15 degrees & snow = God’s grace??

after being back out West now for a month and a 1/2, the winter has started to wear on me.  the snow.  the bitter cold.  the lack of flip-flop wearing.

but Paul keeps reminding me that it’s just God’s grace.  what??  I think I probably rolled my eyes at that comment the first 5 times or so that he’s said it. :P

I mean, he might have a point…I suppose.  God has created the earth with just the right levels of nitrogen and oxygen and whatever else so that we can live.  He’s tilted the earth at just the right angle to the sun so that we don’t burn up and we don’t freeze over.

he reasons that anything between –20 deg F and 120 deg F is just God’s grace – it’s not cold enough to freeze us to death and not hot enough to burn us to death.

an overly-excited exclamation of, “Wow, isn’t this great??  Just another taste of God’s grace!!” is not really something you want to hear when you’re running to the car in bitter cold wind and snow.  it’s not really something you want to hear when you’re staring out the window at the snow, daydreaming about being home on the beach.  BUT – I’m starting to learn to just embrace it.  and not complain.

because, after all – I got to go home to the Keys for a month and a 1/2 this winter.  :)

and it’s true.  God’s grace can be seen (and felt) even in the weather.

Eph 1:19-21

"I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him.

This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.

Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come." (Ephesians 1:19-21 NLT)

Now, if that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.

:)

I love the way it's said in this song by Hillsong:
"The same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me. Your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me."

Sing it from the rooftops!!

Wyoming Winters

You know how like, in the old days people wouldn't be able to get places because of the weather? Like a pass would be closed or whatnot? Well i thought that was only in the old days - like before snowplows and salt trucks.

Apparently I was wrong.

I was planning to drive my Zeva girl (a Scion xB) out to Torrington this Wednesday (we're moving this week!!). No snow in the forecast. Good to go, right?

Well then a high wind warning popped up on the forecast. And everyone was talking about how bad the road to Torrington would be and I'm thinking...it's just wind. C'mon.

After everyone kept talking about the roads, I finally decided maybe they knew something I didn't (i know, kinda a stretch, right? ...jk :) ). So I decided to head out to Torrington today with the rest of the crew so I wouldn't get into nasty driving by myself tomorrow.

Sure enough, a little ways down the road there was blowing snow and slush on the roads. One section had like...3-5 inches on snow on the road. We saw 2 cars and a semi in a ditch.

...I'm so glad I didn't have to drive my car. :) I rode with Cristine in the suburban.

A few weeks ago, the road from Torrington to Cheyenne was closed for awhile due to snow. Like, they really can close roads. With this gate-like thing.

I'm used to checking the weather to see if we can get a couple hours of beach volleyball in during rainy season. I'm used to checking the winds to see if we can go sailing. But this checking the weather for winter storm warnings and high wind warnings? Not so much something I think to do yet.

Good thing I live with smart people.

Feel free to send big warm coats and hoodies.

Aw look at Zeva, conquerer of the high wind warning!!

Graduating

This past Sunday I graduated to the full drum set at church! I'm growing up so fast!! I had to promise to play responsibly. And I played pretty safe. Although "Blessed Be Your Name" may've had a slight runaway train feel at one point ;) hey, we just be excited about praisin' Jesus - ain't no shame in that! :)

We'll see what kind of setup I get next week...

Subliminal message to Paul...let her have the whole set again...let her have the whole set again...let her have the whole set again...

I totally rock at the subliminal messages.

It 27 degrees out and the kids are outside playing with just sweatshirts on. Meanwhile, I'm sitting inside wearing more layers than they are and drinking hot chai.

Yep. It's official. Some of us were not made for cold weather.

Missin' the SoFla heat.

Ephesians 1–Identity

I’ve never read Ephesians 1 before and seen who I am in Christ so clearly.  I mean, there’s a ton you can take away from Ephesians 1.  but my identity in Christ hasn’t been something that’s stood out to me from this passage until this week.

