A place where my thoughts, words and feelings converge…
Author: charlotteannrobinson.com
I enjoy reading, writing and searching for truths. I am active in my church and like participating in small groups learning and developing new ideas and skills in becoming the person God created me to be. God has blessed me with so much and my desire is to share my thoughts and words with you in hopes they comfort and inspire you.
Soon it will be Thanksgiving Day, my hope is no matter where you are in the world may your day be JOYFUL! You are an amazing individual that God created on purpose and with a plan. I am thankful for so many things in and around my life and it definitely includes YOU!
I don’t want to rush any of the holiday celebrations but I wanted to share with you my plans for Advent this year. I hope you can stop in and let me share Jesus with you.
I will be reading An Advent Devotional called, “Unwrapping the Names of Jesus” by Asheritah Ciuciu during this season. The book is available through many mediums some are listed below:
• Kindle Store
• Branes & Noble
• Kobo
• Apple Books
• Amazon
• Google Play Books
• Scibd
• Target
• Walmart
• Local Libraries
You can also click this link for more information.
I am so looking forward to digging deeper into the Names of Jesus through scripture and songs. I hope you stop by soon to share your advent journey with me.
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“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 —
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” — James 1:17 —
“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” — Philippians 1:3-4 —
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.” — Colossians 3:15 —
It has been far too long since I’ve shared words with you. I could provide you with all the usually excuses but I will spare you the details. I certainly have missed this community of support and common ground where words can indeed soothe an aching soul and be a place where words can transport you to new and exciting places. I follow several bloggers and they all contribute to my continued growth as a writer and in becoming a better human.
I follow a blogger that travels a lot, the places he shares with his audiences are glimpses into places many may never be able to physically visit. You can find him here: https://travelingpersecond.com
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I follow a lady from Montana and she has such a beautiful spirit and promotes goodness in all she does. She can be found at: https://janbeek.blog
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There is another woman that I follow and she invites me to look deeply at life and to reflect upon it. I am intrigued by her writing abilities and her keen insight of bringing the reader front and center into her stories, poetry and photography. She can be found at: http://growingupsideways.blog
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One last blogger I would like to share with you is Sharvina.y and her blog is sharing with her audience, “tips to make your daily life easier!‘ (her tagline). There you’ll find tips on life, self-improvement, and self-care. She can be found at: https://tipsfromsharvi.com/
• A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.
So where does “roundabouts” fit into this post(?) you might be asking…
I often feel like I am on a roundabout constantly going in a circle, never exiting. A never ending cycle of the same ole same. I know in my heart it is not true because every day is a new day with new and different experiences. I know it can be easy to fall for the traps we set for ourselves, thinking we are more robotic than human. It is this conditional world that misinforms us, the evil that resides here and wishes to claims our souls. I am a person who struggles with depression and I am fully aware of its impending gloom and grip it is capable of. I have been receiving services for my depression for over 3 decades. It has shown itself in many different ways through the years and I have learned and developed ways to deal with it. Just like other things in life, change in inevitable simply because we are always in a state of change. God’s Word provides a great passage for us in Ecclesiastes 3.
Life can seem cyclical, much like a roundabout going in a constant circular motion. We can exit where we like or simply get caught up in going round and round; in effect never going anywhere. That is no way to live life. Recently, I have been spending time evaluating/reminiscing my life (past/present/future) and my purpose. I have determined that life plain and simply is a gift as well as is a series of opportunities presented to us. I have to determined that I need to let go of things, specific things in order to move forward. I even need yo let go of people in order to more fully live into the person God has called me to be. The past has always been difficult for me to let go of, this will not be an easy task for me but I am going to try my very best. I’m learning that holding onto a memory is healthier than trying to maintain something that just isn’t there or growing. People change and that’s okay, when someone touches your heart in a special way embrace it do not suffocate it. Let it be free to do what it needs to do. I have friends from high school and college that touched my heart and for a season we were in constant contact but life happens and time passes. My fondest for them did not change, and they will forever be in my heart. I miss them and wish nothing but the very best for them. I’m thankful for the seasons of my life, they have taught me lessons that we help me navigate whatever season is yet to come. I do not have any mystical insights into what the future holds; however, I absolutely know that it will include CHANGE. I look forward to whatever “change” may happen. I trust God to show me the way. It’s not bravery that calls me into this unknown season of change, it is a desire to become more fully engaged in the life God has for me and the opportunities that will present themselves as I move forward in life.
I see “roundabouts” as exit opportunities to pursue God’s Will. It may be a path that leads to a other “roundabout” or simply a different path. No matter where they lead, God’s promise is to never leave us alone.
