25 Days Reflecting on Learning: We Cannot Do It Alone

Day Seven: I have been feeling very unmotivated today. Homework has been piling up, it's due tomorrow, and I haven't wanted to do anything but sleep all day. Tonight, when I sat down to attempt doing homework (for the third time) I realized that I wanted the Spirit more abundantly with me because when he's with me, doing my homework is easier. Before diving into the words of the scholars, I turned to the words of apostles and prophets via Mormon Messages. I sat for about twenty minutes, just soaking in their words and pondering. I pondered over the miracle of being a literal child of God, and that He wants me to call Him Father. I marveled at His love and willingness and desire to help me succeed. I tried to wrap my mind around the idea that the most powerful being in all of existence knows me by name and cares deeply about me.

As I sat and thought about all these things, the Spirit prompted me to think about what I have been learning about in my D&C class--the three kingdoms (for more information about the three kingdoms, click here). Out of all the differences between the kingdoms, the one that has most caused me to stop and think is the difference of control. Telestial beings don't have control, Terrestrial beings have total control, and Celestial beings--the greatest of all--surrender complete control to God. Watching these videos tonight has helped me realize that I am trying to live a Terrestrial life in this regard: I am trying to control my life. Every burden life piles on, every item on the to-do list, every worry and care of both mine and those I care about--I try to take it all on by myself.

Not only is this a less happy way of living, it is contrary to the way we were meant to live our lives. It was never intended for us to go through this life doing it all alone. In fact, it is impossible to live our lives the right way when we try to do it on our own. Here I am--trying to do what's right by taking on all of life's hurdles, but I am doing it in the wrong way. Every assignment I get, every heartache that comes my way, every temptation that claws at me, everything I do should be a team effort. Instead of having an "I can do this!" mentality, I need to have a "We can do this" one.

"We": The Father, His Son, and I.

As Paul put it, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

I have a firm testimony that we were all created to do amazing things, but I also testify that we are not meant to and cannot do them on our own. When I finish up this post, I'm going to pause to take a moment to pray, and then my Father, my Savior, and I are going to tackle my pile of homework. It's going to be a long night, but at least I won't have to make it through alone.

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: The Power of Fasting

Day Six: This past week I learned about the power of fasting. That Sunday, my FHE brother, John, gave an amazing talk on the power of fasting. The previous week I had been feeling like I should fast for something; John's talk is what finally convinced me to do it. The next day, Monday, I fasted. Throughout that day and the rest of the week, I thought a lot about the thing I had fasted for. I sought direction from the scriptures, from General Conference talks, from reading my Patriarchal Blessing, from talking to those close to me, and from prayer. At first I think I let my pride get in the way of getting an answer because I was only letting myself look for an answer that I wanted. Slowly, though, the Lord softened my heart. Saturday night the Lord answered my prayers and questions, and I received some of the sweetest, surest pieces of revelation I have ever received. This experience has greatly strengthened my testimony of fasting. When coupled with a sincere desire and effort, the Lord will not let our fast go unnoticed. He will answer our prayers.

“Also, I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.” –D&C 88:76

25 Days of Learning: Being Me

Day Five: This weekend I learned a lot about myself and what I want to be doing with my time. It involves spending more time with others and letting myself be myself without worrying about how others may receive me. After all, what's the point of being received by others at all if it's not the real you they're receiving? I could go on a lot longer, but the point of the matter is that I'm awesome as 100% me. Not as 30% me with a side of timidity or 65% me topped with what I think people want to hear or even 99% me with just a little held back--only the 100% version will allow me to be happy and do what God intends me to do. Does He want the 100% me to become an even better, more refined 100%? Of course. But changing to become a better me is different than changing to become just plain better. God made me the way I am on 100% purpose and He needs all 100% of me to do His work, no 30% with a side will do. As Dr. Seuss puts it:

I intend to start living as the Youest You (or the Mest Me) I can possibly be. Nothing could be better.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others."

- Marianne Williamson

Letters

Dear Steve, Thanks for going to the men's volleyball game and for getting ice cream with me on Friday! I'm glad your semester is going well so far and hope that it continues that way!

Dear Quaelii, Oh my goodness! It was such a fantastic surprise to see you when I came home on Friday night! I'm so happy that you were able to come with your dad up to Provo so that we could see you for a little bit! Keep being awesome, good luck at work, and we hope to see you again soon!

