Shilah Writes

  Yesterday I finally wrote on here and posted, then went to my computer to re-check  things, and somehow deleted it. So back to the drawing board. Because I do want to say this thing that needs to be said. Now, I think it'll be short and to the point instead of being diplomatic and politically correct. I got sideswiped. Taken out of the game. Plowed over. Whatever you call it when life is humming along and you think you are handling things. I'd been studying the Full Armour of God and was being made super aware that those daily trials of getting along with people, especially with those in my house, were the fiery darts of the wicked. So knowing this, I was a little shocked to find myself wiped out of commission.  Meanwhile thinking about Jesus' words to come to Him...the weary and heavy hearted...to find rest in our souls. He woos me with this thought...learn of ME... for I am meek and lowly of heart.  So maybe I wasn't as sideswiped as I thought. Maybe I had to go ...

  It's just too much. So much 'WOKE'. It reminds me of my Grandpa Skrivseth, whenever the conversation would get too deep or too divisive or if there was too much innuendo about anything...he would clear his throat and say, "Let's talk about the daffodils". That doesn't seem to work these days. It seems if a person chooses not to join one of the movements publicly, on some kind of social media platform, that in itself has become a platform of a kind. We have been forced into saying, feeling or thinking something. Just pick something. If you don't, you will be bullied or judged or altogether dropped as if you have no value that you ponder, pray, and meditate on the things of the Spirit privately. Whereas Jesus promoted privacy over noise, commotion, and commerce. Read Matthew 5, 6, and 7. It's all very clear what Jesus wants from us . Might I suggest a way to promote Jesus while being a peacemaker that is quiet, stedfast, and involved? It takes a bi...

I just now noticed there is the reflection of a pine tree in this cup... Anyhow. Yes, this "cup" thought has been marching around my head for at least a month so I thought I'd share it with you. Probably not a new thought. To me it seems like good, solid ground in these, volatile days. I've spent whole seasons of my life not liking what was in my cup and refusing to drink it. I thought I knew better maybe? Or perhaps I didn't get the concept of what the cup really meant for a follower of Jesus. Psalm 16:5 KJV The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; thou maintainest my lot. When I have nothing left, no inheritance, no future, nothing is working out according to my plans; when my life is too difficult for words, when I am bone tired of striving...all this...only  THEN  can God be my portion and cup. But nobody wants to be in that place where you recognize... this is me. Denial is easier. It's much better to post pictu...

I've gotten really tired just doing life. Bare, bald fact. I think people often do exist in a state of exhaustion but avoid the fact and cause by staying busy and 'not going there'. I don't wish to judge, but to speak the truth in love. Why is it hard for most people to...Stop. Drop. And Roll? Or to even admit an emergency situation? John 7:38 AMP He who believes in me (who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on me), as the Scripture has said, 'from his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water'. Here's the Scripture Jesus may have been referring to... Isaiah 58:11 AMP And the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones, and you will be like a watered garden, and be like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. I love the admittance to scorched and dry places...Note to self...It is not wrong to admit a need of change and behavior. Especially when s...

I come from a long line of talkers. Not only are we given the gift of gab we also are given a tactless approach. I struggle with knowing if that lack of tact is in my blood and there's no changing it or if it is a learned behavior for which the grace of Jesus is abundant. I promise I'll keep working at it and asking Jesus for more insight on what I can change for His glory. So imagine my hesitation to talk about racism...For one thing I didn't know it was really and truly still a thing until 2020. I have experienced firsthand throughout my life prejudice. I know what it feels like to be treated with prejudice [Think chubby Mennonite girl with pigtails in a town of liberals who snicker and point as you and your large family walk by] and I know I am guilty of treating others with prejudice. Not on purpose, of course. But when you see someone struggle to get in and out of their car because of obesity you automatically feel superior and judge-y. Until you yourself are ove...

I follow someone on Instagram who I don't know. I know that she is a first cousin once removed of a friend of mine...whatever that means. That isn't important. I follow her because of her charming upbeat personality. Also she travels and takes beautiful pictures of ordinary things. Mostly, it's because she sees the good and funny in the everyday. She's jokey and fun. She's young and beautiful and original and she doesn't try at all. She just is all that. She inspires me. She inspires me because of what she chooses to focus on. Which is a lot of what I've been thinking about the last weeks. Do you know how life changing it is to think through the eyes of the redeemed? And how about the ability to remember that you are a 'new creature' after being redeemed? I don't know if others experience redemption in one fell swoop, but for me it is a continuation and a constant effort; one step forward or two steps back. Because once you have been to t...

We are good and proper quarantined. I'm pretty sure. Fact is, I'm on my third slight cold with symptoms of COVID-19. I've probably been asymptomatic once or twice by now. Anyway, I think we should get back to living. I'm tired of worrying that I have it or am giving it to someone unbeknownst to all. I keep thinking about the slaves in Texas that were oblivious to their freedom two and a half years after the fact because they were never informed of it. Their owners kept them in the dark on purpose. I hope that isn't the case nationally with the coronavirus. For that reason, I am thankful for our rabid social media. There is no chance of missing an important notification these days. Or is there? I told my mom on the phone recently of my glorious peaceful week. "How did you do that?" she asked. "I didn't listen to or watch the news." I answered glibly, and then we both laughed because ignorance sometimes IS bliss. In other n...