Soul H2O
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Nehemiah–Wash Behind Your Hears
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Does Forgiveness Equal Restored Relationship?
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example…”
Ephesians 4:32-5:1 NIVLife is so generous to give us lots of opportunities to extend forgiveness to people who hurt us. What’s the proper response to offence? Do we always have to forgive?Does forgiveness =equal= restored relationship?
If we are to follow God’s example, as this verse instructs us, then forgiveness is a must and restored relationships need to be our intent.
Sadly, I don’t think forgiveness can always lead to restored relationships, and we see that in Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees.
Isaiah 59:2 explains that our sin is an offence to God, separating us in our relationship with Him. The more we sin and the longer we continue offending Him, the more distant our relationship with Him becomes. Forgiveness can take place in an instant when a prayer is whispered, but it takes time to rebuild a relationship with God.
Restoration happens when we take ownership of our offense and change our ways. We have to go through a process to rebuild our closeness with the Father.
The same principle needs to be applied to our earthly relationships.We must forgive others for their offenses towards us. If we don’t, it keeps us bound in bitterness. It’s healthy to learn that a restored relationship is separate from forgiveness and requires a healing process.When approaching relationship restoration, we need to consider the whole counsel of scripture.Proverbs 4:23 warns,“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT).
Proverbs 22:24 cautions,
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered...”
Forgiveness + Ownership + Repentence = Restored Relationship
Sometimes you’ll need to forgive and protect yourself from unhealthy or even toxic relationships. In the best of times, forgiveness leads to a better, stronger restored relationship.
Prayer:
Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness. I ask for the grace to forgive others in my life who have hurt and offended me. I take myself out of the judge’s seat and release them to Your judgement and justice. Please help me to guard my heart, without closing it in the area of relationship restoration. May I walk in Your wholeness. In Jesus’ name, amen.- Ephesians 4:32
- Isaiah 59:2
- Proverbs 22:24–25
- Proverbs 4:23
This post was first published on January 19, 2014 and then included in my first Soul H2O Devotional book: 40 Thirst Quenching Devotions for Women.
Devotion #17 – Forgiveness and Restored Relationship. The original devotion also inspired a #musicpic post called, The Forgiveness Song -
Leadership Leads… Good or Bad
“...from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” Jeremiah 23:15 NIV
All my John Maxwell training is going to be put to the test in three and a half weeks when I’ll be moderating a panel on Leadership at the Women’s Connection District Retreat in Grimsby, Ontario. {If you’re going, make sure to stop by my table and say hello!}
I have some amazing ladies on the panel who hold various organizational leadership roles in business, government positions, church leadership, and home management. The goal is to elevate the confidence of women in leadership positions and practically help improve their skills, enabling them to walk further and faster into the destiny God has for their lives.
As we’ve been preparing for the panel, I can’t help but look back and rate my skillfulness as a leader. Lots of passes, and plenty of fails. My thoughts went back to my first leadership position as a big sister. 🙂
Sometimes, my little sister, Lori would follow me around playing ‘Copycat’. Remember that annoying childhood game where people followed you around; often one-step behind you, repeating every word you said, copying move you made? Lori used to drive me crazy doing this! Thankfully, we’ve grown up and now have a great relationship! {Don’t we look cute together now 🙂 } As a “big sister” I hope I’ve given Lori more good examples to follow than bad ones! No matter how small your leadership role may seem, it will have a huge impact because
Leadership Leads…Good or Bad!
RECOGNIZING YOUR REACH
Sometimes we minimize the effect our leadership has in the home, school, court, field, rink, church or place of employment. Whenever God has elevated you to a place of leadership, people are going to follow in your footsteps—It’s a scary thing!
A friend once said to me,
“I was forced to go to church and I won’t put my kids through that.
I don’t want them to be forced to live what I believe but to be able to choose for themselves.”Since she never took her kids to church, they simply followed her lead and have seldom gone to church because they were never given another option to choose from. Failure to give guidance is, in fact, leading, since it causes people to blindly follow your example and not know why.
[tweetthis]You’re leading, even when you try not to lead. #leadership [/tweetthis]
Our leadership in life is followed,
much more than we recognize.Today’s verse comes from the book of Jeremiah. In his time, many of the prophets weren’t leading well. They weren’t proclaiming God’s word to the people, but instead speaking what they knew the people wanted to hear, so they would keep following them… following them down the wrong path.