Dear John, Ryan, Amelia, Sarah, Rachel, Morgan, and Emily, Having breakfast with all you guys on Saturday morning was wonderful. It was good to take a break from the craziness of life and to just be surrounded by good friends. Great start to a great Saturday.

Dear Abby, Thanks for talking to me for forever via phone on Saturday. You're such a good listener and I feel like you really understand me when no one else does. Please get feeling better soon, and keep up on the scripture reading (we're already 140 pages through!)

Dear Will, The food and games on Saturday night were lovely, but getting to just talk about life with you for a long time was by far the highlight of my weekend. Thanks for knowing what questions to ask and for being such a good listener. You're a pretty alright guy.

Dear Charles, Thanks for coming with Emily and I to our Aunt and Uncle's place for dinner on Sunday night. You're so easy-going and friendly which revealed me of the burden of having to help you feel included (which is awesome!) Good luck with classes this week, and try to not have too much fun!

Dear Martha and David, Thank you for being awesome relatives by inviting Ems and I over for dinner every once and a while. It's so good to have an escape from Provo and to be in a real house every once and a while. Plus, the food is absolutely delicious!

Dear Scott, Your company at the table in the library yesterday was greatly appreciated. It's good to know that I have friends to sit through the long hours of being with Harold with.

Dear FHE Family, I love you guys. Thanks for being awesome and for making me laugh.

Dear Amelia, You are crazy amazing at making desserts. I'm surprised I haven't gained 20 lbs over my past year and a half at college living with you! Thanks for sharing your talents.

Dear Rachel, Thanks for being willing to drive so many of us to WinCo yesterday to get food. My cupboards and tummy really appreciate it!

Dear Today, You are going to be fabulous, I just know it! Why? Because that's what I've decided.

Kind People and Beautiful Music

Dear Eric, Your birthday letter was one of the BEST birthday presents anyone has EVER given me! Thank you so, so, so, so much for all your kindness, support, and friendship. I'm sad that you moved away from Campus Plaza, but hope that you will still come over to say hi and have fun every once and a while. You bring the Spirit with you wherever you go, and that is the kind of company I like to keep. Thanks for being one of my best friends.

Dear Audrey Dickerson, You message absolutely MADE my day! I don't even know how to reply to it all, other than that you are super amazingly fantastic too! I miss having you in our ward (especially in Relief Society), so I'm glad you have friends here that you visit so that I can still see you every once and a while. Thank you for always being happy--it is one of your most beautiful qualities. It spreads to others and makes them want to be happy too. Just being around you makes me want to smile. Good luck this semester and, as you advised me, just keep being you. "You" fits you wonderfully! (Isn't that true for us all?)

Dear Jacob Scoville, Oh my gosh!!!! Who'd thunk I'd run into YOU at The Phantom of the Opera tonight after having not seen you for at least over three years! I'm super excited to get together with you sometime soon to catch up and have fun!!!

Dear Rachel and Alysha, That music was AMAZING!!! Half the time, I forgot that the actors were singing along with a live orchestra, rather than a recording. Thank you for giving me a very memorable evening by sharing your talents. You two are amazing.

Dear BYU Production of The Phantom of the Opera, My jaw was unconsciously dropped for at least half of the show.  The other half, I considered bringing it back up, but then figured it'd end up back down soon enough and that it was dark so no one could really see me looking like a wide-eyed hippo anyways. The performance was stunning. I could have left at the intermission satisfied but then, after a fifteen minute break, the show went on and I was crying by the end. Beautiful, spectacular job. Definitely one of my highlights of my time here at BYU.

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: Playing in Photoshop

Day Four: Today in my Teaching Media in the Contemporary Classroom class, I learned how to mess around on photoshop. The just of the lesson: if you don't know how to do it, google it. Pretty crazy how you can learn how to do almost ANYTHING by looking it up on the internet nowadays, isn't it?

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: I Can Trust the Women in My Ward

This is a picture of some of the women I have been blessed to associate with during my time as Relief Society President in the 41st Ward. Most of them have moved on to live elsewhere now, but this picture still reminds me of the power I have seen in all the women I have served with. All of them are amazing!

Today I learned that I can trust the women in my ward to fulfill their callings. One of the things I stress most about in Relief Society is helping and trusting girls to fulfill the role they have been called to. Sometimes, I would almost rather do everything myself so that I can feel safe knowing what has been done and what hasn't. But doing everything on my own would be murder and would rob other fantastic girls of the blessings they could recieve from serving the Lord.

