that's amore monday <3

i don't know that this needs tons of explanation BUT if you don't understand: PLEASE wash all your dishes by hand for a year and it won't be long before you appreciate this fabulous invention.

dear dishwasher-

you are so good to me. i grin with glee as i pass you strolling through the kitchen. i giggle as i gently stack dinner plates on the lower rack. thank you for in advance for all of your hard work that will inevitably leave me with a better manicure, less wrinkly hands & my gag-reflex inactive.

i love you-

jen

my only remaining issue is: how will i get my husband in my frilly pink apron again?

i hope you have a fabulous monday & that you take time to honor your appliances too.

{not related alert}

we are officially home owners & are all moved into our new place! everything isn't where its going to live but all in due time...right? i can't wait to share some pics with you all! thank you family & friends for helping us SO MUCH! with all the packing, moving down the street, unloading, cleaning, unpacking, organizing & CELEBRATING - we could have never done it without each of you generous helpers.

another mixed up day in the life of jen

here is one more long & random post {just for jules}!

so this week has been super eventful so far & will only get worse {or better depending on how you look at it} as it goes on. here's a little preview of my week from now through sunday. we have fun on top of fun on top of fun!


first of all, my friend shannon who has moved to SC is coming to town tonight for the weekend. i am thrilled! i hope we get to have tons of time catching up & visiting.

i'm sure you don't need a play-by-play of my life but that may be a little of what this turns in to. tonight after work i am rushing off to our new place to do a final walk through {yay}. tomorrow morning i have to come into work for a half-day {blah} and then go close on our house {yay} pending that everything that we've set up doesn't fall through! we keep getting phone calls of distressed lenders & realtors with scary news that turns out to be nothing. we pray that it will all come together in god's timing {which we hope is tomorrow}! prayers welcome.

saturday is MOVE IN DAY! the parents, aunts, uncles, siblings & cousins will all be in & out through the day helping us with this new endeavor. unfortunately i have the strength of a 6 year old child so i won't be much help in the heavy lifting department. we're so blessed to have so many helpers! hopefully some friends will be able to swing by as well and see the new pad!

move in day will give way to ryan & carly's wedding in the evening. these are two friends that i am incredibly happy for. i can't wait to celebrate with them. the blog world may even get to see a few pics of these up-coming events.

and finally, sunday...i'm sure our house will still be a disaster so i have big plans to continue unpacking {if i ever wake up from my saturday night self-induced dance coma}.

more importantly, at 3:00 at the pond at southland my mom stephanie will be getting baptized. it will be an outward display of what is happening internally. she will be crucified with christ in his death & raised again with her sin buried in the waters of baptism. i can't wait to be a witness to such a great occasion. all you friends are welcome to join {i know some of you ladies were interested}.

enough with my schedule...on to other news. i have an announcement:

WELCOME UK STUDENTS...now that you're here please don't ever leave your dorms. traffic has become ridiculous once again now that 30,000 college students have descended onto lexington. this is my view for at least an hour of every day. {tail lights}

here are three things that are now sitting on the floor that i can't wait to hang up {on walls} in the new place! just a little preview. they don't go together but just throughout the house.

imagine over a door frame with khaki colored walls behind

i don't know if this will go in a bathroom, laundry room or on the inside of a closet but i just loved its distressed look & glass hooks so i bought it.
this is a jewelry organizer. i think its dainty. i also don't know where this will live but i think it's sweet. earrings go along the top. necklaces hang on the hooks on the side and along the bottom. bangles & bracklets slide onto the bar settled on the hooks. this was a christmas gift from nana. thank you nana & urban outfitters.

to complete the longest longest post ever. here's a song that's been ringing through my head all day. then sings my soul...how great thou art!

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,

And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

traffic shot from flickr photographer "Way Opening"

remember sweet things X 2

in "remember sweet things" i should have included that today is my mom & poppa steve's 21st wedding anniversary. TODAY! my dad wrote me a quick email just to tell me how much he cares for my momma & how precious she is to him. even more than that...that she has brought him closer to the lord. i have always been so well loved & encouraged; i am so thankful for them! what great sets of parents i have! i am so proud of them {all of them}. i wish i had some pics of their 1988 wedding to post on here {with big poofy hair included} but as of right now i do not so settle for these please!

congrats on your committed & loving time together!

that's my mom & grandma {not related to anniversaries but i thought mom & dad each needed another pic}
that's me & poppa steve cuttin' a rug at mine & benny's wedding.

i hope today is SO sweet! remember to cherish one another.

remember sweet things...