I am blessed.  Eph. 1:3

I am holy & blameless in God’s sight through the blood of Jesus.  Eph. 1:4

I am chosen.  Chosen by the Almighty God, the One who rules of all.  Eph. 1:4

I am loved.  So dearly loved by the Creator of the Universe.  Eph. 1:4-5

I am a child of God, His daughter through the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Eph. 1:5

I am covered by & shown glorious grace freely through Christ Jesus.  Eph. 1:6

I am redeemed and forgiven through the blood and work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Eph. 1:7

I am created to bring praise to the King.  I am created to glorify Him and bring glory to His Name.  Eph. 1:12

the battle of the mind

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Cor. 10:5 (NIV)

it’s a good verse, right?  I’ve had different times during my journey through life where I tried to put this verse into practice.  take every thought captive.  ok.  killer.  sounds great.  go team.

now I’m trying to put this verse into practice, once again (because apparently, it hasn’t ever taken root in my brain where I do it consistently…ugh).  this time, it’s on a whole new level.  and it’s a battle.

have you ever made a list of all the lies you believe about yourself?  it sounds kinda weird.  and maybe you don’t have many lies you believe about yourself.  in which case, I would love to shake your hand and say, “well done, killa”.  but for the rest of you – have you ever done it?  Cristine suggested I do it a little while ago.  and at first I was like, “um…yeah, no, that’s ok.  I’m fine.” :)  I mean, who wants to sit down and do that?  it sounds like a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.

I kept putting it off that week, but by the middle of the week I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.  so I did it.  and I almost burnt the house down in the process.  no, really…I almost did.  I was sitting in a chair and had a lamp on and didn’t realize the lamp was leaned up against the wall and the bulb got hot and melted a hole through the lamp shade and I had no idea until Paul & Cristine came home and they smelled something burning.  oh, the tragic stories of a non-smelling person (I was born with no sense of smell).  if you feel sympathetic and feel so led, please feel free to send money.

oh – sorry.  ok back on track…

so I set aside some time to make this list.  um…it was quite long.  and while I was making that list, I decided to make a list of fears that I still had.  I thought I was doing really good at kicking fear in the butt.  apparently, that’s not the case because that list was quite long as well.  ugh.

as I was making the lists, at first I was starting to feel despair – and I kind of expected to be hurled down into the “pit” while doing this exercise.  however, something really cool happened – about 1/2 way through listing the lies and the fears out, God gave me almost like…righteous anger, I guess you could say.  I was ticked that these lies and fears had taken hold of me.  I wanted to MAKE WAR.

which sounds great, right?  yeah!  MAKE WAR!  no more believing these lies!  no more giving in to these fears!  go team!

…a lot easier said than done.  it is incredibly hard to re-train your thought patterns when you’ve believed the same lies and been held captive by the same fears for years.

so I’ve been battling, especially over the past couple weeks or so.  but I kept hitting this wall – this wall where I was like “yes, I know these are probably lies – but I don’t fully believe they’re lies…even though I know I should…”

through an unexpected turn of events, last week I hit this wall again and I hit it hard.  feeling powerless over this battle in my mind, I did something I don’t normally do.  I went for a drive.  haha ok j/k – I mean, no – I did go for a drive.  actually I didn’t drive.  Cristine did.  and I rode.  and we drank really bad lattes (don’t you love it when a coffee shop makes your drink with sugar free syrup when you never asked for sugar free?  yum…).  and we talked.  I talked.  I verbally spewed all over her.  which I don’t tend to do.  I tend to keep things bottled up inside and try to work through them on my own – which almost always is never a good thing.

let me just stop right here and suggest that if you need to verbally spew, I will loan Cristine out to you at a very decent monetary rate.  you guys will go for a drive (because going for a drive is so much less awkward than sitting across a table staring at one another).  and you will talk.  it’s inevitable.  she has a beautiful gift of pulling out the grunge inside of you and then talking through it with you.  :)  and if you’re a guy, you can go for a drive with Paul for the same very decent monetary rate (actually it’s a little higher, because he’s technically a pastor so I can charge more for that) because he also has this beautiful gift that you don’t really feel like is beautiful at the time but at the end of the talk, you feel so much better and then you realize it is, indeed, a beautiful gift.  and most likely you will at least have a glimpse at what God wants to teach you through whatever mess you’ve found yourself in.

wow, totally off track again… 

so what I realized was that quite a few of the lies and fears had been influenced by 1 person.  1 person.  why is it that we so easily believe the negative words/actions of 1 person?  if 1 person told me something encouraging about myself, and another person told me the opposite (something negative), I think I would tend to believe the negative.  why is that?  and if like, 5 people told me something positive about myself and this 1 person told me something negative, I would tend to believe the 1 negative thing over the 5 positive.  like really, why?

