Humanity

Yesterday my sister and I were discussing where we should go shopping on Black Friday and what time we should go. We chatted for a moment before she mentioned "We will miss everything since all the stores open at 8pm on Thursday!" How ridiculous is that? Thanksgiving should be spent with your loved ones, not standing out in the cold waiting for the best deals. Anyway, we go shopping for fun and to spend time together, not to beat down the person next to us for the "best deal of the season." I wish families were more about what it means to be a family and not the aspect of getting crazy for deals at a store. This year I'll be doing what I usually do the night of Thanksgiving; spending time with my families, watching Christmas movies and looking through the huge Thanksgiving paper from the comfort of my home. I'm pretty excited :)

Aside from the sales starting on Thanksgiving, this whole month I have been impressed with the way most people have been portraying their thankfulness. Often times we (me included) get wrapped up in certain aspects of the holidays; what we will be wearing here, what we are eating on this day, what to get so and so as a gift, etc. it is also important to show our gratitude to those around us and more importantly to our Heavenly Father who has giving us everything. Every so often I challenge myself to say a full prayer of gratitude. Instead of saying "Please" I say "Thank you." Those are the prayers we should get lost in. Try it this week! 

This week was all about getting invitations out. I recieved my long awaited invitations on Tuesday, opened them and saw what I had hoped not to see, a typo. Now I will say that I am partially to blame for this since I typed them out. But I contacted the company and they directly told me they had fixed it and they would be sent correctly. Obviously they weren't. I contacted the company again and I was pretty upset. They offered to send me a new set with overnight shipping. I got my second set and still a typo. This time I wasn't as upset as I probably should have been. For a moment I was but then I dawned on me that I couldn't do anything about it. The invitations are being sent out anyway and it's almost laughable now. Life lesson: don't get too worked up over things you cannot control. Plus, the people who recieve them will likely laugh as well, so you're welcome for the laugh ;) 

Wedding stuff has been coming together really well. 25 days left! We're very excited :) Can't wait to spend forever with my best friend!! A man at church came up to speak with Megan and I yesterday and he thanked her for her beautiful organ playing. Then he looked at me and said "Tripper Frost, what a guy! What a name too! I want to change my name to Tripper!" Haha super nice guy. But in all honestly, what a guy! It's so crazy to think of all these qualities you've ever wanted in your future spouse and actually being blessed enough to marry your dream man. I'm so lucky :) 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone has a great day with their families remembering all they have been given :) 

Lucky to Have Been Where I Have Been

Okay SOO the wedding is in 53 days! At first when Tripp and I got engaged December seemed so close, but now it seems pretty far away again. Planning is coming along and nothing too stressful has come up yet. Although if I don't find my dress this week, I might go into slight panic mode.. but I think I know where my dress is hiding ;) I'm grateful I will have the opportunity to dress shop with my mom and best friend. Sad that Megan can't come, but that is what we have FaceTime for. I've ordered a lot of reception decorations online, so when they show up it will be a lot easier to buy everything else. We took our engagements last week and are so excited to see them next week! The anticipation will make them that much better :)

The past week or so I have been thinking about all the blessings that come from trials, and struggles that we have in our lives. By all means I am not ready to say I am thankful for my trials yet, but I will say that certain blessings would not have been readily available to me and my family if it were not for a few of the things we have struggled through together. For instance, if there had been one thing that didn't happen in my life, a certain five minutes that I would have wasted, I wouldn't be where I am today. Happily and madly in love with the man of my dreams, ready to enter into the temple and be married to him forever. How crazy that is to me. I can't really explain bliss because everyone has their own versions of happiness, but I believe I have found my happiness.

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning it is hard for me to fathom the word happiness, because often times I think I should still be sad. And some days I am sad, but I also need to be reminded at times that I have had only close to 5 months of healing time from the most tragic, devastating thing that will probably ever happen in my life. But that is why Tripper has been the greatest blessing; understanding. He came into my life right when I came to the understanding of many things in life. The fact that I was going to see my brother again and that he wouldn't want us all to be so upset. My family often times imagines Glen laughing at all of us because he knows so much more than we do. Laughing because we have no idea how safe and how comforted he is. He still has that same smile, that same sense of humor and he will when we see him again. What a glorious reunion my family and I will be having in heaven.

