I've felt especially blessed to have three things in my life lately. The Book of Mormon, my brother Brent, and music. Here's why...
BOM: I've never loved a book so much. Alma is filled with exactly what I've been needing to hear. It amazes me how subtly the Lord works. I am just eating it up. And I don't think I've ever comprehended anything like this before. I am seeing why this book has changed the world because it's changing my life. For good.
Brent: I don't know if I've ever met anyone like him before. He is probably my best friend in the entire world. I really don't know what I'd do without him. We have our differences. But learning how to get over those differences and just love the other person has taught us some incredibly valuable lessons. Who else do you know that would take a $400 class and drive back and forth an hour and a half both ways every night for two weeks just to be nice? He is an amazing example. I love this guy a whole lot and if you don't know him, you're missing out.
Music: I have no musical abilities. I don't play any instruments. Heck, I can't even read music. But I love it. I love it more than most. I love it in a different way than most. I'm really not sure I can describe it in words. The way the lyrics and music and the singers voice just run through my veins, it's like nothing else I've experienced. I really don't know how to describe it, I just know I love it and feel blessed to have it in my life.
The title is from a song by Relient K. "The Lining Is Silver". I cant find a link cuz it's on the B sides album. But it's good nonetheless.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
I Walk Down The Road And I'm Alone Again But I Will Sing A Song As I Go
I realized that my posts are super long. And most people don't want to take tons of time out of their day to read eight bazillion paragraphs. So i'll try to keep this one a little bit shorter. PS The title is the same song as the name of my blog, and I already posted the link in an earlier post :)
BYU Basketball camp. Approximately 8 hours of basketball a day for 4 days. Tired at the end? Try exhausted. BUT, it was worth it :) I had a lot of fun and so did Bezait. Congrats to her and her team (Compton Criminals, don't look at me, they picked their own name) on winning the 5v5 championship!
Every women's basketball fan should be familiar with the name Abbey Wilson (top row, second from right), she'll be on your Wheaties box before you know it. Same with Carly Stratton. Those girls know how to play some serious basketball. I met a lot of neat people and made some odd friendships. Sad thing is, I just restricted myself from FB and now I can't add them as friends! Oh well, more fuel to the flame of finishing the BOM! I've made quite a bit of progress actually, but the lack of facebook is harder than I thought.
Anyways, it was cool to get to meet some of the players and see the real side of college athletics. Big shout out to Coriann Wood (soon to be Fraughton) who was an awesome coach and one of the friendliest persons i've ever met. Congrats on getting engaged, Tucker is a lucky guy. Keep an eye out for #23, she's bound for greatness!
Okay besides the awesome friends and good basketball times, highlight of my week has to be having a wicked flashback of two years ago when I went to the same camp. I was sitting in the chairs waiting for camp to start on the first day as the "coaches" started to trickle in. The coaches were some womens bball players, some random dudes who had connections with the team, and some Cougar alum. I swore I recognized one of the huge polynesian guys shooting baskets but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. And then I saw another huge polynesian dude, even bigger than the first. And then it hit me. I was witnessing Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna in the flesh. If you don't know BYU football, that probably means nothing to you. But if you DO know BYU football, then you can probably imagine how incredibly excited I was to be seeing these guys in real life. And not just at a football game. Just shootin' hoops in bball clothes. They were real life human beings! For the uneducated folk, those two were some of the most amazing athletes and funnest to watch players to ever grace the field at LaVell Edwards stadium. At the time, Harvey had just broken the school record for most rushing yards by a freshman running back. I worked up the nerve to ask to get my picture taken with them, but by some dastardly turn of fate, I can't find the disposable camera that holds the proof.
Well, fast forward to this year, about 5 days ago. This time, there is this black guy that looks super familiar. But he looks too short to be a basketball player. And then I thought about the John Beck era of Cougar football and how short his running back looked from the stands. And I thought to myself, there is no freaking way that Curtis Brown came back to BYU for a girls basketball camp. He was a freaking stud when it came to football and he had graduated years ago. Why would one of the greatest running backs in BYU's history (he held the school record for rushing yards until Harvey came along and broke that record too) come to a fundamentals camp for high school girls for a sport that he didn't even play? Well I'm not really sure if that question ever got answered, but sure enough, it was the one and only Curtis Brown. This time, there was no messing with disposable cameras. I had my iPhone out and ready before they even introduced him.
It was a good learning experience and I got my fill of Cannon Center food and most importantly, the best fountain Red Cream Soda known to man. If I end up at BYU, Barq's RCS could be a large reason why. I did one of the scariest things i've ever done. I gave my friend a Book of Mormon with my testimony written in it. I had asked some of the other girls from our basketball team to put their testimonies in it too and i'm very grateful to them for being so willing. I can't really say much about the experience because I have no idea if she'll end up reading it or use it as a paperweight. But I know it's been a long time since i've been that nervous. It really was hard to share something so close to my heart and put it out there, vulnerable and open to rejection. But if there is any chance that she actually does read it and something clicks for her, it is worth all the nervousness in the world. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for approximately the 7th time in the past 6 weeks. Gotta love summer eah?
