The One Who is Called Faithful...

REALLY IS...I promise!

Often times, in a world, where there is so much chaos and confusion, we need to find our rest in the One who is stable (un-moved; despite the situation), in control, and all-knowing. I pray, on this Saturday morning, that you can trust, that even in the midst of your situation, He is still: Full of Wisdom, Infinite, Sovereign, Holy, Omniscient, FAITHFUL etc...My God, I just get ELATED typing these words out. No lie.

A.W. Tozer writes, “Man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
You have two choices here: praise Him in the bad or give Him nothing at all. And as a result, of you doing one or the other, you will determine your thoughts towards God at that moment, whether it be subconscious or not. You will. I will.
Now, in my earlier days of being a Christian, the Bible calls those- "Babes in Christ," I would worship based on my feeling of God (what has he done for me lately mentality) at that moment. Can any of you relate? Or was I just overly transparent?
I didn't realize that my praise towards Him had the power to change my situation. But as I have grown older and wiser (hopefully), I have come to realize that my praises to Him have the power to change things. Demons flee at the name of Jesus. Which means when I'm praising Him, I am recognizing that He is who He says He is: Holy, Sovereign, FAITHFUL, Full of Wisdom....get it? Therefore, demons can not entertain you or me, only He can-the One who is Faithfully Holy. ALWAYS.
Those thoughts of abandonment can't consume you because, "He will never leave you nor forsake you; he sticks closer than a brother, a friend, your spouse, your parents etc..."
Those thoughts of fear, worry, and doubt can't consume you any longer, even though your spouse doesn't have a job, because God is Sovereign- ALL-knowing; He knew your END from your beginning. He is the One who orders your footsteps. He is the One who causes promotion.

At some point in our Christian walk we have got to get to this place. Peace dwells here. I promise. When others around me can worry like no tomorrow I can say, "I know God will make a way where there seems to be no way." I mean when we really think about it isn't that how God operates anyways? Outside of the human mind? Don't you ever wonder why He doesn't operate in ways that we can understand? I do, well, atleast in my mind I do. Hey, it works for me. :) This is what I have found: faith requires us to believe in those things that are unseen. So in order for God to be God and for me to have faith, it is required of Him to operate outside of my human capacity because if man can think it, man gets all the credit, but if God can think it then we will give him all the glory. And as his children, are "job" is to praise Him, glorify Him, and honor Him.
Our perspective of God, I believe, has a lot to do with our worship towards Him. It is a mindset. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
It is that feeling you get when the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. and you really don't want to get out of the bed to go to the gym. But, you know you have to if you want to see results. Well, I really believe if you expect to see things change around you it first starts with praise. Which, might I add, completely contradicts our society today. We don't praise until we get results.

I encourage you, start praising Him in the storm and see what happens! Try not to allow thoughts that contradict who God is to leave your mouth. There is power in the tongue. Once you speak it, you ended up believing it. So speak life into your situation today!

I will close for now. But, if you have gained anything from toay's blog I hope it was this: He is Full of Wisdom, Infinite, Sovereign, Holy, Omniscient, FAITHFUL etc...He loves you, cares for you and desires to take care of you ALL the days of your life.

Still Praisin',

~Jenni~

P.S. My chief editor (my husband) was not present to edit my blog, so I hope I didn't throw you off with all my grammatical errors. Nope, not afraid to admit that I absolutely stink in English, but I hope to be getting better. :)
Have a great weekend!

Not this month...

Lets just say I was relieved after discovering I was not pregnant...
Being a little "late" and recently hearing some disheartening news definitely caused this woman to momentarily panic. On the other hand, my husband was very dissapointed that we were not pregnant. Bless his heart. He actually got to experience what I felt like this time last year when we discovered we were. The emotions were flipped this go around. I got to feel his worry and he got to (momentarily) feel the joy of possibly knowing we were expecting. Interesting.

For the sake of my own integrity, as well as my husband's, I will forego the details of the "disheartening news" part.
But what I will say... is... that.... NOTHING.... catches God by surprise. He knew this day was coming. In fact, He allowed it. He predestined it. He knew that in order for me and my husband to reach our fullest potential in Him it was going to require us to move from the comfortable to the uncomfortable. You know, instead of standing at the edge of the cliff and dangling one foot out over it, we were now actually being asked to jump off?!?! Comfortable to the uncomfortable. Although the news had shaken our world momentarily, we were not about to allow it to shake our faith. We both realize that, often times, when we don't take the "hint" to move forward, God shuts the door for us. Good looking out, God! I'm glad to serve a God who always has my best interest at heart.

