Saying Goodbye to Blogspot

Dear friends,
My new blog has been in the making for the last couple of weeks, and it is time to switch over to Wordpress! I am still figuring out the Typeface coding and the Flickr pictures feed, but I hope to have a better grasp of it in the next month or so. One of my professors is a master website/blog HTML guy, so he should be able to help me. =)

Anyways, please visit www.emilyjacob.wordpress.com when you can. I will be using this blog between now and January as a place for Africa updates and pictures. The new blog is called T.U.L.I.P. And if you are wondering what the acronym is for, the explanation is in the "About" section.

Thanks for making a note of it! If you have any ideas/helpful tips for the new blog, please let me know!

Emily

Summer Food

Italian Caprese Salad; Stuffed Green Peppers with Walnuts, Italian Rice, Fresh Swiss Chard, Majoram, and Basil, and Ground Turkey; Italian Bread Salad with Corn and Tomatoes; veggie stir fry, dakon radish, spicy sauteed shrimp with peanuts, grilled pineapple; homemade pizza (Trader Joe's Crust!!) with a variety of cheeses, spinach and pesto-basil sauce (Costco!!); me with our homegrown zucchini; blueberry walnut breakfast bread; zucchini poppeyseed bread with curry.

Summer cooking is my favorite because you can incorporate so many fresh ingredients into dishes, and all the while, they are simple to make and delicious to eat!

I didn't get around to making homemade bread, but perhaps I'll save that for the fall, as my Grandma just loaned me her breadmaker for a while.

However, I did enjoy piecing together these various breakfast, lunch and dinner courses. Try cooking without a recipe sometime--or dramatically altering it---it really is a blast.

We Beat the Hot Weather

Del Mar Beach, San Diego, CA
Shank Home: Mom, Travis and Nora enjoying Swordfish kabobs and green rice
shopping in Target.
Camelback Spa, Phoenix, AZ
Mom at The Greene House Restaraunt, Scottsdale, AZ

Sipping a Margherita at Z-Tejas Restaraunt on our first night together
Gelato after Pedicures
Pacific Beach, CA
On one of our last evenings
Mom and I at Camelback Spa, Phoenix, AZ

Well, back home! The intense, August sun of Phoenix, Arizona beat down upon mother and daughters for multiple days, but kindred spirits never let the weather win. As Kathy Bates says in the movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes," TAA-WANN-DAA. So we did say to the 107 degree days. Ohh, yes. Mom, Nora and I had a wonderful time talking, eating, shopping, exercising, lounging by the pool and spa, taking a road-trip to San Diego for 3 days, visiting with dear friends and family, and most of all, laughing at each other. That is truly the best part. Like when Mom got confused with her Spanish accent and tried to pronounce "El Rancho" road, "El Ronn-cho" or "El Rawwwnnchoo." I'm not sure which spelling does it justice, but it was pretty hysterical; like when I get hyper over shopping, to the point of Mom and Nora needing to look me in the eye and say, "It's definitely TIME to go!"; or, like when Nora took on this cutesy, fake accent when she gave her "Super Foods" lecture to a group of Diabetics at the hospital where she works. Aww, she sounded so sweet---but where in the world did that come from??? And where do her strange pronunciations come from?

Besides making fun of each other, we also experienced wonderful fellowship. It truly is a blessing to be so united in our spirits and hearts, despite such different seasons of life---a mom whose primary years of child-raising are over, a young, married wife not quite ready to start her own family, and a Senior in college who has yet to jump into the full swing of love and marriage...we don't have much in common by way of To-Do's, but certainly, our Savior equally reigns over our hearts, lives and homes and is continually drawing us closer to Himself every day. And just like Elizabeth Prentiss penned her famous words, each one of us strive in our way to give, "More Love to Thee, O Christ."

On the way to Phoenix, I said to Mom, "When did we grow up? I mean, we are doing a Mother-Daughter trip, and we are all adults!" It is so incredible to me how time flies, and even these trips can all be over in the blink of an eye. Perhaps that's why it is so important to make these trips a priority in the first place: it isn't the grand, snazzy opportunities we had to go to San Diego, eat at a bunch of delicious restaraunts, or receive free day passes to the Camelback Spa, that we so fondly remember in the end (well, maybe the food and drink), but rather returning to the preciousness of living daily life together--quietly sitting together on the couch having our devotional times, making fruit smoothies for breakfast, serving each other by doing dishes, running up to the grocery store, switching over the laundry from the washer to the dryer, pretending we were spies with Rhondi and Becca Lauterbach when going to see The Bourne Ultimatum, curl up in bed and watch an evening show, and being able to read together in silence and not even care that no one is talking. Ironically enough, THESE are things I miss when thinking about Nora continuing to live in Arizona and Mom and I in Maryland. That is why I give thanks to God for providing the finances for this bountifully rich trip to take place!

