Well pleased...

Today I had a chance to eat outside on the screened in porch of this model home where I work part time. I had a lot of time to think and while I was out there a verse of scripture got stuck in my head. The verse is Matthew 3:17 that states "and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'". (ESV translation).

Wow...that verse got my mind turning. I started to wonder if God would say that about me. I know I won't live up to Jesus (since He was absolutely perfect) but I wonder if God is well pleased with me. Is He pleased with my relationships, how I handle stressful situations, how I handle my finances, how I give myself to others, how I treat my family, friends, and husband? Am I living my life (every aspect of it) in order to please God? I know these are loaded questions but this is how my thoughts came out today. We go on every day just living our lives but I wonder how often do we stop and ask ourselves, "Is this life pleasing God?". I think that's a huge challenge for me when evaluating the situations in my life and I think it's a challenge for you as well.

One last God thing before I go...the other day at a church sermon the pastor read this quote, "You only love God as much as the person you love the least". Can't remember who said it but it has stuck with me for a few weeks now. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say I do not hate any one. In my past, I used to hate quite a few people but since God has softened my heart to those individuals...I no longer hate them. I have forgiven them for things that they have done to me and moved on. But there are people I love more than others. And geez, the person I love the least is the amount of love I have for God. That makes me want to take a step back and reevaluate how I love others. Hope it will do the same to some of you too.

Silpada jewelry

So...I took a leap of faith and decided to sell Silpada jewelry. I usually just hostess parties and earn free jewelry, but out of all the direct sales jewelry companies (Cookie Lee, Lia Sophia, and Premier), Silpada caught my eye. I love the style of the jewelry and it fits my fashion sense. It's beautiful. And Ryan and I needed some extra money so after much thought and discussion, I have decided to sell it. Therefore, if any of you want to have a party to earn free jewelry...let me know or just let me know if you want to order anything.

My website for Silpada is http://mysilpada.com/ashley.jackson

I want to see this....

...instead I see snow. Boooo! Is spring and summer ever going to get here?

Snow!

Hanz loves the snow! Here's a quick video of him playing in it. There's more coming this weekend and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it.

Mmm Bop!

We went to Market Street last night to celebrate my two friend's birthdays. They had live entertainment...really good acustic music. Well the singer started to sing Hansen's "Mmmm Bop". My best friend, Rachel, knew every word and it was quite entertaining. I thought I'd share it with you.



Enjoy!

Unknown

Yesterday on my way home from work I had an overwhelming feeling of excitement come over me. It was an excitement about my unknown future. Just in case you don't know, I'm currently getting my masters degree in public health. Ryan, my husband, recently is unsure of his career and we both have discussed moving out of the area one day. With all these thoughts in my mind, I became excited about not knowing the future. There are many options when I graduate with my masters in public health and I'm unsure as to what route I will take. There is this feeling I have when I'm taking classes for my public health program that makes me feel like something awesome is going to come from this degree. That feeling alone makes me excited about the future. I also get excited about where we will settle and raise a family. I'm a dreamer when it comes to this. I will actually sit and daydream about our future house, kids, and dogs running in the huge fenced in back yard. Regardless, I think we should embrace times of uncertainty and the unknown. It gives us time to dream. I know wholeheartedly that God has a plan for me and Ryan and I'm extremely excited to see where He leads us.

Hana's commercial

Hana is so interested in this commercial every time it comes on.

Pray for Haiti's people...especially one near and dear to my heart, Nathia.

I'm sure many of you have contributing funds and prayers to Haiti after the devastation of the earthquake. I think it's awesome how people are coming together in this time of need. I do want to ask you all to lift up the only person I know in Haiti but one who really is a blessing in my life. Her name is Nathia Louis who is 16 years old. She is my Compassion child which I've been sponsoring since 2005. She is one of our 2 children we sponsor. We have been sending her money every month and even when the funds get tight, we never think of giving up on her. We know she is blessed by our gifts and that is something Ryan and I will continue to do regardless of our financial situation. She has been sending us letters for the past 4 years now telling us about her life, her interests, her activities, how's she's doing in school, and her relationship with God. It's amazing to connect with a young girl many miles away. She has truly been a blessing to us.


At this point, we are unsure of Nathia's whereabouts. According to Compassion, she lives in the northern part of Haiti which was not very affected by the earthquake. We are praying that she is safe as well as her family. Please pray for Nathia and her family during this time. And overall, continue to pray for Haiti. I can't imagine what that would be like losing all your family members, your home...everything. Please pray for all the mourning citizens of Haiti.


If you ever want to sponsor a child, go to www.compassion.com. It's a great organization and it's only $38 dollars a month.


Thanks so much for your support.

Back at it!

This is me and blogging. I blog for like a month and stop for a few months then I have the urge to start back up. This cycle continues and continues. Well here's my urge to start back up. Hopefully you'll enjoy.