Life

Each step of life is a journey that you choose to walk.

Each moment of life is another line, sentence, paragraph and chapter of the book called your life.

Enjoy all that life has to offer, good friends, good food, good coffee and as always wisdom and a good laugh.

~Jen





24 January 2016

Game Day

Yes, it's game day, for the AFC and the NFC championship. Trending right now on social media - the games that are going to be on today. Now, I do love football. It's fun to watch and root for your favorite team, but in the end...it's nothing more than a game.

The hoopla surrounding the games do have me pondering one simple question though...Why do we get so excited about a game but about eternal life? Why aren't words like #Heaven #Eternity #GodIsReal #IAMSAVED not trending? What are we afraid of?

I have come to one simple conclusion, we are scared. We are scared to share our beliefs, our truths, our understanding of God. We hide behind our computer screens, but we still do not profess our faith! This week I simple challenge you to commit to memory a couple of scriptures and then ponder them for the truth that they are and then ask yourself why it is you are not as excited about God as you are about other things of this world.

Romans 10:9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
 Matthew 12:36But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 
Acts 5:42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
 
~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

17 January 2016

Distractions

Wait...what? What was I just doing? What was that thought I had a moment ago?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Me too. I will be the first one to say "Write it down!" but forget to write things down. It's a sad state of affairs. Why are we so forgetful? There was a time in our human history where it was vital to remember. It has been vital to retaining history, remembering events and at one point how to get in touch with your friends by phone. I will be the first to say that I'm grateful for pen, paper and even technology, but there are things that we should commit to memory, but it does have to be written down or passed down for generations to come.

Habakkuk 2:2; {The Lord’s Answer} "Then the Lord replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.'"  

I believe one of the reasons that we tend to forget things is because of all the distractions that are all around. The TV, the internet, thousands of magazines, advertisements, just an overload of information! We are so bombarded that we tend to remember the jingle of a company before we remember why we walked into the next room. Distractions in our lives can crowd out our time with the Lord.

Luke 10:40; "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'”

Another reason may just be that we don't spend time with one another as much as we used to. We share stories on social media sites, but not with our friends when we are face to face with one another. We expect people to already know what is going on - as if our day is consumed with combing the internet with "what is she doing now?". Storytelling is vital for memory! Jesus would share parables. People would go and tell their family and neighbors when Jesus healed them.

Matthew 13:3; "Then he told them many things in parables..."
 John 4:39[ Many Samaritans Believe ] Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
The antidote to remembering? I could not tell you for certain, but I do believe it is repetition. You've heard of muscle memory haven't you? When you repeat the same motion with the same weight time after time - your muscles remember and can work with ease. The brain should be exercised as a muscle. Reading, memory games (yes there's a lot of them out there), and repeating of stories are some great ways to exercise the brain.
Joel 1:3"Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation."
Isn't great to know that God never forgets! He remembers his promises, he remembers our names, he even remembers what we do for him and for others in his name. We will be held accountable for all of it! I looked up the word remember in the Bible. It is mentioned 231 times! It's safe to say that memory is important. We must be intentional and not get distracted when it comes to remembering things.
Psalm 77:12; "I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
Maybe it will take repetition or to write things down in order to remember, but the truth is we need to remember all the goodness that God provides. We need to remember what God has done in our lives! We need to share with others God's promises to man. So I challenge you today, share a story (from memory) of what God has done in your life with someone today.  Read and re-read a new scripture verse and commit it to memory. Write down in a journal your prayers and look back on it and make a note of when God answered that prayer.
Exodus 34:27; "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.'”

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

10 January 2016

Do words really make a difference?

Proverbs 16:21; "The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction."

I recently had a lively conversation about how we talk to people. Their point of view was starkly different to mine. They believe that speaking harshly to people (even children) is how people hear you, even to the point of cussing. They also went on to say that the problem with society (more specifically, America) is that we caudal too much instead of correcting, and the only way to correct is with harsh language.
Ephesians 4:29; "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
I disagree. To yell at someone or to even cuss at someone to get your point across is not only harmful to the person receiving the words, but it is more than likely that the person you are trying to "get your point across to" will actually tune you out. If spoken to harshly long enough, the cycle will begin again. This my friends, is a vicious circle.
Proverbs 7:27; "The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered."
Correction is the words used, not the harshness in which the words are said. I have worked with many people over the years. I have been cussed at by superiors, co-workers, even family. To say that I listened to them would be far fetched. I have always felt like less of a person after being belittled with the harshness and tone that was spoken to me. Over the years the yelling at people to get a point across or even to cuss at someone out of frustration and anger was where I found myself. I didn't like being talked to that way, yet there I was (sometimes still) talking at people the way I had been talked at instead of talking to people the way I wanted to be talked to. But the good news is the cycle can be broken!
1 Corinthians 14:9; "So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.
By far the most effective leaders (and parents you are a leader) are ones who correct with loving intentions and with a heart to help not hurt. This is where my learning, how to change how I spoke to others, began (and it is a work in progress). When heated debates and disagreements occur a couple of things begin to happen; first you can feel your temperature rise, and secondly you can feel the anger begin to boil on the tip of your tongue. So what sets apart a person who corrects without harshness and cussing. I do believe it is a few things...like grace, mercy, and that they are acting out of love.
Proverbs 16:24; "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
There's a few things I have to do in order for me not to lose my temper (and I don't always succeed). I have to pray. Pray for God to help me control my anger and to not say something that I'm going to regret. I have to stop. Yup, stop and take a step back. Before I say a word, I have to look at the situation and ask myself why I'm getting so angry. Is this a fight that is worth risking hurt feelings and further anger?
Ecclesiastes 9:17; "The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools." 
It is time to begin a new cycle. As Christians we are not to use harmful, hurtful words, to anyone. It's time for change, in how we speak to one another. We are called to be like Christ, and this is a great place to start.

~Peace & Blessings~
            Jen


02 January 2016

New Year, New Resolution

Here it is, 2016. Another year filled with uncertainty, joy, sadness, anger, frustration, hope and love down in the record books. I have been pondering and thinking about what it means to make resolutions and what I should do about them for this new year. I believe the best thing to do is to truly look at what it is that should change, not what I "want" to change, but rather what NEEDS to be changed.

1. Work first and foremost on my relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes...I am a wayward Christian. I know this. I'm thankful that I am in a ministry that allows me to minster daily and grow, but if I were to be honest (as we all should be) I fall short...daily. As the Bible says in Romans 1:16,

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."
2. Work on my relationship with my family. My husband, my daughter, and my sons are, after all, the ones who know me best and love me regardless. It's so easy to be selfish and want to put my wants before theirs. I don't just want to be in their lives, I want to be PRESENT in their lives. As the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3;


"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
3. Work on finishing what I have started. That may sound easy, but as I was looking around the house and making my lists of things to finish up, I realized that I had a LOT of unfinished projects. Some include: Framing pictures, organizing shelves for collectibles, finishing my first book to send out to publishers. I do believe the reason why...I  tend to get overwhelmed when I think of all the things that have to get down and shut down. I have to give all these things over to God and seek His priorities, and I must continue on. As the Bible says in  Acts 20:24,
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

So there it is, my resolutions for 2016.


  
~Peace & Blessings~ Jen