Spot It?

May 4, 2020May 5, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / 4 Comments

African Game Drive

One of my favorite things to do is going on a game drive through the African bush.

It really helps if you have someone with you who is a good spotter. :). It can be tricky to catch a glimpse of rare animals that are camouflaged well in the bush. A special treat would be to spot the Big Five in one day! That is almost impossible, but it can happen.

David’s Devotionals

During the lockdown here in SA, our elders at Grace-Toti have given daily devotionals that have been so encouraging. David records his challenges right in our dining area.

He shared one that was very apropos for th(i)nkful:

“Today, I want us to ponder … thanking God for what is happening. The verse I want us to look at is 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

You want to know God’s will for you? Give thanks in all circumstances.

The word thanks, thankful, thanksgiving is mentioned thousands of times in Scripture, so it’s one of the largest themes in the Bible.

Now listen closely: Thankfulness is a both a natural response … and an unnatural discipline.

Thankfulness is a natural response to something good coming from outside yourself – someone gives you a thoughtful gift, does something to help you, makes your life easier or brighter, speaks an encouraging word to you. You feel an inner sense of joy …and for a selfish person it stops right there – joy at the wonderful thing someone did or said. Maybe they go on and talk about themselves some more!

Whole cultures can be selfish like this – Romans 1:21 is one of the saddest verses in all the Bible:

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

In a selfish culture, if things move from average to negative, they demand that God fix that. But if things move from average to positive … they won’t call for days of celebration thanking God for His blessings, but they will talk about the great advances their scientists or industries have made.

Now, many hundreds of years ago in the Anglo-Germanic languages, the words think and thank came from the same root. So … a THANKFUL person will feel that inner sense of joy … and then think … and attach that joy to that other person. They will assign credit to that person … and give value to what they’ve done. “They were so kind; that was so thoughtful of them.”

But this is all inside the head and heart. Now, what do you do with that?

The first mistake I mentioned was selfishly feeling good … but not feeling thankful.

Our second mistake is feeling thankful … but not expressing our thankfulness to that other person or group of people.

I mentioned at the beginning that thankfulness is a both a natural response … and an unnatural discipline. For those who struggle to speak up, to express their thanks, perhaps due to being shy or an introvert, this is where the unnatural discipline kicks in. The command is not just feel thankful, but GIVE thanks.

Colossians 3 mentions thankfulness three times in three verses – verses 15-17. Take a look at it if you wish:

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ [the message about who Jesus is and what He’s done] dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

There are three phrases: be thankful, thankfulness in your hearts, and giving thanks. Let’s look at them:

Firstly, God says “be thankful.” The Greek verb is in the prolonged sense, so be continually becoming thankful. Being thankful is a routine practice of spotting and highlighting the good that God or others have done.

Most of us love going on game drives. Sometimes you can go with rangers in the open trucks, and way up front on the front grill, there is a seat for the spotter. Some spotters are amazing in the way they can pick out little details that the average person would miss. The swishing tail in the tall grass, the way those birds are behaving.

When God says very simply “Be thankful.” He is saying “my child, you are the spotter.

I am at work all around your world. The earth is filled with my glory. You benefit from the common grace that I shower upon mankind every moment of every day. As the Most High, I rule in the kingdoms of humanity; I establish the times and seasons of nations, but I am also orchestrating every detail of your life; I am sending my Son back soon and am making things ready. YOU ARE THE SPOTTER!

Look for my fingerprints, and point others to me! Others may see nothing but dead grass, nothing but panic and pandemic, shriveling economies and withering hopes. Even some of my own children feel this way. But you must be thankful. You must search and spot and speak up about the things for which people can be thankful.”

Verse 16 – with thankfulness in your hearts – “Thankfulness” is a heart attitude that creates an impulse to express gratitude to God and to others. The attitude of gratitude. Your heart is your wanter. Whatever you really want, that’s what’s in your heart.

So being thankful is the routine practice of spotting things to be thankful for. But thankfulness in the heart is the energy to express it.

Verse 17 – Whatever you say or do, do it as the representative of Christ, “giving thanks” to the Father – here is the command again that we saw in 1 Thessalonians 5. Give thanks; that is, speak out your list of things to be thankful for. You must move your mouth … or maybe your pen or keyboard. Don’t hold it inside – don’t just feel thankful.

You can thank God for His amazing character – His love, patience, mercy and compassion, His sovereign control of all of my circumstances for my good and His glory. You can thank God for giving us His Word – our record of who God is, what He has done, His plan for the ages. You can thank God for the beauty, power and complexity of the creation.

You can thank Him for your needs being met, for friends and family, for body parts that still work, and a heart that beats automatically while you sleep. These things are just common for us … but take your eyesight away. What if you only had tomorrow what you thanked God for today?

In this pandemic, you can thank Him that the virus isn’t even more deadly; thank Him for hard working healthcare professionals, for governments trying to do the right thing, for crime that has dropped way off due to the lockdown and no alcohol sales. Many of our hospitals are reporting that there is nothing to do – with isolation and no alcohol, the ER is quiet.

All of these are thanking him IN the trial – the trial dominates the scene, but you are the spotter and you draw attention to things around the trial to be thankful for. But the deep blue hero zone is where you thank God FOR the trial.

