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!
Marie Franse, Albuquerque, NM: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. 1 John 3:16.
Emily- Warsaw, In
“Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV
Melissa, Vicksburg, MS: “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing her own opinions.” Proverbs 18:2
Natalie, Houston TX
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Jody from Sarcoxie, MO
Do not pay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
Romans 12:17 NIV
Jenny Clair, Shelby Township, MI
If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it. Genesis 4:7 NIV
Kimber Perrotta
East Hampton, CT
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:9_11 ESV
Teresa. Orange City. Ephesians 3:16 ..that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, (ESV)
Sheri
Georgetown, TX
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:6(NIV)
Shelly Wilson, Fort Worth, TX
Deuteronomy 33:12 (AMP) – The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day long, and makes His dwelling between his shoulders.
Rebecca, Murfreesboro,Tn.
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 Grrek. Romans 1:16 ESV
Yael hernandez
New York, NY
To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.
Ephesians 3:21
Terry, Psalm 11:4, HCSB
The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; He examines everyone.
Kimberley, North Carolina, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
Ephesians 3:20 KJV
Kelly B. from Jefferson City, MO:
“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
1 Samuel 2:2 NIV
Kathy, Los Gatos, CA “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
1 John 3:16 NIV
Kathy, Bryant AR:
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
Psalm 98:4
Keady Garcia Goose Creek SC
Luke 21:33 NIV
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Leah
Fort Worth, TX
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.”
Psalms 135:1-3 KJV
Tilley Hawkins, Franklin, TN
“In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.”
Ephesians 6:16 (TLB)
Agnes Romer
Tulsa, OK
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” (Psalms 35:27 NKJV)
Donna Banks from Franklin, TN:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4, ESV)
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 NIV
Becca Canfield, Nacogdoches TX
Ria Agtehof
Nederland
In het uur dat ik U aanroep wijken mijn vijanden, want dit weet ik: God staat mij ter zijde.
Psalm 56:10. NBV
Martha, Georgetown, TX, 1 Cor 2:9, “…no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” NLT
Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalms 20:7 ESV
Susan Clemets, Seale, AL
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” NIV
Callee Maglothin, Houston, TX: “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.” Revelation 12:11. I’m encouraged to share my story as much as I can so that God and receive the glory!
Jacquie Engbrecht, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…”
Isaiah 61:1 NIV
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22 NIV
Beth, Lansing, MI
Psalm 90:14 NIV, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Jan Dixon, Virginia Beach, VA
Do not sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10 (AMP)
Kirsten from El Paso, TX:
Romans 12:4-5 NIV
[4] For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Emily, Topeka, Kansas
“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (HCSB)
Kim Williams, Colmesneil TX
I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth
Psalm 121:1-2
Samantha from Texarkana, AR
“But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
Jeremiah 20:9 NIV
‘But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.’ Psalm 3:3, NIV
Jen, west palm beach, fl
” 16. Rejoice evermore.
17. Pray without ceasing.
18. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 KJV
1 John 5:4-5 (ESV)
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Cindy/Midland
Colossians 1.24 KJV
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church:
Gina, Olathe, KS
Eph 4:32 NAS
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also had forgiven you.
Chris Robertson from Fort Wayne, IN
But blessed in the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
Debra, Zachary, LA
“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)
Lou, Jenison MI
Is. 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, declares the Lord. (NASB)
Joanna Trauger, Greer, SC
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Proverbs 14:30 NIV
Kathy Kaherl, Burlington, CT
Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 (NIV)
Fort Madison, Iowa
“Lord,
You have assigned me my portion and my cup,
You have made my lot secure.”
Psalm 16:6 NIV
Nicole S., Oviedo FL Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”