Shirlee Abbott

Sleep in Peace

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

We know that Satan lies, steals and destroys.

He lies to scare me, he steals my sense of safety and he destroys my good night’s sleep.

Psalm 4:8 (NIV)
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.

Posted in other | Tagged peace, Psalm 4:8, Satan, sleep | 4 Comments

This Is Rest

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

“Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.”
Edward Henry Bickersteth (1825-1906)

Bickersteth was poet, pastor and traveler–in support of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, he did mission tours in India, the Middle East and Japan.

Posted in other | Tagged Edward Henry Bickersteth, Peace Perfect Peace, Rest | 2 Comments

Let It Go and Go to Bed

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Before bed, I put my anger and regrets in God’s hands. He sorts through my collection.

He trashes my resentment to a coworker’s criticism (how dare she!) and a comment I overheard (nasty).

Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.

He shakes his head over words spoken that I regret. He tells me to own up to my true motives, to learn from it and to let it go.

James 3:14
But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfishness,
don’t brag or lie to cover up the truth.

Sleep light.

Posted in other | Tagged Ephesians 4:26, James 3:14sians 4, sleep | 2 Comments

Rest Assured

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

What keeps you up at night?

Worries about my family
Frustration with our nation
Money troubles
What? I sleep through it all

There are nights when sleep just doesn’t come. My head is full of yesterday’s regrets and tomorrow’s worries. My body is in bed, but my mind is on a hamster wheel.

I can hit the brakes on that hamster wheel.

I can rest assured, knowing that my heavenly Father protects me from the enemy’s plans to disrupt my sleep. My left-over worries are safe in God’s hands. He never sleeps.

Posted in other | Tagged sleep, worry | 2 Comments

Celebrate the Love

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged love your enemies, Matthew 5:44, St. Patrick | 4 Comments

Time to Forgive

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Daylight Savings Time and St. Patrick’s Day, all in the same week.

Now is a good time to forgive. It will bring out the saint in you.

[As a teenager, Patrick was captured by Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland for six years. He escaped and found his way back home to his family in Britain. Later, he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary.]

Posted in other | Tagged forgive, St. Patrick, Time | 2 Comments

Careful How You Wrap that Gift

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Yesterday, I said time was a gift from God.

Lord, forgive me for wrapping your gift in the coarse paper of bitterness and anger. Teach me to keep it wrapped in the sparkle of love and the glitter of grace.

Posted in other | Tagged anger, bitterness, grace, love, Time | 2 Comments

The Gift of Time

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Genesis 1:14-19 (NIV)
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years” . . . And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

God exists outside of time. He created time for us. It is his gift to us.

And when I complain about time–that I need more, or that it moves too fast or too slow–I imagine Jesus looking at me, disappointed:

You don’t like my gift.

Posted in other | Tagged Genesis 1:14-19, Time | 2 Comments

Just a Minute

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

How do you feel about time?

Too much time
Never enough time
Time’s a wastin’

Time change. Again.

In 1784, Ben Franklin wrote “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light,” joking that the people of Paris could save on candles by getting out of bed earlier in the morning.

The German Empire implemented daylight savings in 1916 to reduce use of coal in wartime. The US followed in 1918, abandoned it after the war and brought it back in the energy crisis of the 70’s.

In all that, mankind has not moved a single minute. God’s time triumphs. Again.

Posted in other | Tagged Ben Franklin, Daylight Savings Time, Time | Comments Off

Work the Problem

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

I remember when tens of thousands of Hmong refugees came to the United States in the late 1970’s. Thousands of volunteers helped with their resettlement, some of our friends and family among them. I offered only second-hand help–mostly watching our neighbors’ children while they helped their new Hmong friends through the confusion of some necessary ER visits.

Thousands of volunteers spent thousands of hours helping thousands of immigrants find their place in their new world. That’s how it’s done.

If I’m going to push the plan, I better be willing to invest the effort.

Posted in other | Tagged Hmong, immigration | 2 Comments