Father, thank you for the coronavirus, because … we’ve had time together as family, more time in your Word and in prayer, that we are being refined and made godlier as we learn to trust and not fret; that you are speaking to people and to nations; that our church has reached thousands with God’s Truth over the internet during lockdown. We can thank Him FOR the trial.

Thankfulness is both a natural response … and an unnatural discipline. In times of suffering and anxiety, thankfulness is a discipline. The dread of the valley of dark shadows grabs our attention; the wind and waves of Peter’s walk on the sea challenge our ability to focus.

We need to press through and be “thinkful”, a word my Karin coined. Being th(i)nkful is choosing to download God’s strength to think thanks about every circumstance in my life and to express that thanks orally or in written form.

Virtually every sin that we commit is a result of a lack of thankfulness. So let’s obey this command from God’s Word this morning. Let’s become the spotters, highlighting the myriad things for which we can express our thankfulness.”

Be th(i)nkful! Be the spotter!

Powerless

April 20, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Balcony Chat

David and I enjoy eating on our balcony when the weather affords it – which is often here in Southern Africa. Today we were discussing the oncoming challenges of Covid-19, and feeling a bit overwhelmed I asked him, “What is a good verse for such a time as this?”

After pondering for a moment, David responded with “our eyes are on you” from 2 Chronicles 20:12. The setting for that verse is King Jehoshaphat and the great horde of three aligned armies coming toward them. The nation of Israel looked small and meager in comparison to all the enemies marching toward them. They felt overwhelmed and frightened, so the king called out to the Lord in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem and he said:

“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

An interesting note is that as the people prepared to go out to face their enemy, King Jehoshaphat appointed specific people to go out front in special attire and … amazingly … sing thanksgiving to the Lord. How many armies have you ever heard of that had singers as the front line? This is what they sang (verse 21): “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

First Thank

What a great model for us to do when we feel overwhelmed by all that is happening around us. The “great horde coming against us” is the coronavirus; one doctor said “I view every person coming toward me on the street as a bullet – it might graze me, hurt me badly, or kill me.”

We are fearful of the unknown, and fearful of the responses government and business are making to the unknown. We don’t know what to do, but we will fix our eyes on the Lord. We will choose to think thanks right in the middle of the battle. Just like the Israelites had no idea how God was going to work this all out; they still sent singers to sing thanks to the Lord.

Like most people, I struggle so much with ambiguity. It is a hard thing for us as humans. Right now there is LOTS of ambiguity. But this is exactly what God has designed for us presently. So, with God’s help, I want to grab that ambiguity and think thanks right in the middle of it and power through the difficulty on the supernatural wings of gratitude and grace.

I relate easily with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 where he pleads for the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh. The Lord graciously answers no, but adds that His grace is sufficient for him, for His power was able to make him just perfect in weakness.

This, too, will pass. Even if we should lose our earthly lives, we will be with the Lord forever.

So What Happened?

You would not believe it. 2 Chronicles 20:22 says: “And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush…” The enemies around the Israelites started to turn on each other, the whole alliance melting down such that they obliterated each other. By the time the Israelites arrived at the watchtower of the wilderness to look toward the horde in verse 24, the enemy was all dead, just bodies everywhere.

When they began to sing and praise!! The Lord is pleased when we are thinkful. When we choose to think praise and express it even when our circumstances are dreadful around us, we power through in faith offering up a sacrifice of praise and trust in the Almighty One.

So what about me? How can my thinkfulness change the great horde of Covid-19 that is approaching? How can my choosing to think thanks help when people around me are dying, loosing their jobs, and facing hopeless circumstances?

Well, here are a few things for which to be thankful:

God is getting our attention; even this great Western World is a vapor and is going to pass away soon;
God is giving families the opportunity to spend quality and quantity time together, for parents to invest in their first disciples;
God is bringing our impurities to the surface through the heat of change and pressure so that we can repent and yield that area to God;
God is giving us more opportunity to read and pray and write;
God is shifting our values away from vain entertainment industries and toward the meaningful others-serving medical and teaching professions;
God is teaching us to trust His character and promises even though we cannot understand His ways in this storm;
God has given mankind the smarts to invent electricity, the internet and tech devices through which we can communicate and gain valuable information (there was no such help in past great pandemics);
God is opening up opportunities for me, and little churches now going online, to witness about the hope and forgiveness found in Jesus;
God could be freeing me from the heart idols of comfort, control and people-pleasing that have dominated my life;
God is giving a precious opportunity to meet on Zoom with a supporting church

Powerless Is Good

That statement seems so contradictory. How can it be true that when I am powerless, I can be strong? It is because we have a supernatural God. He delights in showing Himself mighty on our behalf, but doesn’t delight in doing what we tell Him to do. No, His ways are higher and better (Isaiah 55:8-9). He delights when we let go, open our hands, worship Him and embrace our Father’s will in our lives no matter what He chooses.

“For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:10

Grow Down to Grow Up

March 9, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Amazing Trees

Have you heard of the upside down tree? The huge baobab tree here in Southern Africa has the unique feature of looking like it is topsy turvy with its roots sticking up in the air.

