Proverbs 3:3-4

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."

I CAN cook!!

Chicken was moist!!!

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Headed home...again

On the plane back to Fort Lauderdale! So stoked. :)

Great time in MI though!! Saw some great friends/family. Super fun time at Becky's wedding. Learned more Spanish to add to my vocab. ;)

There's a little kid sitting behind me that keeps kicking or hitting the back of my seat. It's lovely. I was starting to get a headache from my head being continuously jarred. Then I had the brilliant idea of sitting up so I wasn't leaning back on the headrest.

Yep, I'm smart, I went to college. So did my mom.


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Rain

Oh, Michigan. Some things never change. I thought over the 3 1/2 years I've been gone you would've accepted some global warming. Maybe tried letting the sun shine a little more often. I guess you need to visit Florida and get some ideas of what you could do better.

Rain, rain, go away.

:)

Good excuse to get another chai latte from my new love, Biggby Coffee. Which, by the way, was a great addition to your coffee house selections, Michigan. That's something you could share with the rest of the country.

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back in the North

i'm back in G-Rap for Becky's wedding! i think the last time i was here was 2008. it's stinkin' cold. but i get to fly back to warm sunshine on saturday so i can do this.

it's so fun being back! seeing friends who are family. had Becky's bachelorette party friday night (woot woooot!). seeing the old stompin' grounds. i went to Herman's Boy to get a chai and i ended up getting my drink for free because someone earlier in the day had "paid it forward"! haha it was cool!! drove by my 2 old houses.

this morning we went to church at Ada Bible Church - the campus that meets in Cornerstone University's gym. i realized gyms are not a good place for me to go to church because during the message, i easily start dreaming about playing volleyball and invision the chairs and stage moved and the court there and...then i start thinking about the gym (as in weights, cardio machines, etc) and what i want to train for and...then i start thinking about food because working out makes me hungry all the time and...oh it's just not good. haha :) i guess it gives me an opportunity to practice taking captive every thought...haha :)

i also watched Inception last night and finished it today (fell asleep last night - what else is new). totally lost. i should watch it again sometime and see what else i can catch.

busy but fun week ahead! Becky & Mario's boda (wedding) on Friday!

having fun speaking/learning Spanish with Mario and his parents here! totally legit at speaking spanglish.

Returning to the cold

Currently - Marathon: 84. Grand Rapids: 38. 10 days. I can do this.

:)


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Gospel Ninjas

So our ATF group is small - 4 students and 2 leaders. While a big group is fun, we've realized a small group is too! We've gotten to eat at Cracker Barrel, Panera, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, and Applebee's. :) and with such a small group, a quick escape from the ATF parking lot chaos is always a great thing. Hannah commented, "it's kinda like we're...Gospel Ninjas!!" :)



The Gospel Ninjas.




Sanctus Real wishes they were Gospel Ninjas.

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Olive Garden

Eating at the O.G. tonight before going to session 1 of ATF. Last time I ate here was late at night in February. Both of our DTS outreach teams had just flown back to the States and we had just been reunited at the airport. Awww!!! :) great memories. So much more awake this time... ;)


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Welcome to the Circus

My apartment's under there somewhere...

On our way to Tampa for Acquire the Fire! Super stoked!
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Steak!!

Totally just used the grill all by myself and grilled my very first steak!!!! I wanted it medium rare but it turned out medium well. That's ok. It was edible!!! Seasoned with Everglades seasoning. And I made black beans and rice!

I also feel the need to mention that I grilled 2 steaks tonight and gave one to Shane and he ate it!! The grill/steak master ate MY steak!!!

Living on my own this time around is going better already. ;)


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doors

recently, I’ve been trying to figure out if God was calling me to surrender some of my own dreams or if it was just doubt/confusion - which is not from God.  wrestling.  I kept feeling like God was saying, “Look – surrender your small-minded dreams to Me because I have much bigger plans for you – things you can’t even imagine.” 

