Karla's Korner

Me... Run a Marathon?

I haven't blogged for a while because I've been running a marathon... not literally... but it sure feels like it.  Weekend before last I had the privilege to be the speaker for the most delightful group of women from Crossroads Community Church in Nampa, ID. The Retreat was at the beautiful Quaker Hill Conference Center in McCall. Our theme was "Bloom Where You're Planted" and we can... wherever God plants us... even in the snow! I had the opportunity to spend time with many of the women one on one and I left confident that God had touched lives and changed lives for His glory!  If any of you Crossroads women read this... I'd love to hear a comment from you!

I got home that Sunday night and Monday morning began preparing the "sermon" titled "Free to Run... Free to Win" for this past Sunday at my own church, Summit View. It is a timely message all about our Christian journey being likened to running an actual marathon. It is such a great visual metaphor with many similarities and lots of great lessons to be gleaned. I could never run a 26.2 marathon nor would I want to... but I can run the race of faith... and so can you. This message is about looking at the lies that keep us from running... or running well... and then confronting those lies with the Truth that sets us free... free to run faster, and farther to the glory of God. I am confident you will be encouraged if you have the time to listen.

One thing I believe God really spoke to my heart personally through this message was that our race of faith is a marathon and not a sprint. I can tend to sprint sometimes and sprinting can lead to burn out or injury. I knew as I was preparing the message, that my body was weak and weary from running non-stop for about three weeks and could hear God saying this is what I want you to hear... and just to make sure I got, within 5 minutes after I gave the message second service, I lost my voice. It's just gone and now other cold/flu symptoms have come to dwell as well. It was like God saying if you won't slow down, I'll slow you down. I would so appreciate your prayers for speedy healing... and my husband's as well!  Okay Lord... I think I've learned my lesson... heal me quickly... I don't have time for this! LOL

My greatest hearts desire is to one day echo the apostle Paul where he says...
"I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"
and hear the Lord say...
"Well done my good and faithful servant" "Welcome home my child."

Dearest Jesus,
Thank You for paying the price for our entry fee into this race of faith with  your own blood on calvary. And when we grow weary and hear the familiar voices that whisper, "you can't do this... it's too hard... who do you think you are... is it really worth it?" remind us that you deemed it worth enough to die for. Train us up Lord, strengthen our faith muscles and develop our endurance to run freer, faster, and farther than we thought we ever could. Amen.

"Morning Glory Garden" Giveaway Reminder!

We are halfway through April... can you believe it? And I want to say a huge "THANK YOU!" to all of you who have commented this month... it means more to me than you know! Entering into a new venture can be unsettling, not knowing what the response will be, but the support and encouragement I have received from all of you through your comments has encouraged my heart greatly!  Bless your hearts...each and every one of you!

And don't forget... you can comment more than once if you'd like...
with each comment being one entry to win.

Also, I hope you know that I would love to answer every comment and every personal email you send me... I really would. But I do read every one of them and pray for you and love you... even though time does not always permit me the privilege of writing back. If you've written with a question, please be patient and I will try to answer as soon as I can.

Playing Around and Loving It!

Yesterday morning I just had the urge to play so I took some of the elements from the Morning Glory Garden Kit and just had fun with it. In my playing, I also created the fun and "messy" overlay with the transparent butterfly so I may just have to add that to the kit as well.

The frame would be worth nothing apart from the girls in it... from left to right... my daughter Michelle, my granddaughter Alexis (who just started blogging last night so please pay her a visit), and my niece Monica.

Praise be to His glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with His glory!
Amen and amen.
Psalm 72:19

Heavenly Father... may we be women who will praise your glorious name from one generation to the next forever and ever... and may we be instruments of your grace here on earth advancing your gospel and your glory! Amen and amen.

Snapshots of God's Glory

Everywhere we look we can see the beauty of the glory of the Lord... and today I took walk around Grace Acres just to delight in the beauty of the Lord in my own backyard and wanted to share these snapshots with you.

