Show Some Teeth

 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalms 126:2

How encouraging it is to remember and know that it is God who does great things for us!? We should celebrate in the the fact that God will fill us with laughter and our tongues with joy. He always has our best interests in mind, and He is looking for ways to bless and inspire us in our daily lives. 

It is so much easier to face challenges when we are filled with hope and laughter. Hope and laughter come when we put our trust and our faith in Christ. So just give all your worry and cares to Him and sit back and smile. So remember that life is short so smile while you still have teeth! 

You are Graciously Adorned

❤ Jonna

Believe in YourSELF

It's about time you realized who you are and stop doubting it....a child of the King with all the gifts, talents and abilities already inside of you just waiting to be activated! Why is it that you doubt so much? You doubt the words that are in your heart, you talk down the words that you speak, you criticize who you see in the mirror and you worry if you did the right thing or made the right choices to a fault! Why do you keep forgetting? I know it isn't dementia but it is so much like that! SHAKE it off daughter of the King! It is time that you adjusted your crown and rise up from the mess that you are sitting in. You ARE more than enough! You HAVE everything you need to be EXACTLY what God has called you to be. STOP thinking about YOURSELF all the time...it isn't all about YOU. It is about the GOD that resides IN YOU! WITH HIM there are NO boundaries and there is nothing that you cannot do. Time to wake up from the slumber and wipe that sleep out of your eyes and start walking as the ambassador of Christ that you are. He is waiting for you....patiently..... for you to take your place. 

“The King’s daughter is all glorious within” Psalm 45:13

“Fear not, I have called you by your name. You are Mine,” Isaiah 43:1

 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”      Romans 8:16-17 

As a King’s daughter, everything Jesus has is yours. Everything Jesus is, you are. “As [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” 1 John 4:17 

You are Graciously Adorned
❤ Jonna

*Look Up

Have you noticed that everywhere you go...people are looking down. At the mall, in the restaurants, at movies, at ballgames, while watching tv and even at church...people have their eyes glued to their phones! It is amazing to see. Sometimes I will be intentional and put my phone up and sit back while eating dinner with my family and see how long it takes for anyone to notice. 

When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!" Luke 21:28

I believe that as Christians we need to be alert. We need to be the one with our heads up and ready for opportunities that God is going to lead us to. If we are so focused on ourselves and what is going on in our little box then we will miss out on opportunities.

So we need to be unlike the world and look up because you just might be the "help" that someone is needing.

You are Graciously Adorned
❤ Jonna

Exercise Peace

Peace: My word for 2017. I have found out though that God isn't just going to "give" me peace but I am
going to have to exercise my "Peace Muscles" so that I become stronger and more intentional in that area. I hate exercise just as much as the next person. I even know how to be healthy and I know what to do to look and to feel better. BUT what I know and what I do are two TOTALLY different things!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 4:6-7

Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases; and most importantly it can improve your appearance and delay the aging process. Okay....i know...who wouldn't want to do that?

Well...it takes commitment and self-sacrifice to do it! Who likes to sweat, who likes pain and who in the world wants to get up early in the morning just to exercise?? Apparently NOT me!

What I have found out in life is that anything great takes hard work and sacrifice...and sweat! Just like having peace in your life. It doesn't come free and it doesn't come easy. It takes being intentional everyday to not let "things" in the news and things in your everyday life steal your joy and in turn destroy your peace.

What is peace?

Peace defined is: Having enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. Being "at peace" is considered by many to be healthy homeostasis and the opposite of being stressed or anxious. Peace of mind is generally associated with bliss and happiness.

John 14:27 (AMP), Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you: My [own] peace I now give…to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”

Now, there’s a "worldly peace" that we experience when everything is going our way. It is fleeting; but the peace Jesus gives is a totally different quality of peace. It’s a peace that passes ALL understanding; it makes us peaceful when all natural reasoning says we should be upset and freaking out! It causes people to look at you and say, "Are you crazy? You should be up there screaming and yelling and giving them a piece of your mind!" But instead you have this feeling and this contentment that God is going to work it out for you in a way that you never could have ever thought!

I have learned that when I focus on Jesus from the moment my eyes open to the point that I am laying my head on my pillow; my days are so much better! Being intentional and taking the time to consciously make the effort for peace is very rewarding!  You have to lay everything at His feet...all feelings, concerns, doubts, problems and most certainly the things that you have been trying to do on your own! We all want to be a healthy Christians and we all want to live this life happy and carefree...I am not talking about being oblivious but focused on THE Prince of Peace...He is the one that can make you smile when all hell is breaking loose and can also put a dance in your step when in your mind you feel like you cannot take another step!

 Peace He has freely GIVEN to us...so freely TAKE it today! 

Adjust That Crown!

Jonna

*My Life is Crazy And Chaotic

My life is crazy and chaotic. There are days that I have no idea the direction that I am supposed to be going. There are morning meetings, lunch meetings, coffee meetings, dinner meetings, just plain meetings and then there are services and more services. Dinner didn't get cooked and who in the world is going to clean the house and feed the animals? I have no idea! Who has time? Well with a life like this... before you realize it...you don't have a "life"!

