Guest Submission, Paula Carpenter

The Internet Cafe Welcomes Paula Carpenter!

“Be still and know that I am God”.

I’ll admit that I have adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I am not good at sitting still which makes me really good at teaching little ones, because they aren’t usually good at sitting still either. When I worked in a medical office, it was quite common to see me standing up to type in a patient’s registration information.

I am infamous for starting projects and never finishing them; my craft basket at this moment, has three cross-stitch patterns that are half sewn, a shawl that I began to crochet for my grandma for Christmas two years ago, a Tupperware bowl full of beads that I bought, planning to make matching necklaces and earrings to match several pantsuits.

Several weeks ago, as I sat in front of the computer, trying to write a devotional, God whispered…”Wait”. And in my usual Paula-ness, I began to argue. “But God, you told me to write. Remember the conversations we had two years ago? I didn’t WANT to do this, and you told me to write. Now you’re telling me NOT to do it anymore? I don’t think so!”

And so, I tried to do it anyway. Anyone with me here? The end results were disastrous. They sounded stilted and thrown together, and very uninspiring. And that was the ones I could manage to finish. And then God would whisper to my heart. “Wait”.

I would read my bible, and think Wow! Those are awesome verses to write a devotion with. But when I tried, I got nothing. “Wait”, came that voice in my head again. And so, I waited. I kept reading, kept studying and kept praying. Days turned into weeks and people began to ask if there was something wrong. All I could say was “I’m waiting on God.”

Several years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a praise chorus to the above mentioned verse. Today, I have hummed the chorus all day long. My friend Jessie heard me humming, and before long, there were half a dozen of us singing it. And suddenly, I realized this was what God had been trying to tell me.

Almost as soon as the thought passed through me, God whispered. “Now you can write.” This entire time, God has been molding me, changing me, preparing me for the next phase of my writing. I just had to be still long enough to hear what He had to say.

In Him,

Paula

Paula is a 42 year old pastor's wife from Bryant, Arkansas. She and her husband have been married for 22 years and have been blessed with three grown children. Paula is currently a full time college student and is involved with the Children's Science Museum and choir at her church.

She spends her free time reading, writing and enjoying quiet evenings at home with her husband and spoiled pups!

God opened doors for Paula 2 years ago when she began to write email devotionals that have grown from 5 to 100!