I've been thinking a lot about friends lately, and I have been hearing this hymn a lot. Very fitting.
Each life that touches ours for good reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above thru words and deeds of those who love.
What greater gift dost thou bestow, what greater goodness can we know
than Christ-like friends , whose gentle ways strengthen our faith, enrich our days.
When such a friend from us departs, we hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory, bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.
For worthy friends whose lives proclaim devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love, we praise thy goodness, Lord above.
Now, I know you can read this and get a lot out of it. But I would just like to emphasize the truthfulness of this song. God blesses me so much by surrounding me with wonderful people. I am positive that I don't deserve these blessings, but I am so grateful for their words and deeds and the laughter and smiles they provide. There is no greater gift or goodness than my friends. They are all such wonderful examples to me in multiple ways - spirituality, kindness, courage, strength, confidence, happiness, care-free, I could go on forever. My friends, despite their religion or faith, strengthen my faith and enrich my days.
Sometimes, when I look back on people I used to be friends with, I get a bit sad. But it truly is a miracle. Friends leave an imprint on my heart. Even though many things can never be the same with people who lose touch, one thing is always for sure - they have left a sweet and hallowed memory in my heart forever. Even though friends may go separate ways, I can take comfort in the knowledge that I will hold them in my heart forever. Not only that, but memories of these wonderful people bring my closer to God.
I am a stress case. I worry a lot, and I drive myself completely insane. Can you imagine how crazy I would be if I didn't have friends to bring me peace and love. Friends provide for me a sanctuary where I can be myself and forget my worries and my strife. Friends=Hakuna Matata. I am not worthy of my friends. Truly, I praise God for sending me such remarkable people. I can't express my gratitude, but the lyrics to this song sum it up pretty well.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
At the ol' ball game
Today in church, I had lots of good, inspiring thoughts. This was one of them.
Life is a baseball game. You have a coach who knows what is best and is there to guide you. You play on a team made up of people you love. They support you in everything you do, even when you fail miserably. They cheer you on and encourage you. You have fans as well who you might not know personally, but from far away, they are impressed and you often motivate them to be better. You are on an allstar team, but there is also a pretty good team opposing you. They mock you in various ways (hey Batter! Batter! SWING! Batter! Batter!), distract you from what is important (the game), and they may even cheer when you make a mistake. There also may be hidden ruts in the field that trip you or slow you down. But despite the opposition, you are supposed to hit this really fast-moving ball, with a stick and run from first base, to second base, to third base, and then home again.
You see, life is a baseball game. We have a Heavenly coach who knows all and can guide us through anything. We have a team made up of friends and family, fans who may be our friends or who we may not know at all. There is always opposition whether it be temptations, Satan, being made fun of, etc.(Hey Batter! Batter! SIN! Batter! Batter!) We experience trials regularly like a rut in a field. We have tasks and missions set out for us that we must complete like a player must touch all of the bases before running home. And our ultimate goal is to make it home -home to our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and our family for eternity. And when we make it home, it is like scoring a point for good, for righteousness.
Go team!
And that's what Jenny thinks.
Life is a baseball game. You have a coach who knows what is best and is there to guide you. You play on a team made up of people you love. They support you in everything you do, even when you fail miserably. They cheer you on and encourage you. You have fans as well who you might not know personally, but from far away, they are impressed and you often motivate them to be better. You are on an allstar team, but there is also a pretty good team opposing you. They mock you in various ways (hey Batter! Batter! SWING! Batter! Batter!), distract you from what is important (the game), and they may even cheer when you make a mistake. There also may be hidden ruts in the field that trip you or slow you down. But despite the opposition, you are supposed to hit this really fast-moving ball, with a stick and run from first base, to second base, to third base, and then home again.
You see, life is a baseball game. We have a Heavenly coach who knows all and can guide us through anything. We have a team made up of friends and family, fans who may be our friends or who we may not know at all. There is always opposition whether it be temptations, Satan, being made fun of, etc.(Hey Batter! Batter! SIN! Batter! Batter!) We experience trials regularly like a rut in a field. We have tasks and missions set out for us that we must complete like a player must touch all of the bases before running home. And our ultimate goal is to make it home -home to our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and our family for eternity. And when we make it home, it is like scoring a point for good, for righteousness.
Go team!
And that's what Jenny thinks.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Speaking
Nothing speaks more directly to my soul than music and lyrics. The combination of words, melodies, harmonies, and rhythm pulls my heart to the surface. My emotions become raw and unbelievably real. I can't quite describe it, but the song can always exactly describe my music. The floating melody, the blending harmonies, the words - all of them combine to perfectly define my being at that particular moment.
