Because of Him and 23 hours!!!

Because of him, no goodbye lasts forever and I can spend time with these wonderful people again.

also ...

ANDY GRAMMER IN 23 HOURS!!!!!!!  (not that I'm excited or anything ... )

This is one of my favorites- mostly because of one line "I'm looking for a love that's still alive and well in rocking chairs".  I mean really- how cute is that?!

Siblings and A Book

It's here!  My real live book which I wrote and illustrated!

As an assignment for my music education class, we had to choose a children's song and make a book out of it.  I chose "Bobby Shaftoe" and came up with a story to go with it and wrote some extra verses and voila!  I love it so much!!!

Apparently, it's also sibling's day again.  (Didn't this happen last year, too?  How often do I have to tell my siblings I love them?!)  So, a few commemoratory (is that a word?) stories/pictures celebrating those four crazies who I grew up with and couldn't live without.

One of my favorite things about my little brother (younger?  I guess he's not little and is in fact taller than me now as are all of my siblings except one ... ) is his hugs.  My little brother gives the best bear hugs in the whole world!  My last trip home, I surprised him by waiting for him after he got off work and surprised him with ... well, my presence.  His reaction to seeing me always makes me feel so important and loved.  Don't know how I'm going to live without this kid for two years while he serves his mission.  England, I hope you're ready for this boy!

Throw back to the first time I went back home after moving to Provo.  Saying I was ecstatic about seeing my sisters is an understatement.  I was absolutely positively thrilled!  We've had so many adventures and good times and I wouldn't trade them for anything!  I remember when my dad and brothers would go to Priesthood session of conference, we would throw a hen party and make brownies and watch Princess Diaries together.  So much fun!

My true partners in crime

My big brother and I have an interesting relationship.  We've spent most of our lives together as in, he's always been in mine since I was born and I've been in most of his.  One of my favorite stories about my big brother and I is only remembered by my mother and a photograph.  We had just moved to our new house and my little brother was only a few months old.  Jorel and I were outside playing with sidewalk chalk.  My mother looked outside and caught us drawing on each other instead of the sidewalk.  It was truly a hilarious sight, according to her.  Our entire arms and legs were covered in pink and blue and purple chalk.  I'm sure it was a blast.  And then when we were older, high school was more of an "ignore my annoying little sister" time for my brother ... but here's to more days of coloring together with chalk and less of ignoring each other!

An Andy Grammer A Day Keeps the Sadness Away

Andy Grammer is doing a concert at BYU next week!!  SO pumped!!  My roommates and I are all going in celebration of the last day of class, graduation, and because we love Andy. So, to help the internet world understand why Andy Grammer is so amazing, here's a "one-week-till-we-get-to-see-Andy Grammer!" post with one of my favorite Grams.

A Short Piece of Prose

One of my classes (my least favorite- Foundations of Literacy) is what's called a blended learning course.  Half of the time, we meet actually in a classroom and the other half of the time we complete online learning modules instead of going to class.  This week's topic is writing.  I was working on my module and got to a point in the lesson where the instructions were to simply write.  "Take the next 20 minutes and write. It can be a poem, a letter, or an essay--the style and topic do not matter. Write about something that is important to you."  

The following is the product of that experience.

