Tag: Cumberland Presbyterian

Hey Friends!!I hope everyone had a great week last week. Man! It is getting hot. I hate to think how hot August is gearing up to be this year. 🥵

This week I want to talk about God’s silence. We have talked in the past about silence. Sometimes we ask God or an answer and there is silence. And we know silence IS an answer. But as humans, we can’t see the road ahead. We don’t understand the lack of communication and we can pull away from Him because we are frustrated. Today, I want to talk about how to connect with God during the silence. So let’s talk about it!

Years ago, when Jon and I were just married we financially had it rough. This isn’t uncommon but it seemed like we struggled more than our friends and family. Neither of us had a college education at that point. We had “good” jobs but they didn’t pay well. Then, BAM! I’m pregnant with Logan. Wow. Such a blessing but definitely not planned for that moment.

Long story short, when Logan was a year old, we filed bankruptcy. In order to keep the house and cars, we filed a Chapter 13 which means we paid it all back. And we did! But those times were ROUGH. I remember our meal rotation for the week included hotdogs, ramen, spaghetti, etc. Logan was on baby food and honestly ate nutritionally better than Jon and I. I remember praying and praying for God to just help us. I didn’t want to be rich. I just wanted to pay all of the bills, and eat without working 2 jobs (which we did). God was silent. When prayers go unanswered, discouragement creeps in and waiting provokes doubt and questions. Why can’t SOMETHING go our way?

Be honest how you feel

You know what I am going to say here. But yes! Pray! Tell God how you feel! Guess what? He knows how you feel anyway. So you might as well vent to Him and get it over with. But second, tell a good spiritual friend. I know some might shy away from this but everyone goes through something! Most people can at least relate to you. Trust me, calling a friend is vital when you feel the silence.

Believing God is a CHOICE not an EMOTION

Isn’t it easy to measure our spiritual condition by whether or not we feel close to God? Listen, I KNOW better but I will still fall into this trap by relying on emotions to evaluate my spiritual connection. Emotions are NOT an accurate gauge of your relationship with God.

Examine your heart without self-doubt

“God. What have I done wrong? Why are you giving me the silent treatment? Are you mad at me?” Sound familiar? What do you do? You start confessing any and all sins asking for forgiveness. Hoping and praying that the silence will be “cured”. Friends. It doesn’t work that way. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

Spiritual warfare! INCOMING!!!

“Well I guess I did something to make God mad. He’s not blessing me OR EVEN TALKING to me! He doesn’t love me. I’ve really messed up. Since I don’t know what I did, I’m over it.” Right there! That’s a spiritual attack. The enemy waits until you are vulnerable and he can be relentless with your thoughts and emotions. He spreads lies and misinterpretations. Be careful.

Which leads to…

Stand strong in your faith

Listen. You got this. The absolute BEST way to navigate silence is standing strong in your faith. If you need help, pick up the Bible. The word of God is a powerful weapon when there is spiritual warfare.

Trust God with your spiritual condition

So, here’s the thing. YOU, my frond, is not in control of your spiritual condition. God is. God sets the pace for our spiritual growth. Our role is to love, trust, obey and respond to God. When God feels distant, you need to trust he has not stopped working. He is more interested in that spiritual growth than you are!

God communicates various ways

Straight up friends…there are lots of times God IS communicating and we don’t hear or see it. 1 Corinthians 2:16, “God speaks in various ways including His Word, the church, circumstances, godly counsel and the mind of Christ within you.” Have you ever been in church and you feel like Pastor Scott is talking to ONLY you? Or you are on Facebook and a verse literally jumps off the page at you? You know, that was probably not a coincidence.

And lastly..

Believe God has a purpose for His silence

I am not going to begin to try to understand His silence because I’m sure it’s different with different scenarios. But the underlying theme to His silence is usually a reason to continue to seek Him. He wants your faith to grow but there are growing pains. My advice here is to embrace the silence. Sometimes when there are things going on in the background we don’t know about, there is nothing to say RIGHT NOW. Be patient.