We all know that being in ministry it is very hard to separate your personal life from your ministry life....in fact it is IMPOSSIBLE! You cannot be one thing and then turn it off to be another. Ministry is 24/7. I often have people tell me, "You really need to get away and do not think at all about the church and anything going on it it!" Well that is so easy to say and so difficult to do. 

First of all I don't want to forget about what is happening to the people at our church. I want to KNOW! It is ministry! So I think the compromise here is balance. Everyone that knows me knows that I struggle with that! I am a very uncoordinated person in that I cannot dance and I am the one that trips in a social situation that proves to be awkward for everyone. haha. That is just ME. So of course the word balance in regards to my life is foreign!

I can do "nothing" at my very best 100% effort just as much as things that I decide to do. So I am an all or nothing type of person. Is that good? NO. I really need to grow in that area..big time! 

So with all that being said...my life will continue to be chaotic and crazy. Do I want to change that? I don't think so at this time. We all have areas to grow in and I guess this is one of them. What is this blog entry about?  I have no idea! LOL. If you have taken the time to read it...well I am sorry. 

 I love my life and my family and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am blessed and ever so thankful for what God has given me and I will never take it for granted. What about you?


You are Graciously Adorned
❤Jonna

*That Is Life

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate
A poet, a pawn and a king
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing
Each time I find myself layin' flat on my face
I just pick myself up and get back in the race
-That's Life by Frank Sinatra

Why am I killing myself over this? Breathe Jonna breath! It hit me as I pulled into the parking space and a wave of calm had washed over me by the time I’d turned off the ignition. Isn’t life made to be lived? Aren’t we supposed to make big calls? Better yet... aren’t some of our decisions supposed to fail and others succeed? Either way, this is what I am supposed to do, right? That is, weigh the evidence, make a decision and trust that it will be OK. Right? What if it’s not–well, it is surely not going to kill me. Well at least I hope not. I know that success requires total commitment and I have never had a problem throwing myself into things. But let’s just say I–or you–make the wrong choice.
What does it matter? If life is not the time for calculated risk and big plans, what time is? It would be impossible to think that you would never screw up.  This is not an excuse for failure but a certain kind of freedom. It’s the basis behind the “Relax, it’s going to be fine,” and the “Just let it ride” cliches. The point is this: The very worst that can happen is that you mess up, have to start over, and ultimately learn from it.

With God by our side we still make mistakes because in this life He gives us the freedom of CHOICE. He also doesn't tell us that because we are a Christian that we will never get sick or never get a divorce. Things happen and it is called life. We get back up and we start over. We take our medicine and we get better. We face the fact that in this life there are no guarantees. All of us will die sometime no matter if God has healed us or not. We will have heartaches and heartbreaks as well.

So what can help us as we live this life? Well...we need to keep God first. Isaiah 40:29-31 says, "[God] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Place your trust and hope in God and make your relationship with him your top priority. As you do you'll discover that no matter what life throws at you.... God is in control!

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

*Out of Control

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were wronged by a business? You call within hours of noticing you got a totally different product than what you purchased and then talk to the salesman and alert them to your situation fully knowing that they will agree quickly and make things right. Right? But instead you get a long pause and then you hear the words, "I am sorry. There is nothing we can do about that." You incredulously pause while you feel your face turn red while trying to formulate your response. "What? Are you being serious?" Then you wait for a laugh or maybe even for them to say they were kidding.....but they don't.

We all are in situations where we could lose control but it is our responsibility to keep ourselves on track. We cannot blame situations and circumstances for what we say or what we do. The "devil" can't make you do anything just like I cannot blame the store manager for infuriating me. We all make the choice on how we control ourselves. The Holy Spirit can and will help you stay in alignment if you just listen His voice. Jesus assures that we are given a Helper that abides in us:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:16–18

The Greek word translated “Comforter” is parakletos, meaning “to call to one’s side”. This Comforter or Counselor, the paraclete, is God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who has been called to our side. The Spirit is “another” helper, meaning “of the same kind”; with the same essence and nature of Jesus. The Spirit took over the work that Jesus had been doing with the disciples, and to have the Holy Spirit as our paraclete is to have God Himself within us.

So when you are feeling like you are getting "out of control" and about to let emotions run wild; remember to call someone to your side. In actuality you aren't to be in control at all...you are to be led of the Holy Spirit with every word and every action. We all want to be in control of our self and it is only normal to mindlessly think that we can take care of everything on our own. So we have to remind ourselves daily of who we are and who we represent and bow to His authority.

If you are truly being LED then when you find yourself in predicaments you will have a wealth of wisdom to draw from. Just because we are Christ followers doesn't mean that we are to get ran over by people; but we CHOOSE the words to say and they will bring around good results. With God on our side we can and will find favor that the world only wished that they had. So today.... go and be all "out of control" and let Jesus and the Holy Spirit be your guide.

Adjust that Crown!

