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 – 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

Th(i)nkful – Producing Grace

July 31, 2017August 21, 2018 / thinkfulkarin / 6 Comments

A Gratitude Journal

Nick and Julia 1 This is a picture of our son, Nicolas, and his beautiful Julia. They gave me a special present this year for my birthday – a Daily Gratitude Journal! In this journal there are only blank pages divided by a line in the middle and a space on which to put the date. You could use really any kind of notebook to do the same thing. The idea behind it is to get into a pattern of writing down your th(i)nkful list. At the end of the day you take a moment to reflect on what you were thankful for that day.

I started doing that after getting this book from Nick and Julia. Some entries are not so full. Some entries can barely fit all that I want to record. But the beautiful thing that I find happening to me is that, as I go through my days, I make mental notes of the things I need to remember to record that evening. This goes for easy days, as well has hard days.

In the Valley of Shadows

Recently, I have been hit with a lot of opportunities for wisdom. So many people I know personally have been ushered into a valley of shadows – getting better acquainted with cancer. I see in my own behavior that, although I know what the truth is and know my responsibility to act in accordance with it, I still can be overwhelmed with sadness and heaviness in my heart. I chide myself for not being stronger. The truth is, when I cannot understand God’s ways, I must hold on to His character. I must simply “hold on to Jesus.” Let me illustrate.

Song of the Orphans

A few years back, David and I had the privilege of interacting with some precious people in Shongwe Mission, South Africa. This neighborhood was filled with orphan-led households. In other words, both parents were gone and there were children caring for each other. One home with 6 children was led by a 12-year-old named Lalif. I remember being struck with such admiration and yet sadness and hopelessness.

I learned a gem that afternoon. Our group sang songs for them and in return they wanted to sing for us. They did a much better job. 🙂 One of the songs they sang was “Hold on to Jesus, Hold on, Hold on, Hold on.” I thought to myself that wow, that doctrine was so shallow. They should have been taught deeper truths. However, the gem I discovered was that the most important thing to do when going through horrendous difficulties and challenges is to “Hold on to Jesus.”

“Trust in Him at all times, you people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).

I just can’t give way to the temptation to begin to doubt the Lord’s goodness and purposes. Trust. He is writing a bigger story that I could even imagine. He asks me to be filled with the Spirit in Eph. 5:18. A description of what that filling looks like comes in verses 19-20. I am to speak to myself in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I am to sing and make melody in my heart to the Lord. I am to give thanks always for all things to God in the name of Jesus Christ.

“I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord” Isaiah 63:7

When faced with difficulties, these are the things I can recount:

God is God and I am not
This life is a vapor and we are headed to a much better place if we have trusted in Jesus alone for our salvation
God’s promises hold fast
The Lord will never leave, nor forsake
Somehow good will come out of pain and suffering
My job is to respond to hardship with thinking thanks; like for example, just yesterday a music therapist came into the hospital room of my loved one and played her guitar and sang “Amazing Grace”
God is trustworthy; He can deftly handle all my trust
God will not test me above what I am able and will answer my cry to be Spirit-filled right in the trial
God hears our cries for healing and will do what is best; teaching a myriad of lessons along the way
I can be edified by singing; some good selections are Chris Anderson’s song, “I Run to Christ,” or Getty’s, “Still, My Soul Be Still, or Matthew Decker’s “Fullness of Joy” (Psalm 16)
I can look for God’s fingerprints of grace and kindness along the way; they are there

When I choose to be th(i)nkful – 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 – grace starts to spring up in my heart. It may just be a little trickle at first, but as my thoughts begin to meditate on all the Lord has done and is doing, it bubbles more and more. Being thinkful produces grace.

Emotions – Not The Bad Guys

July 24, 2017March 10, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

I am so glad that God made us with emotions. When He created us in His image, that image included emotions. The Scriptures tell us that God laughs, grieves, has compassion, sings, and has righteous anger. We can often get confused by our emotions. They feel strong, like they are controlling us, but actually they are fueled by another source – the mind. Emotions are a window into what we’ve been thinking about.

It is interesting to note that we can’t really have the emotion of anger unless we first think thoughts that trigger anger. Emotions are flames that burn in different colors depending on the fuel we’re burning. If we chose to think thoughts of thankfulness, it produces the emotion of gratitude; even tears can come at times. Emotion is only reflecting the thoughts that we are thinking.

Elanor Roosevelt

Would it not be amazing to control our emotions by controlling our thoughts? In Romans 12:2, Paul pushes us to be transformed by the “renewing of our minds.” When a person exercises the ability to think thoughts that are true, healthy, and godly, the outcome of that exercise will be reflected in that person’s emotions. Much happens in our thoughts that eventually work its way out in our emotions and in our actions.

