Matching Scars

Matching Scars

Well it’s been a while, BB’s.  Brunettish BB has had a hard few months.  I had girlie issues “down there” and had to have the ole uterus (AKA “Stella”) taken right on out.  I was pretty miserable.  And I’ll be honest… cause that what we BB’s do… I was mad at God a little.  Yeppers.  This girl of total blind faith was a little... or a lot (since we are being honest) peeved.  I wanted him to step in and save the day… relieve the pain and make me better.  That wasn’t His plan and in the moment of pain and discomfort and missing out on the world, this BB got mad.  And of course felt guilty because of it.  Can I get an “Amen” if you’ve ever been there??

It wasn’t until a day that a friend sent a video of Martin Luther King, Jr., that my heart changed.  I ignored it all day long.  I didn’t want to hear it (although I did ask God to soften my heart).  Finally I listened.  Funny enough, what my friend heard and thought I’d take to heart was not what God planned.  Sometimes God tells us to do stuff and we think we know why, but God has a WHOLE different plan.  Story of my life.  One line, out of the twenty-minute sermon, stuck out…  “Though you slay me, I will hope (trust) in you.”  This wasn’t the first time I heard this verse from Job, and this is exactly why it stuck out.

My blonde BB had introduced this phrase from Job to me in a song… quite randomly.  It is a wonderful song, but I struggled with saying, “though you slay me,” when talking to God.  I thought my God was a kind, loving God that wouldn’t hurt me.  I thought my God wouldn’t put me in the floor of the bathroom in pain.  I thought my God wouldn’t make me feel depressed and anxious.  I thought my God wouldn’t take my momma away far too soon.  I thought my God wouldn’t slay me.  This BB was as confused as a snow monkey in the rainforest.   

Then ole Junior lays it out there with conviction and eloquence.  WOW, what a speaker.  “Though you slay me” isn’t an accusation… It’s a declaration!  It’s giving God total control.  It is saying that “Hey God, you created this BB, do with me what you will!!  I know you didn’t say you’d not tempt or harm me beyond what I can bear; you said you WILL provide a way out when tempted!!  And You never said this world would be a sweet little charming place full of fairy wings and tutus even though Your beloved BB's would try to make it that way.  You said we were not made for this world!" 

HOLLA-LUJAH BBs!!!

It is a declaration that 

NO.  MATTER. WHAT.

I will praise and trust and hope in Him.

He deserves it, doesn’t he?  He created us.  He died for us!  I look down at the scars from the hysterectomy… yes, this BB is more concerned about the scars on my belly than being able to have more babies.  I’m too old for that mess….babies, that is.  The scars weren’t an issue, cosmetically speaking, but it reminded me of the horrible months I had in pain and isolation.  Funny enough, my blonde BB has the SAME scars… from a gall bladder “evacuation”.  That made it better.  But still, every time I looked down (especially as they healed), I cringed. 

Then I thought, “ya know BB (talking to myself of course), I bet Jesus sees me doing that and looks at His hands and feet and thinks about the holes that had been there.  I bet He thinks about his back striped with scars, and the punctures in His brow and the pain His momma and friends felt as they saw what He went through.  I bet He weeps.  Not in regret, mind you, in remembrance.  I’m betting He would never tell us to 'do this in remembrance' without remembering Himself.  He weeps for me when I’m at my lowest.”

I didn’t go through what He went through, but many of us have physically.  Can you fathom how special we are?  At our lowest low… Jesus went through pain and agony and heartache, so we could live forever with Him.  I looked once more at my scars, and heard a voice, “I never have forsaken you.”  BBs, when I thought my God wouldn’t put me in the floor of the bathroom in pain, HE didn't forsake me.   When I thought my God wouldn’t make me feel depressed and anxious, He DID NOT forsake me.   When I thought my God wouldn’t take my momma away, He didn't forsake ME!

BB’s, know this today…

He is our

Creator,

Provider,

Healer,

Father.

He has never, ever forsaken us.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, BB's!

Though he slay me, I will hope in him.  Job 13:15

XOXO!!
Anna (with Jenny in spirit)

Picture Perfekt

Picture Perfekt 

So hang in there peeps.  Both BBs are writing this one.  Sometimes together and sometimes we are just throwing in our two cents!  We’ll put (J) and (A) as we start throwing in our thoughts.  Just bear with us.  Our brains are quite a hot mess, but we love being transparent and honest with the BB Army.

(J/A) So I’m sure after the weekend, we are ready for the week! Our hearts have been lit up from the wonderfulness of the weekend and then… enter screeching halt… MONDAY comes and reality sets in… and it only goes down hill for there.

Remember those truths we talked about in Picture Perfect? How quickly has the world stolen our attention from them?

The tempter is one sneaky pete. He will do what ever it takes to make sure you forget these promises ASAP. He will use time, work, family, friends, and all sorts of things to cloud your mind so those promises we talked about are just a cloudy memory.

