Shelly’s Blog
The intersection of storytelling, biblical truth, conversation, and beautiful images. My goal is to help you think differently about life.
From Reacting to Life to a Life of Active Faith {Free eBook}
Last week, my daughter left a Starbuck’s apron hanging in her bedroom closet, loaded every crevice of her car with suitcases, shoes, and meaningful trinkets, pulled out of an apartment parking lot in North Carolina, and pushed pavement west until she reached Phoenix, Arizona. That was last week...
Dancing into February After a January Setback
When we touched down in London on January 2nd, after two weeks with family in the Arizona desert, I disembarked with malaise after being knocked dizzy with a head cold. Adding jet lag to a cold virus is like looking drunk at life through a plastic translucent shower curtain. I could make out...
A Christmas Prayer for the Doubter, Skeptic, and the Generally Unsure
My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. Psalm 45:1 Jesus, thank you for coming into my doubt and surprising me with grace, for I don’t always trust that you will rescue me from myself. Forgive me for moments,...
Letting Go of Guilt during Advent to be Fully Yourself at Christmas
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; when they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Psalm 126 “What...
What We Need More than Presents this Christmas
In London, by 3pm, the sky turns dark and sullen. From a second story perch at my writing desk, I glimpse windows turning golden; the glow of lamplight illuminating interior rooms from a row of terrace houses behind us. Moments earlier, those same windows were like framed mirrors, reflecting...
One Question, Two Words, and Five Resources to Begin Advent
Laying two bottles of shampoo on the counter in front of the cashier, a revelation slides through mental checklists and stops my hand from searching through my purse. “Oh no! I’ve left my bank card at home,” I tell the woman staring at me, unaffected. After she places the bottles in a basket at...
