Don't Lose Hope...

"Don't lose hope..." "Put your hope in the Lord..." These are words I have been uttering to myself a lot lately. These are words I have shared with others lately. How easy it seems for us to lose hope. Tradgedies, sickness, death, hate...sadness, loss, pain, hurt...all things that can steal our hope away from us. I would be untruthful if I said there were never a time in my own life where I lost all hope or felt like giving up. Sadly, there have been many. I can honestly say, that even in these dark times where I feel like all hope is lost, the Lord restores hope in my life. He proves to be faithful over and over again. I am blessed to be a child of God. I have often wondered how people survive without Christ. How do they get through life's tough times? Because I believe in a God much bigger than myself, I am learning to truly cling to hope. I am holding on with all that I am. Sometimes my hope in the Lord is all that can get me through. Without it, I don't know where I would be. I choose to put my hope in the Lord because He knows my every thought and has ordained all of my days before they came to be (Psalm 139). I choose to put my hope in the Lord because He is FAITHFUL. I choose to put my hope in Him because He "works for the GOOD of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). I choose to put my hope in the Lord, because in the end HE wins. Be hopeful in the Lord, even when it seems impossible, because He loves you! "Let us hold UNSWERVINGLY to the HOPE we profess, for He who has promised IS FAITHFUL!" ---Hebrews 10:23 Be blessed! Jenn

Forgetting...

I have never really been one to forget things. I rarely ever forgot my homework when I was in school. I hardly ever forget where I put my keys. I don't forget what people say to me very often. I guess you could say that I make mental notes in my head a lot. The last couple days I have had to almost laugh at myself because I have just been so forgetful and distracted. I was attempting to go to the store the other day, and literally had to get out of my car and go back into the house 3 different times because I forgot stuff that I needed. My husband was here, and thought it was pretty funny. The best thing I have done occurred this morning. I was in the shower shaving my legs, and I guess I got distracted. By what, I have no idea. I was putting moisturizer on later on in the morning, and realized that only one of my legs was shaved. Only one. I thought it was hilarious. Pretty cute only having one leg shaved and the other one all prickly. I think a lot of times in life we get distracted by "unimportant" things, and it causes us to forget. We forget the important things in life that really matter. We forget to take time to call up our friends and family to let them know we love them. We forget to spend time with the Lord. We forget to pray. We forget because we are distracted by the other things in life that are being thrown at us. Satan thrives on distracting us. He throws obstacles at us, tells us lies, and fills our thoughts with worries. When he distracts us--we fall into his trap and fall away from the Lord. Watch out for the distractions that are thrown your way. Focus on not forgetting the important things in life :) Be blessed! Jennifer

How is it 2010 already?

I am such a slacker when it comes to blogging! Well, here we are with a new year ahead of us. I cannot believe it is already 2010...so weird! I am at the point that I am at every year where I have a hard time writing the correct date...I am still stuck in 2009. I am happy that 2009 is over with. It was an amazing year, but a crazy one at the same time. It is always nice to have a new beginning. I need some refreshment in my life. It gives us all a chance to reprioritize and reorganize. A little update on our holiday season: It was amazing! We spent Christmas in Brewton and New Years in Pensacola, therefore getting to see EVERYONE we loved! I have missed my family so much. I have missed Pensacola so much. There is so much to be said about familiarity. Something in me just automatically became joyful when I was where I consider to be "home." I feel like I have been so far from "familiar" that it was refreshing to be around what/who I know and love. One of the highlights of our Christmas was getting a Wii from my parents and some pretty awesome Wii games from David's family. I have wanted one for a long time, but never expected to get one! I am pretty much in love with our Wii! David and I have so much fun playing it together, and competing against one another (by the way, I win MOST of the time!). Now that I have caught up on life...a little about what God is teaching me! I know it may have been evident in several of my past blogs that I was seriously struggling with this season of my life. I was questioning everything and losing faith. I was so anxious that it was making me sick, and I seriously thought something was wrong with me. For a while, I wondered where God was...why wasn't He listening to me? I finally just gave in...and God took over. He has filled me with so much PEACE and JOY! I am feeling like Jenn again...and not like this person who is losing her mind! Satan was getting to me, but I am sooo thankful that I serve a God who reigns supreme! Last weekend, when we were in Pensacola, we were able to go to our church, Liberty Church, which is ALWAYS a blessing. I have never left that building not being moved or encouraged! My brother-in-law, Amick, is the worship leader there. During worship, he said something that hit me hard. He talked about how we all make resolutions to lose weight, or get our finances in order, or whatever...but then he said WHY DON'T WE MAKE IT OUR GOAL FOR THIS YEAR TO BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST? That is my ultimate prayer for this year. To be more like Christ. To listen more intently to what He is saying. To take the time to study His word. To spend time talking to Him everyday. To trust and seek Him in everything. To lose my life so that I may live. What are your goals for the New Year? Praying peace and good health on all of you this this New Year! Be blessed! Jenn