Favorite quotes of our marriage... so far!

Here is a post to record my favorite quotes from our marriage. Don't want to forget these, I'm sure we'll want to laugh about them when we are 80!

I'll add to this post as time goes on.

On our honeymoon at the airport at 5:00AM when I am super thirsty but we don't have time to stop for a drink or we might miss our flight...

Jus: Jen there is nothing I can do about it you are just going to have to deal with it.

Jen: Baaabe!! (offended) Love is PATIENT Love is KIND

Jus: yes and love does not wine.


(pretty sure that is not part of the Bible verse Mr. Maroney)



NEXT



 I like to poke Justin in the ribs because he is super ticklish and he will FREAK out.

At home one day:

Jen: (attempts to poke ribs)

Jus: Love STOP!!! leave my ribs alone

Jen: but we are one flesh! So if I want to poke your ribs I can.  Your ribs are my ribs.

Jus: So go poke your own ribs.



TO BE CONTINUED...

Higher Thoughts

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.   Isaiah 55:8-9

This verse is pretty much my mantra right now. For several reasons.

1.       God is so large and all knowing, that it is laughable for me to think I know better or that I could have it all figured out.

Just a quick example. This past week Justin and I have had some weird money issues going on. I accidentally tithed DOUBLE the amount we had set aside to give. Now I am not telling you this part to brag on us for tithing, but only to show the glory of God and the smallness of us. When I  realized that I had paid our online tithe for  double the amount we had planned to give,  I was a little upset =(

We are trying to do the Dave Ramsey budget thing….  And my slip up threw everything out of wack. I was really frustrated!

looking back that seems so dumb. I was mad because I had accidentally given God double the amount of HIS MONEY?? And therefore it threw MY budget out of wack ??( It’s all his anyway!! I was for sure operating in the flesh, but I digress)

We made through the week before payday just fine. We were totally provided for and wanted not. In a strange, peaceful way =)

Then as Payday rolled around, there was an issue with my check. I wasn’t able to deposit it until today (the Monday after our Friday payday.)

As you can imagine, that threw a dent in our weekend plans for grocery shopping , etc. Once again cue stress mode from me!!! Woe is us! Our luck is rotten!

We were once again provided for with everything we needed.

And then, it all wound up being a blessing in disguise. Our debit card information was apparently stolen. This
Saturday someone tried to make a purchase with our card. Thankfully, the purchase didn’t go through because the account had insufficient funds for that amount!!! (because my check wasn’t deposited and because we tithed double) WOW I truly believe that God used my mix-up to both serve his purposes and to save us from being harmed by an evil act.

The purchase was suspicious to our debit card company. They called us and we were able to shut the card down before any more purchases could be attempted!!

This is just one small, real life example of how complex and interwoven life is. We truly have no idea what God is doing or why he allows things to happen. Things that seem bad (like our small $ incident) or even larger situations, like a loved one dying, can be part of something much bigger that God is working for greater good.

When I assume that I know it all, I am being soooo foolish.

As a recovering NIA (know it all) as Justin affectionately calls me, I am working so hard in this season to understand that in reality, I know NOTHING.

My GPA, honors status, crap means NOTHING. Because without God’s grace I would be completely lost, hurting, and alone.

A lesson that it took me awhile to learn and that I am still learning.  Makes me want to fall on my face and remember my smallness.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are HIS ways higher than MY ways

    and HIS thoughts than MY thoughts”

Amen 

An Update - August 2012

Wow! Hard to believe we have almost been married for 2 months. These past  8 weeks have flown by!

First a little update on what is going on in our lives,

We have had so many changes.

 To begin with, one of the hardest changes, I lost my Grandfather Archie Brown in May.  It was very unexpected. My grandfather was 86 years old but he still went to work at his computer business every week.  Although I knew he couldn’t be with us forever, it was really hard to lose our family’s patriarch. We were very close and we had planned for him to dance with me during the father and daughter dance at my wedding. Very hard stuff.

But through it all, the Lord granted us this unbelievable peace that I have never felt before.

I still can’t believe how much God wrapped us in his arms and helped us through it. Some days are still hard for sure.  I’ll be going to my family’s lake house this weekend for the first time without him. So many memories there.  More to come about my awesome Grandfather. I’m going to write a series of blogs called “lessons from Archie” about things he taught me. One thing is for sure, his memory lives on through every member of my family, because we were all changed for the better by knowing him.

