Thursday, January 10, 2013

Wow! It has been a long time since I have blogged! Since the last time I have written, my husband not only got the job that we were hoping for, but we have finally moved to be closer to our church. As a note, if there are any typing errors, it is because I am not on a computer, so I don't have a regular keyboard. Our daughter currently attends public school, but not for long. I am enjoying my life here. I reflect back on the past year and some things were hard to bear and other things were a gift from the Lord. Every day is a gift from Him, and with all I had to deal with in the past year, I am more aware of His mercy and SO thankful for it!
I am really thankful for the job that God blessed Darren with a few months ago! We found out later that it is almost impossible to get your foot in the door at that place and yet, God worked it so smooth and so quickly! Now we are trying to save some money to get a house. It might be a while.
I need to go. I just wanted to let everyone know what's going on with us and where we've been. Hopefully I can get back on soon! Hope all had a blessed Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

This and That

Hello all! We've been in a wonderful revival all week and the preacher has been preaching outstanding! The Lord has been present and we have been helped! We've seen people saved and the Lord has been sending people to us right off the street! It's exciting to see! I'm thankful for the souls that have come to be with us and decided to hang around!

Needless to say, since we now go to church an hour away, we spend at least a little over two hours on the road each night, traveling to and from church! I'm not complaining. It does make things a bit tight around the house, though. I find myself getting very little accomplished. We are homeschooling Moriah again this year (I won't have it any other way) so my time is taken up during the day, then once school is done, it's time to get ready for church. We don't get school started til a bit late (like 10:00am!) because of us getting home so late, and Moriah needs her rest! So we don't finish until around 3 or 4 o'clock! Supper, then get ready for church, and off we go! :)  I'm just thankful the services have been so uplifting and encouraging!

We are having Pastor Appreciation this coming Sunday! I'm excited about that! Pastor Appreciation services always make me cry! We are blessed with a wonderful Pastor and a very sweet Pastor's wife! She is awesome!

I could have strung Moriah up from the highest limb the other day. We were at a certain department store the other day, standing in line waiting to check out. There was quite a gap between us and the lady in front of us, so I told Moriah to move up a little bit. She turned and threw her arms around me to bar me from moving an INCH and said in a stage whisper, "NO, MOMMY! SHE MIGHT HAVE LICE!!" Where she got that idea, I have no clue, because the lady looked clean and nice, but I was mortified!!!! I was hoping against hope that the poor lady did NOT hear my daughter and her mouth! I wanted to... well, I won't go into what I felt like doing right then! LOL! It doesn't matter how much you teach them, they still act like they haven't been taught anything, and she conveniently leaves her manners at home.

Say a prayer for my husband. There is a job possibility that has come up and if it's the Lord's will, I would like to see him get this job. It pays about $6 more ON THE HOUR than what he's making now! And it is in Ohio, so it would help us in relocating. It is a perfect job for him because it's basically what he's doing now, only it pays better! And it's full-time! I got excited when he told me about it! We're praying for a miracle!

Well, I think I am done rattling on. Just wanted to give a brief update on the life of the Jones Family! LOL! Not much to tell! No trouble keeping up with the Jones' like this! :)
Good day!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Moriah ~ My Angel


 I wanted to upload some pictures of my angel! I thought I had lost these pics! I came across them today and was thrilled to know they weren't lost after all! I used to have such fun taking her picture because she was a natural poser! I could get her to do just about anything! It's harder now because she doesn't have the patience! But I thought I would share some pics of my little Angel Baby! (Well, not-so-little Angel Baby now... [sigh]... they grow up too fast!)


I think at this point she was getting tired of me taking her pic! Thus this face! LOL!


 One of my personal faves! (Above photo!)



I love this photo, too! It was one of those "accidental" shots where she turned her head at the last second! 
These photos were taken about two or three years ago, so she has changed some! She's losing her "baby" face! 

We've started school! She is now in the 2nd grade and doing well! She was tested at the beginning of the year and excelled in every subject in the "advanced" section, except Math. She is right on target with Math. Reading is a real strong point for her! I'm proud of her! 

I will post more later! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Work From Home?

Hello to my friends out there! It's been a LONG time and I've been wanting to update for a while now, but literally haven't had the time! We've been BUSY!

Moriah started back to school on August 6 and so far, I'm not liking it one bit. We are NOT doing A Beka this year (sad, but true) due to finances being tight, so we went the route of K12, which is a virtual school, all online learning, with SOME book learning. It's hard to get used to and I am about to have a nervous breakdown over it. I have found myself praying that God will somehow make a way for me to get the stuff she needs from A Beka (which I am a HUGE fan of), but it hasn't happened yet.

Now, if that was all I had to deal with, I would probably deal with it. But with the transitioning to Youth Pastors an hour away, and Darren working mostly part time right now, he's been working overtime trying to find a full time job that will allow us to move closer to the church. It hasn't happened yet, but we are praying and wanting the will of God more than anything. I'm sure He has the best job and home lined out for us. Just being me, I am anxious for it all to come together real soon! Like yesterday! LOL!

