Tag Archives: thankfulness

Day 3162 – I Really Am Thankful For Traffic Jams – repost

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As I’m gearing up for my solo-cation (I leave TOMORROW!) I’m thinking about potential traffic I’ll run into (don’t worry, I’ll share all about where I’m going after the fact). I’m hoping to leave right after I drop off Bret at school, so I’ll be hitting traffic somewhere, I’m sure. I truly think about the following story most times I’m traffic (especially on I-95, which is the road Bret was on).

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Originally posted 10/2/2012
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Today, I had bible study in the morning in Joppa Maryland and then had to drive all the way over to Hunt Valley to grab lunch. It was raining a little, so I wasn’t sure how timely I’d be….and I actually got stuck in a traffic jam about half way.

A little back story….you may or may not know the full story of how Bret and I met….well, I won’t share that now (you can ask me later)….but a BIG part of the story is that on his drive from Quantico, VA (where he was for training) to Bel Air, MD (where I was), he wanted to turn around. It is a long drive. But then he looks over to the other side of 95 and there was a parking lot of traffic for about 10 minutes….and he said, ah, guess I’ll still go.

I try to remember this whenever I’m in traffic….and think….someone’s life may be changed forever because of this traffic jam….this is where I am now and I have to just deal with it.

While I was sitting there, in the traffic, I thought about it again….and I said, you know, I am content to sit in this traffic….and I realized that I truly meant it. It was so moving, it made me cry.

So, I challenge you to think about situations in your life that are like a traffic jam….they may be happening for a bigger purpose. But if not, you can grumble about me and traffic next time you hit a jam.

The following picture is about 4 months after I met Bret…who I met because of a traffic jam….and a friend who knew us both better than we knew ourselves.

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Day 3072 – Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day

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I had a few ideas how to “celebrate” this fun day, but I thought the best way would be to express thankfulness for things I take for granted, that a time traveler from 500 years ago would be in awe of.

Running water – without a limit of how much I can use.

Hot water.

A toilet, I mean, seriously, when was the last time you thought about this? Ha ha, go camping in the woods for a few days to get an idea.

A super computer with access to pretty much every bit of information in the world….in my back pocket.

The ability to share my ideas with an unlimited number of people.

A fridge to keep my food fresh for days.

The ability to have warm air or cold air, depending on the season.

Electricity.

What’s crazy, is all of these things are expected now. These are all normal.

If you were a time traveler, where would you go?

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Day 3042 – I Am Thankful For My Past, My Awesome Marriage, And This Crazy Blog

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Some of the days that I reblog old content, it’s because I’m woefully uninspired. Today, I am completely overwhelmed with things to write about. I’m currently in the year I quit drinking in my blog review process. Sometimes when I relive my drinking days, I am brought down in sadness and overthinking. But today, I was excited to see what I was talking about in the months and weeks leading up to what would be my last day drinking. I am completely energized today and near bursting with things to say. But I came across the following post, and wanted to share that. May it be an encouragement about how life doesn’t always go how we expect or want, but in the long run, there is a beautiful plan.

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Originally posted 8/21/14
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About a month ago, I found a letter Bret had written to me from Iraq that he never sent. The past few days I’ve been cleaning up my files and found a whole big stack of letters. The bulk of these letters were written to each other when Bret was stationed in Iraq. We started dating about a week or two before he was deployed (only about 4 months after we met).

I want to share a few snippets with my readers. Not because I think we’re some great couple and have sweet/mushy/funny letters….but because the evidence of our trust in God in the situation is staggering….and humbling to me now…it’s crazy how mature my 25 year old self was about the whole situation. I share not to show how great we were….but how great God was and is in our lives. I see hints of who we are as a couple now and it’s wonderful.

So, take a read…it does get a little mushy, so you may want to skip out now if you’re not into that kind of thing. 🙂

Oh and here’s a picture of Bret from 2007. Take that throw back Thursday!

day_01867c

3/14/07 Bret to Jen
thankfully, i have been able to see that “all things work for the good” of people who believe in Christ. its hard, but i have been able to.

