Loving difficult people.

Hey everyone! :)
Yes, I'm still alive! ha! I think I need to start setting alarms on my handy dandy iphone to remind me to BLOG! Out of site, out of my mind! :/

I thought I would share what the Lord has been teaching me lately. It's a topic that is very "common" but yet so hard to truly learn and practice every day. That is.....

Loving difficult people.

Throughout my life, I feel like I've had more opportunities than most to love people that are hard love. I know you all could probably say the same thing so I am not trying to say that MY situations in life have been more difficult. I've been reflecting a lot on this topic and the Lord reminded me of a time many years ago that he began to teach me this.

I remember crying my heart out one afternoon as a little girl. The wounds in my heart from things that had happened to me in my childhood seemed to go so deep that I almost couldn't bare it anymore. I remember this afternoon so vividly because I was sitting on the floor in a family members's bathroom. I was sobbing my heart out asking God WHY did I have to love the people that caused me so much hurt? It just wasn't fair! At the moment, I felt God telling me to look up and what I saw changed my life forever. My eyes were immediately drawn to a simple plaque that read, "People need loving the most when they deserve it the least"

In that moment, something inside of me changed. I got it. God was calling me to a deeper level of loving than what is normal or comfortable. As I sat there, on the bathroom floor on that rainy afternoon, looking up at that tiny wooden plaque, God began the healing process of forgiving those people who had done horrible things to me and had stolen my innocence at such a young age.

I am not saying this has been an easy journey of loving difficult people...no, not at all! I still have days where emotions surface and I want get angry again. But every time, God is still there with me, helping me to walk in love no matter what. God's grace is such a beautiful thing. Without it, none of us would be where we are today. It is my heart's desire to love unconditionally, no matter what has been done to me.

I know I'm focusing on what was done to me as a child but this applies to issues today too!

Loving people who are just downright mean to me, loving people who gossip about me, loving the lady who cuts me in line at the grocery store, loving people who judge me for whatever reason....LOVE no matter what! :) Love is a verb, not a noun. What are we doing to actively love those difficult people around us?

This scripture sums it all up! :)

Luke 6:32-36

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Sincerely,

~The Happy little House wife~

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Okay,

My darling husband wanted to title my blog today, so pardon the cheesyness! ;)

I wanted to post a short blog on couponing! I have recently started getting a lot more “extreme” with it and my hard work is starting to pay off! For the past 2 weeks, I (along with my husband who so sweetly helped me a ton!) have been working on a coupon binder. This was a HUGE job, it took us about 30 hours! But the benefits of having your coupons organized nicely by categories and the ability to carry it with you on every shopping trip is uh-mazing! For example, if I see something on the clearance rack that wasn’t on my grocery list, I can simply go to that specific category and see if I have a coupon for it. If I do, I usually end up getting that clearance item for FREE or very cheap!

My goals for couponing are to save us money on our grocery bill and get a decent size stock pile of items we actually use on a daily basis. But ultimately, my goal is to bless others!! That excites me more than anything! Last week I was able to donate 4 bags of nice groceries and toiletries to a local woman’s home! How fun is that?! My heart was filled with such joy knowing that my couponing skills are helping people! That is my heart! Not to have 50 boxes of pasta or 100 tubes of toothpaste. I want to give, give, give! So…need anything? I probably have it! Hah!

A lot of you have expressed an interest in learning more about couponing. My church hosts a class occasionally but I am also thinking of hosting a small class in my home as well. If you’re interested, please leave a comment telling me!

Here are a couple pictures of my last two shopping trips. This is NOT me bragging at all, just showing you what YOU can accomplish if you learn couponing! I’m definitely not a pro (yet..hehe) but it’s so fun to see progress each week!

Spent $53.94, SAVED $93.84!!! Over 60% Savings!

Spent $23.84, SAVED $95.27!!! Over 80% savings and my best trip yet! I was definitely doing the happy dance! lol

Love,

The Happy Little Housewife

:)

Hi all :)

I'm back...wow, apparently I really stink at this whole "regularly blogging" thing. haha! Special thanks to Emily B. for holding me accountable! hah!

Life is so wonderful and I'm enjoying every moment! Here are a few random thoughts to "quench your thirst"....I have a long blog entry to write tomorrow but I am currently way too exhausted to write it (did a swimming workout..aka: death!)

-Saturday night, we had the honor of watching some very dear friends of ours arrive at the airport from Ethiopia with their new baby boy....there are no words! I was a big puddle of tears (happy ones of course!) and my heart was (is) bursting with anticipation for when it's OUR turn!!!! :)

-We are starting to plan our 1 year anniversary trip! So exciting and so crazy that it's going on one year already! Seriously!? :) We're trusting for all of the finances we need to make our trip a special one!

-I have successfully worked out THREE times in one week which is a huge deal for me! Lol Gotta celebrate the little victories, right?!

--I've been having baby fever lately! There. I said it! :P It's probably because I "torture" myself with all of these amazing, sweet adoption blogs daily and it just awakens that inside of my heart more & more. We are not ready for kiddos quite yet, just enjoying "us" time :) One day....

-With help from my incredible husband, I now have a HUGE coupon binder completely stuffed full of coupons..all organized by categories!! Can I get an amen?! We put about 30 hours into it but now that it's done, it will be well worth it! :D

Okay, that's all for now!!! :) Please comment or better yet, follow my blog to encourage me to keep this up!!!

