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Karen Rabbitt
Illinois
God's Child, Retired Psychotherapist, Author, Speaker
Interests: speaking, reading, writing, jesus, forgiveness, holy spirit, emotionally healthy christianity, papa-god
Recent Activity
Hi Shannon,
Thanks for your kind words. The food thing just keeps being a struggle for me, too. It's not easy.
Lord, please help both Shannon an me as we struggle against the food temptations all around us. Motivate us to look to you for help every day. We are weak. You are strong. Deliver us, sweet Jesus.
Bless you, Karen
Promise Keeper God
Spring is compressed in central Illinois this year. Usually the redbud, dogwood, and crab tree blooms are separated by a week or two. This year, however, everything is blooming together. In the backyard, the weeping cherry waves its pink blossoms. On my morning walks, I stop to smell th...
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, Tim. Bless you, Karen
Spiritual Battle is Real
Trading Fathers, Forgiving Dad, Embracing God, my memoir of sexual abuse and God’s redemption, comes out in March. In July, my husband is diagnosed with cancer. I speak about “Finding God’s Heart” at a women’s retreat in late February. In early March, both our vehicles break down, costing $2300...
In the early '70s, I heard an old Assembly of God preacher speak on the story from Daniel of the three men thrown into the furnace for not bowing down to the political leader.
Reading your post, the preacher's summation of that story came to mind: "Our God can, our God will, and if not, he has something better."
He is a redeemer, isn't he? Glory.
Blessings to you.
Karen Rabbitt, MSW
Trading Fathers: Forgiving Dad, Embracing God
Better
I was cleaning the bathroom when Oprah called. "We're interested in having you on the show." It wasn't that formidable person herself, of course; it was one of her producers—but I still twirled for joy with my yellow rubber cleaning gloves raised high. These were exciting times. I had written...
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Dear Angel's Mom,
Thanks for your comment. Jesus is indeed our hope,
isn't he?
Bless you,
Karen
The Last Act?
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."Luke 21:28 Lately, this scripture plays in the back of my mind, like a soundtrack. Is it my age or the stage of the world? At 58, I'm at the beginning of my last act here. So mayb...
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Mary,
Thanks for letting me know this touched you. You know how
gratifying it is when we've said the right thing in the right way at the right
time for someone to hear God! Bless you, Karen
Karen Rabbitt, M.S.W.
Write-to-Publish 2009 Writer of
the Year for Trading Fathers
karenrabbitt@gmail.com
www.tradingfathers.com
www.karenrabbitt.typepad.com
Finding
Peace, Choosing Forgiveness
God's File Cabinet
In November, I wrote that I was "Free to be Wrong," about Jerry's pathology report from prostate cancer. I'd expected clear margins and got reports of two areas of positive margin. I had so hoped for a good report. And, yet! The first PSA report: "Undetectable." In spite of cancer cells right a...
"Mary believed something completely without precedent."
What a helpful analysis. And a wonderful challenge. Thanks, Mary and Patrick.
Bless you,
Karen
I need a Mary Moment
My husband taught about the two Gabriel encounters in Luke chapter one, how he came to Zachariah and then to Mary. Although the text says that both responded in similar ways, (They both basically said, "Um, how can this be?") Mary garnered favor and Zachariah garnered muteness. Why? And what ...
Mary,
Yes, may we all have God's discernment to know his truth-flowers from Satan's lie-weeds.
Blessings on your garden,
Karen
When Some People are Weeds
Yesterday while running, the Lord reminded me of the Garden of Eden, how beautiful it must've been. And to think, no weeds! I thought further about weeds and then reminded myself of the hard things God had been saying to me of late, how He's asking me to edit my life, say no. It's a lot like w...
Father,
Thank you for limits. Limits of energy, time, and output. Thanks for Mary's example of learning limits.
You know the deep issues in our hearts that drive us to take on too much. Expose those deep fears, please, and cleanse our hearts.
We want so much to rest in your arms as we do only the work you've called us to.
Time to edit my life before it's too crazy late
God is calling me to edit my life, which is actually something I'm embracing this time around. Why? Because I'm tired. So deeply tired. How did I get here? First, I'll say that my normal speed is frenetic. I'm a high output person, so doing many things at once and in succession is the way I do...
Amen, Valerie. I'm glad you know his love, too. Blessings, Karen
Unfathered?
"A good coach makes an athlete see what they can be, rather than what they are. The same is true of a good father." George Foreman, quoted in the current issue of Today's Christian magazine, one of eleven short quotes the author, Michael W. Michelsen, Jr., lists in a sidebar to the main article ...
TypePadSara,
You must be grateful for your mother's delight and your father's competence. What a gift from our dear Papa-God.
Karen
The Voice of the Father
At Write to Publish while my daughter is still visiting with her son, Calvin, I missed this actual event yesterday. But I can see it in my mind's eye: Our daughter is sitting in my floral recliner. My husband, Jerry, is crawling with Calvin toward the kitchen. Jenn's husband, Chad, is driving th...
TypePadSweetie,
What a lovely embellishment on the tapestry image that so many cling to in difficult times. The
idea of weaving us all together, holding and supporting each other. Yes. Not just our own lives,
but the whole Body, being worked into beauty. Glory. Thanks.
Karen
Through Whose Eyes?
"...call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full but the Lord has brought me home empty." (NLT) In the first chapter of Ruth, Naomi speaks to her friends upon her return to Bethlehem from Moab, where her husband and two sons have died. Ruth, her Moabite daug...
Amen, Sweetie. Do you know he made 20,000 species of orchids? Amazing. And we get to co-create with him. Glory.
One Right Way?
Jerry and I do everything differently. That struck me recently, when I noticed the half a banana standing on the counter. If I eat a banana, I'll eat the whole thing. Even though we're both right-handed, he pulls the wax paper with his right hand, holding it with his left, while I do the opposit...
TypePadThanks, Sara. Thanks, too, for your kind words about my memoir.
Have a blessed Easter!
Karen
The Canopy Awaits
As the funeral procession turned the corner, across the early spring field, I saw the blue canopy. Drawing nearer the little cemetery among the farms, I though about my own journey to that waiting canopy. When God calls me home, will I have done all his will? I particularly thought about how I...
TypePadMaybe, like me, you didn't get the best caretaking from your parents. Or you saw your parents not taking care of themselves. We come by our baggage honestly, don't we? You're worth taking care of. Blessings,
Karen
By the Throat?
What do you do when you get in those places where life has you by the throat? I've been in a few of those places and I've learned three important strategies: 1. Rest. Eat Well. Take care of our bodies. Our bodies come first. Without them, we are nothing. Well, you know what I mean. We're not pr...
TypePadIndeed, it is a "precious gift" and that's a powerful way to say it.
Blessings, Karen
Three Passionate Prayers that Saved my Life—and Might Save Yours
As a counselor, I’ve listened carefully to painful stories of mistreatment. People have confessed deeply shameful sin. And I’ve encouraged my clients to think objectively about their self-destructive patterns. In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called a “wonderful counselor.” In my own growth toward hol...
Sara,
Yes, how hard it is to believe we're really hearing him! But we judge by the fruit, don't we?
Thanks for responding. I appreciate it.
Karen
Beginning to Believe
I’m fifty-eight. I’m beginning to believe in myself. One of the results of childhood abuse has been a difficulty with believing in my own judgment. My childish belief, “I should have known not to go with my father that terrible day,” has warped my self-image. The length of time this healing ha...
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