Listen. And Follow.

I know I just posted yesterday--but this just can't wait. Last night I had somewhat of a spiritual breakthough--well actually it was more of a spiritual awakening. It was already kind of late, and I laid down to go to sleep. As I always do, I was praying before I attempted to sleep. There were so many people that I needed and wanted to pray for--so many people on my heart. I began praying for someone in my life who is very lost and depressed--sick and confused. As I laid there, I felt incredibly burdened. I kept thinking about how this person had lost all hope and joy, and what that must feel like. Now the Lord wasn't literally speaking outloud to me, but His spirit was urging me to get up and write a note of encouragement to this person. I couldn't deny that God wanted me to do something because it was important. As I began to write this letter, emotion poured out of me. I couldn't contain my sadness for this person. I prayed that God would give me His words that would somehow affect this person's heart. The words began to flow from my pen to paper, and the tears flowed from my eyes. As I was writing, I was thinking that this wasn't the first time God had laid this person on my heart. It wasn't the first time that He urged me to do something to help this person. This was the first time I was actually doing something. This led me to think about how many times I have felt the Holy Spirit directing me to write someone a note or call up a friend who was hurting or even say a few words of encouragement to a stranger and I tried to IGNORE it! Laziness or fear or something else got in the way. My heart felt like it was literally breaking last night. God convicted me and broke me. My heart ached for people who were hurting and who were lost. I came to the realization that God wants to use me to reach other people--and so many times I have just ignored the HONOR of sharing who HE is with others. I was humbled last night and plan on making a lot of changes in my heart. My life is not about me at all--and I all too often make it that way. Needless to say, I was up most of the night thinking about so many things that God was revealing to me and thankfully I have an amazing husband who lended his ear to listen to how God was working on me. I encourage everyone to follow those urges or things that God lays on your heart to do. You never know how He will use even the smallest gesture to change someone's life. Be blessed- Jenn

He Picks Up the Pieces...

After my last blog on sin, I have continued to think about how sin can destroy us. You know, like most people, there have been times in my life where my sinful nature took over. I know the difference between right and wrong, but sometimes it is easier to take the wrong path--make the wrong decision. I think sometimes it is easy to become almost "immune" to our own sin. After a while, it doesn't seem so bad. It gets easier and easier to sin. We supress our guilt, and try to justify the filth in our lives. There have been times in my life where sin caused a divide between me and my Savior. The rift got bigger and bigger until I felt like I could never reach God. I began to miss God's presence in my life. I lost the joy that only came from obedience to Christ. The beautiful thing is that God always calls me back to Himself. Despite what I have done or how far I have strayed from Him, He brings me back into His presence--and there is no better place to be than there. He breaks me--and I repent. Repentance hurts. Knowing that I have done things displeasing to the very God whose love is perfect hurts. I believe its that pain that sometimes makes us cling so severely to our Savior. He loves us UNCONDITIONALLY. He picks us up and puts us back together. We don't deserve that kind of love. I love the book of Hosea--its all about God's patience with us and how He restores us and loves us despite how many times we flee from Him. One verse I have always loved is this: "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but He WILL HEAL us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds." -Hosea 6:1 Sin does not go unpunished. There will be pain and guilt--but the Lord will restore us because He loves us. Be encouraged that God loves us past our sin. Nothing we do will ever make God stop loving us. Cling to the Lord--and strive for a life of holiness. Be blessed! Jenn

Hating Sin--Loving Righteousness

Today I read something that sparked a thought in my head. The thought was about sin. Sin--that thing that no one really wants to discuss or think about. The thing that separates us from our Creator. The thing that we fall into daily. Sin--something we should hate, but do we? I thought back to a conversation I had with my best friend Merry. This conversation took place probably over a year or two ago, but something she said has always stuck with me. Merry was discussing some of the things that God was revealing to her--and she said she was thinking about the sin in her life, and wondered if she really hated her sin? It's something I think about quite often. Because I love God with all of my heart, I strive to life a holy life, but I am guilty of sin. But do I really hate it? Do I despise it? God hates sin. Plain and simple. I want to hate sin. I want to hate the sin in my own life. I want to hate it so much that it completely changes who I am. It is so easy to sin--we are human--and not even realize we are doing it. It is easy to sin--knowing that God is going to forgive us if we repent. It is easy sometimes to go against what the Holy Spirit is telling us. I am so thankful for a merciful Lord who gave His Son to pay my ransom. When I sin, it hurts me ultimately. It drives a wedge in this relationship I have with Christ. It is true that God will always love me--but I want to show God how much I love Him by following His commands and guidance. I challenge you to think about the sin in your own life--how is it benefiting you? Newsflash: It isn't. I challenge you to begin truly hating your sin. Choose to love holiness and truth. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 14:21 Be blessed! Jenn

GPS Watch...

