Wednesday Wandomness, doc!

What I'm listening to now...

I'm at work, which is a corporate office attached to my parents' home.  So to help circulate the lovely fall air through said house and office, I keep the french doors open.  Doing this lets in the sound of my 9 and 7-year-old siblings watching Looney Tunes--one of my all-time favorite cartoons (hence the funny accented blog title). They just don't make cartoons like Bugs anymore, do they?  It's cracking me up and I'm not even watching. :)

What I've been reading...
I recently finished One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life.  They were a combo I didn't plan on, but I'm thankful that I ended up reading them at the same time.  Both brought me two challenging perspectives on the joy of our life in Christ, thankfulness and servant-heartedness that will find me lost in their pages again, I'm sure. :)

A Woman After God's Own Heart - Elizabeth George

North & South - Elizabeth Gaskell

Lies Young Women Believe - Nancy Leigh DeMoss & Dannah Gresh

Now, in addition to trying to keep myself in the Word, I've started THREE books. -gasp-  It was kind of an accident, and I thought "pregnancy brain" would cause me to quit one of them (or two, or three...), but I've been surprised and thankful!  I'm pressing on, absorbing some wonderful things and hoping I can tackle them even with a newborn.  Heh heh, we'll see!

What is up with baby...
(38wk 4d)  Monday, our Doctor's appointment revealed that we're already 80% effaced and 2 cm dialated!  While the Dr. said that could mean delivery in 2 days or 2 weeks, in light of other symptoms, I'm hoping for a baby within the next week. :)
It's been neat to follow blogs of other Mama's due around the same time as me.  A big congrats to Steph and her sweet family, Mr. and Mrs. Lukie--and a very soon congrats to Anna! :)

I should not...
...browse Pinterest on an empty stomach.  Noooo, sir.

I really need to...
...clean the house.
...finish packing the hospital bag and diaper bag.
...stock the fridge so hubby needn't make avoidable runs to the store after baby's born.
...clean.muah.casa.
...finish the next wave of baby gift thank-yous!
...cweanhowse.
...blog all those posts waiting to be posted.
...did I mention I need to clean my house???

I really, really love...
...my sweet husband.
...this growing darling who will make her appearance soon.
...FRUIT SNACKS!
...and you, friend, for stopping by.

I hope your Wednesday, or whatever day it is, is blessed with the goodness of God.  So much that you can't contain it--even if it's not very evident at the moment, I still hope you know it's there. :)

Workday thoughts...

"...whatever you do, in word or deed,

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him."

~Colossians 3:17

"Christ has lifted the curse of work. 

He has replaced anxious toil with TRUST in God's promise

to supply our needs (Philippians 4:19)

and has thus awakened in us a different passion in our work.

We turn with joy to the call of Jesus: 

Seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness

and the food that perishes will be added to you.

Labor to love people and honor God.

Think of new ways that your work can bless people.

Stop thinking mainly of profitablility,

and think mainly of how helpful your service can become."

~John Piper

Don't Waste Your Life

On the Menu...blogarily speaking :)

I'm kinda of excited.

Once upon a time, when husband was a bachelor, he had a laptop.

A beautiful, quality, apple-red laptop.

Alas, said laptop was sick, broken, and thought beyond repair.

This is why it's been difficult for me to blog and stay in-the-loop on Facebook.

(my work computer loathes networking sites, blah)

But yay, we were able to put it in the shop and get it fixed for 1/8th of what it costs!  We would have had to wait a bit if it had cost more to fix than buying a new one.  It took over a month, but we finally have it back. :)

I'm not only excited about having a computer now, but also because I actually have 4+ blog posts I've been working on that are pending in my drafts.  Yike, I don't think I've EVER done that before. :)

Here is what will be served on the Jen menu soon, Lord willing:

• I've been wanting to share our courtship/dating/engagement story for a long while, and since tomorrow marks a special anniversary, it's inspired me to clack out the craziness that made up last summer's romantic developments. :)  God is good.
• Except for small mentionings, most of you have no idea what my "house" looks like.  I've been working on cleaning it extensively this week--once it's done, I will post pictures of our little home.
• With our love story, I hope to share some details of my singleness season.  During that time, I wrote a journal entry in the form of a letter called "Dear Miss Single Lady...".  Lately, with some prodding of some dear single sisters in Christ, I'm hoping to share that. :)
• The term "yearn" has come up alot in everyday life lately, and I recently attended an event that caused some super provoking thoughts on how humanity is constantly yearning for something.

