Jennifer Wake's Blog, page 7

ZEPHANIAH 3:17 - A MESSAGE OF GOD'S LOVE AND JOY

In Zephaniah 3:17, the prophet reminds us about five characteristics of God. These characteristics will help us pray when we are in the middle of challenging times.

God is in your midst.When you look around and see the world, remember that God is right there with you. He isn't some distant entity watching from the sidelines; He is in the midst of your life, sharing every moment with you. Remember that even in your darkest hours, He is there when you feel alone and overwhelmed. He is with you in the hard times, your loneliness, the middle of the darkness, and the sadness. He never leaves you.He is a victorious warrior.God isn't just your companion; He is your protector, your warrior. He is the God of the Universe, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. There is no challenge too great, no problem too complex, no enemy too powerful for Him. Nothing is too much for Him to handle. Give your troubles to Him. Ask Him to guide you, to restore you, to strengthen you. He will fight your battles and lead you to victory.He will exult over you with joy.

God takes joy in you. He loves your new ideas, your laughter, your smile. He created you to enjoy this world and to share your joy with others. His heart leaps with happiness when you find joy in your life. He doesn't just love you; He delights in you. So take joy in your life, knowing that your happiness brings joy to the God of the Universe.He will be quiet in His love.God's love is steadfast and unchanging. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He won’t force you to return His love, but He is waiting for you to accept it. His love is a quiet, constant presence in your life. It's not loud or demanding; it simply is. He sent His Son to show how much He loves you. Accept His love, and find peace in its quiet strength.He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.When you turn to Him and accept His gift of salvation, heaven itself breaks into celebration. Angels sing, saints shout, and God Himself rejoices. They sing, shout, and praise His name because of your decision. Rejoice with them! Your decision brings joy to the heavens, and that joy is echoed back to you. Accept God's gift of salvation, and join in the heavenly celebration.

Follow me for more prayers.If you want to learn more about God's love and joy, or if you need words of prayer, follow me at @YW8_2_Pray and sign up for emails at www.Jenniferwake.comJoin me in celebrating God's love and find joy in His presence.

Photo by Tom Morel on Unsplash

Lean In and Lead Strong

April 20, 2021, started as a normal day with a 30 minute drive to post. This spring, I agreed to serve on the Leadership Selection Team for Protestant Women Of the Chapel (PWOC) after I prayed and fasted to seek where God wanted me to serve. Coming out of the COVID pandemic, I was certain God was calling me to serve and lead on my local PWOC board. As I headed to the post to meet with the team, I prayed and asked God if I was to serve as President. We had received four applications, but we were still waiting for someone to apply for President.

The leader of the team opened us in prayer and we joined with her to interview each applicant. One applicant applied for Administration. During our interview, our third member asked her a question that changed my life. “Why aren’t you applying for President?” She answered, “I need training. I don’t know how to be a President of PWOC.”

After we finished all the interviews, the Leadership Selection Team agreed this young woman should be President but that she needed training. On my drive home, I literally could not sit still. I knew where God wanted me to serve and lead. PWOC local boards needed training for executive board positions. These positions–President, 1st VP Spiritual Life, 2nd VP Program, Financial Liaison, and Administration–work together to lead the weekly meetings and program days. Without training, the richness of PWOC history and the Four Aims can become lost and the ministry suffers. The Four Aims of PWOC are:

1. To LEAD women to Christ.

2. To TEACH women God’s Word.

3. To DEVELOP women’s spiritual gifts.

4. To INVOLVE women in Chapel ministries.

On my way home, I called my husband to tell him about this desire. Then I called a few of my friends to ask for prayer. I wrote an email to the Chief of Chaplains of the Army and the Deputy Chief of Chaplains to ask them to help me start this ministry. With their blessings, I started meeting weekly with a few women. God brought me to the Scripture, “I will make you a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6b. Our discussion led to the adoption of IGNITE, a comprehensive training program to equip and ignite PWOC leaders.

On Saturday, June 6th, 2021, I and three other trainers trained women from four bases: Fort Belvoir, VA, Fort Bragg, NC, Fort Detrick, MD, and Carlisle Barracks, PA. On June 26, 2021, I and one other trainer traveled to Georgia to train women from Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. The passion and mission God had birthed in me was growing and changing me and the women around me.

We met weekly and gained new team members. God continued to grow us and refine the ministry. In 2022 four of us trained at Fort Belvoir again, Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, 7SFG in Florida, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Each time we trained, God confirmed His call on my life to reach the ends of the earth through training at military bases worldwide.

