The Dilemma

This year is Kendall's first year of kindergarten. We had decided years ago that we would homeschool our daughter. I love teaching and we love having her with us. A few weeks ago we found out that one of our friends would have her own kindergarten classroom this year! We were so excited for her and contemplated sending Kendall to school. We decided we would just pray about it and see how God led us.

We weighed our options:

Sending her to school-

• Great teacher
• Shots 
• Physical
• Supplies
• New friends
• Pulling her out early to go to Africa.
• Joe would not get to see a lot of her.

Keeping her home-

• Great teacher ;)
• Ordering homeschool materials can be costly.
• We started homeschooling last year already and have some of her curriculum.
• Working with her one on one.
• Having a flexible schedule.
• Having a closet stocked with supplies she may need.
• We can homeschool in Africa.

In the end it wasn't about whether we thought one was better than the other. We wanted God to lead and have the best one that would work for our family. Obviously, Joe barely seeing her would not work, and we really didn't feel good about her not being able to finish the year there. So we're keeping her home! Yesterday was our first "official" day of school. Monday we took a field trip to Universal! One of the blessings of homeschooling!

“What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn't a school at all.” - John Holt

Hope you are having a great week! 

In His Love, 

Jennis

Never Will I Ever

There are certain foods I DO NOT LIKE to eat. (Sorry about all the yelling!)

1) Onions

2) Yellow Rice

3) Peas

I do not eat them Sam-I-am.

Yesterday, I was searching for something good for dinner. We didn't have church and it was going to be a good time for family and relaxation. I came across this recipe on PW's website for Chicken Tikka Masala. It looked really good except it held those three ingredients. Blech.

The onions I decided I could chop up really fine and I would be okay. They smelled so good cooking with the butter which is a first for me...

Next was the yellow rice. I don't think I have eaten yellow rice since I was five. Literally. Just the smell of it can make me gag sick. All I had to do was put Basmati rice, butter, chicken stock, and tumeric in the rice maker and walk away. I was pretty sure I could do that. Then if I didn't like it I could always make my own rice.

The rice was actually really good. Maybe it's a particular spice they use to turn it yellow? I don't know.

Dinner was really good. I think what surprised me most was the verocity in which my five year old was eating the new meal. Kendall kept telling me, "Your a really talented cook, Mom!" So the onions and homemade yellow rice are good. I won't be saying never will I ever eat that again, because I might just like it. 

What? The peas you ask? Ummm... I decided I was being adventurous enough for one day. That we would go for chocolate chip cookies instead. ;)

Hope you're having a great week!!! 

In His Love, 

Jennis

Beauty for Ashes

Guess what? The Mercy House has new items in their shop!!! 

Check out a few of my favorites!     

              

I love this new line and the verse that inspired them! 

"To console those who mourn in Zion, 

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness, 

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Isaiah 61:3

After we got the call for missions and Joe was back from Africa we were about to have a family quiet time. Joe told me to pray for God to bring me a verse that we could discuss. God gave me Luke 4:18. Which "funnily" enough is from Isaiah 61:1 about the year of the Lord's favor.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because He has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,"

Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me 

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

to proclaim liberty to the captives, 

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"

Isaiah 61:1

God is so good. He continues to confirm our call to missions even with all the confirmations He's already given us. I just cried after reading it. I am so grateful for what He is doing. He is amazing! Obviously, these verses hold special meaning for our family!

If you have never heard of The Mercy House and would like to know more you can do that here. Or you can read the blog I posted about them here.  I just love what Mercy House is doing in Kenya and the way that God is moving there! This week they moved into their new house. While supplies last you can help with moving costs by buying this beautiful rose cuff bracelet from Everyday Icing! 100% of the proceeds goes to Mercy House! While you're on their site check out their new line and Love Mercy with me!  :)

In His Amazing Love,

Jennis

I Surrender All

Three weeks before my husband left for Africa, God got a hold of my heart. He told me I needed to say  "yes". Problem was I didn't want to say "yes" if I didn't know what it was for. So I did what people normally do (and by people I mean me), I argued. Until He asked me to surrender. Then, I said "yes". Tears streamed and peace flowed. The call was for missions. I didn't share with Joe because I didn't want him going to Africa with any preconceived notions. I knew if God was calling me He was also calling Joe. So I waited on God.

During the trip Joe would send me texts via Facebook. To say he loved it would be an understatement! Then one night after they were already back on base Joe called at 7 a.m. his time 1 a.m. my time. I knew what he was calling for. On the other end of the line Joe was trying to explain to me that we were going to have to move to Africa. I answered simply, "I already said yes." He was shocked. He was like, "What are you talking about?" So I told him the whole story. By the end of the phone call we were both in tears. God was moving! 

Here is an excerpt from his journal while he was there:

"What an amazing testimony to God, I've felt the call again, He broke me, my heart!! He is doing a mighty work in me and my family. I will step out and trust Him. People have prophesied over me, I feel the Spirit all up in me. I will take the step and trust God with all. Surrender is what it's about."

Answering the call means saying "no" to life as we know it. We could not be more excited though. Right now we have submitted an application for advanced missions training. If we are accepted we will be leaving in May for three months in Africa. During that time we will be trained in 17 subjects that are a mixture between classroom learning and practical field exercises. We will spend a lot of time in the villages, going on 3 expeditions as well as staying with the villagers and sharing God’s Word. We will experience a unique and challenging missionary training course that will prepare us to handle anything. Once we graduate, if God is still calling us to serve, we will discuss full time missionary work.

