Shelly Sorem came to know and
love the Lord in 1999 and He has been the guiding force in her life
ever
since. From the time she
accepted Jesus Christ into her life, everything seem to
change. God changed what was important to her and how she
lived her life. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in
elementary education and spent three years teaching second
grade. She also has a Masters degree in
counseling psychology and was a
counselor at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in the pediatric and
adolescent clinic for three years. It was during this time
that the Lord called
her into
ministry.
Shelly began working at her
church in children’s ministry where she was in charge of Sunday
school for
children from preschool through
5th grade. Her first assignment was to write a
lesson on
Noah and the
rainbow. Shelly will never forget the panic she felt when she
was asked to do this because she had heard of Noah and the flood
but she had no idea about a rainbow. Shelly didn’t grow up
knowing the Lord and had never read the Word of God until she
became a believer in 1999. Shelly loves learning and dug into
the Word of God and read and studied about the life of Noah in
order to write the lesson plans. This is where the love of
the Word of God came alive in her and she studied each week in
order to be able to write the lesson plans and teach the
students.
After three years in children’s ministry, Shelly was asked to be the youth pastor at her church. She was scared to death to work with teenagers, especially teenagers who knew more about the Word of God than she felt she did, but God called her to the job and equipped her to do it. Being a youth pastor was one of the biggest blessings in her life. She loved working with the teenagers and seeing their passion for the Lord. During her time as youth pastor, several students came to know the Lord and it was something that inspired Shelly to try to reach more people for Christ.
After two years as a youth pastor,
her husband Bill was transferred to Doha, Qatar and the family
moved
there with him for four years.
Shelly and Bill knew God wanted them to move to Doha, but they had
no idea why or what was in store for them. It was in Doha,
literally in the middle of the desert that the Lord again changed
Shelly’s life. He drew her into an intimate relationship Him
and taught her to trust Him with every aspect of her life.
Without friends and family close by, Shelly quickly learned to lean
on the Lord. He took her out of her comfort zone to help her
realize her dependence
upon Him.
In Doha, Shelly became actively
involved in the Women’s Ministry and served as prayer team leader,
planning and events coordinator, Bible study facilitator and Bible
study leader. It was during this time the Lord shifted her
focus from serving children and teens to women. Shelly
feels as though the Lord had her studying and teaching people who
were on the same level with her spiritually,
beginning with small children, then teens and
finally graduating to adults. Serving in the Women’s Ministry
ignited her passion for women and helping them come to know and
love the Lord the way she
did. She has since been a speaker at
women’s conferences and retreats and in Doha, The United Arab
Emirates, India and Malaysia.
Shelly and her family returned to
the United States in 2010 where she has written and taught a
women’s Bible study on trusting the Lord, Sunday school lessons,
led a small group and
continued to speak at women’s events. She
has just published her first book Deeply Rooted which is a
365-day devotional geared at helping people jumpstart their
quiet time, develop a passion for the Word of God and grow closer
to the Lord.
She and her husband, Bill, live in
Katy, Texas with their two teenage daughters, Allison and
Emily. Allison is a freshman at Texas A&M University and
Emily is a senior in high school. Next to her family, Shelly
counts her friends as her biggest blessing. Her sisters in
Christ love and encourage her as well as challenge her and hold her
accountable to being the person God created her to be.
Copyright 2012 | Deeply Rooted in Him