22

I'm 22 today. Crazy. It doesn’t feel like my birthday. So I'm wondering.....how is it supposed to feel? Happy? Excited? Joyous? A deep sense of self worth? It's your birthday! Everyone's there for you!! It's all about YOU!

Growing up, my mom always made a big deal of our birthdays. We would get to pick out all 3 meals for that day, including the snacks that we wanted. And labor was no object. The cake was our choice too with your favorite ice cream. And the party! Everyone is there just for you lavishing their gifts on you like you are some kind of royalty. (Do not come into my presence with empty hands! How dare you! Throw him out!) And EVERYONE told you Happy Birthday! Completely you centered!! And lets mention the presents again!!!

That is the best thing you can do to a kid to set them up for disappointment! When you grow up, still in the back of your head you have those expectations.........butnothing! You're lucky if 2 people remember that it's your birthday!! I think how you celebrated birthdays growing up will determine how disappointing they are when you grow up!

No Cake, no ice cream, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Natalie Y Jansen

A safe god? or Not

"The safe god asks nothing of us, gives nothing to us. He never drives us to our knees in hungry, desperate praying and never sets us on our feet in fierce, fixed determination. He never makes us bold to dance. The safe god never whispers in our ears anything but greeting card slogans and certainly never asks that we embarrass ourselves by shouting from the rooftop....A safe god inspires neither awe, nor worship, nor sacrifice." - Mark Buchanan

"Is-is he a man?" asked Lucy.

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh," said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

- C.S. Lewis - Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Natalie Y Jansen

ONE THING CONFERENCE

Stephen and I are going to the One Thing conference in Kansas City. I am soooo excited! We need this really bad!! And I am really excited that there will be snow! (Watch it melt now)

We are trying to leave on the 27th if I can get someone to fill in for me at work. We have to be there by Friday morning.....we hope to leave on Thursday.

4 days completely focusing on God! How awesome!! I can not even describe how much I am looking forward to this!! Stephen has been to this conference a few times and has told me all about it! One thing that is really cool is that they pray as the new year comes in. For the nation, our leaders! Incredible! Thousands of people coming together to seek God and His desires! Wow. Bring it on.

Stephen's birthday is this Friday. 26 I'm getting a party together for him on Saturday. It's hard to do things in December because everyone is so busy. My birthday is on the 20th so thats even worse. :-)

O money, where art thou

I know it's better to give than to receive. But what do you do when you don't have anything to give? Can you say BROKE!

....I'm thinking about using some of the wedding gifts that we got that I don't need.

(They'll never know)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families and friends!

Love you guys!

Thank you Lord for

my Husband

my family

our new house

the truck

for my health

my bed

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

warm weather

cold weather

having a job

That I don't have a head ache right now

For fuzzy socks

I don't have to wear shoes right now

Cheese Cake!

for windshields-we got big bugs in TEXAS!

I'm also thankful for everything that God has taught me this year

There is always something to be thankful for. We should always come to God with thanksgiving!

Even if you only have the clothes on your back, that's more than you could have! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Will it be me?

I just realized something. 2 years ago I was nervous about singing in church because so many people were watching me. Now I'm nervous because I have learned to ignore them. Sound funny? It's like this......
since God has moved me past being afriad to open my mouth, now I can focus completely on worshiping God. Sometimes I can feel my body lose control and the Holy Spirit begin to take over. I fell this strong desire to dance.....but I stop it because I know what some people will say...I have got to say that when that desire hits me, that is the hardest thing in the world to stop!! ....I guess I feel like I should act "Dignified" since I'm on stage. I almost feel this duty to act "right" since I'm in front. But I see the congregation with thier blank stares and motionless posture as they sing to our King. I don't understand that!

Will it only take one person losing control to free everyone else?

Who will be that person?

