About Gennean Woodall

Gennean is a writer, maker, and photo-taker currently calling Nashville home. Coffee dates are her love language and sharing stories are her jam. She prefesr mountains over the beach, tea over coffee, and reading a book over watching a movie. Originally from the California coast, Gennean loves adventuring through God's creation, whether solo or with friends, and always with her camera at my side. Other fun facts include that she has four tattoos, she's visited half of the US states, and she is a huge Harry Potter nerd... so if you want to talk spells or the art of Quidditch, she's your girl.

Gennean says that, by far, the most important thing is that for the last decade, she has been on the greatest adventure with Jesus. Together, they've explored the things that ignite her heart and stir her soul, things like traveling to new places, creating beautiful photos, and encouraging others to go deeper in their relationships with the Father. Any hope, dreams, or success she has she credits to Him.

December 16, 2016

Joy: Habakkuk 3:18-19

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.”
Habakkuk 3:18-19

To rejoice means to feel or show great joy or delight in something or someone. Isn’t that just the perfect way to describe how we should feel about God? After all, great joy and great delight are a natural byproduct of being close to Him, which is precisely where He wants us to be so that He can be our strength and our hope.

But what about when we’re afraid?

Or when things aren’t going all that well and it seems like everything around us is working against us? Or what about when things just feel totally out of control? It can be a lot harder to rejoice in those places. But those are exactly the times when we must lay down our worries and our fears, and choose to trust Him anyway.

In our abandoned trust, there is real joy waiting to be found.

There is a fantastic book called Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, which is an allegory about the yearning of God’s children to be led to new heights. In it, the reader follows the main character Much-Afraid on her spiritual journey as she faces dangers and reaches new, high places. One quote from the book that stood out to me was this:

“The look the Shepherd turned on her was very beautiful. “Nothing my Father and I have made is ever wasted,” he said quietly, “and the little wild flowers have a wonderful lesson to teach. They offer themselves so sweetly and confidently and willingly, even if it seems that there is no one to appreciate them. Just as though they sang a joyous little song to themselves, that it is so happy to love…”

Rejoicing always, especially when it’s hard or when things don’t make sense; that is what it looks like to live out of faith. No situation, circumstance, or season is ever wasted when God is at the helm.

In Habakkuk 3:19, it says that He “makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places.” I just love that in many versions of the Bible the high places described are unique to each person. They are not the high places, but my high places. And my high places are probably a little — or maybe even a lot — different than yours. Isn’t that beautiful?

To think that our God created each of us for a different journey with unique heights to reach kind of blows my mind, and truly brings some serious joy to my heart.

I can have joy because I know that He made each of us for and wants to lead us to our high places.

Here is the thing: true, perfect, and everlasting joy came on a night when no one could have expected it: the night that Jesus was born.

As fully man and fully God, He came into a world that was desperate for what Him, even though they may not have known it at the time. He came to bring hope, joy, and life abundant for those who would choose to follow Him. So as you and I remember that special day when our sweet Savior was born, may we slow down to adore and delight in His presence, and may we remember that the greatest gift we would ever receive came that quiet night in Bethlehem.

December 14, 2016

Joy: Galatians 5:22-25

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:22-25

When Jesus was born, I am sure that there was no way for His earthly parents — Mary and Joseph — to know that His life was going to be such a big deal, that His way of living and loving would revolutionize the culture at that time, or that all of it would ultimately lead Him to the cross.

No, I am sure that when Jesus was born on that cold night in a dirty manger, they likely imagined that He would lead a fairly normal life. Oh, but how wrong that would have been. Jesus’ life on earth may have started out looking pretty normal for their day and age, but as He got older things began to change, notably once He recognized that His true Father was God.

That’s when things got crazy.

He gathered disciples to follow Him, He was a teacher to the masses and to to the one, and many were loved, healed, and saved as a result. His ministry lasted for only three years, but of course, that’s not the end of the story.

When Jesus was with His disciples after the resurrection, He told them not to let their hearts be troubled because the Father was going to send them another to be with them: the Holy Spirit.

