To the Wholehearted

Hey Hey Helena

Back in February, I had class on the whole Old Testament. It was intense, and beautiful. I wrote this post then, and still, this subject is so current. It needs a revisit.

King David was wholehearted.

He loved big, and he messed up royally.

At the end of the day, though, he was remembered as wholehearted, one after God’s own heart. And I believe there are people today who seek the Lord and obey Him wholeheartedly. The few, the brave, who voluntarily march in with slings and stones and slay giants in their everyday lives. Those who sometimes mess everything up and suffer the consequences, choosing to trust God.

 

I know you’re still out there, I’ve met you.

This is for you.

Here’s to you, wholehearted. 

 

You are not afraid to feel. You go big or you go home. When you hear the voice of God, you believe…

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From WordPress to The World Race

Hey, followers and friends!

For now, my one and only blog is going to be jesseischens.theworldrace.org.

I would encourage you to click the link on the right side of the page, check it out, and sign up for email updates so you can stay up-to-date with all of the latest as I begin this process of preparation and fundraising and step out onto the field in September 2012.

If you would like to, I would also love any amount of support and prayers you can give. I appreciate all of you and am so grateful for you!

May God richly bless you in this next year and a half of life. See ya on the flipside 🙂

This is sadly very true and accurate and a good wake up call for everyone supporting children in Haiti…before you blindly throw money at an organization/orphanage, make sure you do your research and ensure you’re not just helping to line the pockets of those who run the “orphanage” and ask for help. As Christians it’s our duty to bring REAL HOPE and LIFE and LOVE to the precious children of Haiti!

This blog might be harsh to some people, new information to some people and old to many who have worked in Haiti.  However, this has been brewing in me practically since the first day I arrived in this country and I believe the only way to make it any better is to FIGHT it and speak out.  

When I used to think of a “Business” I used to think of a product or service for sale, an office and some staff, maybe a logo and a website….NOW, when I think of business (here in Haiti), my mind flashes directly to Orphanages.  Although I’m sure this happens other places in the world, I am only going to speak of Haiti because I live here and experience this all the time.

In Haiti, orphanages=business  ….   children=money.

The template here for businesses…I mean orphanages….are the same.  “Pastor”…

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Where to begin?

Woooooow! How do you begin to describe the plethora of feelings one has when they are rocked, first by God and what He wants them to do, and dealing with all of the crazy emotions and stress of taking steps toward that, then adding to it the incredible, unbelievable, overwhelming amount of support by their family and friends?

I mean seriously, come on. Who am I to have such amazing friends and family? Who am I to have a workplace jump behind me immediately upon hearing about the World Race? Who am I? Nobody. But that’s not true, is it? And I’m talking to YOU, my blog reader, right now too, because you’re amazing and don’t ever let any single person in your life tell you that you don’t matter, that you don’t have a purpose, that God doesn’t love you as much as He loves everyone else around you. Do not believe it.

God has created you for a distinct purpose. He loves you with an everlasting love! Sure, He’s called me to the World Race for this season of my life. And I’m getting pretty darn excited for it too! I’m still processing this past weekend and the past month and how this has all played out. I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever come down from this high I’ve been on…because I’ve realized without a doubt that none of this could have happened with Jesus. Plain and simple. Done. Just walk away. No more words needed. JESUS! Woooow. He deserves ALL of the praise! He draws us close to Him, whispers to us, drenches us in His love. Sit and soak Him in, ask Him to come, and He WILL. He loves YOU. You are precious to Him. I wish I could say that in a stronger way so you could actually tangibly feel His love the way I’m feeling it right now. It’s the love He has for everyone.

Keep after Him. Keep seeking Him. DO NOT give up. Seek His face, and He will come to you. There’s no formula…it’s just humbleness before God. I am nothing Lord, I realize that so obviously…but I can’t help but yearn for You every minute. You are everything my soul desires! I want to feel Your arms around me, holding me tight. I want to trust You more. To not be so wrapped up in this world. Help me to know what it’s like to be truly FREE in You. To let go of my insecurities, my fears and anxieties, and just simply trust in You. To walk forward in what You have placed me in right now, and to keep walking toward the dreams and desires that You have placed in me. I am made for more, for greater, and especially to worship You. Help me to do that! I love You!