Although all trees may not have the radical look of the baobab, each species has its fascinating uniqueness. And just think of all the products that we get from trees: fruit, paper, furniture, food, healing ointments and syrups, just to mention a few.

There are 60,065 tree species in world. Every tree, like every human, is unique.

Trees in the Bible

The Bible makes significant mention of trees – literally and figuratively. The Garden of Eden had two very famous trees; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life which God has kept cultivated in heaven’s greenhouses until the New Jerusalem is established (Rev. 22:2).

But the Scripture also pictures a person as a tree. What kind of tree would you be? A person who loves God’s Word is a healthy tree (Ps. 1). King Nebuchadnezzar was a tree that got cut down (Dan. 4). Jesus likened people to trees, and said you can tell what kind of tree they are by their fruit (Mt. 7:15-19).

Grow Down to Grow Up

If you know anything about trees, you know that what is happening under the surface is even more important than what you see; the health of what you see is determined by what is happening down in the roots.

The same is true in the Christian life; what is happening in the privacy of our hearts and minds determines what is happening outwardly.

In the soil of my mind is Truth about God’s character, God’s work (in the world, in sending Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, even His work in my life), and God’s promises.

But in the soil of my mind there are also Lies of the world, the flesh and the devil driving fears, setting goals, promoting values, pushing attitudes about myself, about other ethnicities or classes, and about God.

My HEART is my core wanter that chooses where my roots are going to grow to draw up nutrients … either drawing on Truth or drawing on Lies. The Truth that my heart draws up feeds my THINKING, what I meditate on in my free time.

My THINKING in turn shapes my DESIRES; here is where the tree branches out – I have desires, drives, for what kind of wife I want to be, what kind of mom, my desires as a businessperson, desires for what I want to achieve as an athlete, desires for the depth of my walk with the Lord, desires of how I want my kids to turn out, desires for our holidays, cars, and homes.

Those desires are fleshed out in my BEHAVIORS, moment by moment, enjoying things that line up with my desires, getting frustrated with things that are against them. Desires determine how I spend or save my money, how I perform at work, how often I share Christ or live like Jesus (hey, I am bearing some fruit!), how I interact with my teens, how I serve at church, when I get up and what I do first thing in the morning. Desires drive behavior.

EMOTIONS are the upper leaves, the tip of the iceberg. Toxic emotions flow all the way up from toxins in the heart, through bad thinking that skews my desires and can blend together with some other bad behaviors.

Then Comes The Test

Notice that when you look at both sides of the tree, they seem similar. A Christian can be drawing on lies that feed everything they do, and their leaves still seem pretty green. But then the winds, the waves, and the storms come. Then comes the HEAT.

It seems that only in the heat can we slowly see what a believer’s roots have been feeding on. Jeremiah 17:5-10 speaks of two trees.

The first tree is in vv. 5-6: “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord [feeding on the lies of the world]. He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

The green is gone; the leaves just fall away because they were fed by lies, not truth.

The second tree is in vv. 8-9: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Going For Thriving and Fruitful!

So, what is God’s desire for your life, a perfect life in His way of thinking?

I must be born again by tapping into the Living Water (faith in Jesus Christ) – this requires a personal response to the gospel.
I must be rooted, anchored and sustained by the Truth about God’s character, God’s work, and God’s promises – this requires a commitment to read His Word personally, to get a study Bible to read the notes, to listen purposefully and take notes during Bible studies and messages, maybe to listen to podcasts – whatever it takes to know our God well.
My heart must constantly draw up Water and Truth to renew my mind, control my desires, and produce fruit – as the heat comes, it is critical for me to let go of lies I have been believing, keep my roots in the water and the Word of God, and in some cases, to even produce my best fruit in severe conditions.

While these principles affect any behavior in your life, they certainly affect your ability to be th(i)nkful. That’s why the th(i)nkful logo (bottom) is a tree. Even with the heat bearing down on me, I know my God’s character, works, and promises and can think thanks in whatever circumstance He places me.

What Type of Tree Are You?

You may not be like the African baobab tree with your ‘crown’ looking like your ‘roots,’ but what would your ‘roots’ look like? Could your existing ‘roots’ support a mature tree that will stand strong in the heat and drought?

God-Prints

January 20, 2020June 16, 2023 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Hobby Lobby Joy

Elly, Julia, and I walked into Hobby Lobby. We were exhausted. We had one hour before the store closed, and we wanted to be refreshed. These past two weeks of hard work with training and child care had left us a little bedraggled and weary.

As we moved into the fabric section, I said,”Hey, keep an eye open for green material and for something that might have a phrase from Psalm 23.” I make a new quilt for each of my grandchildren when they turn 12. Our second grandson is next in line for a 12-year-old’s quilt. I seek to incorporate the 12 year old’s favorite color and Bible-verse in creating a twin size quilt. Austin had chosen green and Psalm 23.

Elly had some great ideas of using fleece-like material to represent the sheep. Julia showed a material that illustrated the valley of the shadow of death. I was getting inspired. 🙂

As we perused the variety of fabrics, my eyes caught this green fabric with something written on it. Could it be?? Was it really?? Yes, it was a green fabric with Psalm 23 printed on it. The whole Psalm!!! So cool. Julia and Elly both were amazed. What a God-print!

