I blog with you long enough tonight to announce the coming of a new blog...this one will still be active but I will be moving from this log-in to the one I use all the time! I get tired of having to remember two passwords and I miss out on so much stuff from my fellow blog peeps!!!
Happy Tuesday everyone (it's almost here!)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year 2011!!!!
(Work in progress....)
Happy New Year 2011!!!
I sit here in GA welcoming in the new year of 2011!! What a whirlwind 2010 has been!! It has been filled with lots of laughs, many tears, testy trials, joyous triumphs, new friends, exciting adventures!! I am thrilled with everything God has done in my life this year alone! What a wonderful thing to watch Him work in my life and KNOW that GOD has taken care of me and never failed, not once!!
I think that this has been a year of learning, caring, serving, and growing. The end of April 2011 will be 2 years since my ex left me and my life started on a crazy roller coaster ride. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 years!!! There are times where it seems like it was just yesterday and other times where it seems as if it were a lifetime ago! As you know there are many times where I wanted to give up, but thanks to God he never failed me and carried me through every single trial and tribulation I have faced. I can finally say that I am happy where I am in my life. I have an awesome job that does more than pay the bills, a very cute apartment that is all mine and paid for with my own hard-earned money, a wonderful church I call family, a great family who stands behind me, awesome friends who never fail to make me laugh and cry, and just amazed at how the floodgates have opened since my divorce was final.
Yes, I am happy again!! That is not to say that the memories of days gone by don't make me wistful! I was standing on a dock at a lakehouse in GA yesterday on a beautiful mild December day, and all the memories of being on Lake Hartwell were flooding and running through my head. I do miss my "Greenville" family and wish I could see them more often....(and they will always be considered family to me...just because there is one person I don't talk to and don't want anything to do with, doesn't mean the other relationships have to suffer. A lot of people don't understand that, and it's okay.). Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone but that feeling doesn't usually last very long!
This year has definitely been a year of changes. My divorce was final in July, I turned 25 in August, I also accepted a new job the end of August and moved to a very cute 1 bedroom apartment in October. November of course brought family and Thanksgiving, and December has brought more family, Christmas, & New Years. I have been thrilled to serve in various places alongside my church this year in Miracle League and helping needy families and our own people. I have watched my sisters and the younger children in my life grow up, and I was thrilled to be a part of a wedding that was incredibly amazing!! I have thanked God often that He allowed me to go through all the crap that I have in order to help & minister to others who have been in similar situations. I have also in 2 years lost 30lbs and dropped several sizes, which has been pretty awesome!! I have dated a couple guys and become good friends with a few others. I have run into old friends from high school and made new friends along the way.
(and that is all for now....more later!)
I know I say this all the time, but I am incredibly thankful for Joey Leviner & Amanda Leviner for leading Catalyst in what REAL church is supposed to be!! My life has been changed because of it!! I am continuously reminded at how blessed I am to be a part of a group of people who truly believe in Christ, who truly believe in going OUT and serving instead of waiting for people to come to the church. Over and over my life has been blessed and changed by the people of Catalyst who are my family; who are people that I share everyday life with, well, everyday. I cannot imagine my life without them and I can't believe we've only been a group for 2 years...it feels like its been forever! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!
On that note, I have to once again praise GOD for all that he has done ...he literally took me through the valley of the shadow of death and led me up the mountain-side to the top, to victory!! Praise God the battle is already ultimately won for me and praise God for the comfort, peace, grace, joy, and love he showers on us if we only cling to him and walk His path during those tough & troubled times!!
As I close out this New Year's post, I leave you with the passage of Scripture that has become a huge part of my life....
Romans 8:28-39 (NIV)
Happy New Year 2011!!!
I sit here in GA welcoming in the new year of 2011!! What a whirlwind 2010 has been!! It has been filled with lots of laughs, many tears, testy trials, joyous triumphs, new friends, exciting adventures!! I am thrilled with everything God has done in my life this year alone! What a wonderful thing to watch Him work in my life and KNOW that GOD has taken care of me and never failed, not once!!
