monday updates: Week 7

Monday, July 27, 2009 – Week 7

…Of the Weeks:

Song: “Lord of Lords” – Hillsong [this song is a repeat but it’s just too good…if you haven’t listened to it yet, please do!!]

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

Verses: Psalm 119:36-37

Hello everyone!

I truly cannot believe it’s Monday again.

I don’t know how your summer is going, but mine is starting to fly by desperately faster.

It’s definitely a reminder to keep from wasting moments and to be more intentional.

Thank you so much to those of you who have written me back this past week…it is always so uplifting to hear from you.

Please continue to write back when you have the chance J

1. Prayer request- Elle Kernitz

2. Update- Jessica Eubanks

3. God’s love

4. me

5. you

1. I would really like to start this email with a prayer request for my roommate of the last two years, Elle. She had been working as a camp counselor for the past two or three weeks at a music camp in New York. A few days ago, she was in a motorcycle accident and broke her femur. She immediately had surgery to put a permanent metal rod in her leg. It is completely God’s doing that she sustained no other injuries and that she is even still alive. However, she is stuck in New York for now and will go through rehab. Her mom flew out to be there with her and she has a very trusting attitude that God is going to work through this. As you can imagine, though, the next few weeks are going to be really hard for her. Please keep her in your prayers.

Also, if you would like to send her a card or anything, I do have her mailing address in New York. Just let me know. J

2. A few weeks back, Jess (Jack-Jack) asked for prayer over her grandparents. Her grandma had just gotten out of the hospital for chest pains while her grandpa had a bad fall on the concrete at his farm, fracturing vertebrae and causing swelling in his spinal cord that threatened paralysis in his neck and right side. Here is her update:

God is always good! grandpa is regaining some of his strength! he has begun to take steps and he can now move his fingers!--and best of all he is giving ALL credit to GOD! he has stepped into a deeper faith and more expressive love for God! he said he didn't think he ever fully accepted Jesus in his heart, so he prayed and did it for real this time...praise God!!!!! God has also blessed the household....the church provided 2 handicapped bathrooms and a wheelchair ramp for my grandparents!

grandma- well, she is tired, but still pressing! they found out she has dementia, so praise God that they found it early so they can delay the effects! she has taken steps toward a deeper relationship with God as well!

3. What does God’s love mean to you? What are some experiences, instances in your life when you have witnessed God’s love firsthand? Are there any songs, movie scenes, dances, books, poems that have ever given a good example of God’s love to you? If anything comes to mind, please share it with me and I’ll post it in the next email.

4. I know I have been building walls up against God lately and with each day, I have been feeling more and more powerless. I know God is drawing me back to Him and I have yet to spend some good quality time with Him. I need to push away from my humanity and be with Him once more. I know a breakthrough is coming soon, but I need to keep seeking Him.

5. Hi! I hope you are doing well. Take some time off this week and give time to yourself. Maybe take your iPod and sit in a relaxing place. Go cruising around town with no agenda. Take a journal to a busy place and people watch. Go to the library and find a section of books related to your passions and just sit and read. Go swimming. Go running. Do something fun! And give yourself some rest. J

lovelovelove

jeanette

monday updates: Week 6

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 – Week 6

…Of the Weeks:

Song: “Do You Realize?” –The Flaming Lips

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVDGu82FeQ

Verses: James 5:13-18

Hey guys!

Sorry for this late edition of the Monday updates…I had a pretty busy weekend with a family picnic and a music festival. It was all super fun but I neglected to write this email update. I will make this one short and sweet because I want you guys to do some of the talking back. So if you could reply back to me this week, I would love it so much!

1. The event

2. How deep the Father’s love for us…

3. me

4. you

1. Let’s keep praying for Love Revolution itself and for the people involved in the planning. Right now, I myself am feeling worried about how fast November is coming, but I know it’s because I haven’t been spending enough time praying and planning and coming to the Lord. Please pray fervently for Love Revolution this week and then hand the baton to God, giving Him our full trust and listening ears.

2. So, like I told you last week, I’ve been re-reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Josh Harris. Last week in my reading, a quote by Randy Alcorn got me thinking again. The quote read, “Character is what you are in the dark when no one but God is watching. Anyone can look good in front of an audience or even in front of their friends. It’s an entirely different thing to stand naked before God, to be known as you truly are on the inside.”

I’ve been doing so much self-reflection and examination lately that this quote really got to me. I know my character contains so many inconsistencies. It’s easy to have a well of patience when I am talking to someone I’ve just met or someone I want to make a good impression on or even my friends, but I know I don’t give my parents that same well… I revert to an automated attitude of annoyance and impatience. The same goes for serving. I easily serve my friends, my campers and co-workers, even my extended family, but it is not always my first instinct or desire to serve my parents.

In reflecting on all these things, I pictured myself standing naked before God. A lone spotlight shines on me- the only light in a deeply dark room. I am ashamed, cold and afraid of judgment. Many, many lashes are striped across my flesh representing all the darkness within me that no one sees: selfishness, egotism, pride, anger, shutting people out, cruelty, evil thoughts, lust, pessimism, malice, greed. Though the lashes are fresh, I don’t feel any pain. My sin mars me but I am numb to it.

