iShineInMinistry

Number 6:25

the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The last few weeks of whirlwind activity have encompassed a myriad of emotions. Joy, grief, excitement, anticipation, devastation and heartache, hope, happy and whimsy are just a few that I can name off the top of my head. It’s hard to sift through all of the thoughts at times; the constant pull of life happening before your very eyes can leave you a little whiplashed and jet-lagged when you finally get a slight lull in your schedule. The sudden blank space can produce an “Eeyore-style” rain cloud over your countenance that may be a little difficult to shake off. I currently find myself in that season…and I bet there are a few of you out there also floating through the same kind of moment. Here’s the deal, we need to get our sparkle back so that we can shine for the Lord and bring Him glory through our lives and our love.

Here is what we need to do!

First, do not guilt yourself into trying to suppress any and all emotions that may not be deemed as “good”. We have to fully process whatever is going on in our lives…happy, sad, fabulous and bad. Packing the hurt or pain away is going to give you an opportunity to become passive-aggressive when you least expect it and some unsuspecting person is going to be on the receiving end. It won’t be pretty. Journal through your thoughts (all of them), pray with someone, speak to a counselor at church (they are usually free of charge, yay) or take a little mini-retreat to reset your heart and mind. Then begin to get your eyes back on the One that really matters…Jesus!

Next, make sure to “Psalm it up” during this time. If anyone is relatable to a flux of conflicting emotions, it’s King David. You can find a word to help you cope, a reassurance that God is there, an exhortation to get your heart clean and right and just overall truth about the faithfulness of God even when things don’t seem as they should according to our perspective. It may also be a great idea to pen a few psalms of your own to really think through what you are experiencing right now. I recall writing a psalm for direction when I was in Israel, contemplating moving to New York…and more recently a psalm of loss at 1am during a sleepless night after my grandmother went to be with the Lord. God will meet you there, just like He met David in the midst of each and every situation. That is exactly what we need right now!

Finally, get a little #TheCharmedLife action going on in your life. What brings you joy? Go on and do it! Do you need to take a dance class or set off on a road trip? Will cuddling babies in Children’s Ministry make you gush with giggles or perhaps you would like to take a baking class? Whatever it is, take that first step into getting your sparkle back by stirring up some of those Spiritual Gifts that God has given you to use. This will definitely get your focus back in order and help the road become less dreary and glitterier (can you believe spell-check changed my sentence to glitterier...it knows me so well).

Don’t beat yourself up if this process takes longer than a week; certainly don’t feel like a failure if it takes a year or longer. We all process life and different seasons in various ways and only you and the Lord know how much time you truly need. I hope that this little encouragement helps you on the road to getting your sparkle back…I hope it helps me too!

Hearts and Hugs,

Jacquelynn Marie

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Psalm 118:14-16

The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.[a]

The voice of rejoicing and salvation

Is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

Matthew 25:13 (ESV)

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of shock, sadness, saying goodbye (for now) and spending time with family. My grandmother went to be with the Lord two weeks ago and all I can think is, “But I wasn’t ready yet!” She was very healthy, but an accident does not care if you are in good health or struggling...also, when it’s time, it’s time. This is the thing that I now have to wrap my brain around. I love quoting Ecclesiastes 3:1, when it does not have to do with something this life-altering. I am completely okay and ready for all the uncertainty of running a small business, changing jobs, even moving across the country and having to start all over; however, this new change of events...not so much.

Adjusting to no more Monday evening phone calls, no more flowers on birthdays, Mother’s Day and other holidays, getting used to not calling that 702 area code number when I return safely from a trip, among so many other things, is something I was not ready for. As I came back to New York this week and realized the reason I even go to Las Vegas in the first place is no longer here on this physical earth truly hit me as my plane landed. Now, the question is, what do I do about this?

1) Pray: I clearly need strength, renewed faith and joy in this season, since I am quite sad and missing someone that was so instrumental in my life and my faith.

2) Trust the Lord: I never thought for a minute that my grandma would not be here to see me get married or start a family; but now this is a thought I need to come to terms with and be okay with...more than okay with.

3) Find Joy: I had so many other fabulous things going on in this season of life. I need to be reminded of all the amazing plans the Lord has prepared for me and not discount them just because the fruition of those plans may look a little altered.

I’m sure that all of us run into this during various seasons of our lives. Whether it is because a death of a loved one, getting fired from a job, not being able to have children or realizing that you may still be single at the age of 37, we all need to press further into the promises of God’s word. This is not the time to get lukewarm, start looking into other religions to see if you can get a quicker means to an end or just fall off the radar of all of your friends and family. This is the time to “woman up”, get real, stop making excuses and stop acting so desperate and pathetic...get on track girl (this includes me). God has something in the mix of this crazy life of ours and this is not the time to mess everything up.

