Shirlee Abbott

Cleaning Up

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

When did you last dust?

I dust every week
Dust? It’s a protective covering for fine furniture
What’s the point? It will just get dusty again

I dusted the sanctuary Saturday. The men have been fixing the water damage, patching the plaster, spackling and painting. A gritty haze of white rested on every horizontal surface.

It made me wonder about young Samuel, dedicated before his birth to service in God’s sanctuary.

1 Samuel 2:18 (MSG)
Samuel, a boy dressed in a priestly linen tunic, served God.

Did dusting the sacred furniture fall to him? A child with a dust rag?

Posted in other | Tagged 1 Samuel 2:18, cleaning, dusting, Samuel, sanctuary | Comments Off

Good Job?

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged Colossians 3:23, good | Comments Off

Good Job!

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

I am good with words, mediocre with cooking and bad at rocket science. How about you?

Good at a few things
Mediocre with many things
There’s a ton of stuff I couldn’t and shouldn’t ever do

There are some teachers who are not good at teaching. There are some police officers who shouldn’t be policing. There are some politicians who aren’t good leaders.

Maybe it is time to stop declaring, “You can be anything you want to be.” Maybe it’s time to ask, “Are you good at what you do?”

Are you putting the talent God has given you to good use?

Posted in other | Tagged good, talents | Comments Off

Restoring My Soul

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Hope you take a few days this summer to do likewise. See you in a week.

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Gang Lives Matter

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

I read that there are 2,000 gang-related homicides in our nation each year. In some large cities, almost half of the murders are gang-related.

Those lives matter. Shame on us for looking the other way.

Lord God, may our young people find their identity in you, not in gangs. Let your Spirit blow through the gang culture, turning even the hardest hearts toward you. Replace violence with love, death with abundant life.

Posted in other | Tagged gangs, homicides, prayer | 1 Comment

Upfront or After-the-Fact?

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged 2 Chronicles 7:14, prayer for the nation, Your will be done | Comments Off

What Can We Do?

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

We face growing violence in our land, unnecessary and fatal violence. What can we do?

Push for legislation
Protest
Not much

We discuss possible causes: breakdown of the family, violent video games, prejudice, poverty. Easy to talk about, hard to change. There’s not much we can do, right?

Wrong!

1 Timothy 2:1-3 (MSG)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation.

Posted in other | Tagged 1 Timothy 2:1-3, prayer, violence | 2 Comments

What the World Needs

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

We need more

Justice
Mercy
Humility

Our courts are about winning, not justice. We want revenge, not mercy. And we look out for #1.

Micah 6:8 (NIV)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Posted in other | Tagged humility, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8 | Comments Off

Firey Wisdom

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

From George Washington:

“Government . . . Like fire, it is a dangerous servant
and a fearful master.”

Pray that we don’t get burned.

Posted in other | Tagged George Washington, government | 2 Comments

Heal the Nations

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Revelation 22:1-2 (NIV)
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

“Healing of the nations.” Nations get sick.

When people get sick, we pray for them. Likewise, let us pray for the sick nations of our world.

Posted in other | Tagged heal the nations, Revelation 22:1-2 | Comments Off