PS Congrats to my good friend Tori Nye on getting engaged this week as well, I wish the best to you and Ryan!
PSS Here are some other pictures of me and my team (Y-Factor all the way! Its like the x-factor, BYU style) and others of me and some friends.
PSSS Don't mind how fabulous I look in these pictures. Basketball all day minus any makeup or hairstyling effort equals pure beauty, obviously.
Left to right...kind of...
Shell-butt, Daylene (yellow), Me, T-Payne, K-Dub, Soper (green), Cori, Tiff, Mel, Boozer, Whitters
L to R
E-money, Daylene, Me, Tiff, Cori, Soper, Rissa, Boozer, T-Payne, Shell-butt, Whitters, K-Dub
Sha-NayNay, me, the aforementioned C-Stratt
Sopes! n' Me
I still don't remember what her first name is, but with a last name like Soper, who needs a first name? She was probably one of my favorite people that I met here. She goes to Manti and guess what their mascot is. The Templars. Looks exceedingly similar to TEMPLES if you ask me...
"It is hard to fail, but worse to have never tried to succeed."
BYU Basketball camp. Approximately 8 hours of basketball a day for 4 days. Tired at the end? Try exhausted. BUT, it was worth it :) I had a lot of fun and so did Bezait. Congrats to her and her team (Compton Criminals, don't look at me, they picked their own name) on winning the 5v5 championship!
Every women's basketball fan should be familiar with the name Abbey Wilson (top row, second from right), she'll be on your Wheaties box before you know it. Same with Carly Stratton. Those girls know how to play some serious basketball. I met a lot of neat people and made some odd friendships. Sad thing is, I just restricted myself from FB and now I can't add them as friends! Oh well, more fuel to the flame of finishing the BOM! I've made quite a bit of progress actually, but the lack of facebook is harder than I thought.
Anyways, it was cool to get to meet some of the players and see the real side of college athletics. Big shout out to Coriann Wood (soon to be Fraughton) who was an awesome coach and one of the friendliest persons i've ever met. Congrats on getting engaged, Tucker is a lucky guy. Keep an eye out for #23, she's bound for greatness!
Okay besides the awesome friends and good basketball times, highlight of my week has to be having a wicked flashback of two years ago when I went to the same camp. I was sitting in the chairs waiting for camp to start on the first day as the "coaches" started to trickle in. The coaches were some womens bball players, some random dudes who had connections with the team, and some Cougar alum. I swore I recognized one of the huge polynesian guys shooting baskets but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. And then I saw another huge polynesian dude, even bigger than the first. And then it hit me. I was witnessing Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna in the flesh. If you don't know BYU football, that probably means nothing to you. But if you DO know BYU football, then you can probably imagine how incredibly excited I was to be seeing these guys in real life. And not just at a football game. Just shootin' hoops in bball clothes. They were real life human beings! For the uneducated folk, those two were some of the most amazing athletes and funnest to watch players to ever grace the field at LaVell Edwards stadium. At the time, Harvey had just broken the school record for most rushing yards by a freshman running back. I worked up the nerve to ask to get my picture taken with them, but by some dastardly turn of fate, I can't find the disposable camera that holds the proof.
Well, fast forward to this year, about 5 days ago. This time, there is this black guy that looks super familiar. But he looks too short to be a basketball player. And then I thought about the John Beck era of Cougar football and how short his running back looked from the stands. And I thought to myself, there is no freaking way that Curtis Brown came back to BYU for a girls basketball camp. He was a freaking stud when it came to football and he had graduated years ago. Why would one of the greatest running backs in BYU's history (he held the school record for rushing yards until Harvey came along and broke that record too) come to a fundamentals camp for high school girls for a sport that he didn't even play? Well I'm not really sure if that question ever got answered, but sure enough, it was the one and only Curtis Brown. This time, there was no messing with disposable cameras. I had my iPhone out and ready before they even introduced him.
It was a good learning experience and I got my fill of Cannon Center food and most importantly, the best fountain Red Cream Soda known to man. If I end up at BYU, Barq's RCS could be a large reason why. I did one of the scariest things i've ever done. I gave my friend a Book of Mormon with my testimony written in it. I had asked some of the other girls from our basketball team to put their testimonies in it too and i'm very grateful to them for being so willing. I can't really say much about the experience because I have no idea if she'll end up reading it or use it as a paperweight. But I know it's been a long time since i've been that nervous. It really was hard to share something so close to my heart and put it out there, vulnerable and open to rejection. But if there is any chance that she actually does read it and something clicks for her, it is worth all the nervousness in the world. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for approximately the 7th time in the past 6 weeks. Gotta love summer eah?
PS Congrats to my good friend Tori Nye on getting engaged this week as well, I wish the best to you and Ryan!
PSS Here are some other pictures of me and my team (Y-Factor all the way! Its like the x-factor, BYU style) and others of me and some friends.
PSSS Don't mind how fabulous I look in these pictures. Basketball all day minus any makeup or hairstyling effort equals pure beauty, obviously.
