Power

 

As I sit staring at a stack of classroom things that need to get taken care of, I say “I’m not doing it!”…yet. I need a break; I’m tired of looking at it. So, instead I shall write a blog that I have been mentally planning for a while.

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This summer I worked a recreation camp in my university town of Cleveland, Mississippi. In that time I attended a revival service at the little Delta church where Zach used to be youth minister. I might add that this was quite possibly the first place that he realized that he might be romantically interested in me, but that is beside the point. Rodney Jones, one of my favorite men in the entire world spoke, and I cannot remember honestly what the points were. I do remember though complete conviction as he spoke about power and how Jesus demonstrated power in his three year ministry on Earth.

Yes, I'm a Physics dork.

Zach likes to remind me that I am bit feisty, opinionated, and transparent. No worries, he NEVER says it in those ways, but he tries to keep me in check in a loving manner. He laughs, because I am indeed the Chihuahua that thinks she is a German Shepherd.

     

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In our twisted world we have come to think that vocalizing our opinion and saying what we want gives us power over others. We think that “telling someone off” showed the other person who’s boss. Sometimes, we just want our disagreement to be heard by anybody that will listen. We have justifications for everything, because we never want to appear as if we are at fault. Cutting or condescending comments might possibly make us appear smarter/above the other. I am guilty or have been guilty of every single bit of this. Our mouths can get us into some trouble.

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Enough about me. Let’s talk about Jesus. He holds all the power of the universe. So, how did he display it while he was on Earth? He told everyone that they were making the stupidest decision of their life for crucifying Him. He gave everyone threats, and gave every excuse in the world as to why he was innocent. WRONG! When he was being questioned by Pilate (Matthew 27:11 ff) He stood in silence. This was his chance to worm His way out of the most cruel deaths the Roman world had. This was his chance to plead His true innocence. He stood in silence! As He was being mocked and beaten He was silent! As He was being mocked as He was placed on the cross in OUR place He was silent. He is the only one who has a right to speak! He had every right to justify Himself, to fight his way down, to condemn, and to ridicule. He didn’t. I don’t know about you, but that speaks volumes to me. He displayed His power with silence, self control, and gentleness.

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Let’s return to the habits of my speech. What is the ultimate root? Arrogance, pride, and lack of self-control are the roots. I do not want to be powerful in my own eyes. I want to be powerful in the way that Jesus demonstrated. There is power in silence. There is power in restraint, and there is power in self-control. That is where ultimate power lies. May our speech be filled with truth and love or may it be nonexistent. May we follow the example that our Jesus gave us. How will you and I react to that mocking family member. How will we respond to the next nasty parent note, teachers? How will we respond to the next accusation? How will we respond to the next disrespectful comment? How will we respond to the next insult? It’s good to be back with you, reader friends! Happy Wednesday.

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica Hardy

Honeymoon

I am cheating and finishing my What I’m Loving Wednesday on Thursday. I have been blessed so much that it just must spill over. :) I want to use this post to shed some light on the humor that continued on from our ceremony to the honeymoon.

*I am loving Zach’s hiccups. I know that sounds silly, so I shall explain. When he gets hiccups they last forever! I remember a case he had in college that literally lasted days. The reason I love his hiccups is because they usually are a result of intense laughter. There was a considerable amount of time in our honeymoon in which Zach was drinking water upside down in order to get rid of hiccups. We laughed a LOT! It was wonderful.

*I soon found out that I married a sleep talker. I am loving his sleep talking. He talks to me every night. Ha I am a VERY light sleeper. My alarm clock is simply my phone ringing on vibrate, and I can wake up to it even if it is on the other side of the room. One of the funniest is when he sat up in the bed, shook me, and yelled, “THOMAS THE TRAIN?!? REALLY?!? HE’S SHOWING TONIGHT?!? YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!” Then he immediately fell back on his pillow in his deep sleep. It was quite hilarious.

*I am loving all of the fun things we got to do on our honeymoon.

We toured the Biltmore mansion.

It was HUGE!!! Guess that’s why they call it a mansion.

*We also went kayaking down the Nantahala River. I don’t have pictures of that yet, because they are on a waterproof camera that we have not yet developed. That was my second time down the Nantahala and Zach’s first. We both LOVED it! The weather was perfect, and it was beautiful. I also got a good little arm workout. ;)

We went to a zip line park.

It was loads of fun.

It began raining not too long into our adventure, and that just made the line rides much more quick and exciting. :)

I didn’t want to come home.

*I am loving our mugs that our wonderful friend Kyla got us! They make me smile.

The inside rim has a verse from Songs that says, “My heart has found the one it loves”, and they both have hearts on the inside bottom.

*I am loving that the first thing Zach has done every morning after his alarm goes off is says, “I love you so much!” It is literally the first thing he does before his eyes are open well. Some days he has even said it before he turns off his alarm. He wasn’t even aware that he did that until I told him about it. I hope that never stops. I like it. :)

*I am loving that he is my prayer warrior. He stops to pray over me constantly. He learned that from his precious Daddy who I now get to share with him. :) He knows how nervous I am about  my first year of teaching. I had my first workshop today, and before he walked out the door to his early Thursday morning men’s group he came over to pray over me. It blesses my heart. I LOVE him!

