Still Can't Help Myself: Short Stories and Daily Devotionals

This is the second book in Richard T. VanderVaart’s series, Following the Shepherd

in Real Life. The stories you read here are collected from ministry experiences,

family times, and everyday incidents. Each of the thirty short stories includes a

devotion which will help readers reflect on their walk with God.

Life does not turn out as we plan it, so we can either weep or learn to laugh.

Hopefully you get a chance to laugh often, and perhaps you’ll also have the opportunity

to pause and consider your own circumstances in a new way.

These stories represent a triumph of memory and the great gift of God’s healing work.

In early January 2009, Richard was involved in a car accident that robbed him of many

precious memories. Thanks be to God that in recent years some memories have returned. He

has recorded these stories realizing that memory is a precious gift, and not necessarily

one we can always keep.

A photograph is included with each day’s story and devotional reading. These pictures

have been taken by Marianne VanderSpek. She has a unique flair for capturing a thought or

moment and translating it into a black-and-white image.