Understanding of our relationship as well. I think, well I know actually, that neither of us ever thought that we could be that typical LDS couple that meets, goes on a few dates and then falls in love. But hey, you just know. Understanding that the Lord is always right and will put us where we need to be, at the right times is a reality check of humility. It's been a humbling experience to accept help from people and to be okay with being upset some days. Tripper is good at that. I know how much men hate a crying woman, because they don't really know what to do, but I found a keeper ;) Being able to talk about anything and not being afraid to display our emotions is really important as well. There is a feeling of peace, safety and acceptance that I feel when I am with Tripper. A feeling that will carry us through the eternities. I am grateful, blessed, and lucky to have been where I have been.

Your trials do not have to define you; but rather let them be a source of change, and strength for the future. No matter what happens, I am thankful everyday to be able to spend another day on this beautiful earth. Life always has a new journey waiting for you to take its course.

A Definition

Happiness. What is happiness? Happiness means something different to almost every one. 

To me, happiness doesn't mean every part of life is joyus and fun. But rather, there are sad, tempting, hard times in life where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Happiness is being able to forgive others and more importantly, yourself in situations when we feel worthless and weak. If we are all striving to me like Christ, we should look at what he went through and ask ourselves if he was happy. Everyday Christ went through something different. Ridiculing, painful times, but also very fulfilling, happy moments that we learn(ed) about. The Prince of Peace. The Saviour of us all. The only perfect man to ever walk the earth. So again, what is happiness? Ask yourself. Then ask yourself if you're happy. 

Even with the tragic, tough times that have been given to me in this life, I can say that I'm happy. And I'm happy mainly because of my beliefs. Baptism, service, courage, love, faith, the temple, families, scriptures, marriage, prayer, music (hymns), prophets, Christ's atoning sacrifice, etc. 

In May 2009 Elder Steven E. Snow spoke on happiness. I'm just going to touch on one of the points he made. The talk is titled "Get on With Our Lives"

"Fourth, be of good cheer. Many of our members across the globe are facing challenges, economic and otherwise. At such times it is easy to feel despondent and forgotten. During the early, difficult days of the Church, the Lord counseled the Saints to be happy: “Be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you” (D&C 61:36). (Get On with Our Lives)"

Be of good cheer. Don't let anyone deter your happiness and the person you know you should become. Even when trials, heartache and oppostion are before you, stand up to it and show the world your smile. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing to be happy. 

