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LET’S BEGIN!!! Surely with Jesus or even Paul, God will answer and take away the pain, right? References: [1]Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: 2 Corinthians(Great Britain: SPCK Publishing, 2003), 160. [2]Moyer V. Hubbard, 2 Corinthians, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2017), 379. [3]Ibid. [4]Wright, Paul for Everyone: 2 Corinthians, 160. […]
Hi friend! I’m going to try a new thing for this month. I want to do a Bible series every Wednesday for the month February. I am very very excited about this. If you’re not a Bible-lover like me, I hope you will still stick around and be open to be encouraged by it. A […]
Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” I used to think Heaven would be boring. When I read the Bible, it says we would worship God forever. My 14-year old self was not excited about that. (haha!) Well, […]
Ready? Here we go. On the 4th of November, 2019, I finally launched my online course on Plant-based lifestyle I call “HOW 2BPB” (which simply means “How to be Plantbased”) Yes, me! I launched a course online! What? I think I am the most surprised of us all. If you asked me 5 months ago […]
Hey there! If you’ve been a reader of my blog for years and years, thank you for sticking with me. If you’re new, welcome! My blog has changed so much throughout the years. I started in 2011, writing and reviewing books until 2014. In 2015, I moved to Sydney, Australia and mostly wrote about my […]
Relationship Reconciliation Advice #1 Firstly, I’ve decided to write this article/post not because I’m an expert when it comes to these type of things. I’m only 27 years old, not old enough to be a grandparent yet… because you know, our grandparents know a lot and have experienced a lot in life to be considered […]
Learning a new language is not easy. At all. I don’t know what I was thinking three months ago when I decided it is a good idea to learn a dead language. Yes, I’m learning a dead language. Koine greek. My precise reason was ‘to learn to translate the New Testament of the Bible’, by […]
The following are my thoughts from a month ago… July 15, 2017. I’ve been so sick this week (physically) and lonely (emotionally) and am overcome by this utter sense of unfinished unsettling feeling… I couldn’t pinpoint what is it. Have you ever experienced this? It’s like being hit by an arrow but you don’t […]
Hello guys! . So, I have to be honest. I haven’t been in the book world for a loooong long time. I mean, I do try to keep up every now through youtube, and through following my fave authors on social media. But that’s it. Better than nothing right? . ANYWAY… this post is about […]
What did I think of this book? I think this is the most emotional, honest and heartbreaking book Colleen Hoover has ever written yet. There’s too much emotion I could feel at the same time: fear, elation, hope, expectancy, sadness, empathy… that I did not even cry a single tear. And I always […]

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Be PART of the SOLUTION

I looked around me and saw the destruction darkness has left in its wake. I heard the cries of desperation.
I prayed to Jesus that I want to be a part of the SOLUTION, and that’s what He did. He invited us to partner with Him to be part of the SOLUTION He has been enacting since before the creation of the world. Jesus coming down to earth and dying for us and resurrecting- that was just a part of it! (A HUGE part!) He is still working on the solution, but also, He assures us that we already have won, and victory is His! How great is that? We fight with the winning team! It’s like entering a sports competition and choosing to be part of the winning team. A team that we know will win not just because the team has already won in the past, but we do know for sure we will win. Not hope to win again, but no! It’s like stepping in the future and seeing that yes, in fact we won. That’s the same for us!
Now, Jesus has mandated us the Church to be part of the solution to the problem of sin. Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you saying Jenna? That Jesus didn’t solve that yet? Well, if you see stealing, death, poverty, cheating, murder, war, sickness all around you, then the problem of sin is still here.
Yes, the blood of Jesus has cleansed our hearts. But the reality is, it’s still not over yet! He promises victory is His, but at the moment, we are still living in this sinful world. Jesus has commanded His Church to be part of the solution! Can you believe that? We get to partner with Jesus! Now, the question is HOW?
We can view it in 2 parts- what we speak, and what we do. Speak His language, His Word, His message of the Gospel. Do the Gospel. Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Love your parents, your sister/brother even when they’re annoying, forgive your friend, share your food, help the poor, feed the hungry, pray for the sick, there’s so much work to be done!
WHOA. That’s a LOT of work. Well yeah, who said being part of the SOLUTION is easy? Ha! BUT God didn’t leave us alone to do it. Before Jesus went back to Heaven (so He can work with us from beside the Father), He told the disciples that He will send the Holy Spirit, and they have to wait there in Jerusalem before going to the ends of the world as He told them to do. AND THANK GOD, for the HOLY SPIRIT. We won’t be able to accomplish Jesus’ work without the Holy Spirit.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God. I pray that as you continue (or start) to be part of the solution, may His Spirit in you empower you and strengthen you to share His light for the world.
Here are verses to help you dig deeper, sister!
The Great Commission- Matthew 28:19-20
Victory verses
1 John 5:4
Deuteronomy 20:4
John 16:33
Proverbs 21:31
Kingdom verses
Isaiah 52:7
Matthew 5
John 3:5