Some of you may be where we are at this very moment. But I encourage you, take refuge in the One who has already provided the "safe haven" for you, the One who has already made a way where there seems to be no way. Remember, "greater is He that is in you, then he that is in the world." "If God be for you, then who can be against you?" No one! Man doesn't control your destiny; in fact, I will go as far as to say this, often times when men think they are about to demote you, God intervenes and uses them to launch you into greater opportunities and blessings, into a promotion. WOOT-WOOT. I'm sorry; I just had a moment. Seriously. We often "curse" man for what they have done (you know, messing up our plans) but instead we should say, "Thank you, because of what you've done or said I'm walking into a greater anointing and season of my life." It is that simple. Just do it. If that doesn't get you excited, then I don't know what to tell you. I mean the power of God is INCREDIBLE. We just need to change our perspective--our fleshly way of thinking--and accept that our thoughts are not His thoughts, and our ways are not His ways.

I will close with this: Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation)
"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."

Whatever situation you may be in, don't give up and don't give in. The battle is the Lord's!

By Grace Alone,

~Jenni~

Lean on ME!

Can I just say that last week was a W-E-E-K in every sense of the word (I had to stretch out the word week, to elongate what it really was like for my family). It was trying, painful (at times), and exhausting. I typically have great weeks, but when things happen to the ones I love, I suffer too. It's about carrying each other's burdens. WHEW.

Trey and I began our devotional last night and as we entered into the next chapter entitled "parenting," we both looked at each other and basically thought (out loud), "lets skip this weeks and go to the next chapter." Can I just say that I am glad we didn't! It was timely and exactly what we needed to hear. Just like God!

I, typically, am not a worrier. When it comes to money, I can be, but when I realize that I am being a good steward of what He has entrusted me with then worry flies right out the window. I don't seem to have a problem casting my worries, cares, or fears. Who better to listen and handle the situation than God? Men fail, but God does not.

NOW, Back to last night's devotional. Let me sum it up in a nutshell: a little boy had wandered to the edge of a boat dock and had fallen into the water (first thing I thought was, "Where were his parents and why was he allowed to wander alone by water?"). When his parents heard the "splash," his dad bolted to the water and jumped in. As he swam to find his 3 year old son, fear gripping his heart, he was finally able to locate him. His son just so happened to be holding on to a pillar WHILE UNDER the water. His dad asked him, "Son, what are you doing?" The son replied, "Just waiting on you, dad?" On a side note, Trey and I both laughed out loud. I could picture the scene in my head. A sweet little 3 year old boy, with such innocence, was responding with such confidence and faith in his father. W-O-W!

Do you see where I am going with this?

How many times is our heavenly Father wanting to rescue us, but we fail to hold on and wait long enough for His embrace? We can easily look in ALL the wrong places for our answers. Christian or not, we are all still human. Maybe you allow the worry and fears of other people to grip you to the point where you are choking underneath the water. They are human, too. Sometimes you just have to ignore the negativity of people and hold on and wait until your Father comes to your rescue. How do you wait? Glad you asked. Pray without ceasing. Fast. Annoint your loved ones with oil. Plead the blood of Jesus over your situation. Get on your knees. BUT don't stop waiting for Him.

Just like the earthly father in this story, heart pounding and all, was determined to grab a hold of his son, how much more do you think the Lord is willing and waiting to do the same thing for you and me? If my memory serves me correct, God's love for us outweighs the love our own parents have for us or anyone else for that matter. So, why do we make it so diffiult? Why is it easier to love the tangible but not the intangible?

As I examine my ability to lean on Him, I pray that you are challenged by these questions.


JUST HOLD ON!

~Jenni-Shene~

Here it is...E2E!

The BIG reveal..."Empowered to Empower!"

The end of last year God gave me a vision of what He wanted from me for 2010. Often times we find ourselves making New Year's Resolutions and they usually are all about, "ME, ME, ME, ME, ME." "I gotta hit the gym, I gotta make more time for me, I gotta do this or I gotta do that..." and it typically pertains to ourselves.

