Looking Back at 2008

As I look back over this year, I can only describe it one way...the year of God's abundant blessing poured out over me and my family. Why? My only answer to that is because even though I don't deserve it, God loves to lavish His love on us, to pour out His blessings on us when we are faithful and obedient to Him. Maybe that is just it, maybe that is why I have seen His hand in every single step we've made this year, maybe because for this entire year, I have prayed for His direction, His leadership, His provision, and for my own heart and life to be changed. He has been faithful to do all of it because I have FINALLY surrendered my own wishes and wants and desires to His. Am I perfect in it? No. Do I still have to daily lay my life down and take up my cross and follow Him? ABSOLUTELY!! Is it worth it? More than anything else. Do I still have giants to face and things in my heart God needs to refine in the fire? Most definitely. Does He have a plan for doing just that? Yes. In fact, we are about to start studying David in Sunday school and using Max Lucado's book, "Facing Your Giants". Coincidence...no I don't believe in coincidence...God has a plan, and in His time, He will show me what that plan is. For now, I will do what He has been asking me all year to do...seek Him first and everything else will be added.

For those of you brave enough to go the length of this post (I'm sure it will be quite long!) I will give you this year in review...the year of God's amazing blessings. Otherwise, this is as good a stopping place as any!! lol!

This time last year: I was at my absolute wits end with Joy's school. Her teacher was horrible, her principal was covering everything up and defending the teacher, even when every parent in the classroom was complaining and taking their complaints to admin...to no avail. I was ready to homeschool!! At the same time, it was the 3rd anniversary of my brother's death and we were all feeling the effects of it. I just ducked my head and got through Christmas. It was bad. I actually hated Christmas. How had it gone that far, how had I gone that far?? Was Christmas always going to be that hard? Somehow, my joy was lost in missing Joe.

We rang in 2008, and I didn't want to make new year resolutions, it felt silly to commit to doing things that I would have completely forgotten about by Valentine's. But, I did do this; I got on my knees and prayed for a better year. I prayed for God's help. I prayed, probably for the first time really meaning it, for God to change ME, to change my heart and make me more like Him. (I also told Him He had to figure out a way to get us out of Cedar Hill or change something because no way was Jenna gonna start Kindergarten in that school and Joy was never going back either!) I layed everything out at His feet, and let go, I told Him I couldn't do it anymore. Wasn't that what He was waiting for all along? For me to surrender COMPLETELY, EVERYTHING?? Well...it's time to buckle your seat belt because God did change things, He changed everything!!!

We had been praying about selling our house and moving for about three years, but God had been telling us to wait, it wasn't time. We had debt, and He wouldn't allow us to sell and move with that debt. Well, I guess at the beginning of January, God was finally saying it was time and we began getting our house ready to sell. We needed all new carpet, God provided. We needed a whole new backyard AND fence, God provided. We still had debt, big debt, again God provided...debt wiped clean. We were finally ready to put our house on the market in the middle of March as the market keeps getting worse and worse and worse and nothing around us is moving at all...God doesn't look at the market, He checks His own calendar. Our house sold in two weeks.

We moved to Prosper in the middle of May. We didn't even know Prosper existed when we sold our house. We were looking in Frisco. God wanted us here, in this house, in this neighborhood, in Prosper. It is too long of a story to type out, but let me just say...ALL GOD!!

