Heartfelt Wishes New Year's Card
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Full
It's only November 1st and I cannot help but feel "full". "Full" of what? Thankfulness. Wow, God is so good. It's pretty amazing how a little Trick or Treating can put in to perspective just how truly blessed I am.
We had a fabulous time out in our neighborhood last night. This is the first time in 8 1/2 years of parenting that all 3 kids really enjoyed this holiday. It was fun to see their little feet run from house to house and hear Joely gigging about how much fun he was having. Our little social butterfly, Ash, loved running into all of her classmates and church friends. Little miss mommy, Aly, was doing what she does best and being the "mother hen" to Joely, protecting him from all of the scary costumes and decor.
As each year passes I know this moment of our lives will be a memory which is why I intend to soak up every single moment and be thankful for the blessings that God has poured out on me.
I cannot help but think of the second part of Malachi 3:10:
“and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
Even though the beginning of this verse talks about bringing your whole tithe into the storehouse and testing God with it, it shows me that when we surrender our whole LIVES to HIM, HE will bless us in every way possible just for our obedience and for that I say THANK YOU.
We had a fabulous time out in our neighborhood last night. This is the first time in 8 1/2 years of parenting that all 3 kids really enjoyed this holiday. It was fun to see their little feet run from house to house and hear Joely gigging about how much fun he was having. Our little social butterfly, Ash, loved running into all of her classmates and church friends. Little miss mommy, Aly, was doing what she does best and being the "mother hen" to Joely, protecting him from all of the scary costumes and decor.
As each year passes I know this moment of our lives will be a memory which is why I intend to soak up every single moment and be thankful for the blessings that God has poured out on me.
I cannot help but think of the second part of Malachi 3:10:
“and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
Even though the beginning of this verse talks about bringing your whole tithe into the storehouse and testing God with it, it shows me that when we surrender our whole LIVES to HIM, HE will bless us in every way possible just for our obedience and for that I say THANK YOU.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Guilty
Have you ever felt guilty?
I've had feelings of guilt lately. I've been watching some very close family members seem to have their lives crumbling down around them and that makes me feel guilty.
I've felt guilty because I have a loving, supportive, Godly husband. I've felt guilty because I have 3 amazing children who are growing up in a secure, stable, Godly environment. I've felt guilty because Corey and I are both blessed with good careers. I've felt guilty for being able to buy school supplies and backpacks for all 3 children a month before school starts and that it's not a financial burden. I feel guilty that we are taking our kids on a beach vacation when some of the children that my kids go to school with won't be able to share about their summer vacation on the first day of school. The list goes on...
About two weeks ago I had one of those "light bulb" moments. I was listening to a sermon and BOOM it just hit me. In that moment I took every single one of those "guilty" statements and answered it with "Jesus".
Matthew 6:33 is one of my most favorite scriptures:
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you".
Seeking God first is exactly what we do. It's not always convenient or popular to do this. Some of those around us think we are CrAzY for faithfully serving in the church, attending church on a weekly basis, getting up early every morning to spend time in the word...and GASP...tithing (and don't even think about explaining why the tithe is 10% of your income, and that's just the baseline). All of the glory truly goes to God because we choose to serve Him. Isaiah 1:19 says "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land". I choose obedience.
I've had feelings of guilt lately. I've been watching some very close family members seem to have their lives crumbling down around them and that makes me feel guilty.
I've felt guilty because I have a loving, supportive, Godly husband. I've felt guilty because I have 3 amazing children who are growing up in a secure, stable, Godly environment. I've felt guilty because Corey and I are both blessed with good careers. I've felt guilty for being able to buy school supplies and backpacks for all 3 children a month before school starts and that it's not a financial burden. I feel guilty that we are taking our kids on a beach vacation when some of the children that my kids go to school with won't be able to share about their summer vacation on the first day of school. The list goes on...
About two weeks ago I had one of those "light bulb" moments. I was listening to a sermon and BOOM it just hit me. In that moment I took every single one of those "guilty" statements and answered it with "Jesus".
