Spiders

 

"The cupboard under the stairs was full of them,"

I heard my daughter reading from Harry Potter.
(hear the British accent there)

Then ...

"Mom! Harry had to sleep with spiders!"
She laughed and had the heebie jeebies simultaneously.

I grinned, then said:

"We all do!

We just don't always see them.
We don't always realize they're there."
(and her daddy just killed a spider in her room the previous day)

 

 

Oh, spiders are definitely there,
especially when you live in Texas.
They are in every corner, in the garage, dangling out of trees ...
What would we do without the exterminator?
 

Before submitting my book to the publisher,

I was working hard in our office.
I edited until my eyes were literally bruised.

Barefoot in summer,
I had one leg propped up on the chair I was sitting in.

As soon as I put my foot down on the hardwood floor ...

tinge of pain.

I looked down to see the culprit,

but my reading glasses made for minimal visibility.
My first thought: scorpion?

I yanked my glasses off, looked down ...

and there was a squashed spider.

Huge.
It was a suicide biter ...
it chose to bite me and take a foot on the way down over life.
In that whole room ...
the spider had to be right under where my foot would touch down ...
are you kidding me?
What are the odds?

Chills went up and down my spine.

I grabbed the squashed spider up in a napkin

and walked limping out the house to the back property to show my husband,

milking out the injury for all it was worth.

Tingles went all over my foot and lower leg.

We googled it and found it named: "Rabid Wolf Spider."

And it was poisonous.

 

I had just had an encounter with an eerie computer virus

while trying to get my book to the publisher ...

heard an eerie laugh come across my computer speaker

sounding like what I would envision - the devil himself.

That incident led me to pen "his viral voice" in my book when mentioning the enemy.

And now, a spider bite.

 

The enemy is so there.
 He'll bite you and take a foot on the way down over life.

We may not see him,

but he's there to whisper into our ears with his viral voice ...
Poison -
 

Our failures

Our shortcomings

Our past

You should have ...

You should have been ...

You can't do this ...
You don't deserve this ...
You will not do this ...

 

Oh, the critter's there ...
he's there ...

hiding under the bed ...

hiding in the corners ...

brazen enough to be right under our feet,

at our fingertips,

and crawling over us in our sleep.

 

When you give that spider your total focus,
when you sit down beside him,

you'll be looking straight at arachnophobia.

You'll be fearful.

Peace will be absent.
Tangled ...
Ensnared ...
 

We can't give the enemy our total focus.
God deserves our total focus,

and we'd better not lend it to anything or anyone else ...

especially not the spider.

 

Oh, the spider is there all right.

But more importantly ...

God is there.
Focus.

Focus on God.

Replace the enemy's lies with God's Word - the truth.

 

When God offers so much wonderful ...
(Yes, I'm using "wonderful" as a noun ... wink!)
 

 

Basket of assorted cat toys.

Why would we focus on that one?

 

 



 

Mind what you see, what you read, what you hear, what you touch ...
Oh, be careful.
Focus on God.

That is the Raid - the exterminator - that will knock out
that spider, that prowler, that intruder

and squash him like the bug he is. 

 

Don't leave your intentions hollow
When temptation comes to wallow
Focus on the ONE to FOLLOW 

 

Unexpected

 

Forgive me.
It's unexpectedly been a while since I've written.

I unexpectedly found myself in the ER for an emergency appendectomy.

My appendix was spreading infection throughout my abdomen,
and it hadn't even ruptured.

That was totally unexpected.
I was unaware an appendix could do that.
Going in, all I knew was that there was a "soft mass" visible,
and something was blocking the view of my appendix.
Well, you know where my mind went.
But my precious surgeon put my mind at ease by stating,
"Shelli, this is not cancer;
this is your appendix spreading infection."
Praising the Lord she was right.
And what do you do when your anesthesiologist tells you to
think of the best dream ever? ...
Pray.
Waking to hear an infection from my appendix
was blocking the view of my appendix and
displacing minor organs was truly good news.

Recovery?
I've always heard people say:
it's harder to recover from surgery the older you get ...

They are right.

 

 

About to enter an ambulance to be transferred to the main hospital ...
an unexpectedly pleasant ride.

Arriving home from the hospital,
I was unexpectedly greeted at the mailbox by a copy of my cover story in
WMU's Mission Mosaic magazine.
It had escaped my memory due to sickness.
My article is titled Cultivating Faithfulness: WMU in the Philippines.
If you'd like a copy, it is the April 2014 edition.
Go here to order.

