Tag: You

Planned Dreams

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

Oh Lord, I am sitting here in my backyard basking in your morning rays.

Lord, hear my heart.

Selah.

Lord. You give us the desires of our hearts. Those dreams past reality, past our natural ability, past our daily comfort zone, those are the dreams within our hearts that I am praying for this morning.

You, Lord, have given us those desires within our hearts.

Oh lord, I pray you will shine your light upon these particularly vast desires (the ones we perceive as high dreams) and guide us in our mental and strategic thought processes as we put action to these desired dreams.

Lord, reality!

Father, I pray we will function with such determination that these dreams will become reality.

God, I smile (down to my sun-kissed toes) at the truth painted before me. Large, aged oaks and pines, a young maple, and baby arborvitaes stand strong before me. All, Lord, overshadowed by your Light.

Each perfecting their call.

Each basking in your glorious Light.

Designed to Be

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

The body of Christ is going to be a dysfunctional, nonfunctional, overly-sensitive, therapeutic mess if we do not value individual unity.

And that’s my big word statement šŸ˜‰

Here’s the truth.

The Spirit is going to move whether we are doing our function or not. Whether you’re a light or a donkey, God will use you. I would rather be a Light; that’s just me. For sure, I’ve had I’m a donkey days. For sure, God uses those days despite myself OR to remind myself that I’m not designed to be the backside of the body of Christ.

I’m (as Jaclyn) designed to be the pinky toe (balance), the fingertips (author), and the ears (friend) within the Body of Christ.

What about you? What’s your design? Individually? You are so desperately purposed to be YOU. What do you do without effort? _______________________ If you don’t know, study yourself this weekend.

Be aware of your natural function and compare it to a body part. I feel like a goober for saying that sentence, but, for real! There are over 7,500 named body parts. 7,500! Not counting cells and vessels and such. 7,500 individual pieces that function individually to cause our bodies to function in unity.

!

Sweet friend, your individuality is needed. It is designed. It is intentional. It is hand crafted by God for You. Who are you? What do you do? What makes your inner-flutter giggle? What do your people benefit from you? See how great your YOU is! Not in pride, but in awe of the handiwork of the Creator!

If you don’t know your individual function, ask. Ask your person/people. Ask the Designer to open your eyes to the value of His beautiful piece, You.

Find the worth in His Design, in you!

For sure, don’t be a donkey about it. šŸ˜‰

Smile. There is power in such an easy thing

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

Itā€™s amazing what happens when a person shares a smile. Who would have guessed the power behind such an easy thing to offer? Itā€™s not always easy. Yesterday, at Albertsons, I couldnā€™t get one person to return a smile. It was so strange. Even my produce guy was deep in concentration over stacking those onions just so.

I hate when a place has an ā€œunsmileyā€ vibe. It shouldnā€™t be this way. Itā€™s unsettling when a mundane task, a fun adventure, or even a church visit is accompanied by an unfriendly vibe. We are mankind. We are Alive. We can Smile. We can Shine – even when we shop! I love shopping! Obviously. But more than my ā€œJust Buy It!ā€ mantra, I love chatting with employees. I love complimenting a woman on her hair, shoes, bag, smile. I love winking at ā€œLittlesā€ sitting in their carts staring at me from behind their moms. I love making small talk with women who (actually) know what to do with something called a Leek.

You know what I love most? I love watching a woman walk away with a smile, a head held high, and a sweet skip to her step. There is power in a shared smile, in a simple statement of praise, and in an unexpected, little one-liner.

In the end, it’s not always hard.

  • God created us with the ability to smile. To share one is free and physically easy.
  • Simple compliments make us float in the midst of a trying day, to pass on that balloon ride simply requires us to look past ourselves.
  • As for the little quips, well, not all of us can be funny on a dime. But I’m sure we could figure out something to say, like, “Hey, it’s not snowing. That’s a good thing!” Or something else that all humans like to talk about like politics or religion… I joke. See? That was my quip.  

Hereā€™s what Iā€™m thinking. If a smile creates a friendship and a simple word uplifts a soul, then what would happen if we practiced sharing these two gifts wherever we go? I’m thinking masks would slip. Perfection may dive off a cliff. Tears might shed. Laughter could most certainly ensue. Deep, sincere, #IcantbelieveIjustadmittedthatoutloud laughter might just about explode. And friendships, ah, friendships are bound to deepen to a most treasured level of love.

I love that we can Smile. I love that we can Shine. Don’t pass another human without acknowledging their existence, whether you know that person or not. What an empty, “Unsmiley” world that would be. Let’s share our God-created ability with someone today. 

Thank you for sharing your smile with me. Deeper still, your simple words gave me access into your heart. I value your smile, and I treasure your heart!

~ Psalm 96

~ Scripture verses regarding your smile

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