Today I want to begin to introduce you to the team of women who design, create, implement, administrate, manage, and advise this blog we call He Speaks In The Silence. These are women who pray, asking God for wisdom, then use their gifts to craft beauty for all of us. And I think you need to know them!
So… for the next many weeks we’ll be posting a fun profile of who they are, what they do, what they love, who they love, how they live and lots more delicious details.
If you want to take a peak at the list of questions we all got to choose from, here it is.
JODI HUGHES
I live in:
NW Portland…Bethany/Oak Hills
How I contribute to the blog by:
Watching over things, my official title is project manager. I get the delightful task of watching our gifted young women show off their amazing talents and skills.
My Myers-Briggs/DISC/love languages are:
I’m a diSC; my love languages are Quality Time and Words of Affirmation; My Myers-Briggs is INTJ, what does that mean…for some fun do a Google search and learn about the 10 Myths About Introverts and famous INTJ’s.
This year God is revealing himself to me as:
Faithful… I’ve known Jesus for 57 years and I’m still learning new ways to appreciate how His love and care and power is trustworthy and always good. I’m still learning that there will always be new things to trust him for; the most current new thing is growing old single. Gaining deeper trust is not always easy, but it’s very good for me.
The person who has had the biggest influence on me is:
My Dad. He’s with Jesus now. Our birthdays are one day apart so we would celebrate them together and we both loved it. My Dad’s love for me taught me about Jesus’ love for me. My Dad taught me to obey because it was right and good for me. And to put Jesus first because it was right and good for me. I was asked to give up cheerleading, friends, and many extracurricular activities because putting Jesus first was right and good for me. My Dad never made harsh demands (though I had no other options). He had a way of telling me that putting Jesus first is a privilege. My Dad, a preacher, lived what he believed and taught. I never ever saw him compromise his walk with Jesus. He never glossed over sin. My divorce broke his heart and he never condoned it, or any of my sins for that matter. He always stood his biblical ground and always forgave. My sins broke my Dad’s heart, just like my sin breaks my heavenly Father’s heart. My Dad still loved me, forgave me, and never turned his back on me, just like Jesus. My Dad taught me about true repentance, He helped convince me of Jesus unfailing love and forgiveness.
Something I love to do every year:
To take my granddaughter, Olivia, to the beach. It’s just me and Olivia and we do lots of fun kid stuff together. We jump waves, build sand castles, collect sea shells, eat pronto pups, ride carousels, feed the seals and pet the sea urchins, check out cheesy glittery touristy stuff, eat ice cream, take walks, do puzzles, read stories, and stay up late! We just finished our third annual Grandma/Olivia Beach Trip.
Three of my favorite books are:
The Secret Garden… I read that as a little girl and still love it.
Knowing God by J.I. Packer: I knew a lot about God. I met Jesus when I six. I was raised in a Christian home, went to Prairie Bible College and BIOLA. Then, 37 years ago, life turned upside down and the quick easy cliché answers didn’t work. I needed to really get to know God because it’s really difficult to trust someone you don’t know really well. This book started me on a journey of getting to know God that I’m still on today.
Speaking of Jesus by Carl Medearis: Once I was asked to share Jesus and the Gospel with someone. I opened my mouth to say something and couldn’t get any words out. I realized all of my words sounded more like a systematic theology textbook than someone with good news about Jesus. This book turned my thinking around and got me started reading the Gospels daily. I am still getting to know Jesus better and it’s an awesome ongoing journey. It’s an easy fun read I try to read it once a year.
My favorite question to ask people is:
“Please tell me your Jesus Story.” This question-in-a-statement takes people by surprise at times. However, I’ve learned that when they understand that I just want to listen and that I’m not asking for “right answers” or a “testimony” they relax and really enjoy sharing. Don’t we love to tell our on-going Jesus story? We just never get asked often.