just realizing that 1 thing has blown my mind and is starting to shatter the lies that I have let infiltrate my mind for so long.  I have a long ways to go still.  but God is blowing my mind.  I feel like He’s beginning to restore me back into who He’s created me to be.  Rediscovering my true identity in Christ.  yesterday morning I was reading Ephesians 1 and I’ve never got this before while reading Eph. 1 but yesterday I just kept finding verse after verse that proclaimed who I am in Christ – and wow is it awesome to be a child of God.  Ephesians 1 – that’s a whole ‘nother post.  maybe tomorrow.

one more thing – and this has been crucial for me to learn.  I realized I can’t take every thought captive on my own.  I’m powerless.  I completely need the power of the Holy Spirit to do this.  and I fail.  like daily.  ok like multiple times daily right now.  but God is gracious.  and He has surrounded me with amazing people who love me and want to see victory over the lies and the fears.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Phil. 4:8

oh the sweet, though sometimes painful, restoration that Jesus offers us when we fix our eyes on Him.

A night of laughter

I love our church's worship team. We eat dinner together every Saturday night, then study Scripture or just spend time sharing what God's been doing in our lives. Then comes music rehearsal.

Tonight I think we all laughed more than we all have in a long time. It was like everyone was in rare form. We didn't get to meet last week because of the worship conference. Maybe we were just excited to be back together.

Either way, I love these people. We've become like a family. And I think that was so clear tonight. Just the overflowing joy of being together.

Jesus' love is so sweet, flowing between His followers.

Today

Today I am thankful for God's strength.
For His grace.
For His unfailing love.
For His patience.

Today I am thankful for great friends and great family He has blessed me with.
For the ones who stick by, even closer, when things are ugly.
For the ones willing to walk beside me when the road is ridden with pot holes.
For the ones I can laugh big belly laughs with.
For the ones that make me smile just recalling memories of.

Today. :)

Props to Otterbox

I have an Otterbox Defender Series case for my phone. Even though it makes my phone rather brick-ish, I would have destroyed my phone by now if I didn't have it. I drop my phone so much :) I even threw it in a big empty trash can once (the kind you roll out to the road) and there was disgusting liquid in the bottom of the trash can - but my phone totally survived! Score! ...I had my 7 year old cousin climb in and get it for me :)

The point is - this case is amazing. But over the 11 months that I've had it, the hard part of the case has been breaking off in little chunks. I was about to buy a new one and figured I might as well see what the warranty was 1st. I called the otters at Otterbox and get this - they're sending me a new case, free of charge, no questions asked.

Seriously want to give everyone at Otterbox a huge hug right now!

here come the MIT’s…

(MIT’s…) Galaxy defenders (oh oh-oh, oh oh-oh, oh oh)…

if you weren’t a Men in Black fan, you totally won’t know what was up with that.

for the rest of you – the good guys dress in black, remember that.

ok sorry.  I just had coffee.

so I’ve been inspired lately by Paul & Cristine to make an MIT list each morning.  MIT=Most Important Things.  each morning, I try to make a short MIT list (around 3-5 things usually) of what I absolutely want to get done that day.  and then I get to work knockin’ ‘em down like Muhammad Ali.  float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

seriously?  gotta stop blogging after drinking coffee.

I feel so much more productive when I make an MIT list.  I didn’t do it this past Monday, and by the end of the day I felt like I had gotten nothing done.  scattered.

I’m reading through “Zen to Done” right now (it’s a quick read).  it talks about MITs.  and taking care of things as they come up instead of setting them aside to do later – which usually ends up getting put in a pile and getting done later than later.

so, I’ve also been inspired lately by the same dynamic duo (Paul & Cristine) to get a planner.  like, a legit, hold in my hands planner.  no more using my iphone for trying to remember things (because I stink at that).  so in my planner is where I write down my MITs each day.  and lots of other great things.  it’s pretty much a grand adventure just reading through my planner, let’s just be honest.

ok that last line was a stretch of the truth.  probably.  maybe.

