Proverbs 21:3

"Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance."~ Proverbs 21:3 

I am taking a class this semester called Contemporary Themes in Christian Thought with Dr. Dan Campana. Based on the books assigned for the course as well as the first few lectures, I believe I am about to get a crash course in Liberation Theology.  
Liberation Theology, in its simplest form, is basically action over intellect. The people behind these kinds of systematic theologies love to get out of the church and help meet the needs of the poor, the orphans, widows, unemployed, the list goes on. I guess another way to simply phrase liberation theology is meeting the needs of the people before the preaching starts. To introduce us to this theory, Dr. C showed us a few clips from the movie, Sister Act. I LOVE this movie, and so to watch it in a Christian thought class was totally awesome. The clips he chose to show were that of the nuns getting out into the community and making friends with the 'hood'. This move out into the community deeply troubles the Reverend Mother, played by Dame Maggie Smith. Dr. C likened Reverend Mother to the tradition thinking of the institutional church, and Whoopie Goldberg's character to the "get out there and do something" mindset that Jesus had. It was quite a delightful class.
The verse above came up at my Jr. High group last wednesday. The Pastor was encouraging the kids to speak up for those other kids at school who are getting emotionally shattered each day by those classic teenage bullies. For me, that verse struck a new chord... 
How did religion get to be so heady? ya know? Sit in a classroom and learn the doctrines, the creeds, figure out what you believe and then think about it some more. Didn't Paul say it was as simple as believing in Jesus as our savior? And if it's THAT simple, shouldn't we be sharing that instead of hoarding it up in our studies and classrooms? And yet differing systematic theologies are fascinating to me...
Last Friday, I had the pleasure of listening to Brother Cornel West speak at my school. This man blew my mind and I gotta admit, he was quite inspiring. 
An existential Christian, West shared his wisdom about the current state of our world. He values each culture for the insights it brings to the world, indigenous, black, Spanish, European, Australian, you name it. He spoke in such a way that I left the auditorium with chills running down my spine and a new role model. Here was a political activist, unafraid to speak his mind, aware of the impoverished condition of our country (both physically and spiritually) and he proclaims Jesus Christ as the motivator for his mission. Jesus is his center, and I must say it was SO refreshing to hear someone speak who thought like me. Furthermore, the guy got out there and did something. He teaches at Princeton, teaches kids to think outside their box. And what a life this man has led...
I'm currently reading through his auto-biography, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. This book is a challenge to put down.... I'll let you know how it turns out. ;0)

Just Around the Corner

2-3-2011

I would like to start this post by proclaiming for myself and for those reading, that God is in control.
Matt and I got married less then a month ago and that day sparked the course for so much change in my life personally, and our life as a niave married couple...haha.
Soon I will be graduating from the University of LaVerne and we will be moving into the vast unknown that is Indiana so that I can go to Bethany Seminary in the fall. SO much needs to happen yet in order for that move to take place including but  not limited too, finding a place to live and finding a job for Matthew. Those are like the two biggest things...haha. It's a scary thought to move 3000 miles away from family and friends - from everything familier, it's scary to go to a school I've only visited once and live in a town who's way of life is completely foreign compared to my upbringing in Southern CA.

((By the by, I am sometimes amazed at Matt's trust in me and the calling God's placed on my life. He's willing to move to place he's never been before and trust me to a school of which he's only seen the website and few pictures. I cannot stress how blessed I am to have such a supportive and trusting husband as my best friend.)) 

How in the world did God manage to call me to Indiana??? of all places. Let me tell you friends, sometimes I wonder. I think it's safe to say that Matt and I are excited for this change, and at the same time kinda nervous. At times I am uncertain of my journey, as there are many wonderful seminaries right here in my home town that would offer me a mind-blowing education. It's tempting, but there's this still small voice that softly says, "That's not for you, daughter."
As I've pondered these things, I've come to realize that God loves to push me out of my comfort zone and expand my understanding of how other people live. If we stayed in CA, we'd be living in our comfort zone around the people and places that we love. This wouldn't be a bad thing, but I believe that sometimes in order to see what God has planned, you gotta shake things up a little.
We are going to miss California. The people, the beach, the weather, disneyland...haha - but I know in my heart God's got something big planned for our lives in Indiana and beyond.
Each of us in on a different path, we all have different journeys. Our path is leading us away into the exciting unknown. :0)

Suddenly June seems really, really near....