Was He done blessing at that point? Not by a long shot. This is when the real work began, when He began to change me, to change my heart. I discovered the Christian author, Karen Kingsbury, this summer. I devoured twenty-something books in two months. If you haven't read her books, you should. God used these books to show me what was missing in my life...my heart. He showed me that I wasn't loving with my whole heart, I wasn't living with my whole heart. My heart was completely shut down and locked far, far away and deep. You see, I had been hurt very deeply by very close family when I was a teenager, and I had locked my heart away and shut down out of pure survival. Problem is, I never came out of hiding even though the hurting was over and my life was far different now than it was way back then. So, I began to pray for God to heal my brokeness and teach me how to love deeply, how to love my husband the way He meant for me to, how to love my children the way He meant for me to, how to LOVE. God said, "Okay, I'll get right on that!" Wow! I had no idea how painful that was going to be, the things I was finally going to have to face, and the forgiveness I was finally going to have to give. My friend, Krissi, described it like a bad burn that needed to be debrieded (sp?). Extremely painful as God began scrubbing away the caloused layers of my heart until He finally hit new flesh. It was a lot, and it seemed to be going at break-neck speed, but God was changing me, and excrutiating as it was, it was good. In the middle of all of this, God led us to a new church. We knew the very first time we went that it was the church God wanted us to call home. All six of us agreed that our church search was over, and FBC Prosper was the one. We have an amazing pastor who boldly speaks such sound biblical truth, and we have been like dry sponges tossed into the ocean soaking it all up. The Holy Spirit is very much present and active in this church! One of things we had to do in order to join this church was to share our testimony with the pastor. Oh boy!! Don't forget, I was right in the middle of having my heart debrieded by God!! My testimony was painful especially right then, but looking back now, it was all part of God's plan to teach me to be open and vulnerable again, to allow my heart to show. So I went and met with him, and shared my testimony with him (shaking like a leaf in blustery wind the whole time). I am shaking again right now just thinking about it!! But, God used him to speak truth over me, and he gave me some great wisdom that I needed desperately and I will cling to always. When I walked away from that meeting, I was finally able to forgive the person who had hurt me so badly all those years ago. I had no idea until then just how heavy the burden I had been carrying all those years. Talk about a diet, I lost a HUGE weight that day!! God has continued to bless us beyond measure in this church. We have already met so many new friends and are building relationships that I never dreamed possible when we moved. In only a few short months, these people have become very dear to me, and I love them so much already! Maybe because my heart is open...hmmmm....???

Then it was time for school to start. This year, all four of our kids were starting school. They were all nervous. Jared was starting his sophomore year in high school...not an easy time to start in a new school in a new town. Jacob was starting middle school (7th grade), Joy was starting 4th grade and my baby, Jenna was starting Kindergarten. She was very excited...I was NOT!! Again, God had His hand in it all. Prosper schools are AWESOME!! All four kids have settled in very well, and even Jared is now glad we moved here!! Also, it turns out that our superintendant is Jacob's Sunday school teacher. For those of you who know Jacob very well, go ahead and laugh at the irony, we did. Jacob is doing fabulous in school this year. If that were the only reason God brought us here, it would have been enough!! Jacob has changed more this year than anyone...not to mention he has grown about 8 inches since last Christmas! He is now taller than Jared and me and if he continues his current growth rate, he will be taller than John by Valentine's. God has truly blessed us!!

Then the holidays rolled around, and I prayed that this year would be different. I didn't want to just duck my head and make it through. God had taught me so much about Himself and had worked such miraculous change in my heart and had grown me so much this year that I desperately wanted the holidays to be different. God is so faithful. Yes, I still had hard days where I missed Joe so badly I could hardly breathe, but it was different this year. It was different because I was different. My faith ran so much deeper, my trust ran so much deeper. My love ran so much deeper...God had answered so many prayers. Christmas was amazing this year. Not because there were lots of presents under the tree because there weren't, but because Jesus was there in the middle of it all. My heart has overflowed with abundant joy because I am forgiven, because I am redeemed, because I am loved by the King of kings, because my heart is open to be filled with joy and love.

I am sad to say goodbye to 2008 because I will always remember it as an amazing year, but at the same time, God isn't done yet and what in the world does He have in store for 2009?! He hasn't done all this work on me for nothing!! He has a plan....

I hope you had a Christmas filled with joy, and I pray your new year is blessed beyond measure.

LOVE,
Jill

It's been a busy month!