Some people can study and listen to music at the same time, but that is not a possibility for me. Music distracts me. Music overwhelms me and my mind floats elsewhere. There is no concentrating when there is music on. But I wouldn't have it any other way. The way music speaks to me is worth the sacrifice.
Just like someone who is learning a new language may understand the language better than they can speak it, I feel like I understand music better than I can speak it. Music speaks to me, but I can't always seem to speak its language as fluently as I wish. But you know, that's alright. I feel entirely blessed that music speaks to me so frequently and fluently. Someday, when I can speak music fluently, I will describe to you how it makes me feel.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is music speaks to my soul and often defines me at many different moments in my life.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
Some people can study and listen to music at the same time, but that is not a possibility for me. Music distracts me. Music overwhelms me and my mind floats elsewhere. There is no concentrating when there is music on. But I wouldn't have it any other way. The way music speaks to me is worth the sacrifice.
Just like someone who is learning a new language may understand the language better than they can speak it, I feel like I understand music better than I can speak it. Music speaks to me, but I can't always seem to speak its language as fluently as I wish. But you know, that's alright. I feel entirely blessed that music speaks to me so frequently and fluently. Someday, when I can speak music fluently, I will describe to you how it makes me feel.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is music speaks to my soul and often defines me at many different moments in my life.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Miracle
I love sports movies. Period.
There are very few things that inspire me more than a good sports movie i.e. Remember the Titans, Blindside, The Most Amazing Game Ever Played, and my personal favorite, Miracle.
For those of you who don't know, Miracle is a movie about the underdog 1980 Olympic USA Hockey team that became just that - a miracle. I can't just sit and enjoy movies like this. Nope. I have to have my pen and paper on my lap the whole time (that was when I wasn't eating the delicious brownies my mom made). But besides those few moments, I was ready to write down whatever inspiring quotes flew out of the characters' mouths. And they did. They came flying right out of the screen and onto my notebook. I have a whole page dedicated to this movie in my journal. Now that you caught a glimpse of how much I love this movie, I will move on.
In the movie, the coach says,
This statement fills me with a rush of inspiration and a rush of fear at the same time. One part of my brain is screaming, "YEAH!!! Let's do this. I am amazing and uncommon!" While the other half is silently making a list of things preventing me from being uncommon. Often times, it is lists like these that prevent us from going somewhere. Fear, self-doubt, and discouragement keeps us common.
The coach, speaking of the Soviet Hockey team says the following lines:
Let's not sit back and try to defend ourselves from our insecurities. Let's attack. Let's rip up the mental lists of faults and weaknesses and attack them. Let's throw away self-doubt and replace it with a vigorous belief in ourselves. Who cares about your faults? Who cares about your weaknesses? THIS IS YOUR TIME!!!! This is your time to go somewhere. And you won't get anywhere if you are common.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
There are very few things that inspire me more than a good sports movie i.e. Remember the Titans, Blindside, The Most Amazing Game Ever Played, and my personal favorite, Miracle.
For those of you who don't know, Miracle is a movie about the underdog 1980 Olympic USA Hockey team that became just that - a miracle. I can't just sit and enjoy movies like this. Nope. I have to have my pen and paper on my lap the whole time (that was when I wasn't eating the delicious brownies my mom made). But besides those few moments, I was ready to write down whatever inspiring quotes flew out of the characters' mouths. And they did. They came flying right out of the screen and onto my notebook. I have a whole page dedicated to this movie in my journal. Now that you caught a glimpse of how much I love this movie, I will move on.
In the movie, the coach says,
"This cannot be a team of common men. Because common men go nowhere. You have to be uncommon."
This statement fills me with a rush of inspiration and a rush of fear at the same time. One part of my brain is screaming, "YEAH!!! Let's do this. I am amazing and uncommon!" While the other half is silently making a list of things preventing me from being uncommon. Often times, it is lists like these that prevent us from going somewhere. Fear, self-doubt, and discouragement keeps us common.
The coach, speaking of the Soviet Hockey team says the following lines:
"You don't defend them, you ATTACK them."
"Screw 'em! This is your time!"
"Screw 'em! This is your time!"
Let's not sit back and try to defend ourselves from our insecurities. Let's attack. Let's rip up the mental lists of faults and weaknesses and attack them. Let's throw away self-doubt and replace it with a vigorous belief in ourselves. Who cares about your faults? Who cares about your weaknesses? THIS IS YOUR TIME!!!! This is your time to go somewhere. And you won't get anywhere if you are common.
And that's what Jenny thinks.
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