How Firm A Foundation

Tonight was a sweet time of babysitting. I absolutely LOVE kids! I was privileged enough to babysit for a family in my church tonight. These are probably the easiest and sweetest kids to watch. They easily obey and they just love to have a good time. Well, after we goofed around with tickling for a little bit, it was time for bed. They put their Pj's on, brushed their teeth, and then we read a story. After their story, their mom usually sings a song or two with them, so we did that. I asked the boy (who is 4) what he wanted to sing, and I was expecting something like "Jesus Loves Me". Oh no, he picked, "How Firm A Foundation". This caught me by surprise. He knew the words better than I did. 

It was so great to see how they are being brought up in Christ. At age 4, I think I was learning Jesus Loves Me in sign language, definitely not a hymn like How Firm A Foundation. hahaha... :oD 

Praise God for godly parents!

♥ 

My Heart

Man, I love Sunday's. Especially in DC! They are just always beautiful, and even if the weather isn't all that great, it's ok because it's great just to get to go to my church, hear the Word of God, and fellowship with other believers. I wish everyday was Sunday. 

This morning, I had decided to go to the parenting class (it's our "sunday school"). I know what you're thinking. 

"Really, Jenny? Parenting? Do you need to tell us something?" 

No, no. It's nothing like that at all. Our church actually encourages the singles to attend the parenting class, and I'm really glad I did. It was really encouraging and just a great way to learn about how to parent kids someday. Today's class was all about the heart and dealing with the issues of the heart in your children. Well, even though, I'm not a parent...

::Sidenote. So I was sitting there also kinda wondering why I was in that class too. I was in one of the front rows and looking around me and there were maybe 2 other single people in there and a few that were dating and the rest were married. I felt like everyone was wondering why I was in that class. I'm not even near dating anyone and children are far, far, far off in the future. So all that to say, I honestly felt kinda silly being in there.::: (sidenote, ended)

So after I brushed those thoughts away, I was really glad I ended up in that class. I think the Lord is teaching me a lot about my heart right now. It's in a sad state. I mean, not that I'm struggling with depression, but just that it's really sinful. As the verse goes, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." It's true, ya know. We talked about our speech in youth group on Friday night. I know I'm not a youth, but the message still applies to me. We talked about how sometimes we say things and then immediately wish we could rewind what just happened. I do that all. the. time. My words are often selfish and then that's a good indicator of where my heart is. On myself. 

What do I need to do to fix this? I need to be in the Word more. I need to hide God's Word in my heart, and from that my mouth will speak what the Spirit is growing inside of me. 

The verse that was spoken over this morning in Core Seminar was Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." If I guard my heart from sinfulness, then what will flow from it is a heart that is centered around Christ. I need to guard my heart against the devil and his lies that he throws at me or his temptations that he puts in front of my eyes or the sinfulness that creeps into my life. So...what's the guard then? The guard is God's Word. The Truth. The Bread of Life. This is what will guard my heart. 

♥ 

Speech

Today. Friday, March 20, 2009.

The sun was out, finally!!! Goodness, it had been cloudy it seems like for a month! I went home to Michigan a few weeks ago and when I arrived, it was cloudy there...the entire time I was there. And then I get back and it's cloudy here. Is there a black cloud that keeps following me around?

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice! YAY!! I plan on running around 8 miles. I am running in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler April 5th and I'm no where near where I should be for my training. I can barely run 6 miles in an hour. Not good. 

Speaking of home, I have been missing it lately. I guess I kinda wish my parents lived closer to here. I get lonely sometimes and just really need to be around a family. I'm grateful for the Cole's who are my second family. I lived with them when I first moved out here. I have a room whenever I want to spend the night there. I'm grateful for that. But I still miss my parents and the familiarity of my home. Sometimes, it's hard being so far away, but I know it's necessary. I know I can't go home, especially with the economy the way it is. There are absolutely no jobs in Michigan, and I definitely do not want to go back to being a server at Chili's. 

Today was a pretty good day. I worked and on my lunch break, I went to take back a zoom lens I had gotten for my camera. I really want to have a photography business someday so I'm trying to get the right equipment to make this happen. Next on my list is a photo editing program. But praise God! I found a lens that I need on e-bay for half of what it would be in the store!! I was really excited about that. 

OH!!! And, I got an email that said my cap and gown for graduation will be in by MONDAY!!!!!!

I can't believe that it's almost over. Now, I'm just trying to trust the Lord with what will happen next. 

