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Author's Journal Transcripts for Karen Harlow |
Nashvillian Wesley Paine is heard regularly on the New Life Station reading from the writings of Author's Journal contributor, Karen Harlow. Karen provides insight into God's Holy Word through the experiences of daily living. Wesley's warm and friendly voice makes those experiences and Bible passages come alive.
What Do You See In the Mirror?
When my daughters were small they loved to play dress up. They spent hours on end taking old clothes out of our closets and trying them on.
The girls spent many a day standing in front of a full-length mirror trying on different outfits. They would practice their smiles, and style their hair in different ways.
One of my most cherished photos is of our oldest child wearing a shirt and tie of my husbands. She was very small at the time and so the shirt looks like a dress, dragging the ground at her feet.
One year I made our youngest daughter a blue and yellow gown that looked just like Snow White’s outfit in the Disney movie. She wore that dress nearly every day for more than a year.
A psychologist will tell you that this childish behavior is quite normal and very health. When children play dress up and pretend to be different people, they’re simply trying to figure out who they are.
And even though some of us claim to be all grown up, we’re still children in God’s eyes. Learning who we are is a life long endeavor.
There’s a passage in the Bible book called Second Corinthians that talks about this process of imitation and discovery. It says, "Our true faces are not hidden. They reflect God’s glory as His Spirit recreates us in His image."
Isn't that exciting? God’s Holy Spirit is working in our lives, helping us to reshape our hearts to more closely reflect the Father’s perfect righteousness.
So if you aren’t at all pleased with the person you see in the mirror each day, take heart. It may take a while, but with God’s help you CAN become the person you were truly meant to be.
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I have a friend named Kevin who likes to play practical jokes. He especially enjoys calling me on the phone and pretending to be someone else.
On one occasion Kevin called me up and pretended to be from the water company. He told me our water was going to be turned off because we hadn’t paid the bill on time. I got very upset because I knew the bill had been paid.
But on another, more memorable occasion, Kevin’s prank turned out badly for both of us. I was home alone one night when the phone rang. I didn't recognize the muffled voice and couldn’t tell what the person was saying. The voice was a bit disturbing so I hung up.
A few seconds later, the phone rang again. It was the same voice so I hung up again. When it rang a third time I became alarmed, so I picked up the phone quickly, and laid it right back down without even listening.
The fourth time it rang, I got really scared. My heart began to race and my hands began to sweat.
But this time, before I could slam it down again, I heard someone shout my name. I heard, "Don’t hang up! It's me, Kevin!"
Oh! Have you ever been frightened like that? Heart racing, hands sweating, your hair standing on end?
You might be surprised to learn that the Bible has quite a lot to say about fear. For instance, in the Bible book called Proverbs it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
Do you think that means we should be afraid of God like I was afraid of the strange phone calls? No, I think fear in this case refers to the deep respect we have for a God of awesome power. We are to revere God for who He is and what He can do.
This kind of wholesome, healthy fear will start a person down the path toward a close, loving relationship with our heavenly Father.
In the Bible book called Deuteronomy, the writer sums up this relationship with God in a wonderful way:
"What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees."
No sweaty palms, no racing heart, no chill down the spine. When we have this kind of relationship with God, there is nothing to fear.
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About the time my children turned four and seven, things began disappearing from our home. I soon discovered that they weren’t being stolen. My daughters were giving them away!
If I sent my youngest child, Beth, outside with candy or a cookie, she would invariably share her treat with the first person she met. I once caught Beth stuffing clothing from her closet into a grocery sack because she’d heard of a child who had nothing to wear.
On another occasion, Jennifer, our oldest, heard about some people who didn't have a Bible. She quickly decided to give them hers. My first thought was, "That's sweet, honey, but this is a special Bible that your grandparents gave you. You can't give THIS one away."
To be honest, these incidents began to concern me. I worried that my children didn't appreciate the value of our possessions. Did they understand how hard we worked to buy these things?
Much to my surprise, it dawned on me that the girls were teaching us a valuable lesson. They were exhibiting a depth of faith that we as adults could no longer match.
Why was I surprised? Countless times I’ve read the Bible passage where Jesus holds a small child close and says to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
In other words, if you want to know how God sees things, just look at the world through the eyes of a child.
My daughters had absolute faith in mom and dad. They were certain beyond any doubt that we would provide for their every need. Their confidence in us was so strong that they felt comfortable giving away whatever was placed in their hands.
Our girls are all grown up now but with each passing year, I’m getting younger. I’m learning to look at the world through the eyes of a child.
