Grace Archives - Page 4 of 4

October 8, 2012 by Karin 2 Comments

The river flows (#8)

PROMISE #8 ~ HIS PRESENCE

I am cruising along, feeling really good about the journey that I am on…

Floating down the stream… fingertips savoring this water of life.

I’m on fire, moving forward, scooping handfuls of wisdom…

It feels great.

Then…

This ripple in the water… a corner of the heart hardening… discontent, unforgiveness… just plain stubbornness.

A screeching halt. He won’t let the current move one bit farther… not one more ounce of wisdom, of peace… not one more inch of forward motion…

until I get it right

Getting it right… it really means giving it up. Giving it up to God.

This, a continuous lesson for me. Again and again learning to release. I can’t stay right with Him, until I stay right with His.

The further I get in this river of life, the more clear it becomes to me… this place of getting it right and giving it to Him ~ is for my sake.

He knows the depths of these hearts he has created for us more that we know them ourselves. He knows what heals them, soothes them, makes them whole again.

In the moment I feel most confused, as though the stream is flowing backwards… In the moment I feel most lost, this is the moment He reminds me…

He will never leave me

He will never forsake me

(Photo credit: the beautiful Cindy McGuire)

He will smooth the waters, turn the tides, and bring the river to a soothing flow ~ right back into His will…

into His arms.

PROMISE #8 ~ God will never leave nor forsake us.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

October 2, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Billboards and Bumper Stickers (#2)

#2 ~ PROVISION

12 hours.

1 truck.

6 kids.

2 parents.

2nd time.

1 week.

Road trip.

0 patience

1 definition of insanity.

I need some of God’s promises…

The truth… the kids did great, after much anticipation and recollection of past (painful) road trips. The kids did great. God is good.

My warrior and I had plenty of time to catch up on thoughts, laughs, concerns, memories… all of this between passing bottles, crackers, sippy cups, sandwiches, cookies, movies, reprimands, praises, scowls, smiles… to the back of the red bullet flying down the highway. (I really want to develop a pulley system… back and forth, back and forth).

During the peaceful times (thanks to Pixar), warrior husband and I were able to catch up… on all things related to worry. You know, the things of finance, war, peace, future, and on and on…

Not long into our journey back home, we were both plagued by dormant frustrations that had reared their ugly heads.

I think He uses this to test our response.

To see if we are learning… moving forward… toward Him.

My warrior nodded in agreement.

Silently we pondered, while the rain began to drizzle from the southern skies, wheels spinning, headphone adorned children mesmerized. Quiet. Peace in our hearts… missing.

My thoughts called to Him.

I want to trust You.

I want to know You are here. That You will provide for us.

I know You have time and again. I am sorry I keep asking. I want to trust You more.

My husband has this thing with God. His many commutes back and forth to and from work… he sees God speak to Him…

on billboards and bumper stickers

You know, He speaks to us any way we will hear Him. He knows where we are… heart, mind, body… every moment.

For my warrior… it’s

on billboards and bumper stickers

I don’t know why it amazes me every time… every. single. time. I am blown away. His presence. His faithfulness. His wooing. His reassurance. With Him… trust is rightfully placed.

Don’t you know… 5 minutes into this journey northbound with our six pack… He made it perfectly clear. Not once. Not twice.

At least six times. I lost count.

Just minutes after my thoughts stirred, my heart stirred… wanting so badly to battle the worries of this world…

I looked up.

Need Directions? … God

Not a small sign. On a tractor-trailer!

Then,

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Proverbs 3:5

(Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding)

On the same big rig.

My warrior and I grinned at each other.

5 minutes later… just a few miles down the road…

A red car sped past us… a bumper sticker…

Need directions? Ask God.

Are You kidding me? We both laughed. Ok, ok, we get it…

If there was any doubt, He was going to squelch it.

A few more miles down the road… a billboard… no, two billboards stacked upon each other…

Jesus. I trust You!

Really? We are that dense?

He knows we need Him that much. He loves so much that He relentlessly pursues us, reassures us.

But, He was not finished yet. Yet a few more miles and one more state line behind us… a sign, barely visible on a tree… on the side of the interstate…

No matter what,

Trust God.

We could barely make eye contact with each other. We, waited… for the next one…

And another. A billboard…

God loves you

Still, not enough… a family truck passed us by… a license plate

8 4Jesus

Just like us. Our road trip with 8… our journey with our six pack. All of us… for Jesus.

Just as I am pondering God’s promises. Just as my trust flickers, sparks, trembles in the wind. Just then… He, full of grace and love… He reminds me to trust. He will provide. Every time. All the time. Without fail. A promise. Never broken.

PROMISE #2 ~ God will provide.

Matthew 6:31-34

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

September 21, 2012 by Karin 8 Comments

Stretched Wide (for five minutes this Friday)

Five minutes on this Friday…

Wide

I am frozen in this moment and wondering just how wide He will stretch me.

I have given in to doubt and He opens my eyes wide… one more time.

Again I am stretched into the uncomfortable width of a new self.

My body… has stretched wide 6 times… the new birth sprung forth from this awe-struck mama.

A new birth, every time He pulls me wider.

trust me

He repeats the words to me with arms stretched wide. This timid soul desperate to follow.

Heart stretching wider. The pangs of the pull grow my soul. I drop to knees grateful for the Hands pulling my own hands wide.

I love you this much…

His arms stretched across the ages… to infinity.

