Erin Akin Carroll

Over the years, I have almost always gone to Minted to order our Christmas cards and our birth announcements. I could go on and on about the quality of the paper and the adorable designs.

I know, I know. Is it a little early to be talking about Christmas cards? But I don’t think so. Christmas is less than 100 days away. It’s time to think about capturing the perfect (or perfectly imperfect) photo and ordering your cards.

One of my favorite things about Minted is that they hire independent designers to create the designs every year. Such a great opportunity for so many talented designers.

And there are tons of different ways to customize your card with your paper choice, whether you want a flat or fold-over card. These are just a few of the options available to you:

Flat Card with Photo and other backer options
Folded Card with a Blank inside
Folded Card with Blank, photo, or text inside
Folded Card with Story or Yearline™ interior

This year’s holiday cards are new and fresh, and come with the same fabulous Minted quality.

But y’all. My favorite thing this year? Are the foil-pressed cards. Y’all know how obsessed I am with gold foil, and Minted has other gorgeous colors in foil. And in glitter!

Glitter!  Isn’t this just so beautiful and so happy?

Okay, so now that you’ve seen some of my favorite cards… I have a happy surprise!

One lucky reader will win $150 to Minted! It’s true. Christmas comes early this year for one winner!

Just click here to enter to win the giveaway. No commenting necessary. No following necessary. Just enter to win on the Minted website and they will keep track of all the entries from Blue-Eyed Bride readers. Easy peasy!

Today’s post was written by my friend, and my Sunday school teacher’s wife, Nancy. It was published last week on her daughter’s CaringBridge site. Her daughter, Katie, was diagnosed last year with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Katie is now 14 and is still battling this disease. Nancy is a beautiful writer and a loving mother. Katie is a tremendous fighter with incredible faith. And their whole family has brought so much glory to God through these circumstances. I encourage you to follow along with Katie’s story on their Caring Bridge site. 

But today I wanted to share this post with you because it brought me to tears last week at the airport and I found myself sharing it with everyone I knew. 

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“Everything happens for a reason.” Well, not really.

When people say this, they usually mean that God has a bigger plan than what we can understand at the moment. It is certainly true that God has “plans to prosper you and not to harm you” (Jeremiah 29:11), and He tells us that “my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) Our lives absolutely have purpose. But, I think this old adage is an incorrect perspective. The Bible states, “There is a time for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:3), but nowhere does it say directly that everything happens for a reason.

Sometimes when bad things happen, they are a consequence of our sinful behavior. And usually, we are well aware of this when it occurs. Discipline is not very effective if we don’t know the connection! And when God chose to judge entire nations with weather disasters, disease, or some sort of plague, He generally sent His prophets to give warnings, which clarified that the causes were a lack of repentance. But the Lord is incredibly merciful. Most of the time we do not receive the consequences and discipline we deserve! I saw a quote recently from R.C. Sproul, Jr. “Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once. And he volunteered.” The Lord is indescribably patient, too. His wrath is reserved for repeated and ongoing rejection of the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and repeated and ongoing refusal to repent. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9).

More times than not, we experience difficulties (or weather disasters or disease, etc.) because they are just natural occurrences of living in a fallen world. God sometimes chooses to supernaturally intervene to protect us from hardships and trouble. I had a very concrete example of this just last week.

As I was driving on my way to Anna Caroline’s first ever football game as a cheerleader, I accidentally cut a corner too tight and hit a curb, hard. I remember thinking, “Oh no, that sounded bad. I need to check for damage.” I arrived at the school, forgetting all about the possible damage in my excitement to get to the stands and support my daughter.

After her game, we were in a rush to join our family at the Gamecock football game, already underway. But it was really hot that day, and we were so thirsty that I decided to stop at a gas station to get us both a drink. As I returned to the car, juggling two drinks and my wallet, I dropped my Powerade as I reached to open my door. It rolled all the way under the car so that I had to walk around to the passenger side to retrieve it. The bottle landed against the rear tire…the one with which I had hit that curb. And there, right in front of me, impossible to miss, was a big blister on the sidewall of my tire!

I was able to get safely back to the school where two kind men changed my tire for me. The next day when I went to get a new tire, the mechanic told Rett that if I had kept driving on that tire, it would have surely blown out any minute! There is no doubt at all in my mind that that was God’s protection and providence, pure and simple.

