The God of Socrates

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.― Socrates

This quote has been deeply resonating with me this past month. I just can’t get this old dead guy’s repeating words out of my head! I was curious as to why this was and now I know the reason. SO, let me explain.        

This semester I am enrolled in the class, Introduction to Philosophy. And let me tell you, this class is nothing but confusion. But despite the overwhelming criteria, I have also found it to be very intriguing.  I think I have noticed how Philosophy has a way of getting back to the essentials of life and asks the questions I forget to ask. You know, simple overlooked questions like:                                       

“Why are we here?”

 “Who put us here?”

“What is humanity’s purpose?”

But now I am challenging myself to actually seek the answers to these questions.

Before I took on this challenge I would always find myself extremely upset when I questioned the Nature of God and his purpose. Almost as if I had done the most unspeakable thing a follower of Christ can do. I would think being a Christian opted me out of asking answers to these realities. But I think that is exact opposite of how God would want us to act. And I can say that I have come to the understanding these questions should be asked by Christians.

You want to know why I can say that?

This past month its almost as if the world has been opened up with these new questions my Philosophy class has permitted me to ask now. The more I ask them, the more God proves himself greater. God wants us to ask these questions so we can seek, find, and know the truth confidently. That he ultimately is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. And he has humanity here for a reason and purpose.

But after seeking the answer, I also come to the realization that no matter how many questions I ask, I will never even come close to knowing everything. Actually the more insight I find, the more this realization becomes clearer, increasing the gap between me and obtaining ultimate knowledge.

Hmmmm, don’t you feel the quote replaying itself now?

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

Wow. I feel humbled. This world of knowledge is so large and I am so small. God is more than I can ever fathom, that even my deepest questions and answers can never fully describe his character.

And that is a God I want to serve.

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

A Season of Drought

The silence of God can be the most piercing sound.

Lately I have felt a huge burden on my heart to speak about something a “good Christian” doesn’t like to admit. It’s about the seasons when we feel distant from God, regardless of personal bible study or church attendance. In times like these, it seems as if God has cupped his hands over his mouth to play the silent game. And guess what? He is winning.

As Christians, we sometimes look down upon the people who say they don’t feel near to God. Like a Pharisee, we wag our finger and pull out at long list and say, “Have you being doing your daily spiritual chores?” This shows our lack of perspective, because some of my driest moments have reminded me that I am human and in need of a savior. But when we are spiritually dry, where do we find comfort?

The world or the word?  

I have just finished my first J-term, a time at OBU when students have the opportunity to take a short-term course in January. This year I took Old Testament, which required me to read almost all of the first 39 books of the Bible in a three-week period. I learned so much from this class—especially a better understanding of God’s immeasurable love for us. In reading through most of the Old Testament, one story spoke to me above all the others. It was the book of Esther.

Esther is the tale of a Jewish woman who begins the book as an orphan but later becomes the wife of King Xerxes. (Talk about a Cinderella story !) What impressed me about Esther was her boldness. She was willing to risk her life by asking King Xerxes to stop the decree that would kill all Jewish people. She actually hid her Jewish identity from King Xerxes, which put her in an even riskier position. Because of her influence, the decree was lifted, and all Jewish people lived. So, an unexpected God-fearing woman became the key component in saving the Jewish people. This is definitely a story that the Lord orchestrated!

But do you want to know what really hit me about this story? In the book of Esther God’s name wasn’t mentioned once. Why? To me, it symbolizes that regardless of whether we hear or see God, he has already planned out our story and will remain unwavering. He will use your life and mine as a powerful testimony for Jesus. This helps me understand and realize that my dry seasons are just crucial in my life as my not-so-dry seasons. Even though my human vision is narrow, God’s overall vision is unfathomable. So I will trust that he knows exactly what he is doing.

So during the times I feel as if God is silent I will cling onto the word and pray. Because no matter what my human emotions and knowledge determine as a “dry season”, my God will ALWAYS be faithful.

Oh, how nice it is to be adopted by Christ!

Desert Song

By: Hillsong United

Verse 1:

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in the hunger in me

My God is a God who provides

Chorus:

And I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice

I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

Ps. Please be praying for my upcoming mission trip this summer to India!

Things to be thankful for in College

Warning: I typed this really fast because I wanted to get it out on New Years Eve, so excuse the typos! But These are some things I have become thankful for during my first semester of college.