Left to right...kind of...
Shell-butt, Daylene (yellow), Me, T-Payne, K-Dub, Soper (green), Cori, Tiff, Mel, Boozer, Whitters
L to R
E-money, Daylene, Me, Tiff, Cori, Soper, Rissa, Boozer, T-Payne, Shell-butt, Whitters, K-Dub
Sha-NayNay, me, the aforementioned C-Stratt
Sopes! n' Me
I still don't remember what her first name is, but with a last name like Soper, who needs a first name? She was probably one of my favorite people that I met here. She goes to Manti and guess what their mascot is. The Templars. Looks exceedingly similar to TEMPLES if you ask me...
"It is hard to fail, but worse to have never tried to succeed."
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Just Watch The Fireworks
The title of this post is the name of a song by Jimmy Eat World. Not just what every five year old kid has heard a bazillion times this weekend. I don't think I can really explain this one, it just means a lot of things in a lot of different ways. If you are really intrigued, you can ask me later. On to the actual post! But first, the link :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0WKWYqtFOI
Today I decided to ground myself from Facebook. As soon as everybody picks their jaws up off the floor, I'll continue...Okay, okay I guess I should explain. I've been trying to read the Book Of Mormon the whole way through. And i've made more progress than I originally thought I would. But i'm still less than half way through Alma and it's been many months since I began. So I decided to ground myself from Facebook because of a few different inspirations, until I have finished reading the BOM.
Inspiration #1: Tonya Shay Anderson. What a great girl, eah? If you don't know her, you are seriously missing out. I had a really amazing talk with her last Friday after a little meeting that i'm sure i'll be writing about later. It was one of those talks that I always seem to have with her. It was a lot about the gospel and LTC and life in general I guess. I realized after this talk that I needed to re-prioritize and kind of fix the things that have been needing fixing for a long time.
Inspiration #2: "Where The Heart Is" as in the movie, not the location. Most people know it as The Wal-Mart Baby. For those who haven't seen the movie, the main character (Novalee) is a 17 yr old pregnant girl whose boyfriend abandons her at a Wal-Mart. After the baby is born and many details skipped later, Novalee takes in her best friend and 5 kids. The friend's ex-boyfriend had severely beaten her and two of her kids when she took them in. Novalee has a heart to heart with the friend who asks her what she is supposed to tell her kids when they ask why this had to happen to them. And I LOVED what Novalee responds with. This is it, with a lil editing on my part.
"You tell them that our--
our lives can change with every breath we take.
We both know that.
And you tell them to let go of what's gone.
'Cause men like Roger Brisco never win.
And tell them to hold on
like HECK to what they've got--
each other and a mother
who would die for them...
and almost did.
You tell them
we've all got meanness in us.
But we've got good in us too.
And the only thing
worth livin' for is the good.
And that is why we've got
to make sure to pass it on."
Most probably don't see how this has to do anything with reading the BOM or FB. But to me, it was something that told me to pass on the good. And the greatest good I know is the gospel of Jesus Christ. How am I supoosed to pass it on when I haven't even read the most important book all the way through? Well, that's about to change.
Inspiration #3: LTC & the friends I made there. The more I think about the experiences from that week, the more I realize just how big of an impact they have already had on my life and the way that I desire to live it. It sort of reminded me of EFY at first. Super spiritual week where you love every minute and just want to soak it all up. But I think my favorite difference between EFY and LTC is that the friends you make and the bonds between you can last beyond the week. I know there are special cases of people who make life long friendships from EFY and I think those people are so lucky and I'm so happy for them. But I think it would be hard
NOT to keep the friendships you make at LTC. I've had experiences and talks with some of the girls from up there that I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. [Including sleep :)]
In the midst of those talks, I stumbled upon something I did not know of before and I probably still wouldn't if it weren't for those talks. I had a burning desire to finish the Book of Mormon. I also realized something extremely sad. I have been letting idle and unimportant worldly things get in the way of that goal. I'm not condemning Facebook or trying to say that it is evil. But for me, it has stood in the way long enough and I will not be logging on until I have eaten up every last page of that blue book. It is time for me to do the things that I know need to be done and that I WANT to do.
I'm going to a BYU basketball camp next week with a good friend of mine and I am totally psyched! I'll write about it when I can. Hope everyone has had a fantastic Fourth of July, especially my friend Michelle Althouse who turned 18 today. Hope you have had a super Happy Birthday my dear friend, you deserve it! You are the only person i've ever had a 14 hour non-stop conversation with :)
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0WKWYqtFOI
Today I decided to ground myself from Facebook. As soon as everybody picks their jaws up off the floor, I'll continue...Okay, okay I guess I should explain. I've been trying to read the Book Of Mormon the whole way through. And i've made more progress than I originally thought I would. But i'm still less than half way through Alma and it's been many months since I began. So I decided to ground myself from Facebook because of a few different inspirations, until I have finished reading the BOM.
