On a Lighter, Happier Note :-)

I’m obsessed… with blogs! Lol…

It all started last month when I began my blog for the Pioneer Valley House of Prayer. On that blog, write about our planning meetings and our prayer gatherings on a random basis. We only meet twice a month to plan for our once a month prayer gatherings so I only write once a week or so.

Around the time I started that blog, I decided to start one for myself. I was journaling for about 7 months or so, but I didn’t do it often and found I didn’t give myself much time for it because I would have to be on my laptop for school so often. I figured a blog would be a better way to get it all out since I was on my computer so much! However, it opened a whole world of blogs to me that I never knew existed… and when I found one I liked, I found 2 or 3 others that I just enjoyed reading… It is so amazing to me that we can communicate like this. I have to say that I was happy that I found some Christian blogs that just spoke the Glory of God to me. I know that this blog didn’t exactly begin that way but I’m putting my focus more that way.

In the next day or so I will be posting a study on unity that I did about two months ago. I’m hoping it will help me to find a direction regarding my Sunday School “lesson” I will be teaching for our young adults class this week.

I hope you are all blessed this weekend…

Jen

P.S. Please continue to pray for me as I am seeking God for direction on going to China in April, 2009. I am praying it will not take long for my passport to come in and that I will be given the time off from work to go once they finalize the dates we will be there. I am hoping to speak with my pastor this weekend for guidance in my decision.

One Reason Why I Can’t Vote Obama…

As Election Day gets closer, I find myself inundated with pro- and anti- Obama ads and pro- and anti- McCain ads. You also hear about the polls that say Obama is ahead, but not by much… Well, I just received an email regarding this video by Students for Life of America. You can also read more about it here.

What is reported in this video is exactly why I can’t vote for Obama – he has NO respect for human life. If he can vote against a bill that will save the life of a baby who survives an abortion or be okay with one of his daughters having an abortion if they become pregnant as a teen (umm… how about promoting abstinence instead with your children?), I can’t vote for him.

Sorry mom, dad and Meghan but I just can’t vote for a liberal like him. He is just like the Chaldeans Malachi spoke about in the Bible. Maybe that’s what God has in store for us. Maybe God needs to use him to judge us. Regardless, my conscience will not rest easy voting for a man like him.

If you would like more information regarding Students for Life of America, click here.

In this election, I tried not to be personal, to only look at the issues and where the candidates stand but I just can’t when it comes to something like this. Teenagers have to deal with so much more than I even did when I was in high school (and I only graduated 8 years ago!) that to be inundated with the sexual content on television shows, movies and in music that to be told, in not so many words, that it’s ok to have an abortion if you become pregnant as a teenager is too much for me.

Now, on the flip side, I can’t imagine what Sarah Palin must feel as a mother of a pregnant teenage daughter. However, I believe that the fact Bristol Palin has decided to keep her child says something about how she was raised. Yes, it will be a long, hard road for them since her and her fiance are just barely adults, but from the outside looking in, they have a strong support system around them to help them. For me, that is what I would rather see from a parent then Mr. Obama who would tell his daughter, “Honey, I know your 16 and pregnant, so if you want to abort your pregnancy, it’s ok.”

This post may not win me many friends – probably won’t win any at all, may even lose some – but there’s a country song that says, “You’d better stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.” Well, I STAND on God’s word and I STAND for Life and God’s Kingdom here on earth. I will continue to stand for these things until and even after His Kingdom comes.

Thank you Jesus for your grace and mercy.

Mission Trip to China…

I have the opportunity to go to China on a mission trip in April. Right now the dates are not set but I do know how much money ($2100 approximately) I will have to raise to go. I am looking for prayer and encouragement in making a decision whether or not to go. The only factor that will hinder me is the cost. Please pray for me that I will hear God’s voice in this situation and that God will release the finances for me to go.

Blessings,

Jen

Tag You’re It!