Not only I'm I anxious to share all these things, but also to stay caught up with my blog friends too.  There's many a night when I've done all my reading, cleaning, etc and I've wanted to catch up on here.  It's not only networking fun; I also receive lots of fellowship visiting your hearts, families, homes and thoughts via your blogs. :)

<><><><><><><><><><>
Please remember Beka at hold on, love... and her family in your prayers.  Her sister Anna is one of my dearest sister-friends, and she called me this morning with the news that Grammy had gone home to be with Jesus.  Grammy lived with their family for extensive care, and I'd been blessed to witness it on visits to their home.  Though caring for a loved one can be tiresome and frusterating, their family did it together with so much love and compassion, in spite of any difficulties.  Lots of changes will take place in their home now, so they will need our sincere prayers.  But we rejoice because Gram is no longer hurting, but at peace--and rejoice in the reminder that this world isn't our home. :)

My sis Phelisha with sweet Grammy during our visit in May.

Spelling cont...

Nearly four months later, here I am. ;)  While skipping through the alphabet, I hope to share some things that have kept me insanely busy...

M is for Mark Schultz.  I thank God, and thank Mr. Schultz for coming to my area for a concert on June 17th.  Without that concert, I wouldn't have agreed to go see him with a friend who wanted to catch up.  Two months after catching up found me engaged to that dear friend. :)
[You can read a breeze-through of our story at weddingwire.com/craigandjennifer]

N is for nursing, again.  After receiving my CNA, and going through one crazy semester of generals that were required for the nursing program, I've felt led to change my major to Education.  How's that for stereotypical college student???

O is for ohhhhh, God is so good.  Those words aren't flippantly spoken from a girl who is on cloud nine and has everything together. They're spoken from lips that are typically Overwhelmed and Oh-so-often standing in the need of God's grace, which He offers consistently...which is why He is oh so good.

P is for prayer.  Dear friend, it's fast, free, and the rewards are priceless.  We Americans are all about things like that.  But this is something I've struggled to take advantage of to it's highest potential.  I'm praying to be better at that.

Q is for quite a year.  It's weird to think we just have a couple weeks leff of it.  Mine has been FULL, and I don't merely mean my schedule.  It's been FULL...of blessings, of difficulty, of lessons, and of grace.  Has yours been Quite a year?

R is for reading.  Something I've missed dreadfully.  I used to keep updated book lists, and check them off after each book was finished.  I would read books with friends and we'd discuss them--which was so good for fellowship and retaining what was read!  But I haven't been able to do more than a here and there, which is why I needed to put down the Bible Retreat after Psalms. :(  I hope married-life will be paced enough to be immersed in books again.

S is for SWAT, the youth ministry I've been involved in for over two years.  I was one of the few who started SWAT as a small youth group Bible study, and I have seen so many students come and go since then.  All of them have taught me so much, and have become precious to me in cool ways.  I've decided to no longer volunteer with the youth once I'm married--which will be difficult, as much as it will be good for me. :)

T is for True Princess.  For the last six weeks I will be helping with SWAT, I started the Lifeway Bible study True Princess: Embracing Humility in an All-About-Me world with the girls.  This has been one of the best student studies I've found in a long time.  It's rich with the Word, very deep and challenging!  We started a tradition of having tea with the study each week, and we've been going to our local nursing home to do manicures for the ladies there.  It's been amazing. :)

U is for unexpected plans.  If you just skip back a few blog posts, you'll see that even 5 months ago, marriage wasn't even on the horizon of my mind (look at what I had to say about my relationships on my About this Jen page, haha).  I had come out of a difficult relationship early this year, and if anything, I was ready to commit to a lifetime of singleness and servitude. :)  But lo and behold, I'm so sincerely grateful that I have a Father who knows me so well.  His plans for me aren't copies of anyone else's life and plans--they're just for me, and for me to trust Him with.

V is for very scatterbrained.  I think my brain only knows one mode, and it's THAT one.

W is for wedding, which is on New Year's Day 2011.  One of the reasons we chose that day is thanks to Chloe...she blogged about her wedding on July 4th, and the perks of always having your anniversary off.  Since Craig and I will be in school for awhile and working ALOT, it would be nice to have our anniversary on a holiday between semesters. :)

X is for...not very many things. Including this line, haha.

Y is for why are there so many letters in the alphabet? Y is for I can't think of anything for this one either.

Z iz for zuppa, vich iz veady.
And I'm hungry, because my Mom has be on a "your wedding dress doesn't zip and you have two weeks" diet.  Ahem.

Wordlessless Wednesday

Missy - PJ - Kaitlyn

S.W.A.T. girls on the mission field.

Paint and a girl's intuition.

Watch out This Old House.

Wordless [psych!] Wednesday

Summertime + Trampolines = CrazyawesomeHILARIOUSfun!

Sit a Spell to Spell a Bit

A is for adoption, something I really hope I get to do one day, Lord willing.

(I agree with Ash, who tagged me for this cool ABC thingamabob, and also begins with A)

B is for blog friends.  I've thought about blog friends ALOT lately and how I appreciate getting to know you amazing people.  Blogging allows me to know things about someone's heart that could take months/years of a friendship to know.  It's pretty cool.

