Jana Spicka and Women Getting Real Ministries
General
New Bruster’s Ice Cream Shop
Aug 6th
Breaking News…well for Knoxvillians at least. They are building a new Bruster’s Ice Cream at the intersection of Morrell Rd. and Northshore in the Rocky Hill area!!!
Could we be more surrounded by love and CHOCOLATE?
Weddings, Funerals, Life, Oh My!
Aug 6th
We spent last weekend remembering Chuck’s grandmother who died at 103. This weekend we are celebrating the marriage of Sarah and Todd.
In between, there was a broken computer (again!), various yammerings between my kids, several chewed up items by the dog, and good news about our website launching Monday. Now add to that, tense conversations between co-workers, problem solving with product delivery, and the tight rope walk of bills.
I love it when lives intersect. Even when it is awkward, messy and confusing.
In my head, I hear Master Ugwe from Kung Fu Panda say, “There are no accidents.”
In my spirit, though, is an even better answer.
I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness
Watch and pray
Find in Me, thine all in all.
See how there is no striving in that stanza from “Jesus Paid it All.” Only the humble realization that I don’t have what it takes, but He does. The only response required of me is: watch and pray. Not passive but expectant. Not distant but actively looking, seeking, finding. And then comes the hope and the comfort. Ahhh, yes. You are my all in all. You are all I need in all circumstances.
Lord, thank You for the hard moments of grief, the moments of great joy, and even the sticky, sinful moments. There are no accidents. In all of these moments You are there and it is Your strength that guides me. Your life is all I need and all I want. Amen.
If Walls Could Talk
Aug 5th
Here’s the quote that was engraved in the wall of a 150-year-old church in St Louis.
“I think more of the place where I was baptized than of the cathedral where I was crowned.For the dignity of a child of God, which was bestowed on me at baptism, is greater than that of the rule of the kingdom.The latter I shall lose at death, the other will be my passport to everlasting glory.”
St. Louis IX, King of France
The Last Word
Aug 4th
Okay. Don’t creep out. I have a tough question. And your answer might be hard or easy based on how old you are, how psychosomatic or how morbid you are. Ready?
What do you want your obituary to say about you?
I have been to several funerals in the last couple of years. The deceased were in their 20s, 30s, 90s, and the last person was even 103. You can glean a lot of wisdom for the living when you sit in the ceremonies for the dead.
There is almost always a recurring theme. She was a lot of fun. She was a great mom. He was a hard worker. She loved music. And all those things are good and true.
But Chuck and I inevitably asked the same question: Where was God in their lives? We would sit through these long rememberances of people and then at the end of the service, the pastor would ask God to receive this person into His arms.
Yet there was little to no evidence that this person ever received Jesus into his or her arms or life.
Want to clarify your life goals? Write your obituary. It might help you focus on what you and the Lord really want to accomplish while you are in this earthen vessel.
The Punch of Prayer
Aug 3rd
I got this great response to yesterday’s blog. She said, “I think I’m following you, but if you’re not familiar with the kind of warfare-pray-with-authority stuff that you do, it could sound to the average Jane like, ‘See! I told you. So now we’d better just love our enemies and pray.’ That’s NOT what you’re saying…”
She is so right. That is NOT what I am saying. That article is a living, color photo of abuse. Just like the sex trade. Just like the raid and arrest on Papermill Drive. Just like the women I talk to whose dads or brothers or mom’s boyfriends stole their innocence and childhood.
I go through a gamut of emotions initially when I see this myself. Shock, rage, revenge, despair. But then I have to remember that God has known about this problem all along. And He has decided that it is time I know about it. It’s time that you know about it. So what do we do?
We tend to do a couple of things: Get overwhelmed and do nothing. Or, get scared and do nothing. Or, start to engage, get pushed back and then quit. This is where the despair kicks in.
But when I look at the model of Jesus, and His instruction to us, He never lost sight of the enemy, the battle and who would win. He modeled for us “praying in the Spirit” and agreeing with God’s perspective. He is a God of Justice. The God of Vengeance. He doesn’t just get even, He overcomes the evil of the world. He makes wrong things right, either in our lives or in the life to come.
My bottom line is this, pray with the power-filled name of Jesus and pray against the evil of the day.
Lord, You see and know more than I do, the lost, hurt, abused women and children of our day. Please show them that they are not forgotten. Please bring Your supernatural help to them. Rescue them Lord, send people to them to rescue them from the evil they are facing. Give them hope. And Lord, I pray that You would raise up warriors who would intercede. I speak the name of Jesus into this world. Your name is poured forth like ointment. To Your name be the glory. Amen.
P. S. from Jana
For another way to intercede, read Psalm 140. It’s is a comfort, but also a great thing to pray aloud.
P. P. S. from Laura
Be sure to keep an eye out for our new look! The updated Women Getting Real website is coming soon…