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)

Seek and You Will Find

Carolyn

Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

I love verses like this, and I love it that we have a God who keeps His promises. Repeatedly in Scripture, we see that the one who seeks finds, that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us, that He hears and acts on behalf of His people, that He rewards those who seek Him. Pretty amazing!

I’ve really needed wisdom this week for a number of things. God brought something into my family’s life that was unexpected. His Word and love for Him seem to require that I should respond in a certain way, a way that demands I give more of myself than I would naturally be inclined to do. Something that may not be easy or natural. I look ahead and wonder, “just for now or how long?”

The other morning, I knelt and asked God about it. You know how sometimes, you just want God to be very clear about what you should do in a situation, but you also realize that maybe He doesn’t need to be any clearer, for the Bible has already shed perfect light on how we should respond and obey. Nonetheless, I sought God. Though my words felt just like words, I asked Him for the faith to believe that there was power in prayer and that He could show us what we should do. I wanted Him to reveal to us something confirming about this whole situation.

That afternoon I went to pick up my son early from an event at church. I was able to sit down and hear the testimony of a college student who is working this summer with the children. How could it be that what he shared was identical to what I was thinking and we are dealing with? There’s the answer, right there. It was very clear. I couldn’t help the tears from flowing as I sat in the back of the room, realizing there is really no mistake about what God would have us do.

There is joy in believing and obeying. There always is, no matter the situation. I sense God providing for what He asks us to do. I sense my heart giving way to His will. I praise Him that He did answer me when I called and He did it quickly!

I’ve been reading A Quest for More by Paul Tripp. He is, in fact, speaking at our church tomorrow night, and I am excited to hear him speak. He writes about how we were made for transcendence, but Satan offered Adam and Eve an independent glory, or autonomy. “The quest for autonomy will always crush transcendence.” So rather than living for the huge glory of God, we can end up living for “shadow glories filling the dim cubicle of my own glory.” Living for my little kingdom instead of His.

Now this is the part that got me: “Most of us have learned how to celebrate our inclusion in God’s great and glorious work, while functionally caring for little that does not directly address us. In doing this we have Christianized our autonomy. Essentially, we are asking God to give his endorsement to our attempt to shrink the transcendent glories of his kingdom to the size of our circle of personal concern. And even though we are trying to live inside of God’s boundaries, we have still manufactured a life where self is at the center. It is quite possible for our Christianity to be quite narrow and selfish and to not be aware of the shrinkage.”

That’s just a snippet, but he goes on in a way that let me see I like to serve when it’s in a way that pleases me. Oh, I want to please Him, and I want to do His will, but it’s nice when it lines up with my will! There is so much more, and He often calls us to things that are not easy, but the blessing will no doubt be incredible when we obey Him. And He’ll continue to expand our view.

Praise You, Lord, for rewarding those who believe You and diligently seek You. Thank you that you can be found! Thank you that Your Spirit is at work in us to make us more like You. Thank you for teaching us your ways.

It’s Officially Summer!

Carolyn
2008 Field Day — Casted Arm

School ended today with what has become a tradition — field day followed by lots of food in the classrooms before noon dismissal, then the conclusion of parent teacher conferences. It’s a great conclusion to the year!

For those of us who work at the school, it’s a sentimental day, as well, as we realize some of us will now be parting ways, perhaps never to see one another again. It’s a day full of reflection on the past year and emotion in seeing what God has done in our children, in our school, the beauty of what He has brought together, and the hope that He will continue it despite change, which is unavoidable and even necessary.

Today reminded me of God’s faithfulness as I looked back to one year ago at this time. We finished field day, and I took my son to the orthopedist for a follow up visit to see how his wrist was healing. It had been broken 2 weeks before, but was not displaced and looked to be a simple matter. However, we learned at this visit that his wrist had become displaced in the cast and he would need surgery the next morning to try to correct it as soon as possible. The hope was he wouldn’t need an incision or pins, but those were feasible options.

Two days prior, at our teachers’ chapel where we shared Scripture and exhortations with the students, I had shared a special verse to me: Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched hand and there is nothing too hard for You.” That was the first verse I had learned in Kindergarten, and God had used it in my life as I had prayed for this school.

I shared with the children the power of God… that we sat where we were, had the teachers we did, had been blessed with this school because God was and is powerful. I encouraged them to trust Him and not put “God in a box” but instead believe that He can do great things.

So as I sat at the orthopedist’s office hearing his words “we need to do surgery, right away, tomorrow, ….. pins, incisions,” I could also hear in my head the words I had spoken in chapel, “God is powerful, trust Him…” I knew this was a chance for my son’s faith to grow, that God had allowed this for good.

My son was naturally nervous about the surgery. My husband had left town that morning on a 6 hour trip, and had turned right around to come back home. We went to dinner while we waited on his return. A song played on the way: “Your grace is enough, Heaven reaching down to us, Your grace is enough for me; God, I see your grace is enough, I’m covered in your love, Your grace is enough for me; remember Your people; remember Your children; remember Your promise, O God. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough for me.”

It was just a good song to remind my son that God loved him and is gracious. I told him to lay out his arm before God and ask Him to heal it. The sunroof was open and the sun was pouring in down on his casted arm as he held out his arm to God and gave it to Him. It did seem like “heaven was reaching down to us.” I loved seeing my son’s faith that He was willing to lay it before God. Before bed, my son told me he wanted to read Job “because it was about a man who suffered.” It was sweet to see him seek the Lord.

