Soli Deo Gloria

My five year-old came bounding into my bathroom Monday morning with a paper waving wildly in his hands, all the while exclaiming, "Mommy I typed out a Bible verse for you!  It's Philippians 4:1 and it is an important verse!"  I read it, while stroking his hair, amazed at his pastoral care for his mommy and after thanking him asked for tape so I could post it on my bathroom mirror.  I looked at it several times that day, reflecting on it's admonishment to stand firm in the Lord. Later that day, after harshly speaking to the boys about getting water all over the bathroom, he reminded of the verse on the mirror, saying, "Mom, remember Philippians 4:1, it will help you!  It says, 'my brothers' and you're my brother and everything will be ok."  Out of the mouth of babes.   Yes we are brothers in the Lord.  And yes, everything will be ok. How often are we taught that our believing children, husbands, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc., are primaril

I am standing at the kitchen window looking into the backyard on a beautiful Saturday morning, admiring my 2 1/2 year old, Soren's, exploration with the water hose, when along comes the 5-year-old, desiring to exert his seniority, and I watch him try to knock over his brother, unprovoked.  I'm thinking - I don't want to interrupt my momentum in the kitchen to deal with this behavior.  I would be stopping all day dealing with behavior if I disciplined every little thing.  But, as God has been opening my eyes, little by little, not fast enough, to the ugliness of sin, I call Brennan inside and have him wait on his bed until I get to a stopping place and hopefully can instill in him that God is beautiful and sin is ugly.  What should we choose? I have become increasingly burdened since these children were thrust from my loins, that if I don't love God with all my heart, mind, and strength; if I don't seek Him with my whole heart; if I don't enjoy Him; if I don&

The water ran down my face and neck, making tracks in my makeup and dropping swiftly onto the carpet below.  The pastor said, "Christi Carter, I baptize you in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit."  Then he baptized my brothers with my parents at our sides.  A common element used everyday, for many necessities:  water. The bread is passed after the pastor says, "On the night He was betrayed, He took bread , gave thanks, and when He broke it said, 'This is My body, broken for you.  Take and eat; do this in remembrance of Me.'"  Then the pastor lifts the chalice and says, "In the same way, after supper, He took the cup and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink of it, in remembrance of Me.'"  Everyday elements.  Bread.  Fruit of the vine.  Whenever you eat and drink of it.  Remember Me.   (I Cor. 11:23-26) Brilliant!  We use water for many uses everyday.  We eat bread and quench our t

Good vs. Better and Good vs. Best Choices Choices Choices Choices Faced with so many wonderful, fun, career-growth, etc., choices in life, how do I reach for the best, when this potentially good thing is being dropped in my lap?  Having spent 35 years of my life on the career path, I have been making the same choices out of pure habit for years.  Saying NO to a stepping stone toward the next tier is still unthinkable!     How do I decline a great opportunity handed to me on a silver platter, no less?   I thought, well, I'll take time to pray about it.  Pray about what?  Aren't the answers all around me?  It's like saying, I'm going to eat a bowl of Cheetos and pray that they'll turn into carrots on the way down.  Well, that's just lack of self-discipline--not making right choices because I want immediate gratification for my fleshly lusts without consequence.   I wanted to take time to pray to lust after it a little longer and hold it and keep turning it

Once I held it in my hand,  it was a kingdom made of sand , but now You've blown it all away, I can't believe that I can say: that I'm glad. This lyric, from the old Amy Grant song " So Glad ," was the first song I ever accompanied myself with for an audience.  I had no idea it would become so significant in my life.  Kingdoms made of sand.... How am I like the foolish man, building his house on the sand?   I think back to growing up going to the beach, on my knees at the water's edge, surf tickling my feet, sand inside my onepiece suit, sun edging into my exposed back, digging the mote around our castle.  Placing shells of protection around the perimeter, lest pirates pillage inside.  Only, nothing can protect my castle from the onslaught of a coming wave. A wave of destruction, gathering up the castle and returning it to sea, leaving no trace of its former existence.  A safe distance from the tide, but it only takes one.  " All Your waves and

We finally watched "The Soloist" this week.  I seriously thought Jamie Foxx's character would be an amazing cellist, down on his luck, homeless, and then "discovered" and playing professionally in no time.  Happy ending, right?  I was so frustrated at the end of this movie!  I wanted a happy ending for him--for all of us.  But as Rob pointed out to me a couple of days later, "happy endings" aren't necessarily what we should be seeking in life.  We have had several hard events in our church in the last couple of weeks--and the last couple of years.  But this last week we have been praying for a few friends who are in the hospital--some with dire circumstances.  For one of them, a good friend of ours, I told Rob to read Psalm 40 when he goes to visit, "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He pu

I met a lovely German woman while playing pool at a party one night.  Visiting her dear friend, my voice teacher, she was enjoying an extended stay in the states before returning to her home in Pullach, a Munich suburb.  At 70 years' young, she stayed up with me half the night speaking in broken English and playing games.  Sometime before dawn, she tells me that if I ever want to come to Germany I am welcome to stay with her. At the time, I thought that would be so fun!  I coveted the freedom to travel and explore the world.  But alas, my commitments held me in Nashville for the time being.  However, not even 2 years later, everything, seemingly, in my life had ended--I didn't have a job and felt like I didn't have a friend in the world.  I was a caged animal ready to escape and find a new home.  So I wrote to her and asked if her offer still stood.  She told me she didn't need any house help, as she had just hired a maid from Portugal, but I could come and pay her ren

My son gets hurt and immediately gets angry, not wanting any comfort from me.  If he can't make the Legos stick together as planned or accidentally drops his newly made bristle block rocket and the pieces scatter, he cries in frustration.  If he is exasperated with Mommy making him practice his violin piece again , he is quick to abandon all effort.  Why is he so quick to roar his rage or cease trying?  He is coveting perfection.  He has an entitlement to all circumstances benefiting him.  He, like all of us humans, has happily ever after in his heart. I recently watched Eat, Pray and Love , a story about Elizabeth Gilbert who goes on a quest for true happiness and contentment.  What I really enjoyed about this movie, other than reminiscing about my solo trip with a one way ticket to self-discovery a mere 15 years ago, was her astute awareness of each moment.  All her senses were heightened as she navigated her way through unfamiliar alleys, restaurants, languages, taxi rides, co

Hannah Hurnard's allegory Hinds Feet on High Places, tells of the journey of Much Afraid from the Valley of Humiliation to the High Places.  One would think this is just a straight shot up the mountain to the high places, but as it turns out, she doesn't have the proper "feet" to climb the crags and cliffs.  It is along the varied path, with all its twists and turns, ups and downs, that her two companions, Sorrow and Suffering, lead her and she develops her hinds' feet on which to leap through the High Places. Much Afraid's journey takes her through the Desert, to the Shores of Loneliness, into the Forest of Danger and Tribulation and through the Mist.  And then, instead of ascending toward the High Places, Sorrow and Suffering lead her down into the Valley of Loss.  It is there she almost abandons the Chief Shepherd's path for her own path.  Faced with the decision to abandon His love, she becomes more terrified thinking of being without His love, than c