Jonna

*God's Will for YOU

So many people fret and worry about God's will for their lives. Some even say that they have lived their lives and never even knew what God was leading them to do and they experience regret. Some think God directed them to do a particular thing and when that thing looks hard they doubt it and retreat. Others think that they aren't good enough to do "the will" of the Father because they don't think much of themselves and never feel like they will "get there". Well let me relieve you of something... 

God’s will for your life is not about whom, or if, you should marry, which job you should accept, or which neighborhood you should live in. It isn't even if you should be in ministry or tell that co-worker about Jesus. The perfect and first thing that God wills for your life is that you become the beautiful person that He made you to be that reflects His image. He wants you to become that person that shines with the character and look of Jesus. 

“What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13; Micah 6:8)

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2)

If you strive to do that and to be that then nothing can stand in the way of you doing what God calls you to do. If you have your heart and your life right with Him then He can lead you and guide you to do exactly what He has called you to do. When you are in position He will meet you right where you are at and everything will fall in place.

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

*I am Grateful for Everything in my Life

I am grateful for everything in my life. Does that in itself sound lofty? Well it is the month of "thanks" where everyone on social media likes to write out what they are thankful for and people in general seem to be more aware of their general attitude of what they have. While we all love to read those posts and even get tagged in some; there are some people who may just plain not feel like being thankful.

People may be struggling, they may be weary or even feel like God has let them down. I am sure we all have been there at some point. God may seem distant, like He's far away or doesn't really care about what's troubling them. Painful life blows and losses might have recently sent them spiraling.

Those thoughts and feelings should not be diminished or trivialized at all because they are real feelings. What I want to remind everyone about is that we have a choice every day, to give Him thanks. We have a choice to remind ourselves who we REALLY are in Christ. Situations and feeling can cause ourselves to see things in a way that isn't exactly the truth. We have to look at what we are going through and say:

 "God, I know there is something good that is going to come out of this! I know that when I get through this I am going to be a better person. I am CHOOSING to trust you; that you are working this out for me and although my ways are not yours and I cannot see how all of this is going to work out in the 'bigger picture' of my life; I know that you do. So I in faith proclaim thanks and I CHOOSE to have a grateful heart despite what I see or feel. God I will take the weight of my issues and problems off of my shoulders and I give it to you because you are God and only you can transform it from a mess to something beautiful."

So with a heart of thanksgiving we can realize that no matter what we face; we have a God that doesn’t just work to change our situations and help us through our problems. He does so much more. He CHANGES our hearts. His power working through hearts of gratitude and focused minds on Him; releases the grip that our struggles have over us. We actually can be strengthened by His peace and refueled by His joy.

When we live life with a spirit of gratefulness and show it by expressing our thankfulness despite our circumstances; we are opening a door for God to do something wonderful IN us a well as THROUGH us! So look at the good and the not-so-good situations that you are going through and speak in faith and declare the goodness of God and the promises of God over it. It is in this way of living that pure joy can be found as well as victory over anything and everything and can and will be your GREATEST testimony of the saving and loving power of Jesus Christ!

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Psalms 103:1-5

Adjust that Crown!Jonna

#IAMGrateful #GratefulDespite #Thanksgiving #GiveThanks#BlessTheLord #DeclareTheGoodness 

*Be a Key Turner

Don and I had just left our last place of ministry as youth pastors. It was tough and we had found ourselves
in a fight. The people in that church did not like the Pastor and his wife and we were in the middle. In the middle of being supportive of our Pastors and having to deal with the fall out from their hurt and as well as our hurt in the process. We had moved back to Texas and Don had found a job that wasn't in the ministry and I was secretly happy. I was glad because I had seen the toll that it had on him and I surely knew the toll it had taken on my heart as well.

How can people be so mean when they do not get their way? Church was supposed to be the best place to work...right? Well a lot of those myths got debunked in that last 3 years! I wanted to hide out and NOT get involved in any church. I really didn't want to go to church for a while. I mean...I had attended so many services, seminars, meeting and events that last 3 years that I had met my quota for a life time! So can you imagine my dismay when Don said, "Hey Jonna I was thinking...let's go to this church over in this next town this coming Sunday." I tried  not to be negative but I knew my response wasn't one of excitement and joy. Don noted my frustration and reminded me that we didn't know anyone at that church and then he added those glorious words, "We will sit in the back." Now.... that made it more tolerable for me. haha.

Well Sunday arrived and we went inside and guess who greeted us at the doors? Of course it was two people that Don knew in high school and of course they instantly recognized each other and of course they insisted that we sit with them. Oh the rotten luck! I know that I gave Don a not-so-nice glance when they led us up to the 3rd row in the center aisle of the church! And I thought all these years that Don only knew heathens from his years at Sweeny high school!

