Spelling cont...

Nearly four months later, here I am. ;)  While skipping through the alphabet, I hope to share some things that have kept me insanely busy...

M is for Mark Schultz.  I thank God, and thank Mr. Schultz for coming to my area for a concert on June 17th.  Without that concert, I wouldn't have agreed to go see him with a friend who wanted to catch up.  Two months after catching up found me engaged to that dear friend. :)
[You can read a breeze-through of our story at weddingwire.com/craigandjennifer]

N is for nursing, again.  After receiving my CNA, and going through one crazy semester of generals that were required for the nursing program, I've felt led to change my major to Education.  How's that for stereotypical college student???

O is for ohhhhh, God is so good.  Those words aren't flippantly spoken from a girl who is on cloud nine and has everything together. They're spoken from lips that are typically Overwhelmed and Oh-so-often standing in the need of God's grace, which He offers consistently...which is why He is oh so good.

P is for prayer.  Dear friend, it's fast, free, and the rewards are priceless.  We Americans are all about things like that.  But this is something I've struggled to take advantage of to it's highest potential.  I'm praying to be better at that.

Q is for quite a year.  It's weird to think we just have a couple weeks leff of it.  Mine has been FULL, and I don't merely mean my schedule.  It's been FULL...of blessings, of difficulty, of lessons, and of grace.  Has yours been Quite a year?

R is for reading.  Something I've missed dreadfully.  I used to keep updated book lists, and check them off after each book was finished.  I would read books with friends and we'd discuss them--which was so good for fellowship and retaining what was read!  But I haven't been able to do more than a here and there, which is why I needed to put down the Bible Retreat after Psalms. :(  I hope married-life will be paced enough to be immersed in books again.

S is for SWAT, the youth ministry I've been involved in for over two years.  I was one of the few who started SWAT as a small youth group Bible study, and I have seen so many students come and go since then.  All of them have taught me so much, and have become precious to me in cool ways.  I've decided to no longer volunteer with the youth once I'm married--which will be difficult, as much as it will be good for me. :)

T is for True Princess.  For the last six weeks I will be helping with SWAT, I started the Lifeway Bible study True Princess: Embracing Humility in an All-About-Me world with the girls.  This has been one of the best student studies I've found in a long time.  It's rich with the Word, very deep and challenging!  We started a tradition of having tea with the study each week, and we've been going to our local nursing home to do manicures for the ladies there.  It's been amazing. :)

U is for unexpected plans.  If you just skip back a few blog posts, you'll see that even 5 months ago, marriage wasn't even on the horizon of my mind (look at what I had to say about my relationships on my About this Jen page, haha).  I had come out of a difficult relationship early this year, and if anything, I was ready to commit to a lifetime of singleness and servitude. :)  But lo and behold, I'm so sincerely grateful that I have a Father who knows me so well.  His plans for me aren't copies of anyone else's life and plans--they're just for me, and for me to trust Him with.

V is for very scatterbrained.  I think my brain only knows one mode, and it's THAT one.

W is for wedding, which is on New Year's Day 2011.  One of the reasons we chose that day is thanks to Chloe...she blogged about her wedding on July 4th, and the perks of always having your anniversary off.  Since Craig and I will be in school for awhile and working ALOT, it would be nice to have our anniversary on a holiday between semesters. :)

X is for...not very many things. Including this line, haha.

Y is for why are there so many letters in the alphabet? Y is for I can't think of anything for this one either.

Z iz for zuppa, vich iz veady.
And I'm hungry, because my Mom has be on a "your wedding dress doesn't zip and you have two weeks" diet.  Ahem.

a call for prayer...

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep...." Romans 12:15

My heart goes out to our Flower Mama and her family.  Please, pray.  No matter where we are geographically, our Savior is the head of our Body, the church.  We're the body that rejoices when it's time to rejoice.  And cries, when it's time to cry.  Like King Jehoshophat, we cry out to our ever-present help: "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."  (2 Chronicles 20:12)

Abba, we know there's a testimony of glory coming.

Yeah, you got it...

Dog gone tired. :)

I've done more than the aforementioned, in case you were wondering.

--The Children's Home was heartbreaking/awesome, and it was a blessing to spend time with my Placebo sisters.

