This spoke.....

I am at a crux in my life right now, as I begin to step out into the waters of fear upon embarking  into my own ministry. It is very much a God thing and I am DEFINITELY living beyond myself, taking this critical step into God's calling on my life. I read this quote last week and it spoke to me about my fear of failing.....

"I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot...and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why...I succeed."

 

-----Michael Jordan

'Nuff said....

Idol, people and LOST!

So, Idol stunk on Tuesday. Well, with the exception of Danny, Ricky Braddy and Alexis. They were my fav's. Kara rocks my world. Seriously....she is going to save that show for me this year. Thank the Lord they got a real singer and a dang good one at that! And I cannot wait till the top 12 when they start singing things and she can tell them how to do it better and make intelligent critiques in the process. That is going to be fun!

LOST was awesome! Boy, with this whole time travel thing, they are starting to really let their freak flag fly! Things are getting weirder and weirder and I LOVE IT! If you don't watch the show, listen....you need to. It is so great. Just start with the Season 1 on DVD, and before you get disinterested, give it about 3-4 episodes...it is incredible! My husband and I caught up with it on dvd and watched the entire season 1 over Memorial Day weekend about 4 years ago. This is gross but it is true. We literally started watching it one night and stayed up till like 3am (which is insane since we go to bed usually at about 9:30) and then got up the next morning at like 8 and only left the house for the next 3 days to go get more discs at Blockbuster and get fast food. I think we even stayed in our jammies the whole weekend and barely showered.....ewwww....I know. It was awesome! So, if you don't watch it, the next 3 day weekend, block out your schedule and lay around like Jabba the Hut for a few days. You won't regret it....Well, except for the lazy, unhygienic part, but you'll get over it! Happy Lost-ing! ;)

Hmmm... Where has the time gone???

Well, here I am....obviously not on time...The last time I blogged was in November of  2007. Sooo much has changed since then! Isn't it bizarre how things can change so much in a little over a year? In the midst of all of this, I have lost 2 jobs that were very steady employment for me, made the transition to free-lance vocalist, started working on my album, etc. It has definitely been a faith defining moment for me and Ryan in the sense that I have been blessed and fortunate to not have had to really stretch in the area of work for the last few years. But, God......I love those two words. "But, God..." It's like the divine hiccup in a sentence where all hope seems to be lost and then, "But, God..." Like in the movies where a major disaster is about to occur and Superman shows up. But, God has been faithful through it all and shown up BIG time. He has more than taken care of us, in ways we never thought were possible.  Yes, we have experienced "the money coming in at the very last second" more than once this year. But that is not the only way God has shown up. He has answered prayer miraculously. He has answered prayer to our disappointment as well, seemingly tagging the answer with, "do you trust me?" And those moments have been defining, too....but it doesn't mean we didn't allow Him to work on us without kicking and screaming MANY times. 

My dog, Brutus is a feisty, incorrigible, yet cute as can be, yorkie. He has some...um....ahem...habits that after 4 years, he still needs work on. Every morning as I get him "all leashed up" to take him on a walk, he gets overly excited. In fact, he gets in full on alpha dog mode and starts to fight me because he know what is about to take place. You see, I am about to take him on his morning walk that he loves so much. But, before we take off, he starts to bite the leash, growl and squirm like a rabid dog. He puts the leash in his mouth and is so focused on trying to get the reigns away from me, that he forgets that I am just trying to take him on the walk he so desperately wants to go on. If I had video capability, I would show you this. All he wants is this walk. All I want is to take him on one. But the fight that ensues for who is in control makes the whole thing take longer and more frustrating. Sometimes, I literally say to my dog out loud...."Geez! if you would just stop getting bent out of shape and start letting me do this, you'll realize I'm taking you where you want to go!!!" One morning recently as we were doing our daily alpha dog duel, I said those words out loud and literally heard God saying them to me. "Jen....you're so worked up over this that you're not focusing on the fact that I am getting you there. I'm taking you where you want to go....Just because it doesn't look like what you thought it would be at first, doesn't mean that I'm not working things all together for your good. I'm taking you on this amazing journey of your dreams, it's just I'm leading the way...and you're not. Just....trust me...." Wow.....All this time, fighting the reigns...kicking and screaming....battling it out for my way or the highway.... I felt such comfort and almost an "A-ha!" moment. He wants to take me to my promised land, to the place I want to go. It just may not look like the way I IMAGINED it....it just looks the way HE IMAGINED it....

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine....." Ephesians 3:20

Giving Thanks....

Welcome to my first official blog on blogspot.  I am a little nervous as I don't think I have much to say, so I will just share my life.  We had Thanksgiving this weekend and it sure was a wonderful time of R&R! We needed it after being on the road for the whole year.  Thursday was full as well as our tummies with Turkey, dressing, fall vegetables of the grandest kind, fluffy mashed potatoes, succulent sweet potato casserole, apple and cranberry crumble, pumpkin cheesecake, and mini cheeseburgers.  Somehow, I don't think that the pilgrims included mini cheeseburgers in their first meal with the Native Americans, but it is a tradition now at the Thigpen house, courtesy of Paula Deen, and boy-oh-boy are they great!  Friday we hit "Black Friday" at the mall but only for about an hour, it was all our psyche and our wallets could stand.  Then we came home and did something we have not done in about a year.  We laid down on the couch, and didn't get up for the entire night, except to unleash the fury of food once again, all while catching up with the hours of nothingness saved on the DVR. Wow, was it great!  Saturday, my hubs and I went on a field trip around Orlando with our dear friend, Miss Deidra Hughes.  She was having Ryan take photos of her for her new cd cover.  I know I am biased, but I have to admit, he sure has a talent and an eye for it!  It was great to help him in action and Deidra looked oh-so-gorgeouso as always! It was a fun afternoon.  

Lastly, I will leave you with this.  Many of you know or may not know that this past year has been a very difficult season for me with changes in my career, etc.  I want to leave you with encouragement the Lord has brought to me over and over in this verse, and it seems very apropos with the season we are in.  May the Lord bless you with this and sustain you as only the Lord of the Harvest can do....

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 (NIV)