Skip to content Interview With Melissa Huray Feb 13 · 28 min ...more
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Nina and Michelle, are best friends with a passion for the Lord. They bring uplifting conversations, encouragement, and shared personal stories of overcoming and victory straight to your screen.
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A Journey from Darkness to Light 0:02 We wanna honor God because He sees everything.0:10 You were born with a plan and a purpose. He's the god of all things possible. He's the god of all0:22 miracles.0:52 Welcome to Grace Grace with Naina Michelle. I'm Michelle Humphreys.0:56 And I am Naina Keegan. We have an awesome guest today on our show. Michelle, you wanna do the intro?1:02 I sure do. We have a woman who has dedicated the last 2 decades to helping people find freedom from the chains of addiction. It's such an important message she has.1:14 She was radically delivered by Jesus Christ 20 years ago. She is a master's level addiction counselor with degrees in communication and exercise physiology and is currently1:25 executive director of the Lindell Recovery Network and cohost of the Hope Report. Will you please help me welcome Melissa Huray?1:35 Hi, Melissa. Melissa, we have known Melissa for quite some time now, and she is the real deal. We just love her, and she's got such a powerful message. So we without1:47 further ado, we just wanna get to it. We wanna hear from you, Melissa. So, Melissa, do you wanna tell us a little bit about your background, your story, and, you know, maybe, you know, what Jesus1:59 had to come and rescue you from?2:02 Oh, I would love to. Thank you so much, Nina and Michelle, for having me on. It's such an honor. I consider the 2 of you, I mean, true sisters in Christ. I when you say I'm the real deal, I mean, no. You're the real2:13 deal. I remember you coming over to me at the end of NRB when I was kinda weary and beaten down and asking me if you could pray over me. And, yeah. So the the pleasure is all mine. The honor is mine, and2:25 thank you for having me here today. As far as my salvation story, I if I could you know, I love how you wanna start off with that because all I wanna do with everything that I am doing today is to point people to Jesus2:36 and point him to point people to him as the true source of healing, restoration, and redemption because I tried all the things of the world. But going back in my testimony, you know, I was 1 of the kids that, like2:48 many of us, I I had, God in my life from a very young age. I remember being taught the Lord's prayer. My parents belong to a Presbyterian church. I grew up in Northern Minnesota.3:00 And, you know, that was part of our life was going to church, not every Sunday. But, you know, I would say we were cultural Christians. We did Christmas and Easter. My dad was an elder in the church. But all of it seemed3:12 more for show than anything else. I never learned how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And there there wasn't, you know, the Holy Spirit, I'm sure he was there, but I was never taught how to3:23 meet Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit was missing for most of my early life. So as a kid, it just felt more fear based. You know, you need to do these things or God's going to be mad at you. And, so I was3:35 in a home that had some difficulty. My father was an alcoholic. My mom was really hyper focused on him and his issues. So unfortunately, I felt lost in the shuffle a lot of the time. I3:47 just kinda felt like an invisible child. I did have an older brother, but he is 6 years older, so there was a pretty big age gap. And, you know, I just always felt like I was invisible and nobody cared about me, and I3:58 was unseen. And so, throughout my early years, I started to develop a lot of anxiety, and it came from that broken attachment that that inability to attach to my parents the way that4:10 I wanted to in order to feel security. And it wasn't you know, I don't blame my mother. I I have forgiven my parents. I I forgive them. I know that they were doing the best they could4:22 with their own brokenness. But as a result of feeling that, that lack of attachment, I had a fear of abandonment. I had a terrible, terrible fear that people were going to4:34 leave me. And instead of turning to God for that, I started turning to other things to try to medicate that. So the lack of discipleship really manifested in4:46 me seeking ways to for of self medication. It started with binge eating, really. It started with after school, I was a latchkey kid. So I'd come home from school, and I would eat bags of potato chips. I'd4:57 watch sitcoms like The People's Court and The Jeffersons and whatever was on in the 19 eighties, and those were my babysitters. Those were what