Sweet to the Soul - Ellen Chauvin

Four Years and Counting – Opportunities

October 12, 2017 by Ellen Leave a Comment

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 1 Corinthians 3:5 NASB

Writing and blogging these last four years has brought so many new friends into my life. I am so thankful the Lord led me in this direction. Blogging has also brought about some wonderful opportunities for me. I have been asked to guest post on other websites. What an honor!

Here are a few of them. I hope you enjoy!
The Laundry Moms: I thought it was hysterically funny that these sweet ladies asked me to write a post for them. After all, I’ve never birthed a baby and I hate laundry! HAHA! However, I did share a few lessons I’ve learned about being a step-mom. Click here to read the post.

The Consilium. When Diane Bailey at the Consilium asked for volunteers to write for her site, one of the subjects was grief. I volunteered to share my story. After my mama passed away, I was overcome with grief and guilt. You can read about it here.

In addition to guest blog posts, I was also asked to be interviewed for a PODCAST! Me! Speaking! God just amazes me with His sense of humor! Holly Barrett, over at Living a Redeemed Life asked if she could interview me. It was so much fun visiting with Holly. She made me feel at home and welcome. You can find the podcast here.

I’m not sure how I first ran across the Deeper Waters website, but I fell in love with it! When they opened the doors for contributors, I raised my hand! This site encourages women to get into the Word of God every day. Be still my heart! You can find my contribution here.

Most of you know I’m a Bible Geek. But I’m also a Word Nerd. So when my friend Liz at My Messy Desk asked for contributors for the 2017 Word Nerd series, I was IN! The word I chose was Knowledge – which so happens to be one of my spiritual gifts. I hope you enjoy this post.

My friend Jana asked for contributors to her Everyday Thanksgiving series over at Sweet to the Soul. Y’all, you need to go over to Jana’s site and just walk around a while. It is beautiful. Jana is a creative artist and all that creativity spills over from her beautiful heart! I think you’ll enjoy your time at Sweet to the Soul.

Next week: Book launches! WOOHOO!

Grace be with you,

Give Thanks by Encouraging

November 29, 2016 by Ellen Leave a Comment

2 Thessalonians 1:3

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ESV

Wisps of soft white cotton rolled across the road, blown by the fall breeze. The bank of scruffy weeds along the shoulder acted as a barricade, stockpiling the stray bolls. From a distance, it looked like a small snow drift. Cotton harvest had just ended in central Louisiana, leaving soft, fluffy reminders blown along the roadway.

I certainly never realized seeing cotton bolls strewn along the highway would bring back so many memories. Mama used to tell us stories of the cotton fields and how she worked them as a young girl. My mama was the daughter of a sharecropper in Mississippi. One of her chores was to help pick the cotton bolls during harvest. We joked about her being a cotton-pickin’ cotton picker! But it was hard, hard work, something Mama said she would never do again, if she could help it.

Mama’s daddy had an old mule he would use to help plow up the fields for planting. So many times that old mule would just STOP in the middle of a row. No more plowing. He wouldn’t budge an inch. I suppose he was tired, and decided he would just wait out in the field for someone to unhitch him and take him home to the barn.

In today’s scripture, Paul was addressing the believers in Thessalonica. They were suffering persecution, and wrongly assumed God’s judgement had begun. The result of this incorrect teaching was that many of the believer’s stopped working, and decided to just sit and wait for Christ’s return. Stubborn as a mule, you might say…

Haven’t we all been at this point from time to time? Won’t you join me today over at Sweet to the Soul? We’ll delve into Paul’s heart for his brothers and sisters in Christ, and see how our thankfulness for others can be an encouragement to them.

Grace be with you,