More Joy

October 24, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

The Difference Between Joy and Happiness

Having a life goal to make other people happy is awesome indeed. Who doesn’t want to be happy and have others join in that happiness? But what about joy? Is there any difference between happiness and joy? While some writers make happiness and joy far too different, I want to point out one key distinction: the sources of the two seem to be different. Even the secular world recognizes this:

“Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. It comes when you make peace with who you are, why you are, and how you are, whereas happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events.”

Rachel Fearnley, secular UK psychologist

The root word in happiness is “hap” – which is often defined as coming about by chance or accident or luck. We hap-pen to be hap-py because of hap-penings! External events suddenly give me an emotional lift.

In the Bible, words translated happy, happiness, or gladness are used 30 times, while the word joy or rejoice is used over 300 times. The two are used together at times (Jer. 31:13), so they have some common elements. You can’t be filled with joy and not experience happiness. They are intricately connected, but somewhat different in source.

th(i)nkful Behavior Brings Joy

Cristiana Witt, a dear friend of mine (pictured with my Elly below), brought this to my attention recently. When we become th(i)nkful – choose to download grace from the Lord to think thanks and express that thanks – there is a wonderful side benefit that happens. We have more joy!!

Being th(i)nkful spots the golden thread of God’s purposes and design weaving through the thicket of even unhappy circumstances and gives us joy (James 1:2). In fact, the Greek word for joy is related to the Greek words for grace and thanks!

Finding My Inward from the Upward

We need to shape our inward identity and emotions by an upward orientation, not outward. If our focus is on people and things outside of us, then that is where we will look for happiness, and we’ll work in never-ending frustration to achieve a succession of happy moments. We need to look up instead.

My husband says, “Every time I look at God, He is smiling and saying ‘just perfect.'” No matter my past, He has reconciled me to Himself. No matter my sins, He loves me and is using even those failures in His plan. No matter my faithlessness, He is faithfully making me into the form of “Jesus in my earthsuit.” No matter my brokenness, He can use all the pieces. No matter my unworthiness, He considers me righteous, calls me His child, a holy one and a priest, and has prepared an inheritance for me. The foundation under my circumstances is just perfect.

But what about my circumstances? Choosing to be th(i)nkful is really about allowing God to have His way with me. No matter my circumstances, it’s orchestrated for my greater good. When I cry “deliver me from these circumstances,” He replies that He sent those circumstance to deliver me from myself.

When I let Him choose my flowers and my fires from the complexities of His infinite mind and unbelievable love, there is a humble acceptance that enables me to think thanks and express that thanks to Him, confidently trusting in His sovereignty. He wouldn’t have my life any other way right now. Living in His presence this way brings me the fullness of joy that He described in Psalm 16:11.

Sputter and Bubble

So as you go through this day, why not set aside some time for thinking and expressing thanks. Finding His fingerprints all over your life will produce joy. All of life’s challenges and sorrows will be over one day and we will finally be with the Lord. Live life full of thanks and joy will bubble up. It may sputter up slowly, but slowly it WILL come. Start now.

It’s not happy people that are thankful. It is thankful people that are happy!

Encourage ~ To Pour Courage Into

October 16, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

Encourage ~ Pour Courage Into

Have you ever looked for ways to encourage others, maybe your own children, to be thankful? I love these definitions of encourage: to give support, confidence, or hope to; to help or stimulate (an activity, state, or view) to develop; to infuse courage; to pour courage into.

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is sharing about the great suffering that he faced on a continual basis. He comes to the last few verses of that chapter and pours courage into his readers by reminding them of the purpose of his difficulties and their difficulties.

Those trials were causing the progressive death of the Self and allowed Jesus to live through the shell of Paul’s body (v. 11);
Those difficulties created a “fellowship of the resurrection;” we do not call this earth “home” but look forward the coming better life (v. 14)
Those hardships provided an opportunity for God’s grace to sustain us during suffering, which will increase our thanksgiving to the glory of God (v. 15).
Those afflictions will eventually result in rewards that are ridiculously disproportionate to the suffering (v. 17)

2 Cor. 4:15-17. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Grace Turned On

There is a grace (supernatural help) that God releases when His people give thanks. When we purposefully choose to think thanks and express that thanks orally or in a written form, we create a space where God loves to dwell, where He delights to touch us. Psalm 22:3 says that God “inhabits the praises of His people.”

