Salut! (Hi!) I’m Shirley
I am so glad that you are here. Grab your favorite hot beverage, settle into a cozy chair and stay awhile!
When My Heart Breaks, Where Is God And What Is His Plan?
Recently I suffered a loss. As I look around at my circle of friends, I’m not alone. Some ...
How Can I Be Frustrated With A Good God?
“Ugg! Why does everything have to be so hard?” With an exasperated sigh, I pounded the steering wheel. ...
How Can We Face Our Problems Without Losing Heart?
Life is difficult. So reads the opening line of The Road Less Traveled, a book by M. Scott ...
How Did Jesus Feel About Extravagant Gifts?
Today my husband gave me an extravagant gift. He did it in love, because I’ve recently received some ...
When It’s Hard To Extend Ourselves Grace For Our Own Limitations
Sighing, I closed the email as I tried to identify my feelings. Disappointed? Discouraged? Defeated? Definitely deflated. Just ...
Why We Need To Anticipate The Joy Of Heaven
Recently my husband and I booked a cruise to celebrate our thirtieth wedding anniversary. Can there be anything ...
How A New Testament Mystery Can Shine A Light In Today’s Dark World
For as long as I can remember, I have loved to read. Mysteries remain my top choice for ...
Why Is Jesus Called The Bread Of Life?
For a brief period of time I lived above a boulangerie (bakery) in Paris. Each morning my roommates ...
How We Can Avoid The Frustration Of Comparing Ourselves To Everyone Else
“I don’t understand why it has to be so hard.” Tears filled my coworker’s eyes as she poured ...
Making Opportunities To Do Good In An Increasingly Dark World
Wrinkling my nose at the foul odor, I pulled my sweater from the washing machine. Two days before ...
How Can They Be Joyful In The Midst Of Their Suffering?
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to the young Ukrainian child singing “Let It Go” in her ...
When I Need To Remember The Lord Is Faithful, Powerful, And Sovereign
Years ago a teacher advised me to “tie a string around my finger” to help me remember something. ...
How Can Christians Manage Our Fear Over World Events
As I turned on the TV, I hoped for better news. But sadly the situation in the Ukraine ...
When I Find It Hard To Freely Accept Grace And Forgiveness
Crunch! What did I hit?!? With my heart beating wildly in my chest, I opened my door and ...
How God’s Powerful Word Creates And Sustains Our Life And Faith
Words are powerful. I often repeated this mantra throughout my career as an elementary school teacher. In our ...
Three Keys For Maintaining Harmony Even In The Midst of Conflict
Cringing, I listened as my nephew rehashed the time I lost my cool at my father’s funeral. Although ...
How We Can Support Each Other In Our Moments Of Difficulty
The soft ding from my phone across the room interrupted my train of thought. Turning from my computer, ...
How Our Little Decisions Can Create Big Changes
I’m sorry, am I invisible? Although I didn’t give voice to my thoughts, I’m sure the incredulous look ...
How We Can Trust God When He Answers Our Prayers With “Wait”
Pulling into the parking space, my red-rimmed eyes immediately latched onto the bumper sticker: Proverbs 3:4-5. Although I ...
Ushering In The New Year With The Wisdom Of Prudence
Haste makes waste. How many of us have heard this phrase? It describes the natural consequences we suffer ...
How To Make Our Days Count While We Wait For Jesus To Come Back
“I’m glad we took that trip to the Redwoods.” As my son-in-law looked around the table, we all ...
Unconditional Love Is Born On Christmas Day
“I’m not going to be your friend!” In my years as an elementary teacher, I often heard this ...
How The Joy Of The Lord Can Be Our Strength
The joy of the Lord is your strength. We see this phrase on cute trinkets, plaques, or Pinterest ...
How We Can Have A New Perspective On The State Of The World
Are we nearing the end of the world? It’s a fair question ~ and one I’ve frequently heard, ...
Anchoring Our Hope In The Loving Kindness Of Jesus
Will we ever return to normal? It’s a question we hear a lot lately. Personally, I’ve begun to ...
How Can I Show Love To Jesus This Holiday Season?
“Well, hello there!” Turning from the counter, I located the speaker. A solitary elderly man sat finishing his ...
How Our Lives Can Reflect An Overflow Of Blessings
Smiling at the passenger in the seat next to mine, I settled in with my belongings. Goodness! Air ...
Does God Care About The Little Things In My Life?
Making my way down the basement steps, I whispered a little arrow prayer: Please help me find his ...
How Can We Rebuild When Life’s Storms Leave Us Feeling Broken?
Early in the morning, the unrelenting pings from my phone begged for my attention. Sighing, I looked at ...
How You Can Forgive An Offense, Even When You Don’t Want To
As I made my way to the self-check register, I paused to examine a bag of popcorn. Turning ...
