D-D-Da-a-nc-c-e

Tonight I had the privilege of doing a solo dance at a Salvation Army's Women's Conference here in London, Ontario.
I made sure that I was in my stretching/changing/praying room for about 20 minutes before I was on stage.
I changed.
I stretched.
I prayed.
I danced around a bit.
At the end of this, I had peace to go out on stage.

I was up.
I got into position and waited for the song to start.
And waited, and waited...
Ah there it was, it finally came on. Except it was skipping like crazy! I wasn't quite sure if I should pull off some dance moves, or just wait, or try to tell a joke or something...
I decided to skip the joke and walk further onto the stage and pray that the song would come on before there was no more stage to walk on. The song began... The only problem was is that it was half way into the song. yikes!
I picked up from there and danced for the Lord---then I was off to my changing room again.

As I walked into the changing room I almost burst into tears. I knew I danced with all of my heart for that half of the song and yet I was still upset that it seemed like such a mess up because half of the song skipped all over the place.

I walked out to the sound board to get my CD back and there it was...
She came over to me and said "Thank you so much Jenn, we were all so blessed by that dance."
I replied with a "Praise the Lord!" and felt the Lord say:
"Jenn, you prayed for me to work through your dancing.
I don't need the whole 3 minutes of that song to do just that."

Ah yes, God is indeed Sovereign.
And I am Thankful.

.:Jennifer:.

Salt, Light and Ryan

I am Ryan and I worry. I know it's not the best introduction, but it's true. I have a tendancy to worry over details, big and small. Even when things are great, I still have the capacity to worry. My lovely wife, Tasha, is pregnant and while I beam with pride at the thought of becoming a daddy, I still worry for tasha's health and for the unborn baby's well-being (which, for the record, are both great at the moment).
In the past month, God has provided us with jobs, work permits, a new apartment, ever-strengthening friendships and a reassuring sense of His presence. And yet, still I worry. I worry that moving house will put a strain on Tasha; I worry that while I wait for my new job to start, our finances will dwindle; I worry because I'm surrounded by extraordinarily talented and Godly people and I sometimes feel inferior.
I know that last one is foolishness, and the Bible makes it perfectly clear that I'm made by God in His image and that He loves me enough to trade His son's life for my sins. So why would I ever contemplate my own inferiority? I think it's because my greatest gift to '614 London' right now is something useful, but very very... ...normal! I'm not a great musician or a gifted singer; I've rarely (if ever) been blessed with the miraculous gifts of prophecy, healing or speaking in tongues; I don't have an education in theology or biblical studies; the list goes on. My gift right now is that I have a car and I drive.
As silly as it sounds, I worry, not because I don't want to drive, but because it's so normal! With a gift like that, I'm not exactly going to be 'headlining' the next multi-denominational convention on Christian Spiritual gifts! I want a gift that's wonderful and exciting and impressive. Pretty selfish, I know.
So then today, I was sitting in the chapel at the Centre of Hope and Jenn was preaching on 'Salt and Light'. She made three points which reminded me of something I knew but needed to hear again: (1)We need to use our gifts, (2)We need to be a good example to others, and (3)We need to give the glory to God.
I realized that when I drive, I'm doing more than driving. It's still pretty 'normal' but now when I drive, I'll be doing it with absolute conviction that God is using my gift for His purposes. I'll leave you with my conclusion from her message.
(1) I am Salt and I add a little flavour when I use my gift to help someone in need.
(2) I am Light and I share that light with others when I give my gift willingly and humbly.
(3) I am Ryan, and when I drive, I give all the glory from that gift to God!

Chasing a butterfly

I look after this 2 year old in my community here in London...
She's beautiful.
We went to the park today...
We walked through the tall grass with these beautiful flowers. I thought to myself, "what a moment."
Until we were leaving and she started chasing a butterfly through the tall grass.
Her eyes were fixed on following this butterfly, she's was having such fun with it. That was the moment.

As this 2 year old chased this butterfly, where ever it went...
May we be this way with our Heavenly Father.

.:Jennifer:.

It's sweet.

My husband and I were finding that it can be quite hard to sit down and read the word/pray just right in the middle of the apartment...
You have you're floor that you need to to clean right under you.
You have that shelf right next to you that needs to be dusted.
You have the phone an arms length away, which reminds you of the people you need to call.
And on, and on...
Just this constant reminders of a never ending list of things you need to get done. Distractions, Distractions...

We decided to change this the other day. Josh (my husband) suggested, "Hey, why don't you make a little prayer room up in the loft for us to flee to for prayer and devotions?"
My husband knowing me, oh too well, struck a chord in me, and there I went to bed with ideas buliding up in my head.

Today, we have our prayer room. How beautiful it is to go into and just know that this place is the space we have no distractions, only Jesus.
Ah, how refreshing.
I suggest setting up your own little Jesus space. It's sweet.

That's it for today...
:.Jennifer.:

The new addition

Last night we had dinner at the Gillingham's house.
They got a new kitten, the name decided upon for this cutie is "Faith"...
She fell asleep on me for about a 1/2 hour-- I loved it!

I chatted with Elaine (Mrs. Gillingham) on the phone today and she said something about the new kitten along the lines of...
"It's like I have another kid around the house, this kitten seems to follow me every where I go."
I giggled, chatted a bit more, and then hung up.

Now that I think about it, hum, maybe it's just God's neat way of saying to us:
"Let Faith follow you every where you go."
I'm in.
Here kitty, kitty...

:.Jennifer.:

A Heart's Praise

Here's a little something I wrote down during our cell group today.
The title being A Heart's Praise :


Something as simple as this--

My Worship.
My Praise.

--TO YOU--

You made this frame
You hem me in
Your creation

--YOU SEE ME--

Your love, is my love
Your Kingdom, Your Princess
Your water, My life

--YOU KEEP ME--

The days were long
Sun down to the next
My meaning you brought

--YOU SAVED ME--

My soul is warmed
These eyes can see
My Worship, My Praise

--TO YOU--

Written down by :.Jennifer.: , Inspired by Holy Spirit.