Have you ever noticed at mealtimes that Christians sometimes call giving thanks for the food “saying grace?” It is intriguing to think of the connection that grace has to giving thanks. Strong’s Concordance gives an interesting definition for the Greek word charis, normally translated grace: “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in life; including gratitude and thanks; benefit, favor, gift, grace, liberality, joy, pleasure.”

Amazing! The Greek word for grace can also be translated “thanks!” What if our charis to God turns on His charis to us? What if we turn on the faucet of grace every time we are th(i)nkful?! What if our whining and complaining spirit, or just saying nothing, turns down or turns off the flow of God’s grace to us?

Being Spirit-Filled Is A Choice

We know that God’s Spirit dwells within us from the moment of salvation – we have all of the Spirit we will ever get or need. We choose, however, how much His Spirit has of us. When Paul commands us to be filled with the Spirit instead of wine, he is telling us that there is a choice we can make in pursuing the Spirit’s filling. The description of a person filled with the Spirit is that they speak to themselves with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord and they give thanks always and for everything (Eph. 5:18-20).

I am seeking to encourage you to be th(i)nkful in this blogpost. I am seeking to pour courage into you to begin to purposely cultivate thinking thanks. I am seeking to inspire you with obedience to the commands of I Thess. 5:18 and Eph. 5:20, but also trying to motivate you to dream of the grace that is released when we follow hard after God and seek to do His will. He blesses righteousness.

Could you think of one other person in your life that might need to have some courage poured into them to become th(i)nkful?

Dan Has Poured Courage Into My Life

Dan Haines, a dear friend of ours, has encouraged David and me so many times. This photo is from his wedding in which our oldest son Joshua was a ring-bearer.

Many years have passed since that day. Many trials have come along the way, such as the trial of Dan falling from a tree-stand while deer hunting and losing all feeling from the waist down. He pushed through the despair, extreme life-change, and loss of dreams by God’s grace alone, and continues to praise the Lord. He has chosen to think thanks and reflect Christ even in the severe testing ordained by our sovereign God. Outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

I dedicate this post to you, Dan. Thank you for your example of thinking thanks and thirsting after our God who never disappoints. How I long to see your body restored one day when we stand side by side and see our Master and King. Proud of you.

Playing Chess Against “King Self”

October 9, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

How could playing chess help cultivate thinking thanks?

A lot actually. Chess is a thinking game. You have to try to protect your king against assaults and instead seek to pin down the opposing king. Most inexperienced players only look to respond after each move (I may or may not fall into this category), but experienced players realize that victory comes from a planned approach, thinking many moves in advance.

History of Chess

Chess started in India back in the 1500’s. It spread to Persia and later on with the Moors into Spain and southern Europe. In the mid-1800’s chess tournaments began. In 1886, the first World Chess Championship was held. Online chess games became popular in the 1990’s.

A 2012 survey found that chess players now make up one of the largest communities in the world: 605 million adults play chess regularly. Chess is played at least once a year by 12% of British people, 15% of Americans, 23% of Germans, 43% of Russians, and 70% of Indian people. Magnus Carlsen (at right) is the reigning world chess champion presently, and I might add that he is a Norwegian.

How do you play chess with ungratefulness?

Playing chess defensively is planning to lose; you must play offensively. You must evaluate threats, look for clever ways to dodge those threats, and keep on the offensive. “King Self” is the enemy when it comes to cultivating gratitude. The Self is self-ruling, self-serving, self-exalting, and wants to totally rule our bodies, our minds, our circumstances, and other people around us for its own benefit.

