Merry Christmas from Pensacola....

Here are some of our Christmas decorations in our condo... Enjoy! :)
Charlie Brown Christmas tree on our dining room table... they actually make these! SO precious.

This is my new favorite ornament. It's a precious little chapel. I've always dreamed of getting married in a chapel...

Our family's handprints.... mom's idea. we did this in '07

our precious Christmas tree! sadly, it is not real. Yours truly is allergic to real ones. But it is so cute. and i love our tree skirt! (it's from dollar general...shhh) :)

This is an antique that my mom had and we put lights in it. it's my favorite Christmas decoration we have... i am literally obsessed with it! SO cute.


Merry merry Christmas! only 10 days! :)

Hello.. it's I love Tuesday!!

"Shame was never meant to be your portion."- from a beautiful song called "Mercy" by Kristene Mueller.

Today is TUESDAY. such an overlooked day, but i call it "I love Tuesday" because it should be a fun day. solely because it is a day. sooo, celebrate "i love Tuesday" with me next week and do something out of the ordinary that day, or just something positive and uplifting!

Today was semi productive. I worked out and it totally changed my mood!
My fam and i are having breakfast for dinner! (consisting of mickey mouse waffles, bacon, and eggs). however, i think i will just have a waffle.

I'm SO ready for Christmas! my family has been decorating our condo to make it feel more like home, and it is seriously so cute. i will post pictures tomorrow! We also made a list today of desserts we want to make over the next few weeks in honor of the holidays! lots of yummy sweets on the list, i just can't think of them at the moment.

I'm journalling more... and it's so therapeutic. you should all journal. Seriously.
i hope your week is going well so far... and if its not, try to be positive. Things will get better
"this too shall pass" :) promise.

"I praise You, Lord, for I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made." Psalm 139:14.

Do I really think that?.... not all the time. Praying to see myself through the Father's eyes.
just something to think about

Choosing joy.

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I last wrote... so sorry to all of my sweet, faithful readers :)
How is your week going? I have done a whole lot of NOTHING. except school work and eating. the latter needs to stop (just kidding)... so tomorrow, I'm going to get up early and do school work, then take full advantage of this beautiful workout facility here. I just need to get out of the condo.
The weather has been fabulous here... and by that I mean, it's been cold and cloudy. My favorite.
I got back from Jackson Sunday, and it's been kind of hard to adjust (again). But, I'm not going to give the enemy any part of my life-- so i'm choosing to be joyful. My circumstances do not define me.
I'm learning to sew tomorrow, too!!! I can't wait.
We are trying to make the condo as much like home as possible. There are Christmas decorations everywhere :) It makes me happy.
I hope you all are having a good week! I am watching "A Christmas Carol" tonight with Jim Carrey in it. I love family movies!
blessings and love.

Life-giving conviction.

Sooo Paige just blogged about being a Christian blogger... and she wrote about this article and i was incredibly convicted. And when I say incredible, I don't mean the size of the conviction, I mean that this conviction was INCREDIBLE, great, beautiful, and life-giving (as the title states).

As a daughter of the King, I am to die to myself everyday and to follow Him. Not just in some areas in my life, but ALL of them. I'm to die to MYSELF. So, this blog is about to change alot because I've been shown that this is not about me... my life is not about me. It's about glorifying the Almighty, and bringing His Kingdom to earth. "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven"

So today, a few things are on my heart. (first) Christmas season... I'm dwelling on the fact that Jesus came to this earth in human form and He endured all kinds of suffering throughout His time here. So He understands ALL suffering that we face. I'm also basking in the fact that, yes, we died with Him on that cross, but we also ROSE with Him! The enemy lost his power over me at calvary. Jesus already won. (second) Breakthru. An amazing, life changing retreat. I've gone every year since 7th grade... but I'm not going this year. I'm praying right now that the Holy Spirit would already be in Pulaski, MS at Timbercreek. I'm praying that their would be lives changed and hearts set on fire for Jesus. (third) ONETHING. A conference in Kansas City, Missouri that I am going to instead of Breakthru this year. and I am SO expectant in my heart for what God wants to do there. I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to move and to reveal His heart to me. Pray with me today for these things!!

I hope your Wednesday is whimsical. Halfway through the week!!
Blessings.
Jordan

Things I Love Tuesday....

Here are some things that I am loving this week...

