Melissa Pauquette

04/03/2026

03/05/2026

Every year we get new apprentices here at The Company. EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

Just when we’re all in a good place, BAM some of them have the audacity to graduate. I really do love meeting new people. I think getting to know others is one of my strengths, but I also love to just hang out with people I’m comfortable with. It’s just easier, ya know?

We had a good thing going last year. I loved hanging out with the apprentices we had in the schoolhouse and I got to know them pretty well. I know a lot of their likes and dislikes, I know their quirks and funny sayings and they know mine too I’m sure. It’s good to know and be known.

So this year when graduation passed and we had a couple of weeks to get everything ready for the new students, I also had to prepare my heart. I allowed myself to mourn what will never be again, and also began to get excited for what is to come.

If no one left and no one new came, I suppose life would be pretty comfortable.

However, what we would gain in comfort we would lose in the Kingdom. If I was unwilling to be uncomfortable again, I would miss out on the opportunity to host new people in Cambridge, Ohio year after year. And ultimately, I wonder if God would ask me someday, “Why did you waste all the opportunities I gave you to love on those young adults?”

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What do roundabouts have to do with a writing apprenticeship? Read my latest blog below.

Roundabouts. You know those traffic intersections that people either love or hate? Some say they make traffic flow more smoothly, but others (and dare I say the majority of Americans) stress out wh…

02/23/2026

I had one of those weeks last weeks. The ones that hit seemingly out of nowhere and threaten to take you out. By the end of it, I was crying and questioning everything.

I really was questioning everything, but with Jesus. I knew that somewhere something had to give— my ability to mother well was suffering.

As I talked about it with Brad I said that it’s not worth writing this book if it takes so much of my energy that I do not have the love and patience for my kids that they need.

He said something along the lines of “but isn’t it life giving for you to do?” And while yes, I have (to my great surprise) found it fun and enjoyable to write a novel, I told him that it’s not worth sacrificing my much greater priority: being a mother.

We agreed that I had really started to plow through writing, and that it wouldn’t hurt to just take the process a little slower.

Then I was talking to a friend yesterday about the whole experience of last week and she said the same thing, “But writing is probably life giving to you?” And I responded the same, yes it is but not if I’m a complete grump to my family because of my lack of mental energy.

Then this morning I was pondering that phrase: life-giving. I have said it many times and referenced something as being OK because it’s “life giving”. This morning, though, I realized that life-giving is actually a person and it’s Jesus.

I cannot have anything that’s life giving unless it’s given to me by the Lord.

I do believe the Holy Spirit prompted me to write this book and therefore will provide what I need to finish it. But I also see the ways that I, in my own ability to be efficient and wanting to be done, tried to speed up the process. I need to trust that God will ordain every moment that I need for writing, in a way that works and make sense for the needs of our family.

The line between obedience to God and completing something in our own strength can be very thin. It’s sometimes hard to stay on the right side, but I’m grateful for a God who let me fall apart a little bit last week so I could see that He’s the source of Life, and that He will provide abundantly for all He’s called me to.

02/18/2026

"The line between obedience to God and completing something in our own strength can be very thin."

Is it life giving if everything else is falling apart?

02/13/2026

Living differently is a huge risk. People will think you’re a little weird, they might even make comments and basically tell you it won’t work out. But eventually you get to see for yourself if your risk worked out or not, and more often than not they pay off. That doesn’t mean everything is peachy keen, but when we’re walking with the Father and listening to His voice as opposed to the voice of the world, it’s hard for us to get too far off track. I think He likes to honor our obedience, and I KNOW He loves to give us the desires of our heart.

We’re in no way close being “done”, but our homeschooling risk is already paying off in the form of capable, eager to learn, and curious children.

Lest you think our journey is some level of perfection, many days we accomplish nothing, there are plenty of issues and problems that I worry and fret over. There are times (many times) our house is chaotic and messy, the kids watch too much TV or YouTube and we spend more time yelling them we do talking sweetly to one another.

Yet, homeschooling is still paying off in dividends. I love seeing each kid take on problems, get frustrated when their solutions don’t work but decide to stick with it anyways. I love the influence I get to have on their days, and the fact that it’s not a stranger with them for 8+ hours a day.

The desire of my heart has been to have my children close, to give them a solid foundation based on truth and God’s word, allow them to foster independence and critical thinking and then send them off into the wide, wide world to live a life of abandon to Jesus.

That’s my hope and desire, at least, and we’ll continue to see how our great risk pays off.

02/10/2026

Everything is missing these days.