It feels worse than being ridiculed by a crowd because at least their remarks tell you exactly how they feel, but you don’t know how angry or ashamed or sad God is. You don’t know how it feels. You just know how overcome you are with negative emotions.

Then Jesus is there, stepping out of the darkness and covering you with a thick black cloak, almost like the blankets draped over people just pulled from a burning building.

He has covered your shame. He has given you warmth. He has remedied the vulnerability.

But it doesn’t stop there. He removes the cloak from you and as your hands shoot out reflexively to cover yourself up, you realize you are fully clothed again and you notice your lashes are gone. There are no scars to remind you of the once numerous wounds, there is no trace that you were ever touched.

And you look back at Jesus and see He has put the cloak around himself and as you realize what’s happening you put your hand up and yell “No! Stop!” but the cloak drops and your cry is too late. Jesus stands there naked, covered in your scars.

He turns to you and gives you a look as warm as a summer day. He softly says, “Because I love you, my child.” And you just know it’s the truest thing you’ve ever heard.

3. So that’s where I am-- knowing I need so much more growth, but aware of the healing power that comes from our Savior. Please pray for me this week if you get a chance. I always feel myself going in and out of a steady walk with Christ.

4. I love you guys. Please let me know what’s going on with you and if you need any prayer.

That’s all for this week.

Thanks for reading.

lovelovelove,

Jeanette

monday updates: Week 5

Monday, July 13, 2009 – Week 5

…Of the Weeks:

Song: “Do-Re-Mi” –The Sound of Music

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0

Verses: Psalm 116:1-7

Hello lovelies!!

Happy Monday!

Hope your weekend was restful and that you enjoyed all the beautiful weather!!

It has been a good week of renewal and rejuvenation for me.

God has definitely answered some prayers and has shown me that some of my struggles haven’t been in vain.

Take time to really listen to what God has in store for you this week.

Here we go:

1. Prayer

2. Prayer request- Jessica Eubanks (Jack-Jack)

3. Speaker

4. What is love?

5. me

6. you

1. I would really like us to spend this week praying for how God wants us to shape this week. We need to keep surrendering our plans to His will to make sure we are going in the right direction. Pray that God would give us a deeper understanding of what He wants us to say to the students.

2. Here’s Jack-Jack’s prayer request:

May I ask for prayer for my grandparents? My grandmother was in the hospital early last week with severe chest pains. She was released, then my grandfather had a accident on the farm...he went to check water levels (they were flood conditions) in the woods and slipped and fell onto the concrete spillway. God's grace was over him, the docs said there is no logical reason he should be alive. He was laying in standing water but the place he had fallen was shallow- stopping at his ears and not reaching his air passageways. Praise God for that! However, he did fracture 3 vertebrae and his spinal chord is swollen causing paralysis on his right side. He has made it through 2 surgeries- he has a plate that will fuse his neck with his body and he has what they call a halo- a big metal thing that is screwed into his skull keeping his head in place. He may possibly never be able to move his neck again...... But...I believe He can in the name of Jesus! I believe in a God that is greater than physical injuries and old age. I believe in a God that has no limits!

3. Do you guys have any suggestions of a professor/administrator on campus that you would like to hear share about Loving God?

4. So God has really given me a lot to think about in the area of love as an action. I was reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Josh Harris this week (a great book to challenge your view of purity and love and to see it in God’s eyes…even for those who are dating right now). It’s funny because I got this book in high school but I never finished it because I just couldn’t relate to the content. God happened to bring the book back to my attention this week through a friend and I haven’t been able put it down! I love the way God works like that…it definitely shows how His timing is always unexpected, yet is always the best remedy for us. Anyway, there was a passage from the book that I’d like to share with you.

When dating we represent God’s love, not only to the other person in the relationship, but also to the people watching us. As Christians, we need to remember that God’s perfect love is not only for our benefit. A model wears clothing to attract attention to the designer’s creativity. The model displays the designer’s work, but the designer’s reputation is on the line, not the model’s. In the same way, as Christians, we model God’s love whether or not we realize it. People watch us, and what they see affects God’s reputation for loving His creation.

Even if you’re not in a relationship, the way you love those around you is crucial to your witness to others. God showed this to me in the way I treated some of the kids at the day camp where I work. There are these two sisters in this camp that stir up so much trouble. They love to gossip and create drama all the time, pulling the other girls in-- and they’re only in elementary school! All the counselors have a tired, annoyed attitude towards these girls because it’s feels like we’re always asking, “What did they do now?” Well, these girls are being moved to another day camp in the park district and when they were picked up on Friday, some of the kids started cheering and yelling some mean farewells. As I scolded the kids and told them to keep quiet, I realized my attitude towards these girls was just as bad. Sure I wasn’t as vocal about my dislike for them, but I know I have talked about them behind their backs with the other counselors, I have been less willing to play with them than the other kids and I know there were times when I was just plain mean back to them.

