Our Guest: Ruth Schleppi-Verboom
Ruth Schleppie Verboom is the mother of four adult children, a nurse, an author, and a jewelry designer. She’s warm, creative, thoughtful, and relatable. The kind of person whose life reminds us that God meets us where we are and uses our ordinary days in extraordinary ways. Her journey is full of moments where God invited her to yield, trust, and follow His gentle leading. Ruth and her husband, filmmaker Helmut Schleppie, alternate time between the US and the Netherlands.
Key Thoughts and Scriptures:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
- Yielding is rooted in trusting God’s graciousness and kindness.
- When we surrender ourselves, He uses what we offer to reveal His kindness to others in powerful ways.
“Surrender is not a one-time act, but a daily choice to trust that God’s plan is better than your own.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
- Don’t expect anything from anybody, but expect everything from God and more.
- Joni’s mission statement was to be the best audiovisual representative of God in difficult situations or in suffering, and of God and God’s grace.
- Ruth made a mission statement to introduce her children to God and to, with whatever she did, show them that God is to be trusted and that everything is in God’s hands.
- She knew in her mind that she could trust God. But she was fearful to yield to trusting Him in her marriage because it had been painful.
- It took a while, but Ruth was able to see small glimpses of God’s faithfulness and God’s presence in the midst of it.
Ruth was able to trust God more and not be fixated on her circumstances.
- Ruth learned she needed to change first. And God would deal with her husband.
Psalm 23:4 NKJV Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- Trust God directly in everything.
- “Ruth, very early on, I learned to pray according to 80-20. I use 20% of my prayer life for the problem. And the whole other 80 % is to focus on God and see what He wants to teach me.”
- When Ruth began to pray like that, her perspective changed.
- All things of beauty are creating places where you can see God’s goodness and God’s grace.
Ruth realized when she was using her talents, that this was her way of sharing the gospel with other people.
- God is so interested in each one of us and has made us precisely according to His plan with our talents and our gifts and wants to use those.
- We’re not all the same. God speaks to each of us differently.
- And He uses each one of us to speak to other people who He’s uniquely prepared for us to minister to.
John 15:16-17 AMP You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you. This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.
- Ruth shares that we can trust that God has appointed and placed and purposefully planted us.
- Our salvation is not by works, but we have to be intentional in yielding to God and walking with Him.
The Three Marys
Luke 1:26-56 NIV Mary, the mother of Jesus
- Young Mary was told that she was pregnant, yet the Bible doesn’t tell us that she had too many questions.
- It looks like she’s yielding and trusting right away.
- She’s not looking at the circumstances, but right away is looking at God.
Matthew 27:55-28:10 NKJV Mary Magdalene
- She was healed from seven demons and knew that she was loved by Jesus.
Luke 10:38-41 NLT, John 12:1-10 NIV Mary of Bethesda, the sister of Lazarus
- Difficult circumstances, lots of questions, lots of turmoil and lots of insecurities. And she was just looking at Jesus in those.
“Contentment comes when we stop trying to be in control and place our lives completely in God’s hands.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
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