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
God speaks to each of us in very specific ways. I feel closest to God when I’m writing. I also feel His presence when I have lunch with my “JULIETS” women’s luncheon group from my church and with my “Esther’s Circle” women’s Bible study group from Church. I think and feel God’s presence in all things. Even in those times of anger and disappointments, God is present and indeed, there are times I wish to hide from God. It is the difference between being human and being the Divine. We, humans are sinful creatures and just as children like to hide and keep things from their parents to get out of consequences; we, God’s children have the same reaction to our Heaven Father. I’m not just a sinful human, I am also very stubborn human. It has taken a lot of years to figure out that punishment and consequences are not meant to hurt us but to help protect us from harm. The Bible gives us many examples of correctness and why it is important. Below are some references found in the Bible.
I had an opportunity to spend some time with nature recently and I would like to share my short journey with you. It is my hope that this virtual experience will fill you with peace, hope and renewal. The colors are not as vivid as I had hoped and I did not let the rain and drizzle detour me from my adventure.
“The autumn equinox is a time when the sun rests above the equator, and day and night are divided equally. It heralds a season filled with change, celebrates the harvest, and ushers in the brilliant beauty of death. Autumn is a season of transition, of continual movement.”
Friends, thank you for stopping by today. I am truly blessed by your support.
“So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul — then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” — Deuteronomy 11:13-15 —
“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” — C. S. Lewis
Wow! I love this for so many reasons. This reminds me of conversations I have had with a dear friend, “often when individuals accept/ask Jesus into their hearts, to be their Lord and Savior” one could easily take the credit for choosing God. When in reality, we (unknowingly) already know God because He created us. He chose us long before we were ever born. This process is not easily understood or conceivable until after one submits themselves to Christ, placing ones [Faith in Christ]. ***Disclaimer, this has been my personal experience, I am not a theologian and I would never assume my experiences mirror those of others.
Here’s a picture I grew up seeing every Sunday at church, it’s a familiar feeling to me. Feels like home.
Credit: Warner Sallman “JESUS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR”
The door/path to Jesus is found all along the human spectrum of life. Some find Jesus early in life while others come later in life; the most important is meeting Jesus. Meeting Jesus is like coming home, a place you never knew you missed until you are there…feels like home.
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As far as the “obeying” and “reward” of course I want to obey, but I fail often. The importance is the “wanting” and “striving” to obey, failing is part of our humanness, not an excuse by any means; it’s an opportunity to seek forgiveness and to try again. Jesus does not hold us to a standard of pass or fail. He loves us and wants only the very best for each of us. Heaven is our forever home, that’s where Jesus lives and He wants us to be there too.
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“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Matthew 7:7-8 (NRSVA)
Credit: Alice Hodge Bournemouth, United Kingdom
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Luke 11:9-10 (NRSVA)
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“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” — John 10:9 (ESV)
Thank you friends for taking your precious time to stop by my blog, I’m am blessed by your support. May the Lord richly bless you today and always. 💙🙏🏻
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
Photo Credit: Me (Mocha Nut Coffee Shop-Indianpolis, IN)
Here I am, just another day in the life of Charlotte, just holding on. Holding onto everything stuck inside me, wanting to be released, on the brink of bursting out. Writing is a great release and provides an outlet for the thoughts and words spinning in my head. I have great support for the days that are heavier than others. I am very blessed to have friends and family that support me. I try to be kind and understand and ask the same in return. There is beauty in helping others, truly we are surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. We must open our eyes to see the beautiful things that surround us. People, places, things, buildings, parks, art, nature…everything. I am often in awe of nature speaking to my soul. I love taking pictures of water, the sky, the moon, buildings…outdoors! I feel very connected to God through these things. I also love music and how it can transcend you to the past and make you dream of the future.
Photo credit: Me (04.03.2021)
I read this quote recently and it tugged at my heartstrings…
“She walks, as if from a dream, into your life, ribboned hair unraveling, brown eyes like cups of tea, come to whisper a secret into your trembling ear.
Good is indeed still alive! We must be open to receive the good will and gestures from others. The KEY is to be OPEN. It is so easy to expect the worst of people, so much so we cancel them before they even have an opportunity to show us differently.
Today, as I was loading my groceries into my car a lady approached and ask if she could return my cart for me. I was pleasantly surprised and responded with “Yes, and Thank You!” In this time of cancel culture and social distancing and fear, this simple gesture warmed my heart. So to the kind lady from the Walmart parking lot in Plainfield today, thank you for your kindness.
This and acts like it are exactly how God wants His children to interact with one another. Even with our walls of caution we can and should be kind to each other.
Photo credit: Me (11.21.2016)
Photo credit:Me (11.14.2016)
Here’s a wonderful article “24 Bible Verses About Kindness To Help Us All Be Better.”
Today, I learned something new and thought I would share. I have had a vision of sorts, a flash of an image came into my thoughts. This flash lead me to search the internet and this is the image.
Edvard Munch: The Scream. Tempera and oil on unprimed cardboard, 1910? Photo: Munchmuseet.
This piece of artwork is one of the world’s most famous and a universal symbol of anxiety. I honestly thought this artwork was done by Vincent Van Gogh, I stand corrected…it is by Edvard Munch.
