Attn: Pastors/Worship Leaders/the Church

In regards to treasuring the Word of God... "Referencing rock stars, funny stories, or lines from a recent movie can appear relevant & trendy. But in doing so we can leave people starving for what they need most to hear from God." - Bob Kauflin, from the book "Worship Matters"

The Bible (the Word of God) is alive and active and is sharper than any double-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). It has stood up against the harshest of critics and skeptics. It is infallible.

He will provide

this past Monday I had off from work (Christmas holiday) – my first day off since getting back in the Keys (besides Thanksgiving).  when I came home, I flew in Monday night and was working the next day.  so I was super excited to have a day off to enjoy this place that I love.

I went to one of the quieter beaches that not so many tourists know about (although plenty still seem to find it).  sat down on my towel about 15 feet from the water and journaled and processed and prayed.  I flipped back through some of my journal entries – I like doing that from time to time.  it reminds me of God’s faithfulness and His provision.  and I started thinking about what my future might hold and spent some time sitting in the quiet, asking God what He wanted to do in the upcoming months and wondering how He was going to provide for what I needed (and/or deeply wanted…haha because needs and wants are often 2 entirely different things, aren’t they?).

I sat there and also asked God if I could see His glory in Creation in some way – to open my eyes, because His glory is all around.  how callous I often become to seeing it.

…I love how God delights to reveal Himself to us when we ask to see Him in a fresh and/or deeper way:

I looked up to look at the ocean and this flock of little birds swooped down right in front of me near the water’s edge.  they all flew in unison – the kind where if 1 turns, they all turn. SO cool!  I was thinking of how amazing it is that God created them to do that – it’s part of their nature.

I went back to reading thru journal entries and I looked up again and saw these same little birds, 1 by 1, marching across the shore right in front of me, pecking through the seaweed looking for food.  I don’t normally get excited and all “awww” about birds, but these were so cute :)  as I watched them, I was reminded of Matthew 6 where Jesus says:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

BAM.  a beautiful reminder of God’s provision.  nothing is too big for Him.  He is so beyond money.  these little birds had full bellies (at least they appeared to – they were nice and plump little guys).  my Father takes care of His creations, even the tiny birds – I can surely trust He will take care of me.

and this week I have been blown away by His provision!  this week, I have been given amazing, gracious, super generous financial gifts from people I love (not because they give me money…hahaha).

when I head back out West, I’m hoping to raise some support to enable me to do ministry more full-time.  I am super thankful for the 6-week temp job I was able to have in the Fall when I was out there; however, I realized I missed out a lot on the ministry-side of things because I was working a full-time job.

so … hey, it’s like…the end of the year tomorrow… I’m just sayin’, if you’re looking to donate extra money before the end of the year, Continuous Worship ministries is an excellent ministry to support!  :D  if you would like to make any donations, feel free to email me @ stokedauntjen@gmail.com and I’ll let you know how you can do so.  I’ll be sending out a support letter soon as well, but I figure quite a few of you who actually read this thing (…or maybe there’s only 1 person…hi Mom!!), already know what I’m up to out West and if you don’t, you can always peruse through my posts from this past Fall. or…email me and ask me!  or call me.  if you have my #.  but I’m not posting that on here because I’ll probably get creeper phone calls from random people who happen upon this blog.

:)

Zealous

I'm attempting to read thru the Bible yet again (I've attempted this many times and stop around Leviticus/Numbers every time). This morning I read in Numbers 25 about the Israelites and Phinehas. The Lord was furious with the Israelites who had started worshipping the Baal of Peor and was going to destroy all those who had turned from Him to worship this other god.

Enter: Phinehas. This dude sees blatant sin go on right before his eyes and he immediately puts an end to it (it's um...not pleasant. Go read Numbers 25, it's a short chapter).

Because of Phinehas' willingness to stand up for God's honor, the Lord turned His anger away from the Israelites. The Lord said, "Phinehas...has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them..."

Wow. Phinehas understood the holiness of God. He understood what sin was and he was determined to fight for the Lord's honor. He was willing to stand up for the Lord's glory.

I'm not saying we should go run spears thru people (go read Num. 25 if you didn't yet...I know you didn't...go read it!). But what would it look like to be zealous for the honor of God in our lives?

