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D.C. Birthday Trip: Sunday Afternoon

April 7, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

After visiting the NGA, we walked up to see

if the Library of Congress was open.

When they say “up” on Capital Hill they mean up.

It’s quite a hill. Cherry blossoms everywhere.

A red bud tree and through the trees you can

just make out the Capital building.

We joined a group that was praying in

front of the Supreme Court for the nation.

Quiet a different group from the day before.

The following day was the beginning of

the Supreme Court’s review of Obamacare.

In the few minutes we were there, they prayed for Congress.

The Library is next door to the Supreme Court. It was closed.

We had a little time left, so we went back to the American History Museum..

the President’s exhibit had been so crowed the day before we missed it.

Martha Washington’s dress.

We learned that not every First Lady was married to the President.

Some Presidents weren’t married or their wife

didn’t want to be the First Lady.. so they asked someone

else in their family to play host in the White House.

A couple were as young as 21 years old.

We found some of Mike’s work in this display case;

President Clinton’s Budget. 🙂

Love,

Jenny

D.C. Birthday Trip: National Gallery of Art

April 6, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

My favorite place to visit in D.C. is the National Gallery of Art. It amazes me that they have all that amazing art on display free for anyone to come see.

I actually got to go twice this trip. Mike and I went together on Sunday

when it was pretty busy with all the Cherry Blossoms visitors.

Then first thing Tuesday morning, I went again by myself when it was quiet.

I actually had a few of the rooms all to myself for a couple of minutes.

It was so quite that I could hear my own foot steps on the wood floors and

thought how cool it’d be to have my own house full of beautiful art like that.

There were a couple of monks with a tour group there.

The younger of the two was walking around with the widest of eyes.

At first I thought that he must have been amazed at the beauty of the art.

But later, in a different room, I realized why his eyes were so wide

when after the older monk moved into the next room he took

a quick picture of a large painting of a naked lady.

He didn’t even glance at the smaller painting of

the nativity next to it that I was walking over to see. 🙂

I think he was amazed that men and women could look at

large paintings of naked women together in public and call it art.

Although my eyes weren’t as wide as his,

I am not sure it should be called art either.

I try to look past those paintings.

The monks wore a gray robes which made me curious

about what kind of monks they could be since

all of the monks I’ve seen wear bright orange robes

like the Buddhist monks we saw in Thailand.

I googled them and found an article about them

(the exact two monks from the Museum).

They are Korean monks who are visiting the U.S. as part of their

English Language and Buddhism in the Western World studies

at a South Korean university.

The younger one, “Great Wisdom,” is 21.

The older one, “Blue River”, is my age.

I hope they find Jesus in their quest for wisdom and peace.

The Smithsonian Castle.

Some of my favorite paintings from the NGA:

Two by Winslow Homer

The Dinner Horn

Sparrow Hall

Still Life of Flowers by Dietrich

The Cottage Dooryard by Adriaen Van Ostade

Workmen before an Inn by Isaac Van Ostade (brother of above)

A terrible “I was here” picture…

A Lady Writing by Vermeer.

And two by Rembrandt – amazing

Man in Oriental Costume

The Apostle Paul

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Giorgione

(the painting next to the one “Great Wisdom” liked)

A statue of David as a boy.

Ginevra de’ Benci

by Leonardo da Vinci

Did you know he left his finger print in the center of the painting?

He lived from 1452-1519

Can you imagine seeing art that old and older??

The Alba Madonna by Raphael

And the last two by Murillo –

Return of the Prodigal Son

Two Women at a Window

More art galleries to come..

Sorry,

Jenny

D.C. Birthday Trip: Cherry Trees

April 4, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

After walking through the mall, we walked by the Washington Monument.

Joel asked if we saw the crack in it from the earth quake.

We forgot to look. :-/

We tried this shot several times.. ha.

Its fun taking “We were here.” photos even when you blink.

We were just a couple of days late for the height of the cherry blossoms.

The rain and the cool breeze made it snow blossoms down on us.

It felt surreal to walk through so many pink blossoms; and baffled me how

the atheists could have their rally at a time when God was so showing off.

I got a new pin for my favorite Mickey Mouse back pack.

I am not sure why they chose a beaver to hold the

“Please, don’t pick the blossoms” sign.

A nice guy offered to take our picture.

I think he was there just hanging out offering to take anyone’s picture.

Doesn’t that sound like a fun way to spend an afternoon?

At the end of our cherry tree walk we stumbled across the..

They had numbered signs for each tulip patch that matched up with a guide.

We didn’t find where they kept the guides.

I think it would be easier and save trees if they just

put the names on the signs instead of numbers.

The tulips were beautiful even without their names.

