Y’all know I’m the pastor’s wife – and I’m blessed to have many talented people in my life. They are gracious, gifted, successful and anointed – and when they operate in their gifts, they are doing it as unto the Lord and I benefit. When I operate in my gifts, I am doing as unto the Lord and they benefit. We celebrate each other because we’re on the same team! (insert BIG sigh of relief here – I don’t have to do everything because all of us can do something!)

However, there’s the scarcity mentality that we’ve talked about the past few weeks together. The scarcity mentality makes us wary of the team. The scarcity mentality can make us self centered.  The scarcity mentality can make us think, “If she is successful, then I won’t be successful” or “if people appreciate him, they won’t appreciate me”.  It’s just not true, my friend!  My associate pastor’s wife is a gracious hostess and a wonderful teacher – our congregation loves her!  Want a prayer warrior on your side?  Well, then you want my worship leader’s wife!  Do you want a sweet friend and trusted confidant?  I can point you to that precious young lady, she’s in my circle too! Every single one of these dear friends are “working heartily unto the Lord” (Col. 3:23), and as they share their gifts, they are thinking about being a blessing.

An attitude of abundance, of understanding that there’s enough to go around – and even more – makes me a part of a team. No room for competition in the body of Christ.  If my congregation loves someone else or appreciates someone else’s gift, it does not mean that they love or appreciate me any less. I like having a team – especially one as gifted as mine! 🙂

Here’s the original verse we started with a few weeks ago, and it seems like we’ve strayed – but thanks for staying with me!

“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,  not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:10-12 NKJV)

Friend, if we are to be successful in love and righteousness and works and enjoy all the benefits that the Lord means for us to enjoy in this life with Him, we must eliminate the scarcity mentality.  We must practice righteousness and we must practice love: this is the message you have heard from the beginning. Cain murdered his brother because Cain’s works were evil and Abel’s works were righteous – he murdered his brother because he was afraid of the comparison.  I know the example is extreme, but the emotions that can rise in us as a result of the scarcity mentality can also be extreme.

Take time today to thank God the gifts He has given you – and take time to today to thank God for the gifts He has given to the people within your sphere of influence.  No room to be jealous, no room for competition: if someone on your team is successful, you are successful too! Rejoice and rest in that – the pressure is off now!  You don’t have to do everything (insert big sigh of relief here!). The gifted people in my life do not represent competition or take anything away from me – they give me space and Sabbath. I don’t have to be jealous, I don’t have to feel threatened. How about this for a perspective: the Lord loves me so much that He puts these amazing people in my life and surrounds me with people who make me look good! 😉

The gifted and talented people in your life?  They are treasures from the Lord to you!  Pray for opportunities to bless them and be blessed by them in return. We should love one another fully, without reservation, without competition, without fear.

It’s a big idea, So I’ll keep the blog short.  I want to take a little selah myself right here – a moment to pause and reflect.  Want to pause and reflect with me?  Let’s visit next Monday!

Jennifer 🙂

When we left Cain last week (check it out here if you need to catch up!), he was angry, but his anger was displaced.  He was hurt, and probably embarrassed – his brother’s offering was accepted and his was not.  Rather than taking a moment to be teachable or reflect personally, Cain directed his offense and rash judgement at God and at Abel.  Rather than living out of love, Cain had a scarcity mentality that led him to the comparison trap. 

This “scarcity mentality” led Cain to think that there wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough love, there wasn’t enough success, there wasn’t enough favor, there wasn’t enough fill-in-the-blank-here to go around.  He mistakenly thought that if his brother was accepted, then Cain would not be accepted.  He didn’t know there was room in God’s heart for them both.  In God’s economy, there’s always enough.

Let’s keep going:

“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” (Genesis 4:8)

I wonder what that last conversation was, between the brothers. Cain felt unloved and unaccepted, and sadly he thought that the only way to make himself look better was to knock other people down.  He felt he had to get rid of the comparison. Rather than doing his own best and bringing his own gift (how do you compare a fruit and an animal? How could anyone?), he eliminated what he viewed as competition and killed his brother. How heartbreaking. Beyond heartbreaking.

God wasn’t comparing the brothers.  God wasn’t even comparing the gifts they brought. God was looking at their hearts, considering the level of sacrifice that those specific gifts represented.  Abel brought his best, and God accepted. Cain brought a leftover, and God rejected.