(J) So come close: Ill let you in on one of my secrets...Wanna know his favorite way to cloud this blonde BB's mind? Worry. Guilt. Shame. Anxiety. A voice from the past that says "You.are.nothing. No one loves you."

 

(A) Now this is brunettish BB, so you’ll have to come even clooooooser for my secret of how that sneaky snake messes with my BB brain.  Anxiety.  Illogical panic that reached my core and haunts me about things that happened in my past.

(J/A) Not everyday of course, but there are days he hits us pretty hard. Yep, that’s our thorn BB's. If you know us, you are asking yourself right now WHAT??!!??? Because most of the time you see us smiling and giggling about something or usually nothing. HAPPY.

(A) Let’s be clear, though, it’s not fake smiles or laughter or joy.  (J) It’s not a picture of what we WANT the world to see peeps, its a picture of what CHRIST has done with our brokenness...He has given us a NEW life as a NEW creation and by grace, it just makes us plain JOYFUL.

(A) Now stop and let that truth sink in.  He has given YOU new heart, a new life, and had made YOU a new creation by grace.  He chose to live in YOU! LIVE in you BB.  He is that close all the time if you have accepted Him into your heart!

(J) We will go into our testimonies in the near future, but for now just press pause and know that when He says "I will turn your sorrow into JOY" He means it...and He surely meant it in this little life. I LOVE my brokenness...It makes me LIVING PROOF of His love for me...

(A) It is LIVING PROOF of His grace!! And that, again, we are not made for this world!!  God sees the bigger picture!

(J) So for now lets stick with this: take a moment and make a mental picture of yourself. Your first images are probably like mine...what the WORLD will tell you.

Now read those sweet verses from earlier and add THIS most powerful truth:

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made". Psalm 139:14

An original.

Uniquely made and uniquely loved.

Bought at a price by a PICTURE PERFECT Savior because we could never be.

Whatever road you are on, whatever storm you are in, or whatever mountain you have been raised up on remember:

Jeremiah 29:11 "I have PLANS for you declares The Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE."

(A) Now this BB has an issue with the word “perfect”.  A dear friend change the spelling for me, and the grace of God poured over my soul.  I know the spelling shouldn’t matter, but it just took the weight off of having to be perfect… the perfect mom, the perfect employer, the perfect worshiper, the perfect friend, the perfect daughter.  Now when we talk, we spell it “perfekt”.  Isn’t that true though?  God sees us as perfekt.  He sees our flaws, our doubts, our weaknesses and loves us anyway.  He takes that thorn and makes us boast all the more joyfully through our brokenness! Our light shines even brighter in the dark of night!

(J) Doesn't matter what picture the world has of you, or what picture you have of yourself. You have a KING that loves you dearly, uniquely made you for a PURPOSE, gave His very LIFE for you to set you FREE!

(J/A) So take another picture BB's...A perfekt and grace-filled picture of HOPE IN CHRIST. It’s there for you...Just snap the pic :)

Wanna know how to find this hope in Christ? We are ALWAYS here for you! Send us a Facebook message and let us start praying for you now! 

XOXO,

Jenny and Anna

Picture Perfect

PICTURE PERFECT

After taking this picture, Josephine said, "You and Jenny are starting to LOOK like each other!"  This sweet little quote from la petite bb Josephine, after taking yet ANOTHER picture of BB1 and BB2, got our BB brains thinking...

We ARE kinda starting to look like each other! We joke regularly about our fun little language that we have formed, how we now finish each others sentences, how we have non-verbal codes for all sorts of things (enter BLINK BLINK), even how we are ever so slightly stepping out of our proverbial boxes. Anna is ROCKING out dresses with boots and I am TOTALLY into the convenience and cuteness of hats and piggy tails....

This is where we first noticed it…

See… Kinda hard to see who is who…  We honestly confused ourselves in this one!

You see it all the time: spouses that sort of "look" like each other, friends that we lovingly call "Twins" or "Twinkies" as we BB's say it. Heck, some of us BB's are so close our flipping HORMONES like to hang out once a month!

We have, unbeknownst to us, become so close from transparently spending time with each other, that we have LITERALLY taken on certain characteristics and personality traits of one another. A sort of merging or TRANSFORMATION of who we are and what we, not only on the outside look like, but what our HEARTS look like on the inside. We have shared so many stories, prayed for each other so often, giggled at just life in general in the most inappropriate circumstances, shared so many passions that...well, voila! Beautifully Broken was created!

Brunettish BB would like to interject something here… If I had read this a couple of years ago, I’d be sobbing or vomiting.  I LONGED for a friend.  Don’t get me wrong!  I have some of the most beautiful woman that allow me to run to them whenever I need to, but I longed for a day to day friend.  You’ll hear more about our leap of faith friendship when we share our testimonies.  This friendship… like anything… took TONS of prayer…YEARS of prayer.  Ok blonde BB, carry on…

Anyway, there is something much bigger here we would like to address...lets label this one PICTURE PERFECT...(We SO hope the Michael W. Smith song from the 90’s is running through your head right now).