soothed me was having food and television. But as my5:09 anxiety grew, I began to have panic attacks and I was just had terrible fears, irrational fears, intrusive thoughts. And I started to really just fumble and search for something. And as we get into my5:21 addiction testimony, I really feel that we're all grasping for God. We we've all got this emptiness and this, you know, our our souls cry out for God. But unless we've got discipleship and we've got help and5:33 guidance in early life, you know, I was lacking that from my parents. But I did have a lady in my life. I wanna mention her name is Marge, this amazing beautiful woman of God who was in my life as a young5:45 child. And she brought me to church at her Baptist church. And I know Baptists have a lot of different beliefs. Some of them believe in filling of the spirit and some of them don't. But what forever whatever reason at5:55 this Vacation Bible School, they did an altar call at the end of the week. And they were prompting people to come down and surrender their lives to Jesus. And something in me, the Holy Spirit, was,6:06 like, pulling me to go down to the floor and and join with the people who wanted to accept Christ. So I got on my knees and I recited the sinner's prayer. And, you know, we all know that it doesn't stop6:18 there. We don't just say a prayer and and that's the end of it, but I didn't have discipleship that followed that. So almost right away, I felt like the enemy was attacking me and trying to steal what the Lord was doing.6:29 So, I right away thought I had done something wrong. I thought I had to tell my mom that I accepted Jesus, and now she's gonna think I'm weird and I'm a holy roller. My parents really disdained that. They were they were6:40 very, private about their faith. They didn't talk about the Holy Spirit or talking about, you know, healings or anything miraculous. It was just it's you keep it private and you don't say anything about it. So I right6:52 away thought I need to tell them what I did and I need to I thought I was going to be ostracized and excluded by them. So right away, the enemy was attacking me about my newfound faith. And as a teenager, I just went7:02 into the route of of drinking. So that hole that I was filling with food and television, that wasn't enough anymore. And just like any addict, I started to need more and more to be able to cope. And I7:14 started, I just was introduced to alcohol. And the enemy had primed me from a young age by watching my parents. Everybody entertained with alcohol. There was never a gathering that did not involve excessive drinking.7:25 That was really just the, you know, the hallmark of the whole event was drinking and I'd watch something come over these adults when they drink. It was like some kind of power came over them and I was very drawn to it7:36 because something inside was telling me that holds the key, that that's the answer for you. It's the remedy. When you're able to sample that, it's going to help you. So the enemy was really, building strongholds in7:48 my mind from a very young age and leading me into the world of addiction long before I step foot into it. But when I got the opportunity, I was completely primed and ready to just plunge into the world of blackout binge8:00 drinking. Wow.8:01 You know what? When you know, I hear a lot of the things that you're saying and you you know, a lot of the addictions and the things that you are dealing with come from you wanting to control things when your household8:11 is out of control. You know, your mom, you felt like she didn't see you because your mom was so focused on what your dad's issues were that, you know, you were trying to control something when your life felt out of8:23 control, and that happens so much with addiction.8:25 Well, then how confusing for your father to be an elder in the church and then to be drinking the way that he was and then for your mother to be paying attention. So the whole8:37 scenario had to be so confusing. But we cannot wait to hear the rest of your story when we come back.8:45 The world needs to be reached with the message of Jesus. And that is the mission of Grace Grace with Nina and Michelle, to see people's lives change with the saving power of Jesus Christ. When8:57 you donate to Grace Grace Ministries, you're also reaching orphans and the underprivileged throughout the world as well as the United States. The Bible says that when we help the least, the forgotten and the overlooked,9:09 we have done something for Jesus himself. Will you be a part of what God is doing to help those in need and those who are hungering to hear the real message of Jesus? Give today by logging on to9:21 nainaandmichelle dot com or text the word give to 3 2 5 6 0 3 3 3 5 4. You can also send in a check to 63 15 b FM 14 