Tag: Moving (Page 5 of 5)

The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases

January 2, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT)

There is a song based on this verse called the Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases that I love and live by. I can hear it playing deep in my heart.

I love mornings. I love spending time with God. I love meditating on His word. I love knowing that He loves me and that I can live in His mercy and grace.

In the movie Ann of Green Gables one of my favorite quotes is “Each new day is fresh with no mistakes in it.”

Sometimes a new day isn’t soon enough and I need a fresh start before the morning is even up. When my day is going really wrong, I hide in closet and pray. Many times I know the problem is me and I beg for a new attitude; other times I feel like I am loosing a battle and pray for more strength, mercy and grace. Once I’ve poured out my whole heart, I come out determined to have a fresh start on my day and to trust God with the answers to my prayers.

The idea of a “New Year’s Resolution” seems so foreign to me this year. New I understand. Everything is so new for me right now; new house, new city, new Walmart, new community, new way of life, new morning, renewed love for God, new dreams and new visions…

Year – Wow! So much can happen in a year. I need those fresh moments of mercy and grace that never cease to come from our Father’s loving heart!

I had a dream last week that I was putting some things up on a bulletin board. I was praying for help with how to arrange it as I worked. God answered with instructions on where to put a tack. I was taken by surprise. I couldn’t see the big picture of what was ahead (posted on the bulletin board) but I could see exactly where God wanted the little green tack. God is so into details. I know this from experience and it shows forth His glory in His creation. Details so small and complicated that we can see them or comprehend them.

I am still hearing God say “Dream Big”. I don’t know what big dreams He wants me to dream, but I believe He will show me and help me to do all He is calling me to do and be even to the last detail. In the meantime I am going to put that little green tack where He instructed and keep praying for His guidance and help. It’s my first step out into the big dreams of God.

I don’t really have a resolution. I have a determination to keep trusting God in and for each moment. Great is His faithfulness!

Entering in as a child,

Jenny

Christmas Day

January 2, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

Christmas Day was a good day. We had two Christmas miracles; Mike found his badges for work and my washer was hooked up and working. We talked about the true gift of Christmas being that Jesus lives in us. I am happy to know Him and to be together as a family again. Nana sent us some Christmas goodies to munch on and the kids have been making their plans for how to spend their Christmas money. Josh and Joel are hoping to go in together on a computer and Judi is planing on buying her very own ipod. James is saving his up for his future computer needs. Mike made us a Christmas brunch of bacon and apple turn overs (I felt so spoiled) and I made fajitas for lunch. One thing we liked about this house is that it feels like home. It’s nice being at home with your family.

Thank You, God, for happy memories!

A New Home For Christmas

January 2, 2008 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

Proverbs 16:3 Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

I have this verse from the Amplified posted by my bathroom door. I love to meditate on the idea that God can cause my thoughts to be in agreement with His and that I have the potential of successfully completing my plans when I give them to Him.

I’ve been praying while preparing for this move for God to show me His vision for this new season of our lives. First of all because I know that being in the center of God’s will is the best place to be and because I need a vision to help me make it through this move and four growing teenagers.

I felt like I finally got an answer the other night. It wasn’t what I expected. I was hoping for something more tangible. Instead I heard, “Dream Big. Ask me to stretch your imagination beyond what you can imagine.”

These verses had been in my thoughts all week.

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. John 15:4-8 MSG

The idea of asking was big in my heart but I didn’t know what to ask for. Now that I do it’s a little scary… to tell the truth. What are these big things that God has planned for us? Am I ready to walk them out? Can I really successfully follow them through? Do I dare to dream as big as God can stretch me to dream?

I know one thing for sure. I have had to lean on Him big time for the strength to do all that it takes to get ready for this move and He has been faithfully pouring out His grace on me. Oh, for the courage to trust Him for bigger things than I can imagine.

The moving truck will be at my door tomorrow and I will be starting a new adventure. Will you take the plunge with me? Learn more of His love, how to trust Him more and how to ask and “Dream Big.” for the new season He is bringing you into?

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!”

Ephesians 3:14-21 The Message

Love,
Jenny

The Wait

December 15, 2007 / Jennifer Coleman / 3 Comments

This week has been excruciatingly long. Mike and I have been living in two different states for 75 days. We got in two little visits. But buying and selling a house is so stressful that it just wasn’t the same as being together day in and day out.

Yesterday was the big day. Mike did his final walk through of our house in AL and signed all the papers. We are now the proud and nervous owners of two houses. Hopefully not for more than a few days. The previous owners of our new house scheduled a professional cleaning of our house and carpets. And were planning to be out by noon today.

