Queen Jen's Gems

Have you thought about your heart lately? Our physical heart has a huge job in keeping us alive! Our heart is constantly pumping blood through our body. Our heart works really hard to make sure our blood is flowing as it should. We can keep our physical heart healthy through exercise, eating healthy foods, and limiting stress. When healthy choices are made, we can lower the risk for heart disease to happen. If we work really hard to take care of our physical heart, why not work that much harder to take care of our spiritual heart?! The word heart is mentioned many times in Scripture. In Mark 12:30, it talks about how we should love God with our all. It first mentions we should love God with all of our heart. All means whole and not lacking anything. It means to be fully committed and giving it everything you have. It's more than saying we love God in words, but it must be shown in our actions. Jesus talks about the religious leaders in Matthew 15:8 and says how they honor Him with ...

With our hands, we can hold things. With our hands, we can grasp things. Once we grasp something, we possess it and it's in our hold. Not only can we grasp things with our hands, but we can also let things go. The same way our hand can open up and let things drop, they can also close things up in their grasp. For the most part, we can control and choose what we let in our hands. We can also choose what we let drop out of our hands. Before we go any further, I want to take you to Exodus 3. In chapter 3, God saw how the Israelites had been treated as slaves in Egypt for many years. God said enough was enough and wanted His people the Israelites to come out what they were going through. So God decided to send Moses to confront the leader Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go. You see, Pharaoh wasn't the easiest person to confront and tell a request like that to. You know anybody like that?! As Moses was having his doubts about going (as we do about things!), God reassured Mose...

Do you ever have those days where you don't feel like doing much of anything?! You just want to sit around and do nothing. With being home more now, I know it's tempting! You know how it is when you just start to get comfortable. Let me give you an example..you're just getting settled in sitting in your favorite chair or on the couch. Then, all of a sudden, you hear someone calling your name to get up and get something for them! You think (and may say out loud!), "Really? I just sat down and was just starting to get comfortable. Now I have to get up again!" Does that scenario sound familiar?! Can you relate? Just 5 minutes is all you were asking, right?! I  hear you! Now let's think back to the question I asked at the beginning of the post. We all have those moments and days where we would like to sit and do nothing. Instead of days, what about life itself? Have you ever had moments in life that made you not want to go on? The issues and pressures of life para...

Does the game come to your mind? Most, if not all of us, have played or watched this game before. Maybe it's been a long time since you played the game or maybe you have played it more recently! This game has been played numerous times by people of all ages. A side note for parents and anyone that takes care of kids: Red Light, Green Light is an easy, fun way to get up and moving especially during this quarantine! In the game, red means stop and green means go. As one person stands in front of the others and calls out red or green, the people playing have to listen very carefully. You have to move ahead or stand still according to what is being said. In other words, you have to listen to the directions. If you don't listen carefully, you might keep going when you're supposed to stop or stop when you're supposed to go! With that thought, let's look at II Timothy 3:16. It says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for rep...

Who likes to hear a good story? I know I do! Everyone likes to hear a good story from time to time. A story that makes you smile and laugh, feel inspired, and gives hope is the best! With everything going on around us right now, it's so good to still hear stories of hope amidst the virus and quarantine season. Stories are everywhere. We read them online or in printed newspapers. We see them on social media. We hear them on the radio and see them on the television. As we see different stories, there are different reactions to the stories. Some may cry, get mad, be concerned, laugh, be disappointed, scared or even moved to take action. Did you know that Jesus liked stories too? He told stories all the time! The stories Jesus told in the Bible are called parables. Parables were stories taught to give a spiritual point. Everywhere Jesus went, He met lots of different people. As a way to reach the different people He met, he often talked to them about something they could relate to. The...