Spirit of Thanksgiving: Week 4

Well, I am almost a missionary, so here are my remaining daily "thanksgivings" for the month:

Nov 23: I am thankful to be all ready to move my stuff to storage! 

Nov 24: grateful for those days when I get hardly any sleep the night before but still have lots of energy when I need it.

Nov 24: I am grateful for knowing great guys who volunteered a couple hours to help me move my stuff to storage. They not only packed the truck but also unpacked. Thank you so much!

Nov 25: I am grateful for my current ward (church congregation) and past wards and branches I have been in. I feel like I was in each of them at a certain point in my life when I needed those friends and associates. My current ward has been such a support for me through the last year and a half, and I appreciate all of their love and examples. I really have been so blessed by all of you! Thank you to those in past wards and branches as well. I appreciate all of your examples! I know so many wonderful, righteous, and absolutely loving and serviceable people!!

Nov 26: I am grateful for being short. You may not believe this, but there are many benefits... I can sleep comfortably on most couches, I can more easily find skirts and dresses that are modest and long enough, it is socially acceptable for me to date most men because they are taller than me, I have lots of leg room in airplane seats, etc. Life isn't too bad for a short person, but obviously there are benefits to both sides of things.

Nov 26: I am also grateful I already own so many bike accessories because I just saved myself about $100 for my required mission bike and accessories. So awesome!

Nov 28: I am grateful for my parents who are handling all my affairs when I'm gone (blog posting, taxes, registering for classes).

Nov 29: I am grateful to have a roof over my head, shoes on my feet, and enough food to eat.

Nov 30: I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to think about what I'm grateful for everyday. I am so blessed and as I've been recording my gratitude, I've noticed so many more blessings.

Christmas Miracle: One Lucky Fish

I procrastinated adding this story about one amazing "Christmas Miracle" (as one person dubbed it).

Two weekends ago (Thursday - Monday) my uncle and aunt were fishsitting their grand kids' fish, Oscar.

Monday came along and I was eating breakfast and looked over at Oscar; he was floating at the top of the water. I got a closer look and sure enough, he was dead.

My uncle, Richard, called his daughter, Melanie, and relayed the tragic news. She suggested giving the fish CPR, because it had "worked in the past."

Richard and I look at each other and gave each other a "no way" look. It was decided that Melanie would just come over and take home the dead fish.

In the meantime, Richard had a crazy idea. He got a glass of water and put his oxygen tube in it. He let it bubble for about five minutes and then asked me to pour it into the water.

I poured. The fish just flopped around in the moving water, then floating again to the top once I was done pouring.

Richard then had a crazy idea. He asked me to take the fish over to the sink. I washed out the bowl, and then he hooked up the oxygen to the tank. The fish began flopping in the moving water.

Dead Fish

I checked back in about 20-30 minutes and Oscar was still dead. I told Richard that it was pointless, but he wanted to keep it hooked up.

I went and did other things. About an hour later I got a knock on my door and it was Melanie. She said that Richard wanted me to see something. I was thinking that maybe we were going to have a fish burial or something.

Nope, he wanted me to see a Christmas Miracle.

I went back into the kitchen and Oscar was alive and swimming around in his bowl. Yup, the little fish had been brought back to life. Richard was beaming and so was his grandson.

Alive Fish

 Video of Oscar and his life-saving hookup:

Later, Melanie calls Richard up and shares what her soon said about Richard, "Mommy, can we get Grandpa his favorite food? He's my hero."

Merry Christmas everyone! Remember, don't loose faith even if  your fish seems dead and your efforts seem pointless.

Errand of Angels: Mission Pictures

I was so blessed to have some good family and friends help out with my mission pictures. I will forever rave about them! Here are my mission pictures (the first one is the actual picture I am using for my mission plaque):

 

Spirit of Thanksgiving: Week 3

It has been so nice reflecting on what I am grateful for! Wow, I am so blessed!! Week 3:

Nov 15: I am grateful for Utah Tech X and the great training and opportunities it provides for startup and small businesses in Utah. The mentoring offered is truly incomparable. Thank you Utah Tech X!

