Yesturday I painted my fingernails and toenails hot pink (something I don't usually do...with my fingernails anyways) in an attempt to see something bright and pretty since outside I see only gray and white. This weather is killing me...I need sun plain and simple. I got really excited at Meijer today when I saw flowers. Mark's response was "You really need it to be summer don't you?" And it's so true. I can hardly even bring myself to wear a coat anymore because I am sick and tired of being bundled up...so please spring come quick!
Anyways, life has been good. We went to Roanoke which was a great getaway and a very encouraging trip. We came home and had about a week of normal life before I got very sick. I felt like I was the sickest I had even been but it is possible that I feel that way every time I get sick. But it passed quickly and I am feeling great now. I went to Chicago for a weekend. It was supposed to be Mark and I and two other couples but after a crazy string of events I went with Erica and one other couple. It was a great trip and I had lots of fun. We shopped, ate, watched movies and read which in Jenny world is the perfect trip. It was good to be away with another girl and just be girls. I did though miss Mark considering it was our first nights apart since we got married. Journey is going good it would be better if we could quit getting snow storms on Saturday nights. But God is bigger than snow storms so we move on and press forward.
We started our small group of "young marrieds" last week. It was a lot of fun. Im excited to connect with people in our life stage, to be encouraged by those going through the same life things as we are and to get advice from those who have been there and done that.
Mark is doing well as a full time pastor. It has been an adjustment for us but only for the better :)
But for now Im just hoping for sunshine...and a warm breeze! But until then I will just keep painting my nails and doing other things that will at least create a delusion of the possibility that maybe I will look out the window and see green grass and flowers again. Although right now it seems impossible that I will ever again see nature alive and blooming outside....
Why Michigan again?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
McQuiet Time
I'm at McDonald's, on my MacComputer, just finished a McShake and some McNuggets, thinking about how the McDonald's experience applies to my life. The Dollar Menu is still the cheapest meal on the planet, and the Golden Arches are one of the most recognized logos in the world. When you come to McDonald's, you know exactly what you're going to get, you know it will be cheap, fast, portable if you want. It's done YOUR way and it doesn't take up too much of YOUR time. Fabulous.
You get a different perspective when you're on the other side of the counter, though. I just finished my last shift at a "McJob." I'm glad it's over, but I'm also glad I worked that job for a while. I think people who work McJobs have a better perception of the state of their community than anyone else in society. You really see where people's priorities are. You get a glimpse of how they view life, what they care about.
And I'm telling you - it's a sad picture.
Of course, there are plenty of caring people out there. But what sticks out is how many selfish, lonely, angry, bitter people come through the doors and the drive-thru of a coffee shop (or any other McEstablishment).
Tell me this: Why do you have to roll your eyes at the minimum-wage employee who is just doing what they've been told by not taking a coupon from a different store?
Since when is the cashier's counter some sort of mystical barrier that de-personifies the person on the other side and deprives them of all feeling and rational thought?
What about me following the policies of the company that employs me makes me an "ass hole?"
Yep, it really happened. A drive-through customer didn't get a stamp on her frequency card because she used a coupon, and immediately I became an idiot, an invalid person, a stupid clone that represents the unfavorable policies of the establishment and (while we're at it) all of the misfortunes and hurts that have come through this woman's life and the lives of her two friends in the car. And I, Mark Potter, became an ass hole.
After I stamped her card and handed it back to her saying "I hope you feel good about yourself" (I'm not perfect either), I retreated to the back of the store and finally let tears moisten my eyes. Yeah, the comments hurt. But what hurt the most is that I cared about her. According to a challenge from our lead pastor, I had fasted the day before and prayed for God's heart for lost people. Nothing magical happened that day, but as God often does, He was preparing me for events to come. As I leaned my head against the wall next to the mop sink and spare toilet paper, I prayed.
"God, how did we ever get so selfish? How have we become such inward-focused, non-caring people? It's actually a GOOD thing that it was ME she treated that way, because anyone else in my position could have taken a MAJOR blow to their character and confidence, or even worse - repaid her with verbal damage of their own. God, we've GOT to change the world."
We've GOT to change the world.
People, whether you believe in God or not, you can't deny that selfishness SUCKS, and that there is at least a little bit of selfishness in YOU. In the church world, we call selfishness "sin," and sin is what makes this world terrible.
So here's my challenge, and my mission. Your life is going to suck if YOU are the one at the top of your list. You can either believe me now, or we'll talk on your death bed and I'll say "I told you so." The reason I believe in Jesus - besides the miracle of His story which we'll talk about some other time - is that HE is the one who pointed this out to us. HE knew what He was talking about, and HE modeled it. Someday soon the world will begin to change, and I intend to be a part of it.
