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...