In other words (my own), it is as if Jesus told them to take heart and count it as joy that they would have an advocate on earth once He was gone, one who would give them power, who would correct and guide them, and be the one through whom they could speak with the Father. I imagine the disciples being confused at first, but then what an immense amount of JOY they might have experienced when the Holy Spirit finally came upon them (Acts 2), just as Jesus had promised.

The Holy Spirit can seem daunting sometimes.

I personally think that He is the most misunderstood part of the Trinity, probably and simply because He is just so mysterious. Even in reading our Bibles, there isn’t a ton we can cling to other than that God sent Him after Jesus’ resurrection, that He is our advocate, and that He imparts on each of us unique gifts to use for the glory of God.

Over the last two years, I have been experiencing a lot more Holy Spirit living, and it has been nothing short of incredible. As I began praying for deeper intimacy and more sensitivity to His leading, God really showed up with His Spirit. I received a serious craving for the Word, a greater understanding of my true identity as a daughter of the King, and a brand new sense of wonder, awe, and overwhelming joy. I share this with you to say that there is so much more beyond the surface of the Christian life.

Tapping into the power and presence of the Holy Spirit opens the floodgates for a deeper, more soul-satisfying relationship with God, which is something I believe that He deeply wants to give you.

So with the season of Advent upon us, I pray that you are able to reflect on the birth and life of Jesus, and then remember what He left for us: Holy Spirit. And since we have Him with us here on earth, was can also have His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

All because of God’s original plan: create absolutely everything, lead His people no matter how much they grumble, allow His Son to live on earth and consequently sacrifice His life for our sake, and send the Holy Spirit to guide us into deeper relationship and power.

What a sweet, sweet reason we have to rejoice in this advent season!

December 9, 2016

Peace: Ephesians 2:13-14

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…”
Ephesians 2:13-14

Can you remember a time when you were or felt like you were far off from God, a season in which maybe you ignored Him or just didn’t really care about following His ways? I certainly can, and let me tell you that it wasn’t pretty.

Can I indulge a little bit of my story with you? Growing up, my family was one of those families that attended mass a few times a year; always on Christmas and Easter, and a few other random Sundays throughout the year. But when my parents split when I was eleven, church ceased to exist. It was a distant, not-so-fond memory.

See, my experience in church as a child had been about the rules, the to-do’s, and the forced attendance. Please notice that I said nothing about a relationship. No, my experience was almost completely void of the relational aspect of who God is, and in being able to look back now, I believe that is what turned me off from church. So when my parents split up, I had no desire to go again because I didn’t know the love, grace, or kindness of God.

If we were to flash forward, you would see that from that point, I ignored, disregarded, and flat-out denied that God was out there, let alone that He even existed.

Over the next seven years, I did whatever I wanted, which I’m sure you can imagine led to a lot of stupid decisions; a lot of mistakes. Yet through that season, I believe that He still loved, protected, and pursued me. When I was seventeen, a senior in high school, God got my attention big time as He showed Himself to me in a way I never could have imagined possible, and the last ten years of walking with Him have been the greatest adventure. It hasn’t necessarily been easy, but I can say that it has been worth it. He has helped get me out of my comfort zone and take big risks, and as a result I have watched Him provide time and time again. And He has given me gifts that I never had when I was doing my own thing: joy, hope, and incredible peace.

I was once (very) far off, but Jesus brought me near by meeting me in my mess — which is absolutely something He continues to do in my life — and by making me His.

He did this in living His life here on earth and sacrificing Himself on our behalf, so that we could live in connection with the Father. In His sacrifice, the covenant of old was abolished and a new one was established; one that declared grace, grace, grace. When Jesus breathed His last upon the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two, right down the middle, signifying that all believers could now have a direct line to God. We don’t need a mediator or an interpreter. Jesus is our intercessor, and we can dwell in the presence of God because of that. We are brought near by Jesus, and that gives me all of the peace I could ever need.

