Have you heard that Kim Kardashian has written a book? Perhaps written is not the best word. Though she's the author of the current best-selling celebrity photography book on Amazon, the book is not one of words. It's of pictures. Hundreds of selfies the celebrity has taken of herself through the years. The title of the book is Selfish, which seems pretty fitting. Questions about what makes people want to take photos of themselves constantly aside, Kardashian has certainly made a career out of her physical appearance and look-at-me lifestyle. It's a choice and a direction that I daily seek to guard against. As a parent, one of my ultimate measures of success will be the selflessness my children show. Will they put others before themselves? Will they seek the greater good for their families, their communities, their churches? Will they be servant leaders, as Jesus calls his followers to be. I pray they will. But it will not be easy. Kids today have more technology in their pockets than my parents had in the entire household when I was 13. Some of it is great, but most of it is really frightening. And I say frightening because it has power. It has the power to control our minds. We check the phone frequently for new texts, Facebook posts or tweets. It has the power to control our free time. Instead of reaching for book or magazine, the smartphone is what we pick up when we have an unoccupied moment. And it has the power to control our hearts. Social media especially can make us question our likes, our dislikes, our wants and our needs like nothing else has ever done. So when I recently wrote about social media and its dangers for The Alabama Baptist, I had a lot of questions. Certainly we didn't cover everything, but there's some great advice for parents and caregivers on how to guard yourself and your family from the dangers of social media. I also recommend a book by Alabama youth minister Tommy McGregor. Selfie: A Parent's Guide to Social Media (also available on Amazon) provides an excellent overview of how parents can help their kids successfully navigate the digital world they live in. It also helps parents recognize the boundaries that we must have for ourselves and our children. Check out Tommy's book, and these articles at The Alabama Baptist. Faith and Family: How social media is hurting families — Parents must talk about social media safe practices early, often as it is an ever-changing technology I would love to hear how you're navigating the waters of the social media ocean as well. I know we're pressing on together, so my prayers are with you all in the journey. It seems like so much longer than four years ago. As we got ready to go to school, the weather radio warned of approaching storms, and my nerves were strung tightly. When I dropped the kids off a school, the coach said to hurry because we were under a severe weather threat. I found out all too quickly just how severe when I got near my house and realized that I had only minutes before been in the direct path of a tornado that passed through our community. The power was off, and with no house key (I know), I was stuck outside the garage.
Off to my parents' house I went, anxiety crawling through my mind and heart. I don't like storms, especially tornado-threatening ones. Talk about not being able to predict what will happen and control my circumstances! Within a couple of hours, school was being released, and the kids and I were back at home, watching the wind whip the trees around even as the sun made the day gorgeous. Evening was on its way though, and too many predictions of really, really bad weather. We made the decision to spend the night at my parents' house because they have a basement. Oddly enough, it was the first night I had spent at their house since I got married, and I don't know that I had ever slept in the basement. But that night we did. We listened and watched as our state was devastated. As lives were snatched from the young and the old. As memories were scattered, tens, hundreds, and thousands of miles away from the homes where they had been created. I cried, I worried, and I prayed. Eventually, I slept, with those I love most in the world close by. Safe, at least for that night. In the days that followed, I saw and reported on efforts to help. Donations of food and supplies. Chainsaw and cleanup crews deployed. Laundry and childcare teams sent out. Chaplains sent out to help make sense of the unexplainable. It was a terrible time but a good time. Because even in the face of unspeakable tragedy, people, God's people stepped up and showed His love to the hurting. And in the year that followed, Alabama Baptists, Baptists from around the nation, and believers of all denominations continued to show up to help our state recover. I will never forget where I was and how I was feeling on April 27, 2011. Memories of that day are etched in my mind like a movie I'd rather forget. But in forgetting the bad, I would forget the good, and I never want to forget how good God's people are when they let Him guide their steps. "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35). To read more about the efforts of Alabama Baptists in the aftermath of the historic tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011, go to the website of The Alabama Baptist by clicking here. Alabama still recovering from 2nd deadliest tornado outbreak in US history — Where are we now? What have we learned? I just don’t believe God wants me to suffer.
