Champions. . . with or without the banner

I can not express the full emotions and feelings that I am going through as I think back on the past season. I started this volleyball season a little apprehensive, unsure of how this new coaching thing would go. :) There were times that I would have much rather been on the court-- it is so much easier sometimes to just do something yourself and not have to explain where someone should be or what they should have done differently.

I definitely gained a new respect for coaches and what they have to deal with! :) I was nervous before each game, just like I was when I was a player. I don't know why... no one looks at the assistant coach and notices when they make mistakes-- it's not quite as obvious as when a player makes a mistake on the court. But I wanted the girls to do well soooo bad! I knew how much and how hard they practiced each week!
It was so encouraging when the girls would do something that Coach or I would tell them... and to see it work!! Now isn't that something! :)

Another aspect I had to learn how to deal with was "coaching" my peers. Since I had played with the seniors of this year (and Erin!), it was hard to know when I should tell them something and when I should just keep my mouth shut. I knew these girls knew as much and more than I know about volleyball, so it was interesting... I definitely learned more from them than they did from me- thanks, seniors! :)

My freshman year was the only year I went to nationals. And it was only because we got the at-large bid. I don't think I quite comprehended what was going on. :) But this year was so exciting!!!
We made goals at the beginning of the season--
1.) To be in the top 4 in the NAC 2.) To win Regionals 3.) To win Nationals.
It was so thrilling to see the girls reach these goals. To be number 4 in the NAC in our last year of being in the conference was awesome. And... beating Lincoln in the championship at Regionals was amazing! The emotions of that game (it went to five games and we were behind 6-0 in the fifth set...) were crazy!

So the girls earned their way to nationals-- number 2 in the NCCAA DII behind Clearwater.
I can't write about each game, but it was so fun to keep winning and to beat Lincoln again to get to the semi-finals-- and to beat Kentucky to play in the Championship!
The final game was a tough one to lose against Clearwater, but the girls didn't just hand the game over. They fought hard and though the outcome wasn't necessarily what we wanted, I believe that the Lord was honored and glorified in the way we played and acted.
That was our goal as well this season: "For You alone are worthy, Lord, of my whole-hearted praise! So may this life bring you glory always."

And that should be our goal in life-- no matter if we win or lose, in easy times or in hard times-- we need to strive to glorify God in everything that we do. Because He alone deserves the glory.

Walking by Faith

As the leaves change colors and the weather becomes beautiful fall weather, I've had a lot of opportunities to take walks with my dog and think and pray. Lately, there have been so many people going through difficult times in their lives, and we've had so many things to ask God about. I have never prayed so hard and been so affected by the trials of others as I have recently. When I think about how I might respond or feel in those same situations, I wonder if I would be able to respond with the strength that these friends have shown. 

No one can say why these things happen or what immediate good can come out of them. We only know that God sees all things and is in complete control. It is only through God's strength that we could ever get through the trials that would give us reason to despair. It is only through Him that we could find the courage to move on. He gives the grace that is needed during these times! I'm so glad that we have the hope of the One who holds eternity in His hands. 

There are moments on our journey following the Lord
Where God illumines ev’ry step we take.
There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,
As we try to understand each move He makes.
When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.

There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall, The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.
And there seem

s to be no reason for the suffering we feel;
We are tempted to believe God does not know.
When the storms arise, don’t forget we walk by faith and not by sight.

BOW THE KNEE;
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
BOW THE KNEE;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity. And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,
In the presence of the King,
BOW THE KNEE

Joy through Trials

Last October, my dad was complaining about his leg hurting. Thinking it was just a tennis injury, he tried to play through the pain. But when the pain got worse, my dad finally relented and went to the doctor (a very rare occurrence).  The doctor thought it was a hematoma (a pool of blood in the muscle), and that it would heal eventually. 

 As the months went by, it was clear that Dad's leg wasn't getting better. So this June, Dad went in to the doctor again, and he was sent quickly to the U of M to a doctor for soft tissue cancer. We found out that Dad had a cancerous tumor in the back of his thigh (or hamstring, I guess). The tumor was successfully removed and Dad was very glad that his leg didn't hurt anymore. But the way the tumor looked, the doctors knew that the tumor had come from another place in Dad's body. They started the search for the origin of the cancer and found that the lymph nodes in his lungs were affected and were probably the source.