Developing God-Prints

Have you ever noticed God’s fingerprints? Many people stare right at them but don’t see them. They may see “luck” or “coincidence” because they’re not searching for the print of the person behind a sweet turn of events.

Latent fingerprints are placed wherever our fingers touch another smooth surface. Since the 1930’s, criminal investigators have used the practice of rendering hidden fingerprints visible by using a powder or a chemical agent to make a visual contrast between the ridge patterns and the surface where a fingerprint has been deposited.

If an investigator sees a woman across the way leave her glass at a table, he will not see her fingerprints on the glass from where he is sitting. He will believe they are there, and then investigate so that he can see what he already believes. Jesus said in John 20:29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet still believe.” Augustine and Anselm echoed this same idea – believe to see, not see to believe.

Believe so that you may see; not see so that you may believe.

If you actively begin searching for the God-prints in your life, it won’t take long. They are all over the place. I love discovering them. Sometimes it is not too obvious, and you have to search intently. Like what investigators do, th(i)nkfulness “dusts” and then lifts the prints of our benevolent God.

I have a special journal in which I record things that are just a little out of the normal, something that has God’s fingerprints all over it. How encouraging it has been to my faith over the years to re-read those entries. God desires for us to walk in intimacy with Him, trusting Him like a child would a beloved parent. As we nurture that relationship, He reveals Himself in precious ways.

The Print Lab

Once an investigator has lifted a fingerprint, he or she returns to the lab to compare the prints with the database. The most potent database of God’s fingerprints is in His Word. God’s Word is alive (Hebrews 4:12). You can read descriptions of His prints and see the circumstances in which they were detected and undetected by people and nations over a period of 1600 years!

Memorizing and meditating frequently on scripture moves His fingerprint data to your mind so that you can compare it with your circumstances at a moment’s notice. You start to see that His hands have touched, well, everything.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. But God’s gifts are still “good and perfect” even if they are not our favorites. When we choose to trust that God has all things in control and loves us beyond measure, we are in a position to be th(i)nkful. We choose to think thanks for every fingerprint, and as we express that thankfulness, it breeds more gratitude.

Even if the God-Prints Hurt?

It is fine and jolly if all is going well, like finding perfect quilting material at Hobby Lobby. But what about when God allows pain and hurtful things in your life, when the dark things also have His fingerprints? How can I think thanks with tears streaming down my face?

God knows when things hurt.
He is fully aware of all the nuances of every detail of your pain.
He knows how many days you have been given.
He even knows what you are going to say next (Psalm 139:4).
He has promised to never forsake us. His fingerprints in the darkest valley of sorrow are even more precious.
Soon this life will be over. Jesus is coming back for us. How do I know that? Because He promised and He doesn’t lie. He can be trusted completely.
He is working on me to better work through me; I need to trust in His “greater good.”

Choose to trust the Lord’s character even when you cannot understand His ways. His fingers have shaped your path, so His fingerprints are there when you commit to searching for them. Think thanks in every God-print, joyful or difficult or frustrating.

Close the Door!

December 14, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 6 Comments

Baboons!

The large male baboon came right in our patio door, up across our bed, scaled a partition wall, and sauntered down on to the kitchen counter. We were standing right there, amazed and a bit afraid!

Around the Drakensberg Mountains there are many troops of baboons. They meander the hillsides looking for anything edible. They are not aggressive unless attacked; it has been rumored that three baboons can take down a leopard.

Recently, my husband took me away for a two-night get away at a chalet in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve. It was lovely. The first night we had beautiful clear weather and got to fit in lots of hiking, drinking in God’s beauty in those magnificent mountains.

The next morning we got our surprise visit from this large baboon who rummaged through out kitchen shelves, helping himself to some Scandinavian knekkebrød and Fisherman’s Friend lozenges. Haha! He promptly spit out the lozenges, but the plastic bag with the knekkebrød interested him enough to take along as he scooted out the patio door.

We were sorry that we didn’t get it on camera, but joked around that the guy had quite the nerve to come maneuvering in while we were standing right there. The incident caused us to be more cautious to close the door completely as we moved in and out.

The next morning, I was sitting having my Bible time, when all of a sudden there was a loud sound at the patio door. The baboon was back and tried to open the closed door. Sadly for him the door was too hard for him to pull. No more knekkebrød for you, buddy.

Thinkful Lesson

I wonder how many “doors of the mind” we leave open, allowing the baboons of ingratitude in. They slip in and start rummaging through everything in your life – “What is this?! This is no good! There isn’t enough of the good stuff here for me! I’ll take this and this, and no, I won’t say thank you or acknowledge anyone else. This is all about me.” An unexamined heart and mind is no little thing. The baboon of ingratitude has to be kept outside!The baboon seemed so matter-of-fact, but he was a thief. So is ingratitude – he steals away the good things you have all around you. The things he leaves are polluted with his dirty feet, hands, and bottom; he coats your wonderful lozenges with saliva so they’re no good anymore.

That baboon had been in that chalet many times to grab things; his fear of authority had been overcome by the pleasure of his scavenging habit. Even so, ingratitude can make a home in your mind, feeling that all your stuff is his stuff, caring not one bit that neither God nor you want him soiling your thoughts.

