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Faith

Blog, Faith, Family, Marriage, Parenting, prayer, Spiritual Gifts, Travel, worship/praise/music

My birthday: Destin beach, a surprise visit, Japanese hibachi grill, Starbucks gift cards, songs, and more

Yesterday was my birthday. My husband Ray’s gift to me was my recent week-long trip to Destin beach, Florida for a week alone (August 15-22, 2022). I’ve been praying for over 3 years to travel there. One day I found a reduced plane fare online and Ray said, “Book it!” so I did immediately!

Destin beach is gorgeous with soft, white sand and clear, blue-green water. I desperately needed this time of relaxation on the beach and to work on my speaking and writing biz. You can see my recent vlog, My Happy Place, here at YouTube. It is my 11th vlog about the trip.

Destin beach, Florida

Beth Jones, Destin beach

Ray also gave me a pretty card with a Starbucks gift card and took me out for supper to a Japanese restaurant in Lee’s Summit, MO, called Siki.

We got dressed up to go out, a rare occasion. I found a pretty teal, inexpensive dress on Amazon and an elegant but cheap necklace and earrings from Paparazzi. I already had my bracelet and black shoes with a slight heel. The dress had high reviews on Amazon and was soft and comfortable. Ray wore a charcoal-grey, button-up shirt and beige slacks.

My teal birthday dress and Paparazzi jewelry

Ray in charcoal-grey shirt and beige slacks

We had a nice, funny chef who cooked us delicious food.

Chef at Siki restaurant

He couldn’t put on the usual great show of fire, because there was a toddler girl there at the hibachi table, who screamed and cried when he first made the flames appear. I’m sure this was a disappointment to the chef. Everyone else at the table was related to her, so they understood. Ray and I are parents so we got it, too. We remember those days! They grow up so fast!

September 21, 2022 by Beth Jones

Blog, Business, Faith, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Parenting, Speaking, Spiritual Gifts, Stress, Time Management

When you don’t have WiFi: Lessons I learned

Recently I shared that I lost my wedding ring. Thankfully, my husband Ray recently found it when he was sweeping the basement one day. My friends had been praying that I’d find it. I was like the woman who rejoiced with her friends when she found her lost silver coin. (Luke 15:8-10) God taught me many lessons when I lost it, including about my marriage, people who are lost without Christ, and losses in life such as at least 198 Ukrainian people dying from Putin’s invasion of their land.

In light of this horrific news, all else seems trivial. But we all deal with losses, big and small, and they can be stressful.

This past week we lost our WiFi service! Ray tried to call our internet service provider numerous times, but his call kept getting disconnected. He also tried several times to chat with tech help online to no avail. This week another internet service repairman came. Things seem good for now. (Hold our breath!)

I hope you don’t experience this trouble. But here are lessons I learned when we went for over a week without reliable WiFi service.

1. You can live without it. It is hard. Really hard. Definitely inconvenient.

“I only need 3 things in life: food, WiFi, and sleep.” (Anonymous)

What did people do before the net? They lived their normal lives! This reminds me of the movie The Net, starring Sandra Bullock. It’s one of my fave movies along with another movie she co-starred in with Keanu Reeves, Speed. In The Net, she’s laying on the beach in her bikini in Mexico, looking gorgeous as usual, with her laptop. This is extreme!

Sandra Bullock, The Net, Pinterest

But I wouldn’t want to live without internet service. I’ve made some of the best friends of my life online. Originally, I got online (on Facebook) to keep up with my grown kids–our three beautiful daughters Heather, Eden, and Leah. Then they got OFF Facebook and Instagram. (Gen Z says Facebook is a boomer’s social network and made for old people. Many teens aren’t on it. In a survey, 81% of teens use Instagram and 73% use TikTok.)

Our three beautiful daughters Eden, Leah, and Heather

Our teen grandkids are on TikTok, Snapchat and Discord, which I’m not on. I now text our kids and our grandkids (I call them less frequently), and see them whenever we can do lunch or coffee together or I bring them gifts on holidays. (They work full-time and live very busy lives.)

February 26, 2022 by Beth Jones

Blog, Faith, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Parenting, prayer, Travel

Do you need a miracle? My 2022 one word

beach with sunset

Do you need a miracle or two? I know I do! Don’t we all?

A miracle is defined as:

a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency;
a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences;
an amazing product or achievement, or an outstanding example of something;
a wonder; a marvel;
an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause;
such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.

2022

At the end of each year, I reflect on that year and pray about the coming new year.

For the last several years, instead of making new year’s resolutions, I ask God for a “one word” and an accompanying Scripture for the year.

December 30, 2021 by Beth Jones

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I'm an International Speaker, Author of 30 books (and still writing!), traveler, wife to fire chief/paramedic Ray, and a blessed mom of 3 beautiful daughters, Heather, Eden, and Leah. I encourage women to use their gifts for God's glory, fulfilling their great purpose, and living a life they love. I help aspiring Christian speakers & writers to share their hearts' unique, powerful messages. The ocean is my happy place and place of peace and refilling. I love Jesus, my family, my cats Natalya and Nichodemus, traveling, chips & salsa, coffee, chocolate, nature, music, and art. My husband Ray calls me an enigma: I love to laugh and cry a lot. What about you? I'd love to connect more with you and hear how you desire to make more of an impact here for God's glory. Thanks for stopping by here. I pray you will find the hope, inspiration, and motivation you need to become all God created you to be. Dream big because we serve a big God!