Learning to Go With the Flow!

We can make our plans,  but the Lord determines our steps.  Proverbs 16:9 NLT

Good Morning Friends & Family! :-)  

It is now 6:36 AM and I am currently on a flight to Newark, NJ.  I booked this Flight just over a month ago, when we found out Scott’s Surgery was scheduled for 5/23 in NYC.  Scott and Debbie arrived in NYC on Thursday Evening.  On Friday, at his Dr. Appt, they found out that Scott’s platelets were too low and that surgery was now cancelled for the 23rd.  They said they would check his platelets again on Monday, and that Thursday, May 26th would be the soonest that he would be able to have the surgery.  My Mom and I had already booked our flights, and I had already booked my non-refundable hotel room thru Priceline.  I wanted to stay for a week after the surgery to help my Sister while Scott begins his recovery, and I would have if Surgery would have been happening on Monday.  However, I have to be at work on Monday, May 31st, as I’m using the rest of my available vacation days for this trip.  So, Mom and I decided to still go to NYC.  Scott and Debbie can use our support and encouragement.  We decided that there must be a reason the Surgery is not happening on Monday.  On the bright side, this gives the 4 of us (Me, Mom, Debbie, & Scott) the opportunity to sightsee and not hang out at the hospital all week.  We are going to make the most of this opportunity and make Memories with each other to last a Lifetime! :-)  I’ll be sure to take and post pics!

I’m a planner.  I hate it when things don’t go as planned.  When plans change, I have a hard time switching gears, and dealing with the change in plans.  However, I’m slowly learning to go with the flow (after a day of freaking out)! :-)  God is giving us this Family time together, free of Hospitals until Thursday.  I’m choosing to see this change of plans as a gift from God.  I can’t control the fact that surgery will happen later then originally expected.  But, I can control how I choose to handle this situation.  I will be in NYC with my Mom, Sis and BIL.  Something that surely would have never happened otherwise!

I’m looking forward to seeing how God will continue to show Himself to us in this situation.  He promises to work all things out for our good.  Yes, even the bad things, like cancer, and major surgeries!  God is always there!  He promises to never leave us or forsake us.  He’s right by our side, and He will carry us thru.  I’m choosing Joy.  I’m choosing to rest in Him!  

We are beginning our descent into Newark, NJ.  I will keep you posted as I know more regarding the surgery.  Thanks for your continued prayers for Scott and our entire Family.   Thanks also for the love, encouragement and support you have given to us.  My Family and I really appreciate it! :-)

Life is tough, but God is Faithful! :-)

Love,

J-La-Sta

Gratitude For God's Gifts of Love to Me - Week 1

My Year of Thanks!

March 20th - March 26, 2015

 

 

March 20th

1. My Godson & Nephew Gregory
2. Spring/New Beginnings
3. Laughter

March 21st

1. Sunshine
2. My working legs
3. My Determined Mom who is a Fighter

March 22nd

1. Healthy, comfort food Mac & Cheese
2. God's Amazing Grace for Me
3. Strength to lose and maintain weight even thru depression

March 23rd

1. Incredible Health Insurance
2. My Wonderful Husband
3. Eucalyptus Spearmint Scented Stress Relief Candle (very relaxing)

March 24th

1. A warm place to live
2. Music that touches my heart and soul
3. The opportunity to work overtime

March 25th

1. My positive and encouraging Friend Holly - We've been Friends for 7 Years!
2. A relaxing evening in the apartment, all by myself (breaking out in song here)
3. My pretty recliner which helps me relax

March 26th

1. Hot showers in the Morning
2. Coffee!  Nuff said!
3. The peaceful sound of birds chirping when I walk out of the apartment in the Morning

We've Been Happily Married For 200 Days Today!

     Two hundred days ago today I married the love of my life!  As many of you know, I love numbers and statistics! :)  Well, I've been alive (outside of the womb) for 13,901 days, and my first date with Jonathan was 838 days ago!  That means I lived 13,063 days without Jonathan in my life.  We got engaged 411 days ago and promised to love each other and be faithful to each other for the rest of our earthly lives 200 days ago today.   

    For many years, I felt God was depriving me of something that many others around me had, a companion to share their life with.  I seriously thought it would never happen to me!  He wasn't depriving me though, he was only preparing me for the man he had in mind for me. He had my best interest at heart all along, no matter what my emotions happened to be at any given moment.  I was 35, almost 36 years old when I met Jonathan.  I was 36, almost 37 when we got engaged, and I was 37 and a half and 5 days when we got married!  I lived a very large portion of my life as a single person.  I know the hurt and pain of feeling alone and feeling like I didn't belong.  This is why I believe I am sensitive to the feelings of single people now. 

     It might sound cliche, but I wouldn't trade all of those single days for anything.  Why? Because I wouldn't be the person I am today and I wouldn't be with Jonathan today.  God used those years to mold me and to mold Jonathan so that at just the right time we would be an almost perfect (nothing in life is perfect!) match for each other!  He continues to mold us into the couple he wants us to be, but had I not experienced all of those lonely days/years, I wouldn't be as appreciative of what I have now.  I don't buy the "you complete me" crap.  However, when you find your true love, there is a sense of contentment and peace that is hard to explain.  I just finally feel like I'm "home".  Here is a picture of us at our wedding ceremony.

