Archive for February, 2010

Valentine’s Day.  A day for love.  Billions of cards will be purchased; millions of roses will be sent; pounds of chocolate will be eaten.  A happy day for the love birds; a sad day for the single and lonely.  Will this Feb. 14th be celebratory?  Or, will it be filled with tears because you feel unloved? 

I remember while I was in grade school, everyone was suppose to bring Valentine cards to exchange with one another.  Do they still do that today?  I liked doing it.  I remember going to the store, and my parents would buy us girls each a box of those assorted cards.  Then, I would go home and try to decide which classmate would get each card.  I didn’t want a really “mushy” card going to that boy I really didn’t like.  

After 15 yrs. of marriage,  John and I realize we need to “date” each other again.  We love one another, but we need to do something different; allow for the unexpected.   We need to let cupid pierce our hearts with romance!

But, more importantly than dating or searching for love in the face of another,  is that we’re “falling in love” with Jesus more and more each day.  For those who are single, He is your companion; He is your lover.  And, if He is first in your life now, He should remain first in your life when you marry.  No earthly person should ever take the  place of God’s love.  No person should ever draw you away from your relationship with Christ.  So, this Valentine’s Day, send Jesus a love letter.  Spend the day with Him.  Give your time and gifts to Him.  He’s the best lover you could ever have!

I am so excited about tonight.  I have been feeling expectation stirring within my heart since last week.  Tonight, we are mixing things up a little bit.  Jason will be bringing forth the Word, while I will be helping with the praise and worship in Jeremy’s absence.  I truly believe that you don’t want to miss tonight.  We are on the brink of something special in God!  Come hungry, come thirsty, come expecting, and I will cya there!

PS:  I truly hope I can get my videos up and running for all of you that have been asking about them.

But, watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But, stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Luke 21:34-36

Let our hearts and minds be ready for all things.
No one knows what next test or circumstance is going to come, and no one knows the hour of the Lord’s return.
Let us be ready for all things.
Abba Father, let us be ready.
Prepare our hearts and minds for all things that have yet to come.
Good and bad, heartbreaking and joyous, keep our cares on Kingdom business.
Stay awake in this world, for the Earth is singing all to sleep, one at a time.
Daddy, give us the strength to withstand…

God is up to something big here at Hillside. We have been experiencing God and the power of His Holy Spirit in a way that we have not in a long time. I am certain that God is doing something special in the lives of each and every one of you. Don’t let anyone or anything tell you different. I want all of you to keep your heads up if you have experienced some rough days. In fact, you should expect tough days and temptations that the enemy will strategically put in your path. Even the devil knows that God is up to something in your life, and this is why he wants to drag you down. Keep your head up, and never give up!

I have learned a lot of lessons in my walk with God over the last 4-5 years. I’ve learned some of these lessons the hard way. I would like to share a little wisdom with you, and it is probably one of the hardest things we have to face, as we progress in our walk with Christ. You must be cautious who you surround yourself with. Why? The answer is simple — you will become who you surround yourself with. When you have Christ in your life, you are more than what meets the eye. You are called to be an influence on others; they are not to be influences on you. However, this is so much easier said than done.  That’s why we must be extremely cautious who we put ourselves around. This is a rule we must have when it comes to our friendships, and even boyfriend, girlfriend relationships. 1 Corinthians 6:14 teaches, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And, what communion has light with darkness?”

When it comes to friendships, not only do our friends influence us, but the types of crew you hang out with you are automatically labeled as one of them. For example, if you hang out with people that are known for partying, you will be labeled a partier. If you are running with some friends who struggle with the battle of drugs, you will be labeled a druggie. That’s not fair, but that’s how it is. Be aware, because if your crew has a negative influence on you, more than you have a positive influence on them, it is wise to get and stay away from them. “But they are my friends,” you say. Listen — if your friends do not accept you because you have accepted Christ, then they are not your true friend.

I promise you that God is a God of restoration, and if you have to surrender some friends to Him, He will absolutely bring you more friends, better friends, than you have ever imagined possible!  When I decided to become a youth pastor a few years back, I lost several friends.  Yes, it hurt, but today, I have many more true friends in my life. I have friends that push me and encourage me to go deeper in God. As I grow in Christ, I don’t want to be around anyone that will not encourage me in God. Why not? If my friends are not helping me go forward, they are causing me to go backwards. Make sure the people you are around are trying and even pushing you to move forward in Christ, because you are who you surround yourself with.

LOVE SONG FOR OUR SAVIOR

By all means

Guard your heart

It’s yours to give away

This is pretty much just an expansion on last night, but I was really touched by Aaron’s word.

After hearing Aaron speak last night at Hillside, I feel like I was awakened from a slumber that I have been in for a long time. He spoke on how your heart is worth so much. We shouldn’t just hand it to the next passerby and hope that the outcome will be good. We should not be blinded by the ideas and expectations of the world, but that we should reserve it for the right time — the time that God has already planned for us. I think that, not only as girls but as young adults, it’s so easy to think that we’re never gonna meet that special someone, and our lives will not be complete. To be completely honest, I think that everyday. I’m going to be truthful and speak from my heart. This is the coma I’ve been overtaken by, and I know it’s hard to explain, but it happens. We think that if we’re not dating, or are not married by a certain age, then there is OBVIOUSLY something wrong. This illusion is SO not true, and, thankfully last night, I was hit with the thought, “I deserve it.” I deserve more that what I might eventually settle for. I made a joke about this the other day, but it’s so true, “We expect what we think we deserve.” So, from now on, I’m gonna start expecting alot more. I’m gonna start guarding my heart and reserving it more for God. When I start dedicating my whole heart and soul to Him, the other relationships will fall into place.  No need to plan those.  God has destined for each of our lives something great. He wants us to be happy and to prosper. I want to consecrate myself to Him and find myself buried in the Word, but it is hard to give up my flesh. So, I pray, ” God, weaken my flesh and worldly desires; strengthen my spirit, so I will see the things of You.” We control our heart and our desires, and these two things are very powerful. So, we must be careful what we wish for, and be careful what we plan for. Be aware of what God wants for you, because in the end, He knows what’s best.

