Dawn Damon: Hey, beautiful, brave hearts. Good to be with you. It's your girl, Dawn Diamond. So happy to introduce to you to my guest today. She's a wife, she's a mom, she's an author, a speaker, and she's the host of the podcast. Challenges Won't Stop Me. You'll understand why in just a moment. And her award-winning Interactive Survival Guides Called Challenges Won't Stop Me and Keep Moving Forward inspires women to be overcomers as she is an overcomer. Meet my guest today, Melony Brown.

Hello, Melony!

Melony Brown: Hey there, Dawn. Thanks so much. I have been looking forward to this.

Dawn Damon: We have been, too, because listen, girlfriend, you are an overcomer. And when I say that, many of us have overcome a lot of things, but like you're bad to the bone, you have overcome. You gotta share your story with us.

Melony Brown: I don't know that anyone has ever said that I'm bad to the bone, but I'm gonna run with that.

Dawn Damon: I love that you take it, you've earned it.

Melony Brown: So, a little bit about my story. I could go into a gazillion details, but I'm just gonna give a real quick, uh, snapshot of it. Sure. I didn't learn what caused the stroke that I had when I was very young until I was 45 years old. The stroke happened when I was two years old, and at that time, I was 65 years old. Older people who were having strokes, and not just an age requirement, but also smoked, were obese, or had poor living skills. And they looked at my mom and dad, and they went, we don't know what to tell you. We don't know why she had this stroke.

So that is a neurological incident that left me with some residual deficits that have carried through my entire life. But my parents, from a very young age, were 22 down when this happened to me so young. They didn't have a clue what to do. They didn't. But God had already said to them, you are not gonna allow this stroke to interfere with her life. We want her to try all of the things that regular kids do. Other kids are regular. Yeah, regular or normal. We want her to try it. Riding a bike, playing sports, all the things. The only pass that my parents gave me was that they knew the limited fine motor skills in my left hand would make it very difficult for me to pass the typing class.

Yes, that definitely ages me, but that ages, it's the truth. They went to the school and said that she would fail it. It will mess up her GPA. Please do not make her take it. So that was the only out I ever got. I was expected to try everything. I may be slower, it may, it may be something that I just genuinely can't do, but they wanted me to try it all. So my parents. We're the ones who taught me to be an overcomer. Mm-hmm.

Dawn Damon: Thank God for those parents. Amen. Um, your mom and dad, who just said, you know, we are not gonna let this difference, disability or differently abled. Yes. Define our daughter's life. They instilled in you really a mindset, didn't they?

Melony Brown: Absolutely, and I have carried it through all of my life, and I needed it because the stroke was just the first of many challenges that I would face. Fast forward to my late twenties, and I had about 11 years of debilitating migraines. Now I'm not trying to say mine. Look at me. I'm better. But there are people who have 'em once every 90 days or so, and it throws 'em in the bed and in the dark.

I do feel sympathy for them, but mine were two or three a week in the bed, not functioning for 11 years. Wow. They couldn't figure out why. And thank goodness for my husband, 'cause he took care of me and he took care of our two boys and he just, he took care of everything. And then, as I was finally getting to where those were sort of managed. Then I started having many strokes. So stroke is neurological, migraines are neurological, and many strokes are neurological. And after the fourth one, my neurologist said, well, we've tried all kinds of tests, and we just don't know why you're having all of these issues. We're gonna do an angiogram.

Now, Dawn, normally, when an angiogram is done, it's done on a person's heart. But they did an angiogram of my brain. Oh. And on that angiogram, they immediately knew what had caused 45 years of neurological issues. And it is called Moya, Moya Disease. M-O-Y-A-M-O-Y-A,

Dawn Damon: Moya Moya. So before you tell us more, we just gotta grasp this, you had a, a stroke when you were two.

Melony Brown: Yes.

Dawn Damon: And now you're 45?

Melony Brown: Well, not anymore. I'm actually 55 now. But this happened, I mean, 45 when that happened.

Dawn Damon: Yes. And you're, you're just at 45 figuring out what's been going on with you all these years.

Melony Brown: Yes, because while I've had symptoms, the testing that they did wasn't detailed enough, or I guess invasive enough, to get to the little bitty fine area of my brain where the Moya Moya was living.

