October 27, 2025 • 42 mins
On this Hope Unlocked episode, Kristin Kurtz welcomes CEO and author Melanie Cox to talk bold faith, identity in Christ, and saying yes to God. Melanie shares miracles—from infertility to five children, a wildfire rescue, and business decisions led by prayer—plus the heart behind her new book “You Have to Know.” We unpack overcoming anxiety, lies of the enemy, and stepping from success to Kingdom purpose and why your identity comes before your assignment.
Melanie's contact info:
Melanie's Book:
You Have to Know: What I've Lived. What He's Shown. What You Need to Know
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
Welcome to the Hope Unlock Podcast.
I'm your host, Kristen Kurtz,and I'm also the founder of New
Wings Coaching.
I help and empower wild-heartedand adventurous women of faith
feeling caged and stuck, unlocktheir true purpose and
potential, break free fromlimitations, and thrive with
confidence, courage, and hope.
If you're curious to learn moreabout coaching with me, head to
NewWingsCoaching.net and be sureto explore the show notes for
(00:38):
ways to connect with me further.
Get ready to dive in as weuncover empowering keys and
insights in this episode.
So tune in and let's unlock hopetogether.
Welcome to the Hope UnlockedPodcast.
I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host.
I pray this episode is like aholy IV of hope for your soul.
Please help me welcome MelanieCox to the show.
(00:58):
I'm so excited to have her heretoday.
She is a mutual connection ofour friend Julie.
So I'm excited that sheconnected us.
I know that she's going to haveso much.
I just keep hearing like fire toshare with us today.
She was quite a story.
We had a moment to talk beforewe got started here with the
recording.
So Melanie, would you be open tojust sharing a little bit about
(01:20):
you before we get started?
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
Yeah.
I'm a mom of five, first andforemost, and a wife of 30
years.
And I could just stop there andbe like, that's a life.
That's a that's a good life.
I'm a CEO of two companies andI'm a partner to the largest
drywall manufacturer in thecountry.
And recently, maybe about a yearago or three years ago, I had
(01:42):
some bath health news.
So I didn't think I was gonnalive very long.
And about a year ago, I justkind of quit work and I've kind
of given my life to ministrybecause I just want to serve
God.
And I wrote the book when I hadhealth news because I really
wanted my kids to know God.
And I named it you have to knowbecause I started chapter on my
kids.
You have to know if you'reanxiety, you have to know if
you're stuck, you have to knowif you're if you're confused, if
(02:05):
you're heartbroken, that this iswhere God wants to move you
forward and to see the glory ofGod, to who God is, and to
ultimately end up in heaven so Ican spend eternity with you.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
So beautiful.
I mean, I know you've got astory before this, right?
Um, so you've been a CEO, you'vebeen a business owner, you've
done all the things that I'mimagining you've had a lot of
success in that realm, right?
Um, tell us a little bit aboutthat process of moving from that
realm to ministry.
I can't imagine it was like justtell us about that.
(02:39):
Um, I know some people might belike, how does that work?
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
Um You know, I came to a realization that whatever
you're doing in life, if if youare a teacher, you're in
ministry.
If you are a business owner,you're in ministry.
If you are a mom who makeslittle peanut butter jelly
sandwiches, you're in ministry.
And all of a sudden it startsswitching from what I didn't
realize the epiphany that I hadwas wait a second, I'm not a
CEO, I'm not a business owner.
(03:04):
My whole life has really justbeen a platform for his purpose.
And and it starts to switch yourmind when you think of what is
important and what your ultimategoal is.
And you have to start switchingyour mind to say, no, your
ultimate goal has to be aboutfurthering the kingdom of God.
And it has to be about movingother people to the needle
because our life is a blip.
And when I get to heaven and Godsays, Did you know me?
(03:26):
Ah, yes, God, I knew you.
Then what did you do with it?
Yeah.
So it was a real easy transitionwhen I realized what was truly
important in life.
It's not about the things andthe accolades and the success.
It's about moving the needle tothe kingdom.
SPEAKER_00 (03:41):
Yeah.
Well, what did that look likebringing bringing God into the
workplace?
SPEAKER_02 (03:47):
Um, I'm very open about my faith.
I've got, man, a lot of storiesand a lot of history.
So I never have not brought Godinto the workplace.
SPEAKER_04 (03:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (03:55):
You know, even when people are not Christians, it's
like, you know, let's just prayabout this.
And it's kind of like, well, dowe have to?
And I'm like, yeah, we do.
Or let's see what God thinksabout that.
And it's like, okay, but let mejust tell you what the attorney
says first.
And I'm like, I don't care whatthe attorney says.
I don't hear what I want to hearwhat the ultimate man, you've
never seen a court case tried,you know, until Jesus is your
attorney.
So I'm gonna ask, I'm gonna askthat attorney because he doesn't
lose.
(04:16):
Oh, I love it.
So I've always been very, veryvocal.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
So you you've always been that way.
Always.
Always.
I love it.
I mean, have you ever had anylike pushback on that?
Oh, tons.
Tons.
Yeah, tell us the story and howyou overcame that.
SPEAKER_02 (04:34):
Well, one I love because I ended up saving my
realtor, is one of the companieswe do is we take uh high-end
houses and we flip them.
And I worked on this deal, itwas on the ocean for months and
months and months, and no onecould believe that it'll got it
was it was set to be solucrative.
And we squirreled away the cashfor it, and I walked the
property, and in my spirit, Godsaid, Did you pray about it?
(04:55):
And I'm like, Well, no, but God,I did a really good job on my
own.
Like, you're welcome.
I gave you the day off.
Did you pray about it?
I gave you the day off.
Yeah, okay, I'll pray about it.
So I take my fingers and I startpraying over the property.
Father God, if this is from you,no, Father God, what am I
talking about?
Thank you that this is from you.
This is this is fantastic, andwe're gonna do so great.
And of course, I'm gonna giveyou 10% of it.
(05:15):
And I heard God say, No, what doyou mean, no, God?
What?
Okay, thank you, God.
This is this is gonna be solucrative.
We're so excited.
Okay, I was greedy, I wasgreedy.
I'm gonna give you 20% of it.
God says no.
And uh, so I say, okay, God,that's a clear no.
So would you do this for me?
And I and God, I'm so sorry, Idon't mean to be disobedient.
But if there's something that isa real no, can the property line
(05:38):
be off?
And we get the survey back acouple of days later, and
there's a little removablefence, like you know, the you
can buy them at Home Depot andyou can pull them out in four
seconds.
Yeah, and maybe about a half ofan inch was on the property
line.
And I pulled out of escrow andno one could believe it.
And I went and I personallycalled everyone.
I said, I'm sorry.
And I know that this is gonnasound crazy, but I prayed about
(05:58):
it and God said no.
And I need to be in obedience tohis word because ultimately, if
it's a no, then what God has onthe other side of that no is is
a hundred times better.
And people are like, that's foranybody.
Yeah, that's a you know what?
That absolutely that is foranyone.
Your nose, your nose are notdead ends, your nose are are
detours into something greater.
SPEAKER_03 (06:20):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
And uh, so we pull out of escrow and I just I
called everyone, I just want towitness to them.
And about three weeks later, theneighbor had gone to Europe and
their hose broke and it hadsaturated the side of that
hillside in the ocean, and thewhole hillside collapsed.
And now we needed a threemillion dollar retaining wall,
but the coastal commission's notgiving retaining walls, so that
house is currently condemned.
(06:43):
What?
Oh my god.
So then I gotta go back toeveryone and I'll be like, like
I said, when God says no, it'sbecause there's a re don't put
your finger in the light socket.
SPEAKER_00 (06:54):
Exactly.
What a measure of protection,though, right?
SPEAKER_02 (06:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
And honoring, right?
Wow.
So okay, back us up a littlebit.
You you're you're your CEO,you're in business, you're
unafraid to be like bold andaudacious, where you're just
gonna say, tell us more aboutyour faith journey.
Did you like grow up in church?
What did that look like for you?
(07:19):
Were you saved at a later age?
I I feel like I want to hearyour story because you you're
bold.
And not everybody is willing tobe bold.
And that's one of my things.
I'm like, we gotta be more bold.
So give us a little bit more ofyour history if you're open to
that.
SPEAKER_02 (07:33):
Yeah, I pray for people at grocery stores.
I'm like, Do you know Jesus?
I gotta sh, I gotta sharesomething with you.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
My kids back in the day, they'd be like, Mom, please
don't meet anybody new today.
SPEAKER_02 (07:44):
Yeah, it will be exactly yeah, yeah.
Um, I I have a crazy backstory.
So my grandmother was a whitewitch and my grandfather was a
Freemason, and they horriblyabused my mom.
And I spent most of my lifetrying to keep her from
committing suicide.
SPEAKER_03 (07:58):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (07:59):
In about eighth grade, it was so much
responsibility that I tried totake my own life, and now I'm in
the same nut house as my mother.
And um, we didn't know God.
And my brother accidentally,when he turned 16, killed his
best friend.
He was doing donuts in a VW bug,and it was a rainy day, and he
flipped it over, hit a tree, andthat tree embedded in his best
(08:21):
friend's leg, and he tried topull him out of the car and pull
him out of the car, and itcaught on fire.
And then he had to sit there andwatch him burn to death.
SPEAKER_00 (08:28):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
And we go to the funeral, and the mom, our
family's distraught, and theirmom, their whole family was at
peace.
And she comes up and she hugsKurt and she said, You know,
Kurt, you owe my son an apology.
And Kurt was just sobbing.
And she said, But Kurt, he knewJesus.
So if you want to apologize, gofind God and go say sorry to him
in heaven.
Oh, we're gonna see him again.
He's not gone.
(08:51):
So Kurt goes to Africa and hecomes back and he starts saving
the whole family.
And we're like, I can't evenhear about this guy, Jesus,
again, Kurt.
Seriously, I don't even care.
And he'd be like, wait, wait,wait, I want to read you
something in Romans.
And I'm like, I don't even care.
I don't even like it in history,and I don't want to hear it in
my own.
Go away.
And uh relentlessly,relentlessly, and he saved my
parents and then one afteranother.
(09:12):
And I knew the power of God.
My brother went on to start thevineyard church um with Lonnie
Frisbee.
They they did the if anyone eversaw Jesus Revolution, my brother
was kind of a part of that inreal time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:24):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (09:25):
And um, he was he would come home with these
crazy, like, there was someonewho was demon possessed, and I
saved this person, and you know,we're with the homeless.
And I, it was just such a wildconcept.
I'm like, you're just it's justyour like you don't want to say
he's a nut job, but man, he'ssuch a nut job, you know.
And I'm like, that's peopledon't float, Kurt.
Like, I don't know, that justdoes not happen.
(09:48):
And uh, so I left being married,knowing who God was, but not
knowing the heart of the father.
And I got married, and becauseof what I got through for a
childhood, I really wantedbabies.
