oh how He loves us

i feel so beyond grateful and blessed to be a member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. the road has certainly been a rough one, but i know that i have always been led in the right direction. being a member of this church can be difficult at times, not because i can't keep the commandments, but because it means holding myself to a much higher standard. and when i fall short, i get...

Read More

lately

i've been thinking a lot lately..uh oh..and i am just so thankful for the gospel. my life has hit quite a few big bumps in the last year. if i didn't have the gospel i don't know what would have happened or how i would have reacted. i know that having the knowledge i do and especially being able to go to the temple helps me so much. there are a few times where i know i would have strayed from the straight and narrow, and i would've strayed far. if i wasn't temple worthy, i can guarantee...

Read More

Gone Girl

if you are looking for a crazzzyyyy good book that will keep you guessing the entire time, than look no further than Gone Girl!  it was probably one of the best books i've read in a really long time. i kept thinking i knew what would happen next, but i had no clue. this book had my mind racing and i couldn't put it down.  it made me mad, happy, sad, and a whole bunch of other emotions. after reading a few mediocre books, i kinda gave up on finding a new, great book for...

Read More

currently...

currently - supposed to be writing my humanities essay/project. that just doesn't seem like it's going to happen anytime soon. when's it due? tomorrow in class. will i have time to finish it by then? sure, if i don't sleep. i have work at 5, so i may just skip the sleeping thing tonight. i don't know why, i just can't seem to focus. oh well. yesterday was my dad's birthday. he would have been 65....

Read More

n e w

it was definitely time for a much overdue change.  i deleted my old Facebook and made an entirely new one.  why? cuzzzz, out with the old and in with the new! but forrealzzzzz... because, my life has gone through so many changes and i felt like i really just needed a clean slate. there isn't much to it besides that.  i wanted a way to get rid of all that negative crap that pops up, a way to unfriend those people who just bring me down, and a way to get all the photos of...

Read More

hello again

i don't really know why i stopped blogging...or writing at all. it has always been my outlet and my way of dealing with stress. whatever, i'll get back into it i'm sure. i hope.. everything just seems to escalate sometimes.  i'll be doing really well, and all the sudden..boom! it hits me all at once. like school. when the semester started, i threw myself into my classes much more than i ever had before. and now, i'm starting to fade. but, i can't. i need to keep it up and keep doing...

Read More

hello?

the past two weeks have been dragging and draining, to say the least. i feel like i'm just holding on by a string and at any moment i could snap. it just seems like life is becoming too overwhelming and stressful and i'm not sure how to handle it this time. usually i can handle it really well, but this time is different. i have so much homework everyday, and the pressure is really on to find a new job and start working a heck of a lot more. i feel like i'm being worked really hard, but...

Read More

wise words.

life lately has been a bit overwhelming. school is crazy. so much homework, i feel like that's all i do lately. but oh well #collegestatus as you can tell, i kind of gave up on that 30 day challenge thing..oh well. i don't have time for that right now. as overwhelming and tough this week has been, there are still so many things that i'm grateful for. last weekend i was able to go to bradenton for...

Read More

likes // dislikes

>> ten likes and dislikes. not sure if i'm supposed to do ten of each or just 5 and 5. i'll see how many i can think of. let's start with the dislikes. 1. banana's. i only like them in my cheerios or smoothies, i just don't like the way they taste or smell or the texture..yuck. 2. indie music. i can appreciate it, but i don't like listening to it at all. there are very few songs that i like. 3. gen eds. i just want to take the classes that pertain to my major...not all these other...

Read More

basic

this whole challenge thing starts now, i guess. a few basic things about myself : > i've lived in florida my whole life. > i have 5 older brothers. > i went to high school in key west sophomore-senior year. > i grew up catholic, but i'm mormon now - part of the story. > my number one goal right now is to swim with some dang whale sharks. > my family means everything to me and i would do anything for any of them. > the ocean is my drug, i can't go very long...

Read More

30 days.

so, i'm not going to start it yet. i'll start it tomorrow when it isn't midnight.. i need to get into the whole writing thing again. plus i think it'll help me a bit.  so i'm sorry if i'm posting toooo much haha. kinda. not really. hehe. xoxo, jacquelyn...

Read More

normality?

i think it's about time to get back into the normal swing of things..we'll see how it goes.  these past two months have been the longest months of my life..like ever. but it's okay. i'm working on things and trying to get myself back to a healthy and normal place.  classes start in a week, and you could say i'm dreading it..a lot. but that's okay, it'll definitely keep me busy! and i'm...

Read More

m i a

i've been a little mia the past few weeks..sorry. so much has been going on though.  i had classes, i work, and i've had a lot of family stuff goin on. i'm totally slackin' in the 'writing/blogging' department. but oh well, i'll catch up eventually. my dad died june 30th, so it's been a really rough month. i haven't written anything since and i'm not really sure what to even write about....

