Grace & Hope Blog

God’s grace has the ability to change the trajectory of our lives.

The Gospel changes everything
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

The Gospel changes everything

On my worst day, I have direct access to God. I do not have to jump through hoops, or clean myself up, or wait behind a curtain, or kill a goat, or ask a priest…I simply speak, and the Lord hears my prayers. I’ve never been more grateful to live on this side of the cross.

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Titus 2
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Titus 2

The beautiful art of loving faithfully is seen in the beautiful acts of service…

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Lukewarm
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Lukewarm

When we grow spiritually, the church grows. And when the church grows, the world feels it’s passion and sees her as the Bride of Christ: radiant, pure, and holy. And this heat, the heat of a fiery heart for Jesus, is the change agent we so desperately need.

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The Carpenter
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

The Carpenter

I met a Carpenter one time, and He restored me from a pile of ashes, to a vessel of beauty.

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A Gideon Fleece
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

A Gideon Fleece

And as seasons change, there came a point when I found myself walking through a particularly hard one. I was praying for an answer to a request from the Lord for what felt like an inordinate amount of time, and yet, He remained silent.

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A Quiet Faith Is Deafening
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

A Quiet Faith Is Deafening

No one ever made a difference for God by fitting in and following the crowd.  I love how God calls us to be difference makers and peace makers at the same time.

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Holy Exchange
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Holy Exchange

The Lord was with them on their conquest to take the land, but make no mistake, they battled for it! It took seven years for the Israelites to conquer 31 kingdoms. Over and over they fought city after city for their rightful place of inheritance. 

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A Fearless Perspective
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

A Fearless Perspective

I used to be addicted to fear.  It’s truly the only thing my brain knew. Like a bad habit you keep going back to, even though you know it’s not bearing any fruit. Every circumstance and situation I faced, I viewed through the lens of this debilitating emotion.

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Open Eyes
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Open Eyes

The truth is; we are all spiritually blind until a soul-illuminating encounter with the Light of the world.

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Holy Transactions
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Holy Transactions

Powerlessness is a vessel of grace…if we want it to be. The pit of destruction can lead to transformative peace.

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Four
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Four

Someone once said, you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.

And I cannot stop pondering this powerfully convicting thought.

Would Jesus approve of our inner circle?

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Legacy
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Legacy

It seems like I was always sitting on some sort of leather couch, in a softly lit office, lined with a plethora of books, all the while a pair of eyes studying me from an adjacent chair. But this day was different. Of all the sessions I’d spent trying to heal what had been broken, this particular one, miraculously broke through.

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Pride
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Pride

We live in a culture that screams self-love from the top of its lungs. We actually love ourselves so much; our egos have built their own grand standing platforms. In this type of thinking, we no longer glorify God; rather, we glorify ourselves.

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Light
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Light

When God shines the floodlight of truth on our darkest parts, we become aware of what needs to be swept from our lives. This holy awareness is the precursor to miraculous life change.

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Restless
Shelli Strickland Shelli Strickland

Restless

Our restlessness is warning sign. A gift from a gracious God which prompt us to pray. A spiritual signal, beckoning us to grab onto His steady hand, resist temptation, and flee.

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Be Encouraged.

God is able to to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you could dare to dream or imagine. You were created for so much more.

Grace begets grace.