And I'm like, I can picturetucking them in and little hot
cocoa and bullshere.
And and unfortunately, kidsweren't for us.
And in year three, I got sodepressed, I put myself to bed.
(10:09):
I thought, you know, it's justnot for me.
And every day my husband wouldcome home and he'd
say, 'Melanie, if you only knewthat God loved you and if you
would only feel the sun on yourface today, and you're enough.'
And I I couldn't grasp theidentity of who my husband saw
me to be and who God saw me tobe.
SPEAKER_04 (10:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:26):
And after a year, I picked up a Bible and I said,
God, if you're really a God, ifif it's true, then you need to
speak to me right now.
And I opened it up and it said,the mornings, it said, the night
has been long, but morning iscoming.
And I just remember weeping,going, God, I think that's for
me.
And then I started opening theBible, and everyone who couldn't
have a baby, I said, Father God,if you did it for Hannah, would
(10:49):
you do it for Melanie?
And and oh, there's Sarah.
Look how you showed up for her.
But but what about Melanie?
Do you see me that much?
And Rachel and and all thewomen.
And when I got done reading,every woman who couldn't have a
baby.
And wait, let me backtrack thatI started in a heart of
gratitude.
And I said, God, it's okay thatyou won't do it for me.
You've given me enough.
You gave me a husband thatshould have left.
(11:10):
You gave me a house and a andand a and a dog and a life.
And thank you, Father God.
My life is so, so good.
But but if it is in your will,Father God, would you do it for
Melanie?
This woman comes up to me atchurch and she says, God's heard
your prayer and you have a babyboy, and it's a gift from the
Lord.
SPEAKER_03 (11:26):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (11:27):
And I was pregnant with my little will and the
doctors, you can't carry thebaby.
And I just remember thinking,I'd look at him and I'd be like,
How lucky are you that you'reabout ready to see a miracle of
God?
SPEAKER_04 (11:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:37):
You know, Melanie, you're losing the baby at six
months.
Melanie, I'm sorry, you'relosing the baby.
My placenta ripped out.
And I said, Oh, how lucky areyou that you're about ready to
see a miracle of God?
Because God loves Melanie.
And I went to the end and theycalled him dead when I burnt
them.
We lost him in the birth canal.
And um, you know, I'm sorry youlost the baby.
How lucky are you that you'reabout ready to see a miracle of
(11:58):
God?
Because the one thing I know isthat God loves Melanie.
And that baby popped out, and itwas the ugliest baby you ever
saw.
It looked like a panel pill.
Squish that thing, just almostliterally, I think I squished
him to death, and the HolySpirit brought him back.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Oh my God.
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
It's been a trajectory for my whole life to
say, don't tell me who my Godis.
My God 2,000 years ago is theGod that I serve today.
Don't tell me what God can andcannot do.
And don't tell me that my Goddoesn't come from the throne
room of God who put on flesh tocome down to earth because he
wants to come and see about me.
That's that's the God I serve.
SPEAKER_00 (12:35):
You guys, are you guys listening?
In the back.
Please listen.
Oh my word.
You know, that's that's sopowerful.
I I actually kind of walkedthrough similar.
I got saved when I was 25 fromaddiction and immediately had
two miscarriages and was told Icouldn't have kids.
And I basically said, Watch me.
Yeah.
Watch me.
(12:56):
And they're miracles.
I have two uh 17 and 20-year-oldboys who are thriving.
I almost lost some a coupletimes, but they're here.
God, God does miracles, and Ilove how you're like, watch this
miracle.
Yeah.
Like you were just standing onthat.
And you didn't waver, did you?
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
No, never once.
And I haven't wavered since.
There's a moment that I wouldhope for everyone who listens
that you know how precious andbeloved by God you are.
That so many times people seeGod as this big, omnipotent, and
he is that, of course, inheaven, all knowing.
He's he's the one that holds thesun in place until the moon
replaces it at night.
(13:35):
And that the axis spins at justthe right speed to sustain life
for us.
And he is that God, but he'salso the God that's in your
morning cup of coffee, thatcares about every little thing
that you care about.
You're his children.
If you have kids and you knowhow much you love your kid,
well, man, that's the love theFather has for you.
Not on a large scale, on apersonal one-on-one level.
(13:57):
And wouldn't you do anything tomake your kids happy?
Wouldn't you do anything to seethem through something?
Don't you always see them?
You always worry, you alwayscare, you always love.
It's never ending.
And that's the relationship thatGod wants to have with everyone.
It's just the problem is wedon't choose that.
We don't believe it.
It's it's it's not God, it's us.
SPEAKER_00 (14:16):
Yes, yes.
Thank you for like speaking thatover the listeners because you
know, I I I don't doubt theremight be somebody listening in
today that hasn't placed theirfaith in Christ.
And um, you know, back in myday, I too, I was just like, I
didn't want to hear it like you.
I didn't I didn't want to hearanything about God, I didn't
want to hear anything.
And now I look back and I'm justlike, He literally saved me.
(14:40):
And I know he saved you too.
How how old is your firstborn?
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
Uh little Will is 26.
SPEAKER_00 (14:47):
26, and he's thriving.
SPEAKER_02 (14:49):
Um, yeah, he's a firefighter, he loves Jesus.
You know, he's just all my kidsare fantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (14:57):
Oh yeah, you said you had five, so you guys check
that.
She's told she couldn't havekids and has five, which
represents grace, right?
SPEAKER_02 (15:07):
Yeah.
And and it's just not have kids.
I mean, uh, we mortgaged ourhouse, we did all the all the in
vitro, all the gift, all thezip, like everything you could
possibly imagine.
And I'm gonna tell you somethingthat if you are struggling with
a health issue, a barrenness, asingleness, a loneliness, a a
lack of, that the world cannever do with what one second
(15:30):
God can do with your life.
So I don't care what you'retrying, if it's not working out,
if it's not moving, if if you'restill stuck in that, then can I
suggest you put it in the handsof a multiplying God?
Take it out of your hands andput it, put it in the hands of
God.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
Yeah.
Amen.
Have you had a moment like thatrecently where you've had to
give it over and maybe you'vetried to hold on to something
too tight?
SPEAKER_02 (15:54):
You know, um I well, I have a lot of those moments,
right?
That's just that's just humannature.
Like, God, are you here?
Um, I had that with the bookrelease I told you.
And um, the other thing I had itwith was we had a fire at our
ranch and we were in an animalrescue.
Oh, and I I prayed over it and Ihad all these powerful I knew
God, and I I printed out myproperty and I put a red line
(16:17):
and marker, and I started sayingthe the hedge of thorns and the
blood of Jesus, you will notpass.
Fire, you will not pass.
I bind the fire from passinginto my land.
And for 24 hours, it it's thelargest fire in California.
It burnt hundreds of thousandsof acres, but it's it stayed
right at my little line and Icouldn't believe it.
And I'd see fire watch and I'dbe like, Oh my gosh, God, you're
(16:39):
so good.
Thank you, God, thank you, God.
And then I went to bed and Iwoke up in the morning to see
that it had not only crossed myline, but it burnt through 80%
of my property.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (16:49):
And I looked through at where 140 animal rescues
were, it was all red.
And I thought, I and I knew thatif they could outrun the fire,
they would come to a pen whereit was locked.
And even if they could outrunthe fire, they'd be stuck.
And I just started sobbing and Icalled the fire captain.
I said, please, you you have togo and try to rescue what you
can rescue.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:10):
He said, No, we're we're saving homes and people.
We can't save your animals.
And and uh I just started cryingand I heard God say, Will you
trust me even in the middle ofthe fire?
Will will you trust me eventhough you don't see it?
Will you believe that I am who Isay I am?
Will you believe I am God?
Will you believe I am good?
Will you believe that I see you?
And and I said, Yes, Lord.
(17:31):
So he said, then pray for thecaptain.
And I said, Thank you, God, forfor Captain Corey Rose and you
know, keep him safe and thankyou that he has to make this
tough decision.
And and I honor him in hisdecision, even if it breaks my
heart.
And I just start praying overhim, praying over him.
And he says, you know, I'm gonnago to your ranch and I'm gonna
see it for myself.
So he takes all the fire crewout there, and um, the fire
(17:52):
hadn't reached the animals andand everything was released.
And and I was on FaceTime andhe's like, Well, how many cattle
do you have?
And I'm like, like 40, 40.
He's like, one, two, three,four, five.
How many horse rescues?
Uh, out of like 22, one, two,three.
And and they started running upthe creek where the fire had
engulfed them, but they weresafe in the water.
Oh my God.
So the fire had not come intothe water, and it was like
(18:13):
herds, it was like, it was likeNoah's Ark.
It was like the cattle camethrough, and then the sheep, and
then the goats, and then thellamas, and then the, you know,
and then the horses, and thenthe wolf, and it's like all of
these animals that I hadrescued, the donkeys, and just
start running up one after oneafter one.
And and I was just like, youknow, I guess that goes with it
with it's like you don't seewhat God's doing, and and you're
(18:34):
just feeling like, God, I'm I'mgetting burnt to death.
Like this hurts my heart so bad.
And but where are you, God?
Why are why didn't you show up?
You you said you said that youwould show up.
Your Bible says it, your wordsays it.
And it's like, you know,sometimes we have to do the the
believing and the the declaringbefore God can do his work, you
(18:56):
know.
We got to do ours with ourfaith, and then God's free to do
his.
But he saved everything.
He even saved the fire burntaround and through every
structure, but none of mystructures were burnt.
It burnt through my swing set,but the plastic on my swing
still stood.
I have a picture of like a200-year oak tree burning beside
my little plastic swing set, andit's swinging in the breeze, not
(19:19):
even touched.
SPEAKER_00 (19:21):
You could make a whole movie about this.
I mean, oh my goodness.
Like that is such a miracle.
And where's where are youlocated then?
SPEAKER_02 (19:30):
I'm in Dana Point, but our ranch is in Santa
Barbara.
And that was the frustratingthing for me because it's three
hours from where I live.
It's a it's a big animal rescue,and I and they close the
freeways down.
So even if I could get there totry to rescue them, I couldn't
cross the freeway.
They they barred it.
SPEAKER_00 (19:43):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
Thank you for sharing the story.
I just really feel like manypeople are walking.
I talk to a lot of people, andand many people are walking
through challenges right now.
It there seems to be, you know,whether there's, you know, I I
won't get into people's stories,but um, you know, there is a
measure of many of us beingtaken to new levels of faith.
(20:07):
And sometimes it requires uswalking through the fire,
literally.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
Yeah, literally.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
Literally.
SPEAKER_02 (20:14):
Yeah, you gotta know if God put you in a wilderness,
he already has a path out foryou.
Say that again.
I said, if the Lord has put youin the wilderness, then he's
already made a path out for you.
But we sometimes get stuck inour wilderness because we can
only see the bushes and we can'twalk and we're stuck.
Well, God's like, but would yougive it to me?