 

After arriving home from the hospital,
our beloved cat, Lucy, unexpectedly took a turn for the worse.
Oh, her health had been steadily declining,
but the timing seemed so horrid.
I was sick several days prior to surgery,
and I could tell she wasn't feeling well either.
Her eyes squinted. She was probably in pain.
She followed me everywhere, and she always wanted in my lap.
It got to the point if I went to another room,
I'd carry her with me.
She would just follow anyway.
I knew her strength was diminishing.
I was too weak to go to the vet with my family to have her put to sleep;
and I couldn't even walk out for her funeral that day.
My heart was broken.
I did not expect to love her so much.
But she had really grown on me.
I feel her brother, Aslan, is lost without her for the time being.
But I am so thankful to God for our precious eight years with her.




Lucy is the calico. Her brother, Aslan, is the orange tabby.

My baby girl also turned 14 after I came home from the hospital.
This was not unexpected,
but I had expected to plan a party for her.
I had to release my expectations
and allow my other daughter and my husband to take over all birthday preparations!
 That was not easy.
But I had no choice.
And she was a darling.

 

 

I spoke at a ladies' retreat this last weekend on surviving hardships.
After surgery, I didn't do much of anything or go hardly anywhere until the retreat ...
except for doctor appointments.
I knew I had to save my energy and be well.
God showed up as expected, but the degree of His love is always a little unexpected.
And then you smile and remember His faithfulness.

My mother and my oldest daughter went with me to help me out.
My daughter unexpectedly won the grand door prize of ...
a night for two at the hotel I spoke at!
Woohoo!
She says she is taking me with her ...
a night out for mom and daughter
when I am better.

I could never have made it through this time without God's love,
my beloved family, and the body of Christ.
You never expect to have to depend on people this much,
but what a blessing when they come through in such an amazing way.
And I'm so grateful.

 

 

Anything unexpected in your life?

Voice

The girls and I have been studying active and passive voice today.

I love teaching them because the truth is ...

I have much to learn.

 

Active voice is when the subject is doing the action.

Passive voice is when the subject is receiving the action.

Example:
The cat bit Shelli. (active)
Shelli was bit by the cat. (passive)
Whether the subject or object, Shelli has been injured.

 

Sometimes it feels like life is spinning out of control.

Sometimes it feels like we can only take what comes.

Sometimes it feels like we are stuck in a passive world.

Sometimes it feels like we have no voice.

 

When your household remains sick for a lengthy time ...

When a pet begins losing weight and a reason never seems to come ...

When the household chores never seem to end ...

When you keep forgetting that one grocery item ...

When you wish you could see your loved one who is moving just once more ...

When necessity takes over and the things you desire to do are set aside ...

When you just can't seem to catch up ....

 

But one thing I've learned through the years ...

We can't look through our own eyes.

We must see through eternal eyes.

 

So when life feels rough ...
You feel lowly ...

You don't know which way to turn ...

You feel like you are just inches from drowning ...

And that time is slipping like sand through your hands ...

 

 

Remember Someone has your back.

 

 

When God is on your heart's throne ...

Relax.

Because God is active.

He is not passive.

God is ...

 

God is good ... to you.

God is loving ... to you.

God is caring ... to you.

God is forgiving ... to you.

God is teaching ... you.

God is working all things together for good ... for you.

God is a mighty warrior ... for you.

God is a shield ... for you.

God is a voice ... for you.

God is ...

And that list and action never ends.
 

GOD IS GOOD

That goodness seems to encapsulate everything that

God is.

 

God loves you.
You are loved by God.
You are the active subject and object of God's affection.

Receive.

 

And use your precious voice to ...

Praise Him

Thank Him

Brag on Him

Voice, "I love you."

 



Deception

But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed

I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.

Jonah 2:9 

 

When our daughter Karalee was tiny, we met my husband for a lunch date.

Outside his workplace in the car, we waited for his grand arrival.

Since he was active duty in the U.S. Air Force, he proudly sported his military camouflage uniform. Karalee couldn’t wait for her daddy to walk out.

The problem was … she was looking to identify him by his uniform.

I couldn’t help but get tickled and even a tiny bit embarrassed because
every man who came out wearing a uniform was
her daddy!

