pres bush

this past weekend i was able to hear president bush speak. he spoke at my sisters graduation at calvin college in grand rapids michigan. i was confused... "why would the president of the united states be speaking at a small christian school in grand rapids michigan, which he has no connection to...?" i then found out that george w asked to speak at calvin... again i remained confused... "why would the president of the united states ask to speak at a small christian school in grand rapids michigan, which he has to connection to...?"

God. that's why.

i feared that george was going to turn his speech into some political debate... but he didn't. i feared that he would talk about iraq and the war... but he didn't. i feared he was going to campaign for himself... but thank God he didn't. yes... thank God. He had mr. bush there for a different reason.

he spoke on community. he did have some great things to say... "in today's complex world, there are a lot of complex things that pull us apart" and "we learn how to come together by participating in our churches and clubs." overall, good speech. not great, but definitely good and interesting.

but again, it all goes back to God.

i don't care what anyone else thinks, but i truly believe that mr. george w bush loves Jesus. fan of him or not, i believe he has a relationship with the Father. during the worship songs we sang during the ceremony... he sang. during the covenents spoken... he recited. and even during the times that we bowed our heads in prayer... he prayed (yes... i peeked). "good president" or "bad president", he loves the Lord. i do think that he tries to run this country the way that he feels the Father telling him to.

but remember... he is human.

even though he's the president, he will mess up. just like me and just like you. his mistakes are just more visible because he is always being watched.

i still don't know the real reason why president bush asked to speak at calvin, but there was no mistake that the Father had him there. i do know this now... even though i may not agree with everything he does or the way he handles different situations, i was able to witness him loving and worshiping Jesus. that's beautiful. God allowed me to see george's heart running after Him. never had i witnessed something like that with the president before.

that's cool. really cool...

be prepared

today God made me laugh again. He pulled a good one on me... and i mean a good one.

the Lord wants us to believe that He will answer our requests when we lift things up to Him. He does not want us to worry, but remember that as His children, He will provide for us. God tells us that we can ask for anything. He also tells us that if we truly trust Him, He will answer our prayers.

"...all that's required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. listen to me! you can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it" (mark 11:23-24, NLT).

be prepared to see prayers answered within hours of lifting them up. be prepared to get blown away with crazy blessings after people have begun to pray. be prepared.

amazing things happen when we give all of our worries and all of our struggles over to our Beloved. He is our Father and He wants to care for us. He wants to bring us joy. He wants to provide for us.

dang... He really did rock my face off today...

God is funny

God is funny. really, He is.

He knows a gazillion times better than we do... or then we could ever know. He knows whats up...e knows the 411... this dude knows His stuff. i love that. i love that my ways suck compared to His and i love that He always shows me that. as much as it can hurt, i love it when God smacks me upside the head.

story... i was so determined to find a new mentor. things weren't working with my current one and i wanted to find someone else who would be "perfect". i found myself calling the few amazing women from my church that i knew, asking to meet with them to talk or to see if they'd be willing to meet with me weekly. nothing. people are busy. they didn't "match up to standards" for me. people are already mentoring someone... these amazing women were not supposed to be in my life under that label.

i didn't get it. things were crashing into me and areas of my life were tumbling down, and i had no one to pour my heart out to. i realized i was forgetting about the only One who i needed to run to. He was there waiting for me to run to Him. He wanted me. He was telling these other women, "no... Jackie is mine". i got smacked in the head... hard. i surrendered.

i continued to pray for a mentor, but wanted to wait until the Lord dropped someone right in front of my face. i was done running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, thinking that i knew better than the Dude upstairs.

the next weekend i met an amazing girl at a coffee house. we chatted a bit, and then i saw her again at a lunch thing after church where she proceeded to ask me, "i don't know why i'm asking this... but... do you have a mentor?"

long story short... she had been praying for me without even knowing that it was me. as soon as i surrendered and stopped worrying, and finally said, "okay Lord... You know better", this amazing girl was dropped into my lap out of no where. we soon after found out that the struggles that she is currently at the top of the mountain with and ending, i myself am at the bottom of the mountain just beginning those same exact trials.

...yeah... God is definitely funny. i love it.