The Calm Before the Storm

This weekend was relatively calm and next weekend is suppose to be as well, which I desperately need considering that when Thanksgiving hits its gonna be crazy.

Over the week I made some delicious Banana Bread in cute mini loaf pans, you can check them out here!

My friend Kristi and I went to see Thor 2 which was really good. Studio Movie Grill is a dine in theater that the kids and I frequent just because it's that much easier to feed them while we are watching a movie. I never saw the first Thor so I was a little confused but got the gist of the movie and was really impressed. We had a great time and I mean come on...this guy....I swoon.

Saturday morning I attempted to clean my room which basically means I did all my laundry and put it away. I was able to clean all of my sheets and comforters as well though so I feel a little accomplished. While cleaning I always find interesting things and one of them was a book my mom kept all my grade school years and put my pictures and achievements in. I cam across this picture....

 

Oh yes. 4th grade prime. The bib dress. The Pony Tail. The hair all over the place. I had it going on.
The rest of the day was spent with my roommate Lindsey, we went to lunch with her boyfriend Braden at the new restaurant he is serving at called Common Quarter and it was good. I had the grass fed burger and I am realizing more and more how much free range and grass fed meats just taste better.

We ended up at Walmart later that day to get a "few things" and ended up spending about an hour and half wondering around and looking at many things we didn't need. I did end up finding though a basket to hold my new cookbooks that I found at Goodwill and an owl lamp to put in our living room.

On our way home from Walmart I happened upon a Subway with a drive thru.....crazy, yet amazing!

Of course and a picture of us in the car waiting to get my dinner.

Sunday I went to Passion for my last Sunday there. I have been attending there for almost two years and recently God has called me to another church called The Square. I loved my time at Passion and was so blessed to have the opportunity to serve there. Now it's time for a new adventure. The Square is a church plant and we meet in a garage for now but I know the Lord has such big plans for it. I didn't really tell many people at Passion because I didn't want it to be a big deal but my friend Miranda who works with the little boy that I worked with brought me flowers and some chocolates. It was such a bittersweet day. We started the children's ministry at the new church last night and it was just God closing one door and opening another. I am beyond blessed.

Today the kids and I are going to make some homemade butter and bread....mmm.

Have a great Monday!

Jenny

Linking up today with Weekend Shenanigans!

Coming Off the Mountain Top

Woah. This weekend was amazing and I really have no words to say about it, but at the same time I have many.

Basically the run down of my weekend was10 women, who all love Jesus, who all love each other, and whose heart is for the community of sisterhood in the body of Christ, spent time in the presence of their maker by experiencing true transparency and joy through one another.

If you were raised in a Christian community like I was, you know about the problems that come with Christian Sisterhood. So much comparing, so much time spending gossiping about the people who claim to be the closest with. Who can serve the most times during a Sunday at church, who can be involved in the most stuff, who can get the best awards, and who can be noticed by the most people. As I have gotten older I thought it would go away, but I have come to realize that it doesn't. At 23 years old I see it now and it makes me sad, and it was turning away from a faith that I believe in and love so much. Until I met The Crescendo.

Back in June I was at church on a Sunday talking with a few friends in between gatherings and I overheard a friend talk to another friend about where they were meeting for bible study that week. Ever since we moved to Atlanta I have been craving a bible study to get involved in with women my own age and stage in life. As I heard them talk and the other girl walked away I looked to my friend and asked if she knew of any bible studies that I could get involved with. She was so kind and told me about the one she was in and that they met on Wednesdays and were about to start the book Captivating by Stasi Eldredge. I was stoked, but scared at the same time. I decided to go anyhow, I had a few copies of that book and took it with me to work and once I got off headed down to the house we were meeting at. After all the ladies got there I introduced myself and started to get to know the group. In the weeks to follow the group shifted with people coming in and people heading out and eventually we got a consistent group going of about 10-15 a week.

I spent the next few months growing and learning with these women. Every Wednesday we would meet a different house and laugh and talk about our weeks and then dive into the study we were doing. It was so raw and real, every topic was an open topic and no one was "better" than the others, in everyone's eyes we were all on the same playing field. Broken girls who love Jesus and want to help each other and cheer on each other as we learn what it means to be a woman who is truly in love with Jesus and seeking him in her every day life. Eventually we wanted a name for our group and after reading about women being the masterpieces and The Crescendo in God's story of creation we decided it was the best fit for us.

About a few months ago we talked about planning a cabin trip just for a girls weekend, to get away from Atlanta and get to spend time with each other. No agenda other then have fun and love each other unconditionally, and boy did we. Our cabin was located in Tuckasegee (Tuck - a - see - gee) North Carolina on a mountain. We had to go down a gravel road and then a really steep hill to get to the cabin, so to say that it was secluded was an understatement, but we loved it. We were unprepared for what God was going to do through each other and the time we would spend at the Crescendo Cabin.