A man would walk out of the building, and she’d shout, “Daddy!” Not “daddy.”

The next man would walk out, and again she would shout, “Daddy!” Not “daddy.”

Only one of those men walking out was her daddy,

but she was so easily, unintentionally deceived.

 

Notice in this verse Jonah adds, “Salvation comes from the Lord.”

God spoke hugely to me on this aspect. I suddenly realized:

We often look to idols to save us.

Like Eve, we are deceived.

We exchange God’s salvation for hopes of an idol’s salvation.

The sad part is an idol can never save; only God can save.

We elevate things or people to a position only God deserves and look to those things to somehow save us.

In turn, we place our faith and trust in them.

 

            God certainly gained my attention through this,

and maybe He gained yours, as well.

Is there anything you unintentionally place above God for salvation?

Is there something you are clinging too tightly in your hand?

 

There are many possibilities–family, relationships, desire to be married, money, higher education, new job, success, affirmation, weight loss, physical healing;

the list is endless.

Remember, these things are not bad.

They are all good things; but never look to them for salvation.

Remove them from your heart’s pedestal;

keep them in proper perspective.
Hold them loosely.

 

An idol is really Satan’s lie.

We unintentionally step on that spiral down

when we buy into the lie that anything other than God can save.

We soon realize we’ve been robbed by Satan. Deceived.

But make no mistake–Satan is intentional.

Never forget there is only one Savior.  

 

And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:21-22

 

Do not be deceived.

Turn to God; He promises to grant strength and comfort. He will save.

He will change us from the inside out and give us

a glimpse of what it is like to know

 true love, loyalty, and faithfulness.

Put Him above all else, and we will be miraculously transformed.

Let us take ourselves and our problems out of our own mental spotlight.

Let’s hop right out of the equation.

Let us give God His deserving place–first place. 

 

 

Paraphrased excerpt taken from: A Gift Worth Keeping: It Goes with my Décor!
By Shelli Littleton

Copyright 2013



(in)courage

The heat is intolerable.

Her face is flushed.

Her little cheeks look like lollipops, white with red centers.

And the little stick supporting that lollipop is nearly collapsing from over use.  

 

Layer after layer has been peeled away.

 

That baby girl is a cancer survivor.

Our baby girl.

I am a guest writer on Dayspring's (in)courage website today.

Be blessed! 

Head over to (in)courage to read more!

 

 

 



Champions

Our dear friends are moving.

I am heart-broken.

Yet, I'm so excited for them (I can't quite use an exclamation point yet).

They aren't moving to another city or another state.

They are moving overseas.

 

They are brave.

And they take the truth:
"I can do all things through Christ"

And clasp it in their precious, moldable hands.

 

We had one last weekend together.

We possibly won't see them for two to three years.

Our kids have grown up together.

She has three boys; I have two girls

But they love each other with a love I have yet to see among most kids.

Our girls cry their hearts out when they have to be separated.

 

And my friend ...

I was determined I didn't need a friend when God brought her into my life.

I determined I only needed Jesus.

And He blessed me with her ...

Just because He can.

 

This post is to say a temporary goodbye

To the most precious family I never tire of ...

To the ones who love me when I say ridiculous things ...

To the ones who love me when I don't know what I think about anything ...

To the ones who love me unconditionally in spite of me.

To the ones who love me even when I spit on their French fries.

Because ...

They have a Jesus kind of love.

 

Their path won't be easy.

But God will bless them in the journey ...

Just because He can.

Trust God's path to victory!

Run like the champions you are through Christ.

And meet Him at the throne to receive the victor's crown.

 

My precious friends. They are like my little brother and little sister. Aren't they gorgeous?! 

Me with my "little sister" ... she is ten years younger than I am, but that didn't phase her one bit!

Our kids ... my girls, her boys.

Good friends.

Our whole gang!

Our whole silly gang!



Choose

When pain pierces into your heart and your head

And sadly, you see where your choices have led

And undoubtedly, you have made your own bed

And you wonder about shelter or will you be fed

And you're tired of a hand out and begging for bread

And you grow weary of tears from living with dread

And being surrounded by the living dead

And you're tired of happiness dependent on meds

And you're tired of finances forever written in red
And you're tired of two steps backwards, only one step ahead

And you're tired of being tired, no strength, not a shred
And you're tired of hanging on by a very thin thread

And you're contemplating relief from a cartridge of lead

 

Choose Jesus instead
 

Born in a lowly manger bed

The disciples He led

5,000 He fed
A price on His head

Sweat drops of red

Up to Calvary was led

Suffered and bled
His blood freely shed
Punished for sin in our stead

Rose 3 days from the dead

The Bridegroom to wed

Our daily bread
Who hates sin, every shred

Who loves you, every thread

Will judge the living and dead
 

Jesus ...