This evening, when I got home, I finished divvying up the new Visiting Teaching assignments and then texted my new supervisors and coordinators, letting them know that the assignments were ready to be picked up and passed out. Then, I waited anxiously for them to come and pick them up.

That last part was a lie. I didn't have to wait from them to come and pick them up nearly at all! Isn't that just splendidly wonderful? All of them were over at my place within half an hour--happy and willing and ready to help with what I asked them to. Since then, I have felt relieved because I know that I can trust these girls to get something done when I ask them to. They have proved themselves tonight, and I'm so excited to get to keep working with them throughout the semester.

The knowledge I gained tonight only solidified something I already knew: that the women in my ward are amazing. I see it every day: in the clothes they wear, the things they post on facebook, the conversation they have with friends, the comments they make in church, the kind things they say to me--all of it leaves me standing in awe that so much of the world's goodness could be condensed into such a small group of women. I am blessed to get to associate with them.

D&C 76:71-115

I have to keep a journal for my D&C class and decided to keep it on here. So. Here I go:

Today, our assignment was to read D&C 76:71-115, wherein it talked about the telestial and terrestrial kingdoms. I found this quote, from the student manual, about the telestial kingdom particularly touching:

“The [Doctrine and Covenants] explains clearly that the lowest glory to which man is assigned is so glorious as to be beyond the understanding of man. It is a doctrine fundamental in Mormonism that the meanest sinner, in the final judgment, will receive a glory which is beyond human understanding, which is so great that we are unable to describe it adequately. Those who do well will receive an even more glorious place. Those who dwell in the lower may look wistfully to the higher as we do here. The hell on the other side will be felt in some such way.

“The Gospel is a gospel of tremendous love. Love is at the bottom of it. The meanest child is loved so dearly that his reward will be beyond the understanding of mortal man.” --Elder John A. Widtsoe 

I love to be a member of a church that teaches love. I love that--only with very few exceptions--every single person on this earth is going to be rewarded with something glorious for their time here on earth. We have such a loving God.

I also liked how, in this section, it talked about how men are judged according to their works. I'm grateful to belong to a church that teaches that we are ultimately in control of our destiny. God has not predetermined which of us He will save. We will all be resurrected and we can all work hard now to receive greater glory in the world to come. The choice is up to us. 

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: Making Sandwiches and Dressing Like a Boss

Day Two: Today I learned how to make amazing sandwiches at FHE:

Sandwich made by: Audrey, Sarah, Drew, John, and I

 The (Obviously) Better of the two Sandwiches: French toast with ice cream, peanut butter, and nutella in the middle. Topped with whipped topping and drizzled chocolate and caramel syrup.

Sandwich made by: Emily, Amelia, Rachel, Scott, and Gentry

The (Obviously) Lesser of the Two Sandwiches: Ingredients unknown (Sketchy, right?)

Scott and Gentry also taught me how to dress like a boss in negative degree weather:

Thank heaven for armpit holes in jackets and nice calves, huh?

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: Knowing My Limits

Day One: I know I'm kinda cheating, writing something I learned yesterday a day late, but I ran out of time yesterday and so I'm writing it now. I had a super awesome realization/epiphany/oh-my-gosh-that's-why-I've-been-feeling-so-crazy-lately moment. Yesterday, I learned that I have a limit, and that I've been pushing myself past that limit for a long time. Last semester was crazy busy (what semester isn't?) but not just with school. It was busy with school and church and figuring out life. To deal with it all, I spent a lot of time trying to serve people because that makes me happy (it will make you happy too--I promise. You should try it). Serving others helped me deal with all the craziness, forget myself, and have a feeling of purpose.

Yesterday I realized, however, that I have maybe been taking the whole forget yourself and serve others principle a little too far. I think that I have been trying to serve others too much.

What? Hold on--wait:

WHAT? Lindsey saying that too much service isn't good? What on earth happened to the universe?! All she ever talks/thinks/breathes about is how important it is that we serve others. It's pretty much what keeps her blood pumping.

Yes, you read right: you can go overboard with the desire to serve others, and I think I fell off deck a while back and haven't realized it until now. Rather than having me explain it though, I'll quote President Eyring from this last Relief Society Conference:

"The Lord, who is the Master Nurturer of people in need, gave inspired counsel to weary caregivers in these words delivered by King Benjamin and recorded in the Book of Mormon: 'For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins … I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.'

