TOP 10!

Hello friends!! Happy February! I love the month of February! It is far enough past Christmas, that it is no longer depressing that everyone has taken down their Christmas lights and tree's! It is fun when it snows, the occasional day "off" of whatever because of the snow is awesome!! :) Another reason that February is my favorite month...Valentine's Day is this month so I am pretty much guaranteed a date with my husband!!! Lastly, I LOVE February because it is my birthday month! :) My parents were really thoughtful with our birthday's when we were growing up, so birthdays are very special to me! My mom always made us a special cake, and we always had a plethora of friends over to help celebrate!! This birthday is particularly special because I am going to be 30!! Yes friends, this is the last week of my twenties! And you know what, I am totally ok with that!! With age comes wisdom and many new blessings! I am excited to see what God has in store for me (and my family) this year and the year after that, and the year after that...! :) I really believe that you should live life in the present! I think God calls us to be content with exactly where we are right now, but it is exciting to think about what He has for us in the future! It is also good to look back and see what He has done in my life for the past 10 years, He worked and worked and worked in my heart and I am so thankful!! They have been FULL of life lessons, amazing experiences, and a lot of JOY!! So...I think I will share with you my top 1o List of Lessons I Learned in my 20's! :) (Be assured friends that I am STILL learning and growing in many of these area's!!! :))

10. Life is FUN when you have a heart full of JOY!!! Of course there are days when joy may come in different shapes and sizes, it might not always be huge smiles and lots of bouncing up and down!! But when I live my life full of JOY for God, life is a lot better!! Joy is certainly a choice!! You have to choose joy even on the days that are rough, even when you are walking in the valley, and when life is hard! But friends, I promise you that the choice of Joy in Christ is amazing!!! The freedom that comes with JOY is un-replaceable! Therefore, I will always CHOOSE JOY, for myself, for my kids, and for our life!

9. Life truly goes by so fast!! If you don't embrace where you are at, every single day...years will have flown by without you even knowing it!! I can hardly believe how fast the past 10 years have flown by! ( I realize that that statement alone makes me sounds like I am 100 years old, but it is TRUE!!! :)) I am learning to make every second really COUNT and I am striving to be intentional with my family, I don't want to miss a second with them!!

8. True friends are very hard to come by!! A lot of people have come and gone in my life over the years, and I am so thankful for each one!! I have been refined by so many relationships, in both good and hard ways!! I am so thankful for the people that I have in my life right now! They are wonderfully loving, good listening, unconditional, GODLY families who live their lives very similarly to how Wyatt and I desire to live our lives and raise our family!! I have also learned that you don't need an entire entourage of people! Friendships are great, I don't want to discount that, but everyone cannot be your BEST friend!! That title should only be reserved for people who know you, love you and are unconditional with you!! But for us, for this season, we are thankful for the handful of people loving on us as we love on them!! We are truly blessed!!

7. Life runs in seasons! In some seasons, life is full of family and friends and busy-ness! In other seasons, life means change--changing job, changing churches, moving to a different house in a different state or simply having a different outlook on life! Seasons are not bad, in fact they help you grow and spiritually mature! I love the season of life we are in right now! We have taken a step back to see what is really important!! We are re-evaluating where were are and where we want to be...it is a wonderful season of learning, reflecting and growing!

6. If someone is willing to talk TO you about someone else, be assured that they are willing to talk ABOUT you to someone else!! This has been a VERY hard lesson in the past years, but I am thankful to have learned it and moved on! I have readjusted my ideas of what a good conversation is...if all I have to talk about is someone else, I probably shouldn't be talking, or listening!

5. The statement "If you don't put anything IN TO(fill in the blank), you won't get anything OUT OF (Fill in the blank!)!" This is one of my biggest pet peeves, but it is also one of the biggest lessons I have learned over the past decade!! God can teach us something in EVERY situation, we just have to allow Him!! Our hearts and minds have to be open and centered on Him and what He is trying to teach us!! Early in my 20's, I got so "me"-minded...everything was about ME, so of course I wasn't getting anything out of ANYthing!! My dad and I had several chats about this and I had the hardest time understanding his point!! That life isn't about ME, it is about GOD and how I can serve Him best! Now, I understand what it takes to learn, be fed and grow!!! It takes me putting everything aside to focus on what God has for me to learn, even when it might not be a lesson I want to hear!!

4. A family that loves, serves and honors God is priceless!! I can't even begin to explain how many times in the past 10 years I have talked to my parents about choices that I am making or would make! They always answer(ed) my questions and concerns with Godly wisdom and discernment!! They LOVE God, and, because of them...I live my life for Christ, and my children will live their lives for Christ!! It is a legacy that started a very long time ago, that lives on today, through my parents, Wyatt and I, and our children! My parent's aren't fancy people, they don't have a huge house or drive fancy cars , but they are living life for Christ and there is nothing better than knowing that we will be together in Heaven someday, praising God together there! I am SO thankful for my parents and for the way they chose to obey God, even when it might not have been the life they were expecting!

