Java with Jennifer Journal

August 2009 Prayer Requests

I need your prayers - if you have time, will you please consider praying for me? Here is my prayer list for this month:
 
1.  Hero Dad is doing well-still dealing with some residuals of treatment.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart for praying for him and my sweet mother.  God heard and answered.

2.  We have several Fresh Grounded Faith Events in the Fall and I need prayer!  I want each of us on the FGF team to be filled with God's Spirit, rooted and grounded in love and used by God to fulfill His purposes.  Pray for us-we are all flawed and don't want to get in the way of His work.

3.  I am starting my writing in earnest on September 1!  I am excited, nervous and aware of how much I need God.  Please pray for insight, discipline and God's wisdom.  This is a Bible study about...well...the title isn't firm, but it deals with "Theodicy."  Tough subject.  When you know what "Theodicy" is, you know why I need prayer! 

  
Thanks friends for your generosity in praying with and for us.  I appreciate you so much. 

August 2009 Taste This!

What I Am In To Lately

 

Helen Hunt Jackson once penned," September days are here, with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer."  Well, I guess I've had it easy--I've had the best of weather and the best of cheer in August-before September has even arrived!
 
The month began in Charlotte, NC with my dear friend Lysa TerKeurst.  I got to be a part of "She Speaks," a great conference for speakers and writers sponsored by Proverbs 31 Ministries. I met so many incredible women and one was actually a beauty queen!  One of the perks of speaking there was wearing Mrs. North Carolina's sash!  (At least for the time it took to smile for a picture!)   
 
I also had a fun surprise when I met one of my Twitter buddies this month when we went to Knoxville!  Her name is Amanda but I know her best as @ammarkham.  We were in Knoxville for our Fresh Grounded Faith conference.  What a fantastic time!  Anita Renfroe made us roar with laughter.  She also encouraged us to rest with a thoughtful line in one of the songs she wrote when she sang," Dangle your feet off the edge of nowhere." I love that.  What a great picture of resting. Lysa TerKeurst told her story to the women in Knoxville and blew them away with her honesty and humor.  I love how she comforted and challenged the women--and me!  Michael O'Brien sang God's love over the ladies, and as usual, he was quite a big hit!  Any man who writes and sings songs about coffee is a true brew brother!  (He's also a Twitter buddy!)
 
This month, I'm reading The Blithedale Romance by written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1879. One of my all time favorite authors, Henry James, called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."  The basic setting is a communal farm called Blithedale, where four very unique people become a family group with all things in common.  Things start to erode because of the selfish behavior of some of the characters, and unfortunately end in tragedy.   What is capturing me, as usual, is Hawthorne's ability to create such convincing, endearing and curious characters.  The Blithedale Romance is a work of fiction based on Hawthorne's recollections of the six months he spent living at Brook Farm in 1841.  In the novel's preface, he describes his time there as "essentially a daydream, and yet a fact" which he uses as "an available foothold between fiction and reality." Knowing this, it's fun and intriguing to imagine Hawthorne as the actual narrator of this fascinating story.
 
Some of my best reading, though, comes in the form of 140 characters or less.  You guessed it--Twitter!  Seriously, if you don't use it yet, you should give it a taste test.  It's a fun way to stay connected and learn about people, life and God.  In fact, I copied just a few of my favorite tweets from the past month below for you to read.  These are just a few of the fab tweeters I follow:
 
SHOUTING at my keyboard, in a good way: "I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love." Psalm 59:16
@LizCurtisHiggs
 
Fear shields itself in excuses. @PatsyClairmont
 
I just woke up from an accidental nap on the sidelines of my son's football practice. I'm sure he wasn't embarrassed by that AT ALL. @cottrelltravis
 
I would love to count how many times in a day one of my family says, "Can I Twitter that?"  If you need to ask, the answer is probably "no."
@LisaWhelchel
 
God does ten thousand things in every deed.  Perhaps we know a dozen.  Maybe two.  But not enough to judge before he's through.
@Johnpiper
 
Happy is the girl who can express herself in 140 characters or less! Her husband can follow without distraction!
@jennrothschild
 
So, here's my last thought for you today, and I'll write it as a prayer tweet: Dear God, bless my sisters today as they follow You.  Give them clear thoughts and wise hearts.  May their faith be fresh and grounded.
 
 
Give these things a taste test:
1. Join Twitter! Come on, it's easy, free and fun.
2. Fresh Grounded Faith Conference--or a spiritual enrichment event for you and your girlfriends. We all need it.
3. Check out Anita Renfroe, Michael O'Brien and Lysa TerKeurst.
4. The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne

August 2009 Fresh Grounded Thoughts

What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately 

  
Our Connor lacks no drama in the way he expresses himself.  He's well into his second decade and he's learned to colorfully convey his personality.  He lugged himself to the breakfast table recently and plopped down in his chair.  His grand entrance was accompanied by a series of moans, whines and deep sighs.  I ignored his enunciation's for a while as I gave him cereal and juice.  He kept right on groaning.  I made some small talk and when he responded, he peppered his comments with several subtle and well-placed sighs. 
 