Would you trust it to me?
Would you surrender it to me?
SPEAKER_03 (20:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:36):
Because man, if you did, I would grow you, I would
stretch you, I would fortifyyou, I would build you, and then
I'd I'd bring you out.
SPEAKER_00 (20:44):
Yeah.
Thank you for saying that.
So you mentioned your book.
You have a book that releasedrecently, which I cannot wait
for you to share more about.
What did that look like for you?
I I call it a book, baby.
So you just had a book birthday.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Um, what what started thisprocess?
I I'm guessing there was amoment where, like, are you
(21:07):
naturally a writer?
Are you did you ever think you'dwrite a book?
Tell us more about this process.
SPEAKER_02 (21:12):
I had a couple words from people say, You're gonna
write a book.
And I thought, I don't think Iam.
And uh then I tried to write abook years ago, and it was like,
there I was, and I was little,and you know, and I my mom was
committing suicide again, youknow, and it was just like this
small little violin, and Imyself couldn't even read it.
I'm like, this is so depressing,and I'm like, I'm not supposed
(21:34):
to be writing a book.
And then when I got the healthnews, uh, I wrote these very
true moments of like, kids, theworld's gonna tell you it.
Like, I wrote a chapter to mydaughter's my favorite chapter
in the book, um, about one of mylittle little girls, and it was
something that she did that wasabsolutely so crazy and how her
father responded to it.
And I said, Little girls, theworld's gonna tell you you're
(21:55):
not enough, you're not smartenough, you're not good enough,
you're not talented.
That is what the world will tellyou.
And I said, But you if you couldsee yourself through your
father's eyes and who yourfather is and who he called you
to be.
And it was this truth that Ifelt they had to know.
And I started every chapter offwith like, kids, you have to
know because you know, I thinkI'm gonna be dead in maybe a
year or two.
(22:15):
That, you know, they I hadthyroid cancer and and they
didn't know how that was gonnago.
And um, and so it was these realbiblical truths.
So the book was easy because itwas a love letter to my
children.
It wasn't a book for someone toread.
It was like you have to know ifyou are dealing with anxiety, if
you feel stuck, if you feel lessthan all of these things that
(22:36):
they're gonna deal with in life.
If you are, if you are dealingwith anger, if you are dealing
with, you know, everything anduh, you know, even up to simple
things like you know what, guys,if you have friends who don't
treat you well, you are notmeant to live in their shadow.
If if you have, if you havethis, walk away from that
situation.
And um, so I published it andthen I would just start telling
(22:57):
people, I'd be like, So, youknow, I I wrote, I want the kids
to know about the courtrooms ofheaven.
So I wrote this chapter aboutit.
And they're like, What do youmean the courtrooms of heaven?
I'm like, what do you mean?
What do I mean?
What do you mean?
What do I mean?
But you don't know about thecourtrooms of heaven?
So then I'd explain the chapter.
Well, the biblical, you know,this is this, and this is the
biblical reference, and this iswhen God talks about it, and
this is how you have to presentyour prayer request.
And, you know, and I would talkabout a chapter at lunch, and
(23:19):
the people were like, What doyou mean the Bible says that?
Like, what do you mean Goddoesn't hear your prayers if
they're not faith-fueled?
What do I mean?
You know, and I was so surprisedby what I had assumed were very
biblically simple truths, andmaybe not simple, but profound
truths.
Right.
But, you know, God's given youall these tools that are for you
(23:39):
to use to make your life better,you know, not to live in lack
and depression and anger and allthe things that Satan wants you
to live in.
And the fact that they didn'thave tools to move through life
really surprised me.
And uh then I came across thisgirl and she was, she was in
publishing and she's a friend,and she said, I just really want
to publish your book.
She goes, I read it and shegoes, it was insanely impactful.
(24:00):
So then I sent the book out to acouple of friends and they're
like, Melanie, like, I I can'teven, I can't even wrap my mind
around this.
SPEAKER_04 (24:06):
Really?
SPEAKER_02 (24:06):
And I think it's because it was written.
It's you know, you you're veryguarded.
If you, if someone's gonna writesomething, it's like you guard,
like I don't want you to seethis side of me.
This side's ugly.
This isn't my best side.
You know, I think you'reprobably gonna think a lot less
of me if you knew this.
This is this is something Ireally struggled with, you know.
And but to your own children,it's okay.
(24:27):
So I wrote it from a very safespace, and I think it's
impactful because um it wasnever meant to be shared.
And I don't think I would haveshared that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:36):
You literally had no plans to publish this outside of
your family.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
No, no, it was just like, no, and I I wrote a bit
when I finished it, I just boundit and I wrote kids, you know,
and it was just a little loveletter.
It's like I may not be here, butthese are things you have to
know because I want to see youin heaven.
And I want you to live a fulland healthy life, and I don't
want you to be stuck, and and Idon't want you to live
underneath Satan's lies.
Yes, wow, because so many of uslive under the untruths and the
(25:04):
identity that were given to usby the enemy.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I feel like there's sucha process to unwind from that,
honestly.
Especially if you grew up insimilar, like a family like
yours.
I'm not gonna get into my familystory right now, but you know,
there was a lot of unwindingthat I've had to do in literally
learning who I am in Christ andnot from the world standpoint,
(25:28):
right?
Yeah, and there's so many womenthat I talk to who really don't
like they get their identityfrom the things they do, not you
called them to be, like thatactual being, right?
Have you noticed that too?
A hundred percent.
Yeah, and you know what?
SPEAKER_02 (25:47):
And that's the that's the trap of the enemy.
Instagram is the trap of theenemy.
You see everyone's perfect life.
What people show you is the trapof the enemy, the lies that
people say about you, what youbelieve about yourself.
How about this?
The lies that Satan tells you inthe morning are is this really
for you?
Are you really a good mom?
Are you really moving forward inwork?
You're always gonna be stuck.
(26:08):
You're always gonna be single,you're never gonna have kids,
you'll always be at lack.
And then we believe them, youknow, and we start and it and it
shapes our identity.
It's like, yeah, maybe I won't.
Maybe it's not for me.
Maybe I'm not as good of.
And it's like, you are createdin the image of the great I am,
the Lord God who sits on thethrone in heaven, the one who
(26:30):
was in eternity past, eternitypresent, that the world exists
because God was there to say,and I said, and it was.
You start operating in, whoa,I'm a I'm a daughter, I'm a
prince, I'm a I'm a friend, I'man heir to a throne.
It's like operate in thatidentity because that's when you
start walking in power.
(26:51):
And I'll tell you what, when youstart walking in power, the
enemy stops messing with you.
You you almost become a it'slike when I get up in the
morning and my feet hit theground, I know the enemy runs.
And and I often go look for him.
And I'm like, what did you sayto me?
What did you say to my son?
What did you say to my daughter?
I'm sorry, what did you just do?
I'm coming after you today.
I'm gonna find you because youcannot hide from me and I'm
(27:11):
gonna rip your face off forthat.
So I suggest you stop doing it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:15):
I love you.
Yeah.
I I say the enemy is such apunk.
Um I carry around like boxinggloves because I really like
smack it, you know.
Come on, try me.
Yeah.
What would you say?
You know, obviously I you're Ican tell you're you're good at
like catching the lies, but isthere a lie that that tried to
embed itself in your life umthat you've really had to push
(27:39):
back on a lot that maybe evencomes up in this day and age?
SPEAKER_02 (27:44):
You know, I the lie that I the lie that people uh
the lie that I believe, um, andit's I think probably a lot of
women struggle, is how likableam I?
And I am a very bold, I don'twant to say aggressive, but like
if I have an opinion, you'regonna know it in five minutes.
You know, and and sometimes inmy life or in business, I used
(28:06):
to have a friend for a long timeand she used to be like, oh,
it's just Melanie, it's justMelanie.
And I'd go home and be like,Well, what do you mean by that?
What does she mean it's justMelanie?
Because I'll say things that I'mlike, oh, I'm sorry that came
out of my mouth, or things thatI think are funny that no one
else does, or you know, I havezero filter in my life.
Sure.
And the enemy always says, like,why can't you be more timid?
Why can't you be more normal?
Why can't you, why can't you fitin with those?
(28:29):
You know, and and then I think,well, maybe I'm too much.
And and every time my friendsaid, Well, it's just Melanie, I
just, it was like death by athousand paper cuts, you know?
And I was just like, Oh, maybe Iam too much.
And that's the one that then Ihave to go back and reprocess
that with God and be like, no, Iam created because I am bold in
my faith.
(28:49):
God made my mouth because Goduses my mouth.
I pray for people in Starbucks.
I I call truth.
When when someone will believedarkness, I call truth.
You know, it's it's if I see youprotesting something that I
don't believe that's not godly,you know, oh my God, I went
crazy on the Charlie Kirk.
I went nuts.
And anytime I saw someone postsomething or say something or a
(29:11):
protest, I'm like, that is alife.
That is someone's son, someone'shusband, that is someone's
father.
And I said, and how about thefact that you're on the other
side?
The man whose son killed CharlieKirk, he had to turn his own son
in.
Right.
Can you imagine living withthat?
What about that man?
Okay, you can hate Charlie Kirkand his whole family.
What about that guy?
What about what about the painthat he's doing?
(29:31):
You that you know, like I do notlet evil stand in any sphere of
my life.
And so, you know, yeah, maybeI'm not for everyone, but I'm
perfectly created by God for mypurpose.
And as long as I stay in mypurpose, then that's good
enough.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
You just said it.
I mean, I feel like that'sthat's a word for somebody, you
know, like uh I I often tellmyself, like, I'm not for
everybody and everybody's notfor me.
Yeah.
I mean, we can love people andwe can Be who we are and be who
we are created to be, and itwill turn some people off, and
that's okay.
Um, but there is like a boldnessrising up in women, wouldn't you
(30:10):
say?
And they need they needexamples.
SPEAKER_02 (30:14):
Yeah.
Right?
I I feel it and I love it.
I want to hand everyone aflaming sword and be like, go
get 'em!
SPEAKER_00 (30:21):
Yes.
Well, I don't know about you,but when when Charlie was
assassinated, you know, back onSeptember 10th, like there was a
fire just coursing through myveins.
Oh yeah, I couldn't evenfunction on it.
Coursing through my veins.
And you know, he lived a life ofbeing bold and unashamed and
(30:46):
willing to go in places thatmost wouldn't even go into.
And made such an impact becauseof his boldness, because of his
voice.
And I I believe just throughyour voice, even sharing this
here today, you're gonna helpunleash other women and men who
listen in.
Because yeah, the enemy's gonnatry to shut us up one way or the
(31:09):
other, and it's not gonna work.
SPEAKER_02 (31:11):
No.
SPEAKER_00 (31:12):
It's not gonna work.
No, it's not not gonna happen.
No, it just isn't happening.
Um, so tell us the name, tell usthe name of your book.