With love and hope,
Jen Bellue

A Changing Life

Howdy!

My summer is drawing to a close, but I feel once again that it's just another beginning. I'd like to think that my life is full of beginnings rather than endings - don't you? When you think about something ending as the beginning to something else, it seems more positive and happy. So there you go, it's getting close to the beginning!!!

Looking back on this summer, I can say that I have learned a LOT. Strangely enough, what initially was a push out of my comfort zone became my exact comfort zone. Going into the summer I was super nervous about trying to keep afloat a whole Jr. High ministry. Luckily, it came already planned with pool parties, movies, and sunday school galore. I was a little anxious about being the only person in charge, but after the first few experiences I found out that I wasn't half bad at it. haha. Being placed into a leadership position I wasn't exactly expecting, gave me loads of confidence in my own leadership skills. It's one thing to have a whole bunch of people who love you tell you you're a born leader, it's another to have a whole bunch of kids (who are normally squirrly and throwing paper airplanes) listen to you giving directions or talking about Jesus.

And this confidence expands beyond ministry to my very own regular mundane life (haha) as I enter into my (can you believe it?) SENIOR year of college. For quite awhile I've been a theatre kid. I've acted in plays since my 8th grade year at Ramona Middle School, and I have loved every bit of it. When I got to college, I'd had enough people tell me i was a "natural" that I figured I'd major in it. hahaha.
But my life is changing, my passions are changing, and who I want to be is changing. I love change. It's scary for me and exhilarating at the same time. But I think this summer has given me the confidence to own who I am becoming.

This next year, though I am remaining a theatre major, I will not be acting in the mainstage shows. Instead, I'll be focusing my time on my dear Jr. High girls, and helping Scott continue what I have come to know as an awesome ministry. I want to keep learning about this stuff and seminary is too far away! hahaha. This decision was placed before me a few months back, it was a challenge which God gave to me with a smile, I'm sure. I've wrestled with it, talked myself back and forth and into stitches....and every time I've heard that familiar fatherly voice pulling me into the lives of these kids. I can't help but love every single thing about them! Every single thing. hahaha. Where most people roll their eyes over this age group, I find myself laughing and loving the quirks. Such a strange spiritual gift - Jr. High Ministry. hahaha. But I can't deny this part of my spirit, as much as theatre has meant to me these past years - my heart is taking what the stage taught me and moving on.
So here's to a new beginning!!!!!!

Speaking of beginnings -
A wedding is coming! YIKES! I'm so excited. My bridesmaids are all fitted and dresses are on their way! I've had a meeting with a super cool decorations lady by the name of Debbie, and she's helping me decorate the sanctuary and reception hall. I've started keeping an eye out for stuff like that... Matt and I are super close to booking our honeymoon (which for some reason makes all this feel way more real than it did before) and we are possibly going to look for a wedding band for Matt tomorrow! (He's an overachiever and already has mine.)
Also looking forward to hand making the invitations! They are going to be fun!
*deep breath*
I'm so excited, I get carried away. I cannot wait to be married to this amazing man! GAH! I'm so totally excited. Did I mention he's amazing? Cause he is.

Hope this finds everyone smiling, well, and possibly giggling!
With all kinds of love,
Jen

It's More Like Falling In Love....

Hello Familia and Amigos! (thought I'd switch it up this time.)

I hope this blog finds you abounding in joy and love, cause you deserve nothing less. This last week for me has been rather calm compared to the week of VBS craziness. It's kind of awesome to have something to talk about that almost everyone in your group can relate to. To be able to say, "Remember that one time..." and have everyone laugh or squirm depending on the memory. It's events like VBS, camp, and other kinds of service projects that bring a group of kids together and I love it.

