Pom Poms Are One Size Fits All*

"...but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” " Hebrews 3:13a (NKJV)

I have had some wonderful encouragers in my life. I want to share a story with you about one fantastic and wonderful cheerleader God brought into my life just a few years ago. Now this woman could easily have set herself up as superior to me. She is more educated than I am with more accolades to her name, so being my critic would have been effortless for her. She has also written more books, published by more people than I might ever experience. At the time, I only had one self-published book out there. Being cynical of me would have been easily understood. Her ministry platform is larger and more impactful than mine, so if she wanted to be my competitor, she’d win hands down. But instead, this amazing woman has chosen to be my friend, my encourager and one of my biggest cheerleaders.

I’ll never forget something she told me when our friendship first formed. We were both speaking at a conference and because we were not the keynote speakers, we had a little more down time than usual for us. This was totally a God-thing. That weekend is full of great memories in large part due to her presence in it.

We ate lunch together and she asked me about the ministry, where I saw myself in a few years, and what did I sense God was up to in my life and this ministry. I was shy to share with her. In my experience I’ve had really hurtful things said and done to me by other women who could have been cheering me on to follow God, but chose instead to tear me down. I shared a little with her to answer her questions, and her reply was overflowing with grace and kindness.

She told me about people she’d like to connect me with who could help me pursue God’s call. She encouraged my dreams and affirmed my journey. In my surprise and delight I told her how unexpected this kind of response was after all the negative experiences I had had up to that point. And she simply said, “Shelley, sometimes God allows one of His kids to get ahead of another so that she’ll be in a good position to open the door.” I was and still am absolutely amazed by that statement. THAT, my friend is a Cheerleader; and it is my sincere hope to be that person for as many people as I can possibly be in my lifetime.

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Has anyone come to your mind that might be in need of a cheerleader to help her have courage to follow God’s direction in her life? Who is this and how will you cheer her on?


*Excerpt from soon to be released, "Why Can't We All Just Get Along" from Harvest House Publishers. 

Relationships Can Get Sticky, But You Don't Have to Get Stuck

I cannot believe I have allowed SO much time to go by without posting anything in this space. Life has been quite full--in both pleasant and painful ways. But such IS life, right? Part of what has kept me so busy is in the writing of my next book while working on a proposal for another. Here is a small portion of the book, "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?!" A book that will help the reader experience genuine peace even in the midst of those most difficult relationship struggles. I hope and pray that this post will be helpful and hope-filled for you!

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Got Conflict?

Relationships can get sticky, but you don't have to get stuck.

To understand that relationships can be tricky and cause major problems and pain in life, all we have to do is read the story of the very first human relationships and how quickly the dysfunction formed within the human race. We barely get through the first two chapters of the first book of the Bible before we begin to see the first human relationship begin its dysfunctional behavior.

Just take a little peek into the story found in Genesis 3:

¹ The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It is only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷ At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸ When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Way to Go, Adam! Eve didn’t do much better, but at least her sin came after a conversation with the serpent. And here we see the first person ever created blame—not his wife—but His Creator for his bad decision; his sin. Do you see that? “It was the woman you gave me…” In other words, “God, don’t you see how this is really your fault; I mean this wouldn’t have ever happened if you had never placed this woman here with me. I mean, I like her and all, don’t get me wrong, but what were you thinking would eventually happen? She is breathtaking and delightful, so of course I’m going to do what she says. She holds all the cards here…and, um…this is your fault. You made her this way and you gave her to me. So, you see, don’t you, that this is really your fault.”

Talk about a sticky situation! Had Adam and Eve been left to themselves, they most certainly would have remained stuck--stuck blaming one another and their circumstances and stuck hiding from one another rather than relating openly and freely with each other. 

It is in our nature to want to blame someone—anyone—for the problems we face. Whether these challenges come in the form of relationship struggles, financial hardship, health issues, career woes, or educational deficits….the list can go on and on. Something in us wants to (a) hide when we’re feel threatened (as Adam and Eve did), which can look like isolation and avoidance or (b) attack and blame others—sometimes even God. The good news is that this is not news to God. He knew before He ever created Adam and Eve that all of this would go down and He already had a redemptive plan—not only in mind, but in motion. Jesus was always the Plan for mankind’s redemption. Always.