Your Arms

            Your arms are not like other people’s arms.  Other arms are all skin and elbows and hair.  Some of them are skinny, and some of them are flappy like mine.  Some of them are big and bulging.  But none of them are like yours.  Yours are covered with strength and support.  The muscles inside of them are made of warmth and comfort.  They’re prickly with love instead of hair.  Other arms wrap you up with hugs and shoulders.  Your arms make a home where I am always welcome and can feel the joyful sensation of belonging.  Your arms are attached to your hands.  Just like your arms, your hands are not like other people’s hands either.  Other people’s hands can be dry and scratchy like when you’re washed them too much.  Other’s people’s hands can be slippery and hard to hold on to like they’ve just bathed them in oil.  Other’s people’s hands can be grabby, always searching for something to snatch up and cling to.  Other’s people’s hands can be shy, never actually touching yours but wishing they could and wanting you to make the first move.  Other people’s hands can hurt.  They form fists and slaps and pointing fingers, their only intention to bring pain and take away pleasure.  But your hands don’t do that.  Your hands are not perfect in appearance, but in them is the fulfillment of perfection.  Your hands are always inviting, waiting for me to accept your invitation.  You have taken my hand in your many times, but never forced me to keep holding on.  But I have.  I’ve held on so many times through the bad and the ugly.  I’ve tried to hold on, despite the messages of the world and the thoughts that try to penetrate my faith.  Why are you still holding on?  Why don’t you just let go?  Why don’t you just do what you know will bring results?  Why do you dare to think that there’s something better for you?  These thoughts are hard sometimes and it takes me a while to push them away.  While they’re in my mind, I can’t move forward, but you’re patient with me.  You know that it’s hard for me, because you’ve done it before.  Fighting past the thoughts, I can continue to endure and press forward with you leading me on.  Your imperfectly perfect hands and arms are not the only parts of you.  My favorite is your eyes.  I don’t know what color they are.  Maybe blue like mine?  Probably brown; the same kind of brown that just makes you feel close and warm.  But even if they’re not really brown, I do know one thing I’ll find in them: love.  When one day I can see your face again and look into your eyes as you look into mine, I’ll see your excitement that I kept holding on, even though it was hard.  I’ll see your joy from all the times I didn’t falter and none of the disappointment for the times I did.  I’ll see your love that has been there for me all along and that has made me feel important, even when no one else said I was.  I’ll feel the home of your embrace, celebrating the light that envelopes me, never again to leave.

https://istandallamazed.wordpress.com/tag/comfort/

He Loves You Because of You and He Needs You

(Be warned, this one is rather lengthy.)

Thinking about divine nature always reminds me of these lyrics, which I imagine would be how the Savior feels about us whenever we feel down.  “The greatest gift I could give to you, is if you could see yourself the way I do.”

image taken from http://findingstrengthwithin.blogspot.com/

We have so much potential to grow and become better.  At this current moment, our souls are filled with sorrows, our bodies with weaknesses, and at times, our lives can be filled with sin.  But we have the potential to become better, no matter what state we are currently in.  Not only in this life, but the gospel teaches us that we also have potential in the next life to become like Gods if we endure the trials and challenges of this life and remain true to the truths of the gospel.

“There is something of divinity within each of you.  You have such tremendous potential with that quality as part of your inherited nature.  Every one of you was endowed by your Father in Heaven with a tremendous capacity to do good in the world.” (Gordon B. Hinckley)

Heavenly Father knows us- we were with Him before we came to Earth, He is with us now, and, if we live faithfully, we will live with Him in the eternities.  He knows us even better than we know ourselves, because He knows what we have the potential to become.  Because he knows us so well, he has catered a plan, specific and individual to each of us, that will help us to realize who we are and to become the person He knows we can be.

image taken from http://www.ldsliberty.org/the-moral-question-of-government/pre-mortal-life-5/

Stop for a moment and think about who you are right now.  Think about the relationships you have, where you live.  What are the experiences that led you there?  Without just one of those experiences, would you be where you are now?  How can we deny that those experiences were not crafted and put into our lives by a loving Father who is helping us to reach our divine potential?

Image from pinterest

Individual Worth, to me, has always meant the statement that everyone is important to God.  But this blanket statement is not personal, and defeats the purpose of individual worth. 

You are important and have infinite worth to our Father in Heaven because of who you are and the potential you have.  You bring to the table a unique combination of experiences and ideas and traits that make up your irreplaceable character which no one else can bring.  No one else can ever take your spot, and that’s why you’re important. 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared a story about a couple living in Utah: Every week, the man, while he was at work, would pull out his scriptures or other Church literature during lunch and read.  His coworkers would ridicule him and challenge his beliefs every day.  Nevertheless, he smiled and spoke to them with kindness and confidence.  Years later, one of the men who had mocked him asked the man to speak at his funeral, which he did.  His influence was known and felt by all who came into contact with him, even those who mocked him.  His wife, widowed after an industrial accident, underwent brain surgery, leaving her unable to walk or write.  People love coming to spend time with this dear sister because she listens and remembers.  “She never complains but spends her days blessing the lives of others … This couple would have been the first to say they were not much of importance in this world.  But the Lord uses a scale very different from the World’s to weigh the worth of a soul.  He knows this faithful couple; He loves them.”