I think that this has been a year of learning, caring, serving, and growing. The end of April 2011 will be 2 years since my ex left me and my life started on a crazy roller coaster ride. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 years!!! There are times where it seems like it was just yesterday and other times where it seems as if it were a lifetime ago! As you know there are many times where I wanted to give up, but thanks to God he never failed me and carried me through every single trial and tribulation I have faced. I can finally say that I am happy where I am in my life. I have an awesome job that does more than pay the bills, a very cute apartment that is all mine and paid for with my own hard-earned money, a wonderful church I call family, a great family who stands behind me, awesome friends who never fail to make me laugh and cry, and just amazed at how the floodgates have opened since my divorce was final.
Yes, I am happy again!! That is not to say that the memories of days gone by don't make me wistful! I was standing on a dock at a lakehouse in GA yesterday on a beautiful mild December day, and all the memories of being on Lake Hartwell were flooding and running through my head. I do miss my "Greenville" family and wish I could see them more often....(and they will always be considered family to me...just because there is one person I don't talk to and don't want anything to do with, doesn't mean the other relationships have to suffer. A lot of people don't understand that, and it's okay.). Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone but that feeling doesn't usually last very long!
This year has definitely been a year of changes. My divorce was final in July, I turned 25 in August, I also accepted a new job the end of August and moved to a very cute 1 bedroom apartment in October. November of course brought family and Thanksgiving, and December has brought more family, Christmas, & New Years. I have been thrilled to serve in various places alongside my church this year in Miracle League and helping needy families and our own people. I have watched my sisters and the younger children in my life grow up, and I was thrilled to be a part of a wedding that was incredibly amazing!! I have thanked God often that He allowed me to go through all the crap that I have in order to help & minister to others who have been in similar situations. I have also in 2 years lost 30lbs and dropped several sizes, which has been pretty awesome!! I have dated a couple guys and become good friends with a few others. I have run into old friends from high school and made new friends along the way.
(and that is all for now....more later!)
I know I say this all the time, but I am incredibly thankful for Joey Leviner & Amanda Leviner for leading Catalyst in what REAL church is supposed to be!! My life has been changed because of it!! I am continuously reminded at how blessed I am to be a part of a group of people who truly believe in Christ, who truly believe in going OUT and serving instead of waiting for people to come to the church. Over and over my life has been blessed and changed by the people of Catalyst who are my family; who are people that I share everyday life with, well, everyday. I cannot imagine my life without them and I can't believe we've only been a group for 2 years...it feels like its been forever! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!
On that note, I have to once again praise GOD for all that he has done ...he literally took me through the valley of the shadow of death and led me up the mountain-side to the top, to victory!! Praise God the battle is already ultimately won for me and praise God for the comfort, peace, grace, joy, and love he showers on us if we only cling to him and walk His path during those tough & troubled times!!
As I close out this New Year's post, I leave you with the passage of Scripture that has become a huge part of my life....
Romans 8:28-39 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. More Than Conquerors What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Monday, December 6, 2010
December 2010 -- 25 Things about Me
This is just a mindless post tonight to occupy my sleepy brain!
1. ...love to watch CSI: Miami & NY, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice!
2. ...do not have cable TV; haven't in almost 3 years.
3. ...has stayed in a hotel a total of 3 times in my life
4. ...am dying to get debt paid off! but still have a hard time getting on /sticking to a budget!
5. ...love, love, love saxophone and guitar music!
6. ... went Black friday shopping for the first time this year and LOVED it!!!!
7. ...was born in Fairbanks, AK...dont' believe me? ask my parents!!
8. ...absolutely love the smell of fresh clean sheets!
9. ...loves late fall and early spring, but loves it even more when i can spend it in the mountains!
10. ...would sit and read for hours if I could.
11. .. lived in the same neighborhood for 18+ years.
12. ... is so amazed at how far God has brought me and what he is doing in my life on a daily basis!!
13. ..hate to get out of bed in the mornings but love being up early!
14. ...absolutely loves my hair when its cut shorter and completely straight!
15. ...cannot stand backyard breeders or people who wont get their animals fixed!! Maybe they should go look at the shelters and see where their puppies end up! There should be strict, mandatory tests to pass for anyone to breed & there should be a nationwide LAW that any dog/cat not for breeding is to be fixed!! (ok stepping off the soapbox now!)