That's an understatement for sure!! Anyways, I have finally uploaded pictures of all that we have been up to for the past month. So, here is a look. The pictures do not go in order because...well...I haven't mastered the art of adding pictures to my blog yet!! :) Enjoy!!

Prosper State Championship Game...GO EAGLES!!

Jared marching at half-time (he's the one in the middle)

John and Me!!

My Sweet Friends...Stacey, Rita, and Valinda!


Joy and her friend, Kensey

STATE CHAMPS!!!!!!

Our friend, Koleman at the tailgate party before the game!

FBC Prosper Tailgate Party '08
(we served like a gazillion people, and it was a blast!!)

Jacob's band concert (actually, Jacob AFTER the concert because how are you supposed to take pictures of your kid when he plays the tuba and sits in the very back??!!!)

Jenna, a.k.a. the calendar person in kindergarten

Jenna's gingerbread house she made at school.

Joy's final gymnastics meet...doing her roll on beam which she received the second highest score on beam out of 42 gymnasts! We are very proud!! Also, she is getting to skip level 3 and move straight to level 4 so she is very excited!!

Joy was a shephard in the children's Christmas musical at church. She is the little one in the middle!

I Will Rise...

I am not even sure where to begin this post. First off, though, if you haven't read the post just prior to this one, then scroll down and read it first or this one won't make as much sense.

I sit here with a smile on my face and joy overflowing in abundance from my heart, completely overwhelmed...again...at God's faithfulness and deep abiding love for us.

Four years ago today, I stood at a grave and said goodbye (for a little while) to my brother. Today, in my bible study, I stand alongside Mary and Martha at the grave of Lazarus. Jesus wept. He grieved because of the pain of this fallen world. He knows my hurts. He knows yours, too. He also said these words, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26 This is not a new concept for me, not a brand new revelation I never knew before, but words of Jesus Himself lifting me up, encouraging me, reminding me, strengthening me on this day, right where I am. Wow!!

Jesus is intimate in relationship, and He will sometimes go great lengths to reach out to us. He will even call you on the phone if need be. He called me this morning! You see, I am not a morning person; I am a night owl. But, I believe God is definitely a morning God so I am working very hard on rising early and meeting with Him. His mercies are new every MORNING, but I have to get out of bed and gather my manna. Yesterday, I was praying about this and telling God to please give me the strength and the will-power to crawl out of my warm, cozy bed into the cold morning, and please, God, do whatever you have to in order to get me up!! Trust me, if you pray this, He will come through!! This morning, as I was struggling to get myself out of bed, still lying there wanting to be warm and snuggly instead of cold and on my knees, all of a sudden I here this, "I will rise when He calls my name, no more sorrow, no more pain, I will rise..." I mean that I actually HEAR this!! You see, that is the ringtone on my cell phone that was blaring from the kitchen. It is a song by Chris Tomlin called "I Will Rise", and it is one of my faves from his new CD. I immeditately jump out of bed, grab my glasses and my bible (which I had strategically placed on my nightstand the night before) and sprint for the kitchen to see who is calling me so early in the morning. Although, I was laughing at the fact that whoever it was, it was really God calling me, and apparantly, I WILL RISE when He calls my name!!! It turns out that it was our superintendant calling to let us know that school had been delayed 2 hours because of the ice. SOOO...I decided that since the manna was frozen this morning, it would probably last a little longer, and I went back to bed for another half hour, then got up because Jesus obviously wanted to meet with me this morning at the tomb of Lazarus.

Do not overlook the words of the song here, either. They, too, have meaning here: "I will rise when He calls my name, No more sorrow, no more pain, I will rise on eagles' wings, Before my God, fall on my knees, and rise, I will rise."



Jesus, I stand amazed in your presence. I stand amazed at the depth of your love. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning. Thank you that I can sit here today with abundant joy because you are the resurrection and the life.

Title Change...

I think I was having an issue with my original title to this post, "Intimate and Personal". It was innocent enough to me when you read the post and know what I was talking about, but it never crossed my mind until it was acting funny that the title might have been getting hung up through some "appropriateness (my word) filters". Oops!

