....holding on

Hey everyone,

I must say that I dearly miss you all in good ol' Florida. I hope that we will be able to keep in contact more this semester. I have some prayer requests that I would like to give to you and ask that you email me or contact me to give me specific ways that I can be praying for you as well.

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Please be praying that I have an unshakable faith. That I will, through the stregnth of the Holy Spirit, persevere through the toughest storms; being constantly refined in the fire and refreshed in the Word.

Specific Prayer Requests:

Increased passion to see people come to know Christ through His Word.

A deeper love for my Savior and Lord.

Contentment in my singleness.

Opportunities to love and serve people.

Clarity regarding my major and my future.

In His Strong Arms,

Shannon Keller

Truth

Truth..... Do I tell the truth? Do I tell myself the truth? Do I tell others the truth? Do others tell the truth?

I was not "packing my bags" to go on a hike to learn about truth, but apparently that is what God wants to show me right now in my life. I am seeing how lies can slowly infiltrate my life as well as those around me. I can convince myself that specific things are true whether it be about my past, people or even myself, but yet I could be completely deceiving myself and others. I am seeing that my mind is a dangerous thing because I can think one thing, convince myself of it and stand firmly on it while all along it is/was not true. This is scaring me because I am seeing the "mirages" for what they really are. I am seeing that my life isn't all that I make it out to be. I am seeing that I cannot even trust myself. Wow...what a dose of reality!! 

I am scared to see what in my past is not true and what is true presently, but I know that I want to live, speak and believe truth.Please pray that I not back down from this incredible hike, but that I run full force to the One who is trustworthy and whose Word is infallible and inerrant.

~Shannon

.....From the Hands of My Father.

Well, I am currently house-sitting. I will be watching a dog for the next week while still working six days a week. I'm keeping pretty busy which is nice because the summer is seeming to go by faster. This summer has been interesting. I have honestly never had a summer that was this different. Granted I am working at the same two jobs that I worked at last summer, but everything else is different. My sisters are growing up fast, my friends are mostly gone, and my church is going through a huge transitional period. Amidst all this change, I praise the Lord that He has blessed me with some great sisters in Christ (here) that I can meet with throughout the week. I also praise the Lord for this time of change and uncertainty. I am learning more about my Rock, my Heavenly Father and am seeing as well who I am and how I am to live.

God has been blessing me with amazing opportunities to reach out to those around me. This past Sunday a guy that I work with came to my church and brought his girlfriend who is not a believer. The message was on 1 Timothy 6 where Paul talks about not coveting money and so it hit close to home for all of us (because we all have full-time jobs and are trying to pay our bills (or for me, my school bill). The cool thing is that when I went into work on Monday my co-worker asked if we could go out to lunch and discuss the message...so I had the opportunity to go out to lunch with him today and we talked about God and how He calls us to live. We had a great conversation and I left knowing that it would have to be God that changes our hearts to really grasp this Truth and live according to it.

That's something that has always fascinated me, that it is honestly by God's grace that I know the Truths that I know. Not only had God given me the faith to believe in Him but He is constantly strengthening my faith as I go through this life here on earth. This life that I live is a gift from God and the Truths that I know are only grasped when God graciously allows me to see them. I am at the mercy of my Father's hands. He is the One that graciously bestows wisdom and knowledge to me. He is the One who gives me the gifts and talents that I have. He is the One who loves people through me (because if He didn't, I would be a self-centered punk). All that I have is a gift from my Father. He is what makes me beautiful. By the blood of Christ I am redeemed and through the Holy Spirit I am called to surrender my life to. I want to be a vessel used by God. I want to be a rug that people walk on. I want to be a servant who gives all that she has to serve the One who owns it all.

My Prayer: Oh God please keep me humble because apart from You, there is nothing good in me.

"Open Hands"

Here is a poem that I have been really trying to apply to my life. I wrote this in my journal a while ago..and am finding this to be quite a challenge to actually do. BUT..God has once again been comforting me..and I am learning more to trust and rest in Him...knowing that He knows what He is doing with my life.

"OPEN HANDS"   

My hands are open wide

I will not grasp a thing

You continually remind me that it is you that truly brings

sheer satisfaction, true joy and pleasures forevermore

For you are the reason I am living

You are what I had been searching for

TAKE ME NOW LORD, PUSH ME CLOSER TO YOU

IF THAT MEANS TAKING AWAY MY HOPES AND DREAMS

IF THAT MEANS MAKING SOME COME TRUE

I will not hold onto the things of this earth

Where moth and rust destroy

but rather call out to you openly

and endure the trials and sufferings

knowing that you are lovingly leading me

for your greater purpose.

Lord, it seems that I just learned a lesson

It seems that I just was shown a bit of your glory

It seems that now life should be smooth...but that's not the gist of the

story

For if life were all daisies and roses with no trials and confusion

then I would not need to trust in you in all things.

Lord, do not allow me to grasp onto things. Whether it be relationships,

security or even self-sufficiency.

I want to walk daily hands open wide

Throwing all else aside

Striving closer to you and watching what you will do in the story of my short

life, here on earth.

Lord, I praise you for trials and uncertainties... I am so thankful that you

know the end from the beginning. Lord help me to rest in you, trusting in you

daily, hands open wide.

I love you Daddy...