So I have been plagued a bit the last month or so, not exactly understanding my placement in life right now . So tonight as I was evaluating my current situation, I realized that maybe my perspective is completely twisted. As I listened to a few Kari Jobe songs, I believe the Lord began to reveal something super important to me.
She sings..."Tears rolling down my face, because of your love and your sweet embrace. It's here that I know you have been waiting to sweep me away, sweep me away in your love"
Maybe God has just been waiting on me...to "COME." All this time I have been thinking I am just waiting on God for this or that and until those things come to pass, I must have to suffer and wait. But then tonight my eyes were opened. Maybe it's God who has been waiting on me to come to Him and let Him sweep me away in His love. You know I've been all caught up wondering why I don't have this or that yet....but then I stop and I see the truth. God wants to give me something even sweeter right now. God wants to give me HIMSELF..."where nothing else matters" ["sweep me away, sweep me away, where nothing else matters..."] Holy Cow, He loves me SO very much that He wants me to "COME" because He knows that only HIMSELF can really give me complete peace and true contentment AND He wants me to have these! Maybe it is time to "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" I am convinced "Come to Me" is sweeter!
Have you not tasted? "Come to Me" is sweeter...
5/25/2011
The one true Constant!
So one day I was driving about 4 months ago and I was just asking the Lord about my life. I had been going through the worst internal trials ever over the preceding months and just didn't understand. So this paticular day, I asked God, why? Why did it come to all this? And I seriously all the sudden knew! God totally revealed it to me instantly in my car! I had been putting all my hope and trust in circumstances, people, and plans for such a long time...and when all those failed or didn't turn out the way I expected I was left undone. Before this day there were a few times when I questioned God and His goodness, but it was at this point that I realized that the problem had nothing to do with God, but rather WHERE, without really knowing, I was putting some of my hope and trust. It was not God who left or changed, it was various other things in my life -all my expectations and some people I relied on. So then I wrote this little quote (I like to make up random quotes...surely they need tweeking, but still!)
"People come and people go, circumstances are good and circumstances are bad. But through the highs and the lows, the comes and the goes...only one thing remains constant...only one thing is for sure...the one true almighty GOD."
This is why we put our hope and trust in Him, because He is the only one who remains constant, unchanged! Everything in our lives could be turned upside down, yet God is a solid rock we can build our foundation upon. My foundation was clouded by other things in my life, taking away my complete and total trust and reliance upon God. People will leave you, circumstances will change, and expectations will not be met at times...but the beauty of it all is that the one who loves you the most, our father God, will never EVER leave you! And in Him, he will restore all that is lost in your life! He will exceed your expectations and supply all you need if you put everything into Him, patiently trusting and putting your complete hope and faith in Him!!
Blessings! :)
"People come and people go, circumstances are good and circumstances are bad. But through the highs and the lows, the comes and the goes...only one thing remains constant...only one thing is for sure...the one true almighty GOD."
This is why we put our hope and trust in Him, because He is the only one who remains constant, unchanged! Everything in our lives could be turned upside down, yet God is a solid rock we can build our foundation upon. My foundation was clouded by other things in my life, taking away my complete and total trust and reliance upon God. People will leave you, circumstances will change, and expectations will not be met at times...but the beauty of it all is that the one who loves you the most, our father God, will never EVER leave you! And in Him, he will restore all that is lost in your life! He will exceed your expectations and supply all you need if you put everything into Him, patiently trusting and putting your complete hope and faith in Him!!
Blessings! :)
12/28/2010
Bold as Lions!
Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.
Proverbs 28:4 "To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.
These two verses are DYNAMITE! For sure. So I was reading and I wasn't understanding the the second one, Proverbs 28:4, so I asked the Holy Spirit...lead me to truth and understanding! Then BOOM I read it over again and got something. So basically to do what God says, obey His laws/ways, is like fighting wickedness but to not do what God says is like praising wickedness. Wow, I don't want to praise wickedness by my disobedience, ah! So this is where Proverbs 28:1 comes in, let's be BOLD as LIONS, and not praise wickedness, but fight it with our obedience to God! YES!
