So Ive been seeing a lot of "what I'm thankful for" blogs and I got blessed reading them so I decided to join in and share some things that I've been thankful for these first three days of November!
Monday-
I was especially thankful for Perspective! I love getting the chance to gather together with my fellow college folks and just worship our Heavenly Father and fellowship with them!!
This may seem petty and weird but I am thankful for arts and crafts! I cant tell you how many times a week I pull out the coloring book, paintbrush, modge podge and just loose my mind in some art!!! I love it!
I am thankful for hugs! I am such a girl for this- but a lot of times when people hug me I have to fight back tears because I feel so loved!! :)
Tuesday-
I am thankful for friends sending me texts messages to say they are praying for me! That is so very uplifting and encouraging!
I am thankful for God using ordinary people in an extraordinary way!
I am thankful for Physical Therapist who are willing to go the extra mile and squeeze you in to their BUSY schedule!!
Wednesday-
I am thankful for the faithfulness of Antioch's youth kids and their desire to grow closer to God!!
I am thankful for friends who call you up and ask you to go to Chapel with them!!
I am thankful for friends who will walk to Starbucks with you on a rainy day just so you can get some hot chocolate!!!
I am so blessed! I am thankful that I am so blessed that I had to force myself to limit the thankfulnesses :) to three a day!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Jill
This post has been a long time coming. I started this post over a year ago and though I don’t think I will ever describe into words just how much of an impact she made on my life -I decided to post it anyway.
To say that God has blessed my life with Godly examples is pretty close to being the biggest understatement of the century! I’ve mentioned a few of those blessings in previous posts and will probably post more! Why? I am so stinking blessed and I have to share!!
I had amazing Sunday school teachers, mentors, and Godly examples. However in this post I want to focus on one of the biggest influences on my life- Jill. Some of you may have known her and others just heard about her. So here is a little about Jill from my perspective!
The first time I met Jill was at So@r. I’ll never forget- she had on pigtails and shorts that were overalls on with a drawstring backpack! I have no idea why I remember that but I suspect it has to do with the overall shortsJ! God used her in a big way in my life and I am so thankful He did!
During the time Jill was my Sunday school teacher I grew leaps and bounds in my walk with Christ! Through her God taught me how to study His word! He showed me how to not just read His word but absorb it and apply it to my life! Jill made us memorize scripture and I’m not talking about “Jesus wept” !!! I’m talking about a whole chapter of the Bible! We kicked, screamed, and complained the whole time but we were better because of it! I cant tell you how many times in high school and college that one of those verses came to mind at the perfect time! Jill kept us accountable in our walk with Christ! Every week in Sunday school she would ask us not only if we did our “Seek the Lord time” but what we learned in it!! She did all that and so much more! The three biggest things that I learned from her are-
1. Passion for Christ- I’ve never seen so much passion for Christ come from one person. Her fire for Christ still blows me away just thinking about it to this day! When she was singing praises to Christ you could see her love and thankfulness for her Savior in every bone! She was the first person I’ve seen dance in a Baptist church!! Her passion for Christ was in every aspect of her life- her marriage, her work, her Sunday school class, bible study, relationship with her friends and her mission work! When Jill was in the hospital they had a blog giving people updates. I remember reading prayers from people who were from literally all over the world! She touched hearts in China, Philippians, Ukraine, Nicaragua, all over the United States and many others!! You spent five minutes with Jill and you knew what she was about- Christ!!
2. Prayer- prayer is such a powerful thing! I think sometimes we forget how powerful it really and truly is! There is something so unbelievably peaceful about knowing someone is praying for you- at least I find it peaceful! This is probably a stupid analogy (and could totally be unbiblical) but when someone tells me they are praying for me it’s like these invisible arms just wrap themselves around me and I just lean in on those arms! Scott showed some excerpts from Jill’s prayer journal and I was moved to tears by how many times I found my name and what was beside it! She prayed for me and so many others! When I saw those prayers of hers I decided my prayer life was just not what it could be. So that is something that I’ve been working on this past few years- I want to be a Prayer warrior! I haven’t mastered it and I don’t think I ever will but I will do the best I can!
3. Legacy- The legacy that Jill left is still impacting people today! There are people that were discipled by Jill that are now discipling others. There are missionaries that are still on the mission field today because God used Jill to encourage and to pray for them. When she passed, it got me thinking about the legacy that I wanted to leave behind! I pray I can leave a legacy that is God honor, glorifying, and loving!!
