Sunday Mind Dump (through the eyes of the wife).

1) We have had a fun week in the "J" household. I love this time of year.

2) Thanksgiving Day was crazy as usual (which has become a tradition for my family). My stepsister and her children and grandchildren joined us for Thanksgiving this year. Its the first time all of us have been together since before the death of my stepfather nearly three years ago.

3)I choose to chill this year and just take in the atmosphere and embed it in my heart.

4) Friday morning Marc and I hit the ground running and tackled the crowds on Black Friday so that we could begin our Christmas shopping.

5) We made it to ever store on our list although while I was in line at Target I did question what I was thinking.

6) That thought lasted about a minute. I'm actually one of those crazy people who actually enjoys Black Friday. To me it marks the beginning of the holiday season (I'm also the same crazy person who will hit the after Christmas sales).

7) We finished the majority of our Christmas shopping by 11 and I was back at home by 11:30 chilling on the sofa. Poor Marc was worn out. He spent most of the afternoon napping (at one point we both fell asleep on separate sofa's).

8) Saturday we attended the 25th Wedding Celebration of our friend's Peggy and Willie. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception details were gorgeous.

9) One of our photography friends was at the celebration and graciously took pictures of Marc and I in front of the hotel Christmas tree. They came out great and will be the photo on our Christmas card this year. He also took pictures of my girlfriends and I (his wife Priscilla is on my left). Only three of the dress sale buddies were able to be at the party, but I think we represented well.

10) The fall decor comes down this week and the Christmas decorations start to go up. I brought a few items at Michael's this weekend to add to last years decor. I have this bright idea to hang wreaths from every window. Only problem is that I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

11) WABC will be ordaining our Senior Associate minister on Saturday, and in two weeks Marc will ordain his first deacon since coming to WABC. Over the last couple of weeks Marc and I have been praying for WABC and its leadership and the hope that God will provide more team members to add to our ministry. There are several key areas in ministry at WABC that are in need of people to come in and help us move the ministry forward in 2010.

12) Speaking of 2010, today in his message Marc reminded everyone of all of the blessings WABC has received in the last year. He wanted them to know that though we may be small in number, we should never stop dreaming the big dreams.

Congratulations Peggy and Willie

Today Marc and I had the privilege of watching one of my best gal pals and her husband celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. So I wanted to send a special shout out to Peggy and Willie on this most beautiful occasion. We also got to hang out with two of my favorite girlfriends. We are all part of a very special club...The Dress Sale Buddies Club (we use to all sleep overnight in a van for several years to buy fufu dresses for our girls). Over the years we have formed a deep bond, which included our husbands, and children. We have laughed together, cried together, celebrated together and watched our "baby girls grow into beautiful young women. Two of the ladies from our "Dress Sale Buddy" group were not able to be here this weekend because of the holidays so I've posted some photos to share with them. Marc and I also took our Christmas photo for 2009. I'll give you a sneak peak on Sunday's Mind Dump.

Embedded in my heart

Thanksgiving was crazy as usual. Only difference this year was that I didn't pick up the camera to take pictures. Nope, not even once. Instead I sat an took it all in. Watched my family play, laugh, talk, eat, laugh and eat some more. Sometimes it seems like life is just plain crazy, you know the upside down, wonder how you got where you are and why you are where you are kind of world crazy...LOL! Sometimes I feel like I have been running a race with no destination in front of me, then I see my family (wacky as they are) get together and just love on each other. That unconditional kind of love that not everyone is blessed to have and I remember all I have to be thankful for. Thursday I just wanted to sit in the middle of all of that and take it all in so that when the bad days roll around again (and they will) I have not just a photo on paper of the good times....I have them embedded in my heart.

Thanksgiving Traditions

As much as I hate the word "tradition" when it comes to church (and then its only when we use tradition for tradition sake, without knowing why its "tradition". But I digress, and that's another story for another time). Some traditions are good. I think I start thinking about traditions especially around the holidays. I love celebrating the holidays (although many years ago I dreaded the holidays, and even went into a depression the closer we got to Thanksgiving and Christmas). A lot of my friends have already started putting up their Christmas decorations, but Thanksgiving holds great memories for me so I tend to hold onto it just a bit longer.

I still remember Thanksgivings spent with my maternal grandparents, my first year spending Thanksgiving with Marc at his parents home, our first couple of Thanksgivings in Germany, and now the crazy Thanksgiving meals at my mom's place.