C is for CNA, which I now AM.  My test results and certificate came in the mail last week--thank you for your prayers!

D is for Daniel.  I've had many Daniels leave footprints in my life.  Some good and some notsomuch.  This name seriously follows me around.  But I've been blessed with a couple of brothers-in-Christ that are stuck with their snippy sister: (L: Finney, my adopted lil bro, and me at Passion 2010 and R: "Skyguy", my partner in crime student ministry and fellow StarWars nerd.)

E is for experiencing the body of Christ outside of a church service.  Outside of a denomination.  Outside of a belief system.  Experiencing the love and fellowship of Christ, the joy of the Word and very little else: on the phone, in a coffeeshop, Facebook, blog, or workplace.

F is for funny pictures I find on my $800 camera that I, myself, didn't take.  Suspects under the age of 12 have taken these (can you say self-portait-queen?  There was about 100 of these on my Canon when I got back from Kenya)...

G is for [the] God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.  Recently I read a comment from an athiest on a Christian article, saying something along the lines of never being able to worship a god like the One in the Old Testament because He was about nothing but wrath.  Journeying with the Bible Retreat, and going through the OT at about 3 books a week...I wish this person took the chance to know this God for themselves.

H is for happinessssss....there's Grace enough for us and the whole human race...ohhhh happinessss....Thankfully, Lady Gaga has nothin' on this catchy David Crowder Band song that has been stuck. in. my. head!

I is for imagination.  Or lack thereof for this Interesting letter. [skuh-Ip]

J is for Jen moments.  My friends have them.  They usually consist of forgetting items in their hand, taking 6.7 seconds to receive information that has been spoken, lack of sarcasm sending and receiving, and things of that nature.  Do YOU have Jen moments?

K is for Kenya. Its crazy how you can continue to learn from a place/experience you're no longer in the middle of. I can't wait to relive a little as I share pieces of Kenya with you soon.

L is for lengthy posts and church meetings...the reason there will be a PART 2 to Jen's ABC thingamabob.

Love, Jen :)

Life has been absolutely, absolutely, absolutely (is more than one absolutely unnecessary, since it's absolute?) nuts.  Crazy, I tell you.  [thinks for a minute] My life has been crazy for two years.  It wasn't this crazy before...whatever happened, it became my lot in life.  Maybe life isn't so busy, as much as my mind is.  Ever feel like that?  There's a whole lot more going on inside there than there is outside.

No, really, there is! :)

I've been praying about some direction with the Swat girls, and I believe we're gonna start this...

Elizabeth George's A Young Woman After God's Own Heart.  My cousin Rebekah gave me this book when I was around 16, and it was such a critical blessing in my spiritual life.  Elizabeth talks to you like she's your best friend, and her musings are FULL of wisdom/Scripture/stories on foundational things like: prayer, the Word, our love-life with Christ, guys (hard subject, there!), and just having a heart that is inclined to her Savior.  I've used it for lessons and given it as gifts many times cause I loved it so much. :)  She has A Woman After God's Own Heart as well--I'd like to check that out sometime.

The family went to the water/theme park, Holiday World, this week (all ten of us!)--got sunburned, got exhausted, got some REALLY needed family time.  My little brother Caleb is definitely my hero...that almost-nine-year-old-and-very-unadventurous-boy rode every single roller coaster...even The Voyage, which is one of the world's largest wooden coasters, and was featured on Travel Channel's Extreme Terror Rides 2 Death-Defying Drops: The World's Scariest Summits and Plummets...oh yes.  MY brother went on it THREE times.  I have the official picture.  You know, the unattractive ones they take of you as you've volunteered to basically skydive in a wooden cart...and charge you $10 a pop for.  Yep that one.

In the middle of all the craziness, I'm trying to pull my hair out be still.  Because busyness in my mind means I have a hard time focusing, getting things done, and being efficient.  Be still.  When Israel was crazy-busy with things that took their focus, God spoke, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..."  Such gooood words.  Repentence (for loss of focus/idolotry), REST, Quietness, Trust.  Mmmm.  Israel wouldn't have any of it...but I sure do. :)

Back in APRIL, Chloe gave me the Beautiful Blogger award, yay!  I have just had a time with these 7 interesting things...but here we go...

1. 
   
   I am exactly 1/8 full Cherokee Native American, 1/8 Spaniard (from Spain) and alot of everything else.  I could have received free college because of my Native American heritage...BUT...my great-great grandfather was onery.  How?  On the reservation, he would shoot the clay water jars off the women's heads, drenching them.  One of the husbands wasn't happy, and they had a draw.  My Grandpa won, but since he killed a man, he fled the reservation to Mexico.  Changed his name and we have no documented proof.  Oh wells.  Interesting fact though, right? :)
2. 
   
   I am dense.  I lost my sarcasm meter somewhere recently, and I've needed every joke explained.  Unfortunate fact.
3. 
   