Our selfish desires are powerful and demanding, wanting heaven and utopia for ourselves right now. The standard is absolute perfection – “I want a perfect day, a perfect job, perfect children, a perfect car, a perfect phone, a perfect spouse,” and so on. King Self does not want to look for things to think thanks about. It spots the imperfections and short-comings right away and responds with grumpy murmuring, complaining, anger, arguments, and even despair. We have to change the way we think in order to defeat King Self.

Let’s imagine that the opposing chess pieces represent key enemies of thankfulness: doubt, laziness, lust, envy, anxiety, and selfishness. We move our pawn to block an obvious fallacy – this isn’t heaven, there is no perfection in this life, and things could be much worse. We move our rook into position by meditating on the fact that our God is a strong tower – the sovereign, wise, trustworthy, and good controller of all things. We slide up the bishop of contentment to threaten the queen of jealousy and envy. The knight jumps into position by choosing to think thanks even when we don’t feel like it. The queen of power and peace moves across the entire board to take down anxiety. Finally, the egocentric King Self is held in checkmate.

This chess battle is between your ears. The battle is won in your thoughts.

In Europe and in South Africa we often saw large chess sets in parks. It is cool to try to play one of those games. It may be a little difficult to get a good perspective because it is so large, nevertheless, it is inspiring.

As a young girl I learned to play chess. My Swedish uncle Arne Håkansson was a very good chess player. My older brother, Jan, is still an excellent chess player and I feel I have really accomplished something if I can beat him. I have played chess online with both my sons-in-law … and right now Justin has me in a precarious situation. Online playing has great flexibility.

“Gratitude is a decision of the will, and if a decision of the will, the choice resides squarely with us. Deciding to be thankful is no easy task. It takes work.” –Chuck Swindoll

I challenge you to a game of th(i)nkful chess. Plan out your moves in order to win and checkmate the king of Self. It is sweet to win that game, not only for your personal benefit, but most of all, to obey our Maker who said it is His will for us to give thanks in all circumstances (I Thess. 5:18).

Queen of Katwe (2016) is a movie about a true story of a young African girl who learned to play chess at a mission outreach and became an international chess champion.

Here’s a link to basic skills in playing chess How to Win a Chess Game

Remarkable Tool

October 2, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 1 Comment

The Tool of th(i)nkful

The concept of th(i)nkful is not designed to be just more written material on thankfulness that logs in the corridors of your mind. There are loads of books out there on gratitude and the benefits of being thankful. Rather, th(i)nkful is a tool that shows you how you can think thanks and express that thanks orally or in a written form, thereby obeying the Lord when He says that you are to give thanks in every circumstance.

The job that needs to be done is to carve a thought pattern that is quick to analyze things for which we can be thankful.

There are ways to build thought patterns within our minds to always be on the lookout for what we can think thanks about in every situation – I’ll call them “carving tools.” Carving a groove – creating a mental preoccupation with thankfulness – is a safeguard that can keep our hearts and souls from destruction. There are times when it is easy to identify what to be thankful for, and there are times when being thankful is the last thing you want to be. A cool side benefit of this groove is that as you carve out the brain pattern, it becomes easier and easier to “get in the groove” – to spontaneously recognize the things to be thankful for.

Decide, Carve, and Express

The active parts of the definition of th(i)nkful are: choose, think, and express.

th(i)nkful is a determined choice to download grace/strength from the Lord to think thanks about every circumstance that comes my way and express that thanks orally or in a written form.

My trust in the Lord enables me to choose to think thanks, but it is not enough to just think it, but I must express it either orally or in a written form. The expressing part is the observable part that God and others appreciate. That expression of thanks is to someone and not just for something.

God has issued a command: “Give thanks in all circumstances.” We have to figure out how we can implement that command. As with most good things in life, it begins with a choice in the heart. This initial commitment then is followed with a hundred small decisions reminding me to search for the good elements in the circumstance, or the greater good that will come from it. Each time I do this, I carve the rut of holiness deeper, and the more I get in the habit of doing this, the easier it will come for me. But as a necessary next step, these gems of truth can’t just stay in my thoughts, but must radiate their way out of me by either something I speak or write.