Let’s keep our eyes on Him, get a life (stop sitting around on your couch eating Ben & Jerry’s, that’s doing absolutely nothing for you but getting you one step closer to diabetes), stop being so self-absorbed about your life, emotions and the fact that life isn’t perfect and get going about what truly matters. We don’t have much time left here on this earth and there are too many people that don’t know the Lord. We need to get over ourselves (I know my grandma is in heaven, so there is no reason for me to throw a continuous pity-party) and get going! Even in tough times we still live #TheCharmedLife and we need to act like it. Our lame existence is not helping anyone draw closer to Jesus and we need to be a good witness of His love, kindness and faithfulness. Won’t you join me?

This week, please take the time to pray more and look into two things that you can do to live life more abundantly. One thing should be how you can serve the Lord and bless others. The other thing should be a new hobby that you find interesting, but never quite got around to pursuing. If you have any prayer requests, I’d love for you to leave them in the comments section.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart...

1 Samuel 2:35 (NKJV)

Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

I am currently reading the book of Jeremiah and the thought that keeps coming to mind is how many scriptures from that book we commit to memory. In our eyes, when we think about this prophet’s life, we genuinely say that Jeremiah was faithful and devoted to the Lord. He did great things for the Lord and proclaimed the truth no matter what. We strive to be like many of the people in the Bible; but as we truly think about how Jeremiah’s life played out…why do we place so much pressure on ourselves and our ministries to measure success by numbers and what we call results?

Jeremiah did not have one single person repent and turn to the Lord. He faithfully followed the Lord and ended up in a gross, underground “home” as Israel continued to disobey. When we speak to people and ask them how many they have led to the Lord, do we judge if we hear the number zero, but see genuine faithfulness in their life? Also, do we think lower of someone when we hear they have been in prison? If Jeremiah lived today and was a pastor…would you attend his church after you heard report of him?

I think our focus and thoughts need to shift. The main priority should be obedience to God; then, let Him decide what the results should look like in the end. We think success is measured by higher scores, higher numbers and what we perceive to be “higher callings”. This is not at all the way the Lord thinks. Let’s shift what we think a good ministry or faithful Christian life looks like and let our thoughts match up with what the word of God says. Remember, the faithful church in Revelation had just “ a little strength” and that was all it needed to be in the will of God and sincerely serve in spirit and truth. I hope and pray that we will do the same as we lived #TheCharmedLife.

Deuteronomy 5:32 (NASB)

"So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Revelation 3:8 (NKJV)

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Exodus 33:14

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

A few weeks ago, while I sat on the floor praying in a church I gave the Lord complete and free reign over whatever plans He has for me. I said, “take everything away, even my ‘safety accounts’ if need be so that I can fully and completely trust, follow and obey.” In turn, my life has become one thing…totally unpredictable! I had to say no to another job in non-profit and I am now sitting in a temp role that seems to be a much slower pace than I’m used to. Ironically, I was doing more when I was not working at all - hahaha! It’s funny how the Lord works.

The reason I felt it would be great to share this with you is because I’m sure there are some of you in the “in between” wondering what the world is going on with your current life situation. While I do like the fact that I cannot depend on myself at all during this time, I sure would like to have some kind of inkling as to what could be in my potential future. Once again, the Lord has left me with two clues, recurring scripture and a promise that He has been giving me for over two years. Now, I do love a fabulous surprise as much as the next girl…but I would like to get to the “tada” or pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, joy-filled life He has me living right now.

Sometimes as we live #TheCharmedLife with God, we get fun, favorable moments and great little perks as we wait for Him to show us the way. However, we may begin to start to wonder when exactly we will know how to move or take the next step of faith. We know He’s there…He keeps giving us lovely gifts and promises to remind us; but we can’t quite figure out where this is all going to end up. Can I just tell you, ride out the wave and be okay when He gives you a little down time. Calm down, pray more, praise more and just let Him do what He wants to do…we know we won’t regret His plans in the end; but we may regret our actions if we step ahead of what He’s doing.

Take this time to enjoy the good and perfect gifts from the Father of Lights and stop trying so hard to “be” anything just so that you can have some kind of “title” or false security and comfort. You already have the most important title that you need…daughter of the King. Rest in that joy, stay faithful and see what He will do!

Hearts and Hugs,

Jacquelynn Marie

Psalm 62:5

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God: my hope comes from him.”

Psalm 116:7

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

This week, I invite you to come over to the iSparkle for Jesus website to read the latest Tuesday Top Five.  Let's find out if you are truly living or merely existing.  Follow the link below. Happy reading!

http://isparkleforjesus.webs.com/apps/blog/show/44032918-tuesday-top-five-are-you-truly-living-or-just-existing-