Short & Sweet

I'm going to make this entry short and sweet. As you can see I have changed the name of my blog to "Days go by". Since I started working I haven't quite figured out how to keep up with everything I was doing before I started working. One thing that I had to let slide was my blog. I absolutely love my job though, and know that God provided the perfect job for me. Hopefully now that I'm making a simple entry I can get motivated to at least write a little something every now and then. I just know that before I know it the days will have gone by quickly again. We have so many exciting things to look forward to before the end of the year....Thanksgiving, Chris and Matison's wedding, Christmas, New Years! It will certainly be a time of celebration and I want to make the most of it knowing that the days go by too fast....don't forget to cherish every moment.
Jenny

Two Celebration Dinners!

Some of you already know that there was a strange turn of events this week. I was ready and excited to start my job at Starbucks. Nicki and I had even been shopping over the weekend for my new "work" clothes and shoes. Before I got the chance to go in for my first day, the Northside ISD called and said that the school that I had applied at called and offered me the job I had really hoped for. I was initially in shock and needed a few minutes to process what had just happened. I had gotten my heart set on working at Starbucks and convinced myself that it would be the Best Job in the World. I could taste the benefits and was looking forward to how it would challenge me to grow and be more adaptable. After only a few minutes of considering the new offer and talking it over with Jim I accepted the job with the school. It is what we had hoped and prayed would happen since April when I started applying for the schools. This will allow us to have the benefits we need as well as the holidays and summer days off that the school offers. We had already had a celebration dinner at Chuy's when I had gotten the Starbucks job and now it was time to celebrate again so this time we went to Texas Roadhouse. I know that God's hand was in all of this and it just proves that trusting Him is the only way. He knows the future and has blessings for us around the corner that we don't even know about. Monday is my first day at the school and I'm looking forward to this new stage of my life. I thank the Lord for His faithfulness and perfect plan!:)

Jenny

Trusting

This week has been a week of trusting. Trusting that God has a perfect plan for my life and that even if I don't understand what that plan is, or why that is the plan, that I can trust Him. His purposes are higher than my own and He knows the future, not me. If you know me, trusting isn't always easy for me, although, it's always been easier for me to trust God in the "big things" rather than the "little things" in life. One of the "big things" for me lately has been searching for a job. As I thought God was leading me one direction, by the end of the week where I ended up from where I started was a completely different location. The location that I ended up with is a job at Starbucks!:) If you talked to me today you know that I'm actually thrilled about my new job and can't wait to see how this job might fulfill part of God's purpose in my life. I trust that this is part of my journey, and as I see it now, God has me right where he wants me.....dependant on Him to provide just what I need, just when I need it. With the crisis in the economy right now, I have needed the reminder that our trust needs to be in the One who is the True Provider. He is faithful and worthy to be praised!:)
Jenny

Happy Birthday Crystal!

This blog entry is dedicated to my best friend Crystal. Crystal and I have been friends for over 35 years. We met during grade school in Aurora, Colorado and have remained friends to this day. I'll never forget the day she moved from Colorado when we were in high school. It was honestly one of the hardest days of my life. Little did I know at the time, that our friendship would last a lifetime. No matter how far apart we've been through the years, we have remained close at heart. I was so excited when we were moving to Texas knowing that I would be able to see Crystal more often. One of the greatest blessings that God gives us in our lives is friendship. Here is one of my favorite songs about friends. This one is dedicated to you Crystal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPKaIozS-c Hope you have a blessed day!
Jenny

Where did September go?

I can't believe it is October 1st today. Somehow September went by faster than any other month for me this year. We've had reason to celebrate since my last blog and reason to fall to our knees in prayer. We celebrated our 26th Wedding Anniversary on September 25th and Jim took me to our favorite steak restaurant, Myron's, in New Braunfels. This is the restaurant we usually go to to celebrate special occasions. The last time we went, was to celebrate Nicki and Mathis graduating from college. Our good friends Rick and Kelly were able to join us and Kelly was so sweet to have prepared a special dessert for us to share in at their house after dinner. She had spent a lot of her day preparing this for us and so we felt very honored and fortunate to have such good friends to celebrate with us. On Sunday we found out that Matison's brother, Dalton, had been in a serious motorcycle accident near San Antonio and had been taken to a hospital here in San Antonio. Chris and Matison drove down from Waco that night and stayed at the hospital with her family until 3:30AM. Although he has serious injuries, he is able to move his arms and legs and was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He is still in the ICU and we're not sure at this time whether any surgeries are necessary. Please just lift Dalton and Matison's family up in your prayers and pray that God will heal him and give comfort to the family. Chris and Matison were able to return to Waco again yesterday and we're thankful for the safe travel that they've had during the past four weekends they've had to travel back and forth from Waco to San Antonio. We still count our blessings everyday and know that God is Sovereign. During the days of our celebration and the days of our sorrow, He remains the same and we can trust in Him and His faithfulness.
Jenny

Busy Weekend

This past weekend went by extremely fast. Chris and Matison were home on Friday for Chris's follow-up visit for his right knee. The good news is that his knee is healing very well. He will still have to wear his immobilizer for another 3 weeks, but is able to get around without his crutches now. He will have one week without the immobilizer before he has to have surgery on the other knee. We still count it a blessing to be able to get all of this taken care of in the near future. We enjoyed a dinner out Friday to Texas Roadhouse which has become a favorite of ours lately. We also had some showings over the weekend, but no offers yet. I'm trusting that God has the right buyer at the right time. We hadn't been to the movies since we had returned to Texas, so when we already had some showings set up for Saturday at our house, we took the opportunity to go see Ghost Town. This is a movie I would recommend seeing. It was comical and yet had so many touching moments too. A fun way to spend the afternoon. Sunday we were off to church and teaching our adorable 2 year olds. Our hour is receiving so many children we've had to break off into two classes to accommodate all the children coming. Although challenging, this is a good problem to have. We were able to get in a quick brunch at Cracker Barrel before Chris and Matison had to head back to Waco. They've had to make the trip down to San Antonio for the past three weekends. This week I'm going to continue my search for a job here in San Antonio and as always work on cleaning through and giving away more stuff . This is a favorite past time for me so I really don't mind, in fact I look forward to it. I'll check in again later this week.
Jenny

A Reason To.......

Robert Byrne said "The purpose of life is to have a life of purpose"

I have always been someone who is motivated by purpose. The years that I was fortunate to be able to stay home and raise Nicki and Chris brought great purpose and fulfilment to my life. I always wanted to be the best mom to them and create close relationships with them that would last our lifetime. The greatest satisfaction to me is that both of them love the Lord and I know that they are living their lives for Him. That is our true purpose anyway, isn't it? I originally started this entry to be silly and talk about how having our house listed for sale has given me a purpose and reason to be obsessive compulsive about everything being in place, or a reason to not cook dinner (since we want the house to smell fresh), or a reason to eat Freddy's ice cream (the times we need to get out of the house for a showing at odd hours). That was my original purpose for this entry. I see now that God had a greater purpose. It is for me to remember that my true purpose is to glorify Him in all I say and do. I know I fall short of that most of the time, but thankfully God isn't finished with me yet.

Just for fun, those of you who have raised your children, or are still raising them, will enjoy this song on youtube..."Then They Do". It makes me cry every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7iMFduQcns

Jenny