Tag: kedgeanchor

hope, Trust God

Be Careful Where You Put Your But.

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Andreea Andrei on Pexels.com

Have you ever heard someone give you a compliment and then add the word “but”?

“You did a great job, but…”

“I appreciate what you did, but…”

Suddenly, everything before the “but” seems to disappear. One little word has the power to shift our focus from what was good to what was lacking.

I never expected a simple word to teach me something about my faith. But as I started paying attention to how we use the word “but,” I realized it can reveal more than just our communication style—it can reveal where we place our trust.

Because sometimes we do the same thing with God.

“I trust You, but…”

“I know You are faithful, but…”

“I believe You will provide, but…”

Our “but” can become the place where fear, doubt, or the need to control creeps in.

The word itself isn’t the problem. It’s what comes after it. There is a big difference between “God, but…” and “But God…”

One keeps our focus on the obstacle. The other reminds us that God is greater than the obstacle.

Didn’t set out for this post to become a lesson in communication but there is something to be learned here spiritually as well. I was talking with someone a few weeks ago. If I remember correctly the topic was about planning. The person I was speaking with was concerned that not enough planning had been done for something. So I suggested, just trust God it will all work out. The reply was, “Trust God but…” that’s where I had to interrupt. Trust God but. Oooo, that’s dangerous. It sounded like God wasn’t big enough. We have a big God who sees the big picture. We have a God that goes before us and paves a way for us. We can plan six ways to Sunday, we can make all the plans we want BUT GOD, directs our steps. “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16: 9.

Check out this article.

See how this can be applied spiritually? Man can plan BUT the Lord directs. The “but God” negates whatever we plan. That’s not to say we shouldn’t, we should plan, BUT GOD will directs our steps and provide. And if for some reason if we have done all we think we can do to plan for something, we as humans can forget, we aren’t perfect. God will provide whatever it is we may have overlooked, He will make it work. Because, Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

So be careful where you put your “but.” Whether you are giving praise or trusting God for something, stop and think, is going to be “God but…” or “But God…?”

anxiety, Fear, Uncategorized

Back to School – Part 2

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

In Part 1, I shared my memories of the first day of school and how much anxiety came with it. I worried about making a mistake, breaking a rule, or disappointing my teacher.

Looking back, I realize I sometimes approached my relationship with God the same way. I wanted to please Him, but I was afraid of getting it wrong.

But God doesn’t leave us guessing. He has given us His Word to teach us, guide us, and help us understand what pleases Him.

So the question is: What does it really look like to live a life that pleases God?.

I believe a lot of times we are looking for something specific. We seek God’s will for our lives. What does He want me to do specifically? While I do believe He a permissive will for us and a perfect will for us, I tend to think we can get too caught up in that. I know there have been times where I didn’t take a step or do anything because I was a afraid it would be the wrong thing. We make plans, but God directs our steps, Proverbs 16:9. If we have a pure heart about a decision, if it’s not where God wants us, He will direct us on the right path.

Our faith is what pleases God. Faith comes by the word of God. I thinks it’s so easy to get wrapped up in God’s plan. Living in fear of doing the wrong thing, worrying about the consequences. I think it was Charles Stanley who said, “Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.” God will direct our steps, He’s got our backs if we are truly following Him.

Mike Donehey wrote a book, Finding My Life for God’s Will, he says that maybe God isn’t giving us specifics of the plans for us, because He is the plan. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…!” Highly recommend this book! (and I’m not getting paid to say that)

So unlike those first days of school when I worried about making a mistake and ending up in trouble, I don’t have to walk through life afraid of getting everything wrong with God.

My job is not to figure out every detail of the plan before I take a step. My job is to trust Him, seek Him, obey His Word, and follow where He leads.

The Teacher has given us the syllabus. The lessons are right there in His Word. We just need to show up, listen, and be willing to learn.

And thankfully, we don’t have to learn alone. God is with us every step of the way.

art, encouragement, hope

Anchored in Style: The Kedge Anchor Meets Mid-Century Modern

The Kedge Anchor

What happens when you blend the timeless truth of scripture with the timeless style of Mid-Century Modern design?

You get something honest, grounded, and beautiful—just like our generation.

✨ Gen X: Born in the Middle, Built for Purpose

If you’re part of Gen X—born between 1965 and 1980—you know the feeling of being “in between.” We’re not Boomers. We’re not Millennials. We grew up analog and came of age digital. We’ve watched the world change at lightning speed.

But we weren’t an afterthought.
God placed us right here, right now—on purpose, for a purpose.

Like Esther, we were created “for such a time as this.”
We carry the resilience of those before us and the vision for those ahead. And we have something to say.