at exactly this time one year ago i was running around like a crazy person planning for a wedding & preparing for marriage. the engagement process for benny & me was fun & exciting, challenging & bumpy, a time of growth & a time to serve. turns out this was a little preview into our first year as a newlyweds as well. i remember being so excited about our up-coming big day that i would almost make myself sick. i kept reminding myself that while weddings are great & all it's really just a celebration of this huge union we were about to embark on. as you know...we did tie the knot {perhaps i'll share some pics of that soon too}! i am beyond blessed to have my best friend as my husband. it has been so awesome to see the ways that the lord is sharpening us, drawing us closer to Him & closer to each other.

benny is a great encouragement to me with his generous spirit & loving & patient heart.

hope you have a LOVE-ly day!

photos were taken by michael & mickie winters. check out their site...we loved them. {www.wintersphotography.com}

surrender

you know when the lord is trying to tell you something or teach you something and suddenly its all around you? every bit of scripture you read, every book you pick up & every sermon you listen to all leads you to the same thought or idea? that's my life right now; you finally just have to say, "ok god, you've got my attention." i spoke of this in an earlier post but it continues to ring true. god's continually calling me to live a life that is radically different, to be nearer to him & to live out the gospel.

we had a discussion in bible study last night that continued to point me to this idea...what does it look like to surrender my life? am i living a life worthy of the gospel? am i living out what scripture calls me to do or am i so attached to what's normal in our world to even grasp what he intended our lives to look like? do i make excuses why it's ok for me to live counter to scripture?

it's really awesome to have fellowship with people that are trying to process the same truths at the same time. it truly is a blessing. the bible study girls & our church have decided to follow what christ taught {& commanded} to the best of our ability {with his strength} in real ways. love people that he would love, give away what he would give & go to those he said to go. we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, cast off everything that hinders us & run the race marked out for us. this series has been a great encouragement to me, i recommend you check it out {week 4 already happened & should be up soon}.

a few excellent questions that were posed last night {that all tie in together} are: that our lives are not our not own, why do we live like they are? why do we cling to things in our lives {physical things, people, dreams, security} so tightly that we won't give them up EVEN THOUGH god promises to always be faithful & always provide for us {phil 4:19}. not to mention that any plans that he has for my life are going to abundantly more adventurous, more challenging, more creative & more joyful than anything i could think up for myself {jer 29:11-12}.

i hope this doesn't sound like...me me me, what do i do, my life...my _____; please know that's not my heart. i just really want to glorify the lord with this one life i'm given here and i want it to be ALL ABOUT HIM!

i think that i will keep wrestling with this {maybe my whole life} but as i keep digging i pray that the lord will really show me more & more of what it looks like to be a "good & faithful servant" & to be "a woman after his own heart".

i hope that challenging questions spur you on also. please feel free to share any thoughts you have.

photo provided by flickr & linked to it's owner

that's amore monday

if you know me, you know i love monograms. i love personalized anything. well that's not true. something's that are monogrammed are ugly. i can admit that. but most i love. i would go as far as saying that i just love letters in general. it sounds silly, i realize. i am consistently drawn to them in whatever home store i roam. i already have some "B's" in our house. i want to buy more but don't want to overwhelm our guests with my addiction. here are some of the sweet things i found to share. anthropologie & etsy were two main inspiration stores for this post.

sweet stationary. {sticky notes & personalized note cards}

i don't know if i would do this in my home but i loved this little nook.

printer stand letters. interesting & pretty.

a darling pocket mirror & matching case. wouldn't this be a sweet for bridesmaids?

here are a few samples of "just letters". the B is for my family now. our YL students usually think the "b" is for "ben". if you were wondering the same thing, it's not, its for brzinski, our last name. i wanted to show you the b's in our home but i already boxed them up...maybe i'll feature them once they are hung in their home!

i think that these french doors are so inviting. looks like you are on your way to a garden party on the patio.

on a complete side-note: last night we got two phone calls letting us know about two potential snags in our housing plan.

1. our bank called to say that our credit reports had our parent's addresses listed instead of our own so we have to write a letter saying where we've lived and for how long. that doesn't seem like anything too BIG, i'm just nervous that there will be some crazy loop-hole that will stop our loan from going through.

2. barb, our realtor called & said that the current owners are saying that they won't be able to move by the closing date we had discussed. he said that he would be out on august 7th so you would think the 28th really shouldn't be an issue but i guess he's renigging.

