Author: Melissa Pillone

Have you ever made a great plan that, despite your best efforts, didn't work out? I bet you have. I'm pretty sure we all have. It can be devastating when it happens. We can begin to question our "real" purpose when our good plan fails or regret wasting all the time and energy that was… Continue reading A Plan Gone Wrong?

When I was is my late teens, early twenties I was very lost. Figuratively of course. I could tell you where I was physically, but mentally I had no idea how I ended up there and seemingly kept making wrong turns! I was trying to figure things out on my own, running from mistakes while… Continue reading The Lost Daughter

"My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14. This verse was on my mind both before and since my surgery 10 days ago. I chose this verse because I was a bit nervous about the surgery and I knew the one thing that would calm me most was knowing… Continue reading Time to Rest

My husband and I are very involved with our church. One of my favorite things I'm involved in is the Stewardship Committee. When I first joined the committee, I admit I didn't know much about Stewardship. Part of the reason I decided to join was the committee had just lost it's co-chair and that left the… Continue reading More Than We Need

Recently, I was catching up with a friend I hadn't spoken to in a while. The conversation went something like this: "Melissa, how are you and JP doing?" "We are great. I'm having surgery in a couple of weeks and JP lost his job in August." After I said it I realized how silly it… Continue reading Staying Positive

Throughout my life I have often cried out to God asking Him for help in understanding who I was and why I did the things I did. Even as a child I felt I didn't fit in nor could I do anything right. As a teenager and adult I have struggled with both depression and… Continue reading I Don’t Understand Myself

One of the most difficult things that Jesus has asked us to do is to forgive others. I know for many people, forgiveness seems like an impossible task, especially when the hurt runs so deep. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that not forgiving someone who has wronged us actually exacerbates… Continue reading As We Forgive Our Debtors

What is your favorite Bible verse? This question always stumps me. There are just too many good ones. But if by "favorite" you mean "which Bible verse do you recite most often?" then hands down it's Matthew 6:9-13. Even those of you who proclaim you don't know scripture well, probably know this one. It's the… Continue reading Forgive Us Our Debts

When I started writing my blog I made a commitment to myself to write every Sunday. I also made sure that every Sunday I chose the verse I would be focusing on the coming week. These two things were to hold me accountable as well as give me something to write about. As I sat… Continue reading I Choose Him

The purpose of the book of Proverbs was, and still is, to teach people how to attain wisdom and discipline and to learn how to live a just and moral life. Most of Proverbs was written by King Solomon. It's often my "go to" place in the Bible when I am struggling with a negative… Continue reading Joy Finders