Get in the Habit

Although there is some speculation as to how long it takes to formulate a new habit, most research says that 30 days is a good start for setting a new pattern. I tend to be like a turtle and set little goals at a time. How about choosing to begin forming a pattern in your mind that you will be th(i)nkful to God for one thing every day and express that to someone or write it down?

I had a reader recently write that in their family they have started a habit that before they pray with their children at bedtime, everyone says one thing they are thankful for from that day. That is a great start!

Changing Perspective without Changing Circumstances

I have to use the tool of choosing to think thanks and then express that thanks orally or in a written form. I put on the “glasses of gratitude” and look at everything around me and in me through those lenses. God has promised that He is sovereign and is going to give me all I need to do His will if I will appropriate that grace (I Cor.10:13).

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Thess. 5:18

The Slide of Ingratitude

September 18, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

The Mechanics of the Slide

The physics of sliding down a playground slide has to do with gravity, friction, inertia, and kinetic and potential energy. Your speed will be affected by your weight, the condition of the slide and the temperature. For a child, there is little that compares with the exhilaration of a good slide. In Lone Hill, South Africa there was a playground within walking distance of our home that contained a huge slide. The children were hesitant to climb the step ladder to that slide purely because of its height.

The picture above is “Slide Hill,” the longest slide in New York City, on Governors Island. Children exude anticipation as they climb up and slide down the famous slide in this new park. A couple of lessons: 1) It takes effort to climb to the top of a slide; and 2) you slide downward quickly.

A Sinister Slide

There is another infamous slide that is recorded in the Scriptures. This slide is ugly. It is harsh. It is fatal and destructive. It starts out at the top in Romans 1:18 and continues rapidly downward, through twists and turns, to verse 32. There is a baleful initial description of the ones sitting at the top of that slide. The people who start down this slide are not thankful. Ungrateful people suppress the truth of who God is and exchange it for a lie.

1:21 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Thankfulness is an antidote to temptation. The inverse is also true. Ingratitude seems to invite every form of temptation and sin. I have often mused over how ingratitude seems to create the fertile conditions of sin prospering. My daughter Elly once said that “it is hard for a selfish person to be thankful.” The essence of sin is self – self-absorption, self-preoccupation, self-rule and self-worship. You see all of your blessings as coming from your dreams and your hard work. And yet you are not fully a god just yet, so you are chronically competitive, discontent, and unthankful.

There are two things that sin does not love to do; to honor and glorify God as the source of every good thing, and to thank God for every good thing and for every bad thing He is working together for our good. Sin wants to replace God with self and with alternate loves that supposedly will bring happiness to self and awkwardly try to fill our God-shaped void.

If you sense that you are not a very thankful person, perhaps it would be good to do some introspection. Why do I not want to be thankful? Do I want to count my many hardships? Is it just that I don’t think about being thankful? Or do I disregard it?

Cultivating thinking thanks keeps us from beginning down the long and winding slide that is smooth and breezy at the top but becomes indulgent, brutal, empty, and destructive toward the bottom.

“Genuine thankfulness is an act of the heart’s affections, not an act of the lips’ muscles.” –John Piper

Th(i)nkful Laundry List

September 11, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 11 Comments

Laundry list: a long or exhaustive list of people or things.

Have you ever crafted a laundry list of things you are th(i)nkful for? Don’t just brainstorm; write them down.

Here is a sampling of mine:

