An Ode to Friendship...

This post may be a bit sappy.

Sorry {but not really}.

This morning, I was sitting on my couch, sipping coffee and having a conversation with Jesus.  It felt amazing to be in His presence.  I started praying for my sweet friends, and I got a bit choked up.  Ok, a lot choked up.  And an overwhelming sense of thankfulness flooded my heart.

You see, I have the greatest friends in the world.  Really, I do.  I have done nothing to deserve such great people in my life, but I am so thankful God decided to cross our paths.

I had a conversation with my wise sis-in-law, Christy, not too long ago, and she reminded me of this story.  Such a beautiful portrait of what friendship is...

"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

Exodus 17:11-12

I can say that my friends are very much like Aaron and Hur.  When I felt like I couldn't hold my arms up any longer, that I was just too weak, those very friends swooped in and held my arms up for me.  They were my support.  They were able to be strong for me when I just couldn't be.  Isn't that how friendship should be? 

So, this post is an ode to friendship.  

God gave me the greatest friends in college--Katie and Merry.  I prayed for them before I ever knew them--and God went beyond my expectations when He blessed my life with their friendship.  They have seen the good in me, and the not so good, and have loved me unconditionally.  They have inspired me, and kept me accountable.  Their lives and stories are a constant encouragement to me--the way they seek Jesus is just beautiful.  No matter the distance between us (and that distant is about to get exponentially larger!!), we will always be a part of each others lives.  I praise God for them :)

Then there is my sweet circle of girlfriends I have here in Pensacola.  I don't even know what to say about these women.  All I know is that God knew I needed them.  I have never doubted that God brought us back to live in this area for a reason--and I truly believe that one of those reasons was so that I could be a part of a family of sisters who truly seek Jesus.  These women are real, and they have allowed me to be real and honest.  They have allowed me to let my guard down.  I can't even express in words how much these ladies mean to me.  I have never felt more loved by a group of girls.  They are truly my spiritual sisters.  And when these girls say they are praying for you, they mean it!  It is amazing to see how God placed us all together--how we have had different situations, but very similar journeys.  How we have been able to encourage one another, cry with one another, and definitely laugh with one another!  So, to you girls (and you know who you are)--I love you.  I am thankful for each of you. So very thankful.

And lastly, there is my sister.  My one and only little sis.  Over the years, I have seen our relationship blossom into a beautiful friendship.  We are as different as can be, but I think that is why we get along so well!  I love that we will always have a connection, as sisters, that I can never have with anyone else.  My sis is getting married soon, and I feel so incredibly honored that I get to stand beside her on that day.  She is beautiful, inside and out.  Love you, sissy.

Take some time today to love on your friends.  They say that good friends are hard to come by :)  so hold on to your friendships with all you have and be intentional!  I will end with this sweet little quote from the very wise Winnie the Pooh:  

"No one can see the seeds of friendship, but they grow in to something beautiful."

Be blessed!

Pray Without Ceasing...

Prayer.  The lifeline to the very God who knit us together--who knows our every thought.

We pray when we are thankful.  When we are terrified.  When we need something bigger than ourselves.

And God--He hears us.  Even when our mouths can't even formulate the words, He knows.

You know, there are things that I have been praying for over the last 3 years.  Big things.  And at times, it took all I had to even mutter the words to Jesus.  Because it felt like He didn't hear me. 

But I kept on praying.  Even if it was as simple as saying "please help me, Lord."  The Word tells us to pray without ceasing.  So, I tried to do just that.

I know that God is faithful.  And when I look back on my life, and see how He worked everything out, how His hand was on me and the ones I love, I am amazed.  Recently, God answered a prayer.  In an unexpected place and time.  And it was literally the most beautiful thing I have experienced in a really long time.  Because God was there...His presence was so evident and so strong.  I can't even put into words what it did for this doubtful heart of mine.  Once again...God completely blew my mind.

Be encouraged...God hears you.  He works things out in His perfect time.  So, be patient...pray without ceasing...and you will see the goodness of the Lord.  I have a feeling that I am going to have some amazing things to blog about...God is up to something big!

Be Blessed!!
Jenn

{P.S.  No, I am not pregnant...for those of you who are bound to ask :)  But we are trusting and believing for that, too!}

When You Feel Lost...

