The Blessing of the Lord

This time of year, I find myself reminiscing on childhood memories and the many things that I'm so thankful for that are such blessings! Blessings that money can't buy and only come from above! Today I caught myself saying, "The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it." (Proverbs 10:22) The blessing of the Lord includes so many things; relationships, health, joy, peace, friends, eternal life, healing, and so much more! This past year, the Lord has continued to tremendously bless Kris and I beyond what we could ever have thought or imagined. This is what His Word says...we are supposed to dream big and think of the impossible! How good God is!!

As Kris and I have seen the blessing of the Lord become reality in our lives this year, it solidifies in our hearts His Word and increases our confidence and ability to dream with God. Recently I was listening to a CD series titled "Dreaming With God" by Bill Johnson and in this the author made a comment that God needs us to dream with Him. He places desires in our hearts, yes, but He also wants us to dream and waits for us to imagine and desire great things for Him and His Kingdom. God's desire is to work with us to make these dreams realities!

What do you dream about? What is that one thing that continues to rise to the surface of your heart and thoughts...perhaps 2009 is the year for it to become reality in your life! Nothing is impossible with God!

List of Blessings:

I wanted to take a minute and list a few of the things I'm so thankful for this year and what I consider to be "the blessing" of the Lord in my life!

1. My Husband - Kris is my best friend and dreaming partner! I love dreaming with him and sharing my life with him. God has brought me the best man, perfect for me!

2. My Family - My parents and in-laws are nothing short of the BEST! They love us, support us, and have invested their lives into Kris and I. Our lives are a result of their unconditional love and godly example...thank you!

3. My Girlfriends - The Lord continues to bring me amazing women that pour into my life daily! Words can't express my gratitude for my girlfriends and how much each one of them minister to me in such special ways! How can I thank you! I love each of you so much and treasure our times together!

4. My Pucky! Yes, my dog "Tucker Marie Jantzen" - Kris gave me Tucker as a gift in February 2000 a few months before we got married. For those of you who have met Tucker, you know he has a lot of personality...a little crazy sometimes, but deep in our hearts we all love him!!
Love all these blessings and am by no means is my list complete, but for now this is a great start!

Home Again: After being away from home for 8 days, we finally are back in Tulsa and recovering! We had so much fun with our families and are truly blessed! As we were traveling back from visiting Kris' family in Oklahoma City, we recounted all the blessings that have come our way this 2008 year! The Lord has been so good to our family and we anticipate great things for 2009.

Presents! My sweet nephews and niece (Lily Jo, Tyler, Cooper, Gabriel, and Hunter) before our Christmas chaos began. It was so much fun having all of these buddies helping pass out gifts and watching their excitement as they unwrapped each gift. Precious and priceless memories were made!

Final Product: Our finished houses on display...Cooper enjoyed not only making his house, but also sampling the building materials. At one point he informed us that his stomach had not yet told his hands to stop feeding it...he is so precious!

Gingerbread Creations: Our Christmas journey began with my family (parents, 3 siblings & spouses, 4 nephews, 1 niece, and grandparents) in the home we all grew up in! Last year, my mom made gingerbread houses with her grandkids, however this year we all had our own! So 17 of us gathered around the kitchen table and let our creativity unfold...it was a blast!