More changes…

Since May, Justin and I have graduated college, gotten married, moved, and started new jobs. WHEW. That is quite a bit for someone (me) who doesn’t always like change, but I know we are being stretched and grown for the better. I feel like I learn so much more each week =)

Now for the million dollar question. How is married life?

Married life is great. It’s also hard. Sometimes it’s so much fun =)) and sometimes the fact that we are totally adults now is a little overwhelming…. But I love being a wife. I just started a new study called “The beautiful Wife” by Sandy Ralya with some friends who are also recently married.  About being a beautiful wife on the inside. We are LOVING it! Can’t say enough how awesome it is to have people in your life who are in similar seasons.

Speaking of friends one of my dearest friends, the newly married Lexi Weaver, is leaving this Sunday for Virginia with her husband Greg. So excited for what God has planned for them at Liberty University. Jus and I will sure miss them though.   We can’t wait to come visit them and see their new home!

Our home… is such a blessing =) in this crazy Odessa economy we never thought we would find a reasonable apartment. But the Lord answered prayers we had been sending up and gave us one out of NOWHERE.

Its 500 square foot efficiency and man are we thankful.  We’ve had to be creative with space, but really it is all we need for now. We have had a really great time decorating it and making it a home.

On a last note… Jus and I are very excited about our new jobs. I am working as a prevention trainer at The Life Center in Midland. I’m in training right now to go into schools this fall to talk to kids about goals and boundaries and all kinds of fun stuff. (Including sexual integrity ;)  More to come about the exciting world of being a sex ed teacher. Yes folks. True story that is my job!

God is good and we are thankful.

Love,

The Maroneys

What I've learned at the dance studio and the things I say at work

First of all, I LOVE my job. I teach tap, ballet, hip-hop, and jazz for Dance Connection, a local dance studio here in Odessa. My students range in age from 3-17 and they are WONDERFUL.



I know my degree is in communication, but I feel this job has given me a ton of new life/job skills that totally apply to my field.


Every group I teach is completely different, I've had to learn how to lead each class in the unique way that best fits them.

I made a strategic plan for this semester. I set goals for my students to reach by May, and then decided what steps (literally) they had to take to reach those goals. I measured their success, and implemented changes to improve productivity.(yay management techniques)


I have learned so much!


One of these new job skills I'm still trying to master at the studio is the art of negotiaion with 3rd olds. I can tell you it is interesting. Very interesting. And still a work in progress!


I'll leave you today with a snapshot of the things I say during 3yr old tap and ballet.


Hi girls! Come on in. Sit on your spot please.


Let's get started. Stand up! Feet in first position.


Hannah stand on your spot please. Ready and plie, plie, plie


You have a dog? How fun! Dogs are great. Show me your best plié!

It's a brown dog? Oh brown is great! Let's plié!


Stand up Sam! Hannah we have to stay on our spot while we warm up!


You have to go potty Lexi? Okay go and come straight back.


Second position everyone! Hannah stand up sweetie! No, no one else can go potty until Lexi comes back.


Great plies in second! Ya'll are doing so great! What is it Julie? Oh you have a tattoo? Tattoos are great! No not that leg hannah, the other one!


Sam stand up please! No we don't hit Julie! That is not nice, find her eyes and say sorry. Say sorry Sam!

Lexi did you wash your hands?Third position! Stand up Amy! Yes I'll tie your ballet shoes. Come here.


Everyone else keep going! Yes Sam you can go potty. Oh your dog is having puppies?

Stand up Amy, go back to your spot. Julie leave your bow alone.


Lexi look up here! Can you make your legs look like mine? Make your legs look like mine!


Your tummy hurts?Just do your best! Do I live at the dance studio? No I have a house.


Keep going girls!


Back to first position! Amy stay on your spot, Lexi stand up, Sam did you wash your hands? yes I have a puppy, Julie we do NOT push! Stand up Lexi.


Time to go! Get your dance bags! Lexi that's Amy's bag. Hannah don't forget your ballet shoes. Say excuse me! Stay in line, stay in line, we have to stay in line! Julie you can have a sticker next week. Sam we do not run! Lexi get your dance bag!


Bye girls see you next week!

smile smile smile, hug, hug, hug. (Go home and collapse)


Yes this is definitely a learning experience! =)

* all dancer names have been changed

English 2323

So I waited until my last semester at UTPB to take an English literature course. I didn't really do this intentionally... it just happened this way!