"But then He goes on to warn those of you who might fail to respond to the evidence that you are pushing on too far and too long in your loving service: 'And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man [or any caregiver] should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.'

"That counsel can be hard to apply when the choice seems to be balancing a desire to do all you can to help others with the wisdom to be prudent in meeting your own needs to retain your power to serve…The Holy Ghost is sent to you and to those you care for. You will be strengthened and yet inspired to know the limits and extent of your ability to serve. The Spirit will comfort you when you may wonder, 'Did I do enough?'"

Yesterday, the thing I learned was that I haven't been wise enough to balance my "desire to do all [I] can to help others with the wisdom to be prudent in meeting [my] own needs". I have been pushing myself so much out of the picture that I've been left feeling wrung-out and exhausted because my needs aren't being met. I've been feeling lonely and without friends not because I don't have them, but because when I finally find time to be with them I'm so tired drained from serving others that I don't have enough energy to, in a sense, serve myself by being myself. Last year, I was often energetic, happy, cracking jokes, being sarcastic and witty Lindsey. This year, I've been feeling too tired to be myself because I haven't left enough of myself for me--I've been giving all of me away to others. How ironic that in my efforts to give to others, I have given too much, and therefore stopped myself from being able to give as much as I could have because I'm not my best "me".

When I had this realization, I looked to the Savior's life and realized the truth in President Eyring's words. The Savior did not spend every waking moment healing the sick and raising the dead. Even He took time to go off on His own to ponder. Even He needed to spend some time with His disciples next to the fire, just talking. Even He needed friends and confidants. Were His needs always met? No. There are many, many examples of when the Savior sacrificed His own needs to fulfill others', the Atonement being the ultimate example of this. But when the will of the Father allowed, He used wisdom in making sure His needs were met along with the needs of the multitude.

I want to do better at not letting myself run on empty. I want to be better at reaching out to receive love and support from others when I need it so that I can love and support them and others in return. I want to be better at asking for service. I want to be just a little more selfishly me.

Now, this doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being crazy about wanting to love and help everyone in the world realize their worth and potential--service is still my mantra and I'll live and die by it (and think you should too)--but I am going to take it a little more slowly. The world needs me, as it needs each of us, but I also need me. This semester, while setting out to serve and love the world, I hope that I can give a little more time to serve and love myself. I hope that I will be able to, as President Eyring says, "be strengthened and yet inspired to know the limits and extent of [my] ability to serve." I trust the inspiration President Eyring talks about here because I know it comes from someone who loves me and has the fulfillment of my needs as one of His greatest concerns. Together, He and I will be able to fulfill everyone's needs--including my own--better than I ever could on my own. 

25 Days Reflecting on Learning: An Introduction

Yesterday for Relief Society, we talked about the importance of learning. Our manual quoted President Snow saying the following:

"In this system of religion that you and I have received there is something grand and glorious, and something new to learn every day, that is of great value. And it is not only our privilege but it is necessary that we receive these things and gather these new ideas." (see here)

Kelly, my awesome secretary and superb friend, and I were talking about it and came up with the idea of keeping a learning journal, similar to how people keep a gratitude journal. I've decided to do it, at least for a little while. 25 days of little while, to be exact.

Many more tidbits of things I'm learning to come!

Five Reasons Why My Weekend Was Great

1. I got to watch Pride and Prejudice with Emily, Amelia, and Sarah. I love Jane Austen's ability to make a room full of girls all gasp and laugh and smile at the same times. The movie was wonderful (as it is every year when I watch it for my birthday) and FINALLY having a girls night after not having one for FOREVER was even greater.

2. I went to my old boss--Fred's--house with my old coworker--Charles--to help Fred shovel snow, repair blinds, and fix some lights. Fred is really old, retired, and can't do much now, so it was good to know we were able to help him. After we fixed up stuff, we played a card game called Five Crowns and had treats with his wife--Diane--and his granddaughter--Amber. It was a wonderful splendid morning and I can't wait to go again.

3. I got to talk to my Aunt Janet on the phone for over half-an-hour. I love talking with people, but when it's my family I love it even more. The two of us are going to start writing letters to each other! I better start on one soon...

4. For homework, I've been reading fun teenage literature for my adolescent literature class. It helps me remember that I actually do enjoy reading! I was having so much fun with it all on Saturday night that it made me laugh, and I haven't laughed in a long time.