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KNEELING DOWN>

“The minute you willingly lowered yourself for someone else, they would never, ever look at you the same way.”
I read that line from a novel I was reading. It was not a life-changing type of book, it was a passing time kind of romance novel. Yet, however, my God still speaks to me through it. He knows me so well.
The thought of kneeling down before someone else has never occurred to my young mind in my early years as a Christian. However, the past two years, it’s been a lesson my God, my King, has been teaching me. Kneeling down is a universally non-verbal communication of humbling yourself, reaping off any sort of pride. And I have only done it for The One. Even getting accustomed to doing it as a gesture during worship and prayer has been a process.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10
It is easier to do in private than in public. I find that the more you do it in private, in those quiet private intimate moments between you and your God, the more you incorporate it in your system. That yes, before Him you bow down in worship and utter surrender.
When it comes to worship in the church setting, when brought to compelling moments of surrender, I find kneeling is a non-issue. Because it is between you and your God, the rest melt into a fade.
It is such a wonderful experience to behold the King in all His splendor. Nothing can truly compare. Before Him, you understand. You truly understand nothing else matters. It is HIM. It’s been HIM all along. It is perhaps something one can only say when you’ve experienced Him. I understand if you don’t see the big deal of the gesture of the moment, you will once you have encountered His presence. There’s no turning back.

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Holy, Holy, Holy…

Isaiah 6:3
And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
I used to think Heaven would be boring. When I read the Bible, it says we would worship God forever. My 14-year old self was not excited about that. (haha!)
Well, I’ve never been to heaven, for starters. But I’ve tasted Heaven and it’s not boring at all.
The more I get to know God, the more in awe of Him I am. It was not until the past year that God allowed me and brought me to a place of understanding how worshipping Him forever will not be boring at all.
Now I understand why God described Himself as “I AM”. And we say “HE IS”. And we also say bits like “BECAUSE GOD. (PERIOD)”. Because HE just IS. He is Uncreated, He is the OG, He is.
A lot of times our opinions are based on our perspectives. The more limited and narrow it is, the more limited and narrow our perspective in life is. My view and understanding of heaven and worshipping God were limited to my 14-year old mindset. Now having experienced what I’ve experienced in my 28 years, and God showing more of Him to me in the recent years have painted my ecstatic excitement for what is to come.
I have come to a place in my relationship with God that whenever I think of Him, and start talking about Jesus, I cry. If you don’t see me crying on the outside, believe me, I am crying on the inside. Why? Because He is so amazing and wonderful and so good and as I write this believe me I am crying. Again, our perspective of God is shaped of our understanding and belief and trust in Him. If you believe Him to be good, then you believe He will never let you down, vice versa.
Let me end this little bit of thought with this last thought. It is my hope and prayer that you won’t let what you have or you don’t have hinder you from getting to know the Creator King.

