This month our newsletter is going to be a bit different because I (Jen) will be writing.

I thought that this month I would give you a peek into my life and ministry. One of the things that motherhood has done for me is to teach me many things about myself and my walk with God.

Jacob and Joshua are now 2 years and 4 months old. Time has gone by very quickly. I thank God every day for these little ones. As I think about how much they have taught me recently, two things stand out.

The first is: Be careful what you say and do—there are four eyes and ears that see and hear everything that you are doing!

Many times when I get frustrated, I say “oh, that’s just lovely!” The other day at church when Dave was working in the nursery, Jacob did something and then exclaimed “Oh, lovely!” (of course using the same emphatic inflection in his voice that I use in mine). Dave then had to explain to the other workers in the nursery what in the world Jacob was saying.

As I have been thinking about how much the boys imitate me, it has been very convicting. God has also been reminding me that this truth not only applies to what Dave and I say in front of the boys, but to what we say and do in front of others because we are ambassadors for Christ.

My deepest desire is to glorify God in all I say and do, and so I want my actions to reflect well on the One that I represent. Ephesians 5:1, 2 has been a great verse for me to memorize:

As I disciple women on campus and share Christ with those who don’t know him, I want to be an imitator of Him.

The second thing I’ve learned is to thank God often for the simple gifts that He gives us!

Jacob and Joshua love to be outside. Their favorite thing to do is to go into the backyard and dig around in the dirt. When I ask them what they are doing, they say “working hard!”

At the end of the day when we are tucking the kids into bed, we pray to Jesus and thank Him for what He has done for us. As Dave and I are praying with the boys, the things that they thank God for always make me smile because they are simple little things like dirt, bikes, the sun, flowers, etc.

One of my favorite parts of the day is praying with the boys because it reminds me to thank the Lord for the simple things in my life that I continually take for granted. So often I get busy and stressed over things that I should be giving to the Lord. Then God lovingly reminds me to be thankful and to trust Him, and He will take care of us. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 are verses that I love:

I love having the privilege of being a mom to Jacob and Joshua, and showing the love of Christ to them. As the beginning of the year draws closer, I am also incredibly thankful to all of you who support our ministry. I love being an ambassador to college students! Thanks for your love, encouragement and prayers.

We have 2 interns who are still trying to complete their support to work full-time with us for the next year. Each of them has about 60% of their support raised, still needing an additional 40% of their monthly support. It is very critical that these two interns be here when school starts as they are both former UC Davis students who have already had significant ministries on campus.

Pray for our first week events as we reach out to freshmen and conduct over 2000 Spiritual Interest Questionnaires.

Pray for the growth and development of our Ethnic Student ministries: IMPACT (reaching out to African-American students) and EPIC (reaching out to Asian American Students). Pray especially for male leaders to be raised up.

Pray for our Greek ministry as it launches fully this fall. Pray for a guy to take over for our student leader who is graduating in September, and pray for a woman to be raised up to reach out to the sororities.

Pray for us as we juggle schedules, raise kids, take classes, train new staff, shepherd students, teach students and staff, raise money, and try to cultivate our marriage and relationship with the Lord.