--Class has been such a good experience--the schoolwork isn't hard yet, but what they're training us to do will be.  But our gracious God is gracious for things like that, yes He is. :)

--Acquire the Fire was phenominal, and the students were blessed by the retreat.  I will have to do a post on that, cause there are some funny pictures to share...and how fun are blogs with fun pictures?

I haven't done a whole lot of crashing, just a whole lot of running.

And while I'm running around, thankful for opportunities to serve, the Evil One hasn't been sleeping.

Praise Jehovah Jireh (my Provider)...there has been equal joy to the weariness. :)

Joys anyone? Okay...

--When I get to see evidence that my family is happy even during hard times--not financial/material/superficial, but real happy.

--Connecting with the students at ATF,  especially with ones I'd "missed" for lack of connection for a long time.

--Going to the nursing home with the SWAT girls and painting the lady-residents nails.

--Learning the beautiful language of Swahili....Hujambo! (hello)
--When I see the glory of God in the circumstances of others, even when they are difficult and wounding.

--Weekly phone calls from girlfriends that never get old or redundant (shpell scheck?)...re-duh-n...yeah that one.

--And Psalm 51.

Until I get to blog for reals, may your Creator God bless your new week.  See the joy/happy in it...even if you're running ragged, and the Evil One is snoozing on your heels.  Remember...your Savior has already crushed his head.

Habari za jioni...good night. :)

On Captivity...and Hope

A few things really blessed me today, my friend...

I sat down to blog, but nothing was coming. I had thoughts about flipping the calendar yet again, and Thanksgiving afterthoughts--but writer's block was keeping them secure, wherever they were. So...I closed out Blogger yet again, letting another day go without posting. ;)

But then I actually flipped my calendar.
My calendar is from The Challenge Farm, a mission/refuge-home in Kenya, Africa. They offer a Christian home, education, food and care to children as an alternative to living on the streets. Each month has pictures of the children, the staff alongside them, and Swahili words/phrases.
It tugs at your heart, let me tell you.
Lord willing, I may join a small team to minister at Challenge in the summer of 2010. I am extremely humbled at even the thought! I will keep you posted on this. ;)

THEN...I logged into Twitter, and learned that December 1st is World Aids Day. So I Googled it. There are HIV/AIDS statistics all over the web today, and all of them are heartbreaking. Here are just a couple of my findings...
--Africa has (estimated) 14 million children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
--A regional estimate for 2008 said that world-wide there was 33.4 million adults & children living with HIV/AIDS...22.4 million were in sub-saharan Africa.

Pastor's message on Sunday was about hope. He shared that alot times we put pressure on hope, and not Whom we hope in. He used a clip from the movie The Tale of Despereaux, and this quote stuck with me...

"The story said [the princess] was a prisoner. But that wasn't totally true because she had hope, and whenever you have hope, you're never really anybody's prisoner."

There are so many kinds of captivity. The Israelites, Apostles and early Christians knew what it was like to be literally taken captive. The people Jesus had healed tasted the captivity of blindness, lameness, disease, sickness, death etc. People taste captivity of circumstances. Captivity of perspective (seeing things a certain way). Captivity of SIN.

Though time has changed significantly, humankind still suffers these things. They are all a kind of death, which is the wage of sin. In every circumstance, there are very human reasons to despair.

Why don't we despair? Why do we hope?

Because when Christ is in you, and when He is your hope (Col 1:27), you are no one's prisoner. Do you hear that? Do you grasp it? It doesn't mean our circumstances change...the princess was still "captive". But she wasn't a captive. Her life, hope, heart, future, weren't based on her captivity any longer. They were based on something greater than the bars and chains.

Is your life, your hope, your heart, your future...are they based on Christ alone?

Not what He can do for you. Are they in HIM and what He's already done?

I remember my chains...I'm fully aware of all of them.

Yet I insist on remembering something else, and because of it I'm filled with hope:

Because of the great love of my Savior,

I am not captivated.

His compassion never fails, and His mercy is new every morning; great is His faithfulness.

I remind myself that my life, my hope, my heart and my future is based on the Risen Christ, and I will wait and hope in Him.

~Lamenations 3:19-24 (in my own words)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

~Romans 8:1

I've been Sugar Doll-ed!

