Karen Moore's Blog, page 6

There’s No One Quite Like You

Back in 1964, The Seekers, a group from the UK sang a song called, Another You. The song shared a message of gratitude over realizing that in matters of love, “there’s no one quite like you.” Another You was a chart topper in its day and got up to number four on the US Billboard Top 100 Hits. It’s a great reminder we are unique in ways that go far beyond our family DNA.

I remind you of this because for some of us, it’s easier to imagine someone else being irreplaceable, someone else being an absolute original, one we’re grateful we have the privilege to know, than it is to view ourselves that way. It’s hard to imagine that God would say, “I know I’ll never find another you!”

I believe God does say that though. I believe He looks at you as one of His best works of art. He sees your amazing talents, the ones you use every day to make a difference in the lives of others. He sees your heart and what motivates you to do good things. He sees your desire to please Him.

When we shortchange the image of ourselves, discounting all we are and all we can be, it’s hard to believe that we deserve God’s love and faithfulness. We imagine that once we reach a certain age or stage, it’s over. We assume we’ve done all we can and that we have nothing unique or awesome left to share.

We believe that, but we probably couldn’t be more wrong.

God knows your innermost thoughts, your generous spirit, your hopes and dreams, and whether you are 7 or 70, He holds your dreams in His hand. He never gives up on you. He doesn’t count how many times you’ve fallen down; He just keeps looking for ways to help you rise again, so you see His hand at work in your life. You are uniquely and lovingly designed. You were created for a purpose that will remain until the day you walk through the pearly gates. The effort you make to shine your light, to tell your God stories, and to show your abundant love to others, is the secret sauce the world needs right now. It’s the unexpected delight that only you can deliver. You are in exactly the right place; the place God designed for you to be your best self.

No one brings your unique gifts to the world.  Remind yourself that what you do matters to everyone around you. Rick Warren wrote that God’s question to each of us one day will be, “What did you do with the life I gave you?” As a uniquely designed with a purpose, amazing human, it’s a good day to reflect on your response. You are one of God’s favorites and He will never find another you.

Be blessed my friends!

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God Works

Romans 8:28 is fairly well known among Bible readers. It’s a great scripture that helps identify a part of the work God does in our lives. The NIV version says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

If you’re a believer, then you know firsthand that God works. You know you can take this statement personally. You know God works on your behalf all the time. He works when you forget to call His name and He works when you lose your way. He works when you are doing everything you can to please Him and when you struggle to understand Him. God works with you and without you. He knows what you need and often supplies for that need before you even ask. God doesn’t take a rest simply because you didn’t say your prayers. He doesn’t stop sending you opportunities to succeed. He wants you to always feel confirmed, cared for, and loved. 

If God had a service company that could fix anything, He might have a motto like, “There’s nothing you and I can’t handle together. No job is too big or too small. Just put it in our hands because God works every time.”  Since we know that in “all” things God works for our good, it’s safe for us to go to Him with every dream, every concern, and every confused notion we have. After all, you know God is not a God of confusion. He goes ahead of you to clear the path and help you see His hand at work. 

So, if God is at work on your behalf today and every day, and He’s called you to do the work you were designed to do, it looks like you’re in. You’re in His continual care and keeping. You’re in His hands, protected and loved, and you’re in His heart. All His ways are good because that is who God is. So, today, remember that God is ready to give you the works…mercy, peace, grace and love. Let your grateful heart experience the joy of trusting He’s always there for you. If you have any cause to doubt that idea, stop, and make a list of the things that are going right in your life right now.  Before you are done, you’ll know without a doubt that God works!

Now that you know God is always working for your good, what one thing can you do today to show your gratitude?