Nov 16: I am grateful for ASL. I love ASL and I love Deaf Studies. And I love my friends I have me through both of these.

Nov 17: I am grateful for the power of God demonstrated through the Priesthood and that we can be blessed by it.

Nov. 18: I am so grateful for all the friends and family that came to support me as I gave my mission farewell talk. I feel so blessed to know so many amazing people!

Nov 19: I am grateful for modern technology. I do remember the day when we all got along with home phones and AOL dial up on our computers, but I do love where we have come and am grateful for how easily we can connect to friends, family and important information.

Nov 20: I am grateful for a car. I sold my car to help pay for my mission and I will miss her. I happily have her for another week and am grateful she makes running errands so much easier.

Nov 21: I am grateful for random strangers who go out of their way to be friendly or help others with things. I have lots of wonderful experiences with lots of sweet people this week :)

Nov 22: I am grateful that a lot of my family is so close. It was great going to three different Thanksgivings that three of my siblings were hosting.

Spirit of Thanksgiving: Week 2

I am way behind on posting what I have been grateful for on my blog (luckily I have kept up on Facebook). Here you go:

Nov. 8: I am grateful for my co-workers, especially our company's management team. I am so excited for their drive to help our company's vision move forward, and I have no doubt in their ability to find succes!

Nov. 9: I am grateful for snow. What a beautiful day! Oh, and I'm grateful for car scrapers... So glad I finally invested in one a couple years ago so I could stop using my school id as a substitute.

Nov. 10: I am grateful for the opportunity I have to live so close to so many LDS temples. I am also grateful for the peace I feel in my life as I attend the temple regularly.

Nov. 11: I am grateful for indoor plumbing, and right now especially dishwashers and kitchen sinks. Right now our dishwasher and sink is unusable. It's funny how being without something so basic makes you realize how great your life is. AND I am also so grateful to the troops that protect our country and am proud of my family members serving in the military and am grateful for them and their family's sacrifices.

Nov. 12: I am grateful for alarm clocks (or alarms on phones). I am unsure how I could manage my life without them :)

Nov. 13: I am grateful for my siblings. Even though they are much older than me, we are all so close. They are always very supportive and loving and just truly amazing.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be grateful!

Bubble Wrap Decorations

Yesterday I spent the evening with my brother's family. I had a great time eating dinner with them, talking about my mission and playing around.

Here are a couple highlights from the night (number three is my favorite):

1. I was giving my brother's family a lesson about missionary work (because I am going on a mission in two weeks). I asked my 6-year old niece a question:

Me: "Rachel, what do missionaries do?"

Rachel: "Teach people."

Me: "What do missionaries teach people?"

Rachel: "The gospel."

Man, she is a smart cookie. I was very impressed that she knew what missionaries did and described what I teach as the "gospel." Maybe I just need to be around more 6-year olds, but great job, Rachel! I would add though, "the gospel of Jesus Christ."

2. While we were continuing our lesson, my 2 or 3-year old nephew slipped out of the room. Later he came back with an oven mitt on covered in chocolate and chocolate covering his mouth. Guess who got into the freshly baked brownies :)

3. So my brother's family just moved into a new house and therefore my sister-in-law has been unpacking pictures and hanging them on the wall. My niece, Rachel, wanted to decorate her room as well, and all by herself. Here are the decorations:

Cute drawings

Her and her best friend



Bubble wrap?

More bubble wrap...

Bubble wrap in the closet...

Bubble wrap on her toy box

 

I counted a total of six pieces of bubble wrap in her room. She then showed  me how entertaining it was to pop the bubbles :) Man, she is so cute and creative. Who would've thought decorating could be so easy and cheap!

Where does your state stand on the topic of same-sex marriage?

Do you know where your state stands on the topic of same-sex marriage? After the 2012 Presidential election, their stance may have changed.

Here is the current map on states' standing on same-sex marriage:

Thank you to the Pew Forum for this map.

With this, I want to add the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the LGBTQ community as well as on gay-marriage. I thinks its important to note that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages its' members to be kind of loving to all groups of people, and we believe that God loves ALL His children equally.

