Seeing with New Eyes

I can't help but write about the butterflies right now. They are everywhere. If you are anywhere other than Colorado, there has been a Monarch butterfly migration through our state this past week.  To me, they are like little love notes from God. Just when I think there is nothing to smile about on any given day, out pops a butterfly, or two, or a whole swarm! I have always loved the butterfly analogy and how it relates to us humans.  We so desperately want to be the thing we were created to be but we aren't there yet. It's like we are stuck. It is a strange tension between the already, not yet. Think about the life cycle of the butterfly. It is already a butterfly by its nature, but not yet. It doesn't know it yet because it has to go through the refining process. It is destined to become something more. It is a butterfly in progress. It's called something different before it actually emerges, but it is still a butterfly. It has to go through a journey, maybe a...

I hate strongly dislike obligation. Well, at least, when I am the one obligated. E specially when I committed to something   and then 10 other things get stacked on it even with the best intention . There is heaviness that hangs around my neck when I am obligated to someone or something. I just don't like the idea of having to be in debt to anything. That feels like prison. Not freedom. But obligation is not a law or a requirement. The actual definition is "to bind or compel someone, especially legally or morally." So if I boil it down, it's not something I have to do. It's more like something that is highly suggested. This is where it gets tricky. While I don't agree with it entirely, there is thought process in this generation that you have to do what makes you happy and you don't have to do what doesn't. Obligation only exists in a world of rules and order. I often look at obligation through the tainted glass of the world. I view it less as a pr...

After dropping the kids off at school today, I came home to a long to-do list. I didn't know where to start. My heart was craving some time with the Lord but I had so much to do. But today, those "more important" things became less important and I chose to sit quietly with my Creator. I craved to hear His voice. I sat in silence and allowed my thoughts to become prayers. I asked Him what He wanted me to read in His word. I kept hearing 1 Corinthians 12. Not sure why.  To be honest, I wasn't sure 1 Cor 12 existed 😁. I obeyed and turned to it. Guess what? It does exist. It's right before the infamous wedding chapter 13...Love is... Today, chapter 12 fed my soul. It filled me up. It gave me much needed context for the next chapter. After pulling apart chapter 12, I read on to the first part of chapter 13 and it's was like I read it for the first time ever. My eyes were opened to seeing the Love chapter in a brand new light. I'm going to stop there. Not b...

My husband used to refer to certain things I did or said as: the world according to Jenna. He coined the phrase after many debates regarding my view being very narrow, small, and from my perspective only. Now, I do believe that I have improved in seeing things through a larger looking glass but I still slide back every now and again. Eh hem, last night. I don't believe that my perspective is bad or wrong (obviously) and neither does my husband . But everyone has their own perspective. I describe people in two ways: they see the forest through the trees or they see the pine needles on the forest ground. Both are very important POV's. One focuses on the grand scale. The big picture. The past or future. The other discovers the minute details. The brush strokes. The here and now. Here's the dilemma: if we always revert to one way of looking at things, we miss out.  We miss a bunch. Even worse, we miss Him, with a capital H. We can't get a full picture of God when we don...

In light of this week's hurricane and the craziness of the holiday, I'm going to make this short and to the point. What do we do when people are in need? How do we respond? Bottom line: we help. However that looks for each person is different. But it's that simple. We help. The wonderful thing about helping others, beside the obvious, that it helps others, is that we are blessed by the opportunity to do so. We get to be the hands and feet of Jesus in these times. What an amazing gift! We get to be the helpers. Proverbs 22:9 - The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor As you go into your holiday weekend, I encourage you to take a moment, if you haven't already, and just pray for those along the gulf coast. And ask God to give you some opportunities to help. Engage your kiddos: Activity: Pray for the people affected with your kids. Talk about the hurricane and show them a few pictures that help them understand the impact....