Sharing your Story

There's nothing better than a good story. I love reading, watching, or telling one, but being a part of one can be hard. Every good story includes tragedy or heartbreak, it what makes the ultimate victory so wonderful. While I love seeing a powerful story unfold, when I'm in the middle of the heartbreak, my story doesn't feel so wonderful.

Recently, Grace College, where I went to school for two years, told my story. I can read it now and think, "Wow, that is beautiful". The way God healed me, saved me and showed me His grace. But, it didn't feel beautiful at the time.

So, if you're in the middle of your story and things are a little rough, I pray this gives you hope.

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~ Shelby

I've Got This

On my first trip to Russia, one of the young ladies told me she didn't understand this one thing about Americans. Why does everyone grow up and move away, from their friends, family and everything they know? She was an adult woman at the time, but still lived with her parents, and didn't have any imminent plans to move out. If fact, for Russians, they often live several generations to a home. And by home, I mean less than a 900 square foot apartment. Grandparents, parents and newlyweds all crammed into three rooms. Partly because of economy, and mostly because of culture. Families stay together, they rely on each other and support one another.

Not here. Graduate...go away to college. Get a job...move out. Get married...move away. I did all three of those, and yet I know now that I am far from "self-sufficient." There are times when I have looked at my husband and said "You have to be strong for me, I can't carry this burden." Or jumped in my car and rushed to my mom's in tears as she wrapped her arms around me and held me like the little girl I used to be.

I need the support of others. But, like an empty boot without someone to wear it, I am completely useless apart from Jesus. There are times when life gets so dark, the world crashes in and breathing becomes difficult. When we can barely open our eyes to greet the day. I have to know, believe and trust that there is a Spirit stronger than our failures and pains. 

We need to be reminded of this truth often. It takes the pressure off to perform and pretend. We can trust the One that was there all along, waiting to breath life into our dead bones and remind us we're not alone.

~ Shelby

Who You Are

There's a lot of talk about "finding yourself". Figuring out "who you are". I'm not sure I believe in that. I think it's more about realizing the truth that was there all along. And to believe it. To know the person you were always created to be, can be hard, even when it's staring you in the face. When faced with the lie that I am not enough, I'm a failure or am worthless, these beautiful truths give me strength...


But you are God's chosen and special people...God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9


Now you have been set free from sin, and you are God's slaves. This will make you holy and will lead you to eternal life. Romans 6:22

For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17


...only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. John 3:6


...you are God's temple and his Spirit lives in you. 1 Corinthians 3:16


My personal favorite, a truth I need: You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20


Truly, I would not be alive today if God had not opened my eyes to these truths, and had I not believed them I fear I'd still be stuck with an eating disorder, or worse. These are so much more than Bible verses, they are life!
~Shelby

The Story

In a nutshell, this video introduces you to me. It's not all about what went wrong, but what God did out of the darkness.

Episode 84: Recovered with Shelby Lynn from mitchkrusetv on Vimeo.

A Dancer

The most mesmerizing thing about a dancer is the combination of grace and strength; beauty and calm draped over determination and control. Handling the pull of gravity, the pressure to fall and yet, remain steadfast is hard enough, but to make it look effortless is true skill.

Looking back on tough stuff, I want to know I handled the mess with grace. Rather than shaking my fist at God, I ran to Him and allowed Him to hold me. It's in those moments of weakness, God became strong in me.

We look at people who seem to have it all together and wonder at their secret. Are they faking it, perhaps? Or, like a skilled dancer, have they found the ability to live in the tension between vulnerability & determination. Under pressure they run to the only one who is strong enough to uphold them during the storm. It's His strength we see, and their ability to lean on the grace allows them to be graceful too. I pray someday that His grace and strength, have become my defining markers.

~ Shelby

You Failed

That's about the worst thing someone could say to me. Not "you're ugly" or "you're stupid", the worst is failure.

When I operate out of this lie, the results are ugly! Defensiveness, because I can't afford to be wrong. Blaming others, because then it's their problem, not mine. Depression because when I fail, I don't deserve to be trusted, or worse I don't deserve love. 

Failure becomes a life killer, because we forget that God loved us in our failure.

I fail, and it's ok. You fail and you're loved.


Failure is something I still avoid like the plague, but when I tell myself the truth, that God's love doesn't change for me whether I hit a home run or flop - I can rest.

The hardest thing to do after we fail is to get back up. But God's love gives me courage. The truth is, we are ok when we fail. We're loved and we'll be ok tomorrow, when we fail again.

~ Shelby

Choose Life

Everything within me fights this. Our entire world is made up of efforts to deny it. But after years of therapy, an eating disorder and some other falls and searing pains along the way, everything in my life, and likely yours, proves this true: life is hard. And that is an understatement. 

My friend who lost her father too soon, my husband whose sister died at 15, young girls sold into sex, people who I love were abused, and the list goes on. Life is so incredibly tragic that truth seems a trite response...

We are safe, secure as this little child, when we cling to God, who is big enough to give us life out of all this mess. Hope out of the darkness, comfort in grief & truth rather than lies. This lie, I choose to see it for what it is...fear. 

Fear that someone I love will die.

That my heart will be ripped out and trampled.

Fear that dreams remain unfulfilled.

But Truth allows us to choose life.

A life worth living.

~Shelby