this is a holy moment.

some days are good days. and some days are hard days.

some days are filled with sunshine and some days are cloudy.

some days its easy to be joy-filled. and some days its easy to allow hard circumstances to dictate how we feel.

the past week has been hard.

hard because sometimes I allow my expectations to become the focus and I don't allow room in my heart for grace when things don't go how I want.

God is teaching my heart a lot about this. about grace. about His grace towards me and how He is calling me to extend it to others.

there is grace and for that I am thankful. His gentle faithfulness and love is always with me.

 but that doesn't mean He keeps me there - in the mix between unmet expectations and frustrations. He gently speaks grace into my heart and reminds me that He is with me in every moment.


like I said, this past week was hard. there was a lot of little joy-moments but I allowed myself to stay focused on the ugly and the crying and unmet expectations |because, you know, the enemy knows our weakness|

in the midst of this time of heart-struggling, during a moment of quiet and diving deep into His Word, God reminded my heart that this, this moment right now, is a holy moment. He called me to fall to my knees in worship, and I did. I fell down and cried and allowed my heart to worship Him for His grace.

throughout that day, He reminded me of that moment. that holy moment.


at the park, pushing my dear sweet girls on the swings - this is a holy moment.

spending mornings and learning in the preschool - this is a holy moment.

in the cafeteria, eating in community and conversing about the day - this is a holy moment.

sitting and watching the sky be painted by a creative God - this is a holy moment.

adventuring to an ice cream shop with friends - this is a holy moment.

having a tea party for all the moms here at the base - this is a holy moment.

eating cake with my roommates on the floor at 11pm - this is a holy moment.


covering our faces with stickers and making silly faces - this is a holy moment.

building a house for a dear family - this is a holy moment.

|all the painting, all the laughter, all the dancing, all the conversations, all the building, all the work - all holy|

everything. all things. the in-between. the mundane. the adventurous. the crying. the discouragement. the unmet expectations. the joy. the sorrows.

He is here. He is with you. Worship Him.

it's easy to say all this, while I sit, facing the Pacific Ocean, watching the sunset, that this is a holy moment. God is here. He is with me. He is good. and He is here.

but do I really believe this?

when days are hard - this is a holy moment.

when expectations aren't met - this is a holy moment.

when days are filled with more crying than smiles - this is a holy moment.

because the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, God, our infinite, all-powerful and personal God, is with us all the time. in every moment. He is here.

and He calls us to worship Him.

This is a Holy Moment.

it doesn't meant that all of life will be easy. nor does it mean that we forget about all the hard or the bad or the frustrations and pretend they don't exists. it means we set our hearts and minds on what is important. and so we join Paul in saying "yes, and I will rejoice." |philippians 1:18|

God has drawing my heart back to Paul's letter to the philippians. and I have been reading it over, and over, and over. so much there for my heart to be reminded of.

|I'd encourage you to go and read the whole letter and allow yourself to be challenged by Paul's exhortation and let the promises encourage your heart|

"rejoice in the Lord, always: again I will say, rejoice! Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." |4:4-7| 

"oh Father, help my heart believe and remember that you are with me throughout the whole day. that you have called me to worship you in the good times and the bad. that all my life is a holy moment. that I always am in your Presence because you are always with me. this. right now. is a holy moment. open my eyes and help me stay my focus on you no matter what comes my way."

this is a holy moment.

open your eyes, receive His love for you and fall down in worship.

who we're becoming.

 a lot has happened in the past week. a lot of ministry. a lot of adventuring. a lot of tacos. a lot of dancing. a lot of laughter. a lot of heartache. a lot of learning. a lot of growing. a lot of struggle. a lot of forgiveness and grace. a lot of remembering to trust and rest in the promises of God.

God has been reminding me that everything that happens is a part of His plan for our lives. All that happens is to teach us, to grow us, to stretch us and to mold us into the individual He created us to be.

it's easy for me to have the mindset, especially during a season of focused ministry, like I'm a part of here on this YWAM base, that I should blog each week what God is teaching me that week. but there's something wrong with that statement. that statement makes it sound like God is only teaching me 1 lesson a week.

in reality, He is teaching me many lessons each day!

so this blog post is going to walk through many of the lessons I have been learning this past week, along with just some fun stories and pictures!


the other day, some friends and I adventured to an area down the road that has some beautiful cliffs dropping off into the ocean. we bundled up, because, believe it or not, it gets cold here, and sat and watched the sunset. sadly, it was pretty cloudy, but we still enjoyed beautiful fellowship. we chatted about what God has been teaching us and how we can be praying for each other.

