Tag: patience

Motivational Monday

On December 2, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey Friends! IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! December! Christmas! THE CANTATA!!! WOOHOO! Seriously, the Cantata is THIS SUNDAY. Listen, we might be a small church but the Cantata sure is mighty. Amy, the choir, those playing instruments, and guys in the sound booth do such a great job every.single.year. Please go if you have never been. Please go if you have been!

When I first mentioned December and Christmas, what was your response? Were you happy, sad, or stressed? I want to go down the stressed road today. Why are you stressed? I am going to go out on a limb and say it’s finances. Am I right? Let’s talk about it.

When Jon and I got married, we were broke. And when I say broke, we were broke. And then BAM! I got pregnant with Logan. God planned him perfectly but Jon and I were not prepared. So after a year of daycare, diapers, formula and all of our other bills that we couldn’t afford, we were bankrupt. Literally. The house was in foreclosure. The cars were getting repo’d. It was bad. We had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

We wanted to keep everything we had (because we couldn’t afford NOT to). So we filed a chapter 13 which means we had to pay it all back within 5 years. And guess what? We paid it back in 3 years! But there were a million tears shed. Lots of hours worked. And we became a connoisseur of hotdogs. 😏

When Christmas rolled around during those years, my stomach would hurt because of stress. I wasn’t worried about Jon and I. I mean we knew our situation and we just dealt with it. But Logan. We loved that little boy more than ANYTHING and we wanted to give him the world (still do). We never wanted him to know we were struggling. So it was a facade. I was so thankful for our families picking up any pieces we fell short on when it came to gift giving. We got through it. Logan was not impacted negatively. And we are better financial stewards because of this time. So I wouldn’t change it.

So why do we give gifts at Christmas? I mean hello! It’s not our birthday, it’s Jesus’s birthday. And the last I checked, I don’t get gifts on my husband’s birthday.

I think what is important to remember when giving gifts is the meaning behind it. 2 Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” he wasn’t talking about that Bath and Body Works set you were eyeing. He’s talking about His son. The very essence of Christmas is about generosity, kindness, grace and giving. God gives God for the enjoyment of his people, whom he saves by giving his Son to suffer. That’s beautiful. It is the heart of Christmas.

Second, we give to Christ. Now, I want to be clear here. God does not want you to buy anything. I mean, he has zero use for a Lowes gift card. He’s not interested in you trading anything with Him. Seriously, He gave you His son. You can’t compete with that (and He doesn’t want you to!). But what He does want…your time. Commitment from you. Yes, I know it’s hard and there are a million reasons why “you can’t today”. But stop and think about what gift would be equal to what He did for you. I’ll wait. Spoiler alert! There’s not one. You can make time for Him.

Lastly, we need to give in the right mindset. 2 Corinthians 8:2, “for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” One more…Hebrews 13:16, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” When giving gifts, you need to do it in the mindset of giving back to Christ. That is the gift of trust, hope, admiration, joy and affection.

So, if you are worried about gift giving at Christmas, please hear me when I say, STOP. I promise God did not give you His son for you to worry about gifts. Christmas is truly not about financial hardship. Your children will love you if you can’t afford that XBox. And if you can’t afford it, that doesn’t make you less of a parent. And it sure doesn’t mean you love them less.

So, if you are someone feeling this stress, please pray. I would pray specifically for peace, love and joy in your life and for your family. If you are someone who is more fortunate, remember you are blessed. Your generosity can positively impact someone’s life forever. Can you remember a time someone was generous to you? You have never forgotten it or how it made you feel. That feeling needs to be shared because it gushes love, joy, trust, and hope…like God. Like what Christmas should be.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On November 4, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

As always, it is so good to see you here whatever day it is for you! Tomorrow is a pretty big day so I would be amiss if we didn’t talk about it. The election. So, without further ado, let’s talk about it.

This Motivational Monday is posted later tonight because I have rewritten it several times. Tomorrow, I know who I am going to vote for and I back them quite a bit. Am I 100% happy with them as a person? Or am I 100% happy with all of their policies? The answer to both of those questions is no…for me. I try to approach all things from a christian perspective. In fact, this is probably the first time I have ever prayed for the best candidate to win (and I really meant it!). There have been times I have prayed that prayer but obviously wanted MY candidate to win.

By praying for the best candidate to win, am I voting for the least bad option?

