oh how strongly i don't want to be at school right now. my heart is in the Keys. i love my apartment up here, i love my roommates, i love my friends i have here(the ones that haven't graduated and left, that is). but i just do not want to be here. i have no desire to go to any of my classes except my theology (sects & cults) class that Caner's teaching.
i get a phone call tonight and hear mass chaos in the background. then i start being able to make out people's words and realize it's a group of my friends from the Keys, calling me on speaker phone :) oh it was torture! they had played ultimate frisbee (the Sunday night ritual) and were at taco bell and the phone got passed around from person to person (including lucy!) - oooooh how every ounce of my body yearns to be down there!
it doesn't help that i now realize how much of a joke my major is at this university. you know it's bad when 2 of the head professors in the degree tell you to look at different schools to finish your degree. yes, ladies and gentlemen, i had 2 of the professors tell our video production class last year that the broadcasting major at our school is a joke, we don't have the right equipment to learn what we need to, and we should consider other universities. one even proceeded to ramble off a list of schools he'd recommend. yeah...that really motivates you to finish up and get your degree, knowing that you won't be taught what you need to know to have the experience and knowledge to get a credible job. goodness.
on a much lighter note, i have had a very enjoyable weekend. that's probably because i was gone all saturday and sunday afternoon. saturday a group of us went to VA beach for the ECSC (East Coast Surf Competition) which i've gone to every year i've been at Liberty. it's worth the 4 hour drive over there and the 4 hour drive back :D i got to watch amature surfers showing off their skills and, my favorite, the super groms showing off their mad skills - SO adorable. AND i got to run into the salty ocean water and be reunited with its beauty and experience its unfailing ability to wash away every care in the world, though temporary. i absolutely love that God has created the ocean for us to enjoy. absolutely love it.
today casey's "boyfriend" (she doesn't like calling him that, but for lack of a better word...:) ) todd took us out on his boat on Smith Mountain lake and we got to go water skiing. i chose not to, after being reminded of my failed attempts at wakeboarding a year ago. and the wipeouts look painful. maybe next time. :) but it was SO great to just be out on the boat, jumping into the middle of the lake and experiencing FRESH water. it's crazy to jump in and surface for air without having that super salty taste in your mouth. and i got to drive the boat while todd water skiied - that rocked. it was my 1st time driving a boat with someone skiing off the back.
and here i sit, once again back in l-burg at my apartment. sipping my decaf coffee. wondering if this update will mean that Becky will update her blog now :)
keep it real.
~jen~
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
one more thing
i thought i'd post the website of the ministry we're going down to the DR to help.
http://www.dominicancrossroads.com/
http://www.dominicancrossroads.com/
His fingerprints
Can you see God's fingerprints on specific events in your life that led to specific events that led to specific events? if you be still and reflect on what's happened in your life over the past year or so, i bet you'd be able to see some of His fingerprints. tonight i was hit by an awareness to God's fingerprints in my life over the past year in a specific area.
i'll try to keep this relatively short and non-ramblish. :)
last fall, God really laid something on my heart during a "missions emphasis" week at school that i never forgot. He opened my eyes to how much of the world does not even know about this amazing, loving Creator who desires to deeply for them to know Him. i'm not good at speaking in front of people. i'm not all that great with little kids. i wanted to be used by God to reach people, but didn't know how. but He gave me a vision that week of how i could mix my love for multimedia with missions. i suddenly had this realization that i could go along with mission teams and document the trips on video, putting together multimedia to bring back to the States to raise awareness of what is going on in the world, in hope of spurring others into action. i had never really wanted to do much with overseas missions, but suddenly i had this desire to go. i just didn't know when or where, but i started praying about it and i was open to it.
then right after thanksgiving, i get a phone call from andy, asking if i'd like to intern with the youth ministry down here in the Keys. i would be doing video work for the ministry, which was something i enjoy doing. so i jumped at the opportunity, but was a little discouraged that i wasn't going to be going on any mission trips anytime soon now.
so i get down here, and within the first week or 2, a friend down here showed me her friend's blog on myspace. this girl lives in the dominican republic, and ministry is her life down there. her blog broke my heart. the poverty, the sickness, the need for Jesus down in the DR. i wanted desperately to go down there, to help in some way, and to also document what's going on down there to bring awareness to the States. but i had no clue how i would be able to get down there and so i didn't think i'd be going down there anytime soon.
however, shortly after that day, i was asked if i would like to go with a group down to this exact place in the DR for a week this summer...wow. how could i say no? i was already seeing God's hand in all of this.
so i sign up, i pay my deposit. i have money in my bank account to cover a good portion of the trip, if i wasn't able to raise the money. then an unexpected financial situation came up and i found myself down to about...$20 to my name (yes, that would be including both of my savings and checking accounts). i still had tons of money to raise to go to the DR and i had no income. talk about discouraging. i didn't know what God was trying to tell me, but i wasn't ready to give up on this trip to the DR just yet.
i showed up at every carwash, yardsale, bake sale, and spaghetti dinner fundraiser that i could. i was able to go home to MI for a week and work all week for my dad's company. i get a phone call this week from lisa (she's heading up the trip) and find out i only have $110 left to pay for the trip, and i hang up, so excited because i had that much (not a whole lot more) in my bank account from working for my dad. so i run and tell my sister the great news, and she tells me even BETTER news! someone had donated money toward me, sadie, and andy's trips and it was enough to cover my $110 i had left!! praise the Lord!!!!
so i am leaving next thursday, july 27th, for the DR and i am so incredibly stoked! tonight, after looking back and seeing all of God's fingerprints on this trip, i can't help but be stoked because i know this is what God has planned out for me.
on another note of excitement: this ministry that we're going down to work with, part of their ministry is building concrete homes for Haitian refugees to get them out of the dumps and shacks (if they're even considered shacks). it only costs $3,000 to build one of these homes for a family. today a man donated $3,000 for us to take down to have a home built!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how awesome is that?!?!
i, for one, am truly stoked by God this week.
keep it real.