Inspiration #1: Tonya Shay Anderson. What a great girl, eah? If you don't know her, you are seriously missing out. I had a really amazing talk with her last Friday after a little meeting that i'm sure i'll be writing about later. It was one of those talks that I always seem to have with her. It was a lot about the gospel and LTC and life in general I guess. I realized after this talk that I needed to re-prioritize and kind of fix the things that have been needing fixing for a long time.
Inspiration #2: "Where The Heart Is" as in the movie, not the location. Most people know it as The Wal-Mart Baby. For those who haven't seen the movie, the main character (Novalee) is a 17 yr old pregnant girl whose boyfriend abandons her at a Wal-Mart. After the baby is born and many details skipped later, Novalee takes in her best friend and 5 kids. The friend's ex-boyfriend had severely beaten her and two of her kids when she took them in. Novalee has a heart to heart with the friend who asks her what she is supposed to tell her kids when they ask why this had to happen to them. And I LOVED what Novalee responds with. This is it, with a lil editing on my part.
"You tell them that our--
our lives can change with every breath we take.
We both know that.
And you tell them to let go of what's gone.
'Cause men like Roger Brisco never win.
And tell them to hold on
like HECK to what they've got--
each other and a mother
who would die for them...
and almost did.
You tell them
we've all got meanness in us.
But we've got good in us too.
And the only thing
worth livin' for is the good.
And that is why we've got
to make sure to pass it on."
Most probably don't see how this has to do anything with reading the BOM or FB. But to me, it was something that told me to pass on the good. And the greatest good I know is the gospel of Jesus Christ. How am I supoosed to pass it on when I haven't even read the most important book all the way through? Well, that's about to change.
Inspiration #3: LTC & the friends I made there. The more I think about the experiences from that week, the more I realize just how big of an impact they have already had on my life and the way that I desire to live it. It sort of reminded me of EFY at first. Super spiritual week where you love every minute and just want to soak it all up. But I think my favorite difference between EFY and LTC is that the friends you make and the bonds between you can last beyond the week. I know there are special cases of people who make life long friendships from EFY and I think those people are so lucky and I'm so happy for them. But I think it would be hard
NOT to keep the friendships you make at LTC. I've had experiences and talks with some of the girls from up there that I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. [Including sleep :)]
In the midst of those talks, I stumbled upon something I did not know of before and I probably still wouldn't if it weren't for those talks. I had a burning desire to finish the Book of Mormon. I also realized something extremely sad. I have been letting idle and unimportant worldly things get in the way of that goal. I'm not condemning Facebook or trying to say that it is evil. But for me, it has stood in the way long enough and I will not be logging on until I have eaten up every last page of that blue book. It is time for me to do the things that I know need to be done and that I WANT to do.
I'm going to a BYU basketball camp next week with a good friend of mine and I am totally psyched! I'll write about it when I can. Hope everyone has had a fantastic Fourth of July, especially my friend Michelle Althouse who turned 18 today. Hope you have had a super Happy Birthday my dear friend, you deserve it! You are the only person i've ever had a 14 hour non-stop conversation with :)
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
Sunday, June 27, 2010
De La Souls
First of all, let me just say Happy late Birthday to my good friend E-Flems! Considering you are probably one of the only ones reading this, if you read it at all, I thought i'd give you an extra special shout-out. Farewell from your teenage glory days, and I sure hope Saturday was the best 20th birthday you'll ever have. I'm still slightly ticked that I haven't met Troy yet.
I realized that I didn't post anything about Girls Camp. And that probably isn't fair because I had a really good time. And I learned a lot. But this is more about LTC because it was just a totally different level of learning and spirituality.
Real quick, Girls Camp was full of adventure. I went on my first overnight hike, built a tent using mismatched poles, duct tape, and a pocket knife. I had a good time getting to know the girls in my ward a little better. It was fun to see them out of their natural environment. Most of them are Hi-Lo's (the dance team for LHS) and thus were a little uncomfortable camping in the wild :) They really are cool girls though and i'm a little disappointed in myself that it took me this long to give them a chance and see past the dancer stereotype. Of course, me and some of my good friends were able to make some good memories. What else do you do when you have 17 year old girls without technology with a tent in the woods? Make memories :D
On to LTC, the real deal. For those who aren't hip with the lingo these days, it stands for Laurel Training Camp. It's not a church-wide program, but it is a church camp. The girls who just graduated and the girls my age, who will be seniors next year, go camping for a week. During that week, we get split into the different value groups, ( faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue) and attend different lessons and lectures with our groups. We got to have lessons from the 3 stake presidents on some awesome subjects and I know that I learned a lot for sure. Because of the sacred nature of the camp and the lessons learned there, i'll be using some discretion on how much I do or do not say on this post. Just know that it was a very spiritually enlightening time.