dude – Continuous Worship conference tomorrow-Sat out at Maranatha Bible Camp – super stoked!  not super stoked about the snow storm we’re supposed to get.  but there’s more to life than being warm and wearing flippers and your swim suit and board shorts all the time, right?  …right?  just say yes.  help me out here.  homesick for the Keys today.

ok I better stop rambling.

keep it real.

evolution of standards

a random observation of sorts:

when I was little, “dressing up” meant wearing a dress – and for me, I only did that when I had to.

when I was in high school, “dressing up” meant wearing a skirt – and again, I only did that when I had to.

when I was in college, “dressing up” meant wearing a pair of nice pants and something other than a t-shirt or hoodie.

and now, today I realized “dressing up” has evolved once again for me.  currently, “dressing up” means changing out of my favorite pair of sweat pants and putting jeans on.  and wearing a nice zip-up hoodie.

ahhhh – livin’ the dream!  :)

the un-named post

I keep changing the title of this post.  I title it, then write the 1st sentence.  then I stop and decide I want to write about something else.  so I erase the sentence, erase the title, and start over…and this process keeps happening right now so I’m just un-naming it and seeing where it goes from there.

I’m back out West, continuing with Continuous Worship ministries.  lovin’ life.  I just realized I haven’t posted since flying back out here.  there’s so much I could cover.

my birthday was a couple weeks ago – and if you didn’t know that, I consider that as a successful mission.  I don’t like celebrating my birthday.  that’s just how it is.  so I don’t broadcast that it’s my birthday.

ok but the point of me acknowledging that my birthday was a couple weeks ago – it marked a 1 year anniversary of the first time I ever led worship in my life.  last year at this time, I was in Skien, Norway with my YWAM DTS.  on my birthday, we were leading a youth group that night and I led 2 or 3 of the songs that night.  I had finally decided to surrender my fears to God and trust in His strength to use the gifts He’s given me.

and the year since that night in Norway has been incredible.  it has been hard.  it has been rough.  it has been uncomfortable.

…and it has been amazing.

there is absolutely nothing like trusting God with your fears, your anxieties, your insecurities – and seeing how He works in and through you.  I fail.  a lot.  especially with fear and anxiety.  and insecurities.  but God’s grace is so sweet.  it is so much stronger than my weakest of weak moments.  His grace is forgiving.  His grace is loving.  His grace is overwhelming.

for so much of my life, up until this past year, I consistently told God “no” in the area of worship leading.  I consistently chose to fear man over fearing God.

did you know fear of anything but God is sin?  it is.  it’s blatant choosing to not trust God.

while I still struggle a lot with fear, I have seen God giving me more and more victory over this stronghold in my life.  it is absolutely nothing I’ve done by my own strength.  and again, I fail.  a LOT.  but I can’t begin to explain the amazing feeling of stepping out in faith and experiencing the strength of my God.  the God who holds the universe in His hands.  the God who created the sun in all it’s glory and splendor – and who Himself is infinitely more glorious and magnificent.

if you could be doing anything with your life, what would you be doing?  are you doing it?  if not, what’s stopping you?

-------

on a side note, today I did something I’ve never done in my life.  I played the drums during worship at church today…hahaha no for real, I did.  it wasn’t a full set of drums.  it was a kick, a snare, and a cymbal.  let me back up and share how it happened that I got thrown into drumming today…

last night at worship team rehearsal, Paul set up this set of drums.  normally we don’t have drums for the worship time at church – only because we don’t have a drummer.  we have a full drum set.  just no drummer.  so Paul was playing on them during the first part of rehearsal but then he jumped on my keyboard and so I jokingly asked if he wanted me to go play the drums.  …and he said yes.  so I sat down and started beating on the drums –

let me stop right there.  have you ever beat on drums before?  I’m tellin’ ya – instant happiness.  you can’t help but smile really big.

ok so I messed around on the drums the rest of the night, having fun just goofing around.  I don’t know how to play the drums.  a few people at different times in my life have taught me how to do just a simple beat but that’s my extent of drumming.  so needless to say, I really don’t know what I’m doing.  then at the end of worship team rehearsal, Paul asked if I wanted to play drums at church Sunday morning.  to which I laughed and totally thought he was joking.  and of course…he wasn’t.  because he’s Paul.  and he loves to throw people out of their comfort zone at high rates of speed.  but he also knows music.  he’s been leading worship a LONG time.  like, longer than I’ve been alive.  ok that’s a lie.  but still, he’s done it for a long time.  and as uneasy as I was about playing the drums Sunday morning, I knew I should choose to trust him and be willing to take an opportunity God was giving me.

