Remembering my brother

It has been a year since my brother, Jordan went to be with Jesus. Please read what my Mom wrote about him.

A year ago today our precious son and friend, Jordan, graduated into the presence of the fullness of joy--Jesus Christ.  He was such a joy to be around--such a great spirit about him.  He was tremendously brave, kind, humorous, and loving.  We so miss him and it seems just like yesterday that he was with us.  We are so happy that his suffering is over and that he is in the presence of the fullness of joy, but we so miss him and wish he were here healthy and cured of cancer. We don't know why he suffered and had such a short life. I long to give him a huge hug and laugh with him. I wish I could pick up the phone to call him and see what he is doing today. I miss it when he would pick me up and twirl me around and make me dizzy.  He was such a joy.

i Thessalonians 4:17-18 NKJV "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18) Therefore comfort one another with these words."

I so appreciate all of your words of encouragement during the last almost 2 years.  The Lord's grace has poured out on us during times of sorrow and grief and He has given us joy and purpose.  i know that things will never be just the same anymore, but I pray that we will be deeper into the Lord and His love. We hope that Jordan's story will forever go on to glorify his Savior.  We pray that many will come to know Christ personally because of Jordan's testimony. Thanks for your continued prayers for us and for so many who have children who are in the treatment phases of their cancer treatment. Pray that cures will be found to cure all cancers and especially epithelial sarcoma. May you feel the Lord's arms of love around you today.

"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, "It is well, it is well with my soul. (vs 3) My sin-O, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin-not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord; O my soul! It is well, with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul" (song by Horatio G. Spafford and Philip P. Bliss)

May God bless you all today. Please tightly hug your loved ones and be as cordial as you can to everyone you meet--they may be having a bad day. Love, Jennifer and family

Awesome video

I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this video put out by the skitguys. It portrays the need for believers to bear each others burdens and love one another.

This video illustrates a lot of what I've dealt with this past year along with my family. Many people are hurting and have pain. We as the church need to rise up and "be" the church to a hurting and broken world with the hope of Christ. People do not need us to "fix it" but to be committed to compassion. One of the greatest ways to show Christ is to put yourself "in the shoes" of those that are in the "mourning booth" and just sit and hurt with them.

Parent Life

Sunday, August 23rd will be our kickoff event!

Parents are the biggest influence in the lives of their children. The longer I am in student ministry, the more I see the need for parents to lead their children spiritually. The church needs to partner with parents for a greater impact on eternity.

Our ministry is beginning an emphasis to partner and equip parents to raise godly children. I'm excited about having my Dad and Mom as guest speakers. My Dad has been in the ministry for over 30 years. If anyone can give some good insights into parenting and investing in their children, it would be my folks. Seriously, they had to put up with me!? They made sacrifices for me and my three brothers that have paved the way for me today. I am grateful and undeserving of godly parents that cared more about me knowing Christ than anything else. I grew up playing basketball and baseball competitively. Through my Dad's influence on my life, I learned to put Christ first and use my gifts for His glory. I missed some practices (which I usually made up by running laps) and games, but I rarely missed church or ministry opportunities. Was I always happy about this? Well...no. But I realize they were more concerned with my passion for God than my passion for sports.

To sum it up, I believe the purpose of parenting is to lead their children to Jesus. When Jesus is the center of a person's life, everything else will fall in place.

What are your thoughts? More student/children ministry or family ministry?