As the Associate Pastor got up to speak that morning he stopped and paused and hesitated a few times and then in a series of most unfortunate but yet fortunate events he pointed at Don and I. Of course I turned and looked behind me to not only hear, "Can you two please stand?" but to realize that he was talking to Don and I! I was more than horrified...I was mortified. That thoughts of "I am definitely NEVER to coming to this church again. Is this how they address guests?" ran through my mind. Then I hear the minister state that God pointed us out to him and he had to be obedient. The words that he spoke to us that morning was like a healing balm to the hurt in our lives. He read our mail for sure! I was a bubbling mess of snot and tears and Don fell to the ground crying. Yes here we were the CENTER of attention in the church that "no one would know us at." God does have a sense of humor!  I will say that after that first sentence the caring of what anyone thought went right out the door....God was speaking to us and I basked in the moment. Don spent most of the service practically under the pew so I had to throw out any thought of dignity anyway!  Of course God knew right where we were at and we weren't going to hide from anyone...especially NOT HIM or HIS calling on our life.

God sends people into our lives to be key turners. To those who were at that service that day it might not have seemed like a big thing at all. God used a willing person and with a simple act of affirmation, an obedient word of wisdom it was the one single thing that we can contribute to our path to healing. It was a key that opened our hearts and opened the door to a new level and style of ministry. That person was a life saver for us and if he hadn't been there to speak it...and if we hadn't been there to receive it....well only God knows.

All through the Bible we have accounts of God sending men and women out into the world with a message. Whether it is a message of repentance, deliverance, or hope, God made sure the messengers were placed in strategic moments in time to make an impact on those around them. We are those message carriers, we are the key turners of our today. We are the ambassadors of Christ's Kingdom and I ask you this: Will you be a key turner for someone? Will you be the one to turn someone's life around? God is waiting for a person...that isn't perfect...but is willing and obedient to go and speak His words of life to those around them. You just never know what destiny someone has in them and you might be the one to release it!

I do not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind-1Timothy 1:7

I am determined and confident! I am not afraid or discouraged, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go. -Joshua 1:9 (GNT)

I trust (lean on, rely on, and am confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall I dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly I shall be fed. —PSALM 37:3

 

Adjust That Crown

Jonna
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*Beyond Your Nose

I know I know...most of the times my blog seems like a glorified diary! Well it is actually and if you are reading this...which I have NO idea who does or does not...then you know that I have issues. I assume we all do on differing levels. I have found myself in a funk of sorts for the last week. Not only did I find myself victim of the elusive sinus infection but I also was just in the blahs. You know...a season of being in the doldrums and you aren't really sure why or how to get out of it.

I was sitting at my kitchen table looking out the blinds as my cat was running all over the place trying to catch a fly. I was only half watching and half paying attention. I did note that he jumped on the table and then dove into the blinds. All that associated noise and chaos hardly got me out of my trance which was just marinating in all the things I should do today but really did not want to do. I really haven't been feeling joy and I don't think God was even hearing me or for some reason I wasn't really hearing Him. Anyway, the cat was flipping and pouncing and meowing and finally something ran up my leg!

Yes you are reading that right! A nice-sized lizard went running up my leg and then under my shirt and as I jumped up and started running...I have no idea why...my cat was running with me. The lizard then went up my back and when I finally came to my senses I stopped...and the lizard stopped. The reptile was now on the back of my head and before I even realized it my cat Fennick jumped at almost my full height with all claws out and landed on my shoulder. He grabbed the lizard and ran away. Of course scratching me and clawing me in the process!

I am standing in the living room breathless, speechless and really weirded out. I feel like I have a million little lizards crawling all over my body! Fennick is now in the kitchen devouring the poor lizard. I walk over to the table and see my spilled coffee, my chair is knocked over and I then start laughing. It just started and didn't stop until I started crying. It was just so funny and I could hardly even believe that it happened.

As I cleaned up my mess I started realizing that Fennick was trying to get my attention and he was trying to do what he was supposed to do...kill all the bugs and creatures that aren't supposed to be in the house! I just wasn't paying attention. I was so absorbed in how I felt and I just wanted to wallow around in my feelings and do nothing but eat cheetos...yes I was having a one person pity party.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad God gave me a nose.  It isn't the prettiest thing and it has a nice bump on the bridge of it that reminds me of a ski jump. LOL. My nose helps me to smell, it helps me to breathe, it helps hold up those Brighton sunglasses that I love....without it I don't think I would function as I should. God didn't intend for my nose to be the extent of my thoughts. God intended for me to look beyond myself, beyond my circumstances, and beyond my feelings.

He wants us to be aware of what is happening around us.. We may not THINK God is listening and we may not FEEL like He is with us, and we may not SEE His hand...BUT of course we know that is so far from the actual truth. He is always there waving and trying to get our attention to get us back on track; to get us to see the bigger picture...to get us up and going so we can be all that He knows we can be!

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.    Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

He might have just sent that lizard to get my attention....ummmm....please excuse me while I get myself ready for the day...I have things to do and positive things to impart to someone in my path and...of course first I have mangled lizard parts dispersed around the kitchen to dispose of!


You are Graciously Adorned!

