Faith Spotlight: Faith

Hey, guys! I have a treat for you today. My friend Faith is here today with a really great post. I don't know about you guys, but I am a recovering perfectionist. Often I will beat myself up over the mistakes I make and my imperfections. So without further ado, here is Faith to share her heart!

Hello, readers!  My name is Faith.  In June, I married my high school sweetheart, a young man whom I started dating over five years ago!  We are very happy together, and we currently live in a cute, vintage apartment in downtown Chicago.  

I blog at Sojourn of Faith, enjoy photography, and share with my husband an undying appreciation for French press coffee, ice cream, and NCIS. In December, I will graduate from Moody Bible Institute with an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies and Communication Studies!

I am a student of the Bible and theology, but my knowledge of God does not always nurture my relationship with God.  I primarily grapple with fear.  I am a timid, insecure perfectionist who overemphasizes failure and continually overlooks the grace of God.  Somehow, in my self-centered universe, God loves everyone but me.  My soul is less worthy, my personality more flawed, my hypocrisy more hypocritical, my failures less forgivable.  This sort of misguided martyrdom is rooted in narcissism and breeds paralyzing fear.

It is healthy to be grieved by sin.  This grief squeezes my heart and beckons me to return to the Lord.  However, it is not healthy to entertain ongoing guilt for forgiven sins.  Jesus said to woman in Luke 7, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  He did not say, “Your faith has saved you, but your sin was especially awful, so please sit in the corner and mull over your stupidity.”

I John 1:9 reads, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  These words are deeply encouraging.  My God is just, but he is also faithful to forgive, faithful to wash away my terrible decisions.  I must receive this forgiveness with joy and determination to “go and sin no more”!  Living in shame after I have been forgiven does not glorify my Savior.  It depreciates the cross of Christ and spurns his ability to bear my sins away.

I cannot love God rightly if I allow fear to feed unnecessary guilt.  This fear turns my attention from God and to myself, to my self-image and self-definition.  This fear causes me to “need” more stylish outfits, a better decorated apartment, a more attractive personality, a better work ethic, more followers on my blog, a better singing voice, etc.  This need for “more” and “better” breeds insecurity and discontentment.  Insecurity leads me to compare myself to others, and I become reluctant to use my talents at all.  This self-focused mentality leaves my heart discouraged and my ministry utterly fruitless.

I am incapable of building my own significance.

My identity is found in Jesus Christ, my Savior.  I am significant because I am a daughter of God, a coheir with Christ, fearfully and wonderfully made, a workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.  Please pray that I will surrender my fear!  It is my prayer that I will walk in a manner worthy of the calling, joyfully celebrating the God who has given me a name.

Go in peace.

Faith spotlight: Bethany

Hey guys, I have the immense pleasure of introducing you to my friend Bethany. She and her husband are such a sweet couple! Aren't they adorable? I know there are lots of people out there who can relate with her story as well. I have this daily struggle between living in faith and living in selfishness that she talks about. You won't want to miss this today!

Hey guys! My name is Bethany. I feel so honored to be writing for Jennifer's "Faith Spotlight"!

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to write when Jennifer first asked me to guest post, but then I got to thinking about what the Lord has been teaching me over and over again in this season of my life.

So, here's my heart:

All of my life I feel like I have always passed my responsibilities as a Christian onto the next stage of my life. Does that make sense? I would always think, oh after I graduate I'll help those in need, or no after I have my own house, or after I'm married, or when I'm older. My fear and selfish pride have gotten in the way of me loving people and evangelizing to them. Pretty ridiculous isn't it?

Sometimes I think to myself, when what the last time I actually talked to someone about Christ? Or when was the last time I helped someone who was in need? My heart breaks when I realize that I can't even think of the last time I did either of those things. I'm a Christian...but sometimes (more often than not) my life doesn't show it. I'm sick of making excuses for myself. How many times have I driven my someone that clearly needs help and I pass them by because I don't want to get 'hurt' or be embarrassed?

So many people are hurting. And I feel like all I ever do is sit and watch. Feeling bad isn't enough anymore. God calls us to reach out to the hurting and to love them unconditionally and passionately. His call is not to be taken lightly.

