What Happens on Wednesday.

What happens on Wednesday??

Last March, I became a certified Water Safety Instructor. In other words, I teach swim lessons ;). Ever since March, I've been teaching swim lessons full swing. One or two classes at first, but now I'm up to four or five classes each week - how crazy is that!!! But I have to say, I love all my kiddos. I love to teach the little ones how blow bubbles, kick their feet, and jump into the pool while singing the Speckled Frog song. Not all of my classes are easy, I'll be the first to say.
    Some of my kiddos are a breeze, you tell them what to do and they do it! Some of my kiddos are very timid and shy, needing lots of TLC, patience, and positive reinforcement. Some are fearless of the water, but have no idea how to swim - which is wonderful yet terrifying simultaneously. And some, are just screamers. No matter what you do, say, or try, they'll just scream and cling to you for dear life.
     I've found that I can handle screamers a lot better than I can handle 6 pre-school age boys - alll to myself. Which include all of the above type swimmers!! That's one of the things that happens on Wednesday, managing a class of 6 very different type kiddos, swim levels, and voice decibels all at once. A lot of prayer, patience, and help from an experienced swim instructor plus sideline mommies has definitely been a blessing, even when I couldn't see it.
   Ya see, I'm very territorial - especially of my swim classes. I love to teach, and when someone comes along who's better, who connects better with "my children", and parents love them completely steals my thunder. And last week I had to fight to stay above the depression and jealously. This swim instructor, Ms. P, decided to give me a helping hand. At first I was glad for the help...but as the lesson went on, I was more on the sidelines watching the class while she instructed my batch of boys with ease. I'd struggled every Tuesday and Thursday for all of this month with these kids, and in one night she's accomplished more than I could've dreamed of. You can only imagine how crushed my pride was. In the end, Ms. P did talk to me and explain it wasn't her intention to take over like that, and teaching 5 boys is hard (B didn't make it to class that night).
     Even though I learned several wonderful techniques for working and managing a big class of all boys, 3-5 years of age, it took some beating down of my pride and acceptance to find them. She's a mom of 3, been teaching for years, and so much more - of course she's better than I am! But being human and the person that I am, it was a big deal to accept that I'm not perfect, that there are other things I could try to make my classes more enjoyable for those boys, and that I need to stop worrying so much and accept that life happens - and six little boys happens.
   Well, off to class I go here in a little bit! We'll see what all else will happen on Wednesday.
Love,
   Simply Jenn

Apology.

Wow, it's been almost two months since I last blogged. I really wanted to make this into a devotional blog, but I haven't had the time I'd like to get into the Bible and share what it teaches me with others. I've considered doing a little change to the blog, having a daily theme. For instance, Thoughts for Thursday, Friday Farmday, Monday's Musing, and such the like. I apologize to all my readers for the time I've taken off, and I hope to get back into the swing of things soon.

-Simply Jenn

Breathe...Just Breathe.

      

 Daily we lift our requests up to the Father. As of late, I've been praying about relationships - with my family, my siblings, my friends, those special to me. Letting Him know what's on my heart, yet asking for His will to be done - not mine.
 
  Sometimes, I feel it's so hard to pray about the things that are most dear to me - people. Close friends. Daily, almostly constantly I'm asking God to please guide me, to show me what to do. I'm asking for His will to be done, asking for an answer..and yet I wonder when none comes. Could there be a reason?

     Today I was talking with my good friend S, and giving her some advice about a situation she had been praying about. "Sometimes, we have to be quiet long enough to listen for the answer." I realized I was not just talking to her, but to myself. God wants us to talk to Him all the time, to "pray without ceasing", lifting up our care and concerns about everything. But He also wants us to take the time to listen.
   
   He wants us to take the time to hear Him say, "Shhhhh. Jenny, it'll be okay. Just breathe, trust me. I love you more than the sunrise, more than the ocean. I love you more than you could ever imagine. I have a plan, I have it all figured out. Shhh, Jenny.  Listen to Me speak." Until we wait, until we listen, we will never find peace - we will never be at rest.
 
   Today, as you life up your cares, as you worry about what tomorrow holds, shhh. Breathe. Listen for God to speak to your heart; if you give Him the chance, He will give you rest.

Love,
   Simply Jen

The Backup Plan

Jeremiah 29:11-14
  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."

God always has a plan.