Now, after a long summer of searching and not knowing, Dad is having his first chemo and radiation treatment today. He will be undergoing an aggressive 6-7 weeks of both chemo and radiation. Thankfully, his doctor is one we know very well already! Dr. Laudi, who treated my mom during her bouts with lymphoma, is going to be Dad's doctor as well. God has a very good reason for putting Dr. Laudi into our family's path and maybe we'll be able to see that reason soon! 

It's hard to believe that this whole cancer thing is going on again only with my dad this time. . . I've been trying not to ask those "what if" questions, because it doesn't really do much good. But I do know that no matter what happens, that God does have a purpose and plan that is for our good and His glory! We sang a song in church yesterday that was such a blessing to me (especially the part that I underlined). It's called O God, My Joy by Paul Keew and Brian Pinner.

 

O God, my joy, You reign above in radiant splendor and beauty.

Your Word has drawn my heart to love the awesome sight of Your glory.

Your blazing Light and gospel grace shine brightly from my Savior’s face.

No other wonder would I see than Christ enthroned in His glory!

Sustained by joy in trial and pain, I trust Your wisdom and mercy.

Through suff’ring that Your love ordains, more like Your Son You will make me.

For Christ embraced the cross of shame, beholding glorious joys to come.

O give me faith like His to see that suff’ring lifts me to glory!

Compelled by joy, I fight the sin that turns my gaze from Your glory.

Your Holy Spirit dwells within; His presence arms me for vict’ry.

Let death and hell against me rise; through death I’ll gain eternal joys.

All pow’rs of hell will bend the knee before my great King of Glory!

Please pray for our parents as they go through this journey again. And for Ann and Mark as they are the only ones of us kids there to help them. Also, pray for Dr. Laudi's salvation-- maybe he'll be able to see the joy of the Lord and realize that he could have that too! It's so good to know that we can have joy and strength through trials because we have true Hope! 

Farm Life

I always dreamed of living on a farm. When we were in third grade, my friend Rebekah and I made plans to start a horse and monkey (chimpanzee) farm. We would train the chimps to ride the horses and then we could show them at fairs! Although that plan never panned out, I did get to marry a boy whose family lives on a farm! :)

A couple weeks ago, Matt and I made our way across the country to the western side of Pennsylvania to his family farm. One interesting fact about the farm is that it has been in the family for over 100 years! Also, Jimmy Stewart's dad boarded his horses at George's Oak Spring Farm in the days of yore. While the Georges do not have any famous peoples' horses at their farm, they do raise a good head of beef cattle as well as grow corn, wheat, and such like. While we were in the barn one day, we happened to be in there the moment after a little calf was born! We watched it for some time, while its mother licked him and tried to encourage him to stand up. It was amazing! Later on in the day, we saw him standing up! : ) So cool.

I always love going home to the farm. Being out in the country is so peaceful and allows you to do a lot of thinking. We also get to see a lot of family when we're there. The Georges had their annual 4th of July gathering- we ate food, played games, went for a hay ride, and took the annual family picture! Trying to fit over 50 people in one picture and have them all looking and smiling at the same time is a challenge! I think it's so great that we get to do that every year. To get evidence on camera of such a wonderful family. : ) I didn't get a copy of the whole family picture, but I did get our immediate George family picture.

 I'm so thankful that I now get to be a part of this wonderful family! And now as a sister is "with child," we get to anticipate another addition to the family! : ) Who knows how many more will be added to the family in the years ahead??

We also got to have a gathering with the Helman side of the family.Unfortunately, not all the family was there- some are at camp for the summer, and some just couldn't make it that day. Amazingly, we all fit at one table. Granted, it's a 20 foot table made by the Amish... so that helped! :) 

We shall have to wait a few months before visiting the family and beloved farm again, but until then, we shall think of it with fond memories. : )

Oh, they say when you're married in June...

I never understood how people could say, "Time flies by faster when you get older." How can time go any faster just because you get older? But I think I'm beginning to understand!

