I Stand In Awe

If you read the Houston Chronicle today, February 25,2011, you saw that the Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas will be closing its doors this weekend. This blog does not have the space to describe the amazing things that the Lord did in the 40 years that God has been knitting lives together and showing His amazing grace,power, and love to people who attended that church. I went to the last Friday night service that will ever be held. I saw many faces of people that I have loved over those years. They continue to be a large part of my extended family. But, as much as we have loved the music and the mural that radiates a presence, the body of believers gathered still holds their gaze on the beauty of the living Christ. We worshipped God tonight afresh. He alone is worthy of all of our worship. He is not a building. He lives in the heart of every believer and I believe He was blessed by the outpouring of love that we gave to Him and to each other tonight. We all long for that great outpouring that is promised in the last days.I must repeat a prayer from Habakkuk 3:2 that I prayed in that same building 3 weeks before Billy went to be with Jesus........" Lord, I have heard of your fame;I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day and in our time make them known" I proclaim my excitement for the outpouring of His Spirit that He is getting ready the send to us. Thank you, Father. I love you, Jennifer

Count It All Nothing

I must tell you that the last few weeks have been amazing. I have experienced the presence of the Lord in worship like never before. It has been a gift from God that I am determined never to live without. Mind you, I have experienced many wonderful times with Him in the past and I have been very thankful for all the blessings, but these times have taken me to a place where I am getting a glimpse of what Paul was talking about in Phillipians 3:7-10 "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him ....I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." When we worship Him with everything we have and when we give ourselves to loving and serving and praying for others with the focus off of ourselves----that is when He reveals this amazing and glorious presence to us. Come on friends, don't settle any more for the things of this world. Count it all Nothing....Problems, things, money, pride.....ALL NOTHING
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I Hear You, Lord

Did you know that the Lord loves to tell His children what He is going to do? We need to be available to hear Him in any circumstance and then we will be positioned for amazing things. Jeremiah was in prison when he heard the Lord --" While Jeremiah was still locked up in jail,a second Message from God was given to him. This is God's message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God. 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own. ( Message Bible) As I sat in my small group at Jester 3 prison last night, I heard men, who by most appraisals have nothing to have hope for, spoke about the things that God had spoken to them. They all expressed their understanding of how much God loves them and uses them for others. They talked about miracle restorations in their families. Please remember that Jeremiah and my friends in prison heard God WHILE they were in prison. You and I need to focus on the presence and voice of God in the difficult times as well as the good times. What has He said to you today? Bless you, Jennifer

No Distractions

When God speaks to me, it seems like He takes me to visions of things that seem so far away that my initial reaction is to doubt that I really heard Him. This morning in my prayer and fasting time He said that Measuring lines have fallen on pleasant places and fair to me indeed is my inheritance. These words are out of Psalm 16. The struggles that presented themselves to me today didn't present themselves as "pleasant places" but God spoke again later in the day and said that as I love others all fear would leave because His perfect love will drive out all fear. My fear causes me to be distracted from the assignment that He has given me. He told me to stay faithful to the disciplines that will bring order - prayer,fasting, generosity, kindness and peace. Will you recommit with me today to repent and release all distractions from Loving Him and depending on Him for everything? He truly is our All In All.

Future Hope

The hardest place that we all find ourselves in is the place of hopelessness. circumstances in the last few years has made hopelessness, mine and maybe yours, a familiar companion. A new friend who happens to have my same name, Jennifer, said that Hope is the expectation that God is going to bring good things to you in the land of the living. I rejoice in the hope of eternal life, but have easily forgotten to believe for good things in this life. When I have contemplated on my many blessings then that demon of hopelessness runs from me. I am blessed with wonderful children and their spouses, I am blessed with beautiful grandchildren, and amazing friends. That demons returns when circumstances that cause pain don't change quickly enough. So today as when look forward to a new year, I am reminded of the wonderful lessons in Jeremiah 29. As I read in the NIV-Jennifer-"I know the plans I have you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart..I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity." Our future Hope can be found today if we seek Him with all our hearts. What a great gift for the new year--More awareness of the goodness,power and love of God in our lives. I bless you all to have more of Him than you can ask or imagine. Love you, Jennifer

Treasures

God is always revealing what is in our hearts. Sometimes the good and sometimes the not so good. Last night I was rewarded with a treasure that every Mom, Dad, Grandmother and Grandfather pray for. I saw the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my children and grandchildren. They gave me a beautiful James Avery ring,exactly like the one that was stolen 2 weeks ago during a robbery in my home. This ring is inscribed with the words " I am my beloved and He is mine". Billy gave this to me at Christmas 5 years ago. Tonight my children are revealing what is in their hearts,that they want to give selflessly, that even the grandchildren wanted to give from their piggy banks, that they honor the words that we are all His Beloved children. Please join me in rejoicing that my family belongs to the Lord. Even more, we are now connected to those people who broke into my house so please pray with me for them. Lord, I bless each person that meant me harm by breaking into my house and taking what was not theirs. Bless them with the Love that comes from knowing You and bless them the kindness that will lead them to repentence. Bless them with the greatest gift, the gift of salvation. Daddy, I know these children will come home to you. Thank you for faithfully answering our prayers.

He is My Shield

The enemy of my soul is relentless in trying to remind me of old fears or put new ones in my mind and emotions. It seems that he works overtime at Christmas. This week I became a victim, like so many others, of my house being broken into and my jewelry being stolen. The stolen items consisted of my wedding ring,my 40th anniversary ring, my last necklace given to me on Valentines Day just before Billy went home to be with Jesus. They represent precious memories and cannot be replaced. But, the greatest challenge has been the violation and loss of peace in my home and heart. In climbing this mountain of finding my new identity without my husband, I felt like I lost my footing this week. I have been encouraged by the prayers and concerns from friends and family so I have been sustained, but when I sat down to write this, I was reminded of the words Sister Adeline gave me. She counseled me shortly after Billy's death when I was barely breathing. She said "Interior pain is what happens when we are letting go of how we define ourselves. When we let go, we give God a spaciousness to re-define us." So I am letting this interior pain of fear and loss be taken to the feet of my Lord Jesus and He is re-defining me as a victorious child of God not a victum. We are more than conquerors in Christ and He strengthens us to keep moving up these mountains. I love you and Merry Christmas,Jennifer