The Chronicles of Janie

Why is it so hard to give away something that has never belonged to me in the first place? That is the question that keeps popping up on my spiritual radar screen. Why can't I give up the control I've never had, the life, the money, the time, the talents that are on loan from God? Why are phrases like 'take it all', 'I surrender', 'here I am, send me', so hard to say? Why is it so hard to fall on my face before God and acknowledge freely that I am nothing, and He is everything? Why do things like control and pride continually cause me to stumble? Why? Why? Why? I've made a little progress. For close to a year, I have been able to stay in the mindset of looking at my money as God's, not mine, and trying to be obedient in using it as He prompts. This usually means giving it all away at (for me) extremely inopportune times. Of course, this mindset is much easier for me to maintain than it would be for most other people. I'm still living with ...

Most people love them, a few people hate them. I am referring to Suzanne Collins' popular books The Hunger Games,   Catching Fire, and Mockingjay . Yes, I know that those books came out a long time ago, and that I'm advertising to the world how woefully behind the times I am when I say I started reading them just this summer. I read them simply because I was bored and curious, and wondered what the uproar was all about, but I have had a bazillion and five people ask me what I think of them. So, I have decided to just go ahead and blog my opinions for the world (or the few members of it who stumble across my blog) to read. Good Points: The plot is good. Here is a synopsis: The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in an unidentified future time period, in the nation of Panem, which is formed after the destruction of the current states of North America. Panem consists of a rich Capitol, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and twelve surrounding, poor districts...

I finished watching The Hunger Games movie trailer, getting sidetracked onto a bunch of other random YouTube videos, and making a birthday card for my niece. I looked at the clock and realized that it's 1:06 am, and I'm not sleepy at all (the cappuccino seems to have kicked in). So I thought, 'hey! Why not write a blog post? I haven't written an 'about Janie' post in several days.' So, what about Janie? Well...today, I found out about one of the coolest mission outreaches ever! It's called  Mercy Ships , and basically, you volunteer to go an a several-month to several-year cruise, where you dock at a bunch of different places and provide medical help for needy people. Cool beans, right? I got on the website, and saw that they needed a photographer for a six-month Africa cruise, which starts in January. The wheels in my over-active mind began turning. 'You know, I could do that. I really, really could.' Actually, after looking into it some more...

Day 12 Proverbs 8 I will not type the whole thing out. Go read it for yourself. Lord, You say that wisdom is better than money or jewels, but how many times have the American people, American leaders, even the American church, thrown wisdom away in pursuit of wealth, power, or other less important things? Oh Lord our God, I ask that You would do a mighty work in our hearts, so that we would desire wisdom above other things, and recognize You as the true source of all wisdom. Day 13 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don't consider yourself to be wise; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats overflow with new wine.' Proverbs 3: 5 - 1...

'And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.' Hebrews 10: 24 - 25 'I (Jesus) pray not only for these (disciples), but also for all those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world's foundation. Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have kno...

'"Will you pass judgment against them, will you pass judgment, son of man? Explain the detestable practices of their fathers to them. Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore and oath to the descendants of Jacob's house and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying: I am Yahweh your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. I also said to them: Each of you must throw away the detestable things that are before your eyes and not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God. But they rebelled against Me and were unwilling to listen to Me. None of them threw away the detestable things that were before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out My wrath on them, exhausting My anger against them within ...

'Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. As God's slaves, live as free people, but don't use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.' 1 Peter 2: 13 - 17 'Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment in themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For government is God's servant for your good. But if you do w...

'Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's Word. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession...

This is me... ...minus the cool hair, pointy ears, costume, horse, and sword. I had to defend the dog we were watching, so this didn't happen... The poor thing just hadn't figured out how to deal with cats. Our bossy Nellie-cat unerringly laid her claw on this weakness... ...and exploited it for all it was worth. The poor dog just didn't stand a chance.

I went shopping this evening. I don't go shopping very often, mostly because I hate being in town, in huge, artificially lighted buildings, with mobs of scary strangers. But occasionally, I muster my courage and sally forth from my rural refuge. I actually ended up enjoying myself this time. It makes me feel so grown-up and important to be walking around a store all by myself, making mature decisions about whether or not that pair of pants looks good on me, or how much money I can really afford to spend. Yes, yes, I know. I lead a simplistic life and find pleasure in odd things. I've been told all that before. As I re-discovered tonight, the really difficult part about going shopping alone is remembering not to talk to myself out loud. When I'm home alone, I keep myself company by discussing everything with myself. That's not such a good idea in a public setting. I don't really want people to talk to me, but I don't want them to think I'm some sor...

Yeah, yesterday was insanely busy, so I'm posting two day's worth at the same time. It actually works out well, because they're very similar. Day 6 'The word of the Lord came to me: "As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her. You are to say: This is what the Lord God says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled! You are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil. Look, every prince of Israel within you has used his strength to shed blood. Father and mother are tre...

'I (God) looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it...' Ezekiel 22: 30a A few days ago, I got a new challenge from God. He has been convicting me that me that my normal, somewhat thoughtless prayers for my country were not enough. He has shown me that He wants me to pray fervently, on a daily basis, for the needs of America. Normally, I don't share too much about my personal prayer times with God, because they are, well, personal . But this isn't just personal. This is my country... our country (as I'm presuming that most of my blog readers live in the U.S.). America, who is rapidly falling away from her standing as 'one nation, under God', desperately needs our intercession. My hope and prayer is that, through reading what God directs me to write on this blog, you will be encouraged to pursue the role God has for you as part of the church in Americ...

Apparently, I had a strange childhood. I never realized this until a few years ago, when I was swapping 'back in the day' yarns with friends. Up 'til that point, I thought that everyone ate goat minerals, scavenged for wild edibles, and took dish soap for worms. Alright, well, the dish soap is a bit of a stretch. Mom gave us worm medicine that was the same color, smell, and consistency of dish soap. I never knew if it tasted the same, because dish soap was one of the few things I never tried to eat. I'd gotten my mouth washed out with a bar of soap a time or two, and that was enough soap eating for me. However, I did spend a large portion of my life believing that Mom was giving me soap for my worms, and so I subjected our long-suffering farm dogs to regular courses of Palmolive to keep them healthy. Mom was (and is still) a firm believer in herbal remedies, and we kids had to take a various range of vile-smelling tinctures whenever we were suspected of having a bad ...