Today, two years ago, I was getting ready for our wedding rehearsal. I was packing my bags, ready to start a new chapter of my life-- Marriage! :) I still cannot believe it has been two years. When I was ready to walk down the aisle, I thought I knew Matt-- like, we were best friends-- we told each other everything! And it was true! But, now... it's so amazing how much you learn about a person when you live with them, go through new experiences together, trials and troubles, joys and jubilation! :)

I am so thankful the Lord led us together. And although Matt may not be perfect (sorry to break it to ya, hun!), he is perfect for me! :) He always makes me laugh, isn't afraid to be serious, and strives to do what's right. Thank you, Matt, for 2 amazing years. I hope we can have at least 70 more years together!

Springtime Happenings

April and May have flown by so fast! It's hard to believe we're a day away from June! I thought I'd post some pictures from what we've been up to in these past months.

First of all, Anne of Green Gables- The Musical! It was such an awesome opportunity to be involved in the play. I got to know a lot of new people and had so much fun with them- on stage and off! I never thought I'd be in another MBBC production, but I'm so glad I got to be in this one! 

Egg and spoon race

My beautiful sissie came to watch the play

Olivia loved the play!

And so did Mikayla!

A little R&R before a performance

The escape from the fishing pole

Avonlea friends

Loved getting to know these girls!

My parents got to come down for a performance!

Matt was an excellent Assistant Director!

Matt's family got to come too!

Then the last weekend in April, we got to go along with our friends Geoffrey and Jenny and Clint and Amanda to the Wisconsin Dells!

Bezzerwizzer!

Paddle boating! 

We will miss Geoffrey and Jenny and Clint and Amanda as they all move away to different destinations!

A Real Life Nightmare

Last week I was at work . . .  We had just finished cleaning up supper, when my phone rang. Oh my! Why is Matt calling me? It was Tuesday night, the night of the dress rehearsal for Maranatha's spring play Anne of Green Gables- the Musical. 
 I answered the phone. "Hi, Matt! What's up?"
A long pause. "Jenny, are you sitting down?"
My heart jumped into my throat. "No. Why, Matt? What happened?!?" My voice squeaked.
Matt answered slowly, "The worst thing that could happen just happened."
"Did someone really break a leg?" My laugh was a little strained.
"No," Matt replied. "Two of the cast members aren't able to be in the play anymore. . . "
After he said that, I knew what was coming. Since Matt was the assistant director of the play, I had gone to several practices to see how the cast was doing, and what Matt was working on. I just knew what he was going to ask me.
My heart pounded and my hands started shaking. And I had to go to the bathroom. :)
"Is there any way you could get off work tonight?" He asked. "Mrs. Ruffin and I have talked about it and think that you're the only person that could do it! Since you've gone to the practices and know what is going on."
"Oh my word. Oh my." My co-worker, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed at me, not knowing what in the world was going on.

Needless to say, the next day was the most nerve-wracking day of my life! (My wedding day was nothing compared to this!!) And I didn't even have any lines! :-) (My fellow stand-in had it WAY worse than I did because she got a main part with lines. I applaud her!)
I couldn't get to sleep that night because I just kept thinking through the play... where am I supposed to be? Where do I come out? What are those words to that song? It felt like a nightmare- you know, when you're thrown into a situation that you have no idea what you're doing there?

But the morning of the performance. . . I couldn't believe it. The Lord gave me a peace and a calm that I know could only come from HIM. I knew that I couldn't do any of this by myself, so I asked if He could please help me (and the whole cast). And HE did!!

We should never be surprised when God goes over and above what we could even ask or think! :-) I could never have imagined that a play could go on after a unfortunate event like that. But God knew and He had a plan to show us that He can do anything! :-)

5 performances down. . . 4 to go!!

Trippin' Up North

This past week was SPRING BREAK for those that are in school! It was a lovely week of everyone being home, temperatures in the 80s, and a lovely time to relax. It's pretty amazing-- people didn't even have to leave Wisconsin to find warm weather. We had beautiful weather!

Erin and I decided to take a trip up to Pound, Wisconsin, a thriving town of 434 people! Our childhood friend, LeAnna May, invited us to her lovely home. So on Tuesday night, we loaded up the car with our backpacks, pillows, bottles of strawberry fizzy water, Clancy's Party Mix, and trail mix and hit the road. After about 3 hours of driving, seeing a little red fox, and almost running over a bunny, we finally made it to our destination.

We started the next day by going to the local cafe- for a while, we had the place to ourselves.

