Karen’s Notes
Celebrating Six Years of Sharing from this Glory-Bound Lady
Volume 6 Number 17
Posting # 261 “Better! Not Bitter!”
April 26th, 2023

Something you might like to know about Karen.
Music would frequently bring Karen to tears. In worship services she actually would try to fight them back because she didn’t want to cause a distraction or cause attention to come to her. But bless her heart, try as hard as she would, often the choir or special music or the hymns of congregational singing would move her to the point of softly weeping.

To Karen, there was nothing comparable to the preciousness of the Word of God. Music followed that however and was very special to her. Then one day, it happened. A special number was sung that had a huge impact on her life. I’ll share more in just a few seconds. Let me first share just a portion of a paragraph from one of her sets of notes that she taught at a ladies’ retreat.

What a great reminder today. It’s good for men and ladies alike.
When you think of God’s servants as portrayed in Scripture, does the Apostle Paul come to the forefront? He does with me. What a remarkable leader. Why was his leadership so remarkable? I believe it was because it was built upon Christ and Christ alone. He went through such hard times (2 Corinthians 11:24-28). He writes from prison to the church at Philippi, “But I would ye should understand brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). It is Christ and Christ alone when he wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Christ has taken me through some deep waters. Those times of going through the Refiner’s fire in our lives can be discouraging, frightening, and sometimes they feel like they are never-ending. There are only two ways to come through these experiences. We will either be bitter or better.

Something to send you on your way with today.
I told you earlier how music really moved my Karen. In one of the services, a young lady in her teens named Nanci used as her special music the spiritual song “Refiner’s Fire.” Later that afternoon when our children were all having some quiet moments in their room (a Sunday afternoon tradition), Karen talked a lot about the impact of that special number about the Refiner and His fire. I distinctly remember she said that the situations through which we were walking as a couple would either cause us to come through better or bitter. The Refiner’s fire would purify as in gold or would harden as in bitterness and resistance. It was a precious prayer time that our Lord, our precious Redeemer / Refiner, would never let us forget that precious truth.

This showed up a lot in Karen’s workshops.

Trust your Redeemer / Refiner. He wants to purify and refine each of His children as He takes us through situations that at times feel like we’re in the fire. He knows how long and how hot the fire will be. Trust Him.