This probably won't be my most eloquent of posts. Today I am just feeling lost and hurt and worn out.

For over a year, I have felt completely lost.  I feel like I am just floating along with no purpose and no direction.  No meaning.  And alone.  Just all alone.  I wake up every day praying that this will be the day where God reveals something big to me.  And I wait, and I listen.  I beg the Lord to show me something, anything, that will make my heart feel better.  But instead, I get silence.  And I wonder sometimes...is God really close to the broken hearted, to those broken in spirit?

Today, I was in my kitchen baking cookies and singing worship music, and something hit me.  Why don't I just let God do His work behind the scenes, and trust that it is going to restore some of this brokenness, that it is going to be a game changer?  All of my waiting is not wasted on our God.  My prayers are never wasted.  My tears, not wasted. Maybe my purpose right this second is to wait.  And instead of getting frustrated everyday, maybe I should just dwell here in the waiting. Maybe my purpose is to just keep seeking God and trusting that when He says He has a plan for me that wasn't created to harm me, but to prosper me, He means it!

See, God is close.  Even in silence, He is close.  He is the sweet little song birds whistling in the trees.  He is the warmth from the sun.  He is the laughter and smiles of a child.  He is that feeling of peace that comes over you as you pray.  He is the encouraging words from a friend.  Yes, He is here.  He is close to my side, and He is working.

A sweet friend of mine, who has let God speak through her into my life, reminded me in a conversation we had that God already knows my story, from beginning to end.  He sits on His throne knowing every single detail of this life.  And guess what, it ends in victory!  So, even as I struggle to know where I fit in and what comes next, I can rest assured that this story does not end in tragedy--but will glorify my Maker. 

Be blessed!

Hard to Love...

Let me start by saying that with this post, I am absolutely preaching to myself...with that being said...

Why do we pick and choose who we show love to?

Time and time again, we, as Christians, preach about love.  Giving love to others.  Loving others around us.  Loving those in our community.  Loving the needy, the poor, the bankrupt.

But I bet if we all looked at our lives--we would have people that we choose not to love.  We choose to let our pride, or our fear, or our hurts stop us from doing what we are called to do as followers of Christ. 

God doesn't give us an option on who we are to reach out to.  He doesn't say that we should just love the good people, and not the liars.  He doesn't say that we should just love the pure of heart, and not the cheaters and thieves.  He doesn't say that love only goes out to those who love us back. 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

 

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."

1 Peter 4:8

 

 

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS.  Just let that sink it...

 

There is someone I know that God is calling me to reach out to--and with all that I am--I do not want to do it.  Oh, I don't want to.  And I don't really know how.  But I can either sit back and ignore Him, believing this person has no good inside of them. Or I can remember that this person was created by God, which in itself IS GOOD.  That because God loves them, so should I.  That even the darkest of sins are covered by God's love and by Jesus' blood. 

 

I know that loving some people is NOT easy by any means.  But that is where God steps in, and softens our hearts.  He gives us His eyes to see past the bad, and to see a person's heart.  I would hate to know that someone didn't know Christ because I was too prideful not to reach out to them. 

 

The truth of the matter is that I am no better than my worst enemies.  Sin is sin, no matter how we try to justify it in our minds.  And I am so thankful that God decided to love me despite of all the bad in me.  Praise God for His grace.

 

Maybe that ounce of grace, that little bit of love that you show someone else would change their life.

 

Love and blessings,

 

It Is Well...

This morning, the words of  It is Well With My Soul  rolled off of my tongue.  I love that hymn.  I don't think it was a coincidence that God placed those lyrics on my heart. There is one line that hit me like a ton of bricks...one line that I want to be able to sing, and mean it with my whole heart.

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

If you keep up with me or my blog, you know that David and I have been trying to start our family for a while now.  We faced an early miscarriage. We waited months to even start trying again afterwards.  And now every month that passes without a pregnancy seems to break my heart.  I do everything I can to stay hopeful and positive.  I know what God says about my life in His word.  I know that my intense desire to be a mother does not go unnoticed by the One who made my heart.  But sometimes, I feel like it is never going to happen. And what if it doesn't?  Would it be enough knowing that God's will for my life is perfect? 

