I have to admit it...I've been denying it long enough. I'm so excited about the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William! My excitement is a little bit late seeing how the wedding took place this morning while I was snoozing away, but I did wake up in time to watch the highlights. It was so beautiful, such a joyous day! A day to be remembered.
I guess nearly every girl is a teensy bit jealous of Kate Middleton. Not that I envy her all the protocol and duty her life will be full of from now on, nor even Prince William himself, but just the idea of marrying a real prince and becoming royalty is enough to make any girl's heart skip a beat.
The thought came to me this morning as I was sitting outside on the swing, drinking my V-8 fruit juice; I have my own prince. It flooded me with joy! The thought, of course, was not new to me; I've read tons of books that tell me I am a princess in the truest sense of the word because of my faith in Jesus Christ (One of which, of course, is the Bible). In fact, I'm a double princess; I am a daughter of the King of kings and I am engaged to the Prince of Peace, Jesus. (If that sounds a little weird to you check out Ephesians 5:22-33)
Usually it's pretty hard to convince myself of the truth of that, especially when I'm living out a normal, nothing-royal-about-it life. Today it's different; I've been reminded that sometimes fairy-tales are real, sometimes things that seem too good to be true are truer than anything else.
So today I am basking in the joy of the knowledge that I, me, Jenna, the girl who is afraid of people jumping at her in the dark, loves extra, extra sharp cheddar cheese and quoting movies, I am tenderly loved by the Prince, by God Himself, by the greatest Man who ever lived and He is waiting eagerly for the day He can bring me home.
Now that will be a day to remember!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
"spiritual auto-pilot"
Here's a great blog post from Ali at SheSeeks!
http://www.sheseeks.org/2011/spiritual-auto-pilot/
This really challenged me. I have struggled with turning on my auto-pilot when I open my Bible, reading without listening. I have to force myself to think about what I'm reading, see how I can practically apply it and practice it. I am excited this week to see how God speaks to me through His word. I look forward to sharing what I learn with you!
http://www.sheseeks.org/2011/spiritual-auto-pilot/
This really challenged me. I have struggled with turning on my auto-pilot when I open my Bible, reading without listening. I have to force myself to think about what I'm reading, see how I can practically apply it and practice it. I am excited this week to see how God speaks to me through His word. I look forward to sharing what I learn with you!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Slow to Speak
Yesterday was my seventh day with this tonsillitis. Yes, that's what the doctor diagnosed me with on Monday. Now I'm on three medicines, including an antibiotic. Thankfully the horrible sore throat is gone but an earache has replaced it and my cough is still alive and well.
Before my doctor visit my sore throat was simply awful. I couldn't speak without a lot of pain so I didn't open my mouth unless I absolutely had to. I am not normally a reticent person, on the contrary it's hard for me to keep my mouth shut. My silence felt strange.
I've grown up in a large family where words were always flowing. At the dinner table we usually had at least three conversations going between different people. If you wanted to get your say in you had to be quick and loud. Interruptions were as common as salt and pepper.
That was fine for then. It was fun, a lot like The Waltons. But now my family has grown up and I am left with my bad habits. Families are quick to forgive you when you blurt out thoughts you should have kept to yourself. Other people are not always as understanding. Besides that, the Bible commands us to "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry." James 1:19 This is where I have a problem. I have it backwards; I'm quick to speak and slow to listen.
If you dig down deep enough you'll find the root of my problem is selfishness. That's what prompts me to clamber to center stage and announce my own ideas, often trampling others' thoughts. In the end, I look like the fool in Proverbs 18:2,"Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions."
Words are important to God. Words are how He chose to express Himself to us. One of Jesus' names is literally "The Word". An overwhelming amount of verses in the Bible are devoted to teaching us how to honor God with our words. (A few to get you started - Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 15:1&23. Colossians 4:6, Colossians 3:9,16b&17.) Bottom line, God doesn't want us throwing our words around carelessly.
I wish I could tell you that since my throat has healed I have been much more careful with my words. I haven't. I still have the same bad habits; they aren't going anywhere fast. But I am more aware of my problem and, as I like to say, awareness is half of any solution. The other half is prayer and obedience. That's what I'm working on.
