Just a quick little...

post about the weekend. It was good. T-Man stayed with his best friend this past weekend. I know that it was great for him. He rarely gets a chance to stay anywhere without Lil'Man. The girl was also out of the house on Saturday. She was taking a CPR/Babysitting certifications class. She is now babysitter ready! I know that she is so excited and is now wanting to babysit now more than ever! She is so good with babies too...I'm really proud of her!

Mike was working this Saturday as well, so that left just me and Lil'Man! We had a date! I love dates with my boys. They don't happen often, but I do love spending that one on one with them. We did not do too much though (the weather was not our friend). We went to karate, hung out and had some yummy frozen yogurt together while laughing and just being together.

 Time is fleeting with my children, I know this and I just want to instill in them that I love them and I want to always want to be a part of their lives. It will be trying (I know) as they are approaching the dreaded "Teen Age Years", but to be honest with you, I'm excited to see where God is leading them & I pray that I have taught them to truly trust God in every area of their lives.

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

Crunch Time...

is now over!! It has been a whirl wind of activity and deadlines. As you know, tax season is officially over. I am thankful that I finished that up in March.

We are now in full swing on the "man/pirate cave" update. The day before I (yes...me...solo ...with a little help from the kids) painted the room. Now for those of you who know me, know that  I do not like painting. With that being said, I now have a sense of accomplishment!

 Right now the kids are testing for the end of the year. They are all doing well in school and as a mom...I am so proud of my children. T-Man (as of right now) will begin his 6th grade year in accelerated math. The boy is math gifted! I am excited to see where God is leading him. Lil'Man is also doing well with math, and everything for him just clicked this year. As for the Girl, she is back into reading and right now is reading "The Hunger Games". She says I will enjoy it. I may just have to read the book...still out on the movie though...

So the kids and I are now Purple Belts.  It's hard to believe that we are here now. I remember when we were just starting out. Purple to me seemed like a lofty goal, yet here I am. I love taking karate with my children, it has been a great experience.

Mike has been enjoying some excitement too! Just last weekend he was a food judge for the kick for Darien's Blessing of the Fleet annual festival. I am so proud of my husband for following his passion for food and love seeing him light up when he shares his experience with the kids! I hope that he gets a chance to be a food judge again because he really enjoyed it! We have also been blessed with some work for our drafting business. So even in the midst of hectic weeks, things are looking up and we are being very optimistic about the rest of the year.

One of my greatest joys, though, is having dear friends from Okinawa live so close now! I love that every couple of weeks we are able to get together and create new memories while sharing some old ones!

So, like I said, crunch time is over (for now) and I am ready to relax and enjoy some summer fun with my family. We have trips and camps planned and we will most definitely be hitting the beach!

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

I don't wanna...

really write a blog post today. My heart is very heavy and I have a lot on my mind that I'm still trying to sort through. I'll get like this from time to time. I know that I am in good company because some of the most influential people in the world get a little heavy hearted from time to time as well.

I have been thinking a lot lately about Christ's sacrifice. A couple of days ago I watch the Passion of the Christ for the first time all the way through. It was visually hard to watch. As I made myself watch different scriptures kept coming to mind, and I began to really wonder what it must have been like to walk in the presence of Jesus for 3 years like his disciples, or to have known Jesus his whole life, like his mother, Mary. Or even to have known him for only a shorter time as Mary Magdalene did, or even to have just met Jesus like the Roman Soldier. Would I have been so affected then as I am now?

I remember being asked when I was younger if I had lived when Jesus did, if I would have been a Christ follower. I believe that my answer stands as a YES. Because God's Word says that "His Sheep know His Voice" (John 10:27) and that all that are his will be brought into the fold (John 10:16). Still I wonder what it would have been like to have seen, heard, maybe even touch Jesus while he was walking this earth. Would my heart hurt like it does now for my friends that are going through hardships? Would I be so quick tempered with my family or so quick to think I'm always right? That...I do not know.

I suppose that is part of the reason I feel so heavy in the heart today. I know that I have to change. I have a strong desire to be a better person, but I realize that I'm trying to change me (or I feel like others are trying to change me), and I'm not letting the Master do the changing. I have this want to just take a few days and be in solitude (a dream for me since I'm a mom of 3!) and just seek God and be in His presence, yet I wonder if it would do any good. Even Paul said that he struggled with what he wanted to do and what he actually did (Romans 7:15-20).

OK so there it is...what is on my mind. My friends that are going through a season of loss, my friends who are hurting for others, may family as they continue to grow, and for my friends who are lost...my heart is heavy.

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

iWorship

Yesterday as my family and I went to church I was really wondering how many people were going to be there. It always amazes me how many people attend worship on Easter Sunday. It also breaks my heart because they really miss so much. Worship is so much more than attending a "church service". It is about giving yourself wholly over and being in love with God!

