Queen Jen's Gems

It's a phrase that many of us have said or had someone say to us at the end of conversations, text messages and emails. So, I started thinking recently about what it really means to take care. In taking care of ourselves, we need to take care of our whole self. This is something we need to work on daily. We need to strive to do the best we can to take care of our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. We should want to be healthy in all areas of our lives. For our physical health, we need to eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water, rest and exercise. We should be getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night (most of us fall short here- I know I do!). We know when we are physically tired and need our rest. When we're tired, we can't give our best in what we do. In those moments, it's okay to take a break. We need to have checkups with doctors and dentists to help make sure we are on track and get ways to help us do so. In looking at our mental health, our min...

Athletes stand out at different games and meets by wearing the colors of their school or college. People with different clubs and organizations wear logos on their shirts that allow them to stand out. When we see certain colors or logos, we associate them with going to that school or working for that place. All of those individuals were standing out or representing their school or group. To represent means to have a certain identity and to serve as an example of. Now all of the individuals mentioned above should want to represent their business, school or organization well. Their behavior reflects that group. Based on what is seen, people may or may not want to be a part of that group, attend that school or eat at that particular restaurant. What about when it comes to representing for Jesus? Are we setting a good example for Him? If we were to ask people who knew us if we were a Christian, what would they say? Would they say yes immediately? Would they hesitate for a second and say ma...

Have you ever seen houses that were totally destroyed from a storm? The foundation of the house may or may not have been left. Possessions were strewn everywhere and the place was unrecognizable. In fact, sometimes it doesn't even look like a house was there. Storms affect everything in its path one way or the other. Storms can cause severe damage! Sometimes storms are predicted by the weather forecast and other times they are not. We may know someone personally or seen someone on the news talk about how a tornado came through their town unexpectedly. They were asleep or going about their normal day when all of a sudden it happened. Just like tornadoes and hurricanes can happen, storms in our life can happen too. Like the tornado, the storms can come unexpected in our lives. Storms, such as sickness, loss of loved ones, sudden decrease in salary or no salary, or change in relationship status are real and can happen quickly. They can catch us off guard. One minute you have everythin...

I know...it can be hard to take one day at a time! This is something that I struggle with a lot too. However, God is teaching me and helping me see the importance of taking one day at a time. My mind will want to race days ahead of where I am now. Then, God tells me, "No, just focus on the now. Don't worry about tomorrow." You know how you get notifications on your phone about messages you have? Well, I get notifications a lot from God telling me to focus on the now and take one day at a time! Throughout the day, we have to focus on that day we're living in and that day only. I know it's very tempting to think ahead, but we have to be careful. Now, there is nothing wrong with planning ahead for things such as meals for the week, lesson plans to teach and steps in your college or career. These are great to do! But, when what hasn't even happened yet becomes bigger in our mind than the present moment, that's when there is a problem. When we're living in ...

Have you talked to yourself before? You may be thinking who does that and if they do, will they admit it. Well, before you answer, let's think about this scenario for just a minute. You have lost or misplaced something and you are trying to find it. You look everywhere. You start thinking about all the places you were at last and begin to retrace your steps. While you are looking, you might just start talking aloud to yourself! You might start saying things, such as "Now I know I left it here" or "Let's see, the last place I saw it was..." Sounds familiar?! Have you done this before? I know I have! So, yes, I have talked to myself before and you probably have too. Today, I want to encourage you to talk to yourself in your every day life. When times get tough or challenging, we don't always have people around us to encourage us. It's in moments like these that we need to encourage ourselves that everything is going to be alright.  Many times I've ...