Heart to Heart

What our heart’s really desire; desires of our hearts; God’s heart for you; listen to His heart: follow your fully surrendered heart; etc. etc.

Even though…yet I will…

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…are you living an “Even though…yet I will” life?

I’m guilty like every one else on social media of only or predominately posting the good, the happy, and the fun times. What would social media look like if we all posted all our heartbreaks, relationship struggles, disappointments, brokenness and tears, or uploaded video clips of our emotional meltdowns, family disagreements and arguments.  Oh, of course your family doesn’t have any of these. Yeah, right.

Sharing this post today just to say – please don’t think “Joyful Jenny” (as I keep referring to myself lately) encounters only the happy happy, joy joy scenarios and joyful situations all through her days.  Especially currently, there is something very painful and heartbreaking my family is walking through.  My laughing and smiling posts are not just me putting on a happy face either.  Even though all is not completely well, yet I still have the joy that God’s Spirit brings – even though, yet I still am experiencing God restoring the joy of my salvation. 

“Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice!”

 Psalm 51:8

The path along the deep and rugged valley roads of life we never planned to travel on come upon us like a sudden detour sign appearing out of nowhere.  Most of us, except the shallow, adversity free minority can relate. These life roadblocks or journey detours occur for various reasons – our own sin or the sins of others, our pride and rebellion, deception, addiction, our modern day idols (yes we have them), or just as a result of the fallen world we are living in.

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Who’s “on” FIRST?

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In this new year, do you desire something new? A better you? A better life? A better way of living?

What do you do “first” every day?

Do you PRAY first or WORRY first?

Do you begin your day feasting on FEAR or FAITH?

Do you wake up worshiping God with songs of praise or singing along with the common place seductive & deceptive lyrics of today?

Do you give priority to what the popular voices in our world are saying or what the prophetic promises of God’s Word are eternally speaking?

Do you spend more time on Facebook than in The Greatest Book of all books?

Is your life filled with destructive drama or life giving peace?

Are you seeking a position, power, prestige or self-gratifying pleasure over God’s presence and purpose in your life?

Have you been happy with your previous ways of living your life?

Have your daily choices and habits led you to MORE JOY, FREEDOM, REST and PEACE?

Are your own habits and choices working well for you? Well, this post is not for you.

But if you are tired of your own ways, your own choices, and your same old results, I challenge you to surrender to something NEW.

Only a fool keeps doing the same thing over and over expecting new results.

The GOD who formed you and KNOWS EVERYTHING about you, and LOVES YOU MORE THAN ANYONE YOU’LL EVER KNOW, is able to make ALL THINGS NEW for you.

Take TIME to realign and submit to The Master’s plan and His sovereign design. Let God write your story all for His glory.

Begin fresh and anew today to put God and His Word first in EVERY area of your life. Prioritize prayer – talk to God FIRST every day before anyone else.  WAIT, be still and listen to God to speak to you through His Word FIRST before listening to anyone else.

Seek to obey and do things God’s way. Go higher by going lower. Humble yourself and receive the greatest reward of all.

In God’s presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand, are pleasures that last forever (Psalm 16:11).

In God’s kingdom, surrender leads to success by God’s standards. The kingdom of God is about living life by God’s good and right standards and being filled with the PEACE and JOY of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

God’s standards are based on His Word and not our own thoughts, philosophies or ideas.

God’s Word trumps the opinions of men.

So, who’s on FIRST in your daily life?

Is it you, another person, another agenda or is God and His plan really first in your heart and life?

 Jesus told us the FIRST and greatest commandment:

 You must love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31).  

Preaching this message to myself too!

A Prayer:

Lord, help us to seek first Your Kingdom, Your will, Your purpose, Your plan, and success according to Your definition. May we FIRST fully surrender our hearts – the place where everything in our lives starts. May we love you FIRST with ALL our hearts. As we keep seeking first to know You more and to promote all that is good, pure and lovely through our lives, may you fulfill Your promise to meet all our needs. Amen.

#SeekGodfirst

#Prayfirst

#TurnfirsttoGodandHisWord

#silenceothervoices

#surrendertoGodsstillsmallvoice

#submittoGodsWordovereveryotherword

#feastonfaithoverfear

#seekGodswill

#seekGodspurpose

#seekGodsglory

#thebelieversfirstpriority

#PrioritizetoputGodfirstineverything

#surrendertoGodsplan

#seektosucceedbyGodsstandards

#Reorderyourlife

#challengeyourself

#humbleyourself

#golowerandgohigher

#BestNewYearsresolutionever

#Happynewyou

#Hemakesallthingsnew

#Whosonfirstinyourdailylife?

#LoveGodfirstandforemost

The Greatest Words of all:

Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 5:8, 10:17, 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 4:6-7; Psalm 34:1, 96:1, 139:13-18; John 3:16-17; Isaiah 43:18-19; Revelation 21:5

Restored on June 13th

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PHOTOS & VIDEOS 2013-2015 - 386 of 557

Twenty-three years ago today on June 13, 1994, I awoke to a nightmare like experience.  I will never forget it.  I remember the telephone ringing early that Monday morning, and immediately having an uneasiness in my spirit.  The next thing I knew I was belted over in a painful pool of unconsolable tears on my cold, tiled kitchen floor.  For some, their gut wrenching sorrow is released solely through tears that are only seen and never heard; but on this day, my wailing cries of lament were anything but silent, and they immediately prompted my husband to cry out for help too.  Amidst the foggy veil over my mind, the only thing I remember my husband saying to our Pastor on the other end of the phone was, “I need your help.”  

