Jen's 24th Birthday

Let the party begin...

Our Patio

my friend Stephanie made this beautiful cake as a gift for my birthday

gorgeous

Jess & Angela both came up for my birthday, Thanks girls!

the day of my birthday, Santa Ynez river

Vineyard Adventure

Our Dinner

My Birthday was on the 18th and I because my husband is self-employed I got to spend the entire day with him! I woke up to some great surprise gifts from family and a note from Michael explaining how every hour I will pick a new note with a 'pet' name he calls me and why. By the end of the evening I was amazed and how he wrote out 20 names he actually uses (of course they are all edifying:) Our Bob Jones bike ride was not too inviting as the wind was swaying our palm trees from side to side. We opted to stay cozy indoors and enjoy blueberry coffee cake and coffee. On a whim we drove down to Santa Barbara to spend some of my birthday $$$$ and decided to add an adventure in the Santa Ynez vineyards. At one point we were running on the freeway overpass to take a picture of the Santa Ynez river (Michael's idea). The vineyards are a gorgeous warm yellow in the fall, and the picturesque rolling green hills add dramatic views on the 101. We enjoyed some planting in our front yard and then set off for a Thai dinner (it was quite the treat since we have only gone out to eat twice in the past two months). I felt truly loved and blessed by the Lord, my husband, and family and friends that day.

To add to the festivities, my friend Tara who also shares the same birthday, had a joint birthday bash on Saturday night. The theme was a night in Spain, and we enjoyed Tapas and Sangria. It was a great turn out and we all had a lot of fun. Michael put in some serious man hours on the patio before our guests arrived, so we all fully enjoyed the outdoor ambiance.

Friends

formally known as Brunette Brigade/ Ironbark Girls

the ranch

The beauty of prayer is we are praying to a God who hears us 1 john 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.  The difficult part in prayer is discerning what His will is for our lives.  As I search the scriptures more and more, observe the life of Jesus, and quiet my heart before the throne I can began to understand His good, perfect, pleasing will for my life.  

I believe the revelation of Christ in our lives has all been received in varying ways.  Some people accept Jesus in their heart as a young child who has grown up in the family of believers while others may be on their death bed contemplating the eternal happenings of their afterlife. For some they may have to wrestle with reason and logic while others simply embrace what is unseen and immeasurable in the heavenly realm.  Some may have exhausted all other life solutions finding themselves desperate for more, while others may quickly leave their fishing boat and follow Him.  None have an excuse Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.  The revelation of Christ's, love, grace, and forgiveness came through four fifteen year old girls in my freshman English Composition Class.  My faith was simple to me, my friends did not seem of the world, they had a joy I had not seen before, and I wanted to be apart of it.  So for four years I had provision after provision in the family of believers encouraging and loving on me as I explored what it meant to follow Christ.  

My independent and passionate spirit soon led me on a journey away from everything that was familiar and comfortable, commonly known as college.  I knew before I left home I would need similar relationships with other sisters as I had before, in a sense even more so now as I was truly facing an Ungodly Culture.  I prayed every night in bed starting winter of 2004 of my senior year before I knew where I would go to college, "Lord please provide me girls I can connect with, encourage, love on, and have fun with in YOU."  I did not doubt it would be easy to find friends in general but to find the prayer I asked, would take the Lord. 1 Thess. 5:17 ...pray without ceasing. So I started my journey of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 until winter 2006 two years later.  

Meagan, Angela, Alexa, and Lauren the women in the photographs above are truly the faces of this prayer.  Amazing, He heard my cry, and answered in His time.  Patience, long suffering, and loneliness, were all things the Lord tested and tried me in and finally after seeming like centuries I entered into the blessing of friendship with these women.  Proverbs 17:7 A friend loves at all times could not reflect our relationships any better.  We have walked through some of the most painful and challenging times in our lives, worked through conflict and communication with one another, and spent some of the most memorable moments of college together.  But what I appreciate most about these friendships are we are bonded by the blood of Jesus.  We can come together, pray, admonish one another in truth and love, share our inmost thoughts, and find refuge. This was our second annual Brunette Brigade get together since we have been out of college. I love you ladies:) 

Friends & Fun

Knee-high white boots meets an melody  of daisies

Beckoning the young hipster blonde towards peace and love

Walking through the age worn ocean streets

Caught in a whirl wind of chocolate coated peanuts and carmel

Palettes satiated with all forbidden things

Garlic Chicken and white sauce, a Klondike Classic

 The race against time as oodles of synonyms fill the room

Refreshments of Pinot a top a Pint of German Beer

Dancing to ACDC and Michael Jackson

A las our phony identities fall asleep once again for the year

Facebook

Reasons why one might deactivate their facebook account:

1.  the ridiculousness of indirect communication with friends when making plans 

2. it causes people to be more flakey, how hard is it to break plans with a computer screen, really?

3. mindless hours can go to looking at friends accounts

4. it is a lame excuse to not pick up the phone and just call someone

5. it enables our generation to become disconnected and lazy in pursuing community and relationships

So, I gave it up. It was actually super easy, to be honest I don't feel like any REAL fruit came from facebook.  I thought the only reason why I might keep it is to stay in touch with old friends but the reality is usually after a couple wall comments back and forth it doesn't go any further.  I also do not want anymore enablers in my life as a poor reason to not pursue community better with people who live near by and a far.  It is also one less thing I will spend time using the internet doing.

majestic king

For the Coastland shall hope in me

The name above all other names

Jesus

Surprise!!

Got Ya! 

Watching the Birthday girl

Harry was cheating! 

I love surprises, especially when they truly end up being a surprise.  Well my mother in law, Gerry, was absolutely shocked when she opened the door at church to a room full of familiar faces and a beckoning "Surprise!"  Harry (Gerry's husband) had been planning this _ _ th birthday party for months and ended up pulling the whole thing off; hawaiin bbq, yellow cake (gerry's favorite), games, and gifts galor.  I love my mother in law Gerry, she is one of the most giving, thoughtful, and easy going people to be around.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being apart of the Paine family more and more as time ticks on and of course getting know Gerry's corky and silliness that comes out on occasion.  We love you Gerry and were so happy to be apart of your very special day! 

colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

My time is filled with what seems trivial in the light of eternity. Unemployed, house projects, reconnecting with other believers who have full bellies, yet my mind keeps flashing back to malnourished children and women in Africa. I find at the end of the day my heart seems to be broken knowing there is more.  How do I live His kingdom on earth now as it is in heaven?  Friends in Africa, Thailand, and other parts of the world seem to be apart of a mighty work for eternity and I am here on the Central Coast wondering Lord, where do you have me? What do you want me to do? I am caught between my own fleshy desires of wanting to be comfortable and hearing that beating place of desire and passion for His kingdom come now here on the central coast.  I am not in Thailand, Uganda, Mozambique or Costa Rica I am here today.  It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me the hope of glory. And so I seek today to do everything in the name of Jesus with a thankful heart, no matter how trivial it may seem from my perspective.

 His Kingdom come & will be done on earth as it is in heaven....