A Night to Remember...

My 25th birthday was last Friday. It really was a great day. My hubby spoiled me, and we spent the whole day together (which doesn't happen often, unfortunately). We decided to end my birthday by going to eat at Chili's for dinner. We had actually planned on cooking dinner, but because something came up, we decided last minute to go out to eat. Little did we know that God had us there at the time He did for a purpose. It became a day that will not be soon forgotten by either me or David. Because it was a Friday night, the restaurant was packed, forcing David and me to wait outside. As we were sitting outside chit chatting about life, a man came raging out of the restaurant dragging his little girl by the arm with a painful force. He was screaming horrible things to her--he was saying, "I am going to beat your f****** a**" over and over again as he dragged her to their car, which was positioned right in the front, for all to see. As he shoved her in the car, he said that he would "beat her f****** body to the graveyard." At that moment, my husband ran over to the car and grabbed the man off of the girl. My heart was racing as the man screamed profanitites at my brave husband and threatened to have him put in jail for assault. He told David to mind his own business. But he made it our business when he came out screaming and hurting his young girl. Everyone outside watched in amazement. The manager came out and was asking everyone what was going on, and we thought that she was calling the police--but sadly we never saw the police. I think that I got a huge dose of reality that night. I like to think that our world is good. That people are good. But then you see something like that, you realize how much sin and evil is in our world. I know that there are a lot of people in our world who are good, but Satan has a strong hold on our society. It is scary. As things calmed down, we finally went in to eat. I couldn't get through dinner without crying my eyes out. I was hurting so much for that sweet little girl. No child should ever be treated and humiliated like she was. Whether he was going to hit her or not, his words to her were piercing, hurtful, and threatening and I keep hearing them in my head. David and I keep reliving the moment over and over. I am so proud of my husband for standing up for that little girl. While everyone else watched, my husband took a stand. Pray for this little girl. Pray for her parents. It frightened me to think what this man would do to this innocent child behind closed doors. He had so much anger in his voice. Our children are under attack, and we need to be praying for them. We need to fight for them. If we won't, who will? Be blessed! Jenn

Life as I know it...

Well, somehow it is already October. I must say that October is my favorite month. It just screams FALL! I love this time of the year. It might be my favorite. This month in particular is going to be full of goodness, which I am so excited about! In a few days, I turn 25! I love birthdays...particularly other people's more than my own, but I am thankful I was born--thanks Mom and Dad! I am still trying to figure out how I am already 25...weird! I always tend to reflect on how far God has brought me on my birthday. It is so awesome to see how He worked everything out, brought me through the rough times, and blessed me in SOOO many ways. My year of being 24 was amazing--I got married to the man of my dreams, had a lot of fun times with my wonderful family, gained a brand new amazing family, and moved to a new place! God is so good. I should never complain! I plan on making my 25th year of life one of purpose and joy! Next week, I get the pleasure of being in one of my best friend's weddings! I have always loved weddings, but now that I am actually married, I love them so much more! I get to travel all the way to Tennessee, where you can actually tell its Fall, and see all of my best friends! I am definitely looking forward to some girlfriend time. I feel like it is such a blessing seeing your friends get married. I am excited for my friend to know the joy of marriage. It's going to be a beautiful, fun day! I am starting my new job hopefully this week. Bye bye monotonous days! I am so looking forward to being around kids again...I miss that! I am praying that God will use me in the job He has provided me with! Anyways, October is going to be full of good times! God is good! Be blessed! Jenn

Answers...

