Blessings in Strange Places

I'm finding blessings in the strangest of places. With my eyes focused on my Savior, what could burden instead fills my heart with gratitude. I'm learning that "in quietness and trust is my strength." And my safe place is called surrender.

In trust, I can be thankful for His plans even when mine don't succeed.

In quietness, I can hear Him whisper truth to my soul.

And in surrender and rest, I find peace within... no matter the circumstances that surround me.

Today I am thankful:

• He loves me anyway. In my moments of doubt, fear, mistrust, and wandering, He loves me still. He doesn't give up on me in my weakness, but reassures me and woos me back with His unconditional, extravagant, indescribable love.
• He allows the hard places. It's in these places I dig deeper and discover more of Him. It's here my heart grows and my soul embraces. It's here, in this place of deepest need I catch a glimpse of my Father's heart and find refuge.
• His peace is real. I can know peace while laying on a doctor's table waiting on a biopsy. I can know peace even when I don't have all the answers. I can know peace when the world is chaotic. Though our hearts ache, the peace He promises is real. It doesn't make sense and I can't touch it with my fingers but my faith confirms its existence.
• His Word is true. The lies of the enemy that pound my ears daily threaten to leave me hopeless, afraid, and insecure, but when I turn my eyes to Jesus I find truth and freedom.
• He gives and He takes away. The end of one season is often hard and we don't always understand our leaving or His taking but waiting on the other side is another part of our story. And just as we have left one thing, another finds us.

So I ponder these places I wouldn't normally call blessings, and I find Him there. I feel His refining and I know His provision. I marvel at His love and am humbled in His presence. I breathe deeply in surrender, laying it all at His feet, and rest, peace, and strength are mine.

************
Joining with Melissa Taylor and a community of women as we seek God and His word in our current Online Bible Study: Stressed - Less Living by Tracie Miles.

When I Don't Want to Pray Anymore

Setting this post up like our church service: Announcements first. :)

• I normally write for the Beauty & Fashion column for Blissfully Domestic, but this month I had the privilege of also writing for the Faith column. Would looooove for you to visit me there. :)
• There are only 2 DAYS LEFT to sign up for the Ornament Exchange! I'm so excited...it's going to be fun, fun, fun! Have you signed up yet? Click here for all the itty bitty teeny weeny details.
• I am giddy about Christmas, as usual. It is my very favorite holiday. In the spirit thereof, I have been doodling on everything in my sight with green & red acrylic paints - old ornaments, Styrofoam cups, empty paper towel rolls (yes, really), and even my paint palette (aka...Styrofoam plate).

(These are cell phone pics so not great quality, but you can see now that I was telling the truth. I am a writer & a doodler.)

Now on to more serious things (not that I don't take my doodling serious).

What do you do when God is silent on a matter? When prayers go unanswered and mountains don't budge? When you say all the right things and pray all the right prayers and it doesn't seem to make a difference?

How do you keep praying and believing and standing and Keep. On. Keeping. On?

How do I?

With thundering voices shouting in opposition and hard circumstances contradicting your prayers and challenging your faith and demanding that you just give up, how then?

When strength is gone and you're tired and you don't want to pray anymore?

And what happens if I never receive the answer I want? Do I trust Him enough to allow Him to determine the outcome?

Do you think God has previous knowledge of the probability of our getting tired some on this journey of ours?

Of course He does.

He knows that our strength in itself isn't enough.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" Galatians 6:9.

So in times when I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall without breakthrough and tempted to throw in the towel, I remind myself that even when I am depleted He is more than enough.

"He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me..." Psalm 50:23.

And I give thanks. Because gratitude and thanksgiving take the focus off me and recognizes that God is here.

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not grow weary, They shall walk and not faint" Isaiah 40:30-31.

And I trust that in my waiting, He is renewing my strength.

Keep on keeping on, sister. Remain in a place of gratitude and allow Your Father to renew your strength today. In your waiting, find assurance in His promises by meditating on scriptures that build your faith and remind you of His goodness. Soak in His presence and fill up once again so that you can continue pouring out into the lives of those around you.

He is more than enough.

Linking up today for the first time with three new communities: Good Morning Girls for Women in the Word Wednesdays, Tracy for Winsome Wednesday,  and Internet Cafe Devotions for Word Filled Wednesday (I realize my post is publishing on Thursday so I'm technically a day behind...story of my life Lol).

More Than Just a Day to Say Thank You

As the holiday approaches, I stop to contemplate thanks-giving. The subject of our celebration—gratefulness. The purpose of our gathering—the giving of thanks.

What is it that deserves this response of praise? This recognition of honor? What commands my thoughts as I meditate on this giving?

How can I choose when I have been given so much?

Yet to respond with a generic “everything” seems in itself dishonoring and inappropriate, ungrateful even.

To be truly thankful for all I’ve been given requires more than just a day of remembering.

It demands a life of acknowledging.