I can’t tell you the invaluable lessons Jon and I learned during our bankruptcy days. I could go on for days about the lessons involving financial decisions, self doubt, self worth, the bond in our marriage, friends and family connections but most importantly God’s love. Listen..we made it. We paid everything back quicker than expected. We always had a roof over our heads, food on the table and an over abundance of love. These lessons have (hopefully) been passed down to Logan.

If you are going through a silent period, please don’t fret. I cannot say this enough but God loves you more than you can fathom. Silence is an answer and that’s ok. Embrace it. Seek Him. If you have a friend who is struggling, be a good friend. Don’t try to fix it! Just listen. Let them know you are there for them if they need you.

Love you all and see you next week,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday June 10, 2024

By Jennifer Robbins

On June 10, 2024

In Motivational Monday

Hey friends! Man, we had a FANTASTIC vacation bible school. If you missed it, our church almost has a 1:1 ratio for volunteers and kids. I have been a part of churches in the past that had to BEG for volunteers. Not with us! Our church really invests in the kids and I love it. Kathy Huggins is a genius when it comes to these kids and how to keep them engaged. Kathy, your hard work does not go unnoticed. Thank you to everyone that made it possible.

As for this week’s motivation…

This past Friday was my 22nd wedding anniversary. Like anyone who has been married 22 years, we celebrated by eating Mexican food and then going grocery shopping. 🙂 While we were eating, we shared with the server that it was our anniversary. She asked what was the secret. I looked at her and said, “Just don’t give up.” This got me thinking about why I won’t give up. So let’s talk about it!

There are some people who never argue with their spouse (or so they say). Well, for the record, we have and do. To be fair, it doesn’t happen often anymore but that’s probably because we have melted to be the same person at this point. But there were alot of times, I thought marriage was just too hard and we weren’t compatible. Thankfully, Jon saw my spunky, sassy attitude as a challenge and he has never been interested in leaving. But when we got married, we took a vow before God and it was my every intention to honor our vows. Listen, I am NO marriage expert but God has taught me a few things.

First, you have to love. I realize this should be a no brainer but we can’t not talk about it. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 defines love. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Notice the scripture talks about love and not being IN love. Why is this important? If you are like Jon and I (and not a unicorn couple) there will be times, you love each other but you don’t like them at that moment. But just because you have a fleeting thought of not liking them doesn’t mean you leave them. And you need to recognize that you can mentally blow up a minor argument into a full blown, “I’m done” thought. You have to keep a check on your anger.

Second, you have to trust your partner. I can honestly tell you that I trust Jon with all my being. And when I say trust, I mean it every way possible. I trust him with my heart, my soul and my physical self. Proverbs 31:11 states, “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack in gain.” More times than not, when marriages fail it is due to trust (or lack of). It is not always pleasant admitting things to your spouse but being open and honest is vital to a marriage.

Third, respect. 1 Peter 2:17 says, “Show proper respect to everyone.” I mean, it’s pretty simple. After I make dinner, I plate Jon’s food. I don’t do this because he asks for it. I don’t do it because I feel like it’s my “job”. He can physically make his plate of food so there is no issue there. I do it because I love and respect him. I WANT to do this small gesture so he sees I appreciate him. Which leads into number 4…

Understanding. Every time we go to Taco Bell, Jon will ALWAYS look at the menu like he’s never seen it. 🙄 Lately, he will just look at me and say, “Order for me.” Want to know why? I KNOW this man like the back of my hand. There are times I order things for him he’s never eaten because I think he will like it. And this helps push him to try new things. I realize this is just Taco Bell but knowing him didn’t happen overnight. And there are times, one of us is upset over something. We have to stop and have a conversation and try to understand what happened that caused us to be upset. It’s imperative we understand each other’s point of view and respect it enough to work on not doing that in the future.

