"God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect. " 2 Samuel 22:33

Encouraged,
Jenn

I'm sooo thankful for my sis.

We spent a good two hours last night perched on a step with a big, uncomfortable crack bang-smack in the middle of it, talking about ... oh, everything. (Fine, then; how some things suck right now.) And then laughing helplessly the next minute because our over-active senses of humour prevailed.

I'm thankful:

1. that we know each other well enough, that if one doesn't know a certain important detail about the other, it's a shock, an outrage, and it calls for some heavy-duty conferencing. 

2. that neither of us are down at the same time. One of us automatically begins to look on the bright side to compensate for the other one. (Except for last night. And then we cheered each other up.)

3. that we're both in the same boat right now. Kinda. Not thankful for this particular boat, but hey, there's nothing better for one misery-guts than for another misery-guts to be wallowing in the same kind of misery. (Wow. I confused myself, the Queen of Random, as I typed that statement. :D)

And, since lists get boring, I'll wrap this up with some pics.

Go on. Whistle.

I did.

(And barely escaped.)

I like this one better, though,

cuz this is the sis I know and luv.

Really, really blessed,

Jenn 

Random quotes:

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." --Zig Ziglar

"Actively wait." --John Waller

Huh.

Thinking,
Jenn

I guess I should clarify my last post; been struggling with major irritation and stressing out, and didn't know how to deal with it. Yeah, sure, you pray for forgiveness, you try to do better, and ... you mess up all over again.

Sunday night service was awesome. A lady volunteered to play the piano (all of our regular pianists were gone), and it seemed like God used her to set the mood of the service ... kinda hard to explain, but anyways, we had a great time worshiping God.

Preacher kicked off his message with an interesting illustration. Apparently, there's only two birds that fly across the deserts in the United States: vultures and hummingbirds. A vulture only looks for dead, rotting meat, and that's what he finds. A hummingbird only looks for sweet nectar, and surprisingly, he also finds what he's looking for, whether it's from cactus flowers or whatever else is in a desert. (I don't live in a desert.)

Translation to self: if I'm looking for the bad in a situation, I hanged will find it. Has that been my problem? Only seeing what is going wrong, and not stopping to look for what is so awesome and right about it?
Then Preacher brought out the verse, "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily LOADETH us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." The cool part was, my sis and I had just used that verse in children's church. We found a bunch of heavy things like books and stuff, and loaded Dawson's arms with it all until he was staggering. (Preacher must've stolen my sermon notes.)  ;).

 Hey, this isn't about needs that God provides for; this is about benefits. Extras, as Dawson put it. Good grief! This huge bright side that I've been missing.

Then he talked about God's grace, and it reminded me of how I've been facing problems. They jump out in front of me, and I in my human logic go "Oh boy" and try to handle them on my own. But God's amazing, strengthening grace is there for the asking.

So I tried it out Monday morning; asking for grace, that is. Wow, the difference! Seriously. God, You are so good, always giving me just what I need.

And finally, I have a chance to use the cool quote that Sarah stumbled across months ago: "Look at all these insurmountable opportunities!"

Thrilled and thankful, :D
Jenn

Is it coffee overdose? Or not sleeping well? Worrying ...? Well, whatever it is, it's driving me up the wall. God, pleeze HELP!

Desperately,
Jenn

P.S. "Long Way Home" feels like my life song at the mo.  If I posted it every time it was on my mind, this blog would be crowded beyond recognition. But--I just realized that the last time I posted was back in June, and I'd hate for you to hafta dig through all those files. :D Happy listening.

My heavenly Dad is so good to me. So thankful for the overwhelming grace that He pours out when I need it. Life is not easy, but I'm thankful. It's all blessings in sometimes very good disguises.

"Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men."

Wowed,  :,)
Jenn

If you ever need a cheer-up, google-image search "bassett hounds."


Mum, pleeeze can I buy one?

Talk about a personality plus dog breed.



The "Oh Brrrother" Look.

(If you ever get This Look, know without a shadow of doubt that you just did something wee-yurd.)



Chillax, y'all.

Uhhh, whad I do?



Oh no, you don't, bud.


Mine.


One fierce posse hot on the trail.

Right to left: longsuffering and longsuffering-builder.



Get on with it already.


Lookit those eeolls! :)



A cold, wet (assumingly so) nose.


A long, slobbery pink tongue.


Lots of lovable, kneadable wrinkles.


And a long, boingy tail.

What does this have to do with being ecstatically single? Basset hounds make it easier. I think. Just give me a chance to prove it, Mum.

Smiling (hope you are, too),
Jenn :)