The World Through My Eyes

"...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 As a teen and young adult, I used to lie awake in my bed at night contemplating all the different ways pain and suffering might visit me. Traumatic stories I had heard from others included words like “unexpected”, “unaware”, “freak accident”, or simply “we had no idea.” So I took that as a challenge and convinced myself that if I could just imagine all the possible perilous scenarios, they wouldn’t happen. Eventually the probability of my own oblivion became the main source of my anxiety.    Needless to say, I was unsuccessful in my efforts to expect the unexpected. During these times of gripping fear, I found comfort in being surrounded by my family. Their presence didn’t minimize my fear nor did it lessen my risk of danger, but being with them made my anxiety more bearable by simply knowing I wasn’t alone. Through the years, God has made this more real to me now as a parent. When my ki...

  In the movie It’s A Wonderful Life , when George Bailey had his breakdown and got his wish to have never been born, he had an incredible experience. He got to see what it would be like for everyone he knew and loved to reject and hate him. During his time, with only Clarence the angel as his friend, he essentially ended up homeless and alone. Ironically the reasons for his breakdown included problems with his job, house, and family. It became pretty clear that George’s biggest problem wasn’t his problems, but rather his failure to let go of his own expectations for his life and fully embrace the wonder of the life he’d been given. When George finally came out of his dream state and returned to his family, he soon realized what a blessed life he had all along. Everything that once caused him grief and worry were now a sight for sore eyes. He even felt excited to see Mr. Potter, his worst enemy! George quickly realized that all the fulfilled dreams and money in the world was no mat...

When I was a young mom in my early twenties with my first baby on my hip, I began reading and listening to a self-proclaimed "whistle blower" of the FDA and pharmaceutical companies. He claimed that all our medication we take and food we eat are manufactured specifically to keep us addicted , fat and sick. His assumptions based on his research showed that the producers of such goods were profiting from keeping people in need of their commodities. The more addicted we are to the food, the more we eat the food, the sicker we become consequently needing more medications. Me and my savvy college educated self thought I'd seen the light and uncovered some secret truth. This author used many seemingly reliable sources and much of his claims seemed valid and verifiable. Coupled with my own awareness of the rise of obesity, illnesses, and food allergies, it all naturally fit like a puzzle in my mind. Within a matter of days, I allowed this one man’s claims to drastically ...

My brother Jason and his wife Rachel moved from Texas to Maryland in 2005. We are a close knit family so saying goodbye was understandably difficult. I miss my brother and sister. I’m grateful for any time we get to spend together, but we’re all just doing our best to follow Jesus and raise our kids. Our conversations are few and far between, but I know at any moment we can pick up wherever we left off. Although I’m sad that our families do not get to be together regularly, I’ve seen God’s hand at work in both of our lives and I’m convinced we’re exactly where He wants us.    It’s evident that God had a purpose in His plans despite the distance and seeing how he uses us in our individual places brings me much joy.    That joy comes from  realization that a our love for each other has little to do with us, but EVERYTHING to do with our love for God. It’s no longer temporary. It’s eternal. Whatever time we get here is a gift, but we get to look forward to spen...

" You will keep in perfect peace  all who trust in you,   all whose  thoughts are fixed on you!" Isaiah 26:3 “ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and  faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭ A few months ago a local news story surfaced about an active shooter in a nearby town. He fled the scene and went into hiding, but law enforcement later found him hiding in the home of some friends of ours. This made me consider how ironic the occupations are of those we employ to restore peace and order. Generally speaking, I wouldn’t equate peace with a SWAT team breaching the door of a home in search of an assailant, but that’s exactly their goal. Armed and armored, police officers intentionally enter a situation of chaos and disorder in order to restore peace. Many people work and live their lives doing this on a regular basis. From medical emergency p...

Growing up we had a tradition in our home on Christmas morning to all gather in my parents' room and pray before going into the living room to open our gifts! Dad would usually pray and might read some scripture as well. We did Santa gifts, but there was never any confusion on what Christmas was really about. My parents made Christmas so fun for me and my brother! Justin and I have continued this tradition in our home as well. Yesterday morning all of our kids piled up in our bed as Justin prayed for us before we opened presents. His prayer really stood out to me. He said, "we're glad these gifts we receive will eventually break because it's a reminder that nothing we have here compares to the gift of your son." Wow! What an amazing perspective?!  I'm always so overwhelmed with the gift giving part of Christmas.  As fun as it is, I know it's a lot of money for things that won't last. But maybe that's a good thing! Maybe God can use the fallible a...

Greetings, Friends and Family! Years ago I sent out a family newsletter at Christmastime. I decided to do it again this year only on my blog instead. It's been a fast and furious year for the Carnley's.  Each year seems to go by a little faster and these kids just insist on growing.  This life of ours can be crazy at times, but we are so blessed that we get to do it all together. I love this precious family of mine so much.  We have seen God's hand work in so many ways through the years and look forward to all he has in store. We are grateful! Justin is going on 15 years at the Lufkin Post Office as a city letter carrier. He also gives guitar lessons, trains the up and coming student worship  band at our church, and plays on the church praise team. He still enjoys gardening, cooking, and hunting and in his spare time he's been working on remodeling a room in our garage for Sidney to have her own space. He yielded a decent harvest in his big garden this yea...