🎨 Faith Expressed Through Design

For many of us, art is how we speak—how we pray, how we process, how we encourage. And there’s no more fun or nostalgic way to express it than through Mid-Century Modern style.

With its clean lines, calming tones, and energy, MCM feels like a visual echo of our faith:

  • Order in the chaos.
  • Beauty in simplicity.
  • Hope anchored in something timeless.

When we pair scripture with this design style, we’re not just making something pretty—we’re putting truth in motion. We’re taking God’s Word and wrapping it in a visual that speaks across generations. And it doesn’t matter if you’re older or younger, there’s a spot for you. We were all created for a purpose and are placed here in this very moment by God

📖 Hebrews 6:19 — Our Anchor and Esther 4:14

That’s what inspired this visual devotional:

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
— Hebrews 6:19

“… for just such a time as this? “ – Esther 4:14

In a drifting, shifting world, God’s Word holds. And as Gen X believers, we’re called to share that anchor—with beauty, with boldness, and yes, with a little retro flair.

🎥 Watch & Reflect

Whether you’re a designer, a dreamer, or a Gen Xer rediscovering your voice, this space is for you. Let’s create, encourage, and stay anchored, together.

Please leave a comment how you share your faith and encourage others.

encouragement, Uncategorized

Embracing Quiet Seasons: A Journey Back to Encouragement

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Hello again friends,

It’s been quiet here for a little while—and not by accident.

Life has seasons. Some are full of creating, connecting, and pouring out. Others are about rest, reflection, and letting God work in the unseen places. This past season has been one of those quieter times for me. A time to step back, breathe, and listen. Life happens and just needed time for some self care. It has also been a time to reorganize and recharge. Deciding to pause YouTube was not an easy decision.

A now I feel ready to come back.

A sense that it’s time to return—not to the hustle, but to the heart of what I’ve always loved: encouraging others, anchoring in truth, and creating things that point back to hope.

I’m coming back—not with fanfare, but with faith.
And I’ve got something special in the works.

✨ A little project is on the horizon… one that blends creativity, faith, and encouragement in a way I hope will bless you and others. I’ll share more very soon—but for now, I wanted to offer you a small gift as we reconnect:

👉 Download this free coloring page hereDownload


It features one of my favorite verses:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Print it. Sit with it. Color it slowly with a cup of coffee, a quiet prayer or some worship music.
Maybe even send it to someone who needs to hear they’re not alone.

This little page carries a whisper of what’s coming next.

So stay tuned. Subscribe to the blog or follow along on YouTube and Facebook.
Something beautiful is blooming—and I can’t wait to walk in it with you.

Until then…
Stay anchored. Stay encouraged. Stay hopeful. 🤍

Blessings,
Caryn

encouragement, hope

Guidance on Voting: Moral Choices in Politics

The Kedge Anchor

For the past few weeks, I have been struggling with the phrase- “choose the lesser evil.” No one wants to choose evil. Oftentimes we are caught between a rock and a hard place. There are times we are faced with dilemmas and there doesn’t to appear to be a good choice. What are we to do?

Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

Hearing the quote, “choose the lesser evil” leaves me feeling hopeless and discouraged. I don’t want to choose evil especially in this political climate…it’s enough to make me shut down. Though we have choices, Republican, Democrat, other or don’t vote. To some the choice is clear, to others the choice may seem murky. If choosing the lesser of evils is still evil, we’re in one of those tight spots.  

  Many feel politics doesn’t belong in the church. Perhaps, but if we can’t turn to our pastors or our churches who can we turn to when we have questions especially sensitive ones such as how do we vote? Who else can help guide us when we are between a rock and hard place? And that’s not to say a church or a pastor can tell you how to vote, but they should be a resource for those times when you are faced with a tough decision. When it comes to making a moral decision, the Ten Commandments are a perfect way help make those decisions. And I do believe the Ten Commandments can help us with how to vote. I am not telling you how to vote. But if you are on the fence I hope this blog post can help you maybe help you with another tough decision.

I wish more pastors and churches would speak about those sensitive subjects such as voting, abortion, suing, politics and current issues. These may not have a place in our churches and pastors can’t tell you how to choose, that is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. However, these topics do exist in our society that we interact with daily and we as Christians should know how to respond. Turning to scripture should be the our first line of defense against these tough choices. We should also be able to go to our pastors for guidance, not to justify our thinking or not but to help us with reading scripture. God gives us the Ten Commandments, it’s His moral law. And I believe when we are in a tight spot, when we are confronted with a dilemma we can turn to God’s word for direction and conviction.

