Updated on December 23, 2013
Sunday Scripture: 12/22/13
Photo Credit: Junior Henry. via Compfight cc
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. – Luke 19:10
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 21, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: You Are More!
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! – Luke 15:4-7
Just as we feel for our children, our Heavenly Father feels a thousand times more for each and every one of us.
It’s why He delights when a new child is added to His already demanding and flawed brood.
Let yourself recognize and remember today, that you are more than your list of ailments. You are more than an inconvenience, more than a problem, more than any mistake you could possibly ever make.
So much more.
And just like in this video, His eyes alight with each look to you, no matter the circumstances He finds you in… and it was this way long before you were reborn to Him.
We are best when we are community.
I would love to share in some of that community
right here from my website.
You can join in, too!
Share a post from your own blog and then simply click on the
“Add your link” button below and enter your blog information.
Then, please grab my Recommendation Saturday button
below, and place it on your website or post,
so that others can find their way to our little Saturday community!
You can also Tweet your participation with the hashtag
#recommendsat
so that we can all find each other on Twitter!
You may also join in by leaving a comment.
The most important part of our community
is spreading our hope and love to others
by visiting some of the other inspirational sites linked up and leaving comments there.
Heart Hugs, Shelly <3
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 15, 2013
Sunday Scripture: 12/15/13
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28
Please follow this link to read my 3 Steps to a More Restful Holiday Season post, featured on my favorite site, Rest Ministries, today!
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 14, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: Find a Way!
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.
– John 6:51
I know. I know you’re busy. I know you’re stressed.
I know this is a crazy, hazy time of year.
I know you’re sick, and tired, and it hurts.
Find a way to bring God onto your schedule, today and everyday.
Find. A. Way.
We are best when we are community.
I would love to share in some of that community
right here from my website.
You can join in, too!
Share a post from your own blog and then simply click on the
“Add your link” button below and enter your blog information.
Then, please grab my Recommendation Saturday button
below, and place it on your website or post,
so that others can find their way to our little Saturday community!
You can also Tweet your participation with the hashtag
#recommendsat
so that we can all find each other on Twitter!
You may also join in by leaving a comment.
The most important part of our community
is spreading our hope and love to others
by visiting some of the other inspirational sites linked up and leaving comments there.
Heart Hugs, Shelly <3
If you have been helped by this post and think it could be helpful to someone you know, please share this post on the social network of your choice for me.
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 13, 2013
When God Shows Up
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake,but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. – 1 Kings 19:11-12
You know, I am always looking for the Lord. At least assurance of His presence. Something to let me know, “Hey, look here!” or “Wow, God did that unbelievable thing just now, wasn’t that just spectacular?”
I want Him to show up (as I recently joked with a friend of mine) with flashing neon lights or maybe His own personal marching band.
We are so trained to look for God in the huge, the flashy, the loud. Because that’s how important people show up, right?
But here is what I have learned from this verse: God is in the hushed. He’s in the unassuming, the tiny, the details, and the mundane. In fact He’s not in those things, He is those things.
The Lord is not the one in the red cape (look, up in the sky!) swooping in to save the day. He’s the peace that trickled into your heart while you waited to be rescued.
God is not the bold claim for a cure offered from a microphone in a fine Italian suit, standing in front of the multitude. He’s the daily dose of hope that helps you make it out of bed the next morning, knowing that the healing was denied.
Christ is not the gold-plated figure surrounded by stained glass. He’s the delight that floods your heart when you enter into a beautiful place to worship your King.
I’ve been looking for him in the wrong places all along. As Addison Road sings in today’s song, I’ve tried to hear from heaven, but I’ve talked the whole time.
I will find him in the quiet, in those little pieces of His grace that He so readily gives me, that I so often completely miss.
Are you looking for Him today? Are you waiting for Him to show up? He’s here. That’s Him in the extra edge to the longing you feel. That’s Him in the flare of hope. That’s Him in the silence. Waiting for you. As He has been all along.
Dear God, help us to see You clearly. Help us to recognize You when we do. And thank You for always, always showing up. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 8, 2013
Eye of the Beholder
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. – Isaiah 53:2-3
Body image can be a real struggle for those with chronic illness! Medications can cause weight gain and/or loss. Constant sickness from a compromised immune system leaves our complexions sallow, and weeks spent home-bound makes our skin pale and sickly.
It’s difficult to feel attractive when you’re confined to a wheelchair or hidden behind a walker. Bags under the eyes from countless sleepless nights and a face etched with pain lines are difficult to hide with makeup, even if you do feel well enough to expend the energy to apply it.
Constant weight fluctuations and painful skin and muscles can leave us limited as to fashion options, and shopping trips that require trying on clothes are difficult, at best.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I say, “Hogwash!”
The only beholder we should be hearing from is Jesus Christ.
Here’s what our Father says about the issue.
Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. – 1 Peter 3:3-4
God is not concerned with my outward adornment… whether my hair is thinning, or my jewelry is a medical ID, or my legs are covered with pressure stockings. He doesn’t care that my smile is crooked from palsy, that my joints are gnarled, or that I have fat deposits from steroids. Christ doesn’t see my hives or my IV marks or my scars.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7
My heart glows for Him. My eyes sparkle with the hope that is inside me. My faith is worn like a shawl around me. I wear His wedding band with pride. My head is covered with humility as I submit myself to Christ. I do my best to be gentle and quiet with the help of His Spirit.
And I know that no matter my appearance, I am precious in the sight of God. I am beautiful to my King. And so are you, dear one. So are you.
Heavenly Father, You make me feel beautiful. You make me beautiful. Thank You for seeing into the heart of me, past my insecurities. Please draw me closer to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 7, 2013
Scripture Sunday 12/8/13
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on March 31, 2015
We Have a Deliverer
photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. – Daniel 3:17
This life is hard, isn’t it? It matters not what our troubles are… whether they are chronic illness and disability, or divorce or infertility, or poverty or abuse. Life is hard.
We long for a deliverer.
Just as Shadrach, Meshach and AbedNego in the story of the fiery furnace, we long to say proudly to our problems, “We have no need to answer you in this matter.” (vs.16) There, take that! We have a Deliverer, and He is able!
If we say this to our problems, we speak the truth. We speak rightly.
But let’s read on to the next verse, shall we?
Will you join me over at my friend Kirra’s blog today? She is a sweet friend and Christian, whose words have inspired me so many times. I can’t wait for you to meet her. Oh, and you can read the rest of my post while you’re there. 😉
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 5, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: Think Outside the Box
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21
Saw this image today and it really struck me.
Satan tries his best to make our challenges appear solid, heavy, unbreakable… HOPELESS.
Thank Heaven that our God thinks outside the box.
No matter what your obstacle is today, this is how paper beats rock.
Think Outside the Box.
We are best when we are community.
I would love to share in some of that community
right here from my website.
You can join in, too!
Share a post from your own blog and then simply click on the
“Add your link” button below and enter your blog information.
Then, please grab my Recommendation Saturday button
below, and place it on your website or post,
so that others can find their way to our little Saturday community!
You can also Tweet your participation with the hashtag
#recommendsat
so that we can all find each other on Twitter!
You may also join in by leaving a comment.
The most important part of our community
is spreading our hope and love to others
by visiting some of the other inspirational sites linked up and leaving comments there.
Heart Hugs, Shelly <3
If you have been helped by this post and think it could be helpful to someone you know, please share this post on the social network of your choice for me.
All you have to do is click one of the buttons below.
May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on December 5, 2013
Do You Have a To-Do List or a Suggestion Jot-Down?
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:33-34
I admit it… I’m a list-maker. Ok, ok, I’m a list-lover. The first step to recovery is admitting the problem, right?
Before chronic illness blew into my life like a bad smell on a high wind, my lists were even worse than they are now. I mean, I kept track of my days with a timed schedule list! I know, right? I was that woman. Sometimes I still miss her. 😉
Now that my life has been blessed with an unscheduled Full-Stop and a never-ending Slow-Down, I have had an epiphany regarding lists.
Lists are stressful. Oh, I have argued otherwise on many occasions. Many. But it is true. While I still like a general schedule and I recognize the importance of writing things down that I might otherwise forget, I also know that the lists I kept and am still tempted to keep are creating more stress.
Here’s what I mean:
I wrote down showering. I wrote down get dressed. I wrote down eat, for Pete’s sake! Why did I do that? Was it because I was afraid I might forget to do those things if they weren’t on my list? NO!!
I wrote down each little minute detail of my day because I wanted to be able to cross it off and feel like I had accomplished something! Then I began to feel like I wasn’t accomplishing enough, so I made my list longer. I had to think what I could add so that I was accomplishing more and always using my time wisely. Then of course I couldn’t keep up with all I had on the list without literally writing out each time frame.
Once I did this, I had another problem. Had I left myself enough time to complete the tasks for each block of time? Not without rushing. Then if any tiny detail fell into my life, unscheduled, the entire day was thrown off. This left me frazzled, rushed, grumpy, and preoccupied.
I had become a slave to my lists. I didn’t realize it at the time. Oh, no, it took me months to figure out what I had been like. At the time, I felt powerful, productive and in-control. But that was an illusion. The lists were in control.
Now I am learning a new skill. I no longer make to-do lists of any kind. Now I have suggestion jot-downs. I make jot-downs of any ideas that come to me as I go about my day. They are in no order or category. If they never get done, it’s not a big deal. These suggestions are things that if I have a time when I am bored or wish to do something creative or productive, I can look at my jot-downs and choose what appeals to me.
Sometimes I go days without looking at a list. Any of you who knew me before, pick your jaws up off the floor.
Everything that needs to be done in a day is already going to get done. I want my days free for God to whisper His plans into them. Or blow into them like a strong wind (which now smells much sweeter). I want my lists to be a slave to me.
So how about you? Do you have to-do lists, or suggestion jot-downs?
Dear Lord, thank You for the insight that chronic illness grants us into our own bad habits. Thank You for the chance to change them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
