Wordless Wednesday: Voices

Our Flat Tire Adventure

At midnight last Friday night Jon and I found ourselves at Wal-Mart doing some Black Friday shopping with some friends of ours. My Jon was so excited about going Black Friday shopping, because he had never done it before.

Wal-Mart was insane! The lack of organization drove me and my friend Elise crazy! We stood in line only to be told that we were in the wrong line. So, we got out of line only to find out 15 minutes later that we had been in the correct line all along! Frustrated we got back in line and started all over again.

My Jon surprised me with an early anniversary gift!! Jon bought me a new camera!! He knows how much I love taking pictures and this was such a sweet gift! He got me the Canon Rebel T3. As you can only imagine I've been doing lots of research on how to take good pictures with my new camera.

My new camera!! Thank you Jon!!

Saturday afternoon my Jon discovered that my car had a flat tire which was frustrating, because we wanted to spend the afternoon relaxing. I really excited about this flat tire, because it meant that I could practice taking pictures with my new camera! I tried convincing Jon that we would have fun on this adventure! I hope you enjoy these pictures that I took with my new camera!

Jon and I before we left to get our new tire.

Jon tried to be in a good mood for me while I took his picture!

Our poor tire.

Thank you Firestone for being open on Black Friday!

Our new tire.

We finally got the new tire home and it was time to get to work.

Jon did all the work while I took pictures.

He is the best!

He did it!

The flat tire adventure was not what we had planned, but we tired to make the most of it!

Thanksgiving Skyping

How was your Thanksgiving holiday!? Am I the only one who had a hard time getting up this morning? Monday mornings are normally hard for me, but it is especially challenging when Monday is the end of a long weekend. I just kept hitting the snooze button this morning, so that I could sleep in as late as possible.

Jon and I had such a great weekend! I've got lots of pictures and a few stories. However, I will share more about that with you later on this week after I have a chance to download my pictures onto my computer. This morning's pictures were taken with my iPhone, so the quality is not the best, but please bare with me.

On Wednesday evening of last week, Jon and I were able to spend some time Skyping with my family. My Mom, sisters, and brother were celebrated Thanksgiving last Wednesday. It has been a long time since they've all been in the same place at once, so I asked if we could Skype with them after dinner. This way we could see our nephews and talk with my family!

We Skyped with them for a long time and it was so much fun! We got to see everyone including our nephews Kenneth and Lucas! This time of year is so hard, because we do not live close to our family. However, I am so thankful that we are able to spend time with them over Skype. I am looking forward to the day when our nephews are older enough to talk with us!

Here are a few pictures of the boys that I took while we were Skyping with them last week.

My Mom, my nephew Lucas (7 months), and my sister Vivian

My nephew Kenneth (14 months)

My brother Jake and Kenneth

Vivian, Kenneth, and Lucas. The boys could not take their eyes off of Uncle Jake who is sharing his cookie with them!

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a very blessed Thanksgiving Day!!
We hope that you are able to give thanks with a grateful heart this holiday weekend.
Remember it's not about the food, but the family and friends that are with you during this time!

Just for fun, you should check out the Thanksgiving song by Matthew West called, "Gobble, Gobble".

Matthew West "Gobble Gobble"
Matthew West "Gobble Gobble" by K-LOVE Radio

Blessings,

Jon and Jen

R-E-S-P-E-C-T That is what He Needs from Me

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For several reasons I was irritated with Jon yesterday morning! On my drive to work I shared with the Lord about all the things that Jon does that bother me. I also tried telling the Lord about what I thought Jon should be doing instead. Not once was I thankful for the husband that God has given me.

This morning, after I got to work, I noticed the title of today’s Proverbs 31 devotional, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T … That is what He Needs from Me”.

Seriously Lord!? Of all the days, this is not what I want to read about this morning. I am frustrated and I was looking for words of comfort not correction. After a while, I finally read the devotional and became extremely convicted by the Lord. God showed me that my actions/thoughts did not honor Him or Jon.

This past weekend at the Marriage Retreat Jon told me that the number one thing he needs from me is respect. Even after the retreat God tried teaching me about this in Sunday school, but was I even paying attention? Obviously not! Not even 48 hours after coming home from the Marriage Retreat and I am already choosing to focus on the negative instead of focusing on the man that God has made Jon to be.