Gaining Happiness

It's been a few weeks since I've written! I don't have much complaining to do. Today I will be counting my blessings and I am eternally thankful for a loving Heavenly Father for all that He has blessed me with in the past couple of months. First of all I am soo grateful for my job and the experience it is and has given me. It's been great to work my way up the line and get to where I am right now. I can now say I run a Driving School. It's a little bit weird since I am 19, but the amount of trust my boss has in me is really humbling and exciting.
Next, let's talk about my perfect family. I am so blessed to have the family that I do. My eternal family. The family that I will get to see until.. I would say the end of time, but there is no end to time. So I am just really blessed. They are supportive and fun and loving and I couldn't do half the things I do in my life without them. I appreciate every one of them more than they know. My extended family included. My parents are so good to me, even though they may think I'm crazy sometimes. And my sister is the best sister out there! I'm so glad that she and I can share a love for so many of the same things in life. I love listening to her play the organ every Sunday. She is amazing.
This week my best friend and I had to say goodbye to each other until December. It hasn't really hit me yet tat she is gone.. but I'm going to miss her so much! Sienna has been a huge blessing in my life and she has been with me through my hardest trial, and again in some of the happiest times of my life. She is someone that knows me better than anyone and can tell me the things that I need to hear in a great, loving way. It's a rally great quality for her to have because most people will speak their mind, but don' know how to put their words together into a mature, good way. Sienna is going to be so successful and happy in Utah! There might be a couple of weddings in the near future ;)
Tripper probably won't read this because he is a boy.. and I don' know how many boys read blogs, but anyway.. I am soo blessed to have this man in my life. He came into my life right when I needed him. He's been a source of truth, light, fun, happiness, and contentment. I love our relationship because from the beginning it has been three of us; Me, Tripper and our Heavenly Father. He helps me learn new things about myself aswell. You never think you are deserving of something like this until it happens to you. "After much tribulation come blessings" is a true statement that I relate to well. It's fun to have someone around who lifts you up and makes you, the best you. I won't go too much more in depth with that right now, but I'm just really blessed to have him. He makes me happy :)
Glenny. Dad, here is your warning; you might cry. I love my brother! He obviously fits under the "family" category, but he also gets his own section because he and I have a different relationship now. He is in my everyday life and I love the days when I can wake up and feel how much he loves me. I love the testimony that he has gained since he has been gone and it's very relevant to me that he wants me to continue on the path that I am on now. Every time I am in my family room and look over a the beautiful painting of him, I can't help but smile because in so many ways we are now on the same page. He has taught me a lot as well. There are certain things that I do in life now that I just laugh at because I think "Glen would do something like that." He's still my big brother and I know that he has different was of being involved in my life now. But those ways are different because I need to be receptive to them. I need to be in a state where I can be able to have him in my life. There are also different ways that he looks out for me now and I know what I would have his approval on in life. Whenever I hear this song I think of him. It was on of our favorite songs years ago. Glenny, you're my guardian angel.

So in a nutshell life is pretty good right now. There are off days of course, but it's a lot easier to stay positive when I have Rickey texting me daily reminding me to stay positive. If you ever want to start living the law of attraction, here is the video that got me and my family started on it. It's not easy at first, but after a while you will wonder how you ever lived with being negative all the time. 

That's all for now. Over and out. 

Positive Endings

It's been an interesting month. One of the busiest months at work for the whole year. I will be glad when August is over! 

This month has also been filled with many blessings though. It's really amazing what The Lord can do when we put all of our trust in Him. Tons of prayers have been answered, questions have been resolved, comfort has been (if not completely, almost) found and relief has been felt. I find happiness easier to find and smiling easier to do. I guess you could say I'm loving life right now! A lot is still up in the air but I have a great feeling about all these decisions that I'll be making within the next few weeks/months. 

My family has been incredible with support and love toward me this month. Sometimes I wonder how they can still be so supportive of my decisions when I want crazy most of the time. 

I have felt my brothers influence in my life tremendously lately. It's really cool because he didn't know a lot of little thing about my life before, but I feel like he is closer than ever now. I want to make him proud and I think I'm going to do that. He was such a free spirit and I want to be more like him. I'm no longer writing Aaron, and am considering different options for my future and school even. I don't want to sound rude about that, but this is a really exciting time in my life! So many opportunities have been placed before me and I want to thank my parents again for encouraging me to get a job in high school. A lot of the things I want to do or have planned wouldn't be able to happen if I didn't have my job. And I'm thankful that they taught me how to save my money. They can go ahead and have the best parents award ;) 

The other day as I was reading my scriptures it dawned on me that people are always going to judge you, but if you know something is right, do it. Like Nephi. He was persecuted by his own brothers but still never gave up. What an example. He had an incredible amount of faith and perseverance. He came through some really hard times and still did great things. Darkness will come, but we must be willing to find the light again.

 President Dieter F Uchtdorf said this: 

"There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things.1 It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn."

Here's to new beginnings. 

I Love You Too Much

A realization that I've come to recently is that sometimes I love people too much. I love to a point that I couldn't live without them. I love people and tell them often because I'm scared. I'm scared of losing people I love or scared of not telling people enough. But when I love like that, there's always fear of not being loved like that in return. I probably force relationships that should be easy going and sometimes that pushes people away. But just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all that they have.

Anyway the past week or so has been really awesome actually. Megan and I got to spend a few days in California with our family. It's crazy how many memories we could all share with each other about my brother and about our childhood. Ricky is so much like Glenny. I wish we could spend every single day with them because that's the kind of love people live for. 