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE SCREAM
1. THERE ARE SEVERAL VERSIONS OF THE SCREAM
4 of the museum’s versions of Edvard Munch’s The Scream: A painting with tempera and oil on unprimed cardboard, probably from 1910, a drawing version with crayon from 1893 and 2 of the museum’s 6 lithographs from 1895, the one to the left a hand-coloured version.
This piece of art and its distinctive gesture is generally understood as an expression of horror. This makes it easily employable for all sorts of visual communication, ranging from topical caricatures in mass media to personal messages in emoji sign language.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you learned something new today. I appreciate your support. Below is a new favorite of mine as of today by Edvard Munch. (1902 – 1916: REBORN)
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” ~ Revelation 7:9-10 (NIV)~
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
Thank you so much for taking time to view my post. I discovered a beautiful hymn and wanted to share it. My hope is that you too will be blessed by it. As I was digging deeper into the song and the song writer I found myself searching for more and more. The song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” was written by Helen H. Lemmel (1863-1961) in 1922.
Helen was a gifted concert soloist, a music teacher at the Moody Bible Institute, and music critic for the Seattle Post.
She also worked as director of a woman’s choral group that was a regular part of the Billy Sunday evangelical meetings. Helen wrote the words and music of Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus in 1922, to be sung at those meetings.
The inspiration for Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which Helen entitled The Heavenly Vision, came from the writings of author and artist Lilias Trotter (1853-1928).
Isabella Lilias Trotter (1853–1928) was a gifted artist and Protestant missionary to Algeria during the Victorian Era.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
By: Helen H. Lemmel
“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12 —
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
Elisabeth Elliot. A Path Through Suffering. Meditations based on Trotter’s Parables of the Cross and Parables of the Christ-life. Ann Arbor: Vine books, 1992 (in print).
Constance E. Padwick. I. Lilias Trotter. Croydon: Watson, n.d.
Blanche A. F. Pigott. I. Lilias Trotter. London: Marshall, 1929.
Miriam Rockness. A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter. Discovery House Publishers, 1999. (in print).
Miriam Rockness. A Blossom in the Desert: Reflections of Faith in the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter. Discovery House Publishers, 2007. (in print)
I . R. Govan Stewart. The Love That Was Stronger. London: Lutterworth Press, 1958.
Patricia St. John. Until The Day Breaks. Bronley, Kent: OM Publishing 1990 (in print).
*All works, unless otherwise noted, are out of print. Copies of these works are housed at the Trotter Archives at the Arab World Ministries United Kingdom Headquarters in Loughborough, England.
Thank you for stopping by my blog site today. I can hardly believe it is September already, summer will be ending and fall is ever nearer. I don’t mind the change in seasons, well…except for bitter coldness and snow of winter. We must endure and appreciate the gifts that each season brings us. The past couple of years have been especially tough and it is my sincere hope that things will improve in the very near future. I had a dear friend share a prayer with me this past week and I have been reading it several times a day. I even used it as my wallpaper on my phones locked screen. I want and desire a closer walk with Jesus. I feel as if the world around is going mad, at times. So much hate and distrust, more fighting and less love. Common sense has taken the back seat and great divisions are being plowed through our sense of humanity. I believe that people around the world are more alike than different, if we would just listen. I am compassionate about a lot of things and the reality is that I cannot pursue all of them at the same time. The world is filled with countless opportunities, the one thing we all can do is prayer. Listen to God’s call, where is He leading your heart and spirit to help. Each of us are called to different things, trust in God to show you His way. I hope you find encouragement from this prayer and the songs I rely on for hope.
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Prayer by Phyllis Tickle
“Grant me, I beseech thee,
O merciful God, prudently to study,
rightly to understand
and perfectly to fulfill that which is pleasing to thee,
to the praise and glory to thy name.
—Amen
(The Divine Hours, Summertime, pg 476)
Quotes from Phyllis Tickle
“Prayer is a nonlocative, nongeographic space that one enters at one’s own peril, for it houses God during those few moments of one’s presence there, and what is there will most surely change everything that comes into it. Prayer, its opal walls polished to transparency by the centuries of hands that have touched them, is the Tabernacle realized and the wayside chapel utilized.
— Prayer Is a Place
“Like a double helix rendered elegant by complexity and splendid by authority, the amalgam of gospel and shared meal and the discipline of fixed-hour prayer were and have remained the chain of golden connection tying Christian to Christ and Christian to Christian across history, across geography, and across idiosyncrasies of faith.”
— The Divine Hours
Genesis 8:22 (NIV)
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Wisdom from C.S.Lewis—
“He gives them the seasons, each season different yet every year the same, so that spring is always felt as a novelty yet always as the recurrence of an immemorial theme. He gives them in His Church a spiritual ear; they change from a fast to a feast, but it is the same feast as before
— The Screwtape Letters
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
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