1) Oklahoma Baptist University

OBU is preparing me to become the woman of Christ I want to be. The academics of this school have been helping me attain skills that will benefit me for a successful future. But the best part is the teachers who really care about the students and how they incorporate faith in Christ in what they are teaching. My friends tease me that I am OBU’s spokesperson because when I am asked what my favorite part of OBU is, I say, “How they integrate faith and learning.” But, it’s true! I have always had a public education and now I am at a place where I can talk freely about Christ and really be challenged in my theological views. And to me that is an opportunity I want to take full advantage of!

The social aspect of OBU has also been wonderful! The most fun I had this semester was joining my flag football team, Victorious Secret. The girls I got to play with and the guys that agreed to coach made it an experience I will never forget! I never knew much about the game of football ( I mean, really, I thought a “fumble” was pronounced “thumble.” How embarrassing!) but the coaches were patient with the team and really helped us come together and have fun. And now I catch myself watching football games on TV and enjoying it because I really understand what’s going on! The best is that the girls that I played with and the guys that coached have really become like my sisters and brothers; it’s funny what playing sports can do!

 

                                                      
                                                              The exciting night when we made it into "A" League

2)  The fantastic girls that I have met

I prayed so much before college that the Lord would provide me with Godly Christian girls that would encourage me and always be reliable. And the Lord provided! My friends are SO much fun to be around! I can’t stop smiling when I think about how blessed I am because of them. And each girl I have gotten to know is unique, but at the same time have so much in common with me. And I know if I ever am having a really rough day with school they will be there to comfort me (and buy me a Twix bar!) and if I am ever having a boring day they will always find a way to make me laugh for hours. I have been able to have the most in depth and theological conversations I have ever had with these girls. They all have such genuine hearts and I am so privileged to have them in my life and get to see the amazing things they will do for Christ someday.

We also set up a girls bible study that met once a week at an OBU senior girls house. We went over a study about not putting idols before God in life and leaning on solely the Lord for comfort. And I feel like this journey through scripture and conversation has helped me grow stronger in my faith and in fellowship. It was great to discuss different issues or problems each girl was facing and talk through it. We even started to realize that some of the other girls were going through the same exact things!

I am excited to start this back up when I get back from break!

                                      The girls of our bible study!

3) My wonderful family that has been so supportive.

            

            They have been there to both encourage and rejoice about all the aspects of my first college semester. When I was crying about the first D I made on my Chemistry test they were there to comfort me. They would let me now that regardless God would make all things work out for his good.  (And somehow I ended up with an unexpected A in the class!) And when I found out I made it in Campus Activities Board they were there to congratulate and be excited for me because it was a new step in my journey. And when I just wanted a weekend to relax and unwind from all the busyness of college, I could always go home to Tulsa and expect a delicious home cooked meal waiting.  I couldn’t have made it through this semester without them. And as I am typing this they are in the other room getting ready to celebrate New Years and I can’t help thinking that they made not just this semester but this whole year an incredible one. 

                                     Mark and Kathryn, what a blessing they have been!

                                   4)  And the ministry the God has faithfully put in my life.

This semester God was able to use me in great ways. The Lord really taught me that if you really invest your time with people and genuinely care about their being, so many beneficial relationships can be formed. I have been able to have individual conversations with many different freshman girls that are going through the same dilemmas of college as me and also listen to their stories and testimonies. Just doing that has helped me grow in my own walk with God and expand my ministry. I can’t wait to meet even more girls during the spring!

I have had the opportunity to work with Spero Project, which is an urban refugee ministry in Oklahoma City. I have gotten to play with children from countries like Malaysia and Sudan, and hang out with their parents and have great conversations. Even though at times there can be a language barrier, it is great just to be able to sit in their apartments and enjoy company. It has been a very humbling experience and has been a great break for me during the craziness of the school week. The Wednesday before I left one little girl I have gotten to know asked what the exact day would be when I came back in January. And it made my heart melt just knowing that both the children and I have grown mutual love for each other. I am hoping to build more strong relationships with the families at the complex so I may share Jesus with them. So keep that in your prayers! 

I was also presented with the wonderful opportunity to go on another mission trip. This time I am getting to go to India and work with girls saved from sex trafficking and be able to show them the love of Christ. And oh, I am SOOO excited! I have caught myself spending hours looking on Google search at pictures of India or researching the organization I am going to be working with. I just get really excited when I think about more people being introduced to the hope that the gospel brings. Even though some won’t admit it, everyone needs a little hope in the midst of the world we live in and Jesus Christ is the only one that can give it. And I’m so thankful that I get to be a messenger of that news.