I am, personally, extremely happy that I am not running for political office because Lord knows, I am not perfect. And I have lived a little in my 44 years on this Earth. 🙂 I am a Christian and I am not perfect. Just like your candidate you will be voting for tomorrow (Romans 3:10). So to answer the question…yes. You are voting for the least bad option because you live in a fallen world! But that’s where discernment comes into play.

The Bible teaches us about leadership. Exodus is an excellent source. Exodus 18:21 reveals that one of the most important qualities of leadership is competency. We need a leader who will uphold justice with written policies that align with our christian morals and values. In fact, Exodus tells us this leader should have good character and support godly policies.

This is where I struggled. No one is perfect. Everyone sins. Yet, I need to vote for someone with good character and support godly policies. That sounds like they need to be as close to sinless as humanly possible. Friends, this is where you weigh competency and morals. Political support and moral approval are two very different things. A question that helps me weigh the candidates is will your candidate reflect biblical values in their political decisions?

Life is not black and white. In fact, I think we live in a constant state of gray. That’s why it’s hard. Because we live in gray, most cannot back a candidate 100% and we struggle. But when weighing the candidates, they are vastly different (I know we are talking about the presidential election tomorrow but in all elections, they are ALWAYS vastly different).

I would bet 99.9% of you know who are, will or would be voting for tomorrow. I personally believe it is our worldly and godly civic duty to vote. Yes, I said godly. Here are some verses to help understand the significance of voting from the Bible: Deuteronomy 1:13, Proverbs 14:34, Proverbs 21:1, Proverbs 29:2 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2. I am going to encourage you all to reflect on what is most important to you in your next worldly leader. Pray about it and read His word and then vote.

I hope to see you at the poll.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On October 28, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! I am so glad you are all here reading this today (whatever day you are reading it). I appreciate you being here. Today was an easy topic for me. I think most of you know I get inspiration from my own life, friends, family and coworkers. Well today, it’s about me. 😂 Hard decisions. They are zero fun. Especially making hard decisions in the light of God’s will. So, let’s talk about it.

Over the last several nights, I have not slept well. I am sure you have all been there, right? You know you have to do something unpleasant and it keeps you up. These decisions can be life threatening or life changing. And sometimes, these decisions are not necessarily life changing for you but for someone else. And honestly, I don’t like being a person that changes someone’s course in their life. In fact, I think I do better mentally when I am the only one affected!

So how can we make tough decisions in the light of God’s will?

First, pray. I know we talk about praying every single week. But it IS JUST that important. But when you are awake at 3am stressed about the next day, THIS IS THE EXACT TIME to have a conversation with God. I pray until I fall back asleep. And I ask Him for peace and comfort and to allow me to sleep. You see, I believe we are put in these situations to draw us closer to God. He knows, but we don’t. He wants us to make decisions that are according to His word and will. By doing this, we glorify and magnify Him in our own lives.

Second, get your heart right. This one can be a tough one for me. When making a tough decision, many people want it their way and not God’s way. To be fair, I don’t think people go into decision making as “against God”. I think we are all somewhat selfish. Even when we do look to Him for help, sometimes we look for “signs: or “feelings”. But we have to be careful not to bend those feelings towards our preference. The best thing is ALWAYS God’s will.

Speaking of feelings, those can be deceptive. The longer we walk with God the better we are discerning His voice (the ladies bible study on Wednesday nights are studying about this exact thing!). The easiest thing is not to base a decision on your feelings. In fact, try to see past it. One thing I can say for certain. If your feeling is against the Word of God, I assure you that is NOT God’s will.

Lastly, ask others to pray for you. Again, this can be a tough one for me. I don’t want to be a bother or draw negative attention to me. And this is my thought process when I ask for prayers…which is so silly! Why? When others ask me to pray for them, I don’t think twice about it! I don’t think they are bother at all! You see, being a part of the body Christ means we have an army of prayer partners. Your brothers and sisters don’t need to sit idle when you need them. They love you and want what is best for you! And what is best, is God’s will.

I am at a point in my life that I do thank God for His wisdom. And, I know I receive His wisdom in times like this. Life is full of decisions daily. Some good. Some are not so good. I pray everyday that God will show me the right way when I have to make decisions on the spot.

Hopefully this week, you don’t have to make a tough decision! But if you do, I challenge you to sit back, read His word, pray and listen. But making sure when you listen that you discern HIS voice and not your own. I know I am telling you all these things but the reality is…I needed reminding. And I thank you for being here to remind me.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday- June 17, 2024

By Jennifer Robbins

On June 17, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

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