All posts by L.L. Shelton

About L.L. Shelton

Bonnie is a Jesus Lover, and in light of the fact, loves His wonderful church. She is interested in many things and enjoys sharing her view of some of them on this blog. She is a poet and a singer of songs. She resides in Memphis, Tennessee, where she is a dedicated wife and the mother of seven children- five of whom she educates at home, as the eldest two have graduated homeschool and are pursuing their own interests. In her spare moments she may be found in her home office with a client, as she is a practicing Biblical Counselor and a Life Coach. She welcomes you to print and share her articles and poetry, and to quote freely from them with the understanding that she is to be acknowledged as the author. Mrs. Shelton does NOT OWN the copyright to the majority of the photos and other types of illustration used on this site! View all posts by L.L. Shelton →

Same Dark Places

March 17, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

May I tell you
That I am no prize,
But that one deluded
May think otherwise?

I only live here
In my shell-shocked life,
Waiting for that moment
When He calls me to rise.

A View of The Game

March 17, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

This world is made for cheating hearts.
I’ve nearly come undone.
My journey here’s confounded me.
I’ve lost more than I’ve won.

I tire of waiting patiently
For our kind transformation.
I’ll be pleased to be with You,
To delight in our vacation.

Far And Away

March 16, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

I remember how lonely
I was
For a city I’d never seen.

I remember how only
I was
In that city in my dreams.

World Without End

March 11, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

Goats and chickens,
Puppies and kittens,
Old folks and children,
All things that are living;

Flowers and bees,
Microbes and atoms,
Sunlight and starlight,
Healing and forgiving;

My grateful heart,
To be touched and known,
Treasures and pleasures
By Your Word shown;

Almighty Maker,
Wondrous, kind,
Please keep me seeing
With You in my mind.

It’s A Small World After All

March 5, 2019Academics & The Arts, Bible Talk, Family LifeL.L. Shelton

Guys! Can we talk? I have participated in a couple of conversations recently that served to bring about an awareness, again, of the ease with which we are strikingly self-centered. In each conversation, I noticed as my friend struggled to place the blame for something outside his or her reach on the self. This response appeared overdue.

First and foremost, our God is generous beyond compare. He designed His systems within systems so perfectly as to be admired without ceasing by any thinking person. I find my rest in it.

Please consider: Each of us is the product biologically, genetically, and environmentally of many others, as well as of our own choices and responses to outer stimuli; therefore comments filled with negative connotations, meant as criticisms, that we are all guilty of slinging have no place in Truth. They will at most be only partially accurate. For example:

1. Get YOUR kids out of the kitchen.
2. Stop YOUR kid from climbing on that car.
3. He gets THAT from his mother.
4. He is JUST like you.
5. Your channeling your father, AGAIN.
6. There’s my DAD in him.
7. You’re just like your father.
8. You’re just like your mother.
9. There’s no helping her- she’s just like her grandmother!
10. He’s a product of his environment.
11. It happened because he spent so much time in those public schools.
12. It was that messed up church that did it to her.
13. The demands placed on him at that private academy would have killed anyone.
14. You looked JUST like him from the day you were born- I should have known.
15. That afternoon with that one family down the street- kid was never the same.
16. They said that summer camp was all about Jesus- but we know better now!
17. Darn that quack doctor!
18. If only I had specifically laid out the plan of salvation…
19. If only we hadn’t homeschooled.
20. If only we had homeschooled.

How freeing to realize that one traumatic event or even a series of traumatic events, or my DNA or my husband’s DNA or anyone else’s DNA, or a grandparent’s or a teacher’s negative influence, or any other isolated thing is not the sole cause of an outcome in reference to the character of another!

How humbling to know that not I, nor anyone else, nor any environment, nor any single event is solely responsible for any achievement or successful venture on this earth!

How good of God to allow that HE will bring to heaven any and all He had determined to bring- with or without our particular help; to know that we only need live out our LOVE of HIM to the best of our understanding and abilities and ALL will be well.

How gracious is our God! How worthy of ALL praise, glory, and gratitude! And how wonderful to know how small while yet significant are we!

Forget-Me-Not

February 19, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

I can forget the rain
When flowers bloom
Golden, yellow,
Purple hues.

I can forget the storm
When firelight’s glowing
Violet, and orange,
And blue.

I can forget the silence
When birds do sing,
Carolers, their anthems ring,
And promises abound of spring.

Yet, no antidote
To you begot,
God made you
A Forget-Me-Not.

Novalee

February 18, 2019PoetryL.L. Shelton

I remember,
You were once me,
Or I was you
It’s hard to see.
Fives meant nothing
But I was young,
One chapter ringing
In my ears for fun,
I meant to give
A name that mattered,
But I was young
My hope was scattered.