To Encourage You

God is working in mighty ways over here! These are some ways that He has been encouraging me...may you finding blessing in these as well! Happy Weekend!
-Jenna

*When You Feel like Everyone is Bigger, Better, Smarter...

*Into the Glorious

*The LPM Blog

*Living in the light...

*Bless someone this weekend!

Freedom in Redemption

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Galations 5:1

In previous blogs I have mentioned our friend Darby who is currently serving in Uganda (she'll actually be home in a little more than a week!). One of her recent posts testifies to God's beautiful redemption of her struggle with depression. She states, "...it is easy to see a situation and feel hopeless. It's easy to sit and feel angry at God as to why He would let this happen. But the funny part is - this is the part where God brought a little redemption into my life." I am thankful for people like Darby who are brave enough to be the hands and feet of a God who cares to those whom He has placed along her path. It's one thing to look beyond yourself and to see the needs of others but it's quite another to see those needs and to take action. Being proactive takes us above and beyond our comfort zone and throws us humbly down into the dirty work of our God's redemptive Kingdom. Thank you Darby for showing us what freedom in Christ can truly be! 

Read Darby's post HERE. 

Preparing A Meal With Love

Today we were blessed to prepare a meal for some dear friends. J took great care in cutting the green beans. Notice the fun shape of the carrots as an expression of our love. Such a neat idea was found HERE. <3

Jenny & Tyler - Little Balloon - Official Music Video [HD]

Choosing Joy

I stumbled across this blog today and was really touched by today's post featuring a video about Sara Frankl's life. This is Sara's story. May it bless you today as you choose joy over circumstance, trusting that God ultimately has your good and His glory in mind! 

God Revealed

We are often scrambling for the presence of God in our lives...to see Him work miracles in life and to hear his voice, to speak to our hearts and make things clear. We wonder why we are going through certain things or why we aren't feeling His presence in our day. Whenever questioning anything, remember that the answer is always pretty simple. God is revealed in scripture. His Word is the first source of wisdom for all who believe. Don't be ashamed to claim the gospel in your life and proclaim the power of God that flows from it into your life. Through it He will reveal himself to you and you will be blessed. -jenna 

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ^[17] For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."  Romans 1:16-17

Pilgrimage

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage...they go from strength to strength, till each appears before God..." 

Psalm 84:5-7

As I read this passage of scripture, the word pilgrimage grabs me and I think about what it implies. The dictionary says this:

Pil.grim.age 

Any long journey, especially one undertaken as a quest or for a votive purpose, as to pay homage; a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. 

What does it mean for us, God's people, to have our hearts "set on pilgrimage"? It means to live with endurance and discipline, to acknowledge that we are are on a journey towards something. A devotion to something above and beyond our selves and this world. A long journey towards something sacred. 

Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If we have our heart set on pilgrimage, if we "treasure" pilgrimage, we are not necessarily anticipating an easy or comfortable journey. We are prepared. I always say that I don't know how to travel light =). We are not to travel light because that would mean vulnerability along the way. The water must be poured for thirst, the bread must be baked and packed for hunger, the blanket folded up for warmth, and those we love brought along for companionship and support. We are to travel prepared for the long journey ahead because that is exactly what our life is, a long journey. How we prepare for that journey speaks a testimony to what and who we believe. What and who we are vulnerable to. 

Today as you set your heart on pilgrimage, consider how you have prepared for the journey ahead and the purpose you are paying homage to. What has your heart treasured above all else and to what sacred place are you devoting your walk to? Where does your strength lie? May all that you do speak testimony to the God we are serving because truly, it's all about the long journey towards Him. -jenna

Edamame!

Thanks to my dear friends Samantha and Mary, I have discovered the wonderful-ness that is edamame! It is super easy to prepare and delicious. Edamame is the soybean in the least-processed form with a ton of fiber, protein, and folate. Because it is a low cal snack that has no cholesterol, this is the perfect food to have prepared and to nibble on throughout the day. 

The thing that partially kept me away from this fantastic veggie (besides the fancy name) was my ignorance of how to eat it. I knew you didn't eat the pods, but what the heck did you do with them and what to do with those little beans inside? Have no fear it's actually super simple! You buy it frozen in the husks or already shelled and then you steam it or boil it for a few minutes. Next you just squeeze the pods gently and out pop the sweet, bright green beans. For the simplest of snacks, blanch them in salted water, drain, and serve in a bowl with coarse sea salt or salt mixed with different blends (my friend Mary uses a dried seaweed blend that is delicious). You can also make hummus with the beans, but if you aren't up for the task, Trader Joe's has a great Edamame hummus you can buy and we love that as well. 

