PRAISE GOD from WHOM ALL blessings flow..

A quick announcement from the Kenney residence, in case you haven't heard yet...

Yesterday Jason was officially accepted into Cornerstone Seminary for their winter quarter. It is a huge praise for us since we have been planning and praying about this for quite some time now and as of late have really felt that God was working for this to happen now. Classes start January 13th and he will be sending in his registration in the next few days. For now he will attend part time classes and full time work (with a 4-10 schedule) and once I can promote up to the next level he can cut back to part time work and full time classes. It should take him 3-4 years to complete the Masters of Divinity program.

This obviously has major repercussions for us in the next few years. We ask that you all would be praying for us as God works wonderfully in our lives. Here are some of the major prayer requests for us...

-The biggest request is to pray for us financially. We will be fine initially, but with the economy in the toilet this requires a leap of faith for us. Getting a Masters is no small investment, especially with such a commute.

-Please pray for us as a couple. As Jason's responsibilities and commitments grow it is harder and harder for us to have time together. Adding seminary is only going to increase this challenge. We are both very committed to keeping our relationship strong and staying close.

-Also, as I mentioned before Jason can go to school full time (which is our desire) I need a promotion, so there are some logistics there that I am looking into.

-Please pray for Jason in his studies as he reverts back to his "school days". I know he will be successful in managing his time and studies, but reliance on God for strength is crucial.

We are both so excited for this new adventure into seminary life. We are ecstatic, anxious, scared and so very grateful. We look forward to new experiences that God has in store.

Having said all that: Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

In Him,
Jason and Sarah

Family Camp 2008

I almost forgot to upload these. I took a few pictures from Family Camp up at Lake Francis, including the pictues of the "traumatic" falling branch and the "damage" to my car.

Welcome, fall..

One good thing about our apartment complex is that you can really see the seasons here. These are some berries that just recently turned bright orange, welcoming the fall season. Jason says they are the tiniest pumpkins in the world :)

God's creation in nature is pretty spectacular...Welcome, fall...

Alta Sierra Biblical Gardens - Labor Day

On Labor Day (9/1/2008) we visited the Alta Sierra Biblical Gardens in Grass Valley. It was a beautiful hike through the woods with sculptures (stone and wood) of biblical scenes and characters. It kind of went through the life of Jesus. It was pretty spectacular. Pictures to follow...



Note: This attraction is not entirely recommended based on the fact that it has a pretty Catholic sway. Just keep that in mind.

Disneyland Recap...

So I am finally getting around to doing an update of the Disneyland trip. Here are the pictures to start..



Day One - Sat, August 16, 2008:
Flew to LAX. Took forever to get one bag from baggage claim. Had possible celebrity citing. Took a shared van shuttle ride to Anaheim - which took forever. Finally got to hotel and checked in. Went to Downtown Disney for dinner. Tried Rainforest Cafe, but the wait was 60 mins. Had dinner at Tortilla Joes. Got to be early.

Day Two - Sun, August 17, 2008:
Woke up early and had early entrance to the park. Rode Star Tours, Space Mountain, Mattahorn, and Peter Pan. Stopped by Main Street for breakfast and had Mickey waffle. Headed out to park (Indiana Jones, etc). Went to California Adventure. Had lunch. Got Fast Pass for Tower of Terror. Saw High School Musical traveling live show. Rode Tower of Terror. Got Fast Pass for California Screamin. Saw Aladdin Musical Spectacular - had priority seating and got 3RD ROW (it was one of the most incredible shows). Rode California Screamin. Went to Downtown Disney and bought me some flip flops because my feet were torn up. Had dinner in DCA. Saw Electric Light Parade. Went back to Disneyland. Rode Haunted Mansion (gotta do it at night)Starcade and walked around the park. (Park arrival: 7:00 am, Park departure: 10:00 pm - total time 15 hrs)We both got Sun burnt and I swear I suffered permanent damage to my leg muscles. I was in pain for about a week.'

Day Three - Mon, August 18, 2008:
Sleep in. Arrived at DCA around 12 pm. Got Fast Pass for Soarin over CA. Had lunch. Rode Soarin over CA. Went back to Disneyland. Saw the Tiki Room. Got FREE anniversary pins from City Hall in Main Street. Went on Jungle Cruise. Enjoyed the park. Pirates of the Caribbean. Waited 1hr and 15 mins at Blue Bayou to sit right along the water for our anniversary. Had romantic candle lit dinner. Got free dessert. Enjoyed the park. Saw fireworks show. Left park.

Day Four - Tues, August 19, 2008:
Trip to Universal Studios. Took bus ride to Universal City. Left 8:00 am, arrived in US at 10:30 am. Did The Mummy Ride and Jurassic Park - which got me wet and TOTALLY freaked me out. Did Backdraft to dry me off (I literally looked like I jumped in a pool). Had lunch. Enjoyed other attractions and ride (Tram ride, Simpsons ride, House of Horrors, T2 experience, etc). Visited City Walk briefly. Took bus ride home. Had Denney's by our hotel for dinner. Went back to hotel room and immediately fell asleep.