As the plaque on the chalet wall instructed us:

“You feed the baboons.
We shoot them.”

We were not trying to feed the baboons. We were getting ready to have breakfast and I had not even gotten the flatbread out of the plastic bag. 🙂 But the owners of the chalet knew that baboons must be kept out, must not be encouraged, and if need be, must be shot dead. So it is with ingratitude – keep it out, do not feed it, and if it is making a habit of entering your mind at will, you need to shoot it dead.

Close the Door to Ingratitude?

You get to choose what you think about. I know you feel like you can’t really control your thoughts, but that is a falsehood. You decide. Through the habit of ingratitude, you may have nurtured a network of neural pathways into your brain. It feels like your fault-finding, irritated, complaining thoughts jump in quickly and automatic and you have to just hang on. Not so. Take courage. You do what you do … because you think what you think … because you want what you want. 🙂 You can, with God’s help, choose differently.

Instead let there be thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:4b

When we decide, only with Christ’s strength, to forge a gratitude neural pathway, we have to close the door to the baboons of ingratitude. It will try to push its way in, but you must see him as the enemy and not a furry friend who needs feeding.

Close the door!

Choosing Gratitude

November 5, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

The Christian Captain from the Townships

It’s a pretty exciting time here in South Africa – we just won the Rugby World Cup! What’s just as noteworthy is that our first black captain, Siya Kolisi, led the team to the top. He is a Jesus-follower and rose from very humble beginnings.

In the old Apartheid South Africa (1948-1992), white people lived in the suburbs and worked in the cities. Blacks lived segregated in “townships” ringing the cities – places of poverty and crime, tiny homes and tin shacks crammed close together, poor public services, and dismal education.

Siya grew up in the Zwide township of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He was raised by his grandmother and was often unsure if he would have anything to eat during the day. His favorite toy was a brick.

Reflecting on his childhood, Siya insists he was given the most important things in life – “love and support.” He frequently uses the word “tough” to describe his childhood, yet admits he didn’t realize it was so hard at the time; it was simply all he knew.

He “fell off the wagon” a bit during his teen years even though he identified himself as a Christian. Eventually, he chose to be grateful for what he had, and began to work hard.

“While struggling with a lot of things personally — temptations, sins and lifestyle choices — I realized I wasn’t living according to what I was calling myself: a follower of Christ. I was getting by, but I hadn’t decided to fully commit myself to Jesus Christ and start living according to His way.

Walking alongside a spiritual mentor, I’ve been able to discover the truth and saving power of Christ in a whole new way. This new life has given me a peace in my heart I’d never experienced before. I don’t have to understand everything in life, and there are so many things I don’t, but I know God is in control of it all. My job is to do the best I can and leave the rest in His hands.” – Siya Kolisi

Thankfulness? In South Africa?

Many people here consider this a struggle. Due to systemic corruption, unmanageable debt, the collapse of the electrical grid, and chronic crime, thousands of skilled South Africans are emigrating every month because they see a collapse coming. About 15% of the houses on the market now are families leaving.

In a recent sermon series on a scriptural view of emigration, Pastor Des Venter spoke frankly about contentment. Contentment is wanting what you already have. It is focusing on and celebrating the good things in your God-given status quo. He said we will not be content in another place if we have not learned to be content with our present place. Contentment comes from within.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13 that he had learned to be content in whatever situation he was in. He had learned how to be poor and how to cope with an abundance of funds. He had learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Outside circumstances were beside the point; he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

Gratitude Creates Contentment

When you begin to incorporate thinking thanks about your present reality, you foster contentment in your ‘now.’ Many of us are problem-solvers; the downside of that is that we find no rest in our spirit until our issues are sorted out. Stopping for a minute and thinking thanks adds weight to the positive side of the scale and brings you back toward balance.

In expressing gratitude, your circumstances do not change, your mindset does.

Many South Africans are feeling much better about their country … simply because we won the rugby world cup. Why is that? Because we finally had something positive to focus on, and with hearts of gratitude, our outlook on our other and greater challenges somehow seems more positive.

Choosing to speak out and write down your thankfulness in the midst of hardships takes both hard work and a work of God’s grace. The Lord begins to knit your expressions of thanks into a beautiful creation that only He could provide the fortitude to accomplish.

“… Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

The Choice of Gratitude

“For every Joni Eareckson Tada or Corrie ten Boom, there are countless others whose names and stories few have ever heard, who endure the worst that life has to offer and still come up thankful. Not unscarred, not unmoved, not functioning out of reality like robots, but still spotting reasons for hope and promise. They seem to know that the only thing more debilitating than what they’re going through would be going through it ungratefully.

No, the days don’t always get easier. The nights can still drag until utter exhaustion finally pulls a person under for a few hours’ sleep. But those who say “No” to resentment and “Yes” to gratitude, even in the face of excruciating pain, incomprehensible loss, and ongoing adversity, are the ones who really survive. They stand against the tide of memories, threats, loss, and sadness, and answer back. With gratitude.”

From Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy
By Nancy Leigh DeMoss

“They seem to know that the only thing more debilitating than what they’re going through would be going through it ungratefully.”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

New Pathways

October 24, 2019October 25, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 4 Comments

Your Brain and Your Mind

Let’s do an experiment. Using your left index finger, point to your brain. Now using your right index finger, point to your mind.