I think we can all say that we'd like to eat healthier in this new year and adding this to your diet is a great start! Happy, healthy eating friends! -jenna
ps. this is great for kids and it gives them something fun to do! Jude loves to sit and pop the beans out of the pod. =)

Living Life

There just aren't enough hours in the day. At least for blogging anyway. Trying to find the balance. Thanks for stopping by...I'll be updating soon. When I find some time that is =). Have a blessed day! -jenna

To Dylan Rider, 18 Months

My second-born, sweet-spirited child,
You are 18 months now and such a delight to be around. Words can't even express the joy that you inspire within my heart each day. When you wake up in the morning you are so excited to see me or daddy, huge smile on your face and ready to go...jumping up and down in your crib like it's a trampoline (sometimes I think you're going to bounce right out!). I call you my bottomless pit because you LOVE to eat and you would eat all the time if I let you. Your favorite foods are eggs with cheese, yogurt, bananas, and applesauce and you can be quite demanding when you are hungry and want your food in front of you! The other day you decided that you love to spin in circles...so much that you spin...and you spin...and you spin until you are so dizzy that you can't even walk anymore. At first I was concerned, but I've accepted this hilarious little quirk and get a good laugh every time you run into the wall. =) There must be something about running into things that intrigues you because you also love to cover your head with your blanket and walk around the room, pulling it off and revealing an adorable grin to my "peek-a-boo". What a silly boy you are.

You adore your big brother (even though he steals toys from you constantly and likes to tackle you with a running start) and there is no one who makes you laugh quite like he can. You both love to run with each other, chasing back and forth and bouncing off the couches. We don't have much room in our humble home but you guys find a way to exert all of your energy in the space that we do have. I love seeing you run to-and-fro like crazy, laughing your heads off and rapidly becoming the best of friends. The other day Jude was gone for the day and you didn't know what to do with yourself...you missed him that much. You will never remember life without your big brother and my prayer is that you two always continue to be close friends. You have the sweetest little voice that I never want to forget. You say "Mama" (sounds like Ma-moo) and "Daddy" and "Gook" (book) and "Ju-Ju" (jude) and "Night-night". You love to snuggle and have your back scratched (you are like your Daddy that way!) and you love playing outside. You would go outside and spend hours out there regardless of weather if I let you.

You have a new baby sister and you have been doing really well with the transition. As your mama I worry that your not getting enough attention, but I think we're figuring that all out pretty well. We find little moments within each day where we can snuggle or read and I cherish those little pockets of time. You love to bring toys and drop them in Quinn's bouncy seat and you pet her head gently and say "awww". Already you are gentle and loving towards her and this tells me you will always be her doting, protective big brother. One of your favorite books is Goodnight Moon and we love to cuddle with you in your rocking chair and read this to you before you go to bed every night. Even now you have a love for reading and will sit contentedly for awhile and flip through all of your picture books. I pray this love for reading will continue for the rest of your life.

Our precious Dilly-Bar, you bless us constantly with your sweet belly laughs and mischievous smiles, your screams, and "sassy" attitude. Our love for you grows each day as we watch you grow, in awe of the person you are becoming. It's only been a year and a half, but it feels like a lifetime of love.

Lovingly, Mama

Sufficient Grace

"My grace is sufficient for you." He whispers to me deep in my spirit. I wake up and feel inadequate...unable to be everything that everyone needs me to be. I know that I don't have enough strength to fulfill all of the expectations thrown my way. The house is dirty...the kids need love and attention...friends need encouraging and conversation...the husband needs support. How can I do it all? The answer is that I can't. So I surrender my efforts and rest in this truth. His grace IS sufficient and His power IS made perfect in weakness. Christ died to set me free...and has called me to love. That is all and that is enough. Everything else will fall into place and I need not stress. All I can do is trust. 

Are you feeling inadequate today? How about stressed? Too weak to do it all? Allow this promise to whisper to your spirit today. His grace is sufficient for you. Below I've put a link to one of my favorite songs by artist Sara Groves. If you said yes to any of the above, listen to it and let it minister to you. May you be blessed as you surrender to God's love and grace. -jenna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7600gaRUAQ

Rest

Taking some time to rest and regroup today. May you be blessed as you spend your day under God's loving care. -jenna

A Reflection of the Heart

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

I received a card in the mail from one of my best friends today (yes, people are still sending mail via USPS and it's a refreshing thing in this hi-tech culture!). The verse on the card struck a chord: "Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another." Proverbs 27:19 (NRSV) All of humanity's hearts are the same...united in a way that begs for relationship and community. This is why social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger are now the norm. We long to be connected, to be recognized and needed. To be a part of something bigger and something grander than the life we've created for our selves. Human hearts communing together. The question begs to be asked: is it possible to truly find communion and relationship through social media like FB and Twitter? Or is our culture heading down a slippery slope where a computer screen sits between friends and face-to-face interaction rarely occurs?

