Martha Moment

Is moving into a house 7 months ago and still not fully unpacked a bad thing? Or does it just show that I may not need everything I have? Or that I want to be organized and make sure everything has a place? I hope it's not bad and I think it could be a both some things unneeded and some things I just wanted to get the right place set up for it. When I first moved in I originally wanted to get the house ready- clean, paint, pull up carpet, then unpack. But life happened and I was never able to do what I planned. I had to just live in my unfinished (cosmetic, not structural or anything unlivable) house. I've been working like crazy to just unpack and settle in a half primed and painted 2 different color for sampling living room. I think I need a week off to get this house done (minus painting, I don't like painting in the winter), but I will work on it little by little with the free time after work. As I was working on it today, a thought came to me. Am I too busy thinking and working on my house when I should be thinking and working on my heart? I do spend a lot of time on pinterest getting ideas for my house, thinking about decorating and furniture placement, and cleaning and unpacking. So much time i've been neglecting other things.

Psalms 37:4 says- "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." and Philippians 4:8 says- " Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Houndstooth and Damask are lovely... oh and a pink couch is something I kinda desire. But these aren't the things I should be obsessing thinking about. I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10:38-42: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I'm so caught up in my house, my problems, and just daily life stuff that I lost the opportunity to spend more time with God, think about Him and what's on His heart for the day, to pray more for what's on God's heart.

To be honest, i'm not the best at setting aside time for that. I spend my entire day taking little moments to talk to God or read a verse, but not a good amount of time. I'm letting life distract me from being at Jesus' feet. I'm being more like Martha in this case. I need to let some stuff go and realize what is truly important- spending time in God's presence.
And once I let go, things will get better, I will feel better. I need Him more than anything, more than a pink and navy blue room. When it comes down to it, not much matters except God and people. God loves us and cares about what we care about. And He is totally cool with that lamp from Target, or the table from Ikea. The desire for my house to be a home and nicely decorated is one that God is ok with. Just look at Solomon's place (well read about). God's ok with nice things. He wants us to have the best, but more importantly He wants us to be the best.
I encourage you, I don't know what things you have going on in your lives, take time for the things that matter most. Do what makes you happy (or buy, with in your budget :), what makes you happy (a nicer tv)) and most importantly do what makes God happy- love Him and love others.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! 
It isn't my favorite holiday yet. It's fun for kids and couples, but not so much for singles. Kinda depressing. Well, after many years of "depressing" Valentine's days, i've learned its ok, it's just another day! Basically I got over it. This year i'm still over it. I'm still single. And I started something different, something new, something uncertain, and yet something- I signed up for an online dating site. I'm learning as i'm going (was always and will always be cautious). I'm still not a big fan of it, but it's something. I'm tired of not doing anything but waiting, hoping. I'm still waiting and hoping, but i'm also trying this. And if I even just meet some new friends or whatever, that's cool. But I do hope i'll find the right guy sometime soon.
Some things for singles to remember-
1.) You are more valuable and worth far more than anything. No guy can take that away. The right guy will see it and treat you as such. Don't settle for just any one, go for the best, the right guy.
2.) Your time is valuable. Don't let people waste it.
3.) If someone you have a crush on doesn't feel the same way and you get crushed, don't be heart broken. Be sad for a bit, be mad if you have too, then move on. He's not worth it, and really he's missing out. The right guy will come and will know you're worth more and he will be worth everything.
4.) A guy won't define you. Dating won't define you. You define you and before you are in a relationship you should really have a solid grasp on deep down who you are. No guy can change the true you, only God.
5.) A guy won't complete you. He should compliment you. Bring out the best in you.
6.) Be careful. Guard your heart.
7.) Be yourself. The right guy who you are ment to be with will love you for who you are. Never try to impress a guy with exaggerated facts and things to make you look good.
and
8.) Have fun and trust God. He has the best plans for you. Just be patient and prepare yourself. And enjoy your life whether you are single or not.

There's just a bit of my advice for fellow singles.
Later. -Jen

Operation- Live Like No One Else

A few years ago I read the book: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And he said: 

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”

Meaning if you live below your means like few people do, later on you can live like the few that are well off. That's what I want to do this year. When I started my taxes I looked at my W2 and saw how much I made last year. I looked at my bank account and saw how little of it I had. I'm not the best saver yet. I did save like crazy to buy my house. Usually I will have a couple hundred ( in honesty) in my savings and the rest in a checking account. Usually after tithes, bills, and expenses my accounts get low. I know it's good to have 3 to 6 months expenses in a savings account, I just have never been that good at saving. Until now! It's a new year so that means it's time to buckle down and get saving. So comes in Operation Live Like No One Else. What brought this up was from pinterest. I repined a blog about a family of 4 who lives on $14,000 a year. It kinda shocked me. I make a good amount, but I somehow live on close to that amount a year. I want to change, I want to have a huge amount of savings left over at the year end. I also realized, i'm not a family of 4 and I also only have one income, at the moment. So their scenario may not work for me entirely, but I can use their tips and adjust them to fit my needs better. I'm pretty excited to start and even more excited to see my savings account grow! I'm excited to become financially free! So let the journey begin. I will be sharing what i've learned from changes i've made, what works best for me, and some money saving tips. I will include it in my financial friday feature and maybe a few extra posts as well. I can't wait to save!

Hello, Goodnight

Hello! A ways back i've decided to stick with one blog, this one. Well, i'm sticking to it. If I want to write something that isn't crafty, or home related, or whatever, I can. It's my blog :)   So i'm posting on this one and this one alone.. well i'm not entirely being truthful. There is another blog in the works. It's a specific blog. I've been wanting to write about home decor, design, and homes for awhile and that's what i'm going to do. It's going to be my version of an hgtv show but blog (kinda). So that will probably launch mid February. I'm currently working on the design and getting some content written before publishing it. I'm excited for it. And I won't neglect this blog either. I was reading some older post and I came to the conclusion that I miss posting on here. My goal is to post on here atleast once a week. If I post more, great. But i'm ok with once a week for now. I actually have a schedule planned out for this blog to write every other day and write weekends on the home blog. I think it will work, but i'll take baby steps and go for the once a week goal till I make that a habit.
If I get married this week (I'm not, and Im not seeing anyone, so this is all hypothetical) I would totally have navy, pink, and gray as my colors. If i was designing a room I would have navy and pink be the main colors with gray and yellow(?) as accent colors. I'm still crushing on Navy and Pink. It's a pretty color combination. I've noticed a color trend for spring, i'm indifferent about it. Lots of soft mint, blue, and coral. I can't wait to see more color trends.
Well I better get going.
Night Nite-
-J