Jonna 

*Tenacity

Tenacity means to cling to a belief or thing without doubting.  It is a set kind of faith, a determination that doesn't waver. Words that can be used interchangeably with tenacity are persistence, determination, perseverance, doggedness, strength of purpose, tirelessness, indefatigability, resolution, resoluteness, resolve, firmness, patience, purposefulness, staunchness, steadfastness, staying power, endurance, and stamina.

Some confuse stubborn and tenacity to mean the same thing. Stubborn means we won’t back down from our position—even if we’ve been shown plenty of evidence how our position is wrong. A stubborn person doesn’t listen to reason. Tenacity means we are being reasonable: We’re doing the right thing, regardless of the difficulty level, and regardless of consequences. People may try to get us to back down, and say, “Be reasonable.” But they won’t argue our position is wrong. What they mean by “reasonable” is they don’t believe the consequences are reasonable. 

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do,
everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
    your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
    give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
    your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
    don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
    a father’s delight is behind all this.
Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message

What kind of tenacity do you carry? Are you representing Jesus and going after Him with all the determination, resoluteness and endurance as you would if you were working out 5 days a week at 5am at your favorite gym class or at a professional football game that cost a fortune and you are sweating buckets but going to stick it out because your a fan? Does a little sweat and a little heartache get you off course of your Christian walk? Oh we can choose what things we can tolerate and all too often when things get a little tough people just fall off the "spiritual" wagon. Before they know it they are saying "God, who?" like they have lost their ever loving minds! Yet they put everything they have into material things that reap only earthly rewards. No wonder they are miserable. All of these are points to ponder. Like any great thing in this life....if you work hard at it and with all of your heart then you will have the benefits of a tenacious life. Nothing wonderful and lasting comes easy and nothing that comes easy lasts.

God created us for GREATNESS and in order to do that you have to have some tenacious faith to get up everyday and trust Him no matter what consequences or obstacles are in your way. So grab a hold of His promises and never let go.

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

  

*Moving On Up

Don and I traveled to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to attend a Convoy of Hope conference to help raise money for their upcoming projects. I was so excited and I really needed this week to get away and make a dent in this book that I have been playing around with. I have found myself doodling instead of writing and couldn't wait to enjoy the scenery and looked forward to a great view of this renowned Coeur d'Alene lake to give me inspiration. You know where this is going, right?

Well we checked in and it was the smallest room I have EVER stayed in. My bathroom and closet at home is bigger than the whole room! I was disappointed but did not speak it to Don. I am sure he was wondering as well. haha.  I didn't want to be ungrateful. So I anxiously went to the window and looked out the beautiful wooden blinds and what did I see? You will NEVER believe it! Our room is one of six rooms out of the 350 in the resort that has windows to the INSIDE POOL! yes you heard me...INSIDE POOL!  I was at that point unable to contain my excitement. I looked at Don in horror and he said, "Well lets hope it closes early?" It didn't. The lovely inside pool...which I will admit is quite exquisite opened at the blessed hour of 6am and closes at 11pm.

Have you ever wanted to yell out about an injustice and just complain? You have every right too...anyone else would, right?  I wondered why I was the chosen one of the 6 unfortunate people to get this type of room at a hotel that I might add... is sold out? We turned on the TV very loud to mask the hall noise as well as the pool noise and tried to make the best of it. We laughed about it all. The distance from our door to the window is only about 20 feet and we sat on the bed as the bell boy barely could fit all of our luggage in our room. It was incredible!

I bit my tongue many times because what I wanted to do was just spew out things about the room that I didn't like. Now lets NOT forget that we are in one of the most beautiful places in the country for a week! Outside has smells I have never smelled before...that is called FRESH air! The scent of the trees and the beautiful surroundings is enough to make you swoon! Plus we are here to help the unfortunate starving and under-privileged people of the world with Convoy of Hope....and I am thinking of calling the front office to complain. I should be ASHAMED!!!
 

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.     

                                                                                Galatians 5:22-23 The Message

 

I truly believe that God cares about even the little things in life and He is looking for every opportunity to bless us and sometimes we mess that up with our mouth or actions. This morning we noticed that the glass shower door does not close and when you use the shower water gets all over the floor. I told Don that I would call about it. I called the front desk at 6:20am because I just couldn't sleep anymore and Don went to play golf already. A very nice man named Jacob answered and I told him about the shower door and that it needed repaired and it looked like water damage already to the wall in the bathroom. I was friendly and nice and really wanted to continue the conversation about all the things that I didn't like but He surprised me when He asked me a question:" Mrs Gibson. How is your room overall?" I stammered. I had a zillion things at the tip of my tongue I could say; including the sight of the lovely elderly gentlemen that was sitting in the hot tub this morning eating a banana in a speedo and talking VERY loudly on his cell phone at 6:10am! But before I could say anything Jacob said,  "The reason why I ask is that we had a lot of complaints from that area on the 2nd floor with noise from the pool and the hall...we had a few people call last night." I agreed with him and told him that the sound of screaming from the pool was a little bit hair-raising. He said to me, "Well we had a cancellation early this morning and I am going to move you up to the 17th floor Park Tower. You are so lucky to have called because it just happened. Would that be okay with you? It has a fabulous view of the lake and even a living room and a gas fireplace." I felt faint and managed to choke out, "Okay." We will call you in a few hours to let you know when it is ready. Is there anything else we can do for you today Mrs Gibson?" Ummmm no I think you did just fine. Thank you so much! I hung up the phone and was amazed and somewhat speechless. I wasn't lucky at all...I was blessed.

