1,000 GIFTS, #80 to #98

MULTITUDE MONDAYS
80. Back to Bible study with my Wednesday night girls, I love them so much!
81. A homemade Chocolate Cobbler. Go HERE for my posted recipe and pictures.
82. Time in my garden with glorious warm weather on Saturday and Sunday.
                             Texas Sweet Onions!                         Daffodils!
83. Joining my friend Travis Cottrell by becoming a backer on his new worship project.
84. Assurance that Jesus Christ is the Solid Rock, even during times of devastation in our world. 
85. Thankful for Samaritan’s Purse and their gifts to help the people in Japan suffering intensely after the earthquake and tsunami.
86. Enough hair for my 10-month old granddaughter Madie Ruth to have a real ponytail.
87. The opportunity to pray with some of my co-workers this week. We are asking God to give His grace to a family in the death of two young sisters in a car accident…they were headed home from church and the weather was so stormy. 
88. Singing with our Praise Team this past Sunday morning…”Jesus Messiah” by Chris Tomlin and “I Bless Your Name” by Selah. Awesome worship.
89. Thankful that my Dad is continuing to recover well from back surgery 5 weeks ago.
90. Good conversations with my sons this week. I love them with all my heart. We are friends.
91. Calls, emails, and cards of encouragement from friends at church who know that the past months have been extremely difficult in ministry. God is doing a mighty work in our church…things are better than ever and we praise His Holy Name. Our God is Greater.
92. Helping my husband move these two cows to the pasture behind our house…I am not a cowgirl, but I had a blast! That’s Helen on the left, and Thelma Lou on the right…

 93. A new devotional book Reliving the Passion as I prepare my heart for Easter…

94. Continuing to memorize scripture with lots of friends on the SSMT…Siesta Scripture Memory Team!
95. Going to “Sonic” last night after church with dear friends Jack & Lanie and sitting outside at the picnic tables until way past our bedtime 🙂  Laughing like teenagers.
96. Enjoying these violet violas while they last…because when the warm weather cometh they will not be happy! (I like cooler weather too.)

97.  The sacred echo of this verse in my heart… James 4:14
Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.
For what is your life?
 It is even a vapor that appears for a little time
and then vanishes away.
98. Which is exactly why I rejoice in the simple JOY of counting to 1,000…FOR ALL IS GRACE.
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So Long Insecurity – Part 2

Back in early March I was having lunch with some co-workers when my cell phone rang. The caller was the Director of Living Proof Ministries, beautiful Sabrina Moore. She wanted to know if I would be willing to organize a group of women to serve as hostesses at the LPM resource tables during the So Long Insecurity event. I said “let me think, yes.” It took less than 2 minutes with a Facebook message later that evening to gather the 12 workers! A chance for us to give back a little by serving Beth Moore and LPM after all they have invested in us? Done deal!

The “Delightful Dozen Southern Siestas” were Fran, Robyn, Tammy, Stephanie, Nikki, Wendy, Emmy, Lora, Deborah, Miranda, Karen, and me! My friend Alaina and Emmy’s daughter Lizzy even helped us! We worked so hard and had so much fun! No one would have believed we were newbies.  You know why? We knew and believed in our products! Bethie’s books, CD’s, DVD’s and studies! We knew of what we “speaketh!”

Here are two overhead pictures of us in action…I cannot tell you how much fun we had, but we did. We laughed, explained, worked, walked back and forth, prayed, explained some more, hugged necks, answered questions, hugged more necks, and had a blast!
Robyn (blonde) and K Mac and Nancy!
(K Mac and Nancy are LPM Staffers)
Wendy is bagging up a purchase for someone!
K Mac, Nancy, Tammy and Deborah
Me, Alaina, Fran, and Karen stop for a picture
Nikki – I was so happy to meet her “in real life”
Lizzy, me, and Emmy
(Emmy and I traveled to Houston together back in January
to attend the Scripture Memory Team Celebration)
Karen is having a good time! (Always)
Lora is a sweetheart! She writes beautiful poems.
I am saying “So Long Insecurity!”
I can’t remember when I simultaneously worked so hard and yet had so much fun. I know it is because we were all like-minded in spirit and in purpose. Thank you Living Proof Ministries for allowing us to serve you and our sisters in Christ. We were SECURE in our love for you and in our jobs as resource table hostesses!  It was a great day that I will remember for a long time. I miss my siestas already.
Jan
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So Long Insecurity – Part 1

The long-awaited So Long Insecurity Conference at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA and simulcast to 869 locations for an attendance of 300,000 was one of the best events in which I have ever been privileged to participate!

Beth Moore taught from Ephesians 4 on what a “Secure Woman” is using the acronym for the word secure.

S = Saved from herself
E = Entitled to truth
C = Clothed with intention
U = Upended by grace
R = Rebounded by love

E = Exceptional in life

I will share my notes soon and which “letter” meant the most to my heart, but right now I just wanted to share some pictures.