The groups get assigned after much prayer and consideration by the Presidency and I believe the Youth Presidency. Because of this, you don't necessarily get grouped with all of your best pals. In fact, I wasn't all that close with any of the girls in my group before this week. I won't lie, I was a little disappointed at first. If you know me at all, i'm not super comfortable around tons of people, especially those who I don't know very well. Luckily, that discomfort didn't last long. We jumped right into deep conversation the very first day. And i'm so grateful to whoever invented the whole LTC idea because I think bringing those walls down right at the beginning helped facilitate the growth that occurred in all of us. Now I can't say that a miracle happened and now the girls from my group are all my new best friends. But I can say that I got to see them in a new light and I learned to be less judgmental. I suppose you could say I have a better appreciation for them now. I never knew their stories before and I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for this. And i still am not an expert on any of their lives, but sometimes a glimpse is enough to help build a friendship that has some solid foundation. OH! By the way, we were the Integrity group.
Our group had a pretty neat experience with prayer. One of the girls wasn't able to be there the whole time, for ease of reference, her name was Michelle. She had to come late and leave early and miss a day. Sadly, she wasn't able to be there for much of the group bonding. Well, she had work Thursday morning and Friday morning. So Wednesday night she was talking about how she might just stay in town and not come back at all since she would only be able to come Thursday night for a few hours. Thursday night is the key night! It's testimony meeting, the big dutch oven dinner, and the night when the most bonding occurs. Honestly, I don't blame her for wanting to just stay in town. But I kept getting this feeling that she needed to be at testimony meeting. I don't know why, but the feeling was there and it was strong. So I kept trying to convince her of how much fun Thursday would be and how good the food would be and anything else I could think of. Yet, when she left that night she still seemed very unsure and I got the feeling that she wasn't coming back. So I talked to one of her good friends in the other group and they said they didn't think she was coming back either. "How could this be?" I thought. I tried my hardest to persuade her and I was trying to follow the promptings I felt. But it hadn't worked. So I decided to turn to the thing that has never failed me. Prayer. But not just mine alone. I knew it would require something bigger. So I talked to my group at our evening devotional and we all decided to keep her in our prayers that night. The next day, I could hardly focus. I couldn't wait to see if she would change her mind and come back. Around lunch time, after some really good lessons from the VGP's, I realized that I had done what I could. I prayed and now it was in the Lord's hands and I needed to just trust him. So I tried to just put it out of my mind and focus on the lessons and experiences at hand. Well, fast-forward to dinner time. A few of us were done eating and I had just thrown my plate in the garbage and was getting some dessert when I looked at the bridge to see none other than Michelle! I ran over and gave her a huge hug and she looked at me like...umm, okay? I guess it was a little odd from her side. She didn't know how long I, along with my group, had been waiting to see if she would come back or not. And now she was actually there! It was just one of those moments for me when I stop and think, Hey, He really is listening to us. I don't know her end of the story. If she felt something that brought her back to camp or what. But I know it definitely helped strengthen my testimony of prayer. I don't know if i've ever been more excited to see someone. And as far as her needing to be at testimony meeting, I don't know if she got anything out of it or not. She's not real talkative when it comes to spiritual matters and I wasn't sitting in a spot where I could see if anything that was said affected her. But I know for sure that the spirit was super strong there and it would have been pretty hard to ignore it.
Testimony meeting was awesome, but one of those experiences of a sensitive nature that's not to be regurgitated online. I can say that I was very impressed by a lot of those girls and my love for them grew immensely. I loved the opportunity to share what I had learned. I don't know if anyone else really feels like I do, but I see testimony meetings sort of as an opportunity to show my gratitude to Him by sharing what i've been taught and declaring it to my peers. As awesome as the meeting was its self, I almost loved the post meeting "hug time" as they called it even more. There were so many girls that i've always wanted to get to know in school and that but i've never really had the opportunity until now. And to see them on such a deep level! If you know me at all, i'm not much of a crier. I have nothing against crying, i don't try to be 'strong' and not cry. It's just not usually how I show my emotions. For much of the meeting, I had a huge grin on my face while everyone around me was blowing noses and wiping eyes. I guess it just excites me to see other people learn of the Love that i've been feeling a lot lately from Him. Nevertheless, I cried like I haven't cried in a while during Hug Time. I look up to them so much and it was a lovely opportunity to see the real person inside and then to be able to tell them how much they mean and what a great example they are and to say thank you for that. As a very wise friend of mine once said, "Life is about people." And I know that is super simple, but I love it. I believe it and I love being able to express myself to people. I think we live in a world where we base too much of our self esteem on recognition. And that's sad because it means that we all forget sometimes just how great we really are. Thus, i LOVE an opportunity to remind people sincerely.
One more thought from LTC that I loved is the idea of Dippers and Buckets. Each person has a bucket. And they are fairly responsible to fill that bucket personally. We can also help fill each others buckets. When a person has a full bucket they feel loved, confident and more willing to help fill others' buckets. Unfortunately, we each have a dipper as well. And when we stick our dippers in others buckets, it doesn't help fill ours, it only spills theirs. And when someone has a lot of dippers in their bucket or if someone dips in too frequently, the person may feel inclined to put a lid on their bucket. And then no one can help fill it and they can't fill it themselves either. If you notice someones dipper in your bucket, gently remind them to take it out. If we can keep our dippers out of others buckets and focus only on filling them, we will all be a lot happier. So when you wake up tomorrow, are you going to be a Dipper or a Filler? Only you can decide.