Off to Arizona and San Diego

In less than 24 hours, Mom and I will be in Phoenix to visit Nora. I can't wait to wake up, grab a large mug filled with steaming coffee, and take my Bible and journal outside to watch the gorgeous sunrises. What a blessing! We found this amazingly cheap flight, and 10 days of vacationing couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I have been working everyday in DC for the last 2 1/2 weeks, at Brodeur (the PR agency) and for Organize4hire. I have also been reading multiple Shakespeare plays on a weekly basis for my online summer course, and writing reports on characters like Henry V and Richard II. (yawn...) So, I am pretty much wiped out, and ready to relax and enjoy mother/daughter time. After we arrive on Wednesday, the three of us are taking a road-trip to San Diego, CA from Friday to Monday, where we will stay with our good friends, the Lauterbachs. Shopping, iced mochas, and beaches, here we come! Hopefully, we will catch a sunset like this one below...I can't wait for all the memories we will make over our ten-day trip!

Thank you to googleimages for these pictures. =)

AFRICA Jan. 3-25, 2008

Today, at 4:45pm, I booked an airfare reservation that will take me to the unknown plains and hills of Uganda and Kenya, Africa in January, 2008. Lord willing, my prayer of three years is coming true! Through the initiative of my church’s singles ministry-- Covenant Life Church--I will be joining a team of 15-20 singles and married couples for 11 days to serve at a local orphanage in Kiburara, Uganda. Located right on the northern, upper edge of Lake Victoria, our team plans to connect with a church there who has developed relationships with Covenant Life’s sister church—ChristChurch—in Wales, UK. Led by one of our Singles Ministry pastors, Jim Winn, our team is looking forward to serving at an annual Christian conference in the local villages, as well as taking care of the orphans on campus.

From there, I will travel separately to join my Dad’s first cousins—Paul and Carolyn Koning—at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), a ministry of Africa Inland Mission International. RVA is a K–12 boarding school serving about 500 students whose families represent a wider range of mission organizations and nationalities. With the campus set in Kijabe, a small town about an hour’s drive northwest of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, it exists primarily to serve missionaries by providing a quality educational experience and a safe haven for their children. When I arrive, the Konings will have already been there for 5 months, so I will just jump into whatever they need me to do to serve! Hopefully, I will be using my experience in classical piano training to assist teachers from RVA’s music program. To learn about their mission trip, and where I will be staying, visit http://koningfamily.wordpress.com/.

Scriptures that keep coming to mind as I reflect on this exciting adventure:

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

Matthew 19:14 “Jesus said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Please be praying that God will already begin working to provide us with safety, health, financial provision, wisdom, and sacrifical joy! More details to come.

In Memory of Alivia

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all...The Lord redeems the life of his servants"

--Psalm 34:18-19, 22

Our dear friends James and Emily Haughery have just lost their sweet, little girl this past weekend. Alivia had leukemia and put up quite a little battle against it, but the Lord took her home to be with Him! We are praying for them as they host the viewing today, and conduct the funeral tomorrow morning.

Go to http://www.aliviarachelhaughery32005.blogspot.com/ for more information...

I will be wearing my "Live Strong"-like bracelet today in memory of her. A bunch of us had bought them last year as a fundraiser for her!

funny stories from Michigan

Mr. and Mrs. Brad and Jayne Jansen! (and my 2nd-cousin Payton tagging along)

we found this plaque in the Dutch store and thought it to be quite appropriate for me

the re-proposal at Grand Haven pier

Grand Haven

returning to my roots: a cute little Dutch store where old folks sit and drink coffee together and talk in their native tongue. =)

the jansen brothers: dennis, brian, and bruce

me water-skiing: it was awesome!

the sand dunes out on the lakes are gorgeous, as you can see

at the wedding

just got home from vacationing in Grand Rapids, Michigan with my parents and Brett. we drove up on Wednesday, and just got home tonight...so long drives on the 2 days, but definitely worth it! My cousin Brad got married on Friday night, so it was fun to see all my Jansen cousins, second-cousins, and uncles/aunts. We also visited my Dad's old college roomate from 30 years ago along with his wife and two younger girls, so that was pretty cool, too. we came home having experienced beautiful 75 degree weather, awesome landscapes, sore shoulders and legs from wakeboarding/water-skiing, and some pretty funny memories along the way.