 

 

We spent the entire weekend, eating, chatting, talking about topics that are rarely brought up in groups of women. We kayaked, canoed, and row boated. We jumped off the dock and went swimming in the lake. We watched football and Pocahontas. We played Apples to Apples. We had an ice cream sundae bar, and Monkey bread for breakfast. We took naps in the hammock and attempted to see the sunrise over the mountains. We danced and sang our hearts out, and we sat out under the stars and freaked out over spiders. We were girls, women, who enjoyed each other's company and through that got to see the heartbeat of God. There was no jealousy over people's relationships, there was no annoyance over the way someone did a certain thing. There was no gossip about what she did or she did. It was a beautiful thing and one I don't see quite often. It was a breath of fresh air and something I had never experienced before.

 

How do you get 10 women of varying ages, races, lifestyles, jobs, journeys in life, families, and etc together without any of the problems women are known for? Jesus. But not just any Jesus. We understand individually and as a group that our number one calling is to Jesus. To be him, and love like him, and care for each other like he does us. It puts on all on the same level. In that instant we are not white, black, married, single, dating, employed, in school, well off, struggling, thin, or curvy. We are sisters and we love Jesus and we love each other.

 

It has changed my view on relationships. It has changed my view of my creator. If this is just a glimpse of what true community can be like, then I want it, all of it and nothing less.

 

You can have that too. Get over yourself, and start loving others unconditionally. Don't worry about what someone else is doing, that's not something you are to be worried about. Stop comparing yourself and realize that the way God made you was intricately designed that no one else could be made. When you start loving others with no expectations, you truly get to experience Jesus and then others will follow that lead.

That's true community.

 

 

 

Love,

Jenny

 

Here are pictures from the trip :)

 

 

 

 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's September 3. Wow. Time continues to just fly by each and every year.

September brings happiness to all of the world, I think its because it leads into fall and that in turn leads into Thanksgiving and Christmas. The last 4 months of the year are my most favorite.

This weekend was cray cray. Friday night I started off with taking the GRE, it was a crazy experience and you can read the story here. Story made short, I got the score I needed after having to take the test 30 minutes late, the next step from here is getting all my stuff together to apply to all the grad schools and getting accepted!

Even though it's been 5 days since I took that test I am still recovering, it hasn't hit me yet, but I think that has to do with some headaches I have had.

It took me all the way to Sunday to realize that what I had was a caffeine headache....oh no. I had to stop and get some coke on the way to church to offset the pain. I cam up with this Ecard because it just made perfect sense to me.

 

I spent the better part of Sunday and all of Monday on the couch, just resting and getting ready to go back to work. I loved not having any really big plans, I had a couple but they got thwarted by some pain I was having. Milo and I had the same idea both days, and this is how you could find us.

 

  

 

Over the weekend I got all of my Fall Decorations up since it is finally September! I love how the house looks and smells. There is cinnamon everywhere and when you walk in it feels like a home and not just some random apartment which is what I have wanted.

 

 

 

I bought most everything at JoAnns, Michaels, Walmart, and Goodwill, but I made the FALL blocks that sit up by the owl. This is above our bar area that looks into our kitchen.

 

Here is how I made them.

 

I got all my supplies, all I needed to buy was the letters, the blocks, and scrapbook paper.

 

What you need:

 

4 Wooden Blocks

Letters

Scissors

Scrapbook Paper

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Paint

ModgePodge

Paint Brush

Ribbon

 

I next took the scrapbook paper and cut it to fit inside of the wooden block. My paper was too short so I decided to leave the top undone and did something with it that you will see later on. After I cut my pieces of paper I got out my Modge Podge and painted it onto one side of the wooden block.



 



 

Then I placed the paper exactly where I wanted it and brushed another coat of modge podge right over that, making sure I got it good around the edges.

 

 

While you let the modge podge dry (it dries clear, don't you worry!) get our paints and the letters out. I had the paint in my craft bin so I decided to use all of the fall colors I had, and just painted each letter a different color. I only needed one coat and this stuff dries fast.

 

 

Then I played around for a bit and decided which letter would go on each surface. After that I hot glue gunned those letters onto each block. I knew the top would be left open so I grabbed some ribbon also from my craft bin and glued it across the top as well.

 

Then I made a bow and glued it on the top as well. I did this for the rest until they were all finished.

 

I placed them up next to Mr. Owl and they looked fantastic!!! So easy to make, I think I was watching Legally Blonde while I made them.

 

 

This morning I got up to go to work and went into my bathroom and this was in there.

 

It's a thank you note with some flowers in a huge mason jar and some fall room spray from my roommate and her boyfriend. I helped them out with some things this weekend and so this is what they gave me in return. I am someone who loves to help out and I never expect anything in return so when something like this happens I cry of course and feel so blessed to have people in my life like them.

It's a 3 day week for me, so let's do this!

Jenny