16. ...am a poet and an author...and have more books in my head!
17. ...had braces twice; had first hole in ears pierced twice; just recently got my 2nd holes pierced!
18. ...have never broken a bone in my body or had measles/chicken pox, etc (and pray I never do!).
19. ...love cucumbers but hate pickles!
20. ...absolutely love CAMPING!! 120 days left til camp 2011!!!
21. ...love playing the piano but can sing better than i can play!!
22. ...do not and have never had any wisdom teeth!
23. ...love, love, love Eeyore, GRITS (Girl Raised in the South); anything with the Palmetto emblem; monogrammed initials....anything girly!
24. ...would love to go to Florida to see white sand and clear water; Montana/Colorado to see rolling green meadows in the mountains; Kentucky to see the bluegrass and the Kentucky Derby; Maine to see the tip top of the East Coast; Chincoteague to see the Chincoteague ponies; Alaska to see my family and re-experience it; Disney World because, well, its Disney World!!
25. ...would love to my creative juices flowing again and write like I used to!
1. ...love to watch CSI: Miami & NY, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice!
2. ...do not have cable TV; haven't in almost 3 years.
3. ...has stayed in a hotel a total of 3 times in my life
4. ...am dying to get debt paid off! but still have a hard time getting on /sticking to a budget!
5. ...love, love, love saxophone and guitar music!
6. ... went Black friday shopping for the first time this year and LOVED it!!!!
7. ...was born in Fairbanks, AK...dont' believe me? ask my parents!!
8. ...absolutely love the smell of fresh clean sheets!
9. ...loves late fall and early spring, but loves it even more when i can spend it in the mountains!
10. ...would sit and read for hours if I could.
11. .. lived in the same neighborhood for 18+ years.
12. ... is so amazed at how far God has brought me and what he is doing in my life on a daily basis!!
13. ..hate to get out of bed in the mornings but love being up early!
14. ...absolutely loves my hair when its cut shorter and completely straight!
15. ...cannot stand backyard breeders or people who wont get their animals fixed!! Maybe they should go look at the shelters and see where their puppies end up! There should be strict, mandatory tests to pass for anyone to breed & there should be a nationwide LAW that any dog/cat not for breeding is to be fixed!! (ok stepping off the soapbox now!)
16. ...am a poet and an author...and have more books in my head!
17. ...had braces twice; had first hole in ears pierced twice; just recently got my 2nd holes pierced!
18. ...have never broken a bone in my body or had measles/chicken pox, etc (and pray I never do!).
19. ...love cucumbers but hate pickles!
20. ...absolutely love CAMPING!! 120 days left til camp 2011!!!
21. ...love playing the piano but can sing better than i can play!!
22. ...do not and have never had any wisdom teeth!
23. ...love, love, love Eeyore, GRITS (Girl Raised in the South); anything with the Palmetto emblem; monogrammed initials....anything girly!
24. ...would love to go to Florida to see white sand and clear water; Montana/Colorado to see rolling green meadows in the mountains; Kentucky to see the bluegrass and the Kentucky Derby; Maine to see the tip top of the East Coast; Chincoteague to see the Chincoteague ponies; Alaska to see my family and re-experience it; Disney World because, well, its Disney World!!
25. ...would love to my creative juices flowing again and write like I used to!
Friday, November 26, 2010
BLACK Friday ............... BEAUTIFUL Friday!!!!!!!!!
So today was my first ever Black Friday shopping trip!!! I went with 3 of my best girls and we met up about 330 AM!!! Mind you I finally fell asleep about 11 and got up at 230!! We hit Kohls first, then started at Target but left b/c the line was so long! On to Lowe's, then Walmart, Belk's, Cracker Barrel for FOOD, and down to Tanger Outlets where we hit Old Navy, Bath & Body, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic.....from there we went to the mall and did J C Penny, Yankee Candle and ended at Chic Fil A!!!
