Operation Blessed Heart
Donation protected
The Prayer of St. Francis of Assis, 1912
The Prayer of Peace
"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life."
Hello! My name is Jillian, and I am truly blessed by the Lord. He has blessed me with so much, and I want to bless others with Operation Blessed Heart. With Operation Blessed Heart, I want to choose a group of people in my community, such as seniors, neighbors who may need extra food or help with kid's school supplies, or those in the hospital, and let them know they are cared for and loved and not forgotten. The world is filled with so much sadness, and suffering; I believe that anything anyone can do to bring happiness not only helps that person, but helps giver in the process.
Here is a brief snapshot about myself: I am 27 years old, and have a rare medical condition called Pemphigus Foliaceous. To give the sparks-notes version of my health, I have had this disease since I was 3, but was not properly diagnosed until I was 8. It is an autoimmune disease where my immune system does not understand that my skin is a "good guy." Thus, it tries to destroy my skin. Without medication to calm my immune system down, I break out in large blisters and open, raw sores. For years I have battled the Pemphigus, and the side effects of the medications I had to take for Pemphigus. And, I am still battling those side effects today. I suffer from a lot of fluid retention, chronic pain, and scary as it is for me to admit, the medication that I take to keep my Pemphigus under control does not work as well as it used to, and is giving me a lot of problems now. But, because of these trials, I have learned to cherish each small second of life, and have learned what a blessing life truly is. I have learned to fully trust God for each millisecond of my life because it is so painful and uncertain. Proverbs 3:5-6 has become my life guide: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
However, God has also taught me the major thing that I love about my life. I am so blessed. He has blessed me with my life, no matter how broken my body is, and gives me grace for each millisecond of my life. My life verse is 2 Corinthians 12:9: "And he said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' "With this verse, I am able to make my daily journey, and remember that God has blessed me with so much, especially with eternal life. One blessed day, I will see my Redeemer, the Redeemer of my soul. I will no longer suffer, nor shed any tears, and this body and its brokenness will be a thing of the past.
As I explained, God has blessed me not only with the saving of my soul, but with so much more, with physical things that I do not even deserve. Some of these abundant blessings include: a small monthly disability income; my best friend, my own furry angel created just for me by God's Hand, Dutch (a beautiful pure-bred 7 year-old black and white Shih Tzu); a beautiful home to live in, along with my own room; living in one of Southern California's top areas, Murrieta, along with living in a kind neighborhood; having access to good medical care; having food in the fridge; being blessed with the opportunity to go to college; having running water to clean my skin whenever I want, or need to; having air conditioning in the house in order to keep my skin cool; access to a car; having a washing machine and a dryer; having my own PC, and iPad, and collection of books to keep me entertained when I am in a ton of pain and cannot leave my room, etc. This is just a very small list of the blessings God has given me. I could go on all day, and still not touch the surface of what God has blessed my life with.
To that end, I want to bless others with this project. I know there are others in my community, right now, who are struggling in ways I cannot understand, and only God can, and I want and just need a small blessing to remind them that life is good, and that people do care. When I read the news headlines and read about how some people make the choice to harm others, it breaks my heart. We should be making the choice to show compassion, kindness, and love to each other, no matter how small of an act it is.
This is where Operation Blessed Heart comes in. I have a goal (because I had to put one) of around $1000, but even if I got half of that, I could make this project a reality. I do not really have a deadline, but I would like to try and do some of this before Christmastime (that is another goal I had). Also, I am really good at making my pennies stretch, and since I know this is something God wants me to do, I am going to fully trust Him with this project.
To conclude, I want to quote Mother Teresa who stated that "I'm a pencil in the Hand of God." This sums up what I am for God. I am His pencil, and whatever He writes, He writes. His Will is perfect, and I will not question it. This is what I have learned this past few years, especially with my health. I will also remember Colossians 3:23: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." This verse guides me and gives me strength in whatever I do, as I remember that I am working and giving all of my energy, fully, to God, my Father, in Heaven, who I promised to serve until my very last breath.
I want to thank all those who read this, who stumbled upon this, and who were blessed by this in any way. I will pray for everyone who reads this little posting, that God blesses you, and keeps you safe. And, if you are at all, in any way, curious about having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, here is a resource below to start you on one of the best blessings of your life!
Thank you so much again!
Sincerely,
Jillian
A Relationship with God. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.lancasterbaptist.org/discover/relationship-with-god
The prayer of St. Francis . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm
The Prayer of Peace
"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life."