Funny Memory #1:
scene: driving to MI. i am driving. brett and dad are in the back-seat.
action: brett yelps and jumps, making my parents think that i am a horrible driver and that i was about to hit another car. however, he promptly cries out, "There's a bug crawling up my pants!" We all start laughing and asking him what type of creature it is. A few moments later, he replies, "Oh, it was a raisin." Yes, that is correct. A raisin. We had had some carrot/apple/raisin muffins earlier that morning for breakfast, and one had slipped into the leather seat. =) So, throughout the rest of our trip, we would randomly cry out, "There's a raisin up my pants!"

Funny Memory #2:
Scene: early morning. i had just woken up, and desired a hot cup of Starbucks from the store that was just a few steps away from our Marriott Comfort Inn. My Mom had just gotten some a few minutes earlier, and so I assumed that it was open and she had no problem getting in.
Action: I walk over, pass the other stores' front doors on my right, and look for the Starbucks entrance. The only door I see is for a T-Mobile Wireless. Hmmm...definitely not it. I think to myself, 'I guess I'll just have to walk through the drive-through.' Yes, without a car. I march over to the drive-through, and stand at the little spot where you are supposed to talk into the speaker. I loudly say, "Hello?" No reply. So I walk around the corner to the pick-up window, where I see two cars ahead of me waiting for their drinks. Once they get them, I walk up to the lady at the drive-through window, with a car now behind me in line. She looks a bit puzzled. I am still tired and dazed and confused. I say, "Hi, mame...I wanted to know if I could get a cup of coffee, but I couldn't find your front-door so I thought that only your drive-through was open." She slowly grins, and politely says, "The front door is right around the corner, miss. Take a left, and then another left through the first door on your left. You can pick up your coffee there."
After-thought: Am I an idiot or what? Really, there is no defending myself for this one. My family got a huge kick out of it and I must say, I deserved their teasing and ridicule.

Funny Memory #3:
Scene: Grand Haven Public Beach and Pier.
Action: My Uncle Bruce and Aunt Barb got engaged out on this huge pier by Lake Michigan many years ago. They wanted (rather, HE wanted) to re-enact the scene of their engagement on Saturday by re-proposing to her. So, trudging along multiple family members and relatives, we all walked down to the end of the pier, and set up the scene. The funniest part about the whole situation is that Aunt Barb began to actually get a bit nervous. All of these people were watching, too =) But, it was very cute and we took pictures and everyone had a good time.

Don't vacations always have a way of bringing out the best and the worst of us?! =)

Patio Parties

Dessert

The boys showing their best moves
Brayden

Our lovely little-set up under the deck!

Britt and I

Ready to play--Britt got her bean-bag in the hole at least 10 times!

_____________________________________________

Mom and I did the summer set-up for the patio underneath our deck a few weeks ago, with Target lights strung diagonally across the beams and cute, green flower slip covers over our white chairs. The long table used for co-op classes in the winter has now become our must-use tool for hosting dinner parties. Despite this month's humidity, we've been blessed with a few picture-perfect evenings in which it dropped down to a mild 60 degrees. Last weekend, our family hosted the Maresco's for dinner, which was a blast. We had spicy chicken with sweet coconut sauce, rice, hawaiian baked beans w/ pineapple, fruit salad, and regular house salad. For dessert, Mom made manderin orange panacotta (similar to creme brulee, but without eggs in it), topped off with a simple mango-lime sauce I pureed in the blender earlier that afternoon. Britt, my friend from Tucson who lives in MD during the summers, joined us as well. She dominated at CORN. (a yard game in which you try to toss bean-bags onton a slanted, wooden platform with holes in it that designates your points). She definitely had beginner's luck. =)

Then, the next evening, I decided to leave the set-up and host my own dinner for a few friends last-minute. Kate McMahon and I whipped up fruit salad, chicken pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes and pesto, grilled balsamic and herb chicken and iced tea, with ice-cream cones or gingerbread/whipped cream for dessert. Yumm! Then, we all played my favorite game ever--- Scrabble---till midnight. Fun stories, great friends, yummy food, good competition...what better way is there to end a Saturday evening?

Na and Beyond

I attended the New Attitude Conference in Louisville, Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend a couple of weeks ago, and it was such a spiritual highlight for me. Every time I go (this was my 3rd Na), God exceeds my expectations. I was so busy finishing up the semester, that I really had no idea how God desired to speak to me. As I thrust myself into 4 crazy days of worship, teachings, fellowship, and late-nights, it soon became clear that He was after His glory, and my good. The theme for the conference was Discernment, and included very insightful messages by brilliant pastors and theologians. Go to http://www.newattitude.org/2007-liveblog/ for more details, free sermon downloads, music playlists, great quotes, helpful application questions, etc.