The surgery the next day went fine, and we were thankful to find the surgeon could shove the bones really hard back into place and did not need pins and incisions. However, he ended up with a much larger cast and sling for the next few weeks and we canceled summer camps and plans. But we saw in the midst of it again God’s goodness and grace.

Opportunities to trust Him. Steps in our journey. Stops along the way where we see God actively in our lives so that we can look back and remember what great things He has done and move forward with confident expectation that the God who has done great things can and does act on behalf of His people.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” Jeremiah 17:7

Praise the Lord!

Carolyn

Psalm 113:1-3
“Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”

I woke up this morning watching the sunrise as I prayed. I love watching a sunrise, and I get great views of it from right where I live. One of my favorite things about this house, actually. Today that sunrise brought this verse to mind: “From the rising of the sun, to the setting of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

Wow, I wonder what my days would be like if I spent them praising His name from sunup to sundown. We are commanded to rejoice evermore and give thanks in everything, after all, in Philippians 2 and I Thessalonians 5. Some constant praising, rejoicing and thanksgiving… that should lift any spirits that are down!

God Almighty, a song from Chris Tomlin, was also stirring in my mind this morning:

Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning we will sing
Holy, Holy, we bow down before Thee
All Your children love to sing Your name
God Almighty

You’re the breath of life
You’re the God on high
Your song shall rise
And never pass away

O, Your Majesty
Evermore shall be
The earth, the skies, the sea
Shall bring You praise

And I hide my eyes
With my face to the ground
In the presence of Your Majesty
And I clap my hands
And I lay my crowns
In the presence of Your Majesty

I want to both praise Him and bring Him praise today, by the power of His Spirit, in His strength. Early this morning and every morning, may I sing my praise to You, Lord!

Our Perfect God

Carolyn

I love this new song from Natalie Grant, Perfect People:

“There’s no such thing as perfect people.
There’s no such thing as a perfect life.
So come as you are, broken and scarred,
Lift up your heart and be amazed,
And be changed by a perfect God.”

I unintentionally dropped the ball on something at work this last week. It exposed my subconscious desires to be and do everything just perfectly. Yet, in the midst of my failing, I felt led to trust God as the One who assures me in His Word that this would be for my good. How could I not accept this misstep as part of His plan for my life to teach me a valuable lesson? Not only did God provide for my need that resulted from my mistake, but He also taught me in the process more about trusting Him and more about who I am in Him.

It has caused me to rejoice all the more in His perfection and His sovereign ways.

He is also in the process of perfecting our faith, in spite of our imperfections.

It’s such a beautiful picture, and I praise our perfect God for Who He is, for His perfect ways and His great love for us.

Deuteronomy 32:3-4
“I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.”

Lessons Learned

Carolyn

The mom at our school that I had written about in a couple of my earlier posts went home to be with the Lord yesterday. What a joyous, yet sad, day. There is such a dichotomy at work in death, it’s hard to comprehend. The certain hope of heaven for those who believe in Jesus and the joy of seeing Him face to face, yet the grief in the here and now for those left behind, especially young children. We weren’t meant to die. And for those in Christ, we never will. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. We will see her again. But the pain in the here and now for those who remain is harsh.

I was thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from watching this woman of God for the last year. I met her exactly one year ago today, April 24, when she came to look at the school. I didn’t know that one year later, I’d be watching her children playing at a park after school, experiencing their first day without their mother. My heart breaks.

The first lesson I learned is to treasure the time with my family and invest in my children. From the day her children were born, she read to them from the Bible. That was convicting to me when I learned that. I haven’t done that. She had likely read 4000 hours from the Bible to her oldest child! Amazing! That will not return void!

She was a woman who feared the Lord, and His promises are mercy to her children’s children. I love it that we can watch with expectation to see what God has for these precious children, even with her cruel absence in their lives. I trust we will see them like a tree, firmly planted, yielding fruit in season, with roots going down deep, becoming oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. He can bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

When I find myself distracted with my work, thinking of myself instead of my children during my time with them each day, I have been thinking of her and making a choice to live differently as a mom because of her.

A second lesson I saw in her was an extraordinary faith. I’ve written about that in earlier posts, but she truly was an uncommon woman of extraordinary faith, a faith her husband credits our extraordinary God with. She lived her life in light of His truth. She never complained or doubted. She believed. Like the song says, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” She never turned back, even when life became very difficult. She pointed people to Christ and proved His worth, that He was more than enough for her. He met her in those deepest places and she did not falter or fail in her faith. I want that kind of faith, given as a gift of His Spirit.

When I think of her, I think of Psalm 40:1-3: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”

I believe many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord because of her example. She was glad to be wherever God wanted her to be, believing His ways and His plan to be best. That’s a third lesson I’d like to learn, to not complain, but to trust His plan. She was not offended with God and His plan, but reflected Him to a watching world.

She now sees Jesus face to face and is receiving the goal of her faith. I praise Jesus tonight for dying for our sins on the cross, so that by faith in Him, we might never die, but live.

These are the verses her family has shared and that we as a school prayed for her:

I Peter 1:3-9

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”