Journey With Jen

Woo-hoo!!  Teacher-in-service equals a three day weekend for us! :)  And, I have made some progress around here.  Long way from done...but progress!   Some friends of ours gave us a few 5 gallons of paint.  I bought one gallon of the color we chose (in a darker shade) and mixed it with two gallons of the light tan.  Ta-Da!  Three gallons of terra cotta for the cost of one!  Good bye white walls!  Hello warm desert colors! :)  I will do some more tomorrow after church.  Maybe I can get our "L" shaped hallway done this weekend! My first thing from Pinterest! Homemade Laundry Soap! Simple and easy with only 3 ingredients!  Oh yeah, less than six dollars and I have two gallons of laundry soap.  And, have enough stuff to make another batch or two!  YEAH!!  Smells great too! My laundry room is painted a light turquoise  I found this wonderful saying to put on the wall.  I love it! ...

My goodness ~  it is that time again.... Politics I usually keep my mouth closed when it comes to politics.  Everyone thinks that their opinion is the right one.  Some people are so closed minded that there's no use even talking.  If you turn on some news cast, the truth is so altered that it becomes watered down.  Then, those listening accept it as the truth and their opinions grow.  Republicans ...  Democrats ....  first of all they are politicians.  Good.  Bad.  Ugly.  It's all there.  One label doesn't make one better than the other.  I don't judge a book by it's cover.  You have to read the book.  Way back when, those labels meant something.  Now, well, they are just a label to get elected under.  Do I believe in abortion?  No.  So, that means I am a republican, right?  Nope. Do I believe in the trickle down effect?  No.  The rich just got richer and th...

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into   his harvest.”  Matthew 9:37-38 There's a picture that comes to my head when I read Matthew 9.  Jesus went through many busy cities and villages.  He witnessed to many.  People were gathering and learning about God.  Jesus also healed many sick and broken people.  Blind men were allowed to see.  A mute was allowed to speak.  A girl was brought back to life.  So many people in need.  The ESV version describes it as people helpless like "sheep without a shepherd".  I love that description.  In so many ways, times haven't changed.  People are still scared and confused just like they were hundreds and thousands of years ago.  People are God's harvest.  And the harvest is plentiful!  But, we must do the work.  Our harvest i...

It's been a very busy few weeks. Busy can be good! :) Since we've received our keys, we have been right at work. We painted all four bedrooms: ceilings and walls! The kids picked out their colors before they left so we could get to work. We also tore out the carpet. Smells so fresh now. Looks it too! Joey's Soothing Green Tea Paint Faith's Pretty Turquoise It was great to have friends stop in to share in the excitement with us. Our open door policy has begun! :) I really feel that this is not just our home.  It is meant to be shared. God has given us this home to be a blessing to my family and others. Who knows how many friends and family will gather in these doors? I can't wait to begin! We've had friends and family come over to help us clean.  We've been given some gift cards so we can continue remodeling!  Some friends even brought over ceiling fans for our bedrooms. Isn't that amazing? Our friends are a testimony of h...