When I went to Ruth’s house, before she moved into an assisted living home, she was all about hospitality!  She loved having company and making you feel at home.  Her living room wall was FULL of missionaries pictures.  Not just a few but, hundreds!!!  She prayed for them all!!  As she moved into the assisted living home her family helped her put those cards into photo albums.  She could them flip through her albums and continue to pray for those people.

If you asked Ruth to pray, she did.  At 92 years old she was seen daily on her knees praying.  Even in the hospital as she was weak and struggling to live she took time to pray and talk about the Lord to her nurse.  EVERY person who spoke at her funeral talked about her prayer life and how she prayed and prayed!  One of her granddaughters said…”Now we all need to step it up!”

I have two stories about Ruth that are personal.  Years ago a missionary visiting the church we attended talked with me.  She told me a story that brought me to tears.  I was able to share this story at Ruth’s funeral.  This dear family had 7 children and had been staying in the area on a break from ministry.  They were without food to feed their family.  The got down on their knees with their little ones and asked God to send them some vegetables, fruit and meat.  They prayed that someone would be listening to God’s voice that could help them.  A few hours later, Ruth showed up at their door with bags of groceries.  Meat, veggies and fruit filled the bags.  She had no idea of their need but, felt led by God to buy those things.  The family was amazed and in awe of God’s faithfulness to them.   The missionaries didn’t tell Ruth about their struggle or their prayers.  I talked to Ruth a few days later and told her what happened.  She cried and told me that she was just a sinner….it was all God!  I am so thankful that she was a great example of someone who listened to His voice and OBEYED!

The second story that is dear to me personally happened 3 years ago.  Ruth would call me every once in a while and read a Bible verse to me and see how I was doing.  God’s timing and her calls always floored me!  We had been dealing with a neighbor who had harassed us, vandalized our home, threatened us and our kids.  It was a terrible situation.  I couldn’t go out my front door for almost a year without my husband being home.  If I stepped outside so did my neighbor to yell profanity at us.  You can imagine how this wore us down and made for a very difficult life.  Ruth called one day and read me a verse.  She told me then that change was coming and that peace was on the way.  She was still talking when the doorbell rang and my neighbor’s child was standing there.  I cried and could NOT believe my eyes.  He asked us to forgive him for his behavior and for his mom’s. From that point on things were fine!  I thank GOD for Ruth’s prayers and for that phone call.

Ruth would ALWAYS tell me, “Jen, read your Bible.”  That was one thing she encouraged everyone with…read God’s word!  Her Bible was always open beside her on the couch.  When I would visit she would love to sing as well.  She would get a hymnal and we would flip through the pages and she would close her eyes and worship and sing with me.  Treasured memories!

She was an avid witness for the Lord!  She had a box of 500 little salvation Bibles at a time ordered for her.  I clearly remember her walking down the middle of the street in Ada during a festival passing them out until she had to rest.  She would also go to the university campus and pass them out on her own.  WOW!!!

I will miss my friend more than I can say.  I am moved by her life to live differently than I have.  God has used her so many times to speak to my heart.  She DID…she LIVED..she PRAYED…she LOVED!

Thank you Ruth for living the life of a Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 woman.

I chose the word NOT because it’s in the title of my blog.  I am honestly trying to do things in my life for one reason…to glorify God.  I want to do things, say things and live with a purpose.  I want to purpose to live in a way that pleases God.  So, for this coming year I have a focus and a word to have at the forefront of my mind.

Have you ever had a verse, ONE WORD, or a phrase that you have focused on?

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether, therefore you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

“When God’s Word is the source of our life, our ultimate loyalty is not to the past as such or to the present and the future, but to “that Word above all earthly pow’rs,” to borrow from Luther’s famous hymn. Neither behind us nor ahead of us, but above us, reigns our sovereign Lord over His body in all times and places. When we invoke the whole phrase — “the church Reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God” — we confess that we belong to the church and not simply to ourselves and that this church is always created and renewed by the Word of God rather than by the spirit of the age.”

The whole blog post is here:  Semper Reformanda.

I love this…always being reformed ACCORDING to the Word of God.  I learn from blogs, people, pastors, family, books, etc but, when I make true changes in my life I want them to come from the ultimate source, God’s word.  Why?  Because we can trust His word more than any other book, a blog or person.  God breathed every word and  because of that we can believe and trust His Holy Word.

I have decided to write some blogs regarding many of our beliefs and the way we live just so that many of the questions some have can start to be answered. Many have asked or messaged us in the past two years so, why  not try and tackle some of those questions one or two at a time.  If you have any questions feel free to ask!  You can also email me at godzgaljen@gmail.com.

 Luke 1:26-38

 “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his 

kingdom there will be no end.”

 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

 And the angel answered her, ”The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her…”

There are MANY things to learn from just this portion.  I could probably write a new blog post about many different sentences in the passage. What struck me the most was honestly Mary’s response to Gabriel.  She did ask one question…”How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  I’m sure she was a bit confused and wondering how this could even happen.  Gabriel explains what will happen next and how the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of God Himself will perform the miracle of placing His own son into her womb.  He then tells Mary of a miracle being done in Elizabeth, in her own family!  A barren woman is having a child!  God opens and closes the womb…barren or in this case the womb of a virgin. “For NOTHING is impossible with God.”  Mary’s response is amazing to me….

“Behold, I am a servant of the Lord;  let it be to me according to your word.”