Think of others - how would you feel if you were in their position? You've heard this before, but this time make a LIFESTYLE out of it. And secondly, find something worthwhile to live for. So many of the things that people work towards and care about are SO WORTHLESS. Good things are good things, but they're only WORTH something if they have a big-picture purpose. And I mean BIG picture purpose.
Thanks for reading. Remember, make your life count. If you have any questions, please consult the bibliography below to see what resources I started with.
-Mark- +
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Bible.
You get a different perspective when you're on the other side of the counter, though. I just finished my last shift at a "McJob." I'm glad it's over, but I'm also glad I worked that job for a while. I think people who work McJobs have a better perception of the state of their community than anyone else in society. You really see where people's priorities are. You get a glimpse of how they view life, what they care about.
And I'm telling you - it's a sad picture.
Of course, there are plenty of caring people out there. But what sticks out is how many selfish, lonely, angry, bitter people come through the doors and the drive-thru of a coffee shop (or any other McEstablishment).
Tell me this: Why do you have to roll your eyes at the minimum-wage employee who is just doing what they've been told by not taking a coupon from a different store?
Since when is the cashier's counter some sort of mystical barrier that de-personifies the person on the other side and deprives them of all feeling and rational thought?
What about me following the policies of the company that employs me makes me an "ass hole?"
Yep, it really happened. A drive-through customer didn't get a stamp on her frequency card because she used a coupon, and immediately I became an idiot, an invalid person, a stupid clone that represents the unfavorable policies of the establishment and (while we're at it) all of the misfortunes and hurts that have come through this woman's life and the lives of her two friends in the car. And I, Mark Potter, became an ass hole.
After I stamped her card and handed it back to her saying "I hope you feel good about yourself" (I'm not perfect either), I retreated to the back of the store and finally let tears moisten my eyes. Yeah, the comments hurt. But what hurt the most is that I cared about her. According to a challenge from our lead pastor, I had fasted the day before and prayed for God's heart for lost people. Nothing magical happened that day, but as God often does, He was preparing me for events to come. As I leaned my head against the wall next to the mop sink and spare toilet paper, I prayed.
"God, how did we ever get so selfish? How have we become such inward-focused, non-caring people? It's actually a GOOD thing that it was ME she treated that way, because anyone else in my position could have taken a MAJOR blow to their character and confidence, or even worse - repaid her with verbal damage of their own. God, we've GOT to change the world."
We've GOT to change the world.
People, whether you believe in God or not, you can't deny that selfishness SUCKS, and that there is at least a little bit of selfishness in YOU. In the church world, we call selfishness "sin," and sin is what makes this world terrible.
So here's my challenge, and my mission. Your life is going to suck if YOU are the one at the top of your list. You can either believe me now, or we'll talk on your death bed and I'll say "I told you so." The reason I believe in Jesus - besides the miracle of His story which we'll talk about some other time - is that HE is the one who pointed this out to us. HE knew what He was talking about, and HE modeled it. Someday soon the world will begin to change, and I intend to be a part of it.
Think of others - how would you feel if you were in their position? You've heard this before, but this time make a LIFESTYLE out of it. And secondly, find something worthwhile to live for. So many of the things that people work towards and care about are SO WORTHLESS. Good things are good things, but they're only WORTH something if they have a big-picture purpose. And I mean BIG picture purpose.
Thanks for reading. Remember, make your life count. If you have any questions, please consult the bibliography below to see what resources I started with.
-Mark- +
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Bible.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
update!
Mark and I very much enjoyed our first set of holidays but we are both thankful they are over and we can get back to a somewhat "normal" sort of life. It feels like we have been on somewhat of a vacation the last week between Christmas, no church, and new years. We were grateful for time to relax and we very very much enjoyed our first Christmas ALL BY OURSELVES! We opened presents, made pancakes, watched movies and made home-made chicken noodle soup for dinner. It was a great way to spend our first Christmas as husband and wife. We had no church this week so we with no question went back to Faith on Sunday. It was so good to be back and see our friends and family whom we miss a lot. But as always it was nice to return to our home in Grand Rapids.
Mark worked his last shift at Beaners yesterday and now he is officially the full-time Worship Ministries Pastor at Journey Church! I am very excited and proud of him.
Thats about all that has been going on here...We have some exciting things to look forward to in the next month or so...
-My 21st birthday is January 15th!