One of the things I love most in life is seeing God work! To look back and see God's hand. To see that He has been there the whole time orchestrating something amazing. I love seeing and hearing how God is working in the lives of others. There is no way that I could ever walk apart from God--no matter what I have been through or what I have done, He is the one who will always be there. I love it when God shows up and totally rocks your world. I feel like for the last few months I was really struggling because I had no idea what God was up to with my life. I felt like I was having one of those "in the valley" experiences where I didn't necessarily "feel" God. I knew He was there and I knew that He was working, but I wanted to have answers. I told myself not to lose hope, because I know that my God isn't going to lead me anywhere that I can't handle. I spent a lot of time praying for answers concerning a job, hardships in my family, my emotions, and my marriage. I have always been taught that God always answers your prayers...sometimes you just have to wait. Eww...I hate that word..wait. I have never been good at that! Not too long ago, I wrote a post about "giving it all to God"...and I wrote how I finally TRULY gave my worries to the Lord. And then something amazing happened... God did not waste any time in blessing me. A few days after praying and giving my burdens to God, He blessed me with a job that really could not be any better! I will have great hours and will still be working with kids and planning lessons. The stuff I LOVE! Another great thing happened... I hope my mom doesn't mind if I share this, but she has been dealing with a lot of pain and anger and hurt because of several situations in her family. If anyone knows my mom, she is bubbly and happy a good portion of the time. She is probably my favorite person on the planet. She and my dad are the ones who truly taught me what love was. Anyways, it hurt me that she was hurting, and there wasn't anything I could do to take it away from her. So, I prayed that God would do it for me. My mom called me yesterday, and told me that for the first time in a long time she was so excited about what God was doing. She said that He was taking away that pain, and filling her with joy again. He was teaching her, and she was being open to being taught. I was so excited--and amazed at God once again! We are all blessed everyday. If we look for God in our everyday lives, we will see Him. Remember to keep hoping in the Lord, and keep praying. He hears you! Be Blessed! Jenn

Accountability...

Have you ever encountered someone who is a "convenient Christian"...someone who only represents Christ when it seems convenient for them? Forgive me if I rant and rave a bit on this blog, but this is something that has been weighing heavy on my mind for a while. I sometimes wonder if people understand what it really means to follow Christ. What ever happened to "fearing" God? When did we become so tolerant of doing things that are not representing Christ the way He deserves to be represented? I know that I am not the perfect Christian by any means. I AM NOT EVEN CLOSE. But I can honestly say that I really do strive to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. I realize that my actions not only affect me, but others around me. There have been times in my life where it would have been a lot easier for me to "follow the crowd", but I knew that my witness would have been ruined. There are people in my life right now that I love tremendously who are Christians, but I rarely see Christ reflected in their actions or choices. This bothers me. It bothers me to know that they are living their OWN lives, apart from God--they are missing out on a lot of joy and comfort, guidance and peace. It bothers me that they think they can do what is "fun" now, and worry about their relationship with God later. I know Christ's love, and I know what is feels like to be in His presence. I want the people I love to have that too. I want them to realize that the things in this world truly are temporary--that the choices we make everyday matter--that we are NOT invincible. Every second matters. In Revelation, God says He will spit the lukewarm out of His mouth. I don't want anyone I love to be in that situation. Now, I also realize that I may be to blame for some of this. It is my responsiblity to keep others accountable and I need that accountability as well. I know there are many times where I see one of my brothers or sisters in Christ heading away from what is right, and I am so worried about upsetting them or stepping on their toes, that I don't say anything. I just let them fall away from the Lord. What kind of person does that make me? Quite honestly, I am tired of worrying what someone is going to think of me. I am tired of keeping my mouth shut. My prayer is that God would give me loving ways to keep my friends and my family accountable. I am very blessed to have people in my life who keep me accountable. They call me out on the "junk" in my life, and there are times when it hurts my feelings or I get defensive, but deep down I know they are right. I know that I needed to hear it. I don't really know where to end with this. Just remember that we have a responsibility to one another to keep each other accountable. We have a responsibility to pray for one another. We have a responsibility to love one another. Be blessed! Jenn

Childlike Faith...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love kids. I love the way their little brains work. I love the things they say. I love their innocence. Oh to be a child again. There are days when I long to just be a kid again. David and I were talking about this the other day. It was fun to think back to a time when our biggest concern was what we were going to play when we got home from school or what we were having for snack. Life was simple then. Hard to believe that there was a time in my life when I had absolutely no worries.

Last week, I kept randomly singing children's "Sunday School" songs--for example "He's got the whole world in His hands..." or "Rise and shine, and give God the glory..." or "This is the day that the Lord has made..." I love those songs. I have no idea why they kept popping into my head, but I realized that it made me happy to sing these simple--truthfilled tunes.