Lastly, the cornerstone of marriage is faith. For many years in our marriage, faith was a sensitive subject. One day, I sat down with Jon and explained my stance on my faith. And guess what? He honored it. Not everyone has a strong faith initially. Some people have to grow in their faith. That’s where we are and that’s ok. I grow in my faith everyday and so does Jon. I’m just a little further ahead and that’s ok. Because we are BOTH growing. Because of faith and that promise we made as a couple before God makes our marriage unbreakable.

Some of you read this and thought, “This doesn’t apply to me because I’m not married.” Hold on! Are you looking for a partner? Do you want to get married? Before you say, “I do” make sure the boxes above are checked. Marriage is not about being perfect because the Lord knows, we aren’t. But what I CAN tell you is I love him more than he knows and I KNOW he loves me more than I know.

This week, evaluate your relationships. Are you deficient in some of these points? If you are, first, it’s ok. Every relationship is deficient in one or more. And sometimes, your deficiencies shift around which is a ton of fun! Pray about your deficiencies. Ask God for help. See where He points you. THEN, talk to your partner. Be honest. Show your partner love, respect, trust, understanding all while honoring Him.

Love you all and see you next week,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday June 3, 2024

By Jennifer Robbins

On June 4, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Motivational Monday

Today is the DAY! What day is it? VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL STARTS!! Woohoo! I cannot begin to tell you HOW much goes into this every year. So much preparation goes into this and it feels like every single church member plays a part. Kathy Huggins puts on quite a show and we couldn’t do it without her. She is the mastermind behind it all! So of course, this week I want to talk about kids!

Now I know some of you reading this immediately said, “ This doesn’t apply to me because I don’t have little kids.” Well, actually…that’s not correct. This isn’t JUST for parents. It’s your job as a christian to lead any and all to Christ. This includes children. Now, let me be clear, it IS the parent’s duty to raise their children in the church but as a congregation we are there to support them. So as a parent or congregation, how do we lead a child to Christ? Let’s talk about it.

First, kids are going to make mistakes. We all do. But in order for children to put their faith in Jesus, they need to understand some basic truths. One of these is recognizing their sin. How can they stop a behavior if they don’t understand it’s wrong? And it’s on US to teach them. We can show them this with scripture. They need to understand they are going to mess up (Romans 3:23). They need to accept the consequences of their actions (1 John 1:9). But no matter what, God loves them whether they fail or succeed (Romans 5:8). And only God has the power to change their heart (Ezekiel 36:26). You see, WE don’t have to have the answers because it’s all written out for us to follow! We just need to know where to find it!

Second, kids need to understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I know this seems obvious but because it is so obvious, it sometimes gets skipped. Sometimes we assume they know this significance. When you have a child that you showed grace to, this is an opportunity to relate it back to God sending His only Son to forgive our sins (John 3:16). Jesus taught us how to live and to know His Father. He died on the cross in our place. And he defeated sin and death through His resurrection and he lives!

Lastly, it’s important for us to teach children that God is close to them. Now, don’t creep them out with this statement. But what I mean here is how important children are to Jesus. It’s so important to remind kids that they can talk to Jesus any time. He is literally just a thought away because He never leaves them (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus came to Earth to die and rise again for us to be closer to God (1 Peter 3:18).

I know some of you read this and thought, “I don’t think my child can comprehend this.” At the end of the day if you lead them by example then this will naturally fall into place with conversations. And even if you don’t have kids or small kids in your house, you can still show them Christ in everyday life. Which, if you think about it…this what we do in Vacation Bible School!

So this week, I would like to encourage everyone to specifically pray about children or just a specific child. You know and understand the needs around you. Pray for kids to come to Him. For them to feel like they can ask questions even if they are hard! Please pray for us during VBS. Please pray we can have fun while delivering, encouraging and enlightening young minds to His love.

See you soon and love you all,

Jennifer