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Change is a - Comin' !

There have been so many changes in my life within the past few years and a whirlwind of change this year especially. Some of those changes were good and some were ones which brought about much pain. Even as I type this, I am sitting amongst a sea of boxes in my apartment prepared for a big move across the country to the Denver area next week. Had someone told me a year ago that I would be moving to Colorado, I would have thought they were crazy. This Florida girl swore she would NEVER move any farther north than Atlanta as she can't bare to be cold! Now I find I'm trading my flip-flops for snow boots, my bikini for a parka, my sunglasses for goggles and my surfboard for skis. Well - I don't actually own a surfboard, but you get the idea.

There are so many changes that are good, like a new home or a new baby for example. God created change - life would be absolutely boring without it. I love the saying, "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." That is so true. However, whether good or bad - change can be downright scary at times. Whether we want it or not, change is inevitable. We can't avoid it. Seasons will change, people will change, economies will change, children will grow up, waistlines will get bigger, skin will get wrinklier and yes, sadly - what was once perky will eventually droop to the floor.

However, in the midst of all these changes I have found comfort in the One who does NOT change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13:8). When everything around me changes, He remains the same. He is ALWAYS faithful, ALWAYS trustworthy, ALWAYS there when we need Him, ALWAYS loving, ALWAYS gracious, ALWAYS forgiving, ALWAYS our provider, ALWAYS our sustainer, ALWAYS our strength and ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS keeps His promises. He NEVER will forsake us, NEVER will hurt us, NEVER will lie to us, NEVER will lead us in the wrong direction and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER will abandon us and leave us all alone.

Whatever changes you are experiencing today, take comfort in knowing that no matter what happens with the state of our economy and country, no matter what happens in your life and the lives of those you love that Jesus is the One to whom you can always count on. He is our constant source of stability. He is consistant. He is faithful. He never has and never will change - and that, my friends is something you can depend upon!

Waiting on God's Perfect Timing

I recently found this article online, and wanted to share it on my blog. I don't know anything about the author, but I thought this was really good...

Waiting on God's Perfect Timing
By Robert Moment

Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do, whether we're waiting for an airline flight, a phone call or an answered prayer. We become impatient and wonder why everyone else is holding us up and keeping us from getting what we want. It seems like the more we want something, the harder it is to wait - and we even get impatient with God!

But we have to remember that God's timing is different than our own. He sees things from a different perspective and sees the whole picture, not just what we want, but what is best for us in the grand plan for our lives. All is part of a divine order and will be done in its own right and proper time. Of course, when we are hoping, praying and waiting for something, it's easy to forget this. After all, waiting is "remaining inactive in one place while expecting something." And being inactive means feeling powerless and at the mercy of the world - nobody likes that feeling. But we must keep in mind God's greater plan and his perfect timing:

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

"Trust in Him at all times, O people."
Psalm 62:8

What are YOU Waiting For?

What are you waiting for in your life? A new job, financial security, healing, a baby, a restored marriage? It seems that no matter where we are in our lives, we are waiting for something in the future. Our lives are never stagnant; if we are moving forward, there is always something to expect or wait for around the next bend in the road of our lives.

There are many stories of "waiting" in the Bible. In some stories, the waiting seemed to last forever, while others only waited a few intense moments. The key to waiting is not the length of time but how we handle the wait. The Bible teaches us that we should "wait on the Lord." We must look with confidence and expectation toward the future, trusting that God will fulfill our waiting in good and proper time.

There are three actions that will help you wait on the Lord patiently and with faith, knowing and believing that He will help:

1. Trust - If we doubt God's willingness to hear and answer our prayer, we may begin to feel bitter when we think God has heard our prayer but is silent. Scripture teaches us that God is unchangeable, which means He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and we can always rely on Him to provide the best possible path for our lives! God said that He will never leave us or forsake us. If He seems silent now, it is because He has another plan, different timing or a way to answer our prayer that has not been revealed to us yet. We must trust in His plan.

2. Resist - We must resist the temptation to take matters into our own hands. Patience is powerful. Having patience is essential in many circumstances and the Holy Spirit is here to fill us with this patience when we feel we cannot wait another minute on God. The safest place we can rest is in God's Will. When we rest here, resisting temptation is easy.

3. Pray - How many times have you given a prayer request to God and felt He was deaf? During these times, you need to keep on praying, but pray the right way. God always answers our prayers, but it may not be the way we want Him or expect Him to. It may be a yes, a no or something better. When we don't immediately get the answer we want, we have a tendency to repeat the same prayer over and over until we either lose our voice or simply give up. After we have given our need to the Lord, we must turn our request into a "Thank you," and an attitude of expectancy, and say, "Not my will, but Yours, Lord." When we thank the Lord in advance for answering our prayers, it is an active display of our faith that demonstrates to God our confident expectation that His awesome power will provide for us.

This Prayer can help you as you wait on God's perfect timing:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I have been waiting for ________________ for so long now, and I come before You today to ask your help. I pray that You will increase my faith and patience so that I will put my whole trust in your perfect timing and plan for my life. I will put my complete trust in You with confidence and eager expectation of Your answer, whatever that answer may be and whenever that answer may come.

Thank you that you are always with me.

Thank you that You hear my prayers and will answer in Your time and in Your way. You, Lord, are without limits.

Thank You for Your unfailing word and that You always keep Your promises to me.

