Freedom – Page 4 – Melissa Schlies

Leaving Home

Out of all the relationships we have in our life, our family ones are typically the strongest. For good or bad, they are the people who have the power to impact our lives the most. After all, they are the first people to tell us where to be strong and when to be afraid. To tell us whether the world is a friendly or fearful place. More than anything though, They are the first people to tell us who we are. Only at some point, we have to learn all of these things for ourselves. We have to take what [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T00:53:19+00:00February 26th, 2018|Categories: Character, Courage, Fear, Freedom, Identity, Relationships|6 Comments

Love: My Favorite Books from 2017

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye I totally relate to what Salinger is saying in these words. Every now and then, I read a book and it feels like I have begun an incredible conversation with the author. Only, with the last page, not knowing the writer, the conversation ends. It [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:22:58+00:00December 14th, 2017|Categories: Freedom, Good Books, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Success, Travel|Comments Off

Peace on (our bleeding) Earth

Our country is bleeding. The first time I realized this, I was twenty. Two planes had just torn through the twin towers in New York City. I had come out of a class at college, and was walking through the student center, when I passed a classmate who looked like he had seen a ghost. He couldn’t tell me what had happened. I walked a little further down the hall and into a lounge where people had gathered around a TV. My sheltered belief that I lived in a safe country in a relatively safe world, was shattered. The news [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:24:45+00:00December 11th, 2017|Categories: Change, Christmas, Courage, Freedom, Hope|Comments Off

Love Learn Lead December 7, 2017

Happy Thursday! This past weekend, Tony and I went to a Christmas Tree farm with our closest friends, to cut down our tree. It has become a great tradition over the past few years. One that usually entails all the guys going ahead to scope out the best tree, while us girls slowly walk behind, shoving our hands in our pockets to keep warm, and talking about our favorite TV shows or catching up on the week. The guys find the trees, we give our approval, and then they are cut down and strapped to our cars. There is something [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:27:12+00:00December 7th, 2017|Categories: Christmas, Freedom, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Success|Comments Off

Wishing you a Very Hallmark Christmas

Since October, the Hallmark Channel has been playing Christmas movies almost non-stop. And I wish I could tell you I am immune to its candy cane coated version of life, but I am not. Over the past month or so, whenever I’ve felt under the weather or had to fold laundry, I have found myself sucked into another one of their love stories. She’s a lawyer who just wants to make ice sculptures and he’s the Christmas tree farmer with a broken heart. Or He’s a movie star looking for a place to call home, and she’s the woman planning [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:28:41+00:00December 4th, 2017|Categories: Christmas, Freedom|Comments Off

Learn: How I got Unstuck

To best appreciate this post, read this first. The hot July sun tried to pierce through the trees, as we made our way down the trail, only the tree cover was thick enough to keep us cool. My sister and brother-in-law were visiting us from Massachusetts, and we were showing them one of our favorite places, Ricketts Glen State Park. At this point, we had hiked the trails that pass by the majority of the waterfalls in the park, but we wanted to make a stop at Adams Falls as well. We walked down the path to the bottom, where [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T00:56:04+00:00October 26th, 2017|Categories: Change, Courage, Faith, Freedom, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, perseverance|Comments Off

Stuck

Six years ago, on a hot, sunny Saturday over Labor Day weekend, I stood at the top of a waterfall. I stared at the cool pool of water collecting just before spilling over the edge, and debated sticking my feet in. I didn’t hesitate long. Tony had gone further down the trail with his camera, to try and capture the waterfall from the bottom. I could see him from where I was standing, and knew I had a least a few minutes before it would be time for us to head back to camp. So, I took off my hiking [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T01:10:40+00:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Change, Courage, Fear, Freedom, Hope|Comments Off

This One Is My Favorite, Part 2

To Read Part 1, Click Here. At some point during our tasting, possibly as he poured our third wine, I had an epiphany. Sure, you might chalk it up to the wine, but all of a sudden—I know this is going to sound a little strange so bear with me—I realized that this winery owner was reminding me of God. Where all the other wineries we had visited that weekend in the Finger Lakes, let us choose what wines we liked best, this vineyard owner didn’t. Where none of the people working at the other wineries even attempted to suggest [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T19:55:36+00:00August 28th, 2017|Categories: Faith, Freedom, Hope, Travel, Uncategorized|Comments Off

This One Is My Favorite, Part 1

At some point during our tasting, possibly as he poured our third wine, I had an epiphany. I know this is going to sound a little strange so bear with me—I realized this winery owner was reminding me of God… Not too long ago, Tony and I went away for the weekend with our closest friends. We drove up north to the Finger Lakes in New York, to relax, do some hiking, and spend some time together. But we also went to visit some of the many wineries that surround a few of the lakes. The four of us had [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T19:59:25+00:00August 21st, 2017|Categories: Faith, Freedom, Hope, Travel|Comments Off

Don’t Forget to Have Fun!

It is officially summer. We will have days at the beach or the pool. Trips to go hiking or explore new places. Time spent with friends or extended family—cooking out or sitting around a fire. And even possibly, a vacation to some place lovely. It is the time of year where everything is supposed to slow down. The hustle of winter and spring is brought down a few notches, and we can actually have— Fun. The only problem with this is that for some of us, having fun is a struggle. Not all of us can flip the switch from [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-18T20:26:42+00:00June 26th, 2017|Categories: Balance, Freedom, Health|Comments Off

Leaving Home

Love: My Favorite Books from 2017

Peace on (our bleeding) Earth

Love Learn Lead December 7, 2017

Wishing you a Very Hallmark Christmas

Learn: How I got Unstuck

Stuck

This One Is My Favorite, Part 2

This One Is My Favorite, Part 1

Don’t Forget to Have Fun!

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