In this sweet season of Advent, may we remember the gravity of what Jesus’ birth really means. Just as you and I did, He came as a baby, yet His story meant being born in what one might consider the least peaceful of places: a dirty, open manger, surrounded by all sorts of farm animals, in the middle of the night. And yet He is our peace. How beautiful is that?

When things are hard, chaotic, or out of our control, He continues to remain our peace.

I pray that you are able to soak that in today. Let Him wash over you with peace was you sit in His presence, as He is our ultimate source of peace.

December 8, 2016

Peace: Psalm 27:1-2, 13-14

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold (refuge) of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? … I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
– Psalm 27:1-2, 13-14

Wait for the Lord.

Isn’t that a phrase that both instills a sense of hope and peace but also makes you want to cross your arms, loudly tapping your foot repeatedly?

In a world filled with impatience and a propensity for immediate satisfaction, waiting can be really challenging. Not only does it force us to slow down, but it brings us to a place of acknowledging that we, in fact, cannot control it all, and I am sure that I am not alone in wanting to have some sense of control over the different areas of my life. It is a frustrating discipline: learning to wait. But so often, that Is how our Father works: in the quiet, in the slow, all in His timing.

But that, no doubt, can be very hard to do.

Sisters, I am with you in admitting that, without a doubt, waiting can be very hard for me to do well.

But I have seen, time and time again, that when God asks me to wait, it is almost always because His plan is greater; that He has something right around the bend that I never could have seen coming.

When we can learn to truly let go and trust God in our seasons of waiting — our seasons of not quite yet — we will be able to more confidently move forward, because we can know that He is on our side. We will have no fear, for we will recognize that He is with us. We will be strong, because it is in our own weakness and in His power that we are made strong. We will be courageous, because He makes us so. And along with all of that, we will find peace in the waiting, for we know that every season from our Father is intentional; every season has purpose, even the ones in which we wait.

Then, what does waiting have to say about Jesus?

The world was yearning for a Savior, for Jesus, long before He actually came; before He was born to a virgin and a shepherd in Bethlehem.

Think briefly of the Israelites, in their slavery, in their wilderness, in their coming to the promised land: they were almost always waiting, and often complaining in the midst. Much of the time, they were complaining about their circumstances, but maybe — just maybe — there was a deeper longing in their heart, a sense that they were lacking something. Maybe, deep in their bones, they knew they were missing out on a direct connection with their Abba Father, which was something that could only come through His Son. While it is true that waiting often accompanied their circumstances, there was a deeper, more profound waiting that they were living through: waiting for Jesus. How much more grateful can we be that Jesus did come over two-thousand years ago as God-incarnate; our hope and our salvation; our strength and our refuge.

Together now, we are anxiously awaiting the reminder of Jesus’ arrival. In this season of Advent, I hope that you are able to slow down, quiet your heart, and savor the wait. Because it is a sweet and worthwhile wait, my friends.

May 10, 2016

The Budgeting Woman

When you hear the words “personal money management,” what thoughts come to mind? Confidence or confusion? Peace or anxiety? Or maybe just nothing at all? Regardless of the feelings that surface when the topic of discussion turns to money, the truth is that it will always be something that demands our attention.

Being a young adult requires a lot of maturing and figuring out how life beyond college really works, and a big part of that process means learning how to handle money. But if your college experience was anything like mine, you probably didn’t have to take a course on budgeting or how to pay back student loans or what to do when your dream job doesn’t pan out immediately.

And yet that’s what ends up being a lot of people’s post-college reality: trying to figure out how to navigate adult life on their own with very little guidance. After I graduated, I quickly found myself in that place, with the most challenging upstream battle being how to handle money, particularly in a Biblical and God-honoring way.

Since then, I have learned many things about how to “adult,” and I have found that the biggest key to managing money well has been making a monthly budget. At the beginning of every month I sit down and input my expected income and expected expenses, intentionally telling my money where it’s going to go. Then throughout the month, I continue to keep my budget updated to reflect extra income and any additional expenses. Sometimes it’s a tedious task, but I love knowing where it’ll going instead of, at the end of the month, wondering where it went.