-The end of January we are going with the staff team to Roanoke Virginia for a few days
-In February if all works out we are going to Chicago with another couple
- We are doing a mass mailer for our upcoming family series in the end of January and bringing in a comedian for our next big push at Journey
-Our small groups are starting the end of January at Journey, Mark and I will be in a young marrieds group...
-We start a Financial Peace University class this month, which we are excited about as well...
Life is good and exciting right now. We are enjoying each other and still enjoying our new life here in Grand Rapids.
Mark worked his last shift at Beaners yesterday and now he is officially the full-time Worship Ministries Pastor at Journey Church! I am very excited and proud of him.
Thats about all that has been going on here...We have some exciting things to look forward to in the next month or so...
-My 21st birthday is January 15th!
-The end of January we are going with the staff team to Roanoke Virginia for a few days
-In February if all works out we are going to Chicago with another couple
- We are doing a mass mailer for our upcoming family series in the end of January and bringing in a comedian for our next big push at Journey
-Our small groups are starting the end of January at Journey, Mark and I will be in a young marrieds group...
-We start a Financial Peace University class this month, which we are excited about as well...
Life is good and exciting right now. We are enjoying each other and still enjoying our new life here in Grand Rapids.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Words....
The last few days have been quite interesting in my (Jen's) life. I told Mark yesterday that I feel as though I have lost all sense of discipline. I have no idea how it happened. I think it started with a good book. The book began to consume my life and it wasn't just the story itself but the burning desire to create a story on pages, as this author had done. Story envelopes me. I find myself constantly thinking about life in terms of a story as though I were writing it down on pages, but Im not. I have come to the conclusion that I love words. I am passionate about words, words especially on paper. Words that as you read, feel like they are swirling around endlessly in your mind. I am constantly in awe with the way people can take words and create such beautiful images. This may sound silly to you but to me it is my desire. Maybe this is why I want to write. Or maybe this is why I should write. I don't know which. But anyways, so this book...It was a pretty powerful story and it consumed me. I forgot to do laundry, I forgot to clean. Thankfully I made it to work. For whatever reason this story made me not care about the little things like cleaning. I just don't know how it happened. It wasn't because I had my head in the book it was just that my mind was constantly everywhere but here on earth. I began dreaming about writing about what life could be and about whether or not I could eloquently paint pictures of such beauty with simple words. I do know that I have to learn to spell first.
So now I sit here and look at this mess I have created. And I really do want to clean it but I have so many other things that seem more important. It truly is a battle but I can't not, not do anything forever. At some point I must leave Jenny land and come back to real life. Maybe I should not aspire to be a writer until I can afford a housekeeper...
I need to go to the gym...if I go four days this week and drink 5 glasses of water everyday...Mark does all the dishes next week. Motivation huh?
So now I sit here and look at this mess I have created. And I really do want to clean it but I have so many other things that seem more important. It truly is a battle but I can't not, not do anything forever. At some point I must leave Jenny land and come back to real life. Maybe I should not aspire to be a writer until I can afford a housekeeper...
I need to go to the gym...if I go four days this week and drink 5 glasses of water everyday...Mark does all the dishes next week. Motivation huh?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
What is Christmas anyways?
Hmm..what have the Potters been up too? We have been busy but that is nothing new. Mark is coming up on his last few weeks at Beaners and then he is 100% Journey which is really exciting. Im so proud of how hard he has worked and I am so thankful and happy to see him get to pour all of his time into his ministry. He has worked so hard at both the Church and at Beaners and he never complains. He has sleepless nights and tired days but he just keeps going. I admire my hubby so much for that. He is much stronger than I will ever be.
I am getting anxious about school next fall. Im almost done with my application at Cornerstone (Im just waiting for MSU to fix their mistakes). Im so excited to go back. Im ready to finish what I started and pursue what I love. It also looks like Mark will be going back to school to get his masters of divinity in the fall. Indiana Wesleyan is starting the program in the fall so that is also very exciting.
I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. It certainly came fast. I don't know about anyone else but I find it very hard during the Christmas season to focus on what Christmas is all about. The world has turned it into this holiday that no one even knows why they celebrate. Working at Beaners I have noticed it more this year than years past. Its all about shopping and christmas music. It's all about the busyness and craziness. The Christmas trees and lights. But what about the man who came into the world on Christmas day to save this us? You would never know thats why we celebrate Christmas. Not out in the world anyways. There are times when I want to boycott the world's Christmas. I just don't want to celebrate it the way the world does...maybe I need a fast from Christmas and instead should just choose to celebrate the birth of a saviour, a healer, a deliverer, a baby who was man and God...
Life is a funny thing.
Im enjoying the snow, not the ice, just the snow.
