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InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Jenny Rae Armstrong
How Do You Preach the Gospel and Breastfeed? Adventures of a Female Evangelist
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Hold Fast
Release The Ape
Priesthood of All Believers?
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I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I was instilled with a sense of adventure- whether it was exploring the shores of Lake Superior, meeting new people around my parent's dinner table or serving single moms in our city. Faith was lived out in practical ways and church was about who we were rather than a building we went to. As a child of the 1980's My mom loves to regale people with the story of me running up to our neighbor, Mr. Niebel- a suit-clad banker asking "hey Mr. Niebel! Do you know Jesus?" With a somewhat shocked look walking to his front door, he stammered "uh, yes Jessica, I go to church." "Well he's cooler than Michael Jackson!- I just wanted you to know!" And then I skipped off to play kickball with my siblings in our front yard.
That heart and sense of adventure in following Jesus and sharing about him has only grown more fervent over the years, broadening to help you and many, many others live into the evangelawesomeness of what Jesus has for you. I'm glad you stopped by my little corner of the blogosphere- maybe it's because you need to laugh and read a crazy story, feel encouraged in your faith or mobilized to share Jesus. Whatever reason brings you, I'm glad you're here.
I have a book coming out this August with InterVarsity Press called Beautiful Feet: Unleashing Women to Everyday Witness. I've written about my adventures sharing Jesus and trying to live out my faith in a compelling and authentic way. You'll also read stories of women from scripture, history and women today who are trying to make a difference in the world by being bold and loving. Women will change the world through their faith in Jesus- to care for others in profound ways and demonstrate love that breaks down barriers. Hopefully this blog will help you to do that and feel encouraged!
I live in Cleveland, OH with my handsome bearded husband Dave and our two sons, Reuben & Oswald. We could care less about sports in Cleveland and enjoy the foodie, music and outdoor adventures this lovely city has to offer. Thanks for stopping by!'
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Blog
Are you a Facebook Fear Monger?
Have you ever gotten on social media out of boredom and seen something that completely derailed you emotionally? I have a friend who always posts angry rants about people he thinks are stupid, another friend who posts articles about animal abuse, or how kids brains are rotting because of iPads and another friend who makes[…]
Show Some Love
Do you ever get jealous of fictional characters? I find myself envying Zoey Deschenel’s wardrobe in New Girl, and that Wonder Woman can roam around with a lasso of truth in some killer red boots. I also get jealous of real people- random friends on social media I see who seem to be having amazing[…]
Tell Fear to Skedaddle
I’m not entirely sure skedaddle is a real word. But I know fear is real. I know it lurks in the places where we start to think about trying something new, especially when it comes to spirituality. You may be a Christian & feel afraid of taking a step of faith to follow him in an area he’s[…]
3 Steps to Fearlessly Crush your Goals
I have a lot of friends who are in network marketing. For a hot minute I joined up with one of these companies to sell their product which I really liked and used personally. Though I didn’t end up making a career out of selling nail wraps I was blown away by what I learned from[…]
Friendship What Ifs
When it comes to making new friends, what holds you back? Here are a couple things I’ve been learning as I face my friendship fears in a new city. I recently moved to a new city and I am plagued by doubts in building new relationships: What if I reach out and she doesn’t respond?[…]
Fearless Friday: Confession
Can I make a confession to you guys? I’ve been afraid. Afraid of you and what you’ll think of me. I fear that I’m too much or I not enough. Though I just had a book released this past August I’ve been afraid to keep putting myself and my writing out there for fear people will think[…]
To become fearless you need friends
I met Krista for the first time in person when I was bunking up at her expansive lake home in Northern Idaho. A group of writers had bonded together to support rather than compete with one another because we all realize that writing makes us crazy and jealous. Not a good combo when you’re trying[…]
What is the 40 Days of Fearless?
Thinking about joining the 40 Days of Fearless Challenge? Check out our video to answer your questions about what it is and why you should do it.