You paused. Yes, you did. We don’t necessarily think of our brain and mind as being the same thing. And they are different.

My husband will ask his students, “Does God have a brain?” and they pause. To say God is brainless just seems so wrong, but they know God is spirit, and a brain is a physical organ, so no, He doesn’t have a brain. David makes fun of the student for a while, but they are correct. God is infinite Mind, but has no brain.

In understanding the relationship between brain and mind, I like the analogy of a horse and an expert rider. The two work together as one; when you hurt one, the other is affected as well. One day, your brain – that three-pound slab of tofu – will die with the rest of your mortal body … but your mind, an integral part of the soul-spirit, will live on.

Renewing Your Brain

Now. Here is something amazing. Renewing your mind can also renew your brain.

MIND: You have probably heard about renewing the mind, but let’s review quickly. Paul writes about it in several places:

Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind …”
Ephesians 4:22-24 – ” … put off your old self … and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God …”
Colossians 3:10 – “… having put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

The Lord is our owner; He bought us back. As with any computer or animal that you have acquired from someone else, or a child that you’ve adopted, there is a certain amount of reprogramming that needs to be done to stop the harmful old ways and dysfunctions and build in some new patterns.

We work, with God’s help, to put off old patterns of thought, speech and action. We put on new patterns that both honor God and are better for us. This re-patterning is called renewing the mind. I love how this concept is developed in How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp. We don’t have to remain as we are.

BRAIN: But, how you choose to think about things also changes the physical structure – “the wiring” – in your brain. In 1949, Donald Hebb, a Canadian neuropsychologist, wrote what has become known as Hebb’s axiom:

“Neurons that fire together wire together.”

This is an actual endoscope photograph of neurons that have touched so many times, they have now formed synapses and connected. Whatever the thoughts were, they have now become a pattern … for better or worse.

Now follow me. Things we experience – whether a feeling, a thought, a sensation – flow like electrical charges through thousands of neurons (wires) that are arranged in a network. The ends of these neurons, called dendrites, are where electrical charges jump across to another neuron.

OK, a new thought pattern now enters, like choosing to be th(i)nkful. Repeated charges shooting between two dendrites amazingly will form a new piece, called a synapse, that connects the neurons together to make a new pathway so that those thoughts or reactions will recur more frequently. This is why certain sounds or smells can trigger good memories or bad, and create giddiness or fear.

Hebb’s Rule explains that renewing the mind and renewing the structure of the brain go hand in hand. His research supports biblical truth. You can shape your brain’s neuronal architecture by choosing what you focus on.

A Testimony – Reshaping the Brain by Being Thinkful

I had someone send me this encouraging note regarding how she sought to implement thinking thanks in her life:

The practice of thinking thanks that I learned that day at your seminar has been life transforming. It has been the thing that has gotten me through difficult times. At first it was hard work. My mind would drift off my thankful list down a dark pathway of “what if’s” and I would have to pull myself back. But now it really has become a habit, and therefore it gets easier and easier! PTL for those new pathways in my brain. They have allowed me to sleep and work through difficult times. It is so amazing how God made our brain! Thank you for sharing these great principles with us!

Practicing thinking thanks even when it is quite hard to do so, will bring results. It will get easier as you develop the brain neural pathway of th(i)nkfulness.

Just Right Thinking Is Not Enough

Our relationship to Christ is not simply based on thinking His thoughts and acting the way He does.

“We are more than thinkers. We are worshipers who enter into relationship with the person or thing we think will give us life. Jesus comes to transform our entire being, not just our mind. He comes as a person, not as a cognitive concept we insert into a new formula for life.”

(How People Change, Tim Lane/Paul Tripp)

Let God renew your mind and fill it with thankfulness. But go beyond merely seeing His hand or the greater good in your circumstances. Let your thanks be turned into worship of the Creator, loving Him for His names and attributes. Worship your Lord through your thinking.

Th(i)nkful for Birds

September 30, 2019June 16, 2023 / thinkfulkarin / 6 Comments

A Command To Think About Birds

Did you know that God has told us to study the birds?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

Birds in South Africa

Our teammates, Alan and Deanna Heathcote, take really good pictures of birds. 🙂 They have built up quite a collection of detailed photos of different unique birds found in South Africa and they post them on Facebook. I love to look at them. I asked if I could share a few of my favorites, and they gladly said it was ok.

This is my personal favorite, the Lilac Breasted Roller. They say you can find 23 colors on this bird that is about the size of a Robin. It is called a “roller” because during mating season the males fly up high, pull in their wings and tumble down through the air as though facing certain death, and then spread their wings and pull out at the last minute! And all the girls go, “Whoah! What a guy!”

This the Pied Kingfisher. It has the uncanny ability to hover over the water and then dive down and get a fish.

Deanna even shared some spiritual lessons that we can learn from birds. I added the pictures of the Southern Double-Collared Sunbirds.

1. God’s Care:

Not one of them falls to the ground without His knowledge/will (Matthew 10:29, Luke 12:6)

They have their food provided by Him (Matthew 6:26).