The scarcity mentality is a dangerous trap for anyone.  Friend, you need to be so rooted in the love of Christ that you realize there’s enough love for everyone. ALL of His children are precious – just because one is loved it does not follow that another is unloved.  Just because one has a talent, it does not follow that another does not have a talent.  Just because one receives a gift, it does not follow that another goes without.

Do you understand that another person’s gifts don’t take anything away from you? There ought to be no competition in the body of Christ. What cause did Cain have to be angry at Abel?  What did Abel do to Cain? Abel’s offering had nothing to do with Cain, it wasn’t a reflection of Cain, he didn’t make an offering for the purpose of showing anyone else up.  Abel was making an offering to the Lord, bringing his gift. Let’s not create some dialogue that isn’t here.

Saul did the same thing with David – remember when the people cheered “Saul slayed his thousands, David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul received these words as a personal attack. It wasn’t. David was on Saul’s team then – Saul could have looked at David’s victories as his own.  There was room for more than one person to be successful. Cain could have taken an example from his brother, made an acceptable offering to the Lord. Both of their gifts would have been accepted. Cain thought it was an either/or, when it could have easily been both.

In his scarcity mentality, Cain felt as if the only way to make himself look better/feel better was to knock down anyone around him, even his own brother.  You know, we behave differently when we think we are unloved.

I was watching a movie the other day, and these two academics were walking outside on a beautiful sunny day.  One had an umbrella, and the other asked why. He answered, “I’m going to a cricket match, and I think if I’m prepared for rain, God won’t allow rain.  Watch this” (as he shouts at the sky) ” ‘God, I’m going to spend the afternoon in the library!’ See, that’s almost a guarantee that it won’t rain.  If I’m not prepared, that’s when God will send the rain and ruin my day. You see, I’m an atheist.”  His companion said, “You are not an atheist.  You believe in God, you just think that He doesn’t like you.”

If we could really get ahold of that, of how much the Father loves us and values us and treasures us, we would be at peace and confident and abundant and safe in a way that would completely change our us.  If we were changed that dramatically, the people within our sphere of influence would be changed as well.

Next week, let’s circle back to our original verse, 1 John 3:13-18 and tie this up.  This is the longest rabbit trail y’all have ever had to follow me on – thanks for staying with me!

Today’s treasure?  God’s love can transform us from the inside out. When we know He loves us and we know that He has our very best in His heart, we aren’t threatened when we see that He loves the people around us too. I’m praying that you don’t fall victim to some sort of scarcity mentality: in God’s economy, there is enough (enough love, success, peace, provision, enough fill-in-the-blank-here) for ALL of us.  God does bless us, every one. ❤

Jennifer 🙂

I want to spend a couple of weeks on this verse.  It’s all about love – being able to give it, and being able to receive it. Operating in the love of God, resting in His love, sharing His love with the people in your sphere of influence…. Our faith works by love (Galatians 5:6), so let’s explore a little about love!

“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,  not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:10-12 NKJV)

Let’s just take a quick look at Cain and Abel – y’all know I can’t resist a history lesson 🙂  We’ll circle back!

“Then Eve bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,  but He did not respect Cain and his offering.” (Genesis 4:3-5 NKJV)

A few things to notice:

• Cain made an offering of the fruit of the ground.  Abel made an offering of an animal. On the surface, that may not look like it was a lesser gift.  Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a herdsman – so one offered fruit and the other offered an animal – big deal?

• The big deal is that the offerings were not equal.  The Bible says Cain offered “fruit of the ground”. The Bible could have said, “Abel offered an animal” – if he had only offered an animal. However, Abel’s offering was described as “of his flock”, but Cain’s offering did not say it came “of his harvest”.  This may have been a wild fruit that he didn’t even grow.

• Moses specified that Abel’s offering was a firstborn.  Again, Cain’s offering isn’t specified as a firstfruit, and when you take a look at the rest of Moses’ writings, he does use a word in other places that is means firstfruit.  It’s a different word – when you translate it back, there’s a word for fruit and there’s a different word for firstfruit.  There was definite significance to the first in scripture.

• Abel’s offering was a firstborn and all their fat – fat here signifies the best, the richest, the choicest.

Cain’s wasn’t a firstfruit offering.  To be honest, this fruit might not have even come from his own harvest.  Cain’s was an offering which cost him nothing. Abel brought the best he had to the Lord, and apparently Cain picked a few wild fruits and called it a day.