40 Days of Fearless
Can you imagine if you lived without fear for even one day? What if you gave up fear for Lent? Yes. I realize that probably means you won’t lose any weight like you would if you gave up chocolate or French fries. But don’t you think life could be different if you spent 40 days[…]
13 women go to a cabin in Idaho to meet for the first time
I’m not setting the scene for the latest horror movie or describing a really strange online meet-up site- I’m telling you what I’m going to be doing this weekend. Having just put out a book I feel the pressure to get my stuff out there. To speak. To tweet. To blog. The issue is that I[…]
Why I’m Changing my Name
In a little over a month my book, Beautiful Feet: Unleashing Women to Everyday Witness will be released with InterVarsity Press. Though I’d like to be all like “aw, shucks, no big deal, it’s just something I did on the side,” I’m not really that kind of person. I’m SUPER PSYCHED my book is about[…]
Enough.
I would love someday to wake up and see a Facebook feed where black lives aren’t devalued. Where black kids, teenagers and adults feel safe doing normal things like going to a pool party, walking home from the store or sitting and talking in a hotel lobby. I recently preached at a predominantly black church here in Cleveland-[…]
The Gift of Pain
“Pain is God’s megaphone to us” C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series once said. I love and hate this quote because so much of it depends on the person’s willingness to listen to what is being said through the megaphone. At times I have clamped my hands over my ears, closing my eyes and[…]
The butterfly that messed everything up
A couple years ago I was feeling really sluggish and chalked it up to being a mom of a two year old- when I went in to get a sinus infection treated my doctor drew some blood. Turns out I wasn’t just a tired mom- I had hypothyroidism- an autoimmune condition that affects just about[…]
Small Talk: Learning From My Children About What Matters Most
Reading Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker felt a little like watching someone pan for gold, getting wet and messy in a river, sifting through a lot of rocks, silt and dirt to find the nuggets of gold that can appear unexpectedly. It feels a lot like experiences in mothering- trying, failing, feeling desperate, feeling joyful, worrying[…]
Take your own advice
Have you ever listened to yourself give advice to a friend? Words of encouragement come so easily to us as we guide a friend through a tough situation, help them work through a problem or want to help them succeed in a new venture. You know what’s terrible? Not taking your own advice. It’s so much[…]
Patience is a virtue- and a virtue can’t hurt you
Years ago I heard a preacher say these words: “Patience is a virtue, and a virtue can’t hurt you.” That little rhyming phrase has stuck with me for at least a decade, especially when I’m prone to be impatient about something. And there has been a lot to be impatient about in the last decade of[…]
Overcoming January Defeat
Many of you have probably made resolutions or goals to be more awesome this year. To lose weight and get to the rec center, to read more instead of watching Netflix, to quit smoking or stop biting your nails. It’s also likely that you’re already starting to hear the mean voice of January Defeat. January Defeat[…]
The hap-hap-happiest Christmas!!!! (or not)
There are times I love my kids so much I think that my heart is going to explode. Kissing their round little cheeks, hearing Reuben tell corny knock-knock jokes, having Ozzy wildly cackle when he wins Candy Land. I marvel at the gifts they are to me and how full my life is with them.[…]
Blog Break
I would really love to give you heartfelt, thought provoking and funny content on a daily, or at least weekly basis. But I’m giving all that goodness to something else right now- my book Beautiful Feet: Unleashing Women into Everyday Witness. I’ve been feeling the pressure to be “a real” writer by blogging, submitting articles[…]
Getting “Beyond Awkward” + Giveaway!
It can feel really awkward talking about Jesus. We don’t want to sound forced, come off as one of “those Christians” or break trust with people we care about. So how do we get beyond awkward and get to the point where sharing Jesus feels comfortable, even normal? My buddy Beau has a few ideas[…]
Hold- five minute friday
That moment in a workout where you’ve been doing squats or plank for what seems like forever and then the instructor tells you- “great! now hold it for a minute!” is excruciating. Waiting is difficult- no matter if you’re holding a squat and your quads are burning, your mind spins with worry waiting to hear[…]