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Karen Sipps Writes

Encourage ~ Equip ~ Empower

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IG – land of microblogging and the occasional dog photo

My car’s in the shop this week. Good times. It’s having the headlights looked at - because there aren’t any. Having the check engine light looked at - because it’s on. The stuttering acceleration looked at - because I’m scared to death the car will stall in the middle of an intersection!

With one car for the whole family it’s going to take a bit of coordination getting my husband to work, me to work, multiple dr appts, and the GingerTwins to work for their first week.

I’d just dropped off the hubs and things were going according to my perfectly calculated-down-to-the-minute plan, when the front tire died an instant death. As in, no coming back, no fix a flat, GAPING HOLE.

No, there’s no spare. We used that years ago.

So I’m waiting on a tow truck - estimated 90 minutes out. I get on my phone, catch up on some work, text my boss, text some friends, check emails again. After about 40 minutes, someone stops to check on me. I pray he has a good day, and that the Lord blesses him.

I’ve been parked on the side of the road for over an hour, when I just happen to look to my right for the first time and see this wide open beautiful space. Nothing but trees behind me for a half mile, and nothing but trees and highway ahead.

But this one space, right where my car stopped, has this beautiful view.

You may not know this, but water is my love language. Oceans, lakes. Rivers. Desktop water fountains. Flower bed water features. I love it all.

For me to come to a stop in this perfectly calming space is nothing less than a God thing. I know He is here. I just hate that it took me so long to see it.

It goes that way sometimes - when we are so busy focused on the trouble at hand that we miss the blessing God sends right in the middle.

If you’re struggling, or in the middle of something crazy, take a step back and look at it from a different angle. You just might find your own blessing tucked quietly in the middle of the mess.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriters #middleofthemess #murphyslaw #womenoftheword #encouragement #waterismylovelanguage

I don’t comment on holidays as often as I should

I don’t comment on holidays as often as I should, but there are a few that are more near and dear to my heart than others. On this Memorial Day, I’m grateful for the freedoms that were given to us by God, and the men and women who’ve died trying to protect it. I’m thankful for them, as they made the ultimate sacrifice, and also to their families who’ve had to navigate through life without them.

If you’d like, share something about your favorite service member who died in the line of duty so their story is not forgotten.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

XOXO,
Karen

I’m not gonna lie and say giants don’t exist.

I’m not gonna lie and say giants don’t exist. They do. I’m not gonna tell you your giant is insignificant, because it might be the scariest thing you’ve ever faced.

Giants don’t back down, you know?

When the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, the Philistines sent Goliath, a 9’9” behemoth of a man to taunt them. There was a lot at stake - if the Israelites could kill him, they’d win the war and the Philistines would become their servants. If they didn’t win? Well, they’d become servants themselves.

Goliath didn’t just challenge them once. He did every day, for forty days, and the Israelites were scared. Not just, “Ooooo, the big scary man said mean words.” Scared to the point their entire ARMY was immobilized. 1 Samuel 17:24 says, “whenever the Israelites saw him they fled in great fear.”

But David, a young man who wasn’t even IN the army, stepped up to the plate. He said to Goliath, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head... the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s.”

The giant that’s in your way today? How long has he been taunting you? Forty hours? Forty days? Forty YEARS? See the thing is, the Israelites were never going to win as long as they fought Goliath with their own might. But as soon as David stepped in and said, “You come against me with big weapons, but I come against YOU in the name of the LordAlmighty” the battle was already done. He slayed that giant, with only a single rock. it didn’t matter what weapon his enemy was holding, because the battle belonged to the Lord.

So whatever you’re facing today remember that big weapons mean nothing against a mighty God.

You can do it. He’s got you. Pick your rock and let’s go.

Cheering for you,
Karen

A few months ago, I discovered an impromptu overni

A few months ago, I discovered an impromptu overnight freeze left my birdbath shattered. Picking up the broken glass from the birdbath has been on my list of things to do, just not number one - until this morning.

I walked over to that part of the garden in and discovered the climbing mini roses we’d planted last year were finally in bloom! They are so adorable. The only problem is, they aren’t climbing up the trellis! They’d leeched over the leaves of the bush next door!

