Say So! ValLimar Jansen, Frank Jansen

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Artist Reflection

"Not by my mouth-—not what I say, but how I live life everyday."

I love and appreciate so many things about my mother. One thing I appreciate is how much my mother showed us when we were growing up. She took us on lots of road trips to see the beautiful USA. She took us to university football games. She took us to parks, museums, choir concerts, plays... oh so many wonderful things.

My mother also allowed us to have different worship experiences. When we were teens, she did not feel that worship should be exclusive to our own faith. She wanted us to be informed about, to understand and to accept people who worship Jesus Christ differently than we did.

One church visitation that I vividly remember was to the Church of God in Christ. They had an actual band! There was piano AND organ, guitar, electric bass, a very loud drummer and a woman whose specialty was the tambourine. This church also danced! They danced a lot! Music and dance would go on for long, extended periods of time.

It was at this church that I first heard the idea, "Let the redeemed of the Lord, say so." As a youth, I thought that it meant to make a lot of noise, kind of like being a cheerleader for Jesus. In that COGIC, making a lot of noise for Jesus was certainly encouraged.

Last year, I revisited this phrase from my childhood. I began to think about this phrase, in the context of the famous quote that says, "Preach the gospel and if necessary use words." My husband and I decided to take these two ideas and use them as the springboard to create an original piece and the result was "Say So."

Being redeemed and glad about it does not mean being only a cheerleader for Jesus. It means being able to say at the beginning of my day, "Hey, follow me around today. Watch me. I want to show you how Jesus would walk the Earth, if he physically were here today. All day today, I am going to try to show you how Jesus would behave. Follow me. See how I do."

At the end of my day, I often think to myself, "If right now I am arrested and charged with the un-crime of being a good Christian, would they convict me?" My witnesses are people I have encountered or people who have been watching me throughout my entire day, without me knowing it.

What will these witnesses say about me? Have I lived today in a way to "prove" that I am a Christian who loves Jesus Christ? Can I be judged not by what I say, but by how I live? I always want the answer to be, "Yes". That is sometimes "Easier said than done." However, each day, love makes it worth the effort!

Peace to you.

- ValLimar Jansen