It's a wonderful thing when I am able to get Friday off and we have no class on Monday- so this week, I returned to my roots and surprised everyone for Valentine's Day/birthdays/President's Day/just-for-fun day!
It's been a blast!!! And it was nice to kind of have my own little spring break ;]
Dad was the only one who knew I was coming, so he came and picked me up from the airport and we started our way home. We reached Dallas right as my brother should have been leaving for work. Just to make sure, I called home and asked if I could talk to Mom. I was told she was just leaving, but would call me when she got back. So, we took the back way home in order to get there before Mom got back. I took that opportunity to surprise my little sisters (there was lots of screaming and hugging) and enlist them to help surprise my mother. She came back and we captured the little gem at the top of this post. :] Then, that night, I got to surprise my little brother when he came home from work. SO fun! But it didn't stop there! Every Sunday, our family has a skype/google hangout date with everyone. So when my older brother called for our regular meeting, he also got a surprise when I was sitting at home! So much fun!!! :]
Today, we went to church and I got to help teach in primary! The class I helped with had some of my three-year-olds from before I left for BYU (and now ... they're old!) And I got to help one of the most amazing ladies EVER, so that was awesome, too. :]
One of my little sisters gave a talk on music and I got to hear it and the other one taught during Sunday School, so I got to hear that as well! It was so cool!! I picked a good weekend to come/my sisters picked a good weekend to be born.
Where did February come from?? Sorry I haven't posted in so long ... I've been super busy with classes- here's a typical day for me:
Sleep (as long as humanly possible while still completing all important tasks)
Awake and eat breakfast (sometimes, just a Nutrigrain bar, but hey- it's better than nothing
Rush to class/work (good thing I only live seven minutes from campus)
After class/work is over, rush to the other one
Take a lunch break and eat some food (hopefully, I had time the night before to make something so I don't have to spend money)
Do homework- study for a test- read in a textbook- practice
Rush to final class/work shift for the day
Meander home to finish more homework, read emails, and get ready for tomorrow!
Unfortunately, blogging is not on that list ... but because I am ahead on homework at the moment, I can pause and enjoy letting the creative juices of my soggy brain flow!
Since it is almost Valentine's Day, it's time for my traditional Valentine's Day challenge! This year will be a little different from in years past, though I still intend to write a letter to my future spouse and encourage all my single friends to do so as well!
This year's Valentine's Day challenge is all about love. There are lots of small things in every day that demonstrate the love which the Savior has for us- there's a song that I absolutely love which talks about the Savior's love for us.
I Feel My Savior's Love
I feel my Savior's love
In all the world around me.
His spirit warms my soul
Through everything I see.
I feel my Savior's love;
Its gentleness enfolds me.
And when I kneel to pray,
My heart is filled with peace.
I feel my Savior's love,
And know that He will bless me.
I offer Him my heart;
My shepherd He will be.
I'll share my Savior's love
By serving others freely.
In serving, I am blessed;
In giving, I receive.
Chorus:
He knows I will follow him,
Give all my love to him.
I feel my Savior's love,
The love he freely gives me.
(Words: Ralph Rodgers Jr., 1936-1996; K. Newell Dayley, b.
1939; and Laurie Huffman, b. 1948)
The Savior blesses us everyday because of His love for us. The beautiful trees and mountains that mark the landscape, the glorious sunrise, the little wisps of wind on a hot summer's day, the tiny birds that hop through the garden, the lovely butterflies that land on our shoulder- all of these creations from our Lord and Savior testify of his love for us. He has done so much out of love for us and even gave the ultimate sacrifice because of it. I can't even imagine loving someone that much (maybe that's why I'm still single ... ).
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/127789708150780349/
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help fill the world with love! In order to show our appreciation for the love which our Savior has for us, share His love with others by serving them. Small acts of kindness go a long way! Even just a simple smile can brighten someone's day! Sit with someone who's all alone during lunch; compliment someone on their outfit; have a conversation with the person behind you in line; tell someone they are loved. If there's only one person who feels a little more love in their life from me issuing this challenge, then I will have done my part and helped to spread a little love.