You didn't share that yet, and Ididn't say it because I wanted
you to say the name.
You're your kids You have toknow.
SPEAKER_02 (31:28):
You because you my kids had to know, and now you
have to know the goodness ofGod.
You have to know who you are,you have to know how to rise up,
you have to know how toovercome, you have to know how
to move forward.
You have to know who you are.
SPEAKER_00 (31:42):
Which which is your favorite chapter?
SPEAKER_02 (31:45):
Oh, my favorite chapter is is the one that I
said um of my little daughter,little Kylie.
And man, she's 20 kids in one.
And I don't know if anyone'sever had 20 kids in one, but we
used to call her Kai Kong orKaizilla.
And the second her big brotherswould build something, Kylie
would hide and wait and anddestroy it.
She was just, she was just, itwas, you know, and I loved her.
(32:06):
She was, I delighted in thatlittle girl, but man, she was a
lot.
My mom did not see her how I sawher.
And every time she came over, itwas like, you need to get that
kid tested.
Something's not right with thatkid, something's not right with
her.
She's wrong.
And Kylie was little, aboutfive, and she felt the gravity
of those words.
So, you know, Eric would alwayscome in and say, You need to
stop saying that about mydaughter.
My daughter's perfect.
(32:27):
She's perfectly and wonderfullycreated by God.
And that little girl's gonna bea force.
And no, she's not.
She needs to be on medicate, sheneeds to be medicated.
They'd argue, argue, argue.
And um, Thanksgiving came, andI'm trying to bridge the gap.
And it was my firstThanksgiving.
And I said, Kylie, honey, willyou go set the table with your
grandma?
So she goes and they're arguing.
I hear it, and she puts down afork, and Kylie picks the fork
(32:49):
up and turns it backwards.
And then she puts down a napkinand Kylie shoves it in her
little Thanksgiving dress withthe little brown turkey, and she
starts acting like a puppet.
She puts down flowers and thenKylie goes and she puts them
somewhere else.
It was like, whatever Jackiedid, Kylie undid.
And I just hear Kylie beingsilent, but but more defiant.
The second she heard that wordsthat were put on her that were
(33:10):
not true, she became defiant init.
I love that about Kylie.
So uh Thanksgiving comes andKylie's nowhere to be found.
Kylie, Kylie, where are Kylie?
Where's Kylie?
Kylie.
She walks down, she's starknaked.
And I'm like, oh no.
She puts her tiny little fistsballed up in the tightest little
balls, and she puts her legs andshe puts them right on her
(33:32):
little hips, and she says, I amnot who you say I am.
And then she steps on the tableon a chair, and then on
Thanksgiving table, and Jackiesaid, Down, Kylie.
Oh my God.
All right, control her.
And Eric and I just look at eachother, and then we just look at
Kylie, and she starts runningthe Thanksgiving table, and she
kicks the turkey into the dog'smouth, and she steps in the
(33:54):
gravy and she smashes the mashedpotatoes over on my mom.
Then all of a sudden I look overat my husband, and my husband
stands up, and his arms are sostrong and so big and so wide.
And he starts clapping his handsand throws his arms out and she
runs as fast as she can and sheleaps and she jumps and he
catches her and he holds her andhe looks to my mom and my mom
(34:17):
says, I told you there'ssomething wrong with that kid.
And he says, Jackie, I told youshe's perfect.
And then not only does he defendher, he turns to her and he
says, Kylie, you are perfectlyand wonderfully made.
He not only defends her, but hegives her her identity.
And in that chapter, I go intothe story of Gideon, where
Gideon was hiding in awinepress, and the angel of the
(34:39):
Lord comes down.
He says, Gideon, you mighty manof valor.
And Gideon's like, No, I'mliterally hiding in a wine
press.
And in the chapter, it's like,but that's not who God saw
Gideon to be.
Gideon saw him as the defenderof Israel, as the one who would
break the idols, that wouldstand for God, that would move a
whole nation forward.
That's who God called Gideon tobe.
(35:01):
So who told Gideon he wasn'tenough?
Who told Kylie she's not enough?
The world, the neighbor, theperson, the father, the friend,
the spouse?
Because that's not how God sawhim to be.
And then that chapter is likelike Kylie, you know, her, if
you could see yourself throughyour father's eyes, you are
perfectly and wonderfully made,heir to a throne, redeemed,
restored, daughter, friend,princess.
(35:23):
You are all of that thing.
And then it's like if you haveseen yourself as less than this
is a declaration that you say toGod, declare this.
This is what you repent for.
This is how you start seeingyourself, and this is your
prayer to God.
Because you have got to startoperating in the identity of who
God calls you to be, not who,not, not what the world does.
(35:44):
And so that's my favorite,that's my favorite chapter in
the book because that's the baseof how we all need to start
operating.
Your identity comes first, andyour your movement and your
ministry come second.
SPEAKER_00 (35:56):
Amen.
Yes, amen.
Okay, Kylie.
Love her.
Yeah, man, there's a lot aboutvalue in the book.
There's a lot of like I think inpictures and I see movies when
people are talking, and I'mlike, oh girl, how old is she
now?
Kylie's 20.
SPEAKER_02 (36:12):
She's finishing up her pilot's license.
She um, she's on honors incollege.
She got herself a scholarshipthat I didn't even apply for.
She came back and she's so Ididn't even, she's a total nerd.
And I'm not.
I'm like, man, this kid, she'sgot like a four, three or
whatever.
You know, she had gold chainsdripping from her on graduation.
And uh I actually hugged her andI said, I had no idea you were
(36:33):
such a nerd, Kylie.
I had no, I had who knew?
But man, that kid's a force andshe's bold.
She's every bit of Kai Kong thatshe was when she was five.
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
So she like has harnessed, um, basically, like
she was created in thisboldness, and it was harnessed.
It's it's being harnessed now,like in a different way to
utilize to be the woman she wascreated to be.
SPEAKER_01 (36:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (37:00):
Um, is she still kicking turkeys?
SPEAKER_02 (37:03):
Um, I don't know what man, she she sure she sure
kicks some things.
I don't know.
It's like you do not, you know,and Kylie is the the she is such
a good-hearted, sweet, Jesusloving woman.
SPEAKER_04 (37:14):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (37:15):
Um, so it's not like she it's like kicking turkeys,
like there's an aggression tohim, but she knows who she is
and she stands on that.
And her boldness and her faith,like you do not tell Kylie
things that are wrong becauseKylie doesn't stand for him.
SPEAKER_00 (37:27):
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (37:28):
So she'll look after her mama.
Yeah, she's turkeys.
That kid's a force.
I mean, she would if she had to.
That kid's a force, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (37:36):
Force to be reckoned with.
SPEAKER_02 (37:37):
Yeah.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (37:40):
Oh my goodness.
So when did your book release?
Uh two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago.
Okay.
And where can people get yourbook?
SPEAKER_02 (37:47):
Uh, they can get it on.
You can either find me on uhMelaniecox.org.
Okay.
Or on Amazon.
It's Melanie Cox.
I'm I'm sorry, on Amazon, youhave to know by Melanie Cox.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Okay.
Sounds good.
Anything else coming up for youthat you want to share with the
audience?
Any events or anything thatyou'd like to share that we can
lead people to?
SPEAKER_02 (38:07):
If you're in California, I'm starting to
speak at conferences.
You can um find me on it'sMelanie Cox on Instagram and
I'll post things that I do then.
Um I'm starting to preach inCowboy Church.
I don't even know what thatlooks like, but I gave my God my
yes.
I think it's gonna be great.
SPEAKER_00 (38:23):
Um I love, I love how you are just walking this
journey and giving your yes andnot knowing the fullness of it
yet.
SPEAKER_02 (38:31):
No, but it's the but it's the best.
Your yes is your best life.
Selfishly, for you to say yes toanything that God has to offer
is gonna bring you to thefullness and your greatest
accomplishments, your greatesthappiness, your greatest peace,
your greatest joy.
Everyone's life should just be ayes.
SPEAKER_00 (38:49):
Yes, yes, you know, best yes, yeah, yes, absolutely.
It's a wild, it's a wild lifewhen you give your yes, um,
especially when you don't knowthe fullness of it.
Because he's got it.
Like he literally has so manyfun plans for us, and he's so
much fun.
Wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (39:05):
A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_00 (39:06):
Like people think that God isn't fun.
And I'm like, no, he's actuallyfun and funny.
SPEAKER_02 (39:12):
Yeah, he's fun annually, right?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (39:15):
Well, as we close today, I would love for you to
share.
Um, you know, I shared with youbefore this, I do this for the
one.
And if you could just imaginethe one listening in today, do
you have any other um words oflike wisdom or encouragement
that you'd like to share overthis one?
And then would you pray us outtoday?
SPEAKER_02 (39:34):
Um, yeah, man, my wisdom would just be what I'm
talking about.
Go, go find your identity.
Don't live in less than you werecreated to be.
You are amazing, you are strong,you are perfect, you are
beautiful, you are all that in abag of chips.
And and go find that personbecause that's who you're
created to be.
And anything less than thathurts God's heart.
(39:55):
Because He does not makeanything less than a
masterpiece.
And you are a masterpiece.
So I'm gonna pray us out.
Father God, I thank you for thispodcast.
I thank you for the one.
I thank you for anyone who'slistening who knows the truth of
our voices, that sees who theywere created to be, that they
start operating in that truth,Father God, that you move them
forward in the purpose they werecreated for.
(40:15):
Anyone who is feeling stuck,Father God, you you lift them up
and you tell them you take onestep because the second you take
a step, you are no longer stuck.
We bring these women home, anyof the lost sheep, any of the
any of the lost, any of the thehalf then, the half measured,
the less then's.
Bring them up and bring themhome.
You start shepherding them hometo where they belong to be.
(40:37):
We pray that everyone's life isin fullness in Christ, that we
hear your voice, that we knowyour voice, and that we feel
your heart and that we know yourheart.
We thank you that you have doneenough.
If you do not one more thing forus in our life, oh God, you have
done enough.
Thank you for our purpose.
Thank you for our heaven andthank you for you, Father God.
We love you, Jesus.
We give you our life, we giveyou our yes.
(40:59):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (41:00):
Amen.
Well, Melanie, thank you so muchfor being here today.
It's such a joy.
I can't wait for your next book.
Um, we'll have to have you onfor your next book that's
coming.
SPEAKER_01 (41:10):
Is that a word?
You have two books.
I would say so, yes.
No, I'm healthy though.
I'm healthy though.
I don't know why I'd have towrite a second book.
I'm so healthy.
SPEAKER_00 (41:17):
I you've got multiples, so keep going.
Um, so thank you for being abrave voice who's setting so
many free.
Um, I will be sure to add all ofthe links in the show notes to
go check them out so you can getin touch with Melanie and get
her book.
I can't wait to read it.
I am going to close with theanchoring verse over Hope
Unlocked.
