What Comes DOWN Down down, must go up Up UP!

Romans 11:36 (NLT)
For everything comes from Him and exists by His power
and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

As I read this passage, it jumpstarted my heart. He read it to me piece by piece, and it was powerful.

For ___________ comes from Him—

Fill in the blank. For (blank) comes from Him.

Think of a gift, a talent, a provision, a privilege or a blessing. Put it in the blank.

and exists by His power…

Whatever you put in the blank—not only does it come from Him, it exists by His power. That means that it is still there because of His power to give, sustain and take away. Whatever you have been given and still have is nothing short of His choice for you to have it.

and is intended for His glory…

This thing, do I really use it for His glory? Am I proud of the gift itself or am I proudly proclaiming the Gift-Giver? The word intended kind of caught me off guard. He, the Maker, the Giver, and the powerful Sustainer didn’t intend for us to use our fill-in-the-blank for our own egos…but for His glory. Period.

All glory to him forever!

All that we have, all that we are, all our hopes and dreams…they are to be for His glory. The forever part makes this so.

Want a promotion in your job? Only if it is for My glory, Child.

Are you using a special talent for Him? Please care more about My fame and renown than your own, Dear One.

Have you been given wisdom and faith? Let your motive be to draw others closer to me.

May the very life we have been given be used for His glory. This is something we must ask from Him, because it will not come naturally for us. It very well may be a trait that is grown little by little in us as we submit to Him each day. Let’s pray to earnestly desire for Him to be our glory forever and ever…

Lord God, I am blown away by the power of Your Word. So impacting. The same Word that has been there from the beginning of time—in its power—in its perfect timing—has convicted me once again. May it do the same in my brothers and sisters as You choose, and may we constantly remind each other of all the glorious things You have done in our lives. I pray from the bottom of my heart that You would help me to learn how to use all my stuff for Your purposes…that I would come to You with empty hands, an undistracted mind and an open heart. Lord, for all of us, when we see each others’ gifts and talents and blessings, may we see only You—and You alone. And then give You the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“For in HIM we live and move and have our being.”
Acts 17:28a

In Vogue

In my quiet time this morning, God caused me to pause and ponder this:

"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." (Colossians 3:12, The Message)

It's amazing to me that the Lord gave me the Holy Spirit, and I can wear Him every day. I don't want to wear my flesh while His beautiful garments lay on the shelf of my heart. As I trust, surrender and obey, the Lord's compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline & love will radiate. And His colors definitely look the best on me. :)

Lord, I praise You and thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit. It gives me hope & encouragement to know I don't need to go it alone...help me to be in vogue with You. Have Your way in me today, I pray.

A Personal Call for Prayer & Support

Dear Friends,

It’s not everyday that an opportunity such as this one comes along, but in faith, I’m answering God’s call to go to Asia. In fact, our team of 13 men and women are traveling to Cambodia from October 28th-November 7th to lead a conference for the leadership team and the families of World Relief.

Now in its 14th year in Cambodia, World Relief is committed to working alongside the Church of Cambodia in building its capacity to serve the poor in the name of Jesus Christ so that the healing and transforming power of the Kingdom of God is manifested in all its fullness in Cambodia.

The goal of our team is to provide spiritual refreshment and encouragement for these leaders, and in doing so, I know God will do a powerful work in our lives as well.

While I've always been passionate about missions in the past, this is my first time to actually experience it in the "going" role. I'll be leading the children, ages 4 to 12, in teaching, worship and activities, along with some of my other team members. After being a kids’ praise and worship leader for almost 20 years in my own country, I am leaning on the Lord to translate that passion and knowledge to kids who love the same God in a different language and culture. If you have any suggestions for me, I would love your input!

The events that led up to my going on this trip are a blog post in and of themselves, if not more than one. Empty hands held high, I'm trusting what God has for me, though I confess to being wayyyy out of my comfort zone. Stretch time.

If the Lord leads you, I would love to have prayer support and/or financial support for our trip. Asking for prayer is easy for me. Asking for money is not. But we’ve been encouraged as a team to give others an opportunity to be a part of our missions journey. By doing so, we expand the missions experience to a wider array of people. It is up to the Lord to prompt others to pray or give as He chooses, and I know He'll provide in His creative way and time.

Each of us has been asked to raise $2800, which covers all meals, accommodations and airfare (our biggest expense.) All donations are tax deductible, and you will receive a receipt that you can use for tax purposes. All support raised is considered team support, so any funds I raise over and above what I need will be put into our team fund to cover costs for the entire team.

Whether or not you feel led by God to support financially, I hope you will pray for our team. We long to be unified, effective, surrendered and flexible as we work together, and we ask for protection and provision for the families we leave behind while pursuing this call.

For His Glory,



If you feel led to give, checks should be made payable by October 1st to Bent Tree Bible Fellowship with “Cambodia 2/L. Shaw” in the memo line and sent to the following address:

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship
Attn: Outreach Ministry
4141 International Parkway
Carrollton, TX 75007

"But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,
who can't see where they're going.
I'll be a personal guide to them,
directing them through unknown country.
I'll be right there to show them what roads to take,
make sure they don't fall into the ditch.
These are the things I'll be doing for them— sticking with them,
not leaving them for a minute."
Isaiah 42:16, The MSG

Deactivate the Hyperdrive

I'd love for you to join me at Internet Cafe Devotions today. But I'll warn you, I'm a little bit hyperactive...