Updated on July 3, 2014
Recommendation Saturday: Take a Few Moments to Rest
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. – Ecclesiastes 6:9
photo credit: blavandmaster via photopin cc
Be kind to yourself today. Stop for a while. Just sit, bask in the silence. Enjoy the noise of family. Appreciate all that Christ has placed around you. Thank God for every blessing, big and small. And know that when others are doing this today, they are thanking God for YOU.
God’s Wonderous Creation from prophecyonthemove on GodTube.
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
Best Laid Plans
The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. – Proverbs 16:9
Do you ever have those mornings when you wake up with plans, exciting plans that you can’t wait to fulfill? Maybe you’ve had those plans since before that morning, even! The anticipation has you a little giddy, and you’re just so looking forward to whatever activity you think is coming on that day.
I had a morning like this recently… not big plans, not even leaving the house, but they had me excited to open my eyes and get going that morning! I had planned to paint that day. I was really looking forward to it and had quite a few designs in mind, some scriptures all lined up. I got myself out of bed, and turned to face the window. And that’s when it happened, that’s when my bubble was burst. It was raining outside. I sit outside on my screened porch when I paint. Uh-oh, this meant that the watercolor paints wouldn’t dry fast enough for me to be able to paint today. Even from such a simple thing, I felt crushed.
As I continued to get ready for my day, I just couldn’t accept that my plans couldn’t come true. As I was showering, my mind was furiously working on an alternate plan that would allow me to be able to paint after all. So many ideas going through my mind, as I quickly rejected each one as “not a fix.” Suddenly I had a brilliant idea. (stay with me here) I would plug in the hair dryer and dry the paint that way. As I was wondering if the heat would damage my colors, I started to laugh, right out loud… was I really considering blow drying my bookmarks so that I could go through with my plans for that day?! I was!
That really caused me to pause. I think we do this so often in our lives. Especially in our chronic illnesses, so many days feel like a “let down” because whatever grand plans we had cooked up have had to be put off, or canceled altogether thanks to a flare or a new symptom or just sheer exhaustion. We are so intent on what plans sound good to us that we forget to ask God what plans He has for us that day! And that’s what I did immediately when I realized what I was doing, and far into the ridiculous I had ventured. I prayed. I asked God to show me His better way for my day that day. And do you know what? He did. And it was beautiful, and SO much better than me on the porch, in the rain, with some paint and a blow dryer. 😉
Heavenly Father, I delight in Your plans! Help me as I try, with all things, to focus less on ME and more on YOU. 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 July 3, 2014
How Can Life Come Through Death? God Shows Us Each Year
Today’s blog posting is featured at Rest Ministries!
Please head there to read it, and while you’re there have a look around!
What Rest Ministries does for chronically ill Christians is unparalleled!
Here is the link to the Devotional for today!
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 July 3, 2014
God’s Tempo, Uh, I Mean Timing…
And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.
– 1 Chronicles 23:30
I love to sing, always have! It’s one of my favorite pass-times, and I can’t tell you how very happy it makes me to know that it’s one of God’s favorite things too! With as much as music is a part of my life, I suppose it’s not great surprise that music came to mind today when I was thinking of God’s timing. Specifically, I was thinking of it in relation to tempo.
Keeping time in a song is so important. You can tell if you’re singing in a group, and one or two people are just a couple of split seconds slower or faster than the rest. It makes a discordant sound when this happens. It’s hard to know who to try and follow, the song leader (or conductor) or the person who’s off-tempo. And it always causes me to feel a little stressed, that uneven timing within the natural pace of the song.
I think I’m a lot like that off-tempo singer. Some days I try to rush ahead and speed up the tempo. Just like in a song that seems like it’s being led a bit too slowly, sometimes I feel like if I sing a little louder and a little faster, I can cause the group to speed it up to a tempo that’s more comfortable to me. Other days I feel like the pace of the song is a little too quick, and I’d like to slow it down a bit in order to better appreciate the notes and harmonies going on around me. Maybe just hit the pause button for a second or two.
Either way, I’m causing discord around me. And I’m trying to rip the control from the leader. There’s the rub. See, the thing is, although I do love to sing, I know nothing about song leading or conducting! If the leader did hand over the reins for a song or two, I would have no idea how to discern what the tempo would be…. or for that matter, the tune, the starting pitch…. you get the picture. I’d be in way above my head.
So why do I keep trying to snatch control? It isn’t because I like to cause the discordant notes… no, to the contrary, I love to be a part of a beautiful song that is sung by a cohesive choir. But by trying to lead from within the group, I’m possibly even causing others to try and follow me rather than the true leader.
Today’s scripture is one that reminds me that if the song of my life is to be a beautiful, harmonic, evenly-paced thing of joy to offer to my Lord, I must be willing to follow His timing. Maybe at times it will feel too quick or too slow, but since I am not the leader I need to trust that He knows what is best. I need to ensure that my struggles with the tempo do not distract others around me.