But, this year, I wanted my resolution to be different. Specifically, I felt that the LORD wanted my resolution to be about me investing in others. A transfer of power and discipline of sorts. You see, financial freedom is more than just some marketable slogan, it is biblical and empowering. So, that is why I believe God gave me "Empowered to Empower." Here we go...

I got addicted to couponing only after humbling myself. See, I always saw couponing as for the less fortunate, the poor, and the needy. Since I did not see myself in any of those terms, using coupons was mentally written off as time consuming and "below" me. But, through the pruning of the Holy Spirit, God convicted me into a life-altering realization: those who use coupons were the WISE ones and I was the fool. They are wives, home makers, business women, concerned mothers, prudent souls who see frugality as not just a hobby or financial enigma, but as a lifestyle.

The ultimate back-breaking straw for me is found in Matthew 25:15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability..." Now, we are all most likely familiar with this parable...but have we ever picked up on the last few words in this verse? God has given to each of us according to our individual abilities! Let me expand this passage a little. Some of you may have heard of "talents" in this passage paralleling "talent" today ( i.e. musical, athletic, etc.). In the Greek, this term literally meant physical possession of financial value. These inidividuals were challenged to invest/spend their money wisely. It is from there that the story and its lesson progresses. God definitely wants us to levy all of our talents for His kingdom as well...but, in this case, let's focus on the financial lesson to be learned.

God knows what it is we can handle and when we can handle it. How do we expect God to entrust us with any more than we can currently bear if we bear it in a way that doesn't honor him? We can't! That is, we can not until we show ourselves approved of our present financial situation. Showing ourselves approved is not merely tithing or giving the occasional offering, although this is the first cobblestone along the journey to financial breakthrough. Our financial well being is a wholistic approach rooted in the very mind of God and His Word.

My husband and I have come a long way over the last year, but I felt the nudge of God on this other issue: grocery shopping. And so, He birthed this idea out of me to share the passion that He has developed in me over the last few months. E2E will be a time of sharing, fellowship, laughter and maybe even some crying ;)! Ultimately, I desire for this group to be a haven for women who want more out of their finances. With God as the nucleus, I foresee this coupon club becoming more than a Friday or Saturday outing! I genuinely want those who attend to leave with a new perspective and a fresh outlook on their own ability and the "talents" God has given them.

This is my prophetic decree over you...
"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations above the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out!"
"The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless ALL the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today, and are careful to observe them."

Deuteronomy 28:1-6 & 28:12-13

In Him,
~Jenni-Lynn~

P.S. I still have a special testimonial to share with you...so just keep checkin' in!

Crime Scene Investigation...

This was the crime scene that Trey and I came home to this afternoon...

Detectives Shennie Shen and Jenni-Lynn were at first significantly perplexed by their findings.

You see, the crate began the day in the corner, flush with the wall...and the ironing board was standing behind it, wedged between it and the wall and the washing machine. The obvious culprit was our 4 pound Shih Tzu (Nala); yet, she was no where on the scene. Both detectives searched the laundry room, high and low, finding no Nala. With sunken hearts and on the verge of hanging caution tape and calling in the homicide team, here came Nala from the other side of the house with a "what's up mom and dad?" smirk on her face. We scanned the house to find two locations of restroom usage and several things not where we left them, but other than that, we guess she played queen for the day.

The weird question was, how did she escape exactly? In my best Sherlock Holmes interpretation, she must have shimmied up the ironing board to its highest point, scaled to the top of the crate, and then leapt to the lip of the baby gate, plummeting to the other side. I checked for injuries and found none. These two gumshoes have been duped by an 11 week old puppy.

We're just glad she is OK and will obviously have to rethink the laundry room kenneling as an option.

Rite Aid...R-O-C-K-S!!!

I had such a pleasant experience shopping at Rite Aid over the past couple of days and this is why....



