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Welcome back to Fierce Calling! In this episode, host Doris sits down with Melissa McLaughlin, an author, teacher, and speaker, who writes to uplift and inspire followers of Christ.. Melissa opens up about her faith journey, including her unexpected bout with debilitating health issues that led her to an unexpected and unplanned early retirement from her teaching career. What could have been a season of loss became a time of deep spiritual renewal, as Melissa rediscovered her identity in Christ and found new ways to connect with God through scripture-based prayer.

Out of her darkest moments came her first book, In Dark of Night When Words Fail, Voice of Jesus, Pray for Me, designed to help those who struggle with prayer find their voice again through scripture. Melissa also shares how her second book, The Whole Bible Devotional: Seeing Jesus in Every Book of the Bible, was inspired by her own challenges with reading the Bible all the way through, and her desire to help others see the big-picture story of Jesus woven throughout all the books of the Bible.

Join us for an encouraging conversation about hope, identity, and the power of God, Who creates beauty from ashes. Whether you’re in a season of uncertainty, desire to deepen your prayer life, or looking for fresh ways to engage with Scripture, Melissa’s story and resources will inspire you to keep seeking God’s purpose—no matter what twists and turns life may bring.

We’re Talking About This Amazing Devotional and More!

Florida Women’s Ministry Leadership Conference mentioned in the intro:

Episode Highlights and Takeaways …

1. Introduction to Melissa McLaughlin

• Roles and identity: teacher, writer, wife, mom, speaker, prayer leader, overcomer
• Passion for pursuing Christ with biblical truth, grace, and prayer
• Brief overview of her books:
  • “In Dark of Night When Words Fail, Voice of Jesus, Pray For Me”
  • “The Whole Bible Devotional: Seeing Jesus in Every Book of the Bible”
• Context of her writing coming from personal struggles
• Doris’s introduction and excitement about the conversation

2. Melissa’s Personal Faith Journey

• Growing up in a Christian home
• Making her faith her own during college years
• Becoming a teacher and her passion for education
• Marriage and raising three grown children

3. The Impact of Health Challenges

• Long history of back problems leading to debilitating health issues at age 50
• Forced, early, and unexpected retirement from teaching
• Struggles with loss: health, job, and sense of identity
• Spiritual wrestling: questioning God’s plan and lack of healing

4. Rediscovering Identity in Christ

• God “peeling back” layers of false identity
• Coming to see herself as a child of God, identity rooted in Jesus
• Faith being deepened and transformed through suffering

5. Losing and Regaining the Voice to Pray

• Feeling unable to pray during her darkest moments
• Returning to Scripture and learning to pray aloud from the Bible
• Rewriting Scripture into personalized prayers
• Restoration of her prayer life: God’s words empowering her prayers

6. The Birth of Her First Book

• Decision to write for others struggling to pray
• Combining teaching, compassion, and personal pain into her writing
• Purpose and design of “In Dark of Night When Words Fail, Voice of Jesus, Pray For Me”
  • A prayer guide using Scripture for those struggling to pray or seeking to refresh prayer life

7. Transitioning from Teaching to New Ministry

• Letting go of her expected career path
• Recognizing how God repurposes gifts for new seasons
• The unexpected call to writing and blogging

8. Encouragement for Listeners Facing Unexpected Change

• Reflection on how God is never surprised by our circumstances
• Importance of not finding identity solely in career or roles
• Trusting God’s faithfulness to unfold new things

9. Struggles and Strategies in Reading the Bible

• Personal experience of reading the Bible fully as a teenager
• Attempts to encourage her children to read the Bible, and the challenges they faced
• Disappointment over not completing a family Bible reading plan

10. Creation of the Second Book: The Whole Bible Devotional

• Desire to help people get the “big picture” of the Bible and see Jesus throughout Scripture
• Structure and purpose of the book:
  • Non-academic, accessible Bible overview
  • 66 representative Scripture passages, one from each book of the Bible
  • Prayers accompanying each passage, focusing on Jesus’s role across Scripture
• Suitable as a 66-day devotional for deeper Bible engagement

11. Teaching as a Calling Beyond the Classroom

• Understanding that her core gift of teaching could be used in new formats
• Comparing experiences with Doris regarding finding new avenues to teach

12. Practical Guidance for Bible Reading and Study

• Difference between reading through and studying the Bible
• The benefit of structured plans for reading large sections
• Importance of context and seeing the Bible as a whole