The Lord has really gotten my attention today and my criticisms of Jon need to stop. Maybe I didn’t quite understand what God was telling me at the Marriage Retreat, but I am thankful that He has taken more time to teach me about how I can better love my husband.

Jon's not perfect, but I want to begin to focus on what he is and not what he lacks in my eyes. In addition, I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. If I don't have anything nice to say, I don't need to say anything at all.

Is there an area of your life/heart that does not honor the Lord? Will you listen to God's leading or continue to do it how you think it should be done?

. . . . . . . . . .
R-E-S-P-E-C-T … That is what He Needs from Me
November 22, 2011
Renee Swope

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 (NIV 1984)

I have a confession to make: when my husband J.J. and I got married over 18 years ago, I took out the words “honor and obey” from my wedding vows. That line about submitting to my husband wasn’t in there either. Instead, I vowed to “submit my ideas and dreams” to my J.J. and trust God’s leadership in our marriage.

Yes, I had some serious issues going into marriage. As a young Christian, I was afraid of the “S” word, and wanted to make sure God and my witnesses didn’t catch me in a lie.

Like many women, I was terrified if I submitted to my husband I’d become a doormat and lose myself somewhere in the middle of letting my husband lead.

Regretfully, I remember the time J.J. told me it was easier to let me lead because it wasn’t worth the argument to him.

You’d think that’s what I wanted – to get my way – but it wasn’t because my husband became apathetic. Eventually I lost respect for my husband, and it was mostly my fault. I wanted him to lead, but when he tried I’d often criticize how he led. It was a mess!

I had been praying God would change J.J. and make him more decisive, more confident, more protective and well, just more what I wanted him to be. One day, God strongly impressed on my heart that my criticism wasn’t getting me any closer to my desired result. In fact, my frustration with J.J. only contributed to his own doubt as a man trying to follow God and lead His family.

The Holy Spirit also showed me I was fueling Satan’s flaming darts of condemnation aimed at my husband’s heart; joining efforts with the one who wanted to take out my husband as the leader of our home. Through prayer, I realized my husband needed me to be his greatest cheerleader and his biggest supporter verbally, emotionally and spiritually.

God challenged me to keep my mouth closed when J.J. did something I didn’t like or led in a way I didn’t want to follow. He encouraged me to tell my husband when I saw things I appreciated and use the power of my words to build up and not tear down my man.

I started doing what God showed me. I looked for and found things in my husband that I’d never noticed. I got intentional about noticing things I respected and letting God take care of things I didn’t. I made many choices to honor him in big and small ways. And you know what? I discovered so many things about my husband that were worthy of respect.

We’ve been through so much together over the years. I have learned to follow God as I trusted many of my husband’s decisions that scared me: job changes I didn’t want him to make; financial investments that seemed too risky; parenting issues that were hard. It hasn’t been easy, but I am thankful my husband has become the leader of our family. And I’ve become more comfortable following his leadership than I ever thought I’d be!

Dear Lord, I want to respect my husband and build him up with my words. Help me to measure my thoughts carefully and come to You with my complaints. I want to become my husband’s biggest cheerleader and watch You do Your thing in His life. I know this is possible as I depend on You to live Your life through me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Just a Few Things

{Our Weekend}

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Jon and I had a busy weekend. Friday evening we drove to a nearby camp to attend our church’s Marriage Retreat. We had a great time at the retreat! It was so nice to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. We were gone on Saturday as well, so I was not able to lead my weekly Saturday morning Weight Watchers meeting. There are so many good things that I will take away from the retreat, but the lesson that made the biggest impact on me was about communication. Jon and I really need to continue to work on our communication. We got some good tools from the Marriage Retreat that we could take home with us!

Please keep praying for those who attended the Marriage Retreat. Pray against Satan’s discouragement and that each couple will be able to grow closer together as a result of this event.