But even when He does not choose to miraculously intervene, the Lord ALWAYS prepares and equips us. He is omniscient, which means He knows everything that is going to happen ahead of time, so He always knows what we need to be prepared to face. After a traumatic event or situation occurs, we can often see how His hand was moving and working in preparation, sometimes for years or a lifetime prior, as in the case of Katie’s illness, or sometimes for just a few moments, as in the case of my damaged tire. But that is very different than causing something to happen “for a reason,” which is what the oft quoted phrase implies. (I realize I am teetering dangerously on the edge of the predestination doctrine…but please try to just let that “sit” for now!)

In our humanness, we want to ask the question “Why?” and we long for an answer.

Many well-meaning Christians, myself included, will offer encouragement to each other by saying, “We may never know why in this life.” But I boldly propose that there may not BE a reason at all! Some things just happen as part of being alive, period. The better question to ask is, “Now that this (fill-in-the-blank) has happened, what is God doing? How is He working?”

Every Christian, and most everyone in general, has heard the phrase, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” But unlike “Everything happens for a reason,” which is not found anywhere in the Bible, this phrase really IS from the Scriptures! It is found in Romans 8:28 and it is one of those verses that we learn in church from childhood, right up there beside John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world…”). But there is much, much more to this verse than the trite Band-Aid that it sometimes seems to have become in Christian circles.

We must consider the 8th chapter of Romans in its entirety to fully understand the context and meaning of this 28th verse. This chapter is also where other gems are found, like,

“Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (v. 1)

“For you have not received a spirit of fear,” (v. 15)

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” (v.18)

“In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (v. 26)

“If God is for us, who is against us?” (v. 31)

And finally, the chapter ends with the familiar comforting passage,
“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v. 37-39).

Wow. We could spend months, maybe years, delving into the depths of this chapter. These verses just skim the surface! The book of Romans is definitely meat, not milk! But for now let’s consider the discussion of suffering.

If we focus on the pain, we do so in our flesh. Because that is where we are hurting! But this leads us to an attitude of negativity and complaints–a type of spiritual death as we are more concerned about the here and now than the eternal. We have all known folks who have become bitter from the assaults life has thrown their way. And this is the normal, natural thing to do! But we, as Christians, are often called to do the unnatural, which we can only accomplish if we are infused with supernatural strength from the Holy Spirit himself. “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6). Now think of those folks who seem to move through unspeakable tragedies and trials with grace, peace, and even JOY?! And THAT is the glory to be revealed in us! (v. 18)

So what is the Lord doing during our storms? Well, just from Romans chapter 8, He:

*sets us free from the law of sin and death (the natural response) so that we can respond supernaturally! (v. 2)

*dwells in us (v. 9)

*gives us life and righteousness (v. 10)

*sustains our physical strength (v. 11)

*loves and claims us as His children (v. 15)

*testifies for us (v. 16)

*reveals His glory in us (v. 17-18)

*gives us the first fruits of the Spirit (v. 23)

*redeems and saves us, and gives us hope (v. 23-24)

*enables us to persevere, even in our weakness (v. 25-26)

*intercedes for us in prayer with intense compassion (v. 26-27, 34)

*causes all things to work together for good !!! (v. 28)

*gives our lives purpose (v. 28)

*conforms us to the image of His son (v. 29)

*conquers all the overwhelming things we are facing (v. 37)

*loves and comforts us with a love so strong and steadfast that NOTHING can separate us from His love! (v. 39)

Therefore, if we accept that God does not CAUSE our suffering for some ulterior motive, and we understand that God is actively helping us WHILE we are suffering, let’s look back at that treasured verse again…

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

I truly believe that my heavenly, sovereign Father is always working for GOOD out of ANY situation. So, instead of allowing our flesh to focus on the pain, looking for reasons and answers to the “Why?” question, the real question is…

Will we seek the Spirit to reveal to us the good outcomes of our sufferings so that we don’t miss them? Will we focus on the eternal things, or on the emotions of “death” that cry out from our flesh? And are those good outcomes the REASON for the suffering? NO!!

I think that is where we make the mistake. We are often privileged to see something good come out of our suffering, and in our human attempt to find the answer to, “Everything happens for a reason,” we deduce and assume that the good thing must be WHY God “sent” or “allowed” the storm. This is wrong!

