😎🐫🎤 I have to say, it’s been a pretty cool week with the Lord. Two mornings, back to back, the Lord woke me with His guiding words on my heart and in my head. I can’t think of any better way to be woken up. He literally started my days with a smile.  Along with these words came a mighty big challenge to do something I haven’t done before and I have a couple months to prepare. I know He gave me this challenge because He wants to grow me and draw me closer to Him. I’ve been telling myself that if I stay focused on all that He gives me, I will succeed. But I have to admit, Satan is working on me, trying to get me to take the easy way out. Lord, help my disbelief that I may trust fully in Your will. Any prayers you are willing to offer up for this challenge, I would greatly appreciate them. 

Bless others and be blessed. 

#Unspoken – Tomorrow

😎🐫🎤 I know most people quit thinking about Easter weeks ago, but that God guy, He’s pretty smart. He has an AWESOME grand finale planned to close out the Easter season this weekend with the celebration of Pentecost.  I really am in awe of what an incredible gift, presence that Jesus offered us in the Holy Spirit.  My life would be unbearably lonely without the Big HS.  We talk quite often, and no, they aren’t one sided. We can carry on a conversation just as if I were talking with you.  But He has taught that it is much more important to listen than talk, which I’ve tried to bring to the conversations I have with others. He is my source of comfort, peace, calm, and patience.  In a world of instant gratification, He will always be worth the wait. Open your arms wide, raise your eyes to heaven, and as you listen to this song, ask the Lord to allow His Holy Spirit to flood your soul and encompass you mind and body. Pray that you never let Him leave your presence, that you feel His fiery presence burning in you. Don’t be afraid of it.  Cherish and embrace every moment you share with Him. Bless others and be blessed. 

#FrancescaBattistelli – Holy Spirit

😎🐫🎤 This past week I found myself in the midst of one of those pit in your stomach, sinking feeling moments. You know, one that you have no control over and you just have to sit back and watch how it will all play out.  Before I realized it, I found myself telling God how I felt and asked Him if He would take this situation, although it didn’t look good right now, and use it for His glory in the future.  I thought to myself, that’s a prayer I don’t ever remember praying before.  God responded…”That’s right. It’s just another way you’re growing and drawing closer to Me.”  I don’t use this word very often in my everyday language, but I LOVE having these conversations with God. I know my life would feel and has felt very lonely in the past when we weren’t having them. Bless others and be blessed. 

#Needtobreathe – Multiplied

😎🐫🎤 The seasons of life are interesting to watch develop.  A new season of my life was revealed to me this past weekend.  I’m sure some of you will think, what took you so long? Well, all I can say is, sometimes I’m just not the sharpest crayon in the box, but I do try to be one of the brighter colors…preferably yellow.  Up until I was in my mid 20’s, I never really thought about my death. But then it seemed like overnight I suddenly had a fear of death. I had three very young daughters at that point in my life. Then in my mid 30’s things shifted and you may have heard me say…”Take me now, I’m ready to go.”  As the song goes…”All I know is I’m not home yet. This is not where I belong.  Take this world and give me Jesus.”  I was just ready to go.  What God revealed to me and gave me a whole lot of comfort and excitement about this weekend was, I’ve spent 50 years of making mistakes, growing, learning, laughing, loving, and crying, both sad and happy tears. (My name is Shelly and yes, I’m a big crier.)  And this is the time of my life that He has spent 50 years preparing me for. I (for the most part) am very comfortable with and confident about myself and who I am in God’s eyes and He’s put me here for a purpose. He’s allowed me to walk through my trials in life, based on MY choices, so that I will be better prepare to share Him and all He’s done for me. He allows others into our lives that have been where we were, so that we can pass along the wisdom He has granted us. God is telling me…”Shell now is a season to share.”  This has got me excited to see what, who He brings into my life. I know I will never stop learning and growing, but I’m grateful for this new outlook on life. Bless others and be blessed. 

#JasonGray – Good to Be Alive

😎🐫🎤 God has shared with me a few times this week how I’ve spent moment/seasons of my life constantly focused on the next good thing. The next big sale that I wanted to make happen. You know, we never daydream or wish for the next challenge, but in Ecclesiastes 3 Solomon shares with us that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”.  When I left a career in sales 8 months ago, I was able to pull part of my life back into the here and now.  It’s very interesting to me how we allow ourselves to get so wrapped up I the “next” that we are blind to the “now”. What have you been missing and what have you missed sharing with others?  A look, a smile, a touch, a word, our Lord?  Don’t just get by, sliding through life. God created us to be in a relationship with Him and each other. Get engaged, pay attention, interact, react, live in the moment that God has made especially for you. Life isn’t always greener, but with God life is greater.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#TraceAdkins – You’re Gonna Miss This

😎🐫🎤 Saturday I had a soft fried egg sandwich and popcorn for lunch. When I got up to take my plate to the kitchen, I noticed a piece of popcorn on the floor. I reached down to pick it up, but it was cold and squishy!  I thought…What the heck! It was a piece of egg. This got me to thinking how our eyes can be so deceiving. But it’s not just our eyes. Our heart, mind, and even other people’s options can deceive us and cause us to turn from the truth. Especially in these moments of deceit and questioning we need to keep our focus on the one true light, the source of all truth, Jesus Christ. He won’t deceive. He won’t lie. He won’t even sugarcoat it. He is the truth and He wants to bless you with the truth. Even if it hurts a little, open your eyes, your heart, your mind to Christ’s truth and allow His blessings to pour into you. What little pain you may feel from God molding and shaping you is just a drop in the ocean compared to the trail of pain, lies, and deceit that Satan will drag you through…if you let him. 

