Please keep Jennifer in prayer, she is hard at work on her new book. In the midst of it all, she selected this column from our archive to share with you this week. We know that it will encourage and bless you in this new year!

In 1991 I was invited to sing the National Anthem for a Braves/Dodgers baseball game. Prior to the warm July evening, I had only sung our National Anthem once publicly. That occasion was to open the little league season in West Palm Beach, Florida – lets just say it was a lot less intimidating! Our Anthem is a stirring, wonderful song, but it is not easy to sing!

I was nervous! I rehearsed madly, consumed bottles of Maalox and then it was time to step out on the field.

There was a reverent hush that fell upon the stadium as the players removed their caps. Old Glory flapped in the wind and I began, “Oh, say can you see...” So far, so good. My voice filled the stadium. I could hear it reverberating back to me with every note. But then, something unexpected reverberated throughout the stadium as I continued to sing “...and the rockets red gla--(choke, choke, gag, gag)--are...”

GLOTTAL SHOCK!! Never heard of it? Well, there are 47,000 baseball fans that could tell you exactly what it is! When it happens it renders the singer voiceless. Suffice to say, it’s really embarrassing! Well, I made a quick recovery and finished strongly as I belted out “...and the home of the brave.”

The stadium erupted in applause. I’ve never felt such sweet relief – I was so glad that was over.

As my husband walked me off the field he said ”Way to go honey, way to recover.” When I met up with my folks, my Dad spoke of how proud he was and my Mom echoed her sentiments. As I ran into friends, they were generous with their compliments. But all I could think about was the glottal shock! That one word – glare - was being replayed over and over in my mind, like a broken record. Do you know how many words are in our National Anthem? To save you the singing and counting, I’ll fill you in. There are 82. That means I sang 81 words well.

Unfortunately however, I couldn’t hear the audience applaud. I couldn’t hear my parents’ compliments. The consoling words of my husband and the kind words of friends were drowned out by the one word I focused on. I was humiliated and haunted by my mistake. After a few days I decided to focus on the 81 words I sung well, rather than the one word I choked on!

Most of us sing 81 words well, but we too often focus on the one mistake. That’s not what God does. He’s the Father sitting in the stands who says, “I’m proud of you, honey.” He’s the lover of your soul who says “Way to go, way to recover.” He’s our friend and brother who is kind and generous with His words of encouragement.

He is the one who fashioned and created us. He is the one who reminds us to focus on the finish, not the flaws and failures.

There will be many days when one poorly sung note makes you want to quit singing, but to you my sisters I say, Sing On! Finish the song with strength and confidence - knowing he uses the weak to confound the strong.

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27

... Be part of the Studio Audience

Jennifer would love to have you be part of the studio audience for 2 one-hour programs she is filming for CCN.TV

Filming Date: Tuesday, January 9
1:30-2:30p and 3:00-4:00p
Broadcast Date: To Be Determined
For information: Email kim@ccn.tv

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Scenario 1: You are at an event and someone asks you if you to share your testimony.

Scenario 2: You are in an elevator and are asked if you are a Christian.

Scenario 3: You are on a airplane and the person sitting next to you sees your Bible and wants to know more about why you believe in God.

Bottom Line: Are you prepared to give an answer for the reason of the hope that is in you?

You may have anywhere from two minutes to two hours to share what you believe. How do you tailor your testimony to fit all the possibilities?

The answer: Preparation.

Here is what I recommend that you do: Sit down and write out your entire testimony up to this date. Share specifically how you came to know the Lord, and your journey with Him. Don't rush, take time to get it all down. (If it is any encouragement, it took me almost a week to get it all down.)

Next, make a list of verses, or scripture passages that have had great impact in your life. Take some time to pray over them, and then place them throughout your testimony. (I would recommend putting it all in a word processing program and saving it on a disc as well as your hard drive.)

Congratulations! You now have the "long version" of your testimony. Read through it several times and practice sharing it in your bathroom mirror or while you are driving. Become comfortable with sharing your story.

Once you have the long version, take some time to whittle it down to two smaller versions. I chose to create a two-paragraph version and a shorter 30 second version. For example, my short version is: "I have been a believer and follower of Jesus Christ for 37 years; actively studying His Word and striving to express His Love in my world."

You get the idea!

Now it is assignment time... Write out your testimony as described above, then send me your short version. In Part 2, I will share some of them, and talk a little more about sharing your testimony in a public setting.

In Him... Robyne Beaubien, Editor

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This fun game creates lots of laughter and helps to builds unity within a group.

Objectives: A great mixer, encouraging people to find their opposite.

Materials: Slips of paper or stick-on nametags with opposit items written on them.

Procedure: Fill out slips of paper in sets of opposite items. At the beginning of an event, hand out the slips or nametags and give the women several minutes to find their opposite. You can have them sit together for the event, or spend a few minutes getting to know each other.

Examples: Salt-Pepper, Day-Night, East- West, Light-Dark, Up-Down, Black-White, Fast-Slow, Short-Long, etc.

Results: The best part of this activity is that the participants will talk with many women in the group before they find thier opposite.

Submitted by: Susan Mason of Ridgeley, WV

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