Shelly A. Faust

Archives for October 2013

Slow Down, Friend

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Slow Down, Friend

Slow down, friend.

This life is more than doing.

It is beauty to behold and a heart to fill.

It is a gift unlike any other and it is worth living well.

 

Recognize stress and worry for the thieves they are.

Embrace peace and joy instead.

Focus not on perfection or how well you can please others

But love with your whole self and do your best in all things.

 

You’ll be tempted to hurry and rush right through,

But walk, don’t run.

See each moment and hold it as long as you can

Then let it go and wrap your arms around the next.

 

Be present wherever you are and see, really see, those who share your journey.

Look your children in their eyes and breathe in time spent there.

Cherish your spouse with love and respect and hold hands, too.

See the gift of the moment and linger long.

 

The rewards of living exist in loving and being loved.

It is not found at the top of the corporate ladder

In the bottom of an emptied laundry basket

Or even in the middle of the living room of a big, fancy house.

 

The most important things can be felt with the heart

Can be taken with you wherever you go

Will never leave you no matter your circumstances

And will grow with you no matter your age.

 

Work hard, yes, but don’t forget to live.

Accomplish much but accomplish things that matter.

Don’t be afraid of the big things, but don’t miss the little things.

Dream God-sized dreams and acknowledge the ones that have already come true.

 

Be brave and step out of the boat

Gather courage and dare to fly

Soar to greater heights and make your place in history

But keep your roots deep and remember love is kind.

 

Slow down, my friend.

This life is more than doing.

This life, your life, is a gift

And it is worth living well.

Unfailing Love

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Unfailing Love

Standing at the edge of destiny and future

Vast fields lie ahead and wide open territory waits to be discovered

Held back by fear and doubt

Feet afraid to move and arms bound by chains of insecurity

Thoughts create fences and boundaries

Where is my courage to dream, my boldness to act?

The spirit within me cries out and I wait for you in the night time

Our appointed time draws near and my heart beats fast

My mind reels from the events of the day but suddenly it, too, is still

You keep our appointment and my heart overflows in the midst of Your presence

Your love is undeniable and grace finds me

Your love grows deeper and stronger with each passing minute

Worry melts away and peace washes over me like a warm blanket

From inside a joy indescribable and faith renewed

Doubts dispersed and fear removed

Hold us here, God, and let us not go back

Keep us under the shadow of Your wings

Bind us to the truth of Your Word

Fill us with Your unfailing love

Walk with us as we step over the edge

And embrace destiny.

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Linking today with A Confident Heart Blog Hop Week 2.

P31 OBS Blog Hop

Jesus Met Me at the Well

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Image says - Blog Hop Week 1

I remember peering around the corner to make sure the path was clear. Like the woman at the well, though our stories differ, they are the same. The messy places of my life hidden, covered with masks of  perfection, and held tight in closed fists. I took great effort to avoid the chance of meeting anyone while my sins or brokenness were exposed.

But Jesus met me, too, just like He met the woman at the well (read her story in John 4).

He knew everything about me and He offered me living water. Life-giving, life-sustaining living water.

“but whoever drinks of this water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14

I don’t have to pretend when things aren’t going well or if I need help. I don’t have to try to be good enough. I don’t have to struggle alone because I don’t want anyone to know if my husband and I need encouragement in our marriage or if I need advice in my parenting because my children are rebelling or if I need accountability because I can’t overcome a certain sin in my life.

When we hide our sin or our brokenness or our struggles how can we be made whole? If we do not admit our need we can’t receive God’s provision. And if we are not healthy spiritually our sickness infects every area of our lives: our marriage, our family, our relationships, our dreams.

Sadly, a large part of the church is here. Image trumps reality. Image says, “I’ve got this.” Reality says, “I need Jesus.”

In our current study, A Confident Heart, author Renee Swope says, “If we only live on the surface with God, we’ll never experience the intimacy we long for or the acceptance and security He offers” (pg. 38).