The Bible reminds us over and over to beware of the company we keep. In the book of Numbers, Moses’ cousin Korah rallied Dathan and Abiram along with 250 other prominent Israelite leaders to revolt again Moses and Aaron. Korah led other Levites (priests) to disagree with having Moses and Aaron as their leader. Rather than trust that God knew what He was doing when He chose Moses, they sided with Korah.

Numbers 16:5-7 tells us that Moses said, “You know what? Maybe you’re right. Let God decide.”

“Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lordchooses will be the one who is set apart.”

But rather than ask forgiveness these men - Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the 250 prominent leaders AND their families stayed firm in their rebellion and suffered the consequences. The chapter ends with their demise, as “the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. “

Each of us has influence. The question is are we using it to lead others to Christ, like Moses, or to lead them astray like Korah?

Cheering for you,
Karen
#hopewriters #devotional #microblogger #womenoftheword

Do you ever have the most seemingly random thought

Do you ever have the most seemingly random thoughts going on in your head?

This past week I had a birthday, and last night as I got into bed I thanked the Lord for allowing me another year... then I got to asking myself, did I spend my year wisely? Is the Lord glad He gave me another year on the Earth, or is He up there shaking his head? I don’t know the plans He has for the next year but He does.

And my next thought? Thank you, Lord for all the times you didn’t turn me into salt.

You know Lot’s wife, right? In Genesis 19, we’re told the story of Abraham’s nephew, Lot. Back in Genesis 13, Lot and Abraham had fled Egypt together and traveled together toward Bethel until they split up for the good of their households. One went east, one went west. Lot chose to go east, toward Sodom and Gomorrah. But in chapter 19, Sodom and Gomorrah had become such a wicked place that the Lord set to destroy the entire place. Two angels were with Lot and told him to take his wife, daughters, and their husband and flee, immediately.

Run, don’t walk, and don’t look back.

Well they ran... all except Lot’s wife. She stopped for a minute to look back. That brief period was long enough to turn her into a pillar of salt.

If I had to flee in a moment’s notice I can guarantee my first thoughts would be, “Oh wait, let me go back, I forgot to get my...”

Y’all, I don’t know about you, but I can think of dozens of times I’ve “looked back” at my personal Sodom and Gomorrahs. Sometimes wishing I could go back. Sometimes just too slow in doing what God asks of me. Sometimes because I’m not sure I’ve heard my next task right. Sometimes to remind myself that the way ahead is better. But I HAVE looked back.

And that led to the last thought I can remember for the night: Thank you, Lord for all the times you COULD have turned me into a pillar of salt and DIDN’T

May we remember to keep our eyes on Him, and not on the Sodom and Gomorrahs.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriters #womenoftheword #devotional #dontlookback #youdontlivethereanymore #lotswife

New on the playlist this week, Found by Chris Renz

New on the playlist this week, Found by Chris Renzema. Even my teenager added it to her list. 🤣😂 (That’s how you know it’s good!) Click the link on my story - right under my name - to listen to the entire list, or search my name in Spotify!
#NewMusicMonday #worshipmusic #takemetochurch

Do you ever have those days when you fully expect

Do you ever have those days when you fully expect things to run like a finely oiled machine... except they don’t? Of course you do. Like when you get the bright idea to wash the placemats, and put them in the dryer with the clothes you need to wear THIS MORNING. And then you open the dryer door and find the placemats have broken down into the human equivalent of an ugly cry, and the clothes you need to put on and wear out the door never... actually... got... DRY.

Hey guess what? It’s gonna be ok. You’re gonna lose a few placemats in the game of life and even have to untangle the hot mess they created. You might have to put on the semi-dry pants and get out the door, but you’ll be just fine.

Remember, NOTHING can stop God’s plan for your life (Isaiah 14:27). Just pick up and keep going. He’s got you.

Cheering for you,
Karen

“For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” ~ From Isaiah 14:27, a chapter on the future destruction of Babylon and how God intended to redeem Israel.

#hopewriters #devotional #encouragement #womenoftheword #bible #oops #laundryday

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