😎🐫🎤 As I was reflecting on this past week, looking for God’s presence, I wandered off thinking about the events of this weekend.  Brian and I were able to work together on a house project that we’ve been putting off for a couple years. Working on this project reminded me how well we work together. How good it feels to work side by side with my best friend.  And how much more we can accomplish together.  God said “Exactly.  Think about how well WE work together. How good it feels when WE work side by side. And how much WE can accomplish together.”  I’m not sure why or how it really happened, but this week I allowed myself to become a little distant from God.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I stopped to really focus on His presence that I realized how much I missed Him this past week.  As we share God and serve others in His name, we are pouring from our spiritual cup. If we don’t continue to refill our spiritual cup, it won’t take long before we’re feeling drained and running on empty.  We are made to first fill our cups with a loving relationship with our Lord and then serve others from our overflow.  Fill it to the rim with Him!  LOL That should be a tee shirt quote.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#KariJobe – The More I Seek You

😎🐫🎤 Something must die within us to allow new life in the Lord to spring forth from us. That’s what this log reminded me of.

I’m sure this tree stood for many years digging its roots in the soil as it searched for life giving water. Stretching its branches wide and toward the heavens, fighting to catch rays of sunlight. I imagine it was a display of God’s beauty and presence.  As seasons passed, temperatures changed, and bugs crept in, this tree became weary and weathered, to the point of death. Our lives are the same. With our roots planted in His Word and our arms lifted high reaching for the Sonshine, we experience passing seasons of joy, pain, growth, and dormancy. Our temperatures and attitudes chance with the passing of those seasons. And yes…those pesky bugs creep into our lives, eating us up from the inside out, to weaken us and tear us down. You may know them as fear, jealousy, rejection, anxiety, pride, depression, and so on. When we believe in and accept God’s awesome gifts of unconditional love, grace, and His friendship, we allow His new life within us to spring forth. New life will replace the dead and dying. But this won’t happen on its own. You must be willing to make changes, get out of your comfort zone, and fully accept the gifts you’ve been give from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unless you unwrap your gift, you will never know what lies within the neatly wrapped box. Bless others and be blessed. 

#Bonray – Inside Out

😎🐫🎤 Last Friday afternoon I met a friend for a walk at Charleston Falls. After she left, I wanted to walk some more and talk with God as I usually do when I’m by myself. I was telling Him “I like to bring friends here to walk, because I know that You are always here.  I can feel your presence.”  As I finished speaking those words, I saw a small buck about 250 yards away.  I stopped and we watched each other for a few minutes. I then notice a second, larger deer and they ran off together.  That was so cool!  God and I were having a good talk that day, so I decided to make another lap.  At one point I stopped at the creek to watch the fish swim and God said…”You’re not watching for snakes.”  I looked down and there were two little snakes about as big around as my pinky finger. They quickly slithered away. God knows how much I dislike snakes. Thank you Lord for watching out for me!  To be honest, I was so enjoying my time with God, I had to force myself to come home.

In our journey of life, we are presented with many wants and needs that fill our days. We may say that sharing time with God is a want, but in reality, it is a need. We were made to be in relationship with God. When we don’t fill that need, our life has a HUGE void. Spoiler alert, only God can fill that void. You may find temporary pleasure, but that void will still be there.  I can’t express to you how important it is to talk with God and interact with Him. He only wants the best for you. Talk with your Friend and share time with Him. You’ll have some great conversations, share some laughs, and He’ll even warn you when you’re stepping into an uncomfortable situation. Just like He did for me with the snakes. Don’t wait for tomorrow, start filling that need now. Bless others and be blessed. 

#MercyMe – Here with Me

😎🐫🎤 Have you ever noticed that when God wants to make a point in your journey, you’re walk with Him, that He will expose you to multiple situations in a short period of time to make sure you don’t miss the point?  This past week God presented me with both personal and work related events that actually hit on a couple points simultaneously.  It can be a real challenge to get out of our comfort zone, meet new people, and speak in a public setting. 

God placed me in three of these situations that exposed a real lack of confidence in myself and a big fault I have of not always praying before I act.  Thankfully He spoke with me before each event and showed me that confidence in myself was not what I truly desired or needed. It was the confidence in my relationship with the Lord that moved me forward, knowing that He only desires good for me, not evil.  Far too often we place our confidence in ourselves and never even approach the Lord before we act. I’m thankful He gently guided me through the events of this past week. God will always point us in the right direction, if we just take the time to listen and act upon His words.  

Bless others and be blessed. 

#SanctusReal – Confidence

😎🐫🎤 As I was walking on Sunday, I was reminded of a poster my oldest sister had hanging in her room during our high school years. It was a picture of Snoopy (my favorite cartoon character) with shorts and a sweatband, jogging in the distance. The quote read “The secret of life is looking good from a distance.”  Think about that for a moment.  It’s easy to make yourself look good from a distance. When we choose to keep people and relationships at arm’s length, we prevent them from seeing the not so pretty side of us, the mood swing highs and lows, the scars from our past, our insecurities. If you ask me, it takes courage to get out from behind the phone and social media and have real one on one relationships.  Although letting your guard down can be a very scary thing, that makes you second guess yourself, it can also bring you great peace and calm knowing that you don’t have to hide the real you.  Just as God pursues an open, honest, loving relationship with us, be open to pursuing deep rooted relationships, which open doors for blessings God has waiting for you.  These relationships shouldn’t be left to chance, so pray for God’s guidance, wisdom, and blessing upon your relationships.  If you travel this life with just a hand full of true friends, you will be blessed beyond measure. Bless others and be blessed. 

