• Cheer UP! Podcast
  • Kara R. Hunt
  • Media Requests
  • Paper Dolls
  • Photos
  • Salvation Prayer

Tag Archives: God

Who Is God?

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by Kara Hunt in Cheer UP! Podcast, Faith & You

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

# everythingChristian, #podcasts #Christianpodcasts #everythingChristian #cheeruppodcast #cheerup, #TheGreatIAm, #WhoIsGod, Christianity, God

Photo source: http://www.christianphotos.net

How does God describe Himself?

To listen in, click here.

Evening Praise

05 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

devotions, faith, God, Jesus Christ, Praise, puritans, vision

Giver of all, another day is ended and I take my place beneath my great Old Bibleredeemer’s cross, where healing streams continually descend, where balm is poured into every wound, where I wash anew in the all-cleansing blood, assured that Thou seest in me no spots of sin. Yet a little while and I shall go to Thy home and be no more seen; help me to gird up the loins of my mind, to quicken my step, to speed as if each moment were my last, that my life be joy, my death glory.

I thank Thee for the temporal blessings of this world—the refreshing air, the light of the sun, the food that renews strength, the raiment that clothes, the dwelling that shelters, the sleep that gives rest, the starry canopy of night, the summer breeze, the flowers’ sweetness, the music of flowing streams, the happy endearments of family, kindred, friends. Things animate, things inanimate, minister to my comfort. My cup runs over. Suffer me not to be insensible to these daily mercies. Thy hand bestows blessings: Thy power averts evil. I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces, the full warmth of faith, the cheering presence of Thy Spirit, the strength of Thy restraining will, Thy spiking of hell’s artillery. Blessed be my sovereign Lord!

~ The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

Who is Jesus?

What is Salvation?

 

The Key

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You, Non-Fiction

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

God, hearts, key, love, valentine, Valentine's Day

A few weeks ago, a group of friends and I were talking with one of the older women at our church. We listened in awe as she told the story of how she and her husband (who was with her) had been married for 34 years, divorced for 20, and re-married again for two months. As she relayed some of what happened, we couldn’t help but wonder how she made it through it all. As a result of what she’s been through, she’s been able to inspire women from our church and others. When I mentioned that she should write a book about everything she went through and how God brought her through it, she laughed and intimated that it would be a very short book. I asked her why. She said the only thing she could put in a book, would be this:

“Pray. Have Faith. Praise the LORD.”

Being a writer, her short, confident and simple reply struck me. The simplicity of it was astounding, but the truth of it was life-changing. And endless pages of flowery words and intellectual prose couldn’t have said it better or guaranteed a better outcome. Her brief answer covered everything from marriage issues to job loss. When hope is deferred, God loves us too much to let us handle it all on our own. All we have to do is give him the key.

VulnerableLoveKara loves to read and write supernatural suspense thrillers and is an ACFW Genesis 2013 Finalist in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller BlogPhoto Resizedcategory. But Kara also loves to share stories about God’s love, mercy and faithfulness. One of Kara’s favorite non-fiction quotes comes from noted author Corrie Ten Boom, “It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face. 

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. 

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

Kara will share more books and thoughts about forgiveness, faith and God’s unending mercy in bi-monthly posts on this site.

She’ll also keep you updated on the newest releases in Christian fiction and upcoming writing contests.

To contact Kara, email her at fictionwithfaith@gmail.com or by choosing one or more of the below links:

To Email Kara – fictionwithfaith@gmail.com

@KaraHunt2015 on Twitter

King of Heaven

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ceaseless praise, Christmas, devotions, God, King of Glory, prayers, puritans

Praying Hands“O may angels glorify Him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven! I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves. Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love.” – Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Help!

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Billy Graham, Christ, God, help, Jesus, salvation, sinners prayer

If sin has taken you places you never thought you’d go, kept you longer than you ever intended to stay, and you now find yourself doing things you never would’ve imagined … help is a prayer away. Call out to Jesus. He promises that if you do (Psalm 50:15, Matthew 11:28) deliverance awaits. Call out to Him. He’s waiting. http://ow.ly/Fi4iL

Old BibleWho is Jesus?

What is Salvation?

Kindness …

03 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You, Non-Fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

God, kindess, puritan prayers, puritans, valley of vision, woe

“Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is Bible and glassesinfinite in goodness and grace! O if He would punish me for my sins, it would not [wound] my heart so deep to offend Him; But though I sin continually, He continually repeats His kindness to me.”

~ The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

Photo credit – http://www.christianphotos.net

 

O God, the Eternal All

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

eternity, faith, fictionwithfaith, God, prayers, puritan prayers, puritans

Bible and glassesO God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but Thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but Thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but Thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but Thou art wisdom.

~ The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

Photo credit – http://www.christianphotos.net

Mercy

02 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You, Non-Fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

admiration, God, mercies, Thee, vanity

Compassionate Lord, Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge, ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know Thee as Thou art, love Thee supremely, serve Thee wholly, admire Thee fully.

Excerpt from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

When Your Computer Tells On You

21 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You, Non-Fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Christian Fiction, computer guy, faith, God, grace, witchcraft, writing

When Your Computer Tells On You - Image ID 659209 This time when my computer bit the dust, I was ready. Past experiences had prepared me, so I’d backed up everything of importance to three different devices. And when the dreaded “black screen of death” appeared and my beloved PC refused to start up last month, I wasn’t worried. At first.

But last week I realized I hadn’t backed up as carefully as I thought I had. One folder in particular, a folder that held tons of information regarding my family’s genealogy back to the 1800’s was missing. Hours of research and interview notes that couldn’t possibly be duplicated, were nowhere to be found.