Christmas a year ago

This Christmas i was remembering throughout the day where i was a year ago. Last Christmas was definitely a memorable one... thankful to be in the Keys with my family and friends for this Christmas!

get stoked: stranded: this morning, 6 of us + 1 leader and our contact (Helina) went to work at a soup kitchen. we walked to the train station and waited but the...

where You go i'll go

I have quite this beautiful tension going on inside of me these days.

this is where I ate my lunch today.  I sat down on the sea wall.  at the 7 Mile Bridge.  I didn’t alter these pictures at all.  it was just…purely beautiful.  the water was so blue and green today, even without my polarized sunglasses on.

and see, this is where the beautiful tension comes in.  this place has captured my heart time and time again.  I love it. God’s beautiful creation surrounds me.  beautiful people whom I love deeply surround me.  sunshine and warmth surround me year round.  and yet – the beautiful tension.

the beautiful tension of wanting to be called here so badly by God, yet having peace that He’s called me else where for now.  there is peace in that calling, a peace that transcends my own understanding (Phil. 4:4-7) because here – here amidst the blue green waters and the beautiful people that I love – here is where I want to be called to.  it doesn’t make sense to me that I would have peace about surrendering this love.  from the worldly point of view, it doesn’t make sense.

but I serve the One and only God.  the God who desires to do so much more than I could ever hope for or imagine (Eph. 3:20) for His glory.  that is what I live for, though my heart and mind are so easily distracted.

right now, I feel like He has called me to Torrington, WY.  a small town (village?  j/k) right on the edge of WY/NE where I never in my life imagined living.  while interning with Continuous Worship, we’ve come alongside a brand new church plant in Torrington, called SONrise Chuch.  none of us imagined actually moving to Torrington. it started off as like…a 2 month commitment or something.  when Paul and Cristine initially told me they felt God was directing them to commit longer to SONrise and to pretty much move out there, my first reaction was, “hmm.  well, that’s great for you.  there’s no way I’m moving out there.”.

see, if you’ve never been to Torrington (and I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t even heard of it), let me tell you something about it.  there’s no legit grocery store.  there’s no walmart.  there’s no target.  there’s no wendy’s, starbucks, or Chipotle.  you can’t see the mountains.  you can’t see water.  you can hear and see the coal train that goes through like 50 times a day (or at least it feels like it goes thru that often).  it’s…not my idea of earthly paradise.

but I have fallen in love with the people I’ve gotten to know at SONrise.

so going back to the night Paul and Cristine dropped the news on me.  I went to bed wondering what in the world was next for me.  I figured my internship was done.  it was time to move on.  because there was no way God could be calling me to Torrington, WY. :)

I went to bed.  and woke up wide awake at 4am the next morning.  all I could think about were all the opportunities God might have for me in Torrington.  I was filled with so much excitement.  I even tried reasoning things out and tried not to get myself excited.  I tried to get back to reality.  but the reality is – there are so many opportunities to share God’s love and to serve in Torrington.  I still get so stoked thinking of different ideas of what He might possibly want to do.

I never fell back to sleep that morning.

sweetly broken.  wholly surrendered.

story of my life lately.  :)

this is who I shared the sea wall with today over lunch…

Some mornings

Some mornings I enjoy my quiet time and coffee so much that I don't want to get ready and go to work. Today is one of those days. :)

Wish I was a little bit talla

Tonight I was doing some online Christmas shopping and realized the NCAA women's volleyball semi finals were on.

Hoooooold up.

Needless to say, my shopping took a lot longer than I planned because I was thoroughly distracted with watching a ball get hit back and forth. Hey - it's not every day you can catch volleyball on TV. Gotta embrace the opportunities as they come.

So Illinois has a player that's 6'6"...that's over a foot taller than me!! And USC has a 6'5" player...that's STILL over a foot taller than me!!

It's ok. I have come to accept that I will probably never reach 5'4". And I'm ok with that. God made me just the right size for what He created me for. :)

Like hiding in washing machines...