Here I am on the bus with the book written by Beth Moore.  Go get it and read it if you haven’t. It will make a difference in your life and your attitude toward life. 

There were 300,000 women that participated in the conference, and 10,000 of them were at the host site at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia. They were great hosts and served us well.  I know their pastor, Dr. Johnny Hunt is so proud of them!  This is the women waiting to get in to their seats…

The worship, the Word, and the women were wonderful.  More to come…

Love,
Jan

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Gran Jan’s Joy = ZEKE

I couldn’t let 2008 slip away without posting one more time…this year has been one of great joy and God’s blessings upon our family. We added two new members – a daughter-in-love, and our first grandchild, a boy. We became empty-nesters and grandparents in a matter of weeks! My oldest son brought Zeke by for a little visit this afternoon. I took Zeke and we went to my reading chair, a very special place to my heart. We read the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den and I told him how I hoped and prayed he would always “dare to be a Daniel.” I know he is only 4 1/2 months old, but God’s Word is so alive, and I love reading to him already. He was so attentive! I highly recommend this children’s bible book, The Jesus Storybook Bible. I look forward to reading to him often in the years ahead. Good night to all, and may 2009 dawn in our lives tomorrow and find us faithful servants to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for He alone is worthy.

Love y’all, Georgia Jan

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R&R IN “YE OLDE SOUTH”

My sweet husband and I just spent 3 days away for a little R&R (for you non-military types, R&R stands for Rest & Relaxation). It could have been R & R & R & R & R, Rest, Relaxation, Revival, Reconnecting, and ROMANCE 🙂 We had such a wonderrrrrful time! This trip was a gift to us from our church in honor of our 20 years of service there. They are the best congregation in the world and we love them! Anyway, the gift came in June, but since the reservations were good for a year, and we had a BIG-EVENTS summer in our family that included the wedding of our youngest son in June and the birth of our first grandchild in August, we finally just got away this past weekend. We headed out to Savannah Wednesday afternoon. We love Savannah, a very beautiful and romantic city on the coast of Georgia. In fact, it is Georgia’s oldest city. Here are some pictures from my weekend…

A huge moss-draped Live Oak tree – St. Simons Island, Georgia
View from our room at the River Street Inn which fronts the Savannah River in the
historic section of Savannah. The hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places
and was built as a cotton warehouse back in the early 1800’s.

Another view from the room facing the Savannah River and the riverboats.


These are the ruins of  Fort Frederica which was built back in the early 1700’s to protect the coast of Georiga from invasions by the Spanish in northern Florida.

Now this picture below is also in a historic section of Savannah. It is the famous LADY & SONS RESTAURANT and is owned and operated by Paula Deen and her two sons. The food is wonderful and no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip to the Lady & Sons.

Me and Paula Deen!
My sweet husband indulged my love for history and we took the “long way home” and re-routed back by St. Simons Island. One of my favorite authors of all times, Eugenia Price, is buried at Christ Church cemetery. Eugenia wrote many books about Georgia’s early history.  They are novels, but she always used “historical characters.” I own every book she ever wrote – she was a wonderful Christian woman. Prior to her extensive novels, she wrote many Christian devotionals that have become classics.  I also own all of those and am so proud of my collection!
This is Gary and the famous “Wesley Oak” where John Wesley preached when he came to preach in the newly founded Georgia Colony.
 
Christ Church on St. Simons Island, Georgia

It is absolutely gorgeous and a step back in time with all the huge live oak trees and Spanish moss hanging from them. The cemetery had graves dating back to the early 1800’s and it was so peaceful to visit this church and the gardens nearby.

Life is good and I am a blessed woman indeed.  Thank you for sharing my R & R & R & R & R weekend!

~Georgia Jan

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Moonflowers…I LOVE them!

I love gardening…besides spending time with my men-folks (husband, sons, grandson) and my girls (daughters-in-law), it’s my most favorite thing to do. Gardening is pure therapy for me…and much cheaper…unless I’ve been to the Lowe’s Garden Center!
Have you ever seen a moonflower? Well they are wonderful and I grow them from seed every year! They grown on a beautiful vine and the foliage is heart-shaped. The flowers are spectacular, about 6″ across, lightly scented, and they are white with a “star” in the center. They begin to bloom at dusk…when the day is winding down.

One of my favorite authors, Jan Karon wrote a wonderful book entitled The Trellis and the Seed, a book of encouragement for all ages. It is all about waiting for a moonflower to bloom, it is delightful.
I just wanted to share some gardening joy today. I’m sorta like those moonflowers in that I am not a morning person (or a morning glory)! I begin to wind up when the day is winding down myself. Maybe that’s why I love these flowers so much. There’s nothing sweeter that sitting in my back porch swing and enjoying the moonflowers blooming. Did you know there’s even a night-time hummingbird? Oh yes there is…I’ll save that for another post!
Georgia Jan
Isaiah 58:11…your soul will be like a well-watered garden…
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