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.  "Connor," I corrected "Stop whining!"  It was clear he was waiting for me to take his bait, for his quick response was "Mom, I'm not whining.  I'm expressing my inner feelings!"  With that proclamation, he broke into a contented giggle and gulped down the rest of his Cheerios. 
 
We all have inner feelings and we all express them.  I've been considering how I express mine.  Some of us think we're not the "expressive" type.  We may think we just keep it all to ourselves and manage fine.  But I believe we all express our inner feelings whether we intend to or not.  So, it behooves us to consider how we express them.  If we don't intentionally express our feelings in a chosen and healthy way, our inner feelings will find expression in ways we may not intend, and they probably won't be healthy ways.  Headaches, skin irritation, sleeplessness, over-eating, and outbursts of anger or tears can be ways our bodies express the inner feelings we haven't allowed to be released. 
 
Not expressing emotion is not the same as controlling emotions.  Actually, refusing to deal with feelings is to ultimately be controlled by them. 
 
A famous playwright once wrote, "...I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them and to dominate them."  So, how do we use, enjoy and even dominate our emotions?  We do it by expressing them. 
 
First we express them to ourselves.  This means we don't just mindlessly react.  Rather, we put our feelings into words.  "I feel angry" or "I feel rejected."  Putting into words the illusive feelings that swirl around in our hearts makes them sit still for a moment so we can examine them, trace their origin, and let them lead us to truth.
 
Once we express to ourselves what the feelings are, we can then express them to God.  The psalmist said, "I rise before dawn and cry for help," and "Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord." (Psalm119:147, 130:1)   (See also Psalm 57:2, 77:1, 88:13, and 142:6.)  God wants us to express ourselves to Him.  Honesty leads to intimacy with Him and clarity for us.
 
If the feelings that are disturbing us are somehow related to someone in our lives, then we must express our feelings to them.  Expressing "feeling" statements go something like this: "I feel...when you...." They do not begin like this: "You are...." "You always...." or "You make me feel...."
 
When we express our feelings to others, we must be aware it could be messy and make us feel vulnerable.  The person we express our feelings to may disappoint us, so we must choose to express our feelings because it's the right thing to do, not just to make us "feel" better!  I'm learning to first express my feelings to myself and to God.  Sometimes, just talking to God and myself about my feelings eliminates the urgent need to express my feelings to others.
 
It's our responsibility to express our feelings, even if it's not easy or natural for us.  British novelist Thomas Hardy once quipped, "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs."  Even though the poet is right, language is the best mode of expression we've got, and we should use it to express our feelings-to ourselves, to God and (when appropriate) to others.  We can express in a Godly, wise and authentic way the feelings of our heart.  To acknowledge them to ourselves and then express them to God is to have control over what we do with our feelings, even if it's hard to control the feelings we have. 
 
"The individual increasingly comes to know who he is through the stand he takes when he expresses his ideas, values, beliefs, and convictions, and through the declaration and ownership of his feelings."  (Clark Moustakas)

Well, that's what's been percolating in me lately!

August 2009 Spill the Beans

You Ask It, I'll Answer It

 

Question:
What can I do to reinforce God's Word? I started your Bible study Fingerprints of God. I will do the homework and share in the study group, only to walk out of class and not be able to recall it.  I bought your book yesterday, Self Talk, Soul Talk, and I read in it exactly what happens to me--the enemy of my mind robs the seed that was sown, and then I begin to believe the word of how I will never be able to retain it. I have beaten myself up many times over this same issue.  My heart's desire is to live out what God's Word teaches. I clean out the closet only to realize the junk has overtaken the Word. Help!  I'm feeling defeated.
 
Janice
 
Answer:
Oh, my friend!  Don't beat yourself up for being human!  Your Heavenly Father wouldn't want you to do that!  It's tough to remember what you've learned--everyone struggles with that.  Maybe you could start applying some techniques that would help enhance your memory.
 
Here are some examples:
1. Write it down.  Write down what you want to remember.  When you read or hear something that ministers to you, copy it down in a journal or note card.  The exercise of transcribing it will reinforce it. Review it often.
 
2. Meditate upon it.  Seek to memorize Scripture and easy statements of truth.  Either write them on sticky notes and/or record them so you can hear them.  As you constantly review, you will naturally start to meditate upon it.  Take tiny bites!  Don't start with a ton...just one verse a week.  Also, I say memorize easy statements of truth along with, not as a substitute for Scripture, because sometimes that will serve to guide your thoughts.  For example, "Who I am and what I struggle with is not the same thing."  Or "I base my thoughts on what 'is' not what 'if."  Simple statements of truth will help guide your thinking and keep your mind clear to meditate on the verses you are seeking to memorize. 
 
3. Pray about it.  Ask God's Spirit to mentor your mind. He made your brain and He can help guide and focus your thoughts.  Each time you begin to study, read or discuss, ask Him to be your mentor and watch what He will do!
 
God gives all of us what we need for life and godliness, so trust Him and each time you feel defeated or frustrated, turn those emotions into fervent prayer.  You can do it!


And now the beans are officially spilled!