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Getting Out of the Boat

The fun part of summer for a lot of people is knowing they can escape the restrictions of the land and get out on the water. They can bask in the sun, do a little fishing, spend time on a beach, or sail away and leave the world behind. It’s pretty glorious when the sun is shining, and the winds are favorable. Of course, ocean waves and large lakes can change quickly. At first, the hurrying waves don’t cause any alarms, but then when the skies cast heavy shadows and the waters become choppier, the bliss disappears with every lightning bolt. Thunder breaks in and since the boat is a whole lot smaller than the surrounding waves without a landscape, the whole scene sends a chill up your spine. 

Let’s stick with this scene as we consider the story in Matthew 14 of Peter and his friends as they began to cross the Sea of Galilee. It was the fourth watch of the night, meaning it was somewhere between three a.m. and six a.m. The boat was bouncing across the waves, disregarding the intent of the sailors to keep their oars in the water. They were alarmed, frightened even as they battled the winds and the waves. The Bible says that Jesus saw their struggle and decided to go to them and calm their fears. Whether He saw them literally or in His mind’s eye isn’t clear. So, what does He do? He heads into the storm walking boldly across the waves. The frightened sailors see Him and imagine He is a ghost, which only makes them more afraid. Jesus tells them to stay calm because He is there. He is with them. So, what happens?

In the midst of all this chaos, Peter is stunned that Jesus can walk on the water, but believing that anything is possible with Jesus, Peter boldly asks if he can get out of the boat and walk on the water too. Jesus assures him that he can. Now, here’s the amazing part. The boat is still rocking, the winds are still howling, but Peter doesn’t notice. He gets out of the boat. Okay, now stop here a moment. You are in a crazy storm, you fear for your life, wonder if you’ll capsize, but then along comes Jesus and because He says it’s okay to get out of the boat, you do. Wowzer! Imagine having that kind of faith. 

I know we usually read this verse and wonder why Peter took a couple of good steps and then started sinking. One minute, he was totally trusting Jesus, and the next minute he was distracted by the storm all around him. Distraction caused him to sink.

I think Peter was awesome because he got out of the boat in the first place. It’s hard to imagine making that choice in the midst of a crazy storm. Maybe, just maybe I could imagine making that choice on a sunny, calm day, but even then, I can’t be sure. So, let’s remember that the beauty of having great faith is that no matter how often you become distracted, you can still reach out to God, who encourages your faith in any storm and will rescue you. Jesus calmed the storm, removed the distraction, and brought peace to the situation. When you get distracted and feel like you might sink, He’ll help you too. 

What will it take to get you out of the boat?

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Moving Has Its Ups and Downs

I’m finally set up in my new home office and eager to check back in with you. I trust God has been watching over you and the people you love since we’ve been apart. As most of you know, I’ve moved and I’m excited about all God will do for me and for Bruce in our new 114-year-old house. We won’t be driving around town in a golf cart anymore, and one day soon my little grandsons will have to call me something besides Florida grandma, but that is still ahead. We’ll get to know each other soon. 

If you haven’t relocated from one state to another, one lifestyle to another, one town to another recently, you may not have thought much about what it means to make that kind of transition. Some parts of it are like going up the slope of the roller coaster. You look out and take in the delight of people below, and then tremble a bit about what happens when you get to the top. For a moment, while you can still breathe, you work on trusting the coaster builder and saying your prayers early. With the creaking wheels taking you higher, you wonder if you should turn back before it’s too late to change things. Ultimately, you hit the top, look out, and suddenly find yourself going ninety miles an hour, hands in the air, leaving it all to God because there’s nothing you can do anyway, and hoping the ride will be smooth from there. Screaming is still an option. When you get past the panic and then the exhilaration that follows, you finally come to an easy stop. You’re there. All is well. It’s all good. Your wobbly knees thank you for moving forward.