5. I went to church on Sunday and officially decided that our ward in awesome. People were talking and reaching out to one another and no one sat alone. The girls in the Relief Society ward right now are remarkably valiant and I'm grateful I get to associate with them!

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Yesterday was my first day of American Literature. For a portion of the time, my professor talked about the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy by not doing homework. He promised us that if we did these things, we would have a more successful semester. Here is a story he told in regards to the matter:

"My brother was attending school to get his doctorate in chemistry  He had a full-ride scholarship, but in order to keep the scholarship, he had to maintain a 4.0. Without the scholarship, he would be unable to provide for his family and complete school. Needless to say, the pressure was on.

"One of the hardest classes he took during this time was organic chemistry. He labeled it "the bane of his existence". He found out that in order to get an A in this class (and thus keep his 4.0 scholarship) he would have to get a 95% on the final exam. The final exam would be composed of 3 questions. This was problematic because normally, it took him 6-8 hours to complete just one question, and he only had 3 for the whole exam. He was in trouble.

"He went to work doing his best to prepare against very unkind odds. He went to a review session and watched the professor go over a problem with the students on the board. He went to the professors office and went over another problem one on one with him. Then, the weekend came. The test was to be given at 8am the following Monday morning, leaving only Saturday and Sunday to prepare for the exam. However, my brother had made a commitment to not study or do any homework on Sundays, so this left only Saturday. He kept his commitment.  On Saturday, he picked one problem from the book and spent all day working on it. At midnight, he closed his book for the last time before the test.

"Monday morning came. At 8am, my brother went to take his test. The first problem on the test was the one the professor went over in the review. The second problem was the one the professor went over with my brother in his office. And the third problem--the third problem was the one problem out of thousands that my brother had picked to work through on Saturday. My brother got a 95% on the test. Exactly. Not a 97%. Not a 96%. A 95%--exactly what he needed to keep his scholarship.

"If you ask him about the experience, he will testify that he only passed the test because the Lord blessed him for keeping the Sabbath day holy."

"The mechanic will be able to turn out more and better products in six days than in seven. The doctor, the lawyer, the dentist, and the scientist will accomplish more by trying to rest on the Sabbath than if he tries to utilize every day of the week for his professional work. I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness." -President James E. Faust 

Let's all do better at keeping the Sabbath day holy. The Lord will bless us when we do.

Letters

Dear Kaka, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! You are one of my most favoritest people in the whole entire pool of existing peoples!!! Have the happiest and bestest day ever being awesome and turning 17 and doing crazy things and eating yummy food. I LOVE YOU!!!

Dear Abby, We are being AWESOME at doing this whole scripture reading goal thing! only 11 days into the new year and we've read about 80 pages of scripture!!! Let's keep this up!

Dear Kate, I miss doing awesome things together like we did over break. Can we be bestest phone friends and talk this weekend?

Dear Facebook World, Thank you so super duper much for all the birthday wishes! I love you all and appreciate the time you took to think of me!

Dear FHE Family, Thank you muchly for the fantabulous surprise birthday bash. You are all fantastic!

Dear Emily, What the heck! Because our schedules don't coincide  we NEVER see each other!!! This = super lame. We must make up for all this lameness by having super extra much fun this weekend, okay?

Dear Work, I'm so glad things have calmed down so that I don't leave every day with a headache. I hope it will stay this way for a while.

Dear Homework Load, How on any green or brown or blue earth am I ever going to stay on top of you? Sleep may no longer be an option.

Dear Self, For help with above, see: "Trust in the Lord" or "Pray" or "Study your Scriptures Daily".

Dear Heavenly Father, I haven't been relying on you as much lately as I should. I'm sorry. I pray that You will help me learn how to rely more fully upon you during this crazy, pull-your-hair-out semester. I also pray that You will help me learn how to rely more fully upon those around me.

Dear Mom, Thanks for always being willing to talk to me on the phone, especially when I'm being ornery.

Dear Weekend, I'm ready to have awesome fun, do productive things, and be super happy!

A Busy Week!

Media in the contemporary classroom: Read 30 pages, looks at 2 websites, blog about it, and work on your picture project

D&C: Read 4 chapters, read the corresponding manual readings, read 2 articles, and take the online quiz

Adolescent literature: Read 3 articles, start reading one of the 30 books you have to read this semester, and sketch and layout of the house you grew-up in

Teaching Writing: Write a follow-up to the assignment we did in class, write a reflection on the whole assignment, and read a article so dense Einstein couldn't understand it

American Literature: Read 45 boring pages about early American explorers

All classes: Review the syllabus online and come to class with questions

Work: 20 hours a week

All of that, and it's only the first week. Why did I think this semester was going to be easier than the last?