This is my prayer for me and you. Thank you for reading my blog, for your promises of support for the World Race, for following me and encouraging me and being such amazing friends to me. I can’t ever express how much it has meant to me and will mean to have you all by my side as I go through this next adventure the Lord has placed before me. Ultimately, this is ALL for Him! To God be the Glory and ALL praise through this and all future generations in ALL nations! Amen and amen (as Pastor Rob would say :D)

Be blessed today. Just soak in Jesus. He IS with you, I promise. Yearning to be close to you. Let Him love on you today 🙂

I need to start fundraising soon. If you would like to support me, click on the link to my World Race blog now on the right side and go to the “Support Me! :)” link. Or just click here. And while you’re at it, sign up for e-mail updates on my WR blog 🙂 I would love to have you follow me on my journey as I prepare and process everything along the way.

Well hello there, life change!

Wow! Who would’ve thought I’d be writing this blog a year ago? So crazy to think how your life can change so much in 1 year! Talk about wild!

I’m really excited, and just a little bit nervous and scared, to announce something to you. Quite a few of you know what I’m going to say, and quite a few of you don’t. But it probably won’t surprise you. You see…I’m about to embark on a crazy adventure called The World Race. It’s not the Amazing Race (it’s better!), not even really a race, but it is a trip around the world…11 countries in 11 months! Can you say WOWZA???

I first discovered this on July 7 (see, I even remember the date!?!?!) and was hooked from that very moment until this very day. Now it’ll be with me for a lifetime. It’s for 21-35 year olds…and its an 11-month long mission trip. See the world, experience all sorts of different people, cultures and places…learn how each missionary and missions organization does things differently, get stretched out of my comfort zone, strengthen my faith, get loads and loads of Holy Spirit goodness…and that’s just scratching the surface of all that’s in store. How do I know?

Well…there are these little things called World Race blogs that I’ve read every day since July 7. I know, I’m a little crazy at times. But I told you I was hooked, and I can’t get enough! You see, every World Racer has a blog. They get to tell the world about their experiences, their struggles, what they’re doing, where they are, their adventures, how they’re growing and changing, etc. So naturally I will get to do this soon, too (here’s a link to my very own World Race blog :)). But I’ve been reading these blogs for months now, and they’re crazy awesome. Real, down-to-earth, human experiences. Super encouraging. So anyway. I would highly encourage you to read some of these in your spare time.

But yes. I just received word that I was accepted. I applied on Dec 2, had my interview Dec 8, and found out Dec 15 that I’m in. That’s lightning fast! It’s been a whirlwind–and I’m really, honestly not 100% sure how I feel about everything yet. It’s a strange mixture of nervousness and excitedness (I think I just made up a word :-P). There’s a lot of other awesome God-stuff to tell you about, but in short, I’ve known for a while that this is something He wants me to do. There’s so much goodness in store, and I know it won’t be easy–it means leaving family and friends for 11 months, it means probably painful life-change and a lot of constant adjustments, it means being uncomfortable and tired all the time. But it also means stepping out and growing into who God wants me to be. This is something, a stepping stone, that I’ve been looking for for some time now…waiting for, wondering about, wishing for. But never for sure knowing what it would look like. The World Race is going to be a launching pad for me into full-time missions. My heart knows this. God has revealed some things to me and confirmed them in quite a few very obvious ways lately…and I know this is just the beginning.

It’s going to mean a lot of changes, and it’s going to mean I don’t get to see all of you wonderful people for a while, but I know you’ll be okay, and I’ll be okay, too. God’s on our side, who can be against us?! Big things are in store for all of us!

So, just briefly, I’ll let you in on what I know so far.

• I’ll leave in September 2012.
• I have to raise $15,500.
• I’ll be going to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam/Laos, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Moldova, Romania, and Ireland. (check out more details of my route here)

This was all part of why I decided to go. I was in love with the World Race, or more so, the idea of it. I love to travel…want to see the world…love missions…love God…perfect, right? Well…I just wasn’t for sure yet. So, I prayed one of these prayers. “God, if you want me to go on the World Race, you know the countries I want to go to, so I’ll know that I’m supposed to go when I see them all on the same route.” Haha! I should’ve been more prepared. When the September routes were announced, I remember taking a deep breath before I read the email, because I had a hunch that God just might be calling me to one in September (but I didn’t tell anyone this, because I wasn’t sure). So…I opened the email. And started laughing. Because voila…there it was. My route. Totally meant for me. I should’ve known. God, you’re funny!