Let me explain a bit about our roller coaster beginning. Once we waved the moving van away from the Florida driveway, we finished up our work in the house and got ready for our flight to our new home the next day. We were weary, but expectant and happy, the first part of our transition was done.  After an easy flight, and resting up at our hotel, we went to see the house at 7AM. It was early, and our Florida furniture wasn’t arriving until the next day, so we were anxious to get some preliminary things done. The view was looking good as we pulled up to our front door. My daughter had graced the steps with some petunias and a welcome flag. Just as we opened the door, we smelled the fumes, a gas leak, yipes! We called 911 and the fire department was there in fifteen minutes. They turned off the gas, opened windows, and checked for the leak. Turned out to be a cracked pipe on an old dryer in the basement. As we stood outside, an upstairs window shattered and sent a chill down our already nervous spines. Ten minutes after that, a truck arrived from our local furniture store with aur new sofa and chair. Of course, it couldn’t be delivered to the house, so I sent them out back by the garage. I couldn’t get the garage door open, and the truck driver was clearly frustrated by all this chaos. Just then, my son, who lives close by, came walking toward me. As I broke into sobs, the truck driver kept saying, “It’s okay, Lady.” Whew!

Well, it was okay. The ride is over now, and the house is clearly a place to call home. My wobbly knees are thanking God that we moved forward. Hoping for a smoother ride from here. Send up a prayer if you think of us. 

Blessings to you all.

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Moving Day

Okay, so this is it! In less than ten years, we moved from Nashville to Fort Myers, Florida. then we moved back to Nashville for our work. Less than two years later, we moved to Savannah, Georgia because nobody was having face to face meetings during Covid. Less than two years later, we moved back to Nashville again because meetings were happening and when you’re in publishing, it’s nice to be able to be in the same place with the decision makers. Nashville is experiencing explosive growth, so two years later we moved back to Savannah because we liked being there the first time and we missed our friends. Two years later we moved to Lady Lake, Florida in an effort to be closer to family who might need our help. This time we are moving to Ohio. This time, we are staying put. No more boxes, no more packing tape, no more bruises from lifting boxes that weigh more than heavy bar bells. This time we are going home!

Why, you might wonder? First and foremost, to be closer to our children and grandchildren. It’s time to share life more regularly with those amazing people we brought into the world, and the ones they brought into the world. It’s time to have backyard cookouts and Sunday dinners. It’s time for me to know the little ones who only know me as Florida grandma. It’s time to connect all our family ties and reap the harvest of love we all share. Yes, we’ll still work, and we’ll still help writers shine their light, but we’ll have a chance to embrace those we’ve only seen a couple times a year for way too long.

We’re moving into an old Victorian house that was built in 1910. It’s going to be fun to put our spin on it and bring it to life in a new way. We’ll plant more flowers, enjoy coffee on the front porch, and the sound of our favorite three- and four-year-olds running around the yard. We’ll certainly miss our Florida friends, our prayer partners, and those who have blessed our lives here, but our love for them all remains. The moving truck comes today, so it’s almost time to start a new adventure and even though we believed God sent us in the direction of every move we have made, we think this time, it will be the best move yet.

Blessings to all of you who bring joy and love to the people around you. No matter where you live, it’s love that makes the difference.

Miamisburg, Ohio, here we come! 

 

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Is that Even Possible?

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God.

Everything is possible with God.”  Mark 10: 27, NLT

What Do You Believe?

Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said, “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

This conversation between Alice and the Red Queen is from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Alice is like most of us. She sees the reality of the world and cannot grasp how some things are even possible. Her mind is finite, and as she observes the world, she tosses the miraculous aside and quickly declares, “It’s impossible!”

Perhaps God would like us to be a bit less Alice, and more like the Red Queen. After all, she demonstrates her childlike faith and doesn’t question that many more things are possible if one just believes. Like many of us, she believed in possibility even more when she was younger, but she became too adult somewhere along the way, and lost her confidence and faith. According to Jesus, humans are limited in what they can do, but with God, everything is possible. 

If the world seems upside down, or you’re going through difficult times with sagging spirits, it may be time for some childlike faith, some possibility thinking. Turn your face toward the One who knows your situation already and is there for you. Since your life is in His hands, He offers you only His good, His best, and His blessing. He will carry you through those uncertain, dark patches, into His most incredible light. Keep praying, keep believing, and keep trusting because God sees you right where you stand. Let all you believe rest with the One who makes amazing things still possible!

