Author: Carolyn

I am a Christian, a sinner saved by God's amazing grace. Much like my life, my blog is a work in progress. The main objective I have for this blog is to "proclaim the praises" of the One who called me out of darkness and into His marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9)

Lifesong

Carolyn

I wondered tonight what I should write on, reflect upon. I thought that as I did my Bible study, the Lord would reveal it. I first read through some old journals as I was looking for something else, but I was struck as I read those journals about how much the Lord had used Isaiah 40:28-31 in my life. These verses tell me to trust in Him, to wait upon Him, to hope in Him. He gives strength to the weary, power to those that trust in Him!

I then proceeded to do my very last lesson in Breaking Free, a 10-week Bible study by Beth Moore that some friends and I started months ago (we stretched it out)! What (among other things) did she talk about in this last lesson? Isaiah 40:28-31!

Beth asks the reader to offer feedback concerning the relationship between weariness and self-effort or renewed strength and the presence of God. Doesn’t it seem that it is often the weariness in self effort that ultimately brings us to the end of ourselves and to God? A few years ago, God very vividly showed me that I lacked strength, but that His strength was perfected in my weakness. (II Corinthians 12:9-11). I often think of this concept of His strength in my weakness as my “lifesong.”

As literally everything I do and am is under Him and His authority, I am dependent on Him and accountable to Him for everything, from the breath I breathe, to the thoughts I think, to the actions I take. His Word provides me with everything I need for life and godliness. His Spirit guides me into truth. I am filled with hope because He has given me all I need and truly gives me the strength to be and do what I cannot in my own strength.

These truths have changed my life, and I want others to know these truths, too, and to not miss the exciting walk of faith God has for us as we trust in Him and allow Him to be our strength. I hope to share a story of one way He has shown me this in my next blog entry this week.

Isaiah 40:28-31:
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord

Carolyn

I love this song:

“If we could see how much You’re worth; Your power, Your might, Your endless love, Then surely we would never cease to praise You!”

Psalm 150:6: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.”

To Him Alone belongs the highest praise!

Seeing the Sunshine

Carolyn

I was excited tonight to sit down and watch the Olympic men’s ice skating competition. I watched an American named Jeremy, then thought I would just close my eyes during the commercials. The next time I opened my eyes, they were giving out the medals. So much for a nice evening watching the competition! I guess I needed the rest!

Before the day ends, I just wanted to thank the Lord for the sunshine today. Even yesterday, I was realizing what a long winter it is where we live and wondering how long it has been since we’ve seen the sun for longer than just a few moments. I’ve been in a little bit of a rut with just the monotony of a long winter, feeling like I am on the go constantly, racing from one thing to the next, and just weary, then frustrated that I should be discouraged for really no reason, save perhaps my own lack of discipline. It’s my own fault for not better planning my day, taking time to sit and read or be still, spending more time with my children that is focused, meeting the family’s needs for things like… say, dinner! So after just feeling out of sorts yesterday, it was a real blessing to have a warmer day and see the sun all day! I am thankful.

My friend said today what we really need and should pray for is to be like Paul who says in Philippians 4 that he had learned the secret of being content in all things. That hit home for me. I don’t want my joy to be dependent on my circumstances. And Paul ends that passage by saying he can do all things through Christ who gives him the strength to do it! That was an encouragement both to hear and ponder.

Weekend Women’s Retreat

Carolyn

This weekend, I had the opportunity to go on a Women’s Retreat with my church. It was a lot of fun to be with other women of all ages and to connect with people I don’t see as often, while enjoying a time with good friends, too!

My friend Shelly hosted a seminar on blogging at the retreat! Here she is after the seminar. I learned a few things from her this weekend, such as that she is my IRL (“in real life”) friend. She is a writer and has a wonderful blog that she keeps regularly updated (unlike some bloggers!), so it’s very fun to keep up with her.


The retreat was very well planned and organized. We were provided with wonderful lessons from the book of John (“Finding Jesus in the Stuff of Life”), given optional seminars to attend (on blogging, evangelism, contentment, children, and creating beauty in our homes), fed often and well with large meals and bountiful snacks and plenty of soft drinks and water around us at all times. It was a beautiful retreat center and spa, very relaxing and comfortable.

I’m thankful for times of refreshment from busy lives to remove distractions and regain focus on what is most important. I need to reflect on how to bring more of that rest into each day!

God is Light

Carolyn

Two themes I’ve been reflecting on recently: “Whiter than Snow” (from my last post) and “God is Light.” This was another theme that ran through my Christmas season, verses on light and darkness that I had never spent too much time thinking about.

It started on December 4th with our school newsletter. My co-worker added this verse to the top:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” Isaiah 9:2

I thought about her selection at the Christmas season: His Light shining in the darkness. Not the first verse I would have thought about at Christmas, but so right. I continued to run across verses talking about the Light that came into the world and that contrasted the Light and darkness.

While we were on vacation after Christmas, everyone went ice skating, and I was alone in the cabin. As I was reading my Bible and praying, confessing, I was thinking about my sin, who I am before God. I looked up and directly across the room on the table was a book entitled Sinner that I had given my husband for Christmas. (He’s been writing fiction, and thus enjoying reading other fiction, this one by Ted Dekker.) As I looked across the room at that book, with the spine facing me, the large words SINNER looking right at me, I thought, “that’s who I am. That is the perfect description of me.”

As I was thinking this through, the sun shone through the dreary overcast snowy day, and all of a sudden, light came shining so brightly into the room. The light was so bright, in fact, that I could no longer read the title on the spine of the book across the room. It was such a perfect illustration of what Christ’s Light does. He comes into the darkness and by His sacrifice, forgives all our sin, such that we become identified with Him, the Light, and He exposes and removes the darkness and changes our lives!

I’ve been thinking a lot about that picture and what to take from these truths. Yesterday, my son had a CD on the counter that he had received this week at his first Upward basketball practice (a national Christian league that is run locally at our church). I asked him what it was, and he said they were songs to help him learn the weekly Bible verses. We put in the CD, and these were the titles of 8 of the 10 songs:

God is Light
The Light Shines in the Darkness
The True Light
They Wanted Darkness
He Will Have the Light
Live in the Light, Too
If We Live in the Light
You Should Be a Light

The common thread to these songs was not lost on me! A verse goes with each song, such as:

“God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5“The Light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overpowered the Light.” John 1:5

“The true Light was coming into the world. The true Light gives life to all.” John 1:9

“Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness. He will have the Light that gives life.'” John 8:12

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:7

To think about these verses and these truths has been a powerful thing for me. I love our God, that He is so personal to lead us and teach us through His Word.Praise You, Lord, the true Light, who came into the world to save us and take us out of darkness and into your marvelous light! (And as I write this, I’m reminded of the verse that accompanies my blog at the top of it! “To proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous Light.” Yes, Praise You, Lord!