Happy Birthday Jesus!

The 3 J's together again!

Hey Everyone!

I arrived in FL late Tuesday night, and I have been spending lots of time with my family. My sister, Joy just had her baby last Friday, and I should have some pictures to post soon. (Stay tuned...) In the meantime, please enjoy this video in honor of the 3 J's being all together again! Merry Christmas!

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Casting Crowns Christmas Celebration

I LOVE Christmas music...therefore I LOVE Christmas concerts! My bro-in-law has a friend, Denver who is in a band ("Denver and the Mile High Orchestra"). Denver was kind to get me some free tickets to the show they were touring with. Guess which one it was? Casting Crowns! - along with Natalie Grant, Avalon, Michael English and Pure NRG. I took my BCF, Shelley with me, and we had so much fun! Not only did we get in for free, but Denver also got us some backstage passes for a "Meet and Greet" after the concert.

Here is everyone together on stage (including a kids' choir from my church - FBC Woodstock)


Me and Shelley - our seats were way down on the floor close to the stage!


Me and Janna from Avalon at the "Meet and Greet" after the show


Me and Melissa from Avalon


I was so excited to meet Natalie Grant. She is my absolute favorite! I am singing her song, "I Believe" at my church's Christmas concert this weekend. (FBC Woodstock)


This is Denver. He was so nice to get us the tickets!


The concert was amazing, and we had a blast! We were out so late though that we returned home a bit on the slap-happy side cause we were overtired. That made it more fun though - you know when you get to the point that everything is funny? I laughed so hard I almost wet myself. :)

Take Me Back

Here is the video of me singing, "Take Me Back" at FBC Woodstock a couple Sundays ago.

Baby, it's Cold Outside!!!

Brrrrr!!! "Hotlanta" isn't so hot right now. In fact, it is freeeezing! When I left Florida yesterday morning after spending Thanksgiving with my family, it was 72 degrees. I arrived in Atlanta last night and it was 34 degrees outside! Evidently, there were snow flurries all day, and they just happened to stop right before I got home. :( I hope I'm gonna get to see some snow before Christmas!

Anyways, I had a blast with my family during Thanksgiving and ate waaay too much. I had lost a lot of weight while in Atlanta because I don't have my mom around to cook for me, but I am sure that I gained a whole lot of it back this past weekend!


Here are the Thanksgiving turkeys, my Mom, Mammaw and the bird...lol :)


I loved getting to see my nephew, Riley! He has grown so much since I last saw him a couple months ago.


Riley got a whole lotta suga' from his Aunt Jenifer! I just couldn't resist - He's so cute! I am crazy about this child!


The 3 J's minus one. My sister, Jane could not be there for Thanksgiving, but I had fun with my sis, Joy. She is 8 1/2 months pregnant with my 2nd nephew, Joel. I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks! I've already talked to him through her belly, and I know he must be anxious to meet me too! :)


On Saturday, I went to the beach - just me and God - to watch the sunset. I think He created this beautiful one just for me! I love being in God's creation, and it makes me feel so close to Him.


This time at the beach was a great time to reflect and thank God for all the many blessings He has given me. I sometimes get caught up in worrying about everything that I don't have that I forget about how much God has done for me and provided me with. When I compare the list of things I'm not satisfied with to the things God has blessed me with, His blessings FAR outweigh the other stuff.


Psalm 139:17-18a

"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand..."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am so excited as I write this because tomorrow morning I will be hittin' the road and heading to a much warmer climate to visit my family in Florida! I am sooo looking forward to my mom's cooking. I know she's gonna make her squash casserole because it's my favorite dish that she makes!

This is such a great week for Thanksgiving, because I realize I have SO much to be thankful for. God is doing some amazing things in my life, and I can't wait to see what it is He is preparing me for!

The weekend heading into this week was a fun and memorable one. Shelley (my BCF) and her cute little boy Jackson came over on Friday and we spent the day together. Shell taught me how to make her famous yummy white chicken chili. I'll have to try now and make it for my family in FL. Hopefully it will turn out as good as Shelley makes it (I'm not exactly the best cook).

We then decorated Christmas cookies while listening to some Christmas music. The cookies turned out so cute!

Later that evening, we went to the only place we knew of that already had Christmas trees and I picked out the perfect one. Shelley's husband, Stephen came to help us get the tree upstairs in my apartment.


