Day 9

Humility

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was inthe form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:3-11

Day 8

The least of these

"'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" - Matthew 25:35-40

Day 6

To live is Christ

"As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with fullcourage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:20-21

Day 4

Spiritual Strength

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." - Ephesians 3:14-21

Day 3

Worship

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." - Hebrews 12:28-29

Kingdoms on this earth can be shaken. Things are not certain here. God's kingdom cannot be shaken and it is secure. No matter what may happen in this life we are guaranteed a future in Christ. That is the hope that we have to offer the people of Ethiopia. This is why we worship our God.

Day 2

Giving and Provision:

"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully...And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:6,8

Faith Spotlight: The Soul Anchor

Hey guys! I am very excited about today's post! Scout from The Soul Anchor is here today to share her heart. She always has very heart-felt posts. Though I haven't met her, I can really see her heart for Jesus through what she writes. It is really neat that she chose to talk about this topic, because God has really been convicting my heart of the same thing. If you read anything on my blog this week, please read this!

Hello everyone!  I am so honored to speak to you through Jennifer's "Faith Spotlight!"  I've loved reading the words of other women, and hopefully I can be a blessing to someone as well.  The things God teaches us are so individual and personalized, and I love that God works within each of us in the unique ways that we need.  I wanted to share with you one of the biggest lessons God has been teaching me this past year.  It's a lesson I'm still learning in new and developing ways.  I hope I never stop exploring this lesson either!

God has really molded my heart in the area of generosity.  If you look through the stories and words of wisdom all throughout the Bible, God is a HUGE fan of giving, of serving others, and of people who have a generous spirit.  There's a lot of examples I could point to, but I think the most famous verse is still the best:

"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."  2 Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV)

To be honest, I used to be a pretty selfish person.  While I was a child, my parent's made me tithe 10% of my allowance, and I did so very grudgingly.  When I was young and I needed to buy birthday presents for a friend, I always wanted to keep the gift myself -- or at least buy something in addition for me too!  Growing up, I was always thinking about me, me, me.  When I got older and could be more responsible for myself, I stopped tithing.  I was kind towards people, but I was in no way truly generous.  But then, last year, I went through some very huge events full of trials and heartache.  Last year, I was stripped of almost everything I had.  Literally.  I lost the place I was living in and I began staying with friends and eventually my parents because I had nowhere else to go.  A mere two weeks after I had to leave my home, I lost my job.  I was unemployed, no place of my own, and hardly any possessions.  I had my car, my clothes, and my cat.  That was about it. 

It was then that I truly experienced the generosity of others.  People and then my parents let me stay with them out of the goodness of their heart, gifts came from unexpected places, and bills that I had no money for were somehow paid.  My dear friend, Laura, told me this saying that I will never forget:  "When you're in need -- give."  That thought rooted deep within my heart, and I decided to try it.  I had less than $20.00 in my bank account, but I went to the store and bought a $5.00 Starbucks gift card and a .99 Hallmark card, and in it, I wrote a note saying that the person who found this gift card is a valuable person, loved, and greatly cherished.  I didn't sign the card, and I left it randomly in the mall food court for someone to find.  And then I walked away and never saw who found the giftcard, but that was the point.  That was the beginning of the Lord teaching me that to be truly blessed, I must be willing to be a blessing to others.

Over the course of the next few months and into the following year, God taught me many lessons about the blessing of tithing and investing in the community I call my church, of picking up the tab for a friend at the cafe who you know is struggling and seeing the relief in their eyes, and of ways to be generous outside of money as well.  I have learned about the generosity of my prayers -- not focusing so much on my needs and my hurts, but of raising the name of others before God as well, of taking the time to volunteer and help out someone who needs it.  Whether it be mowing the neighbors lawn, taking the elderly lady across the street grocery shopping, watching the kids so a tired mom and dad can have a night out, or helping a teenager become more confident in their schoolwork, there are SO many ways that we can demonstrate a generous spirit. 

