Grad Night with President Eyring

Dear READER,


Graduation is just around the corner. I really hadn't realized how close it really was until Wednesday night when I had Grad Night. All the soon to be graduates got together and had a meeting and refreshments.

Honestly at first I had no desire to go -- one reason is because the word was going around that this was going to be the whole Alumni (we want your money) type of meeting. Its wasn't anything like that. It was actually just what I need.

President Eyring, my stake president (the son of the Apostle President Eyring) talked to us. Everything was really simple and basic. He talked to us one on one and took questions and well it was just amazing.....here are my notes. I know it was for the graduation class of 2012 BUT I hope you can pick out at least one thing that will be helpful for you today.

• Our plan might be a good plan BUT it might not be the Lords plan (How true is that. We sometimes have this great plan and we think we are really going places but than the Lord says, hey Jenessa you actually need to do this, go this way, understand this. Sometimes our plans aren't the best)

• If we write in our Journals regularly -- it will help sharpen our skills in a way that we will be able to see what Gods plan for us is.

• The Lord writes the story and He puts us on paths that are right for us.

• Go Forward with Faith - there are great things in the making for you

• Any disturbance in our seas is for our good

• Focus on having a pure heart and helping other - this was such a bold statement, he said that's what we need to be doing and that's it ----- the Lord will figure out the rest.

• Celebrate the challenges in life. The hardest things are the things that help us grow the most

• Seek spiritual certainty

• Work with people who lift you. You don't want to be around those that are always bringing you down. Also you don't want to be one of those people who is always having to be drug around

• Always be learning! Look for positions where you will always be learning. Seek out the opportunities to learn something new

• Make the right choice in where to work, the place and the people will be prepare for you if you do it with the Lord

• Being stretched in the beginning is a very good thing, because it helps us grow and become better people

• Don't shy away from hard things....we were meant for hard things

• Make sure the gospel is a part of your life not only on Sundays

• HAVE FAITH!!! it's meant to be

• Pray like you never have before - have an open mind

• Everything is part of the plan/path God is writing

• Live by your standards not by those standards around you

• We must come to want what the Lord wants. This sometimes is hard as it might be a different direction than we planned.

• There is no need to fear

• The future is as bright as your faith - this was one of my favorite says because, if we trust the Lord and have faith than we will be happy with the moment. If we are happy with the moment than our future is bright. It makes me think back to my mission - I don't know why but I remember being happy all the time even when it was really hard and because I was enjoying the days it made the next week, month, year seem so bright and fun. I didn't want to leave because I was so happy with the work. Anyways I don't know if that makes sense or not.

• "I will go before your face and my angles will be round about you to bear you up" -- I think this was the one thing I really needed to hear. I actually needed to hear it all BUT this was really powerful to me. See the Lord will go before me, he is making the path and I just need to follow. Even when I'm following he is going to have Angels there with me who will help bear me up. The Lord knows me and he is providing the way.

It was really a great meeting. I was really happy to finally be on the way to graduation (the last few days) but it was a bit sad as I came to realize that this really was the end of my experiences here at school. Mum told me that there will never be another experience like this one.


Yours Truly,


Jenessa

Boys will be Boys

Dear READER,


I am learning something very valuable....boys are going to be boys no matter how old they are. There isn't much else I can say about the following pictures. They come from our Family gathering we had and are of the boys being boys.

Yours Turly,


Jenessa

Moving Grandma & Grandpa

Dear READER,


I don't think we could have picked a better day to move our grandparents than on March 10th. It was the prettiest day we have seen all year. I think we all might have gotten some sun as well.


Ok, ok I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. So my Grandparents bought a new house. It's still in the Provo area; actually it’s about three streets maybe four streets away from their old house. It's in this nice area that will plow the snow away and keep your yard maintained. Those are great benefits and all but probably the best thing is that it is only one house away from Aunt Fran and Uncle Eric's house. (As a side note with that, yesterday we had our big Family Home Evening and I think the Jensen family cars took up like the whole street.)