8/7/07 Bret to Jen
ps, i hope saying i love you to you never gets old. i seriously mean it every time. you have been my greatest blessing jen, and even if we dont end up together, i will always want the best for you. i love you.

8/11/07 Jen to Bret
Ah, ha, I just realized you’re super easy to please….and so am I….lol…that’s a very good thing. I really love that we can sit back and see what we are and what we have. God is so good for giving us this time apart so we can reflect on everything. It really has been an amazing time for me. I am so floored by the fact of how well I’ve been doing without you here…with you in a freakin other country dude. It’s crazy. God is so good to us. So very very good.

8/23/07 Bret to Jen
by the way, i received your letter today, or i should say letters, there was one typed, and i think another with a poem, and another hand written, or talon written (because i think a chicken scratched it out with his feet), letter from i guess it was you. but yeah, dont have a chicken write any more of your letters, i had to read the sentences a couple times. stupid chicken 🙂 but hey, dont worry, i really dont mind. its actually pretty amusing, i enjoy trying to figure out what some of the words are. its like a game: hmm, let me see, what word could go there, and still allow the sentence to make sense 🙂 although anything could go there, cuz i never really know what the heck jen is talking about anyways.

8/25/07 Jen to Bret
How good God is to us. ah, I can’t say it enough. It really is overwhelming, it’s so awesome God brought us together when we did, it was just the right time for both of us.
It is also a joy to be loved by you. You make it easy to wait. I know there are no guarantees we’ll get married, but isn’t that the way life is? I’m almost glad I don’t know.
“But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me…” 2 Timothy 4:17a
I read that line and couldn’t keep going. I was stuck. It made me think about where I was and how God has overwhelmingly strengthened me. I seem to forget my old self so easy. The person I was just a few months ago could never have handled having someone she loved as much as I love you in Iraq. I never could have imagined I could be as calm and truly thankful as I am. It’s so awesome I can be like this. Maybe the secret is thankfulness. I feel like that’s a big part, a heart of thankfulness really doesn’t have room for worry or future stuff. So here’s what I’m “us” thankful for:
– That we have a crazy story
– that we got together two weeks before you left – it makes things even more crazy/interesting
– that you make me love and appreciate who God is more
– that you also hate me more than I’ve ever been hated before (blogger’s note: when we were dating, we were “mean jokers” with each other. Thankfully, we had very wise pre-marital counselors who pointed out that this wasn’t a good thing…but it makes for a funny read.)
– that God loves us more than we love each other
– that you have, through how you love me, shown me even more deeply how much God loves me.
– still like me even though I write you mushy letters.

I love you like I love the oreo creame pie that’s in my freezer that I didn’t eat today because I’m not a fatty like you. 🙂
~ Your jennilyn

p.s. How’s that for an “I love you”

8/28/07 Jen to Bret
How good of God to give us such a large trial as you being in Iraq so that we can be made so very strong. Praise God I can say that! How good is our God babe, how good!

9/17/07 Jen to Bret
Overall, I want God’s best, whether that means we get married next year, or years from now, or not at all. I want his best, I know that I am no good at figuring things out, so I have to leave it with him. I do trust.

I really never knew what true friendship and love were before you. You encourage me to grow in ways I could never have imagined on my own. You help me to see clearly more and more every day how good God is.

10/1/07 Jen to Bret
So I guess I’ll try and send you more chicken letters. Though, I don’t know what you see in her. She has the worst handwriting. Oh well.

I think God is having fun and showing off with us, and I love that, it is so good.

10/2/07 Jen to Bret
do you know, like really know how much of a gift and blessing you are to me? Do you wake up in the morning and realize I’ve been thinking about you? That my days are a little brighter because of what God is doing in our lives? He is so glorified through us. It is such a joy to experience His hand so clearly.

