42 and Joy-filled!

Birthdays.
Some love them, some loathe them.
Some celebrate them, some hide from them.
Some get excited, some get disappointed.
Some even choose to lie and say they didn't happen.

Yesterday was my birthday.
I turned 42. That is a truthful age. Honest!
This is my favorite picture from my time celebrating my milestone...warning its a "selfie"...or an "usie"...a picture taken on a cell phone!

You may not be able to tell why I love this picture so much. Allow me to share what I see and feel when I look.
I see joy. Inner joy.
I see the joy of a wife who loves her husband. (He deserves an applaud! He arranged this special day with a dear friend of ours who shared hospitality, love and good cooking!)
I see the joy of a mom who is so excited her children are present in her life.
I see a change.
A change you may not notice, but I do.
The change is the JOY in my heart that now spills out in my smile and my wrinkled nose!
It hasn't always been there, though I have always wanted it! I just spent time chasing the wrong things to get it!
Now I chase Jesus! Well I don't have to chase far, He's always near!

He created me and never left me. I am His marvelous work and so are you!
Not one day of my life is a surprise to Him.
He knew the birthdays I would spend without joy and those I would spend with joy overflowing and He works everything together for good! He is good.
He is the treasure of my heart and because of Him I treasure other things more fully.
My family, my friends, yes.
But also with great joy I treasure sisters!
Sisters in Christ.
Other women who see Him and need Him. I treasure YOU!

 

I'm 42 and one day old.
I have joy in my heart. The joy of a Savior!
And each day I enjoy sharing that joy with others!
I pray you have that JOY also! If you don't can I say a prayer for you today?
Father,
You amaze me. You stir my  heart in ways that no other can. You pour blessing upon blessing. I stand in awe of your love, your patience, your gentle and quiet ways. Your strength abounds and it is present for us all. Thank you. Lord, I know someone today needs your joy. They need you because they are lonely, they are hurting, they are lost. I lift them to you. Not even knowing their name, I lift them. You know them. You knitted them together, you know each hair, each heart and each tear. Nothing about them goes unnoticed to you. Lord, let them feel your love, let them see your blessings. Place someone in their life today that is willing to share your joy with them. May your family be added to today! I will rejoice in new sisters!
Amen

If you need a place to fellowship with other women, explore God's word, share prayer and experience joy with sisters we invite you to Faithfully Fit! Click around our blog and see what we are all about. Hopefully you will notice that "whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we do it all for the glory of God!" (1 Cor. 10:31; emphasis mine)

~Jodie

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him" Psalm 28:7

 

An Unlikely Gathering

 

 
 

It was an unlikely gathering.

Unlikely because normally time would not allow.
But on this day time opened wide.

Unlikely because normally I would stress about dotting the I's and crossing the T's.
But on this occasion God prompted me to follow His lead.

So while I snipped the basil off I said, "Ok God, you lead, I'll follow".

 

I sent a few texts out.
One to a friend who I knew loves my Tomato Basil Summer Salad (which did not even have that name until after this unlikely occasion occurred)! A warm response of excitement was received. Really? Yes, Really!
I would like to make you a salad!
And then God prompted again. "You know another friend who is home alone this evening. Why not invite her to come over and share my bounty that I have sent as a blessing". So I sent another text and extended an invite. And God said, "Why stop there? Take my lead and see who will come if you just extend an invitation. I have opened the time, provided all you need, just open your heart and your home". So I continued to share invitations, to a neighbor, to a friend I have not seen all summer, and then to our entire morning Faithfully Fit class that just happened to be filled with new faces on this particular morning.
You want to talk about unlikely! It was the first summer morning class I had been able to attend. All summer long family matters and work issues and vacations have interfered with me seeing the sweet girls during morning class. But on this morning I was able! I will willing, ready and able. And so with a little hesitation (only because the "have to be in control of the details" person inside me was creeping out) I sounded out the invitation for anyone who would like to come! Come to my house and lets do some cooking! And all afternoon as God would place someone on my mind I would trust and respond.
And two minutes before six the doorbell rang for the first time. And then we began to gather.

And my kitchen began to fill with laughter and the wonderful aroma of food and God's blessings!

I gained a true respect that evening for women like Rhee Drummond, better known as the Pioneer Woman, who show others to cook, photograph each step and clearly explain the process. It's a ton of work! (I highly recommend her cooking blog, cookbook, TV show and recipes as they are easy to follow and tasty!)