It's interesting though what times does in this whole process. I miss my brother so much, but I'm so glad that he is happy right now. I'm so glad that he loves me and knows how much that we love him. I want to make him proud and so I will live for him. I'll wear his old Krono5 gear and wear jewelry that reminds me of him. I'll listen to his music and live a life of happiness just like he did. I'll try a little bit harder to not let judgements get to me. I'll smile a little bit more and go places I never thought I could. I'll go to church every Sunday and read my scriptures because that's what I always told him to do. I'll do my best to be a missionary, because he was the best one there was. I'll sing louder in the car and dance and spot lights because I can. I guess I'll just live my life more fully because that's what he did and would want. I love him so much that I will live for him. 

Every time the sun shines I can hear him say "I'm jumping, are you?" Love you big brother. Forever and ever. 

 

 

The Truth Hurts

I've learned a ton about the people in my life within the past month. I've also learned that people shouldn't always say what's on their mind, especially to an emotionally unstable person. I've been more offended and appalled by people in the past month than I have in probably the past 6 months to a year. But then again I have been shocked by the outpouring of love and compassion that's been shown to me and my family. Now that the initial shock is over and we are left by ourselves, different emotions are beginning to come out. Fridays mean something different now and it's just the mark of another week gone by. 

Some days pictures help and some days they don't. Some days nothing helps and that's okay too. There is no wrong or right way to grieve and I think it's going to be something different for everyone. I feel like I'm really vulnerable right now so when I take things the wrong way people get mad at me. Your friends' true colors come out when they are faced with getting you through the hardest time in your life and to some I feel like I've been dumped and left to fend for myself because now I'm a little bit calmer or less talkative or whatever. I just hope that people are understanding, but not in a way where I would want you to feel my pain, I just don't want misunderstanding to come of this. 

Some days I'll lash out and some days I'll be able to smile and I've found the few people who can handle me on both occasions and I can't thank them enough for sticking by my side no matter what;  mostly my family but the other people know who they are as well. 

Even though it's tough most days, I'm thankful for the scriptures and for prayer and all the things I've been taught to this point in my life to somewhat help me get an understanding of where my brother is and what he is doing now. Comfort only comes through our Heavenly Father and I know that because I've felt the spirit wrap calmness around me at times. This has been one of my favorite scriptures for years and it states: "But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." It's evident that our Heavenly Father loves us to no end, we just have to let him help us. 

What Happened to June?

I feel like I have so much to write about and I don't really know how to say it all. I haven't written anything since February... So I will touch on some key things that have happened since then.
My job is going well. I work about 30 hours a week and my savings account really appreciates the paychecks ;) I basically run the driving school in Camas. Whenever my boss comes in (Close to once, maybe twice a month) she tells me that I am running the place and that I don't need her. It's kind of weird since I'm only 18, but it's also kind of a nice sense of responsibility. Sometimes it's hard to be really nice to people that come in because they will yell at me for something that's not my fault, but I've been getting great reviews on my customer service so two claps for me ;)
I graduated high school.. Woo... I guess this means I'm a REAL adult now, opposed to 10 months ago when I turned 18. On to bigger and better things.
Aaron comes home in 6 months and we start school in 6 months.. Whaaat?! I can't believe how fast the past 6 months have gone by. I feel like I was just saying that he was half way done. But it's exciting nonetheless! Just about every email I get from him he is telling me how much he loves his mission and it's going to be very bittersweet when it ends. He's amazing for putting up with me lately though. I imagine I've been a pain, but I guess he still kind of likes me though.
Now I wanted to write a little something about my brother, so dad if you are reading this, go get a few tissues.
My brother died on May 31st. You never think that something like a brother, a son, cousin, nephew, friend, or boyfriend passing away until it happens to you. Hundreds of people die every single day and we don't seem to have as much feeling for them until it happens to us. My dad and I were just talking about how much of a blur June was. I feel like June never even happened. It was May and now it's July.
I spoke at Glen's memorial service on the Plan of Salvation. It wasn't quite like writing a school paper, or preparing a talk for church because I could be as personal as I wanted and it wasn't going to matter. Right now I can't even think of what I said, but apparently it was decently worded. Basically I know that I will see my brother again and that my whole family will be able to be together after this life. I know that our Heavenly Father is close by and is watching over my family and all of the people who are mourning at this time. Glen is safe, an he is happier than ever. Which is sometimes hard to believe since he always had that incredible smile on his face. He's a great example to me because he always did what he wanted in life and there weren't many things that could hold him back from that. Although he was afraid of bees, porcelain dolls, dark water, and clowns, he wasn't afraid of life itself. I have learned that time does not fix everything, because I will always miss my brother, but I have also learned that time does not exist to our Heavenly Father. He does not do things based on a schedule or have certain things to cram into one day. Time in heaven is a peaceful thing, not something to be rushed or kept track of. I guess that's why we get an eternity huh? My mind can't really fathom the concept of eternity, aside from the fact that it's forever.
This song says it best though. We had this on the program at Glen's service. Kolob is the place that is closest to God. I am also attaching the video that Megan and I created for Glenny.
1. If you could hie to Kolob