Dawn Damon: So, oh my goodness. So I wanna hear the rest of your story, but I can't imagine not struggling for me. I would struggle with anxiety and depression. I don't know how you coped with it. Did this diagnosis give you some sense of, wow, thank you.

Melony Brown: Yes. Now, I didn't accept Jesus until I was in college, but I had been going to church since seventh grade, even though I had not accepted Jesus until I was in college. I give him credit because he helped me all my life up to that point. He strengthened me. He really taught me the importance of keeping moving forward, and that's why I titled my second book You're gonna have challenges, and he just kept pushing me. Not in a just get over it kind of attitude, but I've told you in my word that there will be trouble in this world. But take heart, I've overcome the world, and that take heart in the Greek is a powerful term. It talks about that spiri,t empowered courag,e and that grit and that unflinching. Just fortitude. Keep going.

Yeah. The fortitude. And that was something that I carried with me. I think he knew well; I know he knew. Let's be real. Yeah. He knew from the very beginning that I would be able to talk to people and empathize with them and say, I've been there. I have struggled. I have faced some really scary things that really should have taken me out. But I'm just telling you, lean hard on God. He will equip you and empower you with what you need to get through those times. Is he gonna take it away? Oh, I wish. Yeah. But he doesn't promise us that, right? He promises that he will be with us and that he will give us what we need, and he's done that just now, unbelievably.

Dawn Damon: Yeah. Powerful. So you get the diagnosis of Moya Moya, which is a neurological disorder. What is that?

Melony Brown: Yes. So I learned this after I got the diagnosis, 'cause of course I had to go home and Google it, which really was a scary thing 'cause I learned a whole lot more than I probably should have about it.

But it is a rare cerebral brain. Okay. Vascular blood. Oh, progressive disease that first originated in Asia and it's, and it mostly happens in Asian people now. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. You look at me, and there's not a touch of Asian in me, so it, it doesn't. Necessarily follow those parameters, but the three main characteristics of moyamoya disease are strokes, mini strokes, and migraines.

Melony Brown: Mm-hmm. And dawn, I'm an overachiever just about everything I do. So, you know, I had to get all three of 'em in. Why not have 'em all wasn't good enough.

Dawn Damon: That's right. Yeah. Oh my goodness.

Melony Brown: Yeah. So you asked a moment ago if it was a relief to get that diagnosis, and it actually was 'cause of neurological issues. Yes, sometimes there are physical, um, appearances of them, like you could look at me and see that, but a lot of what happens with a neurological struggle happens in your brain, and you may or may not see it happening. After my husband has been with me on this journey, I can squeeze his hand as I did during the last mini stroke that I had. We were at church, and I squeezed his hand, and he said, I could tell you are off this morning. Are you having a mini stroke? And I said, yeah, we need to leave. Wow. But I questioned for years if I was making it up or making it larger than it actually was because. People would say, you look great. Mm-hmm. And, I'm thinking, you know, I may look great on the outside, but on the inside, my brain is like, and yeah, I'm not, I'm not feeling so great.

Dawn Damon: Yeah. So I can't imagine you have been such a champion, and again, talking about your parents building in you, this fortitude, this grit. Yes. This keep on keeping on spirit that you're talking about. How important is mindset in overcoming challenges?

Melony Brown: That's a loaded question, Dawn. We, I mean, we can spend the next five hours talking about that. I think mindset is so important. I can't stress it enough. Mm-hmm. We are gonna go through challenges. I mean, the Bible is a book of God's people going through challenges. If we think that when we become Christians, that. We are gonna have this beautiful life of peaches and cream, and everything is gonna go beautifully.

We have been severely deceived because that is not what God's word says, but God's word does something that sometimes people don't even notice, 'cause they're reading a story and they're getting the details. But those stories are packed with. How God's people respond to those challenges. Mm-hmm. And that's what I have taken away from a lot of the stories, not only the events of the situation, the challenge, but it's how God's people responded. King Jehosaphat is my favorite Bible character, which is the strangest thing, 'cause people look at me like. What?

Dawn Damon: Who? Jeh. Who? Yeah. Why is he your favorite?