We have a lot going on at church. We are planning a yard sale to raise money for the youth. The yard sale will be on Saturday, September 8, from 8 to 1, in Germantown. If you're in the area, stop by! We have revival coming up starting Sunday with Bro. Mike Switzer! We are looking forward to that! In November, a Youth Saturday is being planned! There will be Youth Rally on Friday night, the 16th of November, then the next day will be Youth Saturday! We are excited about that, too!

I've been doing some research on "Working From Home" advertisements and needless to say, most of them, if not ALL of them, are scams. What amazes me is, if they AREN'T scams, why aren't more people going for them???  It sounds too good to be true! Does anyone know of a legit "work from home" scheme that pays money? LOL!

We had our first choir practice with the youth group last night and I must say how happy I was that it turned out so well!!! There are only about ten young people that we are working with and I was amazed at how well they sang! It was amazing!!! They love to sing, so that helps! And I even have some who show interest in playing various instruments, so maybe I can get away from the piano some! It's hard to direct a choir from a piano, but I've done it! I'm not sure how I will act if I can actually get away and be out there where I can get the most from them! Singing away from the piano makes me feel, um, what's a politer word here for (naked)! LOL!!!

Well, I don't want to write a book right now, so I better get going. There's been so much more going on in our lives lately than I have time to write about! But I would love to hear from my friends when you all get a chance! I must say, I DO NOT miss Facebook! I felt trapped while on it, but now I feel free! Does anyone know what I mean? I feel safer!

Good day to all my friends and I hope your lives are happy and fulfilled! And blessed!
I am!
Jennifer

Monday, July 2, 2012

Transitioning

Hello friends! I hope you all remember who I am! It has been forever since I've blogged and for those of you who are interested, I am no longer in the Face Book crowd. Privacy really became an issue and I felt it best to leave. Surely there are better ways to keep up with friends.

Anyway, a lot has been transpiring in our lives in the last two to three months. Darren is almost done with his first semester of his new college, on his way to finishing his Bachelors! I will be glad when that's done, but something new is on our horizon! We have recently taken on a new position that will involve a move sometime in the near future. How near, I don't know yet. It will depend on Darren's work and if he gets the full-time position that he's been notified about. After he finds out, which will hopefully be in the next month, we will know when we can move. We are planning on moving to Ohio because we have taken on the Youth Pastor position at Bro. Bruce Maguire's church in Germantown, Ohio, Route 4 Holiness Church. We are excited about it! The thing that most awes me about this move is that I actually have a desire to do it! A year ago, I couldn't say that! I had been so wounded and laid open, so to speak, that I didn't think I would EVER want to work for God again, but with time and the love of God's family, I have healed inside and out (PTL!!) and feel ready to "sail on" and do something for the Lord. It's hard to imagine ever doing something for the Lord when you feel you've been shipwrecked and battered and scarred and bruised, but when you allow time and the Lord to heal you, you might be surprised at what you will do. I am thankful I serve a HEALER! Not only of the body, but of the mind, heart and spirit! So we start this coming Sunday at our new church! I shouldn't have any trouble remembering when we started attending Route 4 because it will be on my (GASP!!) 39th birthday! 39!!!!! AAAAGGHHH!!! It is hard to believe I am that old! I feel every bit of it, but when I look in the mirror, I look as young as ever! LOL!!! I can't tell that I've aged a bit since my teen years! LOL! Well, maybe a little! My daughter saw a picture of me when I was in my early twenties and she wanted to know what that "skinny" girl was! Now, that's bad, when she can't even recognize her own mom! But I have put on weight! I weigh about 50 pounds more now than then... (sigh...) Maybe now that I'm laying off of pop, I might lose some weight... sure would be nice before I get pregnant again!

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time at the present to really catch up, but I thought I would share a bit of what's going on and GOING TO BE going on.... (hope you caught that..lol!) So hopefully I can write again soon! God bless you all and hopefully I can hear from my "listeners" soon!

His Servant,
Jennifer

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Catching Up

Wow! It's been a while since I've been on here! We've been extremely busy with home school, Darren graduating from Ivy Tech (YEAH!), spring cleaning and everything else! I'm ready for a break, but I don't see one in sight yet!

A while back, a preacher had prophesied to me that there are many storms. He used the word "are" as if to say "right now", but I knew it wasn't "right now", but that it was in the future, whether sooner or later, I did not know, but I knew I was going to have to get a bulldog grip on God, if I was going to pull through. The man of God also said that I would need to walk by faith and not by feeling during those storms. Well, I thought I had a strong enough grip, but not long after the storms started coming did I realize I didn't have as strong a grip as I thought. In fact, I felt like I had lost ALL grip. I'm only now realizing that, although I feel like I've lost grip on Him and felt like a failure in the process, He never lost His grip on me. Talk about truly losing control of life! If there is one thing I've learned in the recent weeks, it's that God TRULY is in control of our lives and there will be times when we will have NO control and there is nothing we can do about it but stand still and let God do His work. There have been a couple of times I've even looked at Darren and said, "I've been saved for over 20 years and I've had some rough battles and fierce storms, but never had I felt like I was capable of losing faith in God over it. Somehow my faith sustained me and I was still able to trust in the middle of it all, but now, after all these years of being saved, you would think I would NEVER feel the way I'm feeling right now!" My faith in God, my trust in Him, my hope in His promises, were all shaken and honestly, I shied away from singing songs that talked about healing, that talked about how He keeps His promises! To my shame, I know, but I was so shaken, I didn't know for sure what I believed! I knew what my head was telling me and that someday I might pull out of it, but my heart REFUSED to believe anymore! Talk about losing grip, but thankfully God understood my anxieties and fears, my questions and my doubts and kept His grip on me when I felt like I had lost it ALL! He's spoken to me in dreams to comfort me and let me know that HE will STILL get glory in my life and He has a plan and that it will all work out! I don't know what God has up His sleeve, but one thing I know. He has never failed me. He is God alone. Even though I feel shaken to the core and wonder if I will survive the storm, He is NOT shaken. He has all things in control and I must surrender my will and what I want done to Him and let Him have complete control. I don't know what all the outcome will be, but I know He loves me!