I enjoy the beauty of flowers so much I could spend hours just delighting in their colors and patterns and shapes. And I love how the veins weave themselves through the petals and the leaves leading the eye in and around and through the delicate details of God's creation. Above is the pink camelia, the white trillium, and a hyacinth. Below is grape hyacinths, daffodils and the flowering currant... which the hummingbirds love.

I wonder what flowers you have growing in your backyard or nearby? Have you taken the time to stop and delight in their beauty? Have you counted the petals? Followed the veins? Looked for repeat patterns? It only takes a minute or two and I promise you won't regret it. You might even want to do it with your kids. The Bible tells us that everything was created by God and for God... but aren't we glad He chose to share His pleasure with us? I know I am!

Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us;
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17

Oh beautiful and creative God... when we look at the beauty of Your handiwork, how can we imagine You as anything but Beautiful? And as beautiful as your creation is here, we know that the beauty of this earth is only a shadow of the beauty we will behold when we see You face to face. And Lord, as you reveal Your glory to us through the work of Your hands, may Your beauty be upon us so that the work of our hands and heart may be a reflection of You and Your love in this world. Amen.

Show Me Your Glory!

I can't get this song out of my head... "Show Me Your Glory" by Third Day... and I really don't want want to!  I shared in my April Newsletter how I had heard this song on the radio in the car and how fitting it was since I have committed to focus fully on the glory of the Lord during the month of April. And now I keep humming it without even realizing it.

Can you believe that God loves us... enough to reveal His glory to us... in us... and through us? And as this song sings... once we see His glory we are forever transformed... never to be the same again. I got to admit that I can hardly believe I'm adding YouTube to my blog but I wanted you to hear this song with your heart if you haven't already.

But if you're like me, you want more, don't you? We want to see more of God's glory in our lives... His splendor, His majesty, His power, His compassion, His nature... the extraordinary moving of His Spirit in the midst of our everyday ordinary lives. And I am convinced we can. By continuing to seek Him through His Word with all our hearts. By looking for Him in the small things, the seemingly insignificant things of every day life. By being quiet long enough to hear His whispers. By fine tuning our spiritual radar... our sensitivity to His Spirit so that we don't miss Him when He's standing right in front of us!

May we continue to pray as the song suggests... "Show me your glory" but may we also add to that prayer... "Open my eyes Lord" so we won't miss Him as He passes by!

"Arise, shine; for your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you."

Heavenly Father, Help us to rise up and look for You where You already are... where You have already risen and made yourself known in our midst. And when we see You in all Your glory, may we become a reflection of Your glory and grace... shining Your light and love into the darkness of this world. Amen.

Glory of the Lord Coloring Page!

Are you looking for a great coloring page to encourage children... your own, your grandkids or maybe your Sunday School kids... to give glory to the Lord?  I created this new addition to the Morning Glory Gardens Collection to help you do just that. Click here for the download.

What does it mean to give God the glory?  A very simple picture of giving glory to God is to turn the spotlight away from ourselves, others and things of this world and shine it brightly on the person of Jesus Christ. When we give glory to God, we are reminding ourselves and telling the world about how great and awesome God really is. We're giving Him the honor and the credit for the good things He has done. I love to boast and brag about how great God is and all that He has done in me, through me and for me. Not because of who I am but because of who He is! And not to draw attention to myself but to hopefully draw others to see and know Him like I do.

The Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift is from above. All that we have is from the Lord. When we are tempted to boast about ourselves or others or in "coincidences", let us stop and be encouraged to "rejoice and be glad and give Him glory" for the great things He has done!

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!"
Revelation 19:7

Father God... You are an awesome God... there is no other God like You... for You alone are worthy of all honor and glory and praise... now and forever... and ever... Hallelujah and amen!