These false prophets were sharing a watered-down message with false hopes that led the people to be disappointed in God; causing them to turn away from Him. Jeremiah had to swim against the tide of his time as their poisonous message,
“spread throughout the land”.
Leadership was difficult for Jeremiah, but he knew his responsibility was to clear the path for others, so they could follow the right way; because
[tweetthis]Leadership Leads… Good or Bad #leadership[/tweetthis]
So, what’s going to spread in the future as people follow you?
Prayer
Father… I’m overwhelmed when I recognize that you have given me such influence in my world. Help me to be wise with my words and actions so that my life impacts others to know and love you more! May others follow your plans for their lives as they see me chasing after the destiny you’ve set before me. In Jesus name…Amen
I WILL RISE
Women’s Connection Conferencehttps://womensconnection.ca/events/conference
If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join us
Don’t forget to sign up for the Leadership Panel}.
- Ephesians 1:5
- Hebrews 13:7
- James 3:1
- 1 Timothy 4:12
If you liked the refreshing in this #SoulH2O devotion, you’ll love my latest Soul H2O Devotional book: 40 Thirst Quenching Devotions for Women.
#Dare2Share
Post in the Comment Section below and bolster the faith of someone else!
Other posts about my journey with John C. Maxwell, the JMTeam, or John’s Books:
John C. Maxwell And God Want You To Be A Talent-Plus Person
Mentored to Lead by John C. Maxwell
WHERE YOU CAN OFTEN FIND ME LINKING UP MY BLOG WITH OR PLACES WHERE MY WRITING HAS BEEN FEATURED
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Do you Take Time For Self-Care?
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I Was Shortlisted For a Word Guild Award!
I’ve got to confess…I’m nervous writing this post. Fear, insecurity…and admittedly a bit of pride has kept me from posting this news, until now. When I first found out that I was shortlisted for a Word Guild Award I was ecstatic and immediately posted the news on Facebook. After I made the post I got nervous. When I looked at who was also shortlisted my elation turned to deflation. I felt I really didn’t stand much of a chance in winning and worried what people would think if I posted about it and lost. Yes…I’m completely human too 🙂
Since the Facebook post, I haven’t told many people. Today I was talking about it with Todd and my stepson Brandon when Brandon gave me some advice I would share with a friend. He said, “Sherry, it’s an honour just to be nominated and shortlisted.” How do kids get so smart 🙂
So, here’s my formal announcement…drum roll please…
I Was Shortlisted For a Word Guild Award!
Woohoo!!!!
I am completely honoured that a post on my Soul H2O Blog has been shortlisted in the following Category with two talented writers. Whomever wins, we’re all blessed to be considered.
Check Here to see the full Word Guild Awards Shortlist
Shortlisted Category: Article – Inspirational/Devotional
Carolyn Arends of Surrey, B.C. for “Artful Discipleship” (Faith Today)
Daniel Blackwell of North York, Ont. for “Taking Off the Masks – The need for recovery groups in our churches” (Testimony Magazine)
Sherry Stahl of Leamington, Ont. for “The Women Of The Christmas Story – The Teenager” (https://sherrystahl.com/the-women-of-the-christmas-story-the-teenager/)Carolyn Arends is an amazing Christian Recording Artist that I’ve listened to for years. She’s a very accomplished author, speaker, professor and Director of Education for Renovaré…Do you sleep Carolyn? 🙂 Daniel Blackwell is not to be mistaken for the Danny Blackwell of Maryland who shot at his wife for taking a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich! And no, I’m not making that up, check it out for yourself in the Global News Report. You just can’t make that stuff up 🙂 I believe that this Danny Blackwell is a guy I went to Bible College with but haven’t seen since my second year at E.P.B.C (now MCS). I guess I’ll have to see at the Awards Gala!