1. Christmas candles!!! I love walking around the house and smelling cinnamon everywhere.

(source)

2. Cold weather!! Jackson has had it for a couple of days, until yesterday when all the storms decided to come and i LOVE IT.

(source)

(source)

3. Rain... it stormed terribly last night. i was not so excited about the tornado sirens that went off literally 10 times, but after the scary part, the rain was amazing. So relaxing

(source:unknown)

I know that's only three things, but my brain is absolutely fried from school work today.... too too much. i woke up too late, too. 11:30 to be exact. I was just exhausted. Definitely setting an alarm tomorrow.

Hope your tuesday has been fabulous! "Rudolph" comes on CBS tonight! 7:00 central time. i am SO excited. it's the original. A new episode of Glee comes on tonight, too. Hmmm decisions, decisions.

:)

Wellll Thanksgiving was such a beautiful day. I ate entirely too much. But i just relaxed all day and then we had the big meal for dinner. It was delicious. Like I said, I ate too much. I was full all day the next day.

You all need to buy to John Mark McMillan's album "The Medicine" . It's just amazing worship music. So honest. So raw. He wrote "How He Loves" and the story behind it is so unbelievable. Unlike anything I've ever heard before. I'm very very picky about my worship music, and his music is absolutely AMAZING. It's not in any way cookie cutter Christian radio music. You just have to listen to it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope your weekend is great so far. Watched the Egg Bowl tonight with some girls. So much fun. All of us were going to State, except 3. Hysterical. A bunch of girls yelling at the screen. I love nights like that.

"The love of God is stronger than the power of death." Whoa. This hit me. big time.
Thank You, Lord, for whispering truth into my ear when the world is screaming lies at me. You prove Yourself faithful over and over and over and over and over again.

so thankful for grace

So thankful :)

Tomorrow is TURKEY DAY. (AKA Thanksgiving) I am so excited to eat lots of food. It's the one day where you can't feel guilty about eating ridiculous amounts of yummy goodness. I'm getting up early to try to see my sweet friends dancing on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... it may be a failed attempt, but I want to try anyway! I'm pretty much just lounging all day until about 6. My grandparents, my aunt, cousin, and I are sitting in the dining room and eating a nice, quiet meal. I'm excited. But I dearly miss my parents and siblings! I've spent so much time with them recently that I actually miss the chaos... sometimes ;)

Remember to be thankful tomorrow. Regardless of your circumstances, you're blessed in one way or another.

I love being in Jackson. I missed the people, the food, the actual town. but, I don't want to stay here forever, that's for sure.

i hope you all are having a great week. :)
hugs,
jo

Just some Sunday goodness. :)

Wow, I am loving being home and seeing all of my sweet friends. I have missed all of them so very much.

I watched Gateway Church live webcast and got to watch Kari Jobe lead worship. Robert Morris, their senior pastor, brought the Word this morning. and WOAH. Jesus really rocked my heart. It was an awakening for me this morning. So beautiful.

I just figured out how to turn words into links. I feel so much cooler as a blogger now. hahaha i'm a dork. :)

I'm so very much in love with bird tattoos right now... I just don't know where or what kind I want. Here are some that I love. They're from Tattoologist

i really really love the black ones, but i also think a bird would look cool in brown... but then again, i really like the one with the red in it. i'm scared i'm too big of a baby to do color. i love birds so much.

"if His eye is on the sparrow, then His heart is on me"

:)

Christmas FEVER

Soooo there's this ADORABLE blog that i religiously read. her name is elsie and her blog is www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com and she just launched her wedding blog today www.leweddingparty.com ... you really need to read this! she is SO cute, and so creative. :) ENJOY!

I'm listening to Christmas pandora, and my nails are holiday red. And i'm looking quite pale these days, even though I live in the sunshine state. But i like it...

It's clowdy today, and it's sprinkling on and off. I love this kind of weather. The water is absolutely crazy today-- RED FLAG. i may go out there later and take some pics, and i'll be sure to share them with you!

hope you all are having a fabulous monday. I miss you, Jacksonians! but no worries, i'll be home in a little less than a week :)

I feel bad for not being so "YAY thanksgiving!", but i'm very very thankful for my family and my sweet friends... if you know me well, you know that I count down until Christmas starting in August. It's just my favorite.

much much love, jo.