Oooo! I’ll write you a poem. 🙂

a lifetime of tears
seemingly washed away
they kind of make sense
always running around
always seeking my own
until He stepped in
put His hand
smack in my way
after the air cleared
the rubble washed away
there you are
everything I think
I’ve always wanted
a love/hate relationship
(but mostly hate)
we’re on this adventure
crazy, new, perfect
made for us
with our special needs
mirrors His joy and creativity
we can only give Him all that we are

11/1/07 Jen to Bret
It is a wonderful dream though, you and me forever. What makes it so good isn’t that it would be all mushy, fairy tale like, it’s that it would be real, we would face trials and hard times, honestly I think that’s what I look forward to, working on things together. Man, I hope God is preparing us for each other. And my goodness have we both been through such rigorous preparation. I am thankful for every time my heart was broken now because of the joy it has been to have you mend it. I feel full and complete now because of your love.

11/5/07 Jen to Bret
I’m so thankful that I’m here for this part of your journey. You are such an amazing man. I can truly not wait to see what God has in store for you. You are going to do huge things for Him. I just pray He blesses me with serving beside you. I don’t think my imagination can fully grasp what God can do with us.

SPOILER ALERT!! – We did end up together. 😉

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Day 3036 – Today I Am Thankful For…

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It feels like things have been pretty heavy here on the blog. I intended to write a post about some of the funny things that have happened to us recently, but as I sat down to write, I realized I’m still pretty stuffy in the head with my cold. So funny post another day! Today it’s a few things I’m thankful for.

– I’m thankful for a husband who got me in the habit of saying the things I’m thankful for each morning.

– I’m thankful for the ability to sleep in if I need to.

– I’m thankful for the ability to buy healthy food at a reasonable price (I love you Aldi!)

– I’m thankful for the ability to write multiple books (links to my books below!)

– I’m thankful for another day on this earth.

– I’m thankful for four walls and a roof and a safe living space.

– I’m thankful for living close to Bret’s work, which makes sharing a car super easy.

– I’m thankful to still be out of debt.

– I’m thankful we have money in savings.

– I’m thankful I’m still sober.

– I’m thankful for this blog, all of my faithful readers, and the lessons it has taught me.

What are you thankful for today?

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Day 2978 – How We Wake Up At 5 AM And Actually Enjoy It – and – A Little Bit About Working With Your Spouse

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I think we have a new habit, and I think it will be around for a while: waking up at 5:00 a.m. on work days. Since we are building a business (real estate investing), there is a lot to do, all the time. I’ve really been digging in with data mining and management. We’ve recently started outsourcing calls, and it helps to put the pressure on me to keep up with finding numbers and not find excuses to be lazy. Since I don’t track my time on the weekends, I have no idea how many hours I put it this weekend, but it has been a lot. Oy. I have looked at SO many houses online! Though, it does get me dreaming about a home for us down the line. We have some pretty specific needs and wants, so it will likely take a while until we find it. Since Bret is back to school (today is the first day for the kids), having a routine is much more important. One way we’re fitting more in each day is by waking up at 5:00 a.m. I cannot believe I’m saying it….but we haven’t snoozed once since we started. I have ALWAYS snoozed. I have snoozed for HOURS. We’ll still be in bed, but we aren’t hitting snooze and trying to sleep for those precious 9 minutes. Once we have somewhat of a mental faculty going, we’ll start to say things that we’re thankful for. It can be anything from “I’m thankful you’re alive today” to “I’m thankful for this blanket” to “I’m thankful we prepped the coffee last night.” It makes such a difference in mood of the day right from the start. We’ll spend a little time chatting about the day and different things once the coffee is ready. Then I launch into my morning firsts (devotions, writing, blogging, etc).

It’s funny that we’re working together again. After we stopped photography, I thought it would be me working my jobs, and Bret teaching. Us working together, in a lot of ways, came out of left field. But I am SO pumped to be working with Bret again! Working with your spouse isn’t easy, it can be difficult, for sure, but the benefits outweigh those difficulties for us. One thing we’ve noticed is that I can get grumpy if I don’t get 8-9 hours of sleep. It takes a few days, but there is a noticeable difference. Last week, I was REALLLLLLLY grumpy, and Bret was like, ummmmmmmm, what? After more time than it should have, we realize it was because of my lack of sleep. Because Bret knows me so well, he can call me out on things, and we can work through them together.

A bonus to waking up this early is getting to see the sunrise. I was not disappointed this morning.

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
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Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
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Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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