The Infection of Anxiety

March 23, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Most Popular Bible Verse

Kelly Smith of our team here did some research and learned the Bible verse most Googled in 2019. Can you guess what it was?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

No surprise. It will probably be the most popular verse for 2020 as well! Humans are typically anxious people. Do any of these words describe you?

Uneasiness, concern, care, worry, doubt, tension, alarm, distress, suspicion, angst, apprehension, misgiving, suspense, nervousness, disquiet, trepidation, foreboding, restlessness, perturbation, watchfulness, fretfulness, disquietude?

We struggle greatly in this area. If we are unable to control specific areas of our life, there is a compelling invitation to partake in anxious thoughts.

No wonder God compares us to sheep. Sheep believe that if there is a change, it will almost certainly be bad. Only sameness with a trusted shepherd allows them to lie down in green pastures. David said (Psalm 23) that our Shepherd is so powerful and trustworthy that we can pass through valleys of the shadow of death and fear no evil because He is with us!

Uncertain Worse Than Bad

The way we view uncertainty while continuing to move forward is called “ambiguity tolerance.” Good leaders have to have high ambiguity tolerance as they move people forward to a “preferable future” that is far from certain. That’s why they are leaders. Regular people struggle with changes to the norm. We don’t do well with deviations from our daily routine, workplace, and normal companions. And now, enter Covid-19.

The new coronavirus at present has caused over 15 000 documented deaths worldwide (in a few days this number will sound wonderfully low). Just a few months ago no one really spoke about a coronavirus, now everyone talks about it. Countries and economies are shutting down to isolate and try to prevent spreading. Schools, church meetings, non-essential jobs, concerts, sports, and any large gatherings have been cancelled or greatly restricted.

In a matter of a few weeks our world has changed. There is so much fear, and even worse than what we see that is bad is the uncertainty about the future; our health, our finances, our food, our security.

But our God has not changed.

Relief – Your Importance

How can we find relief? It feels like we are caught up in a never ending web. We think we are starting to get on top of things, and then we hear of something new that sends us flying into the anxiety abyss. 😦

I have good news.

There is a way out.

The Lord will not test us above what we are able (1 Corinthians 10:13). He promises to guide us through the temptations to be anxious, if we will let Him.

He says, “Look at the birds.” You can consider sparrows that are everywhere on earth. You can pick out your favorite bird nearby – one of ours is the European Bee-eater [pics] – and ponder the importance of that little one to God.

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 6:24-25

He knows everything that you are anxious about. He loves you. These difficulties and challenges that plague you are not without reason. You are being shaped by them.

Relief – Your Connection

In this heat of the trial of the unknown, there is a prescription from our Father.

If you have reconciled with God, then you can call out to Him with your angst and worries, and accompany your requests with thanksgiving, He will pour over you supernatural peace. Peace that will fill your entire being and guard your emotions and your mental thoughts. That is a promise that He makes to us in Philippians 4:7 and He never ever goes back on His promises.

If there is unfinished business between you and your Creator, you must deal with it. Get things sorted out. This is not the time to delay!

He will direct your path, whether staying home here or going home to the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). In either case, it’s going to be ok. His ‘ok’ should be your ‘ok.’

Relief – Being Th(i)nkful

How about getting a piece of paper right now and writing down all your concerns before the Lord. Then connect each item with thanksgiving. Yeah I know, at first it feels impossible, but power through. Discover just a few things that you can give thanks for in the middle of the test.

My Thinkful List for Covid-19:

The virus has a ‘wake-up’ element for humanity
The virus is humbling the arrogance of nations and of scientism
Around the globe, we are unified in a strange sense
People become aware of how we affect each other
Families are spending quantity and quality time together
Prayer is becoming more popular
People are talking about God and the afterlife
As we prepare ourselves for harder times, we take stock and shift priorities
The brokenness of the earth makes us eager for heaven
Turns up the volume on the need to share the Good News of Christ

How about letting these words describe you:

Security, confidence, relief, assurance, serenity, contentment, calmness, tranquil, halcyon, untroubled, unruffled, mild, temperate, restful, composed, sedate, peaceful, amicable, irenic, collected, gentle, sober-minded, steady, genial, equable.

