Apologies...

So sorry for the lack of blogging lately! I promise to get some stuff posted next week! I love you all!
***Jess

The REAL St. Patrick...what a guy!

So...St. Patrick's Day is TODAY.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED!

This is a recent love for a Holiday that I have acquired in the last 3 years or so. My friend Sharon (Sharonius) always used to go out and celebrate St. Patty's like crazy which got me to thinking...what the heck is St. Patty's all about? So, I began to research St. Patrick and found out he was totally an awesome dude. On fire for God like crazy. Here's some interesting "St. Patrick facts":


1. St. Patrick was actually not Irish. He was born in Britain, and he died in Ireland March 17, 461AD.

2. At the age of 14 he was kidnapped by Pirates, sold into slavery, & imprisoned for six years. During this time, he had a dream, given to him by God that he was to be in the ministry.

3. He escaped to France, and joined a monastery.

4. There were 33 documented people raised from the dead by St. Patrick (through the Lord of course), and this is an excerpt from records about the miracles of St. Patrick: "For the blind and the lame, the deaf and the dumb, the palsied, the lunatic, the leprous, the epileptic, all who labored under any disease, did he in the Name of the Holy Trinity restore unto the power of their limbs and unto entire health; and in these good deeds was he daily practiced. Thirty and three dead men, some of whom had been many years buried, did this great reviver raise from the dead, as above we have more fully recorded."

5. Not only was he totally on fire for the Lord, St. Patrick was a great missionary bishop who converted a whole land from paganism, overturning the religion of the druids. He consecrated 350 bishops, erected 700 churches, and ordained 5,000 priests. In less than 30 years the greater part of Ireland was Catholic; St. Patrick so consolidated it in the Christian faith that during the Protestant Revolt Ireland was almost unique in its preservation of the Faith.

See what I mean? It's such an exciting Holiday for me! I love hearing about the great men of God throughout time. Even though its been commercialized and alot of people use the Holiday as an excuse to go out and get sloshed, I like to look at it as an awesome time to see what God did through a man who as completely in love with Him and willing to do whatever it took to tell people about God!

Kiss me I'm Irish!
Jess

Fly like an eagle

"But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired."
-Isaiah 40:31 AMP

Man I was tired this morning! I didn't want to get out of the bed! I hit snooze a few times, and groaned because I had to get up. Now I'm at work, and I'm still tired. This verse is for me today. God promises that if we "expect, look for, and hope in Him" He has all the strength we need. So much strength that we can fly!

Remember Misty, my weenie dog? She was definitely EXPECTING, WAITING, and HOPING. Even if she was tired, she was giving it her all until she saw Kev's return. Even if we're tired, we should be giving it our all for Him. When we do this, He gives us strength to do great things, but here's the kicker, He gives us HIS strength. Not just more of our own, but HIS supernatural God strength is in us, and because of this we can do mightier things than we ever dreamed of. We have been given so much strength that no only can we do what we've been called to do, but we won't even get tired doing it. Let me say that again: WE WON'T EVEN GET TIRED. God is so good! Spend time in his presence today. Hope in Him, wait on Him, expect Him, and you will soar with eagles!

***Jess

A light in dark places

"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." -Isaiah 60:1 (NKJV)

This verse has recently been brought to my attention. At first, it's easy to take it at face value and think, "Yay! get up early in the morning, worship God, He's shining on me!" And there's nothing wrong with that thought, but as I have recently been made aware, that's only half of it. Let's look at it from a different version:

"ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you--rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!" (AMP)

Let's dissect this. The first part of this verse: ARISE. That means, get up, dust yourself off. It doesn't matter what life or people have thrown at you or onto you. Get up from your beaten down position and MOVE. If you lay in the same spot, your circumstances will NEVER change.