~jen~
i'll try to keep this relatively short and non-ramblish. :)
last fall, God really laid something on my heart during a "missions emphasis" week at school that i never forgot. He opened my eyes to how much of the world does not even know about this amazing, loving Creator who desires to deeply for them to know Him. i'm not good at speaking in front of people. i'm not all that great with little kids. i wanted to be used by God to reach people, but didn't know how. but He gave me a vision that week of how i could mix my love for multimedia with missions. i suddenly had this realization that i could go along with mission teams and document the trips on video, putting together multimedia to bring back to the States to raise awareness of what is going on in the world, in hope of spurring others into action. i had never really wanted to do much with overseas missions, but suddenly i had this desire to go. i just didn't know when or where, but i started praying about it and i was open to it.
then right after thanksgiving, i get a phone call from andy, asking if i'd like to intern with the youth ministry down here in the Keys. i would be doing video work for the ministry, which was something i enjoy doing. so i jumped at the opportunity, but was a little discouraged that i wasn't going to be going on any mission trips anytime soon now.
so i get down here, and within the first week or 2, a friend down here showed me her friend's blog on myspace. this girl lives in the dominican republic, and ministry is her life down there. her blog broke my heart. the poverty, the sickness, the need for Jesus down in the DR. i wanted desperately to go down there, to help in some way, and to also document what's going on down there to bring awareness to the States. but i had no clue how i would be able to get down there and so i didn't think i'd be going down there anytime soon.
however, shortly after that day, i was asked if i would like to go with a group down to this exact place in the DR for a week this summer...wow. how could i say no? i was already seeing God's hand in all of this.
so i sign up, i pay my deposit. i have money in my bank account to cover a good portion of the trip, if i wasn't able to raise the money. then an unexpected financial situation came up and i found myself down to about...$20 to my name (yes, that would be including both of my savings and checking accounts). i still had tons of money to raise to go to the DR and i had no income. talk about discouraging. i didn't know what God was trying to tell me, but i wasn't ready to give up on this trip to the DR just yet.
i showed up at every carwash, yardsale, bake sale, and spaghetti dinner fundraiser that i could. i was able to go home to MI for a week and work all week for my dad's company. i get a phone call this week from lisa (she's heading up the trip) and find out i only have $110 left to pay for the trip, and i hang up, so excited because i had that much (not a whole lot more) in my bank account from working for my dad. so i run and tell my sister the great news, and she tells me even BETTER news! someone had donated money toward me, sadie, and andy's trips and it was enough to cover my $110 i had left!! praise the Lord!!!!
so i am leaving next thursday, july 27th, for the DR and i am so incredibly stoked! tonight, after looking back and seeing all of God's fingerprints on this trip, i can't help but be stoked because i know this is what God has planned out for me.
on another note of excitement: this ministry that we're going down to work with, part of their ministry is building concrete homes for Haitian refugees to get them out of the dumps and shacks (if they're even considered shacks). it only costs $3,000 to build one of these homes for a family. today a man donated $3,000 for us to take down to have a home built!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how awesome is that?!?!
i, for one, am truly stoked by God this week.
keep it real.
~jen~
Friday, July 14, 2006
spastic cat
there is a spastic kitty jumping from mattress to bookshelf to mattress to floor to 2nd mattress to other mattress to the back of my plastic chair, only to find she can't get a hold on it and she slides down the arm of the chair, back to the ground to start this routine over again...
she's psycho.
i had 2 funny reminders today that i am officially living in the Keys. 1, i saw a super sweet, super expensive cadillac today at the gas station. as i was admiring the fine specimen, i see a skinny, middle-age dude with long, greying scraggly hair walking toward the pumps. i think "wow, at first i thought HE might be the owner of that car, but now that i see him - ha - no way!" but sure enough...he jumps on in. it proves the point that the majority of the population down here consists of middle to late-aged people who have a lot of money, who move down here and become too lazy to take care of themselves but they sure know how to waste their money.
and 2, and the more humorous of the 2. you know you're in a tropical environment when you swerve to miss iguanas instead of swerving to miss "normal" typical roadkill (i.e. raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, etc.). i have only seen 1 roadkill raccoon down here (which, to this day still stumps me - i have no clue how wild animals get down this far into the Keys when only bridges connect the islands). but today i watched an iguana taking his time, walking down the side of the road as i drove past. and the other day, me and my friend Lisa were driving down a neighborhood street and see an iguana blocking our lane. i come to a COMPLETE stop, and the iguana just sits there in front of my car. so i inch forward more and more, and i get so close to it that i can't even see it. it takes a couple tiny steps. finally, lisa jumps out of the car and starts walking up to it and it takes off into the trees. suicidal little thing, more scared of a human than of a car.
alright, time to catch the kitty and send her out of my room so i can sleep in peace without a little furball jumping up in the middle of the night to attack my head.
keep it real.
