Updated on November 23, 2013
Sunday Scripture: 11/24/13
Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. – Psalm 33:8
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
Updated on November 23, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: Examine Carefully & Link-Up!
But examine everything carefully;
hold fast to that which is good – 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Sometimes when we experience something
for the first time, all we can see is the excitement,
the beauty, the smooth glossy surface.
We might not see as easily how quickly we could fall if we don’t take cautious steps and maintain our balance.
We don’t understand that knowing what’s underneath could be valuable information.
This adorable little girl in the video decides to do some examining of her own.
Please join me each Saturday to share a recommendation that
keeps people full of hope, faith and love!
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 November 18, 2013
Under the Big-Top
For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations. – Psalm 66:7a
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…,”
Do you ever feel like your life is a 3-Ring Circus? I know I do! Crazy acts, daredevil-ish stunts abound. Costumes of all kinds. Noise and gasps mingle with rounds of applause and eyes filled with wonder. And so many times in this wild life under the big-top, all 3 rings are busy at once!
Oh, look, in Ring 1, I have my head in the mouth of a tiger. Will I survive? Everyone is on the edge of their seats!
Wow, in Ring 2, I’m flying through the air on the trapeze… will I fall? Will the net be enough to save me if I do? Can I come out unscathed? Applause erupts as I complete a back-flip and am caught by my partner.
Cast your gaze to Ring 3, where the answer of how many clowns can fit into that little yellow car will soon be answered! Looks like fun, doesn’t it? Those smiles are sure painted on well.
Daring, fun and excitement abound. But some days, I wonder if the exhaustion will allow the show to go on. Some moments I would be willing to swear that I will not survive the pain. And some days I long for life to be back to how it was before I was asked to run my own Big-Top.
On those days, I am so thankful that even though my life is often a circus, I know the Ringmaster. I trust the Ringmaster. And the Ringmaster is always in control.
Dear God, please help me to entrust this circus of a life to You completely. Thank you for always being willing to be in charge of my crazy life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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 November 19, 2013
Insomnia
Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. – Psalm 121:4
For some reason, those of us with chronic illness have more than our share of sleepless nights! We toss, we turn, we hurt, we ache. It seems impossible sometimes to get comfortable (or at least relatively comfortable enough to slip into rest).
Another thing that usually seems impossible is to quiet the shouts of the enemy into my mind and heart. I hear, “No one cares that you’re in pain!” He screams, “God doesn’t even see you! You are invisible!”
Loud shouts bombard my mind, sink in and damage my heart, and press deeply into my soul. The enemy seems to hone in on my weaknesses, pushing relentlessly against the places in me that are worn thin.
The next time I am lying awake at night, I will listen for the whisper. I will use the scriptures and hymns to drown out the screams of the enemy in my ears. I will strain to hear the gentle whisper of my Savior.
He will be whispering love, acceptance, hope and grace. He is holding me during these times. On those nights when it feels like He is far away, those are actually the times He couldn’t be closer.
Dear Lord, hold us close and whisper unceasingly, until Your sweet presence soothes our pain and our strife. Thank You for never sleeping during our difficult nights. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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 November 18, 2013
Do You Know the Words By Heart?
I wrote about my most recent MRI experience, and what God taught me there, on my favorite site, Rest Ministries!
I invite you to go over and have a read, leave me a comment, and do some sharing.
While you’re there, please check out Rest Ministries and all they have to offer to folks like us!
You’ll be glad you did!
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 November 17, 2013
Sunday Scripture 11/17/13
From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
James 3:10-12
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 November 16, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: Change Your Words & Launch of Link-Up!!!
photo credit: Moyan_Brenn via flickr.com
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life. – Proverbs 4:23
I challenge you today to begin to re-frame your situation and how you present it to yourself, and to the world.
The words we think into our own hearts can shape our actions, our reactions, and our health.
The words we speak into other people’s minds can cause them to see both our needs and our hope.
Change your words today!
Video found via http://godfruits.com
————————————————————————————————————–
I am SO THRILLED to announce the launching of Recommendation Saturday as a new weekly link-up!
keeps people full of hope, faith and love!
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!
