Joyful Friday - My Testimony

I am changing Joyful Friday up a little this week.  I have finally gotten up the courage to share my testimony of how God drew me to Him.  How he took the bad decisions I made and worked them for good.  How he picked me up out of the deep black pit I was in, dusted me off, wrapped His arms around me and put me back on my feet, facing Him.  On His path, surrounded by Light and Love.

My wonderful friend Nikki from SimplyStriving was kind enough to take some of her precious time to read it and give me some suggestions. I am eternally grateful for her insight and kindness!  Because it is so long, I have decided to make a page dedicated to it.  I will give you a snippet of it today, along with a song that sings along with my spirit.  Then, should you want to read the whole story and have a few extra minutes you can click on over and check it out!

Taken from "God's Story through My Life" -
"So I woke up one day and decided to go with "Plan B."  I began to relive the years I felt I had missed.  I started drinking, doing drugs and then found less than desirable ways to make money.  My goal was to make as much money as I could as fast as I could so that I could leave my first husband and my life as I knew it quickly and completely, never to look back.  I was as far from God as I can ever imagine someone being."

Oh Happy Day by Jesus Culture truly sings along with my spirit!



I pray that you will read my testimony with an open mind and open heart.  I also pray that you will find encouragement and hope in it.  That you will be reminded that you can not stray too far from God.  His love for you is perfect and unconditional.

I would love to hear from you!  What is your testimony?  How has God worked in your life to bring you to Him?

Blessings and Joy to all!

I am a Spiritual Pre-Teen

I am 35 years old, but when I am at church, I feel 12.  Why is that, you ask?  Because I am a spiritual pre-teen.

I do not know what the "church face" should look like.  I try to make it and it feels like a day old clay mask.

I let my joy and passion shine through but feel like the only one that is singing or raising my hand to our Awesome God and Might Savior.

I do not know if I can tell you the facts of my life and still be welcome here.

I love God.  I am learning to love my self.

I want to do right.  My body disagrees often.  God forgives me then shows me the right way.

Many of the "vocabulary" words make me feel as if I missed a semester or two.

Your words say you care, yet your face says "I am late for lunch."  

I want to be an individual but I want to fit in.

I want you to be happy that God saved my life.  I am happy He saved yours so you could be here today.

Are you a spiritual pre-teen?  If not, do you know one?  If you do, love them, accept them and guide them.  Show them the "secret handshake," don't just walk away wondering how they don't know it yet.

If you don't, pay attention.  We are everywhere.  We are looking for you.  To love, and to love us.  To share our joy and passion.  And to share yours.  To learn from you and to grow with you.

Super Blog Lovin'

     Since I have begun my blog, I have found dozens of wonderful blogs.  So many, in fact, that I am having a hard time keeping up with all of them.  Today, I am linking up with KatherinesCorner.com for Thursday Favorite Things and decided to post a list of just a few of my favorite blogs so far.   This is a very diverse list by category but I will try to keep it from being too long!

SimplyStriving - Nikki's blog is pure and encouraging!

Pondered Thoughts - Charina's description is best - "inspiring.uplifting.honest.reflections"

My Freshly Brewed Life - Barbie is such a beautiful and Godly woman and it shines through here!

KatherinesCorner - Katherine is a beautiful person and so are all of her creations!  

KludgyMom - Gigi's is one of the reasons I was inspired to start my own blog and is hilarious and informative!

Alissa Grosso - Alissa is a writer and fascinating person.  Books, writing, travel ... lots of fun!

OurHomeSchoolReviews - Absolutely wonderful source of information for a homeschooling mom!

Don't Let Life Pass You By - Inspiration, encouragement and a life that warms the heart!

Poppy Swap - I love herbs - using them, learning about them, growing them - this is a great herbie site!

Sidhe Herbal - The kitchen adventure of one homeschooling herbie and her family... need I say more! :) 

I think that is enough for now!  I hope you find a new blog or two to enjoy!  

If your blog did not show up in this post, please forgive me.  I am trying to keep it to a fair sized list so I am only posting a handful of my favorites to keep it reasonable.  I am working on a Blog Love page and would love for anyone that would like to be on this page to comment below with your name, name of your blog, URL and a brief description.  I do have a list going, but would like to make sure I don't miss anyone!  I will be working on this over the next week or so then will have it up for all to reference and enjoy!

Be Blessed and Joyful always!

Jamie

PS - A couple of updates - I finished my husbands Crazy Blue Granny Afghan and will be posting pics on ravelry.com later today.  And even bigger news - My husband got the job in Tennessee and we are moving very soon! :)  

Tune-In Tuesday - From the Inside Out

This is one of my and my families favorite worship songs and bands.  We love Rock music and Worship music and this band has perfectly combined the two!  Seventh Day Slumbers Take Everything Album is full of wonderful worship songs and this is the one we listen to the most.  If it was a cassette, it would be warped right now!



I am so full of gratitude and praise for our Mighty King that I am almost speechless.  Today, I am going to let the song speak for itself.

I pray that your spirit is lifted from this song.

I am linking up with Grow Where You're Planted for Tune-in Tuesdays!  We would love if you would join us with your favorite Worship song!

Faith - The Title Deed

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

This is one of the first scriptures I learned.  It defines faith.  Today, I read this verse in the Amplified Bible for the first time.  It blew me away.  It is fascinating to me how having more insight to the original meaning of the words and language used in penning the Bible opens so much in understanding.