He has shown me that I need to stop waiting. I need to stop putting off what needs to be done. I need to stop telling God to hold on. I need to get  rid of fear. I need to be bold and live my life unashamed for Christ. I need to be real. I need to get uncomfortable and dirty. I don't need to wait to go to another country, there are people hurting HERE. In my town. Right now. I don't need to put off God's calling anymore. Gone are all of my excuses.

This life is not my own. That is so easy to say, but to really give your life to be used by Christ fully is such a daunting task. BUT it is the most beautifully rewarding thing you can possibly do with your life.

So I encourage all of you, as much as I encourage myself. Lets get out of our comfort zones and change this world through the love of Christ - not just with our words but truly with our actions!


~ Bethany


Thanks so much girl! One way you guys can get involved is to head over to Compassion's Cry 

Investigate

Immerse

Ignite!

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!

Faith Spotlight: Salvation Story

Saturday, May 21st is the 16th anniversary of my Salvation. In honor of this very special day, I want to tell you all the story of how my relationship with Jesus all started…


As I child I knew that I loved God. I grew up in home with Bible verses taped on the windows and on the back of doors, scripture read in the morning and most nights. Spiritual things were commonplace in our house. My ears were filled with verses from the Bible and prayer as soon as they exited my mother’s womb. I even memorized the whole of Psalm 23 as a 2 year old and made up songs about ‘Jesus coming down’ at 4 or 5.

Even though I knew that I loved God, I didn’t know Him.

One evening I was singing as I swung on my new swing-set from my Dad. I was singing a song I learned in Sunday School about telling the Devil to leave me alone because he had no power over me. My mom overheard me and said, “Jenny, you shouldn’t sing that. You don’t have that kind of power because you don’t know Jesus yet.” However, I did what most 6 year old kids do – I ignored my Mom and kept singing and swinging. As darkness fell, I was taken back to something that had happened earlier that day….

“Jenny Bubbles (that was my dad’s nickname for me), Go put your money in your piggy bank.” My Dad instructed.

“Yes Daddy!” I said without any intentions of obedience.

I stuffed my money in my beloved doll house and ran outside to play.

In that moment I realized what sin was and that I was a sinner. Fear gripped my little heart as I thought of what might happen to me if I was to die on my swing-set. I knew the answer – Hell. I had always known these things, but in this moment I really knew them. I had not a moment to lose, so I ran in the house and knelt behind my doll house – the very place I had hidden my disobedience.

I can’t tell you exactly the words I prayed, if I folded my hands or said “Dear Jesus”. But I can tell you this, I can remember that moment in time like it was yesterday. As a little 6 year old girl, I came face to face with my need for Jesus…I came face to face with Jesus. I realized what He did through his sacrifice on the cross, I realized why He came to earth, and I realized exactly what I needed to do. I told Him that I needed Him to forgive me, that I wanted Him to take over my life so that I could have Him and be with Him after my life on earth came to an end.

This may seem foolish to you, but I was changed after that moment. I remember running into the kitchen to find my parents. I was so overcome with joy that I could hardly speak! My parents were quite astonished that this had occurred and promptly took me into their room to make sure I understood what I was talking about. Somehow everything that I had been taught made sense in a new way.

"I'm a new woman now!" I said to my parents with elation. "The old Jenny is gone and now I'm a new Jenny"

Ever since that day, I have never doubted that I now belonged to Jesus. Sure, there have been lots of times that I have struggled, especially in high school. But no one ever said that it is easy to follow Christ. I've made mistakes, and I haven't always been completly devoted to the Lord, nor will I ever be. However, knowing God is the most amazing thing. I wish I could explain it in words, but I can't even grasp it fully myself. I am just in awe that the Creator even cares about knowing me! It really is a crazy kind of love!

This is one of my life verses:

"But I count my life as no value to myself,

so that I may finish my course with joy

and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus,

to testify to the gospel of God's grace."

~ Acts 20:24

What is your experience with Jesus? Is faith in Him even on your radar? I'd love to hear!

Faith Spotlight: Jhen.Stark

It is my great pleasure to introduce my friend Jhen Stark for the second faith spotlight. She is the heart behind the words of From Here To Eternity. I have already been blessed and challenged by what she has to share, and I know you will be too.

