Summer With A Purpose: Week Two!

Hello Dear Friends!

It is week two of Summer With a Purpose! Today, I will be listing some of the things that I've accomplished throughout the week! Although I didn't accomplish many of the things I had on my list, I still had a productive week!

We have some friends who are in the midst of moving right now, and we've been helping them a lot! They are just moving down the road, but with moving, comes a lot of work! Daddy, Papa, and Tyler (my brother) will be completing the chicken coop they've been working on for the past week. It is coming along well, and we plan on moving their chickens to the new location today!

I've been helping move things, such as boxes with smaller items in them, from the old location to the new location. It's been quite a bit of work, but it feels great to help others! It has truly blessed my heart to be able to help another family!

I've also been working on my photography this week. Our friends (the family who is moving) have a new baby horse, and he is so precious! I've been taking many photographs of the sweet baby. Here are a few of them...

He is so precious! I have really enjoyed taking pictures of him!

I wasn't able to accomplish a lot at my house this week because I've been busy helping our friends. I plan on doing some sewing next week (hopefully) and maybe some cleaning!

I look forward to posting week three of Summer With a Purpose. If you would like more details on this challenge, you may visit Miss Emily's blog, My Life Belongs To Him.

I hope that you are having a wonderful and blessed day. Thank you so much for visiting my blog, Where The Heart Remains. I feel so blessed to have readers like you!!

Your Sister In Christ,

To My Daddy...

... On Father's Day ...

Dearest Daddy,

Thank you for everything you've done for me. Words cannot describe how immensely blessed I feel to have a father like you. You've raised me to be a wonderful, Christian young lady, and I am truly thankful for that. May the Lord continue to pour His abundant blessings upon you. I love you with all of my heart... And always will.

With Much Love,

Jenna

~~~

Have a blessed Father's Day, dear friends!

Your Sister In Christ,

Summer With a Purpose!

Hello Dear Friends!

Miss Emily, over at My Life Belongs To Him, is hosting a wonderful challenge for the summer. It's called Summer With a Purpose, and I encourage you to join in. If you are interested in participating, or if you would like more details on the challenge, click HERE.

For the first week, I am going to list some of my goals for the summer. Each week I plan on posting what I've accomplished!

Here is a list of my goals for this summer...

1. New Recipes...

I would like to find/collect some new recipes this summer. I always enjoy cooking something new with my mama! If you have any recipes you would like to share, please comment!

2. Sewing...

My mama and I plan on starting a few sewing projects this summer. We both would like to learn more about the fascinating art of sewing!

3. Crocheting/Knitting...

I have just recently started knitting, and have really enjoyed it! I received a kit on how to crochet, and plan on learning real soon. I would like to further my knowledge in both crocheting and knitting!

4. Cleaning...

Oh, yes! You cannot forget about all the cleaning that needs to be done. My mama can always use some help with cleaning around the house, and I would like to help her more throughout the summer, while I have a short break from school.

5. Family Projects...

My family made a list of things needing to be accomplished at our house. The list is quite long, and I know that they need to be done in a timely manner. Speaking of that list, we had better get started soon!!

Those are just five of my main goals for this summer. I know there is a lot more to be done, but I am going to start with these!

Again, if you would like to join Summer With a Purpose, please click HERE for more details!

Have a blessed day, dear readers!

Your Sister In Christ,

(This is my 96th post!)

Too Cute!

About a week ago, Jessa and I were playing telephone. Here is how the conversation went...

Jessa:

"Jenna, let's play telephone."

Jenna:

"Okay!"

Jessa:

"I will be Grandma, and you will be Jenna."

Jenna:

"Okay..."

Jessa:

"Hello Sweetie Pie!"

I just thought that was the cutest thing coming from a three year old! She sure knows my grandma well!

~~~

Today, Jessa was on the couch trying to put me to sleep, and this is what she was singing...

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate,

All Day...

LONG!!!

She is so silly and sweet!

I just thought I would share those two stories with you... They both gave me a good laugh, and I hope they did the same for you!

Many Blessings,

Our Story Of Adoption

Hello Dear Friends!

I've been wanting to share my family's story of adoption with you. As you all probably know, we adopted my little sister from China in the year of 2007. She has been a true blessing, and I feel so thankful to have her in my life. Our adoption process, although long, was a wonderful experience. We waited for about a year and a half until we were finally able to head for China. The wait is much longer in the present time, but in my opinion, I think it is worth the wait!

