June 21 - Jenni McIntire

How long have you been coming to H20?

Ryan and I started coming to H2O (when it was in Regal Cinemas) in March 2004. Wow—6 years! Can’t believe it has been that long.

What do you like to do for fun?

I like to read—books and now, blogs. They are addictive, I tell you. I get sucked into many blogs. I enjoy watching TV and movies. I have recently developed a love for photography. I took an online course, and now I am obsessed. I need a new camera, of course. I discovered that my camera is not one you would want to build on if you desire to make photography your hobby. Christmas list! Sad that I am counting down the days. I also love to do…(see next question)

What's an interesting fact about you?

Improv!!! Yes, one of my other main interests is improv comedy. Think “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” It is not stand-up. I’m not brave enough to do stand-up. I am a member of a phenomenal troupe called OFFSIDES (www.offsidescomedy.com). I also perform some Wednesday nights at SAK Comedy Lab as a member of their Gen S group. Improv is my creative outlet. I love to do it, and I have a wonderful husband and an awesome group of improvisers that encourage me and believe in me!

Lately, my biggest struggle has been letting my circumstances dictate my mood, even my happiness. I can begin a day with the best outlook, chipper, excited and then something happens that wasn’t anticipated. In one instant, I am bitter, angry, and depressed. That is not how I want to live life! I want to live with JOY! It makes me feel like a ticking time bomb, and I feel terrible for all those around me when I go off—my husband, my kids. I know that this state of being that I am in is my own doing, too. I have been in the just “living life” state, and I have not been focusing on God. I focus on myself and how to get through the day. Some days I do okay. Most, I do not. Focusing on yourself, regardless of what all those self-help gurus say, is not a way to go through life. Unless, say, your goal is a reality TV show. So, this is the problem.

The solution is easy, in the sense of naming it. The solution is hard, in the sense of executing it.

Matthew 22: ³⁷Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

God knows that when we focus on Him and focus on others, our lives have purpose and meaning. Focusing on God and others makes me the best “me” I can be. It seems so counterintuitive, but it works. Focusing on God and on others brings out all of the character qualities that I desire: love, compassion, humbleness, etc. So, my verses that I have been memorizing are two that I have been chanting in my head whenever I get bogged down in myself, my circumstances, my fears, my wants.

Phillipians 4: ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Phillipians 2: ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Prayer requests

1. Pray that I will continue to focus on God and on others.

2. Pray for Ryan’s dad. We pray that he is healed, but we also pray that he has strength to deal with this terminal illness.

3. Pray for Ryan’s brother and sister-in-law. They have many life changing decisions before them.