It is, May the God of hope fillyou with all joy and peace in
(41:39):
believing, so that by the powerof the Holy Spirit you may
abound in hope.
And that's Romans 15, 13.
So I will be back with anotherepisode next week.
Thank you, listeners.
Thank you, Melanie.
Thank you, Kristen.
Appreciate it.
Welcome to the Hope Unlock Podcast.
I'm your host, Kristen Kurtz,and I'm also the founder of New
Wings Coaching.
I help and empower wild-heartedand adventurous women of faith
feeling caged and stuck, unlocktheir true purpose and
potential, break free fromlimitations, and thrive with
confidence, courage, and hope.
If you're curious to learn moreabout coaching with me, head to
NewWingsCoaching.net and be sureto explore the show notes for
(00:38):
ways to connect with me further.
Get ready to dive in as weuncover empowering keys and
insights in this episode.
So tune in and let's unlock hopetogether.
Welcome to the Hope UnlockedPodcast.
I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host.
I pray this episode is like aholy IV of hope for your soul.
Please help me welcome MelanieCox to the show.
(00:58):
I'm so excited to have her heretoday.
She is a mutual connection ofour friend Julie.
So I'm excited that sheconnected us.
I know that she's going to haveso much.
I just keep hearing like fire toshare with us today.
She was quite a story.
We had a moment to talk beforewe got started here with the
recording.
So Melanie, would you be open tojust sharing a little bit about
(01:20):
you before we get started?
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
Yeah.
I'm a mom of five, first andforemost, and a wife of 30
years.
And I could just stop there andbe like, that's a life.
That's a that's a good life.
I'm a CEO of two companies andI'm a partner to the largest
drywall manufacturer in thecountry.
And recently, maybe about a yearago or three years ago, I had
(01:42):
some bath health news.
So I didn't think I was gonnalive very long.
And about a year ago, I justkind of quit work and I've kind
of given my life to ministrybecause I just want to serve
God.
And I wrote the book when I hadhealth news because I really
wanted my kids to know God.
And I named it you have to knowbecause I started chapter on my
kids.
You have to know if you'reanxiety, you have to know if
you're stuck, you have to knowif you're if you're confused, if
(02:05):
you're heartbroken, that this iswhere God wants to move you
forward and to see the glory ofGod, to who God is, and to
ultimately end up in heaven so Ican spend eternity with you.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
So beautiful.
I mean, I know you've got astory before this, right?
Um, so you've been a CEO, you'vebeen a business owner, you've
done all the things that I'mimagining you've had a lot of
success in that realm, right?
Um, tell us a little bit aboutthat process of moving from that
realm to ministry.
I can't imagine it was like justtell us about that.
(02:39):
Um, I know some people might belike, how does that work?
SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
Um You know, I came to a realization that whatever
you're doing in life, if if youare a teacher, you're in
ministry.
If you are a business owner,you're in ministry.
If you are a mom who makeslittle peanut butter jelly
sandwiches, you're in ministry.
And all of a sudden it startsswitching from what I didn't
realize the epiphany that I hadwas wait a second, I'm not a
CEO, I'm not a business owner.
(03:04):
My whole life has really justbeen a platform for his purpose.
And and it starts to switch yourmind when you think of what is
important and what your ultimategoal is.
And you have to start switchingyour mind to say, no, your
ultimate goal has to be aboutfurthering the kingdom of God.
And it has to be about movingother people to the needle
because our life is a blip.
And when I get to heaven and Godsays, Did you know me?
(03:26):
Ah, yes, God, I knew you.
Then what did you do with it?
Yeah.
So it was a real easy transitionwhen I realized what was truly
important in life.
It's not about the things andthe accolades and the success.
It's about moving the needle tothe kingdom.
SPEAKER_00 (03:41):
Yeah.
Well, what did that look likebringing bringing God into the
workplace?
SPEAKER_02 (03:47):
Um, I'm very open about my faith.
I've got, man, a lot of storiesand a lot of history.
So I never have not brought Godinto the workplace.
SPEAKER_04 (03:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (03:55):
You know, even when people are not Christians, it's
like, you know, let's just prayabout this.
And it's kind of like, well, dowe have to?
And I'm like, yeah, we do.
Or let's see what God thinksabout that.
And it's like, okay, but let mejust tell you what the attorney
says first.
And I'm like, I don't care whatthe attorney says.
I don't hear what I want to hearwhat the ultimate man, you've
never seen a court case tried,you know, until Jesus is your
attorney.
So I'm gonna ask, I'm gonna askthat attorney because he doesn't
lose.
(04:16):
Oh, I love it.
So I've always been very, veryvocal.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
So you you've always been that way.
Always.
Always.
I love it.
I mean, have you ever had anylike pushback on that?
Oh, tons.
Tons.
Yeah, tell us the story and howyou overcame that.
SPEAKER_02 (04:34):
Well, one I love because I ended up saving my
realtor, is one of the companieswe do is we take uh high-end
houses and we flip them.
And I worked on this deal, itwas on the ocean for months and
months and months, and no onecould believe that it'll got it
was it was set to be solucrative.
And we squirreled away the cashfor it, and I walked the
property, and in my spirit, Godsaid, Did you pray about it?
(04:55):
And I'm like, Well, no, but God,I did a really good job on my
own.
Like, you're welcome.
I gave you the day off.
Did you pray about it?
I gave you the day off.
Yeah, okay, I'll pray about it.
So I take my fingers and I startpraying over the property.
Father God, if this is from you,no, Father God, what am I
talking about?
Thank you that this is from you.
This is this is fantastic, andwe're gonna do so great.
And of course, I'm gonna giveyou 10% of it.
(05:15):
And I heard God say, No, what doyou mean, no, God?
What?
Okay, thank you, God.
This is this is gonna be solucrative.
We're so excited.
Okay, I was greedy, I wasgreedy.
I'm gonna give you 20% of it.
God says no.
And uh, so I say, okay, God,that's a clear no.
So would you do this for me?
And I and God, I'm so sorry, Idon't mean to be disobedient.
But if there's something that isa real no, can the property line
(05:38):
be off?
And we get the survey back acouple of days later, and
there's a little removablefence, like you know, the you
can buy them at Home Depot andyou can pull them out in four
seconds.
Yeah, and maybe about a half ofan inch was on the property
line.
And I pulled out of escrow andno one could believe it.
And I went and I personallycalled everyone.
I said, I'm sorry.
And I know that this is gonnasound crazy, but I prayed about
(05:58):
it and God said no.
And I need to be in obedience tohis word because ultimately, if
it's a no, then what God has onthe other side of that no is is
a hundred times better.
And people are like, that's foranybody.
Yeah, that's a you know what?
That absolutely that is foranyone.
Your nose, your nose are notdead ends, your nose are are
detours into something greater.
SPEAKER_03 (06:20):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
And uh, so we pull out of escrow and I just I
called everyone, I just want towitness to them.
And about three weeks later, theneighbor had gone to Europe and
their hose broke and it hadsaturated the side of that
hillside in the ocean, and thewhole hillside collapsed.
And now we needed a threemillion dollar retaining wall,
but the coastal commission's notgiving retaining walls, so that
house is currently condemned.
(06:43):
What?
Oh my god.
So then I gotta go back toeveryone and I'll be like, like
I said, when God says no, it'sbecause there's a re don't put
your finger in the light socket.
SPEAKER_00 (06:54):
Exactly.
What a measure of protection,though, right?
SPEAKER_02 (06:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
And honoring, right?
Wow.
So okay, back us up a littlebit.
You you're you're your CEO,you're in business, you're
unafraid to be like bold andaudacious, where you're just
gonna say, tell us more aboutyour faith journey.
Did you like grow up in church?
What did that look like for you?
(07:19):
Were you saved at a later age?
I I feel like I want to hearyour story because you you're
bold.
And not everybody is willing tobe bold.
And that's one of my things.
I'm like, we gotta be more bold.
So give us a little bit more ofyour history if you're open to
that.
SPEAKER_02 (07:33):
Yeah, I pray for people at grocery stores.
I'm like, Do you know Jesus?
I gotta sh, I gotta sharesomething with you.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
My kids back in the day, they'd be like, Mom, please
don't meet anybody new today.
SPEAKER_02 (07:44):
Yeah, it will be exactly yeah, yeah.
Um, I I have a crazy backstory.
So my grandmother was a whitewitch and my grandfather was a
Freemason, and they horriblyabused my mom.
And I spent most of my lifetrying to keep her from
committing suicide.
SPEAKER_03 (07:58):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (07:59):
In about eighth grade, it was so much
responsibility that I tried totake my own life, and now I'm in
the same nut house as my mother.
And um, we didn't know God.
And my brother accidentally,when he turned 16, killed his
best friend.
He was doing donuts in a VW bug,and it was a rainy day, and he
flipped it over, hit a tree, andthat tree embedded in his best
(08:21):
friend's leg, and he tried topull him out of the car and pull
him out of the car, and itcaught on fire.
And then he had to sit there andwatch him burn to death.
SPEAKER_00 (08:28):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
And we go to the funeral, and the mom, our
family's distraught, and theirmom, their whole family was at
peace.
And she comes up and she hugsKurt and she said, You know,
Kurt, you owe my son an apology.
And Kurt was just sobbing.
And she said, But Kurt, he knewJesus.
So if you want to apologize, gofind God and go say sorry to him
in heaven.
Oh, we're gonna see him again.
He's not gone.
(08:51):
So Kurt goes to Africa and hecomes back and he starts saving
the whole family.
And we're like, I can't evenhear about this guy, Jesus,
again, Kurt.
Seriously, I don't even care.
And he'd be like, wait, wait,wait, I want to read you
something in Romans.
And I'm like, I don't even care.
I don't even like it in history,and I don't want to hear it in
my own.
Go away.
And uh relentlessly,relentlessly, and he saved my
parents and then one afteranother.
(09:12):
And I knew the power of God.
My brother went on to start thevineyard church um with Lonnie
Frisbee.
They they did the if anyone eversaw Jesus Revolution, my brother
was kind of a part of that inreal time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:24):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (09:25):
And um, he was he would come home with these
crazy, like, there was someonewho was demon possessed, and I
saved this person, and you know,we're with the homeless.
And I, it was just such a wildconcept.
I'm like, you're just it's justyour like you don't want to say
he's a nut job, but man, he'ssuch a nut job, you know.
And I'm like, that's peopledon't float, Kurt.
Like, I don't know, that justdoes not happen.
(09:48):
And uh, so I left being married,knowing who God was, but not
knowing the heart of the father.
And I got married, and becauseof what I got through for a
childhood, I really wantedbabies.
And I'm like, I can picturetucking them in and little hot
cocoa and bullshere.
And and unfortunately, kidsweren't for us.
And in year three, I got sodepressed, I put myself to bed.
(10:09):
I thought, you know, it's justnot for me.
