While we tend to equate saying yes with being “loving” and saying no with being “unloving,” in actuality, declining a request is not necessarily unloving. In fact, when it paves the way for obedience and enables us to accomplish our individual callings, it can be the most loving and godly thing we can do…
Read MoreYou may find it easy to see how nature displays God’s glory. But what about when you look at yourself? Are you filled with the same wonder and awe? Our culture’s constant provocation to personal discontent and our tendency toward self-criticism can make it hard to recognize, but you too are part of the symphony of creation declaring God’s majesty…
Read MoreThrough various situations I've found myself in recently, I've been reminded of my sensitive nature, and I have felt a little bad about it at times. But there are some really good things about being a sensitive person. This article encouraged me by pointing out some of the strengths of sensitive people…
Read MoreNew Year’s Eve 1999: I’m spending the night at my best friend Tricia’s house, counting down the hours until the new millennium. We joke about Y2K and wonder what will happen if the computers glitch and the world really does fall apart, as so many fear it might. But being in one of the last time zones on earth to enter the New Year, we pretty much already know nothing is going to happen.
We also speculate about what 2020 will be like…
Read MoreIn recent weeks I’ve felt an extra strong impression from God about the importance of spending time with Him. One of the coolest things about this has been that, though I certainly have a role to play in setting aside time for God and developing our relationship, a big part of what He’s been revealing is how much He wants to spend time with me…
Read MoreRecently, I had a song from a children’s film stuck in my head. It would pop into my mind at the most random times, and often I’d end up singing it out loud, to my husband’s chagrin. I was getting pretty tired of it, so, jokingly, I posted about it on social media and asked for advice on getting a song unstuck…
Read MoreWith what appeared to be every ounce of his strength, the newborn reindeer calf pushed himself to a standing position. His spindly legs trembled and his entire fuzzy, brown body shook with the effort of remaining upright. Close behind, mama reindeer hovered protectively, keeping watch over her baby’s progress. The calf took one halting step forward—then tripped and tumbled to the ground...⠀
Read MoreLast month, I wrote a post in which I said that most setbacks are temporary. But what do we do when they just seem to go on and on?
Read MoreAs I shared last week, Fairbanks got a lot of snow in April. After having our warmest March on record (which resulted in the snow being almost completely gone by the end of March), it was a bit of a letdown to have such adverse weather in April. But, by the time I wrote my last post, which was less than a week after our last big snowfall, almost all the snow had (re)melted…
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I used to write mean things about myself in my journal. This week, I decided to get really real and share a few actual quotes.
So (deep breath), here’s a peek at what my 15-year-old self was saying:
“Why am I like this…?”
Read MoreAs a child, Amy Carmichael was bitterly disappointed by her brown eyes. She so longed for blue eyes that she prayed repeatedly that God would change her eyes from brown to blue. To her dismay, He didn’t.
But, years later, Amy developed a newfound appreciation for how God created her when she became a missionary to India. There, Amy worked to rescue young girls who were enslaved as temple prostitutes…
Read MoreI used to write mean things about myself in my journal. Mostly, it had to do with dislike for my appearance. I look like Carina, and, deep down, I believed that wasn’t okay. I thought I should look like the models splashed across magazine covers and the movies stars on TV. It wasn’t hard to see all the ways I didn’t measure up, and, somehow, I thought that body bashing would magically transform me into what I wished I could be…
Read MoreEvery once in a while I get asked what steps I’ve taken to grow as a writer. After the most recent query, I realized that the things I’ve done to nurture my skills as a writer are applicable to many types of artistic endeavors: drawing, singing, playing the piano, woodworking, pottery, photography, calligraphy, sewing…You name it, these steps can probably help you hone your skills…
Read MoreDespite being the dead of winter, January is one of my favorite months. The year lies before me as wide open as the creamy pages of my new calendar. My imagination is free to run wild. The air is full of newness, excitement, and possibilities.
I think one reason new beginnings are so exciting is that they almost always carry an element of creation…
Read More What can help you have
A stronger immune system
Increased quality and quantity of sleep
Decreased feelings of loneliness
Better relationships, including more feelings of connection and generosity
A better sense of self-worth
More feelings of happiness and joy
More resistance to stress
Less pain
And greater life satisfaction? …
Do you ever wish God would appear to you in a vision and explain with perfect clarity what your calling is?
I can relate. Over the years, there have been many times I wished that my direction was more clear cut. But my path to understanding my calling has been more like a meandering river than perfectly straight railroad tracks leading from point A to point B.
Yet, in spite of all the meandering, there have been moments of clarity and even epiphany.
Today, I’m sharing a bit of my story…
Read MoreOur state bird here in Alaska is the willow ptarmigan. I think they are so adorable with their kind, watchful eyes and their legs and feet covered in feathers, like little built in bird snowpants.
They also have the wonderful ability to change color with the season. They are snow white in the winter and brown in the summer. And in the spring and fall…well, they’re in between…
Read MoreToday I’m celebrating a milestone: the one year anniversary of launching my website and starting this blog!
One of the beautiful things about milestones is that they’re an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going. (The term milestone actually comes from ancient Rome, where the Romans used actual stones to mark the miles along highways. A traveler could both see how far they’d come along the road as well as how much farther they had to go to their destination.)…
Read MoreHave you noticed how fruits and vegetables are so much better when bought in season?
Here in Fairbanks, fall is the only time of year to get freshly harvested local carrots. They are so bright, crispy, and deliciously sweet they seem to be a different vegetable altogether than the imported variety we get the rest of the year.
And if I want squash, I need to get my fill now, because come March, though there may be a few lingering in grocery bins, they’ll be dry and shriveled.
I know not to buy summer fruits like tomatoes in December because they’ll taste like nothing, and if I want non-mealy nectarines I’ll need to wait until June.
Depending on where we live, seasons affect not just what we eat but often where we focus our time and energy as well…
Read MoreOne sunny morning last summer, I found myself in a big hurry to leave my house.
I had an appointment with myself at the coffee shop to write, and I was determined to arrive before the lunch rush. Like a cat chasing a laser pointer, I darted around collecting this and that. As I raced up the stairs to get one last thing, I could feel my heart pumping and the unpleasant buzz of adrenaline coursing through my limbs.
But it wasn’t until I stepped out of my car at the coffee shop that I realized just how hurried I had been…
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Hi! I'm Carina, and I'm here to help you connect with God and discover and share your unique gifts.
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