 

Right after I found out I was pregnant, and days before losing the pregnancy, I wrote these words in a post. 

"God has patched up a heart that was hurting, and refilled my life with joy--He has renewed my passion for Him--so much that I knew that if He never answered my prayer the way I desired Him to, that I would somehow find peace resting in His hands."

I desperately long to be in that place again.  I could lie and say that my heart fully believes those words that I wrote several months ago, but instead, it's a struggle.  Some days are easier than others.  I am so thankful that God pours His grace over me when I doubt. 

So, for now, I keep praying.  I keep hoping.  I keep asking for forgiveness when I doubt. I keep telling myself that GOD IS ENOUGH.  I keep God's promises on the tip of my tongue.  And I keep singing the words of that old hymn...

It is well with my soul...WHATEVER my lot may be.

Love and Blessings!

A Late Night Blog...

Well, it's 12:46, and my eyes are wide open and my mind is running a million miles an hour. For some of you that may not seem late, but it is way past my bedtime. Good thing I don't have to wake up early tomorrow. 

Since I was up, I figured I would write a blog post about a bunch of random thoughts, since that's the way my mind works so late night, or early in the morning, whatever...so here goes.

• This weather lately is driving me crazy.  My body does not like the whole warm one day, freezing the next thing.  Springtime, I am desperately begging for you to come.  I need some time in the sunshine!

• Life Lesson:  When you are feeling like a loser and life gets tough, don't pull away from the ones who love you.  Those people are the ones who will speak life into you, love on you, and most importantly, make you laugh instead of cry.  More than likely, they love you just the way you are, flaws and all.  And don't forget to return the encouragement :)

• God often answers prayers in ways you really wouldn't expect.  And when you pray for things, expect God to answer.  In the book of James it says "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."  Ask, and believe.  It's that simple.

• Be familiar with God's promises for you, and speak them over your life.  Somedays, when I feel like giving up, I recite His promises for me over and over.  The more you say it, the more you believe it.  And the more you fill your mind with those promises, the less room Satan has to plant his lies.

• Choose joy.  And it may be a choice you have to make daily, or by the hour on some days.  A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. -Proverbs 17:22

• I'm starting to exercise again.  It's good for my heart--literally and figuratively.  I am even thinking about running another half marathon towards the end of the year.  My hubby will be training for a full marathon, so there is some motivation right there.  Glad I married someone who enjoys fitness...

• Do you ever believe that God keeps you awake some nights for a reason?  I do. It's a great time to reflect on His goodness, and have a heart to heart conversation with Him.  And sometimes, in the quietness, if you listen, You will hear him speaking to your heart.  Kind of makes not being able to sleep a beautiful thing.

I think that is all for now...

Love and Blessings,

Armor Up!

If I could say one thing to you today, it would be that...

 God's love is unconditional. 

And the worst things that happen in our lives are not a punishment from God. 

Ok...so that is actually two things, but who is really counting?

I am learning this over and over and over again...and Satan keeps trying to convince me of the opposite.

On the days when I struggle the most to understand this place of life I am in, I have to remind myself that my struggles are not from God.  He doesn't want me to be miserable and lonely.  He doesn't want me to feel completely purposeless.  He doesn't want me to go over every aspect of my life with a fine- toothed comb wondering what I did to cause the hardships and the heartaches.  But there is someone who does. 

There is someone who wants me to doubt God's plan for my life.  There is someone who wants me to hide away in a corner, thinking that I have nothing good to offer anyone.  And more than anything, he wants me to believe that God's love for me is contingent upon what I do in this life.  The Father of Lies is out to steal, kill, and destroy. 

Satan is real.  He is always there, trying to whisper lies into our ears.  He knows our weaknesses and he uses it to his advantage. 

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.... Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Ephesians 6:11 &14-18

These verses show us why it is crucial to seek after God everyday.  To talk to Him.  To recite His promises over and over again.  To know what His word says, and to combat Satan's lies with it.  We are fighting a spiritual battle every day!  He will give us everything we need to fight the evil one.  We serve a God who trumps Satan every. single. time. 

Don't give Satan an invitation to your life...

Fight him with God's armor, and he won't stand a chance!

Love and Blessings,