I love my husband!

He is my best friend, my lover, my supporter, my encourager, my prayer warrior, my husband!  After almost 31 years of marriage, 3 kids and countless difficulties and much joy, I can truly say that I love my husband with all my heart!   Is he perfect, no.  Am I perfect, no.  I have learned through trial and error how to respect him even when I don’t feel like it, how to serve him unselfishly, how to see him through the eyes of Jesus, and how to encourage him.  Many years were spent NOT doing these things, many years were full of selfishness and heartache.  But God!

I give all the credit to God.  He changed my heart, He saved me from eternal death, He helped me to look at my life, He gave me the strength to try to be more like Him, He encouraged me through His Word, He made all the difference in my life and I can say with honesty, Billy’s life as well. We aren’t good people, we aren’t perfect, we aren’t always sensitive to each others needs, we are really nothing.  Without Jesus.  Nothing.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

What do I love about Billy?  I love how he helps me when I need help, how he say Ciao Ciao when he come in from work, how he forgives me when I am crabby and don’t feel like living in Italia anymore, how he takes time to pray with me and for me, for how he loves our kids and their spouses, how he smiles at me and teases me, his playfulness, his love for the Lord, his committment to serve others even when he is tired, his blue eyes, his color blindness, his dancing abilities, and singing abilities!  I love how he worships in church, how he loves tools and the hardware store, how freely he gives to others, both financially and of his time, his interest in young people, how he handles himself at work, his love for the Word of God, how he helps me pull off my stockings at the end of the day…… I love him so much and appreciate him.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.  1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a

I have so much to thank God for!   I wanted you to know how much I love Billy…….and I wanted him to know as well!

Love from Italia, Jen

Weekend of joy!

After market day in Varese, stopping in to see the puppies in the local pet shop and caffe to keep us going, we arrived in Stresa!  Our intent was to do a little shopping at our favorite wine/balsamic vinegar shop, have lunch and check out some of the stores.  The wine shop was unexpectedly closed- with a little handwritten sign on the door that said they had left for their mother’s house.  Possibly a family emergency.  So that was off the list.  Will have to check back in December before we head home for Christmas!  We ate lunch at a great little restaurant called Mamma mia’s- You might think it interesting that Italians say “Mamma Mia!” often- it is a phrase that you hear all the time, and now I am saying it too!

We waited around until some of the shops opened again after lunch (yes, they close during lunch, and then reopen an hour and a half or so later!)  Did a little Christmas shopping- I won’t tell what we bought!  Ate a scoop of gelato in the chilly fall weather, and sat by a fountain in a park by the lake and relaxed.  Nice day! Good company! Fun shopping for family! Nice drive! 

We did not park where these big ducks were sleeping.  They have reserved this space.

Funny story!  When we stopped into the caffe bar (coffee shop called a bar) for an espresso, an older (and visibly poor) gentleman said something to us as we entered.  I thought he was begging, so I said, No,grazie.  He followed us into the bar, said something I didn’t pay attention to,and we ordered our caffe- due caffe e uno brioche.  The lady behind the bar gave one caffe to Billy and one to the gentleman!  I asked for two, not one, and she explained that the gentleman said I was buying him a coffee!    I smiled and ordered another coffee!  Creative way to get what you need!  He was very thankful and said thankyou many times!  Good story, huh?  Jesus says in Matthew 26:11 – for you will always have the poor with you…a good reminder for those of us who have so much to give.  A cup of coffee? No problem.

This is a little blurry, but the picture is what driving is like in Italia!  Motorcycles everywhere on both sides!  This has been a little hard to get used to, but you learn to look on both sides of your car all the time.  They drive fast and weave in and out of traffic.  The first few times were intense and made me nervous, but now we are used to this.  They are usually good drivers.  The disturbing part is when you see someone get hit- accidents here are not too frequent, but when they happen, they are horrible.  Worse than I have ever seen.  We pray for our safety driving.

The last pictures are a reminder for us of St. Louis!  We have great memories of raking tons of leaves at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Creve Coeur- and the money the kids earned picking up bags of “gumballs” for Grandpa!  These are sweet memories- and seeing the gorgeous trees in the parking lot of Leroy Merlin was worth a picture!

Love from Italia- Jen and Billy

 

 

 

 

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Ephesians 5:15-21

Overload!

The past two weeks have been a test for me!  I have had many opportunities to speak Italian, two cooking lessons with my Italian language teacher’s mother (and my friend Susan), repairman in the house fixing the boiler, some random delivery guy that stopped by, people at the grocery store chatting with me….singing in Italian at church on Sunday!  Uffa! (that means whew) My brain is taxed, my head is swimming with words and now I am having trouble remembering english words…..this is odd!

Last weekend we were intending to go to Venezia for the day, but heard from friends that it was flooded- and it was raining.  So instead we got our driving tours of Northern Italy book out and chose a route around Lago Lugano in Switzerland.( Thanks Cindy for the book~!)  We ended up spending the day driving through tiny villages and stopping to check out various sights, eat lunch and walk around.  It was really relaxing and the lake was beautiful.

We were walking up 400 steps to get to this church- it was quite a long way.  On our way back down we saw this sweet nonna on her way up to place flowers on a grave in the cemetary-

The cemetaries are really interesting in Italy- this one was old and very ornate. 

Sunday night was a baptism service in an evangelical Baptist church outside of Milano- it was wonderful to hear the testimonies of two young women and to witness their obedience to the Lord in baptism.  There were many new people who came- which is always fun!  We even sang a couple of worship songs in Italian! 

My friend Susan and I have gone over to our Italian teacher’s mothers home twice now for cooking and conversation.  Enrica is so gracious, as is her husband Samuele.  We enjoy tea, biscotti and cooking~  She is patient with us, speaks slowly and teaches us well!  Last week it was a veal roast, this week it was a beef roast with vegetables and polenta- They had asked us what we would serve with the roast and we said maybe a salad- NO!  That was the response~    So Samuele went out to the store, and they made us a HUGE pot of polenta- I think it weighed 10 pounds!  Billy and I ate at Sam and Susan’s house last night and enjoyed the yummy roast with polenta- there is so much left over, we are bringing it to the men’s bible study tonight.

 

Have a great week~!  Love from Italia, Jen and Billy~

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. Psalm 66:16