Steve and Jenny Valentine

Being a person who is musically inclined, I often find myself being encouraged by music, by the lyrics and find my spirit lifted. In fact, all along our journey to move to Poland, I can pin point certain songs from different phases of the process and what each song meant to us in those moments…music is powerful! Steve also enjoys music and as a family we like to play certain songs (rather loudly) in the car and sing at the top of our lungs. In turn, our children (even little Olivia) will clap and sing to the songs. It has become a normal family tradition when we ride in the van. One of those songs lately that we will crank up is called Forever. We had been given the latest Passion CD from a sweet friend (along with some fun busy games for kiddos) as a gift before we left on our month long trip last month. We are grateful for this sweet friend and her thoughtfulness in giving us this gift before we left, because we found ourselves blessed (during our travels) by the music on the cd da...

It's been a while since we've written anything...we will have lots of thoughts real soon! In the meantime, here is a quick re-cap of the last month: *Steve is in the last lap of classes for the semester and hitting the books hard to study and write papers. *Jenny went full time and has been very busy with the new full time schedule. *Steve is praying and seeking an opportunity to serve in a ministry role while he attends seminary.  He has been dialoguing with several people about what this may look like and where he could serve. *Jenny has had the opportunity to worship with our church by playing her cello on several occasions during Sunday services and has really enjoyed using this talent to bring the Lord praise. The Lord has been so faithful to us and remains our constant provider, protector and salvation. All our thankfulness is for His name and His glory alone.  "You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You."...

I began to iron out some kinks in our budget this evening while Steve is at work. We both have looked over some things lately and acknowledge there is room for improvement and adjustment (especially in this time of waiting until I go full time at work-which will officially happen November 1st)! I slowly got discouraged and clearly saw that our budget seems pretty hopeless. I called Steve while he was at work and he had a chance to talk for just a minute. I started crying because I had a moment of disbelief, discouragement and uncertainty about how things will pan out, knowing it's going to be a few hard months ahead until we start having a full time income from my job. He's such a wonderful husband and reminded me that the Lord has, is and will continue to take care of us. *sigh of relief* Simply put, I know. I just don't always focus on God's promises for that provision when it comes down to crunching the actual numbers together. Shortly after I got off t...

I'm sitting on our balcony enjoying the 70 degree weather this evening...how amazing is that and so different from Texas! I'm watching my husband study for his first Greek exam and pondering how GREAT our GOD is! It's been a long time since I've lived in a place where when the sun begins to set, the tempurature starts to cool off as well! That was one thing I missed about the north when I first moved to Texas so many years ago, so it's nice to be in a place that cools off as the sun sets for the day. Steve has enjoyed this first week of Greek...today it started getting challenging, but he has been studying like crazy for his first exam tomorrow. Everyday he's had a quiz at the beginning of class and everyday, except today, he's gotten 100...today he got a 98! I'm so proud of him. It's so exciting to see him study God's word in it's original language and to see how excited he gets when he learns something new and wants to teach me. ...

These are just a couple of the many ways we've really seen God providing for us and encouraging us as we prepare to leave for Oranldo next week: *We were at our local health food store purchasing some groceries and we began talking with the cashiers-it's a small store, so it's the type of place where they recognize you when you come in and you can talk to them because they're not rushing you through the line. We mentioned that we were moving soon and she started asking all the details and then she asked the question I've become so accustomed to in the past few months, "Where will you work when you get there?" I told her I wasn't sure yet and that we knew God would open a door. Her response really surprised me, she said, "you know, you will find something!" That may seem like a pretty simple response, But I have become so used to hearing people say something like, "what a horrible time to move", "this economy is horrible...

So I've been reflecting a lot in the past few days about how soon we leave Texas! One month from today we will be leaving and driving across several states to start our lives in the Sunshine state. Seems kind of crazy to think about this. One day I seem so joyful and full of excitement and the next day I cry over a Bethany Dillan song I play as I get ready for work! We are so thankful to see how the Lord has been working in our lives in the past week and will continue to do in the upcoming weeks, months and years. Things I'm currently thankful for at the moment... God teaching me new things each day. Being able to speak truth to those I'm around daily. Pepa who listens to me talk and buys me ice cream when I have a long day! My small group girls and sushi. My wonderful husband. Jenny

I got home early today from work, as I do on every Thursday, and when I sat down in my favorite place in our den, I looked out the window and noticed something very different. It took me a minute to figure it out though. Usually when you look out our sliding glass doors in the den, you see two big trees and then more apartments. Not very interesting, but I always enjoy seeing the squirrels play in the trees (we have crazy squirrels around our apartment complex). Other than the crazy squirrels, I most enjoy hearing the birds chirp. If you know anything about me, you know I like to hear birds chirp...for several reasons. Hearing birds chirp remind me that, "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father...