Matthew 6:33 is one of my most favorite scriptures:
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you".
Seeking God first is exactly what we do. It's not always convenient or popular to do this. Some of those around us think we are CrAzY for faithfully serving in the church, attending church on a weekly basis, getting up early every morning to spend time in the word...and GASP...tithing (and don't even think about explaining why the tithe is 10% of your income, and that's just the baseline). All of the glory truly goes to God because we choose to serve Him. Isaiah 1:19 says "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land". I choose obedience.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Dance Recital
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Beezy Boo
Friday, April 27, 2012
Date Night, Pockets & the Holy Ghost
Yesterday was one of those days I would like to bottle up so that I can remember life's little moments forever. I'm currently in the process of enjoying "Every Day A Friday", great new book by Joel Osteen. It was during a "gripe-fest" to Corey about my job that he oh so gently gave me the "preachy" nudge to start reading the book I had bought him for Valentine's Day. I begrudgingly picked up the book the next morning and started reading but I didn't dare let Corey see that I was reading the book...at least not for a few days.
The book has been fabulous and I'm only on page 14 but it really does help put things into perspective so on to DATE NIGHT.
Yes, we had a date night on a Thursday night at White Castle's - I know what you're thinking, how ROMANTIC. Corey made a great point on the way to get some "belly bombers", "it's not where you go but the company and the conversation". He's so right, even though Aly was at dance and Ashley and Joel were just right up the street hanging out with Grandma at the Mickey D's play place for those 2 hours we were able to give each other 100% of our attention and focus solely focus on being with each other. It's those moments, just two little hours here and there that truly continue to connect us. This might sound cheesy, corny, whatever but at the end of the day I'm more in love and connected to this guy now than I was when we started dating 17 years ago, he is the love of my life.
POCKETS come next. So we meet grandma at the studio and right away we are transported out of "fantasy" world back into our reality. Kids crying about not wanting to leave grandma, fighting over who gets to talk to us about their day first. In an effort to calm Joely I tell him, "I have a surprise for you when we get home". He stops crying and says "what is it", I answer "more big boy underwear, with sharks on them"! He's the first one into the house and rushes to grab them off the counter and is ready to put them on. I HATE "tighty-whitey's" so he wears boxer briefs. Next thing I know Joel has his hand proudly shoved in his underwear showing us his "pocket for his tissues" (side note, the boy runs around with a tissue in his pants pocket in the spring and fall because of his allergies). Aly looks at Corey mortified and says "isn't that where his junk is, ewww, gross, he's touching it". Like I said up at the top...little moments!
Finally, time to put the kiddies to bed. Corey and the kids have a nightly routine of doing a devotion before bed. It's so sweet to hear them, upstairs, conversing about their day and praying together in their sweet little voices. Last night's devotion was on the Trinity...Father, Son and HOLY GHOST. I'm sure you can already tell where this is going. Basically after last night's devotion Corey had to spend an additional 5 minutes calming the girls down letting them know that the HOLY GHOST wasn't really a GHOST! I absolutely love how their little minds think.
Yes, we had a date night on a Thursday night at White Castle's - I know what you're thinking, how ROMANTIC. Corey made a great point on the way to get some "belly bombers", "it's not where you go but the company and the conversation". He's so right, even though Aly was at dance and Ashley and Joel were just right up the street hanging out with Grandma at the Mickey D's play place for those 2 hours we were able to give each other 100% of our attention and focus solely focus on being with each other. It's those moments, just two little hours here and there that truly continue to connect us. This might sound cheesy, corny, whatever but at the end of the day I'm more in love and connected to this guy now than I was when we started dating 17 years ago, he is the love of my life.