~jen~
she's psycho.
i had 2 funny reminders today that i am officially living in the Keys. 1, i saw a super sweet, super expensive cadillac today at the gas station. as i was admiring the fine specimen, i see a skinny, middle-age dude with long, greying scraggly hair walking toward the pumps. i think "wow, at first i thought HE might be the owner of that car, but now that i see him - ha - no way!" but sure enough...he jumps on in. it proves the point that the majority of the population down here consists of middle to late-aged people who have a lot of money, who move down here and become too lazy to take care of themselves but they sure know how to waste their money.
and 2, and the more humorous of the 2. you know you're in a tropical environment when you swerve to miss iguanas instead of swerving to miss "normal" typical roadkill (i.e. raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, etc.). i have only seen 1 roadkill raccoon down here (which, to this day still stumps me - i have no clue how wild animals get down this far into the Keys when only bridges connect the islands). but today i watched an iguana taking his time, walking down the side of the road as i drove past. and the other day, me and my friend Lisa were driving down a neighborhood street and see an iguana blocking our lane. i come to a COMPLETE stop, and the iguana just sits there in front of my car. so i inch forward more and more, and i get so close to it that i can't even see it. it takes a couple tiny steps. finally, lisa jumps out of the car and starts walking up to it and it takes off into the trees. suicidal little thing, more scared of a human than of a car.
alright, time to catch the kitty and send her out of my room so i can sleep in peace without a little furball jumping up in the middle of the night to attack my head.
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
a cool colored wall
well, since you guys have given such a great response to my new ability & skills of posting pictures, i felt bad going to bed without giving you all something to entertain you. this is a picture i took of me a week or 2 ago in the half of the bathroom that is done (the sink) and the cool color we did on the walls. now, everybody go, "ooooh!"
keep it real.
~jen~
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
a new specimen
so i come home sunday night and find a group of guys standing in the dining room looking at me with a suspicious look on their faces. i walked past them, turned around to question them, and then realized they had now turned their focus to something underneath the table. despite hearing them tell me, "you don't see anything!", i saw it. i believe most americans call this thing a "cat". it turns out that one of the guys (joel) living here was given this kitten, so now we have a feline living amongst us. i despise cats. i think they're stuck up, they shed, they pee on things, they scratch, and they bite and infect people (right, Becky?).and wouldn't you know it, this little thing decided she likes MY room the most. and since joel is gone most of the day, i feel bad locking it in his room. so i have given in and allowed Zion (that's the kitten's name) to enter my room. stinkin' little thing is pretty cute, i'll give her that. i think she's like, 8 weeks old or something, i really don't know. but she's tiny. i guess this just prepares me for my apartment next year, where it looks like both of my roommates will be bringing cats - sick.
Monday, June 26, 2006
yea for mondays
i love mondays down here. mondays are our "day off" where we get to go play if we want and don't have to work on STS (the ministry here) stuff. today we went out fishing on andy's dad's boat. it was my 1st time fishing in salt water!! we didn't catch any keeper-size fish, but i was just excited to catch as many fish as we did. and we saw a sea turtle!!!! like, 4 times! he decided he wanted to chill by our boat all day i guess. and one of the 1st fish i caught died somehow (he swallowed the hook, so i think that aided his earthly departure) so we threw it back in the water and a bird came and swooped it up. and THEN (yes, i enjoyed my day, can you tell?) we saw a huge baracuda right next to our boat and it swam away. then sadie caught a fish and was reeling it in and it was right next to the boat and the cuda came and grabbed the fish off the line (hook and all - talk about stomach ache). then maya was reeling in a fish and a cuda came and sliced off her line and got her fish & hook. crazy.
here's a picture of 1 of my fish. it's a yellowtail...something. and we kept catching these fish called "grunts" and they're so cool 'cause they actually make a grunting noise when they're out of the water. man...God's creations are just so cool :)
Thursday, June 22, 2006
a must-listen-to
Audrey Assad rocks my face off and i want you guys to hear some of her music! check out her myspace - http://www.myspace.com/audreyassadsings and enjoy! she was down here last week and helped lead worship at our youth group last Thursday. she has got such a beautiful, God-given gift for music (not only her voice, but she is absolutely amazing on the piano). go listen!
keep it real.
~jen~
PS - Nancy, i'm trying to set up a website for the youth ministry down here and have like, 2.46 questions. can you call me when you get a chance? :D
keep it real.
~jen~
PS - Nancy, i'm trying to set up a website for the youth ministry down here and have like, 2.46 questions. can you call me when you get a chance? :D
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
ode to the bathroom
i like to call it our "3rd world bathroom". you kinda feel like you're in some poverty-stricken place and you're tempted to really go for the full effect and sustain from using toilet paper...but then reality hits and you decide that as long as there's toilet paper there, you might as well use it. it's the last room to be reconstructed since the hurricane last October. i'm convinced i'm going to open the door one day and find a huge cock-a-roach waiting for me. that's why i always enter with flip flops.
once you survive the entry, all that's left to do is sit and enjoy the view.
keep it real.
~jen~
once you survive the entry, all that's left to do is sit and enjoy the view.
keep it real.
~jen~
pictures now included!
people of the world! every boy and every girl! people of the world! ahhhhhhhhh --
(that was a spice girls song...anyone catch that?)
i finally downloaded picasa on this computer so i can blog with pictures :) this pic is from our carwash this past saturday. we did a carwash to try to raise money for our trip to the Dominican Republic. yes, that's a fire truck behind us - i would have to say that they were our "biggest" customer - ah-hahaha i'm so funny. we raised over $500 at the carwash, but when you divide that among all the people that worked at it...we didn't really make a ton :) but we sure had fun! (wow, that rhymed. i'm a poet and didn't even know it. does anybody want a peanut??)
more to come.
keep it real.