I decided to surrender my dreams to God, anyway.  I figured that way I couldn’t go wrong.  :)  and I kinda felt like God was wanting me to surrender like…my small-minded, one-direction dreams to Him.  as if He wanted me to keep my desires and passions, but allow Him to show me different ways He wanted to use them instead of me just heading one specific way that I had chosen.

but I also realized surrendering my plans and dreams isn’t the easiest thing to do.  the selfish side of me wants to do what I want. the controlling part of me wants to be in charge of what direction I go and what my plans will be.  so the past few weeks have been a wrestling match between me and God.  but it’s been worth it.

as soon as I truly felt like I surrendered my plans and dreams to God, things started changing.  out of the blue, I got a call from a friend who wanted to have lunch and discuss ministry opportunities.  turns out their church is looking for someone to take over the youth ministry and they wanted to know if I was interested.  hello!  of course I’m interested!  :)

a few days later, my cousin calls from out West and encourages me again to come out there, even if it’s just for a month this summer, to get some worship leading experience with him.  play some music, write some music, do worship at youth camps.  hello!  of course I’m interested!  :)

I believe God has much bigger plans for each of us than we could ever imagine.

Eph. 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than al we ask or imagine, according to His POWER that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.”

there is freedom in surrender.

WPB - you are loved

Had a super great time up in the West Palm area this past weekend, picking up Meredith and moving her home! Met so many amazing people, including my new fellow YWAM friend Leo! She's great! YWAMmers have an instant friendship.

It was a refreshing trip, though we got little sleep.

Here's a pic from our family's Disney trip. I was looking thru pics on my phone and saw it and thought, "wow, that one turned out decent!" :) here's to Mickey...



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because I should

I’m writing this because I feel like I should.  I haven’t posted in a week (mainly because I was up in Orlando).  I don’t want to go too long without posting or else I might stop updating this thing.  which wouldn’t be the end of the world.  but I enjoy looking back, every once in awhile, thru my posts over the years.  it brings back memories and reminds me of phases or stages in life.  and sometimes I read a post and think, “what in the world?  I don’t remember that…” – haha :)

uncertainty of my plans hangs in the air.  actually, they all sit nice and comfortably in Abba’s hands.  but to my human nature, they seem to be hanging in uncertainty.  trying to figure out if God’s shutting doors and opening new ones or if He’s calling me to persevere past the appearance of closed doors.  the last thing I want to do is “run” when things get a little tough – I want to pursue a direction because I feel God’s leading me to it, not because it’s the easier route.

sometimes I wonder if there is an “easier” route each year I get further away from the days when all I had to do was go to school, work a little, but mainly just hang out with my friends.  do easy routes even exist as you get older?

I do know, however, that adventurous, exciting routes exist!!  that’s what I’m goin’ for. the ones where I couldn’t begin to imagine doing things on my own – but where I need God to come through.  where I need to rely on Him, in faith.

but I’m keeping the rest of my thoughts about my plans under wraps right now (as in, I’m not blogging about it yet until I’ve made a decision – but you can pray for wisdom and discernment for me!).

tonight I went to see the little Segard offsprings – I was going thru withdrawal.  I hadn’t seen them since saturday when we got back from O-town.  I love those little boogers.  I missed the rest of my fam too (really, Mom – I missed you! awww!) oh and Kristi got here today!!!!

we are studying Romans in small group. this week we did Romans 6.  it talks a lot about not being a slave to sin, but being free in Christ and a slave to righteousness.  it was an uber good reminder that I don’t have to be a slave to sin, like the ones that aren’t so much obvious from the outside.

this weekend, Amanda and I are headed up to Boca to get her sister, Meredith!!  so stoked to have these amazing sisters BOTH living back down here!  we’ve already all agreed that before we come home Sunday, a stop at the beach is necessary.  the real beach, you know – the one with waves.  ;)  even if it’s a short stop.  and I’m praying for waves so we can play in them and sit in awe of surfers and kiteboarders.  seeing them play in our awesome Creator’s ocean makes me giddy.  :)

and that about wraps it up for this “because I should” post.