            We are all sinners and there is not a perfect politician on the planet and if they are all evil, who are we supposed to vote for? “Choose the lesser evil” is not Biblical. I found a few articles that helped me understand this more. One article I found; “Is the Lesser of Two Evils a Biblical Principle” makes some great points. In Daniel 2:21-22 “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him” (NIV). God is sovereign. We can see this in Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people“ (NIV). Joseph’s brothers meant to kill him but God used that so Joseph could save his family from the famine.

              The article goes on to say that God will use and control even the most wicked rulers for his purpose as we see in the book of Daniel. David was a man after God’s own heart even though David was an adulterer and a murderer, but yet God used him, he even used Pharaoh.

             As I was initially pondering, this, I heard God say; “Evil is not in the eye of the beholder.“ Sin is sin in God’s kingdom. There is no lesser evil in God’s eyes. The article sheds some light on our dilemmas in life by looking at what evil might look in the eyes of God, 

 Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (ESV)
Micha 6:8 -“No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (NLT)
Matthew 9:12-13 – ”Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (ESV)

“Meaning, I would rather you do good than offer your sacrifices. This, during the time when sacrifices, was the law of the day. God says, “I would rather you do right — to show mercy, and act justly.” (quote article)

  “Jesus taught us that healing people or allowing them to eat were acts of love and clearly overruled the written law — and so, on his terms, not sin, since Jesus never sinned.”

    When we are faced with tough choices, there is no level of evil. We must choose what is good, the right thing. “To not act in love may be the true evil in the eyes of God.” This gave me hope and helped me to change my mindset when I need to make a tough choice.

References:

The Lesser of Two Evils Principles – Myth or Biblical

Should Christians Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils

hope

Finding Forgiveness and Redemption Amidst the 33rd Olympic Games Controversy

The Kedge Anchor
Image by Sr. Maria-Magdalena R. SMCB from Pixabay

The events that have taken place here in America and in France have me pondering, what is happening? I’m trying to process and make sense of it all as I am sure everyone has. At first, I wasn’t going to post anything, but I kept having a nagging feeling. But, let me preface this post with, we all have our own perspectives, this is mine and it’s what God has placed on my heart.

The events that I am talking about are the attempted assassination on President Trump and the opening Olympic ceremonies. This may be part one of two because there is just too much to write in one blog post. Today I just want to cover the Olympics.

My husband and I watched the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games and we kept asking ourselves, “what are we watching?” I saw some of the beginning before I dozed off and woke up to my husband describing to me what he saw. He began scrolling through social media feeds to show me what I missed. I was even more confused and bewildered at what I was seeing. We all know what I am talking about, the spectacle of what looked a lot like the Last Supper.

People were defending France’s performance and that it was a representation of bacchanalia and it has nothing to do with the Last Supper and had no intention of representing it. Bacchanalian is defined as “(especially of a party) involving a lot of drinking of alcohol, uncontrolled behaviour, and possibly sexual activity:” “The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia.” France is known for its for being showy, flamboyant, and well let’s face it lack modesty. I am not defending what we all witnessed, just sayin’. I don’t know what France’s intention was, I am not a mind reader. I was and still am taken aback by what I saw.

Trying to process all that I, we witnessed, I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. I really had to process. What I was feeling was grief. I am saddened by what I saw. It broke my heart. Let’s remove the whole Last Supper reference, to me it was just bad taste. Kids were watching this. This is the Olympics, it suppose to be family and kid friendly. Never would I imagine that the opening ceremony would need to be censored. Add in the Last Supper and that just took it to another level.

Some may be arguing that perhaps many of us aren’t educated enough to understand Bacchanalian, or it’s just Greek mythology, this is just French culture, and some will argue that DaVinci got it wrong with Jesus and the disciples sitting and not reclining at the table. While DaVinci may have not had the proper seating, it wasn’t perverted. So to the people who think Christians need more education about this, maybe those who don’t understand Christianity need to read the Bible and understand that we don’t take it or what God means to us lightly. And while perverting the Last Supper may not have been France’s intention, I don’t know. I do know WE ALL one day will have to give an account for our words and actions.

We are all sinners. We ALL fall short of the glory of God (Roman’s 3:23), we ALL need a Savior and that Person would be Jesus Christ. This isn’t the first time Jesus was mocked. And none of this has taken God by surprised. He knew before the foundation of the world, this would take place. God is a gracious God. Read Genesis 6:9-22 when God wiped out all of humanity except for Noah and his family. Read Genesis 19 about Sodem and Gomorrah and see how God dealt with that situation. Read Revelation and see how God will deal with sin in the future. Matthew 12:36 “and I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak” (NLT). Romans 14:12 “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God” (NLT).