02/07/2026

I love the story in Matthew 14 where Jesus tried to withdraw to a solitary place but found that the whole town had followed him into the middle of nowhere. Instead of getting angry and telling the crowds that He just needed some peace and quiet, the Bible says He had compassion on them and healed their sick. If that wasn’t enough, when the disciples tried to send the people home for dinner, Jesus performed one of the greatest miracles of his ministry: he fed them all (5,000 of them!) from a measly 5 loaves and 2 fish.

Jesus had a choice. To hoard his rest or live from a place of eternal water. He chose to believe He had enough to be compassionate toward those that came.

It seems that when I try my hardest to get a quiet moment, my kids bug me the most. Unfortunately I often do not respond with compassion like Jesus did, but instead with an attitude of selfishness that makes them feel like a burden. It wasn’t wrong of me to seek out the rest, in fact that is good and important, but it is wrong of me to get all bothered when it's inevitably interrupted.

The time for rest will come, but how do I have compassion on them in that moment? By praying for their booboos, listening to the story of what they just built, or ordering them the things they need on Amazon. I show compassion by being with them.

When I can find it in my heart to give instead of being selfish with my time I usually end up getting that rest anyways. It just doesn’t always look like I think it should.

Maybe my ultimate question is, am I living life in a way that gives me the bandwidth to enjoy our family without breaks?

02/02/2026

Truthfully, fart is a pretty good metaphor for what happens when you follow your heart.

Ya stink.

The book of Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.

It sounds like following your heart will land in a world of trouble.

I think David must have been referencing the deceitfulness of his own heart when he asked God in Psalm 51 to “Create in me a pure heart, O God”.

If I followed my heart, and all the whims of my own emotions, I would land in a puddle most days. I would be sad, then angry, offended, overwhelmed, frustrated, and the list goes on and on. Thankfully, on days when I’m centered on Jesus I can remember that I don’t need to go down every path that my heart wants to. I don’t need to succumb to sadness over something that happened years ago, or feel angry that my kid didn’t fill the Berkey even though they said they would (This one does seem a little specific, yah?)

So how about instead of “follow your heart” we just “follow Jesus”?

01/29/2026

Two things, being pulled in opposite directions, create tension.

I’m experiencing a lot of tension in my life. I want to be fun and play with my kids, but I also want the house to be clean and the laundry done. I want to write my novel, but I also want to take a nap during my afternoon downtime (sometimes with a side of scrolling). I want to stay up and hang out with Brad but I also want (need) more sleep. I want to enjoy my snuggly baby but I also wish he was older and in an easier stage.

The truth is, tension is only there because of my dissatisfaction with the right now. I know that these are the good ol days. I know that because I know that years past had their share of stress and turmoil, but I also remember fondly those days when my now big kids were little.

It feels like so much of my life is in tension right now. Big kid needs//little kid needs; ministry needs//family needs; my needs//everyone else’s needs. All these things are often pulling in opposite directions.

The only response I can come up with is sitting with Jesus more than I sit in the tension.

01/28/2026

"Two things, being pulled in opposite directions, create tension."

Read my thoughts from today:

Not with haste January 28, 2026 / Tension comes when you want two conflicting things. Two things, being pulled in opposite directions, create tension.By the middle of summer I desire the quiet of winter, but I also want to live in the moment and enjoy the warm weather. In the winter I get tired of t...

01/21/2026

Alli Prince has this amazing ability to instantly suck me into her stories. There's no adjustment period, no getting to know the characters or universe, I'm just instantly hooked. Call it Consequences was no different. Did I have a little trepidation moving into this book knowing that Lorraine's mother died when she was 12 and mine did when I was 18? Absolutely. I knew it would bring up all kinds of feelings. But honestly, it was beautiful. It made me feel. It made me think. It made me forgive (I didn't expect that one!). And, beyond all the mushy stuff is a legit sci-fi time travel adventure, with a side of sweet romance and chicken legs (you'll have to read it to see what KFC has to do with this story).

I absolutely loved it. She knocked it out of the park and I pray that this book gets into more hands than she could ever imagine. Go! stop reading this, and buy it.

11/25/2025

“There’s a real temptation this time of year, despite it being an entire holiday about Jesus, to put Him last. There’s a real temptation to worry more about baking, decorating, and *gasp* buying crap we don’t need before spending time with the only One we do need. May your heart be vigilant to recognize the distractions."

Is your heart ready? November 25, 2025 / It’s a dreary, cozy November day and it feels like the last calm week for a moment.Actually it feels like the only calm week in between the fall busy and the winter busy.   We’re about to enter the holiday gauntlet of meals to plan and cook, gifts to cu...