Learn – Page 3 – Melissa Schlies

Three Things To Do When You Want To Escape Your Life

Growing up, there was a common theme that ran through many of the movies I watched and books I read. The main character or hero was presented with a choice: Go follow your dreams OR stay where everything is familiar and always wonder what would have happened if you left. In ninety-nine percent of those stories, the hero left home. "Go follow your dreams" OR "stay where everything is familiar and always wonder what would have happened if you left." The protagonist said goodbye to all she knew, and set out on her own. Sure, in many stories, she came [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-07-22T23:05:02+00:00July 23rd, 2020|Categories: Change, Character, Courage, Depression, Freedom, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, perseverance|Comments Off

On Finding Balance the Midst of Change

When I was a kid, the place I most wanted to be in the summer was the beach. As we were fortunate to live close to one, it was where my mom took me and my sisters almost daily. After all, there are endless activities to entertain four girls at the beach. There are sandcastles to build, sea shells to find, and waves to chase. Only, that last one didn’t always go as we planned. I remember my sisters and I running into the ice cold, foaming salt water just far enough so we could ride the waves into shore. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-07-15T23:46:26+00:00July 16th, 2020|Categories: Balance, Change, Character, Conflict, Failure, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, perseverance|Comments Off

What Helped Me Get 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|2020-07-06T14:50:18+00:00July 9th, 2020|Categories: Change, Conflict, Courage, Faith, Fear, Freedom, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Preparation|Comments Off

Five Reasons Not To Ignore Self Care During Times of Change

There are two kinds of change in this world: The change we long for and the change that finds us. Before 2020, the timing of these changes were typically different for each of us. For me, I got married after a lot of my friends but before all of my sisters. And when my first career was ending, some of my friends’ jobs were just taking off. But then COVID hit, and change found us all. Our world came to a stand still, and our lives changed in ways we are still discovering. Collectively we’ve all experienced trauma, while individually [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-30T15:30:26+00:00July 2nd, 2020|Categories: Balance, Change, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mental Health, Practice, Self Care|Comments Off

This Week, We Turn Ten

Ten years ago, this week, we said, “We do.” In other words, “We’re in.” For the adventure, the joy, and the highs of accomplishments earned. For the experiences we never thought we’d have, made better by enjoying them together. Only, that is not all. We also said, “We’re in” for the mundane. The days that string together as boring as iceberg lettuce lined up at the grocery store. “We’re in” for the dark days of struggle and loss. And “we’re in” for traversing the breathtaking lows we didn’t see coming. We’re in this thing called life, together. Ten years ago, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-24T19:40:57+00:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Relationships|Comments Off

5 Tips to Planning The Perfect Day Trip

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” ― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now As with so many things Maya Angelou said, her words about [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-15T19:38:51+00:00June 18th, 2020|Categories: FOMO, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

Summer Reading Week 2020, Part 2: Five Fantastic Fiction Books

Reading some books is like eating chips and salsa. In the same way you can’t stop taking another chip and another chip, you can’t stop flipping the pages. But when you’re through you don’t always feel completely satisfied. Sure it was fun, delicious even. Only something inside you, still feels a little hollow. Reading some books is like eating chips and salsa. In the same way you can’t stop taking another chip and another chip, you can’t stop flipping the pages. This is how I feel about a lot of beach reads. They are fantastic escapes for a few hours [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-08T13:32:42+00:00June 11th, 2020|Categories: Good Books, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead|Comments Off

To Fight Racism, We Need to Better Understand Racism (A Few Resources to Help)

If your friend called you in the middle of the night, upset, what would you do? Before getting up and driving over to their home, before making a plan on how best to help them— You’d listen, right? You’d ask them to take a deep breath, then to tell you what was wrong. You wouldn’t come over and fix the problem—because you don’t even know what the problem is yet. You wouldn’t tell them to call you in the morning; you care too much about them. You would listen. On Monday, I shared where I am at on my journey [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-03T22:46:38+00:00June 4th, 2020|Categories: Change, Conflict, Courage, Good Books, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Racism|Comments Off

Three Screen-less Self Care Practices for the Pandemic Weary

Last week, for the first time in months, I went to see three people I love. There were birthdays and graduations to celebrate, so I dropped off gifts at each of their door steps. We kept our distance. Masks were worn. And—it was harder than I thought it would be. Where I expected my visits to be like little reunions, a sadness hung in the air. We couldn’t hug like we normally do. Almost everything we talked about related to how the virus has changed our lives. And being together—at a distance—was good, but strange. We kept our distance. Masks [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-05-27T12:57:24+00:00May 21st, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Practice, Routines, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off

To The Class of 2020, & The Lessons We’re All Learning

When the clock strikes Midnight on January 1, 2021, all of us are going to feel like the class of 2020. Collectively, we will feel like we survived the most widespread trial of our time—with all the politics and conspiracies that went with it. And, if we’re in a better place (Lord, we pray), we will feel like we’re graduating from one of the most challenging years of our lives. But right now, in May, academically speaking, the real Class of 2020 deserves their due. As many of you know by now, I was a youth pastor for over seven [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-05-13T23:50:41+00:00May 14th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Change, Courage, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Success|Comments Off

Three Things To Do When You Want To Escape Your Life

On Finding Balance the Midst of Change

What Helped Me Get Unstuck

Five Reasons Not To Ignore Self Care During Times of Change

This Week, We Turn Ten

Summer Reading Week 2020, Part 2: Five Fantastic Fiction Books

To Fight Racism, We Need to Better Understand Racism (A Few Resources to Help)

To The Class of 2020, & The Lessons We’re All Learning

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