1. In the twinkling of an eye,
   And then continue onward
   With that same speed to fly,
   Do you think that you could ever,
   Through all eternity,
   Find out the generation
   Where Gods began to be?
2. 2. Or see the grand beginning,
   Where space did not extend?
   Or view the last creation,
   Where Gods and matter end?
   Methinks the Spirit whispers,
   "No man has found 'pure space,'
   Nor seen the outside curtains,
   Where nothing has a place."
3. 3. The works of God continue,
   And worlds and lives abound;
   Improvement and progression
   Have one eternal round.
   There is no end to matter;
   There is no end to space;
   There is no end to spirit;
   There is no end to race.
4. 4. There is no end to virtue;
   There is no end to might;
   There is no end to wisdom;
   There is no end to light.
   There is no end to union;
   There is no end to youth;
   There is no end to priesthood;
   There is no end to truth.
5. 5. There is no end to glory;
   There is no end to love;
   There is no end to being;
   There is no death above.
   There is no end to glory;
   There is no end to love;
   There is no end to being;
   There is no death above.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Ambition

Ambition- The strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.
I think this would be my word of the month for February. Best month I've had in a long time! And it's hard to say that a whole month was good, but all of February really was great!
I passed my culmination project at the beginning of the month which means I can now graduate and that I have very little motivation to go to school. :P 3 more months!
On the 8th was Aaron's one year mark! I honestly don't even know how we got this far. It seems like it was only a few months ago, but I'm thankful for everything I have learned this past year. Less than 11 months to go!
I got into BYU Idaho too. I'd say the word ambition fits here nicely. Even though the acceptance rate is high, it's getting into a university! So I was very excited. I then had to fill out a questionnaire for which track I would be assigned to. There are three tracks at BYU Idaho; Fall/Winter, Winter/Spring, and Fall/Spring. I really wanted the Winter/Spring track so I could stay here and (hopefully) get a job to help pay for college. All the questions were about if I was married and if my spouse was attending the university, if I would be serving a mission, etc. the answer to all of these questions was no so I was pretty nervous about what my track assignment would be. I have full faith that Heavenly Father has a say in what BYU does because I got the track I had been wanting! ;) Three days later I was blessed to have gotten a job at a Driving School. As me and my parents keep saying, I don't think I could have gotten a better job at a better time. I work afternoons typically from 2:30-7:30 and work Saturdays from 11:30-5. I make $10/hour and we figure I'll have about $5000 saved by the time I leave next winter. I can't think my Heavenly Father enough for these blessings.
I found out a few days ago that I don't have to take my online class anymore! Since junior year I have taken an exit 6th period so I could attend release time seminary. My counselor told me last year that if I did this again for both semesters of my senior year that I would be behind half a credit and would need to take an online class. So I signed up for online piano.... And it was such a hard class! I've never played piano in my life and I was trying to learn without a teacher. The class was pretty overwhelming and the binder for the class sat on my floor for about a month, so I decided I would calculate my credits online to see if I really needed the class and turns out I didn't! Hallelujah! If I had waited 10 more days to check, I wouldn't have been able to switch out of the class and probably would have gotten a bad grade. This is why we always need to listen to what the spirit tells us. All these good things that are happening to me are results of paying my tithing, attending seminary, going to church, reading my scriptures, etc. I would never think for a minute that I'm a "lucky" person. Heavenly Father does not give out luck, he gives out guidance so we can make the right decisions on our own. That's a part of free agency that I love; I chose. I chose to do the things I did and the consequence was a good one. It makes you think what other people define happiness as. I see it as being satisfied with the way your life is going. Being able to smile at other people's joy, and always being able to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Optimism goes right along with happiness. If you believe you're going to fail, it's a lot easier to fail. Students in my pottery class always raise their hand and say "I can't do this. I'm failing. I suck." Mr.Jackman comes up to them and says "Well if you believe you can't do it, you never will." Optimism and words of wisdom right there. And I believe that too. If at first you fail, try and try again.

