Love Won't Quit on You...

Today something changed in me. I realized a very important aspect of my heart; I doubt the Lord's love for me. I don't doubt the Lord's love for you, for the broken, for the hurt, for EVERYBODY else; but I doubt His love for me. 


I heard this song a couple weeks back and was immediately drawn to it. Why? Well, the title gives it away. "Love Won't Quit on Us..." by Mikeschair  

"Don't quit on Love 'cause you're broken 

Don't quit on hope 

You're not hopeless 

You know the sun will rise again 

This is not the end

I know this complicated world gets you down, but don't give up 

Don't give up 

Don't quit on Love 

'Cause love 

Won't quit on us 

Love 

Won't quit on us "

How many times did I feel so hopeless because I was depending on the love of the world instead of the love of the Lord. 

I wanted to share this with you because I have a feeling many of you feel this way today or have felt this way. I want you to know that God LOVES YOU. And yes, He loves me dearly. 

Today the Lord told me this:

"You have the access key in the palm of your hand, it’s the surrendering of your hands that I will move your feet."

May we all surrender our hands to His almighty Love and Grace and then and only then will He give us the ability to move our feet where we are being called to walk. 


Whatever you are struggling with, know love won't quit on you, so don't quit on it. 

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11 

God will direct your path, but first you must be in His presence! 


You can start right now, He's with you...

Blessings 

The 5 "BS" Reasons We Hold On...

Hello Everybody,

I love Jesus with my whole heart, I trust that God is the Ultimate and Most Powerful Being, and I have no doubt the Holy Spirit is indwelling in my every move. I tell you all of this so that you will know that all these "reasons" I give come from a heart that has 1) experienced it in my own life, 2) seen it in very close friends lives or 3) fear for what 1 and 2 are leading to become.

"Holding On..." is only BS when its for the wrong reason. These are the wrong reasons to hold on, but there are many ways you can be the "exception" to many of these listed. Please just take these to heart as I pray it makes you think twice next time you are in the midst of these decisions in your life.

*As a disclaimer if you are engaged or married or in a serious friendship that is a devoted God-fearing relationship, please take these light to heart and situation by situation. 

"Hold On..." (according to dictionary.com)

1.to have or keep in the hand; keep fast; grasp: 

2.to set aside; reserve or retain: 

3.to bear, sustain, or support, as with the hands or arms, orby any other means. 

4.to keep in a specified state, relation, etc

5.to detain: 

May you see me across from you in Starbucks talking you through each of these...I'm just trying to show you that your worth is far more than any BS reason is worth.

BS Reason 1: "I'm holding onto something that's worth holding on to..."
This first one might be the least "BS" reason we hold on in life. We actually have this type of relationship in possession when we act in this manner. We can hold on to friendships when we actually have a friendship history, we can hold onto a relationship when the status is "in a relationship, engaged, and/or married." May sound obvious, but sometimes our judgement can get clouded when we think we "can't make it work," or "something better will come along that is worth grabbing."

On the BS reason side of this, if your holding on to something worth holding on to and one or more of your friends says its not right, your not seeing the whole picture, or you need to really look at what you are really holding on to; you have a BS reason to hold on. Friends can be better mirrors than anything.

BS Reason 2: "I'm holding on because I'm waiting for the storm to pass..."
Again, if you take all these reasons, you might find an "exception to the rule." If you do, that is your business, but I don't know how many friends I have walked with that look at relationships and friendship as if they have the same seasons as the weather. There are no seasons in relationships, only obstacles to overcome or let go of.

BS Reason 3: "I'm holding on because I don't want to hurt them...."
As you can see this list will continue to get more "BS" heavy. Friend, as honest as Abe, you are hurting them more if you are only holding onto the relationship for their sake. I promise you, love is the most precious gift we can give someone and all you are doing is keeping them from finding someone who actually wants to give that gift to them. Don't let this stop you from finding the gift yourself.


BS Reason 4: "I'm holding on because I've never been more comfortable with anyone else..."
I have to say this is my most used BS reason. I've lived most of life with an idolatry of comfort and control. AKA crazy. I try so hard to make my life comfortable that I hold on to the people and "control" them enough to make them comfortable enough for my world. It's a crazy tragedy that has taken the life of many friendships and relationships over the years. I realized all of this while living in NYC and realizing how many "fish" really are in the sea. Living in a city of 6 million tested my ability to use this BS reason as an excuse to hold on to the friendships that had once collapsed me from moving on.