I know what you are thinking...what's up with ALL the maxi pads??? Well, they were FREE! lol
This is what I bought:
(1) Oral B Cross Action Power Toothbrush=FREE (after single rebate checks)
(1) Kotex Maxi Pads= .99
(8) StayFree Maxi Pads= FREE
(8) Nivea Lip Care= FREE
(4) 4-packs GE Light bulbs=FREE (after single rebate checks)
(1) Carmex= .99
(1) Listerine Vanilla Mint Mouthwash= made .50
(1) Tylenol Cold & Flu= $2.99 (after single rebate checks)
(1) Tylenol 8 hour= $1.99 (after single rebate checks)
(2) Loreal Facial Cleanser= $2.19 each
(1) Lipgloss= $1.99
(1) Eye liner= .59
(2) Nutra Nail Max Strengthener= $1.99
(2) Neosporin w/ cream and 3 band aids in each box= $3.99 for both
(2) boxes of Band aids (sheer)= $1.69

WHEW...I think I got everything! What I should have spent before store specials and coupons...$199.41. I know you are probably thinking, "that's INSANE!" It is. I would NEVER spend that kind of money at Rite Aid, Walgreens or even CVS. But the beauty of it all... is that I didn't; in fact, I paid no where near that amount..By the way, that should just show you how expensive places like this are....BUT with coupons, anything is possible! ;) Isn't that in Scripture somewhere?!?!?!

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for...the total!

I spent $17.90 :) FABULOUS. I KNOW.

Also, Rite Aid is hosting the game of LIFE...You all remeber the board game, right?!?!? I LOVE it! It is basically like Monoply at McDonald's...you buy products that are marked with a Life game piece in the ad and you collect them to win! FUN stuff.

With ALL that being said...I will be starting a "Coupon Club" in the very near future. I will post more details in my next blog...so stay tuned! God has really given me a vision of some things I would like to see happen in the lives of the women around me, and I would love for you to be a part of it! So, you will not want to miss my next blog. I will have a guest blogger who will impart to you all an incredible testimony of some serious discipline and God's favor. Ha! That's all I am going to say about that!

I hope you were inspired and most of all intrigued by this blog. I will close with this...

E2E

This is my New Year's Resolution! ( I will explain what E2E means in my next blog)...I know. So suspenseful. But It will be well worth the wait! (Well, atleast I think so) ;)

In Him,

~Jenni-Lynn~

Gotta love a deal...

Coupons, Coupons and more Coupons...or should I say,

SAVINGS, SAVINGS, and MORE SAVINGS!

I LOVE coupons and have used them in the past, but thanks to my sister-in-law, I am a little bit more savvy thanks to her and http://www.southernsavers.com/. There are misconceptions out there about coupons but I am here to tell you that they are not true. You can use coupons on HEALTHY items!!!

Trey and I try to be good stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to us and we try to practice this in every area of our lives, including grocery shopping. It is a shame to think that people spend lots of money on groceries. That, quite honestly, is not necessary. All it takes is a little time and effort and you could be saving your family thousands of dollars a year, SERIOUSLY. I hope that what I break down for you will help you see grocery shopping in a new light...If you are interested in learning more I am thinking about starting a coupon club...Sounds silly, I know, but I think it would be a lot of fun to have ladies get together for a night or two a month to chat and cut coupons. There is always swapping coupons, too!!!

Ok. So grocery break down time:

(2) Dove deodorants= FREE

(2) Glade candles (The fragrance collection)= they owed me $3.50

(1) Scotties box of tissues= FREE

(1) Colgate toothbrush=FREE

(2) bottles of Infusim Shampoo/Conditioner= $1.99 for both

(2) Fresh Express bagged salads= .95 each

(1) 55 ct. Force Flex tall kitchen bags= $4.49

(2) Green Valley Fresh Steamers (veggies)= .39 each

(1) Land of Lakes butter LIGHT= .89

(2) Wishbone Salad Dressings= .60 each

(2) Digorno 200 Calorie Pizza's= $1.99 each

(1) Revlon eye shadow= $1.99

(1) Tylenol Cold-Day time= .99

(1) Tylenol Cold-Night time= .99

(2) boxes (20 ct.) of Herbal Tea= .80 each

(1) Glade Plug-in Nightlight Warmer= FREE

(1) Robitussin Cough Syrup= $2.99

(2) Glade Oil Refills= $2.99 for both

(4) 2 liters of soda= .79 each

(1) paper= $1.87

(1) box of Dream Pasta= they owed me .09

(1) Blue Bonnet Margarine sticks= .69

I think I got everything on here...

My total was $120.12...I paid $27.37 before taxes!!! YOU SEE, COUPONS ARE SOOOOO WORTH IT! I hope you were inspired to jump on the coupon bandwagon :)

Merry Christmas,

~Jenni~