I think that social media is okay in moderation, used as a tool to enrich already established relationships to some degree. But we need to be careful that it does not replace humanity's natural state of living together in person. Sitting down around the table and sharing a homemade meal...giving a hug that comforts a grieving friend...telling a story over a hot cup of tea...taking a walk together on a Spring day...picking up the telephone just to say hi...putting a card in the mail and encouraging a friend with tangible paper and words. We will always long for a heart-to-heart connection with others.

Today I challenge you to follow what your heart is saying and reach out to someone outside of the social media realm. Allow your heart to commune in person with another in a way that deepens your connection and brings richness to your day. As your heart reflects another's, you'll discover a joy that goes beyond the computer screen and physically touches someone's life with genuine human kindness. Being old-fashioned has never been so rewarding. May God be glorified in all the "good works" that you do today! -jenna

A Conquering Faith

"Our faith is the victory that has conquered the world. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5

We encounter overwhelming situations everyday. What is it that will make the difference and allow us to rise above? A faith that can conquer. Not faith in the people surrounding us or in the things that we own. People just aren't dependable and possessions just clutter our lives. I'm talking about a faith that overcomes because it is grounded in The One who has already overcome this world and it's flaws. Faith in Jesus, the Son of God. 


Are you facing a situation today that requires you to rise above? Struggling to figure out how? Discover this man they call Jesus and put your faith in him. Take 5 minutes of your day and confess your struggle and surrender it to him. Believe that this Son of God can handle what you have given over to him for this day. 2 Timothy 1:12 says, "Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." Be convinced that He is able and trust. If that's all that you can do today, that is enough. He is enough. -jenna

You Need Only Be Still

"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people...but I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord...the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Exodus 13:21-22;14:4;14

Wow. This passage is so chock full of God's wisdom I don't even know where to start! Perhaps there is no larger example of God exuding his mighty power than this complete passage (Exodus 13:17-14:28) where Moses and the Israelites are led through the bottom of the Red Sea. They were terrified. Trapped. Seemingly at death's door as Pharaoh's army approached seeking their destruction. They questioned Moses..."Why did you lead us here to die this way?". But their God had a plan. A plan they could not see or even comprehend. God would open up the sea and walk them through it's floor, delivering them from death and taking them to a land where prosperity reigned. 

We can draw several conclusions from this passage. First, God is always walking ahead of us and guiding us. We can count on this and follow his lead "day or night". As long as we remain in this position of dependence and of following, he will guide and reveal his plan. Second, God uses the darkness in our lives, the armies and battles, to reveal his glory and strength. If we are still and surrender to the fight, allowing the "army" to approach without losing our cool, God will fight and be glorified through us. This isn't always comfortable, is humbling, and often pretty darn difficult, but always the best place to be. Third, when God is glorified through us and when we can only see a vast ocean of "death" in front of us, God will reveal his mighty plan and open up the waterways...redeeming us in ways we never could imagine and bringing us a joy that blows everything else "out of the water" (ha!). 

What is the ocean in front of you today? Are you allowing God to lead or are you desperately trying to hold onto a situation that seems inevitably marked with destruction? Today's challenge is this: Be still. Let God lead. Allow Him to use whatever the situation is for his glory. Think you're going to drown in that ocean? Think again. He's going to open it wide and dry the land...and lead you to a place where you thought you'd never go. -jenna

Whose We Are: Exodus 13:1-16

We think we are in control. We think that we are our own...that our days are ordered by our decisions and actions and dreams. That our parents and families have inscribed a name upon us that identifies ourselves and the generations to come. We scurry and plan...we busy our day with what we deem important...we set in motion those ideals that we are passionate about. We surround ourselves with those who support and esteem us. This is our life.

I'm going to be bold and say that we have it wrong. We are not our own. Our days are not ultimately determined by our steps. The peace and prosperity that graces our lives blinds us from who we are...whose we are. My bible reading today took me to the book of Exodus chapter thirteen where God instructs Moses to lead his people to sacrifice and observation. To remember the mighty hand of God in the past and to commemorate where they had come from. How God had been faithful to His promise and that this was to inspire sacrifice in their lives. A giving back of the "firstfruits", demonstrating that all they were and all they owned was ultimately His. This was to be "a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

This is a humbling endeavor. Acknowledging that who we are is not founded in our parents, our children, our possessions, our endeavors...who we are is rooted in Christ and his mission. We are made in his image and set free through his sacrifice on the cross. It's as simple as that. The challenge today? Surrender. Give everything back to our God who has promised freedom and victory, joy and love. Let go of what is rightfully His and what we have been led to believe is our own.

What symbol marks your forehead? That the Lord has brought you to where you are and is leading you into the future...or that you are still struggling to have all the control? It's time to let go and remember whose you are. -jenna

Welcome to my little slice of the internet. I hope you can put your feet up, savor that warm cup of tea, and sit alongside me as I blog the daily experience of becoming who I am in Christ. Hopefully I can point you towards who He is...our knees bent on the earth side-by-side, revering who He is and learning who we are together in community with Him.