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October 22, 2013 by Karin 8 Comments

When We Put Our Feet On The Ground

31 Days of Good Deeds 31 Days of Good Deeds

(click here for the series)

~ Day 18 ~

I can almost see his house from here.

The water snakes just around the buildings, under the bridges, and presses hard against the dam. The trees carpet the landscape. I can’t make out trees from bushes from fields. It all looks lush and quenched from up here. I miss the green in the rugged beauty of desert.

Like a drink of water before entering the parched land of jags and cliffs and red-painted rocks.

I can almost see my brother’s house. And it feels like home.

It’s not my home or my town or my state. But, just the proximity to him feels like home. Funny how that settles the nerves of a pilot’s wife in the air. Funnier still that a pilot’s wife feels oddly misplaced up here though I know this air feels like home to my other half.

Up Above

You can sense the whispers of home in places that aren’t home.

You can feel close to a brother, sometimes even a brother you don’t know.

This story is from a friend. A woman I met by God’s circumstance in the most unexpected place. He orchestrates these meetings, you know. It still blows my mind.

My friend is a musician. She shares her gift with my girls. The music from the piano and the seasoned voice leading the tentative new voice cover the air like white wash over the dull. Music brightens and brings light to the landscape.

She told me a story. A good deed…

They turned into the parking lot of the grocery store and saw him. She and her young daughter. His sign didn’t ask for money. Just food. Strategic positioning right outside this store filled with enough to feed more than enough.  I wonder if our attempts at strategy ever really amount to much… without His positioning?

Her little girl exclaimed,

Mom, we should bring him some food!

She nodded agreement,

We’ll get him a sandwich and a drink.

After checking out, supplies and sandwich in hand, they pulled their truck to where the man had waited. He was gone.

Man, we were all ready for him.

My friend drove to the main road and that’s when she heard it. That Voice that whispers. The same Voice that prompted me to pocket a twenty just weeks before. This Voice, it beckoned,

Go across the street. Go to the Wal-Mart parking lot.

It’s when that whisper comes to you so specifically that you wonder,

Seriously? Am I imagining this?

It’s when the Voice whispers so specifically that it’s most imperative to listen.

My friend listened. She laughed to herself,

I don’t know what the deal is, but ok.

She drove across in anticipation. The anticipation is the best part. And, sometimes it throws us off.

Nothing.

No great sign. No homeless man waiting for his sandwich. Nada.

Really, God? Here I am. I’m not sure where to go.

There was nowhere else to turn, but toward the exit. All prepped and nothing. This is sometimes when it happens. We lose our direction. We question the Voice. We wonder what kind of stuff we are dreaming up anyway.

And, this… this is when we have to keep going. The Voice doesn’t lie. Our doubt just begins to seep into the ear trying to play over the melody of that Voice.

That’s when she saw him. He rolled along in a chair, oxygen tank in tow. He wasn’t the same guy. Not the one she saw at the store. This one was the one she was supposed to see. He orchestrates these meetings, you know.

The older man waved arms at blind passersby. Not one soul stopped as the man rolled and waved and tried to get anyone to see. The best of us can be blind sometimes, can’t we?

She pulled her truck alongside,

Hey there, what do you need?

His voice, gruff and worn,

I just got out of the hospital. I’m a diabetic. I just need something to eat because of my blood sugar.

She answered,

Well, I’ve got your sandwich right here.

City traffic doesn’t stand still for good deeds, so she pulled to the side and climbed out of her truck. This is what gets me. She stopped. And, got out. She stepped feet onto the ground next to the weary soul in the chair.

Feet on the ground

They talked for a short time. The street side conversation went to God and faith.  She told him about the hungry man she had bought the sandwich for, but that God pointed her to him instead.

He responded to her kindness,

I’ve helped people all my life. I’ve always tried to do good for others.

He motioned to his legs and whispered,

Now look at me. I’m wondering, where is God?

Then, you gave me this.

His eyes went to her face,

You’ve got the Spirit. I see it in you.

She hugged the man,

Where are you going to go?

The man in the chair replied,

I gotta get to the shelter before they close. I don’t have any bus money. If they close the doors, I can’t get in tonight.

The good deed kept on giving. My friend answered,

Well I have $5 that you can have for the bus.

She handed him the money and climbed back into her truck.

He called to her by name,

Hey, be good to your husband. Stop arguing with each other. He’s doing the best he can and he’ll never leave you.

Then, he paused as tears welled in her eyes,

From the looks of your face, I can tell that means something to you.