 This is my sweetheart! He graduated on Saturday, May 5, 2012, from Ivy Tech Community College with an Associate Degree in Education. I'm so proud of him! I love him!

 And this is his happy and proud family! I hate having my picture taken! I can't believe people actually have to look at me like that! LOL! Of course, my little girl is beautiful! She's photogenic! Darren looks handsome
 ~ in his gown! ~

This past week, Darren and I celebrated being a couple for nine years! I remember a couple of weeks before I met him, I had a grandpa in the hospital hanging onto life and we got the call (I was at work) to come to the hospital because he was slipping away and I remember crying on the way to the hospital, talking to the Lord, telling Him that I hated going through something like this because I didn't have anyone. I had never lost anyone close to me before and I was finding it difficult to go through it alone. I told the Lord I wish I had someone to share the hurt with me, and be there for me. I got to the hospital and it looked bad for a while, but he stabilized! I was able to go home and Papa held on for days. The next weekend, a friend and I went to Bro. David Miller's meeting he has at the end of April and there I met Darren and we started talking. A week later, he came down and we went to a gym where the graduation banquet attendees were gathering and we had a wonderful time! About 4:30 in the morning, we left and made our way to the church, where Darren was staying and dropped him off. I had a couple of girls with me, and before we left, Darren handed me a letter to read. At the end of that letter, he asked if I would be his girlfriend! I thought it was so sweet. It made me think of being an elementary school kid! LOL! So, of course, I said YES! That was probably close to 5am, maybe. Me and the girls headed on home and I had no more gotten home and settled into bed, when the phone rang. It was the call I dreaded. My papa had passed away just a few minutes before. (This is making me cry...) I sat on the side of my bed in shock, and all I could think of was that God had given me my hearts' desire, giving me someone to share my grief with, just minutes before Papa passed away. Ever since then, Darren has been my shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, love, my reason to live. I know this is probably getting mushy to you all, but I stand in awe of God's goodness. He knows how to provide anchors in our lives. Darren is my anchor, given to me by God. Jesus is my ultimate anchor, but I am also thankful for the anchor he's given me in Darren. Moriah is icing on the cake. :) I love my family.

And I better quit now. Sorry for a long blog. Haven't been on here for a while and making up for lost time. I'm listening to the song "I Trust You" by James Fortune. It's beautiful. God bless you, my friends.
~Jennifer~

Monday, April 9, 2012

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a good Easter. The weather sure was nicer than it has been in the past, where Easter is concerned! Thankful for Easter! To me, it is the most important day of the year to celebrate!

This past week has been the longest of my life, I think. I didn't realize it, but I see it now after the Lord was moving in our service last night. One of our lay preachers in the church was preaching our vesper service and he was preaching about getting a double portion of God! And he mentioned that he kept feeling like there was someone there who had been battling the devil all week, and how the devil has really been giving someone the run-around, and that's when I realized that was EXACTLY what had been going on! With me, at any rate. I'm sure there were others, but it's funny how you get into a battle and it's so easy to get confused and wondering what in the world is going on and not even sure which way to turn or go, and feeling LOST! I won't go into ALL the battles I've faced last week, but I will tell you this, I don't know if I've ever had an onslaught from the pits of Hell as heavy, hard and FAST as it hit last week! Now mind you, this is NOT a pity party I'm throwing here! I am just sitting here amazed that I did NOT know what was going on for the most part! I knew I was in a battle for my life, but there were some things going on that I thought was just LIFE when in fact it was the devil trying to make me THINK it was just LIFE! He has a way of making us as children of God ACCEPT the things he throws at us, when we need to realize he is just trying to rob us of our joy, peace and faith in our FAITHFUL GOD!!!! I would love to honestly say the battle's over, but it isn't. I will say though, I feel renewed and have a sense of direction, knowing what I need to do now to keep focused instead of being so confused. The devil is the author of confusion and I am so thankful for one young man who obeyed God and showed me that the devil is behind all the turmoil taking place right now.

I am so thankful to have my little family in church for Easter. What a blessing it is to go to the House of the Lord and celebrate His life in us!!! Because He got up, I have hope in this life AND in the one to come!

So glad He's alive! Hallelujah!