I didn't run today. I have been running everyday this week so I decided to give myself a day off and not run. Instead, I indulged in a yummy Black and White milkshake from this new place on the Hill called, Good Stuff Eatery. Mm...heavenly. The owner of the place was on Top Chef... or something like that. 

Tonight, we had youth group. Daniel spoke on our words and our speech. It was a good lesson I needed to hear. I have such a hard time controlling my tongue as I often use it in sarcasm. Though I'm not meaning to hurt anyone by what I say, it can often come across that way. Also, I was convicted on how I use my speech. I am using my speech to build myself up? Or am I using it to build others up and Christ? This week was a sanctification week as I have seen more sin in my life. I've often walked to and from work thinking about my words and actions and just realizing how much I really do need a Savior. 

Well, after the talk, we split into our small groups, which was pretty much the guys and girls split. (Our youth group is really small) The girls were talking about how we can fight the temptation to use our speech in bad ways. Someone had mentioned the act of love and speaking in patience. I remembered this passage that I had been studying for my Inductive Bible Study class. The passage was Mark 11 where it talks about Jesus cursing the fig tree and then taking over the temple when they were using it to sell things. In this passage, we see that Christ has a right to be angry and frustrated. His Father's house was being used as a "den of robbers", as he puts it, when it is supposed to be used for prayer. He could have easily let his anger take over by using angry words, but what struck me the most was the fact that he didn't yell at them. In verse 17 it says, "And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." What struck me was the fact that he TAUGHT them. And as we know the character of Christ and his teaching throughout the Gospels, we know that when he taught, he welcomed all, and was patient with all. He taught with love and kindness. He didn't yell at them, but simply taught them. One more thing to add is that he taught them from the Word as we see where he says, "Is it not written...". This indicates that he is teaching them from the Word. 

So I thought that (obviously) Christ was a good example for us to follow in using our speech with love and patience. 

♥ 

New Blog. New Address

So, I am working on getting a different blog/website.
Blogspot seems to not want to work with me. I can't seem to get my pictures uploaded. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know. I want to get a website to build my portfolio for my pictures.
But stay tuned for the new address and new blog.

♥

Love this song

So I know I probably posted the words to this song already, but we sang it again on Sunday and I just love it.
My favorite verse is this one:

"Why was I made to hear Thy voice,

and enter while there's room,

When thousands make a wretched choice,

And rather starve than come."

-- How Sweet and Awful Is the Place.

♥

Come on...Don't Give Up!

From the words of Peter, through the mouth of my Poppi...

2 Peter 1:3-11

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has give us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have htem, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sorry I have not been keeping up to date with this. The last half (4 weeks) of my classes have been crazy busy. So busy that I have had to skip church on Sunday night and Wednesday night so I can get things done. But, praise God, I finished my LAST test for my college career last Sunday!!! Phew! I finished Acts and Philosophy, and I even got an A in Acts (after failing it once and withdrawling from it the other time, I'm ashamed to say). But I passed!!!! Now, I just have one more class, Inductive Bible Study, which I am stoked about taking. It's just teaching me how to study the Bible more deeply. I'm excited about it. It'll be like doing a Bible study for a grade! I am now officially counting down till graduation...59 days! Yikes, ok this sounds better...less and 2 months!!! 

Well, now that I updated you on my school, here's the real reason for the blog. 

I went home to Michigan this past weekend. It's kinda my "spring break". I don't have classes this week, but I still have to work. Boo. So I decided take a long weekend and go home. I'm real glad I did too. It was a great, relaxing weekend away from the city. Even though it rained the ENTIRE time I was there (except Monday), it was still a really great time to be with my parents and be in a familiar place again. To be honest, I get kinda homesick sometimes. 

I got there on Saturday around noon and my mom picked me up from the Detroit (yes, I am from an hour north of there). After that, we went to see my Granny (mom's mom) at the nursing home...which will probably be another blog soon to be written. Saturday, we just ran some errands and chilled at the house with some AMAZING chinese food. I mean, really, you haven't had chinese food until you've had Carrie Lee's. Goodness, it's the best! 

On Sunday, I went to my parents church at Lake Orion Baptist Church. It was nice to see old friends and people I grew up with. This wasn't the church that I grew up in however. My parents started going there, I think, when I left for Pensacola. Well, it's always nice to go there and see familiar faces again. Though, I totally embarrassed myself by snorting after my mom made me laugh during their Sunday School...thanks Mom! 

