update on Valentines banquet!

okay...

so, Feb. 15th, at 5 pm. Dinner and a movie!

tickets are $5 for adults 12+, $2.50 for children 3-12, and children 3 and under are FREE!

door prizes are a coming!

i was thinking earlier today.

i have such a strong battle with self doubt. it is literally crippling. i have run away from ministry opportunities just because of it. i have run away from job opportunities because of it. i have run away from relationships because of it. i run away from just about everything because of the elephant sitting on my chest. i can't breathe. i can't move, unless it's away. i can't even think.

yet, God brought me to this church, and even though i know i'm having a hard time, i know that it is He who brought me here. i may not understand what or why, but that's okay. i'm willing to be used and to learn without knowing those. it's unconditional.

yet, i think i got a glimpse earlier today:

Kathie, Pastor Tony's wife, has really stepped up beside me and helped me with this dinner. even when people were telling me that it couldn't happen because of time, she really stepped up and said, "we're doing this, and Jodi is heading it up." she's helped me and (more importantly) encouraged me.

i really feel like a baby when it comes to something like this. i've NEVER done anything at this multitude, and so i kinda feel like i need someone to hold my hand through this. i need lots of encouragement. if i for a second feel like i can't do it, in another second the elephant will be back where it was before: sitting on my chest, unwilling to move.

yes, i have had doubts about this. but i've only been encouraged to push through. even if only 10 couples show up; that's 10 couples that wouldn't have come otherwise. i'll be happy with that. if 50 couples show up, that's 50 more that i can give praise for!

This isn't me. this has never been about me. this is all for Jesus. if i'm used in the process, GREAT! if i'm pushed around in the process, i'll learn! as long as i can just believe in myself, i'll have succeeded.

Valentines

So...Valentines is coming up quickly.

the news with that is that i'm kinda heading up a dinner and a movie being hosted by our church.

which is overwhelming.

but so far, i have lots of support, so it's going well! maybe even a little better than i originally thought.

last sunday, we had a quick meeting after church, and it turned into something a little longer.

there was some concern that we would need a license to show the movie. which i understand, because we were going to open the event up to the community, and hopefully use it as an outreach.

so...i was all prepared to let Pastor Tony and Kathie know that we wouldn't show the movie, because the license was $130, and we had ZERO money in the women's ministry account, as we are just starting it back up. however, there was a donation given and now we have the license!

So:

We will be showing the movie. Dinner at 5pm, movie afterwards. i'm very excited, and looking forward to it!

i'm still nervous, but it's good to know that i'm not alone in this!

my thoughts on the new president...

it's taken me a while to figure out how to word this:

i am having a really hard time respecting our new president. part of it is that he's a democrat...and he's pro-abortion...and i don't really know anything about him. the first time i've heard of him is when he started running for president.

another part of it is that he's a democrat....and all the democrats and liberals in our country are rejoicing while when President Bush was in office, did nothing but complain....and boy......did i hear it where i work. so...one thought is: WHY should i respect Pres. Obama, when i don't agree with him, while the sillies didn't respect Pres. Bush, when they didn't agree with him?

tell me? why?

anyway...

another part of it is: everyone thinks he is golden. everyone thinks he is fulfilling Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. when in reality....it's not even close.

for example:

Pres. Obama is bi-racial. His father was black, (kenyan) and his mother was a white american. however, his skin tone is black, so what everyone sees is a black president.

i think it is even MORE momentous an occasion that a bi-racial man is the president, because in American history, bi-racial people were more hated than african americans.

but...

no. everyone is excited because we have a black president. and that is NOT the famous dream of MLK Jr.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)

maybe i'm missing that everyone is excited because there is a democrat in the office with a democratic legislature....

but i'm not sensing that...i'm sensing that the excitement is that it's a black man in office. at least it's positive judgement.......?

meanwhile....

Congratulations, President Obama. I hope and pray that you and your family will be blessed throughout these next 4 years, and I hope and pray that you would be wise. And i also hope and pray that you will help this country become unified again and that you will NOT use my tax dollars to support the abortion clinics. Veto FOCA.

so it's been a busy week.

i know it's been a while since i've blogged. since Jacob lost his job, I've been trying to pick up more hours at work. the result: i'm exhausted.

i also know that several people won't read my blogs because of my poor use of punctuation. as a former english major, and one who has a passion for writing: believe me, if i could, i would fix it. however, my laptop's keys SUCK. i am often hitting backspace because the "A" key doesn't hit. like in my title on today's blog....i had to hit the same key 3 times before it actually registered on the screen. so...if you have anyway of advising me to clean them, please let me know. otherwise, i only have the patience to hit backspace once per word....not more than that. sorry.

anyway....

i have been working lots. it has helped me to see that not only do i not want to work retail past March, but it has lit a fire under my butt. i have finished my resume, and sent it into Rosetta Stone. I'm only hoping, but i have little to no expectations. It would definitely be nice to be making twice what i am now and working the same amount...i know that we could definitely use the money.

so..i'm in the process of planning a Valentines Banquet....Dinner and a movie. it's a lot, but it's for our church. trying to plan food and everything....it's overwhelming. it's my first time heading something like this up...and i'm not feeling very confident. i'm feeling very, scared i think would be a good word.

i'm also in the midst of reading The Shack. it's a good book, but i'm having a hard time getting through it.

With me working more, and Jacob not working at all (still waiting for sheetz to call....), he has REALLY stepped up and started taking on more around the house...for which i am grateful! he cleans the dishes and cooks dinner, and if i ask him to, he'll fold laundry and put it away! he's soo wonderful!!

as a result, i get home, eat dinner, and i'm so wiped out i fall asleep after working on my resume or job hunting or whatever i was working on. i'm usually out by 10 or 10:30. Man! i feel OLD!

anyway...i'll try to blog some more later!

christmas and new years as a new wife

i know that christmas has been over for a while, but our first christmas was CRAZY!

it all started on the 21st of Dec. we went to my family for christmas dinner and opening presents. at first, it was a little tense, b/c apparently my mom and sister both had bad mornings. i got snapped at as soon as i walked through the door, which put me in a mood of "fine. be that way. but don't talk to me about it."

but they got over it and i spent most of my time watching football with the guys anyway.

then, i worked monday and tuesday and a little christmas eve morning. after work christmas eve, i went home and got things together for my extended family's dinner in churchville. my aunt Gay just bought a new house, and this thing was way ginormous!

This is her stairwell:











anyway....it was huge. my pictures don't do the house justice.

anyway, after dinner we went home and slept! well...more like crashed!

we woke up christmas morning:

and look what santa brought me for christmas!!!











actually, jacob bought me a new camera for christmas and this was me trying it out a couple of times.

we had TONS of fun christmas day. after we exchanged our own gifts, we went to my mother in laws for christmas. it was really interesting to see how another family does it and for the first time to be involved with it. this was the first time i haven't seen my family on christmas. it was a little difficult, but i managed.

after my mother in laws, we went to my father in laws. chaos. there was chaos at my mother in laws too, but it was all very very different.

then afterwards we went to my husbands uncles house. i was so exhausted, that i was ready to crash. i'm used to crashing in the afternoon on christmas day. i didn't get to bed until MIDNIGHT! i was EXHAUSTED!

i think i'm still trying to catch up on sleep. :o)

new years we had a few people over. it was so much fun to be around people who love us and who we love as well. we were able to see some fireworks from down the street (for free!), and we opened champaigned and sparkling cider. it was a joy!

so...that's about it! Jacob has a job interview tomorrow at Rosetta Stone, so we're praying for favor!

Blessings to each of you in the new year!