Circa 2006ish

Ol Blue

This is my super sweet ride while I'm home - an '85 Ford Ranger! Her name is Ol' Blue, but sometimes she gets called the Smurf. She loves the ocean so we try to see it every day. ...not too hard when you live on an island ;)

None But Jesus

I've been listening to the song "None But Jesus" a ton in the midst of trials lately. Challenged to the core by the words.

"There is no one else for me - none but Jesus..." NO ONE. No friend. No spouse. No one. He is to be my everything. Do i really believe that? Do I really live like i believe that?

"Crucified to set me free..." He humbled Himself to die on the cross to set me free from the chains of sin. From the strongholds battling to weigh me down. Because of Jesus, and only Jesus, I am FREE!! ...do I really believe that? Do I really live like I believe that?

"All my delight is in You, Lord - all of my hope and all of my strength..." ALL of my DELIGHT is in You, Lord! All of it. ALL of my HOPE is in You, Lord! All of it. ALL of my STRENGTH is in You, Lord. All of it. What does "all" really mean? EVERYTHING. ALL. Do I really find ALL my delight, ALL my hope, ALL my strength in Jesus? Do I really?

My friends - may we not merely sing familiar words, but may we take seriously the words we are declaring to our Lord and Savior.

---------
None But Jesus - by Brooke Fraser (Hillsong)

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

So when You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

All my delight is in You, Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You, Lord, forevermore

urgency

if you knew you were going to die tonight, how would that affect how you lived the rest of today?

well first off, if you don’t know Jesus…my goodness.  He is who He says He is.  He is who the Bible says He is.  He is the Son of God and God is who He says He is.  Jesus humbled Himself and became the ultimate Sacrifice to cleanse you and me of our sins so that we can spend eternity with the AWESOME God, the Creator of the universe, the Creator of life.

and for those of us who know Jesus as our Savior – are we living as though Christ may return today?  because He totally could.  and He will one day.  maybe today.  maybe tomorrow.  maybe years from now.  we don’t know.

a couple weeks ago, at the high school retreat we were leading worship at, I was struggling Saturday night with having the courage and faith in God’s strength to get up and lead one of the songs that night during the session.  but then Paul (not Paul in the Bible…living, breathing today Paul – Continuous Worship Ministries Paul…haha) posed a couple questions to me that I think might forever change my mindset.  I hope.  he challenged me with this: if I knew that later that night God was going to take me Home (aka die an earthly death), would I really not take this last chance I had to share this life-changing, life-saving message that I knew to be Truth?  Would I really not go out there and use the gifts God’s given me and allow Him to use me to reveal His power, His greatness, more of who He is to those teenagers we were about to worship with?  Or what if I knew God was going to take away my voice for the next 6 months – would I still wuss out and not do what He was calling me to do that night?  would I not worship with all that I have?

totally rocked my world.  it has stirred up a sense of urgency within me. when Christ returns, I want to be building His Kingdom.  I want to be found building the Kingdom of Light in whatever I’m doing and not building the Kingdom of Darkness.

it also challenged me to worship God with all that is within me.  I want to give Him everything.  I want to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind and likewise, I want to worship Him with all my heart, soul, and mind.  He is worthy!!

I fail at it a lot.  but by His grace, we can get back up and start fresh.  refocus.  and move forward.

I came home to find that Shley has been filled with the same urgency, so much more so than I have.  I love it!  I want to be filled more and more with this urgency.

don't lend me your vehicle

over the past 2 weeks, i've had a really back track record with people's vehicles...i don't know what's going on... -took Paul & Cristine's suburban out...got rear ended -borrowed Andy's big dog truck...backed into the tent pole. i was hoping he wouldn't notice one of the tent poles was bent. he...definitely did. ok so it's kind of hard to miss. -borrowed Andy's other truck, ol' Blue, today. i ended up switching vehicles with my dad 1/2 way thru the day so i could take Claire & Lucy to the beach. i get home and my dad thanks me for the surprise. what surprise? oh - i left the lights on on ol' Blue and the battery was dead when he went to drive her home. :) -oh - no, that's not the end. so my dad tells me about the dead battery. then i go to eject the CD i put in his Sequoia. and the cd is stuck in the player. like, stuck stuck. it says "error" on the screen. and it makes thunking noises when you try to eject it. this is just a fair warning to everyone.