You don't have to stay stuck

This, my friend, is very good news for all of us. God knew before the foundation of the world that you and I would be a part of this world—of the human story—of God’s story being written even today as you read these lines on a page. And His desire to redeem your life and your history and your story is just as real today for you as it was back then for the first man and the first woman He ever created. He wanted there to be a you in this world. And He was willing to do whatever it took to redeem you to Himself.

I hope this reality fills you with peace and with hope. God is on His throne. He hasn’t taken a leave of absence where you are concerned. And if you find yourself pulled to either isolate and avoid the conflicts you face, or attack and blame others (including your Heavenly Father), I hope instead that you will  pause and look Heavenward to the One who knows you best, loves you most, and has a wonderful plan for your life.

I hope you will allow His Spirit to fill you while you allow His Word to nourish you.

I hope you will see Him afresh and anew. We do have an enemy, to be sure. But it isn’t God.

I hope that this will help you to extend grace to those who have made life challenging for you.

Your Father Sees. Your Father Knows. And Your Father Cares.

Although Adam and Eve—and you and I—missed the mark of God’s perfection, God was not swayed one bit in His relationship with mankind. He still pursues us. He still sees us every single moment of every single day. He still knows us better than we know ourselves—our past, our present and our future. And He still cares more for us than any of us can begin to fathom. This isn't religious platitude. This is more real than anything we have ever seen with our eyes or tasted with our own tongues.

God is not our imaginary friend that we lean on for comfort or the intangible hope that we have been forgiven of our wrong-doings. He is the Sovereign, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Ever-present Creator and Sustainer of the Universe—and He longs to be our friend. He longs for us to experience His love, His forgiveness, His grace and yes, His delight! Let this thought envelope you as you go about your day. You are well-loved by the One who created you in the secret place of your mother’s womb and He pursues your heart every moment of every day.

Nothing you can do will make Him love you more and nothing you have done could make Him love you less. He loves you. He loves you. HE loves YOU!

That’s really something, isn’t it?

By Faith We Please God

What IS it that God wants from us? Most days, I think we'd be content to figure out what our spouse or boss or parent or child(ren) want from us. Any of the above at any time is great. All at one time...well, that's probably not gonna happen any time soon! But I guess that is a big part of what keeps life from becoming boring. With God, though, the mystery can be solved.

In today's post, we're going to look at Hebrews 11:5 which says,

"Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God." (italics mine)

Because of Enoch's trust in God, and his understanding that it is our trust that most pleases God, Enoch experienced life, but never death.

Wow. Let that sink in for just a minute.

As I type this and attempt to imagine what that must have been like, I honestly just can't. I cannot imagine the experience Enoch must have had: to be walking through life with God and to be 'translated' to my forever home. To not even have a glimpse of death. Wow.

But one thing I can identify with--or at least I'm learning to--is the relationship Enoch enjoyed with God and that God most desires that I trust Him: His character, His goodness, His forgiveness, His redemption, His plans, His motives, His nature, His will, HIM! You see, as my friend John Lynch has so beautifully taught me and others, you can spend your life trying to please God and never learn how to trust Him. But, when you trust Him, He says, "My child, you've never pleased me more!"

You see, it is out of a relationship based upon trust that the relationship will thrive and mature into all it is intended to be. I will obey with genuine, heartfelt obedience to the degree that I trust God. I can only be as close to someone to the degree that I trust that person. This is at the core of so many relationship issues: friends, married couples, parent/child, work associates, etc. Most people don't really trust others. And, as I've also learned from my friends in Phoenix, if I don't trust you, you can't love me, no matter how much love you have for me.

Until we can trust all of who we are to all of who He is, we will never experience the adventure, the joy, the authenticity, that is the abundant Christian life.

And, just how is trust developed? Time and experience. God takes that mustard sized seed of our faith when we trust Christ as our Savior, and as we choose to be intentional to know Him more, and obey Him with the faith we have at present, that relationship and trust develop and mature. This doesn't happen overnight, and it usually happens when we least expect it. Trust is developed and matures as we struggle through the challenging, painful, and even wonderful things we experience in life. It happens as we get to know God through His Word and through relationships with others.

"Because of faith...(Enoch) pleased God..." Because of our trust in God, our faith in Him above all else, He is pleased with us--you and me. This is good news!! This is the Gospel=bringing God and man back into right relationship with one another, with nothing standing between us.

Oh God, may my faith in You be strengthened more and more as I make it my life's mission to know You more!