for sister.

i made these for my sister for her 17th birthday. wow. she is such an adult. UGH.
they're little pins to decorate shirts, jackets, hats, bags. the white one with the band is a headband.
hopefully, she will love them.

because i love her.

happy birthday, sister.

"please see attachment. I am pleased to tell you that you are hired. please report to NC immediately for details. (chocolate provided). love, jordan"

sometimes when i feel a bit down...

I close my eyes and ask for His presence.

And usually, it feels like He puts His arm around me,
presses His cheek against mine, and says,
"It's ok, Lovey."

happy birthday FRED

(a few days late...)

I definitely want to take this post to honor one of my favorite senior citizens...
(And SC status is confirmed directly from Kroger. Kroger never lies.)

My top 5 favorite moments with F.L.H.

5. When I came over a few days before I moved in to the Hennighausen house, I knocked politely at the back door. Fred (and Mary!), however, merely cracked the door wide enough so I could see the huge grins on their faces and said,
"No."
Door shuts.
I laughed, then knocked louder, thinking my polite little knock wasn't sufficient to get their attention.
Door cracks. Smiling faces.
"Noooo."
Door shuts.
A light bulb finally goes off, and this time, without knocking, I walk straight in to find Fred and Mary standing ready with a hug and a
"YEAHHHH!!!"

They were teaching me how to come into the house (no knocking allowed).

I felt so welcomed.

****

4. When I found myself virtually jobless (again), I was standing in the kitchen telling FLH my news, near tears, and feeling very sorry for myself, and he simply responded,

"Wow. What a good heavenly Father who knew in advance this was going to happen and provided you this home as a safe place to land. What an adventure you are on."

I felt so inspired/humbled/grateful.

****

3. One word: "Combo-ing"

I felt so thankful.

****

2. When I came back to my little Rose Cottage to find a tiny little mini-flosser wedged into a tiny little nail hole at eye-level near my door.
(RUDE! And, warning: It will find you.)
It was a tiny little way to give a nod to hilarious inside jokes about people's idiosyncrasies.
I love that FLH can celebrate people with humor and respect.

I felt so light-hearted.

****

1. Not that there can be any one favorite thing about knowing FLH and having his influence in my life, but I am so grateful for how he listens so unselfishly, so intentionally.

Whether it's in a "FredSheet" budget meeting
(shudder),

or talking over things about boys,

or talking about life in the fast lane in the business world,

or talking about my Substitute-of-The-Year award
(self-appointed),

He listens in a way that makes you SWEAR he is interested in every word you say.

I always leave conversations feeling

HEARD,
UNDERSTOOD,
LOVED,
and
INSPIRED.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRED!!!!!


*****


"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

march 2011

...is the next time I will purchase clothes. for one year i am going to (attempt to, at least) refrain from purchasing items to wear. it's been 3 months so far.

why?

many reasons.

One being "and why are you anxious about clothing? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

.....

Daddddd(s)

happy belated father's day!

Sunday was yet another reminder of how lucky I am to be raised under such
godly,
faithful,
consistent
father(s).

I guess I just needed extra amounts of good fathering, because I'm blessed with Dads who pray and raise me still.

(I'm 25 and need all the help I can get.)


STAN:I love that my Dad STILL gets up
EVERY
SINGLE
MORNING
before the crack of dawn is a twinkle in the universe's eyes
to pray for me,
for others,
for my future spouse (uh, since I was first born... no joke).

I love that I still have wonderful memories of playing all sorts of made up games (which, as I look back now, all had some kind of strength/aerobic element for him...haha...multi-tasking?) from:

GusGus (the tickle bug),

to the

"Honey, I've lost my children" game
(he pretends he can't see us, which resulted in three kids jumping around and pulling at him saying,
"BUT DAD!!! WE ARE RIGHT HERE!!??! CAN'T YOU SEE US!?!?!"),

to "Rough 'n Tumble",
the game where we got our aggression out by trying to tackle him repeatedly to the ground (side note: I was raised with two older brothers).

I love that I have lots of memories of him being just around, helping him in the yard, talking about not being able to date til I was 30....And I love that as I've gotten older, I've grown to love and respect him and his choices even more. He is a good man who walks in humility and joy. I have always said, and probably always will, that my Dad is ever FOR me. No matter where I am in life, he has my back. He is on my side.

(And he even sends me vitamins still.)

I love that he gives me weird glasses and pillows embroidered with his Stan-isms (which maybe aren't so eloquent, as it turns out....). I love that he loves to memorize the Word and always asks me, "What's the Book say?" He is SO solid.

I like how he strokes his mustache when he's thinking - though I hate that he's usually chewing a gross cigar. I love that claps loud and big during worship, brings his anointing oil every where he goes, but still claims he's not charismatic.


