Most Recent Blog Posts
4 Key Elements of Faith-Based Goal Planning + My Winter Goals
4 Key Elements of Faith-Based Goal Planning + My Winter Goals
Advent Study: Wonderful Counselor
Advent Study: Wonderful Counselor
The Last Minute Advent Study
The Last Minute Advent Study
My Perfectionism Strikes Again
My Perfectionism Strikes Again
 
 

Hi there! I’m Jena. I’m so glad you’re here!

i’m passionate about living my

one beautiful life to the glory god.

 
 
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I like to hang out on instagram.

I’d love for you to come and join me there!

Current Mood 😁😁😁 Share an emoji below with your current mood!! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ :::::::::::::::::::::: Why would I be so happy on a Thursday morning?! Because I have a zero agenda day ahead of me! As I step into less striving, rest is becoming a true priority. Because we don’t work a typical 9-5 and have a rotating schedule, weekends aren’t usually our best days of rest. I thankfully have the next four days off with my husband! 😍🎉💕 However, he just got off work at 8 AM so sleeps until noon to try and convert back to being awake during the day. I now have a few hours to be cozy on the couch to read and write and do all the things that make my heart so very happy!! 💕💕 @hopewriters #mood #hopewriterlife
Another morning of chasing substance & not shadows & I'm so overwhelmed by God's abundance and depth! God helped me see that he wants me to quit striving for perfection and I want to invite you into that place! As I’m starting the study of Proverbs with @first5app God revealed that I have HUGE fear of mishandling God’s word. It's why I have so many words on paper, & hundreds of rough drafts on my computer, & so few published posts. While it is good and so right to hold God's word with reverence and accuracy, putting the expectation & pressure of perfection on myself can only result in one thing... nothing. Nothing because if I'm waiting for perfection, it will never come. The greats are only great because they were willing to show up imperfectly, and even they continue to get it wrong. There is only one person has ever achieved perfection, & his name is Jesus. To think I can be perfect, means that I think I’m the one in control, and that I can be God. The thing is I'm not that powerful, & nor do I want to be! It's about being okay to do my best with what I know with where I'm at. To be able to say this is where I'm at in life today and what I understand to be true. To be able to accept the reality that I'm not perfect and there is a good chance I will get it wrong. However, if in my imperfection I can hold onto the desire to point towards the one who is perfect, it's okay if I get it wrong. So while I have so many drafts waiting to be finished because I'm striving for perfection, I'm choosing a new way. A rewiring of sorts. The little way that shows up broken and flawed but willing & humble to have God lead the way and to speak in to correct and guide me. To drop the act of perfection and simply say, this is where I'm at today in hopes to encourage you to show up as who you are today with where God has you. So will you join me in this? To simply say, I'm broken & flawed but I know a God who is rewriting my story into something beautiful and good and HE alone will be the one who brings it to completion. Let's move forward together holding both the desire to get it right and the ability to get it wrong at the same time. #draft @hopewriters #hopewriterlife
I woke up to an alarm today! If you know me this never happens. I live by my biological alarm clock. It's my attempt to truly prioritize my morning routine on the days I work. When it went off at 7 AM, I got up and I left my phone on the charger. (a perk of not having my alarm on my phone!) As I went to my desk to start reading, this thought popped into my head. What if I would have slept in for another hour. If I had woken up at 8 AM, I would have missed all the same things that I'm "missing" out on from not checking my phone first thing when I wake up. When I roll over and go for the light on my phone to help wake me up, its the easier option as I get to dive into what entertains me. But as I'm learning with @revelationwellness’s #thelittlewaychallenge, we chase shadows and not substance in our sin. So instead, I want my mornings to be filled with substance. To put my feet on the floor as I remind myself anything that can be found on my phone can wait. I have nothing to lose by not checking my phone and everything to gain by putting my feet on the floor and listening to Jesus by opening my Bible and putting pen to paper. #morning @hopewriters