   Music.  I love to play guitar, listen to the radio, sing, (I have my Grooveshark playlist going now).
4. 
   
   I LOVE the color blue.  In all hues, it's fantastic.
5. 
   
   Parables, analogies and word pictures make me happy.  They explain deep things so much better.
6. 
   
   It really takes alot for me to be angry.  But lately, self-righteousness/arrogance (expecially if I realize it in myself) makes my blood boil.  I'm trying to work on that.
7. 
   
   I love tortillas, and I will eat very-nearly anything in them.  Anything.

The Beautiful (inside and out) Bloggers I award are:

Jen:  My sweet RanchGirl friend I've known since I was TWELVE!  I answered her pen pal request, which quickly turned to emailing and chatting all the time, which turned to telephone convos, etc.  She's a beautiful blogger, Mama, wife, friend (and has a cool name too). :)

&

Sara: Ironically, Jen's sister!  A beautiful young lady with a heart for foreign missions and a spectacular sense of humor. <3

The end.

P.S. Stay tuned. Once I have Africa pictures to share, instead of posting it all in one gi-normous post (cause there's ALOT), I will post small entries that expound on highlights. :)

Wordless [oh, never] Wednesday

Kama mkipendana hivyo, watu wote watafahamu ya kuwa ninyi ni wanafunzi wangu.

~Yohana (John) 13:35

Ohmygoodness: JenCode for backed-up-blog. We're gonna need Blogger Drain-O after this.

Tuesday 1. Bible study with my prettymuchamazing college group--on the book of Malachi & empty religion (wonderful study, btw!).  This is the place where Jen dominates at Apples to Apples...a fantastic rare thing, indeed. :)

2. Stay the night with these two wonderful ladies: Ashley & Andrea...

My Bulgarian placebo sisters.  We were triplets in the spiritual womb and no one knew it. :)

Wednesday
3.  Andrea, Ashley & Jen motor to a Children's Home where we will help with any indoor/outdoor work they need accomplished.  That evening, we will hang out with the kids/teens there--have a devotional, worship and games.  Please pray for us--this is kind of our "spring break mission trip", and we hope to be a blessing to the kids there.  It's not about us...it's about our Savior and our "faith expressing itself through His love" (Gal. 5:6).

Thursday

4.  Go shopping for similar outfit to this.  Only without the cute lab coat.  Rebekah (my cousin and fellow future nursing student) and I went shopping for scrubs yesterday.  She made me laugh because our scrubs for class have to be white.  Yes, plain white.  No cute designer scrub-tops here (did you know they actually have name brand scrubs?!  Like Grey's Anatomy scrubs?  No joke).

And Rebekah figured we looked more like we're from the psych ward than cute nurses.  Ha, you never know. :)

Friday

5.  Pack up the cool cats on my sidebar: SWAT--and head to Nashville, TN for the weekend.  We are blessed to be able to go to Acquire the Fire for the second time, and we're looking forward to what God has for us.  It's like mini-Passion for high school/pre-college students.  Again, pray for us--I'm praying sincerely that the students are incredibly and imperishably (which means is lasts forever!) by Who their God is. :)

Saturday & Sunday

6. Return from Nashville and crash.

Monday

7. Nursing classes commence.

See what I mean by ohmygoodness?  I will be backed-up on posts, and unable to vent them until next week when I can sit down and breathe once again. :)  Blogging friends, prepare for battle.  You'll need your infectous blogging-bug sneezes and some Blogger Drain-O.

Wordless [notsomuch] Wednesday

I know this isn't a real blog post...BUT...I couldn't help sharing the goods of today...

The neighbor called at 7:30am, so patiently telling us that our horses were in her field.

They come back to the barn, and we realize we're missing one--the old one.

Worriedly we start searching. Far and wide. We searched her Field#1, the wheat field, and on our way to yet another one, we pass this long double row of round bales.

It's not everyday you look at bales closely...

...but it's a good thing I saw his ears just over the top. :D

Oh, we laughed.  And laughed.  AND laughed at the poor old man.

He was probably a tad ashamed.

He probably thought he was in hay heaven.

Only it wasn't heaven enough to want to be stuck there for all eternity, you know?

He couldn't turn around, so we had to make him walk backwards for about 100ft or so. 

It wasn't fun a'tall.

I have to say, the sight was almost worth the searching, pushing, coaxing and fence reparing.

Almost.

Thursdee...My Dagobah Swamptini & Me

Say hello to my breakfast everyday this week. :) Only in liquid form!

I have been searching juicer recipes that have specific purposes...ie, detox, skin, fasting, etc.
Did you know there are recipes for natural gallstone removal? What you probably don't want to know is it involves drinking a cup of olive oil in a day. Sounds great. :D

I kinda wanted to do something healthy after the Thanksgiving festivities...AND it gave me a good excuse to get my Dad's handy fruit-veggie juicer out of storage. I imagine, being in the nutritional field and all, it was one of those things he "had to have!". But to Mom's chagrin, it ended up on the tallest shelf of the tallest kitchen cabinet. Such is life.

