Stay in Your Lane

It's me again, Friends!
Happy Friday to You! ☀️

I recently read this from one of my favorite authors/speakers, Christine Caine, and wanted to share:

Stay in YOUR lane.
Run YOUR race.
Finish YOUR course.

You can be inspired by others
You can learn from others
You can admire others
You can appreciate others
You can be encouraged by others

BUT - - - only imitate others to the degree they imitate Christ. 

1 Corinthians 11:1  (NIV)
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

•▪•▪•▪•▪•

So here's what I want to encourage you to think about today:

1 - Who are you imitating?
I don't know if you realize this but our life, in itself, is a ministry to others...people are watching us whether we see them or not.

What are you showing others about Jesus in the way that you talk? In the way you serve? In the interactions you have with others?

2 - Are you staying in YOUR lane? Running YOUR race? Finishing YOUR course?

Look, y'all - I get it.
The comparison trap is real.
I think especially so for us women, right?!

Here's the deal -
I am inspired by athletes and those who find enjoyment in exercise...but it doesn't make me want to get out and start training for a marathon or let me keep it real, join a gym 😂...because that's not "my lane."

I love learning from those more experienced than me, whether it be at work, small group, family, friends...but it doesn't take away from what I'm able to share with them...because I know what "lane" I'm rolling through.

I admire public speakers and those who are at ease in front of large crowds...but it doesn't take away from what I'm able to accomplish in smaller group settings or having one on one conversations...because I know the course God has ME on.

I appreciate those who are able to reach others in ways I may not, who can connect via past experiences that they have in common...and know that comes from the course God has chosen for them.

I am encouraged by those who imitate Christ and if there's anyone I want to be like, it would be those shining lights!

Let's work on staying in our lanes and running our best race and finishing the course God has prepared for us...it's going to be a unique path for each of us and that's what's so exciting about us doing life together!

As we stand shoulder to shoulder, He is going to bring others onto our "course" who will need our direction from time to time!

Imitate Christ!
May we stay strong on our course while setting the example for others so that they may get back on track on theirs!

💛
Jenny

#shouldertoshoulder #imitatechrist #stayinyourlane #runyourrace #finishyourcourse

V Formation

Have you ever taken notice of geese flying? They fly in a V!! And it's truly amazing why!!

What I learned when looking into this is that  scientists have determined that the V-shaped formation that geese use when migrating does, in fact, have two purposes:

First, it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest. It has been noted that those that fly alone beat their wings more frequently and have higher heart rates than those that fly in formation. Those that fly in formation glide more often.

The second benefit to the V formation is that it is easy to keep track of every bird in the group. Flying in formation may assist with the communication and coordination within the group. I found it interesting that fighter pilots often use this formation for the same reason.

Oh, friends!
What a lesson we can learn from these birds!

The birds take turns being in the front.
Did you catch that?!
Not one is consistently the leader.

I just love this idea that these birds are confident enough to know that when they need a rest, they can step back into formation, into the comfort of their fellow birds, and allow them to continue to "glide" as they take time to rest.

And the communication aspect...keeping track of everyone in the group...
Wow!!
I mean, just think about how far birds travel and how much "talking" takes place as they do so.

Sometimes our journey may seem long and overwhelming,  but I feel confident that if we are surrounding ourselves with those who are for us, have a "team" of friends who will not only allow us to lead when needed, but slip back and just glide while we catch our breath, we will find ourselves reaching our destination!

Jesus is ultimately our true leader, yes!
However, look around you!!! He has placed significant people in your life for a reason!!!
Gather your flock and communicate!
Learn to lead and learn to recognize when you need rest and allow another to help navigate and push through the wind for a while!

I don't know about you, but today I'm just thankful for my "V" team.
I'm thankful that God has surrounded me with women I can trust, that I can lead, but also those I can follow!

If you are finding you need that today, please reach out to one of us...we would love to help you on your journey!

Happy Friday, Friends!!

💛
Jenny

#shouldertoshoulder #wearebettertogether #vformation

Be like the Ocean

In case you didn't know this about me...I LOVE the beach!

