And Isn't It Ironic

Some of you may remember this blog I started in September 2010. During that season of my life I was what I like to call "spiritually high". I had just been baptized and I was so in love with Jesus (and still am of course)! I felt like I wanted the world to know all the things he was doing in my life. I wanted everyone to hear about our creator, and the amazing things he can do in our day to day lives! I was so confident Jesus had this wonderful reason why he called me to write this blog... From the very beginning back in 2010 I named this blog "My Life in 60 Days". At one point I even wrote a blog titled, Has it been 60 Days yet?!?! I thought maybe the Lord would have some great plan for me at the conclusion of my 60 day blog. Through the time I was blogging the Lord did reveal His promises to me, speak to me through His word, and He grew my faith.... but needless to say I never made it through the entire 60 days. Of course the Lord knew that would happen! Life got really crazy! About a month after starting this blog the world crashed down on my shoulders. I became burdened and life became so heavy, my blogging discontinued, and slowly my faith began to fade. I had no idea, but my last blog post Don't Question the Unanswered was simply the Lord preparing me for what was to come.... and trust me I was pulled through trial after trial, to a point of meekness and humility, I was miserable! At some point I thought maybe God had forgotten about his promises for me. I thought maybe it was all just my imagination, and maybe the world was right about this whole have faith thing. Don't get me wrong, I still knew my Lord, Jesus Christ, my creator, and my father, but I was disconnected from his desires for me. I wasn't looking at my life through his perspective, and things got really difficult. (We will get more into that trough the next few weeks.) But here I am, feeling the Lord calling me back to this blog... and guess what... Just as I feel the Him calling me back here... I just so happen to noticed it's 60 DAYS BEFORE MY WEDDING!!!!! Ironic some may say.... but my momma would call it a "Godsidence". This time I am making a commitment to myself, Jesus, and my readers that I will bring you through the next 60 days as the Lord prepares me and my wonderful groom-to-be (Bobby) to say our I do's!! I will reveal to you how the Lord speaks to me, how he uses small things things to remind me He is there, and simply invite you in to explore my life.


 Let me begin by telling you how I felt "led" to write. Before I was a Christian, I would hear this statement "the Lord led me" and be totally confused! So what does that really mean??? Of course He is not physically leading me here and no this blog didn't just pop up and say write Jess write... but this is how I felt led by the Lord: On March 28 I was on my way to work, and I was listening to KWAVE a local Christian radio station here in CA. On this peculiar series of Wisdom from the Word Bethany and her hubby were being interviewed by her father and pastor Bill Welsh. Hear for yourself as Pastor Bill Welsh interviews his daughter He emphasized much on marriage during this interview and led Bethany to tell listeners how the Lord prepared this couple for marriage. At one point in their life, Bethany actually felt hesitant to marry this man. She asked he hubby-to-be if she could spend some time alone before her wedding to focus on Gods intention for her life. During this time she spent a lot of time reflecting and writing. It was at that moment is when I heard the Lord telling me to start writing again. Encouraged by this message I designed a web site www.diomartichwedding.com and I had so much fun writing about my and Bobby's special day. On the top of that website there was a time tracker counting down the days until our wedding. That day it was at the 60 day count down. And that was it! It dawned on me I already had a blog titled "My life in 60 days" and the Lord was calling me to write again. Well me being me, I pushed it aside, and ignored The Lord.... haha not so fast though, sometimes it is way to hard to ignore God... and if you Fear Him as He has called us to do, ignoring Him is the last thing you want to do! So, last night as I lay down to read my devotion, The Lord made it very clear to me that I should start writing and that this blog was intended to be written, and the time was NOW! My final push from the lord came from Jeremiah 1:12 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them." That wasn't it though, on the side not devotion of this page it specifically says "What message is God asking you to deliver for Him?"

The devotion sealed the deal for me... Okay God, I hear you calling! I will write! As I said , I am now dedicated and determined to post over the next 60 days. I will take you into my past and show you what work the Lord has done as well the things God has just begun in me. I have no outline for this blog and my writings will be completely random. I will write whatever I feel "led" to write about. But you can trust that I will be prayerfully committed to my post with faith that someone out there may find peace, hope, encouragement, perseverance, and most importantly a love and desire to know Christ though this blog. With that, let me encourage you today! Are you feeling called or led to do something? Do it! The Lord rejoices in our discipline, and there is no greater feeling then to know you are obeying our King. Sometimes discouragement set's in, or we just don't understand why we are feeling led to do something. But God sees a bigger picture and knows what is best for us all. Follow your heart and the will of the Lord, and I trust it will bring you blessings!

