Cutting Produces Thirst

December 7, 2017March 27, 2018 / thinkfulkarin / 4 Comments

Cutting the Christmas Tree

David and I just picked out our Christmas tree. The fresh scent of Fraser fir filled our senses as we browsed through the trees available. We finally settled on a lovely tree that looked full and balanced.

After we paid, the attendant cut off the lower branches to make it manageable to put into the Christmas tree stand, and he cut a fresh piece off the trunk. The purpose of cutting the main trunk was to open up the pores and allow the tree to drink in a lot of water, thereby allowing it to stay fresher longer.

The pores had begun to close after the initial cut a while back when it was brought from the farm in North Carolina. Without water, those exposed fibers were dead now. The trunk needed a fresh cut to open those pores again and satiate the thirst of the poor thing. This cut was for the good of the tree, to enable it to fulfill its purpose well. Now the tree could stay hydrated longer to keep its needles, and grace a family’s living room.

A Fresh Cut Will Make Me Thirsty

I thought about how this compares with our lives. Our spiritual “pores” will often close or grow calloused over time; I don’t feel the need for God, and I don’t talk with Him, like ever. It is when I receive a fresh “cut” – the pang of a trial – that the pores are wide open and thirsty again. My life is a Psalm again – crying out to the Lord and taking hope and courage in my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer.

Familiarity and sameness is lovely and predictable, but they can make me grow apathetic. I especially am a person that loves to cling to schedule and expectations. I have found over time though, that what I need to cling to is the Lord and rest in His values and expectations, His schedule. He often will allow a fresh cut to make me more thirsty for Him and not get too comfortable in my routine in this world.

When I have developed the habit of being th(i)nkful, there is a coping mechanism that is engaged when the cut happens. I know what to do. I begin to draw up the character and purposes of the Water of Life, and brainstorm things that I can think thanks about in the difficult situation. Stress, anger, fear, or sadness may try to get me off track, but if I download the grace the Lord offers, and engage my thoughts to think thanks and express that thanks, there is a peace that begins to flow.

Let the fresh cuts of the Lord in your life open you wide to drink deeply from the One who offers living water that satisfies your soul.

“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes”
Psalm 119:71

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)

Mystery in Trees

August 8, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

I want to give you an amazing illustration of how thankfulness can affect your life. Trees. Crazy, you say? Just read on!

The machine within a tree

Trees have three main divisions: roots, trunk, and crown. The root system is not visible usually, but instead does its work underground, diligently absorbing and storing water and nutrients, and anchoring the tree as it grows.

The trunk is a place of navigation up and down. Water and nutrients from the roots are brought up to the crown for photosynthesis and afterwards, sugar (glucose) is brought down to the roots for storage and growth. Hang on – don’t give up yet!

The crown of the tree is where the mystery happens. Leaves gather carbon dioxide from the air. As water combines with the carbon in the chlorophyll, and sunlight shines through, photosynthesis takes place, mysteriously changing carbon and water to glucose (energy sugar!) and oxygen (fresh air!). The glucose is transported down the trunk to the roots to help strengthen and grow the tree. The oxygen is released into the air.

All trees practice photosynthesis. Photo is the Greek word for “light” and synthesis is the Greek word for “putting together”.

Now that was a very quick, simplistic explanation of how a tree functions and lives. Unless photosynthesis takes place, the tree will wither up and die.

Trees and being th(i)nkful

Let’s see how this illustrates the life-skill of being th(i)nkful. We begin at the bottom. Let the roots represent what you trust in. If you are in Christ, you have been connected to the living water that was described in John 4:14. There is a good water source bubbling up from within. Roots also anchor. When you are rooted in the Scriptures, through meditating on the promises of God and exercising personal trust in those promises, you are held fast in storms and gales of wind.

The trunk represents our thinking. Our thoughts, navigation routes in our minds, run at incredible speed. Unless the water and nutrients from the roots get connected to the crown, no life or growth will happen. Therefore, the trunk is vital in moving spiritual water and nutrients from the roots to the crown.

The crown of the tree is our interaction with circumstances. Intense heat and carbon are the hard things that happen to us. But if we have been drawing up God’s truth and promises, the chlorophyll of thinking thanks turns those hard things into “grace things” – fresh air for other people and nutrients for our own soul! The crown is where being th(i)nkful takes place, where we can turn around hard news and difficult days into spoken thanks and written praise.

There is a mystery that happens every time a tree engages in photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide and water change to sugar (glucose) and oxygen. When we connect thinking thanks with things that happen to us and express those things orally or in a written form, the Lord changes the essence of those things to “food” that makes us stronger and “oxygen” to be released for others to benefit from.

Living out this truth

Let’s give an example. You are told that you have developed cancer (carbon dioxide). In your thoughts you pull up from your spiritual roots promises that enable you to think thanks about this new challenge. You begin to list things that you can be th(i)nkful for.