Here an statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in response to an HRC petition:

You can also read the transcription here.

Wondering about gay members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Check out these two great blogs:

(Gay) Mormon Guy

The Weed

World Religious Knowledge

So, after finding out about the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, I have been a little obsessed... not a lot, just a little :)

I enjoy the articles and information posted, and think its quite useful for the general public.

One recent article I read was about a "U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey." The article discussed what groups in the United States had the greatest knowledge on world religions and on religious law based on a survey completed.

Curious who scored the highest? Check on the statistics below:

Looking at the statistics, I'm unsure what conclusions to draw. I gained much about my world religious knowledge from (1) church, (2), school courses, (3) interaction with friends and associates.

A question I would like your feedback on is, why do you think the atheist/agnostic group scored the highest?

I can see many possibilities, two being: they learn about many different religions in a hope to find one that best suits them or to find belief and/or they learn about many different religions to better support their discussions with friends about their belief of a non-existence or unknowable existance of Diety? I think both are possibilities, maybe even more so the first. OR maybe they just paid more attention in the world religion class than everyone else ;)

How do you score compared to the public? Take the quiz here (its only 15 questions long, so it takes just a few minutes . . . and don't cheat!) Once you take the quiz, you can see how you compare to the different groups in regard to religious affiliation, church attendance, etc. I actually think its really cool!

Wonder what questions were actually asked on the survey? Here it is!

I was pretty happy with my score, but still was bummed I didn't know them all. I need to refresh my world relgious knowledge (and my religious constitutional rights).

Now that you have actually taken the survey, here is the article. It is a good read. Enjoy!

Last, but not least, curious about the sampling size? Here you go:

Here is the article explaining sampling. I personally like to know what goes into surveys, so I can judge their credibility.

Living with Yourself

Saturday night some friends and I had a word party. We played scategories, I put on a cape and recited the "Jabberwocky," and we also shared poetry that we love. Normally I am not much of a poetry fan (thank you ENGL 1010 and 2010 professor for making me read and decipher nasty and depressing poetry, therefore skewing my perception of what poetry can be), but a couple poems were really profound, like this one:

"Myself" by Edgar Albert Guest

I have to live with myself and so
I want to be fit for myself to know.
I want to be able as days go by,
always to look myself straight in the eye;
I don't want to stand with the setting sun
and hate myself for the things I have done.
I don't want to keep on a closet shelf
a lot of secrets about myself
and fool myself as I come and go
into thinking no one else will ever know
the kind of person I really am,
I don't want to dress up myself in sham.
I want to go out with my head erect
I want to deserve all men's respect;
but here in the struggle for fame and wealth
I want to be able to like myself.
I don't want to look at myself and know that
I am bluster and bluff and empty show.
I never can hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see;
I know what others may never know,
I never can fool myself and so,
whatever happens I want to be
self respecting and conscience free.

 

 

Take a second to really let that soak in, and maybe read it again. Woah. Profound, right? I do want to live my life with no regrets. I want to be confident in me.

 

This poem made me think of this picture:

 

 

 

Why did I think of this? Because I view self-analysis in three ways:

 

1. What am I now? I want to be able to say right now that I can live with myself, but I also want to be honest and understand my strengths and those things upon which I can improve upon. I know that as I strive to become closer to God, that many of my weaknesses will improve.

 

2. Where do I want to be? My goal is life is to have no regrets at my death bed. I know who I want to become and I am excited to get there. My goals are attainable and unique to me. Many of them involve simply striving to become who God wants me to be.

 

3. How does God view me? Maybe the most important of all the questions. God loves ALL of His children, "anxiety, self-image, and all." We are all children of our Heavenly Father - His divine creations with unlimited potential to acheive greatness. Even when we stumble and fall, He still loves us and will cheer us on. God knows what I and you can become. He knows that we can become even as He is.

 

Self-reflection and self-analysis is great. Please remember though, that none of us are perfect, and that is why we have a Savior who has paid for our sins, that we might repent.

 

Strive today to be someone you can easier live with.