it was so fun!!!!!!

ok ok ok – 1 more quick thing.  I’ve been playing the guitar for like 10 years now, but I’m not nearly where I should be after playing for 10 years.  but I’ve never been able to play and sing at the same time – I totally lose my rhythm and then my words get stuck and it’s just…an amazing train wreck.  so I don’t know what happened, but when I got back out West, suddenly I can play and sing at the same time!!!  this is a ginormous step!!!!

oh my goodness.  I could write forever.  I just finished the book Indescribable by Louie Giglio & Matt Redman and it was phenomenal.  I’ll write about it later so this post is forever long.

keep it real.

Into the Sunset

Currently on a non-stop flight from Fort Lauderdale to Denver. I love flying West on late afternoon/early evening flights. It's like you're chasing the sunset. The sunset lasts forever!! The sky still has orange, pink, and blue hues and it's been over an hour at least. Beautimous!! I picked this side of the plane because I knew I'd have the best shot of catching the sinking of the sun. We were stuck in clouds for a long time and I was so bummed that I missed the sunset. But them the sky above and the horizon opened up and brilliant colors filled the sky! The picture doesn't do it justice.

Today I rented a car to drive up to Fort Laudy. Totally the funnest car I've ever rented this far - and I've rented quite a few. A mini cooper!!! It was such a sweet ride over the bridges, thru the islands, with the sunroof open! Zoom zoom ;) I really wanted to go flying over the median and find some stair to drive down like in the movie "Italian Job" but I wasn't sure my insurance would cover it, nor would the police probably think it was a great idea.

Ok I ended the post but this flight is forever long and I'm not falling asleep at all so let's see what else comes out of Jen's ramblings at 35,000+ feet...

I barely made my flight today :) oops. I meant to be super early. It...just didn't happen. Story of my life. However, even though I went straight from security to standing line to load at the gate (literally - they were lined up when I got there), I still managed to get 1 comment about my guitar. This guy goes, "sweet guitar..." ... to which I said "thanks" but what I was really thinking was, "you can't even see my guitar, you gringo! It's in it's case! My case could be empty or filled with old napkins I saved from elementary school that my mom wrote notes on and stuck in my lunch every day!"

But I went with "thanks" instead.

I so almost pulled a Brian Regan today. As the guy at the ticket counter took my ticket, he goes, "have a nice flight!" and I came so close to saying, "You too!"...when you...fly next...next time you fly--have a nice flight...

I love my family so much and already miss them so much. This morning, Claire (4) was adamant that we needed to celebrate my birthday this morning (today is not my birthday). So at breakfast, she had Sadie stick a candle in a piece of banana on top of my piece of toast :) so cute.

Ugh. Turbulence. And the head starts spinning. Time to stop looking at the screen...

the cell phone: a bittersweet invention

I really like my cell phone.  I was 16 when I first got a cell phone.  it looked like a brick.  and I think it was one of those “prepay” ones where you only have so many minutes.  my parents got one for me because I had just started driving (in the winter…in Michigan) and had already been in 5 ditches.  annnnnd hit a mailbox.  :)  true story.  I would like to add that I took driver’s training in the summer and did all my driving with my permit pre-winter snow time.  so I was learning to drive on the snowy/icy roads by myself.  c’mon now.  give me some cred.

wait.  this post isn’t about my driving history.  getting back on track…

I’ve had a lot of cell phones since then, and I’ve had a “smart” phone for maybe 3 years now and honestly it would be really hard for me to switch back to an '”unsmart” phone (I mean – what else do you call them?  if there are “smart” phones, what do we call the other ones?").

wait.  this post isn’t about my current cell phone and how much I enjoy it.

andy, sadie, and I were talking the other day about how much TV some families watch.  and then we realized that – yeah, we don’t watch a ton of TV, but how much time do we spend looking at a screen?  whether it be the computer screen or more recently, our cell phones?

i carry my phone with me everywhere.  I’m constantly connected.  i have facebook, email, twitter, and all these social networking apps on my phone.  pretty much i can be reached at any given time thru various avenues of technology unless I’m out on the water or playing volleyball.  even when I workout, I have my phone strapped to my arm, listening to my music, which means if you call or text me, I still hear it.