hearing rain falling
the smell of mown grass
the laundry of Hobbits drying in the sun (pic above)
the sound of eating a crisp chip
a child’s face of anticipation
the feeling I get when I do something I really didn’t want to do, but knew I should
smelling coffee brewing
seeing someone’s face after telling them how much you appreciate him/her
the threshold when I overcome a fear
Isaiah 41:10
chai tea prepared perfectly with sprinkled cinnamon on top
hope created in a difficult challenge
when someone is kind to a check-out teller
peace that permeates a space that was previously occupied by stress
deep joy that comes from my Creator
clean paper and sharp pencils
a good story with deep characters that inspire
answers to seemingly unsurmountable complications
a hot bath with bath oil
trusting in something trustworthy
truth
when thinking about truth causes fear to subside
David’s hands and forearms
sleep coming over me
clean fresh water
colors…especially green
love that sacrifices
touch of leather
a car that works well
sin confessed
cello music
Ephesians
Jesus
My Momma’s sweet face
birches
dyna mi (my feather comforter)
Grapetizer
Yankee Candles burning
giraffes
relief after pain
a clean conscience
a word of encouragement
singing a memorized spiritual song to myself
the smell and feel of fresh European bread
paying off a debt
a pleasant surprise
graduation
victory over plaguing sin
a commendation
kind thoughtfulness and thoughtful kindness
Joshua’s steadfastness
Stephanie’s thoughtful cards and gifts
Nicolas’ encouragement
Elly’s selfless kindness
an older woman in the Lord (not necessarily older age-wise) sharing wisdom and encouragement with me, especially how her life was changed because of scriptural truth
playing chess
my grandchildren’s faces
getting Zulu words down
when a friend finishes their life well for the Lord

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings.”

Lyrics from Sound of Music

How about composing your own list and sending the 10 best to me?

above picture taken in Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand

Th(i)nkful for Jeff Buckman

September 2, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Our Deepest Drive

What would you do with a million dollars? What would you do with a multi-million dollar company? The answer to those types of questions tells a lot about us. What do we value? What do we prioritize? Do we think of spending or saving or investing? Jesus said that your heart and your money occupy the same place (Matthew 6:21).

“My” Money – From God and Back to Him

Jeff Buckman is the owner of Buckman’s Inc., a smaller family business that God has privileged him to develop over three decades into a major provider of pool and ski products in the greater Philadelphia area. We first got to know Jeff and Nancy in our young marrieds’ group at Limerick Chapel. My husband actually worked for Jeff a couple of summers while we were teaching.

Jeff is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and a promoter of His mission around the world. Through his close friendship with missionaries, his leading teams on multiple short-term mission trips each year, and his service on the board of the mission agency we serve with, Jeff has experienced cultures, engaged in gospel outreach, and assisted in church plants on every habitable continent on earth. He knows business. He knows missions.

Ingenuity

Our General Director, Paul Seger (right in pic below), loves coffee and in a chat with Jeff one day said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could figure out a way to finance missions by drinking coffee.” There was a chuckle, but Jeff’s gears started turning. Working with Christian importers and a Christian roaster (Twin Valley Coffee), he cleverly created CoffeeHelpingMissions, a coffee company that gives 100% of its profits to support mission activity around the world.

Imagine! Capitalizing on something as simple as coffee, that people drink worldwide, to benefit missions. Although Starbucks’ claim that coffee is the second-most traded commodity after oil is not true, coffee is still a very hot item on the market and it would be difficult to find a country where it is not available in some form.

Check out this YouTube video: Buckman explaining how CoffeeHelpingMissions.com works

Th(i)nkful Lessons

There are two lessons about being th(i)nkful here:

We need to be th(i)nkful for blessings, but even more importantly, we need to be th(i)nkful to those who are the sources of those blessings, the immediate source being the people around us, and the ultimate source being the God who is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
We need to express our thankfulness to that person, and to others about that person. Hence, this post!

I am th(i)nkful for Jeff and his desire to promote the gospel and encourage missions and missionaries. Here is a man that exemplifies I Timothy 6:17-19. Through his generous, cautious, and resourceful ingenuity, he seeks to use the gifts God has given him to invest back into God’s causes.

It is amazing how inspiring it can be to observe a real-life person that lives out what he believes. I am eager to see his reward one day at the Bema Seat.

Eternity Glasses

Being a MK (missionary kid) myself, and now an adult missionary, it strengthens my heart when a person eagerly and intelligently sacrifices to push forward such a cause. He is living out his regular ordinary life with eternity glasses on.

David and I have been greatly edified by this man. In our family, Jeff Buckman is a man that is admired for his gift of giving and his clever handling of resources.

th(i)nkful ~ thinking thanks

Th(i)nkful – My Needs Are Met

August 28, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Redefining “Needs”

Do you ever feel like you need something else to really do the will of God? If just something was changed a little bit, or if I was able to have access to that, or if I didn’t have this, then I could be free to really be thankful and do God’s will. I Timothy 6:6-8 says:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be content.”