I really wasn't too sure about all this crazy shopping I'd heard about but I had the best time and it has now become an annual trip for me!! This will be the first of many!! The crowds really weren't that bad and though the lines were long, because there were four of us, we took turns standing in line while the others kept shopping!! It was awesome!!!
The rest of my Friday was spent with my family after cleaning up the house! Tomorrow will be another great day with family and some misc errands!!
Now that it is 11pm FRIDAY I am going to crash now for hopefully the next 8 hours!!
I really wasn't too sure about all this crazy shopping I'd heard about but I had the best time and it has now become an annual trip for me!! This will be the first of many!! The crowds really weren't that bad and though the lines were long, because there were four of us, we took turns standing in line while the others kept shopping!! It was awesome!!!
The rest of my Friday was spent with my family after cleaning up the house! Tomorrow will be another great day with family and some misc errands!!
Now that it is 11pm FRIDAY I am going to crash now for hopefully the next 8 hours!!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Odds and Ends
As I sit here at 12:15am on a Friday night, er, Saturday morning, knowing I have to be up at 6a, my mind is working overtime (again) on all the things I need or want to get done before moving day in (drumroll please....) TWO WEEKS!!! I can't believe its coming up so fast!!
I have TONS of boxes all over the place!! It's driving me absolute batty! I've let school sit on the back burner too although I'm still completing work as needed....but I have a paper due Monday and I haven't even started on it. It's not hard, I just have to use MLA format and write about something to do with technology today. I thought about writing about the Ipods and how far they've come in such a short time. Still haven't decided.
Tomorrow, er, later this morning, our neighborhood is doing a yard sale. I'm just going to put stuff out front and if it sells great. If not, oh well. My main focus tomorrow is getting my plants dug up and repotted to move. Also, going to set many aside for friends. I've worked too hard the last 4.5 years to let my flower bed be taken over by weeds again!!
So the many things that I need/want to get done before moving day, besides to finish packing...care if I share? Hope not, since it's my blog! Haha!
These are in no particular order by the way :
Bleach all the trash cans and the cat boxes.
Finish going through old cards and letters.
Figure out how to put a post-bound scrapbook together which will eliminate a box of stuff!
Balance my checkbook and pay all bills to current date.
Set up my new insurance.
Clean out fridge (its for sale by the way!!)
Put Thompson's waterseal on my swing (tomorrow).
Pack last box of fragile's & pictures
Have piano moved to a friend's house
Finish packing kitchen.
Finish linens and clear out the extra closet.
Pay off CSU.
Pay off Vet bill.
Schedule utilities to be turned off.
Make final decision on internet for new place and schedule it to be set up.
Buy two baby gates for new place to make "dog-free" cat area.
Change of address to PO.
Change address everywhere else!!! LOL!!
While changing address, change email address.
Put flea stuff on my cats.
Thats a good list to get started by!! Now its off to sleep !
I have TONS of boxes all over the place!! It's driving me absolute batty! I've let school sit on the back burner too although I'm still completing work as needed....but I have a paper due Monday and I haven't even started on it. It's not hard, I just have to use MLA format and write about something to do with technology today. I thought about writing about the Ipods and how far they've come in such a short time. Still haven't decided.
Tomorrow, er, later this morning, our neighborhood is doing a yard sale. I'm just going to put stuff out front and if it sells great. If not, oh well. My main focus tomorrow is getting my plants dug up and repotted to move. Also, going to set many aside for friends. I've worked too hard the last 4.5 years to let my flower bed be taken over by weeds again!!
So the many things that I need/want to get done before moving day, besides to finish packing...care if I share? Hope not, since it's my blog! Haha!
These are in no particular order by the way :
Bleach all the trash cans and the cat boxes.
Finish going through old cards and letters.
Figure out how to put a post-bound scrapbook together which will eliminate a box of stuff!
Balance my checkbook and pay all bills to current date.
Set up my new insurance.
Clean out fridge (its for sale by the way!!)
Put Thompson's waterseal on my swing (tomorrow).
Pack last box of fragile's & pictures
Have piano moved to a friend's house
Finish packing kitchen.
Finish linens and clear out the extra closet.
Pay off CSU.
Pay off Vet bill.