No more questions…no BUT’s…no “are you sure?”…just an attitude of a servant.  She completely obeys and submits to what God has called her to do.  Considering her age, the betrothal to Joseph, the questions raised by her family and her town that are sure to follow…..YET, she obeys.

Oh, Lord…may I be Your servant and be obedient like this dear young girl, Mary.  NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

“For you formed my inward parts;  you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13

Here she is…

Welcome, sweet girl.   You are such a great addition to the family.  You will be the source of so much growth in your mom and dad!  You will be used by God to draw them closer to Him.  Praying already that God will draw you to Him…that you may be saved.

Love Always,  Auntie Jen

Here are some things I love about Shan…

~He is silly with the boys.

~He loves to wrestle with the boys.

~He has funny names for each of them.

~He loves to take them with him every time he mows!  Titus loves being his mowing buddy..and Noah still tries to fit on the mower with him whenever he can!

~He shows the boys how to do jobs and to build things.

~He makes God a main focus at our house!

~He loves listening to sermons…all the time!

~He loves the four of us piling into bed to watch a movie.

~He longs to spend time together, everyday!

~He prays with us!

~He has a BIG soft heart!!

~He is totally handsome.

~He loves God! (a theme)

So, I am extra thankful today for the husband God provided me with.  I could make this list much bigger but, I will stop for now. I hope all of you had a great Father’s Day!

I am praying extra today for my Aunt Audrey and Uncle Don who are  missing their son, Joel today.  I am also praying for Heather and her three small girls who are without their daddy.  I cannot imagine how tough today must be.  Cherish your time with your daddy.

Molly has me thinking….am I always expectant of my Groom and His arrival?  Do I prepare often for Him because I cannot wait for that day to get here?  Do I rehearse what it may be like and prepare myself for the Day?  Sadly, most of the time I am wrapped up in every day activities and I fail miserably at longing and preparing for my King, Jesus.  This world is NOT my home and I am thankful that I am just passing through.  So much heartache and corruption fills up the world all around us.  Devastation from the storms, death of a loved one, missing people..the list is really endless.  I long for Home.

I want to make each day more like Molly would.  I want to be ready for Him to come at any moment and take me away.  Are you expectant of the Savior, Your King, Your Groom?  He asks us to be.

I love this quote by Nancy Leigh DeMoss:

“In light of the promise of His Second Coming, how foolish it would be to put our stakes down deep here on earth. Rather, the great hope of His return motivates us to live holy lives, and to zealously and faithfully serve Christ and proclaim Him to others until He comes.”

Here is another quote from DeMoss from a radio interview on Revive Our Hearts.

“Philippians chapter 3, verse 20, says it this way: “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Our passport is stamped “heaven.” That’s where we belong. That’s our country. We are foreigners here. We are strangers here. We are pilgrims here. We are headed home, and home is not here. Home is in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it—that is from heaven—we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s an intensive type of waiting. It’s expecting, looking for.”

I love how Nancy puts it! I want to be so much more aware and ready for what is to come.  I want to live each day expectant…long for my Father’s return.  I may not get out my old veil and hunt down some high heels like Molly does but, all the same we need to prepare our hearts.  I will leave you with this last quote:

“The degree to which we long for Christ’s return is probably a pretty accurate measure of our spiritual condition.” Nancy L. DeMoss

Oh, how I can do so much better than I am.  I’m sure this may ring true for you as well.  Are you ready and waiting?

 “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13

Many of you reading know my family but, some don’t.  So, I will post pictures with each of the names I’ve been pleading with you to pray for.  These were taken at the Memorial Service on Monday evening.

My Aunt Audrey and Uncle Don

My cousin, Chad

Heather and the girls: Sophia(6), Chloe(4) and Penelope(2)

(Not taken at the funeral)

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the Memorial service.  Most didn’t get to see the girls and close family members release their balloons.

Please pray with me.  The day after the Memorial service is when it gets even tougher.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;  I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.  

He restores me soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life, 

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

You can check out my brother, Jon’s perspective on his blog…http://jonmarkmusic.org/2011/06/01/suicide-sucks/

There is HOPE!  There is a God.  

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me…jenandshan@hotmail.com.  You can also leave a message here on my blog.  I have to approve comments so I will see if you have any questions.  If you don’t want your comment posted..I will gladly keep it to myself.  If you have posted here before it will automatically go on my wall.  If you want to leave any words, thoughts or bible verses for the family, I will be glad to pass it along.

Also, there is a fund set up for the girls.  I am sure any donations would be greatly appreciated.  Here is that information as well.

The Memorial Service is at:

Camp Chatauqua, 10500 Camp Trail, Miamisburg OH 45342

on Monday at 6pm.  Friends and Family can call starting at 5pm.

Dinner following Memorial service.

Donations can be made in Joel P. McKanna’s name to:

 Lebanon Citizens National Bank

I did not see a way to donate on line at this moment.  I will let you know when I find out more details.

Thank you for praying!  I know my Aunt and Uncle, cousin Chad and the rest of the family appreciate it very much!!  Prayers for Heather and the girls are cherished as well.

Here is a link to Joel’s obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oxfordpress/obituary.aspx?n=joel-p-mckanna&pid=151316397

Resting in God-   Jennifer

Uncle Don is holding Chloe, Aunt Audrey, Heather is holding Sophia on her back and Joel is holding Penelope.

I have come to see that many of the hits I am getting are from people searching on Joel McKanna’s name.   If you have any questions about God…eternity…feel free to send me a comment and your email.  I will do my best to get back to you privately.  Here is a great website to follow as well.  I am praying for you.

Are you a good person?