POCKETS come next. So we meet grandma at the studio and right away we are transported out of "fantasy" world back into our reality. Kids crying about not wanting to leave grandma, fighting over who gets to talk to us about their day first. In an effort to calm Joely I tell him, "I have a surprise for you when we get home". He stops crying and says "what is it", I answer "more big boy underwear, with sharks on them"! He's the first one into the house and rushes to grab them off the counter and is ready to put them on. I HATE "tighty-whitey's" so he wears boxer briefs. Next thing I know Joel has his hand proudly shoved in his underwear showing us his "pocket for his tissues" (side note, the boy runs around with a tissue in his pants pocket in the spring and fall because of his allergies). Aly looks at Corey mortified and says "isn't that where his junk is, ewww, gross, he's touching it". Like I said up at the top...little moments!
Finally, time to put the kiddies to bed. Corey and the kids have a nightly routine of doing a devotion before bed. It's so sweet to hear them, upstairs, conversing about their day and praying together in their sweet little voices. Last night's devotion was on the Trinity...Father, Son and HOLY GHOST. I'm sure you can already tell where this is going. Basically after last night's devotion Corey had to spend an additional 5 minutes calming the girls down letting them know that the HOLY GHOST wasn't really a GHOST! I absolutely love how their little minds think.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
TP Anyone?
I look over at Joel the other day and he had his shirt pulled over his head...the only thing I could think of was Beavis and Butthead. Yes, I admit it, I think they are hilarious, Corey and I even went to see "Beavis and Butthead Do America" when we were dating. Let me just clarify that we were in high school at the time. However, I was super pumped when I noticed this past fall that MTV was showing "Beavis and Butthead" in their line-up. Of course I tuned in. So last night, I pulled up episodes on Youtube and watched them with Joel. Corey is so not amused that we now have a 2 1/2 year old running around the house chanting "I'm the Great Cornholio, I need TP for my bunghole" but I'm totally entertained!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Delightful
Doesn't this look delightful? I will be here soon, looking forward to this relaxing getaway with my hubby! Punta Cana here we come!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Here we go...again
We got totally hammered by a crazy hail storm on Thursday. Our area was about the only area that got pounded that hard that day. Smaller than tennis ball but bigger than golf ball size. I was having flashbacks to the March 2006 hail storm that we were a part of when we lived in Columbia. That storm produced about $25K worth of damage to our house, totaled my company car and did about $8K worth of damage to our other car. This time we are looking at a new roof, new siding, gutters, fence, etc. Unfortunately Corey's car did not fair well and we just dropped it down to "liability" about two months ago. We are replacing the windshield and will most likely be looking for a new car within the next year. He came home a little earlier that day, if he would've stayed at the office (which is 5 minutes from home) there would have been no damage. It's only stuff, could have been so much worse. Let the fun with insurance companies, adjusters and contractors commence!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Atrophy
The day after surgery my doc comes in and I said "so, you had to take both ovaries huh, what about my hormones"? Doc says, "You had endometriosis all over your ovaries, didn't they put a patch on you yesterday?". "Nope, don't think so". "Okay, I'll bring some back over from the office shortly".
Fast forward an hour to 4 boxes and a brochure sitting on the medical cart. Corey picks up the brochure and reads it, nurse comes in, applies a lovely clear patch to my abdomen and that's that.
I hobble out of bed to the bathroom and as I pass "the cart" I glanced at the brochure, it's titled "Your Menopause Journey". Um okay...just BREATHE! For crying out loud I just turned 34 last month!
I make it back to the oh so comfy hospital bed in my oh so sexy hospital gown and ask Corey to hand me "the brochure".
I'm flipping past all the CRAP about menopause, symptoms of menopause, blah, blah, blah...Surgical Menopause, okay finally something I can relate to:
"Estrogen therapy is an effective treatment for helping to control severe hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and atrophy".
"Corey, what's atrophy?" "I don't know I was wondering the same thing." "Okay well can you google it for me on your phone and read me the definition?".
According to Wikipedia:
"Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body."
AWESOME, so your telling me that my "lady part" is going to waste away? Well this is just GREAT!
My encouragement in that moment came from Jeremiah 30:17:
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD".