Love,

Jenny

D.C. Birthday Trip: Crystal City and The American History Museum

April 3, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 4 Comments

For Mike’s Birthday, I got to go with him on a week long trip to DC. We had a wonderful time. I love visiting there. There is so much to see and do. I think I walked 100 miles. Loved the freedom of riding the metro around to wherever I wanted to go while Mike was in conference three of the days. And the icing on the cake: I got to see my good friend, Lee Ann, and her family.

We stayed in Crystal City in one of several hotels just a couple of blocks from the metro. The metro is key. Also near the Crystal City metro…

This gorgeous water park.

And a jogging trail that goes all the way to the Reagan Nation Airport.

Beautiful spring flowers.

And one of Mike’s favorite places to eat. Yum!

After lunch, we hopped on the metro and road into DC.

It was raining so we made a beeline for the American History Museum.

As did a bunch of other people.. we had to wait in line in the rain to get in.

One of the coolest things we saw there was a piece of the Berlin wall.

Abe’s Hat

The Gunboat Philadelphia from the Revolutionary War.

See the hole at the bottom left?

The ship was under water for 159 years.

It’s hard to describe how incredible it was to stand next to it.

It was almost like if you stepped into it you’d be stepping in to history.

And for the grand finale we got to see the original Star Spangled Banner.

The actual flag from the song. We weren’t allowed to photograph it..

but it looked pretty much like the photo above.. just much larger.

Just out side the museum there was this rally going on in the Mall.

We saw some Jesus Saves signs and thought we’d go check it out.

It was pretty intense. This small group of less than 100 people

were arguing that there is a God..and His name is Jesus

at the first national atheist rally called “The Reason Rally.”

I am sure it’s name “The Reason” was purposly stolen from Christians’

attempt to protect Christmas: “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

They used it in contrast to stand for:

“There is no Jesus; trust in science and reason.”

What’s really sad is that the science and reason they are

choosing to believe in is false.. and wide spread by our government..

in our schools.. and true science and reason are on their Creator’s side.

In reality, they are asking for the separation of “Truth and State.”

As we walked through the crowd of about 10,000 to the other side of the mall,

we mostly felt compassion for them. Most were really hurting. The reason

they decided not to believe in God was because they felt like

He or the Church had failed them.

A few that we walked by were not atheist..

one girl stood out.. she didn’t know what to believe.

She was there with a very angry boy friend.

Most were very young like they were.

Others were obviously under Satin’s rule. I wondered if they

could see I was a Christian as plainly as I could see who they were.

Judi said, “It must have been scary.” And it was a little..

On the other side Mike told me that he’d been praying in the Spirit

all the way through. I laughed a little.. because so had I,

but only a little because I was so thankful that we had that gift..

of knowing and experiencing the One True God.

I wished I could reach out and touch each one and have the

power of God touch them the way He has touched me

so they’d know He is real and loves them intensely.

We heard the main speaker speak as we were walking through.

He was sharing his testimony; telling how after he had children he decided

to try the church of the “kinder God of the evangelicals.” The crowd laughed.

“I asked Jesus in my heart many times,” he said. But that he had

many questions.. that he asked his Christian friends and pastor.

He felt like he lived as a Christian by day and a sceptic by night.

Then when the twin towers fell, he decided that there couldn’t be a God.

Their laughter, cheers, sadness and anger all tell me that

the church in America as a whole is not the bride God created us to be.

We are meant to really know God, to walk in His fullness,

in His wisdom, in His love, in His power, with signs following,

to share the Gospel of Grace of Love of Forgiveness of Healing

with the broken, hurting world around us.

My prayer lately has been “Lord show me your glory, so that I may

behold it and be transformed by your Holy Spirit into your likeness.”

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corintians 3:18

Love,

Jenny

P.S. After finishing this post, I went to run errands. Halfway to the store,
I realized that I hadn’t grieved for the mass of people there.
I almost pulled over to weep.
Walking through that crowd had a profound effect on me.

God has been doing a great work in how I see others.
Showing me how inherently flawed and broken I am.
We are all in need of the Savior – daily.

All His judgement was poured out on Jesus at the cross.
When we receive the gift of His sacrifice, we are set free.
Hallelujah!

Be Strong. Be in Love.

March 23, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

My meditation this week.

I Decided

February 18, 2012 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

For Valentines Day this year, my daughter, Judi, decided that she wanted to make sugar cookies for her co-workers, her brothers co-workers, the youth group.. We made 4 batches of sugar cookies. They were so good.. so soft.. so delicious.

I have no business eating sugar cookies for one the sugar then the flour.. and the butter. There they sat on the middle of our kitchen island. I ate them like potato chips.. “just can’t eat one.” My hand reached over and grabbed one after another before I even knew what was happening. I ate some on Valentines day and even more the day after. I prayed for help. I needed serious help. They were so irresistible and accessible and plentiful. I was feeling pretty icky by Wednesday evening.