The storm just happens. And then God does what He does by His very nature: GOOD. Especially when you consider that LOTS of good things often happen in every bad situation. But if you follow the logic of “Everything happens for a reason,” then WHICH ONE was the reason? Can there be more than one reason? I guess. But the better explanation is that the number of things God can do to bring beauty from ashes is infinite! He can do anything!

So whenever a storm crashes into your life (big or small!)…instead of dutifully looking for something good to come out of it, and turning that into “the reason” for the pain, we should look expectantly for ALL of the good things that God is going to do, and be in awe of how many there are.

We should be thankful that we are His vessel, and excited about the ways we can participate in sharing His goodness with the world through our journey. That is where we find the peace and yes, even the JOY! as we face “the sufferings of this present time” and experience His Glory revealed in us!

Say WOW vs. WHY!

Aside from the friendships I’ve made from blogging, I’m also very thankful for some of the brand partnerships that have come as a result of blogging.

About three years ago, I was approached by a family company called Dr. Smith’s diaper rash ointment. I tried the product, loved it, and we’ve used it during every diaper change since then.

Dr. Smith’s is a fifty-year old company that is now, finally, available nationwide at Walgreen’s. This is a pretty big deal for their company, and I was delighted when they asked Nina, Molly, and me to come to Chicago as their guest at a celebration event.

We got to Chicago on Thursday afternoon, and because Nina lived there for a while, she was so nice to introduce us to some of her favorite Chicago restaurants.

On Thursday night, we went to Roscoe Village, did a little bit of shopping at Little Threads, and had the most delicious Italian supper at Piazza Bella.  I wish I had a picture of the amazing rigatoni with sausage and mushrooms, but the photo of the flourless chocolate cake will have to do. Holy amazing!

 

On Friday morning, we got up, got dressed (we each had our own hotel rooms, so I slept so soundly. It was glorious) and went to Blowtique to have our hair blown out for the big celebration!

 

Then we made our way to RPM (Bill and Giuliana Rancic’s Chicago restaurant) for the Dr. Smith’s Launch Party!

 

Everything was decorated beautifully. There was a great mix of Dr. Smith’s brand messaging mixed with beautiful, simple decor.

And the food! Oh my goodness! I could have taken home this platter of lobster caprese bites!

 

We met quite a few wonderful Chicago bloggers, including the fabulous Katie from The Land of Nod. It was great to meet her after all these years!

 

And then the guests of honor arrived. Bill and Giuliana Rancic are the proud parents of baby Duke, and fellow Dr. Smith’s product users. They were so kind and gracious. And the girls and I had a great conversation with Bill, who was just so natural and easy to talk to.

 

It was a fantastic event, and we’re so thankful to the Dr. Smith’s team for bringing us to Chicago as their brand ambassadors. And now all of you can find Dr. Smith’s at Walgreens in your area!

 

(Love this picture with Nina, but the unflattering shadows need to go!)

We spent the rest of the day walking around Chicago. We had lunch at Rockit Bar and Grill and had the most delicious Rockit fries and Rockit burger. Seriously. Nina did not steer us in the wrong direction. And then we had supper after a full day of walking at Sunda, where I had the most delicious red dragon sushi.

Back in August, Nina and I flew to San Antonio to participate in a Satellite Media Tour for Dr. Smith’s. I had never done anything like this before, and really didn’t know what a SMP was. We rehearsed on Wednesday, and on Thursday we were live!

 

The Dr. Smith’s team and TV producer, built an adorable nursery set, and Nina and I stood on the set and were interviewed about diaper changing tips and on-the-go diaper changing. We wore little ear pieces so we could hear the person on the other end.

We got to the studio at 5:00 a.m., and we were ready to go! We participated in about 25 radio and TV interviews that lasted between 3 and 5 minutes each. It was really one of the most interesting experiences of my life.

At first, I was absolutely terrified. But once we started the interviews, it was just so easy to talk to them (even though we couldn’t see them) and just talk into the camera about general baby care. We talked to TV stations all over the country… Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Tampa, Seattle… it was so fun to virtually get to hop around the country all morning!

We finished up the morning just after noon, and went back to the hotel to crash. We had dinner that night with my friend Lindsey, which was such a fun treat. And then we headed back home the next morning. It was such a quick trip to San Antonio, but it didn’t end without a trip to Shipley’s Donuts!

 

Many, many thanks to our friends at Dr. Smith’s for two fabulous experiences this year. And seeing Nina and Molly was the icing on the cake!