Thanks to Melissa I have been officially tagged. It’s funny though because I didn’t think it was ME when I ready her post… that is until I clicked on the name Jen…. Lol! Ahh blond moments. Anyway, so here are my 7 random facts about me (some of these facts I don’t even think my friends know!):

1. I always tell people that I am the oldest but in reality I am the middle child. My father has a child from a previous relationship that I have never met who is 10 years older than me.
2. 5 years ago I took online courses to become a wedding planner but I never finished.
3. I have always felt like I wanted to know more about God, even when I was a kid but I never really acted on that until 3 years ago when I became born again.
4. I believe that there is one true, honest love for everyone but I think sometimes humans get impatient if they don’t find that love by a certain age so we give up on it. I don’t ever want to give up on being in that type of relationship.
5. When I was a kid, I would eat bread soaked in milk… it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I found out my maternal grandmother did it, too.
6. I’ve never been to Ireland but I would love to move there someday.
7. Even though I am going to school for my bachelor’s degree, my “dream job” is to be a stay-at-home mom.

Ok, so I probably didn’t have to get so personal about a couple of those facts but I felt like I had to put myself out there a little bit. Now I need to ask 7 other people to do this… I’m not sure I have 7 but I will put who I can and we’ll see what happens… Mike, Mike, Christa, Megan, Jen, and Trendini you’re up!

Blessings all!

Jen

Voting on November 4

As you can see from the picture above, I’m NOT voting for Obama. Unlike other young adults, I do not feel that Obama has the experience nor the ideas that we need as a country to get us through the economic crisis. Honestly, I do not believe he has what it takes to run this country at all. McCain, however, has experience working for this country for over 40 years – 22 in the Navy & 20 in the Senate. Let’s not forget the 5 1/2 years he spent as a POW during Vietnam.

Now, just because I am voting for McCain, does not necessarily mean that is who God is planning to have in office. It just means that in my spirit, I can not justifibly vote for Obama. Who knows what God has in store for this country.

You may disagree with me, you may not. My only advice to anyone who is 18 and has registered to vote (in most states, the deadline to register has already passed):

Research both candidates, pray about it and make a choice as to who you feel God is telling you to vote for. Don’t vote for the person your friends are voting for. Vote for the one you feel will do the right thing for this country.

The last thing I have to say is this: If you are 18 or older and have never registered to vote, please do so – especially if you are and Christian and/or a woman. It is your right and duty as an America citizen to vote for those in places of authority in this country. As a Christian woman, I know that my voice needs to be heard. Christians all over this country need to vote so that non-believers will know that no matter what, God is in control of everything that goes on in this country.

On a lighter note (not concerning the election at all), last night at my church there were 7 baptisms!!! All but one of those being baptised were kids from the age of 11 to 16. Hallelujah! None of these kids were pushed by their parents to be baptised. It was all done of their own accord and willingness to put aside their own lives to take up God’s. I was so blessed and amazed by these young people.

The only “adult” to be baptised was John, a long-time friend of Brother Bud, one of the elders at our church. Although he is an older man, to see him put aside himself for God was amazing as well. Sometimes we when are older, it is harder to put down those habits and mindsets we have become attached to, but he is well equipped thanks to his friendship with Brother Bud to navigate this narrow path.

Congratulations Noah, Abigail, Sam, Peter, Kevin, Matt and John!

Blessings in the Holy Name of Christ Jesus,

Jen

Second Chances?

I’ve been walking with God for three years now. I have felt his grace and mercy in my life and I am so thankful for it. He has been faithful and will never forsake me. Of course, He knew everything that would happen before I was even born, I just needed to take that first step of faith in him. You may be asking yourself why I’m saying this…

Well, God has taken me through – and is still taking me through – a lot of hard, emotional situations since June. I’ve cried, I’ve screamed, I’ve gotten sad, I’ve gotten mad. After all of that, I prayed. I’m still praying about every situation I am still dealing with.

Earlier this month, I wrote about my vow to God. You can read about it here. I’ve been tested ever since I made my vow in April. Of course, I never thought it would be easy when I made a commitment like this. That would be naive of me. Two of the tests that I faced involved young men – SP & SE – that came into my life. I’ve come to realize why SP stopped talking to me in a very abrupt way.