Who all has a word of the year!? Or maybe a theme or focus to bring along with you in 2019? This is my fourth year with a word of the year and I have to say each year it’s been a word I don’t want to have. By God’s grace he speaks SO loudly the word I’m to have. It often shows up as a thought to which I instantly think that I don’t want that word. And then he confirms it over and over and over again. This year, on a random day in November, in my car driving to who knows where, God planted the seed for the word Jesus. Seeing that this word is technically a name, I didn’t want it. It didn’t fit my expectations for a word. I LOVE proudly sharing my word of the year, and I didn’t want to be embarrassed or sound arrogant with Jesus being mine. This whole, what’s your word of the year, mine is Jesus so I have the ultra spiritual trump card for the year. And to be honest, with my embarrassment I carry a little shame as I don’t want to be rejected for the name of Jesus. I have a blog where I share the name of Jesus and I’m ashamed... the fact that’s my reality helped prove how good this word would be for me. As with much of life. I have the picture of what I want, and God has something beyond my imagination. I can spend a ton of time and energy trying to figure it out, or I can look to Him and pursue my relationship with Jesus and let Him sort it out! So that’s my #word of the year. It’s unconventional. It’s not going to gain me any popularity. But I don’t want to gain the whole world only to lose my soul. So I share my word with the world and hope you’ll join me in the journey!! #hopewriterlife @hopewriters And I’d LOVE to know your word of the year!! Share it below! 😍😍😍⬇️⬇️⬇️
I'm sure you can recall a time when God called you to step out in faith. When you choose obedience and are trying to play it cool on the outside when on the inside you're freaking out a little.. or more realistically a whole lot. That’s where I want to disqualify myself before I even begin. To believe all the lies the enemy is yelling at me, in an attempt to make me feel less than or too much. I continue to be in awe of why it's so easy to become frozen in fear as God repeatedly pulls me out of the face and think of what God said to Eve in the garden, "who told you?"... And it's true. Who has told me I can't do what he has for me. I know my self talk is one sure fire way to bring up fear for me. However, this year, I'm continuing to fight against the fear and stand tall in faith. One way I'm doing that is joining @jessconnolly with @goandtellgals for the next 90 days. The vision and desire God has put on my heart continues to feel beyond my ability and joining a group of women to get focused on where I'm headed IN FAITH is what my soul needs in this place. This social media images is one I received the email that invited me into the group this week. It couldn’t be more perfect! My word of the year is Jesus! This is a theme I want to hold onto for 2019! So this year, I'm making moves in Jesus' name!! Give me a 🙋🏻‍♀️ if you have a desire to do the same!!
Happy Friday!! Feeling like the first Friday of the year deserves a #fridayintroductions ! I’m copying @krystlepinkston and sharing an emoji with each one! These are in no particular order and pretty random! I’d love for you to comment with any of the emojis you have in common! ====== 💍 I’ve been married for 7 years. Sept 17, 2011 (before Pinterest! ;) 📸 Speaking of, one of our wedding photos taken by the amazing @haveheartphoto ended up going viral on Pinterest and made a Buzz Feed List 🍚 I love Chicken rice bowls at Chipotle! 🧶 I used to own an Etsy shop where I made Seahawks inspired scarfs which happened to be the years they went to the Super Bowl! ⭐️ I have a star named after me that was purchased after I was born. 🍏 I worked as a Manager of a dinning hall in college and did a ton of food prep! 🥎 I played softball growing up and played pitcher and 2nd base 📥 I’m a huge geek for planning and productively and try to follow the GTD methodology. 🕐 I enjoy analog time over digital. I like to see how much space I have to get things done compared to numbers. :) 💵 Speaking of numbers, I was a finance major and have a double major in finance and management! === Okay! Now your turn! :D 📸 PC: @castandforgephoto
I've been reflecting on the word "new" in the context of the new year. When I looked up the definition I get this: 1. not existing before 2. already existing but seen While it may seem subtle, those are pretty substantial differences. As you start this New Year, do you see it as one that has not existed before, or do you see it as already existing but seen? As I look in the bible, I'm drawn to the second definition. This is the verse that helps me to see this. The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur. Isaiah 42:9 CSB As we read prophecy in the Old Testament, we get exact descriptions of Jesus, and the things that would take place. And thousands of years later those things came to pass. Which in light of the new year leads me to this verse: Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 CSB So as we begin this new year. To us it may not seem like it's existed before, as we're seeing it for the first time but to God, who is the beginning and end, he has seen it come to past. He is revealing it to us day by day. And as mentioned in Isaiah 43, when we belong to him, he is making a way where there doesn't seem like one and bringing life where it may look like death. It's easy to be focused on our goals in hopes to accomplish what we'd like, but instead let's look to the one who already knows and looking to reveal this year to us. And to us, we're the only ones who see it as new.
