Update: RESEARCH!!!

I want to take this time to say thank you for visiting my blog!

There is so much that I want to share with you, and so I'm doing lots of research! ( I LOVE it!) Until I get all of that cultural research done, I'm going to be sharing my day to day 'doings' with you :-)

The more I study, the more I realize how our Bahamian culture is infused with components from Africa and our neighboring Caribbean brothers and sisters. It is amazing! 

I can't wait to break down our dialect, cooking, and overall culture with you guys (I'm learning as I go along, so this will be a journey for all of us).  There is so much that I want to personally try, and as a matter of fact, I've been given the opportunity to learn some Bahamian dishes...now, I CAN cook, but there is NOTHING like spending time in the kitchen with a master!

I am also visiting our archives, and trying to put together my maternal family tree...I'm trying to go as far back as I can because I basically have my paternal side down (they were Loyalists who came to The Bahamas from America seeking to stay loyal to the British crown).  My mother's side of the tree is a bit trickier because it includes freed men, France, and a Cherokee wife, as well as migration to The Bahamas somewhere along the line...lol.

So far, I can say that I have found a link to the 1920's and I'm drafting my letter to the Diocese of that district so that I can possibly get further information via church records.

I can't wait to share all that I can with you guys...this is going to be an interesting journey, and it would be awesome to have you along for the ride!

Hands up in anticipation, heart full of expectation

xoxo Jenna

A Bit of Encouragement...

We are basically at the end of January, and these past few days I have been reflecting on and assessing my goals from the previous years.  I realize that I came into the New Year with momentum that was charged with the anticipation of what these next few months have to offer. Because of this, I found myself unstable in thoughts, actions, and even speech (I was carrying myself too hard and expecting instantaneous results from my decisions, which sometimes even pulled me into a depression.)

If one thing didn’t work out, I would step away and try something else…I wasn’t  nurturing any gift to give them the chance to bloom…I was not even paying attention to the seasons – seasons which would have helped me realize what to work on and when.  I came to the conclusion that if this is how I feel at times, there must be someone else out there who probably succumbs to this frustration too and I wanted to encourage you.

1)      Success doesn’t happen overnight – it just looks that way because you never see what it takes to get there…in my opinion, success is the process and not the end result. If you are diligent enough to see your process through THAT is success.

2)      Sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut.  Have you ever been so excited about a dream, vision, goal or idea that you just HAVE to tell someone? Sometimes it’s best if you don’t.  There are dream killers out there who will either try to persuade you put it off or let it go.  Which leads me to the next point:

3)      Surround yourself with diverse people. There is NO WAY that you should be with people who agree with EVERYTHING you say.  You need different points of view – and people who don’t mind playing devil’s advocate to help you see things you probably would have never seen  - these people brighten your horizon and help you to not be bias.  They aren’t the ones who blatantly say “NO.”, they are the ones who say: “Okay…so if you do this, then what happens when THIS happens?

4)      Believe in yourself. So many times people only believe what a person says about them.  We must believe that our thoughts and values are important to the most important person in our lives – us. This isn’t advocating vanity, but we must learn to appreciate, accept, and celebrate who we are…and trust that God made no mistakes when He created us.

5)      Dare to dream. I remember when I used to be afraid of dreaming big. I feared the fact that I didn’t have the finances, the charisma, the degrees etc. and then I realized that God didn’t call me because I was perfect – He called me because I was available.  So, I have written down EVERYTHING that I want to do in life, inclusive of business plans, mission trips, and family adventures because dreaming keeps you excited about life!

6)      Never give up.  You can take as many breaks as you want to.  You can catch your breath. You can even take time to gather your thoughts and calibrate your next step, but don’t you EVER give up. You cannot afford to fail, and if it doesn’t work out, try again. Don’t ever give up on yourself, your dreams, or your goals. 

Hands up in concord, heart full of well-being,

xoxo Jenna