Queen Jen's Gems

 Transitions are all around us. Transitions are changes from one phase or state to another. Changes happen in our communities, churches, schools and colleges, personal lives and the world around us. Changes are not always comfortable. Some changes we see coming, while others are very unexpected. In our lives, we see the human development of a baby to a toddler to school-age to pre-teen to teen to adulthood. At each level, something new is required as our responsibilities change. For example, a toddler will not be expected to do what a teenager does. When students reach a certain age in school, they begin to switch (or change) classes. They don’t stay in the same classroom all day, but they have to move to different classrooms. With the transition comes adjustments and learning new habits and routines. As a 6 th grade English teacher, I see firsthand how students transition to different classes in person. I also have seen the effect of the online learning since the pandemic. It has...

“I got this done.” I got this done.” But..I didn’t get this, this, this and this done. Can anybody relate to these statements? I know I can! I think about what I did accomplish, but then I think about what didn’t get done and that list seems WAY longer. The more we focus on what we don't do, the more it overwhelms us and makes us feel like nothing got done. The not done tasks seem to overpower the completed tasks. In a previous blog post titled “Today” (go check out if you haven’t!), I talked about the importance of focusing on the now and what’s in front of us. Matthew 6:34 in the Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble. Today, I want to take it a step further in focusing on the day. At the end of the day, we may find ourselves asking this question: “Did I do enough?” I have asked myself this question many times too. I have now come to the conclusion that the answer is yes. There are times when I will second- guess that answer, but it’s defin...

 Does this game sound familiar to you at all? In last week's blog post, I talked about playing the games hide and seek and peek a boo and how we don't have to hide anything from God or the trusted friends He has placed in our circle. Today, I want to talk about another game that you have probably played before. This game is not a new game and has been played since the beginning of time. The game I'm talking about today is the blame game. The word blame means to hold someone responsible and find fault with. In the blame game, when something goes wrong and we do something or go somewhere we shouldn't go, we want to put the blame on someone else.  Instead of owning up to our wrong actions, we try to say this person made me do it, say it or go there. People may influence our choices, but in the end, we make the ultimate choice. Take a few minutes and travel with me to the Bible in Genesis where we see the beginning of the blame game. The Scripture verses I want to focus on ...