Melony Brown: Well, in Second Chronicles 20, it talks about that there was a vast army coming against his kingdom, and his people were out watching, and they ran to him, and they said, there's this vast army coming. What do we do? What do we do? And he immediately, this is his response. He says, we need to fast and pray. Hmm. So, that's a mindset. It's not, am I gonna panic and freak out? The mindset is I'm gonna do what I know is gonna help me get through this challenge. Mm-hmm. And God gives us his word. He gives us prayer, he gives us fasting. The list goes on. Yes. Gives us what we need for facing challenges. That's the mindset.

Dawn Damon: Yes. It's a perspective and a viewpoint, a frame that we look at through our situation. We can be victims of it. You could be a victim. You could get all kinds of paths in life, because after all, you have this, you could make excuses, but instead, I choose to be an overcomer. I choose to take God's word. Yes. Do you have a favorite verse, by the way? Is there a fight verse inside of you?

Melony Brown: Very much so, I believe strongly in having a fight verse because we need to have that not only memorized, but just so much a part of the fabric of who we are. Because when a challenge happens, I would honestly say 95% of the time it's unexpected.

So you can't be running for your Bible, or you can't go. Now, what did I learn three months ago in that sermon? And what did I learn in this Bible study? I should have written that down, but I didn't. You gotta have that in the core of who you are. Yes. A reflex. Yes. And that's why I could go on a whole long thing, and I'm not, but that's why it's so important for us to memorize God's word. I'm working on that because we need to have it like flowing out of us.

Dawn Damon: Hey, by the way, can you do that? Can you memorize? Can you read? Do you have any challenges along those lines? How do you get that word of God in you?

Melony Brown: Repetition is my friend.

Dawn Damon: Okay. Yes.

Melony Brown: That's one of the strategies that I teach my students, that I tutor, and it works great for preparing for a test, and I'm sorry, it is a hundred percent relatable to being in a, in a challenge or a test in real life.

Dawn Damon: So let's hear your fight verse.

Melony Brown: Yes, absolutely. So Hebrews two 13. That is from the Amplified Bible Classic edition. Okay. Okay. Wow. So it matters. It matters. That's where I first learned it. So that is an expanded version with some of the Greek that's in it. So it says, my trust and assured reliance and confident hope shall be fixed.

Melony Brown: In him. [So when I'm going through a challenge, mm-hmm. I gotta remember, this is a big challenge. This is trouble. I don't like this, but I can trust God to get me through this because he's done it before. Yes. The assured reliance part is that I can rely on him to take care of me. To equip me, to empower me. To put the right people in the right places to open the doors to get the right doctor.

Whatever it is, I can rely on him because he is faithful and trustworthy. Yeah. And then my confident hope is just something that has continued to grow deeper and deeper roots, and it all goes back to King Jehosaphat because in that second Chronicles 20, his prophet came and started speaking. The prophet said, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are fixed on you. So that's the last part of my fight verse. So no matter how awful it gets, I remind myself, don't try to fix it. It's not your job. You fix your eyes on him.

Dawn Damon: I don't know what to do, Lord, but my eyes are fixed on you. Yes. Because you do know what to do.

Melony Brown: Yes.

Dawn Damon: You know, Melony, you're so strong. I always feel like when I've talked to you, you inspire, you're kind of a rascal, you know?

Dawn Damon: Do they say that in the South? You clearly understand that from down. So like a, like you're, you are an overcomer, but do you have moments where you feel afraid?

Melony Brown: Oh, absolutely. So once I got the diagnosis. I said, what do we do about this Moya Moya, because this has been 45 years. Yeah, 'cause Moya Moya is something that happens when you are in the womb being developed.

Wow. So from those verses, what we hear all the time when I was being knit together in my mother's womb, God knew that this was gonna be in my brain, and he allowed it. Mm-hmm. So for 45 years. I have been living with it, and they said, well, we can wait and see and we'll monitor it. And I looked at the neurosurgeon, and I said, can't do that.

We've been waiting, seeing, and monitoring it for 45 years. Well, for 43, 'cause the stroke happened when I was two. Said, what's the other option? And he said, well, brain surgery. And I said. Okay, explain that to me. So moyamoya is this cluster in my brain, and it's basically causing the congestion to happen that then leads to the stroke and many strokes in migraines.