~jen~
Thursday, May 25, 2006
i set my alarm clock tonight
6:50am. that's what i set it for. do you realize how long it's been (or how long it FEELS it's been) since i've had to set an alarm? i'm getting used to this life in tropical paradise-on-earth. stay up late and sleep in 'til around 8:30 or whenever my biological clock decides it's time to get up.
so, yes. i finally plugged in my alarm clock tonight and set it for 6:50am. we're headed to O-Town (Orlando) for the weekend for a girl's graduation. i'm going along to take care of Lucy while everyone's at the graduation festivities. she's almost 2 1/2 years old, but my sister just doesn't feel Lucy's quite ready to watch herself yet. hey, i'm not complainin'.
yes, most of you have probably heard by now, but it's the biggest news of my life for the week so i will say it again. i saw my 1st scorpion this week and it was horrific. it's tail alone was about 3 inches long. and andy said it was a "little" one. pssssccchh. if that was little, i don't want to see what's "normal". the good news is that it was dead. supposedly they crawl out into open areas when they're about to die, and so that's what this one had done. oh and i walked into my room last night and was greeted by a 2-3 inch long cockroach. he (or she, for that matter. i didn't take the time to inspect it's sexual orientation before yelling for help) is now sufficiently squished into various pieces and shoved under the crack in the wall, thanks to Kiedis (a friend who came down for the week to help work on the house). i check on it periodically to make sure it didn't reattach itself and crawl away. apparently, you can cut the head off a cockroach and it'll live 'til it starves to death. so for all i know, this cockroach could very well reattach it's entrails and come after me.
sound the trumpets!! i have a ticket booked to fly home from July 3-11th! WOO WOOOOT!
i'm having a great time getting to know the people down here. and learning how life goes down here. it's almost a different culture, in some aspects. here's the shocker of the day: i haven't even been to the beach yet! i've been here just over a week now, and haven't gone to the beach! i came so close to getting to go last night, but then lucy ruined our chance by not listening to her mommy, so we didn't get to go. sad. i tried to explain to sadie that lucy is her own person, and if lucy wants to only eat candy and marshmellows for dinner, that's totally fine. but sadie just doesn't get it, i guess. (totally kidding :) i can't remember what exactly lucy did that got us all punished, but i'm sure it was cute).
alright dudes, i was going to write about what i've been learning lately but my computer has finished it's updates that i was waiting for it to finish and i want to go to bed. you go to bed, too.
keep it real.
~jen~
so, yes. i finally plugged in my alarm clock tonight and set it for 6:50am. we're headed to O-Town (Orlando) for the weekend for a girl's graduation. i'm going along to take care of Lucy while everyone's at the graduation festivities. she's almost 2 1/2 years old, but my sister just doesn't feel Lucy's quite ready to watch herself yet. hey, i'm not complainin'.
yes, most of you have probably heard by now, but it's the biggest news of my life for the week so i will say it again. i saw my 1st scorpion this week and it was horrific. it's tail alone was about 3 inches long. and andy said it was a "little" one. pssssccchh. if that was little, i don't want to see what's "normal". the good news is that it was dead. supposedly they crawl out into open areas when they're about to die, and so that's what this one had done. oh and i walked into my room last night and was greeted by a 2-3 inch long cockroach. he (or she, for that matter. i didn't take the time to inspect it's sexual orientation before yelling for help) is now sufficiently squished into various pieces and shoved under the crack in the wall, thanks to Kiedis (a friend who came down for the week to help work on the house). i check on it periodically to make sure it didn't reattach itself and crawl away. apparently, you can cut the head off a cockroach and it'll live 'til it starves to death. so for all i know, this cockroach could very well reattach it's entrails and come after me.
sound the trumpets!! i have a ticket booked to fly home from July 3-11th! WOO WOOOOT!
i'm having a great time getting to know the people down here. and learning how life goes down here. it's almost a different culture, in some aspects. here's the shocker of the day: i haven't even been to the beach yet! i've been here just over a week now, and haven't gone to the beach! i came so close to getting to go last night, but then lucy ruined our chance by not listening to her mommy, so we didn't get to go. sad. i tried to explain to sadie that lucy is her own person, and if lucy wants to only eat candy and marshmellows for dinner, that's totally fine. but sadie just doesn't get it, i guess. (totally kidding :) i can't remember what exactly lucy did that got us all punished, but i'm sure it was cute).
alright dudes, i was going to write about what i've been learning lately but my computer has finished it's updates that i was waiting for it to finish and i want to go to bed. you go to bed, too.
keep it real.
~jen~
Monday, May 08, 2006
summer time is just around the weekend!
yes, i see you all sitting there with your jaws dropped open, your eyes wide and tears welling up. i am putting up a new post. the day has arrived. cheers errupt.
:D
it was has been one crazy semester. it started off slow and gained speed quickly. i've been working around 30-40 hours a week for the past month and a half, and i forget the fact that i'm also taking 18 credit hours :) it's just so hard to come home from work, after sitting in front of a computer for hours taking orders over the phone and doing customer service, and come home to just sit more in front of my computer to do homework and video projects. not my idea of fun. and therefore, i'm behind on some video projects. stink.
but! the good news of the day. i just turned in my 15 minute final video project. i just submitted my 21 page script (the inventor of double-spacing is my hero), 10 page outline of my script, and character biographies all for my scriptwriting class. and all i have left (school-wise) are 3 measley little finals that i'm not too worried about. praise the Lord!!
and the best news of all. a week from today, i will be crusin' in my car with Benton, down to fort lauderdale where we'll spend the night with our good friend Holly. then i'll drop Benton off at the airport on Tuesday and finish my trek down to the Keys for the summer! YEA! the time has arrived and i am so stoked :D it's going to be a stretching summer, but i'm so excited to see how God changes me and uses me in other's lives (i'm hoping i allow Him to use me, anyway).
my last final is Thursday at 8am. woot wooooot!
nancy, join facebook. everybody's doing it.
keep it real.
