Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just a few days around the corner, this verse caught my eye:

Colossians 2:7"Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."

Being brought up in a Christian home, I can relate, to an extent. We can abound in Thanksgiving when we relish in the faith of our youth. Why is that? Lack of confusion. Lack of doubting something you believed as a child. I think of how badly it messed me up, thank God the results lessen everyday, to have my parents divorce and then to have the man my mother loved torn from my life around six years later. I began to rely on both these men, only to see them flee from my life and hardly look back except a time or two. I'm not blaming them, nor do I want sympathy, I'm using it as an example of why when I became an adult, I heartily refused the idea of a safe, loving, dependent marriage. "No way," I thought. I'd take my chances as a single woman in a world where that behavior was acceptable. But what was I doing to my heart in the mean time? I was denying the truth and that will make you do some backwards things. 

For example, I love kids, but every time I saw a child when I was at the grocery store or movies, I would claim I could NEVER be a mother. "Eew, yuck, ouch, nooo," said I. Not me. I had all these maternal qualities, but the idea of settling down with a man? No thank you. And, why? Because I had hardly ever seen a good example of what a loving relationship really was. I saw heartache and kids who were produced and seemingly just got in the way. Never would I be the one to introduce a child into the world. I'm telling you, that childhood of mine had done me over!

However, it wasn't all bad. I was raised as a Christian. I prayed a lot as a little kid. I was about nine or so when I did my first fast. Regardless of the fact that I broke it around 5:30 when I saw some mint chocolate chip ice-cream in the freezer, I loved God. I loved dedicating my life to God and having a purpose, having someone to talk to! Crazy as that sounds, I didn't have many people who I felt saw me, if that makes sense. Obviously, an omnipresent God is just the one to fill that void which is why I am extremely thankful for His existence! 

It's interesting to me too, the verse that comes next. Verse 8 goes:

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
That was exactly what happened to me when I went away to college! I saw couples who lived together and didn't support the sanctity of marriage. I saw families created out of wedlock and "it was fine." I saw a whole bunch of this and fleeting happiness, but no answers to the questions I had had as a child. Slowly but surely my faith started to be chipped away, but coming back to Christ has made a world of difference and I'm determined to share my story if it means saving anyone else the heartache if they think they have to do it all by themselves or that no one loves them. Loving God allows me to love others, regardless of what I knew from my examples. Thats why I was finally able to get married and look forward to starting a family. God loves us and thats more than enough to be thankful for this holiday season!
Love sincerely,
Jenn

Just Another Wednesday Morning.

I was able to spend the night beside my husband. I'm extremely thankful for that. The word says that when two lay together they will keep each other warm. It's good to know that such a blessing as getting to know another human so intimately is biblical and sanctioned by God! I feel blessed by that and I'm excited as I get into this blog. It's something I've been thinking about in light of the recent presidential election. As someone who lives in a household full of Republicans, and is surrounded by Republicans in general, I knew how much Romney was supported by those with Christian values. To say the least, the selection of Obama for a re-election was less than thrilling, some expressed this in a more optimistic approach while others claimed "fire and brimstone" would be coming down on our country. This isn't a conversation about any other person's reaction, except mine. Forgive me for the focus, but I'm not sure a blog written about someone else would be too successful, or authentic. I'm not interested in the opinions of others, but it was helpful to range what I so strongly felt upon hearing the news.

Obama takes the vote.
Hm.
I wasn't surprised.
I had a feeling that Christians weren't coming together enough (myself included!). It seemed like apathy had overtaken the Republic* nation and confusion had caused most voters to give up on voting entirely. Others still point to "obvious" corruption going on in Philadelphia where out of 29 districts not one vote went to Romney. As he* put it, "There would have been at least one looney who put Romeny down on a ballot. It was rigged." I can't say I disagree. 

There was something besides boredom when I heard that Obama had been re-elected. I thought, "Good." Let's see what he can do for this nation. Let's see what the mighty wave of God has in store, that through a man who spouts corruption, see the Petraeus Scandal, God will move in a mighty way in this nation. I know that America needs to make a change. I know that many are against the "Socialist" approach to healthcare, but I'm one who is against selfishness and the independence that is causing so many people to be lost and unsaved. I'm taking my examples from the Bible. Look what the people did when anything needs to be done in their city. They come together. They pull resources. They do jobs they weren't doing before. And at the end, they come together and do their rejoicing.  

Ezra 3: 11And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.


In 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 Hezekiah goes throughout Judah doing "what was good and right and faithful before his Lord God." And because "he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly...he prospered."

Let's do that. Regardless of the outcome of the election, let's all continue working hard to do the work that God has called us to do and let's continue believing that He has a plan for all things. That no president is going to overcome God's great plan for us. That even the most corrupt kings in the Old Testament had a change of heart. Manasseh reportedly ranked near the top in a list of corrupt kings, but in 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, "he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God." There could be that kind of movement and if not, they were ousted. Nothing is impossible for him who believes, and I can see a great opportunity for God's love and light to shine. For his arm to move in a way that no man can imagine. It's all going to be good and God! Amen. <3 

We do need to come together though and work. We can see in Acts, Chapter 11, Verse 29 and 30 that "the disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. They did this sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul."