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Frustrating Faith

One of the unhealthiest things in our faith is when you process your thoughts and doubts about God publicly. I think there is something valuable in speaking our thoughts with people we trust who can listen to us without judgment. And allow them to speak over us with love and truth. Grace and truth. Grace and truth.
.
So many people think God is a distant entity, or when they just don’t understand or don’t get any answer, then God does not exist. The truth is, God exists whether or not you believe in Him. If I don’t believe in God, then life is meaningless and there is no point of reference for anything. If I believe in God, then I am also seen as crazy. Ha! There is no meeting in the middle. One of the most infamous arguments of atheists is “if God is real, and loving and forgiving, how can He allow deaths and suffering?”. I think, no matter how profound of an answer you give a closed, numbed, unwilling heart, nothing comes thru. My answer might not be enough for them, and your answer might not be enough for them. That someone can keep arguing with you but you will probably never arrive at an answer. The simplest of faith trumps the greatest of mind. This is why I am so glad I still believe in God after studying Theology for four and a half years. (One and a half of them being pure academic studies). You go through all the motions and asking all these questions about God and your existence, and the world’s existence and why we do this or that. At the end of the day, I can simply choose to trust God or not believe in any of this. I have learned to be okay with not knowing any of the answers. In my heart of hearts, I resonate with the Truth. I have learned how to hold the tension of His love and His justice, of walking in revelation or in complete blindness. I have crawled in the mud of despair and worshipped at the top of the mountain. At the end of it all, you can only choose, and the choice will always be yours. I pray that you choose well.
Choose Him.

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faith thoughts

Dating apps has been a subject of talk around my peers in the past months (when you’re in your 20’s/30’s amIright?! Lol), then I realized something… A friend was sharing of a friend who’s been dating a lot for the past three or so years through dating apps, and she still hasn’t found anyone to […]
There was a shift in me when I truly and finally realized that my life will never ever be stable, from the world’s perspective anyway. And I cry as I write this, it’s beautiful. When I said YES to my Jesus, it wasn’t a YES to a stable perfect human life, where everything is sunshine […]
Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” I used to think Heaven would be boring. When I read the Bible, it says we would worship God forever. My 14-year old self was not excited about that. (haha!) Well, […]
“The minute you willingly lowered yourself for someone else, they would never, ever look at you the same way.” I read that line from a novel I was reading. It was not a life-changing type of book, it was a passing time kind of romance novel. Yet, however, my God still speaks to me through […]
One of the unhealthiest things in our faith is when you process your thoughts and doubts about God publicly. I think there is something valuable in speaking our thoughts with people we trust who can listen to us without judgment. And allow them to speak over us with love and truth. Grace and truth. Grace […]
I looked around me and saw the destruction darkness has left in its wake. I heard the cries of desperation. I prayed to Jesus that I want to be a part of the SOLUTION, and that’s what He did. He invited us to partner with Him to be part of the SOLUTION He has been […]
Ready? Here we go. On the 4th of November, 2019, I finally launched my online course on Plant-based lifestyle I call “HOW 2BPB” (which simply means “How to be Plantbased”) Yes, me! I launched a course online! What? I think I am the most surprised of us all. If you asked me 5 months ago […]
Last Wednesday, I shared an “Unforced rhythm of Grace” post. It didn’t quite cover everything, so here’s part 2 of that post. Have you ever prepared for something and it never happens? (ha!) I remember growing up, my Dad would always prank us by telling us to get ready to go to the mall. […]
Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy […]
Romans 8:37 (NIV) “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Back in the glory days of Rome, a “Roman triumph” was a parade of celebration by the victorious military commander. Let’s bring that concept into this verse and picture this: You drive into the city, head held high […]