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On How To Build A Mandolin
My dad and my brother are in the middle of another one of their wood working projects. They’re building a mandolin, a small stringed instrument that looks like a tiny guitar.
It goes like this. They spend days and days talking about what to build. Then they pour over books and plans for their chosen instrument. They have to find just the right kind of wood, which means many trips to the lumber yard.
Once they have the wood, they must carefully cut a pattern, mark the wood, cut the wood, and then begin shaping each piece. A lot of the shaping is done by hand, using a small knife and sandpaper.
If the pieces don't fit together properly, a new piece must be cut, and the process starts all over again. When the instrument is finally glued together, it must be allowed time to dry thoroughly.
Hours and hour are spent sanding the assembled mandolin until it is perfectly smooth. Then you begin the lengthy process of applying several coats of finish, with time for drying and re-sanding between each coat.
Building a stringed instrument is an involved process as you can tell. If you try to hurry or skip over a step you can easily ruin the whole project. But the finished mandolin is a sight to behold! The sound it produces is breathtaking. And if it is taken care of, the instrument will be passed down through many generations of our family.
It occurs to me that our lives are much the same. We are each of us instruments lovingly crafted by God. In His skilled hands we are shaped and molded to fit the pattern He has in mind for our lives.
As it says in the
Bible book called Second Timothy, "If
a man cleanses himself, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy,
useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of
youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace."
As with the making of a mandolin, being shaped by God can be a slow and frustrating business…even painful at times. But I want the sound of my life to make my God proud, don't you?
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Lessons Learned From Troublesome Neighbors
In the early years of my marriage, when my children were small, I had some neighbors that made life a daily struggle.
On one side lived an older retired couple who were constantly criticizing us about everything. They didn’t like the way our daughters behaved. They thought we played our television too loud. They didn’t like the way we cut the grass, trimmed the trees, or maintained the house. It was easy to label them "the grumpy old people next door".
On the other side lived a family with four children. These kids were always in some sort of trouble. The mother was constantly yelling at them from her doorway in a loud, shrill voice, but they always ignored her. The father was loud, boastful, and aggressive. It was easy to label the kids a menace, the mother weak and the father a bully.
I must confess that I didn’t treat my old neighbors in a very Christ like manner at the time. But looking back now I wonder, "How would JESUS have seen my troublesome neighbors?"
Time and time again Jesus showed great compassion for the people we like to label and then ignore; the poor, the sick and the powerless.
Begin reading from the words and teachings of Jesus Christ and it quickly becomes apparent that he views ALL of us as little children, or lost lambs – every last one of us in desperate need of His loving care and protection.
So as you struggle to deal with a neighbor who gets on your nerves, or a co-worker who irritates you, or even a difficult family member, try to look at them through the eyes of Jesus. See them as little children or lost lambs who need his love and your understanding.
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Do you enjoy going to reunions? Perhaps your extended family holds regular family get-togethers, or maybe your schoolmates meet occasionally to renew old friendships. Sometimes professional colleagues like to get together to enjoy each other’s company.
A friend shared a story with me the other day about a reunion I wish I could have attended. Chris had gone to the airport to greet a group of teenagers coming back from a trip overseas. When he arrived at the airport, there were well over 100 people there to welcome home the weary youngsters.
Chris told about seeing mutual Christian friends there that he and I had not seen in a long while. Some were young children the last time we saw them, and now they were young adults. Some, who were young adults at our last encounter, now had gray hair, and not a few wrinkles.
But the passing of time made little difference to these brothers and sisters in Christ. There were kisses and hugs, friendly slaps on the back, and lots of reminiscing about the past. There was much laughter and a few happy tears. Chris said it was a wonderful homecoming.
Christian people especially enjoy these happy reunions, because we know that it gives us just a taste of what heaven will be like. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we’ll spend eternity laughing and hugging, reminiscing about old times and catching up on events that took place while we were apart. Best of all, we’ll have all of time to spend worshiping God our Father together.
I'm reminded of a special passage of scripture found in the Bible book called Revelation that describes what heaven will be like. ''Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!"
All those who are God's children will be together, a joyous reunion, a homecoming… doing for eternity what we loved to do best here on earth - praising God!
That’s one homecoming I plan on attending and my prayer is that you will be there too!
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The New Life Station is pleased to provide transcripts online for a number of KNLS programs. Please note that all scripts are the property of World Christian Broadcasting and/or SeedSower Productions. They are provided here for your personal enjoyment only and may not be disseminated in any fashion without prior written permission.