W here I stop and bow to Him

I gnoring the lies that swirl around me

D epending only on Him

E verlasting love and faithfulness

Ephesians 3:17-18

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

September 16, 2012 by Karin 4 Comments

When I see you, I see me

Don’t you sometimes feel like a broken record?

(Do kids even know what records are anymore?)

It seems like I spend most of my time saying the same thing over and over again.

be nice

stop fighting

yes, you can do this

yes, you do need help with this

no, you can not have that… do that… take that…

It’s exhausting and I wonder why they don’t just get it the first time (or the seventh). Why won’t they just listen? Learn from me? Do what I ask them to do? I, after all, have been here longer… I know more… I love them more than they know… I have their best interests at heart. I can see the mistakes they make… and I know where these mistakes will take them.

to sadness

to frustration

to confusion

to discontent

to trouble

If they would only listen the first time.

I read something. The thought of it wouldn’t leave my mind. Then I began to pay attention…

Watch the kind of people God brings around you, and you will be humiliated to find that this is His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now, He says, exhibit to that one exactly what I have shown to you.

Oswald Chambers

I began to pay attention… I found the people around me… six children! I have been like 6 children to God… sigh. Not one, or two, but six little children who are convinced that they know the way… bound and determined to do it their way. Oh, boy.

I have been this. To God.

I can do this by myself

I don’t want to do that

Why should I be nice? Do you know what that person did?

I need (read… want) this, that, and that other thing, too

I will stop fighting when I win… I am right, you know

Humiliating is right. I have behaved just like six young children.

I imagine my own words mirror His…

Why won’t they just listen? Learn from Me? Do what I ask them to do? I, after all, have been here longer… I know more… I love them more than they know… I have their best interests at heart. I can see the mistakes they make… and I know where these mistakes will take them.

Nothing will humble you more than seeing your own behavior embodied in a child, right in front of your eyes.

Then, a light… a child comes to me

I want to give Myrlande a gift

Is this a lot of money where she lives?

My daughter, only 9-years-old, thinks of her Compassion sister. My heart swells. The beauty, the joy… in the giving. Maybe, this is something she listened to the first time. Maybe, the opening of my eyes… have opened theirs a little bit more.

My baby, grabbing mama fingers, pulls herself up to take first steps. Peels of laughter, squeals coming from this blue-eyed doll. One. Step. At. A. Time. Pure joy in her accomplishment. This little one, knowing the strength comes from the hand that steadies her… as she ventures forward on her two feet. Something I can learn from this little one right in front of me.

taking the Hand of strength as I venture forward on my two feet

The awareness. Perhaps, the awareness of what you see in front of you, points back to your own ways. The awareness is the first step in peeling just a few more scales from these eyes… revealing nuggets of wisdom. Revealing… just one more reason to look around, just one more reason… to look Up.

John 13:14-15

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

September 10, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Let’s get specific

We sit down for night-time prayers with our six pack.

We take turns. Add requests as we go. Everyone with an opportunity to throw his or her chips into the pot.

cashing in our chips

We go around and ask… each one…

what are you sorry for?

whom can we pray for?

what are you thankful for?

what do you need help with?

The thanks, the praise, the list of requests… roll easily off our tongues.

what are you sorry for?

That’s the tough one… we watch as the young ones squirm in discomfort. We old ones, squirm a bit, too.

um, everything I did wrong today.

Ok, that sums it up. Chips cashed in… sorry spoken… slate clean… good to go. Well, not quite. More like, squirming avoided.

what are you really sorry for?

Let’s get specific…

Specifically spelling out sin, the things we have done wrong… it is difficult, uncomfortable… we want to throw the chips in… without naming them. Maybe they’ll just disappear and we can move on, sort of forget about them… and pray that we are covered. We did say sorry, after all.

Name one thing…

We are all generally a mess… we sinners… we humans. The gift of forgiveness… in the specific places we need forgiveness… that’s where the humility and the healing live. Ah, humility, just as soon as her name is mentioned, she darts into the corner… hiding behind pride. We want to hide behind the generalities…

here are my chips…

can You just get rid of them?

replace them with Your grace and mercy?

No, I don’t really want to pinpoint them… some of them are pretty bad.

Specifically pointing out to God what we have done wrong… although He already knows it… this is a painful thing. The specifics are where we are honest with ourselves… before Him. Once we point out the details… the very places we are broken ~ or have broken others… once we point out these details, we find ourselves at a cross-road. We change… or we disobey. Obedience is a tough one for our human nature. The confession, the change, the obedience… they are not about shame. They are the road to healing. Healing for our sake, others’ sake, His sake.

You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use. Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty. The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source.

Oswald Chambers

The place we get right with God… this is the place we move the boulder from the river. Make a clear path for the living water to flow through us. The water will not be stopped by the boulder, it will find a way around, but the path clear of obstacles is the straightest… clearest path.

I don’t want to be an obstacle to His work… I want to teach my children how to open their road for Him. The way I know to get to the healing, the clearing of the way, the place of obedience… is by telling Him exactly where I see my mistakes, by asking Him to show me the ones I don’t see so clearly. Specifically.

Tell Him where you messed up… He knows already.

He’ll get you to the healing place…

If you allow Him into the hidden places.

He already knows. He is waiting to forgive… as soon as we name our chips. One. By. One.

Great relief.

Proverbs 28:13

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

The river flows (#8)

Billboards and Bumper Stickers (#2)

Stretched Wide (for five minutes this Friday)

When I see you, I see me

Let’s get specific

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