Jeana not Gina

The other day I was driving to work and I stopped by the gas station. It was just a normal day in quarantine. I was just going to pull in, put on my mask, get a drink, and then head off to start my day. Until... I saw a man. He had a sign asking for gas money. His sign said, "Need gas money. Any little bit helps."  I just been given a little cash from my husband so I figured since I had a little cash I might as well put it to good use. So I reached out the window and gave him a little cash and went on with my normal quarantine, corona day.  Now I am not saying this to say, "Look at me all high and mighty giving someone money," because let's be real... as soon as I left that parking lot I thought, "he'll probably just buy some alcohol or drugs." And then I was mad at myself. Here I am trying to do good and then I have to go thinking bad about this person. In Mosiah 4:19 King Benjamin asks, "...are we not all beggars?"...

I have been trying to think of the words for this post for a few weeks now... I know we may think in these times that we have been abandoned, but we haven't been! I think of Joseph Smith when he asks, "O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?" But the Lord answers telling us to  have peace ! He says, "...thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high..." I am so grateful for the knowledge I have that there is a true prophet on this earth and that he receives true revelation from the Lord for us, and for ME. I wouldn't be who I am today without this gospel. This past Sunday, like many other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my family had the amazing opportunity to hold our Sunday Service in our home. It was amazing to see the hand of the Lord in all of these changes as we met together in my pa...

I have a Dove wrapper taped to the computer in my office that says, "Today is your day." It really sounds like a super cheesy middle school poster, and maybe I'm just one of those annoyingly positive people. But, I love having a daily reminder of what I can accomplish, and I genuinely believe that your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn. I know that sounds SUPER cliche, but it's something that keeps me going on some of my hardest days.  Typically as I get ready for work in the morning I give myself a few hours from the time my alarm goes off to the time I need to be in my car and on the road to work. I use this time to get the corners of my mouth going up instead of down . Sometimes this involves a little dance party in the shower (I know maybe a little too much TMI, but you gotta admit we've all been there) and sometimes it just includes some meditation as I read my scriptures or listen to a conference talk. Maybe it's all of...

Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is our perspective about ourselves. It feels like so much of our life is overrun by what others think we should do and what others think is better for us, which so negatively effects how we view ourselves.  Even as a child and teen in school you compare your grades, outfits, and a fake popularity that is paraded around like without it you'll never become anything. Then as we become adults it becomes even worse. As soon as we graduate high school there is pressure on what we will study and when we will graduate. There is pressure on when you'll get married and have kids. There is even pressure on how much money we make and how many vacations we go on versus the next person. When I was in my senior year of high school I had this plan to graduate and go off to college, play soccer, get my degree in four years, and then go start a family.  Absolutely NONE of this has happened the way I have wanted it to. My sen...

Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is living my life without regrets. I know I'm only 24 (almost 25), but as I continue to g ro w through life I want to make sure that as I look back I can happily say I have no regrets . Now I don't want this to mean I was an idiot. You can live without regrets while being smart about it, at least I think you can.  When I was 12 I went to Girls Camp in Utah. Now this was my first year going and I had no idea what to expect. Because of the location, there were so many fun activities we were able to participate in. We had snipe hunting, the flying squirrel, hiking, and rappelling. Now those who know me, know I am TERRIFIED of heights. So when it came to be my wards turn to go rappelling I was nervous but excited to try this new thing. I went up with my ward and my dad to do this new and exciting activity, but as it got closer to my turn I just couldn't commit. I looked at my dad and used the excuse of "...

Those who know me know that I am an optimist.  Things are always getting better, and things could always be worse.  I think I have my parents to thank for that. Even on some of my worst days my parents let me know it's okay to be sad, mad, and upset. It's okay to listen to the sad song, but it's also okay if you don't want to. It's okay to scream into a pillow, punch a punching bag, and just let it out. It's okay to have bad days.  It's also okay to remember the good during the bad times. Listen to the sad song and cry for five minutes and then get up, dust yourself off and have a good day. What I love about this perspective, is that what I do and how I feel is up to me, and how I react and how I feel isn't wrong either way.  With this freedom and the options my parents have always given me I've learned that I don't like sad. I don't think many of us do honestly. I would rather cry for the five minutes and then get up and...