Shirley Desmond Jackson

June 1 2023

Why Does God Call Us To Leave Our Comfort Zones?

Five years ago, I got the crazy idea to write a book. Ironically, I didn’t even have a topic in mind. I just felt the urge to write one. Since the urge didn’t go away, I began to explore the idea. One step led to another until I finally launched the book last Tuesday. At…

May 25 2023

Why Is It Important To Choose To Lead Lives That Glorify God?

Verifying the lane next to me had ample room, I signaled my intent to change lanes. But immediately the driver in the next lane aggressively flashed his lights, sending me a clear message. Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, I reasoned he may be pressed for time. But as he passed me,…

May 18 2023

Learning To Look At Hardships As God’s Blessings In Disguise

I confess. A math nerd at heart, I actually enjoy solving a complex algebraic equation. I take comfort in knowing everything on the left side of the equal sign has an equal value to everything on the right side of it. In other words, an equal sign creates balance. But equal does not always mean same. Both in life…

May 10 2023

How Our Lives Can Be A Love Letter From Christ

How far we travel in life matters far less than those we meet along the way. – Mark Twain Leaving my children to finish their tour of the Eiffel Tower, I stepped inside the enclosed observatory to sit and rest my throbbing knee. Less than one week prior we had embarked on this trip to…

May 4 2023

How We Can Overcome Frustration When We Fail To Reach A Goal

Holding up two pairs of pants, the customer’s eyes searched mine. “Which size should I buy? This one fits now, but the other one is the size I want to wear after I lose more weight.” As a young college student I had no idea how to answer this question. Is there even a right…

April 27 2023

Three Ways Dolphins Reflect The Character of Jesus

Among the sea-fishes many stories are told about the dolphin, indicative of his gentle and kindly nature…. It appears to be the fleetest of all animals, marine and terrestrial, and it can leap over the masts of large vessels. –Aristotle If you have read my “About Me” page, you know I love dolphins. My fascination…

April 13 2023

How We Can See God Use The Ordinary for His Extraordinary Purposes

Technology had not been my friend that day. I failed to produce a usable graphic for a writing project. The gas pump refused to read my credit card. And my depleted cell-phone battery reminded me I needed to replace my phone months ago. Needing to accomplish at least one thing that day, I set out…

March 23 2023

If Jesus Tells Us To Knock On Doors, Why Don’t They Open?

“Help me!” Even before I heard her plaintive cry, I heard the thumping on the door. The doors in our house tended to stick and my little one lacked the strength to push this one open. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she asked for help. Smiling, I opened the door and greeted her with outstretched…

March 16 2023

God Always Has A Plan B, But What If It Is Really Plan A?

Opening my planning notebook, I stared, fixated at the date of the last entry. It had been exactly three weeks. Vivid memories of that day rushed through my mind. A week of back-to-back appointments had left me feeling exhausted and out of control. Wanting to break the pattern of overcrowding my days, I had set…

February 23 2023

How Can I Love Someone Who Constantly Gets On My Last Nerve?

Biting my lips, I smiled and miraculously managed to hold back the critical words forming on my tongue. I had a long history with this individual. And while I could say I felt a genuine concern for her, our personalities definitely clashed. As a Christian, I know Jesus calls us to love our neighbor (Mark…