In just one week Todd and I will be traveling to Toronto for the 2017 Word Guilds Award Gala and I’m even preparing a speech…just in case 🙂
GET YOUR POM-POMS READY &
CHECK ON THIS LINK FOR A POST-AWARDS UPDATE 🙂YOU CAN OFTEN FIND ME LINKING UP WITH:
MONDAYMonday Meditations – Laura J. Davis,
TUESDAYCheerleaders of Faith #RARaLinkup – Kelly Balarie,
WEDNESDAYCoffee For Your Heart – Holley Gerth, Word Nerd Wednesdays — Liz Giertz
THURSDAYHeart Encouragement Thursday – Crystal Storms, Chasing Community – Barbara Bradford Ottinger
FRIDAYDance With Jesus Linkup – Susan B. Mead, Grace and Truth Linkup – Arabah Joy, Counting My Blessings – Deb Wolf, Fresh Market Friday – Crystal Twaddell -
When You’re Really Down
“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again–my Savior and my God!”
Psalm 42:5, 42:11, 43:5 NLTHave you ever been so down that you thought you might never get up? I was having one of those days. My mind was spiralling into the depths of despair and I started to cry while working at my computer so, I decided to stop working and start relying.
[tweetthis]This devotion is written for those times when you’re really down.[/tweetthis]
I can totally relate to David’s feelings in these verses. Can’t you? David repeats himself three times because once just wasn’t enough. Have you been there?
That’s where I was this morning. I started off feeling discouraged so I put on Christian music and that helped for a while. Then the feelings came back and I got so sad I began to cry and let God know what was going on in my life (‘cause He didn’t already know!?!).
[tweetthis]Sadly, I was magnifying my problems and not my God. [/tweetthis]
I knew I needed to be more assertive on this attack so I decided to go upstairs and get into the Word.
SCRIPTURE CARDS
For the past few years I’ve been compiling scriptures on certain areas of struggle for me in these ringed cue cards and often find strength in them. At first, I began to read the scriptures but that wasn’t changing anything. I knew reading wasn’t enough to defeat the lies of the enemy swirling around in my head so, I got serious and began to declare those verses out loud; even inserting my name to personalize them. I spoke these verses out like prayers to my God and kept declaring until it happened. A verse almost leapt off the page and into my heart. To be honest, I don’t think it really had much to do with that one verse but more with the compound effect of all the verses I had declared over my life that morning.
Peace, joy and hope began to overflow and the discouraging sadness was broken. I put my hope in God and now I’m singing His praises again!
When you’re really down, you need to do something, heck sometimes you need to do a bunch of things. Taking your thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ1 isn’t easy but when you do, you’re not down anymore!
Prayer
Father…I thank You for the power I can access in You and Your Word. I’m choosing to Speak Your Scripture over my struggles; Your truth over my trouble. I refuse to live “under the circumstances” of my life but to rise above victorious in Your Name, the name that is above all names! In Jesus Name…Amen
[tweetthis]Speak Scripture over your struggles; God’s truth over your trouble.[/tweetthis]
#Dare2Share Post in the Comment Section below and bolster the faith of someone else!
- 2 Corinthians 10:5
YOU CAN OFTEN FIND ME LINKING UP WITH:
MONDAY Monday Meditations – Laura J. Davis,
TUESDAY Cheerleaders of Faith #RARaLinkup – Kelly Balarie,
WEDNESDAY Coffee For Your Heart – Holley Gerth, Word Nerd Wednesdays — Liz Giertz
THURSDAY Heart Encouragement Thursday – Crystal Storms,
FRIDAY Dance With Jesus Linkup – Susan B. Mead, Grace and Truth Linkup – Arabah Joy, Counting My Blessings – Deb Wolf, Fresh Market Friday – Crystal Twaddell -
Launch Out Into The Deep
“When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
Luke 5:4 NKJVTwo weeks ago I ticked one item off my bucket list. For my longtime readers you know that I come from a racing family. Well, this drag racing girl drove a stock car her very first time at an oval track! For my birthday Todd bought me the “Rusty Wallace Racing Experience” so I could check off attending a driving school from my bucket list. I hadn’t driven a standard car in decades, so I forgot how they launch forward when coming out of gear. I wasn’t very fast on the bends, but this drag chick put the peddle to the metal on the straightaways. Next time I’ll master the curve!
Luke 5 tells the story of Jesus calling His first disciples. After Jesus commandeers Simon Peter’s fishing boat to preach a message for the growing crowd, He spends time with the fishermen in the boats. After a long night of fishing these men had been washing their nets ready to go home. They hadn’t caught a fish all night when the carpenter/preacher instructs the fishermen to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch.
