Audra Jennings

I feel a bit ill equipped to get into Revelation with 3rd and 4th graders. Usually, I'm pretty crafty with my classes, but I've really not been with this group all year. So, this morning, I read Revelation 4 about the throne room of heaven, and let them draw what they thought it would look like (stay tuned to the end of the video). Today's song... "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be."

I was up in Arlington yesterday, and of course, I had to go by Hobby Lobby.  How can it possibly be time for them to start stocking all of this yet? Of course, it will be half price by Halloween, or somewhere around there. This year in order to continue my annual father/daughter Opening Day tradition of watching the Texas Rangers, I bought a 10 game mini plan that came with opening day tickets. Technically, I am considered a Season Ticket Holder. I picked a terrific year to buy season tickets, didn't I? My friend that went in 50/50 is thinking the same thing. In case you didn't know, even the Houston Astros have a better record than the flailing Texas Rangers who have only one 3 of their last 22+ games. I've lost track they are so bad. However, with my ticket split, I still had one pair of tickets left for the season. Things are so bad that even Paige and Peyton didn't want to go with me to watch the Rangers lose tonight. Thankfully, Rakia wa...

Another summer, another round of "what can I do on vacation?" whining. If you have read my blog for a while, you know not a year goes by without some kind of drama about when and if I'll go on vacation. I know. #firstworldproblems To my defense, I need a mental break, or at least just something to look forward to. Even when work is going well, you need a break sometimes. Besides, I know you all find yourself at least slightly entertained about this annual "whoa is me" session on the topic. Some years, when I worked at that other place I used to work, I had to fit three weeks in sometime. One year one of my week's off consisted of exterminating lice from my head. The other two weeks didn't go much better. I don't exactly recall what I did the other two weeks, probably because I am trying to block it from recollection. The one thing about the job I have now is that if I'm going to plan a week off, I need to be a little more strategic ab...

Every quilt has a story Abingdon Press’ Quilts of Love series combines love of reading with love of quilting Abingdon Press has created a line of books that not only appeals to a wide variety of fiction readers, but is sure to catch the interest of quilters around the world. Each novel in the 25-book series is written by a different author and offers a completely unique story, setting and cast of characters. The books do not need to be read in order and can be enjoyed individually. The idea behind the series (launched fall 2012) is that quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family history. Featuring contemporary and historical romances, as well as Amish fiction, women’s fiction and the occasional light mystery, readers are drawn into the endearing characters and touched by their stories. A new book will be released each month throug...

Tonight was the last night of Vacation Bible School, and I promised prizes to the leaders of our scoreboard. I don't have a picture of the final totals - I still have it up in the room. Maybe I'll remember to take a picture Sunday. Each child had one of the paper plates with their name on the board. The theme was a race, so various activities added points to your score like a track meet. 1 point   Each day you were there 2 points  Bringing your Bible (per day) 2 points  Bringing a friend (per friend per day) 3 points  Bringing back completed homework given out the night before (it was super easy - just took responsibility to remember it) 3 points  Remembering a memory verse (I gave them a list the first day of all the lessons we were doing for the three days, the main theme verse and two extra for the days we weren't doing. You could get 18 total.) I've done this before just doing 1 point for each item. When we had a pirate theme, I gave gold c...

Don’t miss  Dave & Neta Jackson ‘s latest book in the Windy City Neighbors series,  Penny Wise . Meet another family in “the neighborhood”-the Jaspers, busy with demanding jobs, busy with church, busy volunteering, parents of three active teenagers, juggling sometimes crazy schedules. All good things. Until all those “good things” feed into a series of crises that affects the whole family. Something’s gotta change! {MORE ABOUT  PENNY WISE } A Windy City Neighbors book Michelle Jasper doesn’t have much time to hang out with her neighbors—not with thirteen-year-old twins, another teen with hoop dreams, a full-time job as a caseworker, volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, and heading up the women’s ministry at Northside Baptist. Her husband’s constantly changing shifts as an air traffic controller at the world’s busiest airport—Chicago’s O’Hare International—and responsibilities as a trusted deacon at Northside only add to the juggling act at t...

I'm starting this blog on Monday night at 11:00 PM after a typical Monday where things went awry. The electricity went out at one point thanks to a tree limb around the block. My office got up to 87 degrees, and I desparately needed Wi-Fi, so I got to a point of packing up my computer to find air conditioning and an internet connection. I was just about to walk out the door when the electricity came back on. My laptop decided to give me fits for 45 minutes, wasting an hour of my life before I needed to head out to Vacation Bible School. When I got home shortly after 8:00 when it was over, I had to print pictures of the kids to use in a craft tomorrow, eat dinner, go over my lesson for tomorrow, post three blogs for the past three days when I didn't post, and then, get ready to watch  The Bachelorette.  I am so very sleepy, just took two Advil because instead of the back ache I had all weekend, my neck and shoulder hurt, and I know, I'll be dozing off shortly. I still ...