not-a-plainJane

I'm not a plain Jane. My name means God's gift. God's gifts are sometimes wrapped in plain paper, and we don't know what's inside. I trust Him for what is wrapped inside. Trust in Him and You might just learn the meaning of His secrets.

[not-a-plainjane]

God is in full control in the midst of all of this & everything he does is the best for you..

a sister who encourages my soul

[not-a-plainjane]

when He hits pause.

on 11/2/2017 

1:57pm i was rear ended. another car accident. i just hit the 2 year mark from my last debilitating rear end car accident. i thought it would never happen again. no. i hoped it would never happen again. but it happened again. 

i could tell myself this isn’t fair. i just closed out my last rear end car accident case a few months ago. i was at the tail end of finishing up my physical therapy for injuries i sustained in my last accident. i couldn’t afford this. financially. emotionally. physically. mentally. 

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. help me. I remember I either yelled His name or thought it really loudly in my head. I heard the screeching of tires behind me. the loud bang. my head hit my head rest (once). I flew forward. and backward (twice). forward. and backward (a 3rd time). then blackness. 

2:01pm. i woke up from what I thought was a brief moment of closing my eyes. voices around me. “she’s not moving ... she hasn’t been moving for a while ... is she ok? someone call an ambulance. she was hit pretty badly. i saw it happen so i stopped and ran over. ARE YOU OK?! she’s not responding.”

i want to see this as a blessing in disguise. i want to find joy even in this momentary affliction. i want to believe that everything will be alright. He has never failed me and He never will.

doctors. there are good ones out there. somehow i’ve managed to find a lot of really bad ones. this one took on the case, saw how complex it was, yelled at me, then had their secretary call to yell at me again for not being able to quickly book with specialists who have fully booked schedules, and then threw me out in the cold with an email at 5:21am stating:

“I recommend you promptly find another physician to care for you.”

is this another blessing in disguise? is God protecting me from the unprofessional and sketchy primary “care” physician I had rushed to out of sheer desperation, confusion, and fear of being too late to get help? i do hope so. 

[not-a-plainjane]

God loves you so much... I just feel like He really wants you to know that in the deepest bottomest part of your soul

a beloved. Sister in Christ.

[not-a-plainjane]

I’m passing it on. Take courage. It’s the commandment that another sister in Christ encouraged me to to embrace.

Prayer for my sister:

Dear God,

Thank you for my sister in Christ... I pray that you wipe away every fear and anxiety as we approach your throne of grace. Thank you for Your patience and grace for us as we run “away” in the palm of Your hand. Thank you for giving us the strength and courage to make it this far. Tonight, you remind me of those who went before us... in obedience to You even though they doubted You and ran away initially... Moses... Joshua... 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  - Joshua 1:9

Even though the night holds onto us, we know that You are good. Good, good Father, I pray and ask that You help my sister be strong and courageous at this incredibly difficult time. Lord, we know that You’ve started a good thing in her and that You’re the one who has brought her this far... You will finish the good work You’ve started in her, and I praise You for the good work you’ve already done through her and for the good work that You will continue to do in & through her in the days to come. 

Thank you for the beautiful light You’ve placed in her for it exudes and reminds me that You are present and that indeed You are working all things together for us. Thank you for being our Protector. Please protect my sister as she goes through the refining fire every day. Would you also provide her with rest and a peace that transcends all understanding! 

I pray all this in Jesus’ name, 

Amen.

Today, I encourage you too. Take hold to the truth about yourself. You are known. You are seen. You are heard. 

[not-a-plainjane]

Sister had her dream wedding in the clouds, and I completed my MOH duties by the grace of God.

[not-a-plainjane]

All the slander is too much for any one person to digest. They don’t get me. [...] what’s ironic is that I’m so bothered because Jesus actually challenges me to not only care for the souls of all humanity, but to feed the hungry, aid the sick, regard the stranger, visit the prisoner, and love my neighbor in tangible ways [...] Hang out with me long enough, and I’m bound to let you down. But I’m working on me. Well, God is. And as He is, I hope for grace and mercy and prayers from all those who really care. God Bless.