Day Four - Wed, August 20, 2008:
Day of rest. Slept in until lunch. Got McDonalds from next door. Took a nap. Took a swim. Took a shower. Headed to Downtown Disney and ate at The House of Blues. (Tokio Hotel was apparently was playing that night). Bought some souvenirs. Went back to hotel. Went to bed.

Day Five - Thurs, August 21, 2008:
Last day in park. Hit Fantasyland at park opening. Waited 60 mins for Finding Nemo (previously Submarine ride). Went to DCA and rode the water rapids ride. Went back to Disneyland. Had lunch. Saw last minute rides and attractions. Went back to hotel to rest. Returned to park for dinner (hot dogs and Mickey pretzel). Saw bits of Parade of Stars down Main Street. Rode the Disneyland Railroad (my little tribute to Walt, who loved trains). Watched lights on Main Street come on and said goodbye to the park. Went back to hotel and went to bed.

Day Six - Fri, August 22, 2008:
Accidentally overslept. Rushed to pack. Checked out and ate Continental breakfast. Took shared van shuttle ride back to LAX. Waited for 20 mins to check in. Shuffled through security. Had lunch (CPK). Switched gates. Got on plane. Took off. Landing gear did not retract. Landed in LAX. Got OFF plane. Waited for new plane. Switched gates. Visited bookstore. Switched gates again. Got on new plane that worked (Original departure: 12 pm Actual departure: 2pm). Flew home. Greeted Drake. Had dinner with my folks. Sorted laundry. Enjoyed sleeping in own bed. :)

Overall it was an amazing, crazy, exhausting, scary and thrilling trip. I only wish we went for two weeks. It was awesome. God was amazing in provision and we are so happy to have passed our first year of marriage. Such great blessings from God.

Hope all is well with everyone. More later.

In Christ,
Jason and Sarah

Sad news...

Upon return from our vacation, we learned the sad news that after a long battle with heart disease my family's cat passed away on Thursday night. We adopted him from some friends when he was about eight weeks old back in 1996, which would make him twelve years old. This is a huge loss for me personnally as I was very attached to him. I was only eleven when we got him and I fell in love instantly. He has been my best friend and a faithful companion over the years.

Over the past few years he had increasingly been suffering from a heart murmur, unfortunatly this could be causes by a number of things and the cost to run all the tests was just too much. When given an ultrasound, we found that the lining between his two heart ventricals was enlarged and was given a 'moderatly severe' diagnosis. Slowly, his condition grew worse over the months. As of late, his condition took turn for the worse and we knew his time was eminate. He will be greatly missed by my family.

Oreo
1996-2008
We love you and miss you.

Home at last!

We made it home safe and sound! We had an amazing time. It was exhausting and at the same time a blast. There are more pictures and videos yet to come (it might take a while because there were over 160 pictures including the one above and about three hours of video to sort out). But it will all come sooner or later!

We had a very romantic first annaversary and an awesome vacation. More later!!


-The Kenney's

Ministry...

Lately we have been finding ourselves more and more busy with ministry on a weekly basis. This, for one, is an explaination of why these blog posts are so few and far between, and two is really what takes up the majority of our time. The past few weeks we have been hosting the church Jr High/High School bible study at our apartment every wednesday night and a few weeks back we started a study group for the book 'When I Don't Desire God' since the church is reading it this summer, which will end in early September. Luckily, both groups are just small enough that we can currently have everyone in our living room at once and still be comfortable. (Mind you, we live in a two bedroom apartment - so our capacity limit is relativly small, unfortunatly). So in short our home is, more or less, being "invaded" by people on a regular basis.

All in all, it has honestly been a blast to able to have people over to feast on the Word of God. Being involved in this leadership has left Jason spending his free time studying and left me spending my free time cleaning. It is a little draining on both of us and I would be lying to say that we have lots of alone time together, but it really has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to open our home. We always enjoy having people over and it has really given Jason the chance to begin to develop his skills of leading a study group. Thinking about it, it is kind of a bummer that both groups are meeting at our place only on a temporary basis. If possible, I think it is safe to say that we would both love to have people over on a more regular basis and to be invovled in as much leadership as possible.

Please keep praying for us as we continue to pursue a life long journey toward full time ministry.

In Christ,
The Kenney's

Long live the home video...

So a few weeks back our Youth Group had a pool party to kick off the beginning of summer. We had some rockin' good times. Thanks to my handy dandy little camera, I was able to capture some of the action.

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Wednesday 5/21/2008

We also celebrated Daniel's 18th b-day party (see the cake in the pics). We had s'mores, sat around the fire and then watched the American Idol finale - natch! (Note: Cook rocks!) Overall, it was a great time of bonding and fellowship.