Don't Question The Unanswerd

Yesterday's adventure was a park trip. As my son and I swung I couldn't help but notice a gentle looking lady sitting on a bench. As I walked her way her two girls began running around the park with my son. I went up to talk to her and I had no idea what to expect, yet as she began to speak her broken English became a sweet song to my ears. Minutes into our conversation I learned more about this new friend then I could ever imagine possible in a 30 minute conversation. She was a immigrant from Korea, her primary language in the home is Korean, and her husband and her family came here looking for a better life. She explained to me in her home country there were struggles in the family and abuse issues, as well as many things that were hard to escape. Coming over seas she had begun, what felt to her, as a new beginning. She couldn't stop talking what a blessing her children had been to her. And how her main aspiration was to be a great mother. She also told me her children are not her own, and they belong to her God. I agreed knowing that my son also belonged to God, and I have dedicated him to the Lord.

As we went to say our good-byes she mentioned "I am sorry I haven't even asked your name, and your son, what is his name?" Of course I reply, "I am Jessica, and this is Caleb." Her voice perked up with excitement replying "Oh, Caleb, like in the Bible. Well, I am Hannah." as I smiled back at her and I couldn't help but mention "Awe, well you know Hannah is in the Bible too!" She smiled gently and and said "God bless, let's meet next week."


Hannah from a Biblical approach meant “grace” or “favor.” The thing about Hannah was she had great suffering because she was barren (couldn't have babies). Although my new friend was not barren, she too had great suffering in her memories from her life in Korea. We find the Biblical Hannah at the point where there is no human help available, no emotional support, and whose caused this whole thing? God’s. How do we know God allowed this? It says it in the Bible, “The Lord closed her womb" 1 Samuel 1:5. This was God’s fault. There were no second causes. God planned her suffering! Now that’s hard to accept. You see, a lot of us think, “Well, this just sort of slipped by God and he didn’t know it was going to happen,” but God directly planned that Hannah would suffer in this way.

I think every one of us in our lives, if we can look back, or even at the moment, have areas that we have no control over, we feel we have no victory. Why does God bring us to that place? What do we do as long as we can handle it? We handle it! Yet, we never know His power! And we sometimes fail to call on Him. And when is it that we really call on Him? When we’re desperate, isn’t that right? When every other resource has gone and God sometimes allows that. We come to an end of our rope, and you know what we find at the end of our rope? God!

God brought Hannah to this place. Yet through Hannah's plea to God, she in fact was blessed with children, YET IN HIS TIMING, and Samuel being one of them, who grew up and became the greatest prophet in Israel's history and was a Judge over Israel. Let us look at Hannah's plea to God, and allow us to thank God that He allows our suffering sometimes for His glory, and trust we too will be blessed in His timing!

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord.
I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.
No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2:1-2

THE PAIN YOU ENDURE TODAY, MAY CHANGE A LIFE TOMORROW

Just a Flock of Seagulls

I graduated from Corona High School, and for those of you who don't know that is in Southern California, about 50 miles from the the beautiful beach and coastline.

Anyway, one of my and my sisters favorite things to do would be, drive through the parking lot of the school after hours and chase off the flock of about 100 or so seagulls. Often times during lunch break this swarm of seagulls would fly over and crap on random people (I had to bring that up).

Well, looking back it stuns me that the seagulls have taken a wrong turn. Instead of staying within their boundaries they soar out and ruin lives (haha that's a little extreme) but they just get in the way. And instead of discovering where they went wrong, they've settled for less -- the asphalt parking lot -- rather than going back to the salty sea. They've reconciled themselves to feeding on the refuge and trash of harried school kids rather than the fresh seafood cuisine of their feathered forefathers.

It's not just the seagulls that are lost... who have forgotten the reason for their very existence, the habitat for which they were created to survive and thrive. It is human beings as well. Many have become lost. They are standing in the parking lot of life subsisting off of the refuse of fast living.

Someone needs to point them to the ocean of opportunity, the sea of success, the shore of satisfaction. And I'm not talking about money or materialism... that IS mere French fries compared to the abundant life that God has for His image bearers. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

Do you know someone who is discouraged? Who has taken a wrong turn in life? Who has let the fire go out on their hopes and dreams? A friend? A husband? A child? If so, hang the fire extinguisher back in the corner and become an encourager, help fan even the smallest spark of potential into a huge flame. Let's send those "gulls" and "bouys" back to the sea of opportunity where they belong.

Don't settled for less than His best. Don't give up on your hopes and dreams. Remember our Lord doesn't want us to be like the seagulls who feed on trash, get lost and settle for less, but like the eagles who soar peacefully in the sky. "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

New Heart Remix

You think you're the player,
now you're just getting played,
Lord help me be a hero to all these dismayed.

