Queen Jen's Gems

 "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Have you heard that quote before? It is a quote by Oscar Wilde. Chances are you have heard it before or something very similar. The quote has a lot of truth to it. There may be lots of people with the same first name as you and some may even have the same first and last name as you. However, they can never be you and you can never be them. That's okay because we are all made uniquely and wonderfully (Psalms 139:14)! Someone needs what only we can offer and give. Someone needs our smile, help, gifts and talents to encourage them along their life journey. Let the real you shine through. Let your personality, likes, dislikes and quirks shine through. It's okay! There was a time I didn't feel it was okay, but now I do. It didn't happen overnight, but I have learned to embrace who I am. For a very long time, I did not like to wear open toe shoes in public because I was embarrassed about how my feet looked. Every now a...

 At some point in your life, you may have asked the question (or were asked the question): Are you all settled in now? This may have been in reference to moving to a new place, such as a house or dormitory room. You may have also heard it being referred to when someone has a new job. In these cases, the word settle can be defined as taking residence in or to come to rest in. When we settle in somewhere, we become adjusted and acquainted to our surroundings. Settling can be a good thing, but we also don't want to get too comfortable that we are not open to new opportunities or a new way of doing something. We need to remain teachable, keep learning and know there is always more. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that, "There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven." We don't have to settle for the wrong. We don't have to settle for the wrong attitudes and thought patterns. We don't have to settle for wrong relationships while dating be...

 When you want to take a real good look at a room or item, you view it from every possible angle. You may even use a tool, such as a magnifying glass or a microscope, to help you see something more clearly. At first glance, it may look okay. But, after careful inspection, you see details and cracks that may not be obvious at first. For those of you who may not know, I am a teacher. Last week was my first week back at work. During the first week, there is a lot of unpacking and cleaning that needs to be done in the classroom. In my unpacking, I had one particular crate that I had taken items out of. At the bottom of the crate, there was a small crack. Now the crack wasn't huge, but it was big enough to notice if you got closer to it. It was big enough that I didn't want to use it to put any items in. After all, that was the purpose of the crate. So, I put it in the hallway and labeled it as trash because I couldn't use it anymore. Just like that crate had to be inspected, ou...

 I just want to say upfront that I have a problem with this! Now, I don't struggle with letting everything go, but there is one area I'm constantly working on. Can anyone guess what it is (you may struggle with the same thing!)?!! For me, it is letting go of my past mistakes. That's it! Can anyone else relate?! I am an overthinker, so I am constantly working on my thoughts and asking God to help me. It is important we renew our mind as Romans 12:2 talks about. We have to constantly do this daily and as many times a day as needed. I find I dwell on the "could have, should have" part and that only magnifies the problem. I have to constantly remind myself not to let my mistakes define me. Our mistakes are not who we are and do not define us. Within this last year, I have struggled with it even more as I attempted tests and had goals. However, I didn't get the results I wanted then. I got disappointed in myself. Then, I had to encourage myself. At one point, I eve...

 We check in for a lot of different reasons and with a lot of different people. We check in for the reservations made at the restaurants and hotels. We check in at the airport to board our flight on time. We check in when we arrive at work and appointments. We check in on social media as we see shout-outs being posted. We want to show up and be on time (that's the goal, right?!!). We want to make our presence known and not miss out on anything. We do not want to miss out on the meal, vacation, giveaway or paycheck. But what about us? Have we showed up for us? Have we checked on us lately? Have we checked on how we are really doing? In all the checking in we do, we have to make sure to check in on us. While we take care of responsibilities, tasks, and others, we can't forget about us. We need to be at our best to take care of what we need to. Checking in with ourselves requires that we do a self-exam. It requires us to check our overall well-being. We need to be alert and presen...

 Everyone has an opinion about something. Sometimes, many people share the same opinion. Other times, it may be a few or the one who has the opinion. Either way, an opinion is how one feels about a particular topic or task. Isn't it interesting how we can eat at the same restaurant, watch the same game, hear the same music and be at the same service, yet still walk away with a different opinion?! Today, I want to focus on a story in the Bible where some people saw the exact same land, but had different opinions about what they saw. God had promised His people, the Israelites, the land of Canaan. In Numbers 13, God gave instructions to their leader Moses about checking out the land. Moses was to send one leader from each tribe. Since there were 12 tribes, there would be 12 leaders to go (v.2). When the 12 men went, they were to check out everything- what the land looked like, the cites, how many people lived there and how the people were. They even had to bring back some from fruit ...

 We all have had setbacks. We all have had disappointments. We all have experienced rejection. We all have been hurt in some way or another. It's not fun. It's not easy. It can be hard to look up again, to trust again, to move forward. In fact, it can be downright devastating. But I have good news today- we can bounce back!! It doesn't happen all at once or overnight, but it will happen. In a previous blog post, I talked about how we have plants in our house and how my Mom was always the plant person. For those who don't know, my Mom passed away in January 2020 after a brief illness. In our house, my brother and I have plants from before my Mom passed and after she passed. Her plants skills must have rubbed off on us because the plants that were blooming when she was here are still blooming! One of the plants we have in our house is a lily plant. I love them! Side note: If you're looking for an easy house plant to take care of, lilies are what you want! We have thre...