13. Process and Discernment in Selecting Devotional Scriptures

• Details on the five-year journey to select the 66 passages
• Reading one chapter a day and prayerfully discerning key verses
• Consulting study Bibles and biblical resources
• Seeking to highlight how Christ is present in every book

14. The Transformational Power of the Project

• Personal spiritual impact on Melissa during the writing process
• Emphasis on patience and allowing God’s timing

15. Central Themes of Her Devotional

• Seeing Jesus as present from Genesis to Revelation
• Understanding Jesus beyond just the New Testament/manger story
• The significance of Jesus as Savior AND Lord

16. The Need for a High View of Scripture and Christ

• Importance of filtering all teachings through the Bible
• Jesus as the eternal Word, present from the beginning
• The fullness of Christ: mercy, righteousness, justice, lordship

17. Addressing Modern Misconceptions About Jesus

• Tendency toward emphasizing only grace and love
• Balanced understanding of repentance, lordship, and salvation through Jesus alone
• The danger of “multiple ways to God” and affirming Jesus’s claim as the only way

18. Encouragement for Listeners in Difficult Seasons

• Personal words for those facing pain or loss
• Assurance that God sees, loves, and can use broken places for His glory
• The power of waiting on God and trusting in His continued work

19. Resources and Ways to Connect with Melissa

• Website and blog: melissamclaughlin.org
• Free subscription with prayer resources
• Blog content: devotionals, Bible studies, prayers, poetry
• Books available on Amazon and major retailers
• Social media presence: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Pinterest
• Invitation to reach out for prayer or encouragement

20. Closing Thoughts and Exhortation

• Reminder that endings often lead to new beginnings
• Encouragement to trust God’s bigger plan
• Affirmation of listeners’ value and place in God’s story
• Invitation to future episodes and continuing community

Connect with Melissa!

You can connect with Melissa at melissamclaughlin.org

Email – melissa.melissamclaughlin.org
X/Twitter – https://x.com/MMcLaughlinsong
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/melissa.mclaughlin.7906/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/melissamclaughlinwriter/
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/MelissaMcLaughlinTruthfulGrace/
Amazon link to The Whole Bible Devotional – https://a.co/d/cPXLDlU
Amazon link to Whisker, Wags, and Woofs – https://a.co/d/4D3jF1B
Amazon link to In Dark of Night When Words Fail – https://a.co/d/iunv6Hr

Melissa McLaughlin is a writer, teacher, and speaker. She loves encouraging others through her faith and words. Having retired from her career as a public school teacher, she now writes and speaks about her passion, Jesus Christ. She holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education, as well as a Master’s degree as a Reading Specialist. In addition, she earned a Certificate in Foundations of Biblical Studies, which complements her teaching degrees as she writes to uplift and inspire followers of Christ.

Melissa co-hosted a Writer’s Workshop and numerous Bible studies and prayer groups at her local church. She is currently hosting a summer Zoom Bible study with people from many locations.

During the darkest seasons of her life, Melissa lost her voice to pray. God led Melissa to use Scriptures to articulate her prayers. Melissa’s voice was restored, and her faith was reignited. Melissa’s powerful prayer strategies are included in her first book, In Dark of Night When Words Fail, Voice of Jesus Pray for Me.

God inspired Melissa to write her second book, The Whole Bible Devotional: Seeing Jesus in Every Book of the Bible, after struggling to read through the Bible with her family. Her goal with this book is to help others with today’s busy lifestyles grasp the Bible’s main message and see Jesus throughout the Scriptures.

Melissa has won several awards, including the Selah Award for her essay in the compilation, Whiskers, Wags, and Woofs: Poems and Heartfelt Essays for Dog and Cat Lovers; the Silver Selah for her article in Refresh Bible Study Magazine; the Christlist Award for The Whole Bible Devotional.

Melissa enjoys walks in nature, soaking in the sights and sounds of God’s wonderful creation. One of her greatest delights is spending time with her husband, young adult children, and family. Melissa and her husband have two cats who fill their days with laughter and cuddles.

What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?

Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/

Let’s Stay Connected!

Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!

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Thanks for Listening!

I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value, purpose, and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift

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Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.

Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.

I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …

Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.

With love and joy,

Doris

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Transcript

Doris [00:01:43]:
Welcome back to the show. I am excited today to introduce you to my friend, Melissa McLaughlin. She is a teacher, a writer, a wife, mom, speaker, prayer leader and an overcomer. I love that so much. She’s an author and her passion is pursuing Christ with biblical truth, spirit filled grace and fervent prayer which we so need. And I would love to tell you a little bit about her books she’s written. During a dark season in her life, which Melissa may share some about, she lost her voice to pray. So God led her to write this book so she could articulate prayers through scripture and it’s helping others to do the same.