I started thinking past week about how I often use my phone as a scape goat. this is what we do (and I say we, because I’ve done it so many times and I know you have to): we walk thru the aisles at the grocery store, talking on our phone, oblivious to the people we’re walking by.  I’ve sometimes done this too – if I’m walking past a sales person and I know they’re going to try and get my attention, I pull out my phone and start doing something on it as I walk by.  or standing in line at the store, waiting to pay, I’ll pull out my phone and check my email.  blocking out the people around me, minding my own business.

I wonder how many opportunities we miss because we are so connected to our cell phones.  I wonder how many sweet conversations we miss out on because we’re so consumed with our own social networking.

I went to Starbucks with a couple friends yesterday, up in Key Largo.  we were sitting outside, enjoying the cool 70ish degree weather and our drinks, catching up on what God was doing in our lives.  I noticed a couple who sat down near us.  they were super hip looking, probably in their late 20’s.  the entire time they sat there, they were each on their cell phones, doing who knows what.  I didn’t see them look at each other once or have any conversation.

this past week, I wondered what it would be like to turn my cell phone into a “land line” – meaning, I would leave it at home and the only time I would use it is when I’m at the house.  you know, kickin’ it old school when we only had land lines and people couldn’t reach us while we were out and about (I know, hard to comprehend now, right?).  or maybe i don’t have to go to the extreme.  maybe I could resolve to not answer calls or text people or even pull my phone out when I’m in a public place – instead, being intentional with my time and making intentional conversation with the random people I pass by.

today I went to the old 7 Mile Bridge after church just to soak in the beauty for a little bit.  I resolved to not pull out my phone unless it was to take a picture.  the “Hat Man” was there, set up with his hats and flowers he’d woven out of palm frons.  I’ve never stopped and talked to him before, though I’ve seen him many times.  so today, we talked.  and it was fun to hear a little bit about him and hear about his love for weaving these palm frons for people.

having a cell phone has so many benefits.  I just wonder if we’re missing out on something by always being connected.

cultural relevancy

I previously posted a quote from Bob Kauflin’s book, “Worship Matters”, that talked about the relevancy of Scripture, alluding to the fact that many pastors/speakers will quote movie lines, celebrities, or use jokes to fill their message and hardly any Scripture.

I was talking with my bro-in-law about it and he pointed me to this podcast … that I have no clue how to link to on here :)  it’s called the “Elephant Room” and it’s like a discussion between pastors.  I think if you pull up iTunes and search for Mark Driscoll + Elephant Room maybe it’ll come up.  it’s called Culture in the Church vs Church in the Culture.  one pastor’s worship team had played “Highway to Hell” to start off a service and the pastors were discussing with him his motives and idea behind using that song.

the podcast was really good, I’m processing thru what all was said.  one pastor brought up the interesting point that we send missionaries overseas to different areas where they are to learn the culture and how to share the Gospel with that culture and we call it “godly”; yet in the States, when we bring culture into the church, we call it “compromising”. 

all throughout Scripture, people (including Jesus Himself) referenced cultural things so that people could relate and understand.

yet at the same time, if we’re using something blatantly ungodly to reach culture, is that right?

the dude who used “Highway to Hell” in the service said that 1 guy told him later that God really got a hold of his heart through that song.  praise God for that!  however, one of the other pastors mentioned that a guy in his church came to know the Lord thru the death of his mom in a car accident – and said he wasn’t planning on getting into that business anytime soon…

this podcast made me laugh many times – only because the pastors are brutally honest and they’re not afraid to mix seriousness with humor.  but it’s also left me questioning where to draw the line.  I remember being in a service once of one of those “uber trendy” churches and they did a song by Kelly Clarkson right after beginning the service with worship.  and I was so distracted by the fact that they did a Kelly Clarkson song and I was focused so much on trying to figure out what in the world this song had to do with the message that I kinda feel like it caused more distraction than really driving home the message.  I have no idea what the message was about.

so…I have no conclusion as to what I think right now.  it’s not something Scripture seems to say “this is right – this is wrong” on.

hey – go listen to the podcast.  let me know your thoughts.

keep it real.

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...