Carrie On!

“God gave me a mouth, and I’m going to use it!”, I yelled back at my brothers when they would say, “Will you just stop talking!”

I’m a loud mouth girl from the south, and I like to talk. In my scrapbook from my childhood, my brothers would write about how much I talked and how much they didn’t like it. In elementary school, I received “U” for “Unsatisfactory” on my report cards for talking. In nursing school, I was reprimanded for too much talking in the early morning hours. My professor explained, “Carrie, you can’t just bust in a hospital room at 6:30 in the morning with that big white bow in your hair, rip open the blinds, and exclaim to the patient about what a beautiful day it is when they just had surgery on their colon 24 hours earlier!”

Back in the 90s, in our college cafeteria, I sat at a table with 2 boys I had never officially met, but I knew that they were brothers. So, I started to introduce myself. One of them interrupted me and he said, “Oh, I know who you are. Your name is Carrie. I remembered it because you carry on and on and on!”

My husband, since our dating days, has even been known to squeeze my knee under the table when I’ve gotten too winded in the presence of company.

I’m not as bratty now, thanks to God’s Grace. Now, I have a greater mission: God did give me a mouth, and I do want to use it to glorify Him. I’ve had to learn where, when, and how to use it properly.

It’s been a 46 year journey, but I’ve learned a lot about words.

Word, in Latin, is verbum. It’s where we get our word, verb. God’s word is alive and active in my heart and in all believer’s hearts. God’s word has much to say about our words, our mouths, and how we can be salt and light, we can be wise, and we can be used for Him. Or, we can be darkness, foolish, and hurtful to His kingdom. We have to learn to use our words wisely.

I think the best use of our words is to share God’s Love. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

So study your bible. Use your words wisely. Let’s grow His kingdom.

Another note about “Carrie On”: Even in the Christian Life we can get bogged down by the sin around us. We can let the sin that entangles us and that disappoints us pause our mission. Sometimes, it causes us to rethink our mission. And it even makes us question our mission to serve God and share Him. “Carrie On” has not only been about my loud mouth, but my inability to keep going on the days that seem hard to keep going. I had about a 13 year period where I battled with Satan’s lies about myself and my family. I dug deep in God’s word to find hope. I believe in God’s promises, but I was having a hard time living them out. It was as if they weren’t for me. However, God kept whispering to me to keep going, to move ahead, to “Carrie On!”

So let’s do just that, let’s Carrie On!

Jesus Loves you!

Carrie