So there is this radio station I occasionally listen to out here in the west called Air1. They are kind of all over the US, but I didn't discover them until I got to La Verne...anyway - I was listening to this radio whilst getting ready for the day and this song happened to be playing -

Jason Gray - More Like Falling in Love From the album Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue

Give me rules
I will break them
Give me lines
I will cross them
I need more than a truth to believe
I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes
To sweep me off my feet
It ought to be

(CHORUS)
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

Give me words
I'll misuse them
Obligations
I'll misplace them
'Cause all religion ever made of me Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet It never set me free
It's gotta be

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

It's like I'm falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper
It was love that made Me a believer
In more than a name, a faith, a creed
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me
It's gotta be

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

It's songs like these that catch the truth in me and make me think a little deeper about how I came to be. I grew up solidly in 'Religion' and discovered early on that people who didn't go to church got turned off by that word: "Religion." It's a word that holds a lot of negativity for a lot of people, it never did for me - but because it has for others I've sought to figure out why. I think that negativity comes from certain experiences people have had in which a church as a whole, or a church member has told them everything that was wrong with them. That they were a bad person, and there was nothing they could do to change it except set up all these rules to keep them from sinning. The New Guy never finds Jesus for all Religion. We get caught up in the rules and routine, sometimes we forget that religion is a relationship. Jesus longs for relationship, not a to-do list of i love yous. Living like Jesus has to be more like falling in love.
I was 15 when I finally figured out that Jesus loved me. I mean I suspected it before, but i finally believed it when I was 15. Thinking back to that year, I was super giddy and lovey - wanted to be friends with everybody and I even wrote God love notes. Yep, I was fallin' in love. As the initial giddy-ness faded, I needed to show God I loved him instead of telling him all the time. Kind of like, after you've been a relationship a while just saying "i love you" doesn't always cut it, the other person wants to know it and sometimes the things you do speaks louder than the things you say. My way became encouraging those around me, and after a while - Jr. High Ministry.
Though i was taught the bible my entire life, was taught religion, and for the most part lived by it - I didn't start living like I was Loved until Jesus and I clicked. Then all the service became meaningful, thought Jr. High ministry is tough sometimes - I want to do it, and being in love with Jesus keeps me wanting to be there for these kids. I guess it's how I say 'I love you.'

One more anecdote before I sign off - we were all the JH pool party last night and I got the opportunity to talk to the Mom hosting us for a while. She is amazing, i have so much respect for Moms who long to teach their kids about Jesus and who are looking for new ways to do so. She says "I love you Jesus" by getting involved in the spiritual lives of her kids. That is a gift her boys won't fully understand until they are "all growed up" but they'll appreciate it forever. She definitely made it into the collage of mothers I look up to. :0)

Well I'm off to another weekend of wonderful awesomeness. Got an email yesterday that told me my wedding dress came in. 0_0 3 months my booty! Ah well... at least that's done and I don't have to worry about it! Bridesmaids dresses are all picked out, just one more lovely girl to get fitted and the order's off. The wedding gets steadily more real every day. GAH.

Have a wonderful weekend and know that I love you,
Jen

Holding Down the Fort!

Hello Family and Friends,

I hope this blog finds you pleasant, rested, and smiling! The reason I entitled this post "Holding Down the Fort" is because Scott Boss - JH Mentor extraordinaire, is in West Virginia with a group of High Schoolers doing a missions trip! That's right! I'm in charge! Buwahahahahahahaha. *sigh* Sadly I'm too responsible to actually take advantage of this moment. ;0) I've actually been discovering that most of the work I've been doing has been out of the office types of work. I think I might try organizing Scott's desk while he's away... it might help...it might hinder. Who knows? Could be fun.

p.s. could anyone tell me where the saying "Holding Down the Fort" came from? Just a random question.

Well last week was a jam packed crazy week full of crazy craziness. and I LOVED it! VBS was held everyday from 9 to 1, and we then held VBS After Hours at various awesome places around Glendora.

Final Tally =
Taco Tuesday (Del Taco) - 93 kids, 336 tacos consumed.
Pack Out In-N-Out - 115 kids
Golden Spoon Take-Over - 83 kids
Night Game "Sponge King" - 135ish kids

Needless to say, it was pretty EPIC. The best story comes from Thursday's Golden Spoon Takeover. At 7:00pm it started thundering and we saw lightening. I was all - Dude this is California, in JULY. Then it rained. It rained in July, and it was so awesome. Kids ate frozen yogurt and played in the rain. I was reminded of our time in the Philippines a few summers ago...it rained almost every other day and it was hot! haha. It was a nice reminder, a comfort to think about the people we met there and the work of the Lord that's continuing even today.
After Last week's epic-ness, we're taking it easy this week on the ministry front. Doing a Pool Party on Wednesday and that's about it! Woot woot!