Their offerings were not the same – but the Lord wasn’t looking for the same in value (never that, even today).  He was (and still is) looking for the same level of sacrifice. When you read the Old Testament, take every opportunity to apply the character of the God you know today to the God of the Old Testament – He’s exactly the same, yesterday, today and forever.  When it seems harsh, take a deeper look.  Let’s move on, because we’re about to see a little more character revealed – both God’s and Cain’s.

“And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:5-7 NKJV)

When God called Cain out, Cain was angry, but his anger was displaced. Before he even spoke a word, the Lord read his heart: “Why are you angry?  If you do well, won’t you be accepted?”  I think God is saying to Cain, “Hey – you don’t have anything to be angry about, Abel’s offering didn’t have anything to do with you. I’m not comparing gifts – if you had done well, you would have been accepted too.”

Cain took Abel’s offering to a place it didn’t have to go.  I think that God is gracious enough here, and Cain could have said, “Lord, you’re right and I’m sorry.  Here’s a firstfruit from my harvest” and I think God would have accepted it.  He could have accepted God’s question in the way it was meant: as a correction and opportunity to get back on track. Cain didn’t go that way, though.

We can displace our emotions at times, too, can’t we?  Have you ever been angry at a person or a situation that really didn’t affect you?  We’ve all been there, but it isn’t necessary. Comparison is a trap, and everyone loses. Cain compared his gift to Abel’s gift (even though the gifts were not at all the same).  Cain also compared God’s response to him with God’s response to Abel (even though the response to the gifts were not at all the same). It was a moment for personal reflection, and Cain decided that there was only one way to bring himself higher, and that was to push his brother lower.

Have we had similar thoughts as well?  Lord, please help us. Let’s continue this next week, find out what Cain did do with his displaced emotion, and talk about how we can avoid the same trap.

What’s the treasure today?  It’s knowing that God loves you as you, and doesn’t compare you to anyone or expect you to be like anyone else.  Praying you can be confident in His incomparable love for you today! ❤

Jennifer 🙂

You learned it in Sunday School: “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know” ❤ Though many of us can quote the song lyrics and the John 3:16 (“for God so loved the world that He sent His Son….”) and we can give mental assent to the idea that God is love and He loves everyone, it’s difficult for some of us to really get this truth from our head to our hearts.  I really think it would change everything to know that we know that we know that God loves us just the way we are.

“Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8 Phillips)

Lots of reasons why Jesus loves you without limits.  Some reasons we can understand, some reasons that are way beyond us.  Here’s something I think is significant: one reason that God can love you in spite of you (mistakes, sins, habits, less-than-desirable qualities – because those are the reasons you think He can’t love you, right? It’s easy to love the lovable qualities in you) one reason He can love you in spite of you is this:

GOD IS NOT HURT BY YOU – HE IS HURT FOR YOU

Let that sink in for a minute.  Can you appreciate the distinction, the difference that changing those little letters makes?

He knows that in His love, there is the possibility for better.  He knows that in His love, you can be free. He knows that in His love, you can be completely satisfied.  Your mistakes don’t hurt Him – your mistakes makes Him hurt FOR you, because He knows you don’t have to live like that.

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from Me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30 Phillips)

He knows that if you could get to that place – where we understand His love and enjoy all the benefits of His love – then you could honestly receive the love of Jesus in its full measure.   You may think, “I’ve gone too far, I’ve been too wrong….” You may have even been told that you have broken the Father’s heart. None of that is true, my friend.  His heart is not broken by you – His heart may be broken for you, but that is a different feeling. He has offered such a gift – He knows you don’t have to live bound by your sin.

And it goes even further, really, if we let it: If we could take the example of Jesus and live without offense, we could recognize the hurts of people around us. We wouldn’t take everything as a personal attack, because it’s not all about us. We have to think of others, we have to prefer our brother, we shouldn’t think more highly of ourselves than we ought…. Maybe we could grow into recognizing that we don’t have to be hurt BY people, we could hurt FOR people, too.  

If we can get to that place – where we understand that the love of Jesus is without limit and we aren’t stuck in some kind of scarcity mentality and He has plenty for all of His children, than we can move into the place where His love can flow from us uninhibited, without reservation.  Flowing from His heart to our heart to their hearts (the people within our sphere of influence), until they start to experience for themselves firsthand the love of Jesus – and then guess what? Uninhibited, the love flows from His heart to their hearts to the hearts of the people within their sphere of influence, and like ripples in a pond, they keep going out and out and out and on and on and on…. 

