God is sooo good. All the time. And that's not just a cliche.

If God hadn't blessed us the way He has, He would still be good. It is simply His nature. He is a great, awesome God. But He does blesses us, far beyond what we could ever dream up.

I still can't wrap my head around two things that God has done this past week. As I type this post, I'm thinking, "This stuff has really happened? ... Wow!"

Story #1: My church started ... eight? years ago, and we have never had a building of our own. It's been a long story of rented space, leaky roofs, and the discovery of what thankfulness and resourcefulness truly is.

Recently, we found a church building for sale. Estimated value: $430,000. Asking price: around $230,000. Our bid, after much prayer: $100,000.

God gave it to us.

Story #2: My sis and I had a sub job for six months, and hoped to get the job permanently. It didn't work out, but I know that God wanted us to have the job for the short time that we had it. Two people that we interacted with and witnessed to of God's goodness died this past month. (Good grief!) So thankful that God gave us the courage to tell them about Him, and also for the fact that He wanted them to turn to Him even more than we wanted them to.

January has been interviews, striving to trust God, and a lot of hoping. Beginning of this week, we were able to work at a seasonal job we've worked at for the last coupla years. I was thanking God for opening up this opportunity for us, even if nothing else works out. It's something.

We found out Friday that God gave Sarah the job that she hoped to get after our sub job fell through.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :))))

Knowing that God is good (all the time), that He knows best, and that He wants only the best for my life, is huge. If I truly want His perfect will for my life, then He will keep me in His perfect will, lead me in the way which I should go, and keep me from things that don't fit with His plan (even though they seem to fit perfectly with mine). I believe that if these doors had not opened, for my family and my church, it would be only because God had something much, much better in mind.

The same goes for crushes, relationships ... The key is get God in the centre of our lives and keep Him there.

Kinda like a lazy susan. If I put the honey pot (the biggest thing) right in the centre, with the salt and pepper shakers and the sugar bowl (smaller things) surrounding it, the lazy susan will revolve the way it should. If I set the honey pot off to the side and put the salt in the middle, the whole thing's going to be cockeyed and will eventually tip.

Same thing goes for our lives. If God is in the centre, everything else will fall into its place, and our ideals, thought processes, and beliefs will be right, because it will all be filtered through God. If something else, like a boyfriend or the want of one, is in the centre of our lives and we set God off to the side, then it's going to tip and be a mess. There's a saying--something like, "There's a God-shaped hole in your heart that nothing else can fill."

Another thing that hit me about all this: God heard the prayers, saw the needs, and provided. To remember this, next time I'm hurting about something that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it still hurts. God still listens, still hears when I'm crying out to Him, when my heart is hurting, and I can't even sort out the questions, never mind the answers.

"Thus saith the Lord the Maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is His name: 'Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not!'"

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man" (couldn't dream it up in my wildest if I tried) "the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Thrilled, thankful, and hopeful,

Jenn

I, too, zee nussing ... no speed limit signs, no parking brake, no logical conclusions ... Gahhhhhh!

Well, thank You, God, for restoring my sense of humour. Somewhat.

You know the stuff that happens that doesn't make sense? If God lets some nasty little things happen for a good reason, somehow fitting together divine jigsaw puzzle pieces, then I'm game. Truly. It doesn't make sense to question God, squinting from my crack in the door, when He is looking out the bay window; and when He lets you see a glimspe through the bay window, it's easier to take said nasty stuff. It's when He keeps you posted at the crack in the door that it gets tough. I just. Don't. Get it!

"We plan for success, and try to pass the pain right by.
But it just doesn't work that way; God has a different plan.
He works in ways we never see, beyond the scope of man.

"When the journey takes a detour unexpectedly,
And I try to accept and understand what it all means;
When I'm pressed to show the world what I really believe,
I WILL trust You, Lord, with my life."

And by His grace, I will hang in there with my teeth, and tackle this thing until it's off the list!

Determined,
Jenn

Whoops, okay, maybe I should've explained something. You might've looked at the previous post, and thought, "Well, what does that have to do with being ecstatically single?"

Let me clarify, here and now, that there is no such thing as "Ten Steps to ..." No matter what any slick problem-solver may tell you. "Follow these ten steps, and you will become filthy rich. Happily married. Irresistibly beautiful." And then they have the nerve to add, "Trust me!" (You know the tone.)

I'm truly sorry to anounce that becoming ecstatically single--or anything else worthwhile--isn't done in ten steps. I've tried it. If it worked, I would try to change every preacher out there from using a three-point outline to using a ten-point outline every time he climbed up behind the sacred desk. And congregations world-wide would be seeking my life.

It's a process. Made up of, I believe, a few biblical principles, and a lot of God's grace, manifested in   quirky-cool stuff that only gets you through one day (and is only meant to get you through one day) and awesomely precious bits of truth. Like praying for the people around you and truly meaning it. And truly treasuring your throne-room time.  One of the biggest problems I have to face as a single person is believing I'm the only one with problems. When I get my mind off me and onto others, and the Problem-Solver, everything starts to look better almost immediately. Don't believe me? Try it.

Jenn

Thot for Today: Pray like it was you

How many times have I prayed for someone along these lines?

 "God, bless So-and-so ... yawwwn ... excuse me,  and meet her needs. Amen. There, I've done my duty bearing her burden."

When I ask for prayer for something heavy on my heart, I'm certainly not thinking thirty seconds of McPrayer. I'm thinking of night-long seasons. How fair is that?

Buddy Blunkall once preached on Philippians 2:3-5: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." His thought, which hit me between the eyes, was (pardon any inaccurate quoting), "Pray for the person as if it was yourself. As if you had just lost your job. As if someone dear to you had died. As if you were the one hurting."

Puts it into a whole new light, doesn't it? I would not be saying the suggested prayer above if my mom had died. I would be so deep in grief that I would be depending on Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the caring people around me to lift me up before God.

It is a great responsibility to intercede, yet a great privilege. To know that, when I'm in the right standing with God, He longs to hear from me, and I have access to His throne-room. And because of my prayers, He moves. That's humbling. Since it's true, why would I waste precious throne-room time mumbling the expected cliches and never saying Amen because I drifted off to sleep out of complete boredom?

Challenged,
Jenn

Speaking of ecstatically, I'm so glad this blog is finally up and running. After a lot of key-pounding, finger-nail-chewing, and under-the-breath-muttering. This girl is no techno-whizz, so I'm very thankful for a sis who explains the many buttons and gadgets in layman's terminology, and for a personality that despises change for the most part (meaning that I won't have to relive the heartache for at least half a year). To make up for the constantly same background, I might post a different blinkie each month.

I am hoping that God will allow me to be a blessing in your life. I am going to try to regularly share what God has given me; whether it be a huge lesson for which I am forever grateful, or a saying, verse, or thought that has made my day that little bit more special.

As we all know, one voice droning on for an unbroken period of time can be trying; so step up, break the monotony ...

SAY SOMETHING!

Anticipatingly excited,
Jenn