“Thanking in the midst of a trial is the intentional exercise of a spiritual muscle, a choice to believe Him instead of our circumstances or feelings.”

Debbie Willoughby

Thinking Thanks for HOPE

February 3, 2020 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Coronavirus

It’s growing. The number of people dead is increasing daily. There are thousands of people infected in multiple countries around the earth.

Everyone seems to be aware of this new epidemic. In a strange, eerie way it connects all of us as humans. We can be as careful as possible, but we are still susceptible.

Wuhan residents, quarantined in the place of the outbreak, are hunkering down in their flats, even shouting out from their windows “Jiayou,” literally meaning add oil, but figuratively encouraging others not to give up. To hope.

In Need of Hope

You may not get the coronavirus, but you are still in desperate need of hope. Maybe there is a different health challenge, financial reversal, broken relationship, or emotional challenge that plagues you. All of us need HOPE! We need to see that something better is coming, that there is a light at the end of this oppressive darkness. For some who have had a lifetime of shattered and tattered years, this life can’t be all there is. Wrongs need to be made right. Brokenness needs to be mended. Justice must be meted out.

We learn in counseling training that the first two goals when working with someone are for them to feel that 1) you really listened and 2) you gave them hope. That sets the stage for them to come back and talk more.

The Object of Hope

Biblical hope is defined as a confident expectation based on someone’s promise. It is not a whimsical “I hope so” wishing that a mystical fate called luck somehow blesses you by chance.

We don’t hope in hope, thinking that our good imaginations of the future will create some positive energy that will make it all come true (Matt. 6:27). That’s above our pay-grade.
We have to be careful even about hoping in each other. We fail each other; we come up short; we forget; we have good intentions; we lie. I can have only a guarded hope that someone will keep his or her word (Jer. 17:5).
We dare not hope in uncertain riches, and yet many people work and live with their hope anchored in the shifting sands of riches (1 Tim. 6:17; Ps. 62:10; Prov. 23:4-5; Jer. 9:23).

Biblical hope is an anchor that grabs onto a rock and won’t let go (Heb. 6:19). Our Rock is the unchanging character of a Person and the promises He makes to people like me. A hopeful person can hang their full weight on Who they have anchored into just as a person who rappels rests their hope in the rock above them. Jehovah is a God who has a steadfast love for us and He keeps His Word. The Psalmist mentions this dozens of times:

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” Psalm 33:18

His track record of being worthy of our hope and trust is laid out in His Word.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that … through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4

The Source of Hope

Smart hope is in God. It also comes from God; only He is able to produce sustaining hope in our darkest moments when all other lights have gone out. He is not just the Creator; He is my Creator (Ps. 139:13-16). He knows my days, has planned my ways (Prov. 16:9), and matched my rugged cross with grace.

The Alpha and the Omega is infinite Mind; He has never learned anything; the minutiae of my entire life is before His eyes at all times. His knowledge of my situation and His steadfast love give me hope; imagine if He slept or got confused or distracted periodically! But no. This God of hope is the sovereign micromanager of my trials (1 Cor. 10:13) and, through His Spirit, He can give me joy and peace in the middle of trouble.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

Th(i)nkful for Hope

I have seen it. A child who feels hopeless, suddenly is filled with hope. A situation that looks impossible, all of sudden opens up. When sin has pushed us down, and yelled in our ears that we will never be free, the Savior hears our desperate call and picks us up cleansing away unrighteousness.

I am thankful that that hope does not depend on me.
I am thankful that the source of hope loves me and has a detailed plan on how to get me out.
I am thankful that even if it is the end of my earthly days, I will go to be with God forever and ever.
I am thankful that He is using trials in my life to make me like Jesus.
I am thankful that joy will come in the morning.
I am thankful that the Source of hope doesn’t run dry or quit.
Today I am thinking thanks for hope because without it I could not really be th(i)nkful.

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!

Recounting

November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

Jewelry from River Grass

The tall grass in the river flowing by 7 Rivers Farm here in South Africa produces seeds, which local girls are turning into beaded jewelry for sale locally and overseas.