My God is the blessed controller of all things
I still have some time to fight hard this disease
This news makes me long for heaven and the new body that Christ has promised
I get the opportunity to be a testimony to others who are going through similar tests
The Lord has promised to never leave me, nor forsake me ever
I realize how valuable every day is and can live more on purpose without regrets

As I think thanks about this carbon dioxide in my life, the mysterious transformation takes place. God changes the carbon dioxide and water to become things that actually help me grow and also provide air for others to breathe. I am better for having gone through the hard things, if I am th(i)nkful, and others are made better as well.

By the way, I love trees. I also love VW bugs; it was the first car I ever owned. As I cruise down the road of life, may I choose to be th(i)nkful about all the carbon that comes my way today. It makes the journey so much more enjoyable.

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

Th(i)nkful About The Cross

June 26, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 1 Comment

The Cross

The longer I live and grow in understanding of things around me, the more I realize that I have only scratched the surface of what happened at the cross. It is the climax of all of human history. It brings freedom from guilt and the wrenching problem of sins for which we could not pay. It infuses hope to all who trust in what Christ did to reconcile us to God. It is the means of saving little children who have only a simple understanding, and yet it continually baffles theologians and philosophers.

The cross exemplifies how humans should live and die in pursuit of doing the Father’s will. The cross is the means by which Christians come to life, and yet the cross is what Jesus demanded we take up daily in dying to self. One day, the entire physical earth will be healed because of what happened on that hill outside Jerusalem.

Thinking about the cross creates such varied responses from mankind. Some scorn it as immoral. Some are filled with disbelief that anything of supernatural value happened there. Some believe that it indeed happened, but will not submit to any claim that Jesus is God or that we are somehow answerable to Him. Some see it as symbol of sincere devotion to God, and that by somehow relishing that symbol on a wall or around the neck, they will somehow gain a better relationship with the Almighty.

Some begin to get the full realization that we are completely indebted to the Father and the Son for what happened on that cross. Without the gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, there is no hope for salvation for judgment, healing, growth, or a future with Him in heaven.

Grasping fully what Christ did on the cross for me that day will cause my heart to always, and forever, be filled with thinkfulness. Because of Jesus, I can live the moments I have left in this life, full of thinking thanks that I was written into the story of humankind and of the redeemed.

What an incredibly awesome story God is writing! From eternity past to eternity future, everything points to the cross. Thank you, God, for Who You are and that You have provided a way for us to return to You! You made the story simple enough for a child to understand, but embedded in its simplicity is a complexity that I can never hope to really grasp.

Th(i)nkful Lessons In Knysna

May 31, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

FullSizeRender

Elephants used to roam freely in the forests around Knysna, South Africa. Today those magical creatures of old have forged their place in legend and literature, as is the case in J.R.R. Tolkien’s oliphants in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, S.A. in 1892, and spent the first three years of his life in South Africa. Olifants is the Afrikaans word for elephant.

Last Saturday I had the privilege of visiting one of the elephant sanctuaries around Knysna, S.A. and took this picture. They are gentle beasts mostly, as long as food is part of the deal. Touching the tough and scratchy hide is fascinating. Their massive ears are filled with blood vessels used as a cooling mechanism when they flap. Elephants spend most of their time eating and very little time sleeping, especially if they are in the wild. Elephants are always on the move.

The following day we heard a minister speak on James 1:1-12. He connected count it all joy with verse 5’s asking for wisdom in a way that I had not seen before. We are to think thanks, or count it all joy, in whatever trial we are in. When we are being tested, we are to be grateful. Why? Because of verse 3. James says that because we know that the test is for our good, we can engage being th(i)nkful.

Our faith is exposed in trials. If we have compartmentalized our lives, putting our faith in one department, and our everyday living in another, it will be painful to connect the two when difficulties come. However, if we have synced the two, our faith in that God is using this situation in my life for good, will enable us to respond in trusting joy and to be thankful.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God in faith, and it will be given him. The quest for wisdom is in regard to how we can count it all joy in difficult times. We build our thoughts on the sure foundation that God is in control, trusting in His wisdom and incredible love for us, and then count it all joy. We think thanks.

Just like that elephant who is always on the go looking for food, I should always be on the move looking for what I can think thanks about in my present situation, whether easy or not. My brain pattern of th(i)nkfulness is increased in strength every time it is exercised.

elephant

Today I am th(i)nkful for:

having a safe trip to Africa and back
God writing the story of my life every moment in small ways and big
the couples traveling with us being so open and teachable
Ros and Rob Warren’s Pepperwood Lodge Bed & Breakfast that soothes the soul
Grapetizers that are still delicious
the Gospel message changing lives

credit to Billy Gotcher, speaking at Lagoonside Baptist, Knysna, S.A. May 28, 2017

Giraffes

May 17, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

10468354_10152568691852553_1986898248865593378_n Headed to Africa today. Love this part of the world where giraffes roam. I am so thankful that God made these amazing animals. So elegant and classy. I love their coat and their incredibly long neck that defies evolution.