The funny thing is, sometimes we do too. We plan our day, to-do list, sometimes our week, year - or even our life. And when everything starts to fall into place, our future headed in the planned direction, everything starts to fall apart. Boyfriend breaks up with you, college scholarship fell through, you're failing your current classes, you planned to workout but your car broke down, the list drags on and on.

What to know why I think these things happen? I'll tell ya anyways. Because even though we had that "perfect plan" for our life, we forgot the most important element - Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever - He knew you, before He even MADE you! Isn't that mind blowing? And if He knew you, before He made you, don't you think He has a perfect plan for you?

I, myself often kept caught up in planning my life that I forget to factor God back into the equation. In which case God steps in and says, "My child, what have you done? Here. Let me just "rearrange" your schedule a little bit. Let me remind you that I Am who I Am. You're going to lose a dear friend; you're going to struggle in this class; you're going to be overworked, underpaid, and look for attention from the wrong people. Until you look to Me, until you seek My Face, these are the consequences that will be given you." And when all of this happens, and I feel like I am drowning in the captivity of this world, I must turn to my Savior, I must let Him find me, and captivate my heart.

And when I finally rest in His arms, trusting that His way is the most perfect way, His timing perfect, then my life, my emotions, my spiritual frustration is put at peace. It is then that my life may move forward, and only then, that my relationship with Christ may grow.

Trust that God has a plan for you, as the prophet Jeremiah wrote. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." -Philippians 4:6.

Love,
    Simply Jen

Forsake All

Please check out my friend's blog, Forsake All. He is an amazing blogger! He recently posted on prayer, and how it is like Piano lessons. My friend has many inspiring blog posts that have helped me in my walk with Christ, and I pray that his messages will also be able to speak to you.
http://forsake1433.blogspot.com/
 Love,
    Simply Jen

Faith That Can Move the Mountains

(I found this off the internet, I have no credit for it)

James 1:5-8

 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."



Mark 11:22-25

"And Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have naything against anyone, so that you Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.' "

Wow. Take a moment to ponder over those passages of Scripture, please.

    While having my morning devotions, reading my Bible and praying, I came across these passages. I've been thinking alot about faith, about prayer, and how sometimes it feels like praying to God and asking for things we need/want doesn't work. Think there might be a reason?

      Let's first look at prayer. Asking God for what we need isn't a bad thing - God wants us to ask Him! However, when we pray, we have to have the right mindset about us. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith...." Stop.

    Prayer, without faith, is like talking to a wall, asking it to do something but really not expecting anything. "Hey Wall, could you get me a glass of water? Ok, thanks." and just staring at it. Sometimes that's how we pray to our God. "Dear Lord, I pray for peace about my situation, I'm stressed and worried." And yet you just sit there on your knees, waiting for something to happen. We must have faith in our God, we must have faith that he hears our prayers. If we ask for something, and don't believe God can do it, where is our faith? What does that say about us, about God?

   Now let's look at faith. Jesus told his disciples, "Have faith in God, Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for Him.' " Wow. Can you imagine that? Faith can do incredible things. Faith can move mountains. Faith can heal a broken heart. Faith can allow the peace of God to prevail in your heart and soul. "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Let that sink in.

Whatever you ask God, whatever you ask the Lord, believe that He will already bless you. He may not give you exactly what you asked for, but He will give you the blessing that you need.

    Let's also take into consideration the last two verses of the passage from James 1, "For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." Where does that fit in? Mark says that "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." At first glance these lines seem so contradictory - yet if you look at them, they make sense.

  There's a difference between believing God will bless you, and supposing God will give you what you asked for. I believe that's what those last few verses mean; they're outlining the differences between faith that God will provide what you need, and the belief that God will give you what you asked for. Sometimes, what we actually need, is not what we asked Him for.

So let us continue on, believing that our God can move the mountains if we but ask - holding fast to our steadfast faith.

Love,

   Simply Jen

1 Peter 1:8-9

Love

 

Sometimes the prospect of love feels impossible, inexistent, intangible. However, we cannot accept love, until we can give love. We cannot give love, until we understand love. And we cannot understand love, until we know God. God IS love; we have to be so consumed with God, with love, before we can accept and return love. God made us to be loving, affectionate, intimate beings, but we cannot be thus so if we are discontent in Christ. Embrace the Greatest Love of your life, and He will bless you.

-Simply Jen