I shared how God is teaching me to move on from my past and how to learn the lessons He has taught me and allow Him to lead me into new places with Him.

my friend, Dorothee, shared that God encouraged her one time to thank Him for her past. she shared that God told her to look and see what He had taught her through it and to give thanks. even in and through struggle and hardship, God is teaching. He is using it all to draw you closer to Himself.

thank Him for struggles because He has a plan to use it for good.


the next day was Friday, the day I have the opportunity to sit in the dts classroom. the teaching was on hearing the voice of God. and we practiced listening. the teacher encouraged us to take 30 minutes and examine our hearts, pray to God to speak to us and write down what He said in a letter form, starting with the words "dear jod..."

with God's help and the Holy Spirit inside me I wrote a letter from God to myself. here's some of it, not to boast or seek honor or glory for myself, but maybe to encourage your heart to believe what my heart needed to hear that day:

"dear Jodi,
...I am here for you because I created you and i love you. abide in me. rest in my love. and move on. look. see what I have done in your life. I was there at your birth. I was there through every moment. I planned every moment.
look. see what I taught you. see how I protected you. see? oh, how I love you. and all the heartache was to grow you. I know it was and is still hard but see how I have used it in your life?
I know you. I love you. trust me. I am faithful and true. I will never fail you. I will never leave you.
I led you here. trust me.
I am holding you close,
your Father"

this letter encouraged my heart. God is leading me. through every day and in every moment. He is faithful. and He has a plan for me.

then it was off to the beach!

it was the weekend and so we packed up 2 mini vans with 18 people and drove to the beach at Ensenada. it was a beautiful day of fellowship, laughter, tacos, mangos and surfing (for those brave enough to get in the cold water ;)

thank you God for sunny days and dear friends and the beach!

this weekend was dia de los ninos - or kids day! it was celebrated at church on sunday and on monday our dts group went to a local village and held a kids day for the children there.  this was a fun day of bonding with, working with, laughing with and serving with the other dts students. together we blew up balloons, filled piñatas and walked around the village and invited kids. when the kids showed up, along with their parents, we played games such as musical chairs, jumprope and other games that I learned while we were playing them, hah!

it was beautiful to see the dts students serving and blessing others each in their own individual ways, especially the family that I nanny for. at one point during this night, I looked around and saw both of the parents chatting, in english, with one of the local dads. even though this family might not be as involved with the food assembly line that we created to get everyone fed that night, they were able to use their gifts of loving on people and share their hearts with this dear man and listen to his story.

Praise God for His plan for our lives and placing us in different situations to be used for His glory. He knows best because He knows all.


on tuesday, I celebrated dia de los ninos again but this time in the heart of Tijuana at Zone Kids (the ministry to children in the red light district).

I had been feeling discouraged that day and a lot of me didn't want to go but God strengthened my heart and I went. and He blessed my heart through this dear kids. these dear kids break my heart because of their life situations but they are filled with so much joy and love you can't help but be blessed by spending time with them and playing games with them and pushing them on the swing and popping balloons together.

oh to understand the depths of God's love for these children.

oh to understand the depth of God's love for this world.

oh to understand the depth of God's heart for this world.

and because of His love for this world that He has created, He has a plan for this world. He has a plan for my life in this world to share His love for this world.

and through that process, He is drawing my heart closer to His heart.

oh what a mystery.

Wednesday and Thursday were hard days because the family got sick. but even though they were hard because they were different and different days are hard to walk and work through as a child when all things are different, God taught my heart a lot.

I sat in the classroom on Wednesday because nanny-jodi wasn't needed. that's when God reminded me about His heart and His plan. the speaker spoke about God's plan and His will and how we can know what it is. and maybe, just maybe God's will is more about who He wants us to be than what we actually do.

are you becoming the person He has created you to be?

"it's not about what we're doing. it's about who we are becoming in the process." - mark batterson.

you are His masterpiece.

your life is not an accident. do you believe this? He has a plan.

He has a plan. through whatever you are walking through, He has a plan for you.

and the plan that He has for you is good. He is using your life experiences to shape you into the person He desires you to be.

who are you becoming?