New

Ever stop and think about how great "New" is?
We have recently started a new year and so many people are looking forward in anticipation of what 2014 will bring them...
We started a new week, (a couple days ago i know, but just go with me...)
A new day...
Each is refreshing and full of hope and wonder.
You get a new shirt, it just feels good....
Change around the furniture in your room and a sudden "ahhh" escapes your lips as you enjoy the new layout.
New is all around us. The new year brings many things to people, resolutions and such, but i am not one for those. We arent promised tomorrow- not saying you should not set goals and plan ahead.... those are all very good things! Just dont get caught up in the hype of it all.
God's mercies are new every morning and so for me, that is how i am looking at the year!
Each day i want to wake with thanksgiving and to be about what God wants me to do this day. Each breath offers a newness of life since we are not promised the next one. So what am i going to do about it?

This new year has already been full of ups and downs- my car broke down on the second and after a couple of evaluations, will wipe our savings to fix- things will be tight for a little while, BUT, GOD is good! We have it to pay the mechanic and i will soon have a car once again!
Even in the midst of this, GOD was good to provide a temp car for us to be able to use, family with AAA to help cut the towing costs, weather that had Mr.J at home so i could use his truck when i needed to go somewhere and the fact that we had set a little money aside so we wont go into more debt to fix my car. Even in this down, GOD has been SO good!!

On an up side- Mr.J got a new job!! (Gonna brag on my man for a min, b/c well i can! And i am so proud of him!!!) Several months ago we were approached by a couple who own and operate a herb farm not farm from our church. In joking the husband says that if things ever get slow they had a position they thought Mr.J would be good at... Months pass and work is all over the place for Mr.J... Really busy, then promising with no follow through, some frustrating jobs and  lots of prayer later the couple asked Mr.J again. . .
Mr.J and i prayed for a while on this. He sought counsel from parents, pastors and other friends- and we had them all praying too! There are pros and cons to staying in business for oneself as there are for working for someone else. After a LOT of prayer and seeking God's direction, Mr.J agreed to take the job. The official job title will be "Steward" He will be an overseer, or manager in the greenhouse. The couple he will be working for a Christians and very sweet! We think very highly of them and know that God will encourage and bless Mr.J even in just getting to work there- but also as he learns from Stan. (the husband) Mr.J is excited and a little nervous in starting this new adventure. There are still a lot of unknowns that will have to just wait and be found out as time goes on. Since this is a new position for both them creating and Mr.J working it, things will look different day to day. (Flexibility will be key!) i know that Mr.J will do a great job here! i am so blesses that he would leave something that he is comfortable in b/c he knows this is where God is leading him, and this will be a better way to provide for us! If you think about him, pray for him!
Pray as he learns the ins and outs of what he will be doing, that he will get the hang of the terminology and paperwork, that the people he works with would see Christ- (this is going to be a huge mission field!) that the farm would grow in his being there, that the S's would be blessed and encouraged by him working there, and that Mr.J himself would be encouraged, that God would grow him and pull him even closer to HIS heart!

My adventure for this time is to be a THM! If you have heard of it, you know i am talking about a new way of eating. If i follow their suggestions, i will hopefully loose some of this weight i have packed on in the last few years!
Trim Healthy Mama, or THM, was written by two sisters who had set out on their own dietary journey back in their teens... They were like pendulums going with the newest fad diets that surfaced every so often. After years of research and study, God showed them in His Word what He thinks about eating. Though their inspiration is based on what they feel God showed them- it is NOT law or mandate in His Word that you MUST eat this way. It is not a fad and something to do b/c everyone else is- you must do what you feel God has called you to do. i borrowed the THM book from some friends of mine and did a lot of research of my own- and it makes sense to me. The science behind eating a certain way so that your body burns effectively what you are putting in to it, i was able to understand! (i will say that i need to go an reread some of the terms and scientific findings a lot because i get lost in the wordage, but the overall concept, i get!) What i love most about this lifestyle change is that it is full of grace. You will only see results with as strict as you choose to be.
Example, the other day i went to visit with a friend of mine. She has three little girls and we had lunch and an afternoon snack while i was there. There were things that i should "not" have eaten, but i chose to eat a small amount to be polite, and eat more of other things that i knew i could have together.
If this interests you at all, please feel free to ask questions, look on their website here. There is also a great support page on facebook and even pinterest! i am excited about it!
There will be more posts to come that involve THM- recipes i try and such... maybe i will even dapple in photocooking!!! =)

Long post- i apologize, but mush has happened and its only mid-January!! =) May you be blessed this coming year- each new day, minute, moment- as your hands find the things God would have you to do!!