My fondest memory of Thanksgiving was over twenty years ago while living in Germany. Marc always invited a fellow soldier over to have dinner with us. Most of them were young and single and were far from home. I miss being able to do that (we spend Thanksgiving with my mom who lives several hours away). I learned back then how to cook my first Turkey (thank goodness Marc was standing near by in case I messed up). He tells people to this day that he had to teach me to cook because otherwise I would have killed him!

To this day I make the same meal I made twenty some years ago (even when we go home, I make a Thanksgiving meal for us because nothing taste better then leftovers from Thanksgiving). Its become my "tradition". Not because I think I have to but because those memories remind me of all that I have to be grateful for. Thank you Lord for bestowing in Marc and I even back then the importance of family, friends, and the need to give back to others. So what's your Thanksgiving tradition? And what's a "must" at your Thanksgiving table (ours is Roasted or Fried Turkey, Sweet Potato Souffle, French String Beans with walnuts, Cornbread Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Macaroni with cheese)?

Sunday Mind Dump (through the eyes of the wife).

1) This is why I never let Marc take pictures of me (and yes, I wear a napkin like a bib, otherwise I would mess up half of my clothing)! LOL

2) Nicki and I took a break this morning from WABC to attend church with my son TJ at New Life Providence Church (our adopted church). This was the last day of their Month of Missions. This is when many of their missionaries come home to tell about their ministry.

3) After church I went home to fix dinner (yes, I actually cooked on a Sunday). My intention was to surprise Marc when he got out of church. Figured I owed him as much since Nicki and I bailed on him today).

4) The surprise was on me because when I called him he told me today was our Senior Ministry "Senior Recognition Day". This is the day we take our Seniors out to dinner and they are served by the "younger" members of our church. Guess that homemade dinner will have to wait until tomorrow. lol

5) Nicki took me over to meet them, but only after we had scouted out a few stores before the big "Black Friday Sales" this weekend.

6) Black Friday is a big day in this household. Its the one day Marc and I hit the ground running to pick out Christmas gifts for our family and friends (as I said last week, we do our personal gift shopping after Christmas, but we are big on giving out to our friends and family). WABC even has a gift exchange Sunday.

7) My husband has always been a big gift giver. He got it from his mom who had gifts for everyone (including a little extra in case a unexpected visitor comes along) to the point that her livingroom would be overflowing with presents. The first year that Marc and I were dating she even had a gift under the tree for me.

8) After all of the Black Friday shopping we will be coming back home to start pulling out the Christmas decorations. By the end of the weekend my fall decorations will come down and the Christmas stuff will start going up. I can't wait to start.

9) We gave out the Thanksgiving baskets at WABC today. I hear the team worked their socks off yesterday. Nicki and I had wanted to be their to help out, unfortunately a dear friend passed away this week and our family was attending her Homegoing Service while the volunteers at WABC were packing up the food. I heard that one of our members took some pictures. I can't wait to see them.

10) I met some great ladies this week at a virtual roundtable for Pastors Wives. It was the first time I have ever been on a webcam (plus I got to try out a Mac, thanks to my daughter Nicki). It was the coolest thing (meeting the ladies, not the mac. Not that the Mac wasn't great). I can't wait for the next one. I'm kicking myself now for not taking a picture.

11) I received an awesome package in the mail this past week. I won't name any names but I just want to say that this person blessed me in a way that I'm not sure many would understand. I love to read, and I am an information junkie by nature. Let's just say that I have enough books now to take me through the holidays (both of them). The part I loved the most is that this person seemed to know exactly what type of leadership books/information I would have gotten if I had purchased them myself. And they seemed to get that even though I am a women, that I would want to read the same things that most would have just reserved for a man in leadership. Thank you soo much, you made me feel as if I contribute something of substance to this crazy world we live in.

11) I probably won't post much this week because our schedule is kind of tight, so I want to take the opportunity right now to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. I have so much to be thankful for, including all of my great cyber friends. Happy Thanksgiving.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Black Women's Hair

I don't know if you saw the Oprah episode where they were talking about "Good Hair" (the documentary by Kris Rock), specifically black women's hair. But I thought my "peach sister's" (hope I haven't offended anyone) might get a kick out of this post by Priscilla Shirer about hair. Oh, and if you want to ask me about my hair go right ahead.

He Is With You

I got the opportunity to hear Mandisa at the Women of Faith Conference this summer. I heard this song that day and fell in love with it. I ended up buying the CD and I have probably worn out every track on that thing. Just thought I would share.

Note: Don't forget to go down to the bottom of my page and pause the music on my playlist so that you can hear her song.

