Five Minute Friday-Community

Ok, so I've started following this blog recently. She had a blog post for the moms of daughters, of which I am one now (which by the way, is still very strange to me, but anyway) about how there will always be mean girls, but talked about how to deal with them in a way that touched my heart and made me want to be that kind of mom. So, on her blog, she takes part in 5 Minute Friday, where you write for five minutes, with no editing, no rewriting, just free writing on the topic of the week. I hope I'm doing this right with the linking thing....if not, someone comment (nicely please), and let me know what to fix. This week's topic is Community. Here goes:

Community. Such a funny word. I'm a part of lots of communities-my work, my friends, my church, my family. Groups of people who may or may not overlap at some points throughout my life. But without it, what are we left with? If you are not in community with someone, what do you do with your life? I've been thinking about the community I have within my small group. This group of people are all in different phases in their lives. Some are empty nesters, some are parents with children in high school, some are unmarried, and then there is us-a young married couple with a toddler. Seemingly a haphazard group, but the best community I could be in at this point in my life. I know that this community is there to meet every need my family has. Just this week, we were checking in with each other about the needs we were all having-financial, spiritual, emotional-the whole gamut. THIS is community-when they put your needs above their own. "Can we do something? Watch Gracelynn for you, walk the dog, take you out to dinner, help you....whatever you need." This is true community. This is how God has called us to live-not the superficial, "Hey, how are you....good, ok me too", but the deep, messy," Help, we can't pay this bill this month, could you help us out", or "Help, my life is falling apart because of.....". That my friends, is community.

Ok, that wasn't so bad.

Ok, we are back

Oh my.  It's been a long time since my last post.  I have felt compelled to begin writing for several weeks now, and so, here we go.  I'm goin to try to keep up with it, but it might be that there is time between posts.  Lots of things have changed since our last post.  In case you didn't know, here is the run down.  Since our last post: 

• We have become parents to our sweet baby girl, Gracelynn. 
• I have continued working at school.
•  Ben has gotten a job doing insurance inspections and is now working at Bay Life Church in the worship arts department. 
• We have been through lots of ups and downs, but God has seen us through it all.  Our family is blessed beyond measure in so many ways. 

I feel that I need to begin writing again for several reasons.  One, I'm currently reading a book of someone's memoirs from WWII.  Now, I wasn't alive then, but I'm thinking about keeping a record of the things that happen to me, whether they are as profound as this lady's story, I feel that I need to write so that someday, I can look back and reflect on my life and share my story with my child.  Two, I need to write as a way to have something to call mine, if that makes any sense.  I enjoy reading blogs and think I would like to share with those of you who read this blog.  I'm not trying to get famous or anything, just want a place to share my thoughts.  Ok, that's enough for this post.  Have a great weekend!!

Christmas is coming!!

Christmas is coming!! We are so excited that Christmas is finally here. Things are going well for us. We are so blessed and have little to complain about. We are currently at Ben's parents for a few days. This morning we gave Kristin a baby shower for Maverick and Goose (the twins). She got a lot of nice gifts and we had a good time with everyone who came. Millie is with us and is a little unsure about Barrett, Sarah and Demetri's baby, but she is being extremely well behaved. The whole family is here for the first time since Barrett was born, so things are a bit crowded, but we are crammed in and having fun. We will be heading to TN on Tuesday, and are hoping to see a little snow while we are there. Currently, the power is iffy and it could be interesting. Will try to keep everyone posted....because I know so many people read this...hahaha!!

Ok, so here we go. It's been a while since our last post obviously. So I (Jennie) will try to update the best I can. This last month and a half has been a whirlwind of traveling and work drama. We have been to Jacksonville several times now that we have weekends free. We also went to a wedding in North Carolina at the beginning of October. That was fun and a good time to get away for a couple of days. Things have been crazy for me at work so far this year, but I am still thankful that we have a steady source of income, so I try not to complain too much. But it still happens. Ben is still searching for a job of any kind, but hoping hard for a church job. He has a couple leads, and has talked to a couple of churches, but they move so slowly. So we continue to pray and wait on God's timing, but it's getting a little harder. So, if anyone knows of a church that needs a great youth pastor, just let us know! We are available! We have also been having some good times with friends and family. We spent last weekend carving pumpkins, which have since rotted in the hot Florida weather. They turned out very nice, and we had a great time with our friends, the Hanbys. Millie continues to provide entertainment for our little family. She enjoys napping with Dad on the couch, and going for long walks around the neighborhood in the evenings. She went to the groomer this week and returned with a cute little scarf that has skeletons on it. A Halloween costume for her to wear next weekend. It will be our first Halloween in our new house. So exciting. We will try to continue to update as we can, but we have no internet at home, so that makes it a little more difficult. So stay tuned for the next installment of our lives.

September is HERE!!!

Hey all,

September is here and you know what that means?? Fall is getting closer!! Fall is my favorite time of the year because it gets cooler outside and there is just something about the fall air that is refreshing. It is also a scary time for me personally because I am still on the search for a new ministry and the fall is typically when the hiring process slows down. It is scary and not so scary at the same time because I know that God is in control. It is an odd feeling when you release yourself to something bigger and better than yourself. It is easy to talk about but hard to do. To simply let yourself be lead by something all powerful and claim yourself powerless is scary and freeing all at once. Try it some time and let me know how it feels. Allow yourself to be led by God instead of trying it on your own and tell me how it feels. Praise be to God for all he has done and for all he has planned.

My child

A couple of pictures of my pretend child. She is so cute!! I just love her to death. I'm so proud of her. She has been so good this week while we have been on our vacation visiting all the grandparents. So yeah, check her out and admire her. The one of her on the floor (right) is from the very first day we had her. The other one is from recently. She has grown so much!!

Here we go!!

Well, we have joined the blogosphere. I have decided to start this blog so that all you family members who care, and others of course, can keep up with us from near and far. I hope to update weekly if we can, but who knows. Internet service is not at the top of the list right now, so.....yeah. Right now we are in a time of transition, as Ben has resigned from the church we were serving at and is looking for a new position. If anyone knows of anything that has opened up recently, please let us know! For right now though, we are planning on staying right were we are because the school year is starting soon. So we are interested to see what God has in store for us. Look for more news later!