Love you all!

Jessica Renee

Sunday Seven.

I know I've been bad at blogging this week. My apologies! :) I've been taking care of a 1 year old and a 5 year old for about 20 hours a week on top of my normal job and life, so needless to say, I've been exhausted and busy! Blessed but still busy! I know it's almost Monday but I wanted to share my Sunday Seven again! :) Love you all!

#1. Lately, I've felt like a big crock pot...God is placing people in my life that are depositing things in my life that I know are just "cooking" and getting ready for the future :) Make sense? Like for example...adoption & motherhood, business, missions, etc! So far I have a few potatoes and a tiny piece of roast in there! hah! ;)

#2.Today I grocery shopped without Chris for the first time since we've been married! It was so weird! I enjoyed some "me" time but he was very missed!

#3. God has been wrecking my heart (in a good way!) for Africa. This is very random and surprising but nevertheless, exciting! Okay, God, send me--show me! :)

#4. I'm really into tea now! This is a new thing for this huge coffee fan! It has to have lots of milk and sugar in it though! What's your favorite tea?

#5. I have been contemplating regret. I am striving to live a life of no regrets. This is obviously hard but also very achievable. This next year, I will be diving into living some of my dreams that I've put off for a long time. Stay tuned!!!!! ;)

#6. I'm getting excited for cold weather! I don't know why but this summer heat has been annoying me more than usual and because I'm a Northern girl at heart, I'm dreaming of fall weather---mmm hoodies, hot chocolate and LEAVES! Lol

#7. I am amazed at how God places people in your life "for such a time at this". God's timing is so beautiful and strategic. I am blown away!

Love,

Jessica Renee Gunn

One Hundred crashing Jetliners

I am reading a PHENOMENAL book called "The Hole in our Gospel" by: Richard Stearns. He is the President of World Vision and this book is a must read for anyone...especially if you have a heart for missions, adoption, or JUSTICE! :) So Sunday afternoon I was all cuddled on the couch reading this awesome book and totally didn't expect to find this statistic and for it to hit my heart like a semi-truck! I literally was weeping and God definitely did something deep inside of my heart. I am about to share something with you that has changed my life forever...I hope it changes your too.

One Hundred Crashing Jetliners

Whenever a major jetliner crashes anywhere in the world, it inevitably sets off a worldwide media frenzy covering every aspect of the tragedy. I want you to imagine for a moment that you woke up this morning to the following headline: "One Hundred Jetliners crash, Killing 26,500." Think of the pandemonium this would create across the world as as heads of state, parliaments and congresses convened to grapple with the nature and causes of this tragedy. Think about the avalanche of media coverage that would ignite around the globe as reporters shared the shocking news and tried to communicate its implications for the world. Air travel would no doubt grind to a halt as governments shut down the airlines and panicked air travelers canceled their trips. The National Transportation Safety Board and perhaps the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement agencies and their international equivalents would mobilize investigations and dedicate whatever manpower was required to understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again.

Now imagine that the very next day, one hundred more planes crashed - and one hundred more the next, and the next, and the next. It is unimaginable that something this terrible could ever happen.

But it did--and it does.

It happened today and it happened yesterday. It will happen again tomorrow. But there was no media coverage. No heads of state, parliaments, or congress stopped what they were doing to address the crisis, and no investigations were launched. Yet more than 26,500 children died yesterday of preventable causes related to their poverty, and it will happen again today and tomorrow and the day after that. Almost 10 million children will be dead in the course of a year. So why does the crash of a single plane dominate the front pages of the newspapers across the world while the equivalent of one hundred planes filled with children crashing DAILY never reaches our ears? And even though we now have the awareness, the access, and the ability to stop it, why have we chosen not to? Perhaps one reason is that these kids who are dying are not our kids; they're somebody else's.

Sunday Seven.

1. I am really diggin' grilled cheese sandwiches lately.like a lot.

2. Been pondering Grace & how thankful I am for it.

3.I'm currently addicted to adoption blogs <3

4. I love Summer time but seriously HATE all the lizards that come with it.

5. I have a huge obsession with magazines lately.

6. We got a Netflix account last week & it's so fun!

7. I'm determined to stick with this blog...hold me accountable!

Love & smiles,

Jessica Renee Gunn

28 dresses.

Once upon a time, I watched one of my favorite chick flicks ever, "27 dresses". After falling in love with the concept of being in so many weddings, I excitedly told my husband that I would love to beat Katherine Heigl and get 28 dresses. He rolled his eyes and told me that I was cute and that was that.

Well, Be careful what you wish for because just two weeks later I was asked to be in not one, not two, but THREE weddings...not to mention all were in the month of May. I was extremely excited and honored and quickly dove into "wedding mode". Three wedding showers. Three Bachelorette parties. Three bridesmaids dresses. You get my drift :)

The month of May was like one giant wedding! Hah! I had a blast even though it was quite exhausting. My heart was bursting with JOY for all three of my friends. How beautiful to watch their love stories unfold and see them drive away into their new lives with their husbands! I love love love weddings because each one is beautiful in it's own unique way. Each one tells a story of how two people met and fell in love...that never gets old :)

So, congrats to my beautiful friends, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Hutchins, and Mrs. Accola! Thank you for giving me the honor of standing beside you on the most important day of your life! :) And now for my faithful readers (lol anybody out there?) here are few pictures for your viewing pleasure!