In doing this, I have managed to pay off thousands of dollars worth of student loans and a car loan in the last fourteen months, and should be totally debt free before the end of the year. I am so excited about all of it that I find myself telling others that they, too, can take control of their financial situations with some goals, perseverance, and a whole lot of grit.

So, whether you are single or married, and whether or not you have debt, here are some of my tips and tricks for budgeting:

Take the time to pray over your finances, and ask God to give you direction, discernment, and discipline.
Continue to tithe, no matter what your financial situation looks like. It’s important to give back to God what is rightfully His before ever using it for yourself. Consider setting up automatic payments if you have a hard time tithing regularly.
Have at least $1,000 in your savings account at all times for emergencies that pop up. If you are debt free, that number should be somewhere around 3-6 months of expenses.
Create a zero-based budget every month. My favorite tool for this is EveryDollar.
If you have accrued consumer debt (loans, student loans, credit cards, etc.), make it a priority to pay it off as soon as possible by taking on extra work or cutting frivolous spending habits (see my tips for this below).
Still leave some room to treat yo’self. I have given myself little incentives along the way after each debt gets paid off, which has helped me stay more focused and motivated.
If you are married, you and your spouse have to be on the same page. Sit down together each month to plan your budget, and hold one another accountable to your plan throughout the month.
If you are single, ask a trusted friend or mentor to be your accountability partner. My “budget buddy” and I meet at the end of each month to look at where my money went that month and to plan for the following. This has been crucial to my success thus far.
Stick to your budget every month. Discipline isn’t supposed to be easy, but in the end it will be so worth it.
Seek to learn the art of contentment (Hebrews 13:5-6) and remember that money is just a thing. Guard your heart against the love of it (because idolatry – 1 Timothy 6:10)

One practical way I started to make more money and put it toward debt was by taking on extra jobs. It’s not a revolutionary idea, I know, but it works. For the last year, I have been taking on anything and everything that has come my way: babysitting, petsitting, home organizing, interior painting, tutoring, and, more recently, commissioned art pieces and photography gigs. Another way to save the money? Planning ahead and learning to say no. Here are some of my tips for doing just that:

Make your coffee at home. Why spend $4 on a latte you can make at home with fresh brewed coffee and some frothed milk? At-home lattes in cute to-go mugs are my jam.
Carry tea bags with you in your purse. Sounds weird, I know, but then if you find yourself out and about needing a bit of caffeine or meeting a friend at a coffee shop, all you’ll need is a cup of hot water and you’re good to go!
Keep snacks in your purse, car, desk, everywhere. I always have a LaraBar or Kind Bar in each of those places for the moments when I just need a little something to satisfy my hunger.
Make your lunches at home instead of going out everyday. Lunch plans with a coworker? Suggest bringing your own food and having a picnic. Not only is this more cost effective, but it’s a whole lot healthier, too.
Say no to the things might be considered frivolous spending (i.e. a concert, new sunglasses, that spring break trip, etc.). This is probably the hardest tip to put into action, but I have learned that saying no to things now allows me say yes to even better things later.

Taking extra income and immediately separating it into an account for debt payoff has not always been easy, but it has been super rewarding. Maybe your challenge isn’t paying off debt, but saving for a big trip or preparing to a buy a house. Watching those numbers dwindle (or add up if you’re saving) is truly so gratifying, because you literally get to see your hard work pay off. And maybe your current financial situation is different than mine. No matter what your circumstances may look like, there is so much value in learning as early as possible how to handle your money in a way that sets you up for success and glorifies God.

One last key to any success is to remember that it is all a gift from God, not an idol to be worshiped or a master to be enslaved to. God is Sovereign and knows the needs of people, but we must also be responsible with that He has given to us. It isn’t always easy, but our acts of obedience now with the resources He leaves in our hands will undoubtedly set us up for greater things in the future. I hope that through these words you have been encouraged to be intentional with your money planning, aggressive with your debt payoff, and frivolous in your generosity, all to the glory of our Father.