Last night I found out why…. He didn’t want to be the reason why I broke my vow. He has such a heart for God and he wanted to make sure that I followed through with it. Deuteronomy 23:21 says,

When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

When I heard that he said that, I felt relief but I also felt sadness. I was glad that SP respected that I had set myself apart for God and my husband but I was saddened by the fact that he couldn’t just communicate that to me. I wished he could have just talked to me instead of pushing me away. It makes me wonder if this means there is a chance for us to be friends. I hope for it because I feel like although SP was doing something to help me by not being a “temptation”, if you will, by walking away, I also feel like maybe it was premature….

Only time will tell…

Jen

Hearing from the Male Point of View

Today in my inbox was my weekly subscription to the Christian Singles Today (CST) e-newsletter. This weeks installment was the male point of view on what a woman should do if she is interested in a guy.

The men who answered the question belong to a new panel of eight men, who range in age from 23-50 and are either never been married or divorced, that CST has created to answer the questions single women have. It seems that there have not been too many men in the past who are willing to answer the questions posed by CST’s weekly newsletter. To be honest, it makes sense to me because there are few men I know (single or otherwise) that are willing to openly speak to others about their “feelings”, what they are looking for in a relationship, etc. It’s not “manly.”

Just as an aside… I don’t buy it that it isn’t manly to talk about the “sensitive” stuff. Honestly, I think they talk to each other about it but not to women because they are either a) afraid it will hurt our feelings (because they think we aren’t strong enough) or b) they think we are too opinionated that we would get mad and jump allover what they are saying. I digress…

In regards to this weeks article, I was much surprised to see that not all men aren’t strictly one side of the coin or the other. They all said that if a woman is interested, she needs to show that by somehow singling them out by trying to start a conversation and learning more about them and their interests. I think the most insightful point of view for me was from a 23-yr-old young man who said,

Before I answer the question, I’d like to make an observation. The women I know thrive on verbal affirmation/feedback about their relationships. I like affirmation too, but talking about the status of a relationship seems to come naturally for the girls I know. So, when I ask a girl out, the relationship begins with a clear and undeniable expression that I’m interested and attracted and I leave no room for doubt in the girl’s mind. This also works to combat the common “guys these days are passive” complaints. With that background, if a girl is interested in me, I feel more comfortable if she lets me ask her out.

I was quite surprised only because I didn’t think many men felt that way. (Again though, not many of the Godly men in my life talk about this with me, but then again I don’t bring it up in conversation either.) I have to admit that I would like it if a man did ask me out. In the past, especially prior to my salvation, I was the one who initiated the asking out which was very strange because I was always the one afraid of being rejected but, again, I digress.

In the words of my wonderful Pastor Dale, “I said all that to say this…” Although I have set my self apart for God and my future husband, I am a woman who would love to be pursued by my future husband like God has pursued me and how He continues to pursue a relationship with His Church. Throughout the Bible you get a picture of God pursuing His people to live a life devoted to Him through obedience and reverence.

Now, as I type this, I don’t want anyone to think that I feel a marriage is where the wife is under complete “control” of her husband. No, but… the husband is to be the head of the household and the wife and husband are supposed to respect and honor one another (read 1 Corin. 7, 1 Corin. 13, Ephesians 5:22-33 are just a few examples of Biblical principles on love and marriage). In my experience, the only relationships that work are those where the husband and wife are a team, make decisions together and the husband takes his place as head of the household. There is a reason why God made man first, and no it’s not so He could perfect humans by creating woman. He is to protect His wife and children, be the spiritual head of the household and involved in every decision made regarding the home and family.

When it comes time for my future spouse and I to meet, I pray that he will be the one to pursue me and want to win my heart. Relationships take work and are a two way street but just once (and hopefully the last time) in my life, I would like for a man to pursue me.

God Written Love Story

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

– Hebrews 12:2 (KJVR)

Ever since I became born again, it has been a rocky road. Not because of God but because of me. I knew I needed to change when I came to God but as we all know, most humans – including myself – usually resist change because it is a rough process many times.

Change is a rough process because when we change, we either have to:

1. let go of mindsets that we have become attached to;
2. let go of people in our lives that we have become attached to; or
3. both.

They say this is a reason why women who are abused find it hard to leave their abuser. They start to believe that lifestyle is all they deserve. There is, of course, the fact that many times these women are threatened by their abuser (verbally and/or non verbally) that if they leave, the abuser will kill them.