Anyways, I wish I could just capture experiences and tap into them at will. Kinda like the 'pensieve' idea in Harry Potter. Just bottle up a memory and then relive it whenever I feel like at it. Until then, we'll all keep blogging and journaling I guess. I love all of my Girls Camp and LTC girls and it has been great to feel their love the last few weeks. I hope to become a permanent Filler because I sure appreciate all those who have helped fill mine. Lately it feels like its overflowing. And it sure is nice to feel overflowing rather than overwhelmed once in a while. Hope everyone is having a great day! (Ha, Like anyone actually reads this!)
ps the title is a song by POS. POS is an artist, not just an acronym for an inappropriate saying.
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/pos/de_la_souls-lyrics-1241893.html
"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."
I realized that I didn't post anything about Girls Camp. And that probably isn't fair because I had a really good time. And I learned a lot. But this is more about LTC because it was just a totally different level of learning and spirituality.
Real quick, Girls Camp was full of adventure. I went on my first overnight hike, built a tent using mismatched poles, duct tape, and a pocket knife. I had a good time getting to know the girls in my ward a little better. It was fun to see them out of their natural environment. Most of them are Hi-Lo's (the dance team for LHS) and thus were a little uncomfortable camping in the wild :) They really are cool girls though and i'm a little disappointed in myself that it took me this long to give them a chance and see past the dancer stereotype. Of course, me and some of my good friends were able to make some good memories. What else do you do when you have 17 year old girls without technology with a tent in the woods? Make memories :D
On to LTC, the real deal. For those who aren't hip with the lingo these days, it stands for Laurel Training Camp. It's not a church-wide program, but it is a church camp. The girls who just graduated and the girls my age, who will be seniors next year, go camping for a week. During that week, we get split into the different value groups, ( faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue) and attend different lessons and lectures with our groups. We got to have lessons from the 3 stake presidents on some awesome subjects and I know that I learned a lot for sure. Because of the sacred nature of the camp and the lessons learned there, i'll be using some discretion on how much I do or do not say on this post. Just know that it was a very spiritually enlightening time.
The groups get assigned after much prayer and consideration by the Presidency and I believe the Youth Presidency. Because of this, you don't necessarily get grouped with all of your best pals. In fact, I wasn't all that close with any of the girls in my group before this week. I won't lie, I was a little disappointed at first. If you know me at all, i'm not super comfortable around tons of people, especially those who I don't know very well. Luckily, that discomfort didn't last long. We jumped right into deep conversation the very first day. And i'm so grateful to whoever invented the whole LTC idea because I think bringing those walls down right at the beginning helped facilitate the growth that occurred in all of us. Now I can't say that a miracle happened and now the girls from my group are all my new best friends. But I can say that I got to see them in a new light and I learned to be less judgmental. I suppose you could say I have a better appreciation for them now. I never knew their stories before and I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for this. And i still am not an expert on any of their lives, but sometimes a glimpse is enough to help build a friendship that has some solid foundation. OH! By the way, we were the Integrity group.
Our group had a pretty neat experience with prayer. One of the girls wasn't able to be there the whole time, for ease of reference, her name was Michelle. She had to come late and leave early and miss a day. Sadly, she wasn't able to be there for much of the group bonding. Well, she had work Thursday morning and Friday morning. So Wednesday night she was talking about how she might just stay in town and not come back at all since she would only be able to come Thursday night for a few hours. Thursday night is the key night! It's testimony meeting, the big dutch oven dinner, and the night when the most bonding occurs. Honestly, I don't blame her for wanting to just stay in town. But I kept getting this feeling that she needed to be at testimony meeting. I don't know why, but the feeling was there and it was strong. So I kept trying to convince her of how much fun Thursday would be and how good the food would be and anything else I could think of. Yet, when she left that night she still seemed very unsure and I got the feeling that she wasn't coming back. So I talked to one of her good friends in the other group and they said they didn't think she was coming back either. "How could this be?" I thought. I tried my hardest to persuade her and I was trying to follow the promptings I felt. But it hadn't worked. So I decided to turn to the thing that has never failed me. Prayer. But not just mine alone. I knew it would require something bigger. So I talked to my group at our evening devotional and we all decided to keep her in our prayers that night. The next day, I could hardly focus. I couldn't wait to see if she would change her mind and come back. Around lunch time, after some really good lessons from the VGP's, I realized that I had done what I could. I prayed and now it was in the Lord's hands and I needed to just trust him. So I tried to just put it out of my mind and focus on the lessons and experiences at hand. Well, fast-forward to dinner time. A few of us were done eating and I had just thrown my plate in the garbage and was getting some dessert when I looked at the bridge to see none other than Michelle! I ran over and gave her a huge hug and she looked at me like...umm, okay? I guess it was a little odd from her side. She didn't know how long I, along with my group, had been waiting to see if she would come back or not. And now she was actually there! It was just one of those moments for me when I stop and think, Hey, He really is listening to us. I don't know her end of the story. If she felt something that brought her back to camp or what. But I know it definitely helped strengthen my testimony of prayer. I don't know if i've ever been more excited to see someone. And as far as her needing to be at testimony meeting, I don't know if she got anything out of it or not. She's not real talkative when it comes to spiritual matters and I wasn't sitting in a spot where I could see if anything that was said affected her. But I know for sure that the spirit was super strong there and it would have been pretty hard to ignore it.
