South African writer, Brenton Brown, was attending a Band/Worship Leader Retreat when he was feeling tired. As he prayed to God, the phrase “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord” just popped up. Later on, he and his wife contracted “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”. One day, his friend Ken Riley played a pre-chorus for…
Author: Karen E. Young
Sharing the journey of fumbling my way to pleasing Jesus as His follower, as a wife, mother, businesswoman/ entrepreneur, cook/baker, employer, writer, occasional singer, lifelong learner, and aspiring dancer.
Finding the Voice of Worship Amid Fear, Uncertainty, Loss, Pain, Grief, or Death
Just four days after the September 11 attacks on New York City’s Twin Towers, songwriter Matt Redman and his wife, Beth, started a sabbatical in Los Angeles. The effects of the traumatic, tragic, terroristic event that gripped the United States started to sink in. The nation was gripped by fear, uncertainty, loss, pain, grief, and…
Worship Amidst Tragedies
Can you and I praise the Lord after a series of tragedies? This is what Horatio Spafford did. His four year old son died of Scarlet Fever. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 caused him financial ruin. The ship that his wife, Anna, and their four daughters took to go to England sank and all…
Praise for When You Don’t Understand
Ike Rikert, a pastor, lost his wife when she gave birth to their first child. His child died as well. He had two friends, Babbie Mason and Eddie Carswell who wanted to encourage him. Babbie said of Ike, “Though he was a “strong brother in the Lord”, he went “into the depths of depression, holding…
In Jesus’s Name… Why?
In an overwhelming trial, if the standard for measure is feeling, the above question can be a cocktail of anger, bitterness, doubt, rage, despair, and fear. But feelings change from day to day, from hormonal level to the next, from circumstance to circumstance. I would like to submit that during any such occasion when a…
David’s Thanksgiving Praise for Covenant-Keeping God
1Chron 16 8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 11 Look to the Lord…
Repentance and Truth Towards Escaping the Devil’s Trap
2 Timothy 2:25 (NIV) Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. To the proponents…
Praise Pause
I just pause to praise You, LORD, that You are greater than any human being, greater than any viciously treacherous act, even those done in secret. You are greater than our greatest enemy, Satan. You are greater than any problem, sickness, loss, failure, pain, grief, limitation, lack, past, sin. Thank You for all the things…
Daily Exercise
Yesterday, our small group had a one and a half hour physical exercise session. We decided that we would do it regularly as good stewardship of our bodies. I felt good even if at times during the exercise, I wanted to just fold up and lie down. Today’s YouVersion Verse is (NIV) 1 Tim 4:8…
Perfect Peace
Perfect peace regardless of trials is a result of keeping our minds steadfast, set on God, trusting, desiring, depending on Him—not in ourselves, not in other people, not in our abilities or possessions but on God because He is our reliable, eternal unshakeable foundation. Isa 26: 3 NIV 3 You will keep in perfect peace…
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 