One last vaca....

Just in case you needed to know what we are up to this week. I've got a few visuals.

Straight from Amelia Island, Fla .

Happy week friends!

Insta-Week 7/23-7/27....

"It was good for me to be afflicted 

    so that I might learn your decrees.

⁷² 

The law from your mouth is more precious to me

    than thousands of pieces of silver and gold."

Psalm 119:71-72

Oh my goodness. What a week.

Emotional. Crying. Joy. Happiness. All rolled into one awesome Summer week.

VBS with our Orchard Grove friends was a HUGE success. My friend, Kim Jaynes, offered our friends to come to her church for 4 days of life-changing fun. 

Kim is my hero. She is always serving, helping, and pointing the way to Christ. I still cannot think back on this week without tears spilling down my face.

Lives were changed. The biggest being my own.

If I could say one thing I have learned these last few weeks, it would be: God is pruning my heart and teaching me invaluable lessons about humility, grace, and love.

He is leading me to lead others to Him, and then to get out of the way. Sometimes I get tripped up because I want to linger instead of pointing the way to Him and moving on. 

I have to leave my concerns and worries over these kids at the Cross, and trust that He has this overwhelming thing in His big capable hands. 

These kids do not need me, they need Him. Plain and simple. 

Just like I teach my own children: I will fail them at times. I will disappoint them at times. But, God never, ever will. God will always be there. Always. 

Isn't that just awesome?

I try to teach my children to never lean on a person for their security, but to lean on Jesus. 

It's a lesson that God is constantly teaching me as well. 

Big things happening in my heart. Not just my heart, but Lem's and my children's. 

Joseph said quietly at dinner that this had been the best Summer ever. He said he saw things differently due to his new found friendships with these Orchard Grove kids. He said he just feels different.

Oh, how I can relate. 

Here's our week in pictures. 

Lunch date with my girl today. Our fave spot...Chili's.

My favorite little chicken...Lamiah. (her nickname is Chicken)
This girl has my heart...and then some.

Off to cheer camp! She had so much fun. Oh how I love this girl!

Lord, I hope Presley always loves me this much. Be still my heart.

My sweet and tough girl, Egypt. She has my heart too. 

Our SHINE shirts arrived!
Yay!

Happy weekend-ing!

Insta-week 7/15-7/20...

I love Fridays!

Here is a sneak peak at our week!

Happy Fun Friday, friends!

Haylee's birthday party!

Movie night with Orchard Grove friends! This is my group for the  night! Yay!

Presley's self portrait

Our whole group for movie night at the library!

our walk to the top of the 'hood. our resting place.

i love my life. lunches and all.

holly. pic taken by presley.

presley is riding joseph's bike with those long legs.

a reminder for myself.

joseph's letter to jordan before heading to the navy.

presley's letter to jordan.
be still my heart.


**My Joseph was with his cousin most of the week--hence no pics of him. Just had to make that known ;)

Jesus calling.....

Some days the Lord just speaks to you.

Today was one of those days.

I woke up to read my favorite devotional, "Jesus Calling". If you don't have this devotional, you need it.

Anyway, the Lord spoke right to my heart this morning in the words I read. My eyes brimmed over with tears. I was barely still awake when I read the words. My eyes were still kind of sleepy.

It was just what I needed to hear.

Lately, I have been feeling very lackluster and a little lonely. Not lonely in the "lonely without friends" sense, but kind of lonely with my walk with the Lord.

I told a friend recently that I feel the Lord is growing me in dependence on HIM, and not on others. This is a hard growing pain for me.

I have spent my entire life depending on others for emotional support and affirmation. Hanging on every word of those around me to get my tank filled with their words and their love.

The Lord is slowly and painfully breaking me of this. I ain't gonna lie...it is HARD!

Hence, one of the reasons I logged off of FB for now. FB is affirmation-city for an affirmation-junkie like myself. It fills these holes, and it feels good!

However, the Lord spoke clearly to me when He told me to hang it up for now. He knew it wasn't best for me at this time. He knew it was hindering my dependence on HIM for the filling of these holes.

It makes me feel a little sad and a little lonely because I am a very social girl! I love being in the know! I love keeping up with my peeps! It feels good to feel loved and "noticed!"

Oh, but the Lord knows my heart better than I do. He knows what is best for me, and He knows I need just Him right now.

Again, it is hard.

He wants me to be okay with just being noticed by Him. Him alone.

I am getting there. I really am.

I know that the fruit of this growth will be well worth the growing pains. It will.

He is so good, and only wants what is BEST for me. He doesn't want mediocre-Jill anymore, He wants His best-Jill.

As I type, I hear Lem in the kitchen talking to the dogs. Simple, sweet Lem. His heart is so pure and so good.

Another reason he is just good for me. He makes me better. So much better.

He is God's BEST for me.

Yep, he is.

growing,

jill

God, Kids, Summer and Me.....

My children are at a little Summer camp this week. Joseph is doing a basketball clinic and Presley is doing a little cooking clinic at a local church. I miss them terribly. It is just a little day camp, but my heart cannot stand being away from them.

We also have VBS this week at our church. Since coming on staff at ECC, I am helping to plan and organize the VBS. It has been fun, but also tiring.

Very late nights. We get home about 9:45 each night, and my little self heads straight for the bed.

Long days, long nights this week.

But fun.

I have met some incredible little children this week. Oh my goodness, some of them I just want to scoop up and carry home with me. Our little group has several children from a local trailer park that is brought by bus over to the church.

My heart melts for these children. They are so eager to learn, and so excited to be there.

The Lord just keeps putting these kids into my path, it just literally breaks me sometimes. I have always felt called more to women's ministry, but it seems that children's ministry is inevitable for me at this season of my life.

When the church asked me to come on staff in the children's ministry, I was a little puzzled with the Lord. "What? Children?"

Don't get me wrong, I love children. I really do! I have just always felt more of a tug towards women's ministry.

I guess the Lord has other plans for now.

This Summer has literally changed me. So many children, with so many needs, with so many hurts, with so many needs. My heart bleeds for them.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed that I just cannot even fathom the needs of these children. Then I look to the Lord and trust in Him, knowing that He is in control. He sees the needs. He hears the cries. His will, will be done.

I have to trust in that. I just have to.

Last night, I was tucking Presley into bed and I asked her what her favorite thing was about the day camp this week. She said, "When I go to lunch and Joseph is already in there and has saved me a seat."

Oh my goodness. Heart melting.

Why the Lord has blessed me with the most precious children, I will never ever know.

I am just grateful. Overflowing with thankfulness.

bleeding heart,

jill

Our VBS Small Group <3

Psalm 131...

"my heart is not proud, o Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore." psalm 131

I stumbled upon this verse this morning. It always brings peace to my soul.

Happy Monday.

Insta- love part two...

Ok, so I told you that I broke up with Facebook for a while, right?

Well, my newest love is instagram. I cannot add a hyperlink from my phone, cause I'm just not savvy enough to do this.

So, here's the deal. I like pictures. They make me happy!

I like words too, but they tend to be too jumble-y (is that a word?) and loud. I get enough loud in my house and in my car. A GOOD loud, mind you, but loud none the less.

Instagram is all pictures. Yippee skippy!

Since my phone is with me (at all times)--it works for me!

Yay!

So. There's my good find for the day.

(I realize this is my 2nd instagram post. I'm smitten. What can I say?)

Any good finds lately on your end?

Spill it. :-)

Insta-week....

A few favorite moments from our vacation.

It has been fabulous. I no likey saying goodbye to the beach. Good thing I have some cool memories to bring home.