88 Road, number 19:33 22, Magnolia, Texas 77354. Grace Grace Ministries is a 5 0 1 c 3 charitable organization. Gifts are tax deductible, so join us in the great commission today. Give9:45 now.9:47 Welcome back. You are watching Grace Grace with Nina and Michelle, and we have our wonderful guest on today, Melissa Hurray. And so, Melissa, we, you know, are at the point in your story where, you know, you are just9:59 turning into it's alcohol. You're just you're going through all of these things. You're watching the family, and and you're just kinda mesmerized by alcohol and what it's doing to the family. And, of course, the bait of10:10 Satan, you know, that makes you think that it's the end all. It's the answer. So what happens next? Because I know this got a strong grip on your life. So if you wanna talk about that.10:23 Yeah. You guys really nailed it, the way you reflected what was going on in the household. And I look back now, especially with my mother with so much compassion. I mean, she really was doing the best she could, but we10:33 were just mired in dysfunction from addiction and from generational things, from all these dysfunctional patterns that had come in that Satan was really just capitalizing on. And I was falling prey to this because I10:45 didn't have any strong really, the lady who had led me to Christ, she kind of faded into the background as I got older because I was getting into a group of friends at school that partied and drank. And right10:57 away, I had this, kind of drive to get into a relationship. So I thought that's what was gonna fix me. And, you know, as we're grasping for God, we look for things of the world that's that's gonna fit that fill that11:08 abandonment wound. And I would always want to attach myself to a guy and think that that was gonna fix me. But when each relationship failed, I just move into another 1. It was this never ending11:20 cycle of searching for things that didn't satisfy, that didn't fill me. So through all this to fast forward, this just became 15 years of blackout binge drinking. And I I felt so much shame and11:32 conviction because when I look back on my testimony, I do believe I I received the holy spirit as it says in Ephesians 1 13. When I accepted Jesus in my childlike faith and I said that prayer, I believed in11:43 Jesus. I never rejected God. I just became maybe kind of agnostic as I went into rebellion, but I knew that I had the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. So I would have11:55 these marathon drinking binges where I would drink for, you know, like 3 days and then I would just have horrible shame and conviction. But the only way I could stuff that down was to try to plan another way to12:07 another drinking event and and so I kept pursuing it even though it was leading to so much pain and misery. This went through me graduating from high school. I mean, I was a cheerleader. I was on the swim swimming team.12:19 I did a lot of functional looking things, but I maintained these 2 lives. I felt like I had this good girl I wanted to be. It was like Paul talks about in Romans 7 how I kept doing the things I hated. I kept12:30 sinning and but then I was so convicted and I was so wrecked. And through it all, the Lord was pursuing me, but I was just so unwilling to give up the control to surrender to him, to allow him to12:42 actually take my life and do something with it. So the sin was just leading me down this highway to hell. Many just episodes with sexual things that brought so much shame. I was12:54 married and divorced by the time I was 24. I was a bartender. I had graduated from college, but I was just failing at life. I mean, because we know addiction brings this constant cycle of13:06 chaos. It's, you know, when we're not grounded in the Lord, we're living this life of chaos and self will run riot as it says in the big book of AA, which not a member of AA, but I mean, there were some things13:18 I really took out of there that my life was a complete mess and chaotic. And when I was 26, I had 2 DWIs in 1 year. The second 1 I had rear ended a lady in a blackout. So throughout my13:30 life, I see these near death experiences. So many mornings I shouldn't have woke up where I came to out of just this alcohol induced stupor. And I kept wondering, how do I wake up? How do I keep waking13:42 up? And something in me knew, I mean, the Lord would give me glimmers, I'd have moments of clarity where I knew he was the only answer. He was the 1 who was calling me back. So finally on,13:54 August 20 first 2003, I was 49 days sober. I had been trying to get sober again. I had been going in and out of this process for 4 years of trying to quit. I'd tried all the things of the world, AA14:06 outpatient treatment, medications, motivational gurus, you know, self help