Month: May 2008

The Zoo

May 11, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 3 Comments

Mike and I went to the zoo a few months ago and purchased family passes. Its a smallish zoo (we were spoiled by the world class Saint Louis zoo) but it’s nice.

I’ve been wanting to take the kids to see what it’s like before it got too hot. I would go everyday just to walk and enjoy the scenery if I could only learn to make the time. It’s only a 10 minute drive but the zoo opens at 9 am which is right in the middle of school.

I had a rough couple of days this week and decided that Thursday would be the perfect day to take off, go to the zoo and take some pictures for myself for Mother’s Day. Friday went much better.. God’s grace was there to do all I needed to do.

Do I look like I had a rough couple of days?

My mathematician made me promise to make calzones to take with us. When we lived in San Antonio, I would often make these spinage and turkey pepperoni calzones and take visiting friends out for a picnic and a walk through a park. We wrap them in foil and pack them in an ice chest; we’re always surprised when they are still warm. The one thing I forgot was to first wrap them in a paper towel to help absorb the moisture. The red sauce is our spaghetti sauce for dipping. My Hungry Howie’s Pizza employee said I could put a thin layer of sauce in the calzone before baking them. I like a lot of sauce and when I put it all in it oozes out and makes a mess while it’s baking.

Although I love giraffes, I’ve learned that happiness in life comes when I am content like this zebra. Why does grass look greener in the neighboring lions den? I think I’d prefer to be too short to even see over the boundaries that the Lord has laid out for me. Since I am not, I try to keep focused on Him and on where I am at and enjoy the life He has given me.

God is good!

We thought this monkey with the handle bar mustache was really interesting.

Gifts from God.

The highlight of the show was this baby elephant and a baby rhino born this winter at the zoo. I was so stunned at how much the rhino had grown that I forgot to take any pictures of him.

It was starting to warm up. Baby is cooling down in the pile of dirt while dad is taking a splash.

Smile for the camera.

Finally a perfect pose.

Love you all,

Happy Mother’s Day!

Beauty for Ashes

May 11, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

I have a rose bush! I need lessons in caring for it. 🙂

For Mother’s Day this week God took my ashes and gave me a new poem. He inspires me, puts words and a melody in my heart. I love all the ways that He expresses His love toward me but I especially enjoy the poems because with them I can shout out His praises. Here is this weeks poem..

Beauty for Ashes

Our God is good,

So loving and kind;

I can’t believe

I am His and He is mine.

Precious Shepherd

Ahh, Benevolent King

He feeds my soul with wonders.

Let His praises ring.

He is a spring of life

To those who believe.

Burdens lifted

We’re set free to receive.

When the pressures

Come crashing in,

Keep a steady pace;

Eyes quietly focused on His face.

He gives rest to the weary,

Forgiveness for sin,

Strength to the weak and

Beauty for the ashes within.

The Call

May 4, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

What is The Call? It’s a prayer and fasting movement led by Lou Engle. Thousands across our nation and around the world have been gathering to pray and fast for break through in spiritual realms.

Our friends the Conways have been becoming more and more involved with the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Tampa and attended a Call gathering held in FL a few months ago. They let us in on the movement and then Leslie and her son J drove until the early hours of the morning to attend The Call gathering here with us in Montgomery on April 5th. We were blessed to have them come pray with us.

Over ten thousand gathered to pray and fast that day .. it was a very moving experience. God did a work in all of our lives. It’s hard to describe the intense warfare that was going on against abortion, tearing down prejudices and bitterness between black and whites, and releasing revival in America.

Here is a powerful 2 min. video from YouTube from The Call. Just a taste of the 12 hours we experienced.

I learned a lot about the history of our new city and about how God is moving in our city and nation.

You can join in with the thousands praying and fasting in future The Call gatherings by watch them live on God TV. There will be a The Call gathering in DC in August, one in CA this fall and several International ones including one in Israel coming soon.

http://us.god.tv

There are many other ways you can get involved, also. You can donate, volunteer, you can attend training, you can commit to pray and fast against abortion for life, you can help start an IHOP in your home town, you can plant a Prayer Furnace… and much more.

Be sure not to miss the Purity Covenant PDF file at

http://thecall.com/

International House of Prayer

http://www.ihop.org/

Prayer Furnace

http://luke18project.com/

Prayer to end abortion

http://bound4life.com/

I was thinking a week or two before The Call that we need a ribbon for abortion awareness like the ones for breast cancer etc. At the call we got these “Life Bands” and have committed to pray this 22 word prayer everyday with thousands of others: “Jesus, I plead your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America.” You can order a band and learn more at the above site.

Earlier this year the Lord showed me a weed of doubt that had grown in my heart and revealed to me that doubt is having more faith in our enemies than in Him. I had allowed the thought that I would never see an end to abortion and that it was hopeless to pray against it to enter my heart. I repented immediately but the faith that I could be apart of bring down the stronghold of abortion still wasn’t there.

If you are in a place like that, with any enemy in your life.. get your self in a position to hear the WORD. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. If you have to hear it for days or months straight before it gets in your heart, do it. Lives may be a stake. Our weapons are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strong holds.

When I pray against abortion now, I have direction for my prayers. I pray for forgiveness of the sins of our nation and against the lies planted by the enemy that are leading people astray.. taking every thought captive and bringing them under submission to Truth.

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 MSG

I’ve been privileged to see the beginnings of revival in our nation and I hope in the last day you will find me still standing in prayer.

God Bless,

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

May 4, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 4 Comments

We have been blessed with a beautiful new neighborhood.

The colors this spring have been gorgeous.

Princess J and I took our camera along with us on a walk through

our neighborhood so we could share it with you.

There is a least one house for sale that I know of ..”Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Don’t miss the big surprise we found near the end of our walk.

Here is our house.

Our brick color is “Old Chicago Brick”.

It’s red, orange, tan, brown, gray, yellow, green.. a bunch of colors.

I heard that it was really popular

when the house was built

and that people would go and take it off

old abandoned buildings to use on their new house.

I’ve always liked red brick. I like this color especially where the brick is in my house.

I’ll post more house pictures another day.

Here is the neighborhood park.. just down the street.

Here is the sidewalk that we took up though our neighborhood.

Here is an tabby cat enjoying the beautiful day.

Here is the cherry tree in blossom just up the street from us.

Here is some beautiful spring color.

Azaleas are the pride of Montgomery.

We are the proud owners of two azalea bushes ourselves.

Remember to watch for the surprise at the end.

There are so many different flowering trees here. I wish I knew their names.

One thing I like about our neighborhood is that you don’t get that cookie cutter feeling.

Princess J likes this one.

I like this one. It’s such a warm, cheerful color. When we walked by we saw

a lady with orange hair petting an orange cat.. no kidding.

I think she should buy this car from our other neighbor.. don’t you?

Doesn’t this one look like a bed and breakfast?

This is one of two log cabins we spotted. Hope no one minds that I am taking pictures.

Several houses were flying Easter flags.

We are so blessed to live in the land of the free.

Lots of houses here don’t have a garage.. I really miss having one.

This one has a car port for shade.

This is one of the few that do have a garage but as my parents said…

I would’nt want to try to have to park in it on an icy day.

I love stormy weather.

Every neighborhood should have trees like these.

What’s beyond our neighborhood?

Oooh.

It looks so inviting.. I wonder if we are allowed back there.

God is the original romantic. He thought of creating the flowers.

Surprise! You’d be surprised too if you found an elephant

on your first exploration of your neighborhood.