No more tears, no more dread
You will not be misled

And everybody said?



Amen.

By Shelli Littleton Copyright 2014



Remembering

  

2013

It's been a tough and good year.

And we are blessed to have a home

Favorite picture from Christmas 2012

And a place to hang our coats

(and purses and scarves and ball caps)

And extraordinary places to hang our hat

 And we are thankful for the warmer weather and a reason to
Momentarily hang up our hats and coats
 

And we inspect the damage from the recent ice storm
The tall oak tree fell and broke the fence
The fence now needs mending

And only half of the oak still stands.

  And the tiniest tree remains still standing undamaged

And I am reminded

We don't have to be tall to take it

We don't have to be big to be strong

We don't have to be strong to stand

And I remember the tough

My grandmother went to Heaven this 2013 year
And the earth didn't stand still

As a child, I would lie down on the floor, plop my feet in her lap,
And she would rub my feet

And I remember her cozy lap
She would always tease me about my tail bone being too sharp

And I remember getting too big to sit in her cozy lap but I still did

Because she would say, "You will always be my baby"

No Christmas card from her this year

No smallest gift from her heart this year
And I hold on to every single memory with her.
Her life was a gift to me.
She was not perfect
But she perfected me.

I barely had strength to take her loss
But with wobbly, weak knees, I stood broken and spoke at her funeral
One of my life's sweetest memories

And I am reminded

We don't have to be tall to take it

We don't have to be big to be strong

We don't have to be strong to stand

 

And I wish I could have shared with her the good
 

After her passing, I published my book

It's about surviving hardships
Weathering life's storms

When others break us
When we break ourselves
When God breaks us

The hard.
 

It's about hardships being gifts

Gifts are not always easy

But gifts are life-changing

And I refer to an eagle my husband gave me

That seemed like a bad gift

That didn't go with my décor

But that turned out to be a great gift
A keepsake
Just like hardships

And I can't imagine life without it

And it goes with my décor

And it fits perfectly right where God placed it
 

And the book is not perfect

And it will never be a best seller
And the earth didn't stand still

But God used the writing to perfect me



And revealing my faults and failures and weaknesses
My weak knees wobbled placing it out there for the world
 

And I am reminded
 

We don't have to be tall to take it

We don't have to be big to be strong

We don't have to be strong to stand

And as I watch my precious daughter read about Jesus' birth



I am reminded of the smallest gift

And the smallest gift that Christmas morn was the greatest gift.

And the best wrapped gift in the tiniest package was
A baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
The God-man
The best gift I ever received.

And I am reminded

Jesus didn't have to be tall to take it

Jesus didn't have to be big to be strong

Jesus didn't have to be strong to stand

The tough ...

With weak and wobbly knees

He stood upright hanging and nailed upon a cross

He gave up His life

For you and me

And the earth didn't stand still

The earth trembled

And life ... home ... will never be the same without my grandmother

Because I am not home yet

And I am reminded
The tough and the good ...
My real home is where the greatest gift is.

And the good ...

The greatest gift forever lives today to perfect this broken me

On this road called life

With the tough and the good.

And as I write this on my 27th wedding anniversary

I am reminded

It's been tough and good.

And though the earth didn't stand still for the occasion

And though my marriage isn't perfect

God is using my marriage to perfect me.

And through the greatest gift ...

We don't have to be tall to take it

We don't have to be big to be strong

We don't have to be strong to stand

 Remembering your birthday, Jesus.

Thank you for helping us take it, for being our strength, and helping us stand.

Before the tough has a chance to kill you

Give God a good chance to heal you.

 Merry Christmas, All

Shelli

Because

Because God is so good ...

 

A Savior was born in Bethlehem.

 

Because God is so good ...

 

A Savior born in Bethlehem

Bore our sin.

 

Because God is so good ...

 

A Savior born in Bethlehem bore our sin in dying

So that we could bear living.

 

Because God is so good ...