Will I practice what I preach,
will I turn the other cheek,
you know it's your will Lord that I wanna seek.
But now my Lord, God, I'm feelin really weak,
and they're all just laughing at this little Jesus freak!

But that's okay I've been here before,
It's only your Word that they all ignore.

I know in the end Lord you will prevail,
I thought it was raining but now it's begun to hail.

These hard rocks of ice just knocking in my brain,
Those sins I committed, you've washed away the stain,
now I'm askin you Lord, can you take back the pain?

I'm just a little soul tryin to change the worlds heart,
But I'm back where I've begun, right from the start.

On my knees, Lord please, be my shelter in the storm,
create in me a new heart, please begin to form.

This person I've been running from, who you want me to be,
that's the only person I want them all to see.

I tried to be a good girl, I tired to really care,
But I guess in the end, this life ain't fare!

1-2 1-2... awe the mic wasn't on... let's start all over...

You think you're the player,
now you're just getting played,
Lord help me be a hero to all these dismayed.........

Danger or Opportunity?

As I sit here still disturbed by life's circumstances, I can help but allow God to continue to talk to me... As I feel my heart begin to run back into fear and worry I open my Bible... and thank you Lord... you have spoken again!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kind, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

Sometimes we don't even know what's going on or why, but perseverance is a gift to all those living in this world! In the Chinese picture-letter alphabet the symbol for crisis is a combination of two characters - one meaning "danger" and the other "opportunity". You can look either way. The same meaning came to mind when I thought of perseverance. We can see our crisis as a huge danger, and create fear and worry, or as an opportunity. If we look through God's perfect perspective we know the He will work all things together for good for those who love and fear Him (Romans 8:28). Tested faith can only create perseverance and maturity for God's rich reward.

MORE CAN BE LEARNED FROM LIFE'S TRIALS
THAN FROM ITS TRIUMPHS

"Blessed is the one who persevers under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will recieve the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

"Don't be decieved, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, comming down from the Father of heavenly lights..." James 1:16

When your heart is disturbed by fear or worry, where do you turn to find peace? Let us turn to our Father!

If you don't have a Bible it would be an honor for me to send one your way.
Please e-mail me jessica@faithandworklife.org

My Silly Little Self

So here I go again about my sissy-in-law stories....

Okay, so when I first met my husband, we were 15 or so... yeah you know what it's like to be a little girl at that point, so insecure, just lost and trying to be "cool" or whatever... well... here is my story...

I have no idea why, but I guess we were all hanging out in her room, and I left the room for a second, and I said "Just so you know, when I say I am leaving the room, I am really sitting by the door, listening to see if you are gonna talk about me..."

(Thank you my wonderful sissy-in-law for reminding me of this story)

What a nerd! I am such a creep! Seriously, why did I care? I have no idea! And now at this point I am sure there are a bunch of people who still have their thoughts and opinions about me, and have plenty things they would like to say...

Well, this brings me to my Biblical point of the day...

"Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others." Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

AMEN... THAT'S IT... DONE DEAL...
COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!

It's one thing to say something to someone in love to help build them up, but silly silly me... I had to sit by the door... hehehe I am a looser! So... unless your ready to hear the truth don't sit and hope you may hear it... there will be a day it comes out... or you'll figure it out on your own...

Has it been 60 days yet?!?!

A very wise man once told me we NEVER GIVE UP (thanks dad)... so I guess I will keep writing... I don't know why it's MY LIFE IN 60 DAYS, but whatever, I guess I still have a while to go... just keep writing, writing, writing....

Well, I do have a pretty neat story, just another one of those weird things that happened...

I used to have this nice green lawn, with a little garden, a tomato plant, and some other veggies, that were all looking so ripe and beautiful... Well, everything began to die off... It's sorta a sad story! I used to love to go out and look at the beautiful lawn my hubby grew from dirt, and my son and I would go out and pick our veggies when they'd ripen... but then after this summer I go out, and bam... dead!

Maybe I forgot to water (tryin to save money around here...j/k) but really, it was beautiful this spring, and I just don't know what happened. Well, as my son and I walked over to the tomato bush it was all weathered and dried out, the vine and branches were dead, but there were four beautiful ripe tomato's on it. Honestly, it was just weird!

Well, of course this brings me to my daily scripture, (my mommas favorite)...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

HOW TRUE! Sometimes we feel like giving up, like life has just gotten to hard... but that is when our FAITH in HIM continues to grow, and how amazing, we can still bear fruit! Still great fruit comes off a dead branch. Sometimes when we feel so dead, He can put life back into us and help us persevere through the trials.

We are all just a bunch of disciples sent by Him to save the world and not condemn it... so just keep going, and NEVER GIVE UP! (John 3:17)