                                      My friends and I wearing the headbands the Spero kids made for us!

I can’t even begin to list everything that I am thankful about my first semester of college and I’m so excited to see the blessings that the Lord will provide during the spring!

I hope everyone is having a great New Years and starting to get excited for the fresh start of 2012!

    He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

How Would You Define Yourself?

Being “you” can be one of the most challenging things to do. Heck, even just finding “you” can be a terribly hard task.  There is so much influence in this world telling you what to be, and ironically enough it actually can impede people from just simply being.       

I want to be who I am, but  who am I? How would I define myself? I would say I am bubbly, encouraging, and hardworking (I am my father’s daughter). I am sometimes stubborn, loud (yet with the tendency to sometimes be shy), easily frightened, and quick to worry. I am also optimistic, diligent, fond of meaningful long talks and quality time, and a Christ follower; I can think of a long list of things.

Lately I have been thinking about everything that makes me, me. I have meditated on those descriptions and how they have been affected, for good or bad,  by others since I have been at college. And in this process of pondering I started to dwell on what it really meant to be defined as a “Christ follower.” And as I did I started to understand more than I have ever understood before that my identity is really found in Christ ALONE.

Two things have been a key influence in my life for Christ and in how to be myself. Those two things are: the book “So Long Insecurity” By Beth Moore and the most influential of the two, my best friend and mentor, Kathryn Johnson. 

I read the book “So Long Insecurity” this past summer for a women’s bible study and it greatly impacted me. It really taught me what it means to be secure in who I am, and that regardless of trials I will always be “clothed with strength and dignity” that comes from Christ.  I began to understand the persistent fear in people of not being secure, and this can cause one to follow what society presents as comfort and appealing. And if you truly replace fear with God you find fulfilling comfort and a strong identity.

Perhaps more than anyone else, Kathryn Johnson has helped me understand what it truly means to be a genuine spirit. While this is only one aspect of my life this wonderful woman has changed forever, it is likely the most significant.  She is a “free spirit” in every sense of the word.  She shows me that it is okay to be, well, kind of weird. (But everyone is weird in some way!) The best part about Kathryn is that Jesus is always at the center of who she is. She passionately loves him and follows his guidance. At the end of the day, she does not care what world tells her to be. She only cares about who God wants her to be. Witnessing this has been such an encouragement and blessing to me. She helped guide me back to finding myself again when life had let me forgotten. I love her, and I love most of all that she let God use her to speak to and mentor me.

So now I am at the point to where I am starting to fully comprehend what it is to be fully defined by Christ. And I’m not going to let others restrict me from being unique since that’s how the Lord has made me. I use to want to worry about how people perceive me and if they agreed with path I’m taking for my life. But now, I have come to the realization that I shouldn’t worry since everyday I do make the conscious decision to die to my sinful self so that Christ can live within me.  So If I make this confession with all sincerity and follow His ways I am following His will regardless if it fits others standards. And additionally I don’t believe society should be intertwined with this claimed identity anyways.

The acceptance from humans is so fragile, but God’s acceptance is never-ending. So no longer should I ask myself if I fit the mold that others expect. I would much rather be happy than perfect. I don’t need the pressure to have qualities the world says to be desirable because the one quality I should be relentlessly seeking is to be like Jesus. I’m appreciative for the fact I can always rely on God for any situation; but especially when I doubt who I am. In His word I‘m constantly reminded of His sovereignty and because of Him I will always be a beautiful, complete, and fulfilled me! 

So, now that I have said my piece I am going to go rock out to Demi Lovato's song "This is Me (Acoustic Version)" on my iTunes :)

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

Fighting Apathy

Here is sampling of some statements and statistics David Platt gave on November 4, 2011 for the webcast event Secret Church:

 “46 million abortions occur every year in the world; 130,000 daily. ”

“According to Barna and Focus on the Family Research as many as 50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce; the church is imitating the world.”

“According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over the past 30 years, more than 30 million children have been sexually exploited though human trafficking.”

When you just read those statistics what did they mean to you?

Did you just skim through them or did you stop and let them penetrate your heart?

I’m asking this because when I listened to those same statistics last Friday I responded with a less than favorable attitude--with apathy. I felt like I had heard many statistics similar to these all the time and that it was nothing unfamiliar. And I’m not saying I don’t have compassion for people and their hurt, but with complete honesty it has been a little bit easier for me to overlook it lately. It’s almost as if I have become numb to the urgent sin and hurt of this world.

