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Karen Sipps Writes

Encourage ~ Equip ~ Empower

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There’s a concrete path that leads to the North

There’s a concrete path that leads to the North Breakwater Lighthouse. To the left and the right of the path, the currents are completely different. One is choppy, relentlessly crashing against the rocks all day long. The other is calm, with small ripples and waves. The water on both sides of the concrete is the same temperature—in this case, super cold—and both sides have the potential for catastrophe if a person isn’t using good judgment.

We often think that we live life on the choppy side, beaten and battered from everyday chaos. But I think if we could really see how much the Lord protects us from, we’d find that He has been our concrete pier all along, sheltering us from the brunt of the waves, and carrying the bulk of our load.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriters #LakeMichigan #lighthouses #lightinthedarkness #devotional

My teens asked if they could drive down to our old

My teens asked if they could drive down to our old church for youth group this week and I agreed, with one stipulation: leave right when it’s over for home. We usually visit in the summer when the sun stays out later so we’re home before it’s dark. If they left right when it was over, they’d still be home around dusk.

When it came time for them to head home... they didn’t. A half hour rolls by, and then an hour, and it’s officially dark but they still haven’t left church. Couple this with my daughter being up early to go to the gym all week, and this worried mama bear just knew they’d fall asleep in the car while driving home.

I hopped up and put on my tennis shoes. If you know me at all you know I don’t like real shoes. I like flip flops and sandals all 12 months out of the year, but I don’t like tennis shoes.

I put em on though... in case I had to traipse through a ditch to rescue the kids. I figured I’d drive until I caught up to them, and then follow them home.

About a half hour into my drive, all I can think about is bringing them home, safe and sound, and then it hit me. That still, small voice.

“This is how I pursue you when you’re where you shouldn’t be... that same frantic feeling you have, where you NEED to go rescue your kids? That’s the same way I will come to rescue you.”

When the Lord comes to rescue you, to pursue the heart of one of His lost, He doesn’t just throw on His flip flops. He puts on the good shoes, in case He has to rescue you from the trenches and comes running.

Sweet friend, you are never so far gone that the Lord will not come get you. If you’re feeling like you’re not as close as you once were, trust me, He feels it too. He’s waiting, tennis shoes ready, to meet you right where you are and bring you home safe and sound.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriters #jesuslovesyou #youareworthrescuing #mamabear

Lord, thank you for the things I didn’t steward

Lord, thank you for the things I didn’t steward well yesterday. Help me take better care of them today.

❤️
Karen

This verse has been on my heart this week. Colossi

This verse has been on my heart this week. Colossians 3:23. The verse before starts off with, “Workers, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.” Verse 23 goes on to say, “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

I’m sure if you Googled “how to serve the Lord” you wouldn’t see “Clean the bathroom counter,” “answer a work email,” or “run payroll.” I did Google in fact, and found a top ten list including tithing, volunteering, donating clothing, fulfill your calling, using your creativity, working with kids at church, going on a missionary trip, etc. All these things are great and wonderful, but they’re man’s definition of service. Colossians reminds us that everything we do is an act of service, so everything we do should be done as if it is for the Lord himself.

Every act – even the mundane – is an act of service when we remind ourselves who gave us the work to do in the first place. Have a great day.

Cheering for you,

Karen

#servetheLord #askAlexa #hopewriter #devotion #work #mundane #service

Let’s talk about history. There was a leader of

Let’s talk about history. There was a leader of a country who made a law that everyone had to follow his rules, or else. He’d been at war with other countries many times, and had exiled certain people groups. He said, “Who can protect you from me? No one will rescue you, not even God.” This leader took joy in making the laws, and in murdering those who wouldn’t follow them, right out in public.

It’s hard to think that God can change the heart of one so callous. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that some leaders will NEVER follow God, but scripture shows us that’s not true. Daniel 3 tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar decreed that anyone who did not fall down and worship a golden image would be thrown into a blazing fire, burned alive, in front of everyone, as an example.

But Daniel and his two friends stood firm in their convictions, and vowed to do the right thing, even in the midst of certain death, and even if God did not rescue them.

Even if.

The king threw them in, but not a hair on their heads were singed. They were walking around in the fire, joined by a 4th person “who looked like a son of the gods.” They didn’t even smell like smoke. (And if you’ve roasted a single marshmallow near a fire pit, you know how impossible that is alone.)

The king called them out, and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who delivered his servants... anyone who speaks against their God shall be torn limb to limb and their houses laid in ruins, for their is no other God who is able to rescue in this way.”

Now you and I both know that there are other rulers that first paragraph could have described. But if God can deliver Daniel and his friends, He can deliver anyone else who is facing the fire.

Anyone.

Love,

Karen

#prayingforUkraine

It seems SO EASY to follow God when He asks us to

It seems SO EASY to follow God when He asks us to do something. More often than not, I find myself like the scribes in Luke. Luke 9:57-62 says,

"And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

But first God, let me finish this thing over here. But first God, let me psych myself up. But first God..."

You'd think it is easy, but following Jesus into the wild unknown takes big, big courage. Jesus was letting them know up front that it required devotion AND urgency. Do we have both of those in our walk with Him?

Lord, give me the courage to do your will when I am afraid, because I am... afraid. Give me the words to say, and the strength to stand when there seems to be so many things that have to be checked off the list before my schedule is clear to follow you.

May we be obedient disciples today, not just busy scribes.

Cheering for you,
Karen

I’ve always had the same eyes. Ocean blue, with

I’ve always had the same eyes. Ocean blue, with a dark navy ring around the edge.

When I was in high school I had the hairbrained idea to get colored contacts. Which wasn’t an awful idea in itself, but I came to school one day with EMERALD GREEN eyes. I told everyone they were my natural eyes and they just changed color overnight. 😂🤣

No matter how hard I tried to convince everyone they were perfectly natural, and “I just woke up that way,” those who were nearest to me and saw me every single day knew the truth—that my blue peepers and I were hiding behind a big fat emerald lie.

Instead of saying, yes, I have colored contacts, I tried to CONVINCE others that my alternate reality was the truth.

You know, God knows when we aren’t being authentic. He knows when we are giving a false representation of ourselves. When we come to church and halfway worship. When we go through the motions in our time with Him. Or when we pretend He doesn’t already know what’s going on with us. We can’t lie to God and expect Him to not see straight through whatever “emerald contacts” we’re wearing, because there’s nothing He doesn’t see happening with His children.

Just like my friends at the lunch table knew because they saw me up close every day, He knows the real you because He sees you up close every day. He knows all about you, because He created you. You don’t have to pretend to be something you aren’t with God. You can come to Him exactly as you are... with questions, worries, fears, and doubts, and let Him bring you comfort, calm, and peace. You don’t have to convince God that you’re fine if you aren’t, and that you have the answer if you don’t.

You can just come, authentically you, and He’ll meet you wherever and however you are.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriter #babyblues #devotional #authentic

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