Help Me Rhonda!

Help, Help Me Rhonda! 

Today I was sitting here thinking man I should get motivated. The day is almost over and I haven't even gotten out of my pajamas. Out of nowhere that Old Beatles song comes to my mind. Help me Rhonda, Help, Help Me Rhonda ha-ha. I think it was a song about a guy trying to get over another love and he comes across Rhonda! LOL. Totally irrelevant to my situation ha-ha. However, it got me thinking when we have those times when we need to get up, get moving and/or heal and move on with God's desires for our lives...Do we start calling out Help me, Father, Help, Help me Father? I should totally write a knock-off song from the Beatles! I mean you know your singing that song already in your head. *does a little Help Me Rhonda dance*

Then I instantly thought of that Psalm 121 which also happens to be the Psalm that the children are memorizing in children's church. For those who are not familiar with it, it goes like this: 

121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

My help comes from the Lord.....Imagine if in those moments of helplessness or just when your in that place where you have no ambition whatsoever you always have someone you can look to the ultimate creator of Heaven and Earth. He's there ready and willing if you just call on him! I encourage you today to take a few moments and pray. Pray that God would HELP you in the midst of your circumstances whether it be big or small. Then lace up your shoes and get moving! 

*hums* Help me Father, Help, Help me Father!

With Love 

Jessica 

Straight Outta Compost!

Straight Outta Compost! 

The kids and I were watching a Reading Rainbow episode today and it was all about composting and gardening. As we were watching the video and the process of composting I began thinking about our lives. Sometimes life is a lot like a scrap of leftover garbage that really has no more use. However, the right mix of "what's leftover" in time creates this beautiful compost. This compost is rich in nutrients! It can then be used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture and agriculture. 

The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer, as a natural pesticide for soil and more. There is a process to making the compost and it has to contain the right mixture of ingredients and it has to be turned and not left stagnant. There are various phases to composting and the process does not happen overnight.

 

I thought okay well...umm...hmmm... Well I think what God is trying to say is that He can take those things which we would normally discard and turn them into something nutrient filled! In life there are times we think that we are to old, or to poor, or to broken to be used by God. That is a straight up lie from the enemy. There is so much that we can do and so much we each have to offer. We find ourselves at different phases in life and sometimes the process in which we have to undergo doesn't happen overnight. Just remember if we keep on "moving" and we keep our eyes focused on the end results the process is WORTH IT!

I got thinking about the story of Joseph in the Bible. His brothers had basically "discarded" him thinking that he was of no use to their family. Over time Joseph went thru different phases in his life that ultimately led to him being in that place, in that nutrient place, where he would be able to save his family from famine. Had he not been discarded, had he not persevered thru the phases of life God brought him too, he would never have been in the place of honor that God put him in. There was a spot in Genesis Chapter 50 where Joseph's brothers threw themselves at Joseph all like "we will be your slaves ahhh forgive us" LOL. Joseph's reply was so powerful! He says to them "Don't be afraid! Am I not in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for my good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." I bet this was a total Mic Drop moment! 

Take some time today and just re-group and chat with the Father. Find out where you are in the process and just ask God for not only direction, but grace to see it finished to the end. We all have things we need to go thru to get to that place that God has for us. Keep pressing in! God tells us in Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." That's one of His promises to us! That He will make a way and create that which we need in the process! 

Revelation 21:5 "And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

With Love 

Jessica  

The Un-Offered Prayer

The Un-Offered Prayer

I was spending some time this afternoon preparing for an upcoming speaking/teaching opportunity [the theme is about intercession/intercessory prayer.] While I was praying and reading and researching on where I felt God was leading me, I came across this quote.

F.B. Meyer, the author of The Secret Guidance said, "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but un-offered prayer." 

I never really thought about it that way before! The greatest tragedy in life is not that our prayers are not being answered, but that we didn't even attempt to pray. How many things in our own personal lives could have been prevented if we had just taken a moment to pray. Pray for direction. Pray for wisdom. Pray for insight. Prayed for protection over our families. Prayed for our attitudes. Prayed for .... well just about anything really. How different our days might become if we stopped first thing in the morning and committed to even just taking a brief moment to say, "Good Morning Father. I am here, please help guide my footsteps today!" How often do we jump out of bed in the morning without even thinking about talking to God until some crazy circumstance comes up in our day and suddenly we need His help. What IF... we learned to walk in a constant state of prayer and learned to truly be in communion with God. 

