Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Big News


This quote was on one of my favorite blogs to visit today. Notes From The Soul is a blog that I visit every day even if I'm not blogging because it is always a blessing.




So Church on Sunday was really wonderful. It was the most comforting service I have ever been to. I hadn't been to church in about 3 weeks because of my meltdown in the parking lot & my tiredness & frustration of praying & praying & no answer was coming. For about a year and a half now. That's a long time.



Almost as soon as I got to Church I started to cry. Don't know why, except maybe frustration. But then my friends started crying too as they comforted me. These are friends that don't know much about my problems, they are acquaintance friends. I don't really speak about our financial hardships, I speak that we're hurting but I don't advertise it & whine like I do here in the blog. Sooo, they cried too. Which was comforting because I knew they cared. Then a designer friend/customer saw me & she came up to me already crying. She had also called my home twice that morning, she said she woke up in the middle of the night thinking about me. I had confided in her Saturday evening that I had anger feelings towards God & I was fighting them. So she has all these grand plans to help me for free in my store. She wants to surround me & help the way God has gifted her. It was really so strange to be surrounded by wonderful women who were godly & genuine. Then other people were crying too. Then as one of the men was making an announcement at the podium he started to cry. He apologized & said he didn't know where his next paycheck was coming from. He was so stressed & hurting he just started to cry & couldn't stop. Then the pastor asked if anybody had anything they wanted to say to God. They did. WOW!! A church full of people hurt by this crisis & they all had the guts to share it & show it. Why do we always feel like we have to say we are okay when sometimes we're not? We all comforted each other. Pastor called everyone down to the altar to pray. Everything about that service reeked of God. The comfort level of just being surrounded by comfort & love was incredible!! The pastor let everyone in the congregation who wanted to say things again at the end of the service. Then my designer friend stood up & told the whole church that she had to make a shameless plug for a friend. She said that there is a wonderful little gift shop just down the road & named my store & my center. She told everyone that even though Christmas was going to be small for us all, we would all still be buying & that there would be at least one item that each person in that Church could buy so she told them all to go down to my store & help a fellow Christian Church member out. I am new to the Church. I cried again. The whole service was just geared towards those of us effected by layoffs, etc. I have never seem so many grown adults cry when it wasn't a funeral!!!!!!!!!!! You know, it felt wonderful because I didn't feel alone anymore.
Then I was watching a Christian channel last night. A guy by the name of Wommack was on & he was preaching about prayer & how our answered prayers can be hindered. I have never heard of this before. He was saying that if our answered prayer involves God involving another person, then God can answer our prayer, speak to that person, but then a evil spirit can hinder your blessing by causing that person not to do what God has directed them to or by confusing them. He gave a few examples of a guy who needed to sell his home. He prayed for God to sell his house, put it up for say By Owner & bought another home. Two years later the house was still for sale & he was getting in deep financial trouble from paying two mortgages. He was getting really anxious and getting a little angry with God for not answering his prayer ( sound like anybody?) he was a good Christian guy after all... So he just kept continually praying for God to sell his house for 2 years. Then in a sermon he heard about hindered prayers & that evil spirits can effect the person God is using to give you your answered prayer. He said the guy prayed in tongues ( I don't know how to do that ) & he said he didn't know what he was saying but he knew the Holy Spirit was interceding for him & taking the power & authority from God to rebuke that evil spirit hindering him from selling his house. Two days later a guy called him & said he had the cash to buy his house. Two days later they went to closing.....At closing when they were signing the papers the man told him that the very day 2 years ago when the house was put up for sale he told his wife that they were buying the house. He had to sell his house first & the guy who wanted to buy his house had to sell his etc. He said nothing just ever seemed to work out until 2 days ago. He said 2 days ago the closing on his home finally went through & he called up immediately to buy the 2 year old home. Then the guy selling remembered that it had only been two days earlier that he prayed in tongues to rebuke the evil spirit that may have been hindering his answered prayer. He said first, though that he had prayed to God to forgive him for ever doubting.





Wow. That's huge. What if God is sending down answers to my prayers & they are being hindered? Does that really happen? Does that also mean if you can't pray in tongues you can't rebuke the evil spirit? I am confused but the lesson was really fantastic. I am going to study this for awhile until I have an answer.







The store was still in moving around mode when I took these. It's more tweaked out now. Especially since my designer friend from Church has spent two days with me. She is the sweetest lady!! I like my new layout & so far my sales have been increasing. I am still playing with it. The rugs are hidden under the wagon still!!! At least I'm selling stuff. So I actually turned on my OPEN sign today & have beaten yesterday's sales already thank goodness. What a doo doo I am sometimes.




Well, I am off to pay bills & hang Christmas ornaments the size of my head from the ceiling. If you don't hear from me again there will have been a terrible ladder accident. OOOOOHHHH!! I forgot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My super di dooper big news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was on 104.7 The Fish this morning for their Battle of the Sexes contest. It was recorded but will air in a couple of weeks. It was a blast but I'm not telling who won until it airs. That was so so so much fun & they let me plug the store!! Yee haw!!

3 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

Jenn, how wonderful! I'm glad God sent his angels to provide you with comfort and help.

The store looks lovely! I could probably blow my whole budget on all those cute things.

Blessings,

Mary Ellen

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenn! I don't know you, but found out about your blog through Tasha Simons, a close friend of mine. Reading it made me think of a song that I love called Whisper Your Love by Greg & Rebecca Sparks. When I went to get the words to share with you there were verses underneath it I must have put there for someone else at some point. So, thought I'd share those too. May you feel God whispering to you today! With His Love, Suzy Roth

“Sometimes I get tired of writing songs about my family
Even more than that I get tired of being frail
But in my weakness I am learning that simply
You are strong
And in Your strength I’ve found a place where I belong.

If I had my choice from the start I’d never suffer
If I had a choice my life would know no pain
But in my heartache I am learning to take a sweeter point of view
I am learning that You have fashioned them to make me run to You.

You whisper Your love to me
Comfort me with the simplicity
That You are in control and I’m not
You shelter me with angels’ wings
They hold me up and make me sing
About the lifter of my head
The lover of my soul
The one true God who is always in control.”


“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Phil. 4:6-7


“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5


“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” - Hebrews 11:38


“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” – I Peter 5:7-10


“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” - Isaiah 26:3-4

ocean mommy said...

WOW THE STORE LOOKS GREAT!!!!

And that frame...I have to have it!! You need to e-mail and tell me WHERE YOU ARE!!! Seriously, I just did the majority of my Christmas shopping...mentally of course, in your pictures. :) I'm still on a the VERY strict budget, but I'm starting early so I'm not overwhelmed...

You'll have to let us know when you're going to be on the Fish...we LOVE that segment.

Praying that God sends in some big spenders today. :) No...I'm going to pray that He will provide what you need for today.

Hugs,
steph.