~jen~
:D
it was has been one crazy semester. it started off slow and gained speed quickly. i've been working around 30-40 hours a week for the past month and a half, and i forget the fact that i'm also taking 18 credit hours :) it's just so hard to come home from work, after sitting in front of a computer for hours taking orders over the phone and doing customer service, and come home to just sit more in front of my computer to do homework and video projects. not my idea of fun. and therefore, i'm behind on some video projects. stink.
but! the good news of the day. i just turned in my 15 minute final video project. i just submitted my 21 page script (the inventor of double-spacing is my hero), 10 page outline of my script, and character biographies all for my scriptwriting class. and all i have left (school-wise) are 3 measley little finals that i'm not too worried about. praise the Lord!!
and the best news of all. a week from today, i will be crusin' in my car with Benton, down to fort lauderdale where we'll spend the night with our good friend Holly. then i'll drop Benton off at the airport on Tuesday and finish my trek down to the Keys for the summer! YEA! the time has arrived and i am so stoked :D it's going to be a stretching summer, but i'm so excited to see how God changes me and uses me in other's lives (i'm hoping i allow Him to use me, anyway).
my last final is Thursday at 8am. woot wooooot!
nancy, join facebook. everybody's doing it.
keep it real.
~jen~
Sunday, February 19, 2006
"breathe"
another beautiful time at church this morning. i was so unsatisfied with "church" last semester. i didn't like what i experienced going on at churches i'd go to and i began to wonder if i'd ever find a church i could go to and not feel guilty going to. i did start going regularly (that's a relative term) for about a month to one church that was not as conservative as the church i went to back home but still not completely modernized. and i enjoyed it to an extent and there were some great messages but i still didn't feel all-around satisfied with going there. this semester i've started going to a new church and i absolutely love it. i've come to the realization (a very FREEING realization) that we all are drawn to different styles of churches. doctrinally speaking, there's not a lot of room to budge. but with the issue of the style of church, i've realized that it's okay to pick a church based on my preference of style (as long as, of course, it's doctrinally sound). and by realizing this, it's also allowed me to accept the way some churches "do church". it's not my way of doing things, but it's other people's ways and props to them for going to a church that they can serve in and be challenged & grow in. needless to say, my bitterness i had developed towards some places has greatly gone down and i thank the Lord for that because it was eating away at me daily.
so anyway, the 1st few weeks or so of this semester, the pastor was doing a series called "Home" and basically it was a series of messages teaching what the mission of this church was, why they were heading toward this specific vision, and how they were going to introduce new programs to the church. and what was so cool was that my whole idea of what the local church should be matches up nearly exactly with what this church's idea is. i'm just sad that after i'm done at liberty, i don't plan on living in this area and so i know my time at this church probably won't be too long-term. but - you never know, right? :) hmm...OR! or maybe the term "church plant" will take on a whole new meaning - it will mean taking a local church and moving the entire church body to a new location so they can continue with their mission together in a new place (obviously, that place would be wherever i end up moving to after liberty - hehehe :) it's not selfishness...well...okay maybe it is).
wow, am i rambling? yeah, pretty sure.
the message this morning was part 2 of a series called "Breathe". everyone fears something (or some-things) in life. we fear things (sharks!), people (public speaking - hello), death, the unknown (natural disasters, the supernatural, etc). we allow these things to paralyze us. i know i allow them to. the funny thing was, the pastor used the example of his fear of sharks, which i can strongly relate to (AND, oddly enough, it all goes back to him going behind his parent's backs and sneaking peeks of the movie "JAWS" when it was on TV when he was 7 or 8...hmm...sounds a lot like someone else i know...sorry mom & dad :) ). we fear people, not only speaking in front of groups, but we also fear what people think about us. we wonder if they're staring at the big zit we have on our chin or if they're secretly laughing hysterically at our bed-head hair. i can't tell you how many opportunities i've passed up in life because i gave in to my fears.
most of us know the passage in Matthew 6, the passage on "Do Not Worry". yeah, my Bible pretty much flips open to that page when you drop it on the ground. but do we actually live our lives like we believe it? i often think, "oh, that passage just means when you're tight on money and can't make ends meet". but it's so much more than that. it applies to every aspect of our lives. to overcome fear, we've got to accept God's care for our life. His indescribable love for us and His overwhelming desire to care for us when we humble ourselves before Him and realize our desperate need for Him DAILY. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord and He will lift us up in due time. "in due time" - this means we might be uncomfortable for a time, but God promises to life us up in His good and perfect timing. the verse goes on to tell us to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us.
where fear exists, love can't. and where love can't, we can't be really living the life God calls us to. when fear overcomes us and we don't trust in God's care, we pass opportunities from God up and aren't fully carrying out God's work He's given us. this is not to say God can never use us again once we drop the ball. but until we overcome our fears by trusting in God's care for our lives, we're going to continue missing amazing opportunities He gives us.
i like how the pastor put it - "when you partner with God, why would He not care for you?" Matthew 6 goes on to say, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If you're fully surrendering your life (including your fears) to God, He WILL care for us completely and help us to carry out the plan, the purpose He has for each of our lives.
so, i don't know about you. but i've got a lot of livin' to do now. :) 1st thing's 1st - i'm goin' surfin'!!!! :D
(and please don't write me off as being shallow and assuming the only application i took away from this message was that i can now overcome my fear of sharks and live out my dream of going surfing :) this message of overcoming fear is life-changing if i (you) put it into action. let's get out there and start taking the opportunities God gives us to be used by Him in every area of life!)
wow, is it almost midnight? my 7:50am class suddenly seems a lot closer now...stink.
keep it real.