Testimony meeting was awesome, but one of those experiences of a sensitive nature that's not to be regurgitated online. I can say that I was very impressed by a lot of those girls and my love for them grew immensely. I loved the opportunity to share what I had learned. I don't know if anyone else really feels like I do, but I see testimony meetings sort of as an opportunity to show my gratitude to Him by sharing what i've been taught and declaring it to my peers. As awesome as the meeting was its self, I almost loved the post meeting "hug time" as they called it even more. There were so many girls that i've always wanted to get to know in school and that but i've never really had the opportunity until now. And to see them on such a deep level! If you know me at all, i'm not much of a crier. I have nothing against crying, i don't try to be 'strong' and not cry. It's just not usually how I show my emotions. For much of the meeting, I had a huge grin on my face while everyone around me was blowing noses and wiping eyes. I guess it just excites me to see other people learn of the Love that i've been feeling a lot lately from Him. Nevertheless, I cried like I haven't cried in a while during Hug Time. I look up to them so much and it was a lovely opportunity to see the real person inside and then to be able to tell them how much they mean and what a great example they are and to say thank you for that. As a very wise friend of mine once said, "Life is about people." And I know that is super simple, but I love it. I believe it and I love being able to express myself to people. I think we live in a world where we base too much of our self esteem on recognition. And that's sad because it means that we all forget sometimes just how great we really are. Thus, i LOVE an opportunity to remind people sincerely.
One more thought from LTC that I loved is the idea of Dippers and Buckets. Each person has a bucket. And they are fairly responsible to fill that bucket personally. We can also help fill each others buckets. When a person has a full bucket they feel loved, confident and more willing to help fill others' buckets. Unfortunately, we each have a dipper as well. And when we stick our dippers in others buckets, it doesn't help fill ours, it only spills theirs. And when someone has a lot of dippers in their bucket or if someone dips in too frequently, the person may feel inclined to put a lid on their bucket. And then no one can help fill it and they can't fill it themselves either. If you notice someones dipper in your bucket, gently remind them to take it out. If we can keep our dippers out of others buckets and focus only on filling them, we will all be a lot happier. So when you wake up tomorrow, are you going to be a Dipper or a Filler? Only you can decide.
Anyways, I wish I could just capture experiences and tap into them at will. Kinda like the 'pensieve' idea in Harry Potter. Just bottle up a memory and then relive it whenever I feel like at it. Until then, we'll all keep blogging and journaling I guess. I love all of my Girls Camp and LTC girls and it has been great to feel their love the last few weeks. I hope to become a permanent Filler because I sure appreciate all those who have helped fill mine. Lately it feels like its overflowing. And it sure is nice to feel overflowing rather than overwhelmed once in a while. Hope everyone is having a great day! (Ha, Like anyone actually reads this!)
ps the title is a song by POS. POS is an artist, not just an acronym for an inappropriate saying.
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/pos/de_la_souls-lyrics-1241893.html
"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."
Monday, June 21, 2010
Maybe Then We'd Remember To Slow Down At All Of Our Favorite Parts
"I am going away for a while
But i'll be back don't try and follow me
Cuz i'll return as soon as possible
You see i'm trying to find my place
But it might not be here where I feel safe
We all learn to make mistakes"
~Misguided Ghosts by Paramore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6c4q-hqpu0
I LOVE that song. Ever since I got their newest CD (Brand New Eyes) I can't stop listening to that song. It just clicks for me I guess. Anyways, that has nothing to do with this post. So...moving forward!
Brent has started up Quotation Creations again. To refresh some memories, my dad used to run that business before he started roofing in Logan. Once Homer Roofing started up, Quotation Creations pretty much died. It changed hands a few times but no one really did much with it til now. Brent has had a booth at Richmond Black & White days and Logan Summerfest this last weekend. I don't know much about business, but it seems like it did okay. For those who don't have a clue what QC is, let me give you a quick run down. The product is framed and matted quotes featuring a picture of either the person who said the quote or a picture that correlates. ex) temples, Christ etc...
The reason i'm bringing all this up is that i've started working for Brent. I helped take orders in the booth for a good portion of friday and all day saturday. And today I put together the 6 pieces that were custom ordered and finished most of a 20 piece order that had nothing to do with Summerfest. Let's just say it's been a long day. (Literally, it was the longest day of the year. Happy Summer Solstice everybody!)