The Greek word for raiment is skepasma and it means covering. Most people think that is referring to clothing, but it also means any kind of shelter from the elements – a roof over my head, even just for a night. When I start evaluating my “needs” from the perspective of having food to eat today and clothes to put on my body – like two-thirds of the world struggles to have every day – there is SO much to be th(i)nkful for. Most of our “needs” are just wants, and we must never use them as an excuse to say without them we can’t really do God’s will.

Psalm 136:25-26 states, “He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.”

The picture above is from a market in China. The colors burst forth. I love just looking at the varied shapes and textures represented. Our God is amazing.

God has provided all I need to do His will

That thought hit me the other day. My goal in life is to please God, and I have access to everything I need to do that. 2 Corinthians 5:9 says that Paul made it his ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to God. I want to be like that, too. I know that God’s goal for me is to be conformed to Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). He also mentions in that passage that every single thing in my life will work towards the good of making me like Christ.

My job is to discover what His will looks like for me. In some ways that can be a bit tricky, but what I have found over the years is that it usually is not so much that I don’t know what His will is, as that I really don’t want to do what His will is. I want to do my will. I feel like I know what is best, and if God would just answer my prayers and let me have my will, things would turn out great.

I know one thing that is definitely part of the Lord’s will for my life. I have NO doubt about it. I Thess. 5:18 states, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I am to express thankfulness all the time. It is to bubble out of me non-stop.

How are you doing at that? Does it come out of you non-stop throughout your day? Start with just being thankful that you could take that last breath. You ate today. You are wearing clothes. You can see with your eyes to read these words. You have access to the internet and this blog and whatever device you are using. You have just been able to read truths that will never lose their potency. One of those truths being that godliness with contentment is great gain.

“God has promised to supply our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.” Elisabeth Elliot

Let your eyes peruse the following truths and be th(i)nkful.

Luke 12:31 – Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
Philippians 4:19 – And my God will fully supply your every need according to his glorious riches in the Messiah Jesus.
Psalm 34:10 – The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 84:11-12 – For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Matthew 7:11 – So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Luke 12:24 – Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t have storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you are worth much more than birds.
Psalm 104:21 – The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
Psalm 145:15-16 – The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
Psalm 36:6 – Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.
Psalm 136:25-26 – He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

Overcome Evil with Good

August 20, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

Choosing to Forgive

Last week, a friend of mine, a precious older godly lady, attended the trial of the man who killed her husband. Four years ago, her beloved’s life was snuffed out by this drunk driver.

Finally, she would have the chance to speak with him face to face. She had come to peace with God’s sovereign choice to take her husband home when He did. She just wanted to tell the man that she forgave him. At the end of the trial, he was sentenced to 15 years without parole … and she got the opportunity to let him know that he was forgiven.

After prayer meeting, she wanted to tell David and me some things that she was thankful for in the middle of this trial. I just had to relate these to you!

She was so very thankful that her husband died instantaneously;
She was thankful that he knew the Lord as his personal Savior; he was ready for death and ready to meet the Lord;
The morning of his accident, he had forgotten his car keys, so he rang the front doorbell and my friend quickly grabbed the keys on the counter knowing exactly what was going on. She handed him the keys, and while he normally would have grabbed them and hurried off, for some reason, he stopped and gave her a sweet kiss. She didn’t know it was their last one, but later she saw that it was a gift from God.

th(i)nkful – Overcoming Evil with Good

Life (and the sovereign God behind it) will bring opportunities for us to choose to overcome evil with good, darkness with light. Romans 12:17-21 talks about what to do when we are served evil. Verse 21 says to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.

Joseph told his brothers who sold him into slavery, “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). When we can see a sovereign God weaving His perfect purposes behind all of the damage others may do to us, we feel compelled to join Him in the good He is accomplishing through it.