books. I could stop for a while, but I would never stay stopped. And I had even gone back half heartedly to church at some points14:18 and gotten into the Bible. I'd feel better for a while, but then the enemy would begin taunting me and talking to me saying, oh, you aren't that bad. You're not really an alcoholic. You just need to find a way to control14:28 it. And I would start to believe the lies again. I would come into agreement with the lies. But but that last time I drank, I it was the worst experience of my life. I I relapsed again after 49 days, came14:40 to an estranged motel room, not knowing how I got there. I was with this guy I had gone to the fair with, and I was so just overwhelmed with shame and misery and brokenness. I was at the very14:51 end, and I knew that that I was going to die. The window was closing and I was going to die in an overdose, a car crash, or something else. Like some horrific thing was going to happen to me. I just15:03 had this deep knowing that my life was was, I mean, I wasn't going to live long. And I surrendered. I finally surrendered to the Lord and I asked him to take my life and make something of it. And I didn't15:15 even know what I was praying. It was just this, please don't ever let me drink again. Please, Lord, don't ever let me drink again was my prayer that morning when I was, I was just weeping and my car had been impounded15:27 and I was walking the empty fairgrounds looking for my car behind this, this guy that I had ended up at the fair with. And I was just, so shameful and devastated.15:38 But I knew that the Lord, who had been pursuing me since I was a child, I knew the answers were in him. The Holy Spirit had been convicting me and leading me to this moment. And this was the day. This was the day of15:50 salvation. And I surrendered to him. And in that moment, I knew. I just knew. I knew I was never drinking again. I knew I knew without a shadow of a doubt. And that's been 20 years since that16:02 day. And I say this because the world will wanna say something else. That's that was something else. You know, you you just finally got to the end or it was they wanna attribute it to something else, but it was16:14 only the Lord. Everything else I had tried would take me only so far, but he was true true healing and restoration was only found in him. And once I figured that out and once16:25 I stopped trying to control and quit rebelling, he finally was able to come in. So when I surrendered, he met me with his grace. That's what it was. It was me saying, I've done everything I can16:37 do. And then he met me in that moment with his grace.16:41 And I know you just recently celebrated your 20 year anniversary of being sober. And so how amazing is that? But was it difficult at first? Like, did you did16:53 you, think about was the devil trying to taunt you? Even though you were completely delivered, you felt like it was different that time. Did you still have, you know, feelings like it was going17:04 to continue or you were gonna lapse? We're we're gonna take a quick break, and we wanna know the answer to that when we come right back.17:12 The world needs to be reached with the message of Jesus. And that is the mission of Grace Grace with Naina and Michelle, to see people's lives change with the saving power of Jesus Christ.17:24 When you donate to Grace Grace ministries, you're also reaching orphans and the underprivileged throughout the world as well as the United States. The Bible says that when we help the least, the forgotten and the17:35 overlooked, we have done something for Jesus himself. Will you be a part of what God is doing to help those in need and those who are hungering to hear the real message of Jesus. Give today by logging17:47 on to nainaandmichelle dot com or text the word give to 3 2 5 6 0 3 3 3 5 4. You can also send in a check to 63 15 b FM 14 88 Road,17:59 number 1 22, Magnolia, Texas 7 7 3 5 4. Grace Grace Ministries is a 5 0 1 c 3 charitable organization. Gifts are tax deductible, so join us in the great commission today.18:11 Give now.18:14 We are back with our special guest, Melissa Heray, who was telling us about when God delivered her from a terrible alcohol addiction. So Melissa,18:25 tell us what finally changed. Anaina had just asked you what was different this time.18:33 That's such a great question. And I wanna just compare my deliverance to the first time I tried to quit drinking, which was forced by the court system. I've gotten the 2 DWIs, and I was afraid of18:45 going to jail. So I quit for 18 months, but I never surrendered. You know, I still had it on the shelf, kinda like, oh, maybe when my life calms down, I'll be able to drink again. But this time and I during that time, I18:57 was completely resentful. I was self pitying. I couldn't deal with the