tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38813672008-07-06T17:21:29.058-04:00Jennie Bishop's Online JournalJennienoreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-81263254157321188592008-06-17T12:55:00.002-04:002008-06-17T13:09:34.149-04:00A winding, whirling vortex of suitcases, clothes, passports, gifts, teaching materials and power converters surround us. We're going back to Africa!
If you don't know anything about Namibia, don't feel bad - neither did I. Go to your movie store and rent the Disney film "A Far-Off Place." That will give you a feel for the desert part of the country. We will see some of that, but most of our time Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-51649343695898963062008-05-11T13:22:00.005-04:002008-05-11T14:04:59.532-04:00
All right, girls, I just have to brag about my treatment this Mother's Day … I was awakened (twice, I fell asleep again) to a beautiful strawberries and whip cream'd waffle on the back porch with no less than a mimosa on the side, there to view my gorgeous gift, a beautiful bird feeder for the back yard (yes, Susan, you gave me the idea!).
All was lovely until the community irrigationJennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-55380031762022312752008-04-11T17:13:00.002-04:002008-04-11T17:15:01.219-04:00Note: I just found out you can see the fountain on the web site: www.canaaninthedesert.com! Just click around to find the info on the fountain, and there's a picture of it with running water on the front page!Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-36339899182927768292008-04-11T16:49:00.003-04:002008-04-11T17:10:36.064-04:00A week in the desert—sounds lonely, but it's not bad when it's in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was beset with cold/allergy symptoms when I got there, and then realized that everything was in the height of its blooming season. So I got to SEE a lot, but I also sneezed a lot. (-=
I grew up in the Midwest, so Saguaro cacti only existed in cartoons for me. I guess it takes about 100 years for one of those Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-82492531699318141782008-03-25T20:37:00.002-04:002008-03-25T21:01:58.733-04:00Egad! What a rollercoaster lately. A sick child, a restless husband, a stubborn teenager, a picky editor (jk, Robin). AND my own issues, of course, up, down, all around. Too much in the schedule, not enough to keep me busy. When will I ever learn to be content?
At the same time, I knew getting into the issue of purity was stepping onto the front line of a battlefield. At times we are definitely Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-91001946746047929392008-03-13T09:29:00.002-04:002008-03-13T09:40:28.141-04:00In trekking to an new area of Orlando, we found another great opportunity to share the message of Planned Purity. Foundation Academy in Winter Garden hosted us for a conference with a group of parents of elementary children—exactly the demographic we look for—and it was great! Not only was the hospitality team amazing, taking care of our every need, but the parents responded very enthusiasticallyJennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-81915295446674165252008-02-27T10:10:00.003-05:002008-02-27T10:37:58.178-05:00Arkansas! I love it there. Not only because of the beautiful countryside, but because there are some folks in Fayetteville that I dearly love. They are passionate about parenting and purity, and we're watching the incredible effects of their efforts to bring Planned Purity to life in their congregation.
Steve Alberts, the youth pastor I work with, loves to do drama. Last year they did The Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-29538523518097328962008-02-04T12:25:00.000-05:002008-02-04T13:34:14.484-05:00Have you thought lately about how every day of life is a gift?
With some ups and downs emotionally for me lately (anxiety issues, raising a teen and a preteen, financial pressures, ya da, ya da …) I find that I need constant reminders of this. Sometimes it's as simple as watching a comical squirrel peek out from behind a tree, hanging by one arm, as I'm being a good girl and taking my morning Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-18885547332381894742007-07-12T13:17:00.001-04:002007-07-12T13:34:37.432-04:00Well, I'm in Florida again after a month back home on the farm in Ohio. It was a packed trip, with lots of time with new and old friends, a couple of conferences (one rural, one in-city), and a number of speaking engagements, interviews, events, etc. There's a lot of interest in purity no matter where we go, and because this was my home setting, there a number of people interested in coming to Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-66514150220015905022007-04-25T09:24:00.000-04:002007-04-25T09:47:49.738-04:00Thanks to all of you who have asked about our recovery from international travel and moving into the new house. We're happy to report that we're back with very few problems, despite the difficulty of reentry into American life. The girls did great (thanks to Mary and Tom!), our daughter's ballet performance was wonderful, and birthdays have been celebrated. Last night we hosted a dinner for all Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-14246010316464531102007-03-17T17:09:00.000-04:002007-03-17T17:23:47.969-04:00Hello, folks … and see you later! We're on our way out of the country on Wednesday to Nigeria and will be counting on all of your prayers as we separate for a time as a family to do what God's asked us to.
In the meantime, a great group of friends is moving us completely out of our rental and into our new house - exciting and VERY chaotic! But I think the peace of mind I feel in general is proofJennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-4386735513310082362007-03-01T14:18:00.000-05:002007-03-01T14:36:32.946-05:00I have an acquaintance who says she gets stir crazy when she has to visit family in Ohio, but for me, it's just what the doctor ordered. I was with my dad for a week, visiting friends and updating them on our lives and what's going on at PurityWorks, shopping with my sister (finding cute shoes for $10 a pair!), and generally "hanging out with the folks." Can't say I wasn't glad to get back to Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1171375704007996772007-02-13T08:43:00.000-05:002007-02-13T09:08:24.020-05:00OK, so this week I learned a good lesson about the dangers of packing my schedule too tightly. I had been tracking some mood changes that seem to be appearing in connection with certain changes of life, and recognized that I was going to be in my "vulnerable time" (that's a nice way of saying it) during a week fully loaded with women's events, appointments with doctors, editors and business Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1170699438725964612007-02-05T13:01:00.000-05:002007-02-05T13:17:18.743-05:00Well, back from Arkansas and into the laundry - whew! God was so good to us in that our flights were fairly smooth, even with the bad weather heading to the east and the terrible storms that hit about 50 miles north of us here in Florida. Please pray for those who lost family members - about 19 are dead.