Wow. Really? The disciples (1)came together and (2)decided to help their (3)
brothers and sisters.
1. Can we come together? Can we lay aside our differences and just pull together to give what extra we do have? I have an awesome visual of that. It looks something like a Thanksgiving dinner open to the community on Thursday morning. It looks like people paying what they can to get a larger building built that would house not just our congregation, but any visitors that were able and all in one service so as to not burn out our pastor. 
2. They decided. They made a conscious decision to help. That's what it needs to be, after all. We all want the Holy Spirit to guide us, to tell us how much to give precisely. At least, I did. I stopped doing a Holy Spirit "check" each time the offering went around because it was always a number higher than the one I was holding onto in my mind. I'm not the best at giving generously. I'm working on it. But we have to decide to give, something, anything. They gave, meaning they gifted. If it comes from us as a gift, as a generous desire to help another, don't you think it will inevitably be just right? Maybe not. Maybe you think what you have to give is not good enough, but don't look at it that way. Think about what God can do when we give. He can make fish and loaves more than enough, He can make our offerings far exceed the desired amount.

Lastly, third, the disciples helped their "brothers and sisters." I know for sure I haven't been seeing all Americans as my brothers and sisters, but what if we did? Would that change the way we donated? It would for me, I know that for sure.
I want to stop holding on with fear, with hesitation, questioning whether or not my money, or time, is going to the right place and is going to be appreciated. I even think it would have been hard for to send my gift with Barnabas and Saul, for fear they would spend it along the way on their journey. I'm that way. But I don't want to be. I want to give and give graciously. I want to be that kind of person that my brothers and sisters know they can count on, for anything. God please make a mighty work in me, change my heart to desire what you do, to make decisions that you would have me to make, that the disciples made seemingly effortlessly. Amen.

In Hezekiah's word, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged...for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us fight our battles" (vs 7-8a).

"And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said" (vs 8b). May it be so with us. May our great nation be blessed. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us as we join together in community and find strength in numbers. I know I'm stronger after my marriage, and that was just adding one to my little life circle. Imagine what we all can do!
Have a blessed day!
Sincerely,
Me!<---Jenn :)
Jenn

Christ's Love is a Symphony

Can you believe He died for you and me?
Not backing down, if it means bringing you into eternity.
Saving your soul from an enemy;
whose ways are real, he's constantly attacking me.

But when I've had enough,
when my vision gets cloudy and the rain starts becoming reality,
I realize I need to run to the King
because He saves me consistently.

There's an image He wants us to have,
one of beauty and grace,
in His arms; my resting place.

The world only offers confusion,
a place where you are comfortable losing,
a daily battle or struggle,
and never gaining control,
but when you give your life to the one and only, Christ.
He makes all of it change, He does away with the strife.

We can live for eternity, bow to the savior, get to know Him by name,
put a fire inside you, an instant flame,
that the world will be drawn to,
so instead of me saving you, it will be the people who you
bring to the Cross, giving hope to the lost.

Turn them away from an enemy,
who threatens their perspectives of life and of love and of beauty.
He came down to save me, He came down in His glory,
He came down so that we could live out our lives
to His beautiful symphony.

November Second

First of all, Happy Birthday to my step-dad!  Not sure of his exact age, but I'm pretty sure that's acceptable as we age, isn't it? I'm not really firm on that fact and my conscience is telling me, "Noo..."

The second point comes from the book I'm reading recently, Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado.
His words,

"When you and I crest Mount Zion and hear the applause of saints, we'll realize this: hands pushed us up the mountain too. The pierced hands of Jesus Christ, the greatest servant who ever lived" (page 135).

So, on November second I'm thankful for all of the hands that have pushed me up the mountain. Some have been obvious life-players, such as my mom or friends, but others were those who smiled at me and reminded me to do the same or opened up into an extraordinarily intimate conversation as if we had known each other for years while in reality we sat patiently "next" in line.

This life is so beautiful, when we have the time to sit and look around at it. Whether it is a moment of reflection while you are driving home in traffic or the silent moments between wrings as you wash out your latest "special wash" t-shirt.

I'm not saying we should stop and ponder all the miracles of life in every moment we have to ourselves, but enjoy them when they come. They are frequent, sometimes far between. I can't explain the variance. God gives them to us in seasons, so as we approach the holidays, lets all be thankful for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don't. I want to be thankful for the love and joy I get to glean from others. I'm thankful for my health and my time together on this Earth with all of you. I'm thankful for my life and the endless chances I've been given to relive it. I'm thankful for love and it's endless possibilities. I'm thankful for friendships that continue to take me by storm and I'm thankful for the book that someone I love placed in my hands that has brought me to this very moment when I am able to write down the words as they come into my mind. I'm thankful for all of that and now I'm wondering what I'll be able to come up with tomorrow since I was planning to list my list only day by day :)

Good night everybody. I hope you had a blessed day and that God continues blessing you and revealing how extremely special and valued you are in His eyes and how deeply He cares for each and every one of us.

Love,
Jennifer Lynn Cotham.