You may even believe six impossible things before breakfast.

adapted from It’s Still Possible, published by Harper Collins 2020

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Let’s Faith It!

Hebrews 11:1 may be one of the verses we know best, but still struggle to understand. The New International Version says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see.” The Message Bible says, “By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.”  Yesterday, I listened to a sermon by Dr. Tony Evans where he says, “Faith is acting like God is telling the truth!” 

Most believers want to live by faith. We want to act like God is telling the truth. We want to have confidence that what we hope for can happen. We want what we can’t see, can’t understand, or can’t fully contemplate to be in the hands of the One who actually can see, and understand, and contemplate for us. We want faith to be our lifestyle and not simply an idea we visit now and then. 

So, to quote Tony Evans again, He says “faith is acting like it is so, even when it’s not so, in order that it might be so, simply because God said so!”  Perhaps those of you with a mama that told you what she wanted in no uncertain terms, “because I said so” can grasp this saying easily. So, let’s go back and consider that faith is acting like God is telling the truth. We believe God exists. We believe God loves us. We believe God created the universe we live in, so why do we struggle with whether God is telling the truth? The fact is, God can only tell the truth, so we don’t really have to figure out that part.

Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, reminds us that faith is not a matter of cherry picking. Faith is something we live in every hour of our lives. Faith is the thing we give back to God so He can act on our behalf. It’s our faith that tells God, “I believe in the prayer I’m saying right now.” It’s our faith that says, “I’ll do this thing God wants me to do, even though I don’t fully understand the direction.” It’s faith that says, “I’m here, God. Send me.” 

You may face an issue, an idea, or a challenge you don’t understand, but when you believe God is with you, you can go on faith and act like it is so, so that it might be so, because God said so. Faith requires you to act and let God know you are willing to trust Him for those things you do not yet see. Faith is saying to God, “I believe you all the time. I believe you are always telling me the truth. I believe in you.”

Since God created the entire world out of nothing, don’t you think He can take those things you do not yet see, and create the best option just for you? Faith opens the door to all that’s possible for you and every person on this planet!

God gave you the gift of faith so you could use it, live in it, enjoy it, and return the gift to Him every day.

Faith is your calling card to God.

 

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It’s a Mom Thing

Have you ever had someone in your life who loved you unconditionally, cared for you when you couldn’t, or wouldn’t care for yourself, and was loyal to a fault? They did all they could to help you become the person you were designed to be. They had their own style, their own way of showing love, but you knew it was there. That person believed in you and trusted you to do better when you screwed up. They simply loved you!

Hopefully your answer to the above question is “Yes, and it was Mom.”  It’s a mom thing to believe in their children, trusting them to keep trying, knowing they can do anything.  Moms cheer for you when you need support, talk to you when you need someone to bounce ideas around, and hug you into being an amazing adult. Moms aren’t perfect, and your mom would be the first to say so, but your mom was probably perfect for you. Sure, she didn’t always make things better, and she didn’t always give you the right advice, but she loved you no matter what.  When you have even one person like that in your life, you see the world with a more optimistic view, knowing you can try new things and fail because you’re not in this world alone. 

Yes, moms come in all shapes and sizes, and some can whip up a gourmet meal with three ingredients, and others can only whip up a phone number to call for carry out. Some work full time and so they are weary at the end of the day and can barely stay focused on the drama circulating in the house. But tired, or busy doesn’t change the fact that moms always love you. Some moms wrap their arms around you and exude love. Some moms don’t, but they love you just as much.

Mom’s job is to pour love into you as best she can, so you develop a heart that loves others as well.

In my book called It’s Still Possible, I pose this question to you and to myself. “How big does your heart have to be for you to receive the love God is willing to pour into it?” How much room can you make available to the One who redeemed your soul? God wants you to have a heart that’s tender, a heart that’s growing in wisdom and kindness, and a heart that sees His hand at work in your life. You might call that a God thing. 