I hope you have enjoyed the short summary of my wedding weekend and honeymoon, and I hope that you got in some laughs yourself. I know that I will forever cherish the memories. Thanks again to all of those that helped make it so wonderful!

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica Hardy

Wedded Bliss!

It’s Wednesday! It’s Wednesday! It’s Wednesday! I get to link up with Jamie for WILW! This is kinda my favorite, and I am loving a LOT right now so hold on to your britches!

Well, most of you know that I am a newlywed. Planning a wedding can make you want to elope, but as I look back at the weekend and all of the wedding happenings it was all worth it. Laughter consumes me when I reflect on pretty much anything starting with my Thursday bachelorette party. I really do burst out in random laugher. Ask Zach. Let me fill you in on some of the things I LOVED about my wedding weekend.

*Well, it helps that I am REALLY loving this guy right here. If you haven’t met him, you need to. He is probably the goofiest, fun loving, excitable man you will ever meet. I also must mention that he is a walking jukebox. He is just…Zach Hardy.
*I loved when all of my friends and family began coming in town. My bachelorette party was HILARIOUS! My maids of honor dressed me up in a pink formal dress, flashing tiara, high heels with light up heels, and a sash that read “bachelorette”.

I had everyone’s attention. Heads were turning, and eyes were glued wherever I walked. So naturally, with the probing of my maids of honor, I began doing the beauty queen wave. T’was funny. The night was filled with jokes, laughter so good that it was coupled with tears, and love. I will share a few snaps of the night.









*I also received a text from one of Zach’s groomsmen informing me that Zach had hurt his ankle at Sky Zone (trampoline park) where he was having his bachelor party. I sent him back a playful text, because I thought he was joking. He was not. The next day Zach walked in the church to help decorate with his ankle HUGE and on ice. It was no joke. That cancelled our hiking plans. Ha

*Decorating was even fun. I LOVED all the help I had. Everyone was wonderful.

Thanks for all of your help, guys! Love ya, mean it!
*Rehearsal dinner was also full of laughter as well as tears. It was a sweet, sweet time.


* The wedding day was full of humor. I am loving looking back on it and smiling/laughing.  Zach, of course, had a couple of pranks planned for the actual ceremony. When it came time for our vows he pulled out a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket that unrolled to be about a mile long. Ha Then, he pulled out his actual vows on a single sheet. The next trick was mouth spray sprayed by his father (best man) before the kiss. I was unaware of this. I told him he could have allowed me to have fresh breath as well! Ha
The funniest part, though, was dancing down the aisle for our exit. We had planned ever since February that that is how it would happen and that our exit song would be “Dance” by David Crowder. We had never practiced what WE would do, though. Our first go at our dance was when we were doing it for the ceremony. My dress had a loooong train on it. He did not think this through. He spun me and wrapped me up in my train, so I kind of side stepped my way down the rest of the aisle. I laugh because I can remember the whole audience gasping at once when he spun me and the panicked look upon my wedding coordinator’s face. She was ready to pounce. The relief on her face when I danced my train out to normal was just as wonderful. I cannot wait to watch the video. Ha

*I don’t know that I am necessarily loving  the decoration that was on our car on the way out. Ha Our car was written on with shaving cream and car paint. We had the traditional cans. It was filled with Hawaiian leis, condoms, pregnancy tests, 5 hour energy drinks, peanut butter, nutella, and other random things that I’m not sure of the purpose. Ha Our first stop was the car wash. Ha It was very funny though.
I shall fill you in on the honeymoon humor tomorrow. I will break the rules a bit and finish my WILW on a Thursday. :) Reflect on all of your blessings and reasons to love, reader friends!

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica Hardy

Aaaaaaawww Snap!

Pure Joy

Have you ever had one of those days (or seasons) where one thing after another just seems to go wrong…or one stressor is piled onto another? I think we can all relate. I have a tendency to worry and stress. I am very much Type A personality, and I won’t things in order, and I want them in order way before it’s time to actually have whatever it is done. Wedding planning has driven me crazy, and I feel like I am at the point that nearly every bride gets to when they say, “I just want this all to be over. I just want to get married.” Yes, I am there.

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So, this is what I have realized recently. Satan wants to remind you of the things that are not going well, and he does not want you to see what God has done and is doing in your life. He wants to steer you as far away from God’s truth as possible and will make every attempt to make you feel without hope and keep you in a pit. He reminds you of what you do NOT have and points out the negative and never makes mention of God’s goodness and provision. He will completely steal your joy if you let him. I HAVE LET HIM! What am I going to do? Well, I’m glad you asked. I am appropriating God’s truth in my life, and I’m telling Satan to shut up. Did you know that in the name of Jesus he has to leave? We have that power through the Spirit. Pretty neat, huh? Only if we allow it to be so in our life.

