iShineInMinistry

Thank You Lord for the opportunity to faithfully and joyfully serve You during this time of year and find our hope in You, as You do not disappoint. Thanks You for Your lovingkindness, Your faithfulness, and Your desire to have ALL saved and come to the knowledge of Your Son to receive Him as Savior. Please go before us this season and prepare the way, as well as our hearts.

May we walk in grace, mercy, compassion, truth and unrestrained, unrestricted love that is pure, sincere, genuine and true. May we see those in need as made in Your image. May we shoulder the burden and walk in truth. May we be humble in all that we do. May we shine for you in this world that is so that people will see our good works that are truly good and glorify You. May we not only do the “pretty things” that will provide us warm fuzzies or accolades, but also do the hard, dirty things that truly show how much You love this world…and do them even when no one sees, because You are the God who sees.

Let us entertain angels without knowing it, but not let the right hand see what the left hand is doing. Lord, help us to fully walk in truth and be what You have called us to be, during this season and always. We love You and praise You…and thank You for all that You continue to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Does anyone else absolutely LOVE the season leading up to Easter? I have literally always loved Easter, even as a child. I recall wearing adorable dresses and going to church with my cousins, getting fabulous Easter baskets and basically being enamored with this time of year. Between the lead up to Resurrection Sunday, the fact that I can have whatever it was a gave up for God (usually sugar and shopping) once Lent was done and the spectacular weather that was sure to follow…I was in total heaven. I even have a pretty teal and Kelly green dress with palm designs on it for Palm Sunday!

 

When serving in full-time ministry, I think we sometimes lose sight of all the joy and blessings that come with this time of year. So, today, at the BEGINNING of the month, I am reminding all of us to take time, even as we plan Holy Week, Seder dinners, egg hunts, special services and our own family gatherings, to take a moment out of each day and truly delight in this season for what it is.

Take in the beauty of God’s creation. Read the four gospels. Pick out a lovely Easter dress (bonus points if you find it on clearance) and genuinely appreciate all the pretty little things that come with this time of year…because it simply is wonderful. As you do this (and obvi, make sure to be praying too), your outlook and stress level as you do the work of the ministry and the many tasks involved with such, will (hopefully) be non-existent. You will get to enjoy the fun, joyful and light-hearted moments while simultaneously doing all to the glory of the Lord. Happy Easter season everyone and please do send me any specific prayer requests for the festivities you have going on at the ministries you are connected to.

 

 

Blessings, Hearts and Hugs,

 

Jacquelynn Marie

Lamentations 3:25 - Wait, for he is good to those who wait for him.

We have the joy of waiting for God, knowing that the end result is that He is going to be good to us. The Lord allows us to have these times to truly see how much we trust His faithfulness and timing. This area of scripture is found in Lamentations of all places.

Lamenting is not a good place to be in all the time, because you are saddened over a particular situation and your heart is grieved for the issue. This should remind us to also recall that God will be faithful in the desperate times we find ourselves in, both personally and generally in our society and world today. We need to remind ourselves that God will be good and that we need to stay the course and not lose hope, be dismayed or get discouraged as we wait for the Lord to move and act.

We have so many things that could potentially leave us in a place of heartache, however, it is better to look to the one who is our help instead. Clearly the things that we look to for our hope and help are not working, whether it be a job, finances, health, our government system, the “goodness” of people in general…waiting on these things to be good to us will leave us disappointed. Why not wait on the one who will not disappoint; the one that will bring it to pass, the one that is able to do the impossible, to grow our faith and make us godly women.

I encourage you (and me) to place our hope fully in the one that is our only true hope. His hope is the one that will come through in the end and in such a way that will be His perfect plan (and the best option for us in the long run). Trust and believe, be patient and in those moments where you want to lament, pour your heart out to God and let Him be the one to comfort you.

 

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life. - Psalm 42:8

Is anyone else an insomniac or is it just me? I really have a hard time unwinding at the end of the day and getting rid of all of my energy in time to go to sleep. I usually try to do an intense work out 6 days a week and walk at least 10,000 steps for this very purpose. Most of the time, I honestly feel like a toddler that needs to run around all day, then crash…but not until midnight. I have noticed, however, that as I complete my bedtime routine, it helps to do my “nighty night” devotions, journal and have some instrumental worship music or hymns playing to calm myself down. This helps me remember what the words of this psalm tells me.

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime as He protects me and gets me through each day. Then at night as I relax and get ready for bed, His song is literally with me, telling me to calm down and go to bed! I need that reminder. I need it in the daytime, when I feel like there are too many moving parts and not enough hours in the day. I need it after lunch when my tea wares off and I am starting to get a little drained. I need His song in the night to calm my mind and help my thoughts subside so that I can rest in Him and be ready for another day. I need this to be written on the tablet of my heart so that when I am at a loss, it will bubble up in my thoughts and remind me Who is in control in every moment of every day.

How will you remember this psalm throughout your day so that you can live in peace and in the fullness of trusting the Lord?

 

Are you feeling completely drained, barren perhaps? I was just reading a devotional this morning about barrenness and it occurred to me that I may be in this current state of being. I am always tired, feel like there is always something to do and I really just want a little bit of REST, for like, I don't know...28 minutes?

My body is always giving me warnings to knock it off and get my life together and yet I can't seem to get the hint because...I mean, serving opportunities and other fun things are always around me, just waiting to be completed. And one of my spiritual gifts is serving (being the party is not a spiritual gift, but I seem to want to be that too, lol) so I am always excited, yet prayerful about getting involved. However, I always manage to go overboard (do all unto the glory of the Lord, with joy and glitter) and get carried away with how I execute things, which later makes me exhausted. So, I am prescribing myself (and you if you need it) with three ways to un-barren ourselves when we feel tired, drained and spiritually dry.

1) Nighty night devotions - Obviously, starting your day with morning devos is a genius idea to help you get through the day. However, it is also a smashing idea to add evening devotions to the end of the day and reflect on God's goodness as He relaxes you and prepares your heart and body to bedtime. Play some instrumental worship music in the background to really reset your body to chill mode.

2) Two hours a week of just plain nothing - I have been trying to incorporate this into my week more often these days. I have what I like to refer to as "floor time" where I set a blanket out and just chill on it for a couple of hours. I may journal, light some candles or just lay there looking at my ceiling fan as it turns, but I find that this time to do nothing (for the most part) but breathe is quite beneficial. It may also be a good idea to try to take that time to memorize a verse of scripture. I have been on Psalm 107:8-9 as of late. Or, another fantastic option is to listen to a teaching from a nonlocal pastor that you don't get to hear at church every Sunday in-person.

3) Sip some tea - I LOVE LOVE LOVE tea and had to actually down my intake because it was getting slightly out of hand. However, I do like to have some caramel bedtime tea with cream at the end of a long day to unwind and literally just enjoy the flavor of a sweet treat that does not have nearly as many calories as a slice of cake (which will then send me straight to the gym to run for 60 minutes and further amp me up). The warmth makes my body go into a tranquil state of bliss and I really just love this feeling.

What are some of the ways you take time to re-group and refocus on rest and the Lord when you are feeling drained or barren? How do you refuel and refresh so that your eyes come back to being fixed on the Lord?