Sunday School has been an interesting beast to tackle. Leaders, as I've mentioned before, are scare over the summer. There was one sunday where it was me and 25 Jr. Highers for 25 minutes before my friend Hillary bounced heroically into the room to save my life. hahaha. I have a new respect for Jr. High Teachers, to say the least. Depending on who's in the group on Sunday it's either easy to get through the lesson...or it's easier to give up and play tag. Such is Jr. High ministry. I'm a firm believer that the curriculum should come second to relationships. So if they kids wanna talk about something, or just need some time to hang out - that's just as fun for me as teaching a pre-planned lesson. Kids learn by observation and by asking questions, if we don't give them these kinds of opportunities they aren't being challenged to grow. Hahaha, I say "Kids" like I'm not still a Kid myself silly Jen...I guess it would be better to say that: People (all kinds) learn by observation and by asking questions. Some of these Jr. Highers are asking questions Socrates wrestled with. I love it.

I suppose I'm just rambling now - but whilst I ramble, might as well mention that I've been reading the Anne of Green Gables series. How many people out there remember those? Heck yes, they are amazing. For those of you unfamiliar with these books, they are the story of an orphan girl taken on accident to a family who wanted a boy. They end up keeping her, and the stories follow Anne through school, friendship, love, and loss - her imagination prevailing the whole way. Anne and myself are twins souls across fiction. Her imagination is just as big as mine, she has a quick temper that I used to be able to call my own, and a fierce love of kids and peers. I love those books...they are addicting. What I most love about Anne is her understanding of God and Heaven, and the contrast it provides in the narrow minded town of Avonlea. At one point in her childhood - Anne looks at a picture of Jesus, and says, "I don't think this is what the Lord should look like." Her guardian is aghast at her blasphemy and says, "Of course that's how the Lord is supposed to look." Anne looks all pensive and says, "Shouldn't he be smiling?"
I also love when she is trying to explain Heaven to a little boy who thinks Heaven is in the attic because when he asked where it was his cousin pointed to the ceiling and said, "Up there." Anne corrects this by saying that heaven is a place where you can eat 10 kinds of icecream and wear whatever you want, a place to be happy all the time, and that it certainly wasn't in the attic.
Though she is a fictional character, she's a role model of mine. hahahaha. I'm pretty sure if she were real, we'd be extremely close friends. This is probably why I like reading about her life!! Hahahaha. What can I say? We all have our guilty pleasures.

On the Wedding Front -
Not much has been accomplished or changed since my last blog. But I am super excited for next monday cause we are going for Bridesmaids dresses! GAH! I'm so excited. I love dress shopping, especially for girls I love so dearly!
Oh yes, and my dear little cousin Hailey Haldeman is gonna be our flower girl! She's basically the cutest thing on the planet. And I love her. She'll be an absolute darling. :0)

Well I believe that's about all for now. It's weird to think that school starts up again in about a month... when did that happen? I have to start thinking about Books, and tests, and...and... cafeteria food. Yuckie. hahaha. Only one more first day of college!

Love you all, and I pray lots of peace and rest and love into your life!
Love,
Jen

VBS and Some interesting Life Choices...

Hello Friends and Family!

I hope this blog post finds you all well and smiling! This week is VBS week at Glenkirk...and let me tell you it's QUITE the event!! About 850 kids showed up yesterday for the first day and were led by about 300 Jr. High and High School students through all the activities. It was such a humbling experience to look across a sanctuary PACKED with kids under the age of 11 and their leaders. I loved watching Jr. Higher's take control and be leaders fer these younger kids. It was so awesome, and totally warmed my heart. I love when different ministries in a church overlap like that...it's like...perfection.

