A Decade of Anna!

I would like to dedicate this post to my FAVORITE "Anna" in the entire world:

My little sister!

Anna Kathryn Wojak was born 10 years ago on July 24th. She was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen, and it seems like we blinked...and then she was practically grown-up! Anna's favorite things to do are: play soccer, play w/ her new Barbie dolls (b-day presents), and have her family read C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series to her OUTLOUD (w/ all the voices).

This past Saturday, we Wojaks celebrated the birthday of our youngest family member with an afternoon of pizza, cake...and lazer tag! Is there a better way to celebrate turning 10 years old?
























It was most definitely a party to remember (not to mention Big Sis was introduced to the thrilling reality of "air hockey"). As a matter of fact, the entire weekend was filled with good memories, quality family time, and - of course - lots of pictures!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNA!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

The Great Outdoors

There has always been something about the outdoors that has never failed to entice and romance my soul. Ever since being a young girl, I could never get enough of playing outside: having the entire neighborhood at my fingertips; rummaging around the "hidden wood" (the one my mother always warned me not to go into); and catching fireflies after dark. If there's one thing the summer air never fails to accomplish...it's draw me - captivated - out into the awaiting wilderness.

So! What did Jennifer get to do this past Monday?

Hike her tail off!

After much anticipation, my fellow comrades (Emily, Nick, Ruthann, and Tony) and I journeyed southward to the great "unknown" referred to as: Cumberland Gap National Forrest. Accompanied only by a stuffed cooler, a bag of KFC Original Recipe, Delirious' Mission Bell, and T's infamous camera; our crew launched this long-awaited adventure at 8 am...until 4:30 am the next day (I told you we were "hard-core"...or maybe just really slow). Here are some of my favorite moments from the memorable jaunt:
















































The longest trek of the day proved a grueling 8-mile quest through dense and steep wood, darkly named: Dog Slaughter Falls (don't ask me, I won't know). Sight-seeing and cataloguing rare wildlife might have slowed us up a smidge, but after what seemed like hours of trudging through abandoned rainforest...our perseverance was WELL rewarded.













However, I must confess: the highlight of the evening would have to have been our evening of reflection perched on a hidden boulder past the Cumberland Falls. With gallons of water rushing in the background, and a shroud of stars - like I have never experienced - cloaking the night sky, the only thought that would come to mind was:

God.

How can there be room for anything else?

I hope these pictures inspire you all to "run outside and play." To my fellow "pirates": I love you all and have cherished this experience more than one blog can express. We will be doing this again.

Grand Canyon, anyone?

Coffee?

As of next Friday, I am pleased (and proud) to report that I will begin training for working at one of my FAVORITE places in the world...

STARBUCKS COFFEE!

(Sigh) This job seems like it was a long time in coming, but with all the new stores opening up around our lovely Louisville, I am so grateful to the Lord that He has made a place for me! Since my cafeteria job at Southern ended at the close of May, God has been SO good and faithful to allow me time to "rest and recover" from a busy semester, and be able to spend quality time with friends and family.

And now I'm TRULY ready for my training to be a barrista!

So that rather got me to thinking about coffee and all coffee-related things: where are some of YOUR favorite coffee "hot spots," and what is it about them that attracts you so much? Do you have a favorite coffee drink? A treasured coffee memory? Do tell!

And I'm sure I'll be seeing you around...

"Will that be 'Tall,' 'Grande,' or 'Venti'?"

Life Lessons from a Deposit Box

Do you ever have that experience when you decide to memorize a new verse of Scripture, then - almost immediately - the Lord graces you with opportunities to put His Truth into practice? Well...I sure did yesterday:

"Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord; He is God in heaven above and on the earth below: there is no other." ~ Deuteronomy 4:39 ~

This verse (which I committed to memory just late last week) the Lord has been employing to make SUCH an impression upon my life lately. He is teaching me to fear Him above all else, and truly live out the reality that Man can do nothing to me. The ONLY person that God gives us permission to fear is Himself...PERIOD. Anything else is just sin.

So yesterday, I called my local bank to make sure that they had received the deposit I had made to them the evening before. Well, it came as a bit of a surprise when they informed me that they had no record of it in their computer. So I phone the branch at which I dropped off my only check for the next few weeks (I'm down to only one job, right now), to see if - perhaps - the envelope (covered w/ all my info: social security number, checking account number, etc.) was lying around somewhere. The cordial gentleman on the other end of the line informed me that it was not, and then proceeded to ask me if I placed my money in the correct "drop box."

This caused a momentary lump in my throat. What do you MEAN the correct box?

The box I put my check in was NOT the appropriate box for making deposits. It was, in fact, intended for other bank usage, specifically of the kind that is responsible for transferring money to other locations (not necessarily in Louisville).

I began to run through the list of transactions I had already made that day, with a waning amount of money in my checking, and soon it seemed as if all the potential disasters of what might have happened to my deposit began to crash in around my consciousness. Not only that, but what about identity theft? I had practically INVITED someone into my financial resources with the amount of personal info listed on the front of that envelope (something I will NEVER do again...).



BUT...it was at this point that the Lord extended His Hand of mercy and comfort, and reminded me of His Words: "Know therefore today (Jen), and take it to your heart (Jen), that the Lord; He is God in heaven above and on the earth below: there is no other" (inserts added by me). This was the place at which the Scriptures got PERSONAL, and became my reality...not just recitation. :)

Ultimately (as w/ all things), this circumstance - too - is under God's divine influence. I may not have control, I may have made a simple mistake...BUT God. The Truth of the matter is that it is in He and He alone that we find real security and peace. The test: do we choose to believe Him, and live what we tells us with all our mind and heart.

Thus, after praying in faith with my precious roommate, Lisa, our God filled me with a confident rest; knowing that He was overseeing all things, and no matter what happened: this incident is small, because He is SO BIG.

Not one hour later, I received a phone call from a kind lady from the bank. Apparently, the box in which I placed my money had not been collected from by the serviceman because it had been jammed shut. An employee had accidentally dropped the box's key in the box itself - jamming it tightly shut. A specialist had to be called to pry open the dysfuntional collection box: they found the offending key...and my pitiful envelope covered in identification. :)

Do we serve an AWESOME God or what?



Moral of the story: "There's nothing to fear but God Himself."

Blessings, friends!