This is where I get to the point of my blog...

Sunday night, I decided that I wanted to go to my old church, the one that I was born into. Seriously, I was. My grandparents went there and were well-known throughout the church. My Poppi taught Bible and English at the school that we used to have there, Oxford Christian Academy. I remember, whenever I would see my old Pastor after the services on Sunday, he would remind me that he was there when I was born in the hospital. I grew up there. It was my home. I grew up in the school from Kindergarten till high school graduation. I was in youth group, I served, I cried...a lot (Meg can tell you. She watched me in the nursery). I "got married" there. I walked the aisle after the service. I was baptized there, twice. (that's another story for another time) I played the piano...and then ran out crying because I messed up. I was in plays on that stage. I sang for the Christmas specials. I remember after school my best friend, Bethany, and I would hang out in the auditorium and we would practice our "preaching" at the pulpit taking turns and then evaluate each other in how we did. I'm not sure what on earth we would talk about though. There are countless memories that I have there.

I don't know if this happens to you, but if you've been in a place for so long, you know it's smell and the sounds and the sites. It all came rushing back to me when I got out of the car Sunday night. The smell, the sounds, everything came back to me. Anything I looked at reminded me of something. We got in and talked with some friends and then we sat down. My mom had this thing of sitting in the back few rows every church service--that was my family's row. So guess where we sat, the same place...only I think it was a few more rows back than normal. My mom will tell you the reason why too. It has something to do with me crying during a church service and having to take me out. So ever since then, we sat in the way back of the church. Yep, just call us Back Row Baptists. (for the record, I don't sit in the back any more. I can't pay attention if I do.) My parents still sit in the back row though. I really don't know why, they don't have any kids they will have to take out. 

So we sat down and the church service started and the same person who was leading music when I was there, was leading music that night, Mr. Steiner who would give me candy out of his coat pocket on Sunday mornings.  The same ladies played the piano and organ. They were all there. Just like I remembered. It was sweet. It was the same pews, the way the felt when you sat down. The same stain-glass windows I used to wish were normal windows so I could look out at the soccer field during the service. I kept looking at everything and recalling different memories of it all. But what really struck me were the people that were there. Who I am so thankful for.   As I was sitting there, I was thinking about the people that were still there, being so faithful to the church and to the preaching of the Word of God. I couldn't help but think of the Perseverance of the Saints. I was glad to see they were there. That's why the verse at the top is so fitting. Every person sitting in that church service that night has the mark of a true disciple of Christ. They were adding to their faith and were diligent and faithful in doing so. They aren't "dating" other churches. They remained steadfast and sure of where God has placed them. They have given their time and money and effort into that church, and I'm sure God will reward them in Heaven. These are the people who have set an example of running the race and finishing it strong. They aren't just staying faithful to a church building, though. They are staying faithful because of the preaching of the Word that is done there every Sunday. (Thanks, Pastor Jim, for doing this!)  This is the thing that will last. The building will fall for it's made from human hands, but the the Word of the Lord will stand forever. The world can't understand such faithfulness. The world wouldn't understand why any of us would want to give our time for the service of the church, but as Christians, we know. We understand. They are there, as the rest of us are in our own churches, to build the kingdom of God. We are there to be fed the Word of God, faithfully. We are there to be prepared to meet the Bridegroom when he comes. 

It's encouraging to see faithfulness of the saints. I see it in my own church as well with older members who have been here waaaaaay before my senior Pastor has started. They have seen the highs and the deep lows of the church and have also seen the Lord show his faithfulness by continually adding to the church even now. 

Sometimes, the Christian life isn't so easy. It's difficult. There are trials and things we don't expect, as the Bible promises us. We are persecuted, we are torn down, we have been beaten emotionally and physically. We wonder what is God doing by allowing this to happen to his Beloved. Sometimes, it's even tempting to give up. But be thankful for the examples we have of those who are faithful to the preaching of God's Word, who are faithful to stay close to the course God has called them on. Be thankful for the saints in my current church who could have given up, but stayed with it and have seen how good God is. Be thankful for the examples we have in the Bible through the ministry of the apostles and their perseverance. God is good to remind us not to give up. Come on...don't give up. He's here. Take a look at Christ! He was the ultimate perseverer. What would have happened if he said, "no, that's it. This is too hard! I'm leaving." Well, we would have no hope. We would all be lost in our sin. Thank God, we do have a hope through the enduring love of Christ. 

♥