 

A Savior born in Bethlehem

Is the one we desperately need to grab by the hem.

Because God is so good ...

 

Hardships have not helped me sink

They have helped me sail
Right over and through every tear ever shed.

 

Proof?

 

Because God is so good ...

 

In spite of infertility

I have a Karalee

 

 

Because God is so good ...

 

I have a Katelyn

And in spite of cancer,

I still have a Katelyn.

 

What a gift!

 

Because God is so good ...

 

Hardships can be beautiful gifts

Revealing
How far

How high

How wide

How straight

How balanced

We can sail

When a Savior born in Bethlehem is our captain.
When a Savior born in Bethlehem walks on water.
When a Savior born in Bethlehem turns water into wine.
When a Savior born in Bethlehem is a miracle of miracles.

 

"Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
James 1:3

Because God is so good ...
 

TO YOU
 

What hardships can you kick thru Christ?

 

 

Don't fear

 

Because God is so good ...

 

He has given the ultimate gift ...

 

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born

TO YOU;

He is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

 

 

Grab the Savior born in Bethlehem
By the hem. 



Confessions of a Missions Writer

This blog post was written for Blooming with Joy's website

as a guest writer.
The "gift-a-way" is expired but ...

Re-posting it for anyone who may have missed it.

Blessed by you,

Shelli

Heart Confessions of a Missions Writer

By Shelli Littleton

Typhoon Haiyan pummeled my heart along with the Philippines. Why? I have had the privilege of interviewing missionaries there and sharing their stories with the world. A missionary friend wrote to assure me that she was back in the U.S. for a visit; she was safe from destruction. But where was her heart? Yes; she longed to return to the Philippines to help.

Love.

Yes, writing for Woman’s Missionary Union’s magazine, Missions Mosaic, keeps my heart feeling a broad spectrum of emotions. My most embarrassing moment, you might ask? I couldn’t retrieve an email from Melissa Moore … Beth Moore’s daughter! I couldn’t believe God had opened this sweet door for me to write on her Compassion International India trip, and I can’t get her email. My husband had set up “outlook” for my email. I had to actually go on-line to view her email, and it took me a while and my husband to figure this out. She was so gracious. Me? H-u-m-i-l-i-a-t-e-d! I no longer use “outlook.”

Grin.

My funniest moment happened while interviewing a young Brazilian missionary on mission in Africa. We spoke on the phone. Wow! She could speak a little English; I could speak no Portuguese. We laughed ourselves silly. Ending our conversation, I said, “I’ll let you go”; Texas translation: I would hang up the phone. And she laughed out loud. I realized she was thinking, “You’ll let me go … where?”

Doll.

My heart’s greatest overjoy was derived from Ron Hall, author of Same Kind of Different As Me. I had read the book, and Ron said he would do an interview. Thrilled! I couldn’t believe when my caller ID declared: Ron Hall. I told him his book made me want to give him and Denver Moore big hugs. During that same time, he came to my church to speak. Sheer God-thing. I had the opportunity to write yet another article on him for our church newsletter. When I walked into the Visitor’s Center where Ron was autographing books, he greeted me with a big hug. I was overjoyed and couldn’t function properly the entire day! He had not forgotten my request for a hug.

Precious.

When did my heart cry most? Challenged to write an article about a child forced into marriage and giving birth at ten years old brought me to tears. This precious child, who should have been chasing butterflies and dancing on her daddy’s toes, was living in a Nigerian, Muslim, lower-class society. Because her body was not ready for childbirth, she was left with a permanent limp and a chronic leakage of human waste. This is common. Their babies often die as they die to society. They are divorced … outcasts; but there is hope through Christ. One child said, “Rayuwu ba tare da Isa ba, ban’zane, na gan Isa, na taba shi, nakuma zama da shi,” which translates: “Life without Jesus is a miserable life. I have seen, touched, and even leave with your Jesus.”

Beautiful.

My most heart-humbling moments writing for WMU are when I am blessed to share my own personal hardships of infertility, miscarriage, daughter’s cancer battle at one year old, parents’ divorce, and adoption stories. I thank God for taking the very things Satan would have loved to have used to destroy me and using them for ministry.

Invaluable.

My future heart confession? My heart is breaking and overjoyed that my dearest friend is leaving on a jet plane this coming year for Asia. Though she will be missed terribly here, what I wouldn’t give to write an article on her work there!

Please, God?!