The Zulu call these chwabasi beads; in some places they are called imfibinga. They come in different shades of brown and gray, and we combine them with glass beads to make some absolutely stunning necklaces, bracelets, and now the latest addition ~ ear-rings.:)

Our girls are learning a job skill, making an income, and learning budgeting as well. The Bead Shop, begun in January of 2017, is the first job-skills development project implemented at 7 Rivers, and hopefully the first of many to come.

Recount ~ Count Again

I am so excited to see these local women using local resources to create things that can be sold all over the world, and earn an income in the process. Cherise Smith has come up with some beautiful designs that the local girls are creating. Check out the Bead Shop link.

But the training wasn’t easy at the beginning. Many of the ladies struggled with counting, with getting the repeating pattern correct, and with getting the lengths uniform. Often, necklaces had to be broken up; they had to start all over again. They needed to count and recount carefully; to consider and reconsider carefully.

We Need to Count and Recount

Counting reminds me of the discipline of being th(i)nkful. I have to learn to stop and count, not something I am making, but what God is making of me. There are light beads – I need to count my blessings. There are dark beads – I need to count it joy when I have trials. This mixture of bright and dark, of drab and colorful, is what makes a beautiful necklace. And what makes a beautiful life.

Recounting reminds me of taking the time to thoughtfully consider what God has done in me over time. Yes, I count as the days go by, but perhaps at Thanksgiving, or at the New Year, or on an anniversary, it is good for me to recount – to replay, reconsider, analyze and synthesize – what God is doing; to be thankful for the bigger picture He is revealing.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1; see also 75:1 and 79:13

Thanksgiving Week

This week is Thanksgiving week in the States. Families are usually trying to get together. There will be good food and times of giving thanks. Churches will often spend a service recounting thanks to God for what He is and what He has done.

In our home, we would have a thanksgiving scripture printed on a card for each person at their place setting that they could read orally between dinner and dessert and then share a thing they were thankful for.

But it doesn’t require a national holiday to recount our thanks to the Lord. Every morning when you wake, your mind can recount God’s wonderful deeds – just that you actually woke up. That is a good start. You have been given the gift of another day!

I choose to give thanks.

One of the reasons David the Psalmist was a man after God’s own heart is that he recounted the wondrous deeds of God. A Psalm often begins with him pouring out his fears and frustrations to the Lord … and then midway through, he begins to get God’s perspective on life and what is going on in his circumstances. He starts to recount the steadfast character of God and His blessings on us, His children.

Let’s pretend we are threading a th(i)nkful necklace with the 7 Rivers ladies. And let’s say that there are 7 beads in a set that we need to repeat to eventually make into a lovely necklace. Here are the 7 beads – repeat them 10 times:

I am loved with an everlasting love
I am forgiven of everything through the sacrifice of Jesus, His beloved Son
I am important to Him
I am being watched and studied by two spiritual kingdoms and several people
I am being conformed to the image of Jesus
He is coming back soon for me, for all of His children
He has given us His Word and His Spirit to guide us until then

Just as the precious Zulu ladies count and recount their chwabasi beads to get it just right, we should be counting and recounting the blessings of our Creator.

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

It Didn’t Happen

October 10, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

It Didn’t Happen!

Driving our truck into Durban to file some papers with the Durban municipality, I hit and killed a pedestrian. Distraught after speaking with the police, I drove up two blocks and was hi-jacked at gunpoint at a traffic light.

STOP!

No, I was not part of those two incidents. But I did realize that I had forgotten my ID documents that I needed for the municipality and had to turn around and go home to fetch them.

My husband shared this scenario with me the other day. Instead of voicing his frustration about forgetting the ID documents, he gave thanks for things that didn’t happen on the way to Durban.

An Anxiety Study

Dr. Don Joseph Goewey conducted some research about anxiety awhile back and found that:

85% of things we worry about never happen;
Of the 15% that did happen, 79% of the people found that they were able to handle the difficulty better than they thought, OR that the difficulty taught them lessons worth learning
So, he concluded that “97% of what we worry about is just a fearful mind punishing us with exaggerations and misconceptions.”