 

This little group of friends, some new, some old, joined hands in my kitchen for prayer and God said, "Thank you for following".

 

We chopped. We told stories. We sautéed. We laughed. We learned. We shared life.

 

When the evening came to a close we all prepared to go our separate ways and they wanted to clean my kitchen. I said it's Ok! Because really, it was. On this day, in that place, all was well. It was an unlikely evening. But God cleared the way, arranged the timing, prompted those who He needed to gather and all was well! His blessing were bountiful!

This is the day the Lord has made, Rejoice and be glad in it!

Now I'm no TV cooking star, and though I have a recipe or two in a church cookbook, I am not a cookbook author. But I am a girl who likes to turn on the stovetop and stir up some madness! And I am a girl who loves Jesus. So from this point forward, when the unlikely happens again, I will be calling, texting, posting, inviting and I hope you will say yes! You just never know what the Lord will cook up when He's in your heart and you let Him into your kitchen!
~ Jodie

 

 

 

 Tomato Basil Summer Salad

Fresh vine ripened tomatoes ~ your choice of type: cherry, heirloom, roma
Olive Oil (tasting/finishing oil)
15 Basil Leaves ~ cut using a chiffonade technique (into long, thin strips)

Quarter or slice your tomatoes. Drizzle and toss with olive oil. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Finish by sprinkling basil on top. Enjoy all summer long while the tomatoes are fresh! It's just not the same when you can not get "real" tomatoes.

 

Embracing Treasures in the Trash!

Taking out the trash.
Washing the dirty dishes.
Cleaning the grimy kitchen floor.
Dusting away the cobwebs.
Reorganizing the laundry room shoe closet.
Vacuuming up the cat hair.

These are just a few of things that I did yesterday that I know I will do again soon.
Without fail the trash will accumulate again. The clothes will pile into dirty loads again. The kitchen floor will become sticky again. The cobwebs will reappear. The shoe closet will become cluttered with things that are not shoes. And the cat hair will most assuredly accumulate! Why is that cat not bald?

My life and most likely your life are full of things that we must repeat on a daily and weekly basis. I used to spend time getting upset over this. I still catch myself wanting to get upset about these things. And then I do my very best to remember there is Joy in laundry! You heard me right. Joy in the dirty, smelly soccer socks. Joy in the clothes I know my daughter tried on once and then tossed in the dirty pile because she did not want to put them back away. Joy in the three sets of clothes my son wore in one day. The school clothes, the gym clothes, the golf clothes.
There are Joy in each of these repeat tasks when I take time to see the Joy.
The joy in being a wife to a husband who needs clean socks. (I would have said underwear but that's totally embarrassing, right?)
The joy in being the mother of an 18 year old son who will soon be leaving the nest for college and bringing me back his dirty golf shirts. (I just know it; it's what his dad did in college.)
The joy in being a mother to a 16 year old daughter who wants to try on a few things until she finds the outfit that fits that day's mood. (And trust me she is a mini-me so you never know what that mood may be.)
There is joy in the laundry. Every piece that I fold reminds me of blessings God has given me. Precious people he has given me to care for, to love and to cherish. Not to mention a home to keep clean.

So I will embrace the opportunity to do the things that I know will quickly be undone.
I will treasure these things from Proverbs 31:
Having a husband who has confidence in me.
Being able to work with eager hands.
Providing food for my family, even when it is takeout!
Planning my days work and having the strength of a healthy body to work diligently.
Keeping my light on all through the night to be available for whatever need may arise.
Offering help to those in need.
Having peace that my family is protected by the Lord.
Studying the word and sharing it with all!
Knowing that the blessing of embracing the treasures given to me in the things I must repeat far outweigh the bags of trash I will take out, the loads of laundry I will wash and the cobwebs I will clear.

Embrace the Joy in the Laundry!
Jodie

The Joy that comes with seeing a single snow flake as a gift.

A few flakes fell from the sky.
That's all it took...a few flakes and my husband turned from his car and came to the back window and knocked with a smile of his face.

I got up from my chair thinking he forgot something and locked himself out.
"Look close", he said and pointed to the sky.
I saw nothing.
"You have to look close".