(This post is an assignment for my Foundations of Multicultural Education class.)
Jerald and Loraine Anderson
I chose this picture to represent my grandmother and her influence on me. My grandmother passed away in the early 80s from cancer, so obviously I have never walked with her on this Earth in a physical body. However, I have felt her influence in my life many times and I can pinpoint specific moments when I know that my grandmother is with me. My mother always used to talk about my grandmother's love of learning and how smart she was. I wanted to be smart just like my grandmother in heaven. I know that she and I had a relationship in heaven because I can feel it whenever I think about her. I admire her love of learning and as such strive to take advantage of all the learning experiences which I have the opportunity to enjoy. Also represented in this picture is my love of family and belief that we can one day be reunited with our loved ones in the spirit world. My grandfather passed away just over five years ago and I know he and my grandmother are happy and reunited now just as they were in this picture on their wedding day.
Cougareat Food Court Logo
I chose to include where I work as part of my cultural diorama because of all I have learned while working there that has helped to shape my character. I have been a part of the management for about three years and in that amount of time I have learned a lot about respect, communication, sacred resources, stewardship, and responsibility (just to name a few). Because of the experiences which I have had there as a member of the management team, I have been able to pinpoint what kind of impact I want to have on those whom I come in contact with and how I want to be viewed by others. Certain other members of the management team have been examples which I have looked up to because of the influence which they have on others and the respect which they have for others and their values.
Marching Band Competition- Megs and Me
In high school, I was a part of the marching band and learned A LOT. I joined my freshman year and remember how much I hated band camp- it was SO hard and I felt like I wasn't getting it and I was doing everything wrong. Junior year, I quit. After quitting, I realized how much I missed the music and how much the joy really was worth all of the hard work that went into each show, each performance, each set. I learned to value hard work and endurance for the reward that comes after. Our directors had a vision for our band to become one of the greatest in the state. We attended intense competitions that pushed our small band to its limits. Our band program was not made up of a lot of people. Our principal put so much more emphasis on the sports than any of the arts programs and they all suffered from it. Despite this challenge from forces beyond their control, our directors had instilled in us that we could still be the best band in the state. No matter what others say or think about you, the most important thing is that you be your best self. We learned that you can set your goals however high you want as long as you are willing to work hard enough to reach them. (After marching season of junior year concluded, I rejoined for my senior year.)
In our culture, we generally set goals every new year of things that we want to accomplish that year. I am a huge fan of goals and accomplishing new things in life! Goals help us to have direction and progress rather than remain stagnant with no purpose. I hate when that first challenge to your goal comes and people just give up. I once heard from a guy who was a personal trainer at a gym that he sees more people in his gym in January and February than almost any other month. Why do we give up? Why are we so good during the first months of the year and then we maybe forget one day or purposely disregard our goals and never get back into it.
"In our journey on earth, we discover that life is made up of challenges—they just differ from one person to another. We are success oriented, striving to become “wonder women” and “super men.” Any intimation of failure can cause panic, even despair. Who among us cannot remember moments of failure? ... Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final."
- Thomas S. Monson
No matter what your goals are for the New Year, be the best you that you can possibly be- it's NEVER too late to change. And there's never a bad time to restart goals- if you fall off the horse, get right back up and start riding again. Winston Churchill once said "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it if the courage to continue that counts."
So some of my personal goals this year:
1) Be healthy! We're supposed to be good stewards over all that God has entrusted to us and certainly our bodies are one of those things. I don't think I'm a junk food addict or a couch potato, but there are things I don't like about my body and I want to change those things.