Proverbs 4:23 ” Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

God is so big.  He holds the universe in the palm of His hand.  He can hold your problems.

http://www.crazylovebook.com/videos_awe.html

Hey Hillside, Congrats on the re-modeling of your new sanctuary and for breaking your attendance record! Awesome stuff, and just think… Greater things are still yet to come!

HELLO HILLSIDE YOUTH! I just wanted to take a moment to invite you to join the Regional Go Team for our February Mission. This is a churchwide mission, but any of you are welcome to join us “old people” and we can serve together! Here is a copy of what I posted on my personal blog about this month’s Mission:

We will be visiting the Green River Ministries in Campbellsville, KY which is a homeless shelter that offers many services under one roof. It seems that the homeless have been a focus for Higher Praise Church in several mission areas lately. Both the State and the National Missions recently helped the homeless as well as our Youth Missions Team. A married couple from our Leadership Team even housed two homeless residents in their own home recently and are still housing one. I have put this Mission to prayer and feel this must be the season we are currently in at HPC. I have known about the shelter for a while now, having researched it earlier last year. I found myself reading county newspapers for our Regional area looking for a need we could meet that would really speak to my spirit. What I found was a story of a man who found help at the Shelter and now volunteers there. I decided to look further into this. I have spoken with the Director and am already excited about working with them.

This particular shelter focuses greatly on the unemployed and those who are in need of temporary shelter. They do not house people for several months or years, but rather try to assist them back into their regular lives. They state that they want to give a “hand up” rather than a “hand out”.

During my recent “stint” at a local hotel while my house was in disrepair, I was labeled as “displaced.” That is technically what we were, but it sounded so strange to hear it about myself. We originally thought we might be there for several weeks because we were waiting on dry weather to repair our septic. God allowed us to only be gone for one week when all was said and done. However, I recall what it was like to pack up our items to move over there. I remember having to get groceries to stock the new kitchen, trying to find somewhere to do laundry, and trying to entertain my children with what we had in our 2 room residence. I know it was a minor inconvenience, all in all, but I couldn’t help but think about what some families go through for extended periods of time. What does a family do if they lose their jobs and are forced to leave their home? What if they have children? Where do they go? How do they provide for them when they get there? What if they have a fire and have nothing to take with them? And just what if they were well within their means before the tragedy occurred? How must it feel to have to change your lifestyle so suddenly and so drastically? How do you find the best way to communicate all of this to your children? Think about these things and I believe you will easily find compassion for people in this situation.

When we arrive at this shelter on February 27th (Saturday), I want them to know we have been on the scene and that we brought Jesus with us! Our entire focus that day will be on finding needs and meeting them! We will be cooking a meal and cleaning up the outside of their residence, for certain. Outside of that, I want to be prepared to change our plans to accommodate any need we see and can readily met. We should be ready to clean the inside if needed, to play with children, to visit with adults, to do laundry if needed, and to basically do anything that God shows us. I also want to come with donations. I do not want to come empty handed. Please help me with this by bringing in donations to HPC. A collection box will be placed in the Cafe for this purpose.

Until February 25th (Thursday) we will be collecting the following donations:
Canned Goods
Laundry Detergent
Toiletry items (Soap, Shampoo, etc.)
Bed Linens
Towels/Washcloths
Plastic Eating Utensils
Spiritual Reading Material
Cleaning Supplies

More information on the shelter can be found at: http://greenriverministries.synthasite.com/
You can also find information about their Partner Ministries on that site and other services they offer.

I look forward to serving with you!! If you have any questions, please email me at jackie.blankenship@gmail.com.

“It’s 2:22 a.m.  I hear a beep on my cell phone, indicating I have a new message.  I am so tired that I cannot get up to see who it is from.  I figured some type of mass text has gone out, and I’ll check on it later.  It’s 4:44 a.m.  Our dog is nudging at my face, trying to wake me up.  I tell her to lay back down; it’s not time to get up yet.  I think once again about the text message, but still I’m too tired to see about it.  For a fleeting moment, I think, “If this continues, the next time I wake up, it will be 6:66″  I did awaken at 7:36 a.m. and, immediately, went to check on that message.  It had actually been sent out at 10:15 pm, from someone at church.  The advice on it was the same info I had already received from two other individuals within 24 hrs.”

I feel like this scenario and others that have occurred over the last month could be a part of one of Frank Peretti’s novels, i.e.,”Piercing the Darkness“  or “This Present Darkness“.  However, this event is true; it happened just last night.  I know I’m in spiritual warfare, and it’s real.  As I pray and fast on behalf of HPC, Hillside students, and other personal matters, I find myself “wrestling” with Satan.  I picture myself standing between heaven and hell, trying to push back the darkness that prevails, especially over this generation.  I sense that many of you are in a struggle, or a “tug-of-war” over your very souls.  The enemy would have you to quit trying, to give up.  But, don’t give in — keep fighting.  We, on the Hillside leadership team, are praying and interceding on your behalf.  We love you — we don’t want to lose you.  It’s a battle, but through the name of Jesus Christ, we stand victorious!  Keep on keeping on! 

(I actually posted this video on my Renewal blog two days ago, but felt it very appropriate to share it on here as well)