Im enjoying hot tea and hot chocolate.
Im enjoying friends.
Im enjoying relaxed nights.
Im enjoying my husband and life with him.
Im enjoying my God, my savior, my healer, my protecter, my King.
I am getting anxious about school next fall. Im almost done with my application at Cornerstone (Im just waiting for MSU to fix their mistakes). Im so excited to go back. Im ready to finish what I started and pursue what I love. It also looks like Mark will be going back to school to get his masters of divinity in the fall. Indiana Wesleyan is starting the program in the fall so that is also very exciting.
I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. It certainly came fast. I don't know about anyone else but I find it very hard during the Christmas season to focus on what Christmas is all about. The world has turned it into this holiday that no one even knows why they celebrate. Working at Beaners I have noticed it more this year than years past. Its all about shopping and christmas music. It's all about the busyness and craziness. The Christmas trees and lights. But what about the man who came into the world on Christmas day to save this us? You would never know thats why we celebrate Christmas. Not out in the world anyways. There are times when I want to boycott the world's Christmas. I just don't want to celebrate it the way the world does...maybe I need a fast from Christmas and instead should just choose to celebrate the birth of a saviour, a healer, a deliverer, a baby who was man and God...
Life is a funny thing.
Im enjoying the snow, not the ice, just the snow.
Im enjoying hot tea and hot chocolate.
Im enjoying friends.
Im enjoying relaxed nights.
Im enjoying my husband and life with him.
Im enjoying my God, my savior, my healer, my protecter, my King.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Holiday Craziness...
Often it feels like you go, go, go until the holiday hits and then after all of chaos that a holiday can bring you crash. Well for us it feels like it was only the beginning...
Thanksgiving was great! On thursday we went to our pastors/boss/friend's house for fun and food. It was great! A perfect way to spend our first thanksgiving together. I made my first pumpkin pie too and it was a success! On friday we opened at Beaners at 4:30 in the morning. We opened early to accomodate all of the early shoppers. It was a lot of fun though. We had several more people working than normal which is always fun since we LOVE our co-workers and we were busy all day. The busiest day our Beaners has ever had. It was fun and everyone was in a great mood it seemed like. We worked until 12 and then rushed home to start cooking our first thanksgiving dinner for my (Jen's) family. It was a lot of fun but by 7:00 we were both exhausted.
Saturday we opened at Beaners again and then at 12 Mark's family came and met us at work and took us to lunch and we got to spend the rest of the day with them. It was really nice to see them and get to show them our lives here in Grand Rapids. On Sunday it was another bright and early morning setting up Journey Church. Of course the day went well and again we had more new faces. Every Sunday is just exciting and affirming of why we are here. On Sunday afternoon though Mark and I crashed hard. We went to bed early and tried to rest for another crazy week. We get tired sometimes and really burnt out but at the same time life here is just so much fun. This time of year is so exciting to be sharing so many firsts together.
We do miss people though and we are still trying to build relationships and find our place here in Caledonia. Its challenging, fun and new and there are good times and there are bad but we are so thankful to be doing this together. And serving an Awesome and holy God here in Caledonia Michigan!!
Thanksgiving was great! On thursday we went to our pastors/boss/friend's house for fun and food. It was great! A perfect way to spend our first thanksgiving together. I made my first pumpkin pie too and it was a success! On friday we opened at Beaners at 4:30 in the morning. We opened early to accomodate all of the early shoppers. It was a lot of fun though. We had several more people working than normal which is always fun since we LOVE our co-workers and we were busy all day. The busiest day our Beaners has ever had. It was fun and everyone was in a great mood it seemed like. We worked until 12 and then rushed home to start cooking our first thanksgiving dinner for my (Jen's) family. It was a lot of fun but by 7:00 we were both exhausted.
Saturday we opened at Beaners again and then at 12 Mark's family came and met us at work and took us to lunch and we got to spend the rest of the day with them. It was really nice to see them and get to show them our lives here in Grand Rapids. On Sunday it was another bright and early morning setting up Journey Church. Of course the day went well and again we had more new faces. Every Sunday is just exciting and affirming of why we are here. On Sunday afternoon though Mark and I crashed hard. We went to bed early and tried to rest for another crazy week. We get tired sometimes and really burnt out but at the same time life here is just so much fun. This time of year is so exciting to be sharing so many firsts together.
We do miss people though and we are still trying to build relationships and find our place here in Caledonia. Its challenging, fun and new and there are good times and there are bad but we are so thankful to be doing this together. And serving an Awesome and holy God here in Caledonia Michigan!!
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