We always want to look perfect for pictures, right? For some of us we want to look perfect for our spouse, our friends, the world...and for this BB, well, I have learned it takes WAY too much energy for all that jazz. What we SHOULD be doing is NOT focusing on the perfect…cause lets face it: we will NEVER BE...We should be focusing on the ONE who IS… and can make all our mess simply beautiful....

Lets start with that word from earlier: TRANSFORMATION. Here’s what the Bible says about how we should and should not look and how our Savior knows STRAIGHT UP we can’t make it happen, so he gracefully helps us out with these sweet promises straight from his saving lips:

I chose the Message translation for these verses because it really stuck to me:

Galations 5:19-26

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all of the time: repetitive, loveless sex, a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage, frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness, trinket gods, magic show religion, paranoid loneliness, cutthroat competition, all consuming yet never satisfied wants, a brutal temper, an impotence to love or be loved, divided homes and divided lives, small minded and lopsided pursuit, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions, ugly parodies of community...

Yikes...that’s not good stuff huh? How many of these do I see in my OWN life…

But now go on to verse 22:

THIS is the kind of life we thirst for!

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard: things like affection for others, exuberance about life, SERENITY. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion IN THE HEART, a conviction that a basic holiness PERMEATES things and people. We find ourselves involved in LOYAL commitments, not needing for force our way in life, and able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Don't miss this peeps: the translation for verse 26 via the Message says this:

Each of us is an ORIGINAL

Then Scripture goes on to say (because He KNEW we were gonna be a hot mess):

2 Cor 5:17  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation (holla!!) The old has passed away, behold the new has come!

Galations 2:20 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live  by the faith of the Son of God, who LOVED me and gave His LIFE for me.

Did you get that!!? Did you hear those words? Yep, he knew we would never be picture perfect. He knew we would try, and we would fail…He also made us for a purpose, because we are all ORIGINALS, not a photo copy of someone the tempter says we are supposed to be. And thank GOD He loves us so much He gave HIS PERFECT LIFE FOR US!!!

So BB's don't miss this precious truth:

We ARE a new creation in Christ!

The past is GONE!

We have HOPE in Him!

Hope that TRUMPS shame, guilt, and sin!

We have a helper that is CHANGING us

Little by Little

Mistake by Mistake

Struggle by Struggle,

Burden by Burden,

and Blessing by Blessing...

How beautiful are these promises? Does your heart SING when you read these words! These promises make us picture perfect to Him, so we can SHINE to those around us!!

 XOXO,

Jen

Mini-Blog: Everyone has lost their brains

August 26th, 2013

Have you ever been standing there and realized everyone you knew had lost their brains?  That solitary moment where you think perhaps its a full moon or invasion of the body snatchers, because everyone has LOST THEIR BRAINS??  One of the hardest parts of being a BB is this very moment.  The moment when I'm literally talking out loud to imaginary people saying, "I have NO idea why you did this.  You have fo sho lost it!  What you did didn't make sense and the entire world...every single person... has lost. their. last. braincell."  Then I realize perhaps I'm losing my last braincell because I'm talking to peeps that aren't there with terrible grammar and made up BB words.

I'm a black and white kind of girl and when my world gets inundated with grey I go spider monkey crazy.  We all mess up...over and over and over.  Some of us are more prone to find the more pungent things in which to step than other BBs.  We are all BBs, none the less.  Then someone yells, "you have lost your brain!"  And the hard part begins... the forgiving part.  Forgiving for a BB is spiritual.  It is ALL God.  Our broken bodies and broken minds and broken hearts couldn't do it alone.  And then the other side of the coin is turning away from the sin that caused the other BB to LOSE.  HER.  BRAIN!  Then there's the forgetting.  I think that's the hardest, because sometimes our feeble minds want a reminder that can serve as a red flag in the future.  It's tough!  Being broken is hard.

God commands us to forgive BBs.  His character is the ultimate example of forgiveness.

He tells us to forgive each other...  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32.

How much?  Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.  Matthew 18:21-22

Pretty sure God has forgiven us more than seventy times seven times a million and two.  He loved us SO much that he promised this...  As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:12 

And this!  Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  Isaiah 1:18

And how did he do it?  We all need to go back and remember OR learn that through his grace we were saved!  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  John 3:16-17

Remember that you were forgiven by our Father and Lord and Creator and Healer and Provider.  In His image... therefore our hearts must forgive.  Let the words of this song be your prayer today.  And remember the undeserved forgiveness you were given.  GRACE!  And if you want to talk more about forgiveness, please send us a Facebook message!  We'll chat with you or meet with you.  We love you and so does our great, big, loving, and forgiving God.

