About the Author

Jennifer is an artist living in rural Nebraska with her US Army veteran husband. She loves to create and seeks to reflect the beauty of Christ and encourage others in meaningful, beautiful ways. You can find her and see more of her art on Studio JRU.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Such a brilliant reminder! I’ll be saving this piece to read whenever I feel that pull to compare xxx

  2. Comparing myself to others, thy name is Satan. God using ordinary me in His plan, thy name is underserved redemption. Yeah, God wins!!!! Thanks for this reminder of who we really are & whose we really are! Blessings upon blessings to you!

  3. Thank you for your spirited words and a reminder to follow God first in.my ordinary ways and not what “everyone” else may or may not be doing.

  4. great great great – love to read your writing – always hits a note in my heart – thank YOU!!

  5. This was a message directly from God through you to the deepest part of my heart! Thank you for letting Him use you!

  6. I keep telling myself that anyone who can work at an elementary school isn’t ordinary. Sometimes little kids get me down and I feel like I’m not helping.

    • We all need to read and reread this!

      Kimmieg my dear sister in Christ,

      I KNOW you are extraordinary! I remember teaches and principals and the whole staff being some ‘stars’ in my life. If you are helping one child along you are special, so very special.

      I’m 66 now and still think I’m 30 lol!!! I have some amazing people to thank when my feet (and here, right now) hit Heaven!

      BELIEVE!!!

      Love,

      Sally <3

    • He is doing extraordinary work through you, Kimmieg! Some of which you can see and much of which you can not see. But always know He is working through you. You are making such a difference!

    • Kimmieg,

      Nothing done in the name of Christ is seen as ordinary in the eyes of God. He can & will use everything you do. They changed my unit at work (hospital was ICU step down clerical) to a Covid unit. Most days there isn’t much to do. But I can clean the whole area, stock gown, gloves & bags, help answer the phone, restock supplies-you know the little things. While I was doing that yesterday one RN said thank you. It meant a lot for her not to have to go get bags or other items. We may never see the results of much of our work–God does & He will reward you. Don’t feel down & less than. You are helping greatly. Teachers, & other staff couldn’t do their jobs without your assistance.

      Blessings 🙂

  7. I love the awesome simplicity of this. We just need to say yes. I complicate this so much. I needed your reminder thank you

  8. Jennifer, your words were right on target. Thank you for sharing what many of us feel, but are unable to express. You are a blessing!

  9. Beautiful words! I really needed to hear that. And yes it it very hard to stop the comparisons and I guess we just need to work on our hearts and believe we are just enough just the way we are.

  10. Hi Jennifer,
    Great reminder to be ourselves and not play the comparison game! This time of year we can feel so uncreative when seeing our friends homes or leafing through a decorating magazine. But at times these can be overdone, and very expensive. Sometimes less is more and spending time with family and friends making wonderful memories is the best way to avoid those comparisons.

    Praying that all women around the world feel they are extraordinary this holiday season!

    Shalom, Sandy

  11. Sometimes that narrow road of love can be lonely because we live in the world. I have been doing a project called http://www.extremechristmasmakeover.com and have always “wanted” the “church” to make it a priority, to give unconditionally, but that is not the reality. Jesus’ followers are remnants and God will be faithful, no matter how the road feels, we are together sharing in His incomprehensible love. We say “Yes” to the God-sized assignments, things we cannot do without Him. We will always face a crisis of belief when we say “Yes”. What we decide to do after that, says everything about what we believe about Him. Together, we can walk with Him on that narrow road of love, Catherine

  12. Jennifer,

    Thank you for this Godly wisdom. It is much needed. We tend to compare ourselves & feel woefully inadequate. Add to that society applauds those with big platforms, lots of followers or those who visibly do good. But God has an up side down theology. He values even the smallest of gifts. Nothing done in His name is forgotten. Remember the widow that put in 2 small copper coins? Jesus said that she put in more than any other person. God sees our seemingly small gifts/acts of service done willingly. Use the talents God has blessed you with & He will generously bless you.

    My dad was living in assisted living. I was visiting at lunch. We were in the middle with two men on either side. Dad has tremors & it was hard for him to feed himself. I asked if he wanted me to feed him & he shook his head yes. As I was doing this the man on the right said “you will get stars in your crown for this”. At that point I knew I was doing God’s will & where He wanted me. You see every small gift or act of kindness will be rewarded by God.

    Blessings 🙂