So we got to help and serve our Grandparents by moving everything from one house to the other. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I saw that and I actually mean it. Even though it got hot at some points in the day, and I found out I am actually really not strong at all, and we had some situations where we had to be very creative in moving items.....it was fantastic and so much fun. We got it all done in six hours.

I will admit that today it's not so much fun as I am sore and achy parts on my body, and I didn't even lift that much so I can only imagine those who were lifting the hefty stuff.

It was such a wonderful day, so worth every second of it. It was one of those circling the wagon moments. I know it was service, but it was so fun and I think more than anything it was great cousin time. It was so fun to see everyone and talk to them and share those little moments with them. It makes me miss the old days when we all lived near to each other and would play all day in grandma's yard in Farmington. MAN WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!

I am adding a bunch of Photos so I hope you enjoy. I hope it bring a smile to your face as you look through them.

Yours Truly


Jenessa

Circling the Wagons

Dear READER,


To start off - Family Home Evenings at the Jensen house are never a small thing. There is tons of food, family, and talk. This gathering is held once a month and we usually all gather down in Provo. Someone in the family is asked to prepare a lesson that would fit our family and the needs we have. Pretty much "go by the spirit and pick something good". (They are always good) Yesterday was once again one of those special occasions. We gathered together after a long day of service and were not only physically fed but spiritually fed also.

David is one of my cousins. He belongs to the Michael and Karen clan and holds a bit of a special place in my heart. He is the one who taught me how to drive; not only automatic, but stick as well. He's the one who growing up who would come over and take us out in the back yard and play for hours with us. He's been there when I just needed to get away from school. He watched over my car on more than one occasion. And if I ever was in trouble I know I could call him and he'd be to my aid ASAP.

Yesterday David had the lesson and what he talked about was the circling of the wagons. When the pioneers would stop for the night they would circle their wagons about so that nothing could get in or out. For example hungry bears couldn't get in and wild children couldn't get out. It was a great protection to those young saints. Not only that, it helped in Unifying them as they would all come together and sing songs and dance and tell stories.
Our Jensen family though we be not pioneers we do circle our "wagons". I don't exactly know how to put into words how this is done so instead I'm going to give some of the examples that were given during our Family Home Evening and I hope you'll get the point.


1. Brandon and Kathi Dawn

When Brandon was really young just a new born, he got really sick. He spent days on end in the hospital. David and Rachel (Brandon’s parents) were always at the hospital. Thing were a bit ruff, to say the least. Well Aunt Kathi came and stayed with David and Rachel for a bit. She would sit in the hospital with Brandon for hours. She would go home and watch Rebekah as well. She became that right hand to David and Rachel. There were many more in this experience that helped in circling the wagons around David and Rachel but Kathi played a key role in being there in the time of most need.


2. Meagan and David's House

While Meagen was a freshman up at Brigham Young University (BYU) she struggled with that first year. Sunday turned out to be Meagan’s favorite day because she would head over to David and Rachel’s house for Sunday dinners and just to talk. What a great way for David and Rachel to circle those wagons around Meagen in a time when she needed.


3. Lindsey and the Family

Lindsey shared a tender moment as she told us about how when she married Andrew and became part of the Jensen family that the family just pulled her into the circle. There was no "oh she one of the married in ones" no she was family.
I've seen something with circling the wagons that I find interesting with this. We see that we can bring people into the wagons which means we can probably leave gaps for people to get out. One thing that the pioneers and we need to continually be doing is making sure that there are not any gaps in our circle - not letting anyone fall through the cracks and feel that they aren't part of that circling/gathering. It's a hard thing to do but when we all are watching out for those around us, we will see the cracks and be able to fix them.


4. David and Aunt Sandralee

While my Mum (Aunt Sandralee) was pregnant with Keturah she was really sick. I mean we couldn't touch the bed or she would get sick. David was still in High School at this time but almost every afternoon up the hill David would come with a coke and a soccer ball. He would give the coke to Mum and then would take the boys out in the back and play for hours on end. David has a special gift for seeing those in need and wanting to help. My Mum can't tell this story without crying because this meant the world to her.