Oh the Blood of Jesus

by Kari Jobe

O the blood
Crimson love
Price of life's demand
Shameful sin
Placed on Him
The Hope of every man  

O the blood of Jesus washes me
O the blood of Jesus shed for me
What a sacrifice that saved my life
Yes, the blood, it is my victory
 

Savior Son
Holy One
Slain so I can live
See the Lamb
The great I Am
Who takes away my sin
O what love
No greater love
Grace, how can it be  
That in my sin
Yes, even then
He shed His blood for me

XOXO,
Jenny and Anna

Mini-Blog: The Bold and the Beautiful

August 22, 2013

I'm a little behind in our mini-blogs.  Starting the "back to school" schedule has been BRUTAL, but so exciting.  I'll sleep gooooood once this week is over, and I'm sure I can get an "AMEN" to that!!  I just wanted to stop and remind you that you are beautiful.  You are a broken mess (and when I say "you", I mean me, you, your neighbor, your friend), but you are beautiful.  I'm a hot mess of chaos right now, so I'm gonna change up my usual format.  I pray that you'll let these scriptures wash over you and FEEL beautiful!  Take time to remember that you were created for a reason!

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10a

When I called you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.  Psalm 138:3

For you created my innermost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Psalm 139: 13-14

(Jesus speaking here)
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid, you are worth more that many sparrows.  Matthew 10:30

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.  2 Timothy 1:7

Let us then approach the throne of GRACE with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find GRACE to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:16 (emphasis mine :)

Father God, thank you for creating us.  Thank you for knowing every intimate detail of our fragile minds and bodies and hearts.  Thank you for caring for our souls as if they are precious jewels, because we know that they are to you.  We are overwhelmed that the Creator of the universe wants us to know him as Abba, Father.  You ask us to call you by your more personal an intimate name, Yahweh, and we are so grateful.  Thank Lord for this day, thank you for love us, thank you for the chance to serve you. Help us be the bold and beautiful person that you made us to be! Amen.

In the words of my dear friend, Carlos Whittaker, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  Don't fear being amazing."

Be bold and beautiful for HIM today BBs!! 

XOXO

Mini-Blog: Jesus Calling Moment Brought to You by the BBs

Every morning, both BBs read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. We encourage you to join us this morning, by reading what she shares with us today...

August 20

I am a God who heals. I heal broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. My very Presence has immense healing powers. You cannot live close to Me without experiencing some degree of healing. However, it is also true that you have not because you ask not. You receive the healing that flows naturally from My Presence, whether you seek it or not. But there is more—much more—available to those who ask.

The first step in receiving healing is to live ever so close to Me. The benefits of this practice are too numerous to list. As you grow more and more intimate with Me, I reveal My will to you more directly. When the time is right, I prompt you to ask for healing of some brokenness in you or in another person. The healing may be instantaneous, or it may be a process. That is up to Me. Your part is to trust Me fully and to thank Me for the restoration that has begun.

I rarely heal all the brokenness in a person’s life. Even My servant Paul was told, “My grace is sufficient for you,” when he sought healing for the thorn in his flesh. Nonetheless, much healing is available to those whose lives are intimately interwoven with Mine. Ask, and you will receive.

Ye have not, because ye ask not.
—James 4:2 kjv

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
—2 Corinthians 12:7–9

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find.”
—Matthew 7:7

My Fav Word in the Bible

School's in session, little peeps are mostly out of our hair, our schedules and routines are firming back up, so sit down BBs, have a big ole cup of coffee (or caffeine substitute, right Jenny?), and let's discuss one of my favorite words in the Bible EVAH!  Wanna guess what it is?  It's "makes".  Yeppers, no typo there.  Makes!  That's it!  Now here's the verse (emphasis mines :)...

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  
He MAKES me lie down in green pastures. 
He leads me beside still waters.  
He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:1-3

For years after my mom died of cancer, I felt guilty when I rested.  I felt bad for sitting, or napping, or doing anything other than living life to the fullest because she no longer could.  I was afraid I'd get cancer and regret ANY time I just sat.  I was afraid I'd miss something if I wasn't on the go.  I felt like I was wasting my life away if I took a 15 minute nap.  Yes, peeps, I went a little overboard.  Moderation has never been my strength.  Then I re-read this chapter.  I really read it.  I thought about it through the eyes of our great Shepherd.  

He makes.  Not "He lets," or "He tells us to," or "He asks us to."  He MAKES me lie down.  Sunday is hard enough, but taking time on other days is even harder.  The devil's in the details...  I plan a whole day of rest on Sunday and then a bunch of insignificant sillies tempt me into not resting.  I have to beat myself over my BB head and remember that it's the day of rest for a reason.  God commanded us to have a day of rest.  Our bodies...no, our SOULS need it!

I love David's word here!  Obviously since the fall and we all went to work, God has been having to MAKE us rest.  Allow for that BBs.  Let God make you rest.  You know you need it!  I think our little bodies and souls CAN have rest everyday.  Even when struggling and plodding along in this nasty world that is SO not our home, we can have rest... or rather PEACE... every.  single.  day.    

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  

Psalm 37:3

Here's the clincher though... we have to trust God, do His good works, dwell with Him in the land of the Living, and sometimes the hardest part.. ENJOY the safety of his loving and safe arms.