So now this must be my prayer:
"Into your hands,
I commit again,
with all I am, for you Lord.
You hold my world
in the palm of your hands
and I am yours forever.
Jesus I believe in you,
Jesus I belong to you.
You're the reason that I live
the reason that I sing
with ALL I AM!
I walk with you,
wherever you go.
Through tears and joy
I'll trust in you.
And I will live,
in all of your ways
your promises, forever.
-Hillsongs "Into your hands"
Proverbs 28:4 "To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.
These two verses are DYNAMITE! For sure. So I was reading and I wasn't understanding the the second one, Proverbs 28:4, so I asked the Holy Spirit...lead me to truth and understanding! Then BOOM I read it over again and got something. So basically to do what God says, obey His laws/ways, is like fighting wickedness but to not do what God says is like praising wickedness. Wow, I don't want to praise wickedness by my disobedience, ah! So this is where Proverbs 28:1 comes in, let's be BOLD as LIONS, and not praise wickedness, but fight it with our obedience to God! YES!
So now this must be my prayer:
"Into your hands,
I commit again,
with all I am, for you Lord.
You hold my world
in the palm of your hands
and I am yours forever.
Jesus I believe in you,
Jesus I belong to you.
You're the reason that I live
the reason that I sing
with ALL I AM!
I walk with you,
wherever you go.
Through tears and joy
I'll trust in you.
And I will live,
in all of your ways
your promises, forever.
-Hillsongs "Into your hands"
12/27/2010
Welcoming the Stirring!
The last week I have just beeen getting stirred up in the Lord!! :) After a rough semester, His grace has definitely proved to be sufficient for me! I get home and BOOM it's like He has had all these things waiting for me, just many blessings to my heart and life! Pastor was saying Sunday morning that the way to know His divine plans for your life is through the WORD, which produces faith. I am SO excited for this new journey of life this semester and when I graduate, I know He has it all planned out for me and as I seek Him through His word like never before, I know my next steps will be exciting and glorifying to Him. I want to glorify Him in everything I do, not my will but your will be done Father! He's been challenging me lately in the sense "how far do you wanna go jenna?" And I am like, dang, let's goooo! I want to go farther and farther in Him. I want to receive more revelation and develop deeper roots. I want the passion and fire to pour out of me, ALL for His glory and purpose. He's taught me a lot the last 8 or 9 months what it means to be a Christian woman and I have been praying and asking the Lord to make me like the Proverbs 31 woman. I believe something like this is a lifetime process, but I want to see some of that fruit in my life now! I beleive even though I've been all crazy emotional this past semester I have matured in many ways and my mindset and heart are in way different places. I WANT to GO DEEPER and FARTHER and I'm up for whatever He has planned! I want ALL He has for me and this world...and I seeking to fulfill all the crazy and awesome plans He has for my life! I surrender all plans to your ways Lord because yours are higher than mine, and that's the truth! I am here for you and your purpose, help me to want to know you more than anyone!
12/25/2010
Pumped! 2011 Bring it ON!
Alright so it's been forever since I have been consistently blogging! AH I have been in the DR for the last 4 months so I think it was just too much of a hastle to keep up on it. ANYWAYS SOOOO the last 2 days I have been getting pumped up! wooo hooo! Man this past semester was super super hard, but I know that a lot of growth comes out of the hard times. Tonight I was just fired up! Literally I was just getting so excited and passionate about everything I could see with the eyes of faith. The word says that young men will see visions and boy was I seeing so many visions about everything! I just starting praying for my church and what the Lord wants to do there and I can just see the Lord wanting to bring down FIRE! BOOOM! yes! yes! And I sure do wanna be a part of that! I am pumped to see what comes in 2011, I am for sure declaring victory over my life for this next year...hallelujah, let's GO!! :) Bring it on, I'm walking in the light and He is in the light, unleash Lord! wooo hoooo!