Mike called and let me know all went well. Closing cost were less than they had expected and Glenna, our sweet realtor, gave us an iron cross to hang over our new fire place for a house warming gift. He didn’t have much to do for the rest of the day. He was all packed and ready to move out of his apartment. We had one last excruciating day of waiting for him to be able to move his stuff into the house and drive down to help us move up.

One thing that’s been nice about the separation is that we have free minutes to talk to each other on the cell phone. We’ve done hours and hours of that. Around 6 pm I started wondering what he was up to and called and asked where he was and what he was doing. His first answer was that he was in AL. I said “Well, I know that.” Then he said he had been out shopping, named off some stores that he had been to, and said he had a surprise for me. We chatted some more. I kept thinking that it was awful quite on his end and I asked are you still shopping or are you home now. He said he was home. I kept thinking why don’t I hear your TV. I was looking at stuff on line and wanted to send him some links via e-mail to look at. He didn’t act real interested in looking. I thought that was odd.

We hung up because I had to get ready to take the kids to One Thing, an international house of prayer. The kids and I were out late. One Thing ended at 11 pm then we went to Walmart to pick up a couple of things and to McDonalds for a snack. Got home and made some tea to unwind and sat down. A few minutes later I heard James calling out, “Dad’s home.” It didn’t compute. He walks in my room saying “Ho, Ho, Ho.” I thought, “Is he supposed to be home?” Then as I jumped up to hug and kiss him I realized what you now know.

Yay! The wait is over!

Jenny

Making my Home a Temple

December 6, 2007 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

One day a few months ago I was praying about what house God wanted us to buy in AL and what His vision was for our new home and life. He put in my heart an idea about setting up a communion table that has continual supply of crackers and juice and an inspirational painting hanging above inviting us to commune with God so that at any time on any day any one at my house could stop and have a quite moment with alone with God.

Later that week I got a devotion by Charles Spurgeon in my e-mail that asked “Is there a Church in this house?” It went on to say, “More is expected of a Church than of an ordinary household; family worship is a must, in such a case, be more devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christlike… As a Church let us now draw nigh to the great head of the one Church universal, and let us beseech Him to give us grace to shine before men to the glory of His name.” I thought it was so inspirational to think of your home in that way. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what being temples of the Holy Spirit of God means and I think that your home is a perfect place to express who you are – or want to be. Early in my career as a home maker, before I even had a desire to for my home to reflect God’s love, I had visitors giving me encouraging words that it did. Now I want to do it on purpose.

About the time all these thoughts were going though my head I had a dream or a vision or something and heard God tell me that I was going to buy a nativity set. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard God tell me. I thought, “OK?” The Christmas decorations in the stores weren’t out yet. So, I kept praying about it.

Then a few weeks ago when the stores put out their Christmas stuff I took a day of shopping and visited several to see their nativity sets. I found a couple that I liked but not the one that said, “This is the one.” So, I kept praying.

One day I had some extra time for the computer and decided to do some online shopping for nativity sets. I looked at some Christian book stores, I looked on e-bay, then finally I felt real strongly that I should look at Craig’s list. I almost never look on Craig’s list for anything. When I say I felt strongly that I should look on Craigs list I mean that I thought God was about to yell it in my ear so I looked. I did a search for nativities in the Tampa area and a large Fontanini set came up. I couldn’t believe it.

My MIL had given us a beginner set 19 years ago when we went to Thailand as missionaries. That Christmas in Thailand our oldest (8 months) threw away baby Jesus. He loved throwing things away. By the time I realized it was missing it was too late… so the next year I just took a cotton ball and rapped piece of muslin around it for a baby Jesus and used it for years.

One year a friend of mine in IL bought me a new baby Jesus – I didn’t know you could do that. Then I saw her collection. It was huge, beautiful, a whole village that she placed in niches around her living room with green garland and white Christmas lights. Ever since then I’ve always wanted to collect them but they are expensive and I have had to use many a Christmas check for groceries instead.

So here on Craig’s list was my chance. I knew that was the set God had been talking about. I prayed. The seller said he would take any offer seriously. I called Mike in AL and asked if I could offer $200. I about fainted when he said yes. When I e-mailed the seller my offer he said he couldn’t possibly take less than $500. It was worth $900 so I understood but there was no way I could spend that much.

I prayed some more – I felt like I could go up to $275 and kept watching Craig’s list. Each week he posted a new lower price. I thought for sure someone else would snatch it up. They go for retail prices and up on e-bay. After a few weeks, the seller contacted me and said that he was lowering his price to $275 and asked me if I was interested.

Ta da.. Here it is. Sorry the picture isn’t that great.

I am not sure why God wanted me to buy it –

it seems silly spending so much money on little plastic figures – but it’s beauty draws me to Jesus and maybe it will help my home feel more like the temple God is designing it to be and draw people to commune with Him. And I think I know the perfect place for it in my new home.

Fontanini Store

Craig’s list