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What truth have I brought back to the surface? Wow, y’all just ask all the right questions. I would love to tell ya.

(1) I have been in the situation many times where I tell God that I don’t feel like something is going to get taken care of financially or otherwise. You want to know how many times He has left it not taken care of? ZERO! Why am I at this point again? It’s craziness. Silly humanness.

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(2) God has written me one of the most beautiful love stories that could ever be imagined. My journey with Zach could make a pretty great movie if I say so myself. He is the most amazing man in the entire world! I might be a little biased, but you should be jealous. He’s pretty wonderful, and I love him a whole bunch. I never question if He is going to lead me Biblically. I never worry about whether or not my future children will have a good Daddy. They are going to have the most amazing Daddy there ever was! I never worry about being treated with respect. I never worry about any of those things. I know that our beautiful love story will continue on until one of us meets our Jesus. I am SO excited that he is going to be my partner for the Gospel. Again, I might be biased, but I think we make a pretty excellent team. I can’t wait to say “I do”.

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(3) My bridesmaids are some of the most amazing women in the world. That’s why they’re bridesmaids. Duh! They have been a HUUUUUGE help in all of this, and I am so blessed to have them. Even aside from them all of my wonderful friends and family are AMAZING. I can’t tell you how much support I have received not only through this wedding planning but through everything. I am soooo grateful for them. Again, I am marrying the best man in the entire world, and I have the best friends in the world. You should be even more jealous now.

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(4) I am marrying into an absolutely amazing family. I have never received so many hugs, kisses, and heard “I love you” so much until I walked into the  homes of this family. The support and encouragement that I have received from them has been overwhelming. I’ll ignore the fact that they’re already praying twins on us. Ha

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(5) God cares about my life more than I do. He has plans for it, and my worry masks those beautiful plans. Life is SOOOO much more full of joy when your eyes and heart are focused on God. He wipes all those little things that we can magnify in our lives and gives us a new perspective. I choose that new perspective. I choose joy!

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I know we all have those instances where we want to let our stressors take the wheel. I am number one, I promise. Let’s choose joy together, reader friends. Happy Thursday!

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica almost Hardy

It’s Not So Far Away

It’s that time again. It’s time for…

I’m linking up with Jamie to share all of the love in my life. As usual, there is a lot to love.

1) First of all, I am loving that I have had the opportunity to work a recreation day camp in my college town for the last two weeks. It is called Okra Camp. Hey, don’t hate on our mascot! I am learning a TREMENDOUS amount as I go, and that has been very fun. Has it been trying at times? Yes. Am I tired? YES! But I am very thankful for the opportunity, and I am learning a lot not just about sports. It has been fun to meet and get to know the staff members, and the children never allow for boring moments. I’m also getting a pretty neat tan. It’s almost a burn. I’ll get some sunscreen.

 

These kids are getting to do things that they would probably never be able to do. It is very rewarding to see them as they enjoy these activities and learn more. To see some more of what we have been doing you can go here!

2) Second, I am LOVING that on Friday I will be going back to Hernando. Guess what?!? Zach is there as well! This will be the first time in almost a year that we will be in the same town for good. I am PRETTY excited. As soon as he moved back from Texas I went off to camp, and I’m ready to just be together.

 

3) I am loving the welcome that I am getting from the Hope Sullivan crew before I have even gotten there! It makes me so excited to start off there and slightly chips away some of the nerves.

 

What are you loving this Wednesday, reader friends? There’s much to love.

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica

Unplugged

 

We all have excuses. This was mine: I moved back to my hometown after being gone for college. I am in a crazy transition stage, because I know that I will be here for only seven months at best. I shouldn’t really invest too much, because I will not be here that long. Yes, all of this is true. This is an incredibly awkward transition stage, but all of these excuses are just that. They are silly excuses.

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We were created for community, and I can tell the big difference that it can have when there is no sense of community. If I can just be honest, this semester has been hard. I MISS my Cleveland family. I MISS my best friends. I MISS my fiancé. These are all of the people that made up my community, accountability, encouragement, challenge…the list could go on. I’ve been without them this semester, and I haven’t enjoyed it. I’m used to being at my house and having people CONSTANTLY come in and out. I’m used to late night/all night hang outs. No worries, they were always clean…but LOTS of fun memories. The only real alone moments that I had were when I got up earlier than everyone else for that specific purpose. All of that to say that this semester I have definitely been unplugged when it comes to the community aspect.

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Leaving Cleveland would have been hard regardless of the circumstances or what I was leaving for, but this semester could have been easier if I had given more effort to be plugged in here. Accountability is important. Discipleship is important. Quality time with others is important. I am sad as I look back at my excuses this semester. I refuse to let the excuses continue. Do you have an accountability partner? Are you investing in anyone? Are you allowing anyone older and wiser to pour into you? Are you encouraging others? Are you allowing others to encourage you? I’ve realized the importance of these things because they have been missing. I hope that you, reader friends, are experiencing the blessing of community.

 

Shaped by Grace,

Jessica