Schedule utilities to be turned off.
Make final decision on internet for new place and schedule it to be set up.
Buy two baby gates for new place to make "dog-free" cat area.
Change of address to PO.
Change address everywhere else!!! LOL!!
While changing address, change email address.
Put flea stuff on my cats.
Thats a good list to get started by!! Now its off to sleep !
Friday, October 1, 2010
October 1st, 2010
So today would've been my 5 year anniversary if I was still married .... instead, I'm celebrating 2 months of freedom, a new job, a new place to live, and all A's in school!! And I'm praising God for walking me through all that crap for many reasons!! God is amazing!!
And this time next year I'll be celebrating the wedding of two of my closest friends!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Beautiful Weekend!!
This has been an absolute, amazingly beautiful weekend!!! Jenn & Lee tied the knot Saturday at Edisto Beach and are now Mr & Mrs Barkley!!! :)! Pictures are posted to my facebook if you want to see them but here is the happy couple:
That about catches you up on the Life of Jess right now. I'm gonna head on in to bed here in a few and get ready to start another week!! God is so good and I'm so thankful for my Catalyst family!! I can't believe its been almost 2 years since He brought us together!!! Here we are in the very beginning:
And here's part of us today:
God has been doing amazing work in each of our lives individually and has done some amazing things for us as a group!! I'm so thankful that He put me in the right place at the right time! I wouldn't be who I am today without the wisdom, encouragement, love, and support from this wonderful group of people!! :)
It was a beautiful ceremony on Edisto Beach with many of their close friends and family!! The day couldn't have been more perfect!! Joey officiated a beautiful service! I loved the "Holy ground" part where he asked everyone to take off their shoes before he prayed because we were standing on Holy ground. How is the beach Holy ground you ask?? Well, because everywhere God is present, it's Holy ground...and God was definitely present at this wonderful joining of man and wife!
The reception was held closer to home and we all partied til almost midnight!! Great food, awesome dance moves, wonderful mix of music, very sweet bartender, beautiful decorations, great friends, and tons of laughs!! There were so many inside jokes I don't think I could list them all if I tried!! I vote this wedding the best of 2010!!! :)
After the wedding festivities were over I came home and literally crashed! Slept off the drinks I had (new favorite, but only had two over the course of the night!) til about 930 Sunday morning!! My Sunday was filled with selling stuff off craigslist, errands, and homework! (Saturday morning was filled with packing packing and more packing!!)
My new job is going great!! I do miss the girls' I worked with but I'm really enjoying this new phase of my life. It is a long and tiring drive to and from work and I can no longer get up 20 min before and be there on time, but the perks of the job are worth it! My boss has been out of town this last week so it's been a bit hectic but that's okay. I'm grateful I can wear jeans and a top every day and not necessarily a "uniform" per say. I'm very grateful for the hours I get each week and most days the hours fly by so I'm grateful for that too (because the days don't drag by!).
I have less than 3 weeks til I move into my new apartment!! I am so far behind packing stuff its not even funny!! I get keys in two weeks and intend to start moving little things like clothes and groceries and such so that there wont be so much "little" stuff to move on moving day! I'm super grateful for the people who are going to be helping me move! Hopefully we can all get it done in a couple hours and it won't take all day!
This week I need to officially change my address and get that paperwork rolling. Then I need to decide what I'm going to do for internet (ugh) and I have to call my utility companies and set a date to have the utilities shut off in this house. I need to find out if I can cancel my house insurance once the foreclosure process officially starts or if I have to keep it for a while! So much to do and so little time!! And have to accomplish it in between work and classes and packing!!
Classes are going well!! Maintaining an A so far which is a sigh of relief!! Started a debate in English class which can be read under "Notes" on my facebook page. Aced my first computer test and B'd my first Art test! Getting ready to pay off CSU from my stupid summer course that I took and then I'll officially be withdrawn from there.
That about catches you up on the Life of Jess right now. I'm gonna head on in to bed here in a few and get ready to start another week!! God is so good and I'm so thankful for my Catalyst family!! I can't believe its been almost 2 years since He brought us together!!! Here we are in the very beginning:
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