God asks us to be a cheerful giver -- he doesn't want us to give of our money, our time, or our efforts because we feel we HAVE to.  He wants it to be the joy of our hearts, and I can totally see why!  When you give freely of whatever you have to offer, you are opening yourself up to others.  When you give something up for someone, you become vulnerable.  In the same way, when you're willing to receive from another, you are opening yourself up to vulnerability as well.  Creating this space between two people opens the doors for love, for compassion, for an increased sense of community, and a common experience of blessing each other.  People who have generous spirits draw closer to each other, and those who are generous in the name of Christ also draw closer to the heart of God as a result.  I think it is beautiful that the word "charity" also means "love," and they should truly be thought of as one and the same.  To give cheerfully is to learn to love others, to validate their worth as fellow human beings, to acknowledge the interdependence that exists between communities, and to focus on the fact that what we have it not our own anyway.  All that we have is a gift and a blessing from God, and the best way that we can say "thank you" to him is to pass it on and be a blessing to others in His name.

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Please check out her blog! You will be greatly encouraged by this beautiful young woman!

WIRED Week 2011

Well, this past week was simply amazing. I've been holding off on writing about it so that I could process all that happened. I still can't adequately explain everything, but here it goes! Basically WIRED week is about bringing the local church together to serve and worship in unity. We had 40 something youth groups and over 1000 kids. Everyone stayed at host churches in the area (one of them is our church) at night, and during the day we came together for worship, Bible study and serving the community through various mission projects. Believe me, it's awesome.

Our worship band for the week was DecembeRadio. Let me tell you, they are one talented group of people! Cody Deese was the speaker and man, he brought it! He certainly wasn't afraid to say what needed to be said!

The theme was "Under Siege" and it was all about spiritual warfare. It's kind of funny because one night the power went out completely. It was hot and dark but we still had worship!

My sweet sister also came into town for the week to help with a VBS track group, and also to keep me company while my husband did all his assistant camp director things. He basically lived at the church for 3 weeks...no joke.

I was also able to help at this booth! We sold these bracelets to raise money to build safe houses for victims of sex trafficking. This is the group I will be going to Ethiopia with this fall!

Speaking of Ethiopia, you should check out my vintage-inspired headbands that I'm selling to raise money for the trip!

Everyday, I helped deliver lunches to sites. For the first 2 years of WIRED I served as a track leader...it kind of made me miss it.

It was so good have my sister here all week! She is the sweetest girl ever and I'm so glad to call her my family! She was good to wear my headbands a lot to help me promote them...and of course, I wore them too!

By the end of the week there were over 150 people who committed their lived to Christ. And that was just from the WIRED participants! There were lots more at our sites! It is so neat to be a part of a generation who is rising up to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We aren't content with doing things simply because they've always been done that way. We are questioning. We are trying to make our lives line up with scripture, not tradition. I can't wait to see what the church will look like in the future. I have great hope!

WIRED Week, I will see you next year!

learning simple things

The pulse of worship becomes more intense with every line.

Hands raised.

Hearts open.

Over a thousand people sing out an anthem of praise.

We draw near to God.

God draws near to us.

It's so beautiful that would draw near to each one of us. As I sat in the back of the auditorium after worship, I was blown away by this thought: At the same time God was speaking to my heart, He was also speaking to so many others in the room. He speaks to each of us individually. Though hearing the same message and singing the same songs, He sees the hearts of all and has a different plan for everyone. The Spirit is vast. Just thinking about all that He was doing in that room (not to mention the rest of the world) absolutely astounded me. What knowledge! What power! What a great God.

And yet we live as if He is small.

We hear His voice and then forget what He said. We worship Him and live our own lives. We don't remember that the Bible is truly the Word of God. We fail to take the time to come before Him in awe of His majesty. Often you hear people talk about "going deeper" with God. What if we just grasped the simple things? Things like "God is love", and that we were once dead and now made alive in Christ. What if we really learned to pray and worship? What if we learned how to love? I am seeing that I know less about God than I ever have. Just the fact that He speaks to everyone at the same time, on an individual and personal level makes me want to worship. It makes me want to know my God even more.

Hands raised.

Heart open.

My heart singing out an anthem of praise.

When we draw near to God.

God draws near to us. All of us.

For now, I am just coming to Him as a child. I know nothing of His ways and I just want Him to teach me the simple things...for He has more depth than I can even fathom.

The Difference Project: 2nd & 3rd Month

It has officially been 1 day without any coffee at all.

Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to say "I don't drink coffee". I have loved it since middle school. Despite being extra tired from lack of sleep, I woke up this morning with no desire for coffee whatsoever. No headache. No desire for it at all. (This never happens! Normally I head straight to the kitchen to make a pot.) In my last update, I really felt like I should give up coffee. I don't need to be so dependent on it, especially when I go to Ethiopia this fall. God is proving to me time and time again that He will give me the strength to do what He has called me to do. As silly as it may seem, quiting coffee has helped grow my faith in God...and so has the rest of this project thus far.

These past two months were a whole lot harder than expected. I had to go to Target to get a few wedding presents and had to force myself not to take a peek at all the cute summer clothes. I've had several strong urges to buy some new things, especially before going to weddings. I've also found myself making a mental list of all the things I "need" for my trip to Ethiopia. Yet, time and time again God breaks me, breaks my heart and I remember why He led me to do this. Through this project, my heart's sinful, selfish, and egocentric ways have come to light. At times I pity myself, feel proud of this project and others I am humbled before my Lord in tears, appalled by what is in my heart. Oh, if it were not for grace!

Today I read Psalm 57 in a different perspective. I challenge you to read this from the point of view of a young girl in sex-slavery, forced to be with 30-40 men a day. She cannot escape. Imagine reading this as an 8 year old boy forced to fight and kill in a war that is not his own. He must murder innocent people, or die. Feel the pain of a poor mother who has just had her first child. She is so malnourished that every day is one step closer to death by starvation. But her child, her precious child....is there any hope?

Now read it. How can I now go out and spend money on frivolous things? How can you?

Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
²I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
³He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples me.

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! 

⁴My soul is in the midst of liona; I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,

 whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
 ⁶They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves.
⁷My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
⁸Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
⁹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
 I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

I'm not saying all this to make you feel bad for drinking coffee or buying things you don't need. I certainly have lots of things that I don't need still. I am just hoping to be a part of a generation that lives for more than American dream, a generation that lives for Christ above all else. My desire is to be the difference to the needy in the name of Jesus and in order to further the gospel.

Where I've Been: Philippines (Second time)

I never got over the things I saw and learned in the Philippines in 2007. By the summer of 2008, I was a new person in more ways than one. In that short period of time my health had rapidly declined. (I was very sick for most of college, but then God healed me...which is an amazing story I will tell another time.) For the first time in years I was whole physically, and I had just met Jonathan a few months back. We started dating just before I left to fly across the world. I kept a picture of him with me at all times, and I'll admit that I was more than a little love-sick for him. Still I felt compelled to go, so I did.

This time I was even more exited to return and see the people with whom I left part of my heart. However, this was definitely not the same trip. We still woke up early to visit and speak in the schools, but the team and terrain were vastly different. Before we had a small, intimate group. Now there were over 70 of us on the team and we were closer to the coast in the northern region of the Philippines.

I was struck even more so by the beauty of the country.

As I was sharing the gospel with a group of students at this school, I noticed the teachers nodding in accordance to the things I was saying. These teachers came up to us afterwards and with a new light in their eyes said, "Brother and sister, I will see you again when we are with Jesus!" I can't explain to you what it feels like to hear something like that.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Don't you love the umbrellas? Everywhere we went there were rice fields.

I loved making the kids laugh by speaking the phrases I knew in their language. The only things I remember now are "Mahal ka ng Diyos" (but I don't remember what it means) and "buhay na walang hanggang"...I think it means "life is good but eternal is better."

The children stole my heart once again.

This was the most interesting I ate while I was there...and yes, I ate it. Most of the food was absolutely delicious and the people were so hospitible! I especially love the mangos. You haven't eaten a mango until you've eaten a mango from the Philippines!

We stayed at a place near this beach for the last week I was there. They have brown sand here, not like the beaches in the States, but still beautiful nonetheless.

Some of the team came back from my first trip, like the lovely girl to my right and her sister. One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to hear everyone's testimony on our long treks from school to school. Every day there were different people in your group, so there was always a new testimony to hear.

At one school they asked us to sing for a large group. Since I was the only singer in the group, I steped up to the plate and sang "How Deep the Father's Love." I don't think I've ever sung better in my entire life or ever will. It was a powerful moment to be singing of how God sent His Son to die for us, for them, though we were the ones who had sinned against God. I stood there singing and praying that the love of God would penetrate the hearts of these people, the ones He died for. I'll never forget it.