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LESS is MORE

Hi guys. If anyone is actually out there reading my blogs, hello to you!
The beginning of this year has been challenging in so many ways already. In my quiet times with the Lord, I have come to realize one life defining revelation. For the sake of personal reasons, I will not share that revelation at the moment, but I will at the end of the year.
I will share one thing that is a result of that revelation. Few weeks ago, I decided ‘NO SHOPPING for clothes and makeup’ for myself this year. I know it sounds like a ‘first world country’ problem, and personally, I can’t believe I’ve arrived at this moment where that is needed? I put a question mark because I don’t really consider myself too much of a materialistic girl. HAHA. Yes, I do buy occasional clothes, but very seldom in a year. The past 4 years though, I’ve bought so much makeup for a regular ‘one makeup bag’ girl. In my defense, it is not as huge as those you see from fashion bloggers or beauty gurus on Youtube.
BUT anyway, this doesn’t have anything to do with them (in a way yeah, but not yet). This is about me ultimately finding that ultimate control not to spend money on something that doesn’t even matter. I have clothes, tons of them, and I don’t need more, unless they’re all broken or worn out. I have bags, tons of them, and I surely don’t need more than I have, I surely don’t need branded luxury ones (though they are really high quality). I have makeup, oh so many of them. 10 or so kinds of foundation, 10 or so eyeshadow palettes (I really love them!), 10+ lipsticks, few for every color, I can go on and on. The point is, I wouldn’t finish them all in a year and so why do I find myself buying a new different one almost every month? Society and our environment really does affect ones daily decisions, and I want to be different.
Since that day I took on the challenge, I began to watch more videos and read more on Minimalism. I didn’t realize until later that my reasons were quite related to that of the gist of minimalism. I don’t quite know much yet about that and I don’t want to label myself as a minimalist, because I am not. (not yet anyway). But I get the principle, and I am inspired to do better.
So this year, instead of spending stuff on myself (particularly clothes & makeup; I still haven’t quite decided what about if I buy gifts for others, but I am still convincing myself that’s included, we’ll see, lol), I will put aside that money to save, or invest on sponsoring someone else who may need it. (example, on more child for Compassion, World Vision, Mission Australia, etc.) One dollar can help another person so much. I can go on and on about that, but I’ll leave it for another blog post.
I will try to blog my journey, more so to keep myself accountable (to myself lol). It’s been okay so far, and I’ve held off buying unnecessary items like this organizer tray I found earlier at Muji store. ha! I’m reading and watching a lot of minimalism tips that are actually helping me navigate this season. I’ve decluttered so much makeup and clothes too, so they can go to people who will use them more than me.
I have come across this thing called “project pan” in the makeup world, where makeup lovers are challenging themselves to finish off certain amount of makeup items at a certain time. I might embark on that as well. We’ll see.
Anyway, if you’ve reached this point of the post, thank you! I have something to give to you, I have books, LOTS of them. Email me at jenna@coffeebooksandme and I can send you a picture of what books I have and if you like any, I’ll send it to you for free. You’re welcome!
’til next post. bye!

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The Light Shines in the Darkness…

The following are my thoughts from a month ago…
July 15, 2017.
I’ve been so sick this week (physically) and lonely (emotionally) and am overcome by this utter sense of unfinished unsettling feeling… I couldn’t pinpoint what is it. Have you ever experienced this? It’s like being hit by an arrow but you don’t know where it exactly hit you but you feel it sicken and numb and you feel decay starting to proliferate to every cell in your body…? Because that’s what I felt. So weird.
It was physical at first, I’ve never been this sick since 2008. Then it became emotional. I thought I was just PMS-ing. But not the time of the month yet, I just had it. Then it became spiritual. In the end, I was just frustrated with myself because I. don’t. understand. And I’m being very melodramatic.
I am an optimistic person that’s why this feeling didn’t make sense. I tried to fight over the darkness that was slowly swallowing me alive. It didn’t belong here. But everything I know. Who I am. What I am. I am a daughter of the Most High King. It doesn’t seem to matter. The darkness doesn’t care. It just seeks to steal, kill, destroy everything standing in it’s way. It was a battle I was trying to win, but every weapon I was forging immediately disappears as soon as I conjure it.
So I was there, at home, lying in my own misery and depression. I read the Bible. Flipped through different social media or internet websites that I rely almost on the daily basis to distract me from reality. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Netflix. Youtube. I even opened Pinterest. Nothing worked. Ugh. seriously.
Later, I got myself into watching a TV series I loved and haven’t seen in a while. (a year or so) It’s funny how God used that TV show to speak to me. Really really ridiculous… yet sooo very like God. One of the characters recited a phrase I thought was a poem. Almost as soon as he started saying the words, imagine me slowly perking up from my lazy position on the couch, life coming back to my eyes as I digested to what he said.
“The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
I remembered. Not in my mind. But my heart, my soul, my spirit– my whole being remembered. My “WHY”. I didn’t forget it, heck I was speaking it over myself the past days but it wasn’t getting inside. Until now. Until this character said it.
I could cry.
I actually did cry. Ha! Finally, I was free! I know in the deepest part of me I was not bound. I’m free already.
But it was almost as if God allowed me to experience those grief, the darkness,.. to remind me what the rest of the world is experiencing, and my mission here is not finished yet. I have more things to do. WE have a lot to do. We know WHO wins in the end, but for NOW, this is not over yet.