I decided to get scrambled eggs, wheat toast, and a side of hashbrowns....

The "side" of hashbrowns didn't look so much like a side... haha

After we stuffed ourselves to the brim, we said goodbye to the ol' regulars that had joined us during our time there, and set off to explore the town. We went to Sharky's, a floral shop and greenhouse that LeAnna works for.

Bailey, the greenhouse pup

So many flowers and plants!

 We stopped in all the cute little shops in Crivitz (the town next to Pound). In 2 different stores, the workers asked if we were playing hookie!! Imagine that... here we are, old married women, and they ask if we're skipping school! Someday I'll probably wish people would think I'm younger than I really am... :-)

The day was much too short-- but it was so nice getting to visit with our dear friend and explore her new homeland. After a ride on the 4-wheeler, and going to a play practice at the school LeAnna teaches at, Erin and I departed.

What nerds.

Of course, a road trip can't be complete without a McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone. (That we thought were supposed to be 49 cents each, but apparently not at this McD's!)

Birthday Girls!

Erin and I are now 23. Imagine, sharing the same birthday with someone for over 20 years! Wow!
Whenever we were little, we always got the same presents from people. They might have been different colors, or different movies, or different books-- but they were always the same! :) Not that we minded; we just had to open up the same gifts at the same time so we wouldn't ruin the surprise for the other twin!
After 23 years, I think it has started to rub off on us!

"Sisters" Rings

                                                 
The day was fun! Matt stayed home from classes in the morning to be with me-- he was so thoughtful!! Hearing from people that we haven't heard from in a while, baking a cake, working, and coming home to eat the cake-- it was overall a great day!

We thought it looked like a bus...

People always used to ask, "Does it make you upset that you have to share a birthday with someone?"

NO WAY! :) I'm so thankful that I can share my birthday with Erin. There's no one I'd rather share it with! We've been together through the thick and thin, through our dumb little fights growing up, and through the most important days of our lives! And I hope we can keep sharing birthdays until we're at least... a hundred!

Happy birthday, Erin! You're my favorite twin!

Nerdy Transportation? Not anymore!

Whenever I would see someone putting around town on a moped aka scooter, I would think to myself, "Wow! That person looks like a nerd!" Not that the person  was actually a nerd, they just looked so funny (kinda like the neighbor lady of Dorothy on Wizard of Oz riding her bike {with her theme music playing in the background}). :) I always laughed when I saw such a sight- especially when the driver of the scooter was a fat old man!

All that to say. . . Matt and I have officially become those nerds. We are now proud owners of a shiny, red 2012 Propel Malibu scooter! :) I'd like to think that when people see me driving my new scooter, they'll think I look cool or suave or something like that... ;) But that probably won't be the case.

With gas prices up to $3.77 a gallon and steadily rising, Matt and I thought that a scooter would be a good investment. Because we both work in town, go to church in town, have friends in town, and pretty much do everything in our lives in town, the idea seemed like a good one. We'll be happy to only fill our little tank every 100 miles!! :)

Today was so warm, we took the scooter out for our first rides around the neighborhood!

So next time you see someone riding around on one of these, don't let your initial thought be "Nerd!" Let it instead be "Oh! Smart! Great gas mileage! Frugal people!" :)

Just Beginning

Today I thought, "I want to start a blog!" And so I did.

Things done on a whim can turn out to be pretty bad or pretty good. I'm hoping for the latter. :)

Since this is my first blog, I'll begin by telling you what is going on in our lives.

This past fall, Matt and I traveled for Maranatha on a singing/rep team along with my sister, Erin, and her husband Christopher and two other guys. Since we've returned from our trip, ALL of the team went back to school-except for me. Needless to say, I seem to have a lot more time on my hands.
Matt is a GA at the school and works for the admissions office, and I get to work with him there part-time. The other part of my time, I work for Bethesda in one of the group homes in town.

However, to help rid the loneliness of my being home while others are away at school. . . we got a dog! Her name is Lanta, and she is an English setter.  She is quite the character!

So, my days are filled with working, cleaning, cooking, walking the dog, "helping" Matt with his homework, and fun things like that! :)

Well, today we'll be getting a special delivery and the drop-off time is drawing near. You may see another post really soon! :)