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“Spontaneous”…

September 7, 2009 in Family, Personal Entries with 20 Comments

… that’s not something Brian and I can really claim to be.

I decided to write a post to help clarify what’s going on in our lives. I had posted a few updates on Facebook & Twitter and got some concerned comments. Sorry they were so vague, but Twitter only allows 140 characters. HA!

I spend most of my life planning ahead so that when those “last minute” needs or changes happen, I can adjust to them better. I wouldn’t say I’m as naturally “spontaneous” as I am “organized”. However, yesterday, after church, I looked over at Brian and saw we needed a break.

There are a million different types of “breaks”, but for us… we just needed a break from our life, our surroundings, our everyday routine.

This last week, we realized a few things were working against us. I’m not gonna list ALL of them, but here are a couple we’d love your prayers over:

(1) Brian realized that what he is doing for income isn’t working. It just isn’t bringing in enough. This is the story for so many of us Americans. It’s a huge added stressor, especially for Brian, since we are pretty careful with how we spend our money. He feels strapped and trapped. He says the only thing that’s keeping him going right now is our family. My hubby needs desperately to feel like he’s in his sweet spot in his career, but that’s not where he’s at right now.

(2) We realized our main support system is no longer in the friends we have always called “friends” in Portland. We’ve had some pretty devastating things happen to us this last year, and in the wake of it all, it seems more have abandoned us than come to our aid. To be fair, we haven’t really asked for help, but it seems the friends who are “rising” to the occasion and checking in consistently are friends who live further away. That’s disappointing but a good realization that at least we’re not TOTALLY alone.

This all brought us to one conclusion.

CHANGE needs to happen.

We don’t know what that change is… we don’t know WHEN this change would take place, but we know SOMETHING needs to change.

We needed to be together as a family but away from the everyday busyness of life. To pray together, to dream together, to get our grounding… together.

So we packed up and left.

SPONTANEOUSLY.

This morning, we woke up in La Grande, Oregon, where Brian’s parents live. We’re seeking God, asking Him to reveal what His desires for us are. We’re asking Him to teach us obedience in His calling, whatever that may be.

Will you pray for us too?

Today…

August 28, 2009 in Faith, Family, Personal Entries, Weblogs with 5 Comments

… marks the first day to the rest of my life.

How often do you think that way?

I’ll be honest. I RARELY think this way. I’m naturally a pessimist. I would rather prep myself for all that may go wrong or fail me so that I’m caught “LESS” off guard, if that makes any sense. Sometimes, I feel like I’m prepping for absolutely nothing.

Is it just me or do other people get caught up with the mistakes of their past?

Here’s the deal… I’m working on it. I know where my past choices have landed me. I know what my pride and selfishness has gotten me. I know what I almost lost. I don’t want to be there ever again. Every day is the first day of the rest of my life.

Today… I makeover my tattoo charm bracelet. It’s not so much what it IS of, but the reminder of where I was in my life when I had it done.

Each star represents a member of my family: Brian, Chance… and there’s a purple one on the other side that is me. I’m adding a star, since Paxton has been added into our lives. The music notes are an obvious part of my life… however… that squiggly line will be made-over to say something that means something now: “CHOOSE LOVE” (I wrote a post about this HERE awhile ago).

I’m also getting the word: “RESTORED” placed on my wrist. I constantly fight Satan’s attempts to tell me I’ll never change. I’ll never be good enough. God’s story for me is different. God’s story for my FAMILY is different… God’s story for us is about RESTORATION!

Today marks the first day to the rest of my life.

What’s different about you today than was true of you yesterday?

Btw… I’ll post pictures of the final artwork when it’s done. All this will happen in 40 minutes. Please pray for me, as this is not as much of a surfacey physical thing as it is a deep emotional thing. Thanks!

Prayer for the Miles Family

July 19, 2009 in Friends, Personal Entries with 0 Comments

My friend, Heidi, just sent me an email asking I post this for increase in prayer warrior activity.

Heidi’s sister, Jill, and her 7-year old nephew, Logan, were in a terrible fire on Friday evening in Colorado. Logan is covered with 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body. He’s at Shriner’s Hospital in Sacramento, CA. Jill is badly burned on her hands, arms, knees, and feet. Please please pray for their recovery and how this will effect them for the rest of their lives.

CLICK HERE for the whole story.

Why I’ve Been “Quiet”

June 19, 2009 in Family, Home, Motherhood, Personal Entries with 2 Comments

I haven’t posted in awhile because, as you know, we’ve moved. We moved on May 29th to our new house in Beaverton… right next door to Laura Vandergiessen (well… Clint and the boys too… but they don’t have blogs for me to link to, so they’re really not as important in this post).

I hope you can forgive me for not keeping up with my Worship Confessionals, floating thoughts, family updates and most of all, not showing my spastic self all up in here for your entertainment. I so do love entertaining… but due to recent happenings, I really felt/feel I needed to hone in on my family and our home.