~jen~
so anyway, the 1st few weeks or so of this semester, the pastor was doing a series called "Home" and basically it was a series of messages teaching what the mission of this church was, why they were heading toward this specific vision, and how they were going to introduce new programs to the church. and what was so cool was that my whole idea of what the local church should be matches up nearly exactly with what this church's idea is. i'm just sad that after i'm done at liberty, i don't plan on living in this area and so i know my time at this church probably won't be too long-term. but - you never know, right? :) hmm...OR! or maybe the term "church plant" will take on a whole new meaning - it will mean taking a local church and moving the entire church body to a new location so they can continue with their mission together in a new place (obviously, that place would be wherever i end up moving to after liberty - hehehe :) it's not selfishness...well...okay maybe it is).
wow, am i rambling? yeah, pretty sure.
the message this morning was part 2 of a series called "Breathe". everyone fears something (or some-things) in life. we fear things (sharks!), people (public speaking - hello), death, the unknown (natural disasters, the supernatural, etc). we allow these things to paralyze us. i know i allow them to. the funny thing was, the pastor used the example of his fear of sharks, which i can strongly relate to (AND, oddly enough, it all goes back to him going behind his parent's backs and sneaking peeks of the movie "JAWS" when it was on TV when he was 7 or 8...hmm...sounds a lot like someone else i know...sorry mom & dad :) ). we fear people, not only speaking in front of groups, but we also fear what people think about us. we wonder if they're staring at the big zit we have on our chin or if they're secretly laughing hysterically at our bed-head hair. i can't tell you how many opportunities i've passed up in life because i gave in to my fears.
most of us know the passage in Matthew 6, the passage on "Do Not Worry". yeah, my Bible pretty much flips open to that page when you drop it on the ground. but do we actually live our lives like we believe it? i often think, "oh, that passage just means when you're tight on money and can't make ends meet". but it's so much more than that. it applies to every aspect of our lives. to overcome fear, we've got to accept God's care for our life. His indescribable love for us and His overwhelming desire to care for us when we humble ourselves before Him and realize our desperate need for Him DAILY. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord and He will lift us up in due time. "in due time" - this means we might be uncomfortable for a time, but God promises to life us up in His good and perfect timing. the verse goes on to tell us to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us.
where fear exists, love can't. and where love can't, we can't be really living the life God calls us to. when fear overcomes us and we don't trust in God's care, we pass opportunities from God up and aren't fully carrying out God's work He's given us. this is not to say God can never use us again once we drop the ball. but until we overcome our fears by trusting in God's care for our lives, we're going to continue missing amazing opportunities He gives us.
i like how the pastor put it - "when you partner with God, why would He not care for you?" Matthew 6 goes on to say, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If you're fully surrendering your life (including your fears) to God, He WILL care for us completely and help us to carry out the plan, the purpose He has for each of our lives.
so, i don't know about you. but i've got a lot of livin' to do now. :) 1st thing's 1st - i'm goin' surfin'!!!! :D
(and please don't write me off as being shallow and assuming the only application i took away from this message was that i can now overcome my fear of sharks and live out my dream of going surfing :) this message of overcoming fear is life-changing if i (you) put it into action. let's get out there and start taking the opportunities God gives us to be used by Him in every area of life!)
wow, is it almost midnight? my 7:50am class suddenly seems a lot closer now...stink.
keep it real.
~jen~
Thursday, February 16, 2006
a humerous Bible moment
so i'm reading Exodus 8 today in the mall parking lot (that's another story, but yes, the mall parking lot) and i came across something that made me laugh and re-read it to see if i was really comprehending it correctly. in chapter 8, God sends the plague of frogs on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh calls Moses & Aaron in and asks them to pray to God to remove the frogs. Moses is, like (okay, this is Jen-phrased, but it's accurate, go check for yourself :) ), "Alright, sure, when do you want me to pray that?" and Pharaoh says, "Dude, like...tomorrow." TOMORROW!? what? did he seriously want to have one last night of sharing his house with tons of frogs hopping and pooping (yeah, frogs do that too) everywhere? i don't understand the man. but it's Pharaoh we're talking about, i mean...c'mon, it took losing his firstborn son in order to let him let the Israelites out of slavery and even THEN he chased after them. it just stumps me as to why Pharaoh asked Moses & Aaron to pray "tomorrow" instead of "RIGHT NOW!" crazy man.
i drew a picture of a butterfly today. okay, no i didn't. but i did finish my perspective drawing of the corner of my room and my dresser. it's due in my art class tomorrow. and i must say, it turned out much better than i planned. you can actually tell what it is. who says miracles don't happen? :) i'm horrible at drawing, but i have to take this class in order to take any graphic design classes. go figure.
i've discovered this amazing new technique in life recently. it's called "getting things done instead of sitting down and thinking about what i have to do". it's amazing! i've discovered that writing a quick note and sticking it in the mail to send to a friend (yes, SNAIL MAIL! :::gasp:::) is incredibly easier than i thought. mailing checks in to pay for bills is also extremely easy if you just take a couple minutes to write the check and put it in the envelope. even going to the gym fits in this category. my 7:50am class was canceled this morning and since i wasn't able to sleep in (a house of 4 girls means non-quiet early mornings) i laid in bed thinking about how i should go to the gym. BUT instead of deciding on a satisfying excuse to not go, i decided to just get out of bed and go to the gym, even if i only ran on the treadmill for 5 minutes (thankfully, i did exceed that goal on the treadmill, but not by much). and guess what. i felt great the rest of the day because i made the decision to just do it, even though i didn't really want to at the time. oh! and i've also discovered how easy it is to just snap a quick picture of yourself and send it to people for a random bit o' fun!
just call me miss productive from now on. or rita watson. whichever you prefer.
keep it real.