And I said, so do you cut it out? Like, what is it that you're gonna be doing? And he said, no, we actually leave it. And then we take a thriving blood vessel. Out, and then we move it and place it on the area of your brain, which by the way, was a sixth of my brain that hasn't been getting oxygen. So there was a sixth of my brain, dawn, that had not been getting oxygen my entire life.

Dawn Damon: Wow. That's just mind boggling. Just, yeah. Yeah. That's just God.

Melony Brown: There is no way that I could have lived. I had a master's degree at that point. Like, how is that even possible?

Dawn Damon: Right. How did you get a master's degree with a sixth of your brain not engaged? Exactly. Yeah. Only God. So brain surgery. So what, so is that what you did?

Melony Brown: Yes.

Dawn Damon: Wow.

Melony Brown: So, in Marc,h it will be 10 years.

Dawn Damon: Okay.

Melony Brown: Yep.

Dawn Damon: Because I understand that. Naturally speaking, there's no cure.

Melony Brown: No cure. So, it's progressive. So I am friends with some people through Facebook, some people who've had multiple surgeries because their Moya Moya progressed. Mm. I just thank God all the time that so far mine has not.

Dawn Damon: Yep. Amen.

Melony Brown: Wow. But if it does, we'll just deal with it then.

Dawn Damon: And then your eyes are on him. Yep. Yep. So I have both of your books. We had the privilege of meeting each other, and you signed these and gave these to me, and they're so fabulous. But you know, the subtitle of both of these books is an inner interactive Survival Guide for Overcoming and Thriving. Why are these interactive?

Melony Brown: I think I mentioned a moment ago that I'm a teacher. I started out as a teacher, and now I do tutoring. I don't know how to not be interactive because, if you're reading something and trying to learn and gain from it strategies or habits or mindsets, just the cursory reading of it, silently, you are gonna get stuff, but it's not gonna stick.

I know from being a special ed teacher that if you are interacting by underlining and highlighting, 'cause I direct you to do that by answering questions, and I have visual images that represent the different topics that I share. Mm-hmm. I'm encouraging the reader to also color those because when you interact in those ways, you will have a higher chance of remembering them.

So the next time you have a challenge, and you're just really, oh, I just, I don't know what to do. You think about, okay, well, she said a map represents God's word, so I'm gonna go get my map, and I'm gonna read God's word. She also says that I should. Be praising God, even though it's hard, even though I have to just say those words through gritted teeth.

I need to praise and worship God during the hardest times, and that's represented by binoculars 'cause we wanna fix our eyes on God by looking up. Yeah. That's my hope is that when that next challenge comes, those who have read it and interacted with it, they. We'll have the tools and reminders of how to face that new challenge and not be overwhelmed by it. And not let it take you down. 'cause that's the, that's the, what we see in a lot of cases is people just completely crumble. Yeah. And they just give up, and you and I are not about that. Mm-hmm. No.

Dawn Damon: We're both party women. God's fighting for us.

Melony Brown: Mm-hmm. There is no reason you should be doing that.

Dawn Damon: Yep. One of my fight scriptures is, and I think a lot of people use this one, but no weapon formed against me will prosper. And I say that on a regular basis, but there are times, you know, the Bible talks about the. Fear, uh, sometimes would cause people to melt like wax.

And I'm like, yeah, I've felt that I've had my heart melt. Like wax. Like all of a sudden, all that strength and fortitude just goes whoosh, into a puddle. But God, you know, and then it has to be a reflex. You have to be able to pull outta your spirit or come naturally, automatically, your stand, your stance. So my circumstance says this, but my stance says this: no weapon formed against me.

And that's what you do today, Melony. You minister to women, you empower them to overcome life's challenges. You teach 'em how to thrive, how to stand. What encouragement would you give someone who's listening today, maybe they're facing a, a trial that they could melt like wax, but they want to be an overcomer. What would you say?

Melony Brown: Just like what we said about King Jehosaphat, fix your eyes on God. The reason that I said that the binoculars would be great as an essential piece of gear when you're going through a challenge about praising God is that we tend to, when we're in a challenge, focus on. The 10 feet in front of us. The challenge, and it feels bigger than life, it feels like it is gonna consume you and destroy your life and destroy your family and all the different things.