Monday Afternoon Ramblings (through the eyes of the wife)!

1) In case you didn't know it we had a crazy week. Remnants of Hurricane Ida were whipping at our door for nearly three days! By the time I got home yesterday it was late and all I wanted to do was chill...hence the Monday Afternoon Ramblings. That and the fact that I hadn't taken any pictures of the storm. Got up first thing this morning and took these. It was especially good to see the sunshine the last few days.

2) In the 15 years that Marc and I have been in this house and for the first time that we can remember we lost electricity for longer then an hour. But not as long as many of our neighbors. One of our church members electricity just got turned back on last night!

3) The estimate of damages for our area have not come in yet, but its expected to be in the millions! There is soo much damage. I feel sort of helpless, and frustrated as to how to help. I do know that the Redcross is asking for assistance.

4) Several homes caught on fire during the storms and from what I have heard several people lost their lives on the highway.

5) We only sustained a small amount of damage. There is a limb hanging on our roof that will have to be removed and I have a lot of pine cones and needles that need to be removed off our walkway and the front porch.

6) I was surprised at how frustrating it was for the little time we were without electricity, but after reading Kelly's and Heather's post about their Compassion trip I quickly shut up. Speaking of the Compassion Organization, I think we have come close to choosing a child to sponsor. After speaking with a friend I have decided to share this with the kids and we will decide as a family. It is one of the things on my wishlist for Christmas.


7) I am also hoping to participate in several upcoming serving opportunities at WABC, and a few at NLP with my family. In the last two years I have had a hunger to do more in my community for others. As the children have become older their Christmas list has diminished and now I am hoping that we will do more things together that will benefit others.

8) After three days stuck in the house I was very happy to be going to WABC on Sunday. After service we went to a new restaurant for dinner (I love Italian food), did a bit of shopping and then went home and chilled.

9) During the week we have experienced death and new life. One of the members from our old church passed away. Marc spent some time Sunday with the husband and is on the program for the Homegoing service on Saturday.

10) We also ushered in the birth of the newest little one at WABC. My family is excited at the prospect of more babies to hug and love on. My poor hubby is itching to be a grandpop, but none of our children have plans to head in that direction any time soon. LOL

11) I'm very excited about the upcoming Pastors Wives Roundtable that Lori and Brandi will be hosting on Thursday. I'm still waiting for Nicki to hook me up with her web camera though.

12) While stuck at home this week I was able to watch a message by Priscilla Shirer to women leaders hosted by Lifeway. It was an awesome message (if you haven't noticed I am an information junkie). I hope one day to hear her in person.

13) We have had to postpone or cancel a few events at WABC because of the storms, but our outreach ministry is working on several things for the upcoming holidays. I'm determined to enjoy this downtime while I can because in a few weeks its going to get mad crazy busy again.

14) Thankfully I get to go home for Thanksgiving and because several more family members then usual will be at my mom's home the only thing I have to prepare to bring is a few desserts (can you say Sam's Club). Our Thanksgiving Celebrations are never tame, so it will be interesting to see what kind of crazy things happen this year.

Playing by my own tune!

I have been wanting to use this picture forever. I even knew what I would call the post, but what I didn't know was what the message would be. Then I read Brandi's post about music, and Lori's response and I started thinking (never a good thing). Isn't it amazing how God works? Each of us play by our own tune. Some of us do it with a little country, some a little rock and then others with a bit of soul. Yet we all were created by one God. Sometimes I think we forget that God created each of us different (and not just the color of our skin). But even with all of that he created us alike in so many ways. Perhaps you are confused by now? What I'm trying to say (especially to women) is that even though I may play a different tune from you, we are more alike then we are different (for instance each of us are mothers, daughters, sister's, wives, pastors wives....see we are more alike then we thought). Many times we let our differences define our relationship with others. Sometimes we let it define our relationship with God. We put up barriers where none should exist. We do it in church, at our school, in the workplace and then we pass it on to our children, our friends, our peers, our congregation (starting to get the picture). I believe when this happens we miss the bigger picture. What if we blended our music together and created a new tune? I learn from you, you learn from me and together we change the world. Each of us are given different gifts, but when we merge those God given gifts together we can create a new sound. Just think of the things we could accomplish when we come together as one. As a teenager I sang in the school choir. During practice we would each sing in our sections (all of the altos together, all of the sopranos, all of the tenors and then bass). Individually we sounded good, but when we blended our voices together we sounded awesome. Just imagine what would happen if we as the church started to do that. I believe we could accomplish so much more when we stop competing and started working together to change the world we live in. There is nothing wrong with playing by your own tune, but just imagine what would happen if you joined with someone else and created an orchestra!