We spent a wonderful few days with a church family in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The youth Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1170274203707795562007-01-31T14:47:00.000-05:002007-01-31T15:10:03.720-05:00All I want to know is WHY it is as cold in Florida as it was in Atlanta this weekend! We headed up to the land of peaches and pecans to see a videotaping of our good friend, comedienne Anita Renfro (check out her web site - she's a hoot and a half), and froze to death!
But it was a good girl trip. Our girls are big fans of Anita's - they met her at the Christian Booksellers Convention and have Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1169688960182551072007-01-24T20:19:00.000-05:002007-01-24T20:36:00.206-05:00What an amazing weekend - we actually had a Mrs. America contestant at our home! If she's reading this she'll probably kill me because she hates me bringing up the pageant thing - but listen, this woman is worth knowing and she's not your regular every-day "Barbie" girl.
Lonna is the person who's heading our upcoming trip to Nigeria. She has a story you wouldn't believe - of abuse, abandonment,Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1168711137278133432007-01-13T12:36:00.000-05:002007-01-13T12:58:57.296-05:00Tonight's a big fundraising bash, and we're all up in arms about what to wear. Does anyone else feel that dressing up gets to be a whole lot more work as you get older? I sure do.
My husband is deciding whether his suit will do or whether he ought to rent a tuxedo. I have two dresses I'm waffling between. The invitation says "black tie optional." I haven't been to enough frou-frou events to knowJennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1168355230253404672007-01-09T09:43:00.000-05:002007-01-09T10:07:10.263-05:00Last night we did a presentation at a large Baptist church here locally. It was a great turnout, about 60 people. It's amazing how the Planned Purity message just catches like fire in a dry field. The people who came left so energized and excited that it was hard to get them to calm down and retrieve their kids from the nursery!
The staff volunteers at the book table really worked themselves Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1166808488781655122006-12-22T12:10:00.000-05:002006-12-22T12:28:08.793-05:00Merry Christmas to all - our board members, our staff, our donors, our readers, our friends from all walks of life and all over the world. What an amazing year this has been!
Before we moved from Michigan to Orlando, we had a dear friend and prayer partner share with us a picture that had come to her mind for us: it was a huge gift box with a big ribbon, and my husband and I being squashed Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1166313336301113152006-12-16T18:25:00.000-05:002006-12-16T18:55:36.320-05:00Well, we've entered FutureWorld - today we became the proud owners of a hybrid vehicle, a Toyota Prius, to be exact. The girls think it is the coolest because you don't need a key to start it, and the little gadget (um, not a key, but something like a key) you need to open the car simply has to be in your pocket and the car opens as you draw near. A spy car! Not to mention it's black!
Pair this Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1165850010053851202006-12-11T08:58:00.000-05:002006-12-11T10:13:30.133-05:00After a couple of weeks of engagements and Christmasing up north, I awakened in my Florida bed missing the"cozy" that can only come from cold weather.
A friend and I had a discussion about this while I was visiting. We decided that you can't really use the word "cozy" unless a fireplace and a cold winter wind (and preferably, snow) are involved. Floridians have fireplaces (which I still find Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1164982392400274042006-12-01T08:49:00.000-05:002006-12-01T09:13:12.416-05:00Sorry for the long wait between blogs! Life has been a blur with trips to North Carolina and then continuing north for holiday time with families. In the midst I took a much-needed break at home by myself. All the activity had me unravelling, and puttering around the house and catching up there was a great medicament.
So we're in Ohio at present. The family drove north and I flew into Cinci to Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1163797488981284082006-11-17T15:28:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:04:48.993-05:00Well, we are back and recovering from jet lag. Today we have spent a good deal of time drinking tea and eating chocolate. The Ukrainian tradition of talking over tea is one we want to incorporate more often into our own family life, taking time to reflect, to talk, to rest. Our friend Helen sent some lovely tea home with instructions about exactly how to brew it, and we picked up some tea cloths Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1162649766907538892006-11-04T08:43:00.000-05:002006-11-04T09:16:06.926-05:00I had some reservations about having a Princess event a day before we flew to Ukraine (especially since this was my own daughter's purity ceremony as well), but now I'm so glad we did - what a sweet, memorable night it was! Now I can separate from the girls for awhile and feel very positive about how we left each other.
Some of you know about The Princess and the Kiss (a storybook about purity) Jennienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881367.post-1162041856668786942006-10-28T08:50:00.000-04:002006-10-28T09:24:16.683-04:00Details are starting to pile up as we prepare to leave the country and then flow into a panoply of holiday gatherings, travel and all the accompanying arrangements. How to keep it all in pespective??
I personally am devoting myself to enjoying the chaos, no matter what happens. I recognize that there will probably be no way to keep my house in order as I like it, maybe no time to clean, except Jennienoreply@blogger.com