Brian and I have been working ALMOST round the clock to make our new house a home. I’ll post pictures soon (What??? I’ve posted pictures of every single other house we’ve ever lived in… why would this be different?). When we’re not working on the house (unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, painting rooms, etc.) we’re working on us. THAT part of “home” is the most important and has been long neglected.

I have mistakenly spent way too much heart on things that I THOUGHT were important to me… when the only things that ever really REALLY mattered to me were always RIGHT in front of me – Brian & my family. I’m thankful for second chances. I’m not gonna pass this one up.

Neither should you!

Go snuggle up and tell him/her/them you love them RIGHT NOW.

And don’t just “SAY” it… LIVE IT!

ABC’S Embellished

April 9, 2009 in Jenni, Personal Entries, Weblogs with 5 Comments

I got this off of Tam. Thought to myself: ”Why not!”

—-

A – Age: 30

B – Baseball Game or Ballet: Ballet

C – Chore you hate: Tubs – It’s awkward.

D – Dream Vacation: Hawaii – Maui or Oahu

E – Easter candy: Cadbury Creme Egg

F – Favorite Flowers: Gerber Daisies

G – Games: anything I can win at… cuz that’s ALL that matters

H – Height: 5′ 2… on a good day

I – Instrument you play: piano, guitar, bass & vocal chords… OH, and the nose whistle!

J – Job title: Worship Pastor & CEO of my home

K – Kindergarten Memory: eating paste… and not really speaking English then

L – Luxury you live without: a pool boy… cuz we don’t have a pool

M – Mexican food choice: Mmmm… it’s ALL good

N – Nickname: JClay, Jen, Hey Asian…

O – Overnight hospital stay: twice – just when I birthed my babies

P – Pet Peeve: there are too many to count.

Q – Quotes you like: “What’s the Soup Du Jour?” “The Soup of the Day” “Mmmm, that sounds good… I’ll have that!” – Dumb & Dumber

R – Rainforest or Redwoods: Redwoods

S – Siblings: 2 sisters. Renee who is 28 & Helen who is 24. I’m the oldest… does it all make sense now?

T – Television favorites: The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice & 24.

U – Ultimate dessert: Fresh baked cookies & Ice Cream

V – Vegetable you dislike: Bitter melon. You’ve probably never heard of it unless you’re Asian… but it’s EXACTLY how it sounds. NASTY!!!

W – Ways you run late: Didn’t used to run late till Chance came along.

X – X-rays you’ve had: Knees & Teeth

Y – Yummy food you make: Roasted Chicken & Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Z – Zoo animal that’s your favorite: monkeys! (totally with you on this Bub & Tam)

—-

Do this if you’d like… I’d love to see your answers!

Floating Thought

April 6, 2009 in Chance, Family, Floating Thoughts, Friends, Home, Ministry, Motherhood, Paxton, Personal Entries, twitter with 8 Comments

It’s that time again… you know… when I can’t seem to gather all my thoughts into one comprehensive post, so I’ll just bullet point and type ALMOST exactly what my mind gathers!

I just received free albums from Kari Jobe & Joel Ruge (promo items for churches). The bum deal is I just BOUGHT Kari Jobe’s album. Glad I supported her. Sad I spent money where I didn’t need to.
I love that my cutie patootie hubby, Brian, is blogging and twittering a lot more than before. I like sharing this world with him.
Chance has a ridiculously large vocabulary for being 3, but he still says a few things incorrectly and I think it’s WAY to cute to correct him just yet. Here are just 4 of his words (I’ll write a whole post about it someday):

“cric-crocs” = flip flops

“peeks” = keeps

“perfeck” = perfect

“liveberry” = library

Paxton is getting some seriously chubby thighs and I just LOVE that. He also rarely cries, and you can always stop his crying just by singing to him. When he smiles, my whole world melts for him.
At this time last year, I would have NEVER thought I’d life, for me, would look the way it does today.
How is it possible to just stop loving someone you said you would always love?
Life as a stay-at-home Mom can get really lonely if I’m not careful.
Good: The weather is crazy beautiful right now in Portland. Bad: That means allergies are going to attack me soon. Boooo!!!
We got rid of cable a month ago… I don’t think I’ve even missed it.
Looking at a possible new home. I’ll update soon… if there’s anything to update.
I’m so sick of moving!!!
We are going on our annual beach trip with our closest friends in two weeks. I can’t wait ‘cuz I miss having THOSE friends around.
In THREE weeks, Matt, Brian and I (with Paxton in tow) will be in Florida for a week for the Exponential Conference. This is exciting because I haven’t been to a conference in a few years AND this will be the first NON-worship or Youth Ministry conference I’ve attended. This will be for church planters. I *heart* learning.
I love lemons.
I had a dream that I was in a home that was disorganized and full of cats. I woke up sweaty and so tense, it took me 10 full minutes till I could move again.
The memory foam pad we got for our old bed helps us A LOT… but I still think we need a new bed.
It’s time for Chance to move out of his toddler bed and it’s time for us to find a big boy bed for him. Anyone getting rid of a twin bed? Bunk beds maybe?
I still have a box of thin mints in my freezer