I have often heard people say things like "that is not something worthy of praying about" or "God has better things to deal with them helping me find something I lost" or "God's to busy to worry about this or that" or "I only talk to Him when someone is in the hospital!" 

The Bible says in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERY situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

Prayer is so important to the heart of God. There are like 650 prayers in the Bible! Prayer is like our pipeline to the Father. He cares about you and He wants to know the things that are in your heart. He wants to hear the things you might be hiding in secret. He wants to know why you are frustrated with your co-worker or that Lucy hurt your feelings at church or that you got angry and spoke without thinking and hurt someone else. We tend to think God is to "busy" to take time to listen to us or to care about the little things. That is such a trick of the enemy because what it does is it makes us question what we feel is important to talk about during times of prayer. 

Maybe something tragic has happened in your life and your hurt to the core. Perhaps you suffered the loss of a child, maybe you lost everything in a fire, perhaps you were sexually abused or bullied. Do we think that the one who created us doesn't already know the things in which we hide and hold on to? Do we think that whatever we have done or whatever guilt or shame might be attached to it is just "too much" for God to handle?

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." HE LOVES YOU! He sent Jesus to die for YOU. He CARES. He cares about all of it! Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." God KNOWS YOU! Okay so your upset with how your life is currently. Your angry that God allowed some tragic thing to happen in your life. Do you think that He doesn't already know your hurt or your angry? Can you imagine how much more your relationship would deepen if you just went to him at your current state? When you become so raw and undone in His presence. I can't tell you how many times I have just had to scream or throw a temper tantrum in prayer, because I was just so upset and so hurt and so ANGRY! But it was in those moments, in those places of being raw with Him that I began cultivating a deeper intimacy with Him. I allowed myself to just be who I was. I began allowing myself to trust that where I am at and who I am is more then enough for Him. I didn't have to put on a show, I didn't have to be an eloquent prayer warrior, I just had to be His daughter, His bride. 

So I have no idea where all that just came from, because I had no intentions of even going into all that! Ha-Ha. I guess God had other plans. With all that being said my prayer for you today would be that you would begin allowing yourself to be present with God, to be raw with Him, and more importantly that you would take a minute to stop and talk to Him. 

The more you talk with God, the more you get to listen to His heart beat and the more you allow Him into yours, the deeper your connection becomes. Then one day years from now you will realize you literally are in constant commune with Him. You are talking with Him in the car, in the store, walking down the hallway! It's amazing. 

I pray that you allow God into those deep, hidden places and that you TRUST HIM enough to lead you, guide you and ultimately heal you from anything that has been holding you back from where you are headed. God has great things in store for all of us, but He doesn't promise the walk will be easy, BUT He does promise us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us, nor forsake us!

With Love

Jessica 

.....

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

The Story of The Carrot, The Egg, and The Coffee Bean

A young girl went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. 

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. 

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. The she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young girl replied. The grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked, "What does it mean, grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! 

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" the grandmother asked her granddaughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

-Anonymous 

............................................................................................................................................................

This morning when I was waiting for the coffee to brew this story came back to my remembrance. 

Carrots - Under Pressure LOL

I wanted to share it with all of you, because I think it's important to look at how we react to adversity and struggles. When things get hard what happens to you and your character. Do you start off strong, but with pain and difficulties do you find you wilt and become soft and lose all your strength like the Carrot?

Hardened Heart I mean Boiled Eggs

Are you more like the egg that starts with a malleable heart [easily influenced], but changes with the heat? Did you have a carefree spirit, but after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a hardened heart?

OR are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually CHANGES the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. I SO love this part, because COFFEE and I are like BFFs. Seriously. LOL. I mean can you imagine if the beans didn't change the water. AHHHH. 

Coffeeeee. I love you!!!

If you are like the coffee bean when things are at their worst, do you get better and change the situations around you. When the hours are at the darkest and trials are at their greatest, do you elevate to another level? 

