The Jen Young

Hi.  I’m Jen Young. One of thousands of us, actually.  I’m not an egomaniac… but since most variations of Jen Young or Jennifer Young  are taken, I am now TheJenYoung.

Actually, “The Jen” thing started several years ago.  At a meeting where introductions were being made, everyone was being introduced as “so-and-so, the fill-in-the-title.”  Because I wore a wide variety of hats at that job, no one could really come up with a concise “title” to describe what I did.  So, we just joked that I was “The Jen.”  Every staff needs one, really.  Don’t they?

What do I do? When we ask “Who is that?” we often mean “what do they do?”  So, what do I do?  A little of everything, really.

First and foremost I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and I’ve spent most of my life serving in ministry in some capacity.  I have done everything from clean the toilets to preach to paint the walls to lead worship to bulk mailings to teach classes to keep the books, and everything else in between.  About the only position I have not filled at one time or another is head pastor.  I am really a jack of all trades, because I am called to be a #2 leader.  It took me a long time to appreciate the ability to be capable at many things, but not called to lead and serve in just one.

Ministry isn’t always the most financially lucrative of vocations, so I’ve also had a wide variety jobs over the years.  I’ve worked in a t-shirt printing shop, done roofing and painting for a general contractor, run the kitchen at a youth camp, done design and layout for a magazine, trained students in cognitive skills learning center, and a lot of administrative work in various settings.  Currently I am the general manager of a real estate office.  I’ve learned something valuable in each and every “odd job” I’ve had, and it’s amazing where some obscure experience in the past ends up being very useful!

Interests and Passions: In no particular order… worship, wine, athletics, organization, leadership, teaching, technology, real estate, politics, humor, music, the prophetic, relationships, the Word of God, health & medicine, and of course good food and good people!

What’s with the lame website? My old site wasn’t well kept, and the blog posts were sporadic and mediocre.  So I decided to blow the whole thing up, content and all, and start from scratch.  If I waited until I had everything perfect and complete on a new site, I would never launch it.  So here we are.  The default Wordpress theme and nothing else.

Consider this like your first apartment… where you ate Ramen Noodles by the case,  sat in plastic patio furniture and slept on a mattress on the floor.  The place might have been really bare, but those were great times with great people.  We can work on rest of the place as we go, but don’t wait to start living!

Why are you doing this? Our time is valuable, and most of us have far more options of how to spend it than we could ever take advantage of.   Honestly, the main purpose of this blog is personal.   Discipline, continual learning, and sharpening my communication skills.  But, one of my gifts is teaching, so if what I have to share can help instruct or encourage… or at perhaps at least entertain you, then so much the better.

I’m really glad you’re here, and really impressed you’ve continued reading this far!  Blessings to you, and I hope you find something here that brings a little light to your day.

Until next time,

~Jen