Shelly A. Faust

Wednesday’s Word

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Matthew 11-28

Hi friends!

I’m excited (and having a few other emotions – see confession at bottom of post) to let you in on something that’s been on my heart for a while. Starting today, every Wednesday I’ll be sharing encouragement via a video right here on the blog. I’d rather we sit down together and have a chat over coffee but this will have to do for now. :)

https://vimeo.com/112316008/settings

(Click here if you can’t see the video in your email)

Scripture references:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] ~ Matthew 11:28 AMP

The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. ~Psalm 145:14  NIV

How can I pray for you today? Leave your request in the comment section or send me a private email – prayer@shellyafaust.com

Remember, you can choose have my posts sent directly to your email. Click here to sign up!

Confession: I have been trying to post videos for about two years now. I do not like watching or hearing myself. My voice sounds funny, my teeth aren’t straight . . . you know all those little things we pick ourselves apart with. Seriously, you should’ve seen me and my mom laughing on the porch about this video. But, I’m posting anyway. I’m getting over myself and all those things that don’t matter. And I’ll keep watching and listening until I no longer break out in hives about sharing here with you. In the meantime, I know I’m collecting funny videos to use as part of my testimony one day Lol 😉 Thanks for being here and keeping me company while God continues to force me out of my comfort zone. 

One more thing. After watching the video and seeing the title, I think I like “A Word on Wednesday” better than “Wednesday’s Word.” What do you think?

Can You Hear Me Now?

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We interrupt this program

For one whole year I’ve had this new website. And for one whole year I’ve posted (quite sporadically, I might add) here without one single post going to your email. Can I just say I’m sorry? I’m terrible at all the technical stuff and really didn’t even know where or how to communicate to those of you who have been kind enough to place your email on my subscription list (thank you for that, by the way).

That being said, a friend’s very smart husband has graciously worked his magic and set up what should have been set up last year. So I’m writing this update and crossing my fingers that you’ll see it in your inbox when I hit publish.

Can you let me know if you can hear me now? :)  Maybe come back here and leave a comment?

You’re the BEST!

Now back to that whole sporadic posting thing.

Things are shifting yet again for me. More changes on the horizon but they are good things. So I’m hopeful that this little space on the internet will begin to hum once more with words and pictures and whatever else we can get into together.

For now, here are a few places you can find me.

If you haven’t signed up yet but would like to be put on my mailing list, you can do that HERE.

Ok, I think that about does it with the links! Whew.

Coming up soon will be some fun posts and pictures about my time at the Proverbs 31 OBS Real Life Dreams Retreat in Asheville, North Carolina. I’m still trying to put into words what God did that weekend. So, so good.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of our fun.

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Proverbs 31 OBS Real Life Dreams Retreat 2014 – Photo Credit: Shelly Cantrell

Oh, and did I tell you I’m homeschooling now? You can BET there will be some posts (and maybe some cries for help) about that little journey.

One last thing. I posted this on my Facebook page this morning. I’m praying that if it’s for you, it will be like a warm, fuzzy blanket placed over your shoulders on a cold, winter evening.

That hard place you’re in right now? That thing you’re not sure if you can do? God is there. He is big enough. And HIs grace? It’s sufficient, my friend.

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [a]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9a AMP

I’m praying for you tonight. Really, I am.

Love,

Shelly

Winners Announced!

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Congratulations

Hey friends! Just a quick update with the names of our winners!

  • Week One – Tracy!
  • Week Two – Tracey Malone!

Congratulations, girls! Look for an email from Laurie soon! :)

And thank you, Laurie Wallin for your generosity in giving away two signed copies of your new book!

And friends, if you didn’t win, but want to get your own copy of Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful (and you do, trust me!), here are some helpful links:

Connect with Laurie

Find your own copy of Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful on Amazon.

If you missed out on our author interview with Laurie and my thoughts about the book, you can read them here

Here’s one more excerpt for you!

Sometimes I wonder what God is thinking. (OK, lots of times.) When prayer seems to fall fruitless to the floor, when personal battles rage unabated, and I’m frustrated with something in myself, it’s easy to wonder whether God’s thinking includes me at all. When I’m in one of those modes—those “Nobody loves me. I’m no good. Might as well curl up and succumb to the bag of chips” frames of mind—I often end up going on one of my nature strolls.

 Enter the humble pine cone. So easily kicked to the side of the street as I walk, it reveals a pattern that’s repeated in one way or another just about everywhere within the universe. A number-based pattern of spirals named for the mathematician who first discovered them, these Fibonacci numbers form repetitive patterns in much of nature—from galaxies to ocean waves, from pine cones to the contour of your ear.

 That’s right, we carry that design motif too. On our bodies. Inside them. And it’s all around us. Because we’re part of God’s grand design. You and I were worth fashioning. Our lives, our work, and our presence here matter more than we can imagine.

 Looking at that pine cone, I realize something: it isn’t sitting along the side of the road crying because it isn’t good enough. So why are we crying? Why are we struggling with insecurity, with the sense that we don’t have strengths or that our quirks might just swallow them whole?

 When we look at our lives, full of the mundane in many ways, we must not miss the elegance of their design. Because everything about us has something to do with our purpose: The music we love. The things that freak us out. Our favorite hobbies. Our jobs. What we think about. The classes we took during college. The summer job that had nothing to do with anything (or so we thought). And even that weirdo we dated in high school.

 It all has a point! It’s part of God’s grand design.

 If you’re like me, you might be thinking, Yeah, right! How exactly could all those parts of my life be related? And how could they possibly matter to real life now?

 Great questions. To those, I’ll ask a few back:

  1. What words might appropriately describe your life over time?
  2. What experiences have you had, and what have you gained from them?
  3. What ideas and experiences inspire you?

 During a recent season in which I felt a bit lost in my focus for work and writing, I answered these questions myself. To my surprise, words and themes were repeated again and again:coach, teacher, inspirer, supporter. In my role as the oldest sibling growing up. As a teacher’s assistant in middle school. As swim captain in high school and a coach afterward. As a resident advisor, helping college freshmen find their fit on campus. As a middle school teacher. Even my college photography studio job had a place in my bigger purpose, as I created settings that reflected and supported each subject’s uniqueness.

 My quirks, preferences, strengths and challenges, it became clear, had all been one huge becoming. Each revealed parts of God’s design in me―for me―and it all mattered. Just as every part matters in yours. 

 When life gets intense, or we lose sight of the value in our experiences, strengths or quirks, asking the three questions above―or simply noticing the design in nature around us―can get us back on track toward embracing the wonderful in our weirdness.

Once again, congratulations to our winners! You hit the jackpot!! :)

xoxo

Welcome

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Happy, Happy, Happy!
Happy, Happy, Happy!

Welcome to my new home on the world wide web! This move is just one of the many exciting things going on right now. I would love for you to join me here as we continue moving forward together seeking God, celebrating life, and pausing to choose what matters most!

If you are looking for a weekly Bible study, I am honored to be a part of the Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study leadership team and would love for you to join us there! Our current study is What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeurst. We are just in our first week so if you’ve not signed up already there is still time. Click here to find out more information.

I leave you for now with our memory verse for the week. See you Thursday for our OBS blog hop! (I will also be posting soon about my She Speaks journey!)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

 

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