A Mother Prays

Hi everyone,

Tonight I write with a some what heavy heart. Like so many others I have children in the health care profession. My daughter is a nurse. My son-in-law is a fireman. They have my miracle granddaughter who was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. My oldest son is a nursing student and nurse ex-tern at one of the local hospitals. 

Tomorrow they go to work, soldiers in a war against an enemy that we cannot see. As a mom, and a Christian I have to practice what I preach. Walk the walk, not just talk the talk. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

I have to hold on to my mustard seed once again, like I did when our precious Lily Claire came into this world. In terms of my own health concerns, I am trusting that God is not done with me yet. He has work for me still to do for Him on this side of heaven. Just like I did when we were waiting on Lily Claire's arrival I am leaning into God's Word. 

I am keeping abreast of the COVID-19 numbers, but I am staying away from television and social media as much as possible. The hardest challenge that I face is reminding myself that my children are gifts to me from God that I am blessed to have for as long as He sees fit. My youngest son is going to be an officer in the Army. My worry for him is only just beginning. BUT, BUT, I have always told my all three of my children that they are to go where they feel God is calling them...because they are His first.  

I know there are countless mothers throughout the world tonight that are also trying to settle their souls when the worry starts to creep in. I am trying to "be still, and know" that He is God (Psalm 46:10), and He has a plan for everything that we experience in this life.

So in the days ahead, please know that you are all in my prayers. 

Please know that I am praying for each and everyone of our precious babies. 

We may not know what tomorrow brings, but we know who is watching over us. And with that thought I can go to sleep placing my life and my the lives of my children and grandchildren in His hands.

I'll write again soon.

Sending you a virtual hug, 

Jen

Be Still and Know

Hi everyone,

This post has been several weeks in the making.  On the 26th of January, I found that my morning quiet time left me in awe.  I have the devotional book Jesus Calling and as I was getting ready to leave for work I felt this gentle nudge to take it with me.  Over the years I have learned to listen when these types of things happen.  When I sat down at my freshly cleared desk, I decided, before the rush of the day set in, to stop and have some quiet time.  You would think that after all these years that I wouldn't be surprised any more, but on this particular morning, it was like opening a window on a sunny day and being greeted by a cool, brisk breeze - the kind of experience where you know its cool outside, and yet when you experience it, you still feel surprised and exhilarated.

 

Let me digress for a moment.  In November I just felt like this new year for me was supposed to be about focus, and slowly but surely, that is how it is evolving.  I have an incredible group of friends who have been helping me on this journey, but when I sat down to read the devotion for the 26th - WOW, did I ever feel the breeze of change.  For the past several months I have felt more drawn to my quiet time and the need to create things.  The things I have been creating aren't random, they are actually things that I have felt led to create for family, friends, and sometimes complete strangers.  The beauty of the devotion in Jesus Calling was that is was so affirming and such a beautiful God wink that so clearly told me, "You're on the right path."

The world would say that I need to transform my outward appearance first in order for me to change my life, but the Bible tells me just the opposite.  While I am also working on a physical transformation, it is important that my transformation, my life, and my journey be centered around what He is doing on the inside first.

Some people may not get this idea or understand this, but my job is not to please other people, it is to learn to take the gifts and talents God has given me and to use them for His glory.  It's about holding on to my mustard seed and the promise that He will take every life experience that I have had and will allow me to use them, the good and the not so good, to help others.

I'm going through a change, an incredible change - one in which I am finally comfortable with myself and my life - one in which I am comfortable hearing His voice and not concerned about the voices of those in the world.

"Enjoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Me set the pace."

This so eloquently accompanies every tiny detail of what I am experiencing in my life.  As I wrote in September, I am taking voice lessons and on the day of this beautiful devotion it was my first day back in the new year.  Learning to relax and use my body the way God designed it so speaks to this devotion.

"Hold my hand in childlike trust, and the way before you will open up step by step."

Those closest to me know that my faith and trust in God is child like in nature.  If I feel something in my heart, I will hold on to it like a child with a security blanket.  In fact, I was just telling a friend last night that sometimes I feel like I need to step back into my quiet time and pay attention to what I believe with child like faith.

Isn't it funny how sometimes we can see things happen in our lives over and over again, but then we can turn around and let doubt creep in.  That is why it is so very important to make time each day to stop and Be Still and listen.

We all tend to look for the "perfect" time to do things or to make changes in our lives.  It is not uncommon for us to fall into the trap of telling ourselves, once this or that happens we can breath and life will be okay, but maybe by doing this we are really missing out.  Maybe instead of fighting against the waves of uncertainty that life can bring our way we just need to decide to break out a surf board and ride the waves of chaos and uncertainty.  Instead of waiting to live until the storms pass, why don't we just put on our boots and dance in the rain and the mud.  No one is going to have a problem free life.  How we handle the waves of life is our testimony.  I would like for my loved ones to remember me one day as a woman who, "swam with the sharks, but she used them like water skis."