Seeking Our Extraordinary God In The Midst Of Our Ordinary Moments
Heaving a loud and frustrated sigh, I began another Google search for a helpful tutorial. Who knew learning ...
How Can I Win Against Temptation When It Catches Me Unaware?
Sighing, I bit my lip and turned my face toward the window. This always happens. Just when I ...
How We Can Live Faithfully In A Fallen World
Grinning in joyful expectation, I joined the crowd and began cheering for the Medieval Jousters. Full of good-natured ...
How We Can Choose Our Words To Help, Not Hurt
“Oh, No!” The collective roar from the passengers around me grabbed my attention. Pulling out my earphones, I ...
How To Make A Positive Difference In This World Today
According to a recent survey, eighty-six percent of people ages thirteen to thirty-eight want to be an influencer. ...
How To Find Help When Your Heart Is Heavy
With a heavy heart and a restless spirit, I found myself wondering...why? I couldn’t pinpoint the specific cause ...
How Doubts Can Help Us Grow In Our Faith
Lord, help me believe your promises. As I prayed these words, they cut me to the heart. Shouldn’t ...
Three Powerful Reasons We Rejoice In The Midst Of Suffering
No one likes to suffer. Or at least, we don’t want to suffer unnecessarily. We’ve all heard the ...
When Life Gets Hard, I Want Easy
I wish life came with its own remote control. So often in the past weeks and months, my ...
Is My Truth The Same As Yours?
Mesmerized by the stirring lyrics and musical rhythms, I remember sitting entranced as I watched the movie Jesus ...
Keeping On The Side Of Truth
I still remember laughing with my young students as we read The Emperor’s New Clothes. Entertaining and engaging, ...
Can We Judge Others With Love?
Out of habit I glanced at the church’s placard as I drove home: You don’t need to judge. ...
Where Is Your Treasure Buried?
Few of us can resist the lure of buried treasures. And if we thought they only existed in ...
The Importance Of Praying Without Giving Up
When I married my husband some twenty-nine years ago, I had only known him for ten months. Yep, ...
Grace Motivates Us to Do More From Love
“Hey! Number Thirty-two, over here! Over here! OVER HERE!” The young teenager sitting behind me in the stands ...
Doing The Little Things With Great Love
Recently I agreed to help a friend with an assignment for his theological studies. The idea for his ...
How Physical Training Can Help Us Flex Our Spiritual Muscles
Sputtering and gasping for air, I reached out to grab hold of the pool’s edge. When does muscle ...
Honoring God By How We Treat Others
Making my way to the cashier after a tiring day at an overcrowded amusement park, I noticed two ...
How You Can Ensure Your Success Through God-Centered Goals
Way before arriving at her place of business, I began to brace myself: It’s just one image. It ...
How To Save Your Memories and Create a Legacy
As we drove away from the house which had been our home for fifteen years, my heart whispered ...
How Contentment In Our Current Season Helps Us Escape the Trap of FOMO
Chuckling, I watched as my three-month old granddaughter fought her much-needed nap. Just as her eyes started to ...
Why We Need To Embrace God’s Word with the Humility of a Child
Recently a friend and I reminisced about children and the funny things they say. One memory continues to ...
How Can You Fight Off A Stinking-Bad Attitude?
Peering through the window, my heart dropped. Clouds hid the sun as the trees danced in the wind. ...
When I Trust Too-Good-To Be-True Promises
After spending a week cleaning and sprucing our house in preparation of its sale, we put it on ...
When One Suffers
“That looked like it hurt.” Unable to answer, I gripped the counter with both hands and whispered, “Oh ...
Wiping My Seasoned Slate Clean
With aching muscles, I sat back to critically assess my work. I’d spent the better part of the ...
Breaking Free From The Fear Of Death
“I actually think about heaven a lot.” After twenty-eight years of marriage, I thought I knew everything about ...
How To Gracefully Receive Gifts
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I still laugh. In The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis episode ...
Preparing For The Unexpected
Boxed in with hundreds of other travelers and trailer trucks, my husband and I remained stranded on an ...
Seeing Difficulties As Part Of The Plan
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not ...
When The “Should Haves” Accuse
With a sinking heart I watched as the amount owed multiplied before my eyes. How could this have ...
When The “Would Haves” Sting
If only… I understand why some people refer to these words as the saddest in the English language. ...
When The “Could Haves” Attack
Sobbing so hard she could hardly breathe, my daughter gasped out four words. The four words I heard ...
When I Find Myself Living In Limbo
Moving through my daily routine felt like swimming against a current. A restless night turned into an anxious ...
How To Change The World
What did you dream of becoming when you were a child? My answer may surprise you. I dreamed ...
