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| jessica
kauffman Describe your spiritual journey so far. My husband has often referred to me as a wildflower-I can’t be contained in a nice little flower-pot or in a perfectly manicured garden. When I first became a Christian, I was on fire, running around pretty recklessly proclaiming that God had worked a miracle in my life, that he was real and that I was so happy to be a Christian, and I still am. But as time went on, I asked, wondered more and discovered more, what this “Christian” life is about. Did God want me to be that wildflower, or should I be “planted”. It was confusing. In 2005, God gave me a vision of a little wild, plant that should be growing tall and strong, but wasn’t. It wasn’t getting enough water or the right kind of nutrition. Was this vision from God or a concoction in my own mind? The next morning, I opened up the bible to read Psalm 1 about a righteous man being compared to a tree. I knew this message was for me. I knew that whatever my circumstance, God wanted me to delight and meditate on his law. Since then, slowly (probably because I am pretty stubborn) I have seen God use our lives in the coolest ways. Nothing grand or extravagant has happened to us, sometimes even “bad” stuff, but I see God in it. My soul is being nourished. I am growing, as a “tree planted by streams of water”. What was one of the must crucial points along the way? There have been so many already, it’s hard to say. I became a Christian in 2001. But one of the most crucial points happened when I visited my best friend’s church in California. I have never since experienced such a group of people that were so obviously spirit filled (and I’m not talking about the falling-on-the-floor, speaking-in tongues-spirit-filled). These people were really in love with God and it was so evident you couldn’t help but feel the presence of God amongst us. From that time on, I have craved to really love God and to know him. How has Sojourn changed your idea of what church is? To be honest with you Sojourn hasn’t really changed my idea of what church is. I have always thought that church could be so much more than we give it a chance to be. I’ve always thought that church ends up so ritualistic or religious that we loose the chance for the freedom of the spirit to work in all the awesome ways that God can. I think Sojourn tries to take the chains off too. Yea! If you could do one biblical miracle what would it be? One biblical miracle: rain down 3 feet of quail on a bunch of complaining undeserving God-followers, followed by a plague or on a nicer note, strike the rock at Horeb for water. What is your favorite word? Well, I don’t really have a favorite word, but anybody who knows me well, knows that I like to create my own words-unknowingly, I should mention. My mother, Peggy, does the same thing and it is so prominent that her friends made her “A book of Peggiesms” which were a collection of all the weird things she says. An example? Well, just the other night I was talking about a trestle when I meant to say trellis. Describe your ideal weekend (hobbies, favorite season/place…) A favorite weekend would probably occur on a crisp fall day after a stormy night. It’s just cold enough for a big, warm sweeter, and our noses and cheeks to get red, but sunny with blue skies and puffy white clouds. We would start off the day by sleeping in, lazily getting around and then going apple picking somewhere with my crazy pooch, Cosmo, tagging along. Then we could go for a hike somewhere in the woods where the amazing colors surround us- some leaves still on the trees and some covering the ground. We could finish off the day with a pot-roast at home and a perfectly baked deep-dish apple pie and a romantic movie. Yes, that is lovely. |
 quick study Fries or Rice? Fries, but preferably from Holland. There called patat fries and they are served with this wonderful mayonnaise or peanut sauce. Even though it is over ten years ago since I lived there, I still dream about eating them-literally! Did Mr. Rodgers freak you out? Mr. Rodgers freaked me out so much that I still get a little squeamish when I see someone in a cardigan. What is your favorite sound? A trickling brook in a quiet forest. How many points do you have against your license? Actually, at this point none. But I will never live down my reputation. Before I was 18, I had so many points, mostly due to my lead foot, that no insurance company in New York State would insure me. And guess what my senior superlative was?... “Craziest Driver” If you were lying in a ditch on the side of the road and you had one last song to sing what would it be? "In the Garden" |
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