BS BS BS Reason 5: "I'm holding on because this is my only chance...I'll never find anyone like him/her..."
If you notice, this one gets three BSes...for a good darn reason. My friend, you are son/daughter of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Great I Am. He has made you in HIS Image and designed a life that is all yours for the taking. He has given you friendships that will come and go and relationships that teach you to be better, love more, and sacrifice fully. This BS reason isn't just BS its lie from the pit of hell. You are meant to be loved, pursued, and adored. Cliche words with a huge meaning. I have found many people, girls in particular, that think that one guy is who they are meant to be with (my hand raised with you sister). I promise you, don't hold on; just let it go.

I conclude all of this to say the reason I write this is that, as I mentioned above, all these reasons will only delay you from reaching a future friendship and/or relationship that could be the best thing you have ever seen. Don't let a BS reason of Holding On collapse you from Moving On...I've done it and I promise, its not the easiest wound to heal.

"Learning from others mistakes is the essence of wisdom." -Beth Moore 

I tell you all of this in hopes that you won't let a BS reason keep you from accomplishing God's ultimate timing in your life. Healing takes time, but holding on only stops it all in the middle of the journey.

Ever been on a road trip and got a flat tire? Well holding onto something for the wrong reason is like slowly taking off each tire yourself in the middle of the highway only delaying your own journey.

I pray you learn from my mistakes and have friends that will truly help you call BS....

All in love and hope,

Jess <3

What's So "Magical" about Mike?

Hello Friends,
I write this blog post today, not to be condemning of those who watched the movie, nor to tear down the the people posting status updates, or even to remark about the vulgarity of the movie itself. I write this post today for the simplicity of describing what this movie has brought out in our generation.

The story of a 30 year old stripper who lives his life in hope of doing what he truly loves. He is turned away time and time again at the bank, for his credit wouldn't allow him to accomplish the dream he holds so dear. So he works time and time again, month after month, as a man who gorges on the attention of women, for what though? Is it only the money? Is it only the immediate satisfaction of being wanted? Is it only for the hope of maybe one day finding someone who will love him for him?

I tell you what is so "magical" about Mike is not the fact that his dancing could take your breath away or his abs look like they have been created by a computer...its the fact that this Mike is like each one of us. 


"Mike" might be a character in a movie that came out in the Summer of 2012, but the definition of this Mike was depicted a long time ago. How about David? The man after God's own heart, yeah do you remember him? Yes, he slept with one of his soldiers wives and then had that soldier killed?

"Mike" right? 

Or what about Paul, killing those who believed in Jesus?


"Mike" right? 

Or what about the prostitute who turned into the spy who hid those traveling through?

"Mike" right? 

I tell you this right now, each one of us has a "Mike" inside of us, but each one of us has the capability to have "Jesus" to overcome that Mike. Each day is a battle to discover who we are, what we long for, who we long to impress, and what we long to do to make us "happy."


Covering my news feed for the past two weeks has been condemnation for this movie and the book Fifty Shades of Grey. I can't tell you that I agree that each of them is right, but I can tell you that no one on my news feed, including myself, has not fallen victim to the "sins" of those two topics. 

I ask you to ask yourself why you find "Mike" so appealing? I had to ask myself the same question, and as I sat there and watched this story of Mike, I realized why...He was just like me.

A man trying his best to make it with what life had offered him. So many people looking down on him for his career, so he spent his life tarrying away at many jobs to try and find the one job that made him supremely happy. There is a part in the movie where the girl asks him if he could wake up and do anything in this world, what would it be? He says "I would wake up on the beach and every morning make something new..." In this quote he is talking about custom furniture, but I dare to ask you to contemplate the similarity with this scripture:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24

I do understand that stretching a quote from a rated "R" movie to the Holy Bible is very wide scope, but what did Jesus do? He went to the rated "R" territories of each city to share His love, His joy, and His forgiveness. 

I ask that we do the same as Jesus.

I do not recommend reading the book and in no way do I recommend seeing the movie. All I do recommend is that instead of using this as a tool to rant legalism, may we use as a tool to be reminded why we as Christians are here. I saw the movie, and yes, the whole time I knew I shouldn't be watching this...but you know what stopped me? The love of Christ...I knew that I would write this blog and I knew I wanted to be sitting on the other side of that big screen so that you could sit on the other side of this screen and hopefully,  His love would come to you.

God forgives you, Jesus saves you, and the Holy Spirit empowers you. May you remember that the "Mike" inside of you doesn't win, that that "Mike" will fail, but the Jesus inside of you never will. He will strengthen you to face that challenge you have today, to embark on that new journey you are being called to, and help you overcome that heartache that feels so defeating.


So there might be a "Magical Mike" that covers my news feed and the big screens of many movie theaters and soon the eyes of many women, but I tell you there is a man that covered a tree and that was buried in a tomb and rose again and that will soon come again that is far more "Magical" than anything Hollywood could dream possible. 


As I said before, I watched the movie so I don't sit here condemning, but I do sit here convicted to tell you this, that Jesus loves all, including "Magic Mike."