The date ;)

No, I did not go on a date... however, there IS a date. Chris is leaving me. It is finally starting to sink in as the time get's closer. He's really going to do it. And although I am going to miss him, I am SO excited to see what God is going to do through him! Plus... I have the fact that he is only 6 hours away. Yes... that is kind of a lot for someone who doesn't have a car... or a license (yet)... but at least it isn't a California away, I know what that feels like!
But still, I don't quite know how I will go on without my oldest brother to tease! I mean... I tease him about his height... I love to wear the shoes that make me an inch taller than him and just stand right next to him! ;) But that's me... his silly, annoying, loving, little sister! And of course I tease him about other things... sometimes I just like to act like I'm older... I'm sure he'll do just fine without me! And I know that I will be okay without him because I have my God with me. Chris is going to venture off to Norman with Jeremy and Nicole and pursue his calling in Christ... he is going to serve, to love, to learn, to teach... and I couldn't be more proud of him. I know that he will learn a lot while he is gone and serve to his fullest!
And me... I'm starting my Junior year of school! Yikes! However... I will be busy enough that the time will pass quickly, and before I know it I'll see him again! I am really excited to pursue what God has for me here and just love who He put's in my path... to also serve Him to MY fullest!

And I just realized that this is the second time I've blogged about my brother... ;) But I love him and I want the world to know that he is truly someone to cherish!

I hope everyone is having a blessed and smooth week of getting back into the swing of school!

By His Grace,
Jen ;)

Re-post of the Sweetest Brother... because he really is!

First, I want to start by saying that God has blessed me with an amazing family of 6 brothers and sisters and two amazing parents! I love and cherish each and every one of my family members so much! However, I want to specifically mention my oldest brother, Chris, and thank him for being such a great brother to me! For the last two years I've been that 'annoying' little sister that wanted to tag along with him whenever I could ;). But through this whole stage, Chris has patiently, willingly, and lovingly taken me with him everywhere! We've had great times of touring Austin at 6 a.m. trying to find a way to church through all of the blockades for runners, parked and walked a mile or so through Zilker park to get to church one Sunday when there literally wasn't a way in, gone to breakfast, lunches, and countless dinners, hung out with friends and become great friends in the process. I also want to thank you for all of the Sundays that I've had to go to choir and you kept watch over me and kept me safe... bought me lunch AND dinner, and cared for me. You've been an awesome example of what a big brother should look like and be! You've shown me how to trust God and know Him better and I am ever thankful for that!

So, here is an example of my amazing brother:

Chris works at a garden center in Elgin called Bloomers. He works there full time spring, summer, fall, and winter. He almost always comes home hot, dirty, and sweaty... especially through spring, summer, and fall. He comes in the door almost dripping and I'll say hi, but I make him wait for a greeting hug until AFTER he's showered! However, last Friday he came home and I gave my usual, "CHRISSY!" then sent him up for a shower! But when he got up to his room he called me upstairs. When I got to his room he put $100 in my hand, "Here Jen, this is for your missions trip." I stood speechless for a minute then finally realized that I should tell him that I wasn't going on the trip anymore because I hadn't gotten the first half of the money in time. So I thanked him , knowing that he couldn't really spare that money, and told him the news (He didn't know I had a blog... he would have read it otherwise!) Although, I had to do the right thing and still offer to take it ;)... of course I was joking! He almost made me cry... he showed me that he loves me and was trying to help even in a hard time for him! And... something like that deserves a hug (three actually), no matter how hot, sweaty, and dirty he was! The hugs were about a minute apart each! I couldn't get over it all night and am still SOO thankful for a brother like him!

I don't know what I'm going to do without him when he moves to Oklahoma in September... but I want what's best... and what's God's will for him!

I love you Chris! Thank you for being AWESOME!

-Jen

Storm Watcher

We had the great "makings" of a storm tonight... we got the clouds and a little wind, but no rain! God is great and powerful... learning to see that even in a storm... I'm not fond of storms... I do like rain... and lightning is cool from inside the house or car sometimes... okay, even a little thunder too... but when it starts to get serious I do hate storms! Seeing the dark clouds roll in and the wind pick up has not been my favorite scene. However, I've been learning lately to praise God in the storm... to remember that He is in control and my trust needs to be in Him with everything. Tonight I was able to pray through any fear and just trust Him... and marvel in the beautiful work of His hands! We actually ended up not even having a storm though! Just these clouds! And a dark sky behind it... which I didn't get the greatest picture of! I kind of missed any ominous clouds... just got the white fluffy ones! ;)