SO....moral of the story? we need some prayer. we are so close to this all being taken care of, but of course, it's not over until the deal is done. i'm just praying that the lord will guide us in all we do and that everything will come about in HIS timing.

individual "B's" provided by flickr & etsy: white B by Marisposa, rusted B & circle B by leo reynolds, french door B from etsy's spottedleopard

linen & lace

we all knew a day would come when {with grace & lace} would have to show some...lace. i thought these images were so sweet in their display of linen & lace & had to share them with you. i hope you enjoy them on this warm & cool, cloudy & sunny saturday. what odd & wonderful weekend weather.

on another {completely unrelated} note. i just took down all of the wall art & pretties from our den. it looks bare & sad. don't worry my precious frames & photos, you will grace the wall again.

delight in something dainty today.

images provided by flickr & are linked to their owners

ready for the weekend

i am so ready for the weekend. i'm going to keep this post short & sweet so i can get on with the fun! i definitely have my to-do list kickin' and my planner packed but i am so excited for the few precious moments this weekend that i will get to enjoy a football game with h.s. friends, a lunch date with little lindsay, packing up my house with my bestie, rach, AND relaxing for a second with my wonderful husband. i'm even forecasting some snuggling in our hammock since its only supposed to be about 75 degrees...perfect hammock weather. i have a lot to look forward to.

go enjoy a fabulous weekend! i plan to check in with the blog world...don't worry.

my prayer for the day

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours

Everything I am for your kingdoms cause

As I go from nothing to Eternity

Hosanna Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

images provided by flickr & are linked to their owners - the ranunculus field is my favorite...absolutely gorgeous

prayer inspired by hillsong's {hosanna}

new house...new system

well, i finally started packing up boxes. i've got about 9 boxes filled which doesn't sound like a lot but i am proud of myself for getting that far. a lot of things in the house are already in baskets or bins that will be portable on their own {i'm going to consider those packed as well...that makes about 15}. see, i got more accomplished from just writing this post. here are a few of the stacks i have going.

1. it's sad to leave

2. pretty soon we won't be able to walk from room to room

while i was packing benny was helping by washing dishes. he is so mad that this is on the internet. but i'm so happy to have a loving helper. {yes that is my apron...but only because he doesn't have one...yet}

i say "new house...new system" because after we move into the new place i am going to force my unorganized self to become miss organization {or mrs. i suppose}. i desperately want to be the crazy lady who insists "a place for everything and everything in its place." organizational skills are something i lack but WILL acquire...starting in 8 days. i got some de-cluttered inspiration from the pics below. hope you do as well.

bulletin board alternatives: i thought each was unique and could easily be personalized to fit your own taste.

someday. someday i will have a crafting station. this could be one section of such a station...this one is for gift-wrapping. i love it. all of my gift wrap is shoved under our guest room bed {sorry morgan}. having an organized & designated spot like this would be a dream!

the next few images show what can be done with shelving & bookcases. one thing i notice in each of these rooms is that each has some theme item clustered together {empty frames, clocks, glass vases, boxes} that create a unified look. i don't know that i could ever make my bookcases look so crisp...or empty.

now that i have inspired you to go organize your sock drawer & clean out the back of your closet...have a great evening.

images provided by myself, www.marthastewart.com & www.realsimple.com

i want more moore !! {exclaimation point}

i am extremely blessed to be a member of a fantastic bible study lead by a faithful woman and filled with wise and committed participants. the girls in the study have been some of my closest friends over the past 4 years. some i knew long before joining the study and others i've grown to love & look up to. like i said, i am extremely blessed.

we just began our new study for the semester last night and for the first time we are trying out a beth moore study. the particular one we are doing is called: {living beyond yourself}. i am so excited to be starting it, especially with these ladies. first of all beth is a hoot. yes, i used the word "hoot." its the best word i can think of to describe her. i think i like her so much because she is loud & hilarious but can also clearly & passionately communicate the gospel. i like to see women like that.

last night was just the listened to the introductory video to the series but it was already encouraging. Here are a two of the main points i took away from the evening:

"self-absorption steals your joy." i think this is so true. the more we are concentrating on our own wants, our own needs, and our own desires the more miserable we drive ourselves to be. the truth & the paradox is that the more we give our lives away the happier {& more joyful} we become. perhaps because that's what we were designed to do {give our lives away}.

the theme of the entire study is this: if our lives are hidden in christ then we have the holy spirit in us. this is great news! because of christ in us we are able to do abundantly more than we could ever do in our own strength or abilities. i am so excited to learn more about this, about what it means to tap into that power and live it out for god's glory.

"but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. against such things there is no law." -galatians 5:22-23

images provided by flicker image 1 - teacup mosaic image 2 - helgasms!