 

I am not saying that I live perfectly and that I deserve favor all the time....I do not. But God continually speaks to us in the little things and this morning I truly believe that He was telling me that having a heart of love and grace and extending mercy is His heart. We can find the negative in anything but what is hard is to realize is that if we put our focus on the wrong we will never see the fabulous positive things that are right in front of us. If we live God's way He will bring gifts into this life that is so sweet and meaningful...that you would have never believed it or even have thought to ask for it.

 

Excuse me now while I pack my things up with a smile on my face as I hum "I am moving on up to the eastside to the deluxe apartment in the sky. I finally got a piece of the piiiiiiiie". (The Jefferson's theme song) haha

 

 

 

Adjust That Crown

 

Jonna

 

 

                  

 

Blessed AND Highly Favored

We toss the term "I am blessed and highly favored" around these days kinda like "What would Jesus do?" years back. It's catchy and people tend to say it when they are being blessed and want to give the credit to God. Sometimes I use it when things are going not so well and I just declare it into my circumstances. This term is definitely truth and is a promise that God has given us as His children. We ARE blessed and highly favored!

The proclamation "blessed and highly favored" was made in Luke 1 when the angel of the Lord came
to Mary and told her that she was to have a son. I don't know about you but if I was an unmarried pregnant girl back in the Bible days I don't think I would be considered blessed. I don't think this got her favor of a close parking place at the local mall either! People would definitely be judging and possibly be disowned by family and friends. This was scandal and drama of epic proportions! When Mary was looked at by others it had to have been hard to explain her favor or her blessing and not just when she was young....but possibly for the rest of her life.

" the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”     Luke 1:28-33

What Mary knew was that she was carrying the presence of God; the savior of the world. So she could hold her head high even amidst the whispers because she had the knowledge of that promise.
Nothing in her outside circumstances had changed...this "gift" didn't make her richer or give her any kudos or material favor of any kind. What Mary rejoices about is not what God has GIVEN her but what God has BECOME in her....blessed and highly favored.

 

When God promises to bless you, he is saying, ‘I’m going to make you into everything I’ve
ever meant for you to be". It means that God is taking every day and every single thing that
happens in it—good or bad—to make you stronger, to mend whatever is broken inside, to
change you into the person you were always meant to be. The blessing is what God is making
you into and the knowledge of Jesus He is bringing to others through you.

Now if you happen to get a front row parking space at the mall you better declare the favor of God; especially if it is on a Saturday! haha. What I am getting at here is that being blessed and highly favored isn't totally reflective of what is happening in the material aspect of our lives...it is really what we are carrying on the INSIDE. We are the living, breathing ambassadors and carriers of the presence of God! We can rejoice like Mary because God has chosen us to carry the hope of the world; now we just need to get to work at delivering it.

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

 

 

  

You are NOT your failures

The solution to dealing with our past or present failures is living life on God’s terms. Lay everything down at His feet and move on and don't look back. If the all knowing and powerful God can forgive you....then who are you to NOT forgive yourself? Rise up and finally accept who you are in Christ....not perfect but forgiven....and start living like it! We are not our failures.

8 ^1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

 

^3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.

The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

^5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.

^9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!

^12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

^15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!

^18-21 That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

 

^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

^29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

^31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture,

 

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.     Romans chapter 8; The message Version

 

 

Adjust That Crown, Put your Head up, And Move Right Along

Jonna


 

*Loving Your Neighbors

Hey I am just like anyone else. I want to like my neighbors and I am sure my neighbors want to like
me. In fact...doesn't the Bible say that we should LOVE our neighbors? Well I am not sure Jesus was aware of the subdivision that I live in and the many "spies" that report  small and trivial indiscretions with their yard etc.

Between the barking dogs and the fact that we only mow our grass every other week...well that good neighbor thing just sank. One day we found a photo of our yard on our neighborhood Facebook group. Yes that was a blessing! Someone wondered why our grass was so much higher than all the other people on our street. Well it took a team of wild horses and someone taking my phone away for me to NOT respond!

Are we a good neighbor? Probably not. Apparently we really need to get a muzzle for our dogs and we need to hire someone to come weekly to cut grass. Maybe then we can redeem ourselves! Have you ever felt like it was harder to be a Christian witness to people that live near you? Well you are not alone. It is difficult because little pressures and stressors that are trivial to real everyday problems get in the way. I think it is in how we deal with the criticism and the prodding. It can be very hard! There have been times that I could have reported someone or taken a picture of trash in their yard to be vindictive just like someone did to me....but then I have to remember that God called us to love people. (thank you holy spirit for reminding me!)