Road Trip to Orlando

My parent's 30th wedding anniversary was In December and they wanted to do something with our whole fam. But since I wasn't home, they waited and decided to take us all on a trip to Disney World! So here we are!









Ready to hit Disney tomorrow! Magic Kingdom, here we come!

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Cooking Revisited

Dude. Totally cooked last night. No fires. Totally edible. Holla!! :D

I learned a lot. For instance, when it calls for 2 cloves of garlic, that does not mean 2 whole bulb-things of garlic. I never even knew there were cloves in garlic. My friend walked in right when I was peeling the first garlic thing and I asked how I chop up garlic because I never had before. So they peel it and go "here's a clove, here's a clove, here's another one..." and I said, "wait...so if it calls for 2 cloves of garlic, that doesn't mean 2 whole things...??"

Yeah, definitely glad I asked how to cut garlic.

I also learned what al-dente means. I don't know if I spelled that right. But apparently lots of people know that term.

It was supposed to be a "20 minutes or less" meal. It took me over an hour.

But - let me remind you - there were no fires in the kitchen this time!!!!
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a good week

this has been my 4th week back in the Keys.  first week having a set schedule for work.  I’m working part-time right now for my dad, 8-noon every day (mon-fri).  got my first paycheck today in like 5 months!  I decided to go retro and revert back to my days working at j crew in college – where every friday (payday), as soon as I got out of work, I would jump in my car and play NSYNC’s song “Just Got Paid” really loud and dance.  so that’s what I did today.  after I got a chai at Leigh Ann’s (hey, it’s been like 2 weeks since I got one).  a cold front blew in last night so today was a perfect “cool” day (high 60’s) to get a hot drink!

my friend brandon and I went up to play volleyball last friday night and had some great talks on the drive.  the dude’s cool – if you don’t know him, you should.

among other things, we talked about what my plans are for the near future – a topic that brings much confusion and frustration to me because I can’t figure out what direction to head.  but he had an uber cool outlook on what it looks like to be “in God’s will”.  he doesn’t worry about being in God’s will because in the morning when he wakes up, he tells God to take all of him.  then he goes about his day trusting that God is directing his steps.

so that’s what I’ve been doing this week.  and it’s been amazing.

I wasn’t going to share what I did this week because I absolutely do not want it coming across as boasting about what great things “I” did.  but I realized that – who knows – maybe by me sharing what God’s been leading me to do will inspire others. so I share the following to point out His glory and His awesomeness and not my own, ok?  it’s nothing I would have done on my own, that’s for sure.

so sunday night I was about to feel overwhelmed with the “ok I have every afternoon free this week…what in the world am I going to do to fill my afternoons??”.  I’ve truly enjoyed having a couple weeks off of nothingness planned.  it was great, after having the last 5 months planned out for me and having always had a job since moving down here to the Keys.  so it was really fun.  but it eventually got to be overkill and I was ready to be active and involved again.

I realized last week that I think I’m actually a people person.  I don’t think of myself as one.  but I realized that when I’m around people, I’m energized.  I love being with people.  too much alone time and I go nuts.  give me people!!

sorry, getting off topic.

so – sunday night – yes. I decided to ask God what I should do this week (great idea, right?).  and I felt like I should do a prayer walk thru the city, down US 1, from Coco Plum down to the 7 Mile bridge.  not all in one day. :) so two days this week I walked and prayed during the afternoon for 1-2 hours each time, praying over the city – for people in general, for specific people, asking God to have His heart for this city and asking for vision and direction as to what He wants to accomplish here.

it’s been awesome. the first day I walked Coco Plum to Walgreens and back (about 3 miles).  the second day I walked from Walgreens to Publix and back (about 5.25 miles).  I still have the other half of town to do.  but it’s really cool how praying for your city/community brings up a new love and perspective for the people.  I can’t really explain it.