Father, MAKE me rest in You.  I want to be still in Your presence so that I can hear Your voice.  I want to be rested so that I can shine Your light.  I want to trust and dwell in You so I can enjoy SAFE pastures and a Holy Kingdom.  Amen

Mini-Blog: Busy-ness

August 16, 2013 
 
Sorry that I've been slacking on the mini-blog and well we've both been slacking just a little on the FB posts.  Busy-ness is our culprit.  This time of year is just nuts!  And it is an easy way for Satan to get a little tug on our minds, isn't it?  Whether you have kids or not, everything is filled with "busy" right now.

Here's a fun fact for ya... hope it's right, cause this BB is NOT a Biblical scholar!  JoJo (my 6 year old) asked me the origin of the word "devil" (namely Satan).  It is derived from a Hebrew VERB, not noun, meaning to obstruct.  So Satan literally means to obstruct... not one who obstructs. That's cray cray.  He is so actively obstructing our lives that his name came from a stinkin' verb.

I'm gonna use the same quote I've used a bunch about that ole no-legged fool that likes to stomp on our last nerve.  Here's what C.S. Lewis writes...
“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”   

Oh my word, BB’s, is this not SO true???  We start thinking about work and schedules and family and such and quite thinking about the one true God that created you and made you so beautiful! 


So here's your homework...OUR homework.  

First, put on the FULL armor of God... 
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Ephesians 6:12-13

Second, when you are overwhelmed think on this...
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  Philippians 4:8

Focus on the blessings BBs and stand strong!!

Father, help us put on the precious armor that you've so amazingly provided.  Remind us that you have given us the power to stand strong.  We want to focus on you, Father.  Thank you for your love and strength that will conquer all things. We have been fearfully and wonderfully made and we praise you for all that you do for us!  Amen 

Mini-Blog: I'm so Ti-red

Unless you are an alien from a different planet, you are more than likely experiencing "get yo bootays back in school" syndrome. You don't need a kid... Don't look for one to borrow. We are ALL affected. Because we weren't all on pins and needles while we wait for the last, small, insignificant jester to STOMP on our last remaining nerve, we get to deal with back-to-school traffic and stores packed out, and it seems that our population quadrupled from June to August because the entire world is back in town and getting ready to head off to school.  Monday morning we will scroll down endless Facebook pictures of kids heading off for their first day of school and then it'll hit us... First, we don't care about seeing every child in our friend list start school and second, we.  are.   tired. Ti-red!!  So when it all catches up to you, and you feel like you've been mowed over by a steam roller, take time to give it all to Him. 

Give it all to your sweet Savior. He tells us to. Written in red... Quite literally. Thank you Jesus!!!

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

Mini-Blog: "It is Well": The story Behind the Words

August 11, 2013

If you do not know the story behind the words to the beloved hymn, "It Is Well", you need to!  If you already know the story, then take a minute to step in writer's shoes and re-read these beautiful lyrics.

"It Is Well" was written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford.  He wasn't an aspiring composer.  He was a husband and a dad and a business man and a strong Christian.  He was a wealthy lawyer that tragically lost his youngest son.  He then lost most everything that he owned in the Great Chicago Fire.  He decided to take a vacation with his wife and four daughters.  He sent them ahead and soon got word that their ship had wrecked and all four daughters had drowned.  He then set sail to meet his wife and wrote the amazing words, "It is well with my soul."

I don't know about you, but I feel that most of us would be a HOT MESS after all of that.  Bless this poor family's hearts!!  Amazingly, he turned a true tragedy into a heartfelt message, that would witness to us over a century later, about the peace of God and the assurance that "whatever the lot...it is well with my soul." 

This man shines with Christ's love.  This man is beautifully broken!

XOXO,

Jenny and Anna

Mini- Blog: It is Well

Happy Sunday peeps!  I pray today that you'll let the words of this song wash over you.   Tomorrow, I'll give you some insight behind these beautiful lyrics!  Today, just rest... Be still, and know that HE is God (Ps. 46:10)! Your sweet and gracious Father and Lord.

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.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, 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!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

XOXO,

Jenny and Anna

Mini-Blog: Taming Our Tongue

August 9, 2013 Mini-Blog

My BB brain is all over the map today.  I want to talk about it ALL!  Here is what's on my heart.  I'm almost 30 years old...give or take a decade, and I want to go find the person that said, "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me," and punch them in the nose. Words do hurt.  Ya know that love language stuff.  Words are mine and when someone says something ugly, it cuts me to the CORE.

After getting my feelings hurt, I quickly...or slowly because I had to sulk a little and pray and be a baby... turned to the Word.  I started reading about what the Word of God says about our tongue. 