An hour on the beach

is she not the cutest? it's ellie holcomb.

Here are some pictures i took of the beach yesterday... it's beautiful here.

Just wanted to share these with you...
it's almost the weekend!! be excited.

Things I love Thursday

Today is thursday.... which means that normally I would be going to keifers around 6:30. i miss it already

so. 1. I love Keifers. Best greek food EVER

2. Kashi GO LEAN crunch cereal. i've eaten almost a whole box today

3. Happy people. Sometimes, it's contagious

photo from: weheartit.com

4. My sweet cats. All three of them are just so sweet.



5. Beignets. they are so bad for you, but they are so good.

and i love this picture of them (weheartit.com)

that's all i can think of... i was in a sad mood so i decided to get on here and find things that i love.

focus on the good :)

love.

just a happy reminder! picture from www.weheartit.com

i love looking through their pictures.

Today i went walking/running on the national sea shore. It was amazing. I looked to my left and saw the bay, and then i looked to my right and saw the beach and the ocean. The sea shore has a concrete trail on it that you can walk, run, bike, whatever. It's amazing.


I listened to some worship music and just looked at God's beautiful creation. It was amazing.

this is what i got to look like on the way back. those buildings are my condo towers.that's where i live!!! anyhoo, is that not the most BEAUTIFUL sunset ever?? the picture does not do it justice. My Creator is SO creative! WOW. i love it.

miss all of my jackson friends. i'll be back thanksgiving! :)

love to all

Beautiful Mondays.

Its really such a beautiful day today.

i found this cute website with some AMAZING pictures. they're all so fun. i'm going to post a few.

the website is http://weheartit.com and they have some really beautiful photos.

hope you all are having a happy monday! if you're not, come stay with me in pensacola!

love.

Peace.

I'm going to start blogging alot more now that I'm in Pensacola and I want to update all of my friends on life down here without having to send a bunch of text messages- this just takes care of that.

this morning I woke up feeling kind of sad, and i didn't really know how to deal with it or sort it all out. So I just kind of let myself sit in that for a little bit, and then I got all bundled up and gathered my blanket, journal, and Bible and went to the beach by myself. Oh, and I wore my oversized sunglasses which really do make you feel like no one knows who you are. So, I sort of escaped to the beach today.

I sat down there for about an hour and read through 11 chapters of Job and then journalled. After i finished journalling, I just sat quietly and prayed and thought and prayed some more. It was so therapeutic, and gave me so much peace. I could totally get used to that.

i think that may be one of the reasons I'm here... to become less dependent of my friends and people in general.

I will seek to find my purpose. I will not lose hope.
me.

This too shall pass...

Okaaay, so i'm very sorry for being so negative the other day. it was just one of those days.

So, we (my family and i) are here in Pensacola... it's the first day. The one i expected to be the hardest has been surprisingly pleasant. I woke up, ate some breakfast, put some pictures on my computer, and then I went out on the balcony and journalled and read. it was so peaceful, and so beautiful. Here's my view

It's kinda hard to be in a bad mood when THIS is outside of your window. It's rather cold and windy here, but I wrapped up in a jacket and put on my fuzzy socks and uggs- still in my pajamas, and sat in silence and just wrote down my thoughts. it was great. i am at peace today.

Lazy days are therapeutic. (i promise)

me.

i do not like my blog. i hate talking about myself... it puts me in a really bad mood.

Leaving...

"Looked to the clock on the wall, hands hardly moving at all"
--I am fearful of this. i am so afraid of being lonely... This really is so hard. I am not good with change. Ugh.

I know that change is good, though. I've seen it. I know that God is faithful- "He never failed me yet." Maybe this is God's way of showing me that I'm not really supposed to be comfortable here, maybe He's preparing me for even more change.

A friend wrote me a letter and in it wrote, "you should be so HONORED that God chose YOU to suffer for Him". I've never thought of that... He makes all things good. He does.

I'm applying to IHOP (international house of prayer) Forerunner Music Academy in Kansas City, MO. Taking life one day at a time... Just apply to everywhere you may want to go, and decide when you know where you're accepted. Such great advice from a friend.

Prayer would be appreciated. I know that God is for me.
me.

5 Things i Love Friday

1. Sophia's journal. http://www.sophiasjournal.com/

she is the cutest English girl, and her blog is so fun to read. She does a post called "10 things i love thursday" and this post is inspired by her!

