Keeping it Personal with Carey

About Carey Scott

An inspirational speaker and writer, Carey is honest about her walk with the Lord; stumbles, fumbles and all. Her goal is to challenge women to be real with themselves, others and God. She is passionate about encouraging women to give up a life of mediocrity, and instead live abundant, transformed, joy-filled lives. She discusses raising Godly kids, redefining our value, managing fear, healing broken marriages, and seeing God in everyday life. She is a happily married mom of two and lives in Colorado. Together, they laugh a lot, play a lot… and have a great time as a family.
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The Divine Mirror

May 1, 2012 | By: | 12 Comments

I found a long hair on my chin today.

I’m not kidding… and I’m not laughing either.

How have I not seen this before? Better yet, how many people have seen it but didn’t have the gumption to tell me?

I’ve decided that we need to have a “rogue hair” pact with our girlfriends. We gotta look out for each other. Yes?

The problem is that sometimes these hairs are in places where we can’t see them. They blend in and go unnoticed. And while no one really wants to sit in front of those super-magnifying mirrors looking for those little intruders, sometimes it’s essential.

Well I recently purchased one of those mirrors.

Because my eyesight just isn’t what it used to be, I needed something that would give me the ability to see things closer-up and more in-focus.

But the truth I saw in that magnifying mirror was astonishing.

It was quite different from the reflection I’d been looking at in my regular bathroom mirror. The magnification showed the reality of:

  • Deep lines and wrinkles
  • Discoloration
  • Blemishes
  • Age spots
  • Rogue hairs

What I saw horrified me!

Now I understand that I am in my mid-forties and haven’t been the most disciplined with my daily skin care regiment, but this was just downright scary!

What I had been seeing in my regular bathroom mirror wasn’t reality.

I’d been deceived.

I want to suggest that God is that magnifying mirror in our lives.

He gives us a deeper understanding of who we are. He opens our eyes to deception. He reveals areas that need our attention.

How?

Because as we look at our lives through Him, we see things we didn’t notice before.

  • We realize how selfish we are.
  • We see how much we seek the world’s approval.
  • We understand what control-freaks we are.
  • We find that we have a warped sense of love.

He allows us to see things more clearly… more in focus… better defined.

We see reality.

But we also see… hope.

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

His goal is to make us more like Him.

Well, I plucked that hair right out of my chin. And I plan to take a look in that magnifying mirror more often.

I want to know when there are “things” that need to be removed before they get out of hand.

I’ve come to appreciate that God does the same thing for us. The Divine Mirror shows us areas in our lives that need to be… plucked.

And with some regular maintenance, we’ll begin to reflect His image back.

Flickr Photo Credit

When Will We Get There?

April 3, 2012 | By: | Leave a Comment

My family was driving in the mountains the other day, and rather than enjoy the amazing Colorado scenery… the kids kept asking, “Mom… are we there yet?”

They weren’t excited for the journey; they just wanted to get there.

Sisters, can’t we relate to this question? We wonder how long it will be before we get… there.  When will we…

  • feel good about the way our bodies look?
  • get a handle on our finances?”
  • have marriages that are fulfilling?
  • forgive those people?
  • be the moms we need to be?

Rather than work through and learn from the process, we want the results now.

We don’t appreciate what the journey could teaches us.

The truth is, however, that the things we discover along the way are key to finding success at our destination point.

When my husband and I were clawing our way back into a functioning marriage, I remember praying for instantaneous healing and restoration. Being in so much pain, I just wanted the problems to go away… now.

But had God restored us right then and there, we would have missed so much good stuff, like:

  • learning positive ways to communicate.
  • seeing forgiveness become an option again.
  • becoming tender towards each other’s brokenness.

We needed the journey.

It made us stronger.

It helped us grow closer.

It taught us grace and forgiveness.

Sisters… don’t be in a hurry to get there. Even when it’s hard and painful, that trek provides a unique opportunity to gather skills and gain understanding along the way.

God uses those crunchy times to teach us to live and love better.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

He loves us too much to leave us where we are, and this refining process will continue until we see Jesus.

So we may as well learn to appreciate all that this journey has to offer.

Let’s face every trial head-on rather than look for a quick fix. Let’s follow God through our circumstances instead looking for a way out. Let’s ask God to give us spiritual eyes and ears to learn from our struggles in place of hoping for immediate resolution.

Let’s stop asking in annoyance, “Father, when will we get there?”

Flickr Photo Credit

Starving your Fears

February 29, 2012 | By: | 7 Comments
2 Timothy 1:7

“Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.” - Max Lucado My 10-year-old son recently fasted from video games. Now, he didn’t come up with this idea on his own… nor was I the one who suggested it. But at the urging of someone he trusted, Sam decided … Continue reading →

Never Compare

January 20, 2012 | By: | 4 Comments
Never Compare

These. are. wise. words. It's so easy to be envious of others, but we are neither equipped to handle the blessings or the struggles of another's journey. When I find myself wanting the life or marriage or ministry of someone else, I speak these simple words out loud. They offer me immediate … Continue reading →

That Kind of Faith

December 29, 2011 | By: | 6 Comments
ipod

“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” - Oswald Chambers My son lost his iPod last week. Actually, it had been gone a week longer but Sam kept it a secret, hoping to run across it. But he didn’t, and as he lay on the couch crying the truth came out. It was … Continue reading →

We Are Seed Planters

November 30, 2011 | By: | 8 Comments
planting seeds

I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other day who reminded me that we are “seed planters.” We had been talking about how easy it was to get discouraged when we don’t see the fruit of our labor. How challenging it can be to not see the end result. I was struggling … Continue reading →

Perfect Pace

October 18, 2011 | By: | 14 Comments
Baggage

Last Sunday, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. To be honest, it is only by the hand of God that we’ve made it this far. While we celebrated 12 years together, only the last 6 of them have been good ones. REALLY good ones. But I tell you what. Those first years were… brutal. You … Continue reading →