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23 
(I think this can be said for our hearts too.  Guard yourself BBs.  There is a ripple effect to everything we lay out there.  Just read more about spiritual warfare!  We can open ourselves up for a lot of destruction... or set ourselves up for success)

Next ones a doozie.  Don't miss it because it's a lot of words.  Read it over and over!!  THIS is the ripple effect... both good and bad.  I want to duct tape my mouth... and yours too!  
Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?  Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.  Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  James 3:4-18







After I had a period of repentance, I moved to some other thoughts about the tongue.  Who did God choose to lead HIS people on one of the greatest missions of ALL time?  The great Exodus?  The period of learning to live WITH God that still applies today?  MOSES peeps, MOSES!  The man that proclaimed that he was "slow of speech and tongue" in Exodus 4:10.  I wonder if God did this for a reason.  He knows how damning our tongue is.  Moses had to rely on God here... and God alone.

The last thing that calmed my heart, was this...  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:10-11 

We are back to the spiritual warfare thing again (mentioned yet again in James 3)!  Don't forget BBs, we are for God or against Him.  Hot or Cold.  God's will or our will.  Those demony nasties can make us say all kinds off things, and they can make us feel unworthy, stupid, hurt, anxious, etc. when people throw daggers our way.  But in the end EVERY knee will bow... don't miss this... on heaven, earth, and UNDER earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord...  Our original beautifully broken Savior.

Dear Father, tame my tongue today.  I know that when I speak, I become open to a host of consequences... good or bad.  Allow me today, Father, to bear good fruits.  Help me sow a harvest of righteousness and peace.  Father, I want your will to be done... not mine... as hard as that is.  Help me remember that satan loves to make me feel inadequate and anxious, but all good things come from You.  You are greater.  Keep me strong in your name.  Amen

Mini-Blog: Wash Over Me

August 8, 2013  Mini-Blog in BB Land

There are never coincidences in BB Land.  God makes our winding little bunny trails cross and intertwine, because we are joined by His Spirit!

While Blonde BB was meditating on this verse...
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.  Psalm 42:7 

I was praying over this verse...
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26-27

First, we see how we communicate with God and God with us from the depths of our souls.  He wants to wash over us.  He wants to keep cleansing us day after day, because let's face it... we are a hot mess!!  Second, we see that in our weakness (that translation means body and soul), the Spirit intercedes for us.  Maybe it wasn't a weakness that tore you apart body and spirit.  Perhaps you are just ready for school to start after a long day of trekking to 5 stores to find just the right poly pocket folder in the perfect shade of pistachio that is on the supply list topped off by when your kid's head started spinning around (like in the movie Exorcist), and horribly mean things start flying out of this once beloved child' mouth.  Amen?  (I'm SURE I'm not speaking from experience here).   Tired.   Just tired.

Good news peeps!!  As Christians, we were given this wonderful gift of the Spirit.  We'll talk later about our bodies being a temple (eek! scary thought) for this amazing gift!!  When we are weak, we have a precious Spirit that groans and intercedes from the depths of our soul.  And as a Christian, the Spirit is groaning and pleading your case when you have no words.  Pray to God today and thank Him.  Tell God your heart everyday.  He knows it anyway!

Pray with me...  Father God, thank you for fearfully and wonderfully making me by your might hands... by your gracious hands.  I pour out the depth of my soul to You.  Open my heart to receive Your will, Your grace, and Your Spirit like a waterfall sweeping over me.  When I am weak, hear my call.  When I have no words to speak to you, Father, remind me that you know my innermost thoughts.  I cannot hide from your Spirit, Lord.  Remind me today that you gave your Son to die just for me.  And remind me that You gave your Spirit so that you would live IN me... in the most intimate way possible.  Amen.

Spiritual Warfare: We wanna bop those dang devils over the head like we are Little Bunny Foo Foo and they are bunch ole flea bitten field mice.

Spiritual Warfare: 
We wanna bop those dang devils over the head like we are
Little Bunny Foo Foo and they are bunch ole flea bitten field mice. 

Hey peeps, it’s your brunettish BB here.  We have to get way off track for a second.  We BB’s LOVE a bunny trail, but God has sent us down a scary path.  Now don’t get me wrong, this was NOT an unexpected little jaunt, but we are all ready for a cute little blog about being a good example with the 1993 remix of Michael W. Smith’s song “Picture Perfect” playing the background, when things took a turn…

Insert SKREECHING halt here.

Anytime we BBs (that means YOU too) step out and do a big somethin’, that has God wobbling in the middle of it, we are going to get pounced by that ole no legged, temptation slinging, lying, teasing serpent.  And what do we do?  Fall for it most the stinkin’ time until that voice of reason that God slung in our hearts, called the Holy Spirit, shakes us by our fairy wings and says, “STOP!”  What we forget is that each and every day as we walk along in this yucky world, we are being teased and poked at by Satan and all his lowlife minions.  We are in the middle of spiritual warfare people…plain and simple.
 