If you can grasp the idea you are loved beyond measure, that you are unique and special, and a gift to your family, then you are greatly blessed. It’s a mom thing to never give up on you. It’s a God thing to never give up on you as well.  As the saying goes, “God could not be everywhere, so He created mothers.”

This Mother’s Day give a little love to your mom, even if she’s in heaven, because she cared for you with everything she had to give.  

 

 

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Your Own Giving Tree

I love Shel Silverstein’s book, The Giving Tree. It’s such a wonderful reminder of what it means to give to others with your whole heart. Of course, sometimes givers imagine they give far more than they receive, but it’s possible that it only appears that way. When God sees the way you give heart first, the gift of giving always counts.

One writer said this. “Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give wealth. Give love, give tears, and give yourself…the more you give, the more you live.” Wow!

The more you give, the more you live! I think that’s a motto to embroider on a pillow or hang on a plaque somewhere.

Give strength: On any given day, someone you know feels weak or depressed or lonely. They think life is nothing but struggle, and yet you know there are better days ahead. Your kindness will give them strength.

Give thought: You can send an encouraging text, make a friendly phone call, or open a door for someone by simply sharing a helpful idea. You can change their perspective with one positive suggestion. Your thoughts make a difference.

Give deeds: You may discount things you do for others, shrugging them off as nothing, but your good deeds make life easier and keep hope alive. Remember how you feel when others do good things for you.

Give wealth: When you’re on the downside of financial stability, always working hard, yet barely making ends meet, life feels like a losing battle. Generosity from a caring friend can be the blessing that makes life feel victorious again.

Give love: Loving others seems like the easy one, but God knows how hard it can be. That’s why it bears the greatest risk and reward. Love makes a difference.

Give tears: If you’ve ever cried with a friend, or grieved with someone in great pain, you know the blessing shared tears can be. Even Jesus wept.

Finally, just remember that each time you offer others your authentic, generous, and thoughtful self, you become the blessing.

Thank you to everyone I know who blesses the lives of others through gracious and loving gifts that make a difference. May God bless you tenfold for all you’ve done.

 

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One Kind Word

A theologian and hymnwriter named Frederick William Faber, born in 1814, said this. “Many a friendship, long, loyal, and self-sacrificing, rested at first on no thicker a foundation than a kind word.” Faber may be best known for his hymn called “Faith of Our Fathers,” but this quote resonates with us in the first blush of any friendship. After all, most of us share our best selves when we meet someone new. So, what is so important about speaking a kind word? 

Proverbs says, “Kind words are the honey–sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Again, in Ephesians we read: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” The book of Micah proclaims, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Imagine how amazing it would be if social media gave up the need to out-do, out-wit, or defile others and only shared words that are uplifting, energizing, and humane?

Perhaps one of our greatest assets as human beings is that we can literally bring comfort, encouragement, and lasting friendship to others simply by knowing when to speak, how to speak, and what to speak. Words communicate our values and the generosity of our spirits. Words create a relationship with others and when they serve to edify the heart and mind of those we encounter, they serve us well. 

When we consider the power of words, the opportunity of words to bring joy and blessing, it is good to be mindful of what we can do to speak kindly to one another. We all know what it is like to suffer the insults of a thoughtless word. The impact can last for days, even years. We may suffer every time harsh words fill the air. Perhaps we can’t stop those who dispense cruelty with their voices, but we can stop receiving their messages. Real power comes through kindness and a desire to leave others with a sense of connection and wellbeing. We want to send messages of hope and kindness, offering the honey that is sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. 

In any conversation, you have a choice to lay the foundation of lasting friendship, to build someone up who seldom receives tenderness, to make a difference that brings justice and hope. Walk humbly with your God in kindness and love. Receive His power of grace and mercy, for He alone spoke the world into existence.

Blessings to you today.

 

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