We studied the first chapter of Daniel at church that night. Two words stood out to me.. “the indulgence of Babylon” and “all things are lawful but not beneficial” I had been very indulgent and now I was feeling the effects of how unbeneficial those cookies had been to me. Ugg. I decided that I was no longer going to be indulgent and that I was going only eat food that was beneficial to me.

It was actually pretty good timing for such a decision. All the sugar cookies were gone, and Thursday was grocery shopping day. I spent most of the day asking myself “Is this food beneficial for me?” The only problem was that I was coming off of two days of indulging in sugar and my personal list of non-beneficial foods is very long: sugar, grains, starches, fried foods (love, love, love); feeling icky, thinking sad thoughts.. it was really, REALY hard to keep a cheerful attitude.

Around 8:30 PM, one of my kids who hadn’t done their chores in days started talking to me. I was feeling frustrated and was on the verge of spilling over into very angry about all the little stuff that happens everyday. I warned him, “Do your chores and don’t even talk to me.” He kept talking. I lost it (a sad, sad scene). My loving husband asked me what was wrong, “Is it that time of month?” It wasn’t. I honestly didn’t know what was wrong.

The next morning, I understood that it all started when “I decided.” The Lord has me in a place where I don’t get to decide. For me, it’s like picking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and sticking it on the tree God is producing in me. It’s rotten fruit even when that knowledge of good and evil originates in His word.

He wants me to live by His Spirit, to allow the fruit of the Spirit to be birthed in me, to live in the revelation His Holy Spirit Gives me, to wait on Him to work the will and the do in me. No works of the flesh allowed. Not even ones that look good. I am to live totally dependent on Him and His grace working through me.

I realized my mistake pretty quickly because for the last few years a pattern of grace has developed: I try to do something on my own; I fall flat on my face. I guess it had been a while since I tried it though. Silly me. I am soooooooo thankful for this pattern in my life. So thankful that God is the Author and Finisher of my faith and doesn’t allow me to succeed at adding rotten fruit to my tree. Thank you, Jesus!!!

So, what about the sugar cookie problem? Friday (after realizing my mistake that morning), I went out and ate fried, starchy and sugary food and enjoyed every bite.. except the sugary food. It was too sugary. I didn’t finish it off. I am starting to not enjoy it as much. I see it as a sign that the Lord beginning a work of deliverance in me. By Friday evening, I knew what to pray, “Lord put a desire in me for food that is beneficial for me.” Amen. Thank you, Jesus!!

Galatians 3: 1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Love,

Jenny

Christmas (Eve) Morning

December 26, 2011 / Jennifer Coleman / 3 Comments

I actually should start with the night before..

Mike took me rug shopping.. yay!

We’ve been having problems with the puppy making

messes on the rug in our hearth room.. especially

when mom isn’t home to let her out a billion times a day.

My wet vac might as well have a permanent home there.

A friend helped me find these rugs on Thursday.

I was thinking about buying some cheep, ugly carpet tiles and

she talked me into these machine washable runners.

Not beautiful but functional and way better than the carpet tiles.

Mike thought they were OK so here they are. 🙂

Christmas Eve morning I made myself some

gluten free ginger bread cookies..they taste pretty good..

a little weird.. but I’ve gotten used to them.

I think I missed them up by trying to grind my own

cloves instead of making one more trip to the store.

Here we are getting ready for presents.

We are all dressed because we were going

out for lunch right after.

Judi tried on the head band Wendy made her.

James thinks posing for photos is torture.

George is wondering what’s going on..

I passed out the Christmas cards we got for

everyone to see.. and had to explain

the boys who their 2nd cousin was.

Mike read us the Christmas story from

the second chapter of Luke.

The most interesting gift was the assortment

of hot sauce Joel got to share with everyone.

Joel didn’t need any socks.

Joel and Josh are making plans for how to use it all.

Lunch at Casa Blanco

Josh’s ipod camera..

Love,

Christmas.. Wrapping Things Up

December 23, 2011 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

For many Christmases now, the kids have wanted only

two things: money and candy.

There were many early years were we only had five dollars for each from us,

but their grandparents aways gave them plenty for a nice Christmas.

When they were younger, we actually gave them

their money and took them to the toy store

before Christmas, so we could wrap their presents

and put them under the tree.

A couple of years we bought a family gift.. like a game system.

One year we went on a family vacation as our gift.

Two or three years ago we super surprised them

by shopping for them and sneaking their presents in

late one night while they were asleep.

They never even thought to look in our closet..

because we had never hidden gifts from them before. 🙂

We never have presents under the tree..

now that they shop on line after Christmas.

I think the last couple of Christmas mornings we just pulled stuff out

of Walmart bags and gave them to them. 🙂

This year I decided to be a little more creative

with their candy/money wrapping and made these gift bag tags..

using part of this free printable nativity I love.