I have a friend who says there is a God, but also says that he cannot worship a God that allows so much hurt and pain in this world. That my friends, breaks my heart even more. God does not allow hurt and pain in the way that you think or that my friend thinks. God is the healer of the pain and suffering that comes from the enemy, the devil, satin, Lucifer. It is because of his fallen state that he took his revenge on God's creation, us!

It was so eye opening yesterday as Pastor Tim was preaching on the resurrection how Jesus' disciples doubted that He was truly ALIVE! Do I truly believe that I serve a Living God? Do you? If I say I believe that He can save me from myself, that He loves me for who I really am, then why do I doubt when the tiniest "situation" pops up? If God is God, then why do I try to "fix it myself" or say that "I've got this"? Why do I think I'm any better than anyone else? Why do we pass judgement on others? Because they don't act like us, look like us, have the same demons as us? Believe me your demons and my demons are equally as bad in God's eyes. Sin is Sin, and God does NOT deem one less offensive as another.

So, I Worship. Not because I have to, not because it's the "right thing to do", but because He loves me, more than I think I could ever love myself or anyone else for that matter. He loves me despite my wicked ways. For that I must confess that I should worship more, love more, be more to Him, to Jesus. It's not my religion, it's my life! My heartfelt prayer is to not be afraid to share the truth of my life and how Jesus has saved me. I don't want to be afraid of what you will say, but to love you anyway. And I pray that you will come to love Him so much that you Worship everyday (not just Easter).


~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

Vaca in the ATL...

and I had a real good time. The kids and I went up for a little get away and to visit a lifelong friend. Well she's more than a friend, she's my Mom #2. Has been since I lived in MO and met her. I'll be honest, I don't really remember meeting her, I've seem to have always just known her and throughout our travels (me as a BRAT & her as a Military Wife) we have always managed to stay in touch. She has been to all my kids baptisms and we have just enjoyed sharing life together all this time.





 This trip was more for a retreat, but I sure had a great time. Martha and I took the kids to Dixieland Fun Park on Saturday. We rode the zip line...more like zip chair on a line, but it was still really cool. Lil'Man was terrified at first, but loved it once we took off! I love watching my kids conquer fear! The one we all loved too was the octopus. That has always been one of my favorites!

Church on Sunday was a nice change. It's always good to worship God with a different perspective of worship. I was so proud of the kids too...they stayed in worship with me and they remained very respectful...as in no outbursts. Some of the greatest joys in life is pleasing other people, and Martha is great at that! She took the girl and bought some materials to make designer flip flops. Oh, the girl is so excited to make and sell her new items!

While they were out doing the shopping, I took the boys for a walk. Well I walked, the boys skateboarded & heelied (you know the shoes with the wheels in them) down the hills (falling a few times I may add) until we got down to the park (about 1/2 mile).

I watched the boys call out to a Canadian Goose. I thought for sure Lil'Man was telling that bird to come over and play with his duck call, but I told him that I was walking away because those birds chase & bite!





 



That evening, the girl prepped and cooked dinner. It was delicious!






 
Ahh, Monday was good. I thought we were going to do some window shopping, but it turns out that most of the shops in Fayetteville are closed on Mondays. So with that, I took the kids for a Blizzard and then went back to give the boys to Martha. She was taking the boys fishing while the girl and I went out to get a mani/pedi that was long overdue (that was my birthday gift to her last month). After it was all said and done, our nails look great (still!) and then we grabbed a coffee and walked around a real cool art gallery before heading home.

 

 That evening, I prepped and cooked dinner. It was my roast...yup...moist & delicious! The girl...she made the dessert!

 
 Our last day in Atlanta...Martha and I took the kids to the High Art Museum. OK, first of all, can I just say that I was not expecting it to be SO BIG! It was awesome!

 I really wanted to show the girl some of the artists that were on display. They had an exhibit called Picasso to Warhol. It was pretty cool. Loved that the boys enjoyed it too.

We took them through some of the other exhibits too and they were able to see how different cultures from different time periods used art as an expression of what was going on in society at the time the artist. That to me was cool.

Homeward bound after that and we had a nice ride home with only a few rain showers and a few spats in the car, but overall...a very enjoyable trip. So good to be home though, to see my husband, the dogs, my bed...

Vacations are great, but coming home is better. 

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

Monumental makes a monumental splash

(source from RNR)

Actor Kirk Cameron has had an impressive viewing on his Patriotic documentary, "MONUMENTAL" that opened last week. The Baptist Press reports the film grossed $1.2 million for a $2,400 per-screen average. That places it close to some of the most successful faith-based films ever and could help it land in more cities. Perhaps most impressive, it did it on a weeknight with just one showing at 550 theaters on a March 27. In Monumental, Cameron follows the footsteps of America's founders -- first the Pilgrims (he travels to England) and then America's forefathers, interviewing experts and historians along the way. His goal is to find the source that inspired the founders and to explore whether America can be turned around economically, morally and spiritually.