Just Jen

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The Beauty of Plan B's

Life is full of unknowns and unexpected detours, so Plan B’s are pretty common! However, they aren’t always well liked. When plans change, it is upsetting and hard to accept at first. You don’t think that it will ever live up to how you envisioned the original plan playing out and all that hard work you put into the first plan seems wasted when you have to change course and envision a new plan! This also proves more difficult when it is a big life event you are altering plans for. A day you envisioned a certain way for as long as you can remember, as most girls have been dreaming of their wedding day since they were little girls. But never did those dreams include you trying to plan a wedding in the middle of a pandemic and having to come up with/use a Plan B! Life definitely knows how to throw a curveball! To be honest, this was probably easier for me than it would be for most people. I am pretty easy going and roll with the punches. The hardest part of this whole process for me was

The One

What do you think of when you think of the One? This is a question that’s been on my mind ever since I was a little girl dreaming of finding my “prince.” I have always been a hopeless romantic who loves LOVE!! I am the type of person that jumps in headfirst and always believes the best in people, life, and love no matter the consequences. This behavior may have caused me pain in the past, but that is because I was jumping into relationships with the wrong people. This behavior with the right person though is the BEST feeling in the world! They are right when they say “when you know, you know!” Since the beginning, I’ve never had any doubts about Craig and my future with HIM in it, which I can’t say about my relationships in the past. With Craig, I have always had a calm, secure feeling while in the past it’s been full of doubts and anxious thoughts. Love is easy with Craig... the way it should be, so when he got down on one knee and popped the question it was the e

Singleness Does Not Have To Equal Loneliness

Singleness and loneliness– these two words are often interchanged and it breaks my heart. People think that “oh, they are single so they must be lonely” or “oh, they are lonely so they must be single” and often times we think this of ourselves, too. We think that we will be happier if we are in a relationship. We think a relationship will cure-all of our aches, doubts, and anxious thoughts and make us whole again. We think having companionship will rid us of ALL of this, but in reality nothing will rid us of this as much as Jesus does. If we are not content with singleness and the season of life we are in right now then we will jump into things that aren't the best that God intended for us. When we jump into these things it may cure our loneliness temporarily, but after awhile we may become lonely again or even lonelier than we were before. It won’t create a satisfying joy because we are chasing after things that were never meant to create a true satisfying joy. When we trust

The Way You Spend Your Time is Where Your Heart is At

A few weeks ago a statement was brought up that really made me consider how I spend my time. This statement was "the way you spend your time is where your heart is at". This made me really contemplate how I currently spend my time and how I want to spend my time. The things that I say are important to me, but are they really important if I don't make time for it? And if I say they are important, then I need to follow through with action to confirm that they are. This is how we grow and better ourselves. Words don't really mean anything unless we back them up with action. What I have learned is that there is ALWAYS time if it is important. It is just the enemy speaking that there is no time, but if you listen to God, he is saying there is always time if you make the time. I know there is a limited amount of hours in a day and things come up, but you can always find time for it if it is important to you. So I challenge you to think about how you spend your time and

The Good Stuff

A couple Sundays ago, the pastor gave a sermon that really struck a chord with me. It is called “Alive and Free in the New Year” and I have put the link below if you want to listen to it. It is a really great sermon with a lot of great points, but there was one point that really stood out to me - and this was surround yourself with more people that call you back to the truth! We have too many people in our lives that say do what you want or do what makes you happy. But this way of thinking could hurt yourself or the people around you if doing what you want or what makes you happy is leading you down the wrong path. We need people in our lives that will confront us with grace and call us back to the right path. The path towards God instead of the opposite direction. Even if it is not what you want to hear at the time, you will be thankful for these people in the long run. A small time frame of being upset at someone for saying something is better than nothing being said, and being unh

10 Lessons Learned This Year

Sharing in an accomplishment as a team is so much sweeter than reveling in an accomplishment you made as an individual. Everything comes to an end, but the memories and lessons learned will last a lifetime. There are new opportunities everyday. You never know what is going to be around the next corner, so always get up and live with joy and a willingness to embrace opportunities. Living with more purpose and intention will grow relationships and friendships in your life. Nothing grows without effort. You should never lessen or make excuses for someone’s actions that go against what you strongly value just because you love that person. If you have a feeling that something is not quite right, trust your instincts for they are more than likely right. People will lie and cheat you, but it’s how you react that makes a world of a difference. There is a beauty in forgiveness and giving people grace. There comes a strong amount of respect for people that tell the truth and say thin