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Hi friends. Its been forever, & you are so kind to continue to come back & visit. I have a few minutes before the fam awakes & wanted to say hello to my long lost friends! Hopefully this is the last time I’ll have to blog from my blackberry… My thumbs are wearing out! 😉

We spent the night in our new Cleveland, MS home for the first time last night. Of course there are still what feels like a million more boxes to unpack, but our beds were made & we had pathways to walk around, so we stayed. In our own rooms. In our own beds. Privacy. What a gift!

We still have some of our things in the Yeagers’ apartment, & I have to tell you that even though I’m SO thankful for our home, I’m going to be sad to permanently leave that place. I know it sounds crazy, but that time together in one small space was a precious time for our family. As we spread out in our new home, I soberly pray that our family remains as closely tied together as we have become over these past 3+ months.

I know we will look back on this time of our lives and call the whole long 16 month process a blessing from God. Having only The Lord to depend upon changes a person – for the better – and I thank God that He called us to walk through this Valley of Baca (Weeping -Ps 84:6) with Him!

Hopefully my next blog post will be written from my computer ~ which will be connected to the internet ~and I can show you around our new home. Until then, my friends, I’ll be praying for you as the Lord brings you to my mind & heart. I can’t wait to catch up on all that’s been going on for the past 3 months in cyberspace.

Love to you all…
Jennifer

“For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Oh Lord of Hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving)!”. Psalm 84:11-12 (Amp)

Or more appropriately entitled “The Post That Got Away”…

It took almost an hour last night, but my thumbs and I typed a heartfelt and light hearted post before going to sleep. You blog friends were on my mind, and I wanted to pop in and say hello. I’m reading blogs when I can, but can’t comment in my phone. I got all the way to the part where the post is scheduled and hit the wrong button on my phone, and it all disappeared! Gone, without a trace. By then, it was so late that I couldn’t even remember what I had just said (actually I still don’t remember all of it), so I went to sleep with the consolation that God was even in control of Blog postings, and I left it in His wise hands. (Its funny though, I awoke in the night with that post on my mind, but it was entitled “Blogging From My Blackberry One Thumb at a Time”. Now that I’m awake, that title isn’t nearly as clever. Grin.

I bring you greetings from the Mississippi Delta, and my new hometown of Cleveland, MS. Although our house remains in Nashville, our hearts & lives belong here now, and we are happy to begin this new leg of the journey. The Lord has led us to the house He intends to become our earthly home, and we are waiting and trusting Him to bring all of the details together in His perfect timing & glorifying ways.

In the mean time, we are doing what the Lord, through Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 29, instructed His people to do: settle in where you are while you wait. Since James has been in Cleveland without us, he’s been living in a wonderful one bedroom apartment over the garage of some of the most wonderful people in this city. Its rustic, charming, and beautifully decorated – much like a cabin in Gattlinberg. It has been perfect for Him, and as we have visited, we’ve enjoyed pretending we’re luxury camping together in the apartment. But school will start soon, and we felt like The Lord was leading our family to go ahead and “settle in” in Cleveland, making the apartment our “home” until He tells us otherwise. Our host friends have been so gracious and giving to us… We feel so blessed!

In true “settling in” fashion, we set up stackable bins and plastic shelves, and stocked up on cooking implements of the luxury camping kind. Its amazing how little we really need to live. We are making it fine without my collection of dishes and serving pieces! (But, I must inject here, I brought almost all of my “beauty” products. There are just some things a girl can’t live without!)

One thing I can’t wait to share with you is a book I’m reading by Priscilla Shirer, called “One in a Million. It has been a God given companion on the journey The Lord ordained for our family at this present time. I’m hoping to finish the book next week. We’ll see if I cn blog it from the bb when the time comes. 😉

Much love to you, my friends. May our Lord bless and keep each of you, make His face to shine upon you, and give you His beautiful sustaining peace!

Jen

Because every. single. day. I’m seeing the verse Jeremiah 29:11.  I mean it.  In the most bizarre places – there it will be.  It’s actually been my favorite verse since college, and has been woven in and out of my life over the years.  But during this period of waiting on the Lord, He has brought this verse back to me EVERY DAY in some way.  It has been a lifeline and anchor to cling to when we can’t see what God is doing in and around our lives at this moment.  I just love it. And I’m so glad God keeps this truth before me!