Doris [00:02:41]:
It’s called in dark of Night when words fail, Voice of Jesus, pray for me. So. So in dark of night when words fail, voice of Jesus, pray for me. That’s beautiful. And also God inspired Melissa to write her second book, the Whole Bible Devotional Seeing Jesus in every book of the Bible, which is amazing because she had struggled with, you know, reading the Bible and getting through it and, and she is going to share all about that too. And now she’s helping others to be able to read scripture and be able to get through the Bible and have a new and fresh perspective and understanding of what they are read, reading in the word of God. So I am excited about this conversation today. Welcome to the show, Melissa.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:03:25]:
Thank you, Doris. Thank you for having me. I’m so excited to be here.

Doris [00:03:29]:
I am excited to have you on and talk about not only your books, but however the Lord leads. I would love if you would share a little bit about your story and how you’re currently taking action, where your passion, compassion and conviction intersect, your fierce calling.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:03:48]:
I love that. I, I just love your podcast. I love the theme of it and just how you’re pulling together all these elements of our lives and how God uses all these parts of us, you know, in powerful ways. So just to give a tiny little bit about my story. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home, thank God, and gave my life to Christ as a young teenage and about in the college years. That’s when I really, I felt like I, my faith became my own. I took hold of it to a new level. I became a teacher, was married my husband.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:04:25]:
We have three children grown now on their own. Wonderful kids. Blessings. And it was during my teaching career I thought that I would be a teacher to the last day. I loved teaching, loved the kids. I still love learning. So just the whole process of learning and growing and stretching and learning new things, I just loved being A part of that as the teacher. But when I was about 50 years old, I had had back problems all my life.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:04:58]:
And when I was about 50 years old, I had a setback with my health that was totally debilitating. I was not able to drive or sit or do much of anything. Even basic living tasks were really difficult. And so I was, I was forced to take an unexpected and unwanted early retirement from my teaching career. And I really, really struggled with that. Wondering, like, just God, why aren’t you healing me? You know, what are you doing with us? I felt like I had been really gifted by God to be a teacher. So I didn’t understand why I was being taken from this place where I thought I was using my gifts and my talents. So I just was really struggling with a lot of things and just the physical pain as well.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:05:48]:
But it was really in God’s mercy because in that time I felt like I had lost so many things. I had lost my health, I had lost my job, you know, with the early retirement and I. And in the course of that I realized that I really felt like I lost my identity. And God in his mercy was actually like peeling back these layers of things that I, I was clinging to as my identity that really weren’t true. And so when everything else was gone and I was left with the Lord, I, I realized like he is my identity. You know, I’m a, I’m a child of God, you know, I’m a blood bought daughter of the King and that’s who I am. And my identity is based on Jesus and his finished work, not on my work, you know. And so it, you know, it became my faith just took on a new beautiful color and hue and facet in, in those moments of pain.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:06:50]:
But I’m not going to say that that happened overnight. That was a long process because in those, those dark moments, that’s when I really, I didn’t lose my faith by the grace of God, but I did lose my voice to pray. I felt like I had prayed everything that, that I could say and there was just nothing left. And so the Lord very gently, really just led me back to the Scriptures. And first I began praying the scriptures, reading them out loud as my prayer. And then I began taking portions of the scripture and re rewriting them in my own words as a prayer, in a prayer format. And it was like God restored my voice. And for the first time ever, I felt my, my prayers were so empowered because God’s words were coming through my words, you know, as I was praying back to him.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:07:39]:
And so he just did a beautiful work in my life through all of that. And it was in, at that point then that I was thinking, gee, I wonder if there’s someone else who’s going through a really hard time, maybe is struggling to pray because they’re going through so much pain. I wonder if this would be a help to them. So that’s where God took my passion for teaching, my gifts and talents for teaching, the compassion, which was, you know, coming from a place of really hurting and then putting that together to try to help someone else. So that’s my, my first book came out of that really low valley point in my life and a whole change in my life because I could never, I. I thought I was going to teach to the end. So I never, ever saw anywhere on my radar that I would be writing or that I would have a Christian blog or that I would have written, written books or be part of a compilation. It just, I couldn’t have imagined that.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:08:37]:
So God did something totally different with my life than I expected. And all of that came. It was the beauty from the ashes, really. Yeah. But yes, that was that first book, which is called In Dark of Night, When Words Fail, Voice of Jesus, Pray for Me. So that was that first book that was, that I first wrote from that time. And it’s really just a prayer guidebook for how to incorporate scriptures into your prayers. And it could be because you’re struggling to find the voice to pray, or it may also be because you would like to refresh your prayers or real reignite your prayers, you know, or.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:09:17]:
Or empower your prayers with God’s word. So it can be a blessing to many different people. I believe so. But that’s really how God took different parts of my life to use for his glory and also for my good. You know, I couldn’t have said that at the time, but I can say that now, you know.