Bless others and be blessed. 

#Unspoken – Soldier

😎🐫🎤 I’m not one that expects things from others and it’s not often that I will ask for help, support, or prayers for myself. Which is why I think it kind of catches me a little off guard and humbles me so much when these things happen without being asked for. They aren’t big monumental events, but simple, heartfelt, loving acts that the other person probably doesn’t even realize the depths they’ve reached. It’s in these simple moments that I feel God’s overwhelming love so strongly. A prayer I’ve been praying a lot lately is to feel, know, and acknowledge God’s presence. We all feel God’s presence in our lives. And quite often we know it’s His presence. But where I personally drop the ball is in the follow through of not always acknowledging His presence in the moment.  You know how it is to have your friend by your side, even if you aren’t saying a word, just to feel the comfort of their presence. I don’t want to live without God’s presence in my life. And I don’t want those that I love to live without His presence in their lives. God has given me a story, one that is solely unique to me. His presence is woven in every moment of our story, which is why He asks us to share our/His story, both the good and the ugly.  It’s hard to do, but pray that you no longer hide or deny the story God has given you. Acknowledge it and Him within it. It’s when we take our eyes off of ourselves that we are open to see and love Him.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#CastingCrowns – Loving My Jesus

😎🐫🎤 As the famous line from the movie A Few Good Men goes, “You can’t handle the truth!”  We are smack in the middle of Holy Week, which means we heard The Passion according to Mark last Sunday and we’ll read The Passion according to John on Good Friday.  There is one line in the reading of The Passion that stops me in my tracks, tears fill my eyes, my throat gets tight, and I can’t speak the words…”Crucify him, crucify him!” 

But every time I sin, that is exactly what I do. I crucify Him.  I put Him on that cross.  This is a truth that is hard to swallow.  And it’s a truth I need to remind myself of often.  Before I dare to speak ill of someone, I should just yell out “Crucify him, crucify him!”  Or maybe when I’m having a bad day and want to take it out on someone, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Or when I want to place undue blame on someone else, “Crucify him, crucify him!”  When I ignore someone that God has placed along my path or when I say, “God, I don’t have time for you.”  I might as well be saying “Crucify him, crucify him!”  I bet if I shouted that out first, I probably won’t say or do what I was going to, which could stop one more swing of the hammer, one more lash of the whip, one more thorn piercing his head. He died for our sins, but we don’t need to keep adding to those numbers.  Bless others and be blessed.

😎🐫🎤 Satan…how do you deal with him?  Sometimes it’s real obvious when he’s digging at us. Other times, he likes to just play games, like ringing a door bell then running away. That constant annoyance. Then there are those times that we can’t even see its him. We get so lost in saying…so and so did this and so and so did that. We totally lose sight of who’s really behind it all. Recognizing Satan in our lives is an important thing, but we can’t just stop there. How do you deal with him?  Do you try to hide, act like you’re dodging a bullet, or do you have the guts to face him head on?  How many times do we prolong the agony of dealing with Satan and his lies because we’re trying to avoid him? Don’t invite him into your life, but when he barges in without your permission, you have the One sure fire way to get him gone. Do you have the gut to face him head on?  You have the Triple Crown, Three in One, God Almighty!  What’s stopping you? Shout it out…RUN DEVIL RUN!  When you come knocking on my door, you’re going to wish you hadn’t.  In the name of JESUS CHRIST, be gone Satan!  Bless others and be blessed. 

#DavidCrowder – Run Devil Run

😎🐫🎤 Back in 2016 I was overjoyed with three great pieces of life changing news. Crystal and John were expecting their second child and Chessa was born in April 2017. Lori and Cody were engaged and married in Oct 2017. And Diana and Sam were engaged and married this past weekend.  All three were great moments, but I knew I would be seriously challenged because at both weddings I would have to face their dad, who I divorced almost 18 years ago. I knew I had a lot of praying to do about this. I even took a class about forgiveness at a local church back in Sept 2016 to help prepare myself.  After the forgiveness class and a year of praying, I felt pretty good about how things went and how I felt at Lori’s wedding. He and I even sat at the same table. Okay, not so bad, I thought. I survived and put that behind me…well, so I thought. It really knocked me down a notch when I found myself struggling when I was around him this past Friday and Saturday.  I didn’t want to see him, hear his voice, and it especially annoyed me when he said my name. I found myself just wanting to go off on him. He didn’t do anything wrong in those moments, so why was I feeling this way. It made me really mad at myself. Why was it so different this time?  Trying to figure out the source of my frustration, I realized that I’d stopped praying and forgiving.  Which made me frustrated for a different reason. I started relying on myself and stopped giving it to God. And then God told me…Forgive 70 x 7 times. I was so incredibly humbled and finally, truly understood what Matthew was saying in that passage.  I don’t like feeling angry like I did this weekend and I know I have a lot more praying and forgiveness that I need to be working on. 

There is a line in today’s song that goes “When You pull me closer, I come to life.”  But I really think it should say “When I pull You closer, I come to life.”  God is always there reaching out for us. We need to quite trying to do life on our own and pull Him into the center of our world. He taught me a very valuable lesson this weekend. Bless others and be blessed. 

#TobyMac – I Just Need U