It's amazing to me how much people

THINK they know about the Bible! And yes even those who have been reading it for more years than I have been alive! It's like they just start spouting stuff because it "sounds" right. I really wish the people of God would stop running their mouths and get into the WORD! Not to stereotype or anything, but I think it's the hardest for the older people who have been in the family of God so long and have read the Bible 5 times through. They began to think that they know everything there is to know.......and the trap is set.
If you haven't read the Holy Scriptures today, I strongly advice you to do so. You have been called to be a warrior. And no soldier in a war waits to pick up his sword the day he fights. But he trains DAILY becoming swift and sure with every movement. His life depends on how much better he is than his enemy......

So I found these in my search for answers!

Numbers 12:6 - he said, "Listen to my words: "When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 - If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" - "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

13:6, 8-11 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

Seriously, just read all of chapter 13!!

Deuteronomy 18:17-22) The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Hebrews 1:1-3) In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.-

Last one, because there's too many!

Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

I actually did it....

I got i bed before eleven o' clock!
Praise the Lord!

Oh where does time fly

I am so tired! Why can't I get to bed before 11:00! This is getting ridiculous! I am so exhausted and I have been for 4 months! I am not catching up on my sleep. I get up at 6:30am in the mornng, blink and then it's 12 midnight! God has been showing me that I need to slow down. It's getting bad. I feel like I have so much to do during the day and they keep me up until late at night. When I wake up in the morning my mind is already whirling with everything that I must do that day and even the next day!!

I AM HELD CAPTIVE BY TASKS!

I can't even relax enough to spend time with God. I say a quick prayer in the morning just so that it will ease my conscience. But it doesn't work. And I have sat down to get in His Word and I battle with my mind to focus the entire time! Definitely need to chill! So I am dedicating this week to "chilling out". yes I have a ton of things to do. Yes I am getting behind on laundry. YES I still have boxes that need to be unpacked, bills to pay, phone calls to make, AND a kitchen to clean, all after I get off work at 5. But I will relax in God and do what I can. And I will spend more time doing the things that actually amount to something rather than worrying about the things that are piling up.

I hate when someone turns the water off

but doesn't turn the shower nozzle off too!!! Oh but the frustrations in the morning!

I'm looking for an answer

I'm working at the church now part time. I didnt sign up for classes this semester....newly married and all....still trying to figure that one out ~:- But things are great!!

I had a question though that I can't find an answer to.......I've looked through God's word and the only thing that I can find is that God is going to kill this person. I know, it's harsh....but read Jer. 23 and 28 and you'll see what I mean!!

My question ( if anybody even reads this) is......if a person is known to be a ( now day) prophet and are known for receiving word from the Lord as a prophet and they get something terribly wrong.......are they a false prophet? Quite honestly, after reading Jer. I am just a little freaked out. Not by prophesy, but by the seriousness of it. I mean...we're not talking about a little encouragement from one brother to another.....we are talking about the SPOKEN WORD of GOD! And that's a very serious thing!! God killed prophets in the old testement that proclaimed in God's name but were wrong. Jeremiah 28 for example.



Comments would be appreciated.

Natalie Y Jansen

It's freezing!

So classes started yesterday!! I've got to say that it was so cold at 6:30 yesterday morning when I left the house!! I don't know why they couldn't just cancel classes! It was just the first day AND...........IT WAS SNOWING!!! Can you believe it??? ha ha!
But I made it safely!! The ice wasn't so bad!

There was enough snow for Sarah to make a snowball!! :-)

Natalie Y Hill

I welcome you 2007

Goodbye 2006!

What a year!! I must say that it was a very good year!! So much happened....some good some bad. But the Lord was good through it all. I've got to say that the best thing that the Lord did this year for me was to bring Stephen and I together!! :-)

I am glad that the year is over, because that means that I can go on to the next. But I am a little nervous as to what this new year will bring.
I know that I shouldn't be anxious because the Lord says not to be. But that's a lot easier said than done. I have an excitement as to what the new year will bring, but I am also nervous! I know there will be a lot of decisions that will have to be made! But just as everyone, I continue on into the unknown, seeking God with every step I take.




Natalie Y Hill