Doris [00:09:38]:
Yeah, that is really beautiful. And you know, sharing about how this all kind of unfolded and it’s still unfolding because we just never know what God’s going to do next. But I love the things that you brought out and how you said that your early retirement was unexpected. And to encourage our listeners, we can see now how Melissa’s story began unfolding in different ways that she never could even have thought or imagined or asked, you know, and that’s what God does exceedingly, abundantly above what we ask or think. And so when you had mentioned that, the thought came to mind, you know, to just the encouragement that nothing is Unexpected for God, like he knows what’s going on. He knows what’s going to happen. So it wasn’t unexpected for God, even though it was unexpected for you. And I know we’ve all had things in our life that we just never expected would happen.

Doris [00:10:40]:
Good things and not so good things, but it’s never a surprise to God. So I love that. And how you brought out the fact that sometimes when we do something for so long, we can really get that confused, that it’s part of who we are. I mean, it’s part of what we do, but it’s not our identity. And so we have to be really careful because when those things leave or go, whether we walk away or something happens where it’s, you know, beyond our control or things like in your case that happened with your health and all that, we aren’t kind of putting our foundation in that. You know, it’s kind of like the wise man built his house upon the rock and not upon the sand. And so. So it was great that you brought that out.

Doris [00:11:32]:
I think that’s going to encourage someone right now because we. We can really look and see how God’s faithfulness has brought us through, but also, we just never know what he’s going to do. And. And it’s important for us to share our stories because time and again you hear so many stories, and especially, like, people who think, wow, maybe I’m of a certain age, and it’s like, that’s it for me. But that could just be the whole beginning of something brand new, you know, because there’s nothing new under the sun. But then God makes all things new, so it’s kind of cool. So I. I love that so much and how you help people to use scripture to pray.

Doris [00:12:12]:
But then you came upon this other struggle that you had as far as, like, reading through the Bible. And you love the Word of God, but even we love the word of God. Sometimes it can be challenging. So if you could share a little bit about how that came into play in your life and how now you are helping others to do what you have learned to do through the Lord’s leading.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:12:38]:
Yes, absolutely. So with my second book, it was another example of God working in these valley moments of my life. So I’m just backtracking a little bit. When I was about 16 years old, that’s when I first read through the Bible myself. I had heard that if you read three chapters a day, you could read through the Bible in a year. And I did. I didn’t, you know, there were days when I missed and I just picked up where I left off and kept on going. And there I didn’t understand all the big words.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:13:09]:
I didn’t understand all the theology, but I did draw closer to the Lord. I. I felt like I just felt more closer to him through doing that. And I continued reading the Bible, you know, reading it through or reading Bible studies or portions of it all through my adult years. So when my kids became teens, about that same time frame, I thought, oh, this would be great. I would love for them to have that same experience reading through the Bible from beginning to end. So I said the same thing. I said, hey, let’s read through together.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:13:45]:
We’ll do three chapters a day. We’ll all have a great time. And they were on board, they were excited. And we jumped right in and we started and then sputtered out and started again and tried to pick up where we left off, but eventually we just lost all momentum and gave up. We gave up. And I just. I felt so disappointed by that. I felt like I had let my kids down, I had let myself down, and I let the Lord down by not helping them experience that reading through the Bible, but in that place.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:14:22]:
I feel like in that place of sorrow, God planted this little seed of hope, you know, and that hope was that he could take even that and use this to help me help others who might be in a similar situation. So it wasn’t until after, actually several years after my first book was published and I was included in a compilation of other book of other stories that I was finally able to write my second book. And that’s the book that has recently been published, which is called the Whole Bible Devotional. Seeing Jesus in every book of the Bible. And what I did, that still came from where my heart was, still back in that place where. And it doesn’t have to be a young person. It could be someone of any age where maybe they don’t have the time or just are not in a place where they can pick up, you know, a heavy theological manual or they’re just not able to read from beginning to end. Or maybe there’s plenty of people who have actually read through the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but they get to the end and they can’t put the pieces together.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:15:33]:
They can’t see how this whole thing connects because it doesn’t. You know, it’s hard to see how those pieces connect. So. So God had just used that time in my life, and then I had, when I was at this new place in my life I was able to work on this and he again was using this whole teaching background that I have. This book consists of three main parts. The first part of the book, it is a non academic overview of the Bible so that people can get that big picture view and they can also see in that overview how Jesus is woven through every book of the Bible. The second component of the book is that I took excerpts from each book of the Bible. There’s 66 books in the Bible, so there’s 60, 66 excerpts, scripture readings, and they are representative texts.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:16:28]:
So you can, so each reader will get some important themes and topics and scriptures from each book of the Bible as they read through. Then going along the third piece of it, going along with those scripture excerpts, I have written a prayer and in that prayer I really try to highlight how Jesus is a part of this scripture passage that was just read. So in the course of 66 days people can read portions of the whole Bible and get that whole Bible view, see how Jesus is woven throughout and, and, and just get to experience God’s word in a fresh way that is not overwhelming, that is accessible, that is doable, and that helps to make it all come together and make it make sense from beginning to end.