5. Andrew and David

When David was called to Iraq, he wanted a blessing. At the time His father and grandfather were not around and he didn't want to just ask anyone. David called Andrew. Andrew dropped all he was doing and came right over to be there for his Cousin, for David. How special it is that we have cousins that we can call on in times of need.


6. The Family Fast

One of the biggest examples I would say would be our Jensen Family Fast. When we have members in our family that need special blessing or that are struggling, we have a day that we as a family fast for those people. Even if it's just one person we fast. We bring in our wagons close together and circle them about those who need.
For myself I can say that when doing this fast, I know that the people/member of our family that we fast for our blessed and strengthened, but I think I come out being strengthened to.



Those are just six examples of the circling of the wagons - and it's not even close to all the times it happens. I am noticing that it seems to happen every day in our family.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, Mum and Dad, My Aunts and Uncles, and my Cousins, for being the GREATEST examples of love (this circling the wagons). I have learned and continue to learn so much from you about how to serve and help those around me. Sometimes we may say "wow, a lot of things happen to this family and we sure do go through a lot of trials"..... we do have a lot going on but we are also the most blessed family ever because we have each other and we can handle whatever comes our way and love it.


Yours Truly,


Jenessa

The Forget-Me-Not Flower

Dear READER,


Sunday's are super busy these days for me. Today I had the lesson in Relief Society. I always love teaching. Most weeks the assigned teachers teach but each Fast Sunday I as the Relief Society President get to teach. It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I stress for about three weeks before it, and the week of is just harsh as I try to really focus on the needs of each sister and what they need to hear.

Today was great. We got to talk about the message given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the General Relief Society Conference this last year. He talked about the little forget-me-not flowers. It was a fun lesson for me to prepare and as usual I'm pretty sure I learned more than my girls did I just wanted to share a little of my lesson. It won't be everything just an outline and it changed a little while we went through the lesson but the following is my lesson outline; most of it comes directly from President Uchtdorf's talk as little things I wanted to mention.


1. Forget not to be Patient

• God is fully aware that you and i are not perfect


• Everyone has strengths and weaknesses


• It's ok that we're not perfect, just that we keep working on it


• Be thankful for the small successes in life


• Our successes may be small but God notices them and they are not small to Him


• ? How do we show patience with ourselves and others?
  
  

2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice

• An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something for something of far greater worth


• Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another


• MAKE A LIST of some good sacrifices we can make


• ? How can we tell the difference between a good sacrifice and a bad one?


• "Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?"


• TALK ABOUT the talk Good, Better, Best by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and how that applies
  

3. Forget not to be Happy now

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Golden Ticket Story


• The Joy of a simple candy bar was lost


• People say they will be happy when ______________ happens


• There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings -- the problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future even/our golden ticket


• STORY of the women who no children who had the opportunity to teach in a school


• The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tinny forget-me-not's that are all around us
  
  

4. Forget not the "why' of the gospel

• "Sometimes, in the routine of our lives, we unintentionally overlook a vital aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ, much as one might overlook a beautiful, delicate forget-me-not. In our diligent efforts to fulfill all of the duties and obligations we take on as members of the Church, we sometimes see the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must add to our already impossibly long to-do list, as a block of time that we must somehow fit into our busy schedules, we focus on what the Lord wants us to do and how we might do it, but we sometimes forget why."


• The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an obligation


• The gospel is a light that penetrates mortality and illuminates the way before us.


• "My dear sisters, seek out the majesty, the beauty, and the exhilarating joy of the "why" of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The "what" and "how" of obedience mark the way and keep us on the right path. The "why' of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration."


• ?What are some of your "whys" of the gospel?
  
  

5. Forget not that the Lord loves you

• "As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-not's, I sometimes felt a little like that flower -- small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father. Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now---I was never forgotten. And i know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart -- neither are you. You are not forgotten. Sister, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love."


• He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name


• God loves you because you are his child


• He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes


• If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.
  
