Random thoughts

My cousin Gloria is here, with her boyfriend Daniel. It feels good to have some young people around. And they brought Krispy Kremes, and I would love to have one... but I can't.

Aunt Sandy went to Atlanta for her 35th highschool reunion, leaving me to care for Bailey (a white golden retriever) and Freddy and Cheeto (the birds) since Tommy doesn't get in until around 4am and doesn't get up until 10 and naturally the animals need to be up and fed by 7:30.

Still trying to get plugged into the church, but I feel like it's taking too long. But I really like the people who I have met and absolutely feel that God is speaking through the sermons-- you know how you just know when God is speaking through someone? I think it's the Holy Spirit speaking to you and He just leads you to the right church. I hope that I can become a part of this fellowship.

I LOVE tithing. Is that weird? I always see God work so quickly in response to that type of obedience. Being here, I was worried about how I was going to make money. I didn't want to wait tables (though I knew I could make substantial cash) because this could be the last holiday season that I get to visit all of the family and I didn't want to give that up, but working out a definite system with my aunt wasn't going very well either and it looked like I wasn't going to be making much money. I also kept meaning to pay my tithes from my summer job and was down to about $200 in my checking account, about what I needed to tithe. Finally, I got myself in gear and sent half to Stonegate (in Midland) and half to Highland (in Waco). The very next day after one of the checks cleared, my aunt proposed to pay me more than I had planned to settle for. This will give me saving money and a little spending money. It amazes me how God ALWAYS takes care of me. I'm sure it will be more difficult to tithe so willingly when I don't have my mom as a safety net, but God has really showed me that He will take care of his flock. In today's world, when everything is about money and possessions, I would encourage you to tithe (which is required, not requested and is differen't from your offerings). God is faithful to you so be faithful to Him!

Jen