This recipe is a skin cleanse:
1 cucumber
1 bunch of parsley (I used half)
1 4 oz. box of alfalfa sprouts (I used a little under half)
1 or 2 springs of mint
Water

and because I didn't like the sound of liquid roughage...I added an apple and half a lemon.Ta Da! I call it....The Dagobah Swamptini...in honor of my brothers Justin, Daniel C. & Alex (the latter two, in Christ/adopted) and their love for all things Star Wars. What made me think of a Star Wars beverage was the blue stuff Luke Skywalker drank in A New Hope...remember? As a child, I always thought that looked tasty. Probably alot better than my green stuff.

--end of complete SW nerd moment--

Don't be fooled by the picture. I just thought the glass and sprig of parsley would make it pretty. But that's only 4 of the 8 oz. I drank...yum!

I must say I will not be posting before and after pictures of my skin and what this strange potion will do to it. 1) Because my face skin does, indeed, look horrid. And 2) there just may NOT be an after picture to make it all better.

happysunshinythursday,

Jen

I've been Sugar Doll-ed!

Sweet Mrs. Chloe at trying to throw my arms around the world... gave me my first ever blogger award...isn't she sweet?? I'm so excited! I never thought I would be given one of these because I don't have a great blog following, I don't post very often, and I don't blog-hop as much as I would like. It's neat how on the world (didja catch that, the WHOLE WIDE WORLD) wide web, you can meet kindred spirits. You would love Chloe's posts--her sense of humor and perspective on her daily-to-do's brighten my day...stop by and see her sometime.

What I am to do is post 10 things about myself, and award my favorite bloggers. :) I'm having a hard time thinking of things to write, so it may be COMPLETELY random, but real...which I believe is the nature of it anywho. :) Here it goes:

1) Something I enjoy: Anne of Green Gables. I read some of the books growing up (I would love to finish that series sometime), and watched the movies in my early teen years. Those movies still make me laugh and cry! They are squeaky-clean too, which is rare these days. I recently watched them again, and I've found that I'm alot like Anne in the way I perceive and respond to things. Don't know if that's good or bad...especially in the love-life department, ahem.

2) Something that changed my life: Central Mexico. When I was young, I begged God to never make me a missionary (thanks to persecution/martyrdom stories). As I've gotten older, I've been drawn to it. I was able to go to Mexico for my first mission trip last year and it changed me in this way...we are called to one mission field: wherever our feet are. Whether it is here in my hometown/workplace/school, or on foreign soil, my heart for mission work should be based on my heart-in-love with Jesus Christ and sharing Him. :) God opens doors and nudges us here and there, but I don't think the "heart" of it should change with geography. :)

3) Something I find funny: my 5 year old sister Jaelyn (see pic from previous post). I wish you could meet her! She is positively hilarious. She is a drama queen and her sarcasm capacity grows by the day. I could write a book on the many funny things she says!

4) Something I want: I would really like to be married and have little ones one day. I would like to make a home, and have my own kitchen. I would even want the fires and tears that come with all this.

5) Something I confess: I sometimes struggle with #4. Thanks to my gracious, gracious, gracious God, I've never fallen into "the depths of despair" (aforementioned Anne quote). And because of that grace, I may tend to have a "mask" that says I don't struggle in this department. But my friend, I do indeed. I've had my heart broken. And my hopes deferred. Then again. And yet again. I am so happy at home, and content with where the Lord has me. But I confess, while I try my hardest to be strong and remember my God is in control, once in awhile, there comes a day to cry about this. :) Maybe I'm just a woman that way. His grace is sufficient for me (and for you).

6) Something that rocks my socks: the students in our youth group. I never would have thought I would be able to work with teenagers and keep my sanity and most of my hair. But they make me laugh. They are patient with my insufficiencies. They help me remember the important things--about God and life--and teach me more than I could ever teach them. I wish you could meet Levi, or talk to AJ and Jessi. I wish you could play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with Alex. I wish you could be prayed for by Tekoa. I wish your day could be brightened by Missy, or be encouraged by Emily.
There's many MORE of them, and they all would rock your socks too. :)

7) Something that confuses people: I am a living paradox, let me tell you.
--I thrive on organization; it comes with being the eldest child, and a woman. My desk and it's contents are an absolute mess at the moment.
--I think things through. I am incredibly spontaneous.
--I would love to fellowship (or "church") in homes/spontaneously, rather than in church buildings. Yet the Lord has led me to fellowship/serve at a church in my hometown.
--I would love to be married. I have considered celebacy too.
--I share my opinions. I strongly dislike, and avoid, controversy.
--I'm on top of things. I tend to do things last minute.
Stuff like that, ya know?