Tell me if this sounds familiar…

I sit down to write for the BB blog.  I get my coffee all made and my hair out of face and am ready to dive in.  Then I realize my coffee is not hot enough.  I head to the microwave to zap into the magical scalding hot cup of loveliness that keeps me on my toes, and I get distracted.  I left my Bible in the truck.  I must go out and get it and I get distracted again. The pig, I’m sure from how she is squealing, needs a belly rub.  Then I hear the whines of Moose (my big ole Rotty) and I feel certain that he cannot breathe another breath with the sadness that’s coming from his big ole precious self.  I put him in his kennel, so he’ll be happy again.  Then I realize that I never swept off the porch while cleaning the night before.  This silliness goes on and on for thirty minutes or so before I realize I never got my coffee out of the microwave.  Off to re-heat, and you can press repeat now.  Then after round two of this madness, I realize, that “dang, I only have 15 minutes to write before I have to head back to work”.  Oh well, It’ll have to wait. 

Now let’s insert the following things where I had “write”: have a quiet time, pray, have a talk with my child/friend/co-worker about Christ, go to church.  You with me now?  In C. S. Lewis’s book, The Screwtape Letters (which is a fabulous book where a higher demon writes letters of counsel and instruction to a lesser demon), he writes,  “It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”  Oh my word, BB’s, is this not SO true???

We BB’s got bombarded with a spiritual battle the past few weeks, so we wanted to take a minute to share with the BB army!  It started with the nonsense I wrote about a couple of paragraphs ago.  When Jenny and I mocked our absent mindedness with you guys and threw our hearts on the line with honesty, we were struck harder.  We were hit with family problems, struggles with clients, friends making accusations, others questioning our walk with God, anxiety that left us curled in a ball crying out to Jesus, my voice literally being taken away.  All we knew to do was cry out to Jesus.  In the name of Jesus, claim what were doing and ask for His grace and blessings and His reassurance.  In His name, we clung to His protection.  In His name, we prayed against those nasty, little spineless, backstabbing demons (that we name things like depression, absent mindedness, anxiety, business, etc.).  And through our tears, laughed at them and proclaimed the name of Jesus.  As the Vegetales so eloquently put it, “God is bigger than the boogie man”!  AND HE IS!!!!

We thought we might talk to every preacher we know, followed by knocking on the door of every older, wiser, BB out there, topped off with reading every book we could find on spiritual warfare.  When we saw didn’t have no time for that, we went to the Word of God.  DUH! (We BB’s sometimes get all excited and forget the obvious, don’t we?)  The sword of the Spirit against this train wreck causing, army of fools is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).  So instead of giving you seemingly helpful advice and witty phrases about how to bop your demons over the head, we want to share a little of what the Word of God tells us.

The very first that we hear of Satan is in Genesis.  We all know the story of creation and the fall of man.  Satan twists words around and tempts Eve all while Adam hangs out and is too…. something… to stand up to Eve OR Satan.  (Woman, watch it… we have been given the power of influence.  Use it wisely.)  This event created a ripple effect throughout generations.  And we see story after story being infiltrated by Satan.  Seemingly good people that Satan tempts and destroys: Caan and Abel (Genesis 4), the golden calf Exodus 32, David’s affair that leads to murder (2 Samuel 11), just to name a few.  And in the New Testament, we see person after person possessed by demons, and even Jesus, Himself, tempted for 40 days by Satan.  Let’s look at just tiny little bit of scripture on all this.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!  James 2:19

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."  Matthew 16:23

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.  The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.  1 Corinthians 2:14-16

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  1 John 4:1

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.  1 John 3:10

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Ephesians 6:12

So where does that leave us?  Surrounded by Satan and his pesky demons that are disguised as angels of light, servants of righteousness, prowling like lions, completely focused on the things of man and the world.  What do we do?  Test the spirits, do what is right, love our brother and sister, KNOW what is of God, and put on the armor of God and be ready for battle. 

I tell ya, this mess can just scare the fire and brimstone out of ya, cause it’s REAL!!  We didn’t even scratch the surface of the scripture about this mess.  How scary is THAT?  And I’d love to share some of my BB-to-Booger, face-to-face, spiritual battles with you, but I feel that I need to guard my heart in that area.  No BB can tell all...TO all.  I will say that I’ll drop anything and pray for you and with you or sit over a foamy caffeine filled cup of deliciousness and share my heart ANY TIME you’d like about this matter.

What Jenny and my prayer is for you today is that you take this seriously.  Satan is just looking for a loophole in you…in us.  He is looking for a weakness.  He is ready to pounce and let the ripple effect of his nastiness run through your life little by little until it affects your family and friends for generations to come… let that sink in!!  For generations to come!
 

“It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick.  Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” –C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

Be strong.  Pray.  I truly believe that this is one of the biggest reasons the Bible says pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  We have got to be a community and pray together over this.  That is the only way we will defeat the enemy in this world anyway. Christ rose from the grave to forgive us, so that the picture was made perfect and the broken was made beautiful.  At the name of Jesus EVERY knee bows down on heaven, earth, AND down below!!  Our God is greater!! 

HOLLA-lujah and XOXO,

Anna

                                                                                                             

Tattoo!!! In BB Land it ain't that little teeny dude in Fantasy Island!