When I Feel Powerless
“I didn’t realize they only accepted cash. I only have my debit card.” Turning around, I located the ...
Redefining Success
Focused. Hard-working. Conscientious. Determined. Results-oriented. These adjectives pepper my resumes and performance evaluations. They accurately describe my work ...
When I Need To Extend Grace To Myself
“You sure love to beat yourself up.” Sighing, I realized the truth of my friend’s words. After stepping ...
Enjoying Life During Uncertain Times
“I plan to keep living until the day I die.” I first heard these words of wisdom nearly ...
When the Post-Christmas Blues Attack
It still catches me by surprise. All the busy energy of the Christmas season comes to a sudden ...
Cherishing All The Gifts of Christmas
As I publish this post on Christmas Eve, my family will soon participate in one of our final ...
Remembering Immanuel, God With Us
Mystified, I looked at the package. I didn’t recognize the person in the return address. As I opened ...
An Unbeliever’s Perspective On Christmas
My good friend, Jennifer Elwood, recently published her first Bible study, Counting Up to Christmas, Twenty-four Gifts from ...
Making My Lists and Checking Them Twice
Last night I finally completed the list my family repeatedly asked for: what do I want for Christmas? ...
Why Giving Thanks Matters
Years ago I heard this story in a small Bible discussion group and it remains one of my ...
When You Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed
Beds ought to come with warnings: Caution: Waking up on the wrong side could be hazardous to your ...
Opening the Gift of Jesus the Cornerstone
Friends, today I invited my friend and fellow writer, Jennifer Elwood, to share some thoughts with us from ...
Discovering The Lost Art of Biblical Meditation
I once heard a friend say Christians have lost the art of meditation. Although I didn’t disagree, meditation, ...
A New Way To Think About Rest
For years I lived my life at full throttle, burning the candle at both ends. As a worker ...
What’s A $1.50 Worth?
Stunned, I reread the email. Nothing bad… just not expected. I had struggled before I made the initial ...
Why We Can Trust This Lifetime Guarantee
This week someone blindsided me by breaking a promise. Immediately a swarm of emotions began to swirl in ...
When Promises Seem Too Good To Be True
Some promises seem too good to be true. Consider the following example: Take delight in the Lord, ...
When Disappointment Derails Our Hopes
God has a funny way of reminding us of the truths we teach. Immediately after I published my ...
Hoping Against Hope
Anchored hopes never disappoint. Can you imagine life without hope? Hopefully not. Most of us would agree hope ...
When The Darkness Of The World Feels Overwhelming
His light defeats the world's darkness. My favorite way to decorate my home revolves around lights. Twinkle lights ...
When We Follow The One Who Never Changes
Recently a friend reminded me fall is around the corner. Thanks to our recent move to Virginia, I ...
Taking Time to Consider His Creation
Greetings from Virginia! After 2,200 miles (approximately 44 hours of driving), we arrived in Virginia. My husband did ...
When Blessings Feel Like Hardships
We can learn to be content no matter our circumstances because God gives us strength. (Philippians 4:13) For ...
When Love Takes The Witness Stand
The countdown has begun. In just ten days, my husband and I will pack a truck with our ...
Discovering True Joy
Earlier this week, opportunity came knocking. My husband and I saw a way to lighten the burdens of ...
Happy People Read the Bible and Drink Coffee
Hello everyone! Today's blog post is a video: I've never done this before, so please bear with me ...
Taming My Negative Thoughts
We’d been dreading it for weeks. We put it off for days. But in preparation for our retirement ...
When A Heart Rejects The Gospel Message
When I became a Christian thirty-eight years ago, I couldn’t stop talking about Jesus. My life reflected the ...
When You Feel Like A Skeptic
Has anyone ever called you a skeptic? When anything sounds too good to be true, I tend to ...
Changing the World One Heart at a Time
I love inspirational stories. Especially those tied to the gospel. Because by changing the hearts of individuals, the ...
Building Bridges Instead of Walls
Our world is hurting. The words of James have guided me as I grappled with the recent events ...
When His Blessings Don’t Meet My Expectations
Not every act of obedience brings the expected reward. Although true, this statement creates some dissonance with my ...
When We Face Ourselves
Real transformation requires real honesty. If you want to move forward — get real with yourself.- Bryant McGill ...
Facing Our Fears
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in ...
When Your Attitude Stinks
Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart. If your attitude stinks, it means your heart’s not ...
When Believers Doubt
Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what ...
Planning in a Season of Uncertainty
The longing for certainty ... is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion.- Oliver Wendell Holmes ...
Celebrating Easter in the Midst of the Coronavirus
As I write these words, my country prepares to face the peak of the Coronavirus Crisis, even as ...