Fast forward an hour to 4 boxes and a brochure sitting on the medical cart. Corey picks up the brochure and reads it, nurse comes in, applies a lovely clear patch to my abdomen and that's that.
I hobble out of bed to the bathroom and as I pass "the cart" I glanced at the brochure, it's titled "Your Menopause Journey". Um okay...just BREATHE! For crying out loud I just turned 34 last month!
I make it back to the oh so comfy hospital bed in my oh so sexy hospital gown and ask Corey to hand me "the brochure".
I'm flipping past all the CRAP about menopause, symptoms of menopause, blah, blah, blah...Surgical Menopause, okay finally something I can relate to:
"Estrogen therapy is an effective treatment for helping to control severe hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and atrophy".
"Corey, what's atrophy?" "I don't know I was wondering the same thing." "Okay well can you google it for me on your phone and read me the definition?".
According to Wikipedia:
"Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body."
AWESOME, so your telling me that my "lady part" is going to waste away? Well this is just GREAT!
My encouragement in that moment came from Jeremiah 30:17:
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD".
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Lazy Days
This is how Fen and I spend our days, he's going to be in for a rude awakening when I go back to work next week!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The Power of Confession
I'm 13 days post op. Total hysterectomy, ovaries, uterus...all of it, GONE...FOREVER.
I heard about this website called Hystersisters a few weeks before my surgery and told Corey about it. He totally snickered like it was some sort of little "club". Well fast-forward to the day after my surgery. My wonderful doc comes in to see me and I ask him about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). He says, "they didn't put a patch on you already? I'll bring some over from the office in a few minutes". He comes back leaves four boxes of patches on the medical cart and a brochure. Corey picks up the brochure and starts to puruse it...he then says "Jenn, they are talking about Hystersisters in this brochure, must be a good thing". Funny how when I tried to endorse it a few weeks ago it was met with a chuckle and now it's "bible"!
So back to the power of confession. I came home on a Thursday. I have a wonderful support system! My step-mom (who will take my kids at the drop of a hat), my aunt (who is also our nanny, comes to the house everyday, cleans, does our laundry and loves our kids like they are her own...I know, we are totally spoiled) and my dear mom (who flew in from Texas to take care of us for about a week and do what she does best...COOK and be at my beck and call so that I could keep the household running from my bed/couch).
Hubby went back to work on Friday and left me in the care of my mom and my aunt. I spent all day in bed with his IPad educating myself to my new world and my new "normal". I spent the majority of the day feeling "weepy" over the fact that I just turned 34 last month and no longer have my ovaries. The hysterectomy was something I was totally ready and prepared for and even excited about the prospect of no more periods...life without my ovaries was NOT.
So much junk out there! You will gain weight, you will grow hair in weird places, male pattern baldness, osteoporosis, no SEX DRIVE. WOW, are you serious, now I'm full out bawling, you know the "UGLY" cry! Hubby comes into our room and I start telling him all of my fears. Thank GOD for a God-loving, spiritual head of our household, level-headed kind of guy. He basically said "Jenn, you need to get control of your flesh, instead of reading all of this crap you need to get into the Word.
I've been meditating on and confessing several scriptures. Every time the devil tries to put a negative thought in my mind I just answer by saying out loud what the word of God says, here are a few to start with but the bible is FULL of "life giving" medicine:
Psalm 107:20
He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
Jeremiah 30:17
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD...
Psalm 103:1-5
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.
How do I know these confessions work? I know these confessions work because:
Jeremiah 1:12
The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.
What does this mean? It means that when you say the healing and life-giving scriptures over your life God is making sure that those words that are in His word that you are speaking are coming to pass.
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
So basically what you say with your tongue will either preserve life or it will destroy it. When we go around saying negative things about our situation we are using words to "destroy" but when we say positive things and what the word of God says we are "preserving life".
Hewbrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
What are we supposed to do when we are having a bad day and just not feeling super-faithful? We need to put on our "big girl panties" and continue to confess what the word says. Why? Because Romans 4:17 says:
just as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are,"
When you call things that are not as though they are you are speaking what you want into existence and we've already supported the fact that in Proverbs 18:21 "life and death is in the power of the tongue".