I don’t want you to get the impression that I think Jill was perfect! She wasn’t! She would slap me silly if I placed her on a pedestal! She wouldn’t have done those things had it not been for God’s love in her! I love her but more that I that I love the God in her and I love what God did through her! She is gone from this earth and though I don’t understand why God chose to take her so young -I know that His plan is perfect.
My life is forever changed by God placing her in my life! I miss her and I still think about her almost if not every day! So many times I reach to call her just to talk about life when I realize I cant! My biggest regret is never telling her how much of an impact she made on my life! I look forward to the day when I will see her again and join her in worshipping our Savior for Eternity!
To say that God has blessed my life with Godly examples is pretty close to being the biggest understatement of the century! I’ve mentioned a few of those blessings in previous posts and will probably post more! Why? I am so stinking blessed and I have to share!!
I had amazing Sunday school teachers, mentors, and Godly examples. However in this post I want to focus on one of the biggest influences on my life- Jill. Some of you may have known her and others just heard about her. So here is a little about Jill from my perspective!
The first time I met Jill was at So@r. I’ll never forget- she had on pigtails and shorts that were overalls on with a drawstring backpack! I have no idea why I remember that but I suspect it has to do with the overall shortsJ! God used her in a big way in my life and I am so thankful He did!
During the time Jill was my Sunday school teacher I grew leaps and bounds in my walk with Christ! Through her God taught me how to study His word! He showed me how to not just read His word but absorb it and apply it to my life! Jill made us memorize scripture and I’m not talking about “Jesus wept” !!! I’m talking about a whole chapter of the Bible! We kicked, screamed, and complained the whole time but we were better because of it! I cant tell you how many times in high school and college that one of those verses came to mind at the perfect time! Jill kept us accountable in our walk with Christ! Every week in Sunday school she would ask us not only if we did our “Seek the Lord time” but what we learned in it!! She did all that and so much more! The three biggest things that I learned from her are-
1. Passion for Christ- I’ve never seen so much passion for Christ come from one person. Her fire for Christ still blows me away just thinking about it to this day! When she was singing praises to Christ you could see her love and thankfulness for her Savior in every bone! She was the first person I’ve seen dance in a Baptist church!! Her passion for Christ was in every aspect of her life- her marriage, her work, her Sunday school class, bible study, relationship with her friends and her mission work! When Jill was in the hospital they had a blog giving people updates. I remember reading prayers from people who were from literally all over the world! She touched hearts in China, Philippians, Ukraine, Nicaragua, all over the United States and many others!! You spent five minutes with Jill and you knew what she was about- Christ!!
2. Prayer- prayer is such a powerful thing! I think sometimes we forget how powerful it really and truly is! There is something so unbelievably peaceful about knowing someone is praying for you- at least I find it peaceful! This is probably a stupid analogy (and could totally be unbiblical) but when someone tells me they are praying for me it’s like these invisible arms just wrap themselves around me and I just lean in on those arms! Scott showed some excerpts from Jill’s prayer journal and I was moved to tears by how many times I found my name and what was beside it! She prayed for me and so many others! When I saw those prayers of hers I decided my prayer life was just not what it could be. So that is something that I’ve been working on this past few years- I want to be a Prayer warrior! I haven’t mastered it and I don’t think I ever will but I will do the best I can!
3. Legacy- The legacy that Jill left is still impacting people today! There are people that were discipled by Jill that are now discipling others. There are missionaries that are still on the mission field today because God used Jill to encourage and to pray for them. When she passed, it got me thinking about the legacy that I wanted to leave behind! I pray I can leave a legacy that is God honor, glorifying, and loving!!
I don’t want you to get the impression that I think Jill was perfect! She wasn’t! She would slap me silly if I placed her on a pedestal! She wouldn’t have done those things had it not been for God’s love in her! I love her but more that I that I love the God in her and I love what God did through her! She is gone from this earth and though I don’t understand why God chose to take her so young -I know that His plan is perfect.
My life is forever changed by God placing her in my life! I miss her and I still think about her almost if not every day! So many times I reach to call her just to talk about life when I realize I cant! My biggest regret is never telling her how much of an impact she made on my life! I look forward to the day when I will see her again and join her in worshipping our Savior for Eternity!
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