Testing, Testing.. 1,2,3.

Wow. 12 years since google decided it really was me that owned this account. Thank you for that! Is anyone still here? Obviously can’t wait to get this up and going again. So much to catch everyone up on! How exciting. Hello! 

Blessed Beyond Words

What happens when you seek Jesus with all of your heart, mind and soul? You find Him. You experience true, everlasting joy, peace beyond understand and are given new life. Jesus has renewed my heart, restored my mind, refreshed my Spirit and I am overwhelmed by His goodness and grace and mercies that are new every morning. Life is good. God is good. No matter what. At all times. He is my delight and I am His. What a blessing to know that I have a hope as anchor for my soul, firm and steadfast that nothing in the world could take away. May you all have a blessed day and keep loving Jesus.

Shawnda Lorrelle

Mom, dad, me and my sibs. They are the best. So thankful for them everyday. 

So Many Changes

What a whirlwind of change and blessing 2011 has brought! Thank you for my life. 

For blessing this dorky little red headed girl without a clue with the most amazing life ever because you love me. The God who daily loads us with benefits is the lover of my soul and has blessed me and I just am soo thankful almost to tears at His grace and love for me and for you. 

December 1st, 2010

Here's to a soon to be new year. Wow, if you read the post below, you'd understand just how crazy 2010 has been from bad decisions I've made - and how the last couple of months, God has been pursuing my heart like crazy and restored everything so beyond abundantly. It's a story of redemption, really. The first that just comes to life in my own is the very popular one in Psalms where it says, He brought me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock -- this could not be more how I feel, but to dramatize it, it is kind of like this.. I was literally stuck. Drowning, gasping for air... unable to move.. helpless - truly could do nothing do get myself out of these places I had somehow gotten myself into. I felt like daily the clay and muck were hardening over me and I felt like I was going to fossilize and be this shell of a person inside this garbage - my heart cried out - daily - God!! Help me! - and all of a sudden... He did. The second I realized that I had no strength in myself - He literally pulled me out of that mess and moved me to a completely new place, high up - and it was firm and not unstable and I was clean and could breath and was no longer drowning.. and quite literally He saved my entire life -- and heart -- and spirit. And slowly becoming one of my favourite verses is: Psal 18:19, and it says, "He brought me into a spacious place and rescued me because He delighted in me." and all I can say is that is exactly what happened. The second I turned from my bad decisions and to God - He was literally, rite there. He hadn't gone anywhere - He wasn't mad, He wasn't anything but full of grace and mercy and rite at my place of need. He was just waiting, but not only that, as in some passive way, because the whole time He was pursuing me and I ignored it -- but the second I responded -- there He was.

Restored. Renewed. Revived. Resurrected. Where sin abounded, grace much more. Redemption. Life. Abundant. Hope. Grace. Mercy. Joy. Delight. 100 million fold. So much more than. .. These represent the things that come to mind when I think of my life these last few months and I can truly say, that God desires this for each person. I look at my life going, geeeezz.. I was such a mess! What a wreck in every way I was -- and He saved me. Not my salvation, for that was set long ago, but He saved me from myself. From sin. From death. From fear. From anxiety. From depression. From waywardness.. and He didn't just save me from, but for.. He saved me for Himself. With intention. With purpose and the things He has in store for me, solely because of His grace alone, are going to blow my mind. I know that He is a God who daily loads us w/ benefits. Who's delight is to give us the kingdom. Who is going to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever ask or imagine.

I've posted some pictures. Just of life the last few months. I have been blessed with an amazing job with coworkers who are like family. I love my jr. high girls that I've been privileged to work with since last year.. I love my home and my amazing roomate.. Time w/ my family and all of them in general are such a blessing to me and I couldn't ask for better people to be related to. I have been given friends that would do anything for me and whom I've had the pleasure of getting to share life with. My church is incredible and I am so glad to be a part of that family. And without saying more, I will just say wow, God is incredible. I am so thankful for who He is and love all of you and will post again here soon.

Hmmm.. -

So 2010 has been a strange year. Pretty much a year of "finding myself" in the states. Sounds kind of weird, but it's the first time I've been home that I have not had it in my mind that I am moving overseas longterm again -- I've had to get a normal job, do normal things -- and it's been really hard to adjust because my whole life has been doing what I'm created to do overseas. It's been retreats, camps, mission trips, travelling all over the world -- for 10 years, and now... I'm just here. The adjustment culturally has been bizarre, I'm not 28 and have lived my life to the fullest and have no clue how exactly to "do" it here..

January to now specifically has been a time of alot of change, alot of good decisions and alot of bad decisions. Alot of challenging everything I've grown to believe and making choices that aren't so good -- then seeing why God is completely good and Sovreign as He gently restores me time and time again and draws me back in love, showing me the way of grace and mercy and true joy that's only in Him.

I have seen the absolutely depravity of man - in people and myself and as I looked to His Word today, was greatly encouraged and just wanted to write this chunk of Scripture as encouragement. Believe me -- if I wrote the things that have happened in my life over the last couple of months, it would drop your jaw in shock -- things that are appaling and soo ridiculous... and yet I praise Him.. for in all things He works for good. There is future. There is hope. He is Sovreign and so very good at all times.

Deut. 30:1-10
When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He has scattered you. Even if you have been banished on the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the Lord and follow all His commands that I am giving you today. Then the Lord will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young and your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as He delighted in your fathers, if you obey the Lord your God and keep His commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." I John 5:1-5

They are not burdensome -- but LIFE!!

"He brought me into a spacious place; He rescued me because He deligthed in me" Psalm 18:19

I have found out today some very very troubling things that have been happening with people I was once close to - my life has been rescued. Literally. Physically. Spiritually. Emotionally. And this is because of grace. Undeserved, from the Allmighty God who delights in me..

Praise God.

(;

I just looked thru all my postings on here from the last three years and it brought me to tears. Oh man... the life God has given me.. Wow... the things I have seen Him do.. the places He has brought me.. the lives I've seen changed.. My own life, how He has worked.. and I am humbled. And just sit here speechless. I had all this stuff to write.. but now I sit here going... wow..

Oh God.. You are good. Your faithfulness endures beyond our unfaithfulness and your mercies are new every morning. I've gone thru somewhat of a challenging time since the beginning of this year... and seen God literally rescue my life and pursue me and bring me into a wide open space of love and healing, provision, protection, restoration and life... in Psalms He says that He has done this because He delights in me..

All I thought about was the future, the past.. the present.. me this, what about this.. I wanna do this.. Me, me, me... and tonite.. Just now, everything changed. Literally, as I sat down to write this, I had such a different agenda -- it was going to be just an update about how good everything is... but I must say that God is good all the time, regardless of my circumstances and deserves every speck of my praise at each moment, no matter what -- because He is so lovely.

Wow God.. Thank you for you plans.. Thank you for your grace.. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your Son. Thank you for salvation. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your desire for intimacy with us. Thank you for hope. Thank you for loving us and choosing us and pursuing us in our hideous state. Thank you for laying your life down and serving, though you are God.. Thank you for coming to earth and showing us the way. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for your power and might and lovingkindness. Thank you Jesus. Just thank you for loving me.

My job is amazing. My new house is amazing. Being back in Portland, the city I love is amazing. My family is amazing. My students are amazing. My health is finally better and amazing. My church family has been amazing.. and I just step back going... Whoa... Thank you so much God.. For everything. Good. Bad. Unknown. Known. Seen. Unseen.. Wow.. is pretty much all I can say.. And thank you.. I am so in love with you.