Since coming to college, it has been hard to avoid apathy. I have put myself in the typical “OBU bubble.” I haven’t taken the time to pray for the distress in the world today. But, in my defense, I feel like it’s difficult for any college student to avoid this dilemma. We live every day in an environment of college kids who have it exceptionally well.

Apathy doesn’t manifest solely with major issues in the world. It can also translate to relationships with the people closest to us.  It is easy to overlook a parent, spouse, friend, or co-worker because of a busy agenda. And in most cases, it’s not that people are unwilling to show others love; it’s just easy to forget to show it.

When are people going to slow down and take a moment to care or help another person--especially one they love? When is the world (more specifically the church) going to slow down and show compassion toward the statistics?

           

Perhaps  you heard or felt the series of earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week. And if you kept up with social networking during these occurrences, you probably noted a trend. Without fail, after an earthquake twitter and Facebook would have a multitude of new status updates.

Everyone would make their statuses about the earthquake, their feelings toward the earthquake, or about how many statuses there were about the earthquake. This made me think. Why do we not do the same for the major issues of the world such as the hurt of human trafficking or high divorce rates? Aren’t these just as, if not more, urgent?

Instead of raising awareness about something we can prevent we choose to focus on something we can’t prevent.

           

Like many, I struggle with apathy and being unaware of the world’s controversies. It’s not that I am not willing to help. I just haven’t taken time to stop and seek out the issues that need compassion.  I also haven’t stopped to remind myself that behind the statistics are real, hurting people.

“ …And if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” 1 Corinthians 13:2-3

I may be willing to give up everything and become a missionary overseas, but without passion for every single God-made person it’s worthless. And one way to show this deep love is by being able to mourn the lostness of this world. And I wish I could tell you that I have found the secret to actually doing this but I haven’t.

So, I made a decision to consciously avoid apathy. I also decided to pray that the Lord would take all apathy out of my heart and replace it with a strong Christ-like compassion.

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

Missions Emphasis Month Speech

Today, I gave a speech at my Church (First Baptist, Tulsa) because I was asked to be one of the speakers for October’s mission’s emphasis month. They wanted me tell about my personal testimony as well as my heart for missions. And I now feel that the Lord is leading me to also put my speech in a blog post since I don’t know all the people who read my blog and it could influence somebody.

So dear reader, I hope this speaks to your heart:

Hello church, I know what you may be thinking; this girl is young. Well, I am! I’m Karlie Tipton and I am an 18-year-old missionary.  You may be thinking “hmm, missionary?” I’m a girl who loves Jesus and is willing to share her personal testimony of how powerful He is. And I believe that does make me a missionary.

I accepted Christ in middle school, but it wasn’t till my high school years that I really began to follow God. Something happened in my life that dramatically changed it forever.  During my freshman year, my father passed away unexpectedly. This was a time of grief but also a time of healing. I didn’t begin to see God in the situation until I attended Falls Creek that summer. It was then that I started to realize that God had me on this earth for a reason, and that he had a purpose for me. I rededicated my life to the Lord that summer, and along with the rededication I also received another calling—the Holy Spirit was prompting me to become a missionary.

Since I had this calling to be a missionary, I prayed that the Lord would provide me opportunities in my high school years to advance the gospel. The first big opportunity arose when I went on a spring break trip my junior year to Leon, Mexico. On this trip, I learned to share Jesus’ story as well as my own testimony.  We went from house to house knocking on doors to share, and I experienced life-changing events in front of me. I began to see how the Lord used my words to reach his sons and daughters.

That following summer, I also went on a mission trip to China. Because of the political restrictions there, sharing my testimony was a little more difficult, but that’s where the sharing the gospel in Mexico helped me. This is where I got to really see my personal testimony be used for the Lord. One day when my group was walking up to a Buddhist temple, a Chinese teen was asking me questions about Jesus. I shared with her the crucifixion story along with my personal testimony about my father. I told her that God sent my dad and me a savior so that I may see him again in heaven. She would not stop asking questions and eventually came to the conclusion that she wanted the Lord in her heart. With tears in her eyes she finished the prayer and proclaimed, “I have Jesus!”  At that moment I knew I was following the Lord’s plan for me.

This year I traveled to Guatemala. I was able to share my testimony to many believers and non-believers there and the Lord revealed many things to me through that experience. He showed me that while my circumstances may be different that the Guatemalans, the Mexicans, and the Chinese, we all have one thing in common: we were created in the image of God and made to give him glory.  And regardless of age, race, or gender, we all share the same calling to honor God and to share his story with others.