I believe with my heart, mind and soul Your plan for my life is the best one possible and I thank You for Your answer.

Being in Your will is the safest place I can ever reside.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

"Whatever You're Doing"

I absolutely love the words to the song, "Whatever You're Doing" by Sanctus Real. I pray that it blesses someone else out there just like it did for me!

It's time for healing, time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong

There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace
And it's hard to surrender to what I can't see
But I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone, time to begin again
Re-evaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything, I surrender!

To whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace
Though it's hard to surrender to what I can't see
I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time to face up, clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held-back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life, something heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life, something heavenly

Time to face up, clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

Jen & Kate's Florida Adventure

A couple weeks ago my now best friend (and twin), Katie came to visit me in the ATL. After singing in the choir together at my church, FBC Woodstock, we packed up the car the very next day and headed to Florida for a week-long adventure. Neither of us had any idea what God was about to do on this much needed trip. The week was jam-packed full of God's favor and blessings on His girls. He did so much to lavish upon us His love and to show us that He is truly in control of our lives and has big plans for each of us.


On our road trip, we made a list of all the things we wanted to do while on vacation in Florida. The list was over 40 items long, and we got all but just a few completed and were able to add a few more along the way. I could share so many stories about each of our adventures that this post would go on forever, so here are some of the things we did in a nutshell for you...

...Sang in the choir at FBC Woodstock, played tennis, watched movies, made a pitstop in Ashburn, GA which happened to be the home of the "Fire Ant Festival" and were led by a police officer to see a fire ant the size of his car, went to Madeira Beach, went on the "Dolphin Racer" (a large speedboat that gets schools of dolphins to jump in the wake behind it almost so close you could touch them), went to two Bible Studies, went to the "Silver Edge" in Ybor to exchange Katie's ring for two beautiful new bracelets (another amazing story where God showed His favor), went to Busch Gardens and rode the Sheikra twice, drove through a scary storm with a tornado, went to Fort Desoto, had a picnic lunch on the beach, played cards, had dinner with my family, played with my nephews, had a picnic lunch in Vinoy Park on the water in Downtown St Pete, watched the sunset on the beach, rode bikes along the water's edge in Downtown St Pete, met my friends Tom & Karen Hudgins for dinner on Clearwater Beach, went to Rita's, went to the Saturday Morning Market in Downtown St Pete, went to the Ellenton Outlet Mall where I got a cute skirt, belt and scarf from Banana Republic, went to the North Shore Pool in Downtown St Pete where we got locked in and had to call 911 to get out and were given lots of free icecream, went to the St Pete Pier, went to the "Madison at St Pete" where I used to live to enjoy their hot tub and outdoor courtyard/fireplace, went walking on the beach in the rain...(just to name a few)

As you can see, our week was full of lots of adventures and we will have many stories to look back on for years to come. As I mentioned, God showed us some amazing things while on our trip. One was during a scary storm that we drove through. It was amazing that God gave us such beautiful weather all week long as the weather reports were showing thunderstorms everyday. However, as we were driving home from Tampa one afternoon a storm came up from nowhere and the rain pounded down. We attempted to drive in it to get home to eat the turkey tacos my mom had prepared for us, and it was probably the scariest storm I have ever driven through. The rain and lightning did not let up our entire trip over the bridge on the interstate from Tampa into St Pete. We couldn't even see the road in front of us and there were a few times I almost lost control of my car as we hit large puddles in the road. I had lost the feeling in my fingers because I was gripping the steering wheel so tightly. Once we finally got off the interstate, the rain just stopped. The rest of the week, we had beautiful weather and did not have any other storms like that one.

We found out later, that there was a tornado in that storm and the reason it lasted for so long was because we were moving right along with it. It followed us right across the bridge into St Pete.

Have you ever experienced a storm such as this one? I have been experiencing a storm in my life similar to this for awhile now. Satan is like that destructive tornado that attempts to destroy and throws things at us to try to get us to lose control. It may seem like the storm won't let up, as though it is just following you. However, God promises to be there with us during the storms of life. You may not be able to see the road ahead, but if you put your trust completely in Christ, He will lead you out of it in His perfect timing.

I believe that God has something absolutely incredible waiting for me on the other side of the storm that I cannot see. I know that eventually the rain is going to come to a halt and there will be something beautiful waiting for me. In the meantime, I am going to cling to my Jesus for dear life as He brings me through it. I know that one day I'll be able to look back and thank Him for the storm because it will be that pain that He will use to bring about His perfect plan.
God reminds me in His word, "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I'll listen. When you come looking for Me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." (Jeremiah 29:11-13 The Message)

Finally Free

One of my favorite songwriters of all-time is Nicole Nordeman. The lyrics to her songs are so powerful - I love her music! This song is especially encouraging to me right now. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING that God cannot deliver you from. It doesn't matter how hopeless your situation may seem. There is no situation too big or too messy or too broken that He cannot fix. God is bigger than it ALL!!!

Finally Free - Nicole Nordeman

No chain is strong enough
No choice is wrong enough
No mountain high enough that He
can't climb

No shadow dark enough
No night is black enough
No road is lost enough that He can't find

And if the Son has set us free
Then we must be, free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed
I'm finally free

No pain is deep enough
No heart could bleed enough
Nothing but Jesus' love can make a way

And if the Son has set us free
Then we must be, free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed
I'm finally free!