good words.

morning y'all.

the boys are down for a nap.  the washing machine is just finishing up on the sheets that have been overdue for a wash.  i'm enjoying my second cup of coffee.  the windows are raised and i'm wearing my favorite outfit of all time - shorts with a long sleeved shirt.  it's going to be a good day.  i just know it.  

before i get started on editing another newborn session [yay!  have i mentioned, these are my faves?] i just wanted to tell you about a sermon that i heard a few weeks ago.  it has been on my to-do list to blog about it since halfway through hearing it for the first time.  it was just that good.  the words have stayed on my heart and on my bathroom mirror in a dry erase marker since i heard it.  i can't not pass it along.

we go to a church that is phenomenal.  it has been such an answer to prayer.  every sunday, brian gets up there and speaks truth.  that is all i can ask for.  but, not only does he speak truth straight from the bible, it is also totally apparent that his first value after his relationship with Jesus is his family.  no ifs, ands or buts.  he loves his family.  in such an intentional and passionate way.  when you hear him talk about them you just know.  

this sermon was right up his alley.  and his words could come right out of a making things happen intensive.  it was called the 7 habits for highly effective parents.  here are a few things he had to say:

• our job is to believe Him and pray.it.down!
• forget childhood psychologists - the Bible is your only instruction manual (no offense to childhood psychologists :))
• build habits (weave them in) that make things great

Here were his "rules":

1. Seek God daily
• highly effective parents LIVE to SEEK HIM
• not just believing but CHASING after Him 
• your children need the love of God in you more than anything else
• the cry of our hearts should be "He is real!"
2. They are leaders not followers
• we must buck this culture - it is grabbing our kids and mashing them into it's mold
• don't float down the river like an old, dead fish (he's a country boy, that's fer sure :))
3. They are in touch
• open hearts and build relationships
• you can live with less stuff - it's worth a smaller home, used car and less belongings to be present with your kids
4. They understand the power of words
• your kids lives are in the power of the tongue
• your lips shape your child's life ("set a guard over my lips" - psalms 141:3)
• words speak life - use your window of opportunity to speak life
5. Make Life Happen
• In three places:
• At the dinner table
• this is the make-it-or-break-it place
• At church
• find a church where God is moving with leaders who love Jesus and a great children's program - it is worth everything (your job, house, etc)
• At the beach, campsite, fire pit in the backyard - wherever you can make memories!
6. Train and teach life
• answer situations with truth
• with your words
• and, with your actions (Philippians 3:17)
7. Aim high
• the goal is not to just cook food, pay bills and make it through life - God is the light of the world and we are made in his image!
• set your goals high and let God reach them through you

And some final notes:

• Dad + Mom:  
• we can be great models through Christ 
• we can have great marriages (it will be a blessing if you can get there)
• decide - "we are going to have the greatest family on Earth", "we are going to see great things happen"
• "I don't care if my kids make minimum wage and live in my truck - they are going to shine for Jesus!"

y'all.  just typing this gets me fired up!   but, i know that i can't do it justice.  you need to HEAR IT!  so, if this sparks even the slightest bit of interest, let me know!  i would love to mail you a cd of his sermon.  seriously.  please comment or email me (jenny.s.conklin (at) gmail (dot) com) and i will mail you one.  

i so desire for my home to be the greatest place on earth.  i want jordan and i to build that for our kids.  i want people to walk into our home and feel Jesus.  i know that somedays we have a long way to go.  but, the good news is that God can reach this goal through us.  we are imperfect and always will be.  but God can work through us to make our home just that.  a place where Jesus is near, people feel loved, our kids are nurtured and the good news is shared.  this is my heart's cry.  and i will work towards this with everything i've got.  join me?  let's do this together.

happy tuesday, friends!  

eeeeek!

Tonight I opened my pantry and saw these...

Umm...yuck.

I think it's possible we have a mouse in The Taj.

I'm freaking out.

worker man's sister monogrammed me a fun present :)

check it out....

how awesome is this?

bulk.

Are any of y'all obsessed with buying things in bulk?

Worker Man and I  have a Costco membership and I love it.  Seriously.  It makes me giddy to have all my shelves stocked.  And bonus for Costco, they send coupons!  Which makes me want to buy their ridiculously over-sized boxes of cereal and huge bags of limes all the more.

Recently they had a coupon for toilet paper.  So, while we were there, we needed to stock up. 

Worker Man tried to convince me that we had plenty.  But I would have none of that because I honestly believed that we were running low.

Until I got home and saw this:

Not sure where I'm going to store this in The Taj...



whoa.

Last night I dreamed I gave a presentation on African Theater.  [what???].

After I finished the presentation, Warren Buffet came up and proposed to me.




I think The Taj renovations are getting to me.

yum.

Okay, so big news on the house hunting front.

We've stopped.

We have been looking since we sold our house.
But, we were having a hard time finding exactly what we wanted.
So, while we've been looking, we have been living with Worker Man's parents.

We decided a few weeks ago that we were going to stop looking for now.
We were settling for things that we didn't love just so we could buy a house.  Which seemed crazy. 

Worker Man's parents have a double-wide trailer on land beside their company that they graciously offered to us.  So, we have decided to fix it up and live there.  [Don't worry, there will be before and after pictures :)].

We have affectionately dubbed it "The Taj".

We can talk more about all of this later.  Lots of things have been learned during this process.  And lots of heart issues revealed.  It has been very eye-opening.   I'm excited to share :)  But, we can talk about all of that some other time.

We are so excited about it at this point. 

Anywhoo. 

On top of Worker Man's parents allowing us a place to live for the last three months, and graciously offering us The Taj, they are also helping out with the renovation process.  

FMIL has been helping us paint.  Which is a huge blessing considering I am terrible at painting.  And I do mean terrible.  But, she's a beast.  And we are so thankful for her help.

FFIL decided his contribution [yes, in addition to housing] was meals.  After a week of Worker Man and I eating takeout and fast food at 10 pm [which disgusts me], he noticed this and offered to cook us supper every night.  So while we work, he cooks and then we get to come home [home being Worker Mans parent's house] to a hot meal.

And not only a hot meal.

But an amazing meal.

Seriously, FFIL is such a great cook.

Last night we came home to this:

Tilapia, smothered in grilled peppers, onions and almonds.  On a bed of spinach and saffron rice.  With baby potatoes.  [I'm definitely a carb girl - so he captured my heart with both potatoes and rice].  And topped with feta cheese.

FFIL fixed my plate because he says "presentation is key".
He told me he probably fixed me too much but that I didn't have to eat it all.
But, I couldn't quit eating it.  That's how good it was!

Seriously?

On a Wednesday night?
Is this a blessing or what?

I told Worker Man that I could only hope that some of that was genetic.