The Golden Rule can be found in Matthew 7:12. This famous quote by Jesus Christ actually begins in the verse 7, which says we can go to God for our needs and receive help from Him: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” The next few verses elaborate on this thought. Just as a caring human father gives good gifts to his children, so, too, God gives good things to those who ask Him (verses 9-11). Verse 12 then concludes the thought: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (emphasis added throughout). The word therefore connects the Golden Rule verse to the preceding assurances that we can ask God for help in our lives and receive it.

So the way that I look at this is that the way we treat others sets the standard of how we will be treated by God! So if I want God to give me mercy in my time of need then I need to GIVE mercy to others. Sometimes it does FEEL like the "bad" guys are getting away with everything under the sun and you just keep giving and giving. That is when we need to seek help from the Lord! Ask Him to change your attitude and see past the physical stuff and see the truly important and eternal spiritual aspect going on. Trust me...in time and with God's help you will start to be blind to other people's indiscretions...all you will see is a person that God loves and so in turn you will love. I am in process of this....but I haven't arrived yet! I still get an itch when someone parks on my lawn but God is helping me.

If you love God you have the overflow of love that will naturally pour out on others. Love does not seek itself but it looks out for the well being of others first. Being a loving and good neighbor might just mean that you stop your car and get out and pick up that trash in their yard or move their trashcan out of the road or baking cookies for your neighbor who you in fact know reported you to the HOA.

Going the extra mile and doing something for someone else is the best witness we can have. I can post scriptures all day long on my social media but if I am not taking care of the "trivial" things that are important to them; then maybe my neighbors will never see the important things that I really want them to see....that being....Christ that lives in me. :)

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

*Captivity

I have been to the zoo many times. I enjoy going and looking through the cages at all of the beautiful animals. Something inside of me of course appreciates the protection of the steel between me and the wild species; but I also feel bad for the poor animals. They didn't choose captivity. Somewhere in Africa there are many giraffes running free and somehow these few were captured and sent here for our enjoyment.

It truly reminds me of all the people that I encounter. So many live freely and then there are others who seem to be living in captivity. It makes me sad that through circumstances that many had no control over that they have been held captive by the acts of others. They didn't choose this hurt and this abuse and it just doesn't seem fair when so many others had a healthy childhood, healthy marriages that some seemed to only have struggle. I know...it is called LIFE...but I still do not like it!

Why does anyone choose captivity? Well, captives do get fed. On a regular basis. They’re safe in their cages, their cells, their prisons. In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, longtime prisoner and now ringleader Red has been incarcerated for decades. He confesses, “These walls are funny. First you hate ’em, then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them.”

Prisons can be safe and comfortable. They can become a known life, a familiar way. Resignation is safe; dreaming is dangerous. Letting someone else control your life is easier than rising up to deny them that control; the relationship will never be the same. Living under shame can feel far easier than fighting for your own dignity. The known is always more comfortable and less risky than the unknown. After a while, those animals in the zoo forget they were even made for the open skies, the wild savannahs. This is a horrible place to come to. Not a one of us was created to live in captivity.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

God has done everything, won everything, and given us everything we need to live in freedom. We are meant to walk in it, more and more. We won’t walk gracefully into it all the time. But by the grace of God, and with his help, we can stumble into it. One thought at a time. One day at a time.

Most of us are probably still laboring under the impression that freedom comes first in our circumstances, and then we can experience love, joy, peace, patience, and all the other wonderful fruit of the Spirit. Not so. God usually begins first with the transformation of our attitudes; then he can change our circumstances.

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life— no longer at sin’s every beck and call! … From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.… A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. Rom. 6: 6, 11; 8: 2 MSG

I am not saying that finding freedom is easy. It isn't. But the first part of being free is realizing that between you and others; including your relationship with Chris is a steel bar. The separation is what you need to realize. You might have been done wrong but your offenders are out free and you find yourself in a self-made prison. It is time to break out of that thing! We were not made for captivity...just like every animal in the zoo...they are never content because they were made to fly and run just like you. They may suffer through but deep down they know that they were made for greater.

You were created for so much more than you even know; so whatever you need to do to start the process of freedom; it needs to start today. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus so put it all out there to Him and trust me...if you do that...He will make a way where there seems no way.

Adjust That Crown

Jonna



 

*Repossession

I have never had anything repossessed before but I have known plenty of people who have. I
remember once after church a lady was frantically looking for her car in the parking lot and couldn't find it. She was crying and we helped her call the police. When the police arrived they did a report and then a call came in over the radio and the officer approached the lady and told her that her car had been repossessed. The look on her face was pure horror; I suspect embarrassment had a whole lot to do with that. She knew that she was delinquent on some payments but had no idea it was at the point where they would come and get the vehicle.

Repossession comes when you have a payment agreement and you cannot meet the obligation. It is when you decide to take on something thinking you can do it but things happen and you find yourself unable. Good intentions will only carry you so far.

God says that He wants to repossess your reins. He wants to take control of your life. You have tried to do it all by yourself and it is just not working. The only problem is that He cannot take it all from you...because He created us with a will and He will not go against that. Although He would like to take it from you...He is craving for you to give it willingly to Him.