By the end of the trip, I was very ready to come home to see my man (and family too). I was excited to come home because I knew that this wasn't the end. My life had a mission - to make Jesus famous and God had just led me to man walking down that same path. Though it was not as soul-shaking as my first trip, I came back with a new love for sharing the gospel. I wish I could tell you that I was incredibly focused on the Lord after that, but first relationship ever had my head more that a little in the clouds...but there is more to come about that in the next "where I've been" post.

Vlog: He will give you

Do you have dreams and desires that haven't come to fruition yet? 

Here is quick video of a recent revelation. I was reading Psalms 37 and found a video by Christy Nockels. It was exactly what I needed today.

Failure means nothing. Success is meaningless.

Jim Elliot didn't write this in his journal after he had gotten to the mission field. He didn't write it right before he became a martyr. He wasn't even married yet, nor did he know that he would be one day. He wrote it before he even boarded the ship to sail to Ecuador. It was in a season of waiting and quietness that he penned this excerpt...no dreams fulfilled, nothing extremely great had been accomplished.

I read this and it pierced me to the core, because for a most of my existence I have measured my life's worth by my accomplishments. My success or failure impacted me greatly. When I looked at my life, I saw what I achieved, or hoped to achieve. Now I ask myself, does what I strive to attain in this life amount to anything in eternity? Does doing something great for God in the eyes of man make for a fuller life than one lived for Christ away from the spotlight and invisible to the history books?

It never really occurred to me that God may call me to do something, and it may fail in my eyes. (If it did, it was a fleeting thought.) He may call me to speak to someone and they may not respond. He may call me to do something that is an absolute waste of time in most people’s eyes. I may never do all that is in my heart. My life may be extremely brief. There have been many men and women of God that have been called to go to foreign lands only to die before they ever reach the soil. Is that a waste, a tragedy? Or might it be part of the great plans of all-knowing and all-powerful God?

I cannot claim to know the mind of God in this matter, but I do want to live every single day in such a way that I am ready and eager to meet my Lord. I want to strive for excellence in God’s perspective, not man’s. May I simply obey, not regarding the ‘success’ or ‘failure' of what I am called to do in this life. Only Jesus, His Great Name and His Kingdom matter in eternity. The greatness of mine matters less than a leaf floating in the wind. The less I am, the greater His power in my life.

If life ends tomorrow, will it be known that I lived for things that matter eternally or for my own personal (or even religious) achievements? There is a difference. Oh, there is a vast difference between achievements and a life spent for the sake of Christ.

As I plough ahead, death may lie shortly before me. I may head into a life that is far from what I ever dreamed. Even so, it can be full simply because I have God, I know Him and I live for Him. I have set my course - it it Christ. I cannot look back and be effective for the Kingdom.

So here I go. I'm digging my feet in and heading where He leads. I'm not looking back at things that have passed. I’m not taking glances at those who are headed on a different path. I'm not going to mourn the loss of my broken dreams that will be crushed under the weigh and worthiness of the Gospel. In reality I will lose nothing and gain Christ. I will love my life because God has given it, but I will not hold it too close for His sake, for the Gospel.

Failure means nothing. Success, it is meaningless. For Jesus alone I live and for Jesus alone I will die.

...knowing God on earth...

It is so easy for my heart to become languid and for passion to lay dormant in my soul. Sometimes it is of great benefit just to go outside, to clear my head of all the distractions of daily life and get alone with God. Today is one of those days. I seem to have let "doing things for God" become a burden instead of a joy. Even so, when I finally quiet my heart - He is there. He calls me to come and taste the delights of knowing Him.

I have always loved this quote from Jim Elliot's journal:

"I walked out to the hill just now. It is exalting, delicious. To stand embraced by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coat-tails and the heavens hailing your heart - to gaze and glory and to give oneself again to God, what more could a man ask? Oh the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth. I care not if I ever raise my voice again for Him, if only I may love Him, please Him. Mayhap in mercy He shall give me a host of children that I may lead through the vast star fields, to explore His delicacies, whose finger-ends set them to burning. But if not, if only I may see Him, tough His garments, and smile into my Lover's eyes - ah, then, not stars, nor children shall matter - only Himself." (Jim Elliot)

I want my heart to know that same overjoyed bliss in knowing my Savior on earth.