So then I hemmed and hawed and prayed and thought and prayed some more about it all…anxious because I’d need to quit my job, but knowing this is exactly perfect for me with where I’m at right now. The opportunities are endless. And God kept after me, whispering to me to “just do it.” I finally had to forget all the wondering and the emotions and just simply “do it.” Stop wondering about what I know now or don’t know and just go for it. So I did. And now I’m here. Writing this blog, a little overwhelmed, a tad excited and sad and a puddle of random emotions…but relieved at the same time to be able to step out of my comfortable Minnesota bubble and do what I’ve been dreaming about doing for a long time now. Travel the world for missions and write about it.

I know and trust that God will show His face to me through this. That He will open me up to a world that is broken and in need of healing, but also a world that is ultimately HIS. Created for His glory and His purpose. I just want to shine His love.

So that’s the scoop, friends and fam! I can hardly believe it! The journey has just begun. There’s lots more to come, and I will keep you posted on the new life adventures of Jess. Love you all!

I’ll be sending out support letters soon…but for now, if you would like to begin supporting me, either go to my World Race blog and click the “Support Me” link, or click on the image below for details on how to support me. THANK YOU! 🙂

Human Trafficking Awareness Day!!!

Get the word out! Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and we can all DO something to help!

Just to make you more aware, I’m going to post links to several anti-trafficking organizations’ websites so you can check out more about what’s being done across the country to combat sex trafficking/human trafficking/slavery/injustice around the world.

This video just broke my heart and I had to share it again with all of you. It’s why organizations like Compassion International and Mission of Mercy are extremely important–because they help bring kids out of poverty, help them go to school, and give them a chance at life! Help save a child’s life today and rescue one out from under the danger of being trafficked!

Sevenly

Buy a t-shirt and provide aid to a trafficking survivor!

The A21 Campaign

Breaking Free

Love146

International Justice Mission

Quick update

Just wanted to give you all a very brief update…I haven’t posted in a month and trust me, it’s been extremely hard because I always seem to either have tons to say, or have nothing to say yet still want to say something. Haha. I laugh at myself most of the time 😉

I held off on the blogging to focus on my family during Christmas and the holidays, and the timing just wasn’t right yet. It wasn’t just me…God pretty much told me to nix the blogging, focus on Him, and have some time away from it. And I was okay with that. It was much needed.

I also needed some time to focus on getting ready to announce what I will be announcing in my more informative blog later on in the week. I had to figure out how and what and when to say it. I have some VERY big news to tell you all! So get ready, get excited, get pumped up! 🙂 I’m pretty much planning on a Friday or Saturday post. Probably Friday, but Saturday if I’m patient.

Thank you for sticking with me on this, and for continuing to support me. It truly means the world to me.

[I also do realize this borders on horrible…doing this to you all…but alas, it is necessary.]

Excitement is building

I’m so happy to have my excitement back! I’ve been going through a period of an emotion lull…where I know I should react this way or that to whatever is happening around me…so I give people the responses I know I’m supposed to give, but I just didn’t feel anything.

I’m sure we all go through this to some extent, but it’s very frustrating when there just seems to be no end to it! (Then God shows up in ways that can only be from Him, and all of a sudden it’s like BAM…you’re awake again…you’re actually feeling things again. Only He can do that!) I’m sure I sound crazy, but oh well!

God’s doing some things in my life—big things—that I’ve been dreaming about for a while. I can’t talk about it yet because it’s too soon…sorry…but bear with me ☺ Through all the ups and downs of normal, everyday life lately, despite full-to-the-brim emotions or none at all…I’ve had to keep reminding myself of what God has promised multiple times. That He will never leave me or forsake me, no matter what. (Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:8).

Our God is a good God. He has life-giving, cup-overflowing plans for us.