But if we can lift our binoculars and look up to God and fix our eyes on him, mm-hmm then it's, then it would be great if by fixing our eyes on God, he just instantaneously took that challenge and made it better or took it away, whatever the case may be. What it does, though, and this is what's so powerful, Don, is that when you look up and you praise and worship God during those tough times, of course, the enemy is furious. Mm-hmm. He knows that while he can bother you, he can't take you under because you are Gods.

Yes, amen. But it changes us. It changes our perspective because we then see that while the circumstances appear in the natural big, too big, when we put our focus on God, and we fix our eyes on him, our perspective changes, for us to see in the spiritual realm that he is so much bigger than. Any challenge, I mean, any challenge that we could ever face. And when you do that, your faith, your trust, grows exponentially. Yes. So it's a matter of praising and worship, worshiping, fixing our eyes on God. But when you do that, then you're like, I gotta get in the word, I gotta spend time praying. It's not a checklist anymore. It's what you wanna learn more about God because.

Wow. You're seeing him in a whole different way through a challenge.

Dawn Damon: Yes. Have your challenges caused you to grow in your faith? I know the answer

Yeah, of course she would say that. No, I'm being very, very serious. Mm-hmm. Yes. I would not trade what I have learned during my challenges for anything in this world, Hmm. Wouldn't they have been hard fought, and have I wanted to crumble? Have I wanted to just say, it's not worth it? Of course, sure, we're human, but oh, how much more I know about God that I really, truly would not know if it weren't for those challenges. I wouldn't, and I think that he uses challenges in many different ways, but I think one of the ways that he uses challenges is to teach us and impart things to us that we're not gonna get through just our everyday lives or the great, wonderful celebrations and happy times. Mm-hmm. We get those by going through it. By leaning hard on him and standing firm only because we're standing firm on his foundation.

Dawn Damon: Yes, we know and have. It's been proven that adversity causes growth. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, yes, when we, when we keep our eyes on the right thing, we can curl up in a ball and quit that. That is an option, not an option for me. No, it's not an option for you, but some people choose it; adversity can cause growth in our faith in God. And you do. We find. Parts of God's character that we wouldn't uncover otherwise, and get to know him in ways that we wouldn't have. You're an award-winning author. The podcast host of challenges won't stop me. If someone wants to find you or take part in anything that you're doing, listen to your podcast. What's the best way to find you? I do know that we're gonna put all of your links in our show notes, but thank you. How can we get ahold of you?

Melony Brown: So, my website is my first and last name. I'm gonna spell it because while mom and dad taught me to be an overcomer, they also have caused me to have to spell my name my entire life. But hey, I'll take it. So it's Melony Brown, M-E-L-O-N-Y-B-R-O-W-N.com. On there, you can get to my podcast episodes if you want. Aren't on any podcast apps, which feels kind of weird these days, but if not, you can listen to them there. YouTube channel on my website. One of the things, I don't know that you and I have had a chance to say this, but I spent some time because I feel like it's so valuable to put a whole page on there of resources. It's not about me at all. There is not one mention of my books, my podcast, or anything. It's books with topics of people that I have interviewed on my podcast who are knowledgeable in certain areas, and then also some videos and music videos, some songs that encourage you when you're going through difficult times. I know that it's hard going through those times, and sometimes you feel alone, and that resources page is meant to give you resources that are detailed to what you're going through.

Dawn Damon: Mm. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. Thank you for being with us today on The Brave Hearted Woman, and for your Bravehearts that are listening. Maybe it's time for you to reignite your confidence and to awaken your courage and take a brave step. Maybe you're saying, you know what? I need clarity. I need to stop second-guessing what God has called me to. I'm shrinking. I don't wanna wonder anymore. Is it too late for me? Maybe you're ready for a BravehHarted transformation and visit my website, brave hearted woman.com/braveheartedtransformation. This is for the woman who knows she's meant for more. There you'll find my resources and my course. I'd love for you to avail yourself of it.

Melony, once again, thank you for joining us, and I'm, this is wonderful. Thank you. I'll leave you all like I always do. Bravehearts, it's time for you to find your brave and live your dreams!