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of which never happened.”
Michel de Montaigne

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”
Corrie Ten Boom

Resisting The “What Ifs”

I remember, when my 4-year-old daughter and I were part of an attempted hijacking in Johannesburg, that afterwards I struggled hard with wanting to think out scenarios that could have happened. I realized then the genius and beauty of that first phrase in Philippians 4:8 – think about what is true!The truth was that I did not get shot. The car wasn’t taken. Elly wasn’t kidnapped. We did not even get physically injured. I did have a visual image of a man holding a handgun that I will have for the rest of my life, but the Lord has helped me work through it.

Happenings Highlight Non-happenings

This is my friend Elaine. In the second picture she is getting stitches in her finger. You may wonder why I would highlight this difficult challenge that she is going through. I want you to read what she wrote as she updated people on her accident:

“Dominic, Karissa and I were breaking up her tile floor to replace it. While throwing pieces in a bucket I accidentally scraped my hand on a sharp piece of scrap tile. It cut through my glove and cut a nice deep slice in my index finger on my left hand. 6 stitches put me back together again! So thankful it doesn’t hurt today!!! We have done A LOT of construction projects over the years and never have had an accident! Funny how we don’t think about what God has protected us from until there is an injury. But even in the injury I am thankful that God protected this from being worse…no cut tendons or other important parts!! God is good and today, I thank Him for what He DOESN’T allow to happen!”

One of the blessings of getting hurt or being sick is that it often can highlight so many things that we take for granted. It is good for us to remember and to express gratitude.

Thank You, God for all the hard things that didn’t happen today!

Doing Th(i)nkful

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

A Shocking Hypothetical

The first “Th(i)nkful” Seminar ever was on October 18, 2015, in North Wilkesboro, NC, where my dear friend, Joanna Chapmon, hosted a ladies’ afternoon. I explained and illustrated the skill and benefits of thinking thanks.

Then came the closing exercise. “Each of you has just been diagnosed with third stage cancer. Now, write down on your 3×5 card three things that you’re thankful for in this difficult situation.” Stunned looks turned to thoughtful stares and slowly they began to write. A few minutes later, we were all blessed by the myriad insights the ladies had in response to this hypothetical difficulty.

Th(i)nkful in Action

Now, let me introduce you to Nancy. She and her husband are walking through a valley of challenge as her husband Mike deals with 4th stage pancreatic cancer. Nancy is an RN working for the Carolina Center for Behavioral Health.

Since they have been our friends for decades, we prayed when the diagnosis came; we prayed through the treatments; we prayed through the good news; we prayed through the bad news.

Recently, when Mike went through a difficult day of surgery, we prayed again. The next morning I woke to read this Facebook post by Nancy:

Thank you Lord for the blessings of this difficult day.
1. The cadre of believers that surrounded me to carry the load and distract me during surgery
2. The folks that brought me bags of snacks
3. The folks that brought me drinks, change for the vending machine and gave of their precious time to encourage me with their presence.
4. Our surgical oncologist Dr. Nguyen who is immensely skilled and so very kind and compassionate.
5. The friends that wanted to come visit and weren’t offended when we ask them to visit us another day.
6. Michael’s OB/GYN who stopped by twice today to check on him ( if you want to know ask)
7. Our sweet nurse Lisa who did everything she could to help Michael be as comfortable and well taken care of as possible. We are thankful she will be his nurse tomorrow too. And NO she WAS NOT PLAYING CARDS!!!
8. So very, very, thankful for our Pastor Mike Hamlet who was with us at 6:30AM during check in and pre-op and then came back this afternoon because we were struggling and needed his comfort and prayers.
9. For all of you reading this who prayed before, during, and after the surgery. We thank God for you. You have lightened our burden and we are so grateful for you!
10. Karin Brown, we are thinkful.❣

Nancy is wisely putting into action being thankful in all circumstances. She is carving the brain neural pathway of looking for things to think thanks about and expressing them.

So, I’m praising God and giving a shout-out to Nancy, saying “well done!” I feel Nancy is miles ahead of me in implementing thankfulness. I know it’s so hard for her, and yet she is choosing to download the grace to winnow through the glass chards of broken hopes to think gratitude. She can do this with confidence because God is trustworthy and sovereign.