~jen~
i drew a picture of a butterfly today. okay, no i didn't. but i did finish my perspective drawing of the corner of my room and my dresser. it's due in my art class tomorrow. and i must say, it turned out much better than i planned. you can actually tell what it is. who says miracles don't happen? :) i'm horrible at drawing, but i have to take this class in order to take any graphic design classes. go figure.
i've discovered this amazing new technique in life recently. it's called "getting things done instead of sitting down and thinking about what i have to do". it's amazing! i've discovered that writing a quick note and sticking it in the mail to send to a friend (yes, SNAIL MAIL! :::gasp:::) is incredibly easier than i thought. mailing checks in to pay for bills is also extremely easy if you just take a couple minutes to write the check and put it in the envelope. even going to the gym fits in this category. my 7:50am class was canceled this morning and since i wasn't able to sleep in (a house of 4 girls means non-quiet early mornings) i laid in bed thinking about how i should go to the gym. BUT instead of deciding on a satisfying excuse to not go, i decided to just get out of bed and go to the gym, even if i only ran on the treadmill for 5 minutes (thankfully, i did exceed that goal on the treadmill, but not by much). and guess what. i felt great the rest of the day because i made the decision to just do it, even though i didn't really want to at the time. oh! and i've also discovered how easy it is to just snap a quick picture of yourself and send it to people for a random bit o' fun!
just call me miss productive from now on. or rita watson. whichever you prefer.
keep it real.
~jen~
Sunday, February 05, 2006
66 n 06
as most of you who read this already know, i just got back to my house at school tonight after a busy weekend trip home! i got to fly home for bree's wedding, which was SO much fun! i think it was the fastest trip i've ever taken home. flew home friday afternoon, flew back sunday afternoon. but it was worth it. i even got home in time to catch the end of 2nd quarter and the rest of the super bowl game :D
so, 66 n 06. what is it? it's a commitment that the campus pastors at LU have been encouraging students to make this year. it's reading through the Bible in one year (hence, 66 books of the Bible in '06...and yet still i know there's SOMEONE out there who's still not catching on...haha okay just kidding :)). anyway, i'm reading through the Bible this year, something i've never actually accomplished since my parents did it with me and my sister when we were in elementary school (wow, that's embarassing).
anyway, so i started it a week or 2 ago. and this past week we had a speaker come to LU and he was talking about how we lack so much in our view of how big God really is. How powerful and in control He really is. he pointed out a few people in the Bible who had atleast a little bigger view of God. like Moses, seeing God part the Red Sea. David, seeing God empower him to overcome Goliath. these guys trusted in the Lord as they carried out what God had called them to do. the tasks seemed impossible. but they got to see a glimpse of God's power. their view of God was increased. so this speaker dude encouraged us, as we read anything in Scripture, to allow the Holy Spirit to increase our views of God. that we may see and learn more and more about God from every single passage we read. because the Bible is...well, it's essentially all about God. so just in the past week, as i've continued reading thru Genesis, i've been trying to read it with the mindset of, "okay, how is God moving in this passage? where is the hand of God?" and it is so amazing!! it's not always easy, mainly because i'm not used to reading passages with that mindset. sometimes i find myself just looking for the places where it says "And the Lord said..." or whatever. and while, yes, that counts...it's kinda cheating :)
God stokes me so much. i'm so excited to see what God will do in 2006 in the lives of people i know, especially in my family, friends, and well...my own life as well.
keep it real.
~jen~
so, 66 n 06. what is it? it's a commitment that the campus pastors at LU have been encouraging students to make this year. it's reading through the Bible in one year (hence, 66 books of the Bible in '06...and yet still i know there's SOMEONE out there who's still not catching on...haha okay just kidding :)). anyway, i'm reading through the Bible this year, something i've never actually accomplished since my parents did it with me and my sister when we were in elementary school (wow, that's embarassing).
anyway, so i started it a week or 2 ago. and this past week we had a speaker come to LU and he was talking about how we lack so much in our view of how big God really is. How powerful and in control He really is. he pointed out a few people in the Bible who had atleast a little bigger view of God. like Moses, seeing God part the Red Sea. David, seeing God empower him to overcome Goliath. these guys trusted in the Lord as they carried out what God had called them to do. the tasks seemed impossible. but they got to see a glimpse of God's power. their view of God was increased. so this speaker dude encouraged us, as we read anything in Scripture, to allow the Holy Spirit to increase our views of God. that we may see and learn more and more about God from every single passage we read. because the Bible is...well, it's essentially all about God. so just in the past week, as i've continued reading thru Genesis, i've been trying to read it with the mindset of, "okay, how is God moving in this passage? where is the hand of God?" and it is so amazing!! it's not always easy, mainly because i'm not used to reading passages with that mindset. sometimes i find myself just looking for the places where it says "And the Lord said..." or whatever. and while, yes, that counts...it's kinda cheating :)
God stokes me so much. i'm so excited to see what God will do in 2006 in the lives of people i know, especially in my family, friends, and well...my own life as well.
keep it real.
~jen~
Friday, January 27, 2006
the hook-up
oh happy day, we're getting cable internet today at our house!! blogs will be updated much more regularly, children will be singing in the streets (joyfully, with full bellys), and we shall eat fattened calfs!
wow that's random.
more-regularly-updated blogging to occur in the short, near future.
keep it real.
~jen~
wow that's random.
more-regularly-updated blogging to occur in the short, near future.