Am I saying that I NEVER have a negative thought? Absolutely NOT, I am human, very human but I just choose to "fight the good fight" and not give the devil a foothold.
I firmly believe that when we are in the darkest place, as TD Jakes would say "Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready" because something REALLY GOOD is about to happen to us!
Ernest Hemingway once said, "We are stronger in the places where we are broken". Let God turn this "test" that you are going through into your "testimony".
If this is helping you please feel free to comment! Encouragement will motivate me to continue with the blogging!
I heard about this website called Hystersisters a few weeks before my surgery and told Corey about it. He totally snickered like it was some sort of little "club". Well fast-forward to the day after my surgery. My wonderful doc comes in to see me and I ask him about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). He says, "they didn't put a patch on you already? I'll bring some over from the office in a few minutes". He comes back leaves four boxes of patches on the medical cart and a brochure. Corey picks up the brochure and starts to puruse it...he then says "Jenn, they are talking about Hystersisters in this brochure, must be a good thing". Funny how when I tried to endorse it a few weeks ago it was met with a chuckle and now it's "bible"!
So back to the power of confession. I came home on a Thursday. I have a wonderful support system! My step-mom (who will take my kids at the drop of a hat), my aunt (who is also our nanny, comes to the house everyday, cleans, does our laundry and loves our kids like they are her own...I know, we are totally spoiled) and my dear mom (who flew in from Texas to take care of us for about a week and do what she does best...COOK and be at my beck and call so that I could keep the household running from my bed/couch).
Hubby went back to work on Friday and left me in the care of my mom and my aunt. I spent all day in bed with his IPad educating myself to my new world and my new "normal". I spent the majority of the day feeling "weepy" over the fact that I just turned 34 last month and no longer have my ovaries. The hysterectomy was something I was totally ready and prepared for and even excited about the prospect of no more periods...life without my ovaries was NOT.
So much junk out there! You will gain weight, you will grow hair in weird places, male pattern baldness, osteoporosis, no SEX DRIVE. WOW, are you serious, now I'm full out bawling, you know the "UGLY" cry! Hubby comes into our room and I start telling him all of my fears. Thank GOD for a God-loving, spiritual head of our household, level-headed kind of guy. He basically said "Jenn, you need to get control of your flesh, instead of reading all of this crap you need to get into the Word.
I've been meditating on and confessing several scriptures. Every time the devil tries to put a negative thought in my mind I just answer by saying out loud what the word of God says, here are a few to start with but the bible is FULL of "life giving" medicine:
Psalm 107:20
He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
Jeremiah 30:17
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD...
Psalm 103:1-5
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.
How do I know these confessions work? I know these confessions work because:
Jeremiah 1:12
The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.
What does this mean? It means that when you say the healing and life-giving scriptures over your life God is making sure that those words that are in His word that you are speaking are coming to pass.
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
So basically what you say with your tongue will either preserve life or it will destroy it. When we go around saying negative things about our situation we are using words to "destroy" but when we say positive things and what the word of God says we are "preserving life".
Hewbrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
What are we supposed to do when we are having a bad day and just not feeling super-faithful? We need to put on our "big girl panties" and continue to confess what the word says. Why? Because Romans 4:17 says:
just as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are,"
When you call things that are not as though they are you are speaking what you want into existence and we've already supported the fact that in Proverbs 18:21 "life and death is in the power of the tongue".
Am I saying that I NEVER have a negative thought? Absolutely NOT, I am human, very human but I just choose to "fight the good fight" and not give the devil a foothold.
I firmly believe that when we are in the darkest place, as TD Jakes would say "Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready" because something REALLY GOOD is about to happen to us!
Ernest Hemingway once said, "We are stronger in the places where we are broken". Let God turn this "test" that you are going through into your "testimony".
If this is helping you please feel free to comment! Encouragement will motivate me to continue with the blogging!
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