Anthony and Stacey (Children's Ministry Gurus extraordinaire) have put together an awesome program, and the worship center looks SO legit with intelligent lights, gobos, an awesome pirate ship, and solid worship band. I am so impressed with the scope of this thing....the biggest VBS I'd ever been a part of had 100 kids...and that was in Harrisburg last summer. Before that....I'd never been a part of a VBS of more than 35 to 50 kids. So 850....blows my mind. As much as that number is awe inspiring, what happens in the classrooms is like 1000000000000000 times more important. You can have 1000 kids gather and have fun, but it's totally worthless if Jesus isn't being taught and glorified. At this VBS Jesus is friggin' everywhere...hahaha. From storytelling, to prayer, to worship, even the little call and response they do every day they are teaching these kids about God in a way they can come to own. I had SO much fun yesterday talking with the leaders and with some kids...running lunches to classrooms and simply observing Jesus in loads of smiles. It makes me sad that i have to sit in a silly office filing, and making labels today instead! GAH! Darn them bills...... Money is so frustrating. hahaahaha. Yeah that's life...
I'm excited to go back to VBS on Wednesday. There is also a lot going on this week during VBS 'After Hours' From 7-8:30 every night Jr high and High School is combining to hang out at various places in Glendora - In-N-Out, Del Taco, Goldenspoon. Just to hang out and eat good foods. I'm pretty excited about that...since we get free tacos tonight. Oh yes. It's UH-MAZING!

Life Decision - Due to a few conversations and experiences I've had lately, as well as some God Moments, I've come to realize that prioritizing needs to happen in my life. haha. I've been living my life a certain way for a long time....not by any means a bad way...just a certain way. Unfortunately it's caused much juggling, turmoil, and frustration....even tears (which are the best part....cause after a good cry, don't you always feel a lot better? I know I do....). Anyway - what has become most important to me has been shoved to the back burner more than a few times so I can try and impress people. People....being the key word there. If I'm to live my life for God, shouldn't I rather be trying to impress Him instead of...people? People that sometimes fail to see the bigger picture... I need to put what is most important in my life first and foremost... that being my ministry with my Father, and my husband-to-be. I guess this is something I've always known, but honestly I can be a little selfish sometimes. It's a difficult decision to make which means it will probably require a part of me to die (the selfish, people-pleasing, somewhat arrogant part), so that I can make room for more Jesus. :0) To be beautifully broken so that I can be wholly restored in Him. So that when God looks down on me, He can see his reflection. Doesn't that sound.....I dunno..... like fulfilling? Like peace? Like the best decision ever? Maybe I'm crazy, but what kind of leader would I be if I found a fault in my life and didn't fall into Jesus to try to fix it? How could I lead others to make decisions I was unwilling to make? How could I guide others to fall deeply in love with Jesus, when I chose to stay stagnant? Ew.
I'd love some prayer in this area if you're up for it! The hardest changes to make in ones life are definitely ones like these.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

In Other News -
Wedding plans are coming along wonderfully. We did the tux thing a few days ago... it was so weird!!! At David's Bridal..everything was "Let's try this on" "Let's look at this" "Walk down this isle of mirrors" "Let's make your mom cry" but at Men's Warehouse.... she plopped a kind of binder down in front of us and said - "Pick what you like". Matt picked out what he wanted...and what we wanted for the groomsmen. And we were done. 0_0 Dude. 4 hours at David's Bridal vs. 30 minutes at Men's Warehouse. Ah culture.
I'm trying to get the majority of the planning done, or in the process before school starts...cause OH the STRESS. bahahaha. But I'm sure everything will turn out fine as it always does. I'm getting more and more excited..... like reality sets in or something. I'm gonna be married! To Matt! How did I get so lucky?
Currently we are in the market for a DJ...and a Florist-like person......and maybe catering? I don't remember.

Huge and special thanks to all the people who have offered so much to us already!!!! The only money Matt and I have spent so far has been on his tux! hahahaha. It's been such a miracle, and I couldn't be more loved than I am at this moment. Many Thank You cards shall be written... which is saying something...cause I don't normally succeed at Thank You cards. ;0)

As this post comes to a close... i wanted to end it with something I read in Thessalonians this morning..it's how Paul ended his letter, and it makes me happy.

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
Love,
Jen

p.s. the "Love, Jen" part can only be found in select versions of the Bible. ;0)

Forest Home, Twilight, and The Dress

Hello Friends and Family!!

I hope this post finds you well and smiling! It's been a little while since I've written because I've been at Jr. High Summer Camp at Forest Home! Forest Home, is a summer/winter camp located in the mountains near Redlands, CA. It's a wonderful place really. We were there for 5 days, and let me tell you - Jr. Highers can really keep you on your toes!!! haha. But no worries, for even in the craziness I found time for a nap or two.

