miscarriage

August 23, 2018

JD was in London the week I found out I was pregnant. I had some random heavy-ish spotting so I called our family physician (who just happens to also be one of my closest friends - we'll call her AK for privacy purposes) and she told me to go ahead and take a pregnancy test. JD and I had been trying for a second child so I was thrilled when the test revealed those two dainty pink lines. However, because of the random spotting, AK suggested that I get some bloodwork done to check hormone levels, etc. I waited until JD returned from his trip before getting my bloodwork taken because I wanted him to be there for whatever the results held. But something in me still felt uneasy about the pregnancy.

It doesn’t seem like a long time to be pregnant but, in the one week I knew a precious life was forming inside my womb, the Lord told me to celebrate that sweet little life. JD and I were both hesitant to get excited right away but God kept telling me, “Celebrate this baby. If there comes a time to mourn, I will be with you.” Even with Mia Kai, we were hesitant to truly believe I was pregnant until twelve weeks; yet, the Holy Spirit continued to whisper those words to me: "Celebrate the life. Celebrate the life." Because denial is an unfortunate strong suit of mine, I'm afraid I wouldn't have believed I was truly pregnant if we hadn't take that week to celebrate. It's just another area where Jesus knows my heart better than I know my own.

2015 Scripture Memory // Dwell Richly // Free Printable PDF

December 31, 2014

Download the free 2015 Scripture Memory printable here.

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"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)" If you've been reading our blog throughout the past year or know me in real life, you know that I've been obsessed with this verse. Paul stresses the importance of scripture memory, to not only memorize God's Word, but to walk with Christ and encourage others with His Word.

The continuing of this verse encourages a deep level of intimacy within the believers' community... teach one another, admonish one another in all wisdom; sing together; be thankful together in your hearts to God. We need community. We need one another. It's the desire that God has created within us. When we first dwell in Christ, His love is an outpour - an overflow - into our communities. We are called to let the words of Christ dwell in us richly as a life-giving command for ourselves but also as a life-giving command for others. His words dwell in us and in return, pour out from our lips as truth to another as a form of accountability, love, wisdom and worship.

This is dwelling.

This is community.

This is worship.

an excerpt from Dwell (March 6, 2014)

So let's join in community together and memorize God's Word this year! We are so thrilled to release this free printable of 52 scripture memory verses for 2015. While this printable was created to supplement the Jitney's Journeys 2015 Daily Agenda, we encourage anyone and everyone to use this as a resource for scripture memory.

2015 Scripture Memory by Jitney's Journeys

Format
While you are welcome to use this printable however you'd like, here's what we had in mind when designing it: Each weekly verse begins on a Monday; therefore, week 1 begins on January 5. The theme for each month has been built to interrupt you from typical monthly rhythms (i.e. "freedom" is in February instead of July and "gratitude" is in April instead of November).

This resource was designed to help you dive into scripture. Don't stop at memorizing the verses; meditate on them and ask God to speak to you through them. Seek opportunities to encourage other believers throughout the week by speaking the truths you're learning.

Share
How do you memorize scripture? Index cards? Writing it in the Dwell Richly section of your 2015 Daily Agenda? Or maybe you write out the verse as you practice your new love of calligraphy? Share with others how you memorize scripture by posting photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using #dwellrichly and #scripturememory. We'd love to see what you're doing too so follow us and tag us @jitneysjourneys.

Download
Here it is!! Download the 2015 Scripture Memory Printable PDF here. As much as I hate to make this disclaimer, past situations force me to request it: Please be considerate of our Terms of Use located on the second page. Thank you!

2015 Daily Agenda
On a lighter note, have received your 2015 Daily Agenda yet? Purchase it from our Etsy Shop here!

New to the blog?
Start here. Get instant updates by following us on Instagram and liking Jitney's Journeys on Facebook.

Other Resources
4OnePurpose.com and SheReadsTruth.com are two of my favorite studies going on right now. If you're not currently involved in a study, check these out!

Witchcraft

June 6, 2014

Yesterday I bought a package of sea salt. The cashier and I were talking about the how her day was going; following that, we discussed the tedious task of couponing (which I fail to do); and then she picked up the sea salt from the conveyor belt. She said that sea salt is great for cooking but also good for witchcraft. I thought I misheard her but then she repeated it.

“When you feel an evil spirit in your presence, people believe you can sprinkle sea salt around your room and the evil spirit will go away. That’s witchcraft. I don’t know if you believe in that kind of thing but it’s happened to me before. I get scared so I sprinkle the sea salt around my room.”

I don’t know if I was simply in shock (because I’ve never encountered someone who believes in witchcraft) or if I was… no, I was just in shock.

“Yeah, I gotta be honest with you. I don’t believe in witchcraft. I believe in Jesus.”

I wish I had said more. I wish that I had doused her in the “living and active Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

But all I could say, “I believe in Jesus.”

I wish I had said that “the Lord is my strength and my defense” (Exodus 15:2). The Father is the One I run to when I’m afraid.

I wish I had said that “even the demons believe that God is the one true God - and they shudder at His name” (James 2:19). Demons are real but God defeats them, not sea salt.

I wish (and I’m aiming for this) that God’s Word was so deeply ingrained in my spirit that I would be able to say these things to her.

But instead I simply say, “I believe in Jesus.”

Today, my prayer is that “I believe in Jesus” was enough. That somehow God would use my simple, not-thought-out-enough statement to penetrate her heart. That somehow, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she heard me say something a lot more life-changing and pertinent than the real words that came out of my mouth.

While I don’t feel like it was enough, I believe that God can make it enough. I’m clinging to that hope.

I’ve been praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with people. It’s a simple prayer with pure intentions but I forget just how powerfully God can use that prayer to draw others into Him. And my confession to y’all is that I also forget to pray that God will couple those opportunities with the words to share the Gospel with the people He places in my path. I pray for opportunities, but I fail to pray for the wisdom in how to act in those opportunities. Today my prayer is changing.