jamal, kellis, and jameel

"break my heart for what breaks yours ... everything i am for your kingdoms cause ..."

not only do i love this song ... but these lines speak my heart. i want my heart to be broken ... i want to be stirred ... i want to be challenged ... i want to respond.

number 21 on my list of twenty-five things to do while twenty-five reads:

21. shop for a christmas angel child

i added this to my list not because it's something i've never done but because it's something i've always done that "breaks my heart." it puts me in check. it breaks my heart ... it stirs me ... it challenges me ... and i can respond. when i see the salvation army trees set up in stores this time each year my heart becomes heavy. in my case i encountered the tree at wal-mart over thanksgiving break. my brother was home and we had made a trip to wal-mart to buy who knows what. on the way in i noticed the tree and on the way out i spent at least 20 minutes trying to decide whose wish-list i should take. i can never walk away with just one child ... this year it was 3.

i selected jamal who is 3. he wanted a little tikes basketball goal. i always like to pick a little one! kellis who is 5 wanted sheets/blanket and a doll. love to pick a girl too! :) and last but not least was jameel who is 17 and he wanted a MP3 player and basketball.

mom and i went shopping last thursday and we had such a good time! we bought purple sheets and a blanket ... an MP3 player ... basketball ... and clothes ... clothes ... and more clothes! we were able to buy kellis a bratz doll and jamal his little tikes basketball goal too!

i helped mom take all the goodies home and we organized this into piles. she had to write a code on each item. see the pictures below to see all the goodies!

kellis and jameel's goodies!

jamal's goodies!

when i made it home late thursday night ... once again my heart was heavy. i prayed that these kids would be blessed and that these kids would be made whole and would know howmuch they are loved! i thought about the students i taught last year and the students i have this year. i thought about their stories and prayed that they would know how much they are loved. once again ... i was broken ... i was stirred ... i was challenged ... and the only way i knew how to respond was with prayer.

so the goodies have been dropped by the salvation army and i hope and pray that these 3 precious kids know how much they are loved. i will probably never meet these kids but they will always be with me. they were part OF MY story. one thing down on my list 24 more to go but what a blessing number 21 has been and always will be. :)

"break my heart for what breaks yours ... everything i am for your kingsdoms cause. as i go from nothing to ... eternity."

the year of lists

today is my sweet friend ... taylor marie's birthday! she's now twenty-five too! this year will be a special year for her because SHE'S GETTING MARRIED! :) i can't wait to travel to kentucky in october 2012 to be part of their special day!

taylor & i on my last visit to kentucky

taylor's birthday marks one month since my birthday and twenty-five is still GREAT! :) i've been really busy with work lately, but with christmas around the corner i'll have a break to regroup soon!

when i turned twenty-five i decided to make a list of twenty-five things to do while i'm twenty-five. well it took several weeks to complete the list and since then i've also created about 10 other lists ... things to do here, things to do there, things to do by this, things to do by that ... my solution to everything is to make a list! my dear friend, jenny, has decided this is the year of the list.

so i'm now ready to share my list, and i plan to use this blog to keep everyone up to date on where i'm at and what i've accomplished!

this is how the list started

the list:

1. run a 1/2 marathon (crazy i know!)

2. visit CHICAGO (i have a friend who teaches there and i'd love to see the city!)

3. learn to water ski (my aunt and uncle just bought a lakehouse so that's a start!)

4. get passport (just something i need to do!)

5. run a 5K under 25:00 (my best time is 26:27)

6. play in snow (anywhere, but i have a trip planned to new jersey/nyc in january!)

7. visit john at ole miss (my little brother will be a senior)

8. read 5 books (haven't decided what to read yet, ideas?)

9. write hand-written letters, send them snail mail :)

10. throw a REAL dinner party!

11. take the GRE (grad school in the future maybe?)

12. save $2500

13. attend a charity event

14. attend paint your art out (paint class at the visual arts center)

15. volunteer 25 hours at the rescue mission

16. watch a sunrise

17. attend a bar/pub/wine crawl

18. see a broadway show/musical (this may be accomplished on my trip to nyc!)

19. buy addison a gift and hold her at 1 week old (my friends, shana and todd, are having their 1st baby! she added this to my list!)

20. enjoy a night at a dueling piano bar

21. shop for a christmas angel child

22. go paddle-boarding

23. go golfing

24. go camping (never been!)

and ...

25. post a youtube video and get 250 hits! (stay tuned!)

i'm twenty-five

on november 4, 1986 ... i, jessica marie williams, made my entrance into the world.


on november 4, 2011 ... i, jessica marie williams, celebrated twenty-five years.


i took leave from work to spend the day with the world's best mom. we headed over to south walton, hwy 30A, to ride bikes and eat! it was the perfect day! i'd say we rode bikes for about 10 miles, needless to say we had some sore hineys. we stopped to have lunch at bud & alley's. they had been in business for twenty-five years too! the weather was beautiful! we had the best time, couldn't think of a better way to spend the day.




later that day, i enjoyed a really nice dinner with friends and family! i even had a sweet auburn friend come to town to help celebrate! and now ... i'm twenty-five.


i feel like twenty-five will be a very GOOD year. i know every year should be a GOOD year, but this year is "the year".


i had some hard decisions to make this past year, but as i continue/start this new season i can't contain my excitement!




"there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven ..." ecclesiastes 3:1




my God is faithful, my heart is full, and i'm twenty-five.