There are plenty of memories and camp stories I could share, but I want to highlight a few things from the week that really made me happy.

First Off - I had a cabin of 4 girls, 2 6th graders and 2 8th graders.... and our cabin was the problem child of the week. haha. We clogged the toilet, not once but TWICE! jeepers. I don't know how we managed that. I locked my keys in the cabin once... and our bathroom light went out on the last day. Each time I walked up to our team Deans (the two people leading our team that week....we were the Yellow Team by the way...) they would laugh at me and ask, "Ok, what now?" haha. It was amusing. As for the other girls cabin, we managed to put a blue stain on the cabin wall. It was amazing. The girls felt horrible, but it just made me smile. Jr. Highers are the best.

Second - The Jr. High boys at Glenkirk, can be real gentleman. Believe it or not! When we were hiking back to the camp site one night, they held branches back for the girls and helped us across the streams and things. So as crazy as they can be, they are kinda awesome!!! :0) It made my heart smile.

And my Favorite thing that happened that week...my absolute FAVORITE thing that will probably keep me in youth ministry for the rest of my life - was watching these kids worship our Lord. We had an awesome worship band which played some up-beat songs which allowed the kids to jump around and have a good time. And there were quieter songs played for reflection and stuffs and things. I would open my eyes and see these kids worshipping the Lord, eyes closed and hands in the air. Whatever their intentions in that act, Jesus was being praised by a group of 11-13 year olds on a mountain. We joined in the ever singing Angels, for a split second in time. Not gonna lie, I may have teared up a bit. a lot a bit. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Since we've been back, we've had a Pool Party and we went to see the newest installment to the Twillight Saga - Eclipse. We attempted to see Twilight at midnight, and that was quite the interesting experience for those who showed up. We had to ninja our way into the same theatre due to an online mix up. It was awesome. haha. The Pool Party was last night, and lemme tell you. That was EPIC. 31 kids showed up to swim, play tether ball, jump on a trampoline, and have a good time. There only one problem.... leaders. There were only 4 there, including myself and all female. Lucky for us there are some awesome Moms in our groups who helped us keep an eye on the kids and cooked the food. But MAN. We need some men. And women for that matter. Our group is growing and the only thing holding us back is that we don't have the needed leadership.
I need your prayer in that. Pray for some awesome men and women of course to hear a call to Jr. High Ministry, and come help us out. Scott and I are only two people. I can't reach every girl, and her can't reach every guy. Ministry is a team action, it cannot be done alone. Even Jesus had 12 buddies whom he empowered to help heal and cast out demons. The bible doesn't promote independence from one another, but community. We need eachother in all that we do, especially in ministry.

I could use prayer in coming up with some creative ways to draw in leaders, and also for creative ways to pull a group of Jr. Highers together - to break down cliques. We have some new kids hanging out on the sidelines, and I wanna get them involved. So please be praying for that. My goal is that every kid who walks through our doors leaves having felt loved and accepted. But to do that we need leaders, and open hearts. So huge prayer there, please!!!

In other news :

I found my wedding dress!!! Did you know it takes 3 months to order the darn things? Yeah.... 3 months. Sheesh. But I found it. It was lots of fun, my mommy cried when i put it on which pretty much sealed the deal - but I wanted my Daddy and sister to see too... so they came and approved the dress. And my parents wanted to pay for it as a wedding gift. So, my parents are basically amazing. :0)

Matt and I had a meeting the wedding people (Acia and Virginia) at Pomona Fellowship this morning. And it looks like it's gonna be a FUN wedding. Still have brainstorming to do in terms of the reception including decorations and stuffs like that... and thats the part I'm gonna LOVE!

Matt and I took engagement pictures the other day, and they're beautiful. I'll be posting some up soon. Our Photographer did them for free, and is also going to do our wedding!! I'm pretty excited, cause he's such a sweetheart. I loved him.

Let me see... I think that's the whole of it at the moment. It's absolutely crazy the amount of details and such things that go into a wedding! These are things you sure don't think about when you're in jr. high and planning your wedding in your head. In Jr. High you think it's just going to magically happen..but my goodness! It's crazy!! haha.

I love you all so much and hope that your week is completely wonderful! Happy 4th of July!
With all kinds of Love,
Jen