Why You No Like Me?

That awkward moment on Senior Night for Cheer when your name is called at no one on your team claps for you...
Okay just had to get that out in the open. WHY YOU NO LIKE ME?!

Senior year is half way over!! Yay! My second semester classes are pretty awesome. I got a new English teacher and I'm super excited about that. I now have Advanced pottery and Child Psych 2 added to my schedule. Child psych 2 is so different from Child Psych 1. The past two days we have been learning how to write in the "proper" way again so that we can teach the kindergarteners when we start going to Harthwood Elementary in a couple weeks. I never realized how many people held their pencils wrong and wrote their letters incorrectly. Me included. It's almost pointless to teach the method because everyone develops their own style and after a while the right way feels like the wrong way. I think I've held my pencil the same way since about 6th grade so today having to hold my pencil the proper way hurt my hand.
I don't know how my advanced pottery class is going to go just yet. I got one semester of beginning pottery to learn the basics and now I'm all on my own. I think it helps knowing that I'm held to a high standard though. Today we got our first project and we were to work on our own while Mr. Jackman taught the beginning students in a separate room. Since I know what I'm capable of, I think I'll be able to do well in the class.
Oh and I have my senior presentation tomorrow! Kind of a big deal considering if I don't pass, I don't graduate. But I'm not too worried :)
Okay enough about school; seminary.
For the past few months I have say in the front row not worrying about who is around me and if I'm even sitting by anyone at all. It's a lot easier to pick up on things when there's no one around you. I've learned a ton from sitting by myself and I think I'll continue doing it. I don't say as much as I used to because I figure if I feel something in my heart, that's special to me and not EVERYTHING needs to be said. I don't want to be that girl who comments every 5 seconds, although that's not always a bad thing. A lot of times I ponder what my teacher is saying and try to apply it to my life. I probably look so zoned out most of the time. Oops. I had an experience a couple weeks ago that really bothered me. Our teacher asked us to take a survey for him about gospel principals and some personal questions. Everyone around me took this as a joke and wrote down funny, unrealistic answers. When I had finished my teacher said "I think you're the only one who took that seriously. Are you annoyed yet? Or are you used to that?" I kinda of smirked and said "Nah it's fine." I understand that sometimes it's cool to be funny or loud or make a ton of side remarks, but I thought that was really rude toward our teacher. I think he expected more out of my class and I'm sad that because of that, the results of that survey will be really messed up.
This Sunday I went to two mission farewells. Mitch who is going to San Jose and Bryan who is going to Cambodia. Both of these people have been in my life for quite some time. Both talks were awesome, but something stuck with me from Mitch's talk. And I know it stuck with my dad too, because we talked about it at dinner that night. He shared a story about a young boy who had gotten a basketball scholarship to BYU but decided to serve a mission first. When he came home, the scholarship was no longer available and he transferred to a school in Utah. The man was now married and had a baby on the way when his team played against the BYU cougars. He was screamed at and harassed by BYU fans. After the game, a few fans were interviewed and were asked "Why are you doing this to him? Isn't he of your faith?" They said "Yes, but these games are very important to us and we check our religion at the door."
If you stand for something, stand for it and never ever check your religion at the door. It's interesting as a high school student to see who checks their religion at the door and who stands up for what they believe. It makes me so sad when I see kids not standing up for what they believe just because they are worried about other people's opinions. If it came down to it, would you defend Christ? I know I would. After all, he has done everything for us and he died for all of us. We own it to him.

