for Christian Counseling.  And it’s definitely a God-thing!!!

Another major change for our family…

Last winter, shortly after starting classes, Chip and I felt God leading us to another unexpected change.   Several times, we had talked about and dreamed about me being able to work for the Matthew Bellamy Project full time.  Like going back to school, it seemed like a distant dream.  But during our prayer time, we began to feel God leading us to do just that.  So we continued to pray, and pray, and pray some more about it.  By the time spring rolled around, we were certain it was the next step for our family.  So, at the end of August, I left my job (that I love) and began to work for the Matthew Project (which I also love!) full time.  Another God-thing!!!

We are truly walking by faith right now!

I am asking for your prayers (again!).  Chip and I are trying so hard to follow where God leads and the devil continues to challenge us.  But my God is bigger than any obstacle or scheme the evil one can fathom.  I trust in HIM.

I also turned forty last week.

My thirty-something years were rough, so I’m looking forward to a new decade in my life.  

Thank you for continuing to love and care for my family.

So many of you have become the literal hands and feet of God to us and we love you!!!

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 3:14

little bitty me, great BIG God

Have you seen it yet???

/

It's our new billboard for the Matthew Project.  But for me, it's so much more...

You see, I've prayed for this billboard, in this spot for over two years.  I was told financially, the project couldn't afford it yet.  But I did not give up.  I believed that this sign was supposed to be here.  So I did the only thing I knew to do...PRAY!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

~Philippians 4:6

It wasn't something I prayed for everyday, but it was something I prayed for faithfully.  And God answered in a mighty way.  HE provided this billboard at a cost the project can afford.  HE put the right people in place to make it happen.  When I drive by it, I am still amazed at how HE answered my prayer. On my own I was powerless to make this happen. But with God...

ALL things are possible!

~Matthew 19:26

What are you facing right now?  What situation seems impossible for you?  You might be small in comparison to the problem, but God isn't.  I encourage you to pray, faithfully, believing that God will answer. 

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

~John 16:24 

My billboard story might seem silly to you.  To me it's prove of God's greatness. I wanted this to happen so desperately for our ministry.  I wanted our message in this location, where parent's will see it taking their kids to school.  I wanted people to remember Matthew's accident and be cautious with their kids.  And I trusted God to make it happen.  HE did, in HIS perfect timing!

Did I mention that the same week this went up, Matthew's story received it's first national press coverage???  Yes indeed, our story is featured in May's issue of Parent's Magazine in an article on gun safety.  See what I mean about God's perfect timing?  I did this interview in 2011.  It was printed when God knew the time was right.

I believe in the work Chip and I are doing in Matthew's memory.  I also believe God is in control of it.  Without HIM, little bitty me is powerless.  With my great BIG God...great things are happening!

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

Because HE Lives...

For most of my life, Christmas was my favorite holiday. As a child I obviously looked forward to Santa coming and the gifts.  As a mom, I fell in love with Christmas for a different reason. There is nothing like watching the excitement of your child at Christmas. I used to love the sights, smells, crafts, decorating, baking, gift wrapping...all of it!

Then we lost Matthew...
and everything changed.

From a religious stand point, I still love Christmas. Nothing, not even the death of my son, can diminish the gift of Christ. But Christmas is no longer my favorite holiday. It's hard, really hard. And I don't think that's ever going to change.

My new favorite holiday is Easter.

Matthew died in January, and Easter was our first real holiday without him. It was the first time our extended family was all together. It was one of the first times (of many) I was consumed by his absence and by the fact that our lives are forever changed.

But somehow through the unspeakable pain and grief so soon after Matthew's death, I discovered a new love for Easter and it's true meaning.

Christmas is a beautiful holiday. The birth of our Savior is a wondrous, joyous occasion. But it only the beginning of the story.  Without the end of the story, The Gift has no purpose. Without Easter, what does the birth of Christ mean???

In Easter, I have discovered the true beauty of the story, the true meaning of the gift of Christ.

We are all sinners by nature...

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

~Romans 3:23

But when Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, then rose from the dead three days later...

It all changed!

For the wages of sin is death,  but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Romans 6:23 

Three years ago, on that first Easter without my Matthew, I finally began to understand what God had truly given me in The Gift of Christ.

Because of Easter, I get to see my Matthew again.
Because of Easter, my family will be complete again.
Because of Easter, we will be reunited one day for eternity.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

~John 3:16

It overwhelms me.
I am not worthy.
Yet for some reason, God loves me enough that HE spared HIS son, so that I may see my son again. It's the reassurance of that promise that keeps me going. It's how I survive the darkest moments.

So if you see a tear on my face the next few days, it may be because I am missing Matthew. Or, it may be because every Easter I feel completely overwhelmed by what this holiday truly means.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me. Thank you for giving me the gift of eternal life. Thank you for promising me that I will see Matthew again. Your gift is more than I can comprehend.

~Mylissa