I tell you all these things to show that every one of you is a missionary for God, no matter who you are or where you are. When we  share our lives with others and show how God’s story changes our story, he will bless that.  It doesn’t matter if I am in Tulsa, in my dorm at OBU, or halfway around the world, he can use my testimony to speak to others.

 Each of you have a personal testimony that the Lord will use if you allow him. And I can speak from experience that God can use our circumstances for his good. While one could look at my family situation and see it as a loss, I can see it as a gain. I have gained a passion for Christ and God also used the circumstance of my father passing away for a Chinese girl halfway across the world to find life.

So now I am preparing for a mission trip to India the summer 2012. I am going to be working with girls rescued from sex trafficking and showing them basic life skills that they never had an opportunity to learn. So while I welcome to your support, most of all I need your prayers. I know with prayer the Lord will do powerful things over there.

            I want to end with a verse that I remember every time I share my testimony:

1 Corinthians 15:55

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Church our God is alive. Let’s go proclaim it.

Thanks for reading!

Karlie

A Time For Everything

AUTHOR’S NOTE: My great-grandmother passed away earlier this year. This past weekend I traveled to her farm in Fairland, Oklahoma where my family and I sorted some of her belongings. While she lived a long life and is now in heaven, the hard part about this weekend was reminiscing on old stories and recognizing how I have taken them for granted. I have been too busy looking towards everything in the future that I have neglected to appreciate the past and present. It was almost as if God spoke to me and said, “Daughter, I have given you this life for a reason, and by cherishing all the little moments of this life you are also cherishing me.” So that’s what I’m trying to do with this post.

Years ago, a train whistle blew from the distance and my father enthusiastically grabbed my hand and told me to follow him to the front yard of my great grandmother’s farm.  He hurriedly sat in the green grass and patted for me to sit next to him. He then pointed to the railroad tracks.  I sat and looked at the gaps between the distant trees toward which he was pointing. I saw that it was the train whose whistle blew.

My dad then told me to count how many freight cars I see behind the locomotive. We both counted and told each other the number of carts we saw. And of course, we laughed because by the end we both had different numbers. My dad then continued to tell me how when he was younger he had a great love for trains. Back then, every time a train whistle would blow, he would either immediately run down to the train tracks or just sit in the front yard to watch. 

This past weekend I was able to entertain old memories of my father, my grandmother, great-grandmother and others. I got the chance to share with other family members about different times when my dad took me to the Fairland farm. I got to discuss how I always loved going because every time I was able to experience something new–different adventures like picking out a fish from the koi pond, or running through the corn crops in the field, or going through all the old antiques stored in the attic. (To a kid that is very exciting stuff! ) So while I was sharing my stories, I found it nice that my family shared theirs about my father and grandmothers.  And subtly as we sorted through the old stuff and memories I found that we were unknowingly creating new ones. During the weekend, I got to make some great apple pie with the old kitchen utensils used by many generations of my family, play the ukulele that my great-grandmother played at many churches, and even see a silent movie at the Coleman Theater with my great aunts. In my eyes, the Fairland farm has always been such a beautiful and adventurous place, but this past weekend it developed an even richer persona.

While driving back to OBU that Sunday night, I was able to think about the remembrances I have had at that darling Fairland farm throughout my life. And the more I thought about the memories created there, the more I realized that it wasn’t that strip of land that developed these good times; it was my family. The people I love most have made that place worthwhile. While my family has lost some individuals that make dwelling on the memories sometimes difficult, I try to focus on the good and be thankful for the privilege of having a family and such memories.

So when I think about it, my great grandma lived in that house for 63 years so there must have been many good and bad seasons there. But in the end regardless of good and bad times, a lot of life was lived on that farm. And I am so thankful for that.

So if you were wondering why I started with the story about the train and my father, it is one my most cherished memories; it included both my favorite person and place. So I am now taking this moment to practice what I preach and appreciate it.

I wanted to end on a passage that I was reminded about this weekend.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
 

a time to kill and a time to heal, 
   

a time to tear down and a time to build, 


a time to weep and a time to laugh, 
  

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 
 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 
  

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up, 
 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 
 

a time to tear and a time to mend, 
  

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, 
   

a time for war and a time for peace.

There are going to be times for everything. So just as my dad was excited about making sure that every freight cart on that train was counted, we in the same way should be excited about life and making sure each God-given moment is counted.

Thanks for reading!

Karlie