3. Children are a BLESSING!!! My two kids are the BEST thing that could have ever happened to me!! I am so in love with them and their little personalities!! They make me laugh and cry because I love them SO much!! Before I had my kids, I got to hang out with a sweet little man named Griffin!! I started being his nanny when he was just 2 weeks old!! I had really never cared for a baby that small, yet his parents entrusted his little life to me!! He has been a true blessing to me, and, he has taught me so much about what being a true parents means!! I am so thankful for the ways that God touches me through Maddie and Zack every single day! I am also thankful for my relationship with Griffin and all that God has provided through him and his family!

2. My husband is my perfect match! If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be marrying a man that was home schooled and had never kissed a girl before me, I would have laughed out loud!! I never knew that God would have someone SO AMAZING for me!! Wyatt is my best friend, he is the most incredible man I have ever met!! He still amazes me every single day with his patience, love and God fearing heart! He is a man of God, he loves God with his entire being! He challenges me to know and follow hard after God every single day! He is always on my side, but he is always willing to help me see the other side of any situation! Every decision that he makes for our family has been soaked in prayer! I am the luckiest woman in the world, and for him, I am SO thankful!!!

1. God is GOOD, ALL THE TIME!! He hears us when we talk to Him! He loves me unconditionally, and He is ALWAYS there!! He is proud of me, and He gives me the affirmation I need, simply because I belong to Him! I guess this isn't new to me, it is just a lesson that I have to learn over and over again! God is bigger than me, He is bigger than any situation I feel like I can't get over! He is BIGGER than my fears and failures! He knows me inside and out! He knows my heart's desire's! He knows my character and my integrity! He knows my passions and my struggles!! HE IS BIG...nd I am SO thankful!!

Father that you for your BIG-ness! Thank you for being constant with me and for loving me, hearing me and protecting me! Father, please guide me as I enter this new season of life! Please give me wisdom and guidance!! Father please help me to serve You, above all things!! Remind me each morning that You have provided a new day for me! Help me to keep focus on doing Your work each day!! Please give me wisdom and discernment in my mommy-ing skills, with my relationship with Wyatt, with my family...and in my friendships! Please use me to shine Your love, in all circumstances!! Please give me contagious JOY!! I love you and I give YOU the glory!! Amen!

Happy NEW year!

Happy New Year Friends!! It is so hard to believe that it is already a new year!! Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone and here we are looking at the beginning of another year!! I am SO EXCITED for this year! It is going to be the BEST year for the Jenkins family, I can feel it in my bones!! Wyatt took 16 days off for Christmas and just went back to work today, needless to say, we are MISSING him VERY much! During his time home we had a BLAST together!! We had a lot of good friends over for dinner and we got to spend New Year's with our BESTest college buddies!! It was a par-tay!!! :)

Some of the best time we had were the evenings that Wyatt and I just sat together and chatted!! I love my husband so much, he gets me in ways that I never thought someone could understand me!! I am so thankful for his love and unconditional-ness!! We feel like this year there is going to be a LOT of change, BUT, we are EXCITED about what 2010 holds for our family!!! We trust that God will guide and direct us and we are excited to follow His will for us!! During some of our chats, Wyatt made some pretty awesome challenges to me, I am ready to watch God work in my heart and mind!! Go GOD!!!! I also wanted to share some of my own personal goals for this year!

*Spend time in God's Word FIRST thing every morning!! If I am going to trust Him with my life, then I need to start my day with Him, every day!

*I want to be a better wife! I know that this sounds cheesy but it is true! Wyatt is amazing and his is the most incredible gift that God could have ever given to me!! So, one way I want to be better is that I want to be more mindful at making dinners that he especially enjoys! Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and he is SO patient, but I know I can do better! I want to make sure he has something yummy for breakfast and something to take to work with him for lunch! We aren't a big leftover family, BUT I am in charge of the food in our house and I want to take care of Wyatt by making sure he is well fed! Again, I know that sounds cheesy but it is big for me!!

*I would like to lose 50 pounds this year! I lost 70 last year and if I could lose another 50, I think I would be at a good place! Please pray for perserverance for me friends!!

* I want to stick to our budget and feel good about where we are one year from today!! By this time next year, we should have a lot paid off and that would be AWESOME for us!!!

* I want to be better about communicating with my friends!! I am not good on the phone, but I need to be better!! It always makes me feel special to get a call from someone, just because they are thinking about me! I think about people all the time, I just need to pick up the phone and tell them so!! I also want to send at least one letter per week! I LOVE to get mail, so I am sure others do too! :)

* I want to be more confident, pretty much all the way around!!!!

*I want to have contagious JOY!!!!

These are just a few of my goals for this year!! I am looking forward to all of the new adventures that God has in store for me and my sweet family this year!!!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus!" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18