And, he was gone.

We don’t have to go very far to be near a brother. Or a sister. We don’t have to go very far to feel close to home. We don’t have to look around and wonder in anticipation when we will go home again. We just have to get out. Put feet on the ground. Feet on the ground next to our brothers and sisters. He orchestrates the meetings, you know. The Voice whispering in our souls,

Follow me and I’ll show you Home.

 

Mark 10:29-31

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Karin signature

Filed Under: A Day in the Life, Brothers and Sisters, Good Deeds, Hope, Mercy, Together Tagged With: feet on the ground, obedience, stop and get out, together

October 7, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

I call you friend (#7)

PROMISE #7 ~ FRIENDSHIP

I love Saturdays.

The house gets messy (er) ~ (I do not know why this is the case on the weekend?)…

The kids play outside, watch too much TV, leave food all over the place…

My warrior is home (usually… unless works beckons)…

Sounds of weed-eaters, lawnmowers, laughter (intermingled with whines and shrieks) fill the air…

Chores are left undone, beds unmade, dishes unwashed, make-up unapplied, hair un-fixed, to-do’s ~ just plain ignored.

I love Saturdays.

The gift of a Saturday…

friendship

A day of gathering ~ between kid’s sports, hair appointments, and shopping (which is way better online, anyway).

gathering of friends

knowing there is one more day until Monday.  One more day to… be still.

So, what is God’s promise on this Saturday?  Friendship.

Share this journey… walk the walk… embrace the gifts from Him ~ together.

The greatest gift in this promise?

His Friendship

 

PROMISE #7 ~ God gives us His friendship.

 

John 15:15

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

 

Filed Under: Faith, Friendship, God's Promises, Together Tagged With: faith, friendship, God's promises, together

September 5, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

The Beautiful Outcome of Compassion

New photos on our wall.

The week painting our kitchen and den ~ a fulfilling task while my warrior was away for a training exercise.

Mom, can I help?

Pleading eyes… asking for just a chance…

Hmm, maybe just a little.  

Painting, decorating, arranging photos are my greedy tasks… I enjoy the finished product… and give myself a little pat on the back when I am done.  These questioning young eyes want a chance to get in the game… they want to be a part of this… to have just one chance…

Ok

I smile… knowing the joy these helpful hands will feel… just to have been a part of this… to make a difference… to see the change.

Rooms painted, photos fresh from a beach vacation carefully placed… I grin… the young eyes light up ~ the work completed.  The beautiful outcome.  The faces of my young children peering from photographs… beautiful young faces.

Beautiful young faces.

What if these photos had a different background?  What if there were no vacations?  What if my children had a different background?  What if they had been born in a different place?  A different zip code?  A place of different opportunities?  A place with little… or no opportunities?  A place with few helping hands?  A place praying for more helping hands?  What if…

We gather at the computer… our speedy Mac, that takes us anywhere in seconds.

Can we look at their pictures?

Mama, can we help?

I smile…

Maybe just a little

it may be just a little for us… but so much more for them…

We click… we see…

Pleading eyes… asking for just a chance…

The faces we see… like my own, but different…

These questioning young eyes want a chance to get in the game… they want to be a part of this… to have just one chance…

My young ones, drawn in by the faces, the places, the stories…

Mama, can we help?

I smile… knowing the joy these helpful hands will feel… just to have been a part of this… to make a difference… to see the change.

The beautiful outcome

We click… two times.  Their names are Myrlande and Elie.  They live in Haiti.  My children pray for them, they think of them, they write to them.  They realize just a little bit more… the blessings we have are blessings to be shared.

September is Official Blog Month at Compassion International.  The goal is to find sponsors for 3,108 children in the month of September.  For $38 per month, a child will receive opportunity…

these children served by Compassion receive, among other things: the opportunity to hear the gospel and learn about Jesus; regular Christian training; educational opportunities and help; health care, hygiene training, and supplementary food if necessary; a caring and safe Christian environment to grow in self-confidence and social skills; personal attention, guidance and love.

I look at these opportunities and see what my own children receive… without having to ask.  For the cost of a toy, a Wii game, a new pair of shoes… these kids… with different zip codes… receive ~ a chance.

Will you go there? Take a look at these beautiful faces… with the questioning eyes… these faces that pray so much for just one chance…

Will you join us to pray for them?  

Will you consider sponsoring just one child?  

1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
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Filed Under: Compassion, Hope, Joy, Love, Together Tagged With: compassion, hope, joy, love, together

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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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