Psalm 23 is amazing…I’ve found myself repeating it day after day. Because it’s truth. God is always with me. He’s always with you. He loves you so deeply that He would lead you beside the freshest, cleanest, purest streams of living water for you to drink; He guides us in paths of righteousness for the glory of His name; He blesses us in front of our enemies; He anoints us, He cleanses us, He loves us. Wow—we are blessed!

Psalm 23
[A psalm of David.]

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides 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 love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

It’s just so exciting, and encouraging, and I hope this encourages you today to be strong in the Lord, be courageous, do not lose heart, because He is with you and will never leave you.

God heart

God is Lord of your heart. He knows your deepest wishes, your biggest dreams, those parts of you that you never show the world because if you did it might call you crazy, or psycho, or just lame. God is a God of the small and the big. Those little dreams you have, however insignificant, are important to Him. He knows the desires of your heart. Wait for Him. Draw near to Him and He’ll draw near to You. Let Him surprise you with how big He is. Enjoy being HIS. Don’t let the world tell you that you have to read your Bible for so many minutes or pray for so many hours a day for Him to hear you and draw near. Those things are good. In fact, they’re necessary and incredible and should be practiced daily, yet…wow…we all mess up. We go for weeks, perhaps months without truly digging into the Word, without spending passionate time in prayer, instead glancing at a verse here and there and praying tiny little prayers about needs and wants, sometimes for others, but if you’d admit it, mostly about you and your struggles and pain and frustrations. That’s a frustrating place to be. Because you know you can be better. And you want to be. But your flesh gets in the way and you give in to it too much, you know this, yet you still do it because it’s comfortable. It is a war against our flesh. But we can let the frustrations and feelings of unworthiness bog us down. Keep fighting. Keep praying.

Let the King of the Universe love you for who you are, not what you do.

Because He’s calling out to you to see Him every day and to hear His voice. He loves you with endless passion. I wonder if we could see the heavenly realm, if we’d be horrified by the extent of the battle fought for us every day. Satan is sneaky. Those feelings that you’re never going to make it, you’ll never be good enough, you’re not pretty enough, you’re insignificant and no one really truly loves you…those are LIES. I am talking to myself just as much as anyone here. Seriously, it’s a battle.

One thing I have really been impressed upon doing lately is just to let myself enjoy being with God.

I don’t have to do anything. Just simply be. Rest. Soak Him in. I don’t think we give Him enough chance to really get through to us in our days. We’re always going, going, going, off to the next thing. Ignoring, truthfully, because we don’t want to have to take the time to focus on Him. It’s such a battle!!!!! But remember, Jesus wins. Truth, love, grace–it triumphs. God is good. He loves you so much. Let Him simply love on you today. Listen to Him. Talk with Him. Rest in Him. He’s waiting.

Confliction

What do you do when your life starts moving in a new, exciting, heart-pounding direction that you’ve been trying to get to for a long time now, yet when it actually starts happening, you’re frozen in your tracks and all of the sudden you aren’t sure at all of what to do, how to react, how to feel, etc? Nothing is bright and shiny, although it should be. Or maybe a better way to say it is I know that God’s behind it, so I think I should be really excited about it, yet something feels very vulnerable, very unworthy, very inadequate, very non-committal, very timid and unsure. I mean, seriously? Shouldn’t I be head over heels excited? Jumping through the roof thrilled? Yet my emotions feel broken. I’ve always struggled with this, and it feels even more of a struggle now that my dreams are peeking over the horizon and I’m stuck…I’ve forced myself to move forward because I know this is what God wants of me…but how is it that I still can remain so emotionless? Does anyone else struggle with this? It’s like my brain and body are going through the motions for my heart, because my heart has been dreaming of this for so long that now that it is close to becoming reality, it can’t move forward…it’s stuck in place, yearning to get out, yet maybe not knowing exactly how. It gets released tiny bit by tiny bit, but it’s nothing like how I think I should feel. Maybe that’s the point. I can’t let my life be run by emotions, but only by what the Holy Spirit tells me…what God shows me to be the next step…and maybe, just maybe, I will always feel like this to an extent. Stuck inside, yet moving forward anyway, because the emotion, the thrill and excitement, will come later and overtake the blah-ness.

Through it all, God is good. I KNOW this…but it is so hard when you don’t feel it.