Creating in Chaos

Hi everyone!

In the midst of the week's chaos, I have found comfort in creating.  Last Sunday I made my first "Pocket Prayer Pillow".

This Sunday, I made another gift.  

As the world tries to makes sense of the senseless acts of the past week, let us always remember  - God can bring joy out of chaos.

Even while people mourn and try to make sense of it all, always know that in time the sun will rise again!

Patience + Perseverance + Prayer

Hi everyone!
The educator in me could not help but think of this word equation this morning.

Patience + Perseverance + Prayer = Phenomenal Progress

On Tuesdays and Thursdays those of use that are participating in Weight Watchers here in town tend to all check in with each other. As I continue on this journey toward optimal health, I find that each week there is more and more that seems to surface for me. For example, to me “Phenomenal Progress” does not just mean a big weight loss number on the scale each week – “Phenomenal Progress” can be something as small as realizing what people or events may trigger the desire to make poor food choices. Even if my number on the scale is minimal or I maintain, but I have made some type of progress in terms of my approach toward this journey, then that is progress!!! Yes, it might not seem Phenomenal to others but for me, it might mean I have moved a HUGE mountain on my quest to level this whole ridge line. :D

Patience + Perseverance are not just the equation for weight loss; this is one math problem that will stay with us forever and fit into ANY of life’s situations. I am not just out to become a “lean, mean, beauty queen”, I also want to be a published author and successful entrepreneur, who has all areas of her life healthy and organized. So for me it is with lots and lots of patience and unwavering perseverance that I find my drive.

Am I perfect? No. Do I get tired? Yes – going from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm can get draining after a while. Do I believe in what I am doing? Yes – and not only do I believe in these things, I have an unquenchable passion for the projects that I have undertaken!!

I also know that the MOST important variable in this entire equation is Prayer!! For it is the Prayer that serves as my GPS keeping me on the right path; Patience and Perseverance are like my flashlight and map to make sure that I don’t lose the way or veer off that path. Without having Prayer in the equation, Phenomenal Progress would never be the end result, because something would always be missing.

So just remember, it does not matter where you may find yourself or what you need to accomplish, if you will trust this educator and commit this equation to heart, you will always end up a winner!!

I'm climbing Mount Everest, one step at a time!!

Hi everyone,

Well this weekend “I may have lost the battle, but not the war”!!  :D  Taking care of mom meant no time for sewing, but by Sunday I was so exhausted I had no choice but to take care of me!!  :D  I have found over these past several weeks that taking care of mom is like taking care of my youngest son…both are very strong willed and determined individuals.  It so reminds me of the book, “Love You Forever”, that she bought for me when I had Sarah, almost 21 years ago.  

On my way home from exercising tonight, I could not help but think “careful what you pray for.”  At the beginning of my summer break I prayed for strength, but I was thinking in terms of physical strength with my arm on the mend; little did I know that I was going to have obstacles put in my path that would force me to gain a different kind of strength.    

While this has not been a fun process or the one that I would have chosen, the experiences of this summer have left me feeling like I am almost at the top of Mount Everest…after all I have two weeks left to finish this climb.  If for one minute anyone would think that I would not make it to the summit, which was my goal for the summer…well then they would not know me very well!!  :D

Look out world!!!

Thankful

Hi everyone,
It has been quite a few days since I last wrote.  Between having my mom in ICU, having a son playing All-Star baseball, and physical therapy for my arm, I am totally wiped!!!  These things have not left me with much energy to write.  For me though, my home - Curiosity Cottage - is my refuge. I love quilts, so seeing this one I had hanging on the clothes line made it a natural element for today's post.  This quilt is just so me!!

Coming home at the end of my roller coaster days, curling up with one of my quilts to pray and read is where I find my strength.  It is during these tough times that I grab a little bit of rest so that I have the strength to keep moving forward.  Tonight mom had a good night, so this will help me to sleep better.  I am just so thankful for my amazing friends, I could not get through all of this with out you!! 

Real Men Know How To Pray From The Heart

Hi Everyone!!

What an AMAZING weekend!! Sometimes it is easy when we are busy and tired to step back from things, but this is one time and I am so glad I didn’t. I am very, very fortunate to be surrounded by incredible Christian friends. These men and women do not belong to a religion; they have a relationship with our Lord. My friends, there is a DRASTIC difference!!


Before I get to the events of the weekend though, let me first share something that happened earlier in the week. Last week on Facebook, someone had a post and part of it read, in so many words, that we should only take advice on relationships from those that had successful relationships. For me, my role models for this are Herb & Viki Dickerson and Christy & Wade Warren. Not only do these two couples have relationships that we all could hope to have, but I also pray that for those of us that are single and our children that we one day find what these two amazing couples share. Another thing that these two couples have in common is integrity, which is unfortunately not very common any more. So having friends and role models like these very special people is very, very important for those of us that have had to go through divorce. They help us see where we need to make changes and they also help us recognize “red flags” that we might sometimes not want to see.

So on Saturday morning, a group from our Sunday school class all got together. See, on January 2nd of this year, when we arrived at our Sunday school class, Bro. Herb told us that he wanted us to identify a miracle that each of us needed to take place in our lives, but that ONLY God could make happen. We didn’t share these but wrote something to represent our request on a class board. This week’s Saturday morning breakfast was a time for us to pray and share the details we wanted to give our class about our miracle prayer. As I have gotten to know these people and as I sat in this group what came to me was “now this is what it is like when REAL men pray!!” With the exception of two couples in our group, everyone else has been divorced. Some of us are single and some are remarried; but all of us believe in the power of prayer and love sharing. What has been on my heart for years and that I have shared with friends and my kids though, was something that I knew I need to write about.

As I watched these men pray, it just reaffirmed what I have felt for such a long time. It does not matter if a man is rich or poor; what kind of job he has; or what kind of house he lives in…the MOST important thing to me is does he love Jesus. Now I’m not talking about the man that warms a church pew on Sunday just to check that off his list for the week; I am talking about the type of man that has faith even in the darkest of times and who prayers fervently. I am talking about the man who loves Jesus more than he love me. So many women, young and old, just settle but if God can so beautifully design all of the incredible things on this earth, He can design the perfect man for each and every one of us.

And now, thanks to these AMAZING friends and couples, I know exactly what God’s picture of the PERFECT man looks like for me!!

With God, ALL things are possible!!!

Hi Everyone!

During my morning prayer time this morning as I started to pray for one friend’s needs, I thought of another; healing from various illnesses, test today, heavy hearts, financial burdens, new jobs, those looking for jobs, students starting a new semester, children preparing for the LEAP test, and the list goes on and on. So I thought it was important to tell you that someone is here praying for you without ceasing!!

Please feel free if you have a need to send it to me and I would be more than happy to add it to my prayer list. It is my belief that we just can never have too many people praying for us!! I love you all dearly!!

Hugs!
Jen