Hey there guys! Hope everything is going well for ya! So much has happened and is going on for me and for many others in school right now so a quick prayer for all those in this would be quite appreciated...

Yep! That's right... I'm finished with midterms and I'm halfway through my first semester here at TFC. I have to say I wasn't expecting things to be so crazy here at this time but it has gotten that way! I've been stressed out with all these exams and studying and trying to keep my GPA up and everything... I'm exhausted! And not only that, I've seen alot of people going through alot of other crazy things happening in their lives(physical ailments, family drama and issues, deaths, etc.)Right now all I know is that with everything that has been happening for everyone (including myself), this break coming up is very much needed so people can wind down some, chill out and just enjoy life, family and friends... :)



Well my family came up this past weekend to see me and hang out with me! It was so much fun (a little crazy because the kids got to get out of the house and just enjoy fall) and good quality time with the family! I showed them around campus some, took them down to the falls (again, kids loved it) and we later went to Jaemore Farms down the road so the kids could enjoy the corn maze and some attractions there. The adults were enjoying the awesome food (cause you can't go there without getting a fried pie or apple fritter);) My nephew didn't want to leave my side the whole time we were together so I had a mini-photo shoot with him in the pumpkin patch there. I got more pics of the day on my Facebook if you want to check it out. Again, it was great seeing them and enjoying a little family time together... :)




So earlier this week a dear friend of mine asked me why I thought God was showing me all the stuff he has been showing me recently. Not fully able to give an answer except for "Something that's about to happen", I began reading through all of my blogs and some of my recent journal entries because sometimes it can show you. You see this summer I took it to God that I was upset and in fact at times down right jealous of people who could understand him as a lover of their soul. I, myself, never understood that; I always saw him as nothing else but a father who cared and provided for me. I'm beginning to see now that God has been helping me to see him not only as my true and devoted lover but he's been showing me the kind of things I myself needed to develop so that our relationship could work in that sense. But I'm also seeing that my original answer wasn't far off either... these things that I've been learning and understanding can be applied to alot of relationships I have with various people. But more so, I do believe that a time is soon coming in which I will be applying these things in a more intimate relationship with someone... so right now I'm keeping myself open to what God has to show me and what he expects of me. :)



Well... where to start with this area. Fear is something that unfortunately we all possess since we are humans. This past week, however, I have had quite a few encounters with people and with God who were really starting to call this out of me. Last week here at TFC, we had Jason Ostrander, the Christian and Missionary Alliance's Director for Youth Ministries, come in and speak to us and with him was a friend of his, Dave Powers. Now I've heard Jason speak before so I was super pumped about him talking and of course, God showed up through him and did in fact start showing me how these pieces were fitting together. However, it was Dave who really did it for me. Dave Powers does basically quiet time music in which he plays worship music that alot of people know but what he also does is while he's playing music he'll speak scripture based on a certain topic. That night, he told us that he felt God was telling him to step away from what he originally had planned for us and to address the topic that God had for us that night: fear. So for 45 minutes, as I sat in the fourth row from the stage I listened and almost cried my eyes out as my heart was being cracked open and the poisonous weed of fear was being exposed to me and to God. In that instance I knew that before anything else was to happen in my life when it came to school, family, relationships, etc I had to address this issue of fear in my life.
So as I began doing this I happened to look at my old college ministry's podcast and saw that they had started a new series called... Fearless. "Oh... this can't be just coincidence ..." I thought as I clicked on the first podcast and listened to it... and it wasn't. My old college minister Miles began to show and explain some important things about fear being in the lives of people and how we all have some kind of fear in our lives (snakes, heights, clowns, etc... you name it!) but that when it comes down to it, something is only consider a legitimate fear if it possesses two things: if its eminent (closer) and if its potent (powerful). So there are some things that do possess both of these so they can be considered legitimate fears (poisonous snakes, being up very high and the possibility of falling) but not all of these fears are legitimate (clowns aren't usually but if they for any reason display the characteristics of Tim Curry in the movie "IT"... RUN!). The main point to all of this was really something pretty significant: when we let fear dictate how we live, respond, grow, relate, etc it has become the god of our heart and lives and has gotten you - through worry, anxiety, stress, etc - to make decisions of the kind of person you are going to be and take directions in your life. Miles put it this way, "Happiness and fear cannot dwell in the same heart... If you allow fear to control your life and guide your actions, you become a coward...you can have fear and not be a coward but as soon as you allow fear to guide you, you go into the realm of cowardice." O.o; So the question is raised: is the old saying true, that there is nothing to fear but fear itself? Actually... no because there is something more eminent and potent than fear could ever be: God. If God has the ability and power to create the universe, to destroy nations, to raise the dead and to calm storms... why don't we revere him more than fear? Why are we letting fear take God's throne in our hearts when there is no way in heaven or on earth that it has the right, ability or power to reside in such a position in our lives and our hearts? We shouldn't... and if we want to do God's will in our lives, we can't let it.
So for me this is my greatest enemy, my "Captain Hook", my "Venom", my "Darth Vader", my "Jaberwocky": to at least confront and take a stance against fear. And I can't help but feel encouraged in some way... when I do this (and trust me, I will), what little battles will I be able to overcome by doing this; what little victories will I obtain just by addressing the enemy instead of turning tale and run? Kinda makes ya wonder... :)

Well that's it for now... sorry again for being long but I hope y'all liked it! Take care and I'll see ya soon! Later days!

~Jeanne;)