𝓜𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓙𝓮𝓻𝓲 𝓢.
Her beautiful smile can warm a soul, and I know this firsthand as she is one of my great friends and sisters in Christ. We have shared tears of laughter, sadness, and frustration over the years, and I am honored she said yes to allowing me to feature her for a Catch Fire Friday! We share a lot of similarities from our love of books to the ways we serve the Lord in Youth Group together. She is always one I can depend on to have my back in prayer! Come learn how a dream lit her heart on fire for her Lord and Savior!
What do you do for a living?
I am a loan processor at a credit union and the Nursery Director at our church.
What is your life verse and why?
Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble , whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."
I love that verse because, as humans, in our heads, we tend toward negative thoughts, and that verse reminds us not to dwell on negative thoughts. God doesn’t want us stuck in negative thinking patterns or pity parties, and this verse reminds us of that!
What is your favorite book in the Bible & why?
It is so hard to choose just one!! But I do have to say I love Proverbs. It is the book of wisdom. I like black-and-white clear-cut directions and guidance, and I always find that very spelled out very clearly in Proverbs.
What is your favorite Worship song?
"Stronger" by Ellie Holcomb. I first heard her at the Grace Like Rain women’s conference, and I have loved her ever since! But my second favorite is "Hymn of Heaven" By Phil Wickham. I love it when we are all worshipping together at church, and it feels like a glimpse of what heaven will be like.
Kelsey: She is not lying about that last part! It is such a beautiful feeling when we sing out this song in Worship to our Lord and Savior! So many tears of the anticipation of what's to come!
Do you serve at your Church home? If so, what do you do?
Yes. I am the nursery director as my part-time job, but I also serve as a middle school youth leader and have helped with the summer camps we have. I have always related well to kids and hold a special place in my heart for the little ones that bring so much joy! In Luke 18:16 says: "Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children."
In what ways do you praise Jesus?
Prayer journaling is my number one way. I connect well with Him that way and worship through music at church or in my car.
In what ways do you proclaim Jesus?
I always think of the fruits of the spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. I try to be kind and loving and joy-filled and hope that people maybe see that and see Jesus in me or maybe wonder what gives me that joy. And maybe can open a discussion about my faith. But I am definitely not perfect and am not always kind and joy filled! Absolutely human here!! But I do know who is gonna bring me back to joy, peace, love, and kindness, and that is Jesus.
In what ways do you promote Jesus?
This is something I have been praying to get better at doing. I used to be better at sharing about Him and His word on social media, but lately, I am not on it as much. I think the best way is just to tell my life experiences with Him and my testimony.
How old were you when you caught fire for the Lord? Tell us a little bit about that story.
I was eleven years old when my childhood friend shared her faith with me and helped me ask Jesus into my heart. (She is now in heaven with Him) I drifted away from Him in my junior high and high school years (which is also why I feel called to be a youth leader now; those are hard years! But I think my catching fire story comes in my answer to the next question. 😊
Did you experience a moment in your life when God revealed Himself in a significant way?
Yes!!!! In 2019, I was on a dark path. I was not doing well, self-medicating with alcohol very often, and I would journal my feelings and didn’t even realize I was praying as I journaled. God started convicting me of that behavior, but I was ignoring Him and kept doing it. But also kept praying and journaling. One night, I had a dream, and it was very vivid and terrifying. I was in Hell in the dream, and terrible things were happening around me, and Jesus reached His hand down and pulled me up out of it. After that dream, my relationship with Jesus really came to life! I got very plugged into our church, read the Bible more, took the journey discipleship class, got baptized, and had a wonderful Christian counselor and a wonderful mentor. I learned my identity in Christ and know that He will never leave or forsake me.
What keeps your fire for the Lord lit?
I think about my life without Jesus and how doing it on my own was a disaster. I think about my life with Jesus, and it has purpose, peace, and joy, and the relationship with Him is something I never want to give up! Also, I think about my kids and grandkids and great-grandkids and want them all to know Jesus and be in heaven for eternity with me!
What is your favorite hobby or something you like to do for fun?
Read! I just know my room in heaven will have a huge, comfy chair, blanket, and soft lighting with all of the books. And I know you, and I will be sharing that library, Kelsey! Book club in heaven with Jeri - put that on your calendar.
Kelsey: I look forward to it and can't wait to curl up with a good book on a cozy retreat in Paradise!
What advice or words of wisdom do you have for other women?
Find and know your worth in Jesus! Not anything else! Not in a man/ boy, not in your size, not in money, not in worldly success. No! Those things are temporary, and Jesus is eternal and loves you more than anyone ever will! And the world will try to define you with other things. Stand firm, know deeply who you are and whose you are!
𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾, Jeri, for being vulnerable and sharing pieces of your God-given story and for giving Him the glory. I appreciate your words of wisdom, and I look forward to the day when we get to spend eternity in Heaven together, reading books in our cozy little nooks and reminiscing on all the nights we survived at youth group!
As I was praying through a verse to give to you, this is what I felt the Lord bring to me:
𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝒾𝑔𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒. 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀𝓈, 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝓇𝓊𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒽𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓊𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓁𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈.
I hope you know how strong of a woman and mother you are. I am blessed to call you one of my good friends and a prayer warrior of mine.
Join me in a prayer for Jeri!
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the woman you have created Jeri to be and her kind heart, Lord. I know you have clothed and chosen her to be a woman of strength, to be fearless, and to have a heart filled with your wisdom. Lord, may you give her the strength she needs to get through the things you place in her path that will build her faith. Lord, may she be a light wherever she goes, may people look to her as someone who is different, and set a part so that when they see her, they see You and want her faith as well. Lord, I thank you for our friendship and how you placed her in my life at the perfect time. Lord, give her strength and faith that abounds anything this world could ever give her. May you continue to empower the fire in her heart for you and her desire to serve you. Lord, may she know deep in her heart how much you love and care for her and have created her to be the amazing mother and woman that she is. Protect her and her family in the weeks to come as she has stepped out and has been a witness for your glory, Lord.
In your Holy and Precious name, I pray, Amen.
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