Fe-brew-ary and a Jar of Rocks

Been brewing lots of coffee lately just to stay warm and alert!
The lowest temperature I saw over the last two weeks was -19F (-28C).

our house - north side facing southeast

driving back from my job in Bayard

by my Gering job - just 1 min. W of gma's

It was very pretty but my car gave me the whole, "ain't no way I'ma start in this cold" spiel, so I'm glad it's warmer out and I don't have to worry when I go out at 6:30 in the morning about whether my car will start. :)

What's been going on externally:

Outside of the weather, this past month my Uncle got married, my parents and brother went to Colombia for 10 days, my nephew went to the hospital for 5 days with pneumonia and is mostly recovered now, my brother-in-law spent two weeks training in Kansas City, I've filled out and submitted my nursing school application, and I've officially saved enough money to be about one month ahead on my college payments. Next up is filing my taxes and submitting my FAFSA for this upcoming school year. I'm thrilled that by FAFSA's estimates, after grant money is applied to my accounts, if I am accepted to nursing school my payments next year will not be much different than what they've been this past year. So I'm still on course to hopefully graduate with a BSN debt-free!

What's been going on internally:

We often think of winter as the season when things lie dormant and not much grows, but we know that underneath the cold snow there are seeds preparing for spring. I would say it's been the same for me. I've felt like I've had long periods of no growth and nothing fruitful, but during the days when sunlight seems to vanish too quickly, I find that there are seeds yet waiting to blossom in time. I've definitely had some down moments over the last 6 months where I just miss home, or I miss my Scotland team, or I miss New Tribes Bible Institute. And along with the distance from those who have known me the deepest, I've also found myself distant from God.

I came here on a major spiritual high after having spent 2 weeks in Scotland seeing God at work mightily and being held in great accountability for the actions and intentions of my heart and mind. And then I went through a whirl-wind of a transition coming straight to Nebraska and starting school right away. I was so busy reading textbooks that I set my Bible aside. I was so busy thinking through assignments that I put prayer on the back burner. And then I strove.

I strove to get ahead of my homework so I could have time for God again. But then I had bills. So I strove to work enough hours to get stabilized in my payment schedule so I could have time for God again. But then I felt like a poor Christian because I hadn't yet made any new friends out here. So I strove to be involved in a lot of things so that I could make friends with people who I could encourage and who would encourage me to make time for God again. But then I realized I wasn't keeping up with my homework. So I strove to get caught up so I could make time for God again, but then I realized I was being a bad friend to a lot of people back home and not staying in touch. So I strove to catch up with everybody and feel good about my relationships with others so I could have time to invest in my relationship with God again. But then. but then. but then.

Well, that wintry season is starting to blow away and I am learning how to grow again. I realized that the longer I was here the more I was striving and lonely, when I should be thriving and part of a greater body - the body of Christ. So I've been reconnecting as best I can with my accountability girls back home, and I've been praying more intentionally again, and I've been making time for God again.

I heard someone recently talk about a teacher who filled a jar full of rocks and asked her students if the jar was completely full. The students said 'yes' and she said 'no'. Then she poured in some pebbles which bounced down through the cracks and fill the jar even more. Then she asked her students if the jar was completely full now. The students said 'yes' and she said 'no'. Then she poured sand into the jar and the sand sifted it's way down through the rocks and pebbles till the jar was finally completely full. Then she explained that if she had put the sand in first and filled it all the way, she wouldn't have had space for the rocks. So put the biggest things in first, and you will find space for the smaller things. So it is with us, if we don't put the big rocks of our lives into our schedule first, we won't have room for them later.

I've figured out that when I don't treat time in God's Word and accountability and prayer like big rocks, I won't be able to fit them in after I've crammed my day full of pebbles and sand. And what a difference it makes to start my day talking with God and soaking up His Truth in His Word! It still feels kind of wintry outside, but there's some spring in this girl now.

Thanks as always for praying for me and encouraging me. The encouragement I've received and conversations I've had recently have been almost divinely inspired and timed. And to think that some feel God is out of touch...

Starting a better "rock" collection,

Jessica King