Tag: pray

Motivational Monday

On October 7, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! It is so good to be back. I am so thankful for my time away to just regroup when it comes to these motivations. I’ll tell you…the hardest part is figuring out a topic (kinda like deciding what’s for dinner!). Well, while I was away this country had a few things happen…like a hurricane. And there’s another catastrophic one headed straight for Florida. We have seen devastation and sadness all over the news. People missing their loved ones, animals, and everything they have worked for. Where is God??! Why would He allow this to happen?? Well, let’s talk about it.

This is my personal opinion. But, I feel like when you talk about God and natural disasters together, you have to tread lightly. Does anyone else feel like that? I’ll explain. I never want to lead someone to believe that God is “bad” by not stopping what happened. But to be fair to the person the disaster impacted, you can see where they would feel abandoned, hurt and lonely. You could see why they can’t understand why this happened to them and their community when they are a “good” christian.

God isn’t punishing anyone with these disasters. God doesn’t do that BUT if He did, my guess is He would just punish YOU and not everyone else. You’re special but not that special.

In Genesis 1:1, God created the universe and its law of nature. What does that mean? Well, if you live in Alabama, you know when a cold and hot front collide, we have the potential of tornados. Everyone knows that, right? That’s a law of nature. As well as James Spann predicts the weather, he is just a man. God is 100% in control but we are not. He wants us to know it. These types of disasters remind us that life is unpredictable and uncertain. But God is always there to guide us through (Joshua 1:9).

Could God have prevented this? Well of course! He can literally do anything. But if you are like me and something like this happens, you have to look at it with optimism. There is a reason for everything. Yes, even when you have lost everything. You were meant to go through this. Will you ever know why? Maybe. Maybe not. But when you get to heaven, ask Him. He will tell you. I’m sure Noah asked a lot of questions….

When disasters occur, I look at it differently. Again, to be fair, I am an outsider looking in so my perspective is different. One question is why didn’t/doesn’t God intervene? My question back is how do you know He didn’t? It can ALWAYS be worse. If you are alive, it can be worse. That sounds negative but it is the truth. But how many times have you seen a tornado drop out of the sky, LEVEL miles and miles and then poof! Back up in the clouds and never touched that school full of kids. That was a miracle, right? That tornado SHOULD HAVE blown right through that school. No. That was God.

There are times, disasters are a wake up call. Do I think they happened so YOU would wake up? Ummm….let’s just say I think maybe you and several others. Sometimes when our lives get off track, we forget a few things. And when something catastrophic happens, we tend to know who to seek. Kinda like your child when they are scared…they come running to you for comfort and protection. Well, that is no different than you running to your Father. And that is EXACTLY what you are supposed to do.

Listen, we live in a fallen world. We know this and we talk about it every week. As a christian, what should you do? It’s ok to grieve for these people. It’s ok to grieve WITH these people. We can pray for comfort and healing. We can volunteer and help if we are able. We can continue to worship and praise Him despite this! If Job could continue worshiping, you definitely can as someone looking in. Don’t allow these disasters to get you down and doubt. He’s there…just look.

Please keep Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and everyone impacted by these storms in your prayers. They appreciate it more than you know.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On September 9, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

The 5 “L’s” of Life Series

Hey friends! We are continuing our 5 “L’s” of life series and today is listening. Like the other “L’s”, you can go in a million directions with this one. I talk alot about listening to God. But today, I want to talk about becoming a good listener. So, let’s talk about it.

When I went into HR, I wasn’t a very good listener. I heard what you were saying but I didn’t allow it to actually sink in. I would love to tell you that between the 2 degrees I received and the gazillion dollars in student loan debt, SOMEONE taught the importance of listening! If I was taught, I wasn’t listening. (Come on…that was funny) It wasn’t until I was in my career for a minute when I was with an employee who was irate and I was just overwhelmed. I had nothing to say to them that would calm them down. So…I had no choice but to sit there and listen. And they calmed down. When the conversation ended, I hugged them and promised to do what I could (which wasn’t much). She looked at me and said, “I just appreciate you letting me get this off my chest. I appreciate you listening to me.” And that’s the moment I learned to listen.

So what does listening do for people?

First, it affirms them. A the most basic form, when we listen to someone we are acknowledging their existence. Which in today’s world, says alot. In Mark 10, Jesus was surrounded by a crowd when he heard a blind beggar call out to him. Jesus stopped. Jesus called out to Batimaeus and listened to him. He asked Jesus to heal him and Jesus did. Of course, by restoring his sight, it affirmed him but what if Jesus never stopped to listen?