Charles Spurgeon, in his Morning & Evening meditations, said on May 31, "We trust Him, and sin dies; we love Him, and grace lives; we wait for Him, and grace is strengthened; we see Him as He is, and grace is perfected for ever." (Psalm 103, Evening)

This sums up my experience with the Lord at Na 07. As a church-kid, I know the truth, I can quote the truth, I believe the truth. But, have I applied the truth? I love Spurgeon's pro-active pull in this quote. They are verbs. Trust, Love, Wait, See. My prayer in the coming days is that the Lord will graciously help me to no longer be like the person who looks in the mirror, walks away, and forgets what He has seen (James 1:22-25). Rather, being humbled by the truth of God's word in regards to my sanctification process, I hope that the grace of Christ will strengthen me to say NO to the idols that lie within my heart(http://sgm.edgeboss.net/download/sgm/na/2007messages/a2270-04-51.mp3) and worship God for who He has revealed Himself to be--the one true, holy, perfect, righteous, loving, faithful, generous, and omniscient God.

What are you doing this Summer?

white hem


no more long pants!

Well, school is over. Let the summer activities begin! I love summer because it is such a great opportunity to actually DO the things on those long-term To-Do lists that you enjoy doing, but otherwise seem like tasks if they are too rushed. Thus, 'lazy days' can become the most productive of them all. =)

Today, I began this trend by pulling out the sewing machine and transforming a pair of long, sky blue Abercrombie & Fitch pants that I bought back in 9th grade. Yes, I still have them! They were in such good condition, I simply couldn't get rid of them. However, I never really wore them anymore, so I decided to cut them into Bermuda shorts. For an hour of sewing, it really is worth the $20 I would have spent on a new pair!

Other plans for this summer:

*Cook dinner 1 night a week

*Learn how to bake homemade bread

*Finish reading the Bible (I have 1 Samuel through Nehemiah left!)

*Memorize Scripture on a weekly basis (Romans, Proverbs, James)

*Take advantage of working in DC by walking outside during lunch hour and getting acquainted with the area

*Try out new and original recipes for my homemade ice cream maker

*Host Firepit & S'mores nights with friends

*Make the most of my summer class, "Shakespeare: Power & Justice" by enjoying the reading and supplementing it with the corresponding movies: MacBeth, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet...feel free to come over and watch it with me!

*Trips: New Attitude, Michigan, Arizona/San Diego

Jardin

Here are some pictures from the side-yard Wisteria this year...it is so beautiful! Nora, enjoy =)

And a little story below...

I have never been much of a gardener. What's the use? The Jansens have Dad and Nora for that. =) Nonetheless, I decided to plant Wheatgrass two weeks ago, because supposedly the extracted juice has essential vitamin and minerals in it that is good for you...so, I am happy to say that I planted the Wheatgrass seeds, made sure they got plenty of sunlight and water, and lo and behold, the grass grew! (The Wheatgrass in this picture is a little floppy because it needs some more water, but don't worry, I'm on it!) This little experiment has boosted my confidence that perhaps I can grow other things, too. I wonder what I'll do next?

There is a River

13 days till the long, 21-credit semester is over. God has been faithful, He is being faithful, and I know He will be faithful as I take multiple tests and write papers during the next two weeks. I don't think I have ever felt as weak as I have this Spring, yet there is this pure joy I am finding in the fact that God's power is being made perfect in my weakness. He is writing my story. As the author, He is even perfecting my faith! What a mystery. What a divine mercy. To be wholly refined in His blaze of fire is not easy, but it is so satisfying. I found Psalm 46 to be so comforting this morning.

"God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear...There is a river whose streams make GLAD the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day...Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth.The Lord Almighty is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Spurgeon said of verse 4,
"Divine grace, like a smoothly flowing, fertilizing, full, and never-failing river, yields refreshment and consolation to believers. This is the river of the water of life...The streams...shall make glad the city of God, by assuring the citizens that Zion's Lord will unfailingly supply all their needs. The streams are clear, cool, fresh, abundant, and gladdening. In seasons of trial all-sufficient grace will be enable us to endure to the end."

Spring Days

The Streets of Philly

Philly, Friday April 13
A yummy decaf cappachino before the King Tut Exhibit across the street at 10.

Ally, Elise, Casey and I in a life-size human heart! We all agreed it was the best field trip our mothers ever took us on, even at ages 19, 20 and 21 respectively.
Nora's Surprise Visit home for Godspell weekend...Mom was quite shocked.

Winter won't go away! I took this picture last Saturday morning right after it had snowed.

930 Club--Matt Kearney concert on Monday night!