So here's the post: Intimate and Personal

That is who Jesus is. He is intimate and personal with us. He desires so much to meet us right where we are and love us to Himself.

I sit here in the midst of the hardest part of the year for me...the week between the anniversary of Joe's home-going and his birthday. I want to share some of my morning bible study from today because it shows just how intimate and personal Jesus is. It shows how deep His love for us, how much He cares about our hurts and trials.

I am doing a study by Mindy Ferguson called "The Women in Jesus' Life." It is a study about all the women Jesus encountered during his life and ministry here. Today's study was focusing on Mary and Martha, primarily Martha during the time when Lazarus, their brother, gets sick and dies. Hello, I am not one to believe in coincidence or happenstance. I believe in the perfect time and will of God. He knows me inside out. He knew what I needed this very day, and He is faithful. He is personal. The scripture reference is John 11:1-6,17-22. The focus being that of Martha's unwaivering faith in Jesus even when she did not understand why He had tarried and allowed her brother to die.

Here is an excerpt from the author (Mindy Ferguson), "When my aunt died from cancer several years ago, I was absolutely sure God would heal her. I prayed in total faith and waited for evidence of God's healing. I didn't doubt for a moment. Yet, in her last moments on this earth, I knew God was present. I knew He was taking her home. I knew that the healing in this situation was bringing her to Himself. I must admit, I struggled to understand why God would allow a forty two-year-old wife and mother to be taken from her family."

Wow! Is God speaking personally and intimately to me here? Yes! I could so easily rewrite that paragraph to say this, "When my brother died from cancer several years ago, I was absolutely sure God would heal him. I prayed in total faith and waited for evidence of God's healing. I didn't doubt for a moment. Yet, in his last moments on this earth, I knew God was present. I knew He was taking him home. I knew that the healing in this situation was bringing him to Himself. I must admit, I struggled to understand why God would allow a forty-one (shy by 6 days)-year-old husband and father of five to be taken from his family."

"Sometimes this life is just plain hard. But Martha was able to maintain her faith in Jesus, even during her loss-even when the Lord responded in a way that she was unable to understand."

When it comes to relating to Mary and Martha, I tend to be more like Mary. But, in this, I want to be a Martha. I want to have the kind of deep-rooted, steadfast faith that Martha possessed, unwaivering no matter what the circumstance.

Lord Jesus, I love you. I love you here in this moment more than I ever have. Jesus, give me an unwaivering, steadfast faith that believes no matter what. Jesus, I pour out my life as an offering before you. Take it and use it for Your glory. May Your name be honored and glorified and praised and adored. Thank you, Sweet Jesus, for loving me, for caring so deeply, for healing so completely. Amen

We Are STATE CHAMPS!!!

WooHoo!!! The Prosper Eagles won their first State Championship today! It was a very exciting and fun game to watch. We beat Waco La Vega 17-10. Go EAGLES! You Rock!! I have to admit, though, it was just as much fun to watch our pastor watch the game as it was to watch the actual game. LOL!

We had a great time at the game and at the tailgate of all tailgates that our church put on for the community beforehand. I'm telling you, I think we fed the entire town of Prosper! It was a blast! Hopefully, I will get pics posted soon of all the fun we've been having. For now, though, I am going to bed!!

A Curtain?! Really?!

Okay, Amy, you asked for it so here it is!

I bought a new dress the other day. It is cute, simple, and very comfortable. I tried it on for John that evening to see what he thought of it. Well...that didn't go so well. He said it looked like I was wearing a curtain and I should go stand in front of the window. Disclaimer here: he wasn't being ugly, just giving his honest opinion which I have trained him to do.

Anyways, I was telling my friend, Amy, about this and she said I HAD to take a picture of me in the dress and blog about it. So without further ado...the dress curtain.