I can only imagine how tired they were. I’m sure the thoughts of more work doing the same thing that didn’t work all night long wasn’t on the top of their bucket list, but when the men followed Jesus’ advice they landed the greatest haul of fish they had ever caught.
Understanding the word launch means “to throw forward, catapult, send off…put into operation…set in motion,,,spring forward…make a start”1, helps me to see that Jesus instructions for the boys to launch out into the deep was the call that catapulted them forward into the plan God had for their lives. Obedience, followed up with some hard work shifted their lives into high gear.
[tweetthis]Obedience, followed up with some hard work can shift our lives into high gear.[/tweetthis]
God has opened up the opportunity to run a full scale book launch for the Soul H2O Devotional. It’s exciting and scary; deep waters always are. I believe the book launch has the potential to catapult my calling into new arenas that God has for me. So, how about you? What might God be asking you to launch out into the deep with today?
Prayer
Father…Thank You for staying in the boat when you ask me to launch out into the deep. Help me to remember that I’m not alone. You’re with me, guiding me at every turn. Let my obedience and hard work catapult me forward, racing towards the goals You’ve set for me! In Jesus Name…Amen
1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/launch
#Dare2Share
Post in the Comment Section below and bolster the faith of someone else! -
Soul H2O Book Launch
Publishing my second book, Soul H2O is such a different experience than with my first. With the release of Water In The Desert I didn’t know what I was doing AT ALL! Now I know A BIT more and realize how difficult it is to get a book out to market successfully. It’s not that it can’t be done, it’s just harder than I imagined. Luckily I’m not one to shy away from the hard stuff. Thankfully, God has been doing some crazy amazing things in my life that are perfectly positioning me for the Soul H2O Book Launch.
I’m most excited that God is perfectly positioning the right people in my life to help me learn how to do this ‘writing career’ thing.
BOOK LAUNCH TEAM
I’m completely blessed to have blogger Christine Duncan of Precepts and Life Preservers taking the lead on the Soul H2O Social Media Book Launch Campaign and I hope you join us. It’s gonna be fun! Christine has planned out posts that all you have to do is share and I’ll be doing my best to make it worth your while with some special perks J You’ll get a prerelease PDF of my book. I’m doing a Facebook Live today, Wednesday, September 21st that will tell you more. Hope you can watch live. If not check the video out later. I’ll post it on my author Facebook Page.
[imic_button colour=”btn-primary” type=”enabled” link=” https://sherrystahl.com/book-launch/” target=”_blank” extraclass=”” size=””]Soul H2O Book Launch Info Page & Launch Team Sign-Up Link[/imic_button]
Here’s the link if you want more info. You can even see a sample of the book’s interior here too.
For this book launch I’ve learned, and am still learning SO many new things!
I just learned how to make videos with iMovie! Are you in a time where everything is new for you? Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever moved, started a new job, school, gym or church? Ok, enough with the interrogation questions. You get what I mean!
It’s an unsettling feeling when you’re in totally new territory. I’m so thankful that the Bible is full of relatable people. They’re not perfect, they’re flawed. They’re not always brave, they struggle with fear and some get this ‘I don’t know exactly what I’m doing or where I’m going” feeling. God keeps bringing me back to the story of the Israelites crossing over the rushing Jordan river on dry ground into the promised land story in Joshua 3-4.
My life is mimicking their experience on both a professional and personal level. In both areas I am facing a sea of raging uncertain circumstances that will either be the blockage to God’s promises or the pathway to His blessings. In both situations it’s the second time I’m facing a similar circumstance that didn’t exactly get me into the ‘Promised Land. Both got me on the journey, but not quite there yet. I believe the Lord is speaking to me that these ‘second battles’ are the breakthrough battles that lead to overriding victory!
Here’s a verse that was shining off the page as I read through the story in Joshua:
“However, stay about half a mile behind them. Don’t come any closer to them so that you will know which way to go because you have not gone this way before.”
Joshua 3:4God directed the Israelites to follow the ark. They were to stay far enough behind it so they could get a clear vision of where it was going to follow on an easy path.