We discovered chocolate oranges a couple of years ago.

They instantly became part of the tradition.

I made these money wraps for their cash yesterday.

Most years I forget to go to the bank in time, and have to

write them an IOU. This year I actually got their

grandparents’ checks cashed in 10’s and 20’s for them.

And bought them some things they needed like socks and gloves.

Judi’s been a little confused by my redecorating everything

and insisted that we keep the candy cane buying tradition, too.

I didn’t want them on my tree, so I put them on this wreath instead.

I usually buy 2 dozen so the kids get 6 each.

I made this star/cross wreath some time ago out of
the 4′ Christmas tree we had before inheriting my grandmother’s
much nicer tree and some dowels and wire.. it fell apart.

I redid it this year with duct tape and twine.
It’s much stronger now.

I put an extra wreath in the bucket I bought for my fall flowers.
The bucket needs a red bow.. doesn’t it?

Back inside…
Have you seen this book? I really like it.

I had packed these glass ornaments (below) in our advent candle pillars
for our last move and didn’t find them until this week.. (over two years later).

I haven’t been together enough to actually do an advent devotion.

Maybe next year with the book above.

I decided they would be safer hanging here than on the tree.

I hung them across some wire left over from my

names of Jesus ornaments with some invisible thread.

I think they look like musical notes. Even Judi thought they were cool.
They are the same color blue as the satin I used to wrap the tree.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Love,

Jenny

Nativities and Garlands

December 23, 2011 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

George loves to knock things down from my counters and such

and bat them around for a while..

Zoe loves to eat the things she knocks down.

I am renaming them the George/Zoe demolition team.

They spent last Christmas knocking down and eating pieces of my nativity. 🙁

I have a lot of pieces.. they fill up all these boxes.

I wasn’t looking forward to losing pieces this year..

Mike suggested that I use both mantles (George doesn’t bother them)

instead of keeping the whole nativity in one room. Brilliant!

I actually like this arrangement better than last year..

Using the different rooms allowed me to separate them into sets.

I put my soft nativity on my dresser. It’s not as enticing as the smaller pieces.

It needs a manger.. or mat or something.. project for next year?

On the right side of the piano,

I have Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem.

Since George can actually get to this one,

I sprinkled it with cyan pepper (great cat repellant).

So far so good.

I put my main manger scene on the mantle in that room .

Then our original set and collection of angels

and advent candles on the mantle by the tree.

The garlands are new…

I’d seen several garlands in blog land and was inspired to make my own.

I made some paper snowflakes out of leftover paper

from my names of Jesus ornaments. I thought the colors would

stand out better than white snowflakes against a white mantle.

Then added my “Love, Joy, Hope and Peace” ornaments to them.

And cut out two doves.

Then I found a star png on google (love google) and photoshopped

some old pictures of the kids on top, and had them printed at Walmart.

The cut out stars were kinda lost in the garland by themselves,

so I googled how to fold a 5 pointed snowflake to help show them off.

My other garland is made of some other random ornaments that

I didn’t know what to do with.. I was really surprised

when saw that I had a woodsy theme once I they were up.

I had these birds and bells which I liked,

but didn’t go with my new themed tree.

This Smoky Mountain souvenir was too

Christmasy to wait for my January wreath.

and these two lonely eggs..which

Mike’s grandmother made for us years ago

are so small that they didn’t show up in the big tree.

There were twelve painted eggs originally..
before all the years of kids decorating and knocking over trees…

I added some pinecones which were my original inspiration
And.. ta da a woodsy garland..

🙂

Trimming the Tree (with ornaments)

December 23, 2011 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

Every Christmas up until last, I’ve bought the kids an ornament at the
after Christmas sales to add to their collection.. then each Christmas
the kids got to decorate the tree with their own ornaments.
They loved this when they were little..

Last year, the kids decided it was too much trouble to put their ornaments
on the tree and that they didn’t really care about collecting ornaments.
It kinda hurt my feelings..

I decided that if I was going to do all the work from now on
that I was going to start over with new ornaments for me.

At the after Christmas sales last year, I bought these ornaments
80 or 90% off.. I was so excited.. my favorite color..
I guess my blue and white tree has gone out of style..
there were so many of them left to buy.. I bought 20 for a little over $20.

A few weeks after that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed
something to do distract myself from my impending surgery
and while recovering. so I started making the quilted ornaments
with the names of Jesus on them that I showed you in July.

Reading the names of Jesus all those weeks was great therapy,
but when I hung them on my new slim tree
a couple of weeks ago.. I didn’t like them. 🙁

I loved reading the names of Jesus on the tree…
and I love quilts.. They just aren’t my decorating style. :-/

So I decided to make simpler, paper ones.