HE IS in Control!!

Well...I'm not sure exactly where to start tonight. There seems to be a lot of negativity in all areas of my life right now. So, I have made the decision that this blog is going to be the ONE place that negativity can not get to me!! With that said, all I will say is that I was given news this weekend that will change our lives forever. I'm not ready to share the details just yet...I still need some time to absorb it myself. However, I do want to share something that happened....well, you'll understand after you read it.

On Friday I received some news that just devistated me. There were more events later that night that left me even more crushed and with just a sick feeling the rest of the weekend. That night I just cried to my mom...basically saying, Hasn't our family been through enough this year?!? I completely believe that God never gives us more than we can handle and I already thought he was giving me WAY too much credit...but this was just beyond what I could handle. I hate to even admit this out loud...but I was really starting to question where is GOD??? WE have needed him soo much this last year and I have PRAYED and PRAYED so why do things seem to be getting worse?? I told my mom how ashamed of myself I was to hear myself say that. GOD has shown himself SOO many times in my life...even in the last year. No...my prayers have not been completely answered the way I want...but I know it is HIS way!

On Saturday morning I read a journal entry of someone whose mom is going through cancer. She had been to a conference and posted the following in her journal...

Adversity is not always a bad thing. God is still GOOD, even if He doesn’t heal. We need to learn to embrace what He allows us to experience, knowing that He will give us the grace to experience it. It’s okay to pray that He will take it away (the adversity), but sometimes it’s even greater, when He doesn’t, because it forces us to dig deeper – get deeper with God – relying on Him for an eternal “joy”, rather than depending on a circumstantial “happy.”

The funny part is...she kept referring to the speaker at the conference as Jennifer R. Of course, those who know my last name...I AM Jennifer R! Anyway...I just thought it was God's way of speaking directly to me. I always tell him not to be subtle...I need a knock on the head sometimes!

I got home today and my mom called to tell me this...She had gone to an Easter event for our church and was talking with a friend from her Sunday School class. She is someone I've known most of my life but not someone I am close to. She asked my mom how I was doing. She said she woke up on Saturday morning with me strongly on her mind. She got up to do her morning devotional and prayer and had me in her prayers. Again...God showing me HE is here, He IS in control and HE WILL see us through this.

I will eventually share more with you...but until then, please keep my family in your prayers.

I will leave you with some happy pictures from my cousins wedding on Saturday. A beautiful bride! :-)




The bride and groom
Tiffany and Dustin...








My cousins (l to r) Tonya, Shaye, Tiffany, me and Melissa









Shaye and me...