FRED:Since I've moved in with Fred and Mary, I've gotten to become a part of a family with a completely different dynamic.

Fred is a Dad who gives of himself - who dies to himself - on an
EVERY
DAY
basis.

I've really never seen anything like it.
I myself (though just a recently inaugurated daughter) have been the recipient of many 'Dad' things, from a repaired A/C (amazing) to a half-birthday gift for school (!!!), to a father's ever-godly advice and encouragement.

One of my favorite things about claiming Fred as a father now is that every conversation I leave, no matter what we're talking about, I go away feeling like this girl:

("I like my hair! I like my hair cuts! I. Like.My.Whole.House!" *CLAP*)

Conversations with Fred make me feel like I can do ANYTHING.
Really. I can not only tackle huge, annoying obstacles of being yet-again jobless, but I can tackle them while imagining life as an exciting adventure that the Lord is taking me on.

I also can't say enough about how I respect the insatiability of his sweet tooth, his love for good books, and the perfect handwriting gene that he most obviously passed on to Anne. (Argh!! I shake my fist at the sky in crazed jealousy!) I loved that in college, before I even knew him as well as I did now, Anne and I would always pause as we considered doing something slightly un-Fred (like wondering whether or not we should speed or use a huge knife as scissors) and we would always stop because, well, "Fred just knows." We believed very strongly that Fred had direct downloads from God about our goings on in Waco, TX (180 miles away) and have proof to that point.

His patience and love for his family is this miraculous, unending fount that comes surely only from his time with His Lord, and I am so privileged to be a part of this home!

(And his Breakfast-in-a-Cup is a miracle in itself.)

What can I say? I am a 25-year-old with a penchant for excess-raising?

word to my mother(s)

In gearing up for Mother's Day, I realized that I had the very distinct privilege of honoring not only my mother, but lots of other moms who have been mommas to me.

Really, I should be one of the more well-rounded individuals I know with all this extra mothering. Either that, or I just needed a lot of extra help.

Momma Meyer

Mrs. Meyer is whose house I partly lived in from 7th grade until the present. Her house is the one where I can walk into without knocking (I love that). I love that she has SUCH patience. She works herself to the bone to serve and bless her family. I love her love for old musicals and for deep friendships. She has taught me much about faithfulness in the little things. I love that she teases me and asks me about boys. She gives GREAT hugs. I love how she thinks of me as one of her own, and I even have a "thinking of you" bird to match the one in her house. I love how she considers people at all times. She is always poised, but can DEFINITELY cut loose (uh...baking soda and water anyone?)

She has given me so much KINDNESS.

Marrrryyyy

Oh, dearest M. Since moving to Dallas, the Lord saw fit to provide a safe place for me to land while going to Seminary and working part time. Mary didn't hesitate one second when offering me a place when finances were getting thin. When I had dinner with Mary and Mr. Fred one night while we were talking things over, she exclaimed, "Where's your bags!?" I loved the open invitation. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when she dances. Since being here, and since knowing her through my college years, I have learned many practical useful things, as well as a few completely non-useful, but wonderful things (as follows):
1. How to draw a map properly (N at the top of the paper).
2. How to clean a sponge when it gets that dingy smell (put in the microwave for 20 seconds with a little bit of bleach on it).
3. How to tell if food is spoiled (she has an incredible sense).
4. How to make someone feel loved when they've tried their best even when it's failed terribly.
5. How to CELEBRATE with someone!
6. How to laugh and enjoy the little, ridiculous things in life (uh, SNL, anyone??).
7. How to confess minor discrepancies in a way to make the other people laugh.

She has given me so much JOY.

Mom

My mom is a weird lady. A lot of people tell me that's where I get it from (and though I pretend to hate it, I secretly love it). She taught me how to laugh at myself when you don't feel like laughing. She taught me how to care for other people fully and without thought to yourself. She taught me how to give. I love her love for great literature and how we both think speed limits are mostly just suggestions. She taught me to cook. She taught me to persevere. She's a weird bird, but I love her to death (even when she puts her undies on wrong). I love that one time when we were talking on the phone, she dropped the phone, put it back to her ear and then started screaming, "Jennie!! Jennie!? OH MY GOSH I'M GOING DEAF I CAN'T HEAR YOU SUDDENLY!", not realizing that she had put the wrong side of the phone to her ear. I love/hate the fact that she speaks in terribly broken Spanish to the people at Chipotle (But ONLY at Chipotle???). I love that reads the Bible through every year. I love how she hears from God.

She has given me LIFE.

Thank you Jesus for these women. I pray that these years of their life would be filled with love, joy, peace, patience and kindness from those they loved SO well.

Thank you for the privilege I've had to be raised under them.

Amen.