Let it be known that emotions can be affected by physical conditions such as adrenal dysfunction or even something as common as illness, pain, or fatigue. Most arguments happen in the evening. Why? We are tired, weary, frazzled from events of the day; the mind is weak and often focuses on the wrong fuel – ideas and values that serve self. The ultimate test of godliness is when we are tested by people or circumstances in moments when we are already worn out. Will we have the strength to choose the right thoughts?!

Being th(i)nkful is using your will to push your mind to search for and ponder the right thoughts. As we choose to think thanks, our troubled thoughts are wrestled back to what is good, and ultimately Who is the giver of good things. To the extent we push our minds on this journey, our emotions will tag along.

“My emotions are the fruit, not the root of my thoughts”

Nicolas Ellen, ACBC

Handling Emotions Biblically , Nicolas Ellen ACBC

Thankful?

June 15, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 4 Comments

Hope in Knysna

On the southern tip of Africa there lies a beautiful bowl-shaped lagoon with the city of Knysna nestled around it. It is one of the top dream holiday destinations for the country of South Africa. On June 7, 2017, a fire began to sweep throughout the beautiful dry winter landscape around Knysna. A family died. Thousands of people were evacuated and displaced. Homes and schools were burned to the ground. People lost all their earthly belongings and even livelihoods. Life will never be quite the same for those that went through this tragedy. Knysna, South Africa, has gone through a horrendous ordeal.

How can a person begin to think thanks in these kind of circumstances?

At first you feel so numb. You have to stop the bleeding. People need food and water. Everything seems to take forever. Things that seemed so important before, somehow have lost their urgency. What really matters?

Coming face to face with tragedies is often the source of people turning their backs on the Lord. How could a loving God allow it?

Our friends, Dave and Julie Rudolph, are missionaries in Knysna and are forging their way through this devastating time and looking for ways to share the love of Christ in the midst of trial. Here is an update.

Dave Rudolph’s Update from Knysna

You may have your own fire, a hard thing that you have gone through that is difficult to process. It seems impossible to find any sense in it all. I know I have experienced hard things like that. I wrote down these 10 things following a talk on why God allows sufferings. They have been immensely helpful for me personally. Why does God allow evil and suffering?

God is justly allowing sin’s curse on the earth to take its natural course; the earth is broken and longing for redemption. Romans 8:22
God is jolting me to get me really searching for Him in prayer and in the Bible. Jeremiah 29:13-14.
God is refining me, freeing me from some vice and building virtue in me (the greater good). I Pet. 4:3-4; Job 23
God is equipping me to be a compassionate comfort and strength to others. 2 Cor. 1:4.
God is equipping me for greater service; changing the scope of my influence.
God is freeing me from trust/dependence on things, teaching me that He is the only thing I hold on to.
God is opening a door for me to share my faith and show God’s love.
God wants me to long for a better place. 2 Cor. 4:16-18.
God is privileging us to share in His suffering – reward comes with this.
God is demonstrating that He can sustain and keep His children faithful.

Searching for the things for which we can be th(i)nkful sometimes feels almost irreverent of the incredible pain that we are experiencing. Formulating thanks through our tears is an act of worship to the Sovereign One that He does not take lightly. He knows. He sees. He rewards our effort to download His grace in order to gain His perspective in every circumstance.

purposefully thinking thanks in the midst of tragedy is like beginning to climb a rope out of the hole of despair that you find yourself in.

Antidote For Temptation

June 12, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

Gratitude picture Recently I was listening to a lecture by Heath Lambert in preparation for my ACBC certification exam. Lambert said something that grabbed my attention. He said that gratitude is the opposite to every sin we commit.

James 1:14 shows how every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Lust is wanting what we don’t have, promising you happiness if you follow its promptings. It is a lie because when you obey the lust, you are not satisfied, but want more. It is degenerative, spiraling downward.

Practically every sin we commit is a result of a lack of thankfulness

Gratitude, on the other hand, is headed totally in the other direction. It wants what it already has, and meditates on what it can be th(i)nkful for in its present circumstance. Thankfulness is the antidote for temptation.

In Ephesians 5 Paul gives two strong verses on being thankful. In verse 4, giving thanks is the biblical replacement to wrong behavior. The second mention of being thankful comes later in verse 20 as a description of a person filled with the Spirit.

Lambert continued in the lecture to encourage counselors to sit down with people they are working with and help them write out a list of things to be grateful for. He said to ask the person to put that list in his/her pocket for easy reference.

If you only ever and always would be thankful, you would never sin. Sin struggles to take root and germinate in soil where thankfulness is pervasive. Do you find it motivating that the more thankful you are, the less prone to sin you will be?

When is the last time you made a list of things that you were thankful for?

Heath Lambert. ACBC Foundations Track. Denver, 2015.

th(i)nkful

Cultivating thinking thanks

Counseling Helps