Hebrews 11:1 AMP

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed*) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

{*emphasis mine}

How many times have you asked God for something, having full faith that He will answer you, then walking back out into your daily life start having the "but if it doesn't happen" thoughts or that little voice in your head planting seeds of doubt?  I know I do, often.

If you inherited a home that you had never seen and were handed the title deed to the home, would you doubt its existence?  Would you need to see photographs of it before you bought your plane ticket to go take possession of it?  Would you say to your friends, "well, I hope this house is mine."  Or would you say "I have a home in ...!  Would you like to come with me to see it?"

God has so much for each of us.  So many blessings and rewards.  Our part is to believe, have faith, accept them as reality before the realization of them.  When you ask God for something, before you end your prayer, thank Him for it as if it has already happened.  Then water that prayer continually with praise and thanksgiving.  Also, I have learned to live out that faith.  To live life as if it is already answered, not as if I am not sure if it will happen.

God is so Good, so Faithful.  HE LOVES YOU!  And so do I!

I pray you have a blessed and joy filled day!

Today I am linking up with Barbie for Fresh Brewed Sundays - Come on over and join us!



*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Joyful Friday - Vol. 2 O Praise Him

Joyful Friday is here again!  Today I get to share an amazing blessing for our family that has filled us with joy and excitement! This is the one I mentioned earlier in the week in my Tune-In Tuesday post.

First I would like to give God all the glory and share a verse and a song to sing the praises of our Awesome God to!  So much joy can be had just in the act of praising God.

Psalm 63:4-5 NIV*
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

O Praise Him by David Crowder Band



I am going to share a little background so you can get an understanding of just how much this means to us.  And of the amazing work God has been doing in our lives.  5 years ago, my husband was a man that wanted to be so much more as a husband, father and provider.  However, after years of many let downs he had come to the conclusion that he would be a "grunt" for the rest of his life.  Then he found a man and a company that saw the same potential I saw in him.  They gave him a chance and he proved that what I had been telling him and trying to get him to believe of himself was true.  In the years since, he has progressed quickly in his field.  The same company went through many changes with the economy.  My husband has felt for a while that, even though he is so grateful for the opportunity they gave him, he is no longer supposed to be there.  The job hunt was going slow and we were starting to doubt the decision to make a change.

A couple of Sundays ago our Pastor spoke about clarifying your vision and being specific in prayer.  The next day he found a job that was a perfect fit for him and our family.  He laid it at God's feet that this was the one he wanted.  He came to me and told be that he had clarified his vision for his new job and that this was the one.  Thursday he got a call from them and this past Monday had another phone interview with 3 of the higher ups in the company.  They liked him so much that they flew him up to Tennessee "all expenses paid" to "meet him and give him a tour of the plant."  To some that may sound like a normal thing.  For us this is something that we would see on TV not in our real lives.  I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that it took me about an hour to stop crying.  (yeah, I can be mushy and emotional at times)  :)

Today he is there, and I am here...waiting "patiently" for a call or text or anything from him.  I was planning on waiting until I got the definite answer to post this.  But I feel that just like in prayer, we give thanks and praise before the answer, in complete faith that He has heard and is faithful to answer.  So this is my joy, my song, my gratefulness, my faith and my heart singing praises to my Amazing, Loving and Faithful God!

We are moving to Tennessee!  I believe it and so it shall be!

What are you joyful for this week?  I would love to share your joy with you!



*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Yarn Lovin' - Crazy Blue Granny

I am starting a topic and eventually a page called "Yarn Lovin'."  This is where I will share with you my love for yarn and crochet.  I will post about patterns, projects, yarns and resources that I have found.  I am no expert but it is a fun hobby that I love enough to share on my blog!

Today I would like to share with you a little about one of my favorite hobbies.  I love to Crochet.  To be frank, I have not finished many projects over the years.  However, right now I am working on an afghan for my husband that I plan to put on the very short list of completed projects.  I tend to pick very intricate or large projects, then get bored or overwhelmed and put it aside.  Then a while later I will move on to the next space eating project!  This time I picked a granny square afghan but with a "jamie" twist.  Instead of following a pattern I am using several colors my husband likes and making different sized and patterned squares then will put them all together "abstract like" and call it my Crazy Blue Granny Afghan!  Below is a pic of the progress I have made on the squares, laid out on the blanket I am using for sizing.

I have since complete more squares but do not want to get it all laid out again to collect more animal fur!  

I have found that crocheting is very therapeutic.  Taking time for things that I purely enjoy while not accomplishing something valuable for my family, home or spirituality makes me feel guilty.  I know that is not really healthy but God is working in me one thing at a time!  With crocheting I can be accomplishing something, making something we need or as a gift to one I love and still get much needed "down time" for my brain and body. I do know that I will have to actually complete projects for this to hold any water and remind myself of it daily! :)

Since the granny square is new to me (as well as finishing a project) my next challenge is deciding the best way to connect the squares.  The whip stitch and the slip stitch do not seem sturdy enough but the single crochet leaves a big ridge that I am not sure would be very comfortable.  Today I will be trying to do the single crochet with a smaller hook to see if it helps.   If any of you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.  Do you have a favorite hobby?  Do you struggle with finishing projects?

Note - I did find a cool yarn lovers site that keeps me motivated since I find so many cool ideas and people on it.  If you are a fellow yarn lover, check out Ravelry.com.  My name on the site is "jamiej76."  If you join, look me up!  I would love to share notes and projects with you!

Today I am linking up with Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop Linky Party Time at KatherinesCorner.com


Have a blessed and beautiful day!