Today has been kind of an icky day...ya know? Everybody has one of them every once in a while. I am missing my family a lot, missing other people a lot, having a hard time being engaged in life....just feeling blah. Sometimes it is so easy to get down into a rut--so easy to just not be motivated to do anything. I realized today that strength is making, even forcing, yourself to do something when you very least want to do it. For me, it was getting out of bed today. It was practicing today. It was reminding myself that I am loved today. Once I did all of those things, my day turned around a little. Yes, it is still gray and sleeting outside (NEVER. MOVE. TO. LOGAN. ;) ), my day hasn't been perfect, my knees ache from the weather, and I am way over my head in things to do, but it's okay. It's okay because I chose to be happy, and I pushed my way through the things that I wanted to do the very least today. YOU can do it today, too. While you're at it...be happy tomorrow, and the next day, and the next one after that. Smiling is good for you, laughing keeps you healthy, and being happy keeps you glowing. :)
Monday, April 8, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
all you have to do is ask. :)
This past week has been crazy! Should we start from the beginning? It really all revolves around one thing...housing for next year up at school. haha. So, this past Sunday, my roomates and I were sitting in church, and we realized it was fast Sunday...much too late to have fasted, of course. That evening when I went to bed, I prayed that I would somehow in the next week gain a greater testimony of fasting. Boy did I ever.
In the first week or two of December, I began doing a little research on where my two roomates and I were going to live next year. In the next few days after I started looking, we found this really great apartment and were the very first three put on the waiting list to sign contracts for the upcoming year. I didn't think much more about housing until this past week. The manager of the apartment called and informed me on Monday that she only had two spots available for next year, not three. Did I want them? Was one of us going to leave and live somewhere else? I wasn't really too fond of the idea. She said that we would have to sign our contracts on Wednesday if we wanted the spots. I was super frustrated. I had researched and researched for good apartments, found a really reasonably priced one with some awesome amenities, cheaper utilities...why?! So, I began the hunt again. Nothing was working out..Wednesday was coming...stress...stress stress stress. So, we found another option that wasn't as desirable as the one we were on the list for, but it would do. Tuesday night, before we would sign contracts the next day, we all fasted to make sure we were making the right choice of where to live for the upcoming school year. Wednesday rolls around, and I receive a phone call at about 2:00pm...a third spot opened up at our original apartment. I couldn't even believe it. I immediately closed my eyes and thanked Heavenly Father...I realized at that moment that He had answered my prayer from the previous Sunday. Fasting is a true principle, my friends. I have never been very good at it, and I have vowed to myself from now on that I will do nothing but my best to be better at it. The Lord is so good. He will always answer you. All you have to do is ask. :) Have a BEAUTIFUL day.
In the first week or two of December, I began doing a little research on where my two roomates and I were going to live next year. In the next few days after I started looking, we found this really great apartment and were the very first three put on the waiting list to sign contracts for the upcoming year. I didn't think much more about housing until this past week. The manager of the apartment called and informed me on Monday that she only had two spots available for next year, not three. Did I want them? Was one of us going to leave and live somewhere else? I wasn't really too fond of the idea. She said that we would have to sign our contracts on Wednesday if we wanted the spots. I was super frustrated. I had researched and researched for good apartments, found a really reasonably priced one with some awesome amenities, cheaper utilities...why?! So, I began the hunt again. Nothing was working out..Wednesday was coming...stress...stress stress stress. So, we found another option that wasn't as desirable as the one we were on the list for, but it would do. Tuesday night, before we would sign contracts the next day, we all fasted to make sure we were making the right choice of where to live for the upcoming school year. Wednesday rolls around, and I receive a phone call at about 2:00pm...a third spot opened up at our original apartment. I couldn't even believe it. I immediately closed my eyes and thanked Heavenly Father...I realized at that moment that He had answered my prayer from the previous Sunday. Fasting is a true principle, my friends. I have never been very good at it, and I have vowed to myself from now on that I will do nothing but my best to be better at it. The Lord is so good. He will always answer you. All you have to do is ask. :) Have a BEAUTIFUL day.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
V-day EVERY day. :)
Yeah, yeah, I'm a little late. What can I say? I'm busy sometimes. ;) My inspiration tonight sort of revolves around Valentines day. This past valentines day got me thinking...what if EVERYONE showed love to someone who wasn't expecting it from them on Valentine's day. I mean, what if you gave a candy bar and sweet note to someone that you didn't get along with very well, or someone who didn't get to visit home from college for the weekend. I suppose my point is that I don't think Valentines day should just be for sweethearts and gushy married couples. ;) EVERYONE needs love, not just those with boyfriends and spouses. Now, Valentines day isn't the only day that people need to feel loved...EVERY day people need to feel loved. In the past week, I heard of 4 high school student suicides. I didn't personally know any of them, but my heart ached to think about four precious lives ended at such a young, green age. What if someone had shown them a little love that they needed when they were at their lowest? I know there are a lot of 'what if's' here..but hey, what if YOU saved someones life by showing a little love. You never know what impact you can have even by doing the simplest of acts. So, what's your next move? Who needs YOU?! :) Happy valentines day, every day, friends. <3
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Gift of life everafter and donuts.