8/28/2010
Hmm lovely God
Wow, Jesus is just so amazing! :) boy have I been streched this whole summer! Can't say it's been easy, but it sure has helped me grow..The JOY of the Lord is my strength! :) hehe ya baby!
You know...I am headed to the DRepublic in a few days to study abroad. I have just been thinking about the ways in which I am expecting to be transformed(like I can really know all that yet haha)...but I think I will definitely be transformed internally which will have external evidence. I want the Lord to teach me that material things are less important, to show me how much He loves me....how much he loves everyone and how beautiful everyone is. I want to reach out to the lonely, be a shoulder for the crying, and be an encouragement to those who are down. God, CHANGE ME! I don't wanna stay the same! I want to grow, I want to become more like you. I want to LOVE better and MORE! I can't wait to see how you will change all of us on this trip. Consume me from the inside out! :)
You know...I am headed to the DRepublic in a few days to study abroad. I have just been thinking about the ways in which I am expecting to be transformed(like I can really know all that yet haha)...but I think I will definitely be transformed internally which will have external evidence. I want the Lord to teach me that material things are less important, to show me how much He loves me....how much he loves everyone and how beautiful everyone is. I want to reach out to the lonely, be a shoulder for the crying, and be an encouragement to those who are down. God, CHANGE ME! I don't wanna stay the same! I want to grow, I want to become more like you. I want to LOVE better and MORE! I can't wait to see how you will change all of us on this trip. Consume me from the inside out! :)
8/14/2010
Who will go? To whom shall I send?
“Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
Are you hungry for souls?
Or does fear stand in your way?”
Fear of man, Fear of speech, Fear of judgment. Laziness?
Guilty of these I am, aren’t you?
“Who will go?
To whom shall I send?”
He moves and He breathes,
Are you in His rhythm?
It’s a high tide, time is rushing out
Running around, who shall I tell?
The lady at the Dollar Tree, my neighbor, my Aunt, oh who, Lord, who?
“It is not for you to decide who should come and who should not.
So go as I lead you, GO, and tell of Me.”
It’s not about us anyways, so stop the FEAR
The Fear seems only to be an excuse.
But, But, but what if…?
“Yes, but what about their souls?"
Okay Lord, I will speak, I will go.
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
Me Lord, please use me.
“Okay, tell them I love them.”
But, but what if...?
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
OH how selfish am I to not share the gift that has changed my life.
“Now child, you go. You speak. Now you are sent. I send you.”
To whom shall I send?"
Are you hungry for souls?
Or does fear stand in your way?”
Fear of man, Fear of speech, Fear of judgment. Laziness?
Guilty of these I am, aren’t you?
“Who will go?
To whom shall I send?”
He moves and He breathes,
Are you in His rhythm?
It’s a high tide, time is rushing out
Running around, who shall I tell?
The lady at the Dollar Tree, my neighbor, my Aunt, oh who, Lord, who?
“It is not for you to decide who should come and who should not.
So go as I lead you, GO, and tell of Me.”
It’s not about us anyways, so stop the FEAR
The Fear seems only to be an excuse.
But, But, but what if…?
“Yes, but what about their souls?"
Okay Lord, I will speak, I will go.
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
Me Lord, please use me.
“Okay, tell them I love them.”
But, but what if...?
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
OH how selfish am I to not share the gift that has changed my life.
“Now child, you go. You speak. Now you are sent. I send you.”
8/13/2010
Prayerrr
So I think Prayer is one of the coolest things ever. It think it's one of the most beautiful things as well!
"if my people would humble themselves and pray and seek my face then I will hear them from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land" 2 chronicles 7:14
I LOVE this verse and I had the grand opportunity to watch my church congregation humble themselves and pray for a week every single night. Wow, Prayer is so moving and powerful. IT WORKS I tell ya, it does! If you don't pray much, start praying all the time. It's conversation with God! You don't haaave to stop everything you are doing and sit down and pray (thats good) but you can talk to God at any moment...in the car...while your exercising...etc. I love prayer and it's sooo beautiful! :) Sometimes I don't feel like praying, but once I start praying to God about other people (interecessory prayer) then it just starts flowing and it gets exciting to pray about others because I know at that moment God is moving on their behalf. When we offer our petitions to God, then suddenly something is released, an angel is on assignment, the holy spirit is at work, and God is drawing nearer, and boom badda bing..AH things happen! :) Even if we don't see anything in the natural, it's working. The neat thing is often times we do get to see the results! AH start praying more!