hand I've been dealt. But what's so different about when the Lord met me that morning of August 20 second 2003, I had this deep19:08 knowing just that I was never gonna drink again, and your question was if was did I struggle? And the miraculous thing is that I had struggled up to this point to this day. But in that moment, I I no longer had19:20 obsession, compulsion, craving, just this preoccupation and this, how, when am I gonna do it again? Or how can I plan it? All of that was lifted. All of that. Wow. And I never struggled with that19:32 again. I never struggled with, oh, I think, you know, maybe I should, maybe I could drink again. That was lifted. The thing that was not lifted was a lot of the trauma that had happened that the Lord wanted me19:44 to work through and walk through with him. And that has taken probably 20 years. So to say it was e it was easy in some ways that he lifted the obsession. And that was so miraculous that I no19:56 longer had that need or drive to do it. And it was almost like it never had happened. I didn't have any, you know, resentment if somebody else drank or, like, why can't I just do it normally? I didn't20:07 even want it, and I haven't wanted it. But I did still struggle with other things that go along with addiction, like, sometimes for some people, like fear of man and just learning to live life on life's terms,20:19 learning how to have a relationship with the Lord and trust Him, learning how to make Him the center of my life. And so, all of that has been quite a journey He's led me on. And I think that's part of the reason why my20:30 book was not ready the first time I tried to write it because I did try to write it in 2006. I was a really on fire, newly sober. Well, I've been sober a few years, but who doesn't want to write a book? Right? So I was20:41 just, you know, wanting to do it. I wanted to put it out come hell or high water. I found this lady in my town who had a small pub little press out of her garage. She printed up these books in her garage, and I was all20:53 excited, but nothing happened. Nothing came of it. Few people read it, but nothing much came of it. The second version tried to come in 2015. I thought, this time, I'm gonna step it up and buy an editing package. And I21:05 spent the money on the package, looked pretty nice, but I was still whitewashing the story. I was still not letting God drive it. I was trying to control it. I, there was embarrassing things I didn't want to include that21:16 I know now the Lord wanted me to write about. So when that 1 fell flat, I said, forget it. I'm done with this. No more, no more of this story. It's obviously not meant to be. So I put it aside21:28 until the NRB 20 21. I started meeting all these authors, and I thought, gosh, I just feel that book is still in me. I don't know. God, do you wanna do anything with this book? And I was praying in my hotel21:40 1 my hotel room 1 day, and and this the title blackout to blessing dropped into my spirit. And I knew that was gonna be the title. Yeah. And I had been Mhmm. It I knew it. And I had been working on the book21:52 again kinda half heartedly opening it back up, like opening up the manuscript. And this time, I had said, holy spirit, I want you to be I want every word on these pages to be you. I want you to drive the story.22:04 Whatever you want me to have in here, just let me surrender to that. Not worry who's gonna read it, what are they gonna think? Because that had been controlling me for so long that it was taking away a lot of the power22:14 that he wanted to have in those pages because part of the book is a warning. It's sin leads to death. Sex outside the confines of marriage causes shame, hurt, and disappointment. Addiction is a slippery slope. It starts22:26 out fun and that as you make higher, you know, you make agreements with sin, you go into higher levels. A life not led by God is empty and unsatisfying. This is my warning and then the invitation, Jesus22:38 says, come taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste and see. So take up my yoke. And I'm showing I'm not forcing anyone, dragging anyone. I'm just showing that I went through all of this and I came22:50 up empty every time and broken and lost, and it's a testament to him never leaving me. I just met a lady the other day who no foundation in the church at all. Nothing. The lord met her, and23:02 she had a divine encounter with him for 8 hours where she experienced his love. He had been pursuing her and chasing her down. He never stops pursuing us and he's always calling us back. And that's my message for the23:14 book. That's, I want people's lives to be changed through it. Not for me to get glory, not for me to make money or make a name. It's for people to get free and to finally find true freedom from the