We are ready to surrender it all. Between the two of us we have never known a greater peace than we feel right now. Please be in prayer for us. Pray that we don't try to do God's work for Him. That we continue to surrender and let Him do all the work. We covet your prayers! 

In His Amazing Love, 

Joe and Jennis

Salty sweet

Yesterday at church, our Pastor and his wife announced they were answering God's call to a new church. People say bittersweet, but I don't care for that word. I say salty sweet. Salty because there were a lot of tears and sweet because they are going where they are called trusting God every step of the way. Rejoicing with them their new assignment brought back a rush of memories I wouldn't trade for anything.

• When Pastor first came to town seven years ago he met Joe at the Caffe. Joe waited on him and PJ invited him to church. Not long after they met, Joe went to church there. It started a friendship with eternal glory.

• Two years later Pastor married us. His sweet wife said I looked just like Carrie Underwood on my wedding day. 

• After that, we walked through the darkest time of our lives to date. We were pregnant and Joe was desperately struggling with drug addiction. It was after our daughter was born at the height of Joe's addiction and selfishness on both our parts that Joe and I separated. Even after Joe tried to commit suicide, accepted the Lord in the back of an ambulance, and going to rehab they were there. They kept speaking Truth into our lives. 

• There were many days and hours for a full year that you would find Joe and PJ at a round table in the Caffe talking about the Bible. Joe asking Pastor questions on page after page of legal pads.

• Being baptized. 

• Recommitting our marriage.

• Dedicating Kendall to the Lord.

• Taking over the children's ministry and investing in the lives of our kids. Including their sweet daughter.

• PJ ordaining Joe as a pastor.

• Praying for their daughter as she had heart surgery, and praising Him as she was healed!

Those are just the highlights! They were there walking, praying, and dreaming with us every step of the way. It is with full hearts and a lifetime of friendship ahead of us that we rejoice for their new adventure  with God in front of them. His plans are perfect! We are praying for them and their new church family! We love you!

In His Amazing Love,

Joe and Jennis

Where's the bread?

So food in my house doesn't last very long in general between my husband, daughter, and our Great Dane Gracie. Things are always disappearing and I have to go hunting for them. This past Monday it was a Chick-fil-a  Chocolate Chunk Cookie. If you haven't ever had one, drop what you're doing go and get one and come back. It's worth it. I'll wait...

Yum, right?

They are my favorite as of late, especially with some sweet tea, and my sweet mother-in-love had bought me one at dinner that night. I was saving it for my "me" time after Kendall had gone to bed and it disappeared. Wrapper and all. IT was on top of the fridge... As soon as I asked out loud where my cookie was my Gracie girl went and hid in the corner. Hmmmmm.... As a result Kendall and I tried a hand at making our own Chick-fil-a cookies! They were yummy but not quite the real thing! The recipe definitely helps the craving though!

Then last night I was making some of this bread from The Small Things blog for a friend's birthday party who LOVES it. Yum! If you haven't had the bread before- make it! Sooo good! Ahem, I digress. Loaf of  bread goes on the fridge. Fifteen minutes pass and the bread is gone... Except this time the wrapper is in Gracie's corner with her blankets.

Tonight, I had an entire package of pita go missing and the wrapper was again in Gracie's corner. My girl has graduated from counter and pantry "surfing" to refrigerator "surfing". I guess I should be glad she can't open the fridge or the microwave because then there would be no more safe places to hide things from her. I would say the oven but I am a bit afraid of what would happen when I forgot something was already in there and went to use it. Nevertheless I have been asking "Where's the bread?" a lot lately! I'm going to have to get ahead of the curve with this pup!

Do your pets eat unexpected things? Did you find a good way to handle that problem?

Hope you're having a great weekend!

In His Love, 

Jennis

God's Work

We picked up my husband Tuesday night from the airport! It was a fun reunion after two weeks. We really missed him and it was mutual. :)

As soon as He saw us his adventure with God started spilling from his lips. He described his flights, the sights, the accomodations, and the people he met. When we sat down for dinner he told us amazing stories of bonfires blazing, baboons stealing, hiking miles in dusty terrain, being robbed, waterfalls, laughter, dancing, elephants trumpeting, soup slurped, and feet kissed. 

What I saw was a joy I've never seen before. He glowed- literally. You hear people say "shine for Jesus" and he encompassed every word of that phrase. He spoke with a passion that radiated through every story. Mainly,  he talked about God, beautiful things He accomplished there, and the way God worked through and in him. Blind people seeing, lame people walking, and redemption for someone who robbed them. They were His hands and feet. Through them God illustrated the Bible in real life for all to see. Night after night droves of people heard the Gospel and came forward to be saved and healed. Or how a goat stew (1 goat) fed several hundred people. I wept tears of unabashed joy just listening.

Joe came home different than before. God changed him in ways that can't be quantified. These last two weeks God worked in his life. He broke his heart, placed a greater passion for reaching people for the Gospel, redefined the way he looks at theology, and lodged a call in his heart. Things will never be the same. 

This is just the beginning.

Joe at Victoria Falls in Africa.

Thank you to all of you that supplied for this trip with money or prayers. You invested in the Kingdom of God! We were blessed! 

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." 

Matthew 10:39

In His Amazing Love, 

Jennis