Queen Jen's Gems

To change means to do something different. It means to do something that has not been done before. Change can be good or bad. Here, I want to talk about changing for the good. Yes, change can be scary. Change causes us to step out on faith, which means we don't know what will happen or if we'll even like it. Changes don't have to be big or drastic though. They can be small and subtle, but at the same time, noticeable enough that you know something is different. I want to share with you about a change I made recently with my outer appearance. For my birthday back in June, I got copper highlights in my hair at the salon!! I have never had highlights before, so it was a change for me. I had been thinking about it and talking about it for a while, so I just decided in June to go for it. It was my birthday gift to me. I'm glad I decided to change it up with my hair and I love it! That's one example of how we can change it up in our physical appearance. We can also wear a...

At an early age, children should be taught to say thank you when someone gives them something or does something nice for them. We're taught to say thank you as it shows that we have good manners. Not only should we tell people thank you when they have done something for us, but we should also tell God thank you. In fact, we should tell God thank you every day. We don't have to wait until Thanksgiving comes to say thank you. We have something to be thankful for each and every day. First, we can be thankful for who God is. God never changes, but always stay the same. I know people, places, behavior, situations, and relationships change, but not God. I'm so grateful for that! Knowing God doesn't change on us is good news. We can thank God that He is our Provider, Creator, Guide, Help, Strength, Love, Peace, Keeper. He is faithful to His promises and His promises cover us. We can also be thankful for who we are. It's because of God that we are here and who we are. God m...

"That was perfect timing." "I'm so glad I was here to see or hear that." Have you ever said that before or heard someone else say that before? I know I have said them before! When you're at the right place at the right time, it causes you to be so thankful! You would have missed seeing a certain person or hearing a certain word of encouragement if you had not been at the right place at the right time. Every place we go and every stop we make is for a reason. Every person we meet is for a reason. In fact, everything that happens in our life's journey is for a reason. Do we always know the reason? No, but with God, we can always know there is a reason. With God, it's not just any reason; it's a good reason! We may not always understand the reason right away, but we can trust that God knows what He is doing. God does everything with purpose and nothing by accident. Being in the right place at the right time changed one man's life forever in the ...

When something is planted, it is placed in the ground to grow. In thinking about seeds being planted, the words sow and reap come to my mind. To sow means to plant, spread and scatter seeds. What you reap is the crop you gather and the result of your effort. When we look at Galatians 6:7-10, we see that we have a choice of what we sow. We can either sow to please ourselves or sow to please God and be led by His Spirit. There's no doubt about it....whatever we have sown will show up one way or the other in our lives. When we plant something, we may not see the results immediately. When farmers plant seeds, their harvest does not come right away. They realize that over time the results will come. We, as individuals, also plant seeds. We plant seeds every single day. Our words are seeds. Our actions are seeds. That's why it is so important that we watch what we say and do. We have to be careful what we say about ourselves and others. We have to be careful how we treat other people...

Have you ever tried to take steps forward while looking back? How did that go? Probably not too well, huh? Chances are you probably almost ran into something or someone or you went in the wrong direction. Now every and then, we may take a quick glance behind us, but then we keep going. We don't need to stare too long at what's behind us though. Staring too long at what's behind us can have severe consequences. In Genesis 19:15-26, we see a situation in which looking back caused severe consequences for an individual. So let's take a look! In Genesis 19:15, we see an instruction given to a man named Lot that he was to get his wife and daughters out of the city they were living in because it was about to be destroyed. The city, Sodom and Gomorrah, was wicked and the people living there were doing wicked and evil things. God had enough of the evil and the city was about to be destroyed. However, God wanted Lot's family to get out before that happened. Look at God's ...

The smile. The hug. The handshake. The compliment. The unexpected visit or call from someone saying hi and I'm thinking of you. A day that may not be going the best or a person who is not feeling their best can suddenly be changed in a positive way because of the little things. I have been encouraged by the little things and I'm sure you have as well. I'm learning to appreciate them more and more and do them for other people. The little things can make a big difference. It's all about how we take time to notice and look at our day. We need to take time to notice the wind blowing at just the right time, fresh air, flowers blooming, the sun shining (even when it's real hot!), air conditioning, a butterfly flying by, the grass underneath our feet as we walk. We also need to take time to notice that someone said hi to us, held the door open for us or used good manners. We need to take time to be thankful for life itself. All of these are great reasons to give thanks! Sa...

When was the last time you dressed up real fancy? Maybe it was this week, last week, last month, or even longer. Maybe it was for a wedding, graduation, church occasion, birthday celebration, special dinner, Prom, going to see a Broadway play. How did you feel when you got all dressed up? Happy? Excited? Nervous? Confident? Worried? A little bit of everything? Now, I'm sure after you got all dressed up that you took extra caution to make sure that your outfit stayed looking nice the whole time (especially if it was brand new!). I'm sure you also avoided anything that would cause your outfit to get snags, rips, tears, stains, or spills on it. I'm sure you did your best to keep it blemish-free. Depending on the occasion, that could be tough to do, especially if there's chocolate cake or red punch involved and you're wearing white! Well, just like we make sure that our physical appearance stays looking nice, we should dress up the inside of our heart too. We should kee...