Hello! I'm Melissa. I'm a follower of
Jesus Christ, and it's my prayer and desire that this would define
who I am more than anything else. I'm also a wife and a homeschooling
mom of four. I love being able to stay at home with our children
and care for our home.
I grew up knowing that more than
anything else, I wanted to be a wife and mother. God has graciously
granted that desire, and I am so grateful to be where He has me. I
enjoy most of the things that I do as as a homemaker – of course
there are those jobs that I don't enjoy as much as others – like
cleaning and ironing! I enjoy cooking and experimenting with new
recipes. I guess, in general, I like to try new things, so if there's
a way to make it or do it myself, I will usually give it a try! In my
little bits of free time here and there, I crochet, read, play piano,
and take walks with my husband. In this season of my life, though,
most of my time is devoted to my children and my husband, and I am
thankful to be able to give my time to them. My husband and I really
enjoy having people over to our home, and we try to invite others
over as often as we can.
I grew up on a dairy farm in central
Pennsylvania. It was a simple, but full life. I am the oldest of
six children, with four younger brothers and one little sister. My
mom stayed at home with all of us, homeschooling us through most of
our years of school, and my dad worked hard and faithfully on the
farm. I have many fond memories from my childhood of going on long
walks with Mom to wherever my Dad was working in the fields, playing
in the nearby creek, helping with farm chores, like milking and
feeding calves, and playing outside (lots!) with my brothers. Our
home was a pleasant one – not perfect – but good in so many ways.
My parents both loved the Lord and were committed to training us to
love and serve Him. I remember praying a very simple, childlike
prayer, when I was four years old, and asking Jesus to come into my
heart. I had dome something unkind to one of my younger brothers and
I remember, quite vividly, knowing that I needed someone to help me –
to change me.
As I grew older, there was, indeed,
much that needed to change and grow in my young heart. There were
also hopes and dreams, that I believe God placed in my heart, that I
would pray over and pursue. One of those dreams was to do some kind
of mission work, and when I was 20, I had the privilege of spending a
year in an orphanage in Ghana, Africa. It was a wonderful experience
for me in many ways, and I learned a lot through it. There were also
mistakes that I made, and God would use those to teach me and work in
my heart in profound ways.
As I said before, my greatest desire
had always been to be a wife and a mother. When I was 23, I finally
began dating the man who would later become my husband. Maybe
sometime in the future I will share in more detail about how the Lord
brought us together, but for now, I will stick to a shorter version!
The wait for marriage had often seemed very long, and God had many
lessons to teach me, and much work to do in my heart before I was
ready to be a wife and a mother. Looking back now, I can see at least
some of the reasons that God allowed me to wait longer than I wanted
to! When I met Dan, it didn't take me very long to figure out that he
was passionate about loving God and serving him, and that was the
thing that drew me to Dan more than anything else. After a short time
of dating and engagement, we were married on August 12, 2006.
Since
then, God has blessed us with four children and has taken us on a
journey together that has included four different homes. Our last
move took us from a rural part of Pennsylvania to a VERY rural part
of Montana, where we live now. My husband is a math and Bible teacher
at a small Christian school. We are also involved with a small
Native American church, where Dan fills in as a pastor, as the church
goes through the process of prayerfully seeking a full time pastor.
-Melissa
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