“Above everything else be sure that you have real deep love for each other, remembering how ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’ ” (1 Peter 4:8 Phillips)

Jesus always pointed people forward to the Father, motivated by love, because He knew that’s where their healing and help would spring from.  If we can get ahold of how much the Father loves us, how we could be healed in His love, wouldn’t we want to pass it along?  Love people enough to lead them to God?

Maybe it’s about living in such a way that people who don’t know God might come to God because they know you.  

And then it’s His love –

Flowing from His heart to our heart to the hearts of the people within our sphere of influence, until they start to experience for themselves firsthand the love of Jesus – and then the love flows from His heart to their hearts to the hearts of the people within their sphere of influence, and the ripples keep going out and out and out and on and on and on….

To live like that – heart open like we talked about last week, and then moving on to passing along the blessing of living heart open to the people within our sphere of influence – that would be a treasure . I’m praying the Lord will help us get to that place ❤

Jennifer 🙂

Many summers ago now, I visited a friend in my hometown.  We snapped beans with her grandmother, on the front porch, in the afternoon sun, sitting on the wooden rockers or in the swing.  Simple, we enjoyed and we chatted. A face-to-face about the green beans and the garden turned into a heart-to-heart about children and marriage and life and joy and sorrow – events that had made our year, growing us like the earth had grown these green beans.  In a little while, we’d start the process of jarring the green beans, sealing them up to enjoy again on another day, in another season.

When the summer season turned to winter season, we’d go to our pantries and pull out a mason jar.  All lines up in rows – and there weren’t only green beans (they’re just my favorite): there was chow-chow, scupperdine jelly, peppers, pickles.  In different cities, in different states, we’d pop the seals.  The scent and taste would carry us back to this common day together.  We’d remember the chat and the sunshine and be blessed again by the love shared on that day.  It wasn’t so common after all, and we would be glad we saved it in our mason jars.  Maybe that’s why I love a mason jar – it’s a little southern treasure chest. 🙂

A treasure chest in its simplest definition is anything that holds treasures, wouldn’t you say? If that is true, I have treasure chests all over my house, and I imagine you do too: frames holding baby pictures and senior pictures and family pictures – those are treasure chests.  Shoeboxes with old birthday cards and souvenirs from trips – those are treasure chests too.  The china cabinet in my dining room with my grandmother’s china displayed inside – I never looked at it and thought “that is a treasure chest”, but now that I look again, it surely is, holding treasures precious to me.

The Lord has treasure chests too – all different shapes and sizes.  Here’s one that makes my heart smile and brings a comforting quiet to my spirit every time I come across it: “your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in His treasure pouch!” (1 Samuel 25:29).  His “treasure pouch”, and you know what’s inside?  We are! Your life, safe in the care of the Lord.  My life, safe in the care of the Lord.  Every detail that pertains to life and godliness, safe in the care of the Lord.  How about that?  My mason jar/treasure chest could only save one day: our Father God’s pouch/treasure chest holds all of us, every day, every moment, big and small.

Let’s consider our lives as the very treasure that the Lord holds a treasure pouch close to His chest.  We don’t have to DO anything to be worthy of His attention, we don’t have to BE anything to considered precious enough to be held in a treasure pouch close to His heart, but still – I’m humbled and quieted and get a warm feeling inside when I consider it.  He is so kind to us.  Even though I didn’t deserve His grace, and even though I don’t have to perform to experience His love, I have this feeling inside me….  It’s a desire, really – a desire to live worthy of His calling.  It is a comfort that He considers me a treasure; yet at the same time, it is an invitation to live upward, to be better than I have to be.  SomeOne considers ME to be a TREASURE.  SomeOne considers YOU to be a TREASURE.  Maybe we can take a little “selah” right here, a moment to “pause and think of that”! 🙂

God is so kind and generous to us – He looks at us with great tenderness and love and says, “you are My treasure”.  What a gift that is ❤

Praying that you feel “secure in His treasure pouch” today,

Jennifer

I’m reading Nehemiah, and it’s about rebuilding the temple. Here’s a few things that stood out to me as I read:

In chapter 3, we see that all the people worked “except for their nobles, who wouldn’t work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work” (Nehemiah‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭MSG).‬‬ It’s a blessing to have the strength to work, a blessing that God would allow people to cooperate with Him in restoration or whatever He needs accomplished.  I don’t ever want to be so self-important that I “refuse such work”. If God is involved, I want to be involved!  James 4:17 says, “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (NKJV).  If you know what needs to be done, be thankful for the opportunity and get it done!