I like the mention of sparrows because there are sparrows in the township, and they build nests in the wall next to the church. I often think how lovely it is that even the poor folks there can see a sparrow and be reminded of the truths of these verses.

2. God’s Creativity/Infinity:

As you seek to identify a bird, you have to notice things which may distinguish it from another: color of the eyes, legs, or bill; or placement of certain colors on feathers.

There is also variety in whether the male and female have the same or different plumage. In some cases, the difference is quite subtle (e.g. the Pied Kingfisher, the male has an extra line of black on the feathers across his chest).

Also there can be drastic or subtle changes between juvenile and adult. These are Southern Double-Collared Sunbirds, in which case the youth looks like he lost in a game of paintball.

In the Speckled Mousebird, the juvenile has a bill with a light-colored upper mandible and a black lower mandible. Once an adult, the color is reversed.

Why did God create such variety? It certainly doesn’t seem necessary. I often think that it is because He created the world knowing the mental abilities He would give to mankind and the ability to study and seek out His wonders. (Psalm 111:2)

3. God’s Purposes:

He gave each bird its own diet, habitat, call, breeding pattern, social habits, “personality” (shy/hiding vs. easily spotted; quiet vs. chatty), nest style/placement, etc.

He constructed each one with a bill, feet, feathers, bone structure, etc. to suit the “lifestyle” He chose for them.

This a male Malachite Sunbird. The fluorescent green is certainly eye catching especially if seen in the sunlight.

Joshua, our son, gave me a video once of different South African birds and their individual calls. I found it so relaxing to watch the birds and hear the sounds they made. We sure have an incredible Creator.

I once saw a Hoopoe like this one pick up a worm that it found and promptly give it to another bird beside it. Fancy head plumage and a willingness to share – surely a winning combination! 🙂

So What’s The Connection?

How can studying birds make us thankful? The Lord said that we could receive hope from looking at the birds because we are worth so much more to the Lord than birds. If He cares so tenderly for even the smallest sparrow, just imagine the concern He has for us.

You, my friend, are being cared for by the same Lord God that provides for the birds. That is something to be very th(i)nkful for.

He says that He has numbered all the hairs on our head (Matthew 12:30). He knows everything about us, even what we are going to say next (Psalm 139:4)!!

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He cares for me.

I am th(i)nkful for birds and the lessons they teach us on how to trust in our Creator God.

Singing at My Execution

September 2, 2019September 4, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Arrested by Law

Andrew Chan was one of the ringleaders of the Bali Nine, a group of Australians who were convicted for smuggling 8.3 kg of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. Indonesia is tough on drug offenders. When convicted, Andrew became desperate. He wanted to die, but was afraid to face eternity because of something in the back of his mind from his childhood.

When Andrew was younger, growing up in a Buddhist home in Sydney, Australia, a neighbor named Luke took him to Sunday School, and Andrew heard the gospel clearly presented. What if there really was a life after death?

Arrested By Grace

Andrew asked the guards for a Bible and began reading voraciously. With a little guidance from Luke who visited the prison, Andrew came to saving faith. The gospel transformed him completely.

A short time later, the sentences were announced: most of the nine received life sentences; Chan and the other ringleader received the death penalty. Puzzling God’s purposes, Andrew poured himself into ministry. As he appealed his sentence, he used the next 10 years of his life to lead over 200 prisoners to the Lord, baptize them, run Bible-studies, finish seminary online; he even started a church within the prison!

“So I suppose I’m thankful that every day I actually get to wake up. As you know, I’m studying and, you know, a lot of people might say that it’s probably no use. Look where you’re staying! But I believe God has given me this time for a purpose.” Andrew Chan, 2012 interview

Finishing With Worship

Andrew did two things just hours before he died: he married his sweetheart, Febyanti Herewila, and prepared a eulogy to be read at his funeral in Sydney. He was executed for his crimes on Indonesia’s “Death Island” on April 29, 2015.

But Andrew was a man ready to meet his Maker. Dispelling fear, he led the other prisoners in singing praises to the Lord as the firing squad made ready. They were on the second verse of 10,000 Reasons when the shots fired.

You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind …

Dispelling Fear by Calling The Name

In my last blogpost, I emphasized the second phrase in Psalm 69:30: “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” When we magnify the Lord, His hiddenness dissolves and His presence becomes more obvious.

But in the first phrase, the Psalmist states he will sing praise to the name of the Lord. In fact, devout Jews refer to God only as “Hashem” – the Name. Proverbs 18:10 likens the name of the Lord to a strong tower; a person who runs to it is safe.

Angst and fear become fidgety around the name of Jesus. They are unwelcome and ill-fitting guests in His company. Like darkness that cannot fight back against light, anxiety begins to fade.

Have you ever sung a song that uses the names of God? Remember Jesus, Name Above All Names? My husband wrote a few more verses for that song highlighting more names of the Lord.

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Jesus, Name above all names,
Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord,
Emmanuel, God is with us,
Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

Jesus, Splendid Creator,
Mighty Sustainer, Sov’reign of all that is,
The Cornerstone, Daystar and Dayspring,
Wonderful Couns’lor, Prince of Peace.

Jesus, Lion of Judah,
Root of Jesse, humble Nazarene,
Anointed One, Son of David,
Blessed Messiah, Coming King.