Finding Peace in the Midst of Evil
Only when we stand in awe of God will we find it unnecessary to be in awe of ...
When We Feel Shaken
The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don't give up. - Robert ...
He Still Calls Us By Name
Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.-Dale ...
Making Time for What Matters Most
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. - Henry David Thoreau When ...
Turning Enemies Into Friends
The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. -Abraham Lincoln Recently, I experienced ...
What Can Dolphins Teach Us About Jesus?
Among the sea-fishes many stories are told about the dolphin, indicative of his gentle and kindly nature…. It ...
Responding with Righteousness to Unmet Expectations
Recently, my husband asked me to clarify my expectations for Valentine’s Day. Expectations can be tricky. We learned ...
New Day, New Mercies, New Hope
Imagine if we treated each new dawn of each new day with the same reverence and joy as ...
New Wine, New Wineskins
Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want ...
New Year, New Beginnings
The best time for new beginnings is now. - Unknown The beginning of a new year always creates ...
Every Road Leads Somewhere
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. -Lewis Carroll This quote, ...
Jesus: Eloquent Translator of Truth
Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you ...
Jesus: Empathetic Friend
I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.- Walt Whitman ...
Jesus: Discerning Arbitrator
Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and ...
Jesus: Loving Savior
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”- Lao Tzu ...
Jesus: Celebrator of Life
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. - Oprah ...
Jesus: Rabbi (Teacher)
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.- Henry B. Adams Before truly studying ...
Jesus: Sovereign Creator
I love Christmas. I love it because somewhere someone will ask the Christmas questions: What’s the big deal ...
Second Chances
Every moment of your life is a second chance.- Rick Price Years ago I heard a story about ...
Moments
Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.- Rose Kennedy Everywhere I look, I see autumn in ...
Refined by Fire
Real gold fears no fire. -Randy Alcorn In my area of the country, fall appeared almost overnight. As ...
Boundaries
In life, as in football, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are.-Arnold H. Glasow ...
Pressing Pause (Again)
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana My heart plummeted as I ...
Sincerity or Hypocrisy?
Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite. -Charles Spurgeon ...
The Power of Yet
It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. -Confucius Standing ...
Transparency
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.- Mother Teresa Recent events led me to ...
Productive Struggle
The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.-Pierre de Coubertin. I wanted to be ...
Triggers
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle “I’m actually ...
Rest
Slow down, you move too fast- Paul Simon Not quite two minutes long, this song, Feelin' Groovy, resides ...
Personalities
I’m a big personality. I walk into a room, big and tall and loud. – Adele Sometimes I ...
Lists
“We are what we think about all day long.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson While not necessarily a neat freak, ...
Constant Change
“Change is the only constant in life.” Heraclitus “I just wish we would hear something, “ my husband ...
Ordinary People
God uses ordinary people like you and me to star in extraordinary “God stories”-real-life narratives of purpose and ...
French Connection
How far we travel in life matters far less than those we meet along the way. - Mark ...
Translation of Mohamed Sebouai’s Testimony
Mohamed speaks of growing up in a Muslim family in the region of Kabylie in Algeria. Because his ...
Clutter
Clutter is anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living. -Peter Walsh ...
Progress
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Frederick Douglass Groundhog’s Day in the desert was unusually ...
A Hallmark Christmas
Just before the holiday season began, my daughter tagged me in a FB meme. In essence, the meme ...
Positively Joyful
“We just need to get you Tiggerized.” -Tigger (speaking to Eeyore) From childhood, I identify with the character ...
Laugh or Cry?
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. -Victor Hugo “I didn’t know whether to laugh ...
Defining Moments
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. -Aristotle Ever have a ...
Blink!
“In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance-when you least expect it-sets you on a course ...
Balanced Equations
In 1557, Robert Recorde, a Welsh physician and mathematician, invented the equals sign, written with two parallel lines ...
God-Driven Decisions
I am often asked, “How do you know if you are following God’s will?” But the truer question ...
Walking with Weakness: The Devotion
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. ...
Walking with Weakness: Back Story
Today, a devotional I wrote for a contest was published on the Proverbs 31 website. Winning that contest ...
Pressing On Toward The Goal
Have you ever whole-heartedly committed to a project, only to later wonder, “What was I thinking?” For me ...
Contagious Connections
My last post was all about my love of Christmas. And every word in that post is true. ...
I Am A Rock
Paul Simon A winter's day In a deep and dark December I am alone Gazing from my window ...
No Man Is An Island
John Donne No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the ...
Candy Canes and Gingerbread Men
‘Tis the season once again. I love Christmas and I always have. Honestly there is just so much ...
The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken Robert Frost, 1874 – 1963 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry ...
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The inspiration for my blog title comes from the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. In many ways, this poem captures the essence of my life’s journey.
