My name is Melana Cummings (aka MooseMama…story to come). I live in Sheridan Wyoming. I have been married to Tim Cummings for 32 years. We met through a letter and he asked me to marry him in a letter. (It’s a very long story, but oh so sweet and God designed!) The first time we kissed was when he put the engagement ring on my finger. It’s not a common way to start out a life together, but we were best friends who got married. He’s still one of the dorkiest people I know. He makes me laugh. He makes me shake my head. He has always said that if I ever leave him, he’s coming with me. We have a 26 year old daughter Sarah, a 16 year old daughter Emily, and a grandson, Jensen, who is 3. I have worked for the State of Wyoming for 28 years, and have a degree in psychology from the only university in the state. I was raised in the Lutheran church but had no idea what a personal relationship with Christ was. When I was 21, Christ sought me out, and I prayed to receive Him. From that day forward JESUS HAS BEEN MY LIFE!
In 2006, I prayed that I would grow even more in my faith and in Christ. About a week later a snippet of video was played about the Bible study, Believing God by Beth Moore (never heard of her!) that would be starting soon. A prayer answered!
A few months later this Beth Moore was going to be in Salt Lake City with Living Proof Live, so myself and 5 friends drove to see her. She taught from Ephesians 3…how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of Christ….to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. One phrase she said “All excess is a result of emptiness”, hit me hard. As a woman who has been overweight all my life, all I could think was “nuh-uh”!
That one Bible Study and Living Proof Live event were the beginning of many more Bible Studies and live events through the last 9 years. My prayers for growth were being answered! I loved reading Beth’s blog and made a lifelong friend through it: Adrienne Hudson (aka Fuzzytop in Tennessee) and I became online friends. In 2008 a friend and I drove from Wyoming to San Antonio Texas for the Living Proof Live, and “Siesta Fiesta”, where I finally got to meet Adrienne face-to-face. I wish I could name all of the Siestas I have met over the years! They have become so dear to my heart and really, an integral part of my life in Christ! Honestly, the kindness, love, support and joy these women have brought to my life is no small miracle.
The most hilarious part of that trip was a stuffed Moose with a Wyoming bandana on his neck. It was my intention to give the moose to Beth as a gift. Well, we started to take pictures of “Miesta Moose” (Miesta is a male Siesta), along the trip. The pictures got posted on a secondary blog that a couple of Siestas had started, which was all about the Fiesta. By the time we arrived in San Antonio, Miesta Moose had become somewhat of a celebrity. And so it began. I took him to every Beth Moore event I went to. He would even end up in recap pictures, and then Siestas from all around the country, most of whom, I had never met, asked me to send him to them so they could take him to the event in their area. He has been kissed and carried by some of the most wonderful women! Around his neck, he wears the wristbands from the events he has attended. I became MooseMama. He became so recognizable, that women asked to have their pictures taken with him. It pleased me that he showed up at tapings and book signings that Beth was doing.
In 2009, I felt God really was telling me that I could be more of what He wanted for me if I lost that excess weight and fill the emptiness with Him. I lost 120 lbs. in a year’s time. I was leading Bible Studies. I was teaching Sunday School. I even went on a mission trip to Africa with my church. Something I never would have tried when I was so overweight. Prayers answered!
The year 2011 brought with it a season of severe loss and struggle. A heart attack altered the health of my husband, my oldest daughter became a widow at 22. Two weeks following her husband’s death she discovered she was expecting our grandson Jensen. I grew steadily depressed with these changes and gained back all the weight I had lost. I felt like I was trying to hold everything from flying apart. I was exhausted. We stopped going to church. But God…
We returned to church last year, and God is showing me how He used Jensen to redeem these past few years. His faithfulness to me never faltered. This verse has never meant more to me, than now. Today it is my verse to memorize:
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
AMEN!
Lisa Walden Grand Prairie Tx
Hosea 4:6 NIV
[6] my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
never stop praying
1 Thessalonians 5:17
This is a good reminder when my prayer list gets longer or I feel my prayer will not be answered in time before cancer takes over….