I was nervous to take British Lit. I am used to my communication and management coursework by now, and though it’s challenging for sure, it's challenging in a predictable way.


I didn't know what to expect in this class, but so far I am loving it!


I attended a Campus Harvest event in Austin recently. This is a conference for college students through Every Nation Campus Ministries. IT WAS SO GOOD.


More about that to come hopefully, but one piece of the conference that really stuck with me was when a speaker said that we should ask ourselves every day, “have you read something life-giving today?”

What is "life-giving" literature?

To me it is something that requires us to stop, slow down, and refocus our brains. It causes us to reevaluate some aspect of living, or the world around us.


I can watch HGTV (which I really enjoy) all day, but is it life-giving? Probably not.


Design/idea giving maybe, but not life-giving!



But when I read something like Proverbs 31, which describes a wife of noble character who is worth “far more than rubies”, I feel life flow out of it.


Proverbs 31:35

 “She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come

She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.”

Wow. Talk about making you stop, slow down, and refocus!

This is what I love about my English class right now. We have studied many Romantic era poets including William Wordsworth. These poets felt that it was imperative for us as humans to slow down and look with wonder at the everyday objects we might normally pass by without a thought, and truly enjoy them.

They stressed the importance of glorifying common places and things and seeing life with the perspective of a child.

For example in his poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”,

Wordsworth talks about taking a walk all alone and coming across a field of daffodils. Instead of taking a picture with his i-phone, posting it to facebook (not possible as this was in the 1800’s), and then moving on, he takes the time to really take in the scene and marvel at it.

Later on, when he is home and in a bad mood, he can think back to the daffodils, and their memory plays back like a movie reel in his mind. He can enjoy them all over again!

What a simple, yet genius way to view life.

I watched a baby crawl across the floor at Birthright today. He crawled to the front door, which is made of glass, and stared through it with such JOY. What was there to see? The sun shining on a parking lot? People walking in and out of stores?  Trash blowing in the wind? I don’t know but I think he saw more than I did. He just delighted in the world and what was going on. Everything is new to him!

This English class just keeps reminding me that there is so much to see and delight in all around us. True we might not have a field of daffodils to look at, but we have the smile of our grandmother as she gives us advice that she learned in her 50+ years of marriage, or the smell of rain after we haven’t seen any for months, or the beautiful sunsets that we see here in West Texas.

Without getting any cheesier with this blog, I just want to express how happy I am to be expanding my mind through this English class.

And I have to ask,

Have you read anything life-giving today?

Hear “I wandered lonely as a cloud” at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crGftnW8y9s&feature=related

Exciting news and a productive day!

Okay first and foremost I have very exciting news! My twin sister Julie is ENGAGED! Justin and I just love Julie and her fiance Garrett. They got engaged on Valentine's day and we are so happy to have him become a part of our family soon. Julie and I always do everything together and now we can plan weddings together! Soooo fun!

Aren't they just so cute?

Congrats Julie and Garrett!



Today was a very productive day!


I filed for graduation, filed for a certified copy of my birth certificate, and filed for a US passport! WOW no more paperwork for a while please!


But really I know I am so blessed to get to do all of these things! God is SO GOOD.

Justin and I also stopped by a few places to look at items to register for. Very exciting!! It is so fun to envision what our future "house/apt....abode" will look like! We haven't decided exactly where we are going to live yet, but we sure had fun discovering what kinds of items we each like. It will be so neat to blend both of our personalities in our home.

Justin decided to pose for me and be silly. Guess he didn't like those sheets ;)

Yay for exciting news and productive days!

The month of February and LOVE

I started Valentine's day off early this month with a super fun luncheon with the ladies I volunteer with at  Birthright.  It was really a sweet time of fellowship, prayer, and yummy food.

While there, one of the ladies handed out this quiz for all of us to do. (Scroll down if you do not want to read the entire quiz- but it is pretty cool!)

How Does Your Love Measure Up?

Based on 1 Corinthians 13, How does you love measure up?