Yes, I surely do love to sing. Thankfully I have the ultimate conductor, the consumate song leader, and the most patient of maestros.
Father, thank you for choosing me. Please help me as I strive to follow only you, and to trust that your timing is never faulty. 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 July 3, 2014
Sunday Scripture: 10/13/13
So think clearly and exercise self-control.
Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you
when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
– 1 Peter 1:13
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 October 11, 2013
Recommendation Saturday: Comforting Read
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. – 2 Corinthians 1:4
As the above scripture explains, we are often able to comfort others as a result of the comforting we receive from God. Joni Eareckson Tada is the perfect example of the fulfilling of this scripture. Her books are always a balm to my soul. Joni is so real in the voice that comes through her writing. And she connects us, every time, right back to Christ. My favorite work of hers, although I’m hard-pressed to choose, is called A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty. This book of hers is one I would love to recommend to anyone who is looking for hope in their place of despair, a friend in their place of loneliness, and faith in their place of discouragement. The link is one for the kindle edition, since I like the fact that I can make the font large on my kindle for easier reading. It’s also available for free to borrow from the Kindle Lending Library.
The book is also available in paper form here. You can choose from hardcover, paperback, or save money with used. Ask your local library before purchasing, if you’d prefer to borrow and save some $$!
If you need audiobook, that link is here.
Hope you find as much… well, HOPE… as I did when I discovered Joni.
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 July 5, 2014
Sunday Scripture: 10/6/13
“Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.” – Deuteronomy 32:2
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 July 3, 2014
Recommendation Saturday: Inspire Others to Greatness!
Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. – Psalm 65:8
photo credit: ashley rose, via photopin cc
People are hungry for inspiration… inspiration of any kind.
Give them something worthy of repeating, worthy of continuing, and worthy of praise!
God bless you this weekend!
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 July 3, 2014
Because He Bends Down to Listen…
I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. – Psalm 17:6
Oh, how this image grasps my imagination! I think of it often in those moments when I am tempted to think that I am insignificant in His sight. I want to be able to picture it in my mind’s eye, but it is too marvelous to bring about a clear vision. The Lord of Hosts bends down to listen as I pray! Wow!!
The only image I can bring clearly is a loving father with a small child. As they eagerly look up into His face with important bit of news to share, or lift up their tear-stained face to show him their boo-boo that needs attending, I see the Daddy leaning down to catch every word, to be on their level so that they feel his presence, and to gather them into his arms while he listens or attends. This is what God does for me!
Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! – Psalm 116:2
Just as a small child will constantly be looking for another way to garner the attention of a loving parent, God’s willingness to bend down and listen also elicits a response from me. Now I will go to Him with every morsel of joy I find, to share it with Him. Like a child bringing flowers picked from the summer yard, I hold each thanksgiving up to Him, to honor Him and show Him my love. And with each hurt or boo-boo, I run to Him for comfort and healing. I cry in His arms, and I don’t have to climb into His lap because He has already bent down to meet me.
What beautiful imagery to dwell on today… The God of All, the Great I Am, bending to listen as I pray.
Lord, may I offer you today my everything! May I come with confidence, knowing that each little moment is important to share with you. Thank you for bending down to hear me, to share with me, to snuggle with me, and to enjoy my company. Amazing! 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 July 3, 2014
Crash Test Dummy Days
“O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from lapis lazuli. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones.” – Isaiah 54:11-12
photo credit: greg westfall. via photopin cc
Do you ever have crash test dummy days? I’m talking battered, tossed-about, never-come-out-of-this-unmarred days. The days where everything seems to be mounting an attack against you, from the moment you open your eyes. The days when you cry out in desperation for relief, however brief and small.
I imagine on those days that I look a lot like a test-dummy after a long day in the testing lab. I’ve seen those commercials where they show him being launched against a wall, or slammed into with sandbags. Yep, that’s what those days feel like. And just like in the commercials, the tests just keep coming, without time to catch my breath. And they always leave me feeling that I must look about as beaten as I feel. Defeated, troubled, storm-battered, and desolate… just like the city in Isaiah.
And listen to the promise made to that city that God loves. Does He not love me? Yes, in fact, I am that city that He makes the promise to, the one He will rebuild and restore. God will not only rescue and rebuild me, He will restore me using precious jewels and gemstones! He will make even my very foundations stunning and strong! My towers will be covered with rubies, my gates will shine!
This scripture gives me such joy and hope on my crash test dummy days. I am not left in a heap on the testing-room floor. I am gathered tenderly to Him and restored. I am recreated, better than ever, and more beautiful than I could ever be on my own.
I hold to this promise on those impossible days. I cling to the knowledge that He cannot lie and that He will not forget or disappoint. I hope in Him. And it is enough to hold these days at bay.
Beautiful Maker, Your promise is beautiful, and inspires me! Gather me to you on these days of struggle and angst. Thank You for Your constant care. 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
