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August 19, 2012 by Karin 2 Comments

Clay in the Potter’s Hands

You know the feeling that you get when you think that you are going in the right direction?

That feeling that everything is falling into place and there can be no doubt that you are moving forward.

Everything is moving along beautifully.  Then.  It.  Stops.

What happened?

I was so sure…

Is this not the way?

This comes in motherhood, marriage, friendship, relationships, callings, and especially in… faith.

I thought I had it figured out…

at least I thought I was on the way to figuring it out.

Not so much.  A big fat, red STOP SIGN.  There it is.  You are at a stand-still and you don’t know which way to go…

Am I moving in the right direction?

Did I mess up?

I just don’t get it…

When this happens… it’s frustrating and confusing… just when you think you can fit God and His plans into a neat, tidy package.  Sigh.

Once upon a time… I would have ignored the thoughts, the promptings… I would have carried on under my own will, my own ideas.  I can do this.

One step closer.  This time… I drop to my knees… and pray.  Hard.  The kind of prayer that sounds like a sniffling, weepy, incoherent child.

I don’t get it!

Where did I mess up?

Please show me.

You know what?  He does ~ He shows me.  Again.  Every time.  In His time.  But, He always listens and He always gives wisdom… when we mean it.  When we really want it ~ no matter the cost to our fragile egos.

 

The flailing soul in the quick sand learns to… hold still.  Pray.

The quick sand stops its hungry pull downward… when we just stop fighting it.  He is right there.  Waiting for us to… hold still.

It’s on my knees, in utter silence (which is pretty difficult to come by around here)… it’s here, that He answers.

The funny thing, the way He always blows my mind… He answers in a way that is the direct opposite of what I expected.  And this direct opposite way is the perfect answer to my prayers.  Amazing. Every time.

I read something this morning…

Discouragement is disenchanted self-love, and self-love may be love of my devotion to Jesus.

                                                                                                            ~ Oswald Chambers

Oh, to think that my love for Christ would be over-shadowed by my love for my own devotion to Him… not His love for me.  His will, not mine.

These earnest prayers, like a babbling child… they are the ones He answers.  A disciplining by the Father to His child… keep it real.  Allowing the Spirit to keep me in check.

That I would become clay, softened in the hands of the Potter.

James 1:4-5

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Filed Under: Faith, Love, Perseverance Tagged With: faith, love, perseverance

August 15, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Come As You Are

This place is a little bit uncomfortable for me.

The discomfort comes from this unseen nudging.  The nudging to be transparent.

Transparency is pretty uncomfortable.

I have always thought that in order to be a good Christian… the kind of Christian that can speak to fellow Christians about the faith, and non-Christians about the beauty and need for the faith… in order to be a good Christian, I had to be, well… good.

I’m not always good.  In fact, there are way too many times that I am far from good.  I am definitely not good enough to be a representative for the One who has given us all.

Ok, work a little harder…

do a little better ~ a lot better, then, yes, then…

I can do whatever it is that God has planned for me.

I thought ~ as soon as I take my last sip of wine, or my last taste of beer (I am German-blooded and married to an Irish-blooded man, after all)… as soon as I take my last bite of chocolate (ok, chocolate is not a bad thing)… as soon as I stop yelling at my kids… as soon as I say my last cuss word… as soon as I get it together and stop messing up… then, I can be a good Christian and go out and represent Christ and His followers properly.

Here it is…

I’ll never be good enough.  All those things don’t keep me in bondage.  Those things don’t keep me from getting closer to Him… from hearing Him more clearly… from following Him with my heart wide open.  My bondage comes from somewhere else.

What keeps me shackled and slows my running to Him with open arms is not something that I do occasionally.  What keeps me in this place of dragging my heels is the uncomfortable.  The uncomfortable transparency that comes with being truthful.  Speaking the truth about my faith, my heart, my thoughts ~ the fear of looking a bit like a weirdo.  The uncomfortable emotions… the unspoken anxiety that I may somehow mess up my kids and be responsible for something ~ anything ~ going wrong in their lives… the unspoken frustrations I feel towards my husband, whom I love dearly… the unspoken fear that I won’t be able to help my aging parents, while my mother’s mind slowly loses the memories that I share with her… the unspoken irritation that I sometimes feel towards fellow believers… the unspoken judgements that spark in my cluttered mind…

If I could just fix all this, well, then I could finally do whatever it is that God has planned for me.

These weaknesses just get in my way.

It’s uncomfortable… the hardships, the difficulties… the truth.

Then, He speaks to my heart.  I am hanging on to baggage that is not mine.

…the truth will set you free.  (John 8:32)

Oh, He is patient and loving with this child of His.

His grace is sufficient

He opens my eyes to the burdens that weigh my heart down… my heart, in a place that it is not meant to stay.  In guilt.  In bondage.

What keeps us in bondage is not always so obvious to our searching minds… but, sometimes, those chains are ones we have become so accustomed to wearing that we don’t even recognize them as chains anymore.  We trudge on under the weight of our self-imposed burdens… forgetting to give them to God.

Complete surrender… it means just that.  Complete surrender.

I don’t have to be good enough… we don’t have to be good enough… we could never be good enough.  He loves us just as we are.  He welcomes us to come as we are.  He has a mighty work… and mighty joy planned for us.  Just as we are.

If we would just surrender… all of it.  To Him.

 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

 

Filed Under: Faith, Hope, Perseverance Tagged With: faith, hope, perseverance

August 14, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

When You Want to Run

I am a military wife. We moved several times during the early years of our marriage.  Moving to a new place is usually an exciting experience.  It’s definitely an efficient way to clean your house ~ really clean your house.  When you move in the military, you are given a weight limit.  This weight limit is dependent on your rank and your next location… I mean, home.  You don’t want to waste any of this valuable “weight” moving your unnecessary items… I mean, junk.  Moving ~ the best solution to deep house cleaning.

In the past years, we have been blessed with the opportunity to stay in one location.  A blessing in many ways… moving six children would be no picnic (a trip to the grocery store requires immediate “mama down time” upon returning home).

We used to move every 2 or 3 years.  Our moving from place to place quenched my desire to run.  I knew that if I didn’t like a place, or a situation, or a person… well, I was going to leave anyway.  No need to run.  The decision was made for me.  Then, no more running…

Recently, we have been able to stay put.  The problem with this… every 2 or 3 years… we want to run.  I want to run…

So, what do you do when you want to run?  Would you join me on (in)courage today and share what you do when you want to run…

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Filed Under: Faith, Military, Patience Tagged With: faith, military, Patience

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Meet Karin

Hi! My name is Karin Madden. Writer. Warrior wife. Mom of six pack. Homeschooler. German-blooded southerner. Welcome to the place where I explore what it means to grow stronger - spirit, soul, and body. I write to inspire and encourage - to remind you we are not alone. By being bold with grace and speaking truth in love, we can become who we are meant to be. I'm glad you are here.

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