by jeannie | Jan 31, 2012 | buildingaboat, Uncategorized |
A little over a week ago, we were blessed to go alongside the leaders to retreat this year to kickoff the season. Billy Suess, Andy Baxter and Michael Boone did a great job leading prayer, worship and guidance. The next morning, many of the leaders entered the main dining hall with blankets over them, and there was a giant huddle around the coffee. They were so cold from sleeping in screened in bunkhouses the night before, but happy to be together as a family. Billy gave a strong talk of renewal, challenge, and encouragement and sent teams into groups. While Friday was a beautiful night of play, worship, barefoot soccer & late night snacks, Saturday was spent in discussion and breakout sessions. Jimmy and I loved hearing from these leaders about their semester and preparing for the Spring Semester. Our kids enjoyed the time there playing alongside the College Leaders, too. Worship time was convicting listening to these college leaders pour out their hearts to God and seek renewal before heading back into the lives of kids. Thankful for our time there, and the impact it has on our community and families when they return. Allowing God to lead all things, surrendering each morning again and experiencing true joy in serving....
by jeannie | Jan 14, 2012 | buildingaboat, God Sightings |
Many have asked specifically about my 13 year career that I left in December of 2010. Now that a year has passed, it seems the time to tell the story. Most around me saw it as a perfect opportunity: Flexibility. Lots of Money. Many stay at home moms would say, “I’d still be working if I had what you have.” So as that part of our life changed, and we left the money, career, home and downsized, questions raised. I’ve never sat and written out how this was a God ordained opportunity for us. God’s timing for Jim and I both to step away. I had a side business for my photography but protected my time and work there due to my corporate job. With many new friends in Mexico and actually knowing people living in poverty, the tension for us just became too strong that there was more than staying in a job to protect a lifestyle we liked. Both our hearts were passionate about something else and that was growing. Parallel to all this, the same tension existed in my corporate work. My career. Back and forth, being thankful for it, but disagreeing with some of what we were doing, and it was the one area of my life that didn’t bring much joy anymore. Being part of the small group that got the business really going early on, I felt a sense of ownership, a sense of obligation to stay. A time had come where I felt a longing to be doing more of the other things I was filling my life with in missions...
by jeannie | Jan 14, 2012 | buildingaboat, God Sightings |
One day after much work and the exhausting staging process of preparing our home to sell, we were done. One of the first moments I had gotten to sit down, I was home alone, and I sat on our couch looking out at the pool and feeling very sad. Remembering all the memories, I was starting to think about our kids, how sad it was taking them away from this place, questioning whether we were doing the right thing, etc. As the tears were about to begin, the doorbell rang and I got up and answered it and saw a girl selling magazines. I was struggling b/c I wanted to be alone, but started talking to her and asked her if we could order some magazines but not have them come here since we were moving. She stated we could have them delivered to a women’s shelter. I agreed and got her some money. She started talking, saying, “You smiled at me. Everyone’s been so mean to me.” as I paid her, she said, “You’re such a blessing.” I responded, “You are a blessing too.” She turned her eyes to me, and smiled, and we ended up talking for a while. She told me about wanting to give up but how God had different plans for her. She was very poor and struggling. We had this incredibly intimate conversation about God, and as we hugged goodbye, she whispered in my ear, “God bless you.” I walked in and immediately felt this Godly passion return and a clear message in my spirit… “You need more of that… Not more...
by jeannie | Jan 14, 2012 | buildingaboat, God Sightings |
from journal 4/20/2011 a few weeks at the new house. Every day I feel it. The tension of the temporary. Being here only for a mist and making our lives count. There’s no one that’s immune, no one that doesn’t want their life to have meaning. We long for the beautiful, but settle for the false representations our culture presents us, only leaving us longing… This morning alone, I drive past some run down townhomes near my home, and see many people waiting for the bus. I see a quietness, stillness as most of them wait alone, not speaking and then I notice the property sign, “Hope” Properties. Every day I try to catch someone’s eye and smile, and wonder when I’ll just walk over and meet them. I continue driving toward my home and see a fence falling apart, and notice the truck across the street is full of wood meant for the house with a perfectly intact fence already. I watch a documentary trailer on Brazil that deeply moves me. I close my eyes and want to be there in the village, among the people, surrounded by trash, being light to disheartened, broken people, and making their world better… As I close the screen, I’m greeted with the iTunes latest unsettling ad for a popular musician and CD cover. I’m struck by the contrast of my worlds today. The sadness of people in need in a world that offers much. Plenty and not enough. The magnitude of the beauty of our human spirit met with spiritual atrophy. I sit in my pretty home with my pretty things...
by jeannie | Jan 2, 2012 | buildingaboat, photography, Uncategorized |
This year we went to Hondo to a place Jim’s family has and ‘camped’ in RVs, spending time with his parents and my brother and niece. We sat around campfires each morning and each night, went on numerous rides in the Kawasaki Mule, wrapped the treehouse with lights that Jim built, rode the zip line and had a great time. The picture above was taken after Libby created ‘art’ with fire and an old styrofoam cup. As I walked up to her, my intent was to tell her not to do what she was about to do… sticking her sparkler into the cup. But as I walked over, I loved how the only light on her, her face and the cup was from the sparkler, and stopped to grab a shot first. Not my finest parenting moment, but I did kindly ask her to stop once I snapped a shot. She and her sister continued making ‘sculptures’ all weekend with sticks in the campfire, melting plastic forks, cups, and styrofoam into shapes. On actual NY Eve, my brother showed up with his daughter, and I was so excited they joined. My brother below with Jim in the Mule, gearing up for zip lines. As we sent each kid down the zip line, we laughed for over an hour. Kelli fell out of the chair at least twice at the end of the ride, while Beck kept getting caught up in the chair trying to get out and Libby kept trying to go with her feet up and upside down. I’m amazed at how different and unique each child...