And every day my husband wouldcome home and he'd
say, 'Melanie, if you only knewthat God loved you and if you
would only feel the sun on yourface today, and you're enough.'
And I I couldn't grasp theidentity of who my husband saw
me to be and who God saw me tobe.
SPEAKER_04 (10:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:26):
And after a year, I picked up a Bible and I said,
God, if you're really a God, ifif it's true, then you need to
speak to me right now.
And I opened it up and it said,the mornings, it said, the night
has been long, but morning iscoming.
And I just remember weeping,going, God, I think that's for
me.
And then I started opening theBible, and everyone who couldn't
have a baby, I said, Father God,if you did it for Hannah, would
(10:49):
you do it for Melanie?
And and oh, there's Sarah.
Look how you showed up for her.
But but what about Melanie?
Do you see me that much?
And Rachel and and all thewomen.
And when I got done reading,every woman who couldn't have a
baby.
And wait, let me backtrack thatI started in a heart of
gratitude.
And I said, God, it's okay thatyou won't do it for me.
You've given me enough.
You gave me a husband thatshould have left.
(11:10):
You gave me a house and a andand a and a dog and a life.
And thank you, Father God.
My life is so, so good.
But but if it is in your will,Father God, would you do it for
Melanie?
This woman comes up to me atchurch and she says, God's heard
your prayer and you have a babyboy, and it's a gift from the
Lord.
SPEAKER_03 (11:26):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (11:27):
And I was pregnant with my little will and the
doctors, you can't carry thebaby.
And I just remember thinking,I'd look at him and I'd be like,
How lucky are you that you'reabout ready to see a miracle of
God?
SPEAKER_04 (11:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:37):
You know, Melanie, you're losing the baby at six
months.
Melanie, I'm sorry, you'relosing the baby.
My placenta ripped out.
And I said, Oh, how lucky areyou that you're about ready to
see a miracle of God?
Because God loves Melanie.
And I went to the end and theycalled him dead when I burnt
them.
We lost him in the birth canal.
And um, you know, I'm sorry youlost the baby.
How lucky are you that you'reabout ready to see a miracle of
(11:58):
God?
Because the one thing I know isthat God loves Melanie.
And that baby popped out, and itwas the ugliest baby you ever
saw.
It looked like a panel pill.
Squish that thing, just almostliterally, I think I squished
him to death, and the HolySpirit brought him back.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Oh my God.
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
It's been a trajectory for my whole life to
say, don't tell me who my Godis.
My God 2,000 years ago is theGod that I serve today.
Don't tell me what God can andcannot do.
And don't tell me that my Goddoesn't come from the throne
room of God who put on flesh tocome down to earth because he
wants to come and see about me.
That's that's the God I serve.
SPEAKER_00 (12:35):
You guys, are you guys listening?
In the back.
Please listen.
Oh my word.
You know, that's that's sopowerful.
I I actually kind of walkedthrough similar.
I got saved when I was 25 fromaddiction and immediately had
two miscarriages and was told Icouldn't have kids.
And I basically said, Watch me.
Yeah.
Watch me.
(12:56):
And they're miracles.
I have two uh 17 and 20-year-oldboys who are thriving.
I almost lost some a coupletimes, but they're here.
God, God does miracles, and Ilove how you're like, watch this
miracle.
Yeah.
Like you were just standing onthat.
And you didn't waver, did you?
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
No, never once.
And I haven't wavered since.
There's a moment that I wouldhope for everyone who listens
that you know how precious andbeloved by God you are.
That so many times people seeGod as this big, omnipotent, and
he is that, of course, inheaven, all knowing.
He's he's the one that holds thesun in place until the moon
replaces it at night.
(13:35):
And that the axis spins at justthe right speed to sustain life
for us.
And he is that God, but he'salso the God that's in your
morning cup of coffee, thatcares about every little thing
that you care about.
You're his children.
If you have kids and you knowhow much you love your kid,
well, man, that's the love theFather has for you.
Not on a large scale, on apersonal one-on-one level.
(13:57):
And wouldn't you do anything tomake your kids happy?
Wouldn't you do anything to seethem through something?
Don't you always see them?
You always worry, you alwayscare, you always love.
It's never ending.
And that's the relationship thatGod wants to have with everyone.
It's just the problem is wedon't choose that.
We don't believe it.
It's it's it's not God, it's us.
SPEAKER_00 (14:16):
Yes, yes.
Thank you for like speaking thatover the listeners because you
know, I I I don't doubt theremight be somebody listening in
today that hasn't placed theirfaith in Christ.
And um, you know, back in myday, I too, I was just like, I
didn't want to hear it like you.
I didn't I didn't want to hearanything about God, I didn't
want to hear anything.
And now I look back and I'm justlike, He literally saved me.
(14:40):
And I know he saved you too.
How how old is your firstborn?
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
Uh little Will is 26.
SPEAKER_00 (14:47):
26, and he's thriving.
SPEAKER_02 (14:49):
Um, yeah, he's a firefighter, he loves Jesus.
You know, he's just all my kidsare fantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (14:57):
Oh yeah, you said you had five, so you guys check
that.
She's told she couldn't havekids and has five, which
represents grace, right?
SPEAKER_02 (15:07):
Yeah.
And and it's just not have kids.
I mean, uh, we mortgaged ourhouse, we did all the all the in
vitro, all the gift, all thezip, like everything you could
possibly imagine.
And I'm gonna tell you somethingthat if you are struggling with
a health issue, a barrenness, asingleness, a loneliness, a a
lack of, that the world cannever do with what one second
(15:30):
God can do with your life.
So I don't care what you'retrying, if it's not working out,
if it's not moving, if if you'restill stuck in that, then can I
suggest you put it in the handsof a multiplying God?
Take it out of your hands andput it, put it in the hands of
God.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
Yeah.
Amen.
Have you had a moment like thatrecently where you've had to
give it over and maybe you'vetried to hold on to something
too tight?
SPEAKER_02 (15:54):
You know, um I well, I have a lot of those moments,
right?
That's just that's just humannature.
Like, God, are you here?
Um, I had that with the bookrelease I told you.
And um, the other thing I had itwith was we had a fire at our
ranch and we were in an animalrescue.
Oh, and I I prayed over it and Ihad all these powerful I knew
God, and I I printed out myproperty and I put a red line
(16:17):
and marker, and I started sayingthe the hedge of thorns and the
blood of Jesus, you will notpass.
Fire, you will not pass.
I bind the fire from passinginto my land.
And for 24 hours, it it's thelargest fire in California.
It burnt hundreds of thousandsof acres, but it's it stayed
right at my little line and Icouldn't believe it.
And I'd see fire watch and I'dbe like, Oh my gosh, God, you're
(16:39):
so good.
Thank you, God, thank you, God.
And then I went to bed and Iwoke up in the morning to see
that it had not only crossed myline, but it burnt through 80%
of my property.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (16:49):
And I looked through at where 140 animal rescues
were, it was all red.
And I thought, I and I knew thatif they could outrun the fire,
they would come to a pen whereit was locked.
And even if they could outrunthe fire, they'd be stuck.
And I just started sobbing and Icalled the fire captain.
I said, please, you you have togo and try to rescue what you
can rescue.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:10):
He said, No, we're we're saving homes and people.
We can't save your animals.
And and uh I just started cryingand I heard God say, Will you
trust me even in the middle ofthe fire?
Will will you trust me eventhough you don't see it?
Will you believe that I am who Isay I am?
Will you believe I am God?
Will you believe I am good?
Will you believe that I see you?
And and I said, Yes, Lord.
(17:31):
So he said, then pray for thecaptain.
And I said, Thank you, God, forfor Captain Corey Rose and you
know, keep him safe and thankyou that he has to make this
tough decision.
And and I honor him in hisdecision, even if it breaks my
heart.
And I just start praying overhim, praying over him.
And he says, you know, I'm gonnago to your ranch and I'm gonna
see it for myself.
So he takes all the fire crewout there, and um, the fire
(17:52):
hadn't reached the animals andand everything was released.
And and I was on FaceTime andhe's like, Well, how many cattle
do you have?
And I'm like, like 40, 40.
He's like, one, two, three,four, five.
How many horse rescues?
Uh, out of like 22, one, two,three.
And and they started running upthe creek where the fire had
engulfed them, but they weresafe in the water.
Oh my God.
So the fire had not come intothe water, and it was like
(18:13):
herds, it was like, it was likeNoah's Ark.
It was like the cattle camethrough, and then the sheep, and
then the goats, and then thellamas, and then the, you know,
and then the horses, and thenthe wolf, and it's like all of
these animals that I hadrescued, the donkeys, and just
start running up one after oneafter one.
And and I was just like, youknow, I guess that goes with it
with it's like you don't seewhat God's doing, and and you're
(18:34):
just feeling like, God, I'm I'mgetting burnt to death.
Like this hurts my heart so bad.
And but where are you, God?
Why are why didn't you show up?
You you said you said that youwould show up.
Your Bible says it, your wordsays it.
And it's like, you know,sometimes we have to do the the
believing and the the declaringbefore God can do his work, you
(18:56):
know.
We got to do ours with ourfaith, and then God's free to do
his.
But he saved everything.
He even saved the fire burntaround and through every
structure, but none of mystructures were burnt.
It burnt through my swing set,but the plastic on my swing
still stood.
I have a picture of like a200-year oak tree burning beside
my little plastic swing set, andit's swinging in the breeze, not
(19:19):
even touched.
SPEAKER_00 (19:21):
You could make a whole movie about this.
I mean, oh my goodness.
Like that is such a miracle.
And where's where are youlocated then?
SPEAKER_02 (19:30):
I'm in Dana Point, but our ranch is in Santa
Barbara.
And that was the frustratingthing for me because it's three
hours from where I live.
It's a it's a big animal rescue,and I and they close the
freeways down.
So even if I could get there totry to rescue them, I couldn't
cross the freeway.
They they barred it.
SPEAKER_00 (19:43):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
Thank you for sharing the story.
I just really feel like manypeople are walking.
I talk to a lot of people, andand many people are walking
through challenges right now.
It there seems to be, you know,whether there's, you know, I I
won't get into people's stories,but um, you know, there is a
measure of many of us beingtaken to new levels of faith.
(20:07):
And sometimes it requires uswalking through the fire,
literally.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
Yeah, literally.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
Literally.
SPEAKER_02 (20:14):
Yeah, you gotta know if God put you in a wilderness,
he already has a path out foryou.
Say that again.
I said, if the Lord has put youin the wilderness, then he's
already made a path out for you.
But we sometimes get stuck inour wilderness because we can
only see the bushes and we can'twalk and we're stuck.
Well, God's like, but would yougive it to me?
Would you trust it to me?
Would you surrender it to me?
SPEAKER_03 (20:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:36):
Because man, if you did, I would grow you, I would
stretch you, I would fortifyyou, I would build you, and then
I'd I'd bring you out.
SPEAKER_00 (20:44):
Yeah.
