tiff's challenge.

photo by kyuen13 via flickr

my good friend, Tiffany, recently posted a blog with a challenge to stop using the word "hate."  I have taken Tiff's challenge to "make a list and choose love over hate, appreciation over criticism, tolerance over intolerence, happy over sad, positive over negative, all of it and more."  (Read Tiffany's full post here.)

here is a short list of just a few things i love: 

jenna's love list
1. days that begin with prayer
2. literature classes
3. old musicals: hello dolly, sound of music, fiddler on the roof, guys and dolls, camelot, etc
4. early morning runs with friends
5. correct grammar
6. going to the temple
7. people who inspire me
8. playing the piano
9. painting my toenails bright yellow
10. foot massages
11. dancing
12. my job
13. going to rigby lake
14. journaling
15. summertime
16. the stage of life i'm in right now
17. clear skin
18. cute glasses
19. white capris
20. the sky at night
21. bargains
22. ice cold water

rees.

today at work, Rees threw her arms around my neck and exclaimed, "I LOVE JENNA!!" as she gave me a big, wet kiss on the cheek.  do i have the best job ever or what?  seriously. i'm gonna miss this.

for all seasons.

in life there will always be people who disappoint us.  they'll make promises and break them, they'll fail to come through when we need them most.  but that's not all; there will be many who hurt us on a deeper level.  these are the people who will pretend to be our friends, but then--in jealousy, bitterness or selfishness-- will stab us in the back.  they'll lie, manipulate, betray, laugh at our failures, try to make us feel like nothing. 

eventually, we'll come to understand who our true friends are. there may not be very many; among the thousands of people we come to know, there will be comparatively few we can really depend on.  and unfortunately, even those few select family members and friends can change.  human nature seems to have a problem with consistency, doesn't it?

where are the men and women "for all seasons?"  where are the Thomas Mores?  what happened to loyalty, integrity, and devotion?  are we too distracted to dedicate ourselves to others?  are we too selfish to think only of what we can get from people before we think about what we can give to people? 

all around me i see relationships crumbling, whether they be friendships, romantic relationships, or family relationships.  i watch people i care about try to find the answers to fix these relationships.  they read books, go to therapists, get professional opinions--but in the end, after all the searching for answers, the problem always comes down to one thing: selfishness.  i am making a bold statement here, but it makes sense.  All problems in relationships stem from selfishness. think about it.  if we want to build better relationships, we need to first change our own selfishness to self less ness.

because i never want to be a person who disappoints or purposely hurts someone else, because i want to be the friend and the lover and the family member "for all seasons," i am going to work on being less selfish. i pray i'll be more like Thomas More or any other person who lived a life based on principles and integrity.  these are the people who build solid relationships.  these are the people who understand how to be there for others in the way that Christ is here for us.  these are the people who get what life is about.

pink and other things.

putting pink in my hair was on my to-do list.

(i had blue in my hair sophomore year in high school...
need to go find pics of that..it was fun) 

what things are on YOUR life to-do list?  

my dad ordered this book for me called Achieving Your Life Mission, and i've really enjoyed the read.  it has re-inspired me to make my dreams happen now.  i don't want to look back and have regrets of opportunities i failed to take because the pathways were hard. 

soon i'll be going to Israel to fulfill my dream of studying abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center.  A year ago I didn't know if I'd be able to make this happen, but after lots of planning and praying to know what the next step in my life should be, I realized it was this.  And I'm so excited!  My passport came in the mail last week. 

God helps us accomplish the things we're supposed to accomplish.  I thought I'd have to take out a student loan for this study abroad, and I was really worried about it, but everything worked out.  I came home for the summer and got a full-time job.  Then I got a letter in the mail informing me that I received a scholarship and a grant for the trip--I had no idea I'd get either of those.  I am so blessed!

I know God wants us to experience life to the fullest and grow to our greatest potential--to find our life missions and achieve them.  And that's a happy thing to know :D