Before my doctor visit my sore throat was simply awful. I couldn't speak without a lot of pain so I didn't open my mouth unless I absolutely had to. I am not normally a reticent person, on the contrary it's hard for me to keep my mouth shut. My silence felt strange.
I've grown up in a large family where words were always flowing. At the dinner table we usually had at least three conversations going between different people. If you wanted to get your say in you had to be quick and loud. Interruptions were as common as salt and pepper.
That was fine for then. It was fun, a lot like The Waltons. But now my family has grown up and I am left with my bad habits. Families are quick to forgive you when you blurt out thoughts you should have kept to yourself. Other people are not always as understanding. Besides that, the Bible commands us to "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry." James 1:19 This is where I have a problem. I have it backwards; I'm quick to speak and slow to listen.
If you dig down deep enough you'll find the root of my problem is selfishness. That's what prompts me to clamber to center stage and announce my own ideas, often trampling others' thoughts. In the end, I look like the fool in Proverbs 18:2,"Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions."
Words are important to God. Words are how He chose to express Himself to us. One of Jesus' names is literally "The Word". An overwhelming amount of verses in the Bible are devoted to teaching us how to honor God with our words. (A few to get you started - Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 15:1&23. Colossians 4:6, Colossians 3:9,16b&17.) Bottom line, God doesn't want us throwing our words around carelessly.
I wish I could tell you that since my throat has healed I have been much more careful with my words. I haven't. I still have the same bad habits; they aren't going anywhere fast. But I am more aware of my problem and, as I like to say, awareness is half of any solution. The other half is prayer and obedience. That's what I'm working on.
The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking;
the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.
Proverbs 15:28
Thursday, April 7, 2011
I'm Sick
I'm sick. Thanks a lot to my younger sister for not keeping her germs to herself!!! Ick, a sore throat and a dry cough is not fun.
Just thought you would want to hear the latest. *wink*
Oh here are a few pictures for you to enjoy...since I am not particularly entertaining at the moment. :D
Just thought you would want to hear the latest. *wink*
Oh here are a few pictures for you to enjoy...since I am not particularly entertaining at the moment. :D
Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE wisteria?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
She Speaks Conference Scholarship
I just entered to win a scholarship to the She Speaks conference!
Link: http://www.sheseeks.org/2011/she-speaks-scholarship/
I heard about She Seeks through one of their team members, Shannon Primicerio. If you know me you've probably heard me mention Shannon before. Her book, God Called a Girl, really spoke to me at a crucial time in my life.
So I've been following She Seeks for a little over a year now. When I heard about the conference last year I was interested, but I didn't have the funds and it just wasn't the right time.
This year I am excited. As I wrote in my first post I have a passion to minister to young women but am completely clueless about how to get started. God has been mysteriously silent on that subject and I even sense Him holding me back for the moment. After a lot of struggle it has finally dawned on me that He is using this in-between time to train me.
This conference could be another part of my training, or it may even launch me into my ministry. Only God knows. Whatever comes of it, I am confident it will come from God.
Please pray for the She Seeks team as they decide which one of the many applicants to choose. Not necessarily that they would choose me, but that they would choose the one God has already chosen.
Link: http://www.sheseeks.org/2011/she-speaks-scholarship/
I heard about She Seeks through one of their team members, Shannon Primicerio. If you know me you've probably heard me mention Shannon before. Her book, God Called a Girl, really spoke to me at a crucial time in my life.
So I've been following She Seeks for a little over a year now. When I heard about the conference last year I was interested, but I didn't have the funds and it just wasn't the right time.
This year I am excited. As I wrote in my first post I have a passion to minister to young women but am completely clueless about how to get started. God has been mysteriously silent on that subject and I even sense Him holding me back for the moment. After a lot of struggle it has finally dawned on me that He is using this in-between time to train me.
This conference could be another part of my training, or it may even launch me into my ministry. Only God knows. Whatever comes of it, I am confident it will come from God.
Please pray for the She Seeks team as they decide which one of the many applicants to choose. Not necessarily that they would choose me, but that they would choose the one God has already chosen.
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