That choice is a battle. There are things in your life that you want to control. You want to make your own rules and we really think that we know what is best. We need to let God be God! Start by saying, “God, I’m giving up control, because you can control the things that are out of control in my life.”

“Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth”
Psalms 46:10

Whenever we face out-of-control situations, we tend to go to one of two extremes. For some of us, the more out-of-control your life gets, the harder you try to control it. Some of you do the exact opposite: You just give up! You have a pity party and invite yourself to it. Both of these reactions to stress are foolish. They don’t work. Instead of being a victim or becoming hyper controlling, you need to pray the prayer of surrender.

There is a lot of stress when you are in conflict with God. When you try to control things that only God can control. You can’t control your husband or your kids or your wife or your job or your future or your past or any of that stuff. The more you do it, the more you’re trying to play God, and that puts you in opposition to God. Not only are you going to lose that conflict, but you’re also going to be tired.

Millions of people pray the Serenity Prayer, which is based on the Lord’s Prayer, but most have never read the last eight lines to the prayer: “Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen.”

That’s where the power is! There is power when you surrender to God the very things you’ve been trying to take control of from Him. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of us and the only commitment we have to our creator is to love Him and worship Him for who He is. He doesn't want anything to be forcibly taken away from us...He longs for us to have peace, hope and joy and to rely on Him. Ask God today to repossess and take away all the things that you have been holding on to today. Hand it over and give it to Him so He can do what is best. After all, He is just the God of the universe and He kinda knows what He is doing :)))

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

 

*Stinky Armpits

Let us for a quick moment forget the lovely topic of actual politics...and talk about the new and insightful "political correctness" police that can get us all in trouble! You post a photo of your dog playing with a ball and you get comments condemning the kind of ball you "let her play with". Those types of responses cause us all to feel rejected and angry at the nerve of people and their opinions! haha It is the life that we live in. I have seen it and we all have been involved in it and most of us have learned from it as well. Of course after hours of wanting to pull our hair out and typing out long responses and then smartly deleting them before pressing send...you can truly waste your day worrying about it all.

 There is this saying that my dad John Queen would always remind me of when confronted with hurtful words from others:  "Jonna he would say, Everyone has arm pits you know, but what you have to remember is that most of them stink." Simple but wise.

Yes we all have arm pits and yes..without putting on our daily deodorant we do emit a stink that as a mom of boys knows all about...it can cause your nose hairs to fall out! As Christians we need to make sure we put on daily the layer of love that without...can cause us all to stink. Without the love of Jesus fresh in our lives there is NO way that we can navigate the slippery slope of evolving opinions and the daily slew of new social thoughts and whims. Sometimes it can feel like we are treading on broken egg shells hoping not to make a bigger mess than we already have!

Give everyone the benefit of a doubt and don't always think that everyone is out to get you. Sometimes with written words it can be hugely misconstrued. So before you delete that friend from your Facebook life....you really need to take every thought captive. This verse comes to mind that can truly help. It is found in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and it states: "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. " We in a split second can decide to take every thought and every imagination into captivity. We can make a choice to ACT and not REACT to things that come our way.

So someone posted a stinky opinion on your Facebook post...it is just called life. You can choose on how to address it though . You can believe the best about others and agree to disagree. Your not going to be able to sway people's opinions and you have to be okay that other people believe differently than you do. We live in America where people are free to tell others just how they feel and about everything! So choose to respond in love and truly love others despite what they think and who they are going to vote for. haha. There are enough stinky arm pits out there without YOU joining them!

We are to be the sweet fragrance of Christ in whatever we say or do! So think before you post a comment...sometimes you truly just need to scroll on...

Adjust That Crown,

Jonna

Point A to Point B

 

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9

 

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Right? We all learned this concept in geometry in school. Unfortunately this principle we try to apply to our lives just doesn't have the same effect. I don't know about you but I love to  make lists and set up goals and map out how my week, month or year and how I think it should go. I wish I could say that I check them all off and I am on to the next thing. But what usually happens is that I just tear that page out of my journal and start another list. Haha. The problem is that my life just isn't linear! I never liked geometry anyway....

 

We just do not live in a 2-dimensional plane that adheres to these geometric laws. Life is really messy and we live in a world of all kinds of distractions such as lack of finances, health scares, sticky relationships,confusing social agendas, fears, injustices and just about anything you can think of can distract us!

 

So what happens when our straight line from point A to point B that we so carefully have planned and constructed all the sudden because crazily crooked? We usually get upset, frustrated, disappointed in ourselves and we wonder where God is in all of this! haha Okay...maybe this is just me.

 

What I do know is this...God's ways just aren't our ways and His timing just is no where close to my timing. So when I see my lines of my life start getting crazy I need to realize that things are truly out of my control....and that is exactly how I should live my life. He is the author of the plan for my life and as long as my faith and my trust is in HIM....I will be going EXACTLY where He wants me to go. So take that geometry! I have always been an algebra girl anyway.

 

Adjust That Crown of Yours!

 

Jonna