Queen Jen's Gems

 You are so close. You're almost there! For some, it's almost time for another school year or college semester to end. For others, it's almost time for graduation from one level of schooling to the next. For all of us, it's almost time for a season change with summer right around the corner. The key word in all that was said above is "almost." We all know about that "almost" space. The almost is that in-between space. It's that not yet phase where you are expecting and know something is about to happen, but it hasn't happened yet. We can get anxious in that space. We can also get weary and tired. Feelings of doubt, discouragement and what-ifs of finishing may start to creep in that space. It's easy to let our guard down and let those feelings dwell longer than necessary ( I know I have!), but we can't. We have to remind ourselves of our "why" and why we started. We can finish. And not just finish, but we can finish strong. W...

 If you have any sort of electronic device at all, then chances are you know of or you have heard the word "app" said before. Apps are found on cell phones, tablets and iPads. Some apps are already pre-downloaded on our devices while others have to be downloaded by us. The word app is short for "application." It is a type of software that you can access on your device and use the Internet with. There are many different apps available for us to use. There are apps for social media, exercise, weather, games, coloring, the Bible and the list goes on and on. It is a shortcut to access resources and receive information quickly. At the click of an app, you can see the most recent post on your social media timeline, the current temperature outside, and play your favorite game as many times as you want. At some point, the question may have been asked about a particular topic, "Is there an app for that?" Now, apps can be very useful. But at the same time, having do...

 It protects. It covers. It defends. It needs to be held close. It needs to be carried at all times to all places. It needs to be used every day. I'm talking about none other than the shield of faith described in Ephesians 6. In verses 11-17 of Ephesians 6, Paul talks about the spiritual armor we should be wearing daily. Now we should wear all of these, but today I want to focus in particular on Ephesians 6:16. It says, "In every situation, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." I love how the verse begins with in every situation. That means whether the situation is good or bad, we need our shield. In moments of heartache and joy, we need our shield. In moments of breakdown and breakthrough, we need our shield. In moments of frustration and favor, we need our shield. And not just any shield....we need our shield of faith! Faith is believing in God. It's believing who He is and what He can do. It's believi...

 Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you." Three words. All involve action. Something we should do often and daily. Ask. Seek. Knock. Let's look more closely at each word. Ask is our first word. We ask a lot of questions about a lot of different situations that range from a particular topic or belief, situations going on in our personal lives, and events happening in the world around us. The only way to find out more about something is to ask questions to others. We could miss out on something important if we don't ask questions because it could be helpful and change our whole perspective. Let's ask questions when reading the Scriptures, such as what a word means, why it was written a certain way, and how we can use it in our daily lives. Let's ask God questions because we can know He will give us what we need when we need it. We all need help and shouldn't be afraid to ask. I've...

 When it comes to life, you may have heard this question before: "Do you see the glass half empty or half full?" Now I have heard the question before and I have always wondered what it meant. When I first heard the question, I thought that I'm a positive person and try to look on the bright side of things so I see the glass half full. But then I saw a quote not long ago that challenged my thinking. The quote talked about how it doesn't matter if you see the glass as half empty or half full, but that the glass is refillable. I thought, "Wow! I never thought of it that way before!" It changed my whole perspective on that question. I see the glass representing our body. The Bible talks about in I Corinthians 6:19-20 how our body is a temple and that we should honor God with our body. We honor God with our body by taking care of it. We watch what we put in it. We watch what we do with it. We make sure that it doesn't break down. Burnout can happen quickly to...

 2020. A year that took us out of what we considered to be "normal." What we thought was going to be one or two weeks of working from home turned into a year (or more for many!) of working at home. What we thought was going to be a few weeks away from gathering inside the church building turned into over a year of connecting on Zoom, conference calls, social media, and drive in services. Schools have changed the way instruction takes place with either virtual, in person or both. For those of us who work in education, we had no idea that day in March  would be the last day we would see students in person for months to a year. Businesses changed hours and shut down temporarily and had to adjust the way they reached their clients and customers. Time spent with family and friends looked different (and still does!). The way we connect with people in general has changed. We have had to meet new people in different and creative ways by virtual or safely and social distancing in pers...

 But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 In reading the verse above, there are two words I want to examine more closely. Those words are soar and eagles. To soar means to fly and rise above. Eagles are powerful birds that can be spotted flying in the sky as well as sitting high on the tree branch. We'll talk a little later about different characteristics of eagles. Eagles do soar, but so can we as humans. When we soar, it means we go above and beyond to help others or complete a task at hand. We can soar above whatever challenging situation comes our way. Soaring requires us to be different and usually do something we've never done before. Soaring will require us to step out of the box. Doing something new and different can be scary, but the only way we can begin to soar is to step out and try. Think about the first time you rode your bike, spoke ...