So I went to the sliding door and looked again and quickly I saw something fly in and out of my sight. Then in the distance, in the glow of his car headlights I saw the snow flakes falling. Just a few. But that was enough to put excitement in his heart, a smile on his face, joy in his step and something to share with me. I returned to my chair after he left and picked up my bible. It wasn't even then that I thought of these tiny flakes and the gift they are from God.

Just a bit later I signed into to cyber world...It's snowing was posted over and over. Then came posts of hope...hope for more snow, some accumulation. And then counter-posts...I want the beach, you can have the snow, I will take the sun...and so on. A few flakes and everyone saw a little something different. I saw the gift.
I often think of the sunrise as my morning gift.
The red bird sitting in the dry and lifeless grass, my gift.
The morning dew watering the ground, my gift.
All these things say to my heart, you are loved, I am near, this is My gift to you.
How do you see them? Do you even think of God? His Love pouring out to you?
I spent many years seeking the pleasures of the world...only to be disappointed. Only when I started seeking the Lord in each day did I find the Joy I was truly seeking. The Joy that comes with seeing a single snow flake as a gift.
I still know that the single snow flake can accumulate into a blizzard. I know that things can be seen in all ways, good and bad. But there is so much Joy to be seen when we seek through eyes searching for the King and the Kingdom. In my living room sits a printed piece of art, a reminder.

A reminder to seek the Kingdom of God. A reminder to look for Joy. A reminder to see the snow flake and not worry about the blizzard. A reminder that I am loved by the One true King! What gift do you see today? What little thing will stop you today from heading on your way. What little thing will speak to your heart and be a whisper from the One true King who loves you? When you see it make sure to stop what you are doing...turn to someone near and tell them to look closely. Share the gift that all may seek the Kingdom and know the King who sends gifts in all shapes of sizes...even little, white flakes we call snow.
Looking closely,
Jodie

Let every heart prepare Him room ~ A Christmas gathering with pupose.

It all starts with a prayer to share the joy of Jesus with others

And.................a messy kitchen

 

Each year leads to Christmas.
Month after month, it leads to Christmas.
January, February, March, April...we wait for December. Somewhere around July we think...6 months until Christmas. And October rolls in with pumpkins and leaves we think...it's almost here...where did the year go...it's just about Christmas. And you blink...December.
Last year we started the tradition of a Faithfully Fit Christmas Gathering. Not a party. Not a meal. Not a gift exchange. A gathering. A time filled with love and purpose. Bring glory to the Lord. Fill our hearts with His word. Share the JOY of Christmas. And this year the tradition continues.
We pray.
We plan.
We invite.
We shop.
We pray and plan for all that God has in store. It is always more than we imagine. Because that is God. He is more than we can imagine. More than we can ask.
Months before we set the date. Months before we make the plans. The unique thing about this year...it's moments before that God gives the message and then moment after moment He answers prayers faithfully! He is so good.

I often ask for the message many moons sooner than I receive the message. But I have learned that in the hour that I need the message God will provide. All He asks is that I make a place for Him to dwell and then He does the rest...in His perfect time.

Trust and obey, for there is no other way.

You know the rest.

 

The message is received and we wait for the Joy to fill the hearts of all who come to receive.

 We love the details, the decorations are thoughtful.

The atmosphere is set to draw the senses to the Savior. Prepare a place. A place for others to enjoy, but more importantly, a place for God to enter. A place for God to radiate His love to his children. A place for others to see and feel the Joy of Christ. We pray the words of the angel who spoke to Mary many years ago...let the Holy Spirit come upon us and let the power of the Most High overshadow us.
After much prayer we open the doors and we wait for the Lord to answer...because He will. We pray for a sister struggling with depression to come...she turns down the invitation...at first...then calls later to say, "what time". We pray for a car...a family in need...hours later, it is provided. We pray for a daughter and trust in His care. We pray for a business having technical difficulty, later, we find that moments after that prayer all systems were restored. We pray. He answers. We make a dwelling place and He dwells. Faithfully. He dwells.
God with us. No truer three words.

The door greets...we wait. One by one the rooms are filled with cheer and laughter. The kitchen is bubbling....

Our taste buds watering and the oven is cooking slow...only I know that God is seeing if I can rise to the occasion. Can I handle the pressure of all not going just as I planned? Can I trust in the truth that God has plans beyond my plan? Can I trust in the truth that I do not need to produce, perform or perfect for the Lord to be powerfully present?

