meet jana....

jana is a dear friend of mine. we met last year, when our boys were in kindergarten together. now, the boys are in the same first grade class! their friendship is still going strong, and so is ours!

jana had told me a while back that she was asked to speak to her mom2mom group. she would be sharing part of her story....her journey with the Lord. well, this past monday was the big day and i was blessed to be able to attend.

jana's message from the Lord was full of hope and encouragement. jana is witty, funny, engaging, and humble. she made us laugh and there were times we got teary-eyed. i think every woman in the room could relate with/to jana, as she talked about fears, insecurities, and moving forward triumphantly- in the Lord.

i was so blessed to hear jana's message. here's her story in a nutshell: jana was 75 pounds over weight and had tried every diet in the book! through the Lord's strength and the fact that she cried out to Him....she was able to lose the 75 pounds (weight watchers). that wasn't all that the Lord wanted to do with her, though. last year, jana worked her tail off and ran her first half marathon. she did several 5k's and 10k's as well. in june, jana will be running her first marathon! mind you, this girl was not a runner! wow!! she claims philippians 4:13 as her life verse.....

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

one of the things jana mentioned was the story of peter- walking on water toward Jesus. you remember the story, right? peter gets out of the boat and starts walking toward Jesus. peter starts to get scared....he starts to lose faith and he starts sinking. he cries, "Lord, save me!" Jesus reaches out, catches him, and says...."you of little faith...why did you doubt?" Jesus and peter get in the boat and the wind dies down. all those in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "truly you are the Son of God." (matt. 14:25-33)

jana talked about faith in Christ. strength through Him. and...then she told us about a song she loves. i have it playing on the blog, because i love it, too. it's funny- i had bought britt nicole's cd a few days prior to hearing jana. when jana mentioned the song walk on the water, i came home and checked to see if it was on my new cd. i have enjoyed listening to this song, along with all the other ones on the cd. i wanted to share the lyrics with you....

walk on the water (britt nicole)

you look around and staring back at you

another wave of doubt

will it pull you under

you wonder

what if i'm overtaken

what if i never make it

what if no one's there

will you hear my prayer

when you take that first step

into the unknown

you know that He won't let you go

so what are you waiting for

what do you have to lose

your insecurities

they try to hold to you

but you know you're made for more

so don't be afraid to move

your faith is all it takes

and you can walk on the water too

so get out and let your fear fall to the ground

no time to waste, don't wait

and don't you turn around, and miss out on

everything you were made for

gotta be, i know you're not sure, more

so you play it safe, you try to run away

if you take that first step

into the unknown

He won't let you go

chorus

step out, even when it's storming

step out, even when you're broken

step out, even when your heart is telling you,

telling you to give up

step out, when your hope is stolen

step out, you can't see where you're going

you don't have to be afraid

so what are waiting, what are you waiting for

chorus

*please check out jana's running blog at www.runsoncoffee.blogspot.com*

i have not done jana's message justice here...but i pray you can be inspired nonetheless. the Lord really anointed her that day and His message through jana was awesome!! i am so thankful i could be there!

what is it YOU need faith to do?? where do YOU need the Lord's strength?? many thoughts are runnin' through my head.... :)