Errand of Angels: Mission Address

From Nov. 2012 - May 2014 I will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I would love for anyone to write me on my mission (no email, except for family). Here are my addresses:

Letters ARRIVING Nov. 28 - Dec. 19:
Sister Deborah Ellice Jenkins
MTC Mailbox # 172
FL-TAM 1217
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Letters ARRIVING Dec. 19 - May 2014 (must be sent by first class mail through the U.S. Post Office):
Sister Deborah Ellice Jenkins
Florida Tampa Mission
13153 N Dale Mabry Ste 109
Tampa, FL 33618
United States

For packages ARRIVING Dec. 19 - May 2014 (must be sent by first class mail through the U.S. Post Office):
Sister Deborah Ellice Jenkins
Florida Tampa Mission
13153 N Dale Mabry Ste 109
Tampa, FL 33618
United States

For general Deba life updates: blessedinallthings.blogspot.com

Have a blessed day!

How the Faithful Voted in the Presidential Election

Today I saw some statistics about the faith vote in the 2012 Presidential Election, and was very impressed, so I had to share:

This is taken from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (article here).

I am grateful that Christians, and those of other religions, are setting aside differences and rallying together to support/promote Christian values in the United States (such as opposing abortion).

Thank you to all my friends who stand up for your Christian, or other religious, values in a world that is quickly degrading morally.

I am proud to say that I believe in Jesus Christ and want to follow His teachings.

Spirit of Thanksgiving: Week 1

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, many people (including myself) are posting on Facebook what they are grateful for everyday in November. I am so grateful for whoever started this trend because I think its awesome. What a great way for so many people to state their thanks (to show others their positive outlook on their lives), and what a great way for so many people to realize how blessed they are.

Seeing as some of my friends and family don't use Facebook, I have decided to also post my thanksgivings here:

Nov 1: I am grateful for my aunt an uncle who are letting me live with them before my mission. I am so blessed to not have to sell an apartment contract mod-semester. I love you two!!

Nov 2: I am grateful for having a good job for the lasat 5.5 years. My job really helped me grow and push my limits. My job also helped support me through school and save up money to pay for my mission. CleanTelligent, I will miss you.

Nov 3: I am grateful for wonderful friends and family who happily dedicate their time and talents to make my day one-of-kind! Thank you so much!

Nov 4: I am grateful for the opportunity Sundays give me to come closer to Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Church was awesome today, mission prep class was awesome today, CES fireside was awesome today. I feel very spiritually fed!

Nov 5: I am grateful for the seasons. I love how the world renews itself every year. And I love fall with its crisp air and beautiful colors!

Nov 6: I am grateful to live in a country that respects the opinions of its' citizens.

Nov 7: I am grateful for two things. 1. I am no longer anemic and thus was able to donate blood for the first time in my life!! 2. My wonderful mission prep teachers and class. The class tonight was absolutely amazing. I am so grateful for your testimonies, knowledge, and encouragement. I love you guys!

Yeah for the Thanksgiving aura in the air! Now is a great time for you also to reflect upon what you are grateful for every day - try to find at least one thing.

The Errand of Angels: Why a Mission?

Many people have asked me why I have chosen to serve a mission. I have many reasons for this, here are a few:

1. We have a loving Heavenly Father who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all mankind may be saved and inherit eternal life.

Our Heavenly Father wants everyone to return to Him again, and allows all people to repent if they have a sincere heart.

I am so excited about this knowledge and want to share it with everyone! Regardless of the trials of life, we are loved and can exchange guilt for happiness as we repent. (Learn more about LDS beliefs of Jesus Christ here and here)

2. The church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth will all the ordinances and covenants needed to become like our Father in Heaven and obtain eternal life and exaltation.

These saving ordinances include baptism and marriage sealings (sealing a husband and wife together for time and all eternity verses just until death).

I am so excited that, as a righteous member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have the opportunity to participate in my own saving ordinances. True happiness comes from being sealed to your family for the eternities and I want everyone to have access to the same blessings! (Learn more about the restoration of Jesus Christ's Church)

3. My third reason....

goes off of my second reason. I have the opportunity to be with my family for forever! And guess what?! I love them and am so excited for that!