One of the ways we can overcome evil with good is to exercise being th(i)nkful. Just like what my friend was doing during the trial. The facts of what happened in the accident were hard to hear again, but she saw God’s fingerprints and mentally searched for things to be thankful for.

This is not easy to do. It is difficult, but it is possible. Perhaps in the beginning it will only be tiny baby steps of expressing th(i)nkfulness. Little by little, discovering things to think thanks about will surface, and as we express those things, we overcome the darkness with light.

Spiritual Truth in the Eclipse

The solar eclipse coming across the U.S. on August 21, 2017 illustrates this perfectly. Believing scientists tell us (watch the video “Privileged Planet” – at 27 minutes in) that although the sun is 400x larger than the moon, God placed the moon at the perfect distance (400x closer) so that, during the totality when they examine the corona, they can detect the types of gases burning in the sun and learn about solar winds – things only possible in a total eclipse.

The spiritual truth is that when God’s face is eclipsed by the harshness of life, 1) the darkness is temporary and the light will return, and 2) if we study the situation, we will find that there are things about God we can only learn during the darkness of such an eclipse.

“The first thing that you have to do if you’re going to forgive a person is to receive the grace of God. Until you receive grace from God, and His forgiveness of you, you will not be in a position to forgive somebody else.

The second thing? Acknowledge the wrong. Name it, whatever it was. Name it in the presence of Christ. Be straightforward with Him.

Number three, lay down all your rights. Forgiveness is the unconditional laying down of the self.

And now, number four? . . .If that person asks forgiveness, forgive. . . if he does not. . .forgive him anyway in a private transaction with God. Ask for grace to treat that person as if nothing had ever happened. Stand with Christ for him.”

Elisabeth Elliot (after her husband was killed by Auca Indians)

Th(i)nkful in Anxiety

August 16, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 10 Comments

This is a real place. I know it looks magical, but this place exists. It is located in Reine, Norway. The rock pinnacle rises out of the sea and extends high into the sky. The quaint village nestles around the bottom of the peak. What an idyllic scene among the Lofoten islands on Norway’s west coast.

Joy from a rock

When David, and the kids and I first left for South Africa in 1995, I had composed a little chorus from Ps. 62:2. “He alone is my Rock and my salvation. He is my defense; I shall not greatly be moved.” I sang that over and over again and it comforted my heart in those days of transition and ambiguity. When we got settled into our first home there, a precious gift from the Lord was that, from my kitchen window in the house that our co-workers had selected for us, I could see a huge lone rock on top of a little hill.

The Lord IS our Rock, and He wants us to meditate and give thanks for that.

Beating anxiety

When we feel the lure of anxiety and worry, the Lord has told us how we should process that temptation. In Philippians 4:6-8 He gives us a guideline to follow when those anxious thoughts spin relentlessly in our minds.

Firstly, without any question of confusion, we are NOT to be anxious.
Secondly, we are to pray and pour out our heart to Him in supplication (the action of asking or begging for something earnestly, humbly, and specifically).
Thirdly, that plea is to be surrounded and immersed with thanksgiving. We are to be th(i)nkful in our anxiety test. We are to trust God to be our Rock, and Provider, and Deliverer.

Worry is self-oriented and inward focused. Love and trust in God is outward focused. When I dare, through the power of the Spirit, to trust fully that God is in control and rest in His sovereignty, even in the smallest detail, the peace of God will flow within me in a supernatural manner. He promises to keep (guard) my emotions and my mind through Christ Jesus. He continues to urge me to meditate on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy.

Write it down

Why not write down 5 things right now that you can be th(i)nkful for when tempted with worry!

God takes care of the birds of the field and He promises to take care of me (Matt. 6:26).
God will give me enough strength to reach out to others to do His will for my life and for the advancing of His kingdom.
God IS my Rock (Ps. 18:2). I can trust Him to show me the next step.
God is ultimately going to take me home to Himself, which is really the best thing that could happen to me.
God cares so much for me that He has even counted all the hairs on my head (Matt. 10:30-31).

The Rock stays firm and as my eyes are fixed on Him, His peace, like water fills up my being.

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just

Deuteronomy 32:4