✨New Blog Post✨ How did the first of the month go for you? I hope my prayer yesterday provided you with encouragement and restoration as we start the new year not from a place of desperation but from a place of rest. I shared over on the blog yesterday three key elements of faith based goal planning. If you're still working on getting your mind wrapped around what to do for goal planning this year, this blog post would be a great place to start! Or maybe you've already got everything planned out for the year. If you're curious what God's heart is for your goals, this post will help you with exactly that! I also included my winter goals and a little info on how I intend to plan differently with seasonal goals. I'd love for you to go check it out and share what goals God has put on your heart this year!
Happy New Years!! I wanted to start the year off with a prayer. This is what I’m praying for January and want to pray this over you as well! ✨✨✨ Father, Thank you for your abundant grace that has brought me into another year. A year that you hold in your hands and plan to use for my good and your glory. While this first day holds so much hope and potential, help me to avoid the desperate feeling of already being behind or not having enough. Remind me that with you every day, or better yet, every moment offers fresh starts and new beginnings. Help me to begin this year not from a place of striving, but from a place of rest that is dependent on you. You know all that I'm carrying into this new year, and the things I'll be tempted to pick up along the way. Help me to lay it all down and look to you for the next right step. In this next year help me to avoid the worship this world chases after which comes in the form of striving. Restore my confidence in you so with great joy I can look to you to lead the way and not the temptation of what everyone else is doing as we start a new year. I have so many dreams and aspirations Father, help me to give these over to you to see what you have for me. As I know your ways are higher and will be more worthwhile than anything I desire on my own. Break my heart for what breaks yours and build in me the faith to walk out obedience to Holy Spirit. And above all else, help me keep the name of Jesus high above all other names. 💕Amen.
Here’s to the last day of the year!! 🎉 Reflecting on my #top9of2018 is a little surreal as stepping out in faith with my IG acct and blog was terrifying twelve months ago. While I chose to leap even in spite of the fear, I learned so much about myself and the passions God has put inside of me. I still have so far to go to figure out where I’m headed and what it will look like. But I’ve learned with Jesus where I’m headed is beyond anything I can perceive. And because of that, I’m just going to do my best to take the next little step of faith where I’m at with what I have. I want to encourage you to do the same. Don’t let the message of goal planning tell you that only big and perfect things are worth while. Little messy steps are just as great and just as good when their steps in obedience to what God has for you.
What a beautiful Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. It’s been a few years since I’ve gone to one. How important it is to reset our focus as we so quickly get derailed when it comes to Christmas. This service did exactly that. I spent the day working on a last minute advent devotional walking through Isaiah 9:6. I got an intro post up, a word study on Wonderful Counselor live on the blog, and the blog post for Mighty God is almost ready! I was making such great progress but digging into Jesus being called Mighty God isn’t an easy one! I’ve gone deep and wide on this and hope to wrap it up tomorrow! I’d love for you to share below what it means to you that Jesus is called Mighty God! 💕⬇️
I have to admit. This year I haven’t done anything specific for advent. Jeremiah has been my focus and I haven’t really had it on my head to do anything different. However, I woke up this morning and this verse jumped out at me. With four days left (including Christmas), I’m feeling called to dig into these four names of Jesus! Who wants to join!? I plan to share more in my stories and possibly something on my blog (but I promised there! So stay tuned! I did post a new blog post yesterday (link in profile) and shared my heart in this season and how that impacts the blog! Would love for you to check it out! 💕
 
 
 
 
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