Missionary Girlfriends

I saw this on Tumblr on Friday and I just had to share. This guy is awesome!

Missionaries and Girlfriends:
Taken from a fireside by Vaughn Featherstone
Question: Is it good for a fellow to leave a girl behind?
Answer: Is it good for the sun to shine?
Have you ever heard of mission calls telling all missionaries to get rid of all girlfriends? Do you think that you could be a better missionary if she were there to help you? I think you could. Most of my best missionaries during the three years that I served left a girl behind. You notice that I said “girl” and not “girls.” There isn’t time for more than one.
Of course the first duty is to the Lord’s work, which you have been called to do; second is to your family, and third is to the girlfriend. This you should always remember.
I always interviewed all missionaries as they entered the field and one of the questions I asked was, “Do you have a girlfriend at home?” If the answer was yes, I would say, “Can I have her name and address, and would it be all right if I wrote her a letter?” Of course this would scare the poor fellow to death—then I would bring the color back to his face by telling him I only wanted to write her a letter and tell her how lucky she was to have the opportunity to share this mission for the next 24 months with one of the Lord’s chosen servants. If she is faithful, her testimony would become stronger in the gospel because of it… along with a little more advice that I will touch on later.
Young men, do not ask a returned missionary for advice on this subject. For if he has been “jilted,” should we say, he’s giving out poor advice. Pray about this together, and if you feel that you can do a better job, then go ahead. There’s nothing wrong with it. It is better to have support than to go out there wishing that you had it. This is more frustrating than worrying about a “Dear John,” and believe me, there won’t be one of those right in the beginning. The Lord always answers prayers to those who honor Him.
Have an understanding with your parents so they can encourage her and make your girl happy by showing they have faith in her and love her. Let her parents know your plans, and in most cases they will stand by her when she gets lonely. If you show them respect, as well as the girl, they will be behind you all the way.
Write her once a week or more. You can almost always write two letters a week on P-Days. There is plenty of time if they’re not books. Tell her about your mission and experiences, let her live your mission with you through your letters, and send her a snapshot once in a while. Yes, you could let her make a scrapbook for you. Mom is not going to have time and both of them would love that.
Remember that behind every successful man, there is a good woman. So why shouldn’t it be good to leave a girlfriend behind if you feel that she is special? Forget that old story of “24 months is a long time.” I have known girls to wait two or three years. Also forget the story that you will change a lot. You will only if you make yourself scarce in letters, etc. You will only change in the fact that you will be more mature and have a greater testimony and mind.
Now girls, make sure that you do things that will help you grow along with the missionary. Study the gospel; stay active in the church, pray often—morning, noon, and night. Watch out for those lonely returned jilted missionaries. You’re not in a hurry to get married.
Write happy letters every week. Let him know that you still care. He will be looking for those letters if he is really busy during the week and on P-Days. Yes, you could send him a snapshot of yourself. He would love that. So what if you don’t take good pictures—anything will look good to him. You will be busy getting the education you need, perhaps working in and out of the church, maybe learning to sew and all those lovely things, or learning to cook fancy things, but most of all, just learning the basics of life.
If the occasion arises, and you feel as if you want to accept a date now and then, it’s okay, but again… Beware of those jilted returned missionaries. They are dynamite. Stay close to your parents.
Oh yes, there isn’t any harm in leaving a girlfriend at home, if you’re both determined to fulfill the mission together. It will not be the big job you think, but a happy 24 months in both of your lives. When you are both back together again, it won’t be long before you are sure of each other because of your pure maturity. I can say these things because it happened to me, and I know of many others who have experienced the same great thing.