Doris [00:17:19]:
So yeah, that’s amazing. And ti. I just also want to emphasize the teacher part because you know, you were trained to be a teacher. You went to school to be a teacher and you were a teacher for many years in a certain capacity. You taught different grade levels and really loved that. You love doing that. And then when you had to leave that, you, you felt like you were losing it. But God had other plans.

Doris [00:17:48]:
He’s like, you’re still a teacher, Melissa, you can still teach. It just may not look like what you thought it was going to look like. And, and I love that. And it kind of reminds me too because I thought I was going to be a teacher. I always wanted to be a teacher and I just wound up going in a different direction. But I still get to teach. So it looks different than what I thought it would look like. And so I think too, by your story, it’s, it’s a, like just something encouraging that we can look at how things are unfolding in our lives but not limit it.

Doris [00:18:28]:
Because God is limitless. Right? So when we limit what God can do in our lives or you know, just by our own mind, I mean we can’t fathom. I mean God’s ways are higher, his thoughts are higher. You know, we can’t really fathom some of what God has in store. But, but he does and we can trust him. And you writing this book where you’re helping to get people to connect the dots of the big picture story of Jesus and how, how it all points to him, you know, I think that’s so powerful and I think too it will encourage others to have a newfound enjoyment and love for reading scriptures, you know, reading the Bible, you know, digging in and actually studying the Bible because it’s a little different when we read through it and there’s a time for study and there’s a time for reading through because if we’re trying to read through, because that’s kind of where I would get hung up. Okay, so I start and I’m like, oh, that’s fascinating. I’m going to study this part and I’m going to look this up and I’m going to get this, you know, different resource and that resource and kind of figure out, oh, I wonder what that means in the Hebrew, I wonder what that means in the Greek, you know, and then I get kind of stuck on that passage.

Doris [00:19:48]:
And when it’s really, if I’m reading through the Bible, it’s really like having a plan is great because then you have a plan so that you can actually read through it. So there’s a time for reading through it and taking it in as kind of like one big meal and then there’s a time for studying where you can take bite size pieces whereas not taking things out of context and just being able to focus on the entire what’s happening, you know, where is this taking place, who’s the audience and all that. So I wonder how. Well, I’m sure it was the Holy Spirit, but, but how you kind of nailed down the 66 scriptures, you know, parts of scripture that you were going to put in this.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:20:40]:
Well, this took, this book, took about five years, okay, to write. And so part of it was when I said I had this book in mind and I, I set out to do. I, I actually, my husband and I read through the Bible almost every year like a one straight through. In addition to just devotional readings and other things like you’re saying those bite size readings where you’re savoring, you know, one scripture, really meditating on it. But I had set out to start this book, I set out to do a slow reading of the Bible. So I read one chapter a day rather than three chapters a day. I read one chapter a day and at the end of that chapter I would pray and just ask God, please highlight for me, you know, through the Holy Spirit. Highlight for me what is the main theme or the main verse that you feel like I should take away? What would be your takeaway? God.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:21:36]:
And so then I kept that in a journal. But when, then when. So I did that for each chapter. Then when I got to the end of that book, I would take all of these that I had collected. And now I had to pray and say which one or one or two God have me use for that entire book to represent that book. So that was a very slow process. Then when I collected all of those for each of the 66 books of the Bible, I also then compared them with study Bibles that had, you know, main topics and important scriptures. I compared them with other biblical sources, reference books, so that I could see what other, you know, people that had a, you know, certainly have more Bible foundation than I do.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:22:20]:
I want to see what, what God laid on their hearts. So when those, sometimes they matched up with what, what the Lord brought out for me, but sometimes they did not. And so in that case I would just pray about it, you know, God, what would you have me to include here? So it just really was a lot of Bible reading and studying and prayer to select the, the verses. But I was certainly, I did certainly have that idea for looking for the verses that would really help illustrate or highlight how Christ is a part of this book of the Bible. So of course that was always my, that’s the overarching theme, you know, of the Bible, obviously the overarching theme of my book. So I definitely was looking for the Scriptures that would help highlight that.