So, my husband got a package in the mail yesterday. It was the GPS watch he had ordered. I had never heard of one of these before, all I knew was that it was big and ugly. David got it to help him train for his marathon in January. I soon learned that this watch did a lot of cool things. Obviously, it tracks where you are, tells you the distance you have gone, and reads your heartrate. Pretty great! I began to think how great it would be if we had a type of GPS to tell us where to go in life- to tell us "how much farther" we had to go to reach our destination. Something to tell us ultimately what our destination was. To give us directions when we are lost. I have times when I wonder where in the world my life is going. I wonder if I am taking the right roads--or if I am going to end up in the wrong place. The simple truth is this: God is our navigator--His word is our map. The Holy Spirit within us guides us to where we need to end up. The amazing truth is this: No matter if we take the right road or the wrong--God is there. He is there to pick us up--and shows us how to start from where we are and who we are to get back on track--back on the road that leads to His glory. Be encouraged that as Christians--we are on the road to eternal life with an amazing God! Think about the trip you are on--and make it count for something great--someone Great. "I will give you EVERY place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses." -Joshua 1:3 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9 Be Blessed- Jenn

Flag Football and Selena...

Last night I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. This of course is the time I usually do the most thinking. I wasn't too tired last night, so instead of being frustrated about not being able to sleep, I let my mind wander. I love how in your mind, you can be thinking one thing and it leads to something else, which leads to something else...and the next thing you know its 3:00 in the morning. I started off last night thinking about the weather (why? I don't know...). This led me to thinking about fall time...and that led me to think about my joyous time at Union University. I loved the fall time in Jackson, Tennessee. The trees were beautiful, the air was cool, the sky was blue and clear. I can remember wanting to be outside all the time. Fall was great because that meant FLAG FOOTBALL with my awesome sorority sisters. Flag football was one of my favorite memories from my college years. A lot of laughs and sore muscles. As I thought more about college, I began to think about how many good times I had, but I also had a lot of tough times. Heartbreak, stress, being unsure of my purpose in life, missing my family. But there were always a few friends who were always there for me...no matter what. When my heart was breaking, they were on the floor crying with me. When I was stressed out, encouraging notes were written to brighten my day or a hug was given just because. When I was confused about life, they prayed with me and stayed up until all hours of the night talking with me. These friends were so much more than friends, they became my family. Through it all, they were there. I knew they would always have my back! The greatest thing I got from thinking back to college was that God was so faithful in answering one of my biggest prayers. Before I left for college, I prayed that God will provide strong, faithseeking women in my life to be my friends. And honestly, He went above and beyond by giving me girls who will be my friends for the rest of my life. These friends of mine--I love you and cherish your friendship. Our meeting was truly God ordained. Take the time to let your friends know you love them and appreciate them. It's something we don't do enough. -Jenn

Ugly Wallpaper...

My husband and I are renting a great house. The only problem is that the bathrooms have the ugliest wall paper I have ever seen. Everytime I am in the bathroom, I can't help but think that I am being flashed back to the 70's. Eww. Because it is not OUR house, we can't really do anything about it. When we moved in, the bathroom had a light pink frilly shower curtain. We decided it had to go. This was our first attempt to transform the bathroom. We went to Target to try and find some kind of shower curtain that would possibly BLEND in with our horrid wall paper. We were successful in finding a classy, modern one. When I got home, I began to put it up in hopes that it would make the bathroom look completely different. My high expectations were quickly shattered. I could not seem to get past the hideous wall paper. Then I began to think, at least I have a bathroom and a home. It doesn't always matter what it looks like, but what it's function is. All this to say...sometimes we have to look past the ugly things in life--we have to look for the beauty in the not so beautiful. :) Jenn

A Few Thoughts...

Well, if any of you know me, you know that I recently got married to the most amazing man in the world and moved to a brand new town. I am currently looking for a job, but haven't quite found one yet. Since my husband is a full time student, this leaves me with a lot of time on my hands--which leads to a lot of thinking. I know that all of my thoughts aren't great epiphanies, but I thought I would start a blog to share what goes on in my crazy brain. If anything, maybe someone will get a good laugh : ) Today's thoughts are a bit on the more serious side, I guess. I just ordered Francis Chan's book Crazy Love to read during all of my "free time." Why not do something productive? I began reading the Preface last night while my husband was studying. There was one line that struck a chord in my heart. It said this: "We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God."--- Francis Chan I thought this statement was simple, but brilliant. You know, as Christians we are called to live HOLY lives, not only because it betters our relationships with our Father, but because we are the ones who are called to represent Christ to others. People watch. And they listen. I am the first to admit that I mess up a lot. Thank God for His mercy. But I am challenged to really watch what I say or do, not only for myself, but for others. The thought that something I may do could turn someone off to Christ would devastate me. There is a reason that we are called to live like Christ. If we do, people will see that God is a God of love and mercy and grace. And that would be hard to resist. My challenge to you and to myself is that we love hard, pray hard, and fight hard to win hearts for Jesus. Paul says in Acts 10, "Do not cause anyone to stumble...For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." --Jenn