I trust.

I trust.

I stand firm. Knowing that my labor is NOT in vain.

 

Words flow forth...the Word is our guidance...we pray for the Lord to fill the space. The space we create within ourselves. Let us be a dwelling place for the Lord. Just as Mary was willing...let us be equally willing to make a room for the Lord within us. Let us trust that "His Kingdom will never end"! Let us be a dwelling place.

Trust. Without fear. Willing and wanting.

Let us simply become a dwelling place. Knowing that when we make room for Him we make space for others. Once we make space for Him he is able to fill that space with gifts overflowing from His love. And those gifts will then flow freely out of us and into a lost world that needs Him...desperately.

We open a space. We make room.

Then we sing, because we want every heart to prepare Him room.  

We light and pass candles. We share the light with one another. We share the Joy.

The Joy of Jesus.

Let every heart prepare Him room!

 

And heaven and nature sing!

Joy to the World!

Blessings this Christmas, blessings ~ Jodie

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." ~ Luke 1:38

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are Christmas trees shining through windows...already.
There are Christmas sales being advertised...already.
There are Christmas invitations being mailed...already.
There is Christmas music and Christmas Parades...already.

I get excited about Christmas! Really, I do! I enjoy all the things listed above and so much more.
I am ready to sing the songs of praise to the Newborn King.
I am ready to read the story of Jesus birth with my family.
I am ready to trim the tree and remember the One who hung on a tree for me.

But in the haste to get to Christmas let us not overlook a time of thanksgiving.
For the giving of thanks creates a spirit of JOY and the spirit of JOY is just what Christmas desires for our hearts!
Jesus and Joy.
Give thanks today for the One who came to give life, life abundant, life with JOY.
Have a thankful heart for the One who gave His Son that we could have life, life eternal, life full.
With thanksgiving lift a song of praise to God the Father who sent His son, Jesus.
May a heart of thanksgiving be what prepares your heart for the celebration of Christmas.

 

Happy Thanksgiving~ Jodie

Faithfully Thankful

Psalm 100:1-5

Shout for JOY to the Lord, all the earth.

worship the Lord with gladness

come before him with JOYFUL SONGS

KNOW that the Lord is GOOD

It is He who made us, and WE ARE HIS

we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with THANKSGIVING

and His courts with praise

give THANKS to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is GOOD and His love endures FOREVER

His faithfulness continues through ALL generations.

Today, I am thankful. Today, I am certain.

Today, I am loved. Today, I am blessed.

Today, I AM HIS.

But the even better news?

I can be all these things tomorrow too.

Our God is the SAME yesterday, today and FOREVER.

Hebrews 13:8

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, faith-filled Thanksgiving!

~Donna

The Stump

I have a stump in my yard. It has been there since we moved in almost 4 years ago. I have tripped over it and fallen backwards. Justin has tried to chop it up and dig it out but it is still there. Just a dead stump. But you know, that stump was once a tree, full of life and leaves, providing shade in the summer and beautiful foliage in the fall. But now it seemingly has no purpose.

 Isaiah 11 talks about a stump but it is a little different than the stump in my yard. Now, don't get confused -  it is still a stump, which means that at some point it was a flourishing tree but then it was cut down. Let's see what it says: Isaiah 11:1 -

A shoot will come... My mom has given those to me before. She usually finds them in her yard/wooded lot and will give it to me to plant in my yard. Most of the shoots I have been given are from a "fruit-bearing" tree. I plant them, and they grow into another tree. Serving its' purpose.

So, it says that a shoot will come from the stump of Jesse. So my first question was: Who is Jesse? And then my next question was: what happened that his "family tree" was cut down?  1. Jesse is the father of David (Ruth 4:22) who was chosen to be King by the Lord himself (1 Samuel 1: 1, 12-13) 2. In 586 B.C.,  Babylon was taken captive thus ending the "Davidic dynasty" leaving one to believe that this "family" was not longer to reign. A stump. But you see, God can make even something dead come alive if He so chooses.

A Branch shall grow out of his roots..... God laid that foundation when He created the world and all the people in it. He knew and He chose the line from which Jesus would come. He kept the roots nurtured and healthy so that when the world thought that nothing could come of it - out came Life!