Second, we strengthen each other just by listening. James Dopson once said, “For some strange reason, human beings . . . tolerate stress and pressure much more easily if at least one other person knows they are enduring it.” Is that not accurate? Look at Bartimaeus. This interaction he had with Jesus strengthened him not only by restoring his sight but through the acknowledgement of Jesus when others didn’t think he was worth listening to.

Third, listening allows others to work through their thoughts. I am sure you have been talking to someone about an issue you were having. They might have asked a few questions now and then but by the time the conversation was over, YOU came up with a resolution. Did you know there’s a bible verse about that? Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.” How clever that was written in the Bible when you thought YOU were the mastermind behind working out your issue. 🙂

How can we improve with listening?

I’m about to say something profound. I need you all to write this down. Ready? You have to hush and let the person talk. <drops mic and walks away> I’m kidding about the profound part but I’m serious about hushing! When God listens to you, he listens to you. He doesn’t interrupt you. He lets you get it all out. Which circles us back to the beginning!

When you are listening, you don’t have to fix their problems. You just affirm love and compassion. Affirm. Affirm His love to them. By affirming His love, it gives them security. Security that God does love them and He is there for them. And to be honest, He is so much better at “fixing” their problems than you are.

So this week, I want to encourage you to listen to others. When they ask you a question, understand there is a statement behind the question. If they ask you, “Do you ever feel like God ignores you?” That’s how THEY FEEL. And you being the great friend you are, wants to fix their feelings. Work on NOT fixing it. Give them the affirmation they are looking for. If it was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On August 5, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

As I was scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration for this week’s meals, I came across a prayer someone had pinned called the “I Don’t Know Prayer”. It goes like this: “You just go somewhere quiet and you sit at the feet of God and you say, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know what is happening. I don’t know how to process this. I don’t know what to do with these emotions. I don’t know how to handle this situation’. And then with whatever little grain of faith you have, you say, ’but You know.’ And you leave it there. God most certainly hears your prayer. Declare Amen.”

Man, have I been there before! So, let’s talk about it!

When I was a young mother, life was pretty hectic and mundane at the same time. Everyday, we would get up, get dressed, get Logan dressed, feed him, pack his bag, get him to the car, take him to daycare, go to work, go back to get him, come home, cook dinner, get him a bath, read a book, cuddle, then I would shower, I MIGHT watch some TV but then I would go to bed. (For the record, Jon is a very involved dad and he would help wherever I needed him.) Even though the day is different, it’s the exact same. And you get…lost. Or at least, I did. I was lost in the middle of MY life.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE(D) my life. I love being a mom and wife. I love making my house a home. But how much time have I spent pouring laundry detergent in the washer? How much time have I spent asking Logan what he wants for dinner? It’s not washing or cooking, it’s the redundancy and cyclicality of it all. And then there is the time factor…

And the more I did, the more hidden I felt. I was unnoticed. I was unseen. I didn’t need a trophy. I didn’t need “atta girl” daily. But I was becoming more and more lost. I am sure Jon felt the same way. To this day, we talk about that time when life was hard. Everything from eating to talking was…hard. Why? We were lost.

You know who saw us? Who knew down to second how much time has been spent pouring that laundry detergent in the washer? Who saw every single thing I did and uttered, “Keep going”? My heavenly Father. How do I know this?

Hagar, who also felt unnoticed, unseen and hidden, He told her he saw her. (Genesis 16:6). He assured her He had a plan and this mundane work would last a season.

Ruth, who also was doing mundane work, picking up leftover grain for a season (Ruth 2:2) and He reminded her this would prepare her for a husband.

David was doing mundane work by shepherding sheep for a season (1 Samuel 16:19) and He reminded him how this prepared him to become king one day.

Peter and other disciples were doing mundane work by casting a fishing net in hopes of catching a plethora of fish (Matthew 4:19) and He reminded them how this would prepare the disciples to be fishers of men.

You see, the work you do doesn’t DEFINE you. I think we get caught up in that sometimes. What we do is for seasons. This mundane work you are doing creates character. There is beauty in mundane work. So what you are doing for this SEASON, lays groundwork for the future. Don’t get bogged down with “mundaneness”.

And for the record, God always sees you. You aren’t lost. He knows EXACTLY where you are at all times. He knows exactly where you have been, where you are today and where you are going! If you feel lost, remember that is just a feeling.

