So often I face the temptation to compare the story God is writing in my life to the story He is writing in someone else’s. Can you relate? We look at how they are serving God or how God is using then or listen to a beautiful testimony… and we feel inequitable and not useful. We forget that we have a unique and special story to tell and a unique place in the body of Christ. To illustrate this point,… Read more »
Sometimes people leave. Sometimes by their own choice or by a family decision. Sometimes people just switch schools or move to a completely new town or even a new state. Sometimes people wish they could stay, they just can’t right now. They have to go away. Maybe this time apart is a season. A season that will last a few months, or maybe it will be several years before they move back nearby. Maybe this friendship will be long distance… Read more »
Have we made an idol of school? Do we bow to it before we bow to our Lord? Do we place our value and worth in the hands of the grade book, instead of in the hands of our loving Father? Sometimes. I don’t think we intentionally worship school. In fact, if you’re like me, the mere thought of worshiping school sounds revolting. Because we have become bored with our classes, school stresses us out, or we just plain don’t like school…. Read more »
Seasons are beautiful. Each brings new excitement and activities to look forward to. In winter there’s Christmas and New Years and Valentine’s Day and the hope of snow. In spring there’s Spring Break and Easter and wild flowers alongside the road. In summer there’s the Fourth of July and no school and swimming pools and beaches and Vacation Bible Schools. In autumn there’s Halloween and Thanksgiving and football and changing leaves and pumpkins. Each season comes with hopes and dreams…. Read more »
Sometimes I don’t feel like being thankful. Sometimes I’d rather sit in a puddle of complaints and worries than list out what I’m grateful for. Sometimes I focus on all that’s going wrong in my life, instead of fixing my eyes on Jesus and all the blessings He has given me. Being thankful is hard!! Can you relate? And it’s not that I don’t want to be thankful– I do– It’s just hard to conscientiously be thankful. Especially when it’s not the fourth… Read more »
I’m telling you, late night cry sessions with Jesus are now normal in the world of Kara. Sadness is terrible. It’s like a terrible dragon I need to be rescued from by my knight in shining armor (Note: That would be Jesus). I hate sadness. Most everyone does. Tonight Last night on Periscope, Chalene Johnson did a scope about ways to be happy when you’re feeling sad. And one of her tips was to change your focus. And as she was… Read more »
I grew up singing songs about joy. The classic children’s Sunday School songs: “I’ve got joy joy joy joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart!” “I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul!” “I’ve got joy down in my heart deep deep down in my heart. J-O-Y down in my heart deep deep down in my heart.” Singing about… Read more »
“Dad! Dad! You gotta get up! Come on, we gotta go home!” Simba nudges his head against his father’s face. It drops hard. He leaps up and tugs on his father’s ear. No response. Simba’s eyes widen and he frantically calls for help. Tears flood down his face. Out of the mist comes his Uncle Scar who scolds Simba. “Simba. What have you done?” Scar proceeds to feed Simba shame and doubts. “If it weren’t for you, he’d still be… Read more »
Yesterday in my Intro to Theatre class my professor randomally pulled up Google Images and started showing us photographs of horses. Okay then. He asked us to describe the photos using adverbs or adjectives. “Majestic.” “Black.” “Strong.” “Graceful.” He then showed us some drawings of horses- kinda like coloring sheets. He asked us what the differences were between the drawings and the photographs. And then we compared the coloring-book-like-pictures to full out hand-drawn, detailed images of horses. He asked us… Read more »
Late night cry sessions with Jesus are becoming common for me. And during those cry sessions, I’m learning to not only cry out to him, but also to read about his promises in his word. At the beginning of this month I had one of these cry/ Bible reading sessions and wrote down 22 verses for the brokenhearted. Wednesday night during my cry session, I turned to Lamentations, instead of the Psalms. “For the Lord will not cast off forever, but,… Read more »