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
joyful joyful
quick post. just checked the 10-day forecast for lynchburg, VA and the day after i get back there, it's supposed to be 65 degrees. beautimus. absolutely beautimus. i actually teared up, i was that excited. :D
Saturday, January 07, 2006
statistics
from woodtv.com:
"Today represents the 46th day in a row that Grand Rapids and most of the rest of West Michigan has received a trace or more of precipitation. Also we've had 14 days in row with no sunshine. If we don't receive any today then we will have tied the all time record."
they make it sound like they WANT to tie the record. sick people.
"Today represents the 46th day in a row that Grand Rapids and most of the rest of West Michigan has received a trace or more of precipitation. Also we've had 14 days in row with no sunshine. If we don't receive any today then we will have tied the all time record."
they make it sound like they WANT to tie the record. sick people.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
12
when you hear the number "12", what do you think of? perhaps you think of the number..."12". okay, so we all probably do. but get past that. think deeper. you may think "12" months of the year; "12" days of Christmas"; "12" tribes of Israel (?? it sounds right...). but i bet you would never think of what i am about to associate with the number "12". today marks the 12th consecutive day of total cloud-cover in Michigan. for those of you who live in more sun-drenched places (ie, anywhere but michigan), that means we have not seen even a hint of the sun in 12 consecutive days. you go outside at 11am and feel like it's 5pm. it's dark. it's drizzling. it's foggy. it's total evidence of the Fall of Man, if you ask me.
sometimes i like to lay on my couch, floor, bed, anything flat, and close my eyes and pretend to be in a warm, tropical environment. i repeat to myself over and over the fact that i will be in the Florida Keys for my spring break in march. not only do i have that to look forward to, but i quite possibly might be spending my 3 months of summer living in the Keys working with a youth ministry down there called STS (student to student).
okay, totally did a segway (spelling?) there - man, that was smooth.
for those who didn't catch it, yes, i am in fact looking at heading down to the tropical Keys this summer and interning with the ministry down there where my sister & bro-in-law are working. andy called me about a week before i came home for Christmas break and asked if i'd be interested in interning down there to help out with the ministry, specifically with videography. i have wanted to work with STS for a few years now and i came close to going down there for a couple months about 2 years ago but totally didn't have the money to do it. there's such a darkness in people's lives down there, including the kids'. i'm so stoked to even have the opportunity to go down there finally and help.
so if God randomly brings it to anyone's mind, i'm asking that you pray for me as i finalize plans to go down there. i'm not totally set on going down yet, so i'm praying about it and praying that God will give me a peace about which route to go with my summer.
here's to the sunshine.
keep it real.
~jen~
sometimes i like to lay on my couch, floor, bed, anything flat, and close my eyes and pretend to be in a warm, tropical environment. i repeat to myself over and over the fact that i will be in the Florida Keys for my spring break in march. not only do i have that to look forward to, but i quite possibly might be spending my 3 months of summer living in the Keys working with a youth ministry down there called STS (student to student).
okay, totally did a segway (spelling?) there - man, that was smooth.
for those who didn't catch it, yes, i am in fact looking at heading down to the tropical Keys this summer and interning with the ministry down there where my sister & bro-in-law are working. andy called me about a week before i came home for Christmas break and asked if i'd be interested in interning down there to help out with the ministry, specifically with videography. i have wanted to work with STS for a few years now and i came close to going down there for a couple months about 2 years ago but totally didn't have the money to do it. there's such a darkness in people's lives down there, including the kids'. i'm so stoked to even have the opportunity to go down there finally and help.
so if God randomly brings it to anyone's mind, i'm asking that you pray for me as i finalize plans to go down there. i'm not totally set on going down yet, so i'm praying about it and praying that God will give me a peace about which route to go with my summer.
here's to the sunshine.
keep it real.
~jen~
Friday, December 30, 2005
a thought on pride
i've just started a new book i got over Thanksgiving break, it's called "Humility - True Greatness" by C.J. Mahaney. since i didn't have to work today and everyone is out of my house doing different things, i decided it was a good time to sit in my quiet house and do a little reading. i read the following passage and i think it has so much impact to it that i couldn't help but post it on here. and as a disclaimer, i wasn't reading this passage thinking "oh, so and so needs to hear this" or anything, and the quoting of this passage is not directed at anybody, so no one go off and think "oh she SO wrote that because of me, i hate her and her sombrero!"...or anything like that. it's just a passage that impacted me in a big way when i read it and i pray it will continue to impact me.
"Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worhty to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride." (pg. 32)
pride is one of those sins that sometimes is not blatantly visible in people's lives. if someone has a problem with getting drunk, you know it. if someone has a problem with sexual morality, you know it. it's visible, you see their struggle. THEY know they're sinning (i'm talking from a believer's standpoint). pride often hides below the surface. it's a sin that is hard to realize you have unless you take time to allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and show you where you struggle in living a life in total submission to the Lord. but it's such a serious sin. i'd even venture to say that pride is, in essence, at the root of all sin. it's a serious sin that's often not taken seriously.
back to reading.
keep it real.
~jen~
"Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worhty to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride." (pg. 32)
pride is one of those sins that sometimes is not blatantly visible in people's lives. if someone has a problem with getting drunk, you know it. if someone has a problem with sexual morality, you know it. it's visible, you see their struggle. THEY know they're sinning (i'm talking from a believer's standpoint). pride often hides below the surface. it's a sin that is hard to realize you have unless you take time to allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and show you where you struggle in living a life in total submission to the Lord. but it's such a serious sin. i'd even venture to say that pride is, in essence, at the root of all sin. it's a serious sin that's often not taken seriously.
back to reading.
keep it real.
~jen~
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