8) Something that makes me so happy: early mornings, just before the sun rises. Everywhere, there are people awake and buzzing. Animals have been out and about long before you. But that stillness...indescribable. The air, the soundlessness, the sunrise...it's quietly liberating. :)

9) Something that I currently find positively amazing: a combination of the Holy Spirit and the book of Romans. The world can have this world. Please, just give me Christ. Check them out, you will love them both.

10) Something I'm thankful for: for you, dear friend. :) I can't believe you made it through this ramble of rambleness. Wellgeethanks for bearing with me.

I award:

Jen at Ranch Girl Diaries

Ash at once upon a dreamer...

Angie at From Center to Circumference

M at Musings of a Ranch Wife

I would award Chloe

or

LeAnna at Thoughts n Whatnots

but they have been awarded. :)

Monday. It Begins.

Winter sport pants........$10 (Kohl's sale!)

Size-8 Women's Running Pumas.....$78

iPod Shuffle.......Free (a gift, those are the best)

Old Navy Hoodie that miraculously matches aforementioned Kohl's pants...free from bag of clothes

5k training schedule...free, thank you Chloe...and world wide web.

Early morning 5k training run in God's creation to God's-creation-themed David Crowder....PRICELESS.

So, I really like certain things. Things like staying under warm covers on fall mornings (the season doesn't really matter in the scheme of things).
Under the covers anytime before 7:30 is bliss. Bliss is this wonderness.
I like other things like running...running to the barn. Running to the mailbox. But I'm usually dying a little when I run those distances. Embarrassing fact.
So in light of my love for running, I decided to take up the art beginning this morning, and get better at it. Regardless of the hard work, it comes with some pretty nice-sounding benefits. :)
And in light of my love for under-the-coversness...this is how my 1st morning went.

I awoke...to sunrise? Wait. I set my cellphone alarm for 6am. It's not this bright at 6.
The cellphone won't power up. Ugh. Dead battery.
Hmm...yawn...maybe I'm not supposed to go on my run today.
--pulls covers to chin and turns over--
Ugh. Starting over on an un-Monday would really stink.
I get up and walk across the room to Phelisha's phone and see what time it is. 7am.
My plan was to go back to bed, but I'm glad I didn't.

It was a beautiful morning...and "O Praise Him" and "There Is No One Like You" make good running songs on such a morning. They say the 1st couple weeks are the hardest, but I'm impressed with Day One.
The motto for this stuff is "Don't push yourself too hard"...I can handle that. :)

Changes...

Ohmygoodnessgracious.

The weather has been positively gorgeous.

Too bad that I haven't been out in it hardly at all, thanks to the 9 to 5.

I'm thankful for the 9 to 5. (smiiiilleee)

I'm also thankful for anytime I can spend outside...like flea markets, family pictures, and on my way to the car.

We had Mardi Gras last weekend, and it was gorgeous out for both the flea market AND parade. I love flea markets. SWAT's fundraiser booth was pretty laid back this year--we had a bake sale and sold gourds again. Well...we sold 2 gourds. We're still stuck with a bazillion of them. I think next time we'll give them away. :D

We have some incredibly sweet ladies in our church...not only are they amazing cooks, but they blessed us with so many baked items. One of the ladies has a 6-year-old that has a crush on me...he's soooo sweet. He once told someone, pertaining to Phelisha and I, "they make my heart feel good." He and his mom baked several cakes and banana bread loaves for us and when they came to drop them off at the booth, I told him that since he worked so hard, he could pick out a gourd. He didn't even inspect them (we did have some cool Spiderman/Superman ones!), but asked, "Which one did YOU paint?" I pointed to the one I'd painted a glittery dove on, with the words "Peace" and a Scripture in Isaiah. He still didn't inspect it...just snatched it off the frame and tucked it under his arm. Boys are something else. :)

The whole day was fun. I browsed the booths, ate a Gyro and got my face painted (it's been several years since I did that). I let the artist just go adlib and it was an intense face painting...

Little paint. LOTS of glue. Add 2-inch-white eyelashes and a glue on nose stud. :) Hmm....

..I've thought about getting a stud for real for quite sometime. Of course this glue-on is a boulder compared to the pin-dot I would actually get. For one, it takes bravery I haven't figured out if I have? And for second...hmmm. Yes. Hmm.

What do you think?

I can't believe it, but I've been working on our Christmas card today, and I'm going Christmas shopping this weekend. --gasp-- I can't believe we've only got a little more than a month left of the year. For me, the year has been blurry. Probably because it's been so busy. It's been very full. Full of immensely good things and difficult things. Full of changes and chances of growth. I can tell I've changed this year, and haven't yet concluded that it's all good. I pray so. But if not, I pray that it will be...thankfully He's not finished refining us yet. :)

How about you, friend? Have you noticed a change in you over the course of this year? If you could describe this year according to what you're experienced and/or learned, what would you say?