There are so many things about giraffes that I can think thanks about. They have long black eyelashes, huge brown eyes, and their purple tongue is extremely long and slimy. Their brown, patchy coat is so mellow and comforting. I love how if they eat too long at a acacia thorn tree, which is one of their favorites, the tree produces a bitter taste in its leaves to make the giraffe stop munching and move to another tree. Our God is amazing. So thankful.

Th(i)nkful In The Storm

May 11, 2017November 26, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 1 Comment

Sarah's tree story Since the Bible is the most published piece of literature in human history, and because I personally trust in it explicitly, I decided to do a thorough biblical study of the word “thanks” in all its various forms (such as thank, thankfulness, thanksgiving, thankworthy).

Let me summarize what I found and then connect it with the event in this picture that took place just last week.

Out of the 135 references I found in the Strong’s Concordance, 67 came from the Old Testament, and 68 from the New Testament. Let’s hit a few highpoints.

The references in the OT begin with the Lord’s thanksgiving offerings which were voluntary and were to express thankfulness to God in Lev. 7:11-21. God designed giving thanks as an essential part of the way His chosen people should worship Him. As the years and the prophets went by, we can also see that whenever there was a revival, a time of cleansing and restoration in Israel, thanksgiving was an integral part.

The Psalms have the most references to thanks of any book in the Bible – no surprise there. When the psalmist was in distress, discouraged, or overwhelmed, he often poured out his heart to God. As he began truth-thinking about God’s character and promises, his perspective changed and his thoughts were filled with thanksgiving toward God.

Moving to the NT, Colossians has a verse dealing with thanks in every chapter. In fact, chapter 3 has three verses in a row (3:15-17), where three Greek words are used that are each connected to being thankful. Check it out.

The strongest verses, Ephesians 5:20 and I Thessalonians 5:18, actually command believers to give thanks in all circumstances.

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20).
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thess. 5:18).

This is just a small sampling of all the verses I found, but such a strong foundation for pursuing being th(i)nkful. I am cultivating thinking thanks not just for His glory, but also because my Creator has designed this thinking pattern for my benefit. He wants me to look for the things that I can be thankful for in every situation that comes my way.

There will be times that are heart-wrenching and stretching in my life. I am to think thanks right then, even through the tears. There will be times when I feel like dancing because I am so happy. I am to think thanks then, but that will be easy. However, most of life will be in between these extremes, the vast stretches of mundane, everyday life, but even then, all the time, when I wake, and when I go to sleep, I am to think thanks.

I want to end this post with a story from a former student named Sarah. She and her husband Austin are very precious to David and me. She had an eventful birthday on May 4th, a stormy day just last week. This is how she described what happened after she left work that day:

I feel that I need to proclaim God’s grace and goodness. After not being able to leave due to trees down on the road, I came back to the house. I had just walked into the living room when we heard cracking and a massive crash. Walked outside to see this [picture above] where I had been only moments earlier. We don’t always know why God spares us from things like this, or why he doesn’t at times. But like Austin says, there are no other alternatives. No “what if’s,” or “if only’s,” we can only trust that if we knew everything He does, we wouldn’t change one thing (used by permission).

Sarah was being th(i)nkful. She was thinking thanks in the middle of a very frightening and difficult thing. Rather than bemoaning the destruction of her car, worrying about insurance claims, or how she would get to work, her thoughts went quickly to giving thanks to God.

Th(i)nkful

May 7, 2017November 27, 2017 / thinkfulkarin / 8 Comments

Relating Think and Thank

Did you know that the English root word of “thank” comes from think or feel?

In order to be thankful, you have to first think, to formulate in your mind the things you are thankful for. It doesn’t seem like such a grand new discovery, but it was to me. I could not just muster up a general spirit of thankfulness. I had to think of specific things in my mind. I had to ponder what I was thankful for.

So … Th(i)nkful

th(i)nkful is a blending of thinking and thanking, and is designed to cultivate thinking thanks.

It is estimated that a person may have up to 50,000 thoughts a day. Many of these thoughts are automatic thoughts because you have conditioned your mind to do something over and over again. My desire is to inspire you to develop a brain pattern that makes you automatically look for the things that you can think thanks for in every circumstance that you encounter.

Connecting Good With A Giver

Being th(i)nkful is not just being thankful for; it is being thankful to. It is delivering that beautiful present of your thanks to whom it is due. God, first and foremost. He has given you the air you breathe at this second. He is ultimately the One worthy to receive our th(i)nkful gift.

What if we just harnessed 5 of those 50,000 thoughts each day to focus on numerating 5 things that we are thankful for and wrap that gift up and present it to the Lord. Let me give you an example:

I am thankful that:

I am able to breathe well right now. No coughing or wheezing.
My eyes work great. I can see color and even focus with my glasses on.
My incredible husband helped me get this blog started even though I feel such fear and trepidation.
This afternoon I got to WeChat with our youngest child in China and her face made me rejoice.
I can speak a foreign language. God let me learn that as a child growing up in Norway. That is just so cool!

Thank You, God.

th(i)nkful

Cultivating thinking thanks

Educational