Good gurief! What to write about? Not because there is nothing, but because there is so much to write about. It's gotta be short and sweet, because I am strapped for time, so ...

Roight, then, that narrows it down. :)

My mum and sister got me a book called It's (not that) Complicated, written by two sisters, Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin. The sub-title is: "How to Relate to Boys in a Healthy, Sane, and Biblical Way." Only a few chapters into it, but so far it's a good read. It's well-written, meets the reality-check, and has laugh-out-loud humour in it (which always wins me over).
One thing that jumped out at me is making one choice at a time (roughly put, because I don't have the book on hand at the mo).When I look at the long-distance view of guys and relationships, and doing right in every single situation, it gets a bit overwhelming. But they talk about pleasing God one glance, one reaction, one conversation at a time; each time asking one's self, "Am I going to please God or my flesh?" If only I remembered this 24/7! It's too easy to get caught up in life, in loneliness and desires, and forget what's really important.

Thought-provoking quote: "Don't sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the temporal."

Speaking of choices, a lady, while speaking to a group of girls, said, "For every one of you girls in this room, there are three men who want to marry you." (Ooooh! lol) "The devil's choice, your choice, and God's choice."

Wow.

Sobered,
Jenn

Hey, did y'all have as good a Valentine's Day as I did? ;).

God was sooo good. He put some people on my heart to reach out to, and gave me the courage to do it. And I wouldn't trade the tight, sincere hug from one of my coworkers, the sweet card from my mom, or the home-made steak dinner chock-full of love (and flavour) from my dad for anything.

No, I'm not superwoman. Yes, the excitement wore off, and ... it hurt. But then God in His precious, guiding way gave me this personal message. Here are fragments of it:

"Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.
  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
  How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? Ye shall be slain, all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence ..." (thinking of these enemies as the evil powers of darkness that want to break down my trust in God and destroy His good work in my life ....?)
"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved." (I love how the
  certainty grows.)
"In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
  Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.
  God hath spoken once: twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
  Also unto Thee, oh Lord, belongeth mercy ...

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee  in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth ...

But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped."  (Psalms 62 and 63) Blessed ... and LOVED! :D Jenn

Quick freebie: Did you know that the font on here is called--no kidding--"Covered By His Grace"? Cool, huh?

Point: Let God minister to you through the little things. :)

Looking for 'em,
Jenn

Hey, guys, it's the third of February, and guess what that means?  Yeeah, eleven days until Valentine's Day!

Uh huh, you better believe this important announcement belongs on "Ecstatically Single." Because it's not just a couple's holiday anymore. I revolutionized it. :D

 Never thought much of the day, until a couple years back, when God started teaching me about His awesome love. He planted the thought in my heart: "Who says it has to be a celebration of love between a man and a woman? Isn't God's love much greater than any other existing love?"

Then He began to bring names to mind. The first year, it was mostly single women that I knew whose husbands or boyfriends had left them, or died; or girls my age who were hurting. I could imagine how hard the holiday was for them, and asked God to show me how I could point them in His direction.

On Valentine's Day, my sis (God bless her for supporting my random schemes) and I snuck out at 5:00 a.m. and played Santa Claus, minus the soot-filled chimneys. We actually put together a system: one of us would sneak up to the target house (bewaring of yappy dogs, creaky doors, and scare-the-devil-outta-you motion lights) and hang a gift bag (containing a mugful of candies, a box of chocolates, or a  luxury bath set, along with a verse about God's love) on the doorknob; while the other one drove around the block, prayed, and tried to look normal, waiting for the phone call signalling, "Mission accomplished" or "I need a ride outta here fast."

It was amazing. God blessed people through it. Some people couldn't figure out who had done it, and they called my mom. "You won't believe what I found in my mailbox; I can't figure out who did it." Mom, bless her heart, was like, "Really? That's strange ..." :)

 I've been doing it ever since. Not sneaking out at 5:00 a.m., but making Valentine's Day into a special day of spreading God's love and being a tool that He can use to encourage those who are hurting. I pray that God will lay the people on my heart that He wants me to minister to, and how I should do it. And then the shopping ... Shopping's cool, period; but shopping for this whole scheme is a BLAST!

My Sunday school teacher and I also started a Valentine's Party at our church along the same lines. It's not designed to be a romantic night out, but a time that we as a church can invite the people we  care about in for a fun night with good food, games, and a solid message about God's love for them.

Well, how 'bout it? Why don't we switch this thing up? No waiting around for a dozen red roses from some unknown admirer this year; no feeling sorry because I can't wear a pretty dress while holding a gorgeous guy's hand. Let's think beyond that, and spread God's love: the love that is always sufficent, the love that never stops.

Hugs,

Jenn

XOXO ;)

P.S. Stumbled across this video on Youtube ... They nailed it.



I finally made my mind about something ...

How do I explain this?

You know how's there's some girls who don't have to do a single thing, and guys are tripping over each other to but touch the hem of their garments? There's other girls who spend fifteen extra minutes on their hair, clothes, and makeup, and they're lucky if their best friend notices ... yeeah, that's me. And sometimes it really sucks.

I don't want to sleep around with guys. I don't want to flirt around with them. I don't even want to date steady for years and then break up. I want God to send Mr. Awesome along, marry him, and raise a pack of Little Awesomes. And sometimes, with all due respect, I wish God would give him a good one in the back pocket so he'd move faster in my direction.

So when girls who aren't serious get the choice of practically any guy they blink at, including some really good happily-ever-after material, it kinda stings. I know I gotta watch out for pride at this point; cuz pride is basically saying, "Hey, I deserve that attention. Not her." But after I've kicked pride out the window, it can still hurt. Because everything is happening to her. And nothing is happening to me. And the first question that comes to mind is, "What's wrong with me?"

And then God started bringing some other things to mind the other day. Like, it's hard enough to stay focused some days. How would it be if there were a flock of guys? Seriously, can you picture it? "Is that the one, God? How 'bout that one.... Ooooh, that one!" Boy oh boy.

Then He spoke to me through a message in His Word: "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that trust in Him." Often, I've read the verse, thinking of protection from physical harm; but why could it not also mean this? If I fully trust in God, He will be a shield to me, from anyone but Mr. Awesome.

Why not? God wants His perfect best for me, even more than I do. I don't want a good marriage; I want an awesome marriage. And it's not going to be awesome if God's Mr. Awesome isn't in the equation.

So, if no other guy gives me a second glance from here on out, may I thank You for Your protection, my God, my shield (!); and may I trust You to plan my future better than I ever would. May I not bog down in self-pity or hurt, but wait with excited anticipation for Mr. Awesome. Not happily ever after; but hey, let's carry the "ecstatically" part on, shall we? ;)

Excitedly anticipating, :D
Jenn