A life of choosing to see all that I’ve been given and responding to the One Who’s given.

More than just a day to say thank you.

A life of applauding instead of complaining, contentment instead of whining, appreciation instead of criticism.

A life thank-full.

Thank you, God, for life. For seven years cancer free and waking up in the morning to celebrate another day. For air to breathe, for food to eat, for eyes that see, and ears that hear.

Thank You, God, for family. For a husband choosing to walk this imperfect journey with me, growing and learning and loving together. For children who, like us, are not perfect but are ours and healthy and beautiful and Yours. For belly laughs and group hugs and family movie nights. For parents who love You and share wisdom and value marriage.

Thank You, God, for extended family and friends and acquaintances and friends who've become family and people who choose to smile in passing and offer love on the days I need it most.

Thank You, God, for the hard times I would have never chosen for myself and never want to go through again. Times that caused me to question and ponder and take a closer look and drink more deeply.

Thank You, Jesus, for the price you paid that I might be free and whole and healed and forgiven.

Thank You, God, for the Holy Spirit, Who empowers me to live this life and walk this journey and stay the course.

Thank You, God, for allowing me to choose and make mistakes and fall down and get back up and learn and find my way to You.

Thank You for choosing me.

Thank You for faith.

And love.

And mercy.

And grace.

And hope.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 1 Chronicles 16:34


“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalms 34:1


“…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

And thank You, God, for pecan pie.


Happy Thanksgiving, friends! :)

What is This Gift if I Refuse to Give?

Ann Voskamp spoke these words in our meeting last Saturday night and I am forever changed:

"Not only do we open our hands to receive the gift, not only do we become gifted because of the gift, our very lives become our gift back to the Giver."

This is living. This is ministry. This is worship. This is loving.

We were challenged at the end of the service to write down things that were holding us back, things keeping us from courageously giving our lives as a gift, from living open handed. Laying down my paper at the base of the tall, wooden cross on the edge of the stage, by faith I released the fear of failure, the fear of man and surrendered to His will.

It is not about what we can do that might impress someone or make our name great. It is letting our lives become a beacon flashing and pointing to His name which is great and greatly to be praised. It is about sharing and loving and helping and healing and gathering and encouraging and telling. It is about Him and what He has already done.

Simple yet one of the most difficult things...prying our hands open to receive His gifts and leaving them open so they are given back. Living transparent and exposed, trusting, hoping, waiting.

We have been given gifts. Take a moment to see what you've been given...that which has been put into your hands.

Let us be bold in our sharing, selfless in our living... open handed.

"The gospel is not about what we grasp, but about what we've been given......We (our lives) are to be a trailer (think book or movie trailer), a foretaste of the Kingdom of God..." Ann Voskamp.

Today I am linking with Jen for Soli deo Gloria, Michelle for Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday and counting my gifts with Ann V.

Thankful for...

8. refreshing moments of quiet

9. falling stars under an open sky at midnight with girlfriends

10. a husband who never complains about working to provide for our family

11. Kindle (for Android) book downloads on sale for $2.99

12. deep breaths inhaled, exhaled

13. birds singing early, reminding me to praise

14. eyes that see His majesty and a heart that feels

15. our house that's too small because it's full

16. unexpected visits at a roadside gas station

17. feeling my child's heartbeat when he hugs me just because

18. opportunities on airplanes that allow my gifts to become my gift back to the Giver

I Am Thankful

Soft white lights, dancing to an unknown rhythm, casting shadows across the walls of my living room.  My Christmas tree stands proud, up a week early, spreading excitement and the want to give.  Decorated not with the shiny new ornaments bought just last year, but instead with glittery paper candy canes, broken pine cones, Christmas tree cutouts, construction paper crafts, half painted wooden stars, all with the names of my children scribbled on the back. 

You see, while searching for my shiny new ornaments (to make my tree picture perfect), my five year old found a bag of these keepsakes, exclaiming "I made that!" and "Look what I did!" and "Mom!  Remember that?" 

I found myself discouraging him from hanging them on the tree.  "Wait, let's find the new ones."  You know, so our tree could look like the one on the cover of the magazine that came in the mail this week.  "Wait, those are broken."  "Wait, those are too close together, hang them like this....."

And then I stopped.

I started handing him the ornaments from the bag that had been stored away in the bottom of our Christmas box.  And I watched as our tree became filled once again with memories of years gone by.  Picture perfect?  Probably not.  But perfect.  A beautiful, perfect mess.  And now, a day later, as I sit staring at our tree, my heart is full.

I am thankful for memories that never fade, and simple reminders like broken pine cones hanging from pieces of yarn.

I am thankful for empty stockings hung, my children's names embroidered across the top, soon to be filled with favorite candy, fuzzy socks and little surprises.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Family gathered.  A feast prepared.  A time to remember why we are thankful, and give thanks....to the One from Whom all good gifts come.