The second part of this verse: SHINE. Not only is God shining on you, but He shines His light on you, so you can turn around and shine for Him! Think of it like a mirror. When you shine a flashlight into a mirror, you get an exact replica of the flashlight's light shining back onto the flashlight. But what's more, you can direct that mirror to shine light in other areas of the room to illuminate that area. That's awesome! God (the flashlight) is shining on us (the mirror) so we not only can show forth His light to others, but be an EXACT reflection of His light and glorify Him with it!!

Choose today to be "radiant with the glory of the Lord". Get up, move, make something happen. Don't let life beat you down, keep you there, and make you useless because of guilt, lethargy, depression, or anger. That's just what Satan wants, is to make you of no effect in your world. There are people out there in the dark who need to have God's light in their life. Be that beacon in the darkness and show them what you've been made of!

***Jess

02/11/2010 - True beauty

"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation." -Psalm 149:4

It's easy to read this verse and think it's an automatic "beauty recipe". You might say to yourself, "Hmmmm... if I get saved God's gonna make me fiiiine. I can have any chick or dude I want!" Ahem, No. However, think about it this way: Those that are humble and seek God out become more attractive to people that are searching for the Truth. When you immerse yourself in God and His ways, you become more like Him, which in turn makes you a people magnet. People that need the love of God will come out of the woodwork to be around you and ask you questions. The more brightly you burn for Him, the more you shed light on things that people know they need to change in their lives and therefore they will seek you out to find out how to make those changes. Not to mention, when you focus on God, He makes you totally attractive in all the right ways for the one he has for you. When we were younger, even when we were just friends, I always loved the fact that Kevin was so passionate about God and worshipping Him. That was totally hot to me. The reason is because Kev immersed himself in God. He wanted to be more like Jesus all the time, and since I was the one for him, it drew me to him.

God wants to make you beautiful (or handsome, guys) from the inside out. But the key is, you've got to press into the Presence of God. Just reading a daily devotion isn't enough. Just listening to Christian music isn't enough. Just praying over your meals isn't enough. Those are good starting places, but there must be a progression. I'm talking about getting on your face and sucking some rug. I'm talking about worshipping Him more passionately and more desperately that you ever have before. I'm talking about applying the Word in your life. :) You've got to pray and seek out God and all His ways. It's a commitment, but He deserves nothing less!

Be made beautiful!

***Jess

02/08/2010 - Snow, beautiful snow!

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."
-Psalm 139:14

God is so amazing! Did you wake up this morning and see the beautiful snow? I LOVE IT! One of my favorite things about snow is going outside when it's still snowing and looking at the snowflakes that land on my coat. Have you ever done that? If you haven't, try it sometime. It's mind blowing. Each tiny snowflake is so beautiful and intricately made, and each and EVERY snowflake is different. Think about how many billions of snowflakes it takes to make just an inch or two of snow, and each one is unique! God cares enough to put that kind of detail into a snowflake that is here one minute and gone the next.

How much more special are you to Him than a snowflake?

Food for thought. Enjoy your snow day!!

***Jess

02/06/2010 - Weenie dogs and expectant hearts

"Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them."
-Luke 12:37

This verse makes me think of our weenie dog, Misty. When Kevin leaves, she never stops moving. She paces the floor, she goes to the front door and aggressively sniffs at it, she whimpers, she whines, she scratches the door, she does tricks. She would rip the door off it's hinges to follow him if she was physically capable. Her whole world is wrapped up in waiting for him. Her expectation is completely focused on his return and being excited and pleasing to him when he walks in the door.

Why the heck do we let a weenie dog outdo us?

We have such a better Master than a human one like Kevin. Jesus specifcally told us to be found watching for His return. Like Misty, we should be watching, waiting, expecting, and excited about our Master's return and be focused on Him and His Kingdom more than anything else. Our hearts should be so desperate to see Him again that we let it consume our lives and our thoughts. If we focus on the Father our attitudes and our hearts will begin to reflect His. We will begin to put His desires in front of our own and long to please Him with our lives. Seek the Master, watch for His return. Focus on His heart and pleasing Him above anyone else. Don't be outdone in devotion by a 8 lb. weenie dog! :-)

***Jess