Sunday school was amazing today. Okay, fine, this is going to be one of those typical "THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!" sort of blog posts, but I can't really help myself. It's that time of the night, and my blogging desire runneth over. ;) So, this may seem a little long, but I put the story from Sunday school here so that you can understand why I have been so moved today.
There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary in Utah. In this Seminary classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson’s Seminary class.
Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.
One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro.
Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, ‘You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?’
Steve’s answer was, ‘Yeah, I do.’
Then Brother Christianson asked, ‘How many push-ups can you do?’
Steve said, ‘I do about 200 every night.’
’200? That’s pretty good, Steve,’ Brother Christianson said. ‘Do you think you could do 300?’
Steve replied, ‘I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.’
’Do you think you could?’ Again asked Brother Christianson.
’Well, I can try,’ said Steve.
’Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,’ Brother Christianson said. Steve said, ‘Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.’
Brother Christianson said, ‘Good! I need you to do this on Friday.’
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the ro om. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.
Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, ‘Cynthia, do you want a donut?’
Cynthia said, ‘Yes.’
Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?’
Steve said, ‘Sure,’ and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.
Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, ‘Joe do you want a donut?’
Joe said, ‘Yes.’ Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Steve would you do ten push- ups so Joe can have a donut?’ Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.
And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.
Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Then Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Scott do you want a donut?’
Scott’s reply was, ‘Well, can I do my own pushups?’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘No, Steve has to do them.’
Then Scott said, ‘Well, I don’t want one then.’
Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?’
Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, ‘HEY! I said I didn’t want one!’
< BR> Bro. Christianson said, ‘Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.’ And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, ‘Jenny, do you want a donut?’
Jenny said, ‘No.’
Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?’ Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.
By now, the students were beginning to say ‘No’ and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of eff ort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.
During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Bro. Christianson, ‘Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?’
Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, ‘Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.’ And Bro. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, ‘NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!’
Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, ‘No, let him come.’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.’
Steve said, ‘Yes, let him come in.’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?’
’Yes.’
’Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?’ Steve did ten pushups very slowly an d with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.
Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, ‘Linda, do you want a doughnut?
Linda said, very sadly, ‘No, thank you.’
Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?’
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. ‘Susan, do you want a donut?’
Susan, with tears down her face, asked , ‘Bro. Christianson , can I help him?’
Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, ‘No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?’
Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.
One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro.
Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, ‘You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?’
Steve’s answer was, ‘Yeah, I do.’
Then Brother Christianson asked, ‘How many push-ups can you do?’
Steve said, ‘I do about 200 every night.’
’200? That’s pretty good, Steve,’ Brother Christianson said. ‘Do you think you could do 300?’
Steve replied, ‘I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.’
’Do you think you could?’ Again asked Brother Christianson.
’Well, I can try,’ said Steve.
’Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,’ Brother Christianson said. Steve said, ‘Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.’
Brother Christianson said, ‘Good! I need you to do this on Friday.’
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the ro om. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.
Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, ‘Cynthia, do you want a donut?’
Cynthia said, ‘Yes.’
Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?’
Steve said, ‘Sure,’ and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.
Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, ‘Joe do you want a donut?’
Joe said, ‘Yes.’ Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Steve would you do ten push- ups so Joe can have a donut?’ Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.