bondage of23:25 addiction. It's only in Jesus Christ.23:27 And you got we are set free by, the words of our testimony. But also, we're we're kinda low on time. So what we want you to do is just, tell us quick about what you're doing. She is the cohost of the23:39 Hope Report. We wanna talk about that quick that you are working at the Michael and Dell Recovery Network. And, then we want you to pray for our viewers as well. So thank you. Do you wanna touch on what you're doing and23:51 how they can find your book?23:52 So Yes. Thank you ladies so much for the opportunity. Yes. I'm the director of the Lindell Recovery Network, Lindell Recovery Network dot org. It's a online platform Mike created. It has a couple24:04 thousand powerful testimonies of stories I'm talking about right now just like this of people whose lives have been changed by Jesus who tried a lot of the other things, and they finally came to know the truth in Jesus24:15 Christ. There's a searchable database for churches and treatment centers, Christian treatment centers, and there's online content. It's all free. The Operation Restored Warrior course, just a phenomenal program. I've24:26 been through it. I've sent many friends and family through it. You can do it completely online from your home. There's a lot of books by June Hunt, biblical counseling guides that address a lot of the things that we24:36 still deal with after, addiction. You know, it can be anxiety or grief or trauma or boundary setting, all that stuff. So, I'm so grateful that Mike has done this out of the goodness of his heart to help24:48 addicts. The hope report show it's a 5 day a week Christian addiction, show. I mean, it's a ministry for addicts. So it's 5 days a week on frank speech dot com, also on all the social25:00 media platforms, Getter, Rumble, you know, Facebook, all those platforms, Hope Report on YouTube. I know people hate YouTube, but there's secular people and people who need Jesus in their seats. That's right. That's25:11 right.25:12 Well, we appreciate you so much, Melissa. If you could just pray for everyone. We have about 1 minute left.25:17 Alright. I'll make it quick. Alright. Father God, I come before you in the mighty name of Jesus. Lord, I thank you for these 2 beautiful ladies, their ministry and all that they do to just help people and how they fill25:29 people with the love of Jesus. I pray you would bless this ministry and continue. Help it continue to grow. Lord, we pray for all lost people right now. Anyone under the sound of my voice, Jesus has not forgotten25:41 you. He sees you. He wants to help you. I just pray that today would be the day that addicts or anyone who is lost, not just an addict, anyone run running, searching, struggling, that you would turn to Jesus,25:53 you would seek his face, that this message would pierce your heart, that all the things of the world come up empty, they don't satisfy. So I pray for chains to be broken in Jesus' name today. I pray for demonic agendas26:03 to be overturned in Jesus' name and that people will come to the saving truth of Jesus Christ and that their lives would never be the same again. We thank you, Lord. We ask your Holy Spirit to move in the lives of people26:14 who are addicted and struggling, and we thank you so much for everything. We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.26:19 Amen. Praise God. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, ladies. Thank you, and God bless you all. Thanks for watching. Love you.26:27 Does science disprove God? Is there a war between science and faith?26:32 We don't need God to create a universe. There's no evidence for God, and it's irrational.26:36 Is there no evidence for God? Am I I delusional for my beliefs?26:40 It is delusional and stupid.26:42 Am I brainwashed?26:43 Do I ignore reason?26:45 Logic. Critical thinking. Science.26:55 RDOF uses logic and reasoning.26:58 RDOF has empowered my sons to defend their faith with facts.27:02 If you wanna be equipped to defend against the biggest objections in the existence of God, RDOF is the place for you.27:12 Has science really ruled out God? Is faith at war with science? If you wanna be equipped to respond to these claims and more, check out r d o f dot org.27:30 The evidence he presents is so powerful and overwhelming. Incredibly compelling, yet easily understandable.27:37 We believe in rationality. We believe in reason. We believe in science, and we believe in the existence of God.27:44 I would leave every event with a mind28:03 in the universe is undeniable.28:07 The lights, the crowd, the videos.28:13 To book a presentation or watch our free videos, go to r d o f dot org or find us on Facebook at RDOF28:22 events.In this video 0:00 A Journey from Darkness to Light
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