First, I would like to share our beginning steps of the whole adoption process with you! We decided to adopt when I was about 10 or 11 years old. We had thought about it previously, but God had not fully placed it on our hearts. When I was younger (age 9-11) I would write my parents little notes and letters. I would then place them under their pillows at night before I went to bed. I would write them constantly, asking if we could please, please, please adopt! With much prayer and guidance from God, we decided to start our journey through adoption. We started the process as if we were going to adopt a "healthy" child, which would be considered a child without special needs... God had different plans!!

One afternoon, my dear mama and I were browsing a special needs list with twenty children awaiting a forever family. Out of the twenty children, my daddy and mama felt there was one child in particular that God was calling us to adopt. There was no picture, just a brief description. We asked for her information, but someone had already asked for the sweet baby's information before us. We knew that God had the perfect plan for our adoption, so we just continued to trust Him and His plan.

A week later, I went on the computer and checked emails. This was a very important activity in my day... I would always check for updated adoption emails from the adoption agency! My family was sitting on the couch. I glanced at the screen and saw the words, "Child Available For Your Consideration." I felt as though I was dreaming. I told my mama immediately, and from there on out, the Lord was with us throughout the whole process.

Jessa's special need is called a hemangioma, which is similar to a raised strawberry mark. It is below her lip, and is now gone. In China, they completed a series of injections every month and a half. They would inject a needle in her upper lip, and it definitely reduced the size of her hemangioma. Now, all that's left, is a tiny scar. My, how the Lord is good!