LOVE IS PATIENT: I am slow to become angry or irritated. I never yell or lose my temper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE IS KIND: I am thoughtful and considerate and praise the good qualities in others. I freely give others my time and am always looking for ways to build others up.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE ENVIES NO ONE: I am not jealous when others get more attention than I do and I am not threatened if they accomplish more or have more talent or do better than I do. I don’t sit back and pout or complain or try to see faults in others when I go unnoticed or am not in the spotlight.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE IS NEVER BOASTFUL: I don’t direct or try to control or hog the conversation to make sure others find out about my own accomplishments and abilities. I never stretch the facts so that I leave a better impression than what is actually true. I don’t talk about myself much, but prefer to get others to talk about themselves.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE IS NEVER CONCEITED: I don’t have a elevated view of my own importance or have to be begged, pampered or honored to do my share of the load. I don’t twist the conversation around to the things I am interested in or draw attention to myself. I don’t look for things in which I am better than others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE IS NEVER RUDE: I never cut others down or am rude, harsh or crude, sarcastic or cocky; but instead I am courteous, polite, and sensitive to the needs of others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE IS NOT SELFISH: I’m not self-centered or self-seeking, making others fit into my mold, expecting others to behave a certain way for my interests; I’m not possessive of others or those I love or the things I have, insisting on my own rights. I’d willingly let others use anything I have.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE DOES NOT TAKE OFFENSE: I’m not touchy, cranky, easily irritable, defensive, brittle or supersensitive; I’m not easily hurt or irritated over things that don’t really matter, or offended because of the oversight of a friend or someone else.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE KEEPS NO SCORE OF WRONGS: I’m quick to forgive and forget the offenses of those who hurt me in any way, intentionally or unintentionally. I don’t have to retaliate or defend myself when criticized by anyone, even someone in authority over me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE DOES NOT GLOAT OVER OTHER MEN’S WRONGS: I’m not
secretly glad when others make a mistake or are proven wrong; I don’t have an “I told you so” attitude, or take pleasure in reminding others of their faults.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE DELIGHTS IN THE TRUTH: I am happy when truth wins out, even when it may show me up as untruthful in some situations or shed a less than positive light on me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE HAS NO LIMIT TO ITS FAITH: I am not quick to doubt others or God, not pessimistic, always encouraging others to achieve their best, believing they can do it. I do not worry or doubts God work things for my best interests.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE HAS NO LIMITS TO ITS HOPE: I do not get easily frustrated with life, with friends, and am always looking to what others can be instead of what I see.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

LOVE HAS NO LIMIT TO ITS ENDURANCE: I am not quick to give up, easily frustrated, quick to complain. I always give everything and every relationship my best, regardless of their response, always giving and not expecting anything in return.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Total Score: ____________ / 140

Man is that ever an eye-opening, realistic view of how we treat others??

My "word" for 2012 is officially love.  (Learn more about "one word for a year" at http://myoneword.org/)


It is fitting because I am getting married this year, but that is really only part of the reason I chose it.

This year I want to really focus on loving others like the Bible says we should.

Before 1 Corinthians 13 talks about what love actually is (Love is patient, Love is kind...)

It talks about how important love is.

 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
¹ If I speak in the tongues^[of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.


This verse has just really spoken to me lately. We can have the ability to fathom all the mysteries in the world, have all of the knowledge in the world, and have the kind of faith that can MOVE a mountain, but if we don't love others, we gain        nothing.

That is how important it is to love others.

So this year I will be working on my goal to love others daily.

I am going to use the quiz above to help me!

When we have a problem with speeding in Odessa, what does law enforcement do? They set up speed traps! In a different location throughout town each week. Eventually our speeding problem starts to diminish.

This is also my plan to help me love others more!

Every week for the month of February, I am going to pick 2 or 3 of the goals listed on the quiz above to "target".

For example, this week I am working on  Love is never boastful and Love does not take offense. (These are the two I need the most this week!)

Next week I will still think about these two, but I will add three more.


So happy February everyone! I hope this month is full of love for you.

Not only the cheesy, valentine's day card kind, but True compassionate love for others.

Deep stuff that is on my heart

So last night I was looking for a photo in my “pictures” files on my computer. Of course I got distracted and started looking at all of my old photos and videos. I found a series of videos I had taken one night when Justin and I were working out at the gym. These were taken the summer before we moved to Canyon in 2009.



The videos weren’t too serious…. just us up at the gym being silly, dancing, singing, running on the treadmill, but I could hardly watch those videos.



Each one was about 2minutes long (about as long as my phone would video at the time)



And after the first one, I just wanted to delete them all.



But I made myself watch every single video.



In the videos I was laughing and making jokes and being loud. As I watched, I hated the awful words that were coming out of my mouth, I hated the tone with which I spoke to the others around me, my “self-entitled”, bossy attitude. It was so hard to see MY face and hear MY voice say those things, and be that way.