2) Be a voice for good! The great and terrible thing about the internet is that it gives everyone a voice- not everyone has to listen to a specific voice because there are so many of them out there. There are lots of opinions, misconceptions, ideas, and thoughts out there that can be for good or for bad. I want to add my voice to those for good and help to bring a little bit of happiness into the lives of others. My voice alone will not drown out the bad, but together with other voices for good, it can help to lessen the influence of the bad voices in the world.
If you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will succeed. Be brave and know that there are people to help you- all you have to do is ask. Sorry this post is so late ... but better late than never!
The brand new, oh-so-amazing Round Covered Baker from Pampered Chef that I just received! (So excited to make soup in this bad boy!)
AND
This video.
Okay, so these two things bring lots of laughter, happiness, warmth, and smiles into my life. I mean, what is better than sitting inside on a cold wintry night with a nice bowl of warm soup, snuggled up in your blanket, watching Christmas movies? Or listening to Christmas music and enjoying the silent lights of the Christmas tree?
This season is all about comfort and joy, but in a different way. Last night I participated in a Messiah sing-a-long on BYU Campus. It was lots of fun and my roommates and I definitely have some good memories from it. But that words and message behind the Messiah are so powerful that I couldn't help but marvel at what we celebrate during this Christmas season. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas day and He can bring us more comfort and joy than we could ever imagine. We can be instruments in his hands to bring to pass his glorious and eternal purposes. There are so many people we can touch, so many lives that we can change by just having a Christmas spirit all year round and sharing the joy of Christ with them. Christ was born to die so that we may live again. That statement alone should bring us exuberant and overwhelming joy! Joy to the world because the Lord came and died for us! In accomplishing this task, he suffered every pain and hurt imaginable. He was human, just like us. He knows how we feel and because he knows how we personally feel, he can comfort us better than any other being on this Earth. He knows how it feels to be betrayed. He knows how it feels to be completely alone. He knows how it feels to lose loved ones and family members. He knows how it feels to not be trusted. And because He loves us, He knows how it feels to watch those we love suffer. He knows. How cool is that?! How I wish that everyone could hear this message, feel God's love, and know that He really is there! It brings such joy to my life to know that I can feel His spirit with me all day, every day.
I testify that He lives, that He loves us, and that He will comfort us. Like a friend with open arms, He waits and beckons "Come, follow me." Let nothing you dismay during this holiday season or anytime throughout the year because Christ is always there for you. And that's really comforting. :]
I think this song is funny, but emphasizes two main points. One- Christmas has really become more about the money to be made and commercialism. Two- It's starting sooner every year. (But mostly it's just funny)
I'm one of those people who hates when I see Christmas paraphernalia out before Thanksgiving. Not because I'm a Scrooge, but because it's never the right Christmas stuff. I would love it if nativity scenes were sold all year-round at major retailers. As a collector of nativities, trust me- they are not easily found in shopping centers year-round. I feel like I always see stockings and Santa and garlands and Christmas trees out long before any nativities. I know lots of people have said it, but I'll say it again because Christmas has become so commercialized. We need to remember the CHRIST in CHRISTmas.
If it weren't for Christ, our lives would be entirely different. He created this Earth, the beautiful landscapes and animals which we pay money to see (Been to the zoo lately? Or a national park?). He presented the plan of happiness which allows us to potentially return to live with Him someday, and He is also the main part of that plan- He died to satisfy justice and allow God to exercise mercy. How can we only remember Him once a year??
Growing up, I remember my sweet mother leaving the Holy Family part of her ceramic nativity on the mantel all year. It never came down. Baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Joseph were always there right next to the clocks and pictures. One year, I asked her why. No one else had their nativities up and they were a Christmas thing, weren't they? She taught me that it's because we remember the Savior all year. He is not just the reason for the season- He's the reason for everything. Why can't we remember to honor Him more than just one month out of the year?
I have a wooden decorative piece that I put up just recently and it says "The magic of Christmas is not in the presents but in His presence." His presence can be with us all year round. He doesn't leave us on our own for eleven months out of the year and come around for December to celebrate. He does not leave us comfortless. He is with us always. He loves us and remembers us all year round. We should do the same for Him.