Today, I know I just need to push pause on all that I need to get done and just rest in Him, worship Him, seek Him and remember...

I am small...

My life is brief...

He is eternal...

Knowing Him is beyond comparison...

"When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,

what is man that You are mindful of him,

and the son of man that You care for him?"

(Psalm 8:3)

The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), and I can see it, hear it if only I take a moment to marvel and the magnificence of my God. Life is too short not to live it running passionately after Jesus. Like Paul, Jim Elloit and countless others, my goal is to know Him...but sometimes I lose focus. 

Throughout my life I have found that spending a little time out in nature and in prayer helps to rejuvenate my soul and refocus my heart to seek after knowing more of God. What has worked for you?

Her children rise up and call her blessed...

Dear Mom,

Tomorrow is the day we have always honored you. We write you cards, give you gifts and tell you that we love you. This year, that didn't quite seem enough. You have given me so much more than I can fit in a card or summarize with "Happy Mother's Day!"

You raised me with love and in the fear of the Lord. Almost every morning we had "Bible time" and I still remember drawing out the Psalms and Proverbs. What you instilled in us at a young age has left it's mark; it has not returned void. You taught the Word and it's principles in everyday life. Loving God was always more than merely going to Church, it was a way of life to be passionately pursued. In everything you taught us to seek the Lord. 

You spurred our creativity. Nothing was ordinary in our house. You cared more about our learning than a spotless house. Indian teepees, Pioneer wagons, Medieval castles, and forts of all shapes and sizes donned our living room more often than not. Once, you built us an ear that we could actually crawl through, and another time you really made me carry water like I had gotten it from well. You didn't just teach us, you made learning come to life.

Mom, you taught me how to love life. You are certainly more of a free spirit than uptight, and I love and appreciate that about you. Our home was always a happy and upbeat place because of you. I can't even count all the dance sessions we had while cleaning up the kitchen or the late nights you spent with us laughing in our rooms. Life was always an adventure to you. We could be lost in the middle of downtown Atlanta, but you said "It's an adventure kids!" Even going to the mall with you was "an adventure in how to be patient" especially for the boys! I can already tell that I'm going to be just like that with our kids as well.

You are very bold and are not afraid of being different. Your love for the Lord flows out into telling others about Him. I love that you simply cannot hold it back. I am so grateful for the weeks we spent in India together. It was a huge blessing for me to share Christ with my precious mother by my side. I loved watching you share the Good News of Jesus so passionately! You are set apart because of your passion for Christ. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful example to follow.

You've always been there for me Mom. You have served us with such love for our entire lives. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of all that you sacrificed for us, and how ungrateful I have been at times. I am so very blessed to have a mother that loved me so much. You loved me enough to discipline me, to correct me, to teach me, and to train me up in the way that I should go. Not only that, but you hurt when I hurt, you were joyful when I was joyful, you were proud when I accomplished something and so much more. I have become who I am because of you. Your love and support has given me the desire to go after great things.

Your love for the Savior is unparalleled. I am so thankful that I grew up in a home where my mother read the Bible and lived out it's principles. I have so many sweet memories of us sharing what the Lord had taught us and reading God's Word together. When you pray, it is powerful. When you worship, it is authentic and often with tears. I have never doubted that you fear the Lord. 

One of the things I am most thankful for is how you loved Dad. You have truly shown me how to love and honor a husband. I pray to be a wife like you have been to Dad. You always supported him, deferred to him, followed his leadership and showed him how much you loved him. We respected him because you respected him. He is certainly worthy of it! I can remember several times when you just broke down in front of us and cried saying "I am so blessed to have your father as a husband!" You have shown me how to be faithful. You always did what he asked, even if it wasn't convenient - You made it a priority. I can't tell you how thankful I am for your example as a wife!

Mom, you are so beautiful. You radiate Christ and His love. You are an amazing woman and I hope to follow in your steps.

See the great heritage you are leaving for your children? We rise up today and call you blessed. "Many have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the fruits of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:29-31) We praise you Momma!

I am blessed to call you Mom. You have given me so much that I can never repay. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for us. You are one of the most precious gifts that God has given to me.

I love you!

Your daughter,

Jennifer