My heart has been hurt, I am grieving. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mad, I am and hurt. I know many of us are feeling similar feelings if not the same. But can we forgive? Can we forgive as Jesus forgives us? Ephesians 4:32. Jesus was mocked when He hung on the cross and said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” – Luke 23:34 (NKJV). “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” – Galatians 6:7 (NIV).

We could use this opportunity to share the Gospel and help others understand why this grieves us and God. Perhaps we could use it as an opportunity to show forgiveness. Let keep fighting the good fight, let’s not grow weary of doing good, spreading the Gospel, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9 (NLT).

scripture

God Bless America!

The Kedge Anchor

Free phone wallpaper to help memorize scripture

What has happened to 2024! Where has the time gone? It feels like summer is slipping away and Christmas… the thought of it, the get ready, the shopping, shuts m down. And as it should right now, it’s not time to think of Christmas, unless you’re a crafter or greeting card designer. lol

Right now it’s time to think about summer, vacays, cookouts, warm weather, fireflies, and one of my favorite times of the year – the 4th of July! In my hometown of Bristol, Rhode Inland, we celebrate the country’s oldest and longest parade in the country. We celebrate for an entire month with concerts, races, fireman musters, contests, a carnival, balls, pageants, and our famous red, white, and blue stripe. There are family gatherings with relatives coming from all over, the streets are busy and everyone decorates their house or storefront.

Why do we celebrate? Freedom! In some cases I think many have forgotten about why we celebrate. Our freedom is sometimes overshadowed by the parties and festivities. But when the troops are marching in parade we are quickly reminded of the MIAs and POWs, the wounded survivors and the sacrifices they and their families have made. They have made scarifies, in some cases given their lives to keep our country free.

We are free to worship in the USA. Our troops fight for religious freedom in this country and I worship The One True God who gave the ultimate sacrifice of His Son for the cleansing of our sin. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one goes to the Father but through Him, John 14:6.

As part of exercising religious freedom, download this free wallpaper for your phone or device to help you memorize scripture, just click the image and save. If you want more free wallpaper search Memorize Mondays.

Time marches on and goes by quickly. We can easily lose sight of why we celebrate the 4th of July with all the parties and decorations. Let’s not take our freedom for granted. God Bless America.

Thanks for stopping by and please remember to like subscribe and share.

Uncategorized

Greetings From Ancient China and Egypt

The Kedge Anchor

Happy National Greeting Card Month! The history of greeting cards is interesting and I wanted to share what I discovered. But as I was researching I was trying to decide how to communicate what I found. If you’re like me you want the highlights and some interesting details. So I thought I would deliver what I discovered by answering some questions over the course of a few days.

https://clickamericana.com/holidays-seasons/christmas/antique-merry-christmas-postcards-1913

Where did the art of sending greeting cards originate?

The history of sending greeting cards go back to ancient civilizations of China and Egypt. These tidings of goodwill and well wishes were exchanged often on papyrus scrolls in Egypt and similarly precious materials in China. These greetings were offered as messages of goodwill but also served as symbols of status and prosperity.

As paper was starting to be manufactured, the tradition and practice of sending good will messages began to evolve. Beginning in the 15th century, the Europeans began sending hand made cards from paper. This really is a lost art. Germany is credited with creating the first Christmas cards. Paper wasn’t as plentiful as it is today and wasn’t easy for everyone to obtain. So it was mostly tradition among the wealthy and noble. Their cards were embellished with gold leaf, flourished with intricate designs and warm heartfelt messages.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that greeting cards were mass produced. We can thank Sir Henry Cole, in 1843 he commissioned the first commercial Christmas card in London. Word has it it featured a festive scene and the greeting “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” This marked the beginning of the $23 million mass-produced greeting card industry we know today!

It’s been a few centuries since the first greeting card in ancient China and Egypt. And though technology may have slowed things down, the industry is still thriving. Head over to my YouTube channel to make a quick and easy “thank you” card to send.

How do you feel about the cost of greeting cards? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

hope

He Is Risen! – Free Coloring Page

The Kedge Anchor

Happy Easter Sunday! Jesus is risen, He is alive!!!

March 30, 2024Download
Uncategorized

Free Coloring Page – Good Friday 2024

The Kedge Anchor

Happy Friday and Good Friday. Although it wasn’t so happy or good for Jesus. So why is it called Good Friday? Jesus was innocent, yet He was crucified for the sins of the world. He endured pain for us. We are the ones who deserve what Jesus went through. But the cross gives us Hope. Sunday is coming!!

If you haven’t seen today’s blog post please take a few minutes to watch.

Here is another free coloring page to help remind and reflect why today is called Good Friday.

Good Friday 3/29/24Download