This Is Home

Hey!

Okay, this is weird two posts on the same day... and on the day i planned to post no less! I'd say that I finally got rid of my habit of procrastination, but lets face it, that's never gonna happen.
I hope you like this!
May this make you think,

Jen

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Have you ever gone on a long road trip and came home? And by home I mean go on back to church. I know I have. And that feeling of homecoming that you can touch as you walk in and find brothers and sisters there to welcome you back. Its that utter feeling of love and affection that we all constantly crave yet can't find in the world.

Or perhaps your week has, well for lack of a better term, been utter chaos and pure hell, and it is all you can do to drag yourself out of bed to go to the other side of town. And the sense of community that envelopes you just makes you break down in tears in the arms of your friends.

Or maybe you are sitting alone at church, with your friend not being able to make it that day, and you listen to the pastor speak, and it hits home. Your heart has been in the darkness for so long that tears just poor out of you, and you can feel God's presence in the room with you as you cry, letting out all of the pain from your life, and you feel Him hug you, hold you, and tell you that it's okay.

I've been there. Ive been in each of those situations. And when I think of home, I can't think of only my mom, dad, grandma, and brother. I think of those two buildings full of people who I couldn't live without seeing them once or twice a week.

So I thank God for the church. I thank God for those people whom I have grown up with or grown up knowing. I thank God for them because if I did not have them, I don't know who I would be today because they have helped make me who I am. They are a part of my family, and a large part of my life. My biweekly Sunday morning girls Bible study, the small groups on Wednesday nights, the youth group on Saturdays or biweekly on Sunday afternoons, they all have such an impact on my life, they are my lifeline on some weeks, and the best parts of my week on other days.

So when I think of church, the song lyric that comes to mind is "This is home / Now I'm finally where I belong / I've been searching for a place of my own / Now I've found it / Maybe this is home / This is home" (Switchfoot, This Is Home). 

And really, this is home.

Those Days and Those Times

Hey guys!

       Wow...sophomore year already! My the time has flown by! I remember the beginning of freshman year and how in the middle of it I started this blog. The time has really flown by. I'm almost a year older, hopefully wiser and less naïve than I was on the first day. I hope that I have grown closer to the Lord through the struggles of the first season of high school. And I am glad that He has given me this opportunity to share what insight to the world that He gives me with all of you. The other day I took a look at the page views by country and I found it so unbelievable that I had readers from around the globe. So I am very thankful to all who read this meager blog, and how I have been able to see God work through my blog to spread this throughout the world. So if you think that I don't see your reading or that I don't notice my readers, that is so far from the truth. I want to thank you all for making this happen and giving me a reason to continue.
May this make you think,

Jen

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There are days when we can put smiles on our faces, when we can walk with backs straight, shoulders squared, head up and a heart praising God.

And there are days when we walk, our bags weighing us down, eyes looking at the ground, shoulders slumped, and backs crooked. There are days when the pain shows on our faces, when the smile doesn't quite reach our eyes, an our eyes are empty and void of the life that once sparkled there.

There are days and times when our smiles are contagious, and or eyes are windows to the joy in our hearts. Those are the times when we raise our our hands in the air and praise God for today. There are days when we feel we are on top of the mountain, with our hands touching God's. When He feels so close, and our prayers seem heard and answered, when we are so full of joy. 

And then there are the broken days, when we are lost and alone, when we crave love and affection. When the void between our perfect and holy God and sinful, fallen man seems too wide for even our Savior to breach it's chasm.

The more broken we are, and the more broken we feel inside, the more lost, lonely, and desperate, that is what makes us need Hime the most; that utter lack of something, that unconquerable void is what leads us closer and closer to the God who loves.

And it's those broken days, those days that we hurt that make all the good days worthwhile, and that make us stronger, that gives us the will and the strength to conquer the next obstacle in the ever challenging life of a child of God.

This Radical Love

Hey guys!
Wow it's been a long time since I wrote on here...sorry about that. Life and school and vacation got in the way. I'm super happy to be back, to be kicking off sophomore year with this piece I wrote after my youth pastor's sermon on Saturday night and my church pastor's sermon the following morning. I'm excited to get back into the habit of writing here, and allowing God to use me as He will. I'm keeping all my faithful readers (old and new alike) in prayer as this week progresses.
May this make you think,
Jen

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Okay, let's be serious for a second. I want you to think of an enemy of yours. Who has hurt you? Who has broken your trust? Who has betrayed you? Who has made you incredibly angry? Who has made you cry? Who can you not stand to be around? I want you to bring those one or two people to the forefront of your mind for this post. Even if you aren't a Christian, you've probably heard of the phrase "love your enemies" and if you're anything like me you would go "Well, how do we do that?"

So are you still thinking of those one or two people who have the ability to rip your heart out of your chest and tear it to pieces? Are they those ex-boyfriends or girlfriends, those old best friends, maybe your step family, maybe your mom, dad, or sibling?  Sometimes it's those people closest to us, our families, BFFs, significant others, who have the time and ability to hurt us the most. And when we look at them, all that hurt and anger can come flooding back. 

And we want to get even, right? We want to make the hurt go away, and I know that for me, when I think of loving my enemies I think, "Why on earth would God want me to love on this person when they have taken my heart and crushed it under their heel?"

But weren't we once those same people? Weren't we once His enemies? Weren't we once the people who just wrote off God, who cursed Him or denied His existence? And He loved us enough to die for us. When people ask why I love on those others, why I talk to those people who no one else would, the only response I can come up with is "Because God loved me first."

And that truly is the only thing that one can say. If one is asked "Why do you love this one?" and responds "Because I am commanded to.", that love they are showing becomes superficial. "I love you because I have to," is no love; that is reluctant obedience. 

But when one can love their enemy, when one goes out of their way to give generously without asking for a return gift, when we serve those enemies of ours without holding back in our hearts, when we intentionally bless them with our hands, heart, and mouth, and when we pray for those enemies, when we go to God on their behalves, that is truly loving them. Just to think of all that, of what loving your enemies looks like, I can look on the cross with a whole new perspective. The life changing awe from the fact that He could love us so much that He died for us, even when we have done all that we did, just shocks me to the core. 

Guys we are called to love radical lives, to live out this radical faith and love that Jesus gave us in His earthly life and on the cross. Practice what we preach. If we say we have received Jesus's love, His perfect love, and that He resides in our hearts, we need to show that. And part of this love that we have inside our hearts, this irrational love that goes beyond all things known, beyond all the old things under the sun, then loving our enemies is one of those first steps. It is tgee most irrational, inhuman, and unworldly thing to do is to turn the other cheek for them to slap, to love them even though they did what they have done, because God loved us even though we have done what we have. God loved us first. That is the whole reason why we have this love in our hearts, why the blinders are off and why we can see clearly. We may not live these perfect lives where everything we do is full of love and grace, in fact I'll tell you right now you won't, for we are a sinful and fallen man, an idea not too popular in the West, but our sinful and fallen nature has been removed from His sight. He does not see you as this person who has done this wrong against Him, He sees you as His child whom He adores and died for. That is the love we have been given. And so that is the love we must show. 

So are you still thinking of those one or two people who have hurt you? Now just this week, can you do this? Can you serve them, be intentionally generous, not asking anything in return, can you bless them intentionally, can you pray for them not out of duty or obligation, but because of the mercy, love, and grace He has given to us, can you go to God on their behalf, asking for their well being. Just try it for one week and see the difference it will make in your life, in who you are as a Christian and a follower of God.