Keep Going...

"Keep Going..." Is what the background on my phone says. It's a good reminder, but sometimes I just look at it and say "UGH!" in my head.
Is high school over yet? Last week was an incredibly long week. I think I even made myself sick because I had a mental breakdown on Wednesday night (Yes, I'm 18 and I still have a weekly meltdown. Oops). I left school early on Thursday and didn't go to school on Friday. Missing school is the worst. I'm glad it's a new week though, and that I got so much done today. Being productive is a great feeling. Thank goodness we are halfway through the year though. Less than 5 months left! Which will hopefully fly by. Yay for being a senior!

This past weekend Jenna and I started making Valentines packages for our missionaries. It's fun to have someone to do that kind of stuff with now! Mine is also a ONE YEAR MARK and TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY package! He's almost halfway! Speaking of Aaron... I got an amazing letter this week with tons and tons of pictures and videos. He's learning how to play the guitar, so it was really cool to see what he's picked up so far. He's learned some of our songs which is really precious. I'm proud of him for all the work he's doing down in Australia! It's fun to hear that he loves his mission.
Last night I came to a new understanding of the scripture 2 Nephi 1:25-26. It reads "And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have accused him that he sought power and authority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare.
And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you. Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you; but behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, according to that which is in God, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities." I realized why people get offended in the church and that this is the exact scripture they would need to read. God is plain with us and his rules are not hard to follow if we live the life He has intended us to live. Sometimes we think our leaders or bishops or even friends are being harsh with us when in reality they are really just trying to help us and guide is in the right direction. God is no different. He's not always going to give you the answer you want to hear, and that's okay. It's okay and normal to not understand why He does what He does sometimes. He knows all of us better than we even know ourselves so all we have to do is put our faith in Him and know that He is giving us the answer we need for our profit and learning.
Remember who you are this week and keep in mind your ultimate goal.

2K13

AHHHH Happy New Year!! I made some new friends last night on New Years Eve :) I love new friends!
So many exciting things are happening this year!
Graduation
Aaron possibly coming home before next January
COLLEGE
My 19th birthday
Okay not that many... But all of those are BIG things!
2012 was a great year too. Although I have to admit, the first part of my year started out downhill. I realized a few months ago that I was completely distraught when Aaron left and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I didn't want to make time for my friends or anything really. I enjoined being alone and sulking in my feelings I guess. BUT! I'm okay now. It's so much easier to be happy knowing that Aaron is happy doing the Lords work. I'm so proud of him and can't wait to tell him that every day.
Today I learned that sometimes your friends can be wrong and you just need to listen to you heart. Sometimes it's okay to be alone and it's okay to think about what YOU want. Sometimes it's okay to eat your feelings and watch movies all night. It's okay to stay in your pajamas allllll day long too. Sometimes it's okay to listen to sad music. It's okay to cry. Sometimes it's okay to stand by yourself when everyone around you is doing something different. Today at cheer practice I pretty much kept to myself. Since we just got bad from break, I guess it was the day to gossip. There were cliques of girls all over the mats all with different things to say and I just kind of stood by myself and watched what was going on. I guess sometimes it's even okay to people watch. Haha. It's interesting to me how no matter how good or bad you are at something, you always want to be better than someone. Something I heard today struck me. A JV girl was talking with her friends and she said "Some of those varsity girls can't even do the jumps..." As if she wanted to say they didn't deserve their spot on the varsity squad. Yeah, they might not be good at jumps, but they might be better than you at another aspect of cheerleading. That made me think of who I compare myself to and made me want to try harder to just be myself. We are always comparing ourselves to others and I think it will be good for me to become more of my own person. I know I'm already my own person because not a lot of people understand my story, but there are still obvious things I wish I could change.
I had a talk with one of my good friends the other day and we started a conversation about the future. We are so excited to be out if high school and move on with life! I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for me. It will be cool to see the different paths people take after we graduate. I always wonder how many people from high school I'll actually stay in touch with. Kind of a sad thought. But it's all part of life anyway right? ;)
Here's to smiling faces and new friends! :)