- Baby Jessa at 8 months old -

- Jessa on her 1st birthday! We had a cake made for her in China! -

Notice the icing on her precious forehead! How sweet!

~~~

My little sister, Jessa, is now three years old. She is a happy and energetic girl, who keeps us on our toes! I'm sure you all are wondering how our trip went and how little Jessa adjusted to our family. I am going to answer those questions right now...

Our trip to China was amazing, and I long to be there at this very moment! Our first stop in China was Beijing, where the Great Wall of China is located. We had a wonderful time visiting the different sights in Beijing. I learned so much during the first couple of days in Beijing.

Our next stop was Changsha, which is in the Hunan Province. This is where we got to hold Jessa for the first time! I remember when we saw her for the first time... What a beautiful day it was! We got out of the car, and walked into the building where she was. We went up in an elevator to a different floor, and then the door of the elevator opened.... There she was, sitting on her nanny's lap, with a curious little face. The pink outfit she had on was precious. I just wanted to hold her at that moment. My mama took her from the nanny's arms, and Jessa let out a little whimper. Mama started bouncing little 15 month old Jessa in her arms. The tiny sounds that Jessa was making stopped immediately. By the second day with little Jessa, she was completely attached to our family, and had her own cute personality.

After Changsha came Guangzhou, which was personally my favorite! The people were so sweet to us there. We finalized Jessa's adoption papers in Guangzhou, and she officially became my little sister! Ahhh, what a happy moment that was!

The whole trip was so blessed by God. We were able to stay in 5-star hotels, and I loved the Chinese food, although some of it was a little disturbing! The experience was amazing, and the sights were breath-taking. I would love to adopt from China when I am older, if God chooses that for my future husband and I.

I encourage your family to think about adoption if the Lord places it on your heart. God has the perfect plans for our lives... You never know... Adoption might be one of them for your family!

I would like to share some photographs with you from our trip to China in December 2007...

- Daddy and Tyler standing on the Great Wall Of China -

- Our first minutes with baby Jessa! -

(I still had braces... Wow!)

- Our family of five!!! -

- By the first night, she was a smiling girl -

Do you see in this picture that she's grabbing my nose?! :)

- Little baby feet -

- All dressed up -

- She loves her mama -

- She also loves her daddy -

- Sweet Smiles -

- Women exercising in the park -

- This woman completed some very neat moves with her "sword" -

- Oh, I love this photograph. Daddy was taking the picture, so unfortunately, he isn't in it. -

- Jessa's first plane flight -

- Jessa was in love with my brother's hat -

- Precious baby Jessa sleeping -

- Look at those eyes -

- Jessa was not very happy about going to her doctor's appointment -

- Look at that sweet smile -

- This is a photograph of the market street, which was quite interesting -

- I love this -

- Jessa loved wearing Mama's sunglasses -

- This photograph was taken the evening we arrived home -

- Jessa is a true blessing from the Lord -

Many Blessings,

Recent Snapshots...

Courtship Class: Week Six!

Hello Dear Friends!

We spent a wonderful time of fellowship last night at courtship class. It was our sixth class, and we plan to continue throughout the summer! I am looking forward to the future classes. I apologize that I didn't write a post on week five... It seems as though time slips away quickly! I figured that I would go ahead and move onto week six!

Last night's lesson was so wonderful, especially for the young girls who attended. We learned all about saving our hearts for the right person, who God chooses for our lives. After all, God knows what is best for us... He is the One who placed us here on earth. I feel immensely blessed to have such a wonderful Savior, who I can lean on and pray to!

Before thinking about any type of relationship, we need to give our whole heart to God. He will protect us if we do this. I will share a line from the book we are reading:

"The first important step of protection is to guide every daughter to give her whole heart to God - and to give the key of her heart to her father."

What a wonderful statement for all young ladies. Instead of making a young man our idol, we are to give our hearts to God and give the key to our father. Here is another short sentence that I liked from the book:

"Love is giving, not getting."

I love this truthful sentence. We are not to expect things from a young man because love is giving, not getting!

Another wise policy is to stay away from the practice of dating. It usually ends in damaged emotions. The temptations of our world today are so awful, but we must try to influence the world, and not let the world influence us! We must be a generation who disciples and shares the wonderful Word of God. It may be challenging, but we must at least try!

 

Now, I would like to talk a little bit about the secret of capturing affections. Many people either deny, repress, or fantasize...

 

1. The Response of Denial

 

This is a common response to a sudden attraction. It is simply denying the fact that you are attracted to another person. This is a natural response, but it is not how you should handle a situation when you are attracted to someone.

 

2. The Response of Repression

 

This is another wrong response... It simply means that you have an attraction, yet you try to push it out of your mind. Funny enough, when you repress these kinds of thoughts further and further, the more you actually think about the person!

 

3. The Response of Fantasizing

 

This is the third wrong response that I would like to talk about. Fantasizing is focusing attention on a person and imagining what it would be like to have an intimate relationship with him or her. This does not lead to a good ending! In the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 13, it talks about Amnon, and how he fantasized about his half-sister, named Tamar. I encourage you to read this chapter. Notice how it ends... Not so wonderful!

 

Instead of choosing any of these responses, we must go to God and read His Word. We need to share each of our feelings to God. He can help all of us, if we just go to Him, pray to Him, and read His Word on a daily basis. I am constantly in amazement of His Word... The Bible is filled with so much knowledge and good spiritual information for your walk with God!

 

I suppose I should come to an end with this post. I pray that you may now go with some encouragement in your heart, and that my words have also challenged you to trust in God. Remember, He is always with you, no matter what. He will not let you down... He loves you with all of His heart. You are His, and He will never let you go!

 

May the Lord bless each and every one of you. Please feel welcome to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. I always enjoy reading your thoughts.

 

Have a blessed Sunday, as we celebrate the Lord's Day!!

 

 

 

Your Sister In Christ,

Photographs and a Present!

Hello Dear Friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful and blessed day. Today, I would like to share some photographs with you that I've taken recently!

Here are the photographs! Enjoy!

I love taking snapshots of squirrels... They are so adorable!

I found these flowers out behind our property. They are so colorful and beautiful...

Here is another photograph of the same kind of flower...

... And one more! I love this picture. It is the center of the flower!

This little guy was standing in such an unusual way...

It looks quite uncomfortable!

This is my dear Bible. If you notice, my two favorite Scripture verses are visual.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

~ Proverbs 3:5-6 ~

I love the Lord's Word with all my heart!

~~~~~~

My Grandparents gave me a wonderful and brand new camera tri-pod that they found in their garage. We were not for sure if it would fit, so I brought it home with me to try it with my Nikon camera. It was such a blessing when the screw fit perfectly in my camera! I am so thankful to have it... I have been wanting a tri-pod for a while. I'm glad that I waited patiently.

Here is a picture of my new tri-pod!

The legs also extend out on it.

While on the subject of my camera, I would like to answer a question that some of you have asked me many times. Here is the question and answer:

What kind of lens do you have on your camera?

Answer:

I use a Nikon DX lens, which came with the camera I use. It is a 55-200 mm. It has been a true blessing to me, because I love capturing close-up photographs of the Lord's creation!

I hope you are having a blessed day. Thank you so much for visiting my blog! You all are truly a blessing!

By the way, this is my 91st post!!!

Your Sister In Christ,

P.S. Miss Grace, at Grace's Garden Walk and From the Desk of a Young Writer, is going to be hosting a wonderful giveaway real soon. She would like to reach 60 followers on "Grace's Garden Walk" and 40 followers on "From the Desk of a Young Writer" before she hosts the giveaway. Please visit her two blogs, and consider following both of them. I have truly enjoyed reading both of them! If you decide to follow one or both, comment on her blog and let her know that I recommended you to visit her blog! I hope this makes sense! :)