April "Morning Glory Garden" Giveaway!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to offer you this Morning Glory Garden Clip Art Collection as APRIL'S CONTEST GIVEAWAY.  The colors are so beautifully springtime and you can use this art, not only for digital scrapbooking, but for all sorts of craft projects and women's ministry events.

Included in the kit are a total of 35 pieces: 10 Art Images, 4 Backgrounds, 6 Borders, 7 Frames, 2 Tags, 2 Corners, 2 Bible Verses, and 2 Word Tags. 

To win this Morning Glory Garden Clip Art Collection, simply comment on any or all posts during the month of April to enter and I'll randomly draw two winners on May 1st. You will be able to either download your kit then or if you are on dial-up, I'll be glad to send you a CD. So even if you don't do digital art yourself, you could always win it to give as a gift to someone who does.

And since this is my very first offer online of a digital art collection, please tell your digital art friends about this contest and help me spread the word that Karla Dornacher Faith-based digital art is coming soon!

I look forward to hearing from you! 

Lord bless you and keep you... in His love and for His GLORY!!

Thirty Seven Years!

Michael and I celebrated 37 years of marriage today
and as much as we love each other, we still give God all the glory!    

This month I want to focus on the glory of the Lord and I can't think of a better beginning than to celebrate and share the story of how God saved our marriage. I hope you are encouraged.

Michael and I were just kids when we married. I was 19, Michael 20. His mother, with compassion and a whole lot of wisdom, was concerned we were marrying for all the wrong reasons and she was right. Two years into our marriage, we were on seriously shaking sand and I wanted out. Without Christ, there is no hope and I was hopeless. But I can still remember crying out to a God I didn't know and asking Him, begging Him, to save our marriage because the last thing I wanted was for Michelle to grow up without a dad like I did. After months of crying myself to sleep, I finally gave up on this God who either wasn't real, wasn't listening or didn't care and I began to make plans to divorce.

While I was busy making my plans, Michael was driving a semi truck cross country with his dad. He called one night from Denver and, even though my words kept my secret, my voice betrayed me. One hour later, he called again to tell me he was flying in to Portland. When I met him there, he quickly said, "before you say anything, I have something I have to tell you." And with that, he began to tell me that the whole time he had been gone, he couldn't quit thinking about me and how I had been right and he had been wrong and he wanted to change and make our marriage to work.

Now I would like to say there was instant healing and our marriage was restored overnight, but I can't. It took months of learning to trust him all over again... and months of him putting up with a wife who was numb and sometimes even cruel. But what I can tell you is that it was worth it. And what is even more glorious is that God, the God I didn't know at the time, had heard every prayer and had seen every tear and stepped in at the darkest hour and saved our marriage.

It was still another 8 years before I met Jesus face to face and gave my life to Him but when I did, I knew without a doubt that He was the One who had saved our marriage early on and He would save it over and over again as I waited another 18 years for Michael to give His life to Christ and He has continued to save our marriage until today! God truly does get all the glory!!

Marriage is not easy and we have certainly had our ups and downs during the last 37 years but I am so glad we're still together and even more glad that we still love and enjoy each others company. In fact, tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate and I seriously choked on a bite of food. I've never been able to not breathe before and it was one of the scariest moments I've ever had in my life... gasping for air and not being able to breathe. But as I looked across the table at my precious husband, I knew he would know what to do and he did. As I sat there shaking afterward, I was even more thankful to be alive and to have the husband I have.  And again, God gets all the glory!!

No matter where you're at in life or what you're going through... keep praying, keep hoping, keep believing, and keep giving God the glory for the great things He has done, is doing and will continue to do as you put your hope in Him. And if you know a woman who might be encouraged by this God story, please take a moment to email her a link to this page.

Father God, may we never lose hope in You... especially in the darkest hours. And may we always be quick to give You the glory due Your Name for the great things You have done in us, for us, and through us. And may we never take our lives for granted Lord, for we never know what moment of our lives might be the last. Bless Your Holy Name... Amen.