I was just thinking...

Official Members…

Shannon Jeffries — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:26:53 +0000

After almost two years of attending Seacoast, leading a small group, and directing the REACH project, I finally attended Newcomers, haha! Brook and I became official Seacoast members on Sunday, June 8! We are both pretty excited!

Brook and Shan’s Two Week, Cross Country Road Trip

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:16:13 +0000

Oh Yes! It was absolutely amazing! Brook and I had the opportunity to drive from Charleston, SC to Cave Creek, AZ after he returned for deployment. We took two weeks to relax and enjoy seeing our beautiful country together. Man has God made one amazing creation. We saw every type of landscape you can imagine. If you have never driven cross country I highly recommend it!! Here was the Itinerary:

Day 1 – Charleston, SC to Nashville, TN – We arrived in Nashville and went to BB Kings Blues Club.

Day 2 – Nashville, TN – We spent the morning on a Riverboat on the Cumberland River with music and food. That afternoon we enjoyed a relaxing evening at Arrington Vineyards in the mountains. That night we ate at the Tin Roof.

Day 3- Omaha, NE – We drove to Omaha to visit Brook’s friend Andrew and his wife Ginny. Brook and Andrew went to Embry Riddle University together in AZ. He and his wife fixed us steaks, took us on the tour of the base, and then we enjoyed dessert out at the local brewery.

Day 4 – Vail, CO – We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Sweet Basil in the middle of Vail Village, right on a creek with a backdrop of the mountains courtesy of Monica and Alex (thanks so much again). We enjoyed a yummy three course meal coupled with delicious wine. We stayed at the top of a mountain in Eagle-Vail.

Day 5 – Las Vegas, NV – We enjoyed dinner at The Venetian and then got to see the Blue Man Group! We both highly recommend it! Such a good time! No big wins for us though!

Day 6 – Day 10 – Cave Creek, AZ – We had the pleasure of staying with Brook’s family for five days! What a fun time! They were amazing hosts! They entertained us with a cookout, fun night at the park, Sunday church at CCV, a Diamondbacks game, and yummy food in and outside of the house. I was treated by the ladies of the house to a Stampin’ Up card session (so much fun), ice cream, and a night out to see Made of Honor! It was such a relaxing and fun portion of our trip! Brook truly has an amazing family! We were sad to have to leave!

Excursion Day – Brook and I went to Sedona while we were visiting his family and took a Pink Jeep Tour. We went on the Broken Arrow Trail. SO, SO, SO much fun! We had a blast!!

Day 11 and 12 – Brook and I drove straight back to Charleston. We originally planned on stopping in Oklahoma City, but decided to press on through! We were so happy we did!

Here are the links to the slideshows of our trip:

First half of our trip:http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1panuccj.2va6o8vf&x=0&y=u5rmlh&localeid=en_US

Second half of our trip (Arizona) :http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1panuccj.bocbh5ij&x=0&y=bqi7l1&localeid=en_US

Enjoy the pics!! What an amazing time that I am so thankful for God to give for us to be able to share together!!

two of a kind…

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 20:55:17 +0000

*silly in love*

*he makes me smile and laugh – we’re quite the pair *

Oh Yeah… He’s Back… and I’m Happy! :)

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 20:50:44 +0000

Just an update… Brook made it back safely from deployment in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 4. He was one of the first five guys to get off of the plane. I thought I saw him walking over, but didn’t think he could have gotten off the plane so quickly. I could see him, but he couldn’t see me. I heard him asking people if they had seen me. I started jumping up and down and waving my arms, haha. He spotted me and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest! There was a rope up to keep people from going out into the flight line. He kept trying to get around it, literally almost taking a kid’s head off (woops, haha)! Brook finally dropped his bags and ran over to me! It was the most amazing feeling to have him back! We both were literally speechless and I don’t think I could ever put into words what it felt like to be able to physically see him and have him back in my presence! I’m still on Cloud 9!

More Than Words…

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:34:25 +0000

Have you honestly ever thought about how your words affect other people? I don’t think I’ve thought enough about it… Here’s a good reflective verse from James 1:19-20 (NIV):

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

*I talk too much and too quickly without listening completely to what others have to say. I usually have my own thoughts that I feel the need to spill out immediately – I need to be “quick to listen” AND “slow to speak.”

*I let my frustrations get the best of me at times. I become quick to anger because I think of situations from a self-centered approach; how is this affecting ME? I need to evaluate the entire situation and really think things through before reacting – thus learning to “be slow to anger.”

That’s the beautiful part about being a child of God… we’re works in progress and are always being molded into his perfect image. I know this is one issue on my plate to work on!

Learning the Lessons of Faith…

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:12:03 +0000

For the past two to three months I’ve been praying about a few things (mainly job related issues). As always, God has showed up in ways that I could never hope or imagine. Man is He good! I still sit here in awe and amazement over the opportunities he has presented. I am in awe that He who provides is SO good, but I think my amazement partially comes from lack of faith. I am “amazed” that God actually answered my prayers. I think I still sometimes doubt that God will provide the way I am asking him too. I don’t think I always have full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22). My heart is feeling convicted over this. I could go over and over the infinite list of how God has provided for me, but yet at times I return to my default of doubt. I figured it was time to sit down and turn to the old “faithful” (no pun intended) book of James and really dive in and re-learn what it means to not just “talK” about faith, but to “live it and BELIEVE IT.” I am working through Chapter 1 right now, and MAN, it has hit me like a brick! I’ll be filling you in on what I’m learning through my study of James… do you have any favorite verses you’d like to share from this book?

Trying Something New…

Shannon Jeffries — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:11:15 +0000

I think I’m in a new season… God’s moving and shaking my heart, my brain, my thoughts, my attitude, my routine… pretty much everything I am used to and telling me to try things a new way… in his vision… so here we go…

I usually blog at www.shannonjeffries.blogspot about “events” in my life… I think it’s time to try something new… I’ll still be blogging about the “events,” but going to put some of my thoughts out there also and I’m hoping for YOUR feedback…

Ready, Set, Um… GO?…