Category: blog

November 25, 2024 Melissa Valerio   There are just too many things to be thankful for this year. How to narrow it down to just one? Well, I guess I don’t have to name just one. But probably at the top of my list is being thankful that God is love. I’m so thankful that God’s […]

November 18, 2024   “He is a very poor comforter that has never needed comforting.” -Unknown When I discovered that my daughter had autism, I had just gone through a divorce and a million things went swirling around in my head. How was I going to care for her? Would I be caring for her […]

November 11, 2024 Melissa Valerio   “Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus […]

November 4, 2024 Melissa Valerio   On November 4, 1952, the United States of America established the National Security Agency (NSA). This is where my father worked for most of his adult life. I remember, when I had my learner’s permit and needing some driving hours, I’d drive him to work in the morning and […]

October 28, 2024 Melissa Valerio   One year for Halloween, my then 5-year-old son wanted to be an army soldier. We got a cool costume, and I painted his entire face with camouflage face paint. Completely unrecognizable, in my opinion. But as we went trick-or-treating, we stopped by a house around the corner with several people standing around […]

October 21, 2024 Melissa Valerio   Luke 8:5-15 Of all the ways Jesus could have taught, He chose parables for many of His lessons. He did this so the secrets of the Kingdom would be hidden from those who rejected Him but comprehensible to those who would take the time and effort to understand. Like […]

October 14, 2024 Melissa Valerio   If there’s one thing I know for sure when it comes to God, it’s that I know nothing. He’s a mystery, plain and simple. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). He works in wonderous ways too complex for us to understand. […]

October 7, 2024 Melissa Valerio   The recent devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene serves as a poignant reminder of how frail life is. It makes me think of the days of Noah. When people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given into marriage without a clue as to what lay ahead, little did those […]

September 30, 2024 Melissa Valerio   “I constantly trust in the Lord; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:7 NET It’s funny how kids suddenly gain the strength to do just about anything if they’ve got their mom or dad by their side. My 9-year-old son, Ryan, still doesn’t […]

September 23, 2024 Melissa Valerio   “Would you like to get well?” John 5:6 That’s a loaded question if I do say so myself. Who doesn’t want to get well? Who doesn’t want to be mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy? Who doesn’t want pain, anxiety, stress, depression, anger, or guilt eradicated from their lives? […]