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!
Traci McNally, Evansdale, Iowa
I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Job 23:12 NIV
Anne Eppright, Round Rock, TX
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord , “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. Psalm 91:1-3 ESV
Tami, Louisiana
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8) NIV
Kathy
Madison, CT
2 Corinthians 3:18 (HCSB)
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory;this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Brittney Zimprich Ellensburg, WA
Rejoice in the Lord Always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:4-5 NIV
Linda, Holts Summit, MO
Deuteronomy 3:22 NIV
Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God Himself will fight for you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.
Matthew 6:34 NIV
Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find. Matthew 7:7
The Lord knows the days of the blameless;
And their inheritance will be forever.
Ps. 37:18 NASB
Sherri Highlands Ranch, CO
John 6:35
Then Jesus declared: I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
Mindy, Morgantown, Indiana
Lamentations 3:23 NIV84
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:23
A couple days late to the party, but better late than never, right?
Kristin Funston, Memphis, TN
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV)
Sarah Whitten, East Liberty, OH
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away.
Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
Tami G.
Franklin, TN
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ESV
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing. I Thessalonians 5: 8-11 (NASB)
Katie Davila, Tomball, TX:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 (ESV)
Marian Garcia
Springfield, MO
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. ESV
Megan, St. Louis
“…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20, ESV
Jane from Calgary, AB
“And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
And I said, “Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop.’?”
~ Job 38:10-11 (NASB)
Dee Shera – Jacksonville, Florida
Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11 (NIV)
Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34, HCSB
Vickie Ethington, Chandler, AZ “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”
Psalms 139:2-3 NASB
D’Anna Nowack
New Braunfels, Texas
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.
Psalms 73:26 HCSB
My flesh and my heart may fail
But God is the strength
Of my heart,
My portion forever
Psalm 19:8, NIV
“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Emily in Puyallup, WA
Richmond, TX
Psalm 46:10 NIV
Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Jennifer Tunstall, Pasadena, TX
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14 NIV
Karen Mceathron( oconomowoc Wi)
God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble
Psalm 46:1(NKJV)
Melia
Loganville, GA
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
That is NIV version
Karen Mceathron(Oconomowoc Wi)
Be still, and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10(NKJV)
Isaiah 2:22
Stop trusting in mere humans,
Who have but breath in their nostrils
Why hold them in esteem?
Miranda
Loganville, GA
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:10-11 NIV
Michaela
Loganville, GA
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17 NIV
““O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”
Jeremiah 32:17 NLT
Mindy Seekford Stonewall, La
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Todays trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:34
New Living Translation
Abby T., Ferndale, WA:
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.” –Psalm 73:23-24
Imelda, Toledo,OH.
Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Lori Leija, Austin, Tx
Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; Luke 6:37 ESV
Deborah – Nashville, TN
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. Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
You are beautiful! Thank you for sharing your story and your self with us, I love having sisters I’ve never met that I love!!
Rachel – Nashville, TN
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:5 (ESV)
Jennifer Tunstall, Pasadena, TX
“I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.”
Psalm 16:8. NLT
Diana J from Houston, TX
If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 (GNB)
Kathy Sanford, Lake Jackson, Texas
continuation of The Parable of the Net
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,”
Matthew 13:49
Cindy, Houston, TX
‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.’
Ephesians 4:4-7 (NIV)
Carol, Keller, TX
Romans 10:23 NKJV
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Marilyn — Seattle, WA
In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant. (Psalm 143:12 NIV)
Harmony. Moncton NB Canada. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT
[5] You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Alesha, Charlitte, NC
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:12 NLT
Leisa Hale, Sheridan, Indiana
Luke 1:45 NIV
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!”