  

It was interesting to see how these truths were once again manifest to me as I gave my lesson. There was a tender spirit in the room that just said "Jenessa, he knows you". I don't know what the girls got out of it but I hope that there was something in it that they were able to take with them for this week. I love my girls and I know that they are not forgotten. The Lord loves them and cares for them so much. They are not alone.

Yours Truly,

Jenessa

CES Fireside and Elder Cook

Dear READER,


One of the things I love most about being a Young Single Adult is that you get to participate in a lot of things they don't have for married people. They do all these special activities just for you because your single and that somehow makes you different than everyone else. That is really besides the point of this post. Today we had one of those moments. We had a CES Fireside. (which I'm not really sure what CES stands for but we had a Fireside) Quentin L. Cook a member of the twelve apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to speak to us. It was a simple talk nothing big of new was stated but he brought up some great points I would like to share with you.


These are quit simple - So I'm just going to bullet point them and let you get what you will from it.

• Each member of the Church is a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ


• 1/3 of all missionaries ever sent out have been from my generation. When I heard this I was very surprised but also glad to say "hey I'm one of those 1/3". I know a bit vain but it was really my first thought.


• Reflect who you are and who you want to be - we should never be someone we are not


• I thought this was interesting, we were told not to wear masks (literally and figuratively speaking). We were told that those who wear masks are more likely to do different things (bad things) because they can't be seen. It was really interesting and he talked about the KKK and how they would wear a mask when doing their things but were actually just normal people like you and me, when they went back home. WEIRD!


• don't hide your identity, it only gets you into trouble.


• Be true to the faith - for which marters have perished


• Make sure there is no question to who you are


• Spend your time on things that will be of greatest worth and bring you closer to the Savior. OK so I thought a lot about this as I do things that sometimes just aren't worth my time. They are not helping me in any way but I do them anyways. So my thought was that I want to be better at this and really work on doing things that are going to benefit me and other.


• Become what you ought to be


• Work on developing Christ like attributes (these can be found in Preach My Gospel chapter six). My goal is to work on these attributes a new one each month and ask the Lord for help in them. I want to be more like him.


• Be righteous, have a family, and serve well --- man this is council from an apostle of the Lord I hope I'm getting the hint and ready to listen to it.


• Build up your country and community


• Be fully engaged in politics so you can be very well prepared and knowledgeable. I thought this was interesting as my brother has been following the campaigns and talking about it and I just haven't cared. So I think I need to get on top of that.

It was a really good Fireside and I learned a lot. I received council that was just for me and was chastened and told to be better in some area's. It was wonderful to hear from an apostle of the Lord. How blessed we are to live in a time were we have apostles and a living prophet upon the earth. It's incredible to me.

Yours Truly,

Jenessa

The Small & Simple Things in Life

Dear READER,


Have you ever just sat by a window and let the sun pour in around you? Today was one of those mornings. It has been snowing lately in Rexburg. It just seems to snow and snow and snow but this morning as I awoke the sun was out and the sky was clear. I opened the blinds and let the sun just pour into the room. I sat at my desk which is situated right up against the window and just let the sun warm my whole soul. It was a wonderful experience and it made me realize that some of the greatest moments are the little ones that just make you feel good.

I think too many times in life we miss out on these simple moments because we are to busy with the rest of the mondain things in life. We forget to just stop and smell the roses. I can't point my finger very far as I am one of those people who just gets caught up with life and sometimes, well most of the time I forget to stop and take in the small and simple things. As you may have already noticed I have decided to name my Blog "The Small and Simple Things of Life". I'm doing this as I feel that most things I write about won't be some big moment I had, or even something spectacular that I did. They will be small and quite simple things that help me learn and grow. My hope in doing this is that you as the READER will be able to gain 'something' out of reading my posts.

Please feel free to comment on my posts and share your experiences as they apply. I feel that the best way to learn is when we talk about it together and as we listen. (in this case read about it) You never know who's life you might help or change by your experience.


Yours Truly,

Jenessa