Hey peeps!

This is your blonde BB, Jenny, speaking about…what else?  Our TATTOOS!

We BB’s LOVE us a tattoo… Bear with us... this is NOT a campaign for running out to your local tattoo parlor.

We’re talking if we could be TATTED OUT, we would be! We have often thought about buying fake sleeves and wearing them everywhere for the sheer pleasure of flipping some peeps OUT. We can just see the people-watching fun this could create!!

In all seriousness, we do love our tattoos. Not because its cool, not because we like the way it looks, and definitely not because we've had too many glasses of chardonnay and thought a meaningless anchor or infinity sign was a necessity while visiting the beaches of Panama City. (Insert apologies here to anyone who has either one of those tats or loves them some PCB. BB’s are not haters) ;)

We love our tattoos because

a.     We delight daily in their meanings

b.     We LOVE the curious looks and the soon to follow, “What does your tattoo say?”   which leads to the inevitable sharing of the name, JESUS

c:     The beautiful, amazing, wonderfully spiritual, and magical “HOLY SPIRIT     
        WITH US" experience that became our first tattoo: Beautifully Broken.

Anna and I have matching tattoos, but our stories behind this beautiful symbol that we carefully chose to etch into our skin is dramatically different. Different in the roads we have traveled, but completely hand in hand in WHERE we were in our journey: we were totally, unabashedly BROKEN.

And it was beautiful....

Beautiful to SHARE, beautiful to walk through, and beautiful because our unfailing God brought us to this point...together. 

"Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Mark 5:17 ESV

The Holy Spirit had been whispering to me the word “broken” for some time. I was FINALLY, after a long period of struggle at a point where I could actually THANK GOD for all the bumps, bruises, scars, and shame that life, whether of my own control or passed on to me from others, had endured. (Hold please, we will go into our stories more in the future).

I had just finished reading Captivating for the second time and God had graciously filled my heart with the peace that surpasses all understanding and I had the understanding that all the CRAP of my life was NAILED TO THE CROSS…and therefore, my brokenness, as ugly as it was, was made beautiful.

Then you will experience God’s Peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Beautifully broken...the words resonated in my head and heart and as I shared this with Anna, she LIT UP with songs and scripture (as she does) that laid truth to these words. We were on FIRE (or firah…if you are a true BB ;). We decided on the Hebrew symbols and did our homework and within a week, WE WERE READY! What we wanted was a tangible daily reminder of God’s abundant, all consuming, completely covering, amazing grace. We chose our left wrist, the same as our ring finger, to symbolize our bond with our savior.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

By word of mouth we came upon a Christian tattoo artist in Alabaster named Alley. We were NERVOUS.... Nervous it would hurt... Nervous about the permanence.... Nervous about everything...this was so out of our box! But so, so perfect! I actually remember Anna and I praying over this process...praying we would be able to use it tell others our story and more importantly our Creator's story…praying it would be a daily reminder for each of us… praying it would be a way we could remind each other to stand strong…praying we wouldn’t get hepatitis…praying Jay (my husband) wouldn’t kill us.  We just PRAYED!

It was the start of something beautiful...

Enter Alley… Alley is the most professional, kind, open, honest, talented and beautiful soul. She has an absolutely amazing gift of just calming your heart. Anna and I were in love.

I won't go into too much detail of us sharing of stories. It wasn't something planned... It was truly a time where the Holy Spirit completely took over, held our hearts in his healing hands, and SPOKE...we both took our turns in the chair, both unabashedly sharing God’s grace in our lives, completely comfortable and willing to allow Jesus to unburden our little hearts. We hardly felt a thing. We spoke and shared things that had never been said, hurts that had never been let go of, tears that needed to be spilled, and victories in our sweet Jesus.

We can both say when we left there we felt ALIVE... We were like children laughing and squealing with sheer joy. For at least that moment we felt completely free, completely broken, and absolutely beautiful.

Now we aren’t saying go run out and get a tattoo! We are saying be creative in your walk with God!  And give him glory when He is ever faithful… be He IS ever faithful!  He IS Jehovah Jireh.  We’ve all been through something.  Brokenness is relative.  What brings you to your knees may make me jump for joy because it’s not as bad is the last pain I endured.  Just like Samuel (in I Samuel 7:12) placed a stone as a marker to proclaim “up to this point the LORD has helped us”, Anna and I place a tattoo on our arm as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and grace up to THIS point in our lives!

(From “Come Thou Fount”)

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
Oh, and I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

Our BB prayer to you is to listen to the voice of Jesus and what he is whispering to you. Don’t be afraid to raise your Ebenezer, as the song says, and be proud of the road you’ve traveled.  This verse says it all!  Remember we are all in this together!

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.  For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.  Hebrews 11:39-40

We can be certain of this: He is always calling us to His everlasting arms, to His grace, His forgiveness, and His redeeming love.

Holla-lujah!

XOXO,

Jenny (and Anna)