This is the face of a very happily very newly (like 30 minutes tops) married bride! :)

We continue to laugh together on a daily basis. I'm so thankful God sent me someone who makes me laugh more than anyone else I know! :)

The pic below is one of my new favorite pics from our special day!  We look so happy, so in love, so content!  See the bird, or shadow of the bird in the pic? I feel like that is a sign of God's presence in this beautiful moment that was so beautifully captured by my wonderful SIL Sandy of Sandra Ellen Photography. Thank you Sandy for capturing these special moments for us! 

So, if any of my readers are currently single, there is hope! Jesus loves you and He only has His best in mind for you! You are a complete person!  Please don't settle, just to have a companion!   Waiting for His best, is worlds better than anything you could imagine for yourself.

Our wedding verse was Psalm 68:6a:  "God sets the lonely in families."  We were lonely and now we are a family!  God is faithful! :)

Happy 200th day of being married to me Jonathan! 

I love you and I'm so thankful for you!

How Great Is Our God!!

I am a HUGE fan of Christian Musician Chris Tomlin's music and follow him on Facebook.  A few days ago the following post from Chris Tomlin came across my news feed:

With the upcoming release of How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection on Nov. 15th, some media are looking to highlight a few stories showing what these songs have meant to people.

If God has used any of these songs in your lives and they've meant something special to you, we'd love to hear it.

Send your story to info@sixstepsrecords.com by October 21st. Thanks.

It didn't take long at all before I KNEW I had to email them my story of how and why "How Great Is Our God" is such a special song to me!  I thought I would share that same email with my blog readers.  I didn't include the picture that I included below, although now I wish I would have! We have been married for 100 days today! :)

Here is the email I sent:

     This is an extra special song for me! It brings me back to my wedding day, which was just this past July 8th, 2011! :-) My Fiance and I wanted our Wedding to be a Worship Service. You see, we were both single for a very long time. I (Jennfer) was 37 and Jonathan turned 36 two days after the wedding. We were both single, never married, with no children. We both knew what it was like to be alone in a "couple's society". Our hearts yearned for someone to share our life with, but that just didn't seem to be happening for either one of us. My Dad was called home to heaven when I was 25 years old. Two months later my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Life alone, with out the support of a significant other was difficult. But our God knew exactly what he was doing and brought us together at just the right time! March of 2007 I was living in Milwaukee, WI where I had lived for 15 years (I went to college there and stayed). I was praying about moving back to South Bend, IN because of how Mom's cancer had progressed. I lost my job the very next day! I had NEVER lost a job before. If that wasn't an answer to prayer, I don't know what is! I moved back to South Bend, IN where I was born and raised 5/1/2007. South Bend is near Elkhart, IN which is the RV Capital of the world. Needless to say, jobs were extremely hard to come by. I was on unemployment for 6 months and then finally got a waitressing job to pay the bills. March 17 of 2008 I finally got a better job at a large insurance company. October of 2009 an acquaintance in my department at work said she had a friend who worked in our building who was interested in me. She set it up a double date for me, Jonathan, and her and her fiance. That date was 10/09/2009. The rest is history! We got engaged 12/10/10. Now December holds a happy memory for me. You see. Dad passed away 12/8/99. Ever since then December has been a very hard month for me. Now it is a month that holds good memories too! :) We planned a beach wedding on Sand Key Beach in Clearwater Beach. FL. His Best Man was also our Pastor. He did an amazing job! There were 18 of us total who traveled down to FL. The wedding was scheduled for 7:15pm. It rained SO hard ALL day the day before the wedding and all day the day of the wedding. We had to get married under a pavilion. But thankfully the weather cleared and afterwards we were blessed to get amazing pictures at sunset on the beach.

 

Anyways, the reason "How Great Is Our God" is so special to me, is that we sang this song, with the track, at the beginning of the ceremony. The wind was blowing, the spirit was moving, and I was holding back tears. God knew what He was doing all along and I knew my Dad was there in spirit. There aren't words to describe the joy that filled my heart that day and that continues to fill my heart as I watch the wedding video and think back to that day. God doesn't always answer prayer in our timing, but His ways are best. It just took a long time for me to get my "Happily Ever After". I'm blessed Mom could be at the wedding. Her cancer has since spread and is in her bones in addition to her stomach and bladder. She has fought this ugly disease for almost 12 years and is the strongest woman I know. I finally feel like I belong with Jonathan, who is in many ways, God in flesh to me, showing me daily what it's like to be loved unconditionally.

 

 

 

I invite you to visit my blog to learn more about me and see pictures of us! :) I will also post a link to the wedding video below so you can see us sing "How Great is Our God". Thank you Chris Tomlin for making our day even more special. There's nothing sweeter then singing that song in worship to our King, on the beach, with powerful winds, as you are about to marry the one God had planned for you all along! :)

 

 

My Blog: http://www.Jennifruit.blogspot.com

 

 

Our Wedding Website: http://www.mywedding.com/jenniferandjonathan2011/

 

 

Our Wedding Video: http://vimeo.com/27437017

 

 

God Bless You and Your Ministry! :)

 

 

 

Jennifer Stanley

South Bend, IN