March and April Reflections

March and April Reflections

Carolyn

One of the commitments I made this year was to try to learn a few Bible verses each month. My January verses I say almost every day to remember who God is, to thank and praise Him, to entrust the cares of my life to the Sovereign One, strong and mighty, who rules over all.

With that commitment to memorize Scripture, I’ve tried to record at the end of each month how things went, as a means of both accountability and of encouragement to keep going. And in so doing, I’ve reviewed the preceding month as a whole, as well.

Yet, how do you begin to review months like March and April 2020, where all of life was changed or impacted in some way by the coronavirus that continues to disrupt the world? Read more →

February Recap

February Recap

Carolyn

For Christmas I was given a “Growth Book,” something I had heard about online and asked for. It’s a way to follow your growth for the year, allowing you to track your goals, reading, prayer requests, God’s faithfulness, and reflect each month where you’ve done well or where you need change. There are many blank pages for journaling or taking notes from sermons or podcasts — or however else you want to use them. It has been a help to me to record these things and visualize progress. Read more →

Remember What You Believe

Remember What You Believe

Carolyn

In the summer of 2000, we were living in Virginia for my husband’s PhD program, but visiting my family in Memphis. At 23 weeks, 6 days along in a difficult pregnancy, I was hospitalized with a life-threatening pregnancy complication, one so rare that most doctors will never treat a case of it.

I wasn’t in the hospital long, only a day or two, before the labor started and wasn’t stopping, even with the medication they gave. It was late evening, and I was afraid as my doctors were not there. They moved me back down to labor and delivery, and an anesthesiologist came in and jammed a large size IV into my wrist to prepare for surgery if needed. Things seemed to be moving fast, and I was scared I was going to deliver her. My fear wasn’t helping the situation. Read more →

January Scripture Memorization

January Scripture Memorization

Carolyn

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty,
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In your hand is power and might;
In your hand it is to make great,
And to give strength to all.
Now, therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.”
1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (NKJV)

Around Christmastime, my mom texted me and my sister to see if we could learn these Bible verses together. I agreed, and it took me the whole month of January to learn them completely. (I find memorizing harder the older I get!) Read more →

Happy New Year 2020

Carolyn

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Happy New Year 2020! The picture above is the first sunrise of the year that greeted me this early morning.

Over the years, it has been my pattern to write down a word or theme for the coming year. I’ve had themes around prayer, Bible reading, “firstfruits,” the Lord being our Shepherd, “whiter than snow,” “God is Light,” the fear of the Lord, and others. Each year I’ve written about the word or theme to record it. Read more →