Jesus, Man of Sorrows,
Kinsman Redeemer, scorned and rejected,
The Lamb of God, spotless yet suffering,
Buried, then risen up from the grave.

Jesus, Faithful and True One,
Alpha, Omega, Ancient of Days,
The angels, falling before Thee,
Join with our voices, echo our praise.

In the morning when I worship the Lord in thanksgiving, I love to rehearse the names of the Lord: “You are Elohim, El Elyon, El Shaddai, El Roi, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Sabaoth, Jehovah Mekoddishkem, Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah Rohi, Jehovah Shammah.”

How about creatively designing a thanksgiving song of your own focusing on the Names of God that dispel fear?

Magnify

August 22, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 6 Comments

To Make Larger

Isn’t it fun to see beautiful and intricate details become larger?

The object remains the same size but we make it appear larger by using a lens or electronic device. We see minutiae that was hidden. Tiny particles and movements proudly take their place on a broader stage for all to see. Your life may have been saved due to man’s ability to magnify.

Speech That Magnifies

We can make something larger with our words, too. I know, you immediately think about the fish stories men tell, but I am not referring to lying or stretching the truth. I mean that we can speak about truths that people have never noticed, or have forgotten, or that have become lost in the spinning morass of competing ideas. God is such an idea, and we can magnify Him by giving thanks to Him in the company of those who seldom think about Him.

The Hiddenness of God

God is not small. But God is hidden. Can’t see Him. Can’t touch Him. Can’t hear Him. An increasing number of people in the world believe He does not even exist because He cannot be detected using the scientific method and our amazing technology.

Even Job, in ancient days, complained, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him” (Job 23:8-9).

Moses wrote “The secret things belong to the Lord,” and Solomon said, “It is the glory of God to conceal things” (Prov. 25:2), and Isaiah wrote “Truly, you are a God who hides himself” (Is. 45:15).

God is this way by design, hiding Himself from the casual browser and revealing Himself only to those who truly dig and work hard to discover Him for themselves, like those who search for golden rocks in South Africa’s mines.

Moses told Israel, one day, “you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 4:29). Almost 3,000 years later, a 17th century French Christian philosopher highlighted the same idea.

“[God] determined that it was not right that He should appear in an obviously divine manner, completely capable of convincing all men; but it was also not right that He should come in so hidden a manner that He could not be known by those who were sincerely seeking Him.

He has, therefore, willed to make himself quite recognizable and willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart. He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who do not seek Him.” – Blaise Pascal

Magnifying the Lord

So, our God is hidden – out of sight, out of mind to the world around us. What can we do?

We can season a conversation ever so humbly and tastefully by openly giving thanks to God for … whatever fits … our kids, for a clean bill of health, for our marriage, for a job, for the accident we just avoided, for the peace we feel knowing God is in control, for a confident expectation beyond the grave. Expressing thanks to God, without debating His existence, opens the door for the Spirit of God to confirm to an unbelieving heart that He is there.

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

How do you make God bigger by being th(i)nkful? The Hebrew word in the above verse for magnify is gadal. It means: to advance, boast, bring up, exceed, lift up, increase, promote. It is actually a marketing term.

When we speak up and say we’re thankful to God, we magnify Him. Our words focus a mental lens on the God that others have failed to notice. All of a sudden – whoah! – there is God … behind that thing that is going well … behind that virtue you learned in the hard times.

What Do You Magnify?

Chances are you magnify something. It begins with what you focus on in your mind. You dwell on it. You’re intrigued by it. You study it out. You worship it in that you give it ‘worth’ in your thought-time priority.

And then you speak … and cause others to push back the clutter and focus on it as well.

Time to magnify God.

Start today.

African Game Drive

David’s Devotionals

Be th(i)nkful! Be the spotter!

Balcony Chat

First Thank

So What Happened?

Powerless Is Good

Amazing Trees

Trees in the Bible

Grow Down to Grow Up

Then Comes The Test

Going For Thriving and Fruitful!

What Type of Tree Are You?

Hobby Lobby Joy

Developing God-Prints

The Print Lab

Baboons!

Thinkful Lesson

“You feed the baboons. We shoot them.”

Close the Door to Ingratitude?

Instead let there be thanksgiving.

Close the door!

The Christian Captain from the Townships

Thankfulness? In South Africa?

Gratitude Creates Contentment

“… Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

The Choice of Gratitude

Your Brain and Your Mind

Renewing Your Brain

“Neurons that fire together wire together.”

This is an actual endoscope photograph of neurons that have touched so many times, they have now formed synapses and connected. Whatever the thoughts were, they have now become a pattern … for better or worse.

A Testimony – Reshaping the Brain by Being Thinkful

Just Right Thinking Is Not Enough

A Command To Think About Birds

Birds in South Africa

So What’s The Connection?

I am th(i)nkful for birds and the lessons they teach us on how to trust in our Creator God.

Arrested by Law

Arrested By Grace

Finishing With Worship

Dispelling Fear by Calling The Name

To Make Larger

Speech That Magnifies

The Hiddenness of God

Magnifying the Lord

What Do You Magnify?

“You feed the baboons.
We shoot them.”