I feel like I should start this post out with "Hi, my name is..."

So. I will!

Hi, to all of you Seeds of Faith women! My name is Jenilee and I blog at The Goodwin Family blog.


I am so thankful to be a new part of the Seeds of Faith Team. What an exciting blogging adventure for me and I look forward to getting to know many of you!

I'm going to be blogging here at Seeds of Faith each month and my topic will be learning to enjoy the journey of life. The hard moments, the messy moments, the busy moments, the sweet moments. They all can be enjoyed and used by God to grow us, shape us and help us become the women that He created us to be.

So... Enjoy the Journey... what does that mean?

One of my life verses is found in Nehemiah 8:10, "Go and enjoy... for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

But, in my 9 years of marriage and 7 years of being a mom, I have had moments that I just haven't enjoyed or seasons of life that were hard and challenging. And now, as I look back at each of those situations, I realize that I have grown as I've allowed God to teach me in the moment. As God teaches me, I'm learning to fully enjoy this journey of life because those moments are the tools God uses to make us more like Him.


As I was thinking about this idea of "Enjoy the Journey", I thought of a conversation I had with my sister over the Christmas holiday.

She is a first time mommy to a precious 8 week old little girl named, Sloan.

We were talking about being a mom, and Holly said, "But, I just don't always feel animated or excited about being a mom. You are always doing crafts and activities with the girls. I don't know how I'll do that. I feel bad about feeling this way!"

My response?

"I don't always feel animated or excited about it either! That is SO normal!"

Oh, haven't we all felt that way?

Here, her sweet baby is starting to smile and coo but my sister is sleep deprived, nursing every 2-3 hours, changing diapers, washing clothes and adjusting to being home from work... everything is new and the days of having a new baby are hard!

I know she "enjoys" having a baby but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is a big job!

What an encouragement it was for her to know that it is okay and another mom has been there.

I told her, "You don't always feel like being animated or talking in a sing-songy voice or coloring a picture but you do it anyway. And, once you do it, you are so glad that you did. The reward of being involved in their lives by joining in on the things they love is priceless."

Sitting and doing a craft or playing baby dolls or having a pretend tea party isn't exactly on my list of favorite things to do but my girls adore when I join in their play. It makes their afternoon which in turn, makes mine.

I have to say that winning a game of family hide-and-seek the other night was quite fun and I definitely enjoyed myself - once I made myself get up and play! Getting up to play helped me enjoy the journey, even if I did feel slightly funny laying under the covers of my 7 year old's top bunk bed.

In the coming years, I'm excited to watch my sister grow as a mom as she learns to enjoy the journey of motherhood.

I can enjoy watching her because I am walking a similar journey. Still learning to enjoy small moments that aren't always enjoyable. Allowing God to teach me and grow me in those difficult mommy moments because I know that I will not only see rewards in my kids but also in my relationship with my heavenly Father.

This week, enjoy the journey!
God Bless,


You can learn more about Jenilee on her Meet Me page or find her tweeting about her day on twitter.