But this post is not about that. What I really want to post about is the idea of setting one’s self apart wholly unto God. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV) says,

“May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There is also the Nazirite vow discussed in Numbers 6 which Samson took (Judges 13). Samuel was also set apart for God because of a vow that his mother took when she prayed to become pregnant with him (1 Samuel 1).

After reading the books When God Writes Your Love Story and When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy, also, is a reason why I am writing about being set apart for God and for your future spouse. I’ve been inspired by them to set myself apart unto God and for my future husband. To read their story and hear about the romance that God wrote for them, it is just amazing to me. I know they aren’t the only ones and I want a love story like that for myself.

Besides… I’m beginning to believe that God will do a much better job at picking my husband than I have. I mean, God has already picked him. I just pray that he (my husband) has set himself apart for me. I do pray for him now and I pray that he prays for me, too.

This isn’t an easy thing to do. Especially since I haven’t said anything really to my roommates or my other friends (well, some know that I have started by “abstaining” from dating for 1 year but that’s it). Of course, if they read this now, they’ll know. 🙂 I just know that I need to become closer to God and learn more about His purpose in my life and for my life. I know He has amazing plans in store for me.

Walking this life is hard and the changes I’ve been going through are hard. Life around here is constantly changing, too.

I’m off to bed soon so I hope you all have a good night.

Blessings,

Jen

Looking for someone…

Have you ever felt like God put someone from your “past” on your heart? Well… I’ve been feeling this way for a little while. I feel like He actually put 2 people on my heart – my friend, Sean, and a guy named Josh from Bend, OR. I think his last name is Moore. I haven’t talked to him in years and I actually only knew him via AOL.

Josh is the one who I have really been thinking about the past few days. In reality, I’ve thought about him alot since I lost touch with him. Well, now I am not a hunt for him… Ok, maybe a hunt would be a little dramatic. More like a search. I just want to know how he is doing and just tell him how I am doing.

Moment of reflection

I’ve been sitting at my local Barnes & Noble for the last 3 hours or so. I came to do homework for my classes (and I accomplished much). I suppose I could have stayed home since the house was empty for the absence of my roommates. Everyone was busy with either church service or prayer time. I wish I didn’t have homework to do but I didn’t get as much finished in the last two days as I hoped I would and so I was unable to attend.

While I have been here I picked up a few books that I’ve been wanting to check out. I seem to get a restlessness about me when it comes to learning and reading. Sometimes I just can’t seem to get through an entire book before I want to go on to the next. And most of the time it is because I find myself online checking out what’s new out there. The funny thing is that I’m not that way about music. I feel like sometimes I’m behind when it comes to music because I’m not like my friend, Damien, who just finds something new and runs with it. I, on the other hand, like to listen to the same album for months.

What I really want to write about though is a question that was posed to my online geography class based on our reading for this week. We read about languages and religion and how they are dispersed across the world and how the impact people in different locations. The question we were asked was about whether religion should be used in politics and whether it was misused or not.

To be honest, I’m not sure that American politics can survive without religion because this country was based on Christianity – and anyone who wants to show me I’m wrong better com with proof of that from the Constitution or some quote from a person who was involved in creating the Constitution.

I guess I’m just frustrated with a lot of things that are going on in this country where my right to be a Christian and profess my faith and speak about it is being undermined and attacked. Under the First Amendment, I have the right to worship how I choose and the freedom to speak about it publicly. However, there are state and local governments who are trying to force Christians to stop and become quiet about our faith.

Well… I’m here to say one thing… THE BODY OF CHRIST HAS BEEN QUIET LONG ENOUGH!

We need to take a stand for our faith and beliefs. We need to promote the Kingdom, not ourselves. Profess your faith. When you speak, speak words of truth and love. Edify the body. Encourage nonbelievers who question if there is a God to learn about Him. Speak LIFE into your brothers and sisters in Christ. Whatever you do, DON’T BE SILENT.

I, myself, have been silent long enough when it comes to speaking to those around me who are not believers. I as well as my fellow brothers and sisters who have difficulty finding the words to speak to these people need to pray that God gives us the words to speak to these people and that we have boldness in Him.

I hope that I have encouraged someone today.

Blessings in Christ Jesus,

Jen