2. Painting pottery with friends :) Yesterday, my sweet friends, Molly and Emily, took me to paint pottery. it was so fun

3. FALL! I love cold weather so much, and even though it's not that cold here, it's getting there. And it's SO beautiful outside!

4. Grey's Anatomy. I started watching it late, so i'm behind a season but I don't think i would be able to watch it on tv because I would be falling off the edge of my seat during commercials. that would just be horrible. I love the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Those are my very favorite.

5. I love my family :) I am excited about spending time with them in Pensacola, and I know that God is going to amazing things in our hearts through this season.

i hope you all have a beautiful, fun weekend! it's halloween- which is my least favorite holiday. But i'm going to a little costume get together, and I have NO idea what i'm going to be!
me.

Wow, my emotions are just all over the place these days. Ugh. i don't want to move.

Wellll Friday i stayed home with my mom and siblings and watched Beauty and the Beast on DVD. remastered in HD. it just came out of the vault-- i'm a HUGE Disney fan. Disney World is my favorite place ever. (not that i've been many places) Which is funny that i watched it because saturday night i went to the musical Beauty and the Beast at Prep. it was AMAZING. So well casted, so well performed. I cried in it. It was embarrassing. Oh, and one of my friends was scooting out of the aisle and the button on the back of her pants got stuck in the girl's hair who was sitting in front of her. Talk about funny. That definitely provided a big laugh.

I felt absolutely horrible last night. I had a headache ALL day and then went to the play and forgot my glasses so I was like straining my eyes to see, and then my stomach started hurting because i ate some cookie dough. So i didn't sleep very well last night. It was quite terrible.

Hopefully tonight will be a much better night of rest. I hope you all had a splendid weekend, and i hope your week is full of blessing and joy! Pray for me if you think about it. :)
me.

whirlwind wednesday

that's all i know to say about today is that it's been a whirlwind. Wow. one minute I am seriously crying my eyes out, and the next i'm fine. It's been such a strange and exhausting day. i can't even believe I'm up at this hour. it's 11:51 to be exact. I DO see why moving is best for my family, but at the same time, my flesh is telling me that it's not fair and i should be able to stay. i'm declaring victory over my flesh in Jesus' name. A friend reminded me today that no matter where i am on this earth, i am not home. Amen. wow.

so, even though i cannot see in this darkness, I am trusting the Light.

I have all these ideas... tonight, i got the BEST idea for a canvas. but i won't tell you yet! i'll post a picture on here when i'm done. i'm super excited.

I'm starting a new journal soon.. i need a place where i can go and just throw up my feelings. and then i'm going to keep one with prayer requests in them. sounds so wonderful to me. i want a pretty one from barnes and noble (www.barnesandnoble.com) with the leather covers and the cool string that closes it.

Old pictures really make me laugh. A friend found this picture from 4 years ago of a ton of girls on the way to Breakthru (an amazing retreat!) and it is SO funny to see all of us. Some had braces, some had awful haircuts, some of us didn't quite know how to put on make up. it was just so funny to look at. I love that... definitely brightened my day.

I'm getting a new computer this week! i have a netbook right now, and i absolutely LOATHE it. it doesn't even have a cd drive. i should've researched it more before asking for one... you live and you learn! i'm getting a dell, which i'm excited about. it's actually just like my netbook but bigger, which means more memory and a cd drive. praise the Lord!

I'm currently OBSESSED with Drew and Ellie Holcomb. They are just the cutest couple and they are amazingly, talented musicians. look them up on itunes under drew holcomb and the neighbors or their myspace is www.myspace.com/drewholcomb . and they have a facebook- go to your searchbar and search DrewandEllie Holcomb. Their music is awesome, and they are SO in love. it is amazing. they inspire me.

I love reading fun blogs. everyone should read www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com 's blog. her name is Elsie and she is adorable. she writes about a ton of different, interesting things. she always has fun little easy crafts to do. she owns the cutest little store in Springfield, MO. She entertains me.