*Update ... my dear friend made it to East Asia, and I got to write that article on her. Glory.

Persevere

 

Falling.

In my last post, I mentioned that we have had an ice storm.

On the way to church last Sunday morning ...

I fell.

I fell hard.

 

Instantly, after stepping on a patch of ice in a McDonald's parking lot
After eating breakfast

I was found face down on the ground.

It would have been comical had it not hurt so badly.
I felt & must have looked like a pancake being flipped on one side.
(and you have my blessing to laugh!)

 

When I landed,

One hand held my Diet Coke, cushioning the fall on that left hand

I busted my chin

Cut my upper gums

Busted my right knee

Hit my right wrist and hand hard

My right side is sore.
There is a tiny, straw hole size bruise by my left eye ...
My cup's straw must have hit near my eye when falling.
Tore a hole in my favorite jeans.

But I have my eyesight, and I didn't lose any teeth - silver lining

Glory to God!

Thankfully, I had on boots, jeans, thick coat.

My husband reached out his hand to help me stand.

 

Tears to the car

Tears on the way to church

Tears slightly at church.

 

And our 5th grade Sunday school lesson was on

Jesus' birth.

Because of Christmas.

 

  

And the lesson brought sweet tears to my eyes

Because life can be hard

One minute we are fine

The next we are suffering
We are falling

There I was bleeding in church
Aren't we all bleeding in church?

 

And I praise our Jesus

Who lived and died for us ...

Who suffered for us ...

To give us eternal life.
We are so desperate for Him.

Most words associated with "fall" are negative.
Fall out
Fall away
Fall down
Fall captive
Fall from grace

Why do we fall away, per se, from Jesus?
We all receive that worldly invitation
And if we aren't on stable ground
Our feet will slip right out from under us.

Is it pride? Like Satan.
Or maybe we can't quite grasp that following Jesus means
Life or death
Maybe we don't take God seriously.
Maybe we don't take the consequences seriously.
Life's pain lassoes us by the ankles to drag us down

One certain thing
Falling hurts
Falling away from Jesus results in a
Bruising, battering, and splattering

And when one falls,

We usually drag others down.

How can we stand?
Reach out and take Jesus' hand.

How do we stand firm?
Stand up for Jesus.

How do we remain standing?
Stand for Jesus.
Fall in love with Jesus ... He is heart-capturing
Fall down on your knees before Jesus ... He is breath-taking
Fall captive to Jesus ... He is captivating

Standing for Jesus is
Our life's calling

Jesus took the fall that we might stand.

When life beckons us to fall
Follow Jesus

May we strive to be the strong one
Offering others a hand up.
When pain is severe and befalling
Don't sever ties.
Collapse into Jesus' arms that are calling
And persevere.

"To him who is able to keep you from falling
and to present you before his glorious presence
without fault and with great joy"
Jude 24

***
 

As a missions writer

I dedicate this post to

Malaysia.
God bless you, Malaysia.

God remembers you

I remember you

 Prayers for you.
Stand for Jesus.
Persevere.



Storms

 

 

We are in the midst of an ice storm

In Texas.

We are so blessed to still have electricity.

We are doubly blessed to have a warm home

To have food 

To have each other

To have

To have Jesus.

 

 

We have to be prepared for life's storms.

They will come.
 

What will hold us up through life's storms?
The storms that weigh heavy
The storms that threaten to break us
The storms that cloud everything living
The storms that seek to bind
 

"The Lord is my shepherd

I.Shall.Not.Want."

Psalm 23

Simple as that.

 

In other words:

Lord, you are all I need.

Through the cold
He brings warmth
He brings life
He brings stability
He brings freedom

To have

 

And it is that simple.

We can't trust ourselves.

We can't even trust what we think about

Ourselves.

Why?

 

 

Over-rated is self-esteem
So unpredictable it seems
It will lie to you whenever it deems

Self is here
Self is there
Self is everywhere

Self can’t be trusted
Was given a chance, but got busted
For after others it lusted

Christ-esteem is a worthy endeavor
He doesn’t change, the same forever
Will He lie to you? No, not ever

Self-rejection
Is a lethal infection
That needs a Christ injection

 

By Shelli Littleton Copyright 2013


Only in God can we trust.

We can have
electricity
food
shelter
each other
self esteem
life
freedom
stability

But without Jesus
We are utterly destitute.

See the big picture