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Speak Life

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What was the last thing you said to one of your loved ones? Are you okay if that is the last thing they ever hear you speak? We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. Speak life today beloved one. 
#Speaklife 

#wordsarepowerful 

#encourageoneanother

#noregrets
“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” (Words of Jesus, Matthew 12:34-37 The Message)

#wordsofJesus

#outoftheheartthemouthspeaks

#yourheartisspeaking
Prayer:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me. Amen. 

(Psalm 19:14; Psalm 51:10)

It is always good to pray The Word of God over your heart and life.

It is always good to pray before you speak too. Pray, pray, pray, wait, wait, wait…then speak life. Life giving words can be words of correction too, spoken in love from a heart that desires only the best for the person they are spoken to. 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (Words of Jesus, John 6:63)

Morning has broken…

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It is also good to proclaim and sing of God’s love and faithfulness in and through our mourning and loss.  
#morninghasbroken #mourninghasbroken

One of my dearest friends, a creative spirit, and a mighty warrior woman of God is using the beautiful, old song by Cat Stevens entitled “Morning has Broken” in our upcoming dance studio performance. While listening to it this morning, it made me break out in tears and in a spontaneous dance.

I love this song.  All beautiful music is a gift from God.🎼💜

Link below to song on YouTube:

I will praise the Lord at all times.  His praise shall continually flow from my lips. (Psalm 34:1)



Because I’m so close to this dear one, I haven’t been able to share much about the recent loss of her beloved son, which occurred only a little over a week following the loss of her older sister.  How many of us can relate to the old saying, “when it rains it pours.” Sadly it seems this is too often a true statement.  Our hard times and trials seem to have a tendency of crashing into our lives without any warning simultaneously, one on top of another until it almost seems unbearable (none of us want to relate to Job in the slightest degree).  I have felt the heaviness of the loss of her precious son, Ramey, with her. Prayers over my special friend, Jeanna, are appreciated. All of us Moms can only imagine what this painful loss would feel like. 
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15)
Still, we know our God is faithful. He heals the broken-hearted and He has and He will again turn our “mourning into dancing.” (Lamentations 3:20-24; Psalm 30:11; Psalm 147:3 Romans 12:15)

God brought this special friend into my life over 20 years ago through the calling to praise Him with our dancing (Psalm 149:3), and He is still using this gift of dance to minister to us and through us to this day. I love you and thank God always for the gift of you, my special and treasured friend. (Proverbs 17:17) I felt compelled to write this post in your honor today, beautiful one.

Our “mourning has broken” out into praise for all our days. Praise God in and through the valley and on the mountaintop too. For this is the only way for all the sons and daughters of God to make it through. Praise and worship the Lord through all your sorrow and your pain. After a while, only the powerful presence of the Spirit of God will remain.




Our God has given us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isaiah 61:3)
Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)




Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.” “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.” 1 Samuel 16:16-17

Worship over Worry

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#worship & #pray over #worry 

Desperation breeds either worry or worship. We always have a choice. 

Worship over worry is the better way! Choose worship and prayer over worry.



No, it’s not easy! But it works! Usually what’s harder and takes more discipline and an act of faith is always harder. That’s why so many of us are worriers instead of worshipers, prayers & trusters 🙄 – that’s probably not a word (?), but it fits.
Do not worry about anything!

Worship God thru everything!

Pray constantly and about everything!
Lord, help us practice what what we say we believe.🙏 We aren’t blessed by what we know, but we are BLESSED and live victoriously as we PRACTICE the Truth we say we know. We are blessed when we hear and obey, not when we hear and keep doing things our own way.



John 13:17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. #wordsofJesus



(Also see Isaiah 1:19; James 1:22)


Philippians 4:6-7 The Message:

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 


Psalm 34:6-9 The Message:

When I was desperate, I called out, and God got me out of a tight spot. God’s angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. 

It’s Time for #Restoration & #Release of God’s #Freedom #Healing & #Joy

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This is the passage Jesus quoted when He began his public ministry here on earth.  Of all the scriptures He could have chosen, He picked this one to announce His mission (Luke 4:14-21).
#Jesus is the #Healer of #Hearts #chainbreaker #freedommaker #releaserofcaptives #joygiver – This is the #goodnews of the #gospel #joytotheworld
God has sent me on a mission.
I have some great news for you.
God has sent me to RESTORE and RELEASE something.
And that something is YOU.
I AM here to give you back your HEART and set you FREE.
I AM furious at the Enemy who did this to you, and I will fight against him.
Let Me comfort you.
For, DEAR ONE, I will bestow beauty upon you
where you have known only devastation.
JOY, in the places of your deep sorrow.
And I will robe your heart in THANKFUL PRAISE
in exchange for your resignation and despair.*
Jesus made this announcement after being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days by the devil.  After we go through our own “wilderness,” resist all the temptations the enemy throws at us, keep pressing into God in prayer and worship, and receive His restoration and healing, we too can go out in the power of the Spirit to release the restoration, freedom, healing and joy of the Lord to others. (See Luke 4)
*Excerpt from John & Stasi Eldredge’s book, Captivating