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4
(Learn in Hebrew)
שִׂמְחוּ בָּאָדוֹן בְּכָל עֵת; אֺמַר שׁוּב, שִׂמְחוּ
JulieP Tierra Verde FL
Ephesians 4:2-3 NET
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
Sharon Stridde Corpus Christi, TX
Proverbs 16:2 (NAS)
All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD weighs the motives.
Leslie Warnick
Oakland,MD
Psalm 119:111 ESV
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
Lauren Gross, Pineville, LA
Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Isaiah 58:12 NKJV
Linda from Enumclaw
Psalm 103:12. ESV
As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.
Malinda Guider, Chattanooga, TN-“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD. ” Jeremiah 30:17-NIV
Beth ~ Calgary AB Canada
“Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”
Psalm 119:133 NIV
Chris Wheeler Bend, OR Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans Proverbs 16:3
Terry in Louisa, VA
I tell you the TRUTH, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 5:24 NIV
“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and the earth by Your strong hand and powerful arm. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR YOU.” Jeremiah 32:17 nlt
Sally, Sturgis, MI
So the LORD must wait for you to come to Him
so He can show you His love and compassion.
For the LORD is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for His help.
Isaiah 30:18 NLT
John 3:16-19
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned.
Light has come into the world.
Donna R. Burleson Texas 2pe.1.19-21.nkjv
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Joann Thompson, Coos Bay OR
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 ASV
Mary Beth, St. Louis, MO
“Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)
Carla, Pierre, SD
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col. 3:12-13 NIV
Micki Elaine, Atlanta, Tx.
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Psalm 27:1 NKJV
Sherri, Hagerstown, MD
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find.”
—Matthew 7:7 NIV
Heather Morgan
Waxahachie, TX
Romans 8:11-12 NLT
The Spirit of God Who raised Jesus from the dead lives in YOU! Therefore, dear brothers & sisters, you have NO obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do!
Judy, Beaumont, California
Come let us bow down in worship, let s kneel before the Lord our maker.
Psalm 95:6 NASB
Carrie Regnier – Pierceland, SK Canada
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 NIV
Karen, Lynnwood, Wa
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 (NIV)
Lynn P., Fairview, OK – Plan carefully and you will have plenty. ~Proverbs 21:5a (TEV)
Wanda
North Canton, Ohio
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)
Deb McGuire, Wayland, Iowa
And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
Psalm 50:15 ESV
Isaiah 48:10. AMPLIFIED ” behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried and chosen you in the furnace of affliction. “
Delores O.
Lake Stevens, WA
The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go both now and forever.
Psalm 121:7-8 NLT
(These were posted for last time as part of the entire chapter but i only made it through verse 6 last time.)
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. (Romans 1:21 NLT)
Catherine Lesley, Waterdown, Ontario
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 (NIV)
Col. 1:12
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light
ESV
Connie, London, England
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Jennifer, Fort Worth
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39, NKJV
Cathy Pernsteiner, Clarkston, WA
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 20-21 NIV
Lynn, Lake Villa, IL
Ephesians 2:14 NLT
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
Erika Dotto
West Palm Beach, FL
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
In his heart a man plans his course, but The Lord determines his steps.
Shannon Vasquez, Littleton, CO
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! -2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
Emily McCargar, Elk Grove, CA
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a hard word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 ESV
Debbie, Reno, Nevada
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18 NIV
Sharon Mills
Henderson, NV
JER. 32:17 NIV
“Ah,Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Kathy
St. Louis, MO
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1John 5:11-12 (NIV’84)
Kathy Land, Shattuck, OK
Psalm 145:13b (NIV)
“The Lord is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.”
1 Peter 3:14 NIV
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”
Lindsey in Houston TX
July 16 Sabrina, Bryant, AR Why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Matthew 6:28
Nancy, Chattanooga, TN
1 Chronicles 16:34
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever.” (NIV)
Sharon Andreasen, Fresno, CA
Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
Psalm 40:5 (NIV)
Suzy Zumbro, Anchorage, AK
We live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)