This song has been stuck in my head since like ... Thursday. And I've thought a lot about it and I want to share it with you, dear readers. This song is called Brave, originally sung by Sara Bareilles. This cover is by BYU Vocal Point.
When this song first started making it's rounds through my brain, I thought that I've never really had to be brave and bravery is just another word used to describe awesome people who do amazing things that could very easily backfire or not turn out so well. The image that I usually think of is either a firemen diving into a blazing building to save the old woman trapped on the second floor or the soldier leaping from the fox hole with the image of his family burning in his mind.
But then I started thinking about the fact that it was Thanksgiving and I should be grateful for other's bravery. And then I started coming up with all these wonderful examples of bravery that have allowed me to be where I am today.
In Search of Freedom
The pilgrims, obviously, are something we associate with Thanksgiving. They wanted more than what England was offering them. They acted on bravery to cross the Atlantic and settle the new world. Many of them lost loved ones and many of them passed away. But all of them were brave enough to leave what was familiar in favor of the unknown for the sake of a new world.
For King and Country
I've already mentioned the image of the soldier going to battle, but I truly am grateful for all of those brave men and women who serve their country. Whether they're from the same country as me or not, to put the place you live before your own life is such a courageous act that it deserves to be mentioned twice. In the future, there will come a day when we no longer need to defend ourselves from outsiders, but until that day comes, I'm grateful that we have valiant people who are there to answer the call to arms.
To Be the Example
It's so easy to just do what everyone else is doing, and so hard sometimes to do what you know to be right. Goodness knows that there are countless examples out there of people who I am and am not familiar with who stand up for what they know to be right in the face of friends. It reminds me of Neville from Harry Potter. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.
For the Sake of Others
My mother's family is from Denmark. One of my ancestors (an umpteenth-great grandmother) showed her bravery when she joined the LDS church and then journeyed to America to meet the Saints. Her father disowned her and told her never to return after she was baptized. She can't have known then how much her actions have affected my entire family. She knew that the church was true and she knew what she needed to do because of it. The threats of others didn't stop her from doing what she knew she needed to do and because of her, thousands have been blessed- all of her posterity and all they come in contact with have the opportunity to feel the joy that comes from the gospel of Christ. For the Lack of Wisdom
Joseph Smith, a young boy of 14, desperately wanted to know which of all the religions of the day was right. He was directed by James that if he lacked wisdom, he should ask of God and God would answer him. He awoke one spring morning and bravely knelt in a clearing and asked the question he was seeking an answer to. Boy did he receive an answer (click here). After receiving that answer, he maintained that what had happened was true and he bravely refused to deny it throughout his life. He brought forth The Book of Mormon. He reestablished the Lord's church on the Earth as it was in the days of Christ. Through him the ordinances of the gospel were restored. He led the Saints from place to place, from persecution to persecution, while still never denying the Lord and His purposes. And in the final days of his life, he was led to the place where he knew he would die, and with his brother he was martyred all for the sake of the gospel. If that's not brave, then I don't know what is.
Bravery plays a very important part in shaping not only the world but also our daily lives. Think about all the people from your family history. If just one of them had decided to not do something instead of actually doing it or vice versa, how different would your life be today? If instead of being brave they simply went with the flow and did nothing, how would your life be changed?
Everyone is brave. For the soldier, brave is getting in that truck, or on that plane, or boat. For the mother, brave is sticking with it on those hard days. For the depressed soul, brave is getting out of bed and choosing to live another day. For the lonely college student, brave is saying hi and speaking up. For the small child, brave is saying goodbye for a few hours to go to kindergarten. For the proud sibling, brave is saying you're sorry. For the humble servant of the Lord, brave is saying yes no matter what He asks of you.
Everyone is brave. Everyone has challenges they face, mountains they have to climb. Brave is climbing those mountains.