Especially in the summer time! Because if you do know me, you know I don't "do" cold! ;)

I love going with my family, with my friends,  and even by myself...give me some sunscreen and a book and I'm good to go!

I do love all aspects of "being at the beach" - there is nothing quite like the sounds; the constant cadence of the waves, the seagulls, the children's laughter. The smells; the salty air mixed with sunscreen...maybe a bonfire in the evenings. Let's not forget about the feel of the sand under your feet or the sun radiating its warmth. And maybe it's me, but doesn't food just taste better at the beach? Come on now, I have been known to tear up a cold cut as I stare out at the ocean. Which brings me to everything we see at the beach, but it's the water that always draws me to a deeper place.

And here's the funny thing...I'm not much of an "ocean swimmer," rather a "bring my chair to the waters edge and let the water gently come to my feet" kind of girl!

But...isn't there just something about the ocean water?

It mesmerizes me.
I could stare at it all day.
It's where I can think my best, where my thoughts come together...where I can hope and dream and pray.

There's something about the water.
That is for sure!

And I want to encourage you to be like the ocean's water...think about it.

• breathtaking to look at while understanding true beauty comes from within. Have you ever noticed when the ocean sparkles...it's when the sun shines on it! Allow the Son to shine on you!

• strong enough to not be destroyed and yet gentle enough that others find comfort in your presence.

• faithful - just as the waves continue to come to shore day in and out, without fail...continue to come to Jesus.

• diverse - the ocean is HUGE and divided into several parts and each part has its own characteristics.  Yet each living being learns to adapt to an environment they find comfort in.  Get in where you fit in, friends! You may stand out at first, but give yourself time to adapt. Don't be afraid of diversity!

• melodic - as I mentioned the consistency of the sounds of the waves crashing to the shore that becomes a soothing balm...choose your words, your voice to be the same.

• salty - BUT in a good way! Salt is often used to help cleanse and heal. Be that for others!

Listen to what we read in Genesis 1:9 -10 ... And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let the dry ground appear."  And it was so.  God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas."  And God saw that it was good.

Oh, Friends!!
I can't wait to get to heaven and tell God it was so much more than "good!"

Take time to take in all the "good" God has created for YOU! And let's enjoy a beach day together this summer! ☀️

💛
Jenny

#shouldertoshoulder #beliketheocean #butnottoosalty

You Have Potential

Rounding out the week with God's truth!

And a reminder that we ARE better together!!!

Happy Friday, Friends!☀️

This is your reminder that YOU have potential and you need to know it! God has created us each unique with various gifts and talents and it's when we come together as one that we are at our best!

Let's take a look at scripture:

1 Corinthians 12 (MSG)

What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.

God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel

clear understanding

simple trust

healing the sick

miraculous acts

proclamation

distinguishing between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:

apostles

prophets

teachers

miracle workers

healers

helpers

organizers

those who pray in tongues.

But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.

But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.

▪▪▪

That's a real good word!!

And what we need to read, and re-read, when we find our selves doubting what God has called us to do, wondering how we can use these gifts and talents He has given us!

It's easy to "see" what others have and if we're keeping it real, it can be intimidating to watch others, especially women, walking confidently in their calling, their gifting. 

But like Jess mentioned the other day, that's just when we have to dig a little deeper and keep it real with God and ask Him to help us grow into our gifts, our calling, WHILE also using it in alignment with our sisters in Christ!

And as Sara reminded us earlier this week, this is when it's extremely important to make sure we have the right people in the room with us! The ones encouraging us to grow into our gifts, our calling, and not deterring us...we need the ones bringing us closer to Jesus!

Oh, friends!

God wants to use each one of us to further His kingdom!

We can't do it alone!

Even scripture reminds us that no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. 

Let's be woman who are not intimated by each other but rather recognize our potential as well as the potential of others. 

Let's be women who stop doubting how God will use us, and know that He will!

💛

Jenny

#shouldertoshoulder #wearebettertogether #youhavepotential #useyourgifts