Thank you for saying that.
So you mentioned your book.
You have a book that releasedrecently, which I cannot wait
for you to share more about.
What did that look like for you?
I I call it a book, baby.
So you just had a book birthday.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Um, what what started thisprocess?
I I'm guessing there was amoment where, like, are you
(21:07):
naturally a writer?
Are you did you ever think you'dwrite a book?
Tell us more about this process.
SPEAKER_02 (21:12):
I had a couple words from people say, You're gonna
write a book.
And I thought, I don't think Iam.
And uh then I tried to write abook years ago, and it was like,
there I was, and I was little,and you know, and I my mom was
committing suicide again, youknow, and it was just like this
small little violin, and Imyself couldn't even read it.
I'm like, this is so depressing,and I'm like, I'm not supposed
(21:34):
to be writing a book.
And then when I got the healthnews, uh, I wrote these very
true moments of like, kids, theworld's gonna tell you it.
Like, I wrote a chapter to mydaughter's my favorite chapter
in the book, um, about one of mylittle little girls, and it was
something that she did that wasabsolutely so crazy and how her
father responded to it.
And I said, Little girls, theworld's gonna tell you you're
(21:55):
not enough, you're not smartenough, you're not good enough,
you're not talented.
That is what the world will tellyou.
And I said, But you if you couldsee yourself through your
father's eyes and who yourfather is and who he called you
to be.
And it was this truth that Ifelt they had to know.
And I started every chapter offwith like, kids, you have to
know because you know, I thinkI'm gonna be dead in maybe a
year or two.
(22:15):
That, you know, they I hadthyroid cancer and and they
didn't know how that was gonnago.
And um, and so it was these realbiblical truths.
So the book was easy because itwas a love letter to my
children.
It wasn't a book for someone toread.
It was like you have to know ifyou are dealing with anxiety, if
you feel stuck, if you feel lessthan all of these things that
(22:36):
they're gonna deal with in life.
If you are, if you are dealingwith anger, if you are dealing
with, you know, everything anduh, you know, even up to simple
things like you know what, guys,if you have friends who don't
treat you well, you are notmeant to live in their shadow.
If if you have, if you havethis, walk away from that
situation.
And um, so I published it andthen I would just start telling
(22:57):
people, I'd be like, So, youknow, I I wrote, I want the kids
to know about the courtrooms ofheaven.
So I wrote this chapter aboutit.
And they're like, What do youmean the courtrooms of heaven?
I'm like, what do you mean?
What do I mean?
What do you mean?
What do I mean?
But you don't know about thecourtrooms of heaven?
So then I'd explain the chapter.
Well, the biblical, you know,this is this, and this is the
biblical reference, and this iswhen God talks about it, and
this is how you have to presentyour prayer request.
And, you know, and I would talkabout a chapter at lunch, and
(23:19):
the people were like, What doyou mean the Bible says that?
Like, what do you mean Goddoesn't hear your prayers if
they're not faith-fueled?
What do I mean?
You know, and I was so surprisedby what I had assumed were very
biblically simple truths, andmaybe not simple, but profound
truths.
Right.
But, you know, God's given youall these tools that are for you
(23:39):
to use to make your life better,you know, not to live in lack
and depression and anger and allthe things that Satan wants you
to live in.
And the fact that they didn'thave tools to move through life
really surprised me.
And uh then I came across thisgirl and she was, she was in
publishing and she's a friend,and she said, I just really want
to publish your book.
She goes, I read it and shegoes, it was insanely impactful.
(24:00):
So then I sent the book out to acouple of friends and they're
like, Melanie, like, I I can'teven, I can't even wrap my mind
around this.
SPEAKER_04 (24:06):
Really?
SPEAKER_02 (24:06):
And I think it's because it was written.
It's you know, you you're veryguarded.
If you, if someone's gonna writesomething, it's like you guard,
like I don't want you to seethis side of me.
This side's ugly.
This isn't my best side.
You know, I think you'reprobably gonna think a lot less
of me if you knew this.
This is this is something Ireally struggled with, you know.
And but to your own children,it's okay.
(24:27):
So I wrote it from a very safespace, and I think it's
impactful because um it wasnever meant to be shared.
And I don't think I would haveshared that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:36):
You literally had no plans to publish this outside of
your family.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
No, no, it was just like, no, and I I wrote a bit
when I finished it, I just boundit and I wrote kids, you know,
and it was just a little loveletter.
It's like I may not be here, butthese are things you have to
know because I want to see youin heaven.
And I want you to live a fulland healthy life, and I don't
want you to be stuck, and and Idon't want you to live
underneath Satan's lies.
Yes, wow, because so many of uslive under the untruths and the
(25:04):
identity that were given to usby the enemy.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I feel like there's sucha process to unwind from that,
honestly.
Especially if you grew up insimilar, like a family like
yours.
I'm not gonna get into my familystory right now, but you know,
there was a lot of unwindingthat I've had to do in literally
learning who I am in Christ andnot from the world standpoint,
(25:28):
right?
Yeah, and there's so many womenthat I talk to who really don't
like they get their identityfrom the things they do, not you
called them to be, like thatactual being, right?
Have you noticed that too?
A hundred percent.
Yeah, and you know what?
SPEAKER_02 (25:47):
And that's the that's the trap of the enemy.
Instagram is the trap of theenemy.
You see everyone's perfect life.
What people show you is the trapof the enemy, the lies that
people say about you, what youbelieve about yourself.
How about this?
The lies that Satan tells you inthe morning are is this really
for you?
Are you really a good mom?
Are you really moving forward inwork?
You're always gonna be stuck.
(26:08):
You're always gonna be single,you're never gonna have kids,
you'll always be at lack.
And then we believe them, youknow, and we start and it and it
shapes our identity.
It's like, yeah, maybe I won't.
Maybe it's not for me.
Maybe I'm not as good of.
And it's like, you are createdin the image of the great I am,
the Lord God who sits on thethrone in heaven, the one who
(26:30):
was in eternity past, eternitypresent, that the world exists
because God was there to say,and I said, and it was.
You start operating in, whoa,I'm a I'm a daughter, I'm a
prince, I'm a I'm a friend, I'man heir to a throne.
It's like operate in thatidentity because that's when you
start walking in power.
(26:51):
And I'll tell you what, when youstart walking in power, the
enemy stops messing with you.
You you almost become a it'slike when I get up in the
morning and my feet hit theground, I know the enemy runs.
And and I often go look for him.
And I'm like, what did you sayto me?
What did you say to my son?
What did you say to my daughter?
I'm sorry, what did you just do?
I'm coming after you today.
I'm gonna find you because youcannot hide from me and I'm
(27:11):
gonna rip your face off forthat.
So I suggest you stop doing it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:15):
I love you.
Yeah.
I I say the enemy is such apunk.
Um I carry around like boxinggloves because I really like
smack it, you know.
Come on, try me.
Yeah.
What would you say?
You know, obviously I you're Ican tell you're you're good at
like catching the lies, but isthere a lie that that tried to
embed itself in your life umthat you've really had to push
(27:39):
back on a lot that maybe evencomes up in this day and age?
SPEAKER_02 (27:44):
You know, I the lie that I the lie that people uh
the lie that I believe, um, andit's I think probably a lot of
women struggle, is how likableam I?
And I am a very bold, I don'twant to say aggressive, but like
if I have an opinion, you'regonna know it in five minutes.
You know, and and sometimes inmy life or in business, I used
(28:06):
to have a friend for a long timeand she used to be like, oh,
it's just Melanie, it's justMelanie.
And I'd go home and be like,Well, what do you mean by that?
What does she mean it's justMelanie?
Because I'll say things that I'mlike, oh, I'm sorry that came
out of my mouth, or things thatI think are funny that no one
else does, or you know, I havezero filter in my life.
Sure.
And the enemy always says, like,why can't you be more timid?
Why can't you be more normal?
Why can't you, why can't you fitin with those?
(28:29):
You know, and and then I think,well, maybe I'm too much.
And and every time my friendsaid, Well, it's just Melanie, I
just, it was like death by athousand paper cuts, you know?
And I was just like, Oh, maybe Iam too much.
And that's the one that then Ihave to go back and reprocess
that with God and be like, no, Iam created because I am bold in
my faith.
(28:49):
God made my mouth because Goduses my mouth.
I pray for people in Starbucks.
I I call truth.
When when someone will believedarkness, I call truth.
You know, it's it's if I see youprotesting something that I
don't believe that's not godly,you know, oh my God, I went
crazy on the Charlie Kirk.
I went nuts.
And anytime I saw someone postsomething or say something or a
(29:11):
protest, I'm like, that is alife.
That is someone's son, someone'shusband, that is someone's
father.
And I said, and how about thefact that you're on the other
side?
The man whose son killed CharlieKirk, he had to turn his own son
in.
Right.
Can you imagine living withthat?
What about that man?
Okay, you can hate Charlie Kirkand his whole family.
What about that guy?
What about what about the painthat he's doing?
(29:31):
You that you know, like I do notlet evil stand in any sphere of
my life.
And so, you know, yeah, maybeI'm not for everyone, but I'm
perfectly created by God for mypurpose.
And as long as I stay in mypurpose, then that's good
enough.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
You just said it.
I mean, I feel like that'sthat's a word for somebody, you
know, like uh I I often tellmyself, like, I'm not for
everybody and everybody's notfor me.
Yeah.
I mean, we can love people andwe can Be who we are and be who
we are created to be, and itwill turn some people off, and
that's okay.
Um, but there is like a boldnessrising up in women, wouldn't you
(30:10):
say?
And they need they needexamples.
SPEAKER_02 (30:14):
Yeah.
Right?
I I feel it and I love it.
I want to hand everyone aflaming sword and be like, go
get 'em!
SPEAKER_00 (30:21):
Yes.
Well, I don't know about you,but when when Charlie was
assassinated, you know, back onSeptember 10th, like there was a
fire just coursing through myveins.
Oh yeah, I couldn't evenfunction on it.
Coursing through my veins.
And you know, he lived a life ofbeing bold and unashamed and
(30:46):
willing to go in places thatmost wouldn't even go into.
And made such an impact becauseof his boldness, because of his
voice.
And I I believe just throughyour voice, even sharing this
here today, you're gonna helpunleash other women and men who
listen in.
Because yeah, the enemy's gonnatry to shut us up one way or the
(31:09):
other, and it's not gonna work.
SPEAKER_02 (31:11):
No.
SPEAKER_00 (31:12):
It's not gonna work.
No, it's not not gonna happen.
No, it just isn't happening.
Um, so tell us the name, tell usthe name of your book.
You didn't share that yet, and Ididn't say it because I wanted
you to say the name.
You're your kids You have toknow.
SPEAKER_02 (31:28):
You because you my kids had to know, and now you
have to know the goodness ofGod.
You have to know who you are,you have to know how to rise up,
you have to know how toovercome, you have to know how
to move forward.