My friend spoke these words recently, but that wasn’t the first time I’ve heard a Christian make that statement. I think we’ve all probably thought it. The problem is, it isn’t true. In too many situations where we believe we are “suffering,” the problem is human relationships. A boss is too difficult to work with. A spouse isn’t responding according to expectations. A child is making poor choices. A friend has suddenly stopped being friendly. Yes, there is suffering in our world. Read any prayer list and you’ll see it. Cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, chronic illness. Death. Loss. Grief. Pain. But Jesus suffered more than any human ever has or ever will. He suffered for us. Our lives are never going to be perfect, but because He suffered for us, our lives can be made perfect. For believers, suffering is an opportunity to grow in our dependence on Christ and Christ alone. Oswald Chambers puts it this way: "If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others." Consider that carefully. These experiences I want to avoid are not meant for me personally but instead are designed to make me useful to the Lord. Every situation, every relationship, every difficult thing that happens in my life makes me better able to understand what happens in the lives of others and by extension, increases my witness. In John 9, Jesus walks by a man who has been blind from birth. When the disciples ask whether it was the man or his parents who had sinned and caused the man’s blindness, Jesus corrects their wrong thinking and puts the man’s situation into a much bigger picture: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (emphasis added). Suffering happens. Difficult people and difficult situations will cause us pain. But God wants that suffering to draw us to Him. He doesn’t necessarily want to remove us from the challenge; He wants to move through it with us, so that when it is over, we are more like Him and He gets all the glory. Once again, Chambers puts it like this: We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!” Press on through your difficult circumstances, friends. Trust in His strength, not your own. And give Him the glory when you come out on the other side. You couldn’t have done it without Him! In my mind's eye, I can still see a cat poster my grandmother had hanging on her utility room wall. The bewildered kitten was hanging on a rope, and the caption read, "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." I only recently learned that those words are often attributed to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a man who understood better than most the importance of hanging on in the middle of challenging circumstances.
Marriage is one of the most challenging relationships we will ever experience. When we "tie the knot," we believe our love will last forever. But marriage is far from easy. It requires sacrifice, unselfishness, kindness, and love -- actions and attitudes that aren't necessarily easy to carry out when we're tired and stressed out. Communication is key, which is the subject of my recent article, "Confront conflict with better communication in first year of marriage." You can read more about premarital counseling and what the Bible says about marriage in The Alabama Baptist newspaper. Christian marriages are thriving despite the challenges, so if you're struggling, hang on to the knot you've tied. Don't be afraid to seek help from the experts and to open up to your friends. Resources: Pathways Professional Counseling Hope for the Heart ministries When I was growing up, we were fortunate to have Camp Back 40, run by Cleburne Baptist Association missionaries Dan and Billie Small. Not only was camp a lot of fun, but as I got older, I had the opportunity to help with programs and learn valuable leadership skills. I learned a lot about ministry at Camp Back 40, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that God gifts His people with a variety of skills and abilities and expects us to use them!
Summer camp is a place to learn and grow. One of the reasons is because camp takes us out of our normal routines, according to Elizabeth Cook, recreation manager at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega. “Camp is an opportunity for campers to learn a little bit about themselves. It’s a time for campers to get out of their normal routine and away from the distractions of the world for a few days and have a time of reflection and growth.” As a parent, I am frustrated daily by the demands and distractions of life, and I am always looking for ways to unplug and connect with my children and their friends. However, sometimes my kids need distance from me and guidance from others who can provide a different perspective. That's why my kids will be going to summer camp this year. What about your kids? Alabama families have lots of great options for summer camp and some are mentioned in my article, Summer Camp an Opportunity for Physical, Spiritual Growth. There is plenty of time to sign your kids up for camp at WorldSong Missions Place, Shocco, or one of the many boys' camp locations around the state. Or search online for local day camps sponsored by churches, YMCAs, 4-H or other organizations. The most important things is to find a camp that fits your kids' needs and sign them up -- you'll be creating memories and decisions that will last a lifetime! |
About MeI am a regular contributor to The Alabama Baptist newspaper, and I also write and edit for several religious, business and educational outlets through my business, McWhorter Media and Marketing.
One of the greatest privileges of being a writer is the opportunity to share the stories of others with a larger audience. I love to do that! Sharing my own stories is much more challenging, though no less important to making sense of the challenges of Faith and Family in everyday life. Thanks for joining me on this journey! Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or suggestions. Contact Carrie If you would like to receive new posts, I invite you to follow me on Twitter @CarrieMcWhorter or use the contact form to send me a newsletter request. Archives
March 2017
Others I'm following...Categories
All
|