Stuff I love...

1. I love the only Almighty God.
2. I love the times when the Cross is real to me, and I'm in true awe (I wish that was every living moment).
3. I love my family, all nine of them!
4. I love autumn, and everything that comes with it.
5. I love the mornings when getting up early is easy.
6. I love the Swat Team--they're the most amazing group of young people I know.
7. I love the first sip of a Caramel Frappuccino.
8. I love the feeling of riding a horse bareback.
9. I love it when someone asks me if I will pray with them.
10. I love wearing soft sweaters (see #4).
11. I love taking pictures, of anything and everything.
12. I love it when I'm so happy, I cry.
13. I love the way my heart feels when I hold a little one.
14. I love culture shock. It's fun.
15. I love a real paradox.
16. I love my church family--not just the ones limited to my building--all of them far and wide!
17. I love it when I see the Swat Team having a blast together.
18. I love it when a song says exactly what I can't.
19. I love it when the Word of God speaks.
20. I love Facebook...a little too much.
21. I love being outside at night, especially when the sky is clear.
22. I love thunderstorms.
23. I love how near my Abba feels when I'm struggling.
24. I love cooking and altering recipes.
25. I love people who are compassionate.

Honest Scrap

LeAnna at ThoughtsnWhatnots has been a dear friend of mine for almost a decade. She and I met in a chatroom of a friend's friend, and hit it off right off. I appreciate her honesty (ta dum tssh!) and her style of both, sharing the love of Jesus and making everyday things funny! Thank you for tagging me in good faith, Banana. ;)

I'm not a very good blog hopper, so this is my 1st time at Honest Scrap. I'm supposed to list 10 honest things about myself, and tag 9 friends to do the same.
But before I commence the honesty-festivities...
I solemnly promise upon my blonde head of hair to tell the honest scrap, the whole scrap, and nothing but the honest scrap, so help me blog.

Hold on to your hats...

1) I don't know if you already caught on, but I am BLONDE. If there's an acrostic for that word, I represent every letter. My friends and family will bear witness to my intense gullibility and how quickly I catch on to things; which resembles a traffic light..
YELLOW = she's receiving information. Pause...
RED = she's computing. Pause...
GREEN = OH! SHE GETS IT!

2) I love my Creator and Savior. Honest to goodness, I fail Him daily. Honestly, I don't deserve being loved by Him so. But I know that HONESTLY, TRULY I AM LOVED BY HIM...and I try to live my life like I love Him back.
"We love because HE FIRST LOVED US." 1 John 4:19

3) I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters, ages from 19 to 5. Yes. There are eight of us. Mark me, everytime we visit Walmart together, a stranger will not-very-tactfully count us by squinting and pointing. We drive a large, red 15-passenger van so that we can all ride together when we go places. I live with all seven of them in a 2,000 sq. ft. farmhouse, and can honestly say that (though I have pulled hair out on occassion) I've never been driven to insanity.

4) I'm addicted to dressings. I love dressing my food in some form or fashion, and that's weird. My favorites are real mayo (not miracle whip), tartar sauce, homemade Ranch dressing, A1 steak sauce, cocktail sauce, horseradish, salsa, bloomin' onion sauce, Salsa Ranch...etc. I dress my pastas, my sandwiches, my chili, my potatoes, my cheeseburgers, and pretty much everything else, except my cold cereal. :D

5) Unless I'm baking, I NEVER follow a recipe. Sometimes because I never have all the ingredients that it calls for. Other times because I simply don't prefer to put "that" in. I always substitute, change, and dab and dash. All my girlfriends are this way too...hmm...we should play Recipe Telephone and see what it ends up being afterwards. :)

6) I am a living paradox. To name but a few examples...
I'm quiet and don't speak very loudly. (I can get passionate enough to raise my voice and a stink!)
I love going/fellowshipping with a "church". (Sometimes, I would like to fellowship in homes and "break bread" every Sabbath)
I don't handle gruesome things very well. (I would like to be a nurse or a midwife)
I LOVE scrapbooking. (I've never finished a whole scrapbook. I basically just collect scrapbook stuff.)
I'm OCD and on top of things. (I'm not a perfectionist. I'm sometimes late. Don't look in my room. Or desk. Or car.)
I strongly dislike being a spectacle. (I stand in front of church to sing with worship band, and stand in front of teenagers to give lessons)

7) When I was 3, I talked very well and I had a good memory. I was obsessed with my Alice in Bibleland Jonah book. My poor parents...and my grandmother...and my aunts and uncles...endured that book because I made anyone and everyone read it to me. It didn't take long and I no longer asked anyone to read it to me. I did it myself! They thought I could read every word, but HONESTLY...I had memorized it. :)

8) When I was 15, I wanted to be Amish. I wanted to live in a technology-stricken existence. I wanted to cook, clean, sew, can vegetables from my garden, do laundry by hand (at 4 am!), milk cows, go to quilting bees, be wooed by an Amish boy who owned a fancy buggy and trotter, raise an Amish brood, etc.
I think I could do it. But I don't exactly DREAM about that anymore. :)

9) Per my OCD, it's almost physically and emotionally impossible for me to sit down in a room without cleaning it first.
I never sit in, or in proximity of, my room. I crash there.
No, my car is not a room.