I’ll admit it: I love my lil pup Bea.  If anyone follows me on facebook, you’ve seen her. Bea also has her own instagram, so you might see her there too (@bea.attitudes). It’s completely out of control, for sure!

Just look at her – you have to admit, she’s the sweetest in the world.  Bea follows me around everywhere. Unlike other small dogs I’ve been around, she’s not yippy or snappy – she’s pretty chill and very friendly.  And she only weighs 5 pounds, so she’ll be a tiny thing forever – just the perfect size!

So, the other day I posted a picture of her on social media (of course!) – I’m pretty sure I was at my pool with Bea, a splashproof Bluetooth speaker, a diet coke and a stack of books: all the ingredients I need for a very nearly perfect sunny day!  One comment was, “Jennifer, you need friends.”  LOL!

Well, Facebook and world, please let me explain 🙂 I know lots of people who love to post on social media, (I wrote an earlier blog about social media here) and there is nothing wrong with that! Post away, friends!  No judgment, no complaint from me – to be honest, I like to see your posts!  For me (probably like you), I love being out with friends.  I love going to lunch and I love hanging out and I love the beach and I love shopping and I love all kinds of things – however, I don’t want to take a break from the fun to post on social media.  Occasionally, I’ll post after the fact (kid graduated, I’ll post a few pics later. Kid went to prom, I’ll post a few pics later. My BFF of over 25 years came to spend a long weekend – we took one picture the entire visit, and I posted it later), but it’s pretty unusual for me to post in the moment. If I’m out it’s because I want to be out.

It’s pretty “little old lady” of me, I’ll admit, but here’s how I feel about my phone and in the 24-hour-a-day-access-to-everything: it’s there for my convenience, not so I can be reached at any second of any day.  If it dings and it’s convenient, I’ll respond.  If it rings and it’s inconvenient, I’ll let it go to voicemail and get to it later.  Most of the time if I’m out, the phone is either left in my car or put on silent if I carry it.  No one thinks it rude to take time out of a conversation to take a selfie and check in and post, not even me – I just don’t want to do it.  I don’t mind if my friend takes a picture to post – that’s lots of fun! It’s just not where my mind is at the moment. What I do like is a face-to-face time with you across the table sharing a coffee or a meal.   What I like is to disconnect from the world for a while.  When I’m hanging out with my kids or with you, I want to be fully in that moment – and if the facebook community isn’t made aware that we enjoyed a meal at the Oxford Exchange or bought all kinds of treasures at SoHo, well, somehow life will go on!  Graduations and prom preparations and late night chats with my BFF  and Starbucks with the girls, those are mine.  I’ll let facebook know about it, or I won’t, either is fine.  Even though it’s all not on facebook, life is pretty happy and blessed!

The other thing is: I’m completely unable to multi-task while I’m on social media.  Those minutes that I am posting a picture or updating my status? Completely LOST.  I didn’t hear you, I didn’t see you.  I’m able to multi-task on other things, and I know people who can multi-task on facebook, but I just can’t do it!  Probably it’s another little-old-lady-trait!

This was just a silly example, really, and I hope you aren’t taking me too seriously: you do what is best for you. Bea Puppy doesn’t mind if I post, and I don’t mind losing that minute on FB when its just me and the pup 😉 However, there are moments that are intended for wholeheartedness.  There are moments in life that are only for you or only for those closest to you.  There are moments in life that the Lord gives to us and us alone.  Don’t feel guilty about keeping those things in your heart.  Don’t be afraid to disconnect, if only for that moment, and be singular in your purpose. How about these, a couple of treasures for you to hold on to for a little bit:

“Put me together, one heart and mind;
    then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;
    I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to” Psalm 86:12 MSG

or

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” Psalm 9:1-2 NKJV

Let your time with the Lord be just that – and as you open His Word, let this noun/treasure become an alive verb/treasure. Keep those few moments to yourself and Jesus – I’m praying as you treasure His Words in your heart, you’ll be blessed. ❤

Jennifer 🙂

p.s. if the Lord does tell you something amazing and you can share, I hope you will  – I love amazing things!  I’ll share too – I’ll just do it later!