Happy Friday!! I hope it has been a nice week for everyone. I have enjoyed my week. I had the yummiest dinner last night while we were out celebrating a friend’s birthday. A lemon butter fish served with a few (I think, four) butternut squash ravioli. An interesting combination but it was yummy. I love ravioli (especially butternut squash ravioli!) with butter, rather than sauce, but rarely order an entire plate of it (or any other pasta). Four was just enough…and went so well with the perfectly cooked fish. And there was broccoli. In the lemon butter – yum! But, enough about my meal. There has been more to my week than one meal, but last night is freshest on my mind:)
Tonight I am going to a gala. Yes, a formal affair. When I think about it, I don’t know that I have been to a formal gala before. Most of the formal events I have attended (and there have not been many) were wedding receptions….and I have been to several very lovely receptions:) But this is a fundraiser gala and I am rather looking forward to it. It is for a local crisis pregnancy center and I am looking forward to not only hearing more about their work and impact but also to seeing how I might support what they do.
Honestly, I was almost hesitant to share about the gala. And my support of the center. I am unapologetically pro-life but too often find myself unwilling to share my opinions and/or stances on topics like these. That is not only a shame but is a fault on my behalf. I want to live unashamedly for Christ. I want making Him known to be a priority for me. And that often requires speaking truth…or, as a blogger, writing about truth.
Granted those “bigger” topics do not come up often and I generally keep my blog light-hearted and, hopefully, simply encouraging. But even this past Wednesday, I was hesitant to share my opinon on leggings. And, yes, there were (no doubt) some who thought I was being judgmental. That’s okay and not really my point. I’m rehearsing this for myself. I cannot constantly dodge criticism (or even scoffers) – whether in person or behind this screen. I cannot shy away from anything remotely confrontational, which seems to be my default most often these days. But when given the opportunity, I want to stand for truth. To be willing to face opposition. And to use my words (written or spoken) effectively for the cause of Christ.
As a Christian, I want to be anchored to truth. To the truth of God’s word. And I want that anchor to keep me from being passive, resigned or acquiescent. This takes purpose. Especially purposefully chosen words. It also takes wisdom, discretion, and, yes, grace. It requires me to follow His leading not only to know what to say but also when to say it. And when to keep quiet. Sometimes, that can be a challenge! I pray I can continue to improve and mature in this area. These are my thoughts on this month’s word of the year – anchored. Thanks for stopping by today.
Hello,
What are you wearing to the gala?
I love the post today. I find the honesty refreshing, even about leggings.
😉
My friend Judy worked at our local pregnancy help center for several years. It was very rewarding for her. And could be stressful too. She would not share the who … but she would share the heartbreak of when others pushed for the baby to be aborted, to make things “simple”.
Have a fun evening and thank you for standing for life.
Carla
What a great posting about speaking truth. Enjoyed your posting.
Jennifer, never apologize for your convictions. I am a great advocate of our Pregnacy Center and have been pro-life as soon as I was old enough to understand what abortion was.
I have been to several of our gala events and the storiesand testimonies are so inspiring. I know you will have a wonderful time, and should show us your picture in your gala attire.
Three inportant virtues, goodness, righteous and truth. You’ve touched on all.
Have a wonderful time.
Hugs.
When I worked at the art museum, we had a Gala fundraiser every year. Always fun and always for a great cause. My church supports A Woman’s Choice, and I am pro-life too. We should never apologize for what we believe. xo
I just attended the Gala fundraiser for our local crisis pregnancy center. My husband volunteers as a new dad coach so I got to come too. I signed up and will be volunteering, too. I don’t know where they will put me but God knows.
The thing with our crisis pregnancy center is the community raised a million dollars to buy their facility outright – it took 10 months, but the thing about it, the building God had in mind is across the street from an abortion clinic. We move in the last week of April from the rented building they were at for years. There is already great opposition to them being there so it will be challenging.