10) I love being home and I get homesick easily.
However, knowing that I'm a "missionary" WHEREVER I am, I would still love it if the Lord allowed me to serve on a foreign mission field.

Oh my. :)
:deep voice:
Here are my CHOSEN NINE.
You have been entrusted with honesty, fellowship of nine.
Ten honest things are your mission.
Good luck. :end of deep voice:

El Gato Limon
Saramblings
Hm...
--For my Facebook friends, I AWARD...
Daniel C.
Mary B.
Anna T.
Justin H.
Barat Q.
Alex Q.

These are fun, but they take time. You don't have to, only if you can! But have fun, and I look forward to hearing your random anecdotes of honesty. :)

Follow the rules now....
1) Say thanks and give a link to the one who gave you the award.
2) Share 10 honest things about yourself.
3) Present this award to 9 other fantastically brilliant blogs of content or design, or peeps that have encouraged you.
4) Tell those 9 people they've been awarded and make sure they're informed of these guidelines.
Love, Jen

This and That Tuesday

I haven't thought about this is a LONG time.
Back in the days of being an avid-blogger (betcha didn't think I ever was one!), can you believe I used to make lists? Yes I did. I made lists throughout my day, throughout my week, of things I wanted my next blog entry to be about (betcha can't believe that!).
I was always sure of the structure of my blog, and the subjects therein. I didn't remember this very funny fact until I realized my Xanga blog is still in existence on the world-wide-web. Wow...lots of memories on that ol' thing. :) The reason it's such a funny fact is my blogging methods have changed quite a bit from being 15 years old...

Sadly, I don't think daily or weekly about what I could blog about, nor do I write any thought down before blogging about it (what was that funny thing worth mentioning yesterday?). Lately, it's been when time will allow. The subject being, usually, whatever is on my mind/heart at that very moment. And alot of the time, I will say a little prayer before I even begin typing just to make sure it makes some sense. ;)

Thankfully my whirlwind lifestyle that began sometime last summer is slowing down. I have let go of a few things, minor and dear alike, and it's strengthened me to focus on what really matters in the grandest scheme of things...my Jesus. My plate is still full and I still have pressing responsibilities...and yet I have more peace and more time. Make sense, my friend?
It sure makes a difference in me when I don't focus on my to-dos. Or myself. Or things that don't belong on the Throne. Or when I don't depend on my counterfeit mercy.
I have rest in His: the kind that's new every morning.
Great is His faithfulness: the kind my faithlessness doesn't nullify. (Lam 3:23, Rom 3:3)

In light of the whirlwind-I'll-take-my-own-mercies-thankyouverymuch season...
I've been soaking in Isaiah. I just finished the 28th chapter, but today I glanced ahead to one of my favorite verses...its been very fitting in remembering Who matters the most.

To an Obstinate Nation:

"This is what the Soverign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

'In repentence and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it...'"

~Isaiah 30:15

They didn't want any of it, but I sure do. The rest of chapter 30, is such a good story.

Turning back, resting, quieting and learning to trust,

Jen

Random...Barnyard Edition

I've grown out of being a cat person as I've gotten older, and rarely know how many we have or when there's strays showing up or missing. In the country, it's normal...some cats you have on purpose, others have wandered from far and wide. Either way, the mice don't take up residency. :D Recently we've expanded our Hill Farm Cat Exibit with some that I've actually enjoyed having...

Storky Woods

Steven found this guy in the woods behind Stork's Mower Shop, hence his name. He's onery, lovable and has the aerobatics of a squirrel. One moment he's cute at your feet, next he's hugging your face.

Jane

Siamese, full bred or part, usually aren't very friendly. But this lady showed up at Church one day, seemingly lost and skinny. We broke a Hill Cat Rule though: we normally only take males for population control. Can you say soon to be Cat City? But she's a sweetheart...and fun to call in a British accent. Tullius Cicero "Troy"

He wandered into my Uncle and Aunt's yard and they added him to the barnyard. He's a baby, so he cuddles and sleeps ALOT. My cousin Rachel gave him a nice, historically Roman name...but Jaelyn couldn't remember it and followed suit, thanks to High School Musical.

Because life is too much fun...

A brown-eyed, drama queen package of questions, giggles, sarcasm, and patience-stretcher. But this bundle of oh-my-goodness we couldn't live without.
Thank you Almighty God, for joy in such capacities. ;)