Faith – Melissa Schlies

The Real Secret To Our Marriage (repost)

As we're talking about building routines in marriage this month, I'd thought I'd re-share this post on what makes the foundation of our relationship strong--our beliefs. Naming our beliefs and values are one of the first steps in building healthy routines in marriage. Do you remember, in high school, wishing you had the answer key to a hard exam? Even though you knew cheating was wrong, there was a part of you that wished for an easier way. For me, it was always my chemistry exams—which is ironic as here we are talking about a different kind of chemistry. That [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-05-27T20:10:17+00:00May 31st, 2021|Categories: Faith, Friendship, Habit Making, Marriage, Relationships, Routines, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Five Routines Worth Revisiting This Season

Sometimes, when I talk about routines, I feel what I imagine my mom must have felt when she used to tell us to eat our vegetables. Like I am encouraging you, my online friends, to finish your spinach. I’m so the life of the party. Routines can feel as interesting as eating broccoli, but I have to tell you—when I find myself in a good daily rhythm, life feels more like cake and ice cream. There’s less pushing through. Instead, when I am practicing the right routines, there is more time savoring my life. Like when Tony and I are [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-05-01T11:16:39+00:00April 19th, 2021|Categories: Change, discipline, Faith, Food, Habit Making, Health, Mental Health, Practice, Routines|4 Comments

A Single Person’s Bucket List (repost)

With it being Valentine's Day on Sunday, I thought I'd re-share one of my most popular posts from 2020 all on singleness. Though the pandemic has changed the way one may go about writing/fulfilling their bucket list, I would say it is more important now more than ever. When I was in college, a relationship expert came to speak at our Chapel* one day. As the historical joke/motto for our school was to expect a “ring by spring” if you were dating someone, it seemed fitting. Though I went to college for my education (and maybe, to meet a boyfriend), many [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-02-09T15:54:44+00:00February 11th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Courage, Faith, Habit Making, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Waiting|Tags: Singleness|Comments Off

When Christmas Carols Sound Sad (& What to do With All Our Feelings this Week)

One night recently, Tony and I were on our way home from doing—what else—holiday errands. The sky outside was dark. A Christmas carol that is one of our favorites was playing on the radio. And about halfway through the song, Tony said, “For some reason, this song sounds sad this year.” It’s amazing how much of our own experiences we bring to music, or any type of art for that matter. But when Tony said these words I had to agree. In years past, this particular song has sounded as triumphant to me as Easter morning. As hopeful as kids [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-12-18T19:37:23+00:00December 21st, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Change, Christmas, Depression, Faith, grief, Holidays, Hope, Loneliness, Social Distancing|Comments Off

For the Person Asking “Why Even Bother Celebrating Christmas?”

For many of us, when things don’t go the way we want, our first response is, “What’s the point?” Why should we continue with our plans if they can’t happen the way we want them to? Why should we even bother? Since buying our house earlier this year, in the middle of COVID, I’ve been tempted to think this way many times. Only for all of us, this defeatist attitude stems not from our plans being changed. Rather it is our desires that drove us to make our plans in the first place. My struggle to keep from throwing in [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-12-15T15:27:06+00:00December 14th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Christmas, Faith, grief, Habit Making, Holidays, Hope, perseverance, Practice, Preparation, Waiting|Comments Off

On Wanting Christmas to Make Everything Better

For many, Christmas came early this year. By that I mean, even some of my die hard “Christmas doesn’t begin until after Thanksgiving” friends, were decorating their tree the first week of November. Like in The Holderness Family video, we’ve all wanted to believe “Christmas will make everything better.” A little red and green comfort decorated with twinkle lights, feels like a balm on the ache that has been this season. Only now that we’re officially into December, even Christmas is feeling different this year. So many of us are having to let go of our usual traditions and even [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-12-04T16:28:10+00:00December 7th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Depression, Faith, Holidays, Hope, Loneliness, Waiting|Comments Off

Practicing Gratitude In The Midst Of What Can’t Be

There are times in life when we get to be deliriously happy. As a kid, for me, this looked like our Grampa spontaneously taking us out for ice cream. Waking up to our mom baking blueberry muffins. And running down the beach with our cousins. For some reason, it doesn’t take much to experience complete joy as a kid. It doesn’t take much to experience complete joy as a kid. Though as adults, we too, have our own spectacular moments. For me, this happiness has looked like riding a train through the country side of India. The night Tony told [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-11-20T20:02:40+00:00November 23rd, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, Conflict, Faith, gratitude, grief, Holidays, Hope, Social Distancing|Comments Off

When You Find Yourself in a Desert

Two summers ago, when travel was still fun and easy, Tony and I went to California. We began our trip by eating our way through San Francisco, and staring at the Gold Gate Bridge. Then, before wrapping our trip up in Sonoma, we camped in Big Sur. We crossed Bixby Bridge. Pitched our tent in the middle of redwoods. And spent quite a few afternoons and evenings walking the gorgeous beaches. We saw the purple sand, and even spotted a few dolphins. But in the middle of it all, we noticed something strange: Our hands felt different. They were still [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-27T13:33:29+00:00October 26th, 2020|Categories: Change, Faith, Hope, perseverance, Waiting|Comments Off

When Everything Felt Empty, He Whispered, “This is What I’m Like”

Taking a break from our normal routine to share a few stories from trips we’ve taken—for all of us missing our usual vacations. The first time we went to the Finger Lakes in New York, they were having a drought. Tony is a gifted landscape photographer, and planned to shoot the dramatic Taughannock Falls. Only when we got there, it was only a trickle. The waterfall looked like a leaky faucet. It had all but dried up. The sight of water dripping down the side of the rock face is deeply embedded in my memory. At the time, it felt [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-08-31T15:59:56+00:00September 7th, 2020|Categories: Faith, Fear, gratitude, Hope, Identity, Travel|Comments Off

Our Church Story

On Monday, I shared about why I have so much hope for the church in the time of COVID. Today, I want to share a little bit about our journey with church, to hopefully cast a little light on where that hope comes from. It’s weird to say I went from working in full time ministry for almost a decade, to not attending church at all. It’s not how I planned things to go. But that is what happened. Eight years ago, when I left ministry, Tony and I stopped attending church. At first, we both needed some time to [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-08-07T19:15:06+00:00August 7th, 2020|Categories: Church, Faith, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Story|4 Comments

The Real Secret To Our Marriage (repost)

Five Routines Worth Revisiting This Season

A Single Person’s Bucket List (repost)

For the Person Asking “Why Even Bother Celebrating Christmas?”

On Wanting Christmas to Make Everything Better

When You Find Yourself in a Desert

When Everything Felt Empty, He Whispered, “This is What I’m Like”

Our Church Story

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