Don't get me wrong, I will be the first one to tell you that it would be nice to not have quite so many adventures in my life at times, but what I have learned to do during those times, when the seas of life seem to get to be too much, when the sharks are circling and I'm getting tired of swimming - I stop.  I stop for a minute, not to see how far away the shore is, but I stop to look up.  It's kind of a MacGyver experience.  For anyone that ever watched the television series, you know that he always found his way out of every trial and situation with the most basics of things.  We are really no different.  Sure, we may not be on television, but God gives us the things we need at just the right time and not a moment too soon, so that we can avoid the jaws of the sharks and live to see another day.

It's in these times of chaos and uncertainty, when we stop, look up, and seek Him that we grow the most as individuals.  This is where we gain the life lessons so that we can eventually be someone else's light house when they find themselves lost at sea; trying to make it to shore; trying to survive and fend off the sharks; trying to find a star in the darkness as they drift at sea.

Learning to lean into the trials allows us to strengthen out spiritual muscles so that we can look danger, fear, and uncertainty in the face and tell them "NOT TODAY!  NOT TODAY!"

Until we meet again...

Waiting on Santa in the Summer

 Hi everyone!

As I welcome in this beautiful evening I can't help but reflect on how drastically my life has changed in the past year. 

Years ago I dreamed of having a cottage in my little woods where I could create. Months ago I wrote about it, thinking it would take years to come to fruition and then out of the blue, God had a change of plans. What I thought would take years only took a couple of months.

It was a gently reminder of His perfect timing because my vision, while beautiful, so paled in comparison to what He actually had in store for me.

Isn't it funny how that happens? Isn't it funny how no matter how many trials He brings us through, no matter how many God winks & modern day miracles we see Him perform in our lives, if we aren't careful we find ourselves clinging to our mustard seed and loosing heart when it comes to the promises that are so close to our heart.

So what do we do when that happens? Well since I am in the middle of this journey what I have chosen to do is surround myself with 3 of THE most precious friends a girl could ask for. 

And music - music just makes everything better!! Hey, my neighbor's haven't complained about me serenading them yet!!

I don't know what is more beautiful, watching the stars come out one by one or watching the light bugs begin their evening dance one little light at a time.  Yes, at times I have to remind myself or my friends gently remind me, that if God can make the stars, if He can give a tiny bug the ability to light up the sky, then God has not forgotten about the desires of my heart.  

Sometimes I just have to slow down, take a deep breath, look around at the incredible blessings He has right in front of me and trust Him with the rest.

If He could help me turn what was once a plain little building into my own little magical retreat, just think about what He may have in store for me next??!!  It’s like waiting for Santa in the middle of the summer!!!  Until next time...

Polishing Our Faith

Hi everyone!

As the month dedicated to giving thanks culminates this week, people are also in the process of preparing for Christmas.  I have spent the past year sorting through a lot of things in my life, both material and internal, dusting off treasures from the past and looking forward to the future.  

In the process I found my faith, sitting alone in the midst of the fragrance of potpourri.  I am reminded of how our faith is often with us, but if we are not careful it can get lost. 

Love & Hope, which at first I thought may have been lost, needed to be brought back into my life.  They had been broken long ago, but I knew it was time for them to once again be a part of my Faith. 

When things like Love & Hope rejoin our lives there is a warmth and a newness to it all, but what I noticed when I placed them next to my Faith, was that my Faith had grown dim, worn, and weary from all that life had put it through.  Don’t we all have times such as this, where we don't necessarily lose our faith, but where it grows dim from weariness? 

I needed to revive my Faith, polish it if you will, so that it could embrace and welcome back in Love & Hope.  In the process I was reminded of the mustard seed.  God tells us that all we need is the faith of ONE mustard seed.  When you look at all of the tiny mustard seeds in the little bowl, what an incredible thing it is to realize that all He asks is that our Faith be the size of just ONE.

Sometimes, before we can start to decorate the outside of our lives, whether that be by putting up Christmas lights, building a writing cottage, or having an extreme physical makeover, we first have to dust off and clear out the things in our lives that have led to our Faith becoming dim.  Maybe that entails letting go of hurtful words that have held us back, or betrayal, or maybe it is just a matter of learning to be comfortable in our own skin.  Learning that our Faith was with us all along and sometimes in the battles of life it will get dim, not because we lost our Faith, but because in every battle that we must fight dust and dirt will fly so that we can win the fight.  

A soldier’s uniform gets dirty as he or she fights to save the freedom that we hold dear.  Our Faith can also get covered in dirt, not because it has grown weary after all, but because we have been in the trenches fighting the good fight.

So as we give thanks this week and start to write out our Christmas lists, I think the most precious gift I can give to myself and those around me, is to finish what the Lord has started in my life, polish up my Faith, surround it with Hope & Love and see what beauty results on the outside in this coming new year.