God has perfectly positioned me to stand behind some great women of the faith and watch what they’re doing. Authors like Karol Ladd, Mary DeMuth, Jennifer Strickland, Sheila Wray-Gregoire, Sue Detweiler. Speakers like Peggy Kennedy and Tracey Mitchell. Bloggers like Kelly Balarie, Crystal Storms, Sarah E Ball and most recently Lindsey Hartz. TV Hosts like Cheryl Weber and Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson. Publicists like Ellen Graf-Martin, Jeane Wynn and Katie Nguyen. I don’t take these new relationships for granted. I thank God for bringing women into my life that encourage, challenge and inspire me to pull out all the stops and move forward with all that God has for my life. I hope you do the same!
I’ve been given some opportunities that not a lot of Canadian authors receive. I’ve been offered the opportunity to promote Soul H2O across North America in three phases. First with the Social Media book launch team. Second in Bookstores across Canada during December. My publisher, Warren Benson of Word Alive Press has coordinated US distribution of my book through Anchor Distributors. Soul H2O is going to be available for purchase in all the Christian bookstores across the US and Water In The Desert is already available! Now to get the US stores like Family Christian and LifeWay to stock the book like Canadian bookstores are doing. This is how I feel that God has perfectly positioned me for the next level in publishing with these distribution channels.
Since we live in the real world, all this great opportunity costs, and boy does it cost! Because of this…
I’m doing an Indiegogo Campaign!
To help execute these opportunities and make them the best they can be, I’ve set up this campaign to presell and sell my new books.
[imic_button colour=”btn-primary” type=”enabled” link=”https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/soul-h2o-book-launch-books-jewelry#/” target=”_blank” extraclass=”” size=””]Soul H2O Book Launch Indiegogo Campaign[/imic_button]
I’ve partnered together with Word Alive Press, Helena Cho of Goodworks Jewelry and 100 Huntley Street’s Missions arm, Crossroads Relief and Development Water Projects to offer you some pretty fabulous deals to help bless you as you as you partner with me in bringing His refreshing word to people, at the same time providing clean water to people in need! Check out the deals on my Indiegogo Campaign where you order the books. You’ll be personally and beautifully refreshed, some even drenched! (You’ll have to check out the Perks to know what I’m talking about here!).
Thanks for your love and support!
~Sherry
xoxoThis mock-up of the book represents what the book looks like. It is the perfect purse sized devotional to carry with you anywhere, so you can read, anytime. Stuck at a doctor’s office, no problem. Waiting at the DMV, no problem anymore. Spend your time waiting while being refreshed to OVERflowing!
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15. Forgetful – In The Beginning
“The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
Genesis 3:2-3 The MessageI’m intrigued by the teachings of Dr. Carolyn Leaf on the mechanics of the brain, because I just want to figure mine out. Sometimes I have great memory recall, other times I’m so forgetful. Unfortunately for Todd, my work desk is such a mess because I’m afraid to put things away, in case I forget to finish them and I used to take vitamins to help with memory, but I kept forgetting to take them. Oh how I wish I were joking.
Last week the Soul H2O devotional discussed how Adam and Eve forgot their value and who God created them to be; this week’s verse shows us how Adam and Eve forgot what God had already said (Adam didn’t speak up when the Bible says he was “beside her”1). Eve took the bait when she got sucked into talking with the serpent. She fell hook line and sinker for his tricks because she forgot what God originally said. In The Beginning, “the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”2 No where did God say they couldn’t ‘touch the tree’. When we’re forgetful about what God has said to us it makes us susceptible to believing the enemy’s mistruths. He’s smart to just twist the truth. We’re too wise to believe a flat out lie.
It’s so important that we learn what God taught, In The Beginning so we can remember it when we’re tempted by the enemy to forget what God has said about: who He is, who we are and what He’s spoken to us before. Knowing the Bible enough to catch when it’s being misused is the tool you need to guard your heard and protect your forgetful mind.
Soak in His Word today, memorize some Scripture, talk with friends about what you’ve read; all of these activities will get His Word deeper into your spirit so you can draw from that well whenever you need it.
Prayer
Father…Thank You for Your Word. It is life to me. Help me to take the time to learn more of Your Word so I can know You better and understand Your love for me. Let Your Word sink into my thought life so I can remember what You’ve already said and stand strong when temptation comes. In Jesus Name…Amen
1 Genesis 3:6
2 Genesis 2:16-17 NIV#Dare2Share
Post in the Comment Section belowHere’s some Scripture for you to Soak In This Week
- Genesis 3:1-6
- Genesis 2:16-17
- Proverbs 4:23
- Psalm 119:11