Scott Sullivan

Author: Scott Sullivan

  • Thinking About the Toy Aisle

    Graduation time is here.

    Oddly enough, my thoughts haven’t been on caps, gowns, diplomas, or even the future. I know all those things are important. They mark seasons of life. But my mind has been somewhere else.

    I’ve been thinking about, of all things, press-on nails and the toy aisle at Dollar General. I’ve been thinking about the sound little plastic princess shoes make when they’re trying to keep up with you. I’ve been thinking about the excitement in the eyes of a little girl when I bought her a toy she didn’t need…but wanted with all her heart.

    I’ve been thinking about the little blonde-haired girl who wanted to go with me on every errand, not because we had anything important to do…but just because she wanted to be there.

    I remember one night in particular. We were riding in my truck with the windows down, eating boiled peanuts and tossing the shells out the window. Out of nowhere she said, “This is the best night ever.”

    And she meant it.

    This is the same little girl I once bribed with a Happy Meal if she would just stop talking. She was born talking. It was as if she had so much to say and was afraid time would run out before she could get it all out.

    I’ve also been thinking about answered prayers.

    I remember how her mother and I prayed for a child who would be compassionate, have a tender heart, and come to know the Lord at a young age.

    And I remember the night she did.

    I can still hear her little voice asking Jesus to save her. And I know He did.

    I remember night after night of homework, when we both wanted to drop out of math so we could talk about things that mattered more…history, theology, and politics.

    Now here we are.

    Don’t take this wrong. I’m excited to see what the Lord does with her life. She is smart, strong, and, thankfully, still tender-hearted and compassionate. I know the world will try to beat some of that out of her. I pray it never does. Whatever she chooses to do, she’ll do it well, because that’s just who she is.

    It’s not that I don’t want her to grow up.

    It’s just that, this graduation season, my mind keeps wandering back to boiled peanuts…little plastic princess shoes…and the toy aisle at Dollar General.

    Scott Sullivan – The Notebook

  • You Are Never Alone

    You Are Never Alone

    In 1949, Hank Williams recorded one of the most haunting country songs ever written, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” The song is pure South Alabama poetry. Consider the second verse: “I’ve never seen a night so long as time goes crawling by. The moon just went behind the clouds to hide its face and cry.” Williams’ song has been recorded more than 200 times by artists ranging from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis to Bob Dylan and Dean Martin. What makes the song so enduring? Why has it stood the test of time? Why do artists continue to record it today? Because everyone can identify with loneliness.

    We all have seasons when we feel like no one cares. Sometimes those feelings come because of life’s circumstances. Children grow up and move away. Death takes a spouse. Friends become few. While we all experience loneliness from time to time, some people live with it every day. Loneliness tucks them in at night…and is there to greet them in the morning.

    One of the strange things about loneliness is that it is possible to feel completely alone in a room full of people. I’ve been there. I know how it feels. Yes, there are other warm bodies around you, but no one seems to really know you or care what you’re carrying. Many people try to overcome the feeling of being alone by surrounding themselves with more people, only to discover that crowds cannot cure loneliness.

    If you have given your heart and life to Jesus Christ, you can never truthfully say that you are alone. Oh, you may experience the loneliness that comes from life’s circumstances…but in reality, you are never alone because the Holy Spirit resides within you. Following His resurrection, Jesus ascended back to the Father, but He told His disciples that He would not leave them alone. He would send the Comforter…the Holy Spirit.

    We read in John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.”

    Jesus wasn’t merely promising comfort during difficult days. He was promising His continual presence in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

    What encouragement! The Father WILL give the Spirit. The Spirit WILL be with you forever. He WILL remain with you, and He WILL be in you. Those are not hopeful possibilities. They are divine promises. Jesus did not say the Holy Spirit might come or could stay. He said He WILL. That means every believer has the constant, abiding presence of God, every moment of every day.

    Lonely saint of God…lift your head. The Holy Spirit resides within you. He is with you as you read these words. When you begin to feel loneliness creeping in, stop and remember the promise of Jesus. Stop and thank God for His gift of the Holy Spirit. Whatever you do today…whatever burden you carry…whatever valley you walk through…you do not walk alone. The Holy Spirit is with you…and He always will be.

    Scott Sullivan

    The Notebook

  • Welcome to The Notebook

    Every morning begins much the same way.

    A cup of coffee and an open Bible. A laptop waits nearby to take notes and capture whatever God chooses to teach that day. Sometimes those pages become a daily devotion. Sometimes they become the outline of a sermon. Other days they awaken a memory from growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, reminding me that God is often found in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

    Those pages have been filling up for years.

    Eventually, I realized they might encourage someone besides me.

    That’s why I created The Notebook.

    This isn’t simply a blog. It’s an invitation.

    Pull up a chair. Stay awhile. Read a devotion before you begin your day. Smile at a Southern story that reminds you of home. Think through a passage of Scripture with me. If one article encourages you, come back tomorrow. There will be another page waiting.

    Encouragement has always been close to my heart. Barnabas was known as the Son of Encouragement, and I believe the church still needs people who strengthen weary hearts with the truth of God’s Word. My prayer is that every devotion points you toward Christ, every story reminds you of His faithfulness, and every sermon helps you understand His Word more clearly.

    You’ll also discover that I enjoy telling stories.

    Life along the Gulf Coast has a rhythm all its own. I love this rhythm. To me, it’s the pace life was intended to be lived by. There are memories of family tables, church fellowship halls, hurricanes, old restaurants, and conversations that somehow become lessons in grace. God has a remarkable way of teaching us through ordinary days, and many of those lessons find their way into these pages.

    If you’re looking for polished perfection (insert chuckle), you probably won’t find it here.

    But if you’re looking for Biblical encouragement, honest reflections, and stories that remind you God is still at work in our lives, then I believe you’ll feel at home.

    Thank you for stopping by.

    Whether this is your first visit or you’ve been reading my posts and devotions for years, I hope every page leaves you loving Jesus a little more, trusting Him a little deeper, and walking away encouraged.

    So pour yourself a cup of coffee.

    Open your Bible.

    Let’s spend a little time together in The Notebook.

    — Scott Sullivan

    A close-up, photographic view of a vintage typewriter in soft mint green, keys slightly worn, sitting on a whitewashed farmhouse table. A freshly typed page emerges from the roller, bearing faint, unreadable lines that imply a humorous Southern story or devotional thought. Beside it, a small plate holds a half-eaten slice of pecan pie, crumbs scattered, next to a glass of iced coffee with swirling cream. In the softly blurred background, a white shiplap wall with a simple wooden cross and an old framed landscape of a Southern field sets the scene. Warm, diffused morning light from an unseen window illuminates the typewriter keys and creates gentle bokeh highlights, creating a playful, nostalgic, and faith-tinged atmosphere, captured from a three-quarter angle with shallow depth of field.