Sweet Mrs. Chloe at trying to throw my arms around the world... gave me my first ever blogger award...isn't she sweet?? I'm so excited! I never thought I would be given one of these because I don't have a great blog following, I don't post very often, and I don't blog-hop as much as I would like. It's neat how on the world (didja catch that, the WHOLE WIDE WORLD) wide web, you can meet kindred spirits. You would love Chloe's posts--her sense of humor and perspective on her daily-to-do's brighten my day...stop by and see her sometime.

What I am to do is post 10 things about myself, and award my favorite bloggers. :) I'm having a hard time thinking of things to write, so it may be COMPLETELY random, but real...which I believe is the nature of it anywho. :) Here it goes:

1) Something I enjoy: Anne of Green Gables. I read some of the books growing up (I would love to finish that series sometime), and watched the movies in my early teen years. Those movies still make me laugh and cry! They are squeaky-clean too, which is rare these days. I recently watched them again, and I've found that I'm alot like Anne in the way I perceive and respond to things. Don't know if that's good or bad...especially in the love-life department, ahem.

2) Something that changed my life: Central Mexico. When I was young, I begged God to never make me a missionary (thanks to persecution/martyrdom stories). As I've gotten older, I've been drawn to it. I was able to go to Mexico for my first mission trip last year and it changed me in this way...we are called to one mission field: wherever our feet are. Whether it is here in my hometown/workplace/school, or on foreign soil, my heart for mission work should be based on my heart-in-love with Jesus Christ and sharing Him. :) God opens doors and nudges us here and there, but I don't think the "heart" of it should change with geography. :)

3) Something I find funny: my 5 year old sister Jaelyn (see pic from previous post). I wish you could meet her! She is positively hilarious. She is a drama queen and her sarcasm capacity grows by the day. I could write a book on the many funny things she says!

4) Something I want: I would really like to be married and have little ones one day. I would like to make a home, and have my own kitchen. I would even want the fires and tears that come with all this.

5) Something I confess: I sometimes struggle with #4. Thanks to my gracious, gracious, gracious God, I've never fallen into "the depths of despair" (aforementioned Anne quote). And because of that grace, I may tend to have a "mask" that says I don't struggle in this department. But my friend, I do indeed. I've had my heart broken. And my hopes deferred. Then again. And yet again. I am so happy at home, and content with where the Lord has me. But I confess, while I try my hardest to be strong and remember my God is in control, once in awhile, there comes a day to cry about this. :) Maybe I'm just a woman that way. His grace is sufficient for me (and for you).

6) Something that rocks my socks: the students in our youth group. I never would have thought I would be able to work with teenagers and keep my sanity and most of my hair. But they make me laugh. They are patient with my insufficiencies. They help me remember the important things--about God and life--and teach me more than I could ever teach them. I wish you could meet Levi, or talk to AJ and Jessi. I wish you could play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with Alex. I wish you could be prayed for by Tekoa. I wish your day could be brightened by Missy, or be encouraged by Emily.
There's many MORE of them, and they all would rock your socks too. :)

7) Something that confuses people: I am a living paradox, let me tell you.
--I thrive on organization; it comes with being the eldest child, and a woman. My desk and it's contents are an absolute mess at the moment.
--I think things through. I am incredibly spontaneous.
--I would love to fellowship (or "church") in homes/spontaneously, rather than in church buildings. Yet the Lord has led me to fellowship/serve at a church in my hometown.
--I would love to be married. I have considered celebacy too.
--I share my opinions. I strongly dislike, and avoid, controversy.
--I'm on top of things. I tend to do things last minute.
Stuff like that, ya know?

8) Something that makes me so happy: early mornings, just before the sun rises. Everywhere, there are people awake and buzzing. Animals have been out and about long before you. But that stillness...indescribable. The air, the soundlessness, the sunrise...it's quietly liberating. :)

9) Something that I currently find positively amazing: a combination of the Holy Spirit and the book of Romans. The world can have this world. Please, just give me Christ. Check them out, you will love them both.

10) Something I'm thankful for: for you, dear friend. :) I can't believe you made it through this ramble of rambleness. Wellgeethanks for bearing with me.

I award:

Jen at Ranch Girl Diaries

Ash at once upon a dreamer...

Angie at From Center to Circumference

M at Musings of a Ranch Wife

I would award Chloe

or

LeAnna at Thoughts n Whatnots

but they have been awarded. :)