Two time Grammy award winning Christian artist – Lecrae

[not-a-plainjane]

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.

Martin Luther King Jr. - a.k.a. The man who knows “peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.” The man who has me believing amid this polluted, battered, and weary world that “UNARMED TRUTH and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE will have the final word in reality”

[not-a-plainjane]

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

[not-a-plainjane]

Being happy does not mean that everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.

Nicky Gumbel

[worshipgifs]

Charity means ‘Love, in the Christian sense’. But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.

C.S.Lewis (via worshipgifs)

Charity = "Love, in the Christian sense" = a state of the will, which we 'naturally' have for ourselves = a state of the will, which we must learn to have for God, for our neighbors, and for one another.

[not-a-plainjane]

Longing for community is what makes us human. Community is needed. We don’t create it. We discover it as we find out what we have in common. Friendships look like the one in Mark 2. What makes us friends is we look at each other and ask, “Do we love the same truth?” The very condition for having friends is we should want something more than just friends. Deep friendships must have a common passion. Do you love the same truth? His name is Jesus. The Church is a group of people with which you say, “I want you to get to know me.” The real me. I want to say: Will you carry me? Because I will carry you. I want my heart to trust & believe: I am fully known and fully accepted. If community is what has hurt you, community is what will heal you. Jesus was constantly let down, constantly misunderstood… Yet over and over He put Himself out there and made Himself vulnerable. Things are getting hard. We hurt and we offend. We forgive. We work toward reconciliation. Even though we constantly rejected Him, He never cut us off. He never stopped forgiving and loving me. If you’re not offending someone, maybe you’re not going deep enough. Sincere: free of deceit. Come as you are. Have you found a church where you can come as you are? It’s so exhausting to pretend that we’re something we’re not. I’m so glad so relieved so freed to know that I am finally at a church where I can come just as I am. I can only be loved to the extent that I am known! When I am fully known & fully loved, my soul comes alive. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16 1. Am I willing to acknowledge my need? Confess? 2. Am I willing to create time & space & resources for community? 3. Am I willing to enter into discomfort for this? This means not being self-centered with what God has given me (I.e. Time, living space, money, food, etc.) Dying to myself should feel uncomfortable. To follow Him is the call to die to myself. When I die to myself, I realize I gain a life much better than my own. 4. Am I willing to observe? People who notice I’m hurting when I don’t even realize I’m hurting. These people are the ones in front of whom I find myself tearing up. Because I was noticed. I was observed. Your own soul flourishes when you notice others. Your own soul flourishes in the moment you forget about yourself. Observing means you notice. It’s not about me. Lord, may I observe others. Will you help me serve others.

C.S. Lewis (4 loves) New Community Pastor Peter Hong The Holy Bible & A little bit of me

[not-a-plainjane]

When I've spent 1/2 a day above the clouds and 1/2 a day in a field of lavender with some of the sweetest sisters... I can't help but be in awe of our Creator. Praise you, Lord.

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

Eleanor Roosevelt (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

Something's different today. This morning, I prayed and decided to be bold. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for reminding me that He is with me.

It's a new season.

[not-a-plainjane]

We surprised this woman of God on her birthday. This is her expression of 감동 - shock/surprise/gratefulness. Lord, thank you for stirring hearts, growing faith, and bringing about joyous laughter through this sister. We celebrated You today for You are the Creator, and I thank you for the gift of sisters.

[not-a-plainjane]

We prayed. For hours and hours, we prayed. And pray more we shall. Lord, stir our hearts. We want more. "Here is my servant whom I uphold my CHOSEN ONE in whom I delight I will put my spirit on him and he will bring JUSTICE to the nations." (Isaiah 42:1) Amen.

[not-a-plainjane]

We signed the Lease. We got my favorite dessert to celebrate. We sat under a tree and ate our pressed juicery... I realize that we live in a beautiful place in a fruitful season, but my heart still races for more of you, God.

[not-a-plainjane]

When your friend finds the cafe that has everything you like... And it's named after you... You remember that God knows you and cares about even the smallest details of your life. He is true love...