Doris [00:23:06]:
Yeah. Wow. Well, that was great. And the way that you did that over the course of five years. So when we think about it, it’s like, well, patience is a fruit of the spirit. So we don’t want to rush things that are not meant to be rushed. I think in this world. I’m thinking of Rebecca George.

Doris [00:23:27]:
I just had her on the show and she wrote that book, you’re not too late. She talks about a hurry up world. You know, we feel like we have to always hurry up, like we’re behind or it’s too late for us, we missed the boat, you know, that kind of thing. But it’s, it’s not. And so for you taking this time to also is administering to your soul too when you’re going through this. This was transformational, wasn’t it?

Melissa McLaughlin [00:23:54]:
Yes, truly. It truly was. Yeah.

Doris [00:23:57]:
So when you started doing that were you had, you already had that book in that you knew you were going to do the book, right? Or was it that you did this and then it became a book?

Melissa McLaughlin [00:24:11]:
No, I really had in mind that I wanted to write something that would help people. So I really had the book in mind. I didn’t know all the elements yet, but I knew that I wanted to find representative scripture excerpts from each book of the Bible to make it more doable so that you could read through in 66 days, almost like you would read through a devotional. But instead of reading my words, you’re going to be reading God’s Word, you know, so that was my idea from the beginning. And then the prayer, I used the. I wanted that to add the prayers so that it wouldn’t just be an intellectual activity, also be an opportunity to really connect with God in His Word and through prayers. So the prayers were a really key element, and I knew that that was also going to be part of it. But it was.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:24:59]:
I think it was actually my husband was saying, well, you. One of the ways you could pull it out is make sure in your prayer you’re bringing out how Jesus is a part of that passage. So really made that my goal. But yes, I really had this in mind. I think it was that teacher side of me that wanted to help if someone else may be struggling either to put the pieces of the whole Bible together. Yeah, maybe they would like to read the whole Bible, but, you know, they’re not. They just don’t have the time, you know. Yeah.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:25:29]:
So. Or, or, or they’re just not in a place for that right now. So I felt like this was just. I wanted to create something that would make it doable for people to get that big picture view of the Bible, Read excerpts from every single book and pray about it. Pray, connect with the Lord and then again, really see how Jesus is woven through that. He’s not just part of the New Testament, but he is like the beginning of John says, you know, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God. So we get to see, really take a closer look at how. How he really was God from the beginning and see that.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:26:08]:
That beautiful golden thread woven through from Genesis to Revelation. So I really did have that in mind when I set out to work on that book.

Doris [00:26:18]:
That’s beautiful. Yeah. And the fact being that in the beginning was the Word. And so that beginning is different than we think of our beginning, you know, or what does beginning actually mean? It’s like beginning was always. Jesus was always there. You know, the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were always there. Even from the beginning in Genesis, we read that. And so, and, and I also love to.

Doris [00:26:40]:
The fact being that God had equipped you to be a teacher and teachers write lesson plans, you know, so you had that mind of a teacher going into it of how you had the pieces and trying to see how to put it together. And I know he helped you a lot with that because the Holy Spirit was there to help and remind us of all the things that Jesus has said and to bring him out. But the fact being that people can really then realize and read and things that they hadn’t really thought about before, that maybe they’ve only studied Jesus when he became flesh, the incarnation, you know, that was the only time maybe that they’ve really, really felt like they were learning about or knowing Jesus, whereas it, it was way before that. So that’s, I really love that. And the fact being that you are doing all this through a scripture, through a biblical lens, a scripture view instead of some. And I’ll have to say there are some teachers out there that are getting away from the Bible, you know, like actually encouraging people to read their Bible and go to the Bible. And there’s so many, you know, different teachings now that uses the right kind of terminology, but it’s not really like scriptural, biblical, you know, it’s like not referring back to the Word. I mean, we need the Word.