[Because I had a little (shall we call it a “meltdown”?) Crisis of belief yesterday.Just a moment of temporary insanity over the unsettledness of our lives. After a few tears, a pouring out of myself, and a filling up with God’s Word on the subject – and some well timed and sweetly delivered chocolate, I’m back to being content in knowing that The Lord has our lives completly planned to His full glory! Jeremiah 29:11 proves it!]
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

How about this translation?:
“This is God’s Word on the subject: … I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”  Jeremiah 29:10-11 (Msg)

Can I get an amen on that!?! How wonderful that the Lord continues to speak His Living, Active, Penetrating, and True Word to His people.  Each time I see this verse these days, especially when I’ve just been looking at our calendar and wondering where we will be when…I feel like the Lord is whispering into my spirit a personal reminder to hang in there with Him… and it works.  I will.  I praise you, Lord!

One of the sweetest places I’ve seen this verse lately is on a *new blog* that our daughter started last week.  She is too young to have a Facebook page (13 is the age limit), and wanted a way to stay connected with her old and new friends, so she asked if she could start her own blog.  We agreed and set some pretty strict guidelines for her. 🙂

Her blog is based on Jeremiah 29:11.  It’s called Abi’s World – Living in God’s world, knowing He has great plans for my life.  The blogspot address is http://www.godhasplansforme.blogspot.com/.  She’ll be writing from her 11-12 year old heart, and would love an encouraging visit from some of my blog friends. 😉 

Is God telling you something over and over these days? (He has plans for all of us – for our futures and our hopes!)  Let me know and it will be my privilege to pray for you about it. 
Have a wonderful week, my friends~
Jennifer

Hi friends~  I sure do hope you are enjoying your Summer so far.  We are.  We’ve been here, there, and a little bit of everywhere in between… and I’m thinking its time for a little internet break (plus, it’s VBS week, too!).  I’ll be back in a week or two. 

Until then, if you haven’t read it yet, and are in need of some encouragement, please read the post: The Red Sea Rules.  It has been such a blessing to me.  I’ve found myself going back to this post and reading it almost every day.  The first “rule” has been especially comforting and encouraging to me and the situation we continue to find ourselves in (with James in one state and us still living in the other).  Though our lives are completly unsettled, I am at peace in the Lord because I know that we are right where He has placed us. 

Blessings of the Lord to each of you~ I’ll ttyl…

PS: For a few summer time laughs, here are some very funny parody videos from Anita Renfroe.  The first one is a parody of Beyonce’s song “All the Single Ladies”, and the second is of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”.  Some awesome LOL moments in each! 

One more non-related thing, but it makes me happy: If you use Blogger, have you noticed the new “preview” option at the bottom?  I’m SO glad they added this!  Just had to share!!! 

See you soon, friends~
Jennifer

If you’ve had the news on lately, no matter where you live in the US, I’m betting that you’ve seen pictures of the flooding in and around Nashville (and other parts of the South).  They say this is the worst flood we’ve seen in 70 years.  Churches were closed today, roads are closed, and schools are closed for Monday.  It’s kind of like a “snow day”, except snow days around here never flood people’s basements, homes, businesses, and roads.

We Walkers are well and dry, and are thanking the Lord for that.  But some of our friends’ homes and streets are flooding.  If you think about it, please pray for those in this area affected by this flood.  One news radio host is calling it “of Biblical Proportions”. 🙂  And in a way… it is… in that God will use this in each life it touches to do something in and through their lives for their eventual good and His great glory.   

My friend, Lisa Moody, posted some pictures on her FB page of a few places in our immeiate area.

This is the 2 lane road that connects a major road to lots of neighborhoods (including ours).  Everything to the left of the lanes is usually flat land.

This is our church’s lower parking lot.  There are usually LOTS of steps leading up from the lower parking lot to the upper one.  That little red thing in the far left is the top of a piece of playground equipment.  Here is another view:

Our children’s elementary school.

Near a friend’s house on the other side of Nashville.

A house not too far from here – we pass it on our way to get to the interstate.  I feel for these people!

This is a picture I copied from WSMV news.  Not sure where in Nashville this is – but isn’t it terrible? 

Stay dry, everyone… and thanks for praying…

Jennifer

EDITED on Monday to add this picture:

Because after every storm – whether of weather or of life, the sun will eventually shine again, and Joy will eventually come.  “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;”  Lamentations 3:21-25