When given this chance by Jennifer to share something to be posted as a Faith Spotlight, I ran through the many lists of things God has humbled me on as well as brought me through. And I tried to sift through it all to find something unique to share... but they all seemed so... repetitive. I've been honest in sharing my struggles with post partum, my mistake in abandoning children, and my deep heartache in a miscarriage, but I've shared that before, I wanted something BIG to share...

So I had to dig deeper, and in digging deeper, I discovered that God was teaching me something NOW.

My story isn't famous. My life isn't any more special than yours. And honestly, that is a little hard for me to swallow. Why? Because I wanted to be someone great. I wanted a life where my name was known and my face was admired. Of course, if I sugar coated it with the right words, I wouldn't come out arrogant or selfish, I could always just say, "for God's Glory." But quite frankly I was lying about it.


With so many "self help" and "self glorifying" Christians out there, I found myself desiring what I wanted. I started manipulating my gifts and my passions to make a name for myself. Whether it be through my blog or my facebook page, I was an "inspirational person" and every place I could find an applaud I would get it.

But God, who desires so much more from me than what I was giving, reminded me, that the significance I was chasing wasn't the Glory He came to give and get. He reminded me that I needed to lay my life down (1 John 3:16). That meant stripping the me from my blog, my photography, and my life, and laying it down at the cross so that through me HIS GLORY WILL BE KNOWN.

And in that I found HIS ABUNDANCE of LOVE and I've tasted HIS GLORY.


This life is short. I'm not promised fame disguised as blessings. I'm promised blessings through taking up my cross and following JESUS. I want only a "well done, good and faithful servant" and so I lay down my life, my goals, my dreams, and give wrapped in my most precious wrapping, and put at the cross and say:

And when I let it all go and prayed that prayer, I found FREEDOM in His Grace, and the POWER to go to the Nations with HIS LOVE.

Faith Spotlight ~ Arielle

I love to hear people's stories, especially faith stories. I get so excited after hearing how God is working in another life. It's so encouraging and refreshing to share such a special journey with someone else. With that being said, I am going to start hosting a Faith Spotlight every month. My goal is showcase our Great God in the lives of ordinary people. 

For the first one I have a lovely guest, Arielle. She is a young newly-wed, new mom and photographer, as well as a devoted Christ-follower. I can see her love for God radiating from the words I read on her blog. Her posts are always an encouragement to me. Well friends, she is here today to share part of her journey in the faith and I am very excited about it! If you haven't already, you can read her story on A Beautiful Journey.

Just look at her adorable family!

Hello! My name is Arielle and I have a little blog called A Beautiful Journey... I'm so glad to be able to share on this blog. Jennifer is awesome and she truly has a beautiful heart for Jesus. I was going to write out my testimony but, when I sat down to start writing (or, eh, typing) I didn't even know where to begin :) So instead, I'm just going to share a very honest part of my journey...

It seems like all through out my life I have been a quitter. Once upon a time I moved to Texas for a ministry school and...I left. In other words, I quit. Then, I went to a Bible college and I decided college wasn't really for me so, I quit. A while after this, I decided to go to a cosmetology school and guess what? I quit. 

I don't think I can count how many times I have quit different things through out my life. It is quite humbling and it also shows how I needed to learn a big lesson on perseverance. You see, all through out my life I was waiting to hear God's will for my life. "Maybe I should go to this college...but is it His will?"  "I don't feel like this is where I am supposed to be, God is not giving me confirmation that I'm supposed to be here... so I'm going to leave." Instead of taking a leap of faith and sticking with something, I would be afraid that I wasn't doing the right thing, and just give up.

This is a part of my testimony that I am not very proud of. Quitting has taught me many, many lessons. I finally realized that I cannot always sit around waiting for a 'sign from heaven' to see where God is leading me. I can't always quit, or I'm not going to get anywhere, ever.

Sometimes, the Lord does not always show us with some clear sign what we are to do and where we are to be. However, He does give us wisdom, guidance, and dear friends and family to help make important decisions. From there, we have the choice to persevere and give it all we have or shrink back in cowardliness because we are afraid we have made the wrong decision.

I've learned that the Lord leads us and gives us different opportunities. Take those opportunities (even if they are small) and truly make the best of them. He wants to see if we are faithful in the small things, and from there- bigger things will come. Don't be afraid, but instead persevere in faith....and most of all, don't quit! ;)

Blessings,

arielle