Christmas Break

This year, I had one of the best Christmas breaks I've ever had! There are so many reasons why, but here are just a few...

The Candy Bomber at the Mo-Tab Christmas Concert. This was one of the best parts of the program!

To start it off, I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert with Sarah, Amelia, and Emily on Friday, the 14th! We got to hear Alfie Boe sing "Bring Him Home", which he sang in the 25th aneversary of Le Miserables and then we all started crying when they had Tom Brokaw tell the story of the Candy Bomber. Thanks so much for the tickets, Sarah!

I got to hear missionary farewells for Jordan Morgan, Devon Shaw, and Jordan Stowell. They are all going to be amazing missionaries!

Jessica got her wisdom teeth pulled out.

I went shopping with my mom, Emily, and Jessica.

I started and actually finished reading Enders Game--the first fun book I've read in over a whole YEAR!

Lauren and I!

I got to go to lunch with Lauren Powell, Michael Lee, and Holly Engh! It was so good to see old friends and to catch up!

Louisa came over to hang out and be goofy with us and we got to just talk about life and have fun.

My family had fun with other families: the Hardy's house the Sunday before Christmas; Doctor Who Christmas special, games, and The Amazing Spider-Man; partying with the Nuffers and Longs on New Years Eve--all awesome people and all awesome times.

Paige and Stephanie came over to my house that late Sunday night and we talked and watched The Nativity Story.

I had a super-duper fun Christmas Eve!!! We played games, ate delicious food, got new games to play together, read the Christmas story, watched some awesome Christmas Mormon Messages, and watched It's a Wonderful Life (one of my favoritest movies ever!) 

Christmas morning (after about 4 hours of sleep) we went upstairs at 6am and got Santa presents! I was lucky enough to get some much needed pants and shoes, and was also surprised with a Cricut cutting machine! For sister presents, Emily gave me an awesome bag and an even awesomer Dr. Suess calendar and an ever awesomest wocket in the purses pocket. We spent the rest of the day eating more yummy food, playing more fun games, and watching movies. I loved being able to just take the day slow, spending time with my favorite people in the whole world!

As part of our family Christmas present, we got tickets to go see the movie Les Miserables on the 26th! It was so amazing and I'm so grateful that we were able to go!

I went to Stephanie's bridal shower, where I got to visit with lots of friends and eat yummy food.

My family watched all three Lord of the Rings movies, extended editions. Some of the best movies ever with the best people in the world!

My Aunt Janet gave us money to go see a movie for Christmas, so we were able to go and see The Hobbit!

More than anything I did, though, it was just good to be able to be with the people I love and care about. Any time spent with Dad, Mom, Emily, Jessica, Abby, and Kate is time that I will remember. I love you guys!

Reading the Standard Works in a Year

About a month ago in Sunday School, we were talking about the importance of knowing the Bible because we're Christian and knowing it helps us relate to Christians of different denominations better. By the end of class, I thought to myself, I've never read the Bible all the way through. I think I want to. I did the math. If I wanted to read it in a year, it would only be about 5 pages a day. I could do that. And then I walked to Relief Society.

Serene gave the lesson that day. Somehow, we started talking about scripture reading. Serene mentioned that when she was in 8th grade, she read the entire standard works with her dad. I did the math again. If I added The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price to the reading schedule; it would only be an additional 2 pages a day--a total of 6.5 pages a day. I could do that. 

And so I am. 6.5 pages of scripture a day! I'm lucky enough to have my sisters Abby and Emily joining me in the project as well! I know that it will be hard at times, but it will be so worth it. Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price--here we come!

Small and Simple Thing #7: Jeans

Today I'm grateful for jeans.
For legs to wear them on.
For materials to make them with.
For machines to crafts them.
For employees who make those machines work.
For inventors who created those machines.
For stores to sell them.
For construction workers who built those stores.
For cashiers, custodians, and floor personal who work at those stores.
For truck drivers and pilots who deliver them to the store.
For moms who go to the store to buy them.
For cars to drive moms there.
For dads who go to work to provide the money to pay for them.
So many people put forth effort so that I can wear a pair of Levi jeans.
Today I'm grateful for them.