I encourage you to begin to look at your character this year and take special note of how you react to high stress situations and circumstances that you find yourself in. Let's thrive to be like the Coffee Bean and change the situations around us and not allow them to negatively influence us! 

You can find some scriptures to ponder below!

Praying for you today. 

With Love

Jessica 

Scriptures to Ponder: 

1 Peter 5:7

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Romans 5:3-5

3 Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Philippians 4:13

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Romans 8:7-18

7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Not That Box!

Minesweeper

Not That Box!

How many of you are familiar with that horrid, I do mean horrid game called "Minesweeper?"

For those unfamiliar with the game here is the jist of it: It's a single-player puzzle video game that originated in the 1960s. The basic objective of the game is to clear a rectangular board containing hidden "mines" or bombs without detonating any of them. It's absolutely wretched! I could never grasp the concept of the game and always hit the mines like ALWAYS. I could never figure out how to play it. 

Then you have these professional people out in the world who are like PRO Minesweepers. Seriously they exist! There was this quadriplegic woman that I cared for many years ago and it was her all time favorite game. We would sit there for hours. Literally hours playing this game. God forbid I hit the wrong box and screw up her score Ha-Ha. You would think after hours of sitting with this woman playing this game that I would have also become a huge pro. Yeah, NOT.  

What My Screen ALWAYS looks like!

Okay so earlier today I went to the chiropractor and I am laying down on this awesome hydro-bed playing solitaire and suddenly I feel a nudge to quit my favorite game and go into the devil's lair. Like I legit feel this game is of the devil, not even playing. LOL. Sooooo I was like seriously? God, are you serious? Because you know maybe He was punking me! I mean it could happen. The man really does have a sense of humor. So being the obedient child I try to always be...I go to the Minesweeper game. Boom I die. Try another round BOOM I die again. Third time BOOM I try again. I was like seriously THIS IS POINTLESS. 

These Bombs Are Brutal!

I mean seriously there is no reason for me to keep playing this wretched game. I am suppose to be relaxing remember God. I mean that is why I am here. Then of course He says, "how about this time we play it TOGETHER!" I was like uhh seriously? You want to play in this horrid game? I mean how is this even going to happen. I mean I know I am a little charismatic, but I like to think I am completely sane hahaha. [This is how God and I dialogue...seriously hhahaha! God really does talk to you in a language you will understand.] So I was like fine I mean how can I tell YOU of all people NO! 

The craziest most bizarre thing happens. I turn on the game again and ONE box stands out so I click it. Now mind you I am fully expecting to DIE! So I open my eyes and I am still alive!! Say WHAT!! WOOOOO. Then I hear Him say okay your turn so I hurry up and hit a button. Still alive. PHEW! I am like okay your turn. I wait a few moments looking over the screen and another button stands out. I quickly click it thinking we are sooo dead this time. AHHHH!! We are still alive. So we go back and forth like this thru the whole game until the Doctor arrives. 

Playing with God is way more Fun!

So your probably wondering where I am going with this right? Yeah, me too. hahahahahah Kidding! Although truth be told I was asking God this same question when He kept playing the scene over and over in my head tonight at prayer. Then it dawned on me during one of our songs tonight. We were in the middle of singing the song, "Lord, I Need You" and we got to the part where we were singing... "YOUR MY ONE DEFENSE, MY RIGHTEOUSNESS..OH GOD HOW I NEED YOU." 

BOOM! Light bulb. I get it. I totalllyyyyyyyyyyy get it. You wanted me to realize you are MY ONE DEFENSE. I could walk thru minefields and NOT be touched if I waited quietly for you to tell me where to step next!. Get outta dodge. LOL. Then it was like pure download for the next hour. 

So I guess the moral of my story is that God wants us to begin trusting HIM to guide us thru the places we consider the "devils lair." It wasn't really about the game, but about LIFE. Sometimes we get so busy and go where we think we are suppose to go that we actually hit the wrong box! We need to get back on track, slow down, wait on HIM to highlight our next move and trust in HIS leading. He also wants you to know that it's okay to have fun with Him! He genuinely LOVES spending REAL time with you. He wants to be THAT real in your life. 

With Love


Jessica

P.S. I love that God talks to us in a language we understand! We have a riot together sometimes LOL!

How I Feel Playing This Wretched Game!

