Journey With Jen

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits , and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning." Psalm 130:5-6 "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: 13-14   Yes, God knows who to get His point across. The first Pslam has stuck with me since the weekend. Then, what happens? Oh yes, Wednesday night Bible study brings about the second verse. Okay! Okay!! I know, I know...W A I T. Waiting is sometimes the hardest thing to do. I am just ready to have some movement. We have been living in our temporary homes for a couple years now. We've downsized until we cannot downsize anymore. We've learned that things do not matter as long as we're together. We've learned that we are a lot stronger than what we thought. All through the grac...

We went for a hike today. To be in the midst of God's Beauty is a wonderful thing! I look everywhere and see the flowers showing us God's glory!  It is beautiful!   Let everything that has breath praise the Lord Psalm 150:6 A blush of pink... Snowflakes in the middle of spring... Sunshine in the petals of flowers... A Weed full of Wishes! :) The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. - Anne Frank  

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 ESV This freedom that God has given us can be difficult.  We question everything.  We doubt and falter on our journey.  It's very easy to get sidetracked in this world.  So many things that can occupy our time and thoughts.  It's difficult to just be still and listen...without the mind wondering to that 'to-do' list waiting for you or listening to the kids or planning dinner...or...or... you get the point! :) But, this freedom is so important.  God did not create us without free will.  As much as God loves us, He holds us with an open palm.  We are free to walk away...to wonder off.  Parenting skills that we should all listen to.  It is very hard for me to do as a parent.  I want to protect my children.  To close my hand so nothing can hurt them.  I'v...

Some of the youth of Phillips Chapel FWBC There's my daughter in the middle, Faith (red shirt) There's Luke in the red shirt There is Joey, red shirt (yes, I made my kids matchy-ies! LOL)   Wow, we are on our 5th month of service already!  I think that's wonderful.  We have really enjoyed it.  It's great to step out of our day to day and get involved with things bigger than you.  This month, I got with Darla from our church and we got the youth involved.  Darla is the lady that has been involved in a few of our month of service events.  She is great at stepping up and helping!  This time, we headed to one of our local nursing homes.   There we sang a few songs and then performed a puppet routine for the elderly. Several came up to us while we were putting things away and told how much they enjoyed it.   In just a few days, we will be out of school.  Woo-hoo!!  I...

Time does seem to fly.  I get busy.  Work.  Husband.  Kids.  Laundry.  Bills.  Yes, yes...that list gets longer and longer.  Then, one day, you take a moment to really look around.  And what do you see?  Our parents are getting older.  Which makes sense because well...got some gray going on myself!  But, it just seems so unreal at times.  My mother's skin is getting thinner and she bruises easily.  Sometimes she looks so frail.  My Dad passed away in 2009 from cancer.  I remember going to all of the doctor's appointments.  I filled out the paperwork and spoke with the doctors.  Just as I do for my own children.  My Dad, which would look at any contract before I signed it when I younger, now needed my help with his rental agreement each year.  I've know in my head that roles get reversed as your parents age.  For me, it's hard to realize that it's really ha...

It's been almost two years since I did my children's pictures.  Our lives have felt like a roller coaster going up and down.  I'm ready to get off the coaster and just stroll! :)  Enjoy the blossoms along the path.  With Mother's Day coming up, I knew it was a good time to get my kids to cooperate for an hour.  To get pictures of all three of them together takes some cooperation and patience! And plenty of retakes! Just thought I'd share pictures of my three blessings.  Joey (14), Luke (13), & Faith (10) My tuba player, Joseph (Joey) My "baby" girl, Faith My middle son, Luke

"Walk in wisdom toward   outsiders, making  the best  use of the time. Let your speech  always be gracious, seasoned with salt,   so that you may   know   how you  ought  to answer each person." Colossians 4:5-6 It is time to be involved.  Don't just shake your head and say 'Amen' on Sunday.  Be involved on the movement of Christ.  As my pastor says, be dispensers not containers.  Isn't that a great way to put it?  Don't just take everything you learn and not share it.  Feed your soul with good and righteous things ~ then go and feed others. The first part of that is SO important.  We must feed our souls.  We must listen, read, study, and learn.  If there is a service, then you should be there.  Not just a warm body...but an open soul ready to receive!  Open up your Bible besides on Sunday and Wednesday.   Music ~ singing praises to our Lor...

I'm ready for a stroll in the park.  The breeze cooling me off.  The smell of honeysuckle in the air.  Squirrels chasing each other.  Birds making beautiful music.  Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?  Unfortunately, Life doesn't work that way. Life's road is so uncertain. The paths are unclear. The destination is unknown.  There are steep inclines where we huff-and-puff, putting one step in front of the other. It's hard work, but no one said it would be easy.  I am thankful for God which guides my steps and the prayers of faithful friends. Kent's heart cath was done last week.  And, there wasn't any new blockages.  Most would read that and be thankful and relieved.  I just couldn't.  I cried.  I just want my husband fixed.  Is that so bad?  He often has pressure on his chest when he lays down and can't get comfortable.  He couldn't even walk down the street with my daughter and I with the dog.  (I'm ...

"And he came down with them and stood on  a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples  and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of  Tyre  and Sidon, who came to hear   him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were  troubled  with unclean spirits were cured.   And all the crowd   sought to touch him, for power  came out from him and healed them all."  ~ Luke 6:17-19 ESV God, our great physician.  Our healer in times of trouble.   I still believe that God heals. It is hard to watch some one suffer.  I watched my Dad suffer from cancer.  And, go from moments of hope and joy...  To moments of despair.  To the point where the hard reality sets in.  And all those emotions in between.  The pain he had to suffer daily.  There comes a point when we realize that it is not in God'...