Doer of the Word

Are you actively practicing being th(i)nkful – giving thanks in all things? Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). He spoke with authority; the people were astonished. Jesus ended his talk by using a powerful seaside contrast between the wise man and the foolish man. Remember singing about this as a kid?

The wise man and the foolish had both heard the same messenger and the same message in the same presentation. One acknowledged, but the other implemented. The former felt that he knew better and shaped his life accordingly. It was all great until the storm. The wise man’s house stood on boring rock, back from the edge … and did just fine in the storm.

Be careful of the deception that James wrote about … thinking that because we hear something we really own it (James 1:22). To know you should be giving thanks is not the same as doing it. How can you and your family create a habit of being th(i)nkful?

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

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.

Envelop Thanks

August 12, 2019 / thinkfulkarin / Leave a comment

Envelop?

The scent was faint at first, but slowly the delicious smell grew stronger as the Swedish Tea Ring was baking in the kitchen. The tantalizing odor enveloped me as I studied in the next room.

Have you ever used the verb envelop?

Envelop: to wrap around something completely; to surround, either literally or figuratively

Literally, fog can envelop a city, or a mom can envelop her child. Figuratively, peace can envelop your mind, or Christ can envelop your life. In fact, the Apostle Paul’s use of “in Christ” and “in the Spirit” has this idea of enveloping a person totally.

Envelop Your Prayers

Thankfulness should wrap around our prayers completely. When I come to God with my circumstances or with people that I am lifting up to Him, I am giving Him no new information – He knows and has ordained what is happening. In reality, I can bring Him two things: thankfulness for the situation or person, and a petition for His help. To truly envelop a prayer with thanksgiving, you start with it and end with it.

This is the key difference between praying to a sovereign God and asking favors from the genie of the lamp. Many Christians treat God like a genie: “Please do this, and do that, and when you’re done, I need this as well.” There is no recognition that the genie has caused our circumstances for His glory and our good, and we don’t say thanks because the genie is our servant. It is said that if we treat our friends like we treat our God we wouldn’t have friends. To say thanks is to fully acknowledge that He is in control and is working out a perfectly calculated plan.

So, we should begin and end our prayer with thankfulness. Paul gives us multiple examples of praying with thanksgiving.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul also demonstrates how he envelops his prayers with thankfulness when praying for people.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world (Romans 1:8)
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 1:4)
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:16)
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you (Colossians 1:3)
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers (I Thessalonians 1:2)
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people (I Timothy 2:1)
I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers (Philemon 1:4)

Trust Foundation

One key to praying thankfully is having the “foundation of trust” in good shape. I am currently working through Ole Hallesby’s book on Prayer and he writes:

“We realize that this deficiency in our prayer life is really due to the fact that we do not trust our blessed Lord. We think that we understand better than He does when and how our prayers should be answered.”

In order to envelop thanksgiving into our prayers, we have to trust the Lord God with all our mind, soul, and heart. He is completely trustworthy. On that basis I can be th(i)nkful and agree to receive what He is doing in my circumstances, though I don’t understand the whys and what fors, and may never understand them.

Th(i)nkful for Carmen

Her life is not easy. She has difficulties that many of us are not familiar with. But our friend Carmen loves God and runs to Him in prayer, with thankfulness.

This precious lady in Pennsylvania is a prayer warrior for us and the mission work here in South Africa. She thanks God on our behalf and provides prayer cover for us continually.

She is growing spiritually and envelops her prayers to the Lord with thinking thanks. And I reciprocate, thanking my Lord for her as I lift my prayer to Him.

So How Do You Start?

The beauty of being th(i)nkful is that it is not hard. Even if you have not been in the habit of enveloping your requests to God with th(i)nkfulness, just start with one thing. Here are some examples:

Thank You, God, for the people who pray for me
Thank you, God, for the opportunity to trust you and your character today
Thank you, God, that I am not alone in my struggles, but I can come to you
Thank you for the access and freedom I have, through Jesus, to come boldly to the throne of grace
Thank you for the grace that is helping me start a new neural pathway of thinking thanks
Thank you for the person that shared the good news of hope with me

Why not start right now in enveloping a prayer to God with thankfulness?