Steve and Jenny Valentine

We have had a great few days celebrating Steve's 26 wonderful years of life. In fact, it's been more like a week long celebration. I like making a big deal about Steve even though that makes him feel like he's getting too much attention-he deserves it! It all started last Friday, when I gave him his birthday present from me.  He had a scavenger hunt I had planned for him to find his gift. To my surprise, I actually stumpped him a few times and he really enjoyed the suspense! His present was going to a Shane & Shane concert that evening, but the day entailed much more than just a concert. I made Chicken Parm for lunch then headed off to Lakeland (about an hour from here). We thought it'd be fun to just putz around all day there...and that we did! We found an amazing place called Deli Delicacies and enjoyed some cake to celebrate his birthday-We would highly recommend this place if you're ok spending a pretty penny on some cake! Steve got a carrot cake cheeseca...

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 like when I hear a song and it stirs my affection for the Lord and points me to worshiping the Creator God. I heard a song today that we used to sing at our church in Dallas as I was browsing someone's blog/website. It made my heart happy to hear it because it made me remember the sweet fellowship we had with our church in Dallas, but more importantly because the words are very powerful nuggets of truth. The name of the song is called Hosanna-Hosanna is a Hebrew word which means please save or save now , it can also be a cry of praise or adoration of Jesus. My prayer would be that, as the words sing out in this song, those who do not know Christ as savior personally in their lives would know Him and be saved and that adoration would proceed from my lips to point others to this saving Grace found only in Christ. (The words are below and I have attached a link to listen to, may it bless you today and the truths run deep in your heart). Hosanna http://www.youtube.com/watch?...

What defines us dictates our life. What defines us becomes our master. What defines us can enslave us. What defines us becomes our god. Some would claim that they are defined by a multitude of things. While others cling tightly to one specific thing that defines everything they are. Some of us have yet to take an introspective look into our lives to see what defines us. Some of us know all too well what things define us. For some, our definition can even change depending on the people we are around. Some of us like our definition and some of us wish we could change it. I would like to argue that truth can be found in saying that everyone has at least one thing that personally defines who they are. Even one who would say that “nothing defines me” in turn is defined by that very statement. My relatively short lived, fairly experience filled life of twenty-five years, whether I was conscious of it at the time or not, has revolved greatly around this sometimes daunting and echoing quest...

Hanging out with new friends, Joy and Traci :) Lauren & I took Charlotte to the pool for the first time, she had a great time! Reformation Drive is where RTS is located Seal of the seminary Steve during new student orientation Steve & I outside the seminary Steve and Rob took pictures/video of our Friend's Brett & Christine getting engaged! Valentine ladies! Steve & I in Celebration hanging out with our cute niece, Charlotte :) Steve and his many books for the fall semester!

A lot has happened in the past few weeks....so let's REWIND a little! A little about Steve's job: Shortly after Steve was offered and signed the paperwork for the tutoring job...he found out that there would be a conflict in his school/work schedule. We found out that he would lose his financial assistance if he wasn't taking all his classes (to make him full time) on campus. In order for him to work the tutoring job, he would have to take some classes online and some on campus (still being full time but not all classes on campus). Well the day we found out he'd lose his financial assistance from RTS if he did this, we started to wonder what we should do. That day at lunch he received a call for an interview at another job and told them he'd call back later after speaking with me about it. We started to weigh the options and came to the conclusion that it really wouldn't hurt for him to go to the interview and see what would happen. Plus the schedule wo...

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. ...