It’s easy to accept Jesus as Savior yet continue to search for fulfillment in every other place but Him. We can know about Him but not know Him. We can believe His promises for everyone else but still struggle to believe they are true for us, too.

My heart is breaking for so many marriages falling apart and ending because after years of neglect and “image” and pretending that things are fine the secretly crumbling foundation is giving way. The tragedy is not just the breaking of covenant and the destroying of a family unit but the inability to see our individual brokenness and receive God’s healing so that we and our marriages and families can be made whole. I remember serving in leadership and secretly harboring bitterness for my husband. I remember dreading Sunday morning because I knew he wasn’t going to go to church with me and I cared more about what people would think than why He was staying home. The truth is life is hard and messy and ugly sometimes and we need help. Jesus wants to help us.

He knows our struggles even when we pretend they aren’t there. He knows yours and He knows mine. He freed me from the idea that because I am in ministry I have to be perfect: my marriage, my kids, my life. What an exhausting lie to try to live.

Not that I shout all my business from the rooftops but that I openly and willingly come to Him…surrendered, humbled, and aware of my deep, desperate need for a Savior.

I’ve found that it’s in my struggles and those hard, not-sure-if-I-can-do-this times that I know Him most intimately and I can share Him with others. He’s more real in my brokenness than my super spiritual, Pharisaic living. How sad to need Him and not be free to see Him or receive all His benefits that come with being a child of God.

Jesus met me at the well and offered me a drink.

He continues to heal me, repair my brokenness, and set me free from the lies I once believed.

He desires to meet you there, too. He already knows everything about you and His offer remains.

Can we pray together?

Jesus, we can’t comprehend the depth of Your great love for us. You are more wonderful and more amazing than anything or anyone we will ever know. Thank you for Your unconditional, everlasting love for us. Help us to take off the masks and come to You as we are. Heal us, repair us, make us whole. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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My heart pours out today as I dig into the Word with my sisters at Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies, where I am humbled to serve on the leadership team. Our current study is A Confident Heart by Renee Swope. We would love for you to join us there.

Keep Calm and Study On

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Keep Calm and Study On

“Mom, I love you so much I just can’t hardly stand it!”

“Mom, can you wake me up early in the morning so we have time to snuggle before school?”

“Mom, you really are the best mom in the whole world.”

Sentiments like these from your little one can fill your heart so full you think it might burst.

The unsolicited, mushy love and affection from a child is pure, from the heart, and given with no hidden agenda and no strings attached.

It’s real love.

But even more real and greater than the love of a child to his mama or a mama to her child is the love of our heavenly Father to each of us.

Nothing compares to the unconditional, extravagant love of God.

And when we open His Word to read or sit silently in His presence He pours over us. When we seek Him we find Him.

He desires to lavish us with His amazing love. Wrapped in this love is peace, joy, mercy, and every good thing.

The more time we spend with Him the more we begin to know and understand His very nature/character which is love.

Let me encourage you to open your Bible. Great riches are found within its pages.

From one Bible study to the next my heart draws closer to its Maker. The more I study the more I want to study.

And I love studying the Word of God with a group of girlfriends. I’m privileged to get to do just that at Proverbs 31 Ministries and Melissa Taylor’s Online Bible Studies. If you’re looking for a place to connect but your schedule is crazy so you don’t have time for a face-to-face Bible study then this may be exactly what you’re looking for. Click here to find out more about our next OBS, A Confident Heart by Renee Swope, that starts October 13 – THIS SUNDAY! Yay! :)

We have a short break between each study. During our break this time I had the privilege of speaking in the main service on a Wednesday night at my home church. Not only had God been equipping and preparing me for this opportunity during our last few studies but I was also able to take some of what I learned and share it with others.

You just never know what He’s up to! :)

And now, the countdown begins to A Confident Heart! Confident/Confidence…my word for 2013. Isn’t that interesting?

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