Minutes

Justin Roberts writes kids songs. One of my favorites is called "Minute" and it only lasts 60 seconds. It is about those moments that mothers say "Just one minute" and kids know that it is never just one minute. One line in the song struck me:

"We're all just minutes."

I am approximately 10,467,600 minutes. We are all just minutes. Our grandparents are many, many minutes, while our baby brothers and sisters are very few minutes. But all life is, is minutes. It doesn't make a difference how many minutes we live. The only thing that matters is that we fill those minutes until they are overflowing. When you think of it that way, it is hard to believe that we fill so many minutes with anger, frustration, gossip, and grudges or computers, head phones, and texting. In an examination of my life, I find I fill my minutes with too much worry. Instead of picking up the flowers of joy and smelling them, I just trip over them and leave them for someone else. I must make it a point in my life to replace worry with wisdom, jealousy with joy, and laziness with love. So, think about it. How do you fill your minutes?

And that's what Jenny thinks.

I owned that

I am a singer, leader, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, niece, etc. I am so many things. And in wearing all of these hats, I do many things. One thing that is most important to me is ownership. Taking ownership over what I do is very important to me. Every song I sing, every project I create, every relationship I develop - I strive to take ownership over them.

For a long time, I have struggled to find my career path. Unfortunately, I enjoy a large plethora of activities, so my decision is not so easy. Music? Leadership? Something else? WHAT? My uncle called me the other night and said the words I needed to hear. He basically told me he was proud of me and that I will accomplish great things no matter what direction I choose. Thos were words I needed to hear as well as these ones...

Georgia O'Keeffe very wisely said,

"Before I put brush to canvas, I question, 'Is this mine? Is it all intrinsically of myself? Is it influenced by some idea or some photograph of an idea which I have acquired from some man?'"

So, I got to thinking. It honestly doesn't matter what I do, as long as it is mine, as long as I own it, as long as iti s "intrinsically of myself." It gives new meaning to the statement, "You owned this or that." When I am through with this life, I want to look back and confidently say, "I owned that life."

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Evaporation

I recently visited a very modern art exhibit in Santa Fe. It included dozens of artistic films and videos. Some were a little strange and inventive, but there was one that caught my attention. It was a continuous video of an artist painting a man's face with water on the sidewalk. By the time the artist had finished the face, the first half had already evaporated away. The face was constantly deteriorating while the artist was continually reconstructing it. The simplicity of the message was as poignant to me as a jalapeno.

Are we not the face? Constantly deteriorating as we face every challenge and trial the world has to foffer? Are we not the artist? Continually finding the strength to reconstruct and improve ourselves?

As hard as it might be to travel day to day, week to week, year to year, and somehow we must find the courage to continue - the courage to continue improving and reconstructing ourselves. Our job, as artists, is never complete. If I am stagnant, I know I will quickly evaporate. The only way we can complete our picture is with patience, determination, and endurance. If I can do that, I know I will create a masterpiece.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Georgia

Never before has an art exhibit so fully engulfed my spirit as it did on August 15th, 2010. My visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Abstraction Exhibit was magical. I'm not exactly sure why, but I connected to this exhibit more than any other art I've seen. In my struggles to write down every word and picture that tickled my heart, the most angelic security guard walked up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and handed me a packet full of the quotes included in the exhibit. I almost cried right then and there.

As I breathed in every abstract painting and gobbled up every sage quote, I felt connected to Georgia O'Keeffe. Her images and words sunk deep into my soul. I felt like I knew her. I felt like I was watching her create these masterpieces. I felt as if she was holding my hand and describing what each painting meant.

I felt as if we were old friends. She sums up very nicely how I felt:

"If I could put down accurately the thing that I saw and enjoyed, it would not give the observer the kind of feeling it gave me. I had to create an equivalent for what I felt aobut what I was looking at - not copy it."

All I'm saying is that I could feel it. And I hope everyone can experience something like this at some point in their life.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

It's Almost Like Magic

This last month, I have experienced magic like never before. Many times, I get this feeling - a feeling that rushes through me and leaves my heart pounding. This feeling makes the hairs on my arms stand at attention. My stomach tingles as I try to decide to cry or laugh. A giant smile sneaks from my toes to my face. It completely overwhelms my being. I don't know how else to define it, so I am going to call it "magic."

Those who know me, know that I love all things magical - Disneyland, Harry Potter, the Gospel, Christmas, etc. my appreciation and understanding of magic has grown in ways I never though possible. Over the last few weeks, I have determined the recipe for magic.

M A G I C = C O N N E C T I O N

Connection. That's all there is to it. when my body is left with the overwhelmingly magical feeling, I look back at what happened two seconds before, and I always find a connection. Connection to words, connection to music, to people, to art, food, the spirit, knowledge, wisdom, God, and every other possibility. I see magic moments unveil before me every day. I see children learning new facts, hearts stirred by powerful music, and one person listening to another's tales.

Harry connects with his wand. Peter Pan connects with his happy thoughts. Santa Clause connects with the world. Just like these three connect, I connect, too. I connect with wonderful people. I connect with amazing music. I connect with meaningful words. Daily, I am making millions of connections. I am making magic. We are all magic makers.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Superheroes

10:00 am Saturday - I was preparing for an opera masterclass. My nerves were slowly rising from my stomach to my chest. I had to do something to prevent my heart from exploding. So naturally, I made a quick playlist. The playlist wasn't extensive. It just included three of my all-time favorite albums. These three never fail to comfort me in a time of need. As I was thinking about these three albums, I realized my brothers' influence on my musical tastes.

Album #1 - Oldest brother, Dave, introduced me to this favorite - Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion
Album #2 - Second oldest brother, John, introduced me to an awesome kids that I love dearly - Justin Roberts, Meltdown
Album #3 - Third oldest brother, Jake, introduced me to my favorite band and another comfort CD - Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, Dream Big

I love my brothers so much. It is wonderful to find their influence on me, because I feel blessed to have been influenced by them. I see their influence everywhere - the choices I make, the things I enjoy, the music I listen to, the things I do.

I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say, but I think sometimes we take siblings for granted. And I don't ever want to do that. I will try to never take for granted the influences God has blessed me with.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Rock on

This semester I am taking Geology 101. Despite what you may be thinking, it is actually one of my favorite classes so far. The teacher is great and he makes learning about dirt really exciting. This week we learned about layers. A Mr. Hutton, an old, dead geologist, discovered the geologic principle,

"The present is the key to the past."

The layers of rock we see today teach us about the past - what living organisms were on earth, how old the earth is, etc. As I was thinking today, I thought, "I am a rock."
It's true. I am a rock. Life has taken me through landslides, peaceful rivers, volcanoes, and metamorphism. Some experiences help me grow, some wear me down, and some carry me to extraordinary places. Each one of them contribute to my character, my layers. What's on the surface may be deceiving, but with one slight peek beneath the surface, you will discover the layers. Layer upon layer adds brilliance, beauty, and individuality.

Often times, I wish the weathering and erosion would give me a break so I could breathe and enjoy the ride. But no matter how much I wish, trials never go away. And I guess I wouldn't want them to go away. Because it is during those rough times that we grow in experience and beauty. The Grand Canyon is nothing without weathering and erosion. I am nothing without trials and hardships.

I wish that I could peel back all of the layers of the people around me. I want to learn all about their life travels. Where did the volcanoes, rivers, and wind carry them? What caused them to become so beautiful?

Rocks and people all have a story to share. Let's listen and learn.

And that's what Jenny thinks.