Psalms 8:3-6 says:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:”

This scripture brings us to the interesting paradox of man.  The Lord created the universe; he created worlds without end and compared to Him, man is nothing.  We literally are mortal beings who live on a small planet and live for only a brief moment in the grand expanse of the universe.  But we matter to him- thus creating the paradox.  WHY?  Why does he care about us so much?  Why has he given us so much?  He created this universe just for us so that we could grow and become immortal beings ourselves.  Dieter F. Uchtdorf gives us this answer- “God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child.  He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become.” 

Using our knowledge about divine nature, we can more fully understand our individual worth.  For illustrative purposes, I’m calling this Divine Worth- the sandwich of Divine Nature and Individual Worth.

To the world, your worth is determined by how big your house is, how updated you are in technological advances, how many people you sleep with, how many countries you’ve been to, how many gold medals you have, or how ‘ideal’ your figure is.  Worldly worth is a process of comparison between yourself and somebody else- there are all kinds of examples of this in rankings of team players, lists of most attractive people, and even in calculating one player’s odds of winning over another’s.   “A person’s true value has little to do with what the world holds in high esteem … The Lord uses a scale very different from the World’s to weigh the worth of a soul” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf).  The Lord’s scale is not based on class rankings, or where we live, or even what our calling in the church is.  The Lord’s scale is based off of who we are and who we have the potential to become.  It’s our divine nature that helps us understand our individual worth.

In preparing this talk, a song I learned when I was young kept returning to my mind called Every Star is Different.  “Every star is different and so is every child- some are bright and happy, and some are meek and mild.  Every one is needed for just what he can do; you’re the only person who ever can be you.”  This first verse teaches us that every single one of us is different- we each have different experiences, different ideas, and different characteristics that combine in a unique way to make us who we are.  None of us is exactly the same; even those who go through life together and have the same physical experiences will not have the same perceptions or thoughts and thus create different people.  Because of this uniqueness, we are, as the song said, the only person who can be who we are.  This makes each and every single one of us needed in some way or another by our Father in Heaven- we each have a divine mission to fulfill on this Earth and we are the only ones who can do it.  Because of our individual worth, our unique experiences and ideas that create our own distinctive characteristics- no one else can complete our responsibilities in the same way that we can.  They also cannot grow in the same way we will after going through an experience. 

He loves us because of us- who we are and who we will become.  Our individual worth is because of our divine nature.  These two values are infinitely connected and each one helps us to understand the other.  Yes, the Lord cares about us and loves us.  But He doesn’t base that love off of how well we did on our finals, how many dates we went on last week, or even where we work.  “What matter[s] to Him [is] that [we’re] doing the best [we can], that [our] heart[s] [are] inclined toward Him, and that [we are] willing to help those around [us]… God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history.”  (Uchtdorf)

Let us continue on in doing everything we can to reach our divine potential; let us look at others through the eyes of the Lord; and let us remember that we matter to Him.  

(images taken from www.lds.org unless otherwise noted.)

Sisters For Life

This weekend was a very special one in my family- we had not one, but TWO birthdays!!

Not-so-little Little Sisters

Miranda

Miranda turned 18 this weekend!  Official adult status!  For her birthday, they cancelled school all over the state! (Also, because there was ice everywhere ... )  Miranda is so talented, but you'd never know it unless you really got to know her.  This weekend, I saw some of her art sketches and I am completely amazed- I don't thing I've ever drawn anything that well!  She has also completed her very own novel, and although it has not been published yet, she is working hard on another one.  I started many writing many books in my own high school years, but never actually finished any of them- I think the closest I got was five chapters before I forgot or got bored.  Also this weekend, she took some pictures that I wanted to get on my computer, so she gave me the memory card from her camera and oh my goodness!  So many beautiful pictures!!  Miranda is also a very talented singer- I love having jam sessions with her when I go home and just hearing her sing the words to some of the most touching and beautiful songs ever written.  

Here are some of her photos.

Emily

Emily turned 15 this weekend!  I told her she was halfway to 30!  She's the baby of the family and boy does she know it!  I remember when she was a baby and we all doted on her and treated her just like a royal princess.  She is just a little ray of sunshine in everyone's life- and is possibly one of the smartest little girls I know!  She is currently learning how to play the cello and coming along in a most excellent manner.  Here is a video of her Christmas concert- skip to 4:02 and she is the one in black playing the cello. (She's only on for the one song, but she did great!)

The Best Kind of Prize is a SURPRISE!

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.