My daughter, Maya Hagan, just wrote some words this week entitled “Uncharted Territory,” and I think that we would all agree the spread of the coronavirus in the details of our days is certainly a place we have never been. In this place, there could be fear and possibly some frustrations. I know that for the three young people living in my home as well as Ron and I we are experiencing a myriad of fears and frustrations. In fact, we made a list of them on Sunday as we were having church around our kitchen table. It was important to give everyone a chance to share some words and explain their thoughts. With Maya and Ada being seniors in high school, they are...
Read Morejust found this in my journal stash . . . a great word for me this morning and maybe for you! a day in the life on October 10, 2012~ Throwing the laundry in the washing machine with a bit more force this morning. . . Watching Ron walk out the door to “ensure pension safety” in the investment community with truth and tactics. Wishing my moment involved more than dirty clothes and if the girls want the knit sheets back on their beds???? That is my question and thus the quest for my moment. Father, give me eyes to see the extravagant in dirty clothes, beds that need changing and this home being my workplace for today. Next moment – Maya (age 10) walks into the...
Read MoreHow appropriate to end these 15 days of prayer for 2015 on this 15th day of February! I would like to say that I planned it this way all along. In fact, what I did control was a bit of condemnation over the past few days as I realized that I had never sent one last prayer. As always, it went something like this: “Way to go, Karla. Not finishing what you start. What does it matter anyways? You keep sending these prayers out through cyberspace – to whom? You got caught up in the busy and forgot the important. Are you even praying yourself much less encouraging others to do so?” I used to stay on the mat for some time in this cycle of defeat! Thankfully,...
Read MoreHave you ever had a day when every conversation and every effort – no matter how small or large – was met with opposition? For some of us, this may typify our days; for others we may be a bit out of practice on how to respond when dealing with opposing forces. It’s so crazy, but I recall from my childhood having these kinds of days in school or on the practice field or with friends. It just seemed like nothing was going right. This really bothered me. So much so that I developed a strange coping mechanism based on superstition. Like, maybe if I wore my favorite clothes somehow that would avert the problems of the day. Of course this is absolute...
Read MoreOn this 13th day to pray, my own girls are turning 13! I love how Father weaves! Little did I know that I would be writing this 13th prayer on their 13th birthday. It is reminders like these that Father is close, very close and delighted with the conversation! We are choosing to begin this year in conversation with him for our own journey and the journey of our family! In his word, he calls us these places of prayer, and we delight him with our choosing! I celebrate family and the gift of children. I celebrate the opportunity to walk with Maya, Ada and Carson as they walk their own journey of faith. I am overwhelmed with the passing of time and how quickly our moments...
Read MoreProblems and Pressure are the prayers for today! I have been thinking about these words for a few days now and actually putting off the prayer. I don’t know what to say. I am knee-deep in my own problems and feeling the pressure to manage it all. That is the temptation. The enemy wants me to recite the problem, wring my hands over the problem, succumb to the problem or escape from the problem. He wants me tight, pitiful or disengaged. But . . . . This is my favorite conjunction in the Bible! There is another option, another story, another way to walk. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what...
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