It was about 9 months after those videos were taken that Justin and I decided we needed to go to church. We didn’t know why and we didn’t know what was wrong, we just both felt like we needed to be “in church”.



All I knew was that sometimes I felt great living life the way I was, but sometimes I felt this empty, hollow, hurtful, broken feeling. I didn’t know how to make it go away.



Every movie I watched… every song I listened to on the radio…every status I read on face book suggested something I should try to make me happy (Buy this, try this, find this, drink, food, person, house, car, job, money) but in the end none of them worked.



You wouldn’t have probably known I was so broken at the time. I put on a great “face”, but the truth is that I was severely OCD / a struggling perfectionist/demanding/SELFSISH person. And I was miserable.



Justin and I started going to Mid-cities because some of his family attended church there (in my selfish mind I was just happy to attend a pretty church because I thought Justin and I would probably get married soon and of course we would want a pretty setting.)- I had it all figured out.



It took a while for me to finally understand how wrong I was, how wrong our culture is, and how poisonous this world, and the things it tries to sell us, can be. But once I understood…the transformation was like nothing I ever imagined.



I used to read the Bible occasionally at Christmas or Easter and I would WANT to believe, but I just found so many things that didn’t make sense to me. Why Jesus? Why a cross? Why the fall of man?



And most of all I was so self-centered that I couldn’t imagine thinking of God as Holy being who deserved to be worshiped.



The truth is that God has taken me from a selfish, lost, miserable person and he has changed my heart.



I didn't fix myself, only Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was able to clean me



I have compassion for others, I want to help people that I don’t even know, and I have a DESIRE to humble myself and make God the most high. Am I perfect? NO not by any means, but when you follow Jesus he takes his desires and makes them your desires and every good characteristic in me is something I learned from him.



He has completely changed mine and Justin’s relationship too.



I can guarantee you that Justin and I would not be where we are today without God’s holy Grace and his work in us.



We would not be getting married, or loving each other like we do.



Culture might say this wedding is all about me because I am the bride. But I can tell you that I deserve none of the attention. It is only by God’s grace that we will get to have this special day.



I don’t know if this rambling blog will make sense to anyone…. but



I can’t live another minute without saying this.



I was a lost and hopeless person heading for disaster. I never went to church as a child, learned Bible stories growing up, went to church camp, or even ever felt that comfortable being in a church, but



I know now without a doubt



There is a God who created this Earth



He has a plan for how we should live on this Earth, how we should treat other human beings, our husbands and wives, and how we should raise our children



We are sinful creatures and we need a savior



That savior is Jesus Christ and if you don’t think you need him you’re not alone. I once felt that way. I didn’t need Jesus, I was doing just fine.



But now I thank him for every breath I take and every minute I have on this earth because I don’t deserve a second of his time or his Grace



But he gives it to me FREELY









A lot of people in this world are searching for the “secret of Life.”



I am 23 years old and I might not know much, but I already know what it is



If you give your life to Jesus,



You’ll finally begin to LIVE in a way you would have never thought possible.



What he has done for me he will do for you

and it doesn’t matter how many of his rules you have already broken. Trust me!



http://gospeljourney.com/

Maybe we will have 6 kids - all girls!

So as I mentioned in my first post, Justin and I have been joking around lately about having 6 kids. I am one of six and I SO enjoyed spending time with my siblings this Christmas! When there are that many kids around there is always something fun to do, someone to hang out with, and plenty of talking, laughing, and story-telling!
Last night Justin and I got to see what it would be like to have so many children. We babysat for Justin's three nieces and their two cousins, so we had 5 girls all under the age of 8.

Now I know babysitting is not the same as actually having that many kids, but it was still fun to pretend they were all ours!

There were a few hectic moments... that many girlies talking all at the same time, asking for different things,  can get very LOUD and really high pitched!

But we really had fun!

The girls put on a pretend wedding for Jus and I (their idea). They had music playing as we entered the "church" A.K.A the playroom. A miniature mojo megaphone with stuffed animals inside was a very creative idea for my bouquet!

They pronounced us "married forever until we died" and then we had a Justin Bieber dance party/reception =) I hope our real wedding is that much fun!

Here they are getting ready for the ceremony

After the wedding, we all tried our hand at face painting.

The girls are butterfly fairies and Justin was a pirate (with painted-on earrings!) He is such a good sport!

Very fun way to spend a Friday night. I’ll get back to ya’ll about the 6 kids!