Before anyone asks, yes, I am standing in front of my still not decorated Christmas tree. I am having motivation issues with the Christmas decorating this year. It will get done...hopefully before it is time to take it all down again.

Oh, and if you really want a good laugh, my sweet, kind husband had a little too much fun while we were trying to put the tree together. Here is a picture of that!!





Well...there you have it! Do I look better dressed in a curtain or Christmas tree branches??!!

...and people wonder how I lost my mind????

Jesus, I Believe!!!

So often in the last few weeks, my prayer has been "Jesus, help my unbelief." As much as my faith has been growing and deepening in incredible ways over the past year, I still have an area of my life that fear has a tendency to grip. It is something I have had to daily and sometimes even hourly lay at the feet of Jesus. I want so badly for my heart to believe what my brain knows. Throughout my struggle, God has still been faithful because that is who He is. I have been praying about something...praying for provision in a certain area that I humanly could see no answer for and the fear was trying so hard to grip. I refused to allow it...every time the fear and worry tried to rise up, I determined not to worry, and I prayed for God's peace and provision.

Today, my prayers were answered and God provided for that need in a way that only He could. It was His divine provision. There is simply no other way to explain it! He is faithful without fail. My heart is absolutely bursting with praise!!! Not only that He provided for the need, but that He loves me so much, and that even as I have prayed for help in my unbelief, He has proven AGAIN who He is.

Jesus, I believe!!!

Mason's Miracle

Update: Staci called me yesterday afternoon after leaving the neurologist, and Mason's tests came back very good. He has been officially released and can resume all normal activities. He will be unable to tumble, jump on a trampoline or play contact sports for the rest of his life, but everything else can return to "normal". Mason is healthy and whole and healed!! Praise you, Jesus! Thank you to all of you who prayed for my friend! You are a blessing!!

In this season of thanks and celebration of Christ's birth and anticipation of His return, I want to share a story of a miracle. This is only going to be a very abbreviated version because I so want my dear, sweet friend Staci to tell the whole story someday. After all, it is about her son, Mason.

If you don't believe that Jesus still performs the same kind of miracles now that He did when walked this earth in human form, then you haven't met Mason. Allow me the privilige of introducing you to him.

Mason is nine years old, and I have known him since before he was born. He is sweet and funny and sometimes even brutally honest! If ever I have claimed another child as my own, it would be him.

This past summer I got a phone call from his mom, Staci. She was crying, and I knew immediately that something was wrong, very wrong. She began to tell me that Mason had been in an accident at the lake. He had been riding in an innertube being pulled by a jet ski. The inner tube took a wild turn instead of following straight behind the jet ski, and Mason hit the dock sqare with his forehead. It shattered his skull wide open from his nose straight up to his hair line and his brain had been exposed. I fell back against the refridgerator and slid to the floor unable to breathe in any air as I waited for more. He had been careflighted to a hospital in Tyler and then careflighted to Children's here in Dallas and had undergone emergency surgery to put his skull back together. He had lived (much to the doctor's surprise.) Mason's story doesn't stop there by any means because, you see, when Jesus stretches out His hand and heals, He doesn't heal partially or only a little. He makes you whole again, His healing is complete and perfect. Search the scripture for yourself, you won't find a singe one where His healing is anything less. You see, after 10...only 10 days and one more surgery to put his nose back in the right place, Mason left the hospital to go home. He has no brain damage, he has no personality changes or residual problems. He showed up to start therapy a week later and the therapists sent him home because he didn't need any therapy. The accident happened the last Saturday of June, and Mason started school in August just like every other little nine year old boy.

There are so many more miracles that ocurred throughout that 10 days, but I'll leave that for Staci to tell someday. The reason I'm sharing this part with you now is for two reasons...1) so you will pray...not so much for Mason, but more for Staci. You see, Mason goes back in for tests this Thursday to see how his brain has healed after 5 months. I believe with all my heart that the tests will be good (and so does Staci), but as his mommy, after coming so close to losing him, she still worries. My prayer and what I'm asking of any of you that read this blog is that you will pray that God will wrap Staci in His perfect peace. And 2) if you are in need of healing in your own life, you will look to the One who has the power to heal...Jesus Christ.