Update on Abe

Kelli sent me a message last night that Abe is a lot better. He had a major asthma attack (they thought it might be pneumonia) and scared her half to death (scared me for sure. Marc was threatening to get in the car and head to GA). She said to tell everyone thank you for all of the prayers and to please continue to pray, especially that she can learn to trust God to watch over him when she can't. Boy, do I understand that one (I still feel that way even though mine are all adults)! Please keep this family in prayer. They have challenges many of us would never be able to handle.

Urgent Prayer Request

Many of you know from reading my blog about my friend Kelli. Today I got a text saying they were headed to the hospital with Abe. Please pass this message on to as many people as you can. I know how much the power of prayer can change things. Prayer request: Hey everyone if you could please pray for a very special little boy. His name is Abe. He has some major health issues he is just a sweet small little boy not even 2 years old. They had to call an ambulance he was having issues earlier in the day with breathing. I don't know what has happened. He has 3 sisters and 2 wonderful parents. They could use everyone's prayers.

This was this morning and I still have not heard anything so please keep praying.

Sunday Mind Dump (through the eyes of the wife).

1) This has been an amazing, stressful, energetic, overwhelming, blessed week.

2) It started with Marc and I attending the Leadership Conference at Calvary Revival this past week. I loved sitting at the feet of such great communicators as Pastor McBath, Dr.Chand and Pastor Kelly.

3) Wednesday Marc had a cyst drained at the back of his head that had become infected. I told him no more illness (especially around Thanksgiving time). Its been just over two years since his last medical emergency. Back then I lost a lot of my hair and probably added a few gray ones to the mix.

4)The last day of the conference I had an amazing revelation. Friday after much prayer and conversation back and forth Marc and I chose who our pastor and mentor would be. I can't tell you the weight that has been lifted off of my shoulders after making this decision.

5) After months of preparation Marc and I were honored this weekend at the 1st Anniversary Celebration of us coming to WABC. I had very little to do with the planning and because of this I was able to sit back and enjoy the weekend. I will admit this was hard for me to do, but in the end I decided to be obedient and let others take the lead. Marc and I both agree that the committee did a great job.

6) Saturday night WABC members held a banquet in Marc's honor. Marc's friend of nearly 30 years spoke at the banquet. Mike and Marc go back to Marc's teen years, and Mike's wife Chico and I have been friends for a very long time. As a matter of fact when Mike and Chico renewed their vows a few years back, I was the coordinator. It was one of the largest weddings I have ever planned.

7) The WABC members honored Marc the night of the banquet with a very special gift. His very own lear jet (die cast model form of course), which he jokingly request every time someone asked him what they could do for him. I'm not sure they will ever be able to top that one. LOL

8) This afternoon we were blessed by the presence of our friend Pastor Todd and his congregation from Piney Grove Baptist Church for Marc's Anniversary Service. Todd (who came from the same church that Marc and I attended before coming to WABC) tore the place up!!!!!

9) The youth of WABC surprised Marc the night of the banquet by reciting the books of the bible. Something Marc emphasizes in his Wednesday night service. I do believe it was one of his most favorite highlights of the entire evening.

10) After all of the weeks activities I am ready for a little down time. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we still have several upcoming events. Including the 25th wedding anniversary of one of my girlfriends. So you will see me dressed up for at least one more occasion.

11) I'm still trying to get over the fact that we have been at WABC for nearly two years (the first year Marc stood in as their interim pastor). I can honestly say that Marc and I are humbled by the love that the WABC family has extended to us. We look forward to the next few years and can't wait to see what God has in store for this small church with the big heart.

Ever Have One of those"aha" moments?

Ever have one of those "aha" moments when all of the pieces start to make sense? This time last year Marc and I were making the transition from youth leaders to Senior Pastor and First Lady (yes, I said it just this once) of WABC. One of the things we couldn't agree on was whether or not we should choose a pastor and church under which to be covered. Traditionally in the black church when a minister becomes the pastor of a church he does not join that church but in many instances his family does. I have always felt that this left the family divided and I balked at the idea of us not having the same pastor. Yes, technically Marc is my pastor but something inside of me kept saying but what about the times we would need counseling, prayer, encouragement? Eventually we agreed that we wanted that covering and a place that we could sow into. The next question began with who and where? We wavered between two places one of which is my beloved adopted church and the other being under the leadership of someone in the area that both Marc and I respected and had gained much teaching from. This weekend while attending the Leadership Conference and listening to Pastor McBath express his love and respect for his Pastor it hit me like a ton of bricks. We have had a Pastor all along (it just had not occurred to me that he should be the one. Now I wonder how I could have ever questioned it could be anyone else). I immediately told Marc who surprisingly said he had been thinking the exact same thing! Isn't God amazing?