"if my people would humble themselves and pray and seek my face then I will hear them from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land" 2 chronicles 7:14
I LOVE this verse and I had the grand opportunity to watch my church congregation humble themselves and pray for a week every single night. Wow, Prayer is so moving and powerful. IT WORKS I tell ya, it does! If you don't pray much, start praying all the time. It's conversation with God! You don't haaave to stop everything you are doing and sit down and pray (thats good) but you can talk to God at any moment...in the car...while your exercising...etc. I love prayer and it's sooo beautiful! :) Sometimes I don't feel like praying, but once I start praying to God about other people (interecessory prayer) then it just starts flowing and it gets exciting to pray about others because I know at that moment God is moving on their behalf. When we offer our petitions to God, then suddenly something is released, an angel is on assignment, the holy spirit is at work, and God is drawing nearer, and boom badda bing..AH things happen! :) Even if we don't see anything in the natural, it's working. The neat thing is often times we do get to see the results! AH start praying more!
7/29/2010
Obedience ..STRETCH
"Lord you have my heart, and I will search for yours, let me be to you a sacrifice..."
Okay so if these lyrics are our prayer above, if this is our desire, if this is real...we must be saints of obedience. If I want to be a sacrifice for HIM, then I must obey all that He tells me to do, no matter how streching it is. Obedience brings you closer to God and your spiritual walk will grow immensely. Lately, God has been streching me so much in the area of obedience...AH. It's new stuff...new ways of obedience that I've never had to surrender to, until now because spirit of God is showing new things and bringing me into new situations.
We can sing over and over again about the lyrics above, but how deeply are those words residing in us...how deeply are those words piercing our hearts? Do I really want ME to be a sacrifice to HIM?! How can you know this? By your obedience. Are you obeying Him?! Thats the truth.
"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricance, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his love and mercy..."
Okay so if these lyrics are our prayer above, if this is our desire, if this is real...we must be saints of obedience. If I want to be a sacrifice for HIM, then I must obey all that He tells me to do, no matter how streching it is. Obedience brings you closer to God and your spiritual walk will grow immensely. Lately, God has been streching me so much in the area of obedience...AH. It's new stuff...new ways of obedience that I've never had to surrender to, until now because spirit of God is showing new things and bringing me into new situations.
We can sing over and over again about the lyrics above, but how deeply are those words residing in us...how deeply are those words piercing our hearts? Do I really want ME to be a sacrifice to HIM?! How can you know this? By your obedience. Are you obeying Him?! Thats the truth.
"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricance, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his love and mercy..."
7/26/2010
Speak Tenderly
So I watched this video my friend Jim told me to check out. YOU SHOULD WATCH IT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk
Wow I was just really impacted by it. I can completely identify with so much of it! The one guy says "But God I've let you down so many times" and the other guy (GOD) responds "No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious right hand. Don't you forget that in this relationship I hold you up." This really impacted me because so many times I feel like a failure if I don't live up to what I wish I was or something. I question myself, doubt myself, think I could have done so much better with this or that. I look at my failures way too often. This can cause me to be scared when I come to God. So I have been asking God to show me His love and to speak tenderly to me, so that I may know Him as a loving Fathers who is not condemning but loving. SO God show me this in a powerful new way!!!
Also I have been really seeing the places in my life where I want to ask God to change and grow. I need to grow in boldness, compassion, and the list goes on of course!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk
Wow I was just really impacted by it. I can completely identify with so much of it! The one guy says "But God I've let you down so many times" and the other guy (GOD) responds "No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious right hand. Don't you forget that in this relationship I hold you up." This really impacted me because so many times I feel like a failure if I don't live up to what I wish I was or something. I question myself, doubt myself, think I could have done so much better with this or that. I look at my failures way too often. This can cause me to be scared when I come to God. So I have been asking God to show me His love and to speak tenderly to me, so that I may know Him as a loving Fathers who is not condemning but loving. SO God show me this in a powerful new way!!!