You have to know who you are.
SPEAKER_00 (31:42):
Which which is your favorite chapter?
SPEAKER_02 (31:45):
Oh, my favorite chapter is is the one that I
said um of my little daughter,little Kylie.
And man, she's 20 kids in one.
And I don't know if anyone'sever had 20 kids in one, but we
used to call her Kai Kong orKaizilla.
And the second her big brotherswould build something, Kylie
would hide and wait and anddestroy it.
She was just, she was just, itwas, you know, and I loved her.
(32:06):
She was, I delighted in thatlittle girl, but man, she was a
lot.
My mom did not see her how I sawher.
And every time she came over, itwas like, you need to get that
kid tested.
Something's not right with thatkid, something's not right with
her.
She's wrong.
And Kylie was little, aboutfive, and she felt the gravity
of those words.
So, you know, Eric would alwayscome in and say, You need to
stop saying that about mydaughter.
My daughter's perfect.
(32:27):
She's perfectly and wonderfullycreated by God.
And that little girl's gonna bea force.
And no, she's not.
She needs to be on medicate, sheneeds to be medicated.
They'd argue, argue, argue.
And um, Thanksgiving came, andI'm trying to bridge the gap.
And it was my firstThanksgiving.
And I said, Kylie, honey, willyou go set the table with your
grandma?
So she goes and they're arguing.
I hear it, and she puts down afork, and Kylie picks the fork
(32:49):
up and turns it backwards.
And then she puts down a napkinand Kylie shoves it in her
little Thanksgiving dress withthe little brown turkey, and she
starts acting like a puppet.
She puts down flowers and thenKylie goes and she puts them
somewhere else.
It was like, whatever Jackiedid, Kylie undid.
And I just hear Kylie beingsilent, but but more defiant.
The second she heard that wordsthat were put on her that were
(33:10):
not true, she became defiant init.
I love that about Kylie.
So uh Thanksgiving comes andKylie's nowhere to be found.
Kylie, Kylie, where are Kylie?
Where's Kylie?
Kylie.
She walks down, she's starknaked.
And I'm like, oh no.
She puts her tiny little fistsballed up in the tightest little
balls, and she puts her legs andshe puts them right on her
(33:32):
little hips, and she says, I amnot who you say I am.
And then she steps on the tableon a chair, and then on
Thanksgiving table, and Jackiesaid, Down, Kylie.
Oh my God.
All right, control her.
And Eric and I just look at eachother, and then we just look at
Kylie, and she starts runningthe Thanksgiving table, and she
kicks the turkey into the dog'smouth, and she steps in the
(33:54):
gravy and she smashes the mashedpotatoes over on my mom.
Then all of a sudden I look overat my husband, and my husband
stands up, and his arms are sostrong and so big and so wide.
And he starts clapping his handsand throws his arms out and she
runs as fast as she can and sheleaps and she jumps and he
catches her and he holds her andhe looks to my mom and my mom
(34:17):
says, I told you there'ssomething wrong with that kid.
And he says, Jackie, I told youshe's perfect.
And then not only does he defendher, he turns to her and he
says, Kylie, you are perfectlyand wonderfully made.
He not only defends her, but hegives her her identity.
And in that chapter, I go intothe story of Gideon, where
Gideon was hiding in awinepress, and the angel of the
(34:39):
Lord comes down.
He says, Gideon, you mighty manof valor.
And Gideon's like, No, I'mliterally hiding in a wine
press.
And in the chapter, it's like,but that's not who God saw
Gideon to be.
Gideon saw him as the defenderof Israel, as the one who would
break the idols, that wouldstand for God, that would move a
whole nation forward.
That's who God called Gideon tobe.
(35:01):
So who told Gideon he wasn'tenough?
Who told Kylie she's not enough?
The world, the neighbor, theperson, the father, the friend,
the spouse?
Because that's not how God sawhim to be.
And then that chapter is likelike Kylie, you know, her, if
you could see yourself throughyour father's eyes, you are
perfectly and wonderfully made,heir to a throne, redeemed,
restored, daughter, friend,princess.
(35:23):
You are all of that thing.
And then it's like if you haveseen yourself as less than this
is a declaration that you say toGod, declare this.
This is what you repent for.
This is how you start seeingyourself, and this is your
prayer to God.
Because you have got to startoperating in the identity of who
God calls you to be, not who,not, not what the world does.
(35:44):
And so that's my favorite,that's my favorite chapter in
the book because that's the baseof how we all need to start
operating.
Your identity comes first, andyour your movement and your
ministry come second.
SPEAKER_00 (35:56):
Amen.
Yes, amen.
Okay, Kylie.
Love her.
Yeah, man, there's a lot aboutvalue in the book.
There's a lot of like I think inpictures and I see movies when
people are talking, and I'mlike, oh girl, how old is she
now?
Kylie's 20.
SPEAKER_02 (36:12):
She's finishing up her pilot's license.
She um, she's on honors incollege.
She got herself a scholarshipthat I didn't even apply for.
She came back and she's so Ididn't even, she's a total nerd.
And I'm not.
I'm like, man, this kid, she'sgot like a four, three or
whatever.
You know, she had gold chainsdripping from her on graduation.
And uh I actually hugged her andI said, I had no idea you were
(36:33):
such a nerd, Kylie.
I had no, I had who knew?
But man, that kid's a force andshe's bold.
She's every bit of Kai Kong thatshe was when she was five.
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
So she like has harnessed, um, basically, like
she was created in thisboldness, and it was harnessed.
It's it's being harnessed now,like in a different way to
utilize to be the woman she wascreated to be.
SPEAKER_01 (36:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (37:00):
Um, is she still kicking turkeys?
SPEAKER_02 (37:03):
Um, I don't know what man, she she sure she sure
kicks some things.
I don't know.
It's like you do not, you know,and Kylie is the the she is such
a good-hearted, sweet, Jesusloving woman.
SPEAKER_04 (37:14):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (37:15):
Um, so it's not like she it's like kicking turkeys,
like there's an aggression tohim, but she knows who she is
and she stands on that.
And her boldness and her faith,like you do not tell Kylie
things that are wrong becauseKylie doesn't stand for him.
SPEAKER_00 (37:27):
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (37:28):
So she'll look after her mama.
Yeah, she's turkeys.
That kid's a force.
I mean, she would if she had to.
That kid's a force, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (37:36):
Force to be reckoned with.
SPEAKER_02 (37:37):
Yeah.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (37:40):
Oh my goodness.
So when did your book release?
Uh two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago.
Okay.
And where can people get yourbook?
SPEAKER_02 (37:47):
Uh, they can get it on.
You can either find me on uhMelaniecox.org.
Okay.
Or on Amazon.
It's Melanie Cox.
I'm I'm sorry, on Amazon, youhave to know by Melanie Cox.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Okay.
Sounds good.
Anything else coming up for youthat you want to share with the
audience?
Any events or anything thatyou'd like to share that we can
lead people to?
SPEAKER_02 (38:07):
If you're in California, I'm starting to
speak at conferences.
You can um find me on it'sMelanie Cox on Instagram and
I'll post things that I do then.
Um I'm starting to preach inCowboy Church.
I don't even know what thatlooks like, but I gave my God my
yes.
I think it's gonna be great.
SPEAKER_00 (38:23):
Um I love, I love how you are just walking this
journey and giving your yes andnot knowing the fullness of it
yet.
SPEAKER_02 (38:31):
No, but it's the but it's the best.
Your yes is your best life.
Selfishly, for you to say yes toanything that God has to offer
is gonna bring you to thefullness and your greatest
accomplishments, your greatesthappiness, your greatest peace,
your greatest joy.
Everyone's life should just be ayes.
SPEAKER_00 (38:49):
Yes, yes, you know, best yes, yeah, yes, absolutely.
It's a wild, it's a wild lifewhen you give your yes, um,
especially when you don't knowthe fullness of it.
Because he's got it.
Like he literally has so manyfun plans for us, and he's so
much fun.
Wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (39:05):
A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_00 (39:06):
Like people think that God isn't fun.
And I'm like, no, he's actuallyfun and funny.
SPEAKER_02 (39:12):
Yeah, he's fun annually, right?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (39:15):
Well, as we close today, I would love for you to
share.
Um, you know, I shared with youbefore this, I do this for the
one.
And if you could just imaginethe one listening in today, do
you have any other um words oflike wisdom or encouragement
that you'd like to share overthis one?
And then would you pray us outtoday?
SPEAKER_02 (39:34):
Um, yeah, man, my wisdom would just be what I'm
talking about.
Go, go find your identity.
Don't live in less than you werecreated to be.
You are amazing, you are strong,you are perfect, you are
beautiful, you are all that in abag of chips.
And and go find that personbecause that's who you're
created to be.
And anything less than thathurts God's heart.
(39:55):
Because He does not makeanything less than a
masterpiece.
And you are a masterpiece.
So I'm gonna pray us out.
Father God, I thank you for thispodcast.
I thank you for the one.
I thank you for anyone who'slistening who knows the truth of
our voices, that sees who theywere created to be, that they
start operating in that truth,Father God, that you move them
forward in the purpose they werecreated for.
(40:15):
Anyone who is feeling stuck,Father God, you you lift them up
and you tell them you take onestep because the second you take
a step, you are no longer stuck.
We bring these women home, anyof the lost sheep, any of the
any of the lost, any of the thehalf then, the half measured,
the less then's.
Bring them up and bring themhome.
You start shepherding them hometo where they belong to be.
(40:37):
We pray that everyone's life isin fullness in Christ, that we
hear your voice, that we knowyour voice, and that we feel
your heart and that we know yourheart.
We thank you that you have doneenough.
If you do not one more thing forus in our life, oh God, you have
done enough.
Thank you for our purpose.
Thank you for our heaven andthank you for you, Father God.
We love you, Jesus.
We give you our life, we giveyou our yes.
(40:59):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (41:00):
Amen.
Well, Melanie, thank you so muchfor being here today.
It's such a joy.
I can't wait for your next book.
Um, we'll have to have you onfor your next book that's
coming.
SPEAKER_01 (41:10):
Is that a word?
You have two books.
I would say so, yes.
No, I'm healthy though.
I'm healthy though.
I don't know why I'd have towrite a second book.
I'm so healthy.
SPEAKER_00 (41:17):
I you've got multiples, so keep going.
Um, so thank you for being abrave voice who's setting so
many free.
Um, I will be sure to add all ofthe links in the show notes to
go check them out so you can getin touch with Melanie and get
her book.
I can't wait to read it.
I am going to close with theanchoring verse over Hope
Unlocked.
It is, May the God of hope fillyou with all joy and peace in
(41:39):
believing, so that by the powerof the Holy Spirit you may
abound in hope.
And that's Romans 15, 13.
So I will be back with anotherepisode next week.
Thank you, listeners.
Thank you, Melanie.
Thank you, Kristen.
Appreciate it.
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