I’m so pleased to hear you are considering helping out with this important ministry. God bless you, Jennifer. 💮
Sounds like you have a lot of fun going on!!! I volunteer and I am on the board of a local crisis pregnancy center. I love supporting it and share at times what we do on my blog. We are who we are, and we believe what we do. 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend, friend. 😉
Oh, eek… I am sure my comment on your post about the “leggings” sounded rough then. Oops. 🙂 Well, I still don’t like them. HAH! 🙂
I hope the gala went well- that you had a good time and that you learned more about the organization and what, if any, support you may decide to provide for the organization. Stating convictions that you know others may be in disagreement with can be intimidating/scary and I can see why staying with “safe” topics (that are quite fun/interesting on their own so it’s easy to justify not stirring the pot so to speak) is what many/most chose to do with their blogs. I don’t feel like I state “truth” as much as I should versus the fun, fluffy stuff that I share. Your last paragraph is so well written and is truly TRUTH embodied! I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one!
Jennifer, PLEASE say it louder for those who are still going in public wearing skin tight leggings and looking basically naked! Oh, the joy when this horrible trend disappears for good! I’ve remained in a state of being appalled for all the years that my eyes have had to turn away from women who think they are dressed properly for public view. Do they not have mirrors?!!
Anyway, how’s that for telling truth 🙂 And I get the hesitation to speak about things, but if the others are speaking out, we should too.
And never be ashamed of being “Pro-life” or wanting to declare a baby worth saving. The truth of the matter is that we’ve let the unbiblical have a voice for too long and we’ve sat back, in the name of not wanting to offend. But Jesus offended people with truth, didn’t he?
So great job at opening the floor for truth!
Have a beautiful weekend 🙂
A very thoughtful post, and it is clear how intentional you are about wanting your words and choices to reflect your faith. I also enjoyed your description of the dinner, that lemon butter fish with butternut squash ravioli sounds like a memorable combination. Wishing you a meaningful evening at the gala and wisdom as you continue to navigate when to speak and when to simply listen.
http://www.melodyjacob.com
Hello, sweet friend! I enjoyed reading your post this morning. I am also unapologetically pro-life and have the honor of being able to attend fundraising events for organizations near me on occasion. I think this is such a wonderful thing, and I always walk away from those nights feeling inspired to make a difference, and ever prayerful for people in my city to step up to foster or adopt. How fun for you that you get to dress up! I can’t wait to hear more about this next week…hopefully you got a picture of you.
You wrote beautiful words about living your life for the Lord. I can sense your heart in them, and I think it’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing and for inspiring!
I hope you share your outfit for the gala and are not like me…always thinking I look less than the other.
I struggle with keeping my mouth and blog shut too over things, but pro-life is not one I would even blink on. I try not to be political but those things that are core to my Christian beliefs I am more vocal about.
Oh and the leggings. Good grief…can’t stand them. I tried once. I even ordered some from J Jill which means they weren’t cheap and ordered the top to go over them which kind of looked good in the magazine. I felt like I was wearing pajamas or underwear. NEVER did bring myself to wear them out. I never even wore them in the house. I finally added them to my winter pajama drawer where they did provide warmth on the coldest nights.
Excellent post, Jennifer! I hope you will share a picture of your gala outfit. Sorry for the delay in responding! I hope you have had a good weekend.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s not always easy to do so. While I am personally pro life I do not believe in imposing my belief on other people. We have not walked in their shoes and therefore, I believe I have no right to make choices for them. So on the larger scale I am pro choice.
Dear Jennifer, one of the things I appreciate about you is your willingness to speak for Christ and Truth. I’m looking forward to hearing about how the Gala went! You always do it in a gentle loving way.
I love butternut squash ravioli! And mushroom ravioli also!
Oh, I have wrestled with this, too, Jennifer! There are times when I write what’s on my heart–then discard the words for a number of reasons, usually a lack of courage or wanting to get along with everyone. Thanks for sharing your honest struggle. I do trust that if it’s important enough, God will help us to put our truths out there.
Yes, yes, friend. Be who you are with us, share your faith, your views on leggings, the CPC gala, and whatever else is on your heart. This is your own unique online home sweet home and we are always happy to join you here.
Happy Monday to you. All will be well!
xo
I have never had butternut squash ravioli, but it does sound really good! Good for you for going to the local crisis pregnancy center and seeing how you can support their cause. We have something similar to that here, but I have not gone to see how I can support them. Every time I have thought about it, I felt like I couldn’t add anything else to my plate. I am now going to have to read your post about leggings. I am curious, LOL! I hope your week is off to a great start.
Butternut squash ravioli sounds delicious paired with fish, Jennifer. I hope your gala went well.