Read More

numero uno

i know, i know...i'm a day late and a dollar short. but my dad doesn't know how to use the internet, so he'll never know! alright, sappy Father's Day post starts now... ..well, i'm not sure where to even start! my dad has truly been my best friend since the very start. i was homeschooled until 7th grade, so i got to spend a lot of time with my parents, and all my family.  at the time, i hated...

Read More

"too much"

i don't really like being praised for joining the church. it was a huge deal, don't get me wrong. but it was not "too much." sure, at the time it was really hard. and i didn't think anything could ever be worse. but looking back, that trial made me so much stronger, and despite the difficulty of it, i never once questioned my decision or even considered backing out. 

i strongly believe that if we have faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's plan for us, than we should not have a single reason to say no or to postpone anything. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been the biggest blessing in my life. it has helped me so much, with many things. i am grateful for the people that have helped me through this journey, and i really do appreciate the people who support me and are proud of me for my choice. 
but i do not like being told that "it must have been awful" and "how did you do it?" and "i don't think i would have been able to do that!"
because 1) it was awful, yes. but it made me stronger and it prepared me so much for the trials that i have had to face since then. 2) i did it because i had faith. plain and simple. i had a testimony and i was converted to the gospel. 3) if you don't think you could make it through, then how do you make it through the current trials you are going through? it was hard yes, but i know that my Savior lives and came to atone for my sins. i am so grateful for the huge sacrifice that was made for me, specifically.

it takes great strength to make such a large change in one's life. change is hard and can be very scary. religion is such a broad yet specific topic. making a change of religion, most of the time, requires us to change our lifestyle a bit. 
it is hard enough to make such a huge change on your own. but to do it despite what your family, friends, or even people you don't know might say, that makes it an even greater challenge. i really hate calling it that. it is pretty accurate though. it is a challenge, just like anything else. trials are just that, challenges. and even though not everyone will be happy with the choices we make, if they love you, they will accept you, it may not be right away, but they will eventually.

my family did not accept my decision, nor did they support it. it has taken almost a year to get to the point where we can openly talk about my religion without it turning into a huge argument. but i would not change a single moment of it. and now, they accept and fully support all i do, even if it has to do with my religion.
i am who i am today, because of what i had to go through. i have the strength that i do, because of what i had to deal with. i have such a strong testimony, and i know that i have truly been converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ because of all the things that i have had to overcome. 

struggles, trials, and challenges are real. they will happen to us no matter what. i know that if that wasn't my struggle, something else would have been. if i didn't go through that, i would not be where i am now. i am so grateful for all my trials, but that one specifically, because it set the tone for what was going to come next. 

if we can't do the simple things like have faith, trust, and hope in our Heavenly Father, how in the world would we be expected to act upon our promptings? how would we be expected to overcome our difficulties? 

it really is quite simple. pray. keep that line of communication open at all times. it is so important to have that line to Heavenly father. read your scriptures. He doesn't ask much of us, but He does ask that we read. it is how we receive most of our answers. have faith. having faith can be very tough, especially when it seems like you have no faith left, but i know that if we can push through those hard times with a strong and steady faith, we will come through on the other side. and we will be much stronger for it.

Heavenly Father will never lets us down. He is the one person that is there for us 1000% of the time. He cannot and will not lead us astray. sometimes it seems that His way is much longer and much more difficult, but that is because we need to gain strength and we need to learn some more things along the way.

i know that the things i went through/are going to go through are tough. but i also know that my faith is unwavering. as long as i am doing all that i can, as long as i can push myself to be better each and every day, i will be blessed and i will be able to overcome all that comes my way.

He will never ask "too much" of us, He will push us, yes. but it will never break us, and it will never be something we cannot do or cannot handle.



xoxo,

jacquelyn

Read More

tfios

i'm not going to lie.. i was a bit underwhelmed. don't get me wrong, it was a great book! i just don't think it lived up to all the hype. i may be the only one who thinks so, but that's alright. i did enjoy the story, and i really enjoyed the humor. i think it had an amazing point to get across. love shouldn't be held back, even if you think you or the other person will get hurt. love is something...

Read More

self worth

often times, we don't give ourselves enough credit.  we are beautifully, wonderfully, and fearfully made. { Psalm 139: 14 } God doesn't make mistakes. no, we aren't perfect, but we are perfectly imperfect.  Heavenly Father does not expect us to be perfect, but he does expect us to try our hardest. i know that i haven't always given myself enough credit, i haven't always thought i was worthy or good enough.  we are our worst critics, which is good and bad. it's good to be...

Read More

patience: a precious and rare virtue

so, i'm starting this new thing. every month, i'm going to try and work on something new. i've been trying to work on kindness lately, so i decided to just start fresh, since it's a new month and all. patience. i really do struggle with this, quite a bit. how much i struggle depends on what it's about and what it is that i'm doing/waiting for.  life can be hard, and at times, overwhelming. it doesn't always seem fair, but life isn't really supposed to be fair or easy. we are constantly...

Read More