Well, i hope that everyone's Wednesday was good. you're HALFWAY done with the week. two days til friday. My beautiful friend W is in the musical Beauty and the Beast and she is Mrs. Potts so i'm going to see her saturday night!! SO excited. she is amazing.
hope you all have fun filled weekends! mwah.
jo.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of change

Wow! My life is just changing right before my eyes and I literally have NO control over it. it's a really tough place to be, and i'm not really doing too well with it all. My dad works in FL and my mom, siblings, and myself do not live there... but lately, my mom is really thinking that we are supposed to be there with him. so we're packing up our stuff and moving on Nov. 1. Prayers would be greatly appreciated in this time. i'm not so okay

Pleasant Surprises

Well this morning i woke up, ate some breakfast in the den of this beautiful condominium that overlooks the bay. It was beautiful outside.

i was in a TERRIBLE mood this morning. I don't know what happened or why i was this way. I just cried at the drop of a hat and cried pretty much all morning. I'd stop, and then I'd start again. it was horrible!

(www.mycrazycrazylifeingilbert.blogspot.com)

But thennnn I got over it and we went out to the beach. It was amazing, and just what I needed. I stayed in my shorts and tshirt and sat in the chair, under the umbrella ALL day. I got NO sun, but i kept my feet in the sand and looked at the water. I read part of my book Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Its about the Holy Spirit and how we should be aware of Him all the time. I love it. It's teaching me so much. I highly recommend it.

We came back to the condo and just hung out for a little bit, and then we went down to the cute little pool deck/grill and just got some gumbo and some nachos for the whole table, and my whole family just sat and watched all the SEC football games that were playing on all the tvs and just laughed and talked. It was so relaxing, yet so fun. Some times I resent having a big family, and some times (like tonight) I love it.

My sister and I are about to watch Grey's Anatomy in our room. But first, I must journal-- which i definitely encourage EVERYONE to do! It's important to keep record of what is going on in your life so that you can see afterward how much you GREW and what all you LEARNED while walking through a trial or a struggle.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend! Monday is Columbus day which means most people don't have school. I love homeschool. I can have holidays whenever I want. :)

Smile and be positive! Encourage yourself today. You are worth it.

love, me.

:)

So, i'm starting over with blogging. Completely! and it's an exciting thing to me. I'm weird like that.

Tomorrow I'm going to the beach! I cannot wait to be there and relax. Not to mention, the workout facility (is that the right word?) is ah-mazing at the place we're staying. I really cannot wait. Lots of fun, family time...

I'm really in the mood to paint right now. like right this second. but it takes soooo long to get the paints, brushes, canvases, etc out. and its midnight... it's a little late to start a project tonight. I picked up my guitar last night for the first time in SO long, and it was amazing... not my playing, of course. but it was a form of therapy for me. They should offer that. They have painting therapy, why not guitar therapy? I guess because for beginners, it's not so therapeutic. that could totally be why..

So my friend and i were having a conversation in the car about how life is about more than boys, and that songs should be written about more than just your love life. and then somehow we got to the subject of trashcans and how significant they really are. i mean, think about it! what would the world look like without trashcans?!! i'm so not a "go green" person- i'm just not. but i do really appreciate trashcans.

(http://www.steph.stephew.com/archives/2102 )

i thought that was really cute. i want to paint a trashcan!! how fun would that be? Very fun to me. i'm going to do that one day. writing it on my to do list.

you should all listen to Stephen Gordon's cd "I Have Seen Your Shining Spirit". it's really amazing. it's my soundtrack at the moment.

well i hope to update you all soon on what random thoughts are wandering through my brain soon. this was fun!

love, me.

Walk through it...

Today, oh today. Today has been wonderful. and so was yesterday.

Last night some girls and i went to Sneaky Beans to see Stephen Gordon play. He is a lyrical genius. GENIUS. And I mean that. i needed his music so much last night. i needed a place to sit in my emotions for just an hour. And his voice, lyrics, and guitar did that for me. I got to feel how I felt.

I know that is such a weird statement "i got to feel how i felt", but if you think about it, it's not so weird. how many times do we just push aside our emotions to seem okay? That was my problem last time. but now i'm giving myself this time to have feelings. if i have a "i miss him" moment, i let myself sit in that until it passes... "the best way out is always through"- Robert Frost. so so very true.

"Eyes Grow Tired"- Stephen Gordon is my song today. The chorus simply states,
"Strange how you just can't get moving.
Strange how you just can't settle down.
Strange how you spend your whole life searching for it, but you haven't found it yet.
You haven't found it yet."

My soul longs for You, Lord. I will turn my affection toward You. i refuse to lose sight of You

love,
jo.