I placed a phone call to our computer guy. The same guy who last month informed me that my previous computer was indeed dead, due to overheating. He added however, that he may be able to recover some items from my hard drive if I needed him to. I proudly informed him, that I’d been through this before, learned my lesson the hard way, and backed everything up thrice. So I told him thanks, but no thanks.

Now here I was days later, on the phone with him, desperate and asking if he could please see if this particular genealogy folder could be pulled from that fried hard drive. I could almost hear the smile in his voice as he let me know that he was already a step ahead of me. He told me that before he returned my computer, he’d already completed the recovery process and was just waiting on my phone call.

The one lesson I hadn’t learned from those past experiences was that all of the storage devices in the world were useless if the PC owner didn’t know how to utilize them properly. But evidently, our computer guy knew, and he waited patiently for me to realize it too.

Excited, I told him the name of the folder I needed to locate. One by one, he called off the name of every folder and every file he was able to recover. As he did this, panic set in. I had lots of personal files, photos, and notes on that computer. And he had access to them all. Right there at his fingertips.

But what concerned me the most was my journal. For the past six years, I’d faithfully kept one on my computer. It not only contained personal thoughts about me, but others as well.

And because I’m a writer, another thought hit me. He’d had this information stored at his place of business for at least a couple of weeks. At any time, over a cup of coffee and a bagel, he could’ve been privy to my most inner thoughts. Thoughts about me, my friends and my family.

One of the definitions of blackmail is, “extortion or coercion by threats, especially of public exposure”. And there was more than enough material in my journal for that.

Like I said, I’m a writer. I knew my mind couldn’t help but think of these things.

But the thought still paralyzed me.

I MUST add here, that we’ve worked with our computer guy for years now. And from previous conversations, I believe him to be a Christian and a patriot, and there was nothing he said or did, that suggested in any way that he’d even consider such a thing. It was my overactive imagination that was the villain here, not him.

And it was all because I felt exposed.

Not only because he had access to very sensitive information, but because he also knew that I professed to be a Christian. Was there anything on there that would cause him to doubt that? Or worse, cause him to doubt his faith? Or cause him to stumble in his walk?

I needed to find out.

After our phone call ended, I frantically searched my brain, desperate to remember what I had written in that journal. Every folder, file, document, photo and video came under scrutiny as well.

The computer guy also knows I’m a writer, so I hoped some things would be self-explanatory. However, I’m not sure that he knows that I write Supernatural Suspense. Information in my research files about demonry, cults, Satanic worship and witchcraft would undoubtedly cause him to raise an eyebrow or two, but one glimpse into my WIP’s and MS (also on that computer) would easily put those concerns to rest.

But what about the others? Was there anything else? Was there gossip about my friends? Dirty laundry on my family? Secret love letters? Were there photos that needed to be explained, or videos I needed to create an excuse for?

Was there anything on there that would cause me to hang my head in shame when I picked up the recovery disc?

After a couple of minutes of this, I took in a deep breath, relaxed and remembered how far God has brought me. And how that relationship with Him, has not only changed my eternal destiny, but my life. It’s changed not only what I write, but how I write, whether that be a book, an email or a journal entry. And it also changes the way I see people. And the things I watch, and the activities I participate in.

I slept peacefully that night knowing that there was nothing in those journal entries that my friends or family didn’t already know. And if there was something of a more controversial nature, such as my views on the culture, politics and/or politicians (yes, there are a lot of those type of notes in there) those could easily be discussed and resolved over a hot cup of tea and a couple of blueberry scones.

I could now face the computer guy with a smile on my face and my head held high.

Not because of anything I’ve done or didn’t do, or something I wrote or didn’t write, but because of God. And His grace. And His mercy.

And His never-ending love for a sinner like me.

A God who loved me enough to show me through a single phone call, how important it is that I am who I say I am. Not just in word and deed and the places where someone’s looking, but in the places they aren’t. Not just for my sake, or God’s sake, but for the sake of others who are traveling this Christian journey. And for those who are about to begin one.

He also taught me that what really mattered wasn’t what the computer guy thought or even if I could lift my head up high the next time I saw him.

But whether or not I’ll be able to hold my head up high when I see Him.

And only by the continued grace of God will I be able to do that.

Kara R. Hunt

PHOTO CREDIT: stock.xchng

Trusting The Original Story Teller

10 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Kara Hunt in Faith & You, Writing Inspirational Fiction

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Christian Fiction, faith, Fiction, God, trust, writing

Old Bible God is not only the Creator of all that exists, He’s also the Master Author of our lives. We may be familiar with how our life stories began, but only He knows the entire character arc our lives will take. He knows how much to show us and how much to tell us. He knows what type of protagonist we’ll be and if we’ll be victorious over the obstacles thrown at us by the fiery antagonist. He knows the choices we’ll need to make, and the consequences if we choose unwisely.

But Hebrews 12:2 also reminds us that He’s the Author of our faith as well. God’s in the faith business and so are we when we write to glorify Him. He’s the original Story Teller. The Author of All. And if we trust Him, He’ll also be our Divine Agent. We can then rest assured that He’ll make the necessary preparations for us to succeed in our walk with Him and our writing career.

But that takes faith. Faith in the stories God has given us. Faith for the right words to tell it, and faith that we’ll be able to see it through without losing our minds. But more importantly, faith that our fictional stories will mimic our true life stories and bring those who read it one step closer to Him. One page at a time.

Because at the end of every story, fictional or otherwise, that’s all that really matters.

– Kara R. Hunt

← Older posts
Tweets by CheerPodcast
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Log in

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

 

Loading Comments...