Sweet Jesus, I praise your holy name. I praise you because you alone are worthy of all my praise. Jesus, today I praise you again for Mason. I praise you for your miraculous healing. I praise you for allowing me to experience it. Jesus, I pray right now that you would wrap Staci in your peace, let her feel your presence and your strength. May your grace abound. I pray that all the test results would come back perfect because I believe your healing is perfect. Thank you, Lord Jesus, may you receive all the honor and glory and praise. In Your Holy and Perfect and Powerful Name I pray, Amen.

the Shattered Place

The Shattered Place...it's the only way I know how to explain grief. If you have a shattered place of your own, then this post will probably make perfect sense to you. If you do not, then maybe this will give you a better understanding of grief. Please indulge me, this one may get long. But, today, I unexpectedly revisited my shattered place, and I just need to type out my jumbled thoughts and sit for a while and remember Joe.

What is a shattered place exactly? Well, imagine that you are running at the break-neck speed of life and you carry in your hands this very delicate glass ball called "life as you know it" or "your world." Then, maybe it is expected, maybe it is a complete surprise, but your ball slips from your hands and shatters in a gazillion pieces all around you. Someone very close to you, someone you love deeply dies.

In my case, it was my brother, Joe. It was December 11, 2004. Joe had non-hodgkins lymphoma. He fought it hard three times in just under three years, but still we believed. It was this week four years ago that he went into the hospital for the last time. He had to go on a respirator and be sedated because he had gotten a lung infection shortly after a harsh round of chemo. I remember telling my sister-in-law that he was going to be really mad when he woke up and found out that he had slept through Thanksgiving. I remember her laughing and saying that we would have to have Thanksgiving again. I remember being thankful that Thanksgiving that Joe was still with us, that he was still fighting.

Back to the shattered place...

You stand in this place, no longer running at the break-neck speed, you just stand there. You see everyone around you still moving at the same speed. Grief can be a very lonely place to be because you are stuck, standing barefoot in the middle of shattered glass just trying to remember how to breathe in and breathe out while everyone else is still whizzing by.

Eventually, you finally take that first step forward, but it is painful, very painful. Then another...another...you keep turning around to look back at the shattered glass to make sure it is still there. The more steps you take, the easier they become, the glances back become less frequent, and eventually, you find that you have resumed the break-neck speed of life again. The shattered place will always be there, and you can go back and visit it anytime you need or want. Sometimes you plan it, other times it sneaks up on you and surprises you. Today was that day for me.

I was taking Jared to his friend's house back in Cedar Hill. A few minutes before we get there, we pass the cemetary where we buried my brother. I know this, but I just wasn't thinking about it. As soon as it came into view, I felt like all the air was sucked out of my lungs and the tears immediately began to sting my eyes. I managed to get Jared dropped off and then went back and stopped by his grave just to see the words again. To make it real again...to make him real again.

I miss him. I miss him with every cell in my body. I miss his baby blue eyes. I miss his hands being so animated as he would tell a story, and he was always telling a story. I miss his voice. I miss him wrapping his arms around me and saying, "I love you baby sister." I miss his Godly counsel and wisdom, his always knowing exactly what verse of scripture I needed in that moment. I miss hearing him pray. I miss all of him.

But...I know this to be true...God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is faithful and good in ALL things. He is all-sufficient and His grace really is enough. To quote the words on Joe's grave stone, "God IS, and all is well."

I will end this with a song that God gave to me in the car on the way to the hospital to say goodbye on December 11, 2004. It so describes Joe and the way he lived and died, and it tells of God's faithfulness to those of us left here for awhile.



Sweet Jesus, You are Holy. You are worthy of all my praise. Jesus, I praise you and even in my brokenness I lift my hands and praise you because you alone are worthy. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me. Thank you for anchoring me through the storm. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning. Jesus, I pray you take my brokenness and use it for your glory. Amen

I am SOOOO excited!!!