{Thanksgiving Plans}

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Our Thanksgiving plans have changed so many times! Originally, Jon and I were looking forward to having Thanksgiving at our home. Jon’s sister, Rachel, and her husband, Aric, were going to drive down from Colorado to visit us. I had started to plan my Thanksgiving menu and grocery list, so that we could be prepared for their visit. Unfortunately, Aric was not able to get time off for Thanksgiving, so our plans have changed. We are so disappointed that they will not be able to join us this year for Thanksgiving!

We were not sure if we would end up spending Thanksgiving alone, which seems very depressing. However, some friends of ours from church invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them again for the 4th year in a row! We are so thankful to them and their family for opening up their home to us. It’s hard being in Texas, because our immediate family is not with us. But we are so thankful that God has put people in our church to be like family to us when ours is not present.

{Our First Niece}

My sister Vivian is pregnant again with baby #2!! Last Friday, she found out that she is pregnant with a baby girl! This will be our first niece, because so far we have only have nephews. We are so excited and cannot wait for Kadence to make her debut this coming April 2012!

Holiday PointsPlus Values

The last few years I have written blog post about how to create a successful Thanksgiving Game Plan. To read those previous blog posts, click here and here. A Thanksgiving game plan is so important and without I do not know how you will be able to stay on plan throughout the holidays. However, today I want to focus on the actual Thanksgiving food!

Below is a list of different holiday foods and their PointsPlus values. I don't know about you, but I am going to be using this list to help keep me from making some really bad food choices this Thanksgiving!

{Entrees}

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Turkey breast, 4 oz =4 PointsPlus

Ham, 2 oz slice = 2 PointsPlus

Prime Rib, 3 oz. = 4 PointsPlus

Salmon, 1 oz smoked = 1 PointsPlus

{Starches, Carbohydrates, Spreads}

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Sweet potato, 1/2 cup = 2 PointsPlus

Mashed potato, 1/2 cup = 3 PointsPlus

Baked potato, 10 oz. uncooked or 8 oz cooked = 5 PointsPlus

Stuffing, 1/2 cup = 5 PointsPlus

Dinner roll, 2 oz. = 4 PointsPlus

Butter, regular or whipped, 1 tsp = 1 PointsPlus

Margarine, regular, 1 tsp = 1 PointsPlus

Gravy, 1/4 cup = 3 PointsPlus

Candied Sweet Potatoes, ½ cup = 5 PointsPlus

{Vegetable Side Dishes}

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Hot Dish: string beans, cream of mushroom soup, onions, 1/2 cup = 3 PointsPlus

Tossed mixed greens salad, 1 cup =0 PointsPlus

Dressing, 1 tbsp. Full fat = 2 PointsPlus

Olive, 6 large or 10 small = 1 PointsPlus

Pickle, one medium dill = 0 PointsPlus

Cranberry Sauce, 1/4 cup = 3 PointsPlus

{Beverages}

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Fruit punch, 4 oz (1/2 cup) = 2 PointsPlus

Wine, 4 oz (1/2 cup) = 3 PointsPlus

Beer, 8 oz = 3 PointsPlus

Mineral or sparkling water, 8 oz = 0 PointsPlus

{Desserts}

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Pumpkin Pie, 1/8 of 9" one crust = 11 PointsPlus

Apple Pie, 1/8 of 9" two crust = 11 PointsPlus

Pecan Pie 1/8 of 9” once crust = 14 PointsPlus

Meringue Pie, any type, 1/8 of 9" = 10 PointsPlus

Mincemeat Pie, 1/8 of 9" two crust = 13 PointsPlus

Ice cream, regular, 1/2 cup = 8 PointsPlus

Whipped Cream, 1/4 cup full fat = 3 PointsPlus

{Snacks}

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Candy/Fudge, 1 oz = 3 PointsPlus

Bar Cookies, 1 = 3 PointsPlus

Cheese, 1" cube = 3 PointsPlus

Salami, 1slice/1oz = 3 PointsPlus

Saltines, 6 = 2 PointsPlus

Guacamole or Hummus, 1/4 cup = 4 PointsPlus

Egg Roll, 3 oz pork, shrimp, = 4 PointsPlus

Deviled Egg, 1/2 of egg, regular mayo = 4 PointsPlus

Pretzels, 7 twists, regular = 2 PointsPlus

Dip, many types, 2 tablespoons = 2 PointsPlus