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After time.

If you asked me 4 years ago if I can imagine myself having a close relationship with my mom again, I would have sternly answered you a “NO, not really.” (long story behind this)
But GOD is a GOD of miracles and restoration. He truly makes impossible things possible. Not even a year later, we were talking again. Every year since then I planned to make a post about how God’s restorative hands has healed this part of our family, but I still felt a “not yet” answer.
This time however was different. We are not completely “there yet” but my relationship with my mother has never reached this deep. We not merely talk about random girly topics, but we talk about Jesus and His Kingdom, how we can help more people and strategize for the Church.
I have to pinch myself everytime we have conversations like this. It’s unreal to me still!
I guess once you’ve hit that level of ‘I can’t keep doing this Lord!’ and yet choose to repeatedly having to choose to love and forgive someone who constantly makes choices that hurt me and this family. Until forgiving becomes easier and loving becomes you. Once you’ve gone past that, a deeper revelation and understanding of God’s love and forgiveness takes home in your whole being- mind, soul, spirit.
And so you grow. And continously pray. And you both grow. With maturity comes wisdom, with time comes healing. Old wounds leave a scar, yes, but it’s possible to be healed. You just have to choose to want it, receive it and embrace it. Cry and let it all out, choose to hate even. But never linger, let it go. Choose to let it go.
Some of you might believe what I say and some won’t, but as I can personally testify, all of these are not possible without the Lord Jesus. His love overwhelms and envelopes me. How He kept me company all the time, constantly encouraging and urging me throughout. To love even when I hate, to forgive even when it hurts, to give even when I completely ran empty.
At the end of the day, the choice is ours. Linger or let it go.

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>>MOVING FORWARD >>

lovely picture isn’t it? Seriously Australia’s sky view is always so amazing. this was taken in Kiama, NSW, Australia (an hour away from Sydney)
…………………Hey guys! It’s Jenna here again! I woke up this morning just feeling so grateful to God about where I am today. For those of you who don’t know, (well, I’m not entirely sure if I’ve shared this part of my life on my blog) my Dad passed away 5 years ago, and after that loss came a series of loss after loss. Financial, business, my Mom (she’s alive! But it’s a whole lot of story of craziness), failures in my dreams (career,etc) everything I could possibly just hold on to life. Add some life threatening life threats and haters on the side. Dang! That was like three years of nonstop live action! (I laugh about it now but..) One thing remained, and it’s God.
…………………Despite all the trust issues all those things have created in my life, I have chosen to MOVE FORWARD with my life. Yes, my past cannot be changed. All those things did happen, and I’ve learned to accept them. But the FUTURE is still ahead. The PRESENT is here. I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. The best is yet to come. Rivers of living water are gonna flow. Blessings have followed and will follow me all the days of my life.
…………………It’s honestly a lot of CHANGING MINDSETS. Choosing to remain positive everyday, and to hold on to HOPE that I profess that God is real, and He is in control, and though bad things might not go away, but HE will pull me through.
…………………For anyone out there stumbling upon this post and you’re still reading it up to this point. This is not an accident why you’re here. (Technically and physically in the world!) If you’re feeling down and troubled and have lost all hope. It’s not all lost! “But Jenna, you don’t understand…I’ve lost everything..I’ve failed, I’ve been abused.. I’ve been….” You’re right, I will never understand fully what you might be feeling now. But I do know that from HERE ON forward, the CHOICE is yours. Do you want to keep on looking back at your past? And let it DEFINE who YOU ARE now? Or are you choosing to MOVE FORWARD and be VICTORS over your ruined past and CREATE new and amazing and beautiful and wonderful and positive memories that will create a fresh new LEGACY for you and your offsprings in the future?
…………………I believe YOU can. and YOU will. For God is with you, and He is for you and not against you. I will be praying for you my dear friend. You are not alone. Remember that.
xoxo
Jenna

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