Doris [00:28:12]:
We need the scriptures, you know, God, you know, the Word. So anyway, so that’s really powerful and I love that you do that and help people to get a newfound love or even hunger, because I know we can also pray for that. Right, Melissa? Hunger for the Word.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:28:30]:
Yes, absolutely.

Doris [00:28:32]:
Yeah.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:28:33]:
So important, so important that. To pray for that. Yeah. And I appreciate what you said too, because we really want to make sure that anything we’re hearing, whether it’s a teacher or a preacher or something on the Internet or social media, we really have to go back to, to the Bible and filter it through God’s Word because His Word is eternal and it is the final authority. I mean, he’s the author.

Doris [00:29:00]:
Yes.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:29:01]:
Of our, of our lives. He’s the author of history, he’s the author of eternity. And so he is the authority. And so that’s why scripture has authority. And so we want to take any question, question or something we hear someone teaching, we’ve got to take it back and filter it through and say, where is this in the Bible and what does the Bible truly say? And even people’s understanding of Jesus himself, which is another thing I was trying to get at in the Book was to really understand Jesus in the fullness of Scripture, the fullness of who he is. So he’s. Yes, he is the little baby. He came in flesh like the little baby, but he.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:29:42]:
He grew to a man and took on our sins on the cross. But that’s not the end of the story. He rose up in all power and authority and dominion and victory. But also he is not only our Savior, he is also our Lord. And he is the righteous ruler, he is the righteous judge. And at the end, the Bible says at the end of our lives, we will stand before him and give an accounting. And so people kind of like this all we’ve, I mean, and I’m, I, I’m guilty of this too, so I don’t want to blame anyone else. We all would rather have the Jesus.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:30:15]:
We just want the mercy. Yes, we just want giveness, but we forget that his righteousness and his justice, His Lordship, his holiness, like everything about him, is what makes him who he is. And actually, when we understand his holiness, his power and justice, his perfection, that’s when we understand the depths of the sacrifice that was made for our sin. So it’s like if we have a very low view of Jesus, we’re really missing out on the greatness of his love for us, the greatness of his sacrifice, and yes, indeed, the greatness of his lordship, you know. Yeah. That he is, he is the eternal and living God. And you know, the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And that’s the kind of thing that in, in our modern ears, it, it, we feel like that’s, that’s not right, but that’s what God’s word says.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:31:18]:
And that’s like a fear, that’s like a reverence and an awe and a recognition that only God is God. And so just having that high view of God. Yeah. Having that view of Jesus, like you’re saying Father, Son, Holy Spirit, having the high view of Scripture, it helps us really not only see God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit in, in all his glory and majesty, but it also helps us again see the, the magnificence of his love for us. I mean, the God of the universe has created us in his image and has poured out his the blood of Heaven, you know, to pay the penalty for our sins, so that by faith we can receive that gift of salvation for free. He’s done it all. He’s paid the price. I mean, it’s just incredible.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:32:13]:
I mean, the more we gaze at His Majesty, the more we understand that that Term of amazing grace. Yeah. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

Doris [00:32:24]:
You know, so precious.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:32:26]:
Yeah, so. So again, I. Part of my goal was that I would be able to help people see Jesus in the fullness of who he is throughout all of the scriptures.

Doris [00:32:36]:
Yeah, yeah. And I, I really love how you brought that out, you know, that really where to be awestruck, you know, with the majesty of God and worshiping him. And yes, the fear of the Lord and a reverent fear, as you were talking. Because sometimes the messages we hear are very, very leaning toward just all grace, grace and love and God is love. But there is also the repentance and the turning from sin and have in our sins are washed white as snow. But Jesus is the only way for that. And so that’s very confusing too. There’s a lot of mixed messages out there, you know, that there’s many ways, you know, to God.

Doris [00:33:33]:
And that really is not the truth of the gospel. The gospel says that Jesus, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but, you know, by me. So Jesus said that himself. And so if we are going to worship him as king, even though he came as a humble baby, but he is King of kings and Lord of lords and what you brought out, that he is not only our Savior, but he is our Lord. And so that is powerful. And it. There’s a difference between those.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:34:08]:
There is a difference. And I really, like I was saying, I think the more we understand the fullness of who he is as Lord, the more we can cherish that he would humble himself to become our Savior.

