It is well

I completely forgot where I wanted to start this blog off at. My dad always gets upset with me when I end sentences in prepositions. He also refuses to comment on my blog, although he always reads it (whenever there is something new) and makes verbal comments to me. Something about not wanting his thoughts to be made public. He's probably right. There's already enough garbage floating around on the Internet, we don't need anymore propaganda from an active liberal idealist to clog up our web. Not even in the instance to defend themselves, should the need arise, from someone who speaks out in a radically untruthful manner against them. Yep. No need to defend yourself, dad. We all know the truth. There is absolutely no need for you to ever post a comment here. Or desire. The world is better off without your thoughts being made available to the masses. (*Come on, reverse psychology. Work!!*)

In other news, this is how I feel these days. Stripped to the core, alone, blowing in the wind, yet completely surrounded by the grace of God. It is a beautiful thing in which I continuously marvel.

I have many friends who I love dearly and are forever good to me. The next portion of this post will be to say ways I have been blessed by friends as of late. I'm not going to think long or hard about it because otherwise, I could go on forever. This is just what's fresh in my mind.

1. Dom - for knowing me better than I think you should and not being shy with honesty when I need it.
2. Al - for knowing all my secrets and loving me more because of them.
3. Bercos - for the hilarious random cards you send. (I really AM like a hot sweater in July!)
4. Lauren - for making me smile even when you're not aware of it.
5. Dad/Triz/Dylan - for knowing how much random cuss words make me laugh and not holding back when I need a good one.
6. Becky - For the complete randomness of your e-mails. And your support for my love of mexican. (Food, that is.)
7. Angela - Because no matter how hard I try, I can never shock you with things I say / do. That's quality.
8. Dustin - you never give up on me and are a constant source of encouragement. That is quality as well.
9. Frick - I love your haikus. It's about time for another round.
10. Tyler - you could be on this list, but you left me. So, you're not.

I really didn't mean for that to be a rounded out list of ten, but there you have it. I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow, I have my first annual review at work. I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since moving from Kirksville. Time flies when you're having fun. A very wise man has told me more times than I can count that a man who doesn't love this life is crazy. Each passing day solidifies even more the truth of that statement. Call me Johnny Appleseed cause, MAN! The Lord is good to me!! Rock on, Jenna. Rock on.

Another Me

I've realized lately how often I say the word "I". Check it out. Three times in a sentence that has only 10 words. For quite a while I've been more aware of my self-absorbedness and wanted to do something about it but really lacked the knowledge of what to do. Or maybe I just got lazy when it came to implementing action for change. Bottom line, I'm on a quest to become less focused on me, on my desires, my dreams, my thoughts, my feelings, my situation.....whatever the case may be. I have been incredibly blessed in this life and it is time to start giving God the praise He deserves. So often I look to him for help in guidance and in doing so, I look straight past who he is and focus solely on my problem and what benefit I can gain from Him. And honestly, that's crap. We're called to seek FIRST His kingdom....not His guidance, His help, His favor, etc. To simply seek HIM is all we're called to do.

SO.... that being said, I'm on a quest to give Him the proper praise He is due. Yes...the Lord desires us to come to Him with our requests and desires, but first and foremost, we must KNOW Him. Imagine a friend always coming to you saying, "I want this. I think you should do this differently. Would you please do this for me? I want you to make sure this never happens again. This is your fault. Would you please fix this?" And perhaps I made that quote too cordial for the way we approach God. To truly HAVE a friend is to truly BE a friend. And I'm not saying that God's love is conditional because it most certainly is not. What I am saying is that I have been entirely too selfish and self-centered in my relationship with the Lord that I have completely forsaken my first love. And that is something I intend to change by simply giving Him praise. Finding out new ways to love and bless Him. And for the times I simply feel like complaining for whatever reason, I will just turn to Psalm 100, specifically verse 5. That alone is reason to Praise God.

So all that just to say what I want. I want to hear cool things God has done / is doing in your life. A way we can be reminded of God's LOVE and FAITHFULNESS is to hear of His works in the lives of others. My challenge to you is to come up with 5 simple reasons why the Lord is worthy of your praise. And then I want to hear it. Either leave a comment or e-mail me. The Lord is good; let us give Him the praise He deserves.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21

Nothing Compares

What a blessing of a weekend this has been! Definitely one of those times where I want to go back and hit rewind to live it all again. Dylan came to visit, Drea was in town, babysat Emory - who completely stole my heart, listened to lots of live music which makes me smile, got to spend time with Nathan and Morgan, spent a bit of time with Becca and Nate, ran into random friends, spent some good time alone, just had a great phone conversation with Al.....All in all, it has been great. And I still have the rest of today and tomorrow!

I feel like I'm being pulled in so many directions of what I want in life right now and what amazes me most (in a bad way) is how self-centered it all is. What have I done for the Lord today? I'm not sure. What have I asked from the Lord today? Where do I start.....All I ever do is ask.

In other thoughts, I really enjoy music. I love listening to a good band play live. Doesn't matter what type of music really....As long as it's played well. This weekend, I got to hear some really great live music (Third Day, Bethany Dillon, Jeremy Camp, Mercy Me, The State...). What's best about these groups is that not only is their music good and creative, it also speaks directly to the heart. There is nothing better than great music with even better lyrics. In honor of music today and bands who have fought hard to make their voice heard, I am including a top ten list of music that I never get tired of listening to - whether it be a particular song or artist. Enjoy.

1. Sister Hazel (favorite as of late)
2. Third Eye Blind (In particular Narcolepsy)
3. Shane and Shane
4. John Denver (I love the songs Matthew and For You)
5. Fall to Pieces (Avril Lavigne)
6. Ed Cash (Bercos - you know the song I love)
7. Watermark
8. Dave Matthews
9. Don't you know I've always Loved you (Third Day)
10. Spoken For (Mercy Me)

There you go. Look them up of you so choose. There are often times when I just flat out don't know what to say yet there is always at least one song that says it perfectly. Kind of like the book of Psalms - which coincidentally is mostly songs. Anyway, I guess that's all for now. Take note, friends. I have run out of things I want to say.

Peace out.