dwelling

continuing

More old Europe pics....It kinda makes me want to backpack through Europe again. This time, I'd know to wear at least 2 pair of long johns at all times, bring at least 23,982 granola bars, and make it through like a pro.



Westminister Abbey, England.

In a Shoe. Holland.
Uh. I couldn't resist. Spain.
Train station in Belgium.
Italy.
Berlin.
Prague.

The Cinque Terre, Italy. Seriously, one of my FAVORITE places in the whole world.

favorite things

So, in this "not being boring" new phase of my blog, I've decided to post some of my favorite things. And so, as I dig deep and figure out what "is Jennie"...I of course came up with these things;

My Asics running shoes. Woot! I'm taking Friend's challenge (to herself) and am starting to 'train' for a half marathon....7 miles last saturday. This weekend 9. We. Shall. See.
Uh. My iPod. I would have to say that it is my favorite earthly possession. Hah..no joke. My brothers gave it to me the Christmas before I studied abroad and I LOVE IT. I love that the back of it says "MeJennie" (Their nickname for me) and "Psalm 139."
FALL. I LOVE IT. The end.
Diet Coke. Haha... Oh Lord, please don't let my brain shrivel up when i'm 90 b/c of the weird affects of aspartame. Fountain diet coke would have to be my favorite, i could drink it any time, day or night. But, Diet Coke Lime is a recent new love...not as standard as regular DC, but still delic.

i make jokes

After careful consideration, I've realized that my blog is melodramatic and kinda boring. So, to liven things up: OLD EUROPE PICTURES.
Enjoy. More to come when I find some more good ones.

This is Megan and I after our first successful Eurorail trip. Amsterdam
The four of us in Prague.
Hahah..This picture. Oh dear. In summation, Mel and I traded in our couchette tickets for a cheaper, more-stupid option. Result? 7 hours in a PAINFUL seat with 6 other flatulent and generally disagreeable passengers where I slept in 45-minute intervals with intermittent periods of wishing I weren't alive. This is me getting off the train at home.
Me doing what I do best. Sleep-ing.
Yes, I'm going to eat it. I mean, we are in Germany. That's where you eat sausage and sour kraut, right?








The Dance of the Catalan. Spain.



Punching pigeons. Duh. Italy.

Thank you Lord for French crepes. (And for the Frenchman who bought it for me).
The Louvre, Paris.



Dublin.

Glasgow.
Cars. Stoplight. Castle. Scotland.

Papak's word of encouragement

I was talking to Papak today, and before we got off the phone he gave me the purest word: He has not forgotten you. You are not abandoned. Ask of Him and He will show you. And then he read me this:

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

"Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

"Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Thank you Lord that your word does not return void.
Thank you for my heritage.
Father, make my heart bold.

gracious

Lord,
Mercy in the days ahead.

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another."
Romans 12:10

"Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."
Jeremiah 6:16

"..for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
Hebrew 13:5

beauty for ashes

I read this passage about the Fall today and was so struck at its reality.

"Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man...Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their heart to impurity...because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. "
- Romans 1:24

Mercy, Lord. Here I am. Ugh.

Thank the Lord and the makers of Zoloft. Ha. These last few weeks have been especially trying. And by 'trying' I do mean that Puffy (my favorite stuffed animal friend since I was maybe 2) has made a reappearance in my arms at night (uh, that's not a joke), and that unexplained crying is a part of my regular, daily routine.

I don't know why my heart feels so conflicted and unsettled. I don't know why I haven't found the way I want to walk. But I haven't. And I am. Yet still, I am confident that He is faithful. Nevermind the fact that I feel like my lifeless Puffalump (the aforementioned stuffed friend) has it more together than I do at this point (Oh you! With your constant gaze and stoic -- but friendly -- demeanor!) I am still resting in the promise that He has me. I am praying earnestly that my heart would remain faithful to His, and no matter what choices lay ahead, I would never exchange the truth about my God for any lie.

Lord, let my spirit rest in the glory of the immortal God, even when I am anything but at rest.

You have won my heart.

mercy.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
-Romans

"When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died"

- True Love, Phil Wickham