#RendCollective – Counting Every Blessing

8/15/18

😎🐫🎤 Over the past few months I’ve experienced a shift.  God has been opening doors to bringing people into my life and it feels as though He’s preparing me for a season of growth.  I started asking Him a month ago what He’s planning. Why is He building up this community of believers in my life?  But I haven’t heard His response yet. Which tells, me that all the pieces aren’t in place yet and obviously I’m not ready to hear what He has planned. So, although I’m not hearing the answers to the questions I’m asking, I’m still listening for His guiding words and how these new relationships are going to play out. Where should I follow?  How should I lead?  I’m excited, but at the same time quietly curious, and even more so, confident that God’s plan is a mighty one.  No matter what season of life you’re in, be open to the Lord’s words and where He will lead you. He will never fail you. I want to have a little fun with the song this morning, so I hope you enjoy this movie throwback as much as I do. Bless others and be blessed. 

#LadySoul – If My Sister’s in Trouble

😎🐫🎤 Friday God hit me with a one, two punch. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s how I got that bruise on my leg. Anyway, back to God.  Friday, I had a routine procedure done and they slapped me with an “all access” wrist band, as I called it. Brian was with me and after we got home, I slept for four hours.  At one point, Brian opened the front door to check the mail and found a bouquet of garden flowers tied and set on our screen door. What a joyful feeling to receive them, but who were they from and why?  About an hour later I was sitting on the front porch swing reading and our neighbor, who pretty much has kept to herself since they moved in about five months ago, said “My kids saw you come home from the hospital and wanted to give you those flowers.”  I was so humbled and again filled with joy. God’s agape love was the first punch. It didn’t take long before that second punch landed…guilt and pride. You see, our neighbor family is a single mom of five children, with multiple guys floating in and out. I’ve been praying for them, but I have to humbly admit that part of me thought I was better than them. It sucks to admit that. Here I was thinking that I need to minister to them, but instead they and God totally turned the tables and ministered to me. God taught me a lesson in a very valuable and cool way. Bless others and be blessed. 

#MercyMe – In the Blink of an Eye

😎🐫🎤 Journey or Destination. Multiple events and conversations with friends this past week have offered me the opportunity to reflect upon my journey.   Moments that were struggles in the midst of themselves, but at the same time filled with God’s grace and loving presence. In those moments we can choose to run and leave them behind (leave the past in the past) or learn, grow, and store those moments in a treasure box for God to bring forth in other’s moments of need. It’s been an eye-opening week as God told me, okay Shell, go get this out of the box. Now got get that other one. I don’t think anyone really wants to dig into their past failures. Seriously, who wants to relive those moments. But your journey, your story is how God calls you to be His presence in the world. Okay, it’s not just your story, but the story of how God was with you every step of the way, and even carried you when you were no longer able to take the next step on your own.  If we are too focused on our destination, we miss the journey.  If all the disciples were focused on was the resurrection, they would have missed the walks with Christ, the parables, the healing, the miracles, the meal.  These are all things that they experienced as they journeyed with Christ, that they wouldn’t have, if they were just focused on the destination. Instead, Christ gave them a treasure box filled with experiences that He knew they would share with others, so that others could also experience Christ.  Which is how we came to learn about and know Christ.  Your journey will be a path that will lead others to Christ. And that’s a journey worth getting excited about.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#GeorgeStrait – The Road Less Traveled

😎🐫🎤 When you willingly open yourself to God’s will, it’s like putting a big bullseye target on your chest. When you accept and move in God’s will, Satan will attack you from all direction. Physically, emotionally, words spoken from a friend. He will attack your car, your home, your work, your relationships. But this past weekend, the depths of my understanding, trust, and belief in prayer was taken to a new level.  For 72 hours, 21 pilgrims and 29 team members of the Women’s Walk to Emmaus were drenched in prayer. The lives that were changed, leaves me in awe of God’s mercy, grace, and love for me and you. Saying yes to God’s will is beyond measure compared to the wreckage Satan will throw at you.  Thank You Lord for opening my eyes a little wider to your will. You have blessed me beyond measure, so that I may also bless others in your name.  Amen!

#LincolnBrewster – God You Reign

😎🐫🎤 Last Friday as I was driving home from work, I watched two smaller birds chasing after and attacking a hawk. I love how God uses nature to reinforce the messages in scripture. As I watch the commotion in the sky it made me think about Matthew 18: 19-20.  “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you asked for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” And then my mind journeyed to Mark 6:7 “Calling the Twelve to Him, He sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.”  If the birds of the sky can join forces to defeat larger, seemingly more powerful creatures, so too can we. There is great strength and power, His strength and power, when we agree, pray, and work together for the glory of His Kingdom. We are not made to journey this life alone. We have been created to be in relationship with Him and each other.  So often when troubles hit, we tend to run off and isolate ourselves. And when we do Satan knows that he has us right where he wants us, when we are at our weakest.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#TenthAvenueNorth – No Man is an Island