Here are a few scriptures to ponder that go along with my little life lesson. I hope your having a great night and until next time, I hope God draws you in and pulls you into a deeper revelation of His love for you! He makes an amazing friend.

Psalm 25:4-5 Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

James 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 

Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

Psalm 16:7-8 I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 73:23-24 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory.

John 10:3-4 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Droplets of Honey

Droplets of Honey

Droplets of Honey

Colossians 3:23New International Version (NIV)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."

The Working Ant

When I think of bugs or insects and the Bible I always think about the reference to the "ant." The New Living Translation of Proverbs 6:6, "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!"  That was until this morning....


I got this amazing new devotional for 2018 by Ellie Claire that I absolutely love. You can find it here: I SO Want That Devotional A brief recap of this morning's devotional: today's message was based on obedience to God and how sometimes it might seem like droplets of honey. [She made additional references to Matthew 10:42 and Mark 12:42-44 if you wanted to read into it a little more.] Her overall message was that God has a genuine purpose for all of us, just as He does for the honey bee.

Honey Bee

It was like the words HONEY BEE popped off the page at me. I was like what is with the honey bee thing Lord?! Why does it suddenly seem significant to me?! Next thing you know I am scouring thru the internet looking for honey bee facts. Listen. Just to be clear I have no desire nor will I ever have a desire to become a beekeeper. I absolutely love natural honey, but I am more like the bear on this issue. I would rather steal it from the bees. Although this is a biblical post so I should probably keep "stealing" references out of it ha-ha!

Okay back on point....

So I did some research and found all kinds of cool interesting things about the honey bee that I didn't know before. Like did you know the Queen Bee is literally the only chic who can have babies?! How awful... I mean can you imagine being born a female bee and not being able to have little baby bees. Not to mention doesn't that mean every bee is related!? sooooo I mean that gets a little more weird. Although after doing more research there is this whole other process that the drones [Queen Bee's mates]are created from. It's really weird.

ANYWAYS.... I began focusing in on the roles of the honey bees. Each bee plays a distinct role in the hive; the honey bees are so ridiculously organized! To find out more of about each role the honey bee plays in the hive you can visit https://www.benefits-of-honey.com/roles-of-bees-in-a-hive.html

All of a sudden it became clear to me why He was wanting me to research the HONEY BEE! Over the last few months, He has really been speaking to me about the importance of the body in the church. How we all play distinct roles within that body. Some people are able to fill multiple roles, but ultimately a thriving church has many people playing more specific roles. Many times people are unsure what their part is within that body, but just like within the hive He does have distinct roles for His people within the church.

So now your probably thinking okay Jessica, but what does this have to do with me? Great question. What is your role within the local body of believers? Do you have a task or job that you already do or that you know you should be doing? Are you completely clueless on what you should be doing?Maybe you don't even have a church that you attend and now your really looking at the screen like this doesn't even have anything to do with me. HA-HA. IT DOES! I promise. You see every person has something they are passionate about and something they are really good at. You hold within yourself the ability to change the world, okay maybe not the entire world, but maybe the world for one person! Find your place within the body of Christ, or find your place within your Community or find your place within your Family. Don't be afraid to let others see your hidden talents or fear that others will reject what you have to offer. No task is to small. Every part of our physical body has a purpose and a distinct job to do. We too have a distinct job or task to perform. Begin asking God what your part is. What He would have you do. Make it your goal in 2018 to find YOUR PURPOSE and begin living it out!

Maybe your a lot like me and you tend to take on 2082973863 tasks and jobs. Over the last year I realized I was pulling myself in so many directions that I began to lose my love for what I was doing and I had to let some things go so I could begin focusing on those things that really mattered. Don't be afraid to walk away from some things in your life. Maybe your season of doing that particular job is over and God has more important tasks or positions for you to fill. We can't allow ourselves to become afraid of living or change or transitions that we miss out on what He has for us. Remember HE already knows where you are headed, so just begin to trust Him to work it all out.

I look forward to seeing where God places all of us in 2018!

Have you been feeling God nudging you to new places? Do you desire to try something different? Do you need someone to align in prayer with you for smooth transitions? I am interested in hearing your thoughts! Let's dream, pray and game plan together!!!

With Love

Jessica