I am thankful for laundry to fold and dishes to wash.  For toys out of place and socks on the floor.  For a house that's too small, because it's full.

I am thankful for a God Who loves me unconditionally.  Even when I mess up.  Because I do.

For a Savior Who died on the cross for me.  And forgives.

I am thankful for friends who have come and gone at just the right times.  And for those who've stayed.

I am thankful for my family.  All of them.  They are mine.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who read my blog.  To those I know, and those I don't.  I am thankful for you. 

hugs,

Shelly

Crowned Greatest Mother! :)

Sorry ladies.  I'm the greatest mom. 

Logan said so, and he's one smart 5 year old.  ;)

What on earth did I do to deserve this noble award, you might ask?

I simply made pancakes for breakfast and provided some warm comfy jogging pants for him to wear on this cold, rainy morning.   

Not every morning can be this storybook perfect, though.

Some mornings, it seems that no matter what I do, I cannot please him.  Getting up at 5:30 a.m. is not always easy for a 5 year old (or a thirty-something year old!!).  On mornings like these I quickly find that I am in desperate need of an extra shot of grace with my coffee and a side of patience with my breakfast.

Why is it that even though I make breakfast every morning and have never sent him to school naked, my similar efforts are met with such different attitudes on any given morning?

This morning I was praised to the highest degree...crowned world's greatest mother and clothed in gratitude and appreciation! 

Other times, not so much.

Sometimes my efforts, provision and love go unnoticed.  There is no appreciation, no thanksgiving and definitely no crown to be found.  Instead, I am met with all the reasons why he doesn't want to go to school, whining and complaining about how early it is and sometimes I even get a little feet stomping with arms crossed and lips pouting! ;)

I guess he sometimes forgets that I am the greatest mother.

How often do we - like our children with us - take for granted that God is going to provide for us and meet our every need?  Or forgive us?  Or heal us? 

Do we just expect that His mercy is new every morning and think it's no big deal?

Has He become "common" and familiar to us?

Have we replaced praise, thanksgiving and gratitude with grumbling, complaining and whining?

Let us get up tomorrow with praise on our lips and thanksgiving in our heart for the One who is truly the greatest!  Let us recognize His goodness and mercy in our life and remember that it really is a big deal. :)

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name, For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:4-5 

**To read more posts on Gratitude and Thanksgiving, be sure to visit Rachel's Olsen's Devotional Carnival!**

Today I Celebrate

Tonight the house is quiet except for the last load of laundry tumbling in the dryer.  My thoughts wander and then stop at a window of time from six years ago.

Six years ago this month I was in my last trimester of my pregnancy with my youngest, Logan, who was to be born December 13.  It was also this month six years ago that I had surgery to remove melanoma from my right shoulder.  And on this very day, six years ago I was at my sister's wedding. (Happy Anniversary, sis.)

I remember sitting on a porch swing at the resort where the wedding was to be held.  I could feel God holding me.  Praise music and earphones to my ears and also on my belly, my unborn baby and I praised Him together that all would be well. 

My unborn baby... who was a complete surprise and not in our plans.  

But God's plans are so much greater than ours.

I remember the doctor saying that because of the pregnancy hormones in my body, the spot on my shoulder changed more rapidly and the cancer grew more aggressively,making it easier to recognize that something was wrong, prompting the removal and biopsy.  In a sense, me being pregnant saved me.  I'm so glad His plans are greater than mine.

And I knew God had a special plan for Logan.

For many months of my pregnancy, Logan - while still in my womb - praised God with me.  Morning after morning we would pray, praise and listen together.  I remember after he was born how the same praise music would soothe him, because he remembered and was comforted in God's presence.

He still worships today and will declare to anyone who is interested that he is a worshipper.  I watch him dance and wave flags on Sunday mornings, declaring that Jesus is Lord.  I listen as he prays and talks to God as a close friend.  He is five.

This week we were at my moms and he walked on the porch with his left arm hanging limp and peering down as if looking at something.  My mom asked what he was doing and he said "God is holding my hand." 

I believe He was.

Just as He held me on the porch swing six years ago, and many times since then.  He now holds my child.

Oh God, Let me not forgot.  Let me not get too busy.

How many times during the day is God wanting to hold our hand but we are in too big of a hurry to notice?

Oh, that we could be as children.  That we could walk and know that God is holding our hand...That He is with us.

It is His presence that sustains me.

On this day, though my life is far from perfect, I have so much to be thankful for.  I pray that my heart remains sensitive and that I remain pliable in His hands.  That I might be molded for His plans and purposes that are so much greater than mine.

Today I celebrate.

I celebrate life and second chances.

I celebrate my children and God's plans and purposes.

I celebrate my family and friends.

And I celebrate my God, my Savior, my Healer, my Redeemer, my Deliverer.

King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Worthy to be praised.

A Holy God who loves me...and you.

Won't you celebrate Him with me today?