Steve and Jenny Valentine

Been in hiding for a while-or we've just been busy-probably a little of both.  After Steve finished finals, we had the Christmas time upon us with family in town and then I went into a crazy couple weeks of working twice what I normally would in a week's time.  We finally had a time to escape the busyness of life this past weekend and get away for a night in Tampa.  What a blessing and time of refreshement this was for our souls, our marriage and our sanity!  We're preparing for the next semester for Steve, he's been busy buying books and working extra hours as he's been out for his winter break.  In the midst of all of this, we have seen the Lord's faithfulness to us as we wondered several times of how we were going to pay the bills for this month.  The Lord provided.  He continues to provide.  And our hope has been in that He will continue to do so as we are in the journey of seminary life.  Some verses that really encouraged our hearts las...

Steve turned in his final papers and is studying like crazy to take the last of his tests for the semester!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with dad coming to visit and spend a week here with us.  I traveled to Chicago this week for work and have decided very strongly I hope to never live in a cold climate again...I was cold from the moment I got off the plane Monday morning until I got back to Florida last night!  I will say, though, that it was a great time to get away and spend some me time just reading and relaxing at the days end of work.  I never thought I'd say this, but I was so excited to get back to Florida-to see my husband, friends, co-workers, family and feel the great Florida heat! Here are a few pics of Steve and I recently taken-Thanksgiving day-yes my  hair is shorter :) It seems lately, there has been much endurance, heartache, pain, grief and healing taking place (some in our lives) but also in the ...

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."...

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...