I started thinking about what it means to have "childlike faith." Have you ever heard a little kid talk about God? It is a beautiful and humbling thing. With kids, they just seem to believe. They don't argue the facts or analyze every aspect of every occurance in their lives. They just believe in Jesus. I feel like sometimes, as adults, we get so caught up in the why's or why nots of life. We forget to focus on the simple facts about Christ- that He loved us and died for us. It is all that other "stuff" in our lives that sometimes overshadows the simplicity of having a relationship with Christ.

Just something to think about. It's refreshing to approach Christ with a childlike faith. After all, we are His children. I hope that all of those sweet little childhood songs get stuck in your head as a reminder that accepting Christ's love is simple!

Be blessed!

Jenn

God-given Passion...

What are you passionate about? Have you ever really thought about it? I love that God gives us spiritual gifts, but He also gives us things that we are passionate about. He gives us things that we love and can't live without. I think that I could often guess other people's passions just by observing their lives. My husband, for example, is passionate about helping others. It honestly just comes naturally to him. He would not think twice about helping someone else. I love this about him. That is ultimately why he is pursuing a career in Physical Therapy-to help and love others. I have several friends who have a huge passion for missions. They want to minister to people of other cultures and other religions. God has equipped them for this. Now for my passion... I don't have to sit and think long and hard about what my passion is. I have always known. I am desperately, completely, wholeheartedly passionate about music and singing. According to my family, I started singing at a very young age. I can honestly say that I am happiest when I am singing praises to my awesome God and leading worship. I can also sit at home singing in a room all by myself, and feel so close to God. I am so moved by music. I am moved by lyrics and melodies. I am moved by harmonies and emotion. Music just gets to me. I love pouring my heart out in song. One of my ambitions in life is to create music. I love writing lyrics--and creating melodies in my head. Sometimes I think this "goal" of mine is pretty ridiculous. Kind of like me saying I want to be an astronaut or something. But no matter what, I want to always use my passion for Christ. He gave me this passion in the first place--why not use it to glorify Him. Here are some lyrics by Kim Walker (who may be my role model) who pretty much sums up my passion... "Can't hold my love back from You. I can't hold my love back from You. I gotta sing, I gotta sing, sing my love...Can't hold my praise back from You. Can't hold my praise back from You. I gotta shout, I gotta shout, shout my love." Think about what your own passions are. Are you using them for the glory of God or are you hiding them? I would love for everyone who reads this to comment on what their passion is. I think it would be interesting to see how unique we all are, but how we all have a part to play in God's kingdom! Be blessed!! Jenn

Giving it ALL to God...

I know we have all heard people say, "I am giving it all to God" in reference to worries and fear of the unknown things in our lives or to things that we realize we cannot control. I have used this phrase many times in my own life, maybe not fully being truthful when I said it or even thought it. It is a nice thought that I can take all of the worries I have--which lately I have had a lot of worries--and just hand them over to God. I know in my heart and in my head that He is able to take all of that "junk" that is burdening me and I can rest in the fact that He will take care of me. But why is it so hard to truly "give it all to God"? I have been asking myself this question a lot lately. Maybe it is hard for us to let someone else have control over our lives. In all of my thinking, I have realized that this is pretty ridiculous. It is ridiculous for me to believe that I can take care of myself--by myself. Why wouldn't I want the God of this Universe in control of my small, seemingly unimportant life? Yesterday, I was at the church where David's dad is the pastor. He said one simple thing that made me realize that I am not handing my burdens over to the Lord. He said this, "Give it to God, and don't take it back!" I felt like this comment may have been totally directed at me. I am so glad that God speaks through other people to get our attention. I sometimes pray that God will take my worries away--and pray that I will completely trust Him, and then it seems that a few days--or hours--later I am back at it again. Back at worrying and fearing and stressing about things I have no control over. Last night, I prayed from the depth of my heart that God would truly take those things away--and I meant it. I wanted Him to have them. He loves me so much that He will take those things from me if I have faith. I think I am relearning the meaning of "giving it to God" and relearning what it means to have faith. I am loving the fact that "God has already ordained all of my days before one of them came to be" Why would I ever worry when He already has everything figured out for me--and He does want GOOD for me? Never forget that God is good. He is so much bigger than all of our worries or fears--our heartaches or disappointments. Give it all to Him--and don't ever take it back. Be Blessed! Jenn