Story – Melissa Schlies

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

Love: Christmas Gifts Ideas With a Story

In my most idillic thoughts, Christmas shopping looks like holding a Holiday inspired latte in one hand and bags of already purchased gifts in the other. It looks like walking down a small town street lined with adorable little shops filled with local or fair-trade goods. And of course, in this beautiful dream, snow fills the air. Oh what Hallmark has done to us all. In reality, for me and Tony, Christmas shopping often looks like a combination of long days shopping for our nieces and nephews, combined with hours scouring online for the right, age-appropriate gifts. And, as we [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-12-12T00:32:17+00:00December 12th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Preparation, Story, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Learn: Anything Can Happen in 2019

Eight years ago this month, a school bus hit the back of my car. Now, before you start picturing a school bus full of screaming kids, a distraught bus driver, and me on the side of the road with a wrecked car—let me tell you, it wasn’t like that. But, my car was wrecked. That morning, on a sunny day in the middle of January, I went to work as I always did. I parked my car in the spot I always parked. Then I walked into work thinking about the meetings I had that day. About an hour later, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-03-09T15:20:41+00:00January 10th, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, Faith, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, perseverance, Story, Uncategorized|Comments Off

All That You Are

"Who were you before anybody told you who you were?” --Jo Saxton, The Dream of You When was the last time someone asked you, “Who are you?” The chances that it has been recent or often, my guess is slim. Because usually, when we first meet someone, we ask them, “What do you do?” Or, if we’re vacationing abroad like we were a month ago, and we meet fellow travelers, we ask, “Where are you from?” Very rarely do we try to learn another’s entire identity in one meeting. Rather, we start with an aspect we are most comfortable asking [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-10-08T15:11:57+00:00October 1st, 2018|Categories: Calling, Identity, Purpose, Story, Uncategorized|Comments Off

When Summer Ends

When you get married, people give you all kinds of advice. I’ve heard the same is true if you have a baby, but I wouldn’t know. I do know however that so much of the advice we received leading up to our wedding day felt like clothes we couldn’t fit into yet. Everything about our relationship was new and shiny, it was hard to imagine experiencing the scuffs and bruises that life inevitably brings. So much of what people said seemed to roll off the glow of our excitement. Though there was one piece of advice, that still to this [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-08-08T14:04:23+00:00August 27th, 2018|Categories: Change, gratitude, Story, Uncategorized|Comments Off

If Our Lives Were Like a Good Beach Read

When I left full-time church ministry, I wasn’t sure what I would do next. So I taught myself how to bake bread. Already loving to bake cookies, brownies, and pumpkin bread, it wasn’t surprising that I fell in love with this new endeavor. With a bread baker’s cookbook Tony had given me for my birthday, I experimented with all kinds of recipes. I tried making Challah, Potato Rosemary, and Ciabatta—in addition to sandwich bread. And found, I love every part of baking bread. I love the feel of the dough in my hands as I knead it. I feel a [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-09T21:31:52+00:00June 25th, 2018|Categories: Acceptance, Good Books, perseverance, Purpose, Story, Success|Comments Off

Love On April Fools

B&B hosts tell the best stories. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, or if you follow my Instagram, you know I love to travel. For me and Tony, it’s probably our favorite thing to do together. Early in our marriage, we discovered we really enjoy staying at Bed and Breakfasts. AirB&B or traditional B&B’s, we are in. And on our travels, we’ve had some incredible hosts. One of our favorite’s, we’ll call her “V,” we met in Northern Ireland. We stayed in her charming B&B for a few days, while checking out Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle, and [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-03-29T06:30:19+00:00March 29th, 2018|Categories: Courage, Faith, Freedom, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Story, Uncategorized|7 Comments

When Our Story Is Too Small

When I was a kid, I was always telling stories. I had a BIG imagination. With my friends or sisters, we’d create these elaborate, imaginary places for us to live. Then we’d create some sort of conflict or drama to work through together. Whether imagining life on a ranch (I loved horses), or as singing and dancing pop stars, we were never bored. Oh, what childhood looked like before technology. But the interested thing about our imagination, is that it doesn’t leave us when we become adults. We just seem to use it for different things. Sadly, it’s often the [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-16T21:17:26+00:00March 26th, 2018|Categories: Courage, Fear, Hope, Identity, Story, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Love: Storytellers I Love

Art has a way of bringing truth in through the backdoor. In other words, if I was to tell you something uncomfortable, yet true, I could say it to your face. Say the words as clearly as can be, and you could choose to ignore me. Or I could write my message in big letters on cardboard, stand on the corner outside your house, and yell at you as you passed by. Chances are though, it would only shut you down. But if I painted you a picture. Sang you a song. Told you a story. Rather than reason with [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-16T21:21:43+00:00March 22nd, 2018|Categories: Courage, Hope, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Story, Uncategorized|Comments Off

The Story We Have To Stop Telling

When I was five or six, I heard a word I didn’t understand, said in a movie. But it sounded cool. So one day, I went up to my parents and I used the word. Like it was the most natural thing in the world, like I knew what it meant. In under a half a second, my mom grabbed me, pulled me into the bathroom, and put soap in my mouth. She explained to me, while bubbles started seeping between my lips, that I should never say that word. It was a bad word, and I should never speak [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-16T21:26:56+00:00March 19th, 2018|Categories: Friendship, Relationships, Story|3 Comments

Our Church Story

Love: Christmas Gifts Ideas With a Story

Learn: Anything Can Happen in 2019

All That You Are

When Summer Ends

If Our Lives Were Like a Good Beach Read

Love On April Fools

When Our Story Is Too Small

Love: Storytellers I Love

The Story We Have To Stop Telling

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