We then ate some of the yummy white chicken chili and cookies, decorated my tree and finished the evening by watching most of "The Princess Bride". We didn't get to finish it because it was getting late and everyone was sleepy, but I watched the rest of the movie on Sunday.

On Saturday and Sunday I got to return the favor and help Shell decorate her house for Christmas. She goes all out with tons of Christmas decorations, 2 trees and lights outside. Her house turned out beeeauutiful! It was so fun spending this sweet time with Shelley. I am so thankful for her - she is such an undeserved blessing in my life.

On Sunday, I sang a solo for the first time with the choir at my new church FBC Woodstock. (I will post the video soon). I had prayed specifically about something regarding the sound that was throwing me off during my sound check during rehearsal a few days before and God answered my prayer literally the moment I began singing Sunday morning. He caused me to totally depend on Him, and then He was right on time with providing me with what I had asked Him for. I am so grateful for everything He has done and continues to do in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Bring on some Cheer!

I am soooo ready for Christmas this year! Have you noticed that people seem to be getting in the Christmas spirit a lot earlier this year? With the state that our country is currently in, especially after the devastating results of the recent election, we need something to celebrate. I am personally looking forward to Christmas more this year than I think I ever have before. I can't wait to have my entire family together again. I have not seen my sister, Jane since her wedding day in July, so it will be a sweet reunion for us.

Something else I am looking forward to is our Atlanta Encounter (aka "Church4Chicks") online Bible Study that begins tomorrow. We are not meeting during the winter but wanted to provide a way for the ladies to stay connected and in God's Word. If you are a woman reading this blog and you would like to participate, you can purchase the Bible Study book, "On Purpose for a Purpose" by Shelley Hendrix at Amazon.com. To join the online Bible Study, go to www.AtlantaEncounter.blogspot.com. Shelley will be posting some discussion questions to go along with what we are studying, and you will have the opportunity to leave comments about what God is teaching you. The great thing about this online study is that you can be a part of it no matter where you live and you don't even have to leave your house.

Also, please pray for me because this coming Sunday I will be singing a solo with the choir at my new church here in the ATL. The music minister has kind of talked me up a bit, and I'm a little nervous that I may not be able to meet people's expectations :) However, most importantly I want Christ to show Himself through me. The song I'll be singing is "Take me Back" by Andrae Crouch. I will post a video of it on my blog next week.

Have a wonderful week, and stay in God's Word!

My Resume

Some of you are still confused about what I do for a living, so let me fill you in... I left the real estate company that I was with in 2006 after several extremely successful years during the housing boom to start my own company in order to assist large investment firms with acquiring commercial real estate. My plan at that time was to semi-retire, take the money that I had saved up and invest in real estate and stock market trading and rely on the part-time work I was doing with my investors to continue to bring in additional income. My heart is truly in ministry, and I was looking forward to finally being freed up to be involved wherever God wanted to use me.

Unfortunately, I have been hit hard by our country's housing and economic crisis, and things just haven't worked out the way I had hoped. Therefore, I am going to have to start looking for a job in the near future. This does not mean that I am going to pull away from ministry. I believe now more than ever that God is calling me in that direction, but I may have to do something else for awhile just to make sure the bills are paid. To be honest, I'm extremely bummed about it, but I know that God holds my future in the palm of His hand and will help direct me to whatever it is He has planned for me.

I have put a website below to my resume that you can view online and forward to anyone who you think might be interested in hiring me. My desire would be to have a job where I could work from home like I have been doing for the past few years, but I am willing to work in an office if I need to.

Thanks - here's the website... www.jenifersmith.emurse.com

Go Keswick!

Here's a message from my nephew, Riley that I just had to share. He was at a football game at Keswick Christian School and was dressed as a kangaroo for Halloween...

Hi Aunt Jenny and Aunt Jane!

A really long post - there's alot going on today!