I am so excited! The mailman/woman is my new favorite person! I just got an email that my Chris Tomlin concert tickets are on their way!!! WooHoo!!! The concert is not until the middle of February (2 days after my birthday!), but I ordered them as soon as they went on pre-sale back at the beginning of September so I should have awesome seats! I have been wanting to see Chris Tomlin for about forever, and this time I am finally going to get to go!!! Anyone want to be my back-up date if John can't make it for some reason (again!)???

Isn't my blog BEAUTIFUL!!

My blog got a make-over today! It went from ho-hum to FABULOUS! My sweet, awesome, wonderful, creative, beautiful, dear friend, Valinda worked her magic on my blog today! Doesn't it look wonderful!! Now...if only I had something good to write about on my pretty blog....

Tears of joy only a mother could cry

A couple of days ago, I cried tears only a mom would cry. I then laughed at myself crying over something so crazy and many people would never understand. But...if you have known our family very long or very well, feel free to join me in my rejoicing.

It was a pretty normal afternoon on a school day around our house except that I didn't know where Jacob was. I went upstairs to find him shut up in his room. I asked him what he was doing, and his reply was, "I'm doing my homework." Yes, I know, you are already astonished, but this is not even the amazing part!

A little while later while I was cooking dinner, he came downstairs and sat at the kitchen table still working on homework. He would ask me to spell a word for him every now and then until I finally got really curious and asked what homework he was doing. He said he was working on his composition and that his rough draft was due the next day. First shock to my system...Jacob was writing a composition that he had been working on for quite a while already BY HIMSELF!! Secondly, I asked him how much he had done and how much he had left. So he began to read me his story, and I watch him TURN THE PAGE to continue!!! WHAT???!!! He had written with his own hands, without help, two entire pages. As he finished his story, I found that I could not see for the blur of tears in my eyes.

Now, I realize that to those of you who are unfamiliar with Jacob, this doesn't seem like such a big deal at all. Well, Jacob is 13 and in the 7th grade, and this is the first time this has ever happened!!! I was so proud of him, I couldn't see straight!!

Maybe when he has finished the final draft and had it graded, I will post it on my blog. I don't even care what grade he gets on it, I am just so proud of how far he has come and how well he is doing in his new school!! This is such a huge accomplishment for him.

I am so tempted to email this post to all of his old teachers, I know they would be jumping up and down and shouting hallelujah...or falling over dead in shock and disbelief.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!!!

Jill

Awesome Worship!

S.H.M.I.L.Y.

Okay...so here I go, I'm taking the plunge into the world of blogging!

I've decided to start with a funny story that happened last night. At least, it was funny to me!

Last night, John and I were driving to a high school football game. We left the kids at home to have a night by ourselves. With all the long hours John works and his crazy travel schedule, it was nice to have time by ourselves in the car. So we are driving along and holding hands and talking some and singing to radio some and...well...you get the picture. Then an old 80's song comes on the radio and I find myself start to reminisce about our earlier years. Here is the converasation that followed:

Jill: "Honey, what was that sweet acronym we used to use with each other all the time? Wasn't it something like, 'S.W.a.B.Y.P.s'?

John: "You mean S.H.M.I.L.Y.?"

Jill: "Yeah, that was it! What did it stand for again?"

John: See How Much I Love You

Jill: "Oh yeah, I really liked that. Where did I get SWaBYPs from? Oh, that would be SouthWestern Bell Yellow Pages!" I then begin cracking up laughing.

John, shaking his head with a cute little smirk on his face: "That's the story of my life!"

For the rest of the night and even now, every time I think about that conversation, I crack up laughing. For those of you that know me (like anyone is actually reading this blog), you know what a terrible memory I have and that John never forgets anything. Poor guy, he'll be lucky if I remember who he is by the time we're 40!