But they are God’s children just as much as the most well-behaved child, or even me. Needless to say, I felt convicted about my actions towards them. I wish I could go back and change the way I loved them, but honestly, they were SO hard to love! Yet God asks us to do the difficult, nonetheless, because He has always loved us even when we have betrayed Him and ignored Him and saddened Him. And we do it all the time.

So, loving unconditionally is truly a harrowing task, but we weren’t meant to do it alone. Ask God for help because He is the one who “designed” the concept and we are challenged as Christians to “model” it well.

5. So God has really blessed me so much this week. I pray that I will be able to give it back to Him with praise this week and in prayer over Love Revolution. I need to up the ante in how I bathe this event in prayer because I really have been slacking since I left school. So that’s what I’m going to try to do this next week.

6. I ask that you do the same-really pray for Love Revolution this week. Ask God to inspire you with ideas or just give you a heart and passion for the ministry. Ask Him to show you how to live out the revolution of love in your life. And never forget that He is always there to help you and that He wants you to go to Him.

Oh, and if you have time to email me back, please let me know how you are doing and how I can pray for you. J

That is all for this week.

Thanks for reading!

Have a good one!

lovelovelove,

Jeanette

Monday updates: Week 4

Monday, July 5, 2009 – Week 4 (can you believe it’s July already??)

…Of the Weeks:

Song: “Summer Day” – Coconut Records, Nighttiming

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3_J2GCY-9I&feature=rec-rev-rn

Verses: Colossians 3:12-15

Hello all!

I hope you enjoyed your 4^th of July weekend and got to see some fireworks!! I spent some excellent time with family, including my cousins from Michigan whom I hadn’t seen in a while.

Well, let’s just jump right into it:

1. Prayer

2. Fasting updates?

3. Update- Megan Miller

4. Some encouragement

5. me

6. you

1. I really think we should focus our prayer this week on ourselves. I think we need to find ways to delve back into intimacy with God. For most, summer is a rough time for spiritual growth. Find a way to make prayer more conversational and casual with God this week. Involve Him intentionally in your daily activities or in your meandering thoughts when things slow down. Search for God in the little things. Let’s strive to hear God more clearly so that we’re ready and prepared to do His will each day.

2. So, during my time fasting last Monday, I realized there is so much to pray for. I felt a little overwhelmed…unfortunately, I think that clouded the way I prayed for everything… a little too quick and frantic as the requests popped into my head. That’s a discipline I still have a lot to work on. Did you get a chance to fast last week at all?

If so, do you have anything to share about your experience?

3. Thanks for all your prayers for Megan- her grandpa’s doing better!! Here’s an update from her:

My Pop is home now and is doing better, but is still not in perfect health. It was the coolest thing ever; people from his church came and prayed for him and asked for healing and he literally saw all the junk leave his body and saw God's healing descend upon him. The next day he came home. I know that all the prayers really helped him. As far as my dad goes, he really is having problems with all the reading and everything, and his eyes are getting strained too easily.

Let’s keep praying for both her dad and her grandpa.

4. In church today, I was reminded of an enduring truth that sounded so sweet in my ear because of what I’ve been struggling with this summer. The sermon came from Colossians 3:12-15 and the point that got to me came from verse 15, which says, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” The truth that the pastor spoke from that verse was that, as a church, we need to be committed to responding to challenges with gratitude -- a calm assurance that what God is doing is best. God’s peace isn’t always based on good circumstances. We need to give God’s peace dominion in our hearts even when we face hardships, even when we struggle and even when we feel inadequate and directionless. Now, this doesn’t mean we should stop seeking better circumstances, but that we must trust God when we feel stuck. We need to look at the messes in our lives and remember that the character and conduct of God doesn’t lead us to failure. We must believe God is ultimately in control and is putting us through trials for our own good. Let Christ’s peace be the authority in your life and don’t let Satan lead you to believe that God is doing anything less than leading you in love.

The sermon had so many other bits of goodness that I needed to hear…you can access it during the next week at the following link…give it a listen!

http://www.harvestbiblechapel.org/Content.aspx?content_id=40&site_id=4

5. I’m not perfect and I’m still struggling with things, but God’s making it better, slowly but surely. Something that I’m struggling with is letting other things become gods in my life. It’s easy to even let myself become an idol when I choose apathy and laziness over productivity. I read in a book’s commentary on Hosea that the Israelites were becoming like the gods they worshipped- “full of lies, deceit and caprice” and they have forgotten who Yahweh truly is and instead have come to think of him in terms of their Canaanite religion. This was eye-opening to read. I think I need to start draining my life of exposure to these idols and begin filling my head with more lasting truths and promises.

6. How about you? Are there some idols you need to give up? Is there a way you can challenge yourself this week to begin that process?

Well, thank you for reading again!

Please have a blessed week and let’s try and keep God at the forefront of all things.

love you all!!

jeanette