As I sit here writing on my blog as my home is getting cleaned (thank you, Iris if you are reading this - you are a blessing and very much appreciated!), there is a whole lot on my mind. Obviously, my heart is heavy with the election going on today. Are God's people going to take a stand, vote for Christian values and make their voices heard or are they going to be swayed by the media and go with what seems to be the most popular choice? My mind is baffled by how many Christians I have heard say that they are voting for Obama. I have to admit that I am scared about the outcome. However, I know that my God is bigger than the results. He controls whatever happens. He is fully capable of bringing about an outcome that would baffle the media and show the world that He is in control. God said, "If my people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (II Chron. 7:14)

However, God also told us that life on earth was not going to be easy. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." God doesn't promise a world free from tribulation, but He does promise to give us peace in the midst of it. Even though I am frightened about what could happen with this election, I have peace knowing that God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. He will remain in control and on His throne no matter what happens. The greatest part is that even though evil may prevail for a little while, we know that in the end God will get the victory and those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ will live with Him throughout all eternity in heaven where there will be no more pain or suffering.

Ok - now on to the other things going on...



Today is my precious and adorable nephew, Riley's 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday Riley!!! Your Aunt "Jeny" loves you with all of my heart and misses you so much it hurts! I can't wait to see your smile in just a few weeks and hear all of your new words when I come to visit for Thanksgiving!



Also, tonight is our last night for our fall series of Church 4 Chicks.



The last few months have definitely been a learning experience, but I have enjoyed being a part of it and getting to know the sweet ladies who are involved. I am excited to see what God is going to do with this ministry in the future. We are taking a break during the winter, but Shelley will be leading an online Bible Study on the story of Esther with her book, "On Purpose for a Purpose" and will have discussion questions on the Atlanta Encounter blog (www.atlantaencounter.blogspot.com) so that everyone can stay connected. You don't have to have been to the Atlanta Encounter to be a part of it, nor do you need to live in the Atlanta area. You can order your book at www.shelleyhendrix.com and get it just in time to join us online on November 18th! We will be resuming our live Church 4 Chicks meetings back in the spring.

Ok - I've got to get going. I've still got to prepare and get ready for tonight, stop and get a cake for our dessert fellowship, pick up some other things for tonight, find a florist, call my sweet boy when he gets out of preschool, and call my long lost friend Katie who I have been playing phone tag with to catch up with her. She called me last night and I answered the phone in my sleep so I don't remember the conversation we had all that well. Ha Ha! There's no telling what I said in my sleep! Ahhhh! I just realized it's after 3pm and I've got to accomplish all of this and be at Church 4 Chicks by 5pm. Gotta go...

My trip to NC - Part B

Part B to post below...



This weekend was full of adventures! Shelley, Aunt Beth and I hit the road on Friday for what should have been a 3 1/2 hour drive to the Deerwoode lodge in NC where the women's retreat was being held. After getting stuck in traffic and then getting lost we finally made it to our destination 7 hours later! It was a bit scary because we were traveling in the middle of nowhere on mountain roads at night, in the rain and in thick fog. Not only were we lost, but we had no cell phone reception and our GPS systems were giving us incorrect information. We finally found a place of civilization where we could call for directions and a sweet lady from the retreat came to meet us so we could follow her to the lodge. We all felt such a relief when we finally had someone leading us who knew the way.

I was thinking - isn't that the way life is? When our circumstances get dark and we cannot see our way, if we rely on the things in this world that give us inaccurate information we'll get nowhere. However, if we allow Jesus, the One who knows the way to lead us, we can get through any storm. We can trust that He will be with us and lead us in the right direction even when we can't see the road ahead.

The next morning after the rain had passed, we awoke to see that what had been thick darkness and fog surrounding us the night before was actually beautiful mountains and trees with the most beautiful neon fall colors. God reminded me again that the storm won't last forever and that He knows what is out there beyond what we can see. The end result is so beautiful!




After our weekend with the sweet group of ladies, we headed back home on Sunday afternoon. Because I have lived in FL most of my life I have never seen a real fall, so we took a small road trip/detour on the way back through Tennessee and the Blue Ridge Mountains so that I could enjoy the scenery of the bright fall colors. OH - MY - GOODNESS! I have never in my life seen anything as beautiful as what we saw. Words cannot express the incredible beauty of God's creation - I was completely in awe!

My trip to NC - Part A

This weekend I traveled to NC to lead worship for a women's retreat that my cousin, Shelley was speaking at. (I will be posting pictures and more details later). Shelley is a wife and mother of 3, a gifted Bible teacher, speaker, author, and television talk show host (she's a very busy woman!). Not only does she head up, "Church4Chicks", (www.church4chicks.com), but she has a ministry called "Mary's Vineyard Ministries" and speaks at women's conferences all over the US. (If you are interested in booking her at your church or event, go to www.shelleyhendrix.com).