A quote that I have read essentially says that a missionary is someone who is willing to leave their family for a couple years so that others can be with their families for the eternities.

I want others to be with their families for the eternities! I know some people may be struggling with family relationships. For those I say, Christ understands all and can mend broken homes and broken hearts. Sometimes situations are too bad for people to live in (such as abuse), but even for those people, happiness can come from the knowledge that you can be with your future family some day and even your ancestors that came long before. (Learn more about why strengthening families is so important)

4. Building upon everything that I have already said, being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brings me happiness in my life.

I know I can communicate with my loving Heavenly Father through prayer and that He will listen. The knowledge I have brings peace and joy to my life. I want to invite all people to come unto the same happiness that I have. (Learn more about God's Plan of Happiness)


Basically all of this is summed up with the fact that I have this knowledge and it makes me happy and I want to share this with others. If you have any questions, please let me know.

The Errand of Angels: What is a Mission?

I am going to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by the end of this month!

For all of you who are unfamiliar with what a LDS/Mormon missionary does, or for you that just want to learn more about my mission journey, here is some information so you know what 52,000 people (including myself) are currently volunteering to do (If you only have a few minutes, you can watch a video here or read an article here):

1. Who traditionally serves an LDS misison? Unmarried men age 18+, unmarried women age 19+ (most men and women go before 25), and senior couples  (like my parents!)

2. How long do LDS missionaries serve for? men serve for two years, women 18 months, and senior couples have a couple options for length of time (my parents have always chosen the 23 month missions)

3. How much do LDS missionaries get paid? Guess what? Nothing! We actually volunteer our time and pay our own way on missions. Missions cost about $400/month (very reasonably priced)

4. How do people prepare to serve and LDS mission? What I did, was attended some mission prep classes, and essentially tried to learn the gospel better. I have tried to attend visit an LDS temple weekly (what are LDS temples? Click here). I have also tried to volunteer at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) TRC (Training Resource Center) as often as possible. At the TRC, missionaries in the MTC teach you lessons as they are preparing to enter the mission field. When I start my mission, I will enter the MTC myself for three works and learn how to teach the gospel to others. Following that time, I will fly to Florida and begin working with people there.

5. What is a daily LDS missionary schedule like? On Mormon.org they explain: "A common morning for a missionary might consist of waking up at 6:30 a.m., studying the scriptures, and meeting new people to share the gospel with. The afternoon might include discussing gospel lessons with people they meet and volunteering for service in the community. A good night has them teaching the gospel to interested individuals and helping them learn and keep God's commandments or attending a baptismal service for someone who's decided to join the Church. They return home around 9:30 p.m. and fall into bed, usually exhausted and happy."

6. What do LDS missionaries teach? We teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and invite all people to come unto Him. The gospel of Jesus Christ helps us find eternal happiness, with our families, in this life and the life to come. Like Mormon.org says, "The wisdom of the gospel applies to everything from the purpose of life to how we approach our work, how we relate to others, even how we take care of our bodies. The teachings of Jesus Christ have more power to bring lasting happiness than all the success and pleasure the world can offer. Every message Mormon missionaries share revolves around Him and how His Atonement and ordinances allow us to return to live with our Father in Heaven and our families in heaven."

7. Do LDS missionaries get to "normal everyday" things? I'm unsure how to better define "normal everyday" things besides this.... Serving a mission is a sacrifice. For young men and women on a mission, they cannot have a job (missionary work is their job), cannot date, cannot attend school, usually cannot go onto Facebook or blogs, cannot call home (except twice a year on Christmas and Mother's Day). Missionaries correspond with family members through email once-a-week and with friends through letters. Missionaries should be focused and helping others come unto Christ and want to dedicate their time and energies to doing exactly that. Senior couples have obviously more relaxed rules. For my parents in their mission, they can do anything that they would normally do, but leave their mission boundaries without permission from their Mission President. THE "SACRIFICE" IS WORTH IT!

I would encourage you to go to Mormon.org and read up more about LDS missionary work. I will post soon about WHY I am going on a mission. I am so excited to go!!