Isaiah was telling us here about Jesus - The greatest gift ever given. Jesus began as a small babe in a manger and then grew to become a great teacher. All the while, He was and is the Messiah. But then, Jesus was cut down, He was beaten and ridiculed and then hung on a cross to die - for you and for me.

See, that Shoot grew a Branch and then that Branch became a mighty Tree. That Tree was then cut down again and hung on a cross and once again out of death came Life! Life for you and for me. But what's even better - The TREE is still ALIVE! When we are "cut down" -  because of things in this world, because of broken promises, because of mistakes - we can find life again. Life through Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:55

"One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. she flinched as she was carried through an angry, jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything.......and every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God"

~The Tale of Three Trees

Today, I find JOY in the stump!

~Donna

Pure Joy Awaits

All around me there is pain.
Friends reaching out for prayer because there is pain.
There is physical pain. Emotional pain. Real pain.
We suffer loss, we suffer trials, we suffer pain.
And yet, there is joy.

Verse after verse.
Truth after truth.
Promise after promise.
There is joy.

The sun rising painted the sky purple and pink today as I read:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

 

I recall the first time I let that verse soak in at a women's event hosted by my church. Wendy Blight with Proverbs 31 Ministries spoke and tears ran down my face. I remember wondering did I come here to feel pain? No. I wanted JOY. I looked at my friend next to me who also had tears. I leaned near. "There has to be joy, right?" There was. But I had to tread through the pain, right smack through it to get the JOY. I needed to deal with the real pain to consume the pure JOY of Jesus.

 

There are trials that overwhelm us, trials that create pain but the Joy of Jesus is greater. Greater. Stronger. Pure.

 

Today alone a call for prayer that a tumor will be removed from a sister who desires children in the future. Whisper a prayer.

Today a call for prayer for a father who is in pain from debilitating cancer. A daughter hurting for her father asks for comfort. Whisper a prayer.

Today an email for a father who just laid to rest his bride and now is hospitalized and being tested for cancer. Whisper a prayer.

Pain. Real Pain.

 

The sun rises pink and purple and I say, good morning God. I say prayers to the One "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20) and I trust that He who endured the pain of the cross for me has pure joy awaiting me today.

 

He has joy for you also. He endured the pain because of His love for us that we may have everlasting life. Now that is pure joy.

Rejoice with me ~ Jodie

A Birthday Celebration All Stitched Up!







Starting with an idea & a box of yarn...
with hope of encouraging women to live out a few verses from Ephesians 4

" There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

With great expectations we chill the water while we work to "stitch" a celebration....

The new logo has been quilted together by a faithful man of God who lends his talents to the ladies of Faithfully Fit

The Fall Newsletter has been lovingly written and "sewn" together with the help of a computer and tired eyes staring at a screen to see if things are just right...

The linens are spread, the flowers are placed, and then we work on the final touches...spreading buttons, lighting candles. Because the ladies we serve, we serve with JOY & they are beautiful.

“All beautiful you are my darling; there is no flaw in you”

Song of Solomon 4:7

Now the time is near. There are circles of chairs that wait to be filled. The ladies, each with a heart, each with a smile, many with a quilt. The questions lay in wait...just little conversation starters and then we wait to great each lovely lady that God created.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And they come. Generations are represented in more ways than one. The stories flow, the smiles enlarge across faces. Each quilt is shared with love and adoration for grandmothers, great-aunts, special church members who pieced together each square and finished a gift to be given....

And given. This one for a graduation gift in 1976

These all represent different stories, different lives, different hopes, different dreams.

 

Story after Story reveals love. One grandmother starting a gift of love, another to complete the gift. Scraps from dresses, potato sacks, flour sacks and more, stitched, one stitch at a time. The time spent together sharing prepares the heart to hear....

The Word.

The JOY from the laundry room spills out and over from one heart to another in hopes that we can live out those verses from Ephesians. Those special ladies with eyes wide open watch and listen.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28

My Jesus is your Jesus. He calls us to be ONE. He takes all that we are, all that we have...and works it for the good. If you have Jesus you are ONE with any other who is a daughter of Christ. Let us come together as ONE, stitch by imperfect stitch....let us build the body.

Let us stitch

and stitch

Until everyone is stitched and held together by the one true knot called
JESUS!

And out of that box of yarn, with buttons of love and prayer we smile and we share, Our Third Birthday, with anyone who wants to be stitched into the family of Faithfully Fit!