Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Jellyland Update
Here's whats been happening with the Jellison's of the South East:
10. About two months ago I got an iPhone and I LOVE it. It is crazy the ease and amount of info I can get out and things I can get done with it as opposed to my old phone. There really is an app for everything. Staying in touch has never been easier.
9. Living in North Carolina through a winter was mild to say the least. It is hilarious to hear people from around here say how cold it is outside with it being like 40-50 degrees! I've been wearing flip flops regularly for about a few months now. We went to the beach in February for cryin' out loud! I missed some of the snow though.
8. Things with the youth group are going great. It has been a learning experience going through the rhythms of the students here. They are all involved with so much and their families are traveling and doing multiple things at the same time. We've hung steadily through it though. We went through a purity series in March and that was a crazy time. I can't wait for the ECHO Got Talent show this Sunday night! It should be great! We are also doing a Gurly/Burly weekend this Friday and Saturday. The girls are going to the beach and doing Gurly stuff. The guys are competing for the Burly Cup! It should be great with competitions in putt putt, COD Modern Warfare 2, Nerf Wars and other events! Can't wait!
7. I go Friday to take my written driver's test. Not real excited about it and haven't studied for it yet. I've been procrastinating about procrastinating about doing this! Its time.
6. Now that the Lakers have been knocked out of the playoffs I can go back to getting more sleep! Sad that they lost but glad that I won't be having too many 1am nights over the next few weeks.
5. Sarah is closing in on the end of the school year. She is looking forward to being done. Also, she is looking for another job. The salary just wasn't enough and so she is looking at getting back into nursing. Please pray that God would open another door for her and our family.
4. Kate is growing so fast. I looked at her Monday afternoon and just couldn't believe how big she had gotten. She is talking more and more and doing crazy things every day. I am thankful to be her daddy.
3. We are looking forward to our time off in the next few months. We are going to West Virginia and meeting our Indiana/Ohio family for a few days near the end of this month. Then in June we are going down to Myrtle Beach for a week or so. I SO need a break. Can't wait to see the family and spend time with them. I have been missing them something fierce lately.
2. Kate is on a ton of meds because they have diagnosed her with Asthma. They are not sure why she has such inflammation so they have put her on Steroids and antibiotics for a few weeks then we go back for another lung test. She is doing better each day. Thanks for all the prayers and concern. It's been a stressful time for us.
1. I am thankful that God is faithful to us through our own faithlessness. I'll write more about that another day.
May you come to know that God loves you and hears your prayers. He is faithful.
AJ
Monday, July 26, 2010
a lack of faith...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
May newsletter
Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path. (Psalm 37:34)
Monday, February 22, 2010
March Newsletter article
Paths
Here in Northern Indiana we get a lot of snow. We get system snow and we also get some lake effect! Snow doesn't bother me. I actually like it. It is amazing to see all the tracks in the snow. We would have never known that those animals or people would have been there unless we were some world class animal tracker! I have to walk through the snow to get to my car so I have a path from the deck to the garage and to the Oasis that I have used many times. The other day it got super cold and the snow quickly turned into ice and it was very slippery in the pathway that I had created. It was ironic that it had become safer outside of the path that I had normally went down due to the ice. If I would have insisted on walking in the icy footprints I would have likely taken a fall.
How many times do we walk down the same paths even when we know that it isn't the best thing to do? It might not be bad or sinful, but we know deep down that there is a "better" path that we could be on? We still make those choices that insist on us staying in this path or that path because that is "our" path. It is silly when we look back and get some perspective on whatever situation that we went through. Sometimes in life it is easier to go down the same path that we've always gone down. But we aren't supposed to survive life, we are expected to live it!
So the next time that you have the chance to take a new path down an unexpected event in your life or to give something new a chance, try it out because sometimes it is easier to make new tracks than to try and not slip on the icy path you are used to going down.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight!" -Proverbs 3:5-6 With a heart full of love, Pastor Andy
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Valley's- February Newsletter Article
If you know me, you know that I bleed Cream and Crimson...I love IU basketball. Last season they went 6 and 25. They won 6 games and lost 25 games. I taped every one and watched it. Every second. That season taught me a few things about valleys and anger management and ulcers but those other two things won't make for a good article.
1.One things I learned was, you sometimes hit valleys because of unforeseen things. Someone else does something to you or someone you love, the stock market crashes, other peoples decisions have an impact on your life, or maybe it is just something random that happened by no one's fault. It just happened.
2. Secondly, often times you go through valleys because you are missing the signs or ignoring them in your own life. How many times in life are we given warning signs along side the road of life that we just flat out ignore? How many times has someone said a wise word or given us sound advice and we just ignored it and went ahead with whatever we wanted to do? God said that if we are lacking wisdom to ask for it and He will give it to us!
3. Three, I hate losing at anything. I hate losing and the way it makes you feel. My kids are in for a real treat. They will have to earn their wins when playing Chutes and Ladders or Checkers or Candyland! I think as Christians we have become so apathetic towards things that when we start to "lose" a battle in life we start "woe is me-ing." We are more than conquerors! When evils wins out in the present, we know that in end the victory is with the Lord. Don't give in or give up...trust that God has placed you in this season for some reason. Trust that wherever you go, He will be there.
4. Fourth, doing the right things in valley will help you grow and potentially get out of that valley or those things will help you be content while you are in the valley. Their season made me be thankful for each win they had but in life it helped me savor each "win" that I experienced too. Isn't it the case that when things are not going very good we rarely acknowledge the good things when they do happen? We need to learn to take the "wins" in life when and where we can. Jesus said that this life will be full of hard times and people will not like us and attack us and discourage us. But I think our attitude and demeanor are a product of our reactions rather than others actions.
When those hard times hit we must keep the faith, literally. We must stay close to Christ and to His Word and His promises. We must as John Vermilya put it at Love Mercy, "Put down our oars and put up our sails!" We can't do this on our own and when we try, we often times create our own valleys and our own times of discouragement.