Doris [00:34:22]:
Yeah, it’s just so humbling. And really, when we think about it, it just is really mind blowing to think about it, you know, in that way. What the truth is, you know, that we, we’re children of God, you know, and this is, this is part of our story. Like this is our heritage. This, we are daughters of the King. We are, we are God’s children. I mean, that is so powerful. And so I just love that your ministry is one that your heart is to help people to see that in the big picture story and see how we fit into that story.

Doris [00:35:05]:
You know, we’re part of that story. So that’s really precious. So, Melissa, this has been amazing and I wondered if you could share maybe one last bit of encouragement. I know you’ve had a lot of things in your life, beautiful things that have happened, and you also have had a beautiful experience of having a special needs brother growing up and So I just, you know, I can’t help but think that your books too are going to help families with, you know, maybe they have a child who has special needs. You know, these kind of resources can really help them to see Jesus, you know, and to understand. And so if you have maybe a little bit of encouragement you want to share before I have you, share where the listener can connect with you and any resources you might have to offer.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:35:55]:
Absolutely, yes, absolutely. I just would first like to say if anybody is listening and you’re in a painful place, whether it’s physical pain or emotional pain or maybe relational pain, whatever the case may be, I just want to say I’m sorry for what you’re going through. And I just encourage you to lean on the Lord. Lean on the Lord. He collects our tears in a bottle. He is with us, he sees us. He loves us more than anyone else. And that just to remember that he can still take those broken places and use it for his.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:36:32]:
For his glory and for our eternal good and in ways then that can minister to others. And I feel like the ways that he has used my life in the broken places is an example of that. And he doesn’t use everyone’s broken places in the same way. But I just encourage you to lean on the Lord, receive His love and wait on him and have hope because he’s not finished with us yet.

Doris [00:36:57]:
Amen. That’s very encouraging, actually. So wonderful. Well, thank you for sharing that. And what was on your heart to share with someone who’s listening today that really needed to hear that encouragement. And if you could also share, Melissa, where the listener can find you, how, how they can connect with you and find your books and whatever else you have, resource wise. And you also have your blog posts that they can read, you know, also. So how do they do that?

Melissa McLaughlin [00:37:26]:
Yes, absolutely. So the first place to find me is at my website or my blog, which is melissa mclaughlin.org and if you’d like to subscribe, which is totally free, one of the little giveaways is that you’ll get an excerpt from my first book as a free gift and it has a free sample scripture prayer. And so I just encourage you, meet me there. And all of my blog posts, I have devotionals and prayer articles on prayer articles on Bible studies and also poetry thrown in there too. So all of it is free. You’re welcome to read through for any post that may minister to you. I’d love to have you subscribe. There’s a contact page there.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:38:09]:
You can email me if you have specific prayer needs. I’d be happy to pray for you. You can also find my books there. My books are also available on Amazon and all of the major retailers as well. So. Yeah. And I can. And they can also hit find me on social media.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:38:27]:
I’m on X slash Twitter. Used to be Twitter. I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and also on Pinterest. So I’d love to meet anyone who’s listening. And may we just keep encouraging each other in our walk with the Lord. Great.

Doris [00:38:42]:
Amen to that. Yeah, we want to encourage one another and lift each other up. I think I quote 1st Thessalonians 5:11 in every show because it’s so important, you know, for us to do that. And so I love that so much. So thank you so much for being on the show. It’s just been a pleasure having you. And I hope if you’re listening right now, that you will check out the show notes, because I’ll have those links for you in the show notes so you can find Melissa and find her books and her resources and everything. And I hope to have you back on again sometime.

Doris [00:39:13]:
This was fun.

Melissa McLaughlin [00:39:15]:
Thank you so much, Doris. I would love to be on again. Thank you for your min.

Doris [00:39:19]:
Thank you for yours. And I know you have more to come. God is doing a mighty work. So also be encouraged if you’re listening today, that like Melissa said, God is not done with us. And you may think that you’re hitting the end of the road of something. Something might be coming to an end. But when we look at something as an ending, we can also look that there is a beginning that can start right after. So it’s just kind of maybe a segue into something new.

Doris [00:39:47]:
It doesn’t necessarily mean something ending. It’s like you’re still going to be able to use your gifts and talents and how God has equipped you all along. And you might have been doing things for something else, he was actually equipping you for down the road for such a time as this, as it says in Esther, so fierce friends, thank you so much for listening. And I hope that you will join me next time when I talk with another woman who’s taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. Until then, friends, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.