-SCK, JMK

It's official...

Believe it or not, during these past few weeks Jason and I have been planning our one year anniversary. First, let me explain the background information before I tell the story.....

So a while back we were discussing the fact that I had a birthday in September, graduation in December and we were facing a first anniversary in August. What we ended up deciding was to take a huge trip over the summer and kind of wrap all of these celebrations into one. Originally, it was supposed to be a suprise (which some of you may know). But since then, we had the unfortunate experience of having Jason's Buick stolen, which had a rather significant impact on our finanical situation. So the original plan was no longer possible. BUT we came up with a really great alternative.

So without futher adou, I present our official destination for our very first wedding anniversary....

That's right. The happiest place on earth. We fly out on Saturday August 16th and return Friday August 22nd. We have three days at Disneyland, one day at Universal Studios, and one day of rest. While the trip itself is exciting, we really want to keep focused on the fact that all of this is for the Glory of God. We want the trip to focus on what God has done for us in His loving compassion and mercy in brining us together in marriage.

Having said that, I CANNOT wait to ride the redone Space Mountain!!! Oh, and Screamin' California - the best rollar coaster ever.

We will update you all more as more details come about. But for now, the trip is booked and the vacation time at work has been requested. We're clear to go.

Disneyland....Here we come!!!

-Jason and Sarah

Our trip to the city by the bay...

News and such...

Since its been a while since we've done any significant posting here, I figured I'd do a quick update...

These past few months for us have been great but busy. It is amazing to think that this Sunday (5/18) we will be celebrating NINE MONTHS of wedded bliss. Time really does fly when you are having fun! In short, we've been preoccupied with helping co lead the Jr High/High School bible study at church, which has been such a fun blessing. It has been an adjustment for the both of us and just managing to get all those kids (young people, I should say) together at once is often a challenge as far as logistics go, but even still it's really been something that has helped us grow both individually in our faith and as a couple. Especially with the prospect of full time ministry such a promanante reality.

Speaking of ministry, a quick update on the seminary situation: Yes, Jason is still planning on attending seminary full time this coming fall. The plan is for him to attend Cornerstone Seminary and commute down to Vallejo for classes. He is still working on his self taught study of biblical greek, but it looks like it will take him four years to get his Masters of Divinity. Regardless, it's still the plan. He should be sending in his app soon.

Since we are in fact planning on taking on this huge financial burden come September we made the decision this week to sign another lease on our humble (read - tiny) two bedroom apartment, since it is more than apparent that even with Jason working part time his first year of seminary it will be all that we can afford. So unfortunately we are stuck here for the next tweleve months dealing with the hassles of apartment life (small quarters, no parking, crazy neighbors, etc.) but I believe this is a tiny preview of the sacrifice that goes along with ministry that we should expect in the future...meaning the rest of our lives. So with that said, if its for the work of God, we are happy to stay here as long as necessary.

On a happier note, Drake is doing well! A few months back he hurt his front right paw and after a rather hefty vet bill we found that he didn't break any bones and gave him some medicine. Otherwise he's perfectly happy and healthy! He's growing everyday and I dare say he is full grown now. In fact, he grew so fast so quickly that we are starting to wonder it this estimated D.O.B. they gave us when we adopted him is accurate. He seems to be a year now, but it was estimated that he is now only ten months. However, it could just be that he is fed well! :)

As seen in the pictures below, back in March we visited San Francisco and saw Pier 39, the Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not (all firsts for Jason). It was a nice romantic day trip for us and in a few weeks we both have Memorial Day off (my first paid state holiday ever!) so we are tyring to decide what we want to do for that day.

That's all for now! More later!

-Jason, Sarah and Drake

A trip to the big city on Ceaser Chavez day...

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Winter Youth Camp

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A really quick video of a snow tubing race...

New Years Eve Video

We did a short video on New Years Eve...Just for fun.

This has been an amazing and crazy year for both of us. I was thinking about the last year earlier and I was really surprised to think about all we've done and all thats happened in 2007.

1. We both graduated.
2. Got married and took a honeymoon.
3. We both moved out of our parents houses and moved in together.
4. We had our first halloween, thanksgiving and christmas as a married couple.
5. We adopted our first pet.
6. Last week Jason accepted a new job after working for Home Depot for almost 4 years.

The list goes on. Needless to say, this has been a huge year for both of us - as a couple and as individuals. And it was great. We can only hope that 2008 is just as great!

Best wishes to everyone in the new year!

With Love and In Christ,
Jason and Sarah

Christmas - 2007

Our humble tree....


Since we did not get a chance to send out Christmas cards this year we wanted to take a moment to say that we hope everyone had a happy, healthy and God honoring Christmas season. We wish you all the best in the new year!

In Christ,
Jason, Sarah and Drake