And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.
Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Then Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Scott do you want a donut?’
Scott’s reply was, ‘Well, can I do my own pushups?’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘No, Steve has to do them.’
Then Scott said, ‘Well, I don’t want one then.’
Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?’
Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, ‘HEY! I said I didn’t want one!’
< BR> Bro. Christianson said, ‘Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.’ And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, ‘Jenny, do you want a donut?’
Jenny said, ‘No.’
Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?’ Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.
By now, the students were beginning to say ‘No’ and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of eff ort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.
During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Bro. Christianson, ‘Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?’
Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, ‘Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.’ And Bro. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, ‘NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!’
Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, ‘No, let him come.’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.’
Steve said, ‘Yes, let him come in.’
Bro. Christianson said, ‘Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?’
’Yes.’
’Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?’ Steve did ten pushups very slowly an d with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.
Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, ‘Linda, do you want a doughnut?
Linda said, very sadly, ‘No, thank you.’
Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?’
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. ‘Susan, do you want a donut?’
Susan, with tears down her face, asked , ‘Bro. Christianson , can I help him?’
Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, ‘No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?’
As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. ‘And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.’ .
When everyone in the classroom heard what the teacher meant by it and realized everything. Steve smiled on the ground where he laid in his own sweat and began to cry.
I guess the only thing I have left to say is, are you going to leave your donut uneaten and untouched on your desk? For how long?
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Bliss [blis]: pure happiness.
Something beautiful is happening; life. What's not to love? I realized at the end of the day today that I am blessed beyond anything that I could possibly ever deserve. I have the sweetest, most genuine family, the best friends ANY girl could ask for, and the knowledge of an all-knowing God who is available to me anytime I am willing to get down on my knees. Days like these are the ones that make all of the bad days so hard to remember, so blurry in my memory. I am filled with pure, innocent bliss. Bring on a new day and 14 hours at the music building. This girl will be smiling. :)
Saturday, January 12, 2013
I'm FREEEEE falling. :)
Free falling? What? Alright. I'll explain myself. I have found that being in college and somewhat independent (I am definitely still dependent on late night talks with my roomies and sobbing phone calls with my mama) means making HUGE, scary, intense, life-changing decisions. Well, I think I've been thinking about everything way too much lately. I have just been questioning every decision that I have made thus far and every decision that I thought I had made for the future. Tonight, I was just talking with one of my greatest friends and roomies, Paige, and I came to a realization due to a little inspiration from her. It is time to jump out of the plane and give God the pull-string to my parachute. Mission? Still a maybe. Utah State next year? Possibly still looking hopeful....man, I have no idea. All I know is that I am going to enjoy every minute of not having to stress for the next little while and have a peaceful ride back down to solid ground where I will finally have enough direction to make some serious decisions. No doubt, I will definitely have to make decisions at some point. But as for now, I think He is giving me a little rest and letting me ease into the new semester with the calming assurance that my answers will come when I am finally at peace enough to receive them. But as for now, bring on the fall baby!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Happiness. For Him :)
I have a favorite quote...I have loved it for a while now. "If you want to be happy, BE." --Ghandi. Is that not the statement of the century? :) Happiness is so personal and personally induced! My mom used to tell me when I was little and often grumpy about my lack of barbies or not being able to play when I wanted that no one could make me happy but ME. I always have better days and an easier time putting a smile on my face when I think about those who don't have nearly as much as I have. I have a beautiful, living family, a knowledge of my God and Savior, an opportunity to be educated, enough clothes to last me 3 weeks without doing laundry (I save it and bring it home ;), a healthy body, food to eat...the list only goes on and on and on and on....you get my idea. Just think, if every single person in the world decided to be happy one day, amazing things could happen. Service would sky-rocket, suicide levels would plumet, people wouldn't feel the need to go out and buy extravagant Christmas gifts to give temporal joy to others...just a thought. :) I am not saying that gifts are bad, but as we near the day that we celebrate our brother Christ's birth, let's remember to be happy for one day for him. Let's be happy and remember that many don't have what we do and to show thanks for it. Christ exemplified his life through service. Let's do the same! Let's pay it forward a little and make the world a little brighter and better in the next few days.
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