Also I have been really seeing the places in my life where I want to ask God to change and grow. I need to grow in boldness, compassion, and the list goes on of course!
7/18/2010
TRIALS! SONGS! JOY!
So when I transferred to Bethel I got really involved in music and began pursuing this passion of my heart. Well this summer it seemed that music just wasn't one of my top priorities or that it seemed to be fading for a time....so I told my friend Rachel that I felt like music just wasn't so strong for me this summer. Well God is funny haha because in the last month I have written like 6 new "in progress songs" its been crazy haha. Before I struggled writting songs and then all the sudden within the last like 3 weeks when I sit down at the piano it just COMES...rains down! Thank GOD! I said to my mom..."Mom I don't know what's happening, why now?" SHe said, "Jenna it's been happening, in the inside. You have to go through stuff and grow, get revelation and etc, for God to bring these songs out of you." I was like WOW she's right! So everything that I have struggled with in the last couple of months has been beneficial in the sense that it produced an outpouring of new music. Rivers flowing from within...yaya! I am so thankful to God for bringing this out of me. Writing, singing, music are my deeper inner passions and I am SO thankful that God is bit by bit manifesting more of these in my life. THANK GOD. BUT to encourage any of you out there...Sometimes it seems that you cannot see the light or that your struggles are difficult to bear at times...BUT take heart and know that a harvest is coming, an outpourig is coming in your life! Sometimes when we get most discouraged or you are in the hottest flame of the fire, suddenly BOOM God MOVES in your life and you are changed from the inside out. So don't be discouraged as trials come, know that these are producing something in your life. Trust that you have the victory and the sun will shine again. Praise your way thru those trials and may the JOY of the Lord be your STRENGTH...Praise God forever and Amen.
7/12/2010
Oh to be a Proverbs 31 Woman...
So I was thinking about what it means to be a woman of Christ and how that should look, well how that should BE. Of course I was directed to Proverbs 31. I want to be the type of woman described in this chapter. I really want the gentle and quiet spirit mentioned in 1 peter, the unfading beauty that comes from within.
SOooo Proverbs 31 describes "A wife of noble character." There are so many attributes mentioned but a few stuck out to me right now. One, proverbs says that "she gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household." This resonates with me because the Lord revealed to me in May specific areas in which need changed in my life. One of those areas is waking up in the morning. I got in the habit of not waking up on time, using the snooze too much, and maybe just oversleeping in general, which wastes some of the day! Well the Lord revealed to me that this must be corrected and it's a work in progress YAYAYA!
Second, Proverbs says "she is energetic and strong, a hard worker." This also speaks to me because the Lord has been teaching me about channeling my energy, or to even just make the decision to be energetic when I don't feel like it...to be a hard worker! yaya! This was shown to me through starting to do yardwork. I LOVE IT haha. This of course is still a work in progress. Recently I have been trying to exemplify the hardworking and energetic person while babysitting, to make every moment count and put my energy into these kids...show them the Love of God, even if they are difficult at times.
Thirdly proverbs 31 says "...she laughs without fear of the future." This is dynamite for me. I'm not perfect and often I do worry about the future, BUT the lord is really showing me how to just trust Him with all my future and how to find joy..ahh I feel like laughing without fear of the future right now! I know the plans God has for me are GOOD and I don't need to worry HAHAHAHAAHA yes! :)
Anyways so I am super excited that the Lord has been correcting me to be more like the woman described in Proverbs 31. I am glad I read this chapter tonight...God continue to craft and fashion my heart to be more like you...to one day be "a wife of noble character"
<3
SOooo Proverbs 31 describes "A wife of noble character." There are so many attributes mentioned but a few stuck out to me right now. One, proverbs says that "she gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household." This resonates with me because the Lord revealed to me in May specific areas in which need changed in my life. One of those areas is waking up in the morning. I got in the habit of not waking up on time, using the snooze too much, and maybe just oversleeping in general, which wastes some of the day! Well the Lord revealed to me that this must be corrected and it's a work in progress YAYAYA!
