Our Top Ten List for 2009-Updated

Merry Christmas and Happy 2010 from Levelland, Texas!!!

Our friend Debbie took these pictures of Drew and Kade. She amazes me; they look great on our Christmas card. You can check out her work, HERE.

The Jenkins’Top Ten List for 2009

(Most our "top 10 things" are linked back to the original post from my blog this year. If you'd like to read more, just click on the red word.)

#10) We had a blast on our camping/fishing trips to the Quartz Mountains in Oklahoma. Drew caught two Walleye & a Striper Fish on his red racer fishing pole.

#9) We loved our vacation to Sea World San Antonio, the Zoo, & Sonora caverns. #8) The boys enjoyed their first ever drive-in movie and Monster Truck Rally.
#7) Drew started Pre-K at Levelland Christian School. With Drew at School on MWF mornings, Kade & I are enjoying our time alone. At least once a week we go to Lubbock to shop, play, and go out to eat (we call it our “date”).
(Drew's first day of school. )

#6) Ronnie & I were able to get away twice this year. We went to Ruidoso on Valentine’s Day with 3 other couples. In August we traveled to College Station to watch the first Aggie game.

#5) Speaking of football, how sweet it was to watch the Aggies beat the Red Raiders this year. Whoop!

#4) The high light of Ronnie’s year was the 8 lb. Bass he caught at Lake Allen Henry.

#3) I loved being able to work a Walk to Emmaus this year in Stanton. I also went on a girl’s trip to Oklahoma City for the Deeper Still Conference with Beth Moore.

#2) Kade potty trained in the spring, so we bought him a new bike (some may call that a bribe, but whatever ;) Ha! The boys and I have spent many, many hours riding bikes in the cotton fields behind our house. To read a story about the boys, click HERE.I think it is my favorite part of the entire day (except bedtime…LOL!) #1) The holidays get more exciting as the boys get older (Drew just turned 5, & Kade will be 3 in January...to read the CUTEST story about Kade, click HERE. To read a cute story about Drew, click HERE.) The boys dress-up like cowboys for Halloween, & we actually had a huge pumpkin vine behind our house.

(This vine put off over 10 pumpkins.)

Santa came early this year & brought Drew and Kade a Texas Heeler (½ Heeler, ½ Aussie). Her name is Eva.

(The dog house Ronnie built; it even has a window in the back!)

This song brought me to tears; I pray you enjoy it!

“How many kings, stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many Gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that has torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only ONE did that for me.”

Merry Christmas from our family to yours and Happy New Year!

What an AMAZING weekend

Friday morning I left for Oklahoma City with my favorite girls... Charla and Belinda. I think the drive there was exactly what I needed. I have had the hardest time lately completing one single thought before my mind jumps to the next thought. It has been so frustrating! So, for over 30 minutes on our drive there, I just stared out the window, relaxed, took a deep breath, and waited for a Word from God. He gave me one (Prov 13:12), restored my hope, and the rest of the weekend was just icing on the cake.
We went to the Deeper Still Conference to see Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer. Those ladies did just that, took us deeper still into God's Word as we studied His Promises to us. I was SO excited to see Beth Moore (her teachings have helped me in so many ways the last few years), but Priscilla BLEW ME AWAY. Seriously, she was AMAZING.
Travis Cottrell's praise band led us during worship. We were ushered into God's Presence during worship songs like "Revelation." We sat in remembrance during Christmas songs. We laughed while Kay, Beth, and Priscilla rapped. We clapped our hands and stomped our feet during the "southern gospel performance" at the end. I wish my mom could have been there with me...she would have LOVED it!
I cried. I laughed. I sang (loudly and extremely off key ;)

DeeperStill Oklahoma City from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

We stayed in this amazing hotel... in a room like this. I valet parked for the first time, and WOW, that was money well spent!

We ate here Friday night before the conference. I ate the most amazing Asian Salad, and I drank the best ever vanilla honey latte.

Sunday morning Santa came early to bring Drew and Kade their new puppy, Eva.She hasn't had a moment of rest since then.

She is a 9 week-old, Texas Heeler (1/2 Mini Aussie and 1/2 Blue Heeler).
The boys are in love, and I am a little smitten with her too!