the other end of town starts to get rougher…I’m kinda hoping someone wants to go with me.  preferably someone big but I’ll take anyone.  :)  so if anyone’s reading this and lives in the area… hint hint.

the other cool thing that’s been goin’ on this week is Ms. Kelly and I have been hanging out with the homeless that hang out around the bus stop.  they’re fun, they love to entertain us with their jokes.  :) a lot of the jokes are dirty.  so every time they say “ok I have a joke!” I tell them it has to be clean.  sometimes they clean the joke up.  and then sometimes they go “well…it’s cleaner than that other one I told…”  :) one of the guys (whose pupils were like pin dots because he was so loaded up on drugs) gave me the rest of his can of beer.  I set it beside me and hoped he wouldn’t notice.  he didn’t. :)

what was interesting was 3 of the 4 conversations we had with people quickly turned to talking about God.  they always brought it up, not us.  so either that was a God thing or they are used to “Christians” ministering to them that they know how to play the game.  who knows.  either way, it was an open door to talk about Him.

we got to take one of the women we met out to lunch at McDonald’s – happy meals for all of us!  she is so cute – she’s so little!  today was her birthday so we went early this morning to the tree they hang out by and decorated it and put a happy birthday sign up.  then this afternoon we stopped by and she was there and we gave her cookies.

I honestly don’t know what the “end goal” (that sounds so manipulating…ugh) is.  yeah it’d be awesome if they all became followers of Jesus and cleaned their lives up and helped others do the same. it’d be awesome if they could get off the drugs and alcohol and “do something” with their lives.  but what does that look like for them?  my idea of a “good life” and their idea of a “good life” and God’s idea of a “good life” may all look totally different.  I want to know what God’s vision for them is.  in the meantime, I suppose it’s just about building relationship and friendship and seeing them as Jesus sees them and not as “those people” (as we often separate the working class from the homeless).

it’s been a good week because I’ve tried to give each day to God and allow Him to guide my steps.  and I’ve walked, trusting that He’s guiding my steps because I’ve asked Him to.  He is faithful.

Barbara!!!!

I just saw a manatee!!!! It's in the middle of this pic! I spotted it from the balcony and ran down as fast as I could (via elevator). Yay!!!



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Mr Jim and Ms Kelly rock and are so gracious!! My current crib...


Riding the elevator to the top - 14th floor... :)



Aww look at Zeva down there! She looks so cute and little...


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sand in my ears

this morning i went up to Key Largo w/Marty to play beach volleyball. loved it. missed it incredibly. i don't think i've played since last summer. i forgot how different of a game it is from indoor. but it's good. so good. after i showered, i was still cleaning sand out of my ears.

i've moved over to Jim & Kelly's penthouse and am staying with them for at least the next week or 2. it's...a-mazing. i keep telling people it's bittersweet because while it's amazing, it also reminds me of when some of us girls came down here for spring break in college and stayed in the other penthouse. so i keep feeling like i'm on spring break and get all excited...and then remember i'm not on spring break and i don't have my girls here. sad. :)

headed up to Lifepointe Church tonight - holla!

there's a guy out in the water riding his jet ski in circles...over...and over...and over... haha what an exciting ride he's having...???

oh yeah - i upgraded to the iphone 4 yesterday :) Radio Shack gave me like $132 for my iphone 3G (+ my old charger). sweetness! i decided to upgrade while they were offering that much $ - i was afraid i wouldn't get that much, if any, if i waited too long. and i got a free case. hahaha 'cause i'm ridiculously good looking. really.

keep it real.
-jen

Jesus!!

Um. I get to see Jesus face to face one day!!! I get to fully be in God's Presence!!! Ahh!!! Sometimes those facts just feel so far off and I become callous to them because we toss it around so much in the Christian world. But dude it's for real and it's gonna happen!!! Stoked!!!


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