“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 November 12, 2013
When Illness Raises Your Pressures
We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. – 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
Oh, the pressure of chronic illness! This life sure can raise all kinds of pressures, can’t it? Self pressure increases, outside pressures rise, and blood pressure soars!
Look at what the above scripture tells us about the apostles’ experience with pressure. They were crushed and overwhelmed!! Do you know that feeling? In fact, it was beyond their ability to endure! Oh yeah, we’ve been there! Sometimes we, too, think we will never live through it. How amazing is it that the Bible can give us real people of God that can relate to our deep and real struggles!
Now let’s look at the next verse. But as a result…. I love that! As a result… we stopped relying on ourselves. Haven’t we? If not, don’t you think it’s time? Lay down that burden you truly are incapable of bearing up under!
And here’s the best part… as a result they learned to rely ONLY on God. No other help needed. No magic formulas, no trade secrets, in no other place can aid be found.
Who Raises The Dead. Have you ever seen such? Do you know of anyone else who can provide that kind of promise?
Just as pressure delivered relentlessly over time will produce diamonds from rock, our crushing and overwhelming pressures, when endured can produce jewels in our own lives. Without the raised pressures we may never learn this valuable lesson, to stop relying on ourselves and learn to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
All praise and glory to You who allow us to reach the brink so that we may learn reliance on You alone! Thank You that you always deliver, that you never fail to rescue us… that you can teach us wondrous things even through these raised pressures. Produce gems in our lives, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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 November 13, 2013
Weep with Those Who Weep
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15
Those Who Weep. Sometimes I feel like that’s my Indian name, have you ever felt that way?
I’ve read plenty about those with our conditions needing people to fulfill this scripture in their interactions with us. We all know how desperately important it is for us to feel validated in our struggles, and how that can lead to such immense emotional healing. What I want to write about today is something that I sometimes struggle with.
Sometimes I struggle with weeping with those who weep.
Have you ever been there? Sometimes my struggles are so very deep, so immensely painful, so unabashedly chronic that I feel like others’ problems pale in comparison. It hard to work up a good cry over Suzy’s hangnail, ya know what I mean?
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t always feel this way. But when someone is complaining of having to cook supper tonight when all I pray for some days is for the energy to cook a meal for my family again, or when someone says something like, “I can’t take this anymore” just because they’ve been cooped in the house with a cold for 2 days…. 2 days, when it’s been 20 for me… it’s really difficult not to scoff. Really. Difficult.
But I’m not called to scoff. I’m not challenged to compare. I’m not driven to judge. The above scripture applies just as much to me as it does toward me from others.
I am called to share the yoke. I am challenged to listen with a Godly heart. I am called to take at face value and react in kind.
Today I am working on changing my attitude. Today, and every day from this point on, I will be weeping with those who weep. For hangnails or cancer diagnoses, for overfull schedules and weary fighters. Each broken moment is significant to God. And it will be significant to me.
Father, please forgive me for my sometimes callous attitude and my tendency to compare. Change me, Lord, as only you can. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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 November 11, 2013
Rejoice with Those Who Rejoice
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15
The definition of “rejoice” includes to gladden, take delight, revel and glory in. Wow! I know this is the way I want others to feel when I share good news with them! Is this how I feel when they share their good news with me?
Sometimes chronic illness can make life feel very unfair. Those with disability can feel like our blessings are outnumbered by those blessings of folks who take things for granted.
Everyday little normal things that would be miracles to us are treated as mundane by those who are healthy and busy, and it can make us bitter sometimes.
When others share their joys and the joy is something we ourselves wish we could experience, it can be hard not to react with hurt, sadness, and even anger.
What we fail to realize is that by commanding us to rejoice with those who rejoice, God has actually ensured a great blessing for us. If we will obey, we will find that we can experience those joys for ourselves! We can participate in those blessings vicariously. And perhaps we will even help the joyful to see what blessings those seemingly mundane moments are. It’s a win-win when we rejoice with those who rejoice.
Anything less would mean that I am looking at their good fortune through a lens of envy. Less than rejoicing with those who rejoice is petty, it is selfish, and it is sinful. I wish to be none of those things.
From now on, I’m aiming higher!
Dear God, thank You for the possibilities You provide to us by ensuring that we rejoice with those who rejoice. Please help me not to let any of them pass by! In Jesus’ Name, Amen…
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