Struggling for Silence

I have been unsettled the last few weeks.

Dissatisfied and restless are good words.

I am just anxious to be alone.

ALONE WITH GOD.

Why is that so hard sometimes?

Struggling for the noise of my life to quiet down.

Struggling to be still.

Struggling to quit talking.

Quit thinking.

Struggling for silence.

SILENCE in my heart.

SILENCE IN MY MIND.

Struggling, wrestling, mustering up all my strength and FAILING.

Failing to find time to spend with God.

And when I make time, failing to be still and quiet enough to hear from Him.

Once you've been in the TRUE PRESENCE of God there is NO WHERE you would rather be than "THERE" in His Presence.

NO WHERE.

So I have been asking myself, "Self, why aren't you THERE? Why can't you get THERE?"

Tons of excuses come to mind, but I guess it boils down to priorities and choices.
And whatever the "reason" is, when I am not "THERE" I am not happy.

I am not peaceful.

I am not joyful.

I am not so fun to be around.

This morning I just wanted to get back "THERE".

This morning I sat down to read God's Word and my mind was so distracted, I started to cry, and God gave me this,

"Not by might nor by power,

but by my Spirit,'

says the LORD Almighty...

The words I have spoken to you

are spirit and they are life

(Zech 4:6, John 6:63)."

I rolled those verses around in my mind. "Not by your might Dawn, but by My Spirit. My Words are Spirit and they are life to you Dawn."

My problem was diagnosed.

The medicine was sitting on the end table.

THE WORD.

With all of our "holiday activities" I haven't spent enough time with God the last few weeks. The holiday bussle has disrupted my "routine." Zeph 3:17 says it is God's love that quiets my heart.

I was starving my spirit man, and Jesus said in Matthew 4:4,

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Jesus didn't die to give me religion.

He died to give me a relationship, and I don't know about you, but I can't have a relationship with anyone if I don't spend quality time listening, talking, and learning about them.

I cried out for forgiveness. I cried out for Help. I spoke His Word over myself.

I remember that even though I screw up DAILY, I am still the "apple of His eye".

Even though I reject him He still "delights over me with singing."

I just praised Him for those TRUTHS.

I praised HIM for loving me even when I give Him every reason not to.

Immediately, I was THERE.

THERE in His Presence.

My mind was quiet, and the noise was gone.

Silence.

Rest.

Peace.

You don't have to be super-spiritual or have a special call on your life to enter into God's Power or His Presence. God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

I got this analogy from Lynne Hammond's book, The Master is Calling:

"Just as your city has a huge generator that supplies electricity you can tap into by simply plugging in a cord, God has a similar system. His throne is like a huge, spiritual generator from which the river of life flows. (See Rev 22:1.) As we worship we plug into that generator, and power (or life) begins to flow in us. That's why God wants us to worship - not because He needs us to make Him feel good about Himself but because He wants us to plug into His power! You're ALWAYS plugged in somewhere. In fact, you are plugged in something right now. You might be plugged into what your mind is thinking. You might be plugged into your circumstances. If you're sick, you might be plugged into your doctor's diagnosis. But if you want to get the power of God flowing, you'll have to UNPLUG from those places and plug into the throne of God through praise."

My mind was not just plugged into one thing; it was plugged into one of those power strips. I was plugged into thinking about: Christmas lists, travel plans, a meeting my sister-in-law is having tonight, worrying for my sweet friend's husband, what Fox News was saying about our economy and the Middle East, budgets, outfits, tomorrow, etc.

My mind was plugged into these things, and I wasn't receiving anything but noise. My mind was running around like a two-year-old jumping on the couch and doing/thinking whatever it wanted to. I needed God's power to strenghten my inner man so I could tell my mind to, "BE QUIET."

God's Word tells us how to find peace and satisfaction, but He loves us so much He gives us a free will. It is a choice.

It is my choice.

Isaiah 26:3, "You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You."

***On a side note I heard an interesting definition from John Bevere - "Idolatry is what we give our strength to or what we draw our strength from." Hmm...

What are you plugged into?