Pastor David and his wife Cheryl have been friends of ours for many years. It all began years ago when we were stationed in Riley Kansas. Over time our families formed a strong bond, so strong that it extended to our children and lasted well past the time we departed the area. After returning from Operation Dessert Storm Marc spoke with Pastor David about his calling and under his guidance Marc gave his initial sermon and was licensed by Pastor David to be a minister (nearly 18 plus years ago). Last year they blessed us by attending Marc's installation service and this past summer when they came back to visit Pastor David spoke before our congregation. Marc and I couldn't have picked a more humble, God fearing, anointed man of God to come under. And I can say with all confidence that I will never be ashamed to introduce him as my pastor.

Sunday Mind Dump (through the eyes of the wife).

1) This will be a short update. I had to stay home today. Late last night my throat started to get sore and I had hoped that by the morning it would be better.

2) Instead I woke up this morning with a ear ache, body ache and my throat was even more sore then last night.

3) My first thought was that I don't have time for that this week. We have so much on our plate starting with the Leadership Conference at Calvary Revival this week.

4) Saturday begins the celebrations of our first year at WABC with a dinner, followed by a special service on Sunday.

5) Several of Marc's friends will be speaking this weekend. Including a special pastor friend from our home church who now pastors his own church in Virginia Beach. And the boy can preach!

6) This weekend was pretty busy just in case you missed it. Nicki and I attended a hat luncheon on Saturday. Let's just say it was very interesting. Nicki and I had fun wearing our Sunday hats, but I warned the ladies in advance that this wouldn't become a habit. lol

7) As soon as the hat luncheon was over we raced home to change into some comfortable clothing and headed to the Holy Ghost Wiener Roast hosted by our adopted church. I plan to post pics of Nicki and her friend square dancing. It was a hilarious. LOL

8) In the next couple of months I will be busy with several projects. Starting in January we will be begin "Kidzone" which will be our children's church ministry. I think we have nailed down the curriculum to either Group's "Hands On Bible" curriculum or "Faithweaver" also from Group.

9) Our women's ministry will be hosting a Winter Tea in January, and then in February we will host our first Marriage Ministry Weekend event.

10) For the next couple of days I'm just going to chill. Well except for Wednesday afternoon. I'm meeting with a client who is interested in me doing a scrapbook for her. Its been a while, but I'm actually excited at the prospect of using my scraproom again.


11) Notice the picture at the top? Marc ended up being one of the photographers at the wiener roast Saturday night. After he finished his last session we took a few pictures. In case you can't see it Marc's hat has Mickey Mouse on it. I taught him well. LOL

12) All in all its been a pretty good week, and the weekend wasn't to bad either. Of course for me anytime I get to spend with family and friends is a good week for me.

Wiener Roast

After the luncheon Saturday Nicki and I dashed home to change for the Holy Ghost Wiener Roast. We were planning to meet several friends and the kids from WABC. The event is hosted by our adopted church New Life Providence. We had a great time. Nicki and my girlfriends daughter Beth headed to the square dance section. I will have to post pictures of them. It was hilarious to watch. They had planned to get on the mechanical bull and the climbing wall but the lines were crazy. We did get to go on the hayride which brought back memories of our first church when we first moved back to VA. We use to go on hayrides in the neighborhood during Halloween and throw out candy to the tricker treaters. One year we even went Christmas caroling. Its been a long time since I have been able to enjoy Halloween in this way. For the last four years while at GMZ I was one of the ones behind the scenes leading the planning for this type of event. Marc ended up being a volunteer this year when one of my friends from NLP asked him to take photos in the old fashioned photo booth. I'm looking forward to next year and hope that we can take a few more of the families from WABC.

Hat Luncheon

Enjoy, you won't get to see me in a hat that often. Some of the ladies from WABC attended a hat and hair luncheon yesterday. We were supporting one of our members and her organization who were hosting a fundraiser for an adopt a family project. They had a mini hair show, a hat contest and gave away several prizes. Every lady who attended left with a goody bag filled with various freebies.