Writing a New Chapter

Well, hello there! 

Welcome to Mend & Amen. My name is Jenna Urban; I’m the author of what you’ll find in the pages ahead.

Consider this an introductory message if you will. You might be wondering what Mend & Amen is all about? And if you're like me, you might be contemplating whether or not you want to dedicate your time to hanging out here with me when there is sooo much other stuff out there to read, watch, listen to and subscribe to. It's really easy to get lost, misdirected and inundated with information out there, isn't it?

You know, before I wrote this very message I asked myself this very thing.

What do I really have to offer? What sets my writing apart from others? I even thought, gee, I’m already so busy with everything else in life, why should I set aside time to share my thoughts? If someone wants to know something that I might be able to answer, they can just ask.

Yes, these were real conversations I had with myself, over and over. 

I’ve dabbled with writing for many years, attempting to be consistent and proactive but never really catching any traction. In this last year, I barely managed to publish a grand total of three posts to my new chiropractic ministry’s website. 

“THREE? Really???” Again; an unproductive conversation with myself.

The struggle has been REAL to say the least! 

But this desire to write never goes away. Actually, it's quite the opposite.  I think about writing ALL THE TIME. I say the words I want to write in my head; little fragments of compelling thoughts surface randomly throughout the day. Most of the time, but not always, I write them down in one of my dozens of journals I have lying around or capture them on the notes of my iPhone. 

I’ve been collecting these little “nuggets” (we’ll call them) for a long time. But what good is it for me to collect these if no one else is benefitting from them??? I've know I'm suppose to share my heart and mind at some capacity, I have just been feeling stuck lately!

Have you ever been stuck in life? Maybe you're stuck right now! Maybe you've been in the same predicament I'm in where you have a really big desire or vision for something grand, but for whatever reason, the tiny steps to get there just aren’t clear?

This is where I have been with my writings for a very long time. And up until now, I had bigger fish to fry so my writing took a back-burner, and that was okay. However, it has been feeling like my season to write is approaching, but I wasn't quite sure what this journey had in store, and, what it was going to require of me.

The Bible says God’s “word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Think about it for a second. If you have a long journey ahead and there’s a lamp at your feet, how many steps ahead can you see? 

Not many, right? We are not meant to have it all figured out, we just need to know what our next step is. Well, I didn’t not know what my next step was, but I knew who had the answers I needed.

One of my favorite verses (and there's a cool story about this verse in particular from when I wasn't quite a Christian yet, maybe I'll write about it one day) is Jeremiah 33:3;

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

So one night during my prayer time, I took this dilemma of mine to the Lord to do just that!

“Lord, I know you want to use me. I know you gave me a gift to write. I know I have everything inside of me to write.  I can’t figure out how to move forward on my own. Please help me because I can’t do this without you. ”

And then I was quiet. I intentionally moved myself out of the way. I shut off that part of my brain that likes to analyze everything; constantly working in overtime to figure stuff out. I literally had to power my own mind down. 

And once I did, the Lord came through like He always does. 

I heard in a still, small voice, “Mend and Amen.”

“Mend and Amen.” My husband and I have been saying that a hundred times since last year when we started Mend Ministry. Of course our prayers are finished with "Amen," but every once in a while we say, “Mend and Amen.” It just had a fun and sweet ring to it, reminding us that God is in everything, especially our ministry. 

I got excited because I knew that was exactly what I needed to hear!

“Mend and Amen.” My writing needed a name! It need a new direction. By trying to keep all of my messages within the chiropractic webpage, my creativity was pigeonholed and I didn't even realize it. While chiropractic is a big part of what I do, it's only a small fraction of what's on my heart to write about. The next chapter of messages needed a place of their own.

It was time for me to spread my "writing-wings", and it just so happened that the website, mendandamen.com was available!

Wha-la! Welcome to my new blog:

Mend & Amen:

Healing messages for your heart & soul!

If you feel so called, subscribe below to be the first to know when I publish something new! I'm excited for you to go on this journey with me!

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