In April 2023, I and three other team members traveled to Germany to train women at a leadership retreat and then women at Spangdahlem Air Force Base. We are looking forward to training at Fort Belvoir again, and any other base that asks. His calling has changed how I see the world and His plan for me. God is calling me to lean in and lead strong to reach Air Force and Navy bases; any base that needs training.

I thought my calling would be to serve on the local board. But God… His plan includes traveling and touching women across the services. His calling is still pushing me forward and changing my heart. This current chapter of my life could be called “lean in and lead strong.” He is calling me to lean in by spending time with Him and to lead strong as Satan attacks at every turn. Jesus gave us the Great Commission in Matthew 28:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

As I lean in, I know that God is with me to the end of the age. He is calling me to teach women around the world and to show them His love. What is He calling you to do?

Photo by meriç tuna on Unsplash

It Is Cold and Dark before the Dawn

The darkest and coldest time is usually just before dawn. The army says it is the perfect time to strike, since most people aren’t alert or prepared. Birds are at rest waiting for the first glimpses of light to start singing. Animals who hunt at night head home while others are still in their nest waiting for the sun to tell them to move. Even now that I no longer chase kids all day, I am still a morning person. My kids are all adults, but the early morning quiet and calm draws me out of my bed before the day gets away from me.

My time with God usually starts before the sun peeks over the horizon. I like to spend time alone with Him. I read, reflect, and pray over His Word. During the Lenten season, I also add fasts and times of service. Yet my time in the quiet of the morning reminds me most of the women who were first. First to see the stone rolled away. First to hear the Good News, “He is not here, for He has risen as He said.” (Matthew 28:6a) First to be charged with carrying that message to others.

As the light began to creep into the night on the first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb where they placed Jesus. They were coming to honor Him by preparing His body correctly.

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.’ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” Matthew 28:1-8

Jesus used women to share the good news of great joy. Oh, wait. That’s from our advent readings (read them here: https://www.jenniferwake.com/post/preparing-for-advent). Yet it applies to Easter, too.

My family’s tradition includes attending an Easter sunrise service. One of the most memorable ones was at Fort Irwin. My husband and daughters left around four in the morning to climb up Mount Blackie. It was about a mile and a half hike up this “mountain” but it is in the desert where it is cold at night and hot during the day. They arrived at the summit just as the sun was breaking the horizon. On the top of Mount Blackie was a cross with a crown of thorns draped with a purple sash. The sun rose to shine upon the empty cross, and the sash waved in the wind to remind everyone “He is not here, He is Risen.”

My traditional Easter greeting is, “He is Risen!” The traditional reply is, “He is Risen Indeed!” The grave could not hold Him, the darkness does not win, He triumphed over Death. How do you greet people on Easter?

Spring Has Come!

Spring has come!

The first daffodils are poking out from under the thick layer of leaves in the woods beside my house. Someone tossed the bulbs into the woods, and the trees dropped their leaves to cover them up. Over time the bulbs sent roots down into the soil, and now their shoots are moving the covering off in search of sunlight. Spring has arrived and the bulbs seek the sun for the energy they need to bloom.

Every spring I feel like a bulb. I have been covered by layers of sweaters and coats, just waiting for the sun to warm the air enough so I can toss off my coat. I love winter until February, then I am ready for spring. I have had enough time in the cold and crave warmth. When I find the first crocus or daffodil, I know spring is coming and there is hope.

Palm Sunday for me is the day of hope. It is the day when we celebrate Christ’s triumphal arrival into Jerusalem. All four Gospels record the event, and it marks the start of Holy Week. Jesus entered riding on a donkey colt. People put their cloaks on the road or cut branches to cover the road and keep the dust down.

“And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.’” Matthew 21:9-11

Jesus came into Jerusalem, and the people began to shout Psalm 118:26. Palm Sunday we are given palm fronds to wave. We carry them out of the church and into the world as a reminder to tell those around us about Christ and His death on the cross. When my kids were little, they often used those fronds as weapons to hit other people. I taught myself how to bend them into a cross to remind them of Jesus and His love for us.

God’s love for us is woven throughout the Psalms. This week we will reflect on several Psalms. One of my favorites is Psalm 36:5-12.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Psalm 36:5-12

Just as the daffodil searches for the

sun to get the nourishment it needs, so I turn to the Psalms for replenishment every Spring. They remind me of His love, provision, protection, and faithfulness. Spring also brings Palm Sunday and Easter when we celebrate that our Savior came to save us all. He bought us with His sacrifice, and we are a new creation.

I love Springtime. The newness, the beautiful flowers, and the leaves. Just not the allergies. What is your favorite season?