This week, as you are doing dishes or washing clothes and you are tired, it’s ok. It’s ok to feel tired and unnoticed. Feeling this way is just a reminder you need to pray. And your prayer can be the “I Don’t Know Prayer” and THAT’S ok too! Why? Because He’s got you. He sees you. He knows you’re tired and He has plans for you. Just know that what you are doing now is for just a very small season. That mundane work you’re doing is love. Imagine the love He shows you daily and what that entails on His part.

Love you all and see you Wednesday for the midweek message!

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On July 15, 2024

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Motivational Monday

Hey friends!! I hope your week last week was great and I hope this week is EVEN better. This week’s motivation was inspired by events from yesterday. 🙂 In these motivations, I always talk about prayer. Pastor Scott constantly preaches to pray. But why? What are the benefits? So, you know the drill…let’s talk about it.

Y’all. I need to be real for a minute. I woke up crabby yesterday. I was not in the best mood and I don’t know why. I’m sure you have those days. So, I decided I was going to skip church BUT I didn’t. The whole way to church, I was irritable about a situation I made MUCH worse in my head because of my mood. So, I just prayed about it on the way to church while listening to my christian station on Pandora. Then, I get to church looking for something to bring me out of my funk. Guess what? Nope. Still irritable.

Later in the day, I had some other things I had to do and my mood got better but I was still down (you know…irritable down if that makes sense). Then last night, I got a text message from Martha Fulgham. For those of you who don’t know Martha, please come to church and meet her. She is one of THE MOST genuine people you will ever meet. ANYWAY, her text was something about church but it turned into us texting back and forth. She literally changed my mood in that text exchange. I knew right then that was God. God sent her to lift my spirits. THEN, Debbie Ingram sent a text! Let me add, no one knew I was in a funk (and I don’t think it was noticeable). Debbie’s text was to just check one me because she thought she heard I was sick. Wow. Thank you God.

These texts happened within minutes of each other and I felt so loved and appreciated. It was overwhelming and these two ladies had no idea what their texts meant to me at that time. I knew right then, we had to talk about this today! I know God answered my morning and afternoon prayers.

We constantly preach prayer but let’s look at some benefits we might have trouble seeing.

Prayer can set or change the tone for the day

Listen, start your day thanking God you woke up and that He is there taking care of you today! God has given you an abundance of blessings. Sometimes we need to restore and repair our hearts. A great way to start is with a gratitude prayer.

Prayer helps you make better decisions

Listen, when we stop and pray about a situation, it gives us a moment of calmness. Calmness can bring clarity. Clarity comes from God through prayer. Ask God for clarity and guidance about situations you are struggling with at that moment.

Daily prayer keeps God front and center everyday. He is not just for Sundays

Fun fact, God wants you to seek Him all day everyday and not just on Sundays. If you pray daily, you will see Him more in your everyday life. If you lean on Him when you are hurting, you will feel his peace and comfort. When you ask him for help, He will guide you. But like anything else, you have to exercise this daily. Not just weekly.

Frequent communication builds a stronger bond

This is not a new concept, right? The more you talk to a friend, the better friend they become. Why? Because your conversations get deeper and the quality gets better and better. Then, you trust them with your feelings and emotions. God is no different.

Daily prayer shows the discipline of submitting your heart to Him

Let go. You HAVE to give it to Him. You HAVE to. I know, I know. It’s hard because we like controlling situations. But guess what? You are never really in control. You just feel like you are. But guess who IS in control? Yep…you guessed it!

Answered prayers are prayers prayed

I say this all the time but God knows you better than anyone. He knows when you are struggling. He’s waiting on you to ASK for help. Jennifer. If He knows I need help, why doesn’t He just help me? Good question! God wants your heart. The only way to achieve that is through daily prayer. So friends, if you are struggling, have yourself a little therapy session with God in the car like I did Sunday morning!

Opening your heart to Him transforms your heart

Prayers should not be robotic or transactional. It would be hard to make a friend with someone who’s a robot, right? Friendships are relationships. God is not interested in quantity but quality. He wants your heart. Prayer allows Him to work in you. He will transform your heart and bring you joy that you can’t find elsewhere. So, stop looking for joy in the wrong places!

We say all the time, prayer is your main communication to God. But prayer is so much more. You don’t have to pray pretty either! Trust me, I am a walking, talking truth bomb there. I just talk to God. He doesn’t care as long as you are genuine!

This week, practice daily prayer. If you already pray daily (woohoo!), ask Him for help with any needs you have. It’s ok to pray for you! If you are good this week (awesome) ask Him to strengthen your relationship with Him. You can never have a strong enough relationship with God. And lastly, if you feel like God is telling you to send a random text to someone, just do it. You never know when that person needs to hear from you…but God knows.

Love you all and see you next week,

Jennifer