Hello! My name is Jillian, and I am truly blessed by the Lord. He has blessed me with so much, and I want to bless others with Operation Blessed Heart. With Operation Blessed Heart, I want to choose a group of people in my community, such as seniors, neighbors who may need extra food or help with kid's school supplies, or those in the hospital, and let them know they are cared for and loved and not forgotten. The world is filled with so much sadness, and suffering; I believe that anything anyone can do to bring happiness not only helps that person, but helps giver in the process.
Here is a brief snapshot about myself: I am 27 years old, and have a rare medical condition called Pemphigus Foliaceous. To give the sparks-notes version of my health, I have had this disease since I was 3, but was not properly diagnosed until I was 8. It is an autoimmune disease where my immune system does not understand that my skin is a "good guy." Thus, it tries to destroy my skin. Without medication to calm my immune system down, I break out in large blisters and open, raw sores. For years I have battled the Pemphigus, and the side effects of the medications I had to take for Pemphigus. And, I am still battling those side effects today. I suffer from a lot of fluid retention, chronic pain, and scary as it is for me to admit, the medication that I take to keep my Pemphigus under control does not work as well as it used to, and is giving me a lot of problems now. But, because of these trials, I have learned to cherish each small second of life, and have learned what a blessing life truly is. I have learned to fully trust God for each millisecond of my life because it is so painful and uncertain. Proverbs 3:5-6 has become my life guide: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
However, God has also taught me the major thing that I love about my life. I am so blessed. He has blessed me with my life, no matter how broken my body is, and gives me grace for each millisecond of my life. My life verse is 2 Corinthians 12:9: "And he said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' "With this verse, I am able to make my daily journey, and remember that God has blessed me with so much, especially with eternal life. One blessed day, I will see my Redeemer, the Redeemer of my soul. I will no longer suffer, nor shed any tears, and this body and its brokenness will be a thing of the past.
As I explained, God has blessed me not only with the saving of my soul, but with so much more, with physical things that I do not even deserve. Some of these abundant blessings include: a small monthly disability income; my best friend, my own furry angel created just for me by God's Hand, Dutch (a beautiful pure-bred 7 year-old black and white Shih Tzu); a beautiful home to live in, along with my own room; living in one of Southern California's top areas, Murrieta, along with living in a kind neighborhood; having access to good medical care; having food in the fridge; being blessed with the opportunity to go to college; having running water to clean my skin whenever I want, or need to; having air conditioning in the house in order to keep my skin cool; access to a car; having a washing machine and a dryer; having my own PC, and iPad, and collection of books to keep me entertained when I am in a ton of pain and cannot leave my room, etc. This is just a very small list of the blessings God has given me. I could go on all day, and still not touch the surface of what God has blessed my life with.
To that end, I want to bless others with this project. I know there are others in my community, right now, who are struggling in ways I cannot understand, and only God can, and I want and just need a small blessing to remind them that life is good, and that people do care. When I read the news headlines and read about how some people make the choice to harm others, it breaks my heart. We should be making the choice to show compassion, kindness, and love to each other, no matter how small of an act it is.
This is where Operation Blessed Heart comes in. I have a goal (because I had to put one) of around $1000, but even if I got half of that, I could make this project a reality. I do not really have a deadline, but I would like to try and do some of this before Christmastime (that is another goal I had). Also, I am really good at making my pennies stretch, and since I know this is something God wants me to do, I am going to fully trust Him with this project.
To conclude, I want to quote Mother Teresa who stated that "I'm a pencil in the Hand of God." This sums up what I am for God. I am His pencil, and whatever He writes, He writes. His Will is perfect, and I will not question it. This is what I have learned this past few years, especially with my health. I will also remember Colossians 3:23: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." This verse guides me and gives me strength in whatever I do, as I remember that I am working and giving all of my energy, fully, to God, my Father, in Heaven, who I promised to serve until my very last breath.
I want to thank all those who read this, who stumbled upon this, and who were blessed by this in any way. I will pray for everyone who reads this little posting, that God blesses you, and keeps you safe. And, if you are at all, in any way, curious about having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, here is a resource below to start you on one of the best blessings of your life!
Thank you so much again!
Sincerely,
Jillian
A Relationship with God. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.lancasterbaptist.org/discover/relationship-with-god
The prayer of St. Francis . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm
Organizer
Jillian Erin Baker
Organizer
Murrieta, CA