Second, Proverbs says "she is energetic and strong, a hard worker." This also speaks to me because the Lord has been teaching me about channeling my energy, or to even just make the decision to be energetic when I don't feel like it...to be a hard worker! yaya! This was shown to me through starting to do yardwork. I LOVE IT haha. This of course is still a work in progress. Recently I have been trying to exemplify the hardworking and energetic person while babysitting, to make every moment count and put my energy into these kids...show them the Love of God, even if they are difficult at times.
Thirdly proverbs 31 says "...she laughs without fear of the future." This is dynamite for me. I'm not perfect and often I do worry about the future, BUT the lord is really showing me how to just trust Him with all my future and how to find joy..ahh I feel like laughing without fear of the future right now! I know the plans God has for me are GOOD and I don't need to worry HAHAHAHAAHA yes! :)
Anyways so I am super excited that the Lord has been correcting me to be more like the woman described in Proverbs 31. I am glad I read this chapter tonight...God continue to craft and fashion my heart to be more like you...to one day be "a wife of noble character"
<3
7/09/2010
Reality Check
For the last 3 years I have attended a Christian college, surrounded by people of like faith and such. This past year at school I was surrounded by so many vibrant and seeking Christians that I was continually built up and encouraged in my fatih. It was easy to talk about God, we ALWAYS did. Almost no converstation went undone without the mention of God.
Now for the last almost 4 weeks of summer I have been working at an academic camp. There are a few Christians here, but not everyone. I guess it's been weird for me to adapt to the new atmosphere, but I know this is part of growing and this is reality. I won't always be in a bubble of encouragement and around all my friends who believe in God and are really expressive about their faith. This is reality, this is how life is...so to adapt is important. I have just been learning how to be ME in the midst of a lot of people who value different things or have a different faiths/religions than me or even those who don't beleive in God at all. It's been a few years since I have been in this environment. It is here that I seem to find out where I really am in my walk with God because I don't have the comfort of the norm.
"I don't wanna sing to air- I wanna sing to the Man that has eyes like a flame of fire!" ~IHOP
Now for the last almost 4 weeks of summer I have been working at an academic camp. There are a few Christians here, but not everyone. I guess it's been weird for me to adapt to the new atmosphere, but I know this is part of growing and this is reality. I won't always be in a bubble of encouragement and around all my friends who believe in God and are really expressive about their faith. This is reality, this is how life is...so to adapt is important. I have just been learning how to be ME in the midst of a lot of people who value different things or have a different faiths/religions than me or even those who don't beleive in God at all. It's been a few years since I have been in this environment. It is here that I seem to find out where I really am in my walk with God because I don't have the comfort of the norm.
"I don't wanna sing to air- I wanna sing to the Man that has eyes like a flame of fire!" ~IHOP
7/05/2010
Distractions
When God is trying to do something big in your heart or in your individual ministry there's a good chance attacks and distractions will come to get you off track....Wow this summer so far has been full of it...BUT I'm not complaining, I'm learning how to rise above everything and keep my focus on the SOURCE and not the circumstances. It's been an interesting journey, but has proven to bring growth and development in some areas of my life. I haven't been perfect at it, but that's where Grace steps in! :) I am going to keep chugging along here with the JOY of the LORD and keep my eyes fixed on Him, asking for HIs help within all the mix and relying on His strength thru me to accomplish that of which He set me out to do. THe Lord is good and SOOO good to me.
Recently I have been really reflecting on how awesome of friends I have. Lots of them build me up in Christ and help refresh me :) Thank you encouraging friends for everything, may you be blessed bc of your good friendship to others! :)
Recently I have been really reflecting on how awesome of friends I have. Lots of them build me up in Christ and help refresh me :) Thank you encouraging friends for everything, may you be blessed bc of your good friendship to others! :)
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