I am so honored to be involved in ministry with my cousin. Shelley is not just my cousin, but she is one of my best friends. We call each other "BCF's" ("Best Cousin Friends"). Shelley has had a tremendous Godly influence on me through the years. Anytime I would go to Atlanta to visit her in the past, I would come back feeling closer to God. She is just one of those kinds of people that makes you want to have a deeper relationship with Christ just by spending time with her and seeing her relationship with Him. I have watched Shelley go through some of the most painful events one could ever go through over and over again in her life, yet she has remained faithful to God through it all. Her life is such an inspiration to me and she is truly one of my biggest role models. I am so blessed and proud to be involved with Shelley in ministry, and I cannot wait to see how God is going to use us in the future.

Well - I better stop my bragging before this all starts going to her head (Just kidding :)

I love you Shelley!

Judgement House

Hello from freezing Atlanta! It is so cold up here today! I'm going to have to get some warmer clothes! (Any excuse to go shopping :) )...

Anyways - This weekend my church in Florida, along with churches all over the globe are coming together to put on "Judgement House". Judgement House is a walk-through drama that takes you through a series of rooms that tell a story. It is made to feel as though you were actually there witnessing the events taking place before your eyes. The characters are presented with choices to make about what they are going to do with Jesus. Some will accept Christ, while others will reject Him. You witness the consequences of those choices and what happens to them when they die. The thing that makes Judgement House so powerful is the reality of what is presented. Each of us must make a decision as to what we are going to do with Jesus. Will we choose Him or reject Him?

Judgement House is an amazing evangelistic tool, and I read somewhere that since Judgement House began in 1983, there have been 390,000 people who have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ and to have a personal relationship with Him. That is incredible!

I have been involved in Judgement House for years, and I have witnessed before my eyes people coming in as one person, and then leaving as a different person - totally and completely changed! I have seen big tough-looking guys come in with smirks on their faces only to see them on their knees weeping by the end. God has His hands all over this ministry, and He continues to use it to bring people to Himself.

I am sad that this year I cannot be a part of Judgement House, but I will be praying fervently for all of you who are involved.

If you want more info on where Judgement House is in your area, you can go to www.judgementhouse.org . I have put the promo video for this year's JH below - check it out!

I'm Baaaaack!

Hey Everyone!

It has been over a year since I posted anything on my blog. Honestly, I got busy and just never came back to it - until NOW! I promise I am going to try really hard this time to keep up with this especially now that I have moved away. This will be a great way to keep everyone up-to-date with what is going on in my life. (If any of you have blogs that I don't know about, please let me know and I'll definitely check them out!).

If you don't already know - a LOT has changed in my life since my last post. I am no longer in the Sunshine State, as I have moved to Atlanta! Long story short, I believe with all my heart that God called me up here for reasons that I am not aware of yet. I have had to take some HUGE steps of faith in the last couple months, and at times it has been difficult. However, I know that God is up to something big in my life and He keeps telling me to just trust Him and wait on Him. Please pray for me that I will continue to be obedient to God's calling and will not give up. I would hate to give up right before I turn the corner to whatever He has prepared for me. I wouldn't want to miss out on His blessings because I got too impatient!

Since I have been in Atlanta, I have been the Worship Leader for the "Atlanta Encounter" (aka "Church4Chicks) www.church4chicks.com. "Church4Chicks" is a interdenominational Bible study gathering of women all over the Atlanta area on Tuesday evenings. My cousin, Shelley (whom I will tell you more about later in another post) is the one who started "Church4Chicks" and is the main speaker. Being involved in this ministry has presented its own challenges, but we know that God is in it. We have been experiencing attacks from the enemy both corporately and in our personal lives as well. Satan sees it as a huge threat and has done everything he can do to destroy it. But - hey - that's to be expected when you are in ministry and doing something that has eternal value. Satan obviously doesn't know who he is dealing with. We are the children of the MOST HIGH GOD - His spirit dwells within us, and we are NOT backing down until GOD tells us to! Please pray for us and pray for God's direction in this ministry.

It's good to be back on here! Stay tuned throughout the week, as I will be updating my blog as much as possible. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!