Just a Small Simple Soul. . .In the Hands of a Loving, Limitless God.
-
Grace Upon Grace
“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). I failed this week. I failed in my job. I failed in my relationships. I failed in my faith. Anyone else? Does anyone else need the reminder today that failure may be part of our story, but it is not our identity?…
-
Carried by God
“I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4; CSB). When the path feels heavy and your steps grow weary, remember this: The God who created the universe…
-
The Reason We Run
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). This week my gifts felt more like burdens I needed to squeeze into a hectic life and less like opportunities to walk next to God. It made my feet feel heavy and…
-
Liabilities? … Or Gifts in Disguise?
“God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful” (1 Corinthians 1:27, Good News Translation). Too sensitive. Too quiet. Too caught up in your imagination. The world loves to take who we are and say it…
-
In Your House and Beyond Your Gates
“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:9). Sometimes we wonder … my life is a normal life, simple and unremarkable, so where can I serve God? In our homes. To friends and guests when we meet them where they are and provide a safe haven to…
-
Guide My Mind; Guide My Hands
“You shall bind them [God’s words] as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:8). Our hands symbolize our actions, all we do. Our forehead or “between [our] eyes” represents our minds, all we think. And God’s Word is to be our guide for both. So when…
-
Every Mundane Act, Every Messy Moment
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). There was nothing remarkable about walking down…
-
I am NOT enough.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). No. We are not enough. Only God is. And therein lies great freedom for our souls. Until next time, Shelby
-
It’s Time to Take Our Gifts Off the Shelf.
“From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part” (Ephesians 4:16). Years ago my husband gave me a gift— a set of two tea mugs, complete with little tea baskets for steeping the…
-
Small, Simple … Sweet.
“And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so” (Genesis 1:11, emphasis added). Our God is a God of both order and creativity. Right from the beginning, He created plants for…