I got to Brent's at 8 AM and left at about 10:45 PM. He trained me for about a half hour then let me loose. I spent a good chunk of time at the storage unit trying to find the right mattes, frames pictures, glass etc for the custom orders. Then it was time to get started, right? Well it would help if the keyboard worked on the computer so that I could actually type up the quotes. It would seem that all hope is lost, but have no fear. My ingenuity kicked in. The 20 piece order called for all cherry frame 7x16's, 10 of a temple quote, 10 of Hinckley's '' it isn't as bad..". Well we had a few of the right quotes already matted but in the wrong frame. So i disassembled them, put them in the right frame, stapled the cardboard, rolled out the paper backing, put on the protective dots and the company sticker, and nailed the hooks in until Brent came home for lunch to problem solve. I was able to rummage through some of the old pre-typed papers and find a quote or two for the custom orders. And we had a few of the correct pictures at the house. But none of them had all the necessary elements. So Brent brought home a keyboard, found the huge temple picture we needed in a mysterious box, and went in search for a Thomas S. Monson photo. When the company was started, Gordon B. Hinckley was the prophet, so we have TONS of pictures of just him and absolutely zero of just Monson. Sadly, I ended up having to cut up a picture of the old First Presidency. Brent brought me a pita for lunch, which was delish, but he had to go back to work...as did I.
I ended up formatting all the custom order quotes, which is a pain in the rear when you are as brain dead when it comes to Word Processing programs as I am. Then came the fun part. Assembling the product from start to finish! The process goes as follows.
1) Find proper frame thats not chipped or scratched and matte that is the correct color with the corrrect size opening and in good condition.
2) Center picture in matte opening and tape down using the most difficult two-sided tape gun ever invented.
3) Center paper w/ quote in the other matte opening and tape down using aforementioned tape gun.
4) Go outside to avoid suffocating/getting high from spray adhesive and stick the matte to the cardboard backing.
5) Find a pane of glass that's not scratched and Windex the crap out of both sides.
6) Look for dust particles between the glass and the matte and shoot them with the compressed air can thing. Do this about 7 million times as needed.
7) Insert matte/cardboard combo into the frame with glass in front and use the crazy black 'framers point' gun to sorta staple the cardboard into the frame.
8) Measure and cut the brown paper backing and use that darned tape gun again.
9) Place protective felt dots and company sticker on the bottom.
10) Nail in the hook using the most ridiculously small nails you can possibly imagine. Place tape over hook to avoid scratching other things.
Repeat approximately 26 times and you have my day today. That doesn't include printing/formatting/cutting the paper or searching through the slightly unorganized boxes for the proper picture. Much less the most difficult task i've ever faced, which is the main reason it took me til almost 11 PM to finish. That blasted tape gun!
Okay so it's really not that hard to use. Maybe a little annoying at times, but I can handle that. When it comes time to refill the dang thing? That's another story. It probably took me a good century and a half to figure out how to wrap the freakin thing around all the little wheels and crap in the right order. The diagram on the little thing is about as useful as an umbrella in a tsunami. After literally a half hour of trying to understand the arrows, i decided it was time to whip out the iPhone. It's a sad day for humanity when a girl has to look up a YouTube video to figure out how to refill a tape gun. It took me another 20 minutes to even understand that because they were using a different model of the gun in the video. I'm still not really sure how it happened, but I closed the plastic cover and said a little prayer and it worked. Don't ask me to do it again because i'll just have to pull out the phone. By the time I conquered Mt. Requires-A-Degree-In-Engineering-To-Refill-This-Thing, it was too late to hammer the hooks into the last of the 20 piece order unless I wanted the neighbors downstairs to set Brent's house on fire. So I did as much as I could without creating a ruckus.
Long story short, I never knew framing and matting could be so exhausting. But I am totally pooped. Good news is I still get to do the dishes (even though I literally have been home for a total of 15 minutes today...so i'm not sure how that translates into me getting the wonderful opportunity to do everyone else's dishes...?) pack for LTC, and shower between now and 8 AM. As much as i didn't enjoy getting a large slash in my thumb from the framers points, spending all day listening to the neighbors quarrel, and spend one of my precious few free days of summer in a house by myself, I really did learn a lot from all those quotes. Most of them were from Prophets and Apostles who are probably the most wise persons on this earth. I think my favorite was one by Thomas S. Monson.
"Courage becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully, but the determination to live decently."
There were a few others that were pretty good, but I like them better in Spanish and I don't see the point in writing in a language that no one (who reads this) would understand. I'm grateful that we have been given such wise leaders in a time and place such as this. I'm also amazed at the way things have worked out for me with this job. With my crazy busy summer, i can't get a normal summer job because of how many sporadic weeks I will be gone. I needed a job with VERY flexible hours and Brent needed someone who could spend bursts of time to fill orders. It probably couldn't get more perfect for either of us. I'm getting paid piece rate so I can take my time and do things right like I like to, and Brent doesn't get screwed over for his employee taking an hour to fill a tape gun. It just goes to show how if we put our trust in His hands, He will take care of us. The only thing that matches my complete and total exhaustion from today is the amount of inspiration i've witnessed through reading the words of His servants. It feels good to feel good :)
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
But i'll be back don't try and follow me
Cuz i'll return as soon as possible
You see i'm trying to find my place
But it