Decking the Halls...

Hello, dear ones... I have been having fun over the last week decorating for Christmas.... these are pictures of my bathroom... the one that my students and their parents use...... we don't get much snow here in this part of Texas, so I decided to go with a "snowy" theme...... I LOVE snow.... especially at Christmas!!!!!   You can click on them for a closer look if you'd like......

On a more sober note, my Grandmother has been admitted to the hospital again...... she is so ill with a bladder infection as well as a bacterial infection....... and we had quite a scare let me tell you!!!  I'll tell you more about it later......  we had to call 911 because she passed out at the table........and it was sooo scary...... be assured that God was with us, though!!!  He is such a good God...... and Grannie is already doing better, I am happy to report!!!!  She is still very weak, though..... so we are praying......

I'll share more later, precious friends.... I hope all is going well for you and your families......

Hugs,
Jenni

Some Photos from Thanksgiving

Just thought I'd share a few photos from our wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends the Delafields..... the bottom two are of my Dad and Jack "sharing a few stories", and then it's Jack and Brenda's son Clint and their daughter - in - law Missy..... oh my goodness!!  We had such a wonderful day!  God was so good to us to let us spend the holiday with these dear people.........

I took wayyyyyy too many photos...... but now we have lots to remember the day by..... I hope you all had a joyful and happy holiday.... too!

Hugs,
Jenni

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

I am thankful for so many things this year, dear ones...... God has been so good to me..... my life is rich in blessings.....to list them all would take eternity!!!!  He is such a good God, and the Love of my soul and the Joy of my life.......

I wish you and yours a happy thanksgiving!!!!  May you be blessed!

Hugs,
Jenni

Sharing a few more photos!!!!!

Hello dear ones!  Just thought I'd share a few more pictures of the Fall decorations from the Pastor Appreciation lunch we had for our Pastor and his wife......  these are just random, such as the tiered desert stand and some of the table decorations, etc......I am so thankful for the help of my talented friend Davina.... I couldn't have done any of it without her!!!!  Wow!  She is what we call here in this part of Texas: "A real go - getter"!!!!!!!!  Our Friends Tabitha and Yvette were so helpful, also.........

I Hope you are all doing well..... are you ready for Thanksgiving Day?  I surely am!
Thanks, also, for all the nice comments you all have been leaving here on the blog.... I sure appreciate y'all taking the time to read and comment!
Hugs,
Jenni

Jesus is Our Protector!!!!

Wow.  I have a rather unusual Praise Report today.... some of you may not believe it... but my heart Believes and I am strengthened because of what has happened.......

Let me start by going back a few weeks ago..... to when someone followed me home from Cracker Barrel...... I was oblivious.... but my parents were following a few car lengths behind me, and grew suspicious when a certain car kept making every turn that I made......so they grew very alarmed when I pulled into our driveway and that car stopped in the road,  in front of a nearby house, and just sat there....and when Mom pulled up behind it, they took off quickly, but paused at the end of our block..... and sat there until Mom and Dad drove up behind them..... then they rounded the corner and CIRCLED back to stop a few feet from our drive..... Mom by this time had called me to get inside the house and lock the door!!!!!!  She and Dad came up behind the strange car again, and they took off again..... and started on quite a chase through the neighborhood..........then finally gave up and left.....

Well, early this morning around dawn..... I was staying at my Grandmother's.... across town..... and I was suddenly awakened from a deep sleep......... I felt the most urgent need to pray for Mom and Dad's safety.... I felt as if someone was outside their house wanting to break in..... so I began to pray and seek the Lord for their protection and safety...... I prayed specific prayers, too!  as in:  " Lord Jesus, if anyone is thinking of breaking in .... make them terrified!  Send Holy Angels of God to chase them from the house!!!! put such fear on them that they tremble in fright!  Let the Angels of God chase them from the neighborhood.... and if they even think about returning to break in and rob and steal...... let terror from You, Lord, cover them!  Keep Mom and Dad and our home safe!  Wake Mom and Dad up and alert them to the danger!  Make them aware of the danger!  Move on them to Pray! In Jesus' Name!"

I felt a real release and peace in my Spirit after praying.... and read my Bible for a while and went back to sleep....... so later during the day, I called Mom and asked her what time she woke up..... and she answered:  "Well, I awoke around dawn..... I just couldn't sleep...... tossed and turned all night and kept waking up, then finally woke and dawn and couldn't go back to sleep...... why?"  So I shared my experience...... we talked a bit..... said goodbye and hung up....... she called back a few minutes later..... and said "You need to let Dad tell you something! You are gonna freak when he tells you what happened"  and then handed the phone to Daddy....... he said:

"Well,  I woke up around dawn this morning, from a bad dream........ in the dream I was lying in the bed next to Mom, and I saw something trying to come into our house...... in the dream, I felt such danger!!!!  I was holding a pistol..... and trying to shoot it!  I woke from the dream.... feeling a real sense of danger and that I needed to pray for our safety and that God would protect us and the house..... so I talked to the Lord for a while......"

As he spoke to me, precious friends....... I felt the power of the Holy Ghost go all over me..... and tears ran down my cheeks.......I thanked God for His goodness and mercy and for keeping them safe....... We have all rejoiced today in thankfulness to Him........ we are convinced that He stopped a break in............it very well could have been the same people that followed me home from Cracker Barrel, returning to carry out their dark intentions... only God knows for sure......... 

You know....... we hear of mighty things happening over on the mission fields of foreign lands..... but we are children of God also; so why can't these things happen in the good old USA??  If we will just stay prayerful and seek God and ask Him to make us sensitive to His dear voice..... He will speak to us!  He will protect us and lead us..........I love Him so much more every day that I live.....too often, (and I am speaking from experience) we allow the cares of this life to drown out His precious voice.......and we ignore the gentle nudging of His Spirit..........

God Help me to listen more to Your voice..... and help me to seek you consistently..............

Special decorations for a Special Dinner

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These are photos  from the Pastor's Appreciation dinner  that we had on Sunday, after Church (you can click on them for a closer look if you'd like...)  Our Church Family wanted to honor our Pastor and his dear wife for the wonderful love and care they have given us for so many years...... they have been God's Faithful servants, working tirelessly to see souls saved, delivered, and healed, and we are so blessed to have them! I was also blessed to get to decorate our large Gym area, witht the help of some very dear and talented friends!  It was fun......  The top photo is of the table we set up to honor our Pastor and his family, as well as the other ministers and their families that were able to attend.

 I did the large arrangement for the center piece...... and it turned out ok.... woo hoo! I decided to keep it as a permanent addition to my Fall decor......  The next photo is of the desert table..... and then theres' the flowered bow I made and placed on top of my ivy topiary.......that topiary has been present at so many weddings and parties and the like... I have two of them, actually.... and just change out the bows and flowers and leaves to match whatever the occasion........they cost me like $20 at Big Lots..... and I keep them lit up year round........ Thanks for taking the time to read this and look at the pictures... you are dears!

I may share more pictures later.....
Hugs,
Jenni
PS. Please don't forget to pray today, ok?  God is our only hope.....

Pumpkin Time

Hello, Precious Friends!  It has been wayyyyy too long since I visited with y'all!  I hope that all is well in your lives...... I was finally able to do a little more crafting recently, and so decorated a pumpkin for a friend.  These are the photos of it...... she liked it, so I was happy as could be!

I had a kind of bad experience the other evening, but, in the end, it turned out well....... I was at the gas station, pumping gas..... and  out of the corner of my eye saw some THING zooming towards me from above...... never did get a good look at it...... so, I don't know WHAT it was......... well, it landed with a loud "BZZZZTTT!!!" underneath my jaw, on the right side of my face...... and OUCH!!!!  oooh it stung me so badly!  It was burning like fire and swelling up pretty bad, and I have so many allergies...... so I called my pastor and asked him to pray for me...... and, instantly that swelling just went away and it stopped hurting!!!!!!  God is so Good!!!!  And He is not a "part - time" God!!!!  He is a "Full - Time", "All - the - time" Faithful  Friend..... and is as close as the mention of His Name!!

I hope that you are all well and happy, dear ones...... and please remember to keep those affected by hurricane Sandy in your thoughts and prayers....... as a life-long resident of the Texas Gulf Coast, I have been through tropical storms and hurricanes many times...... and they are NOT FUN at all....

Hugs,

Jenni

She has adopted us!!

Meet the new addition to our family, Miss Lily May!  Yesterday my sister was walking her dog, Camo, and  picked up a "shadow".  Inquiring about this sweet Lab mix lady revealed that she has been wandering the neighborhood for several weeks now, living on handouts from whoever took pity on her....... Well, her begging days are over!  She will be loved and spoiled within an inch of her life now......... I think she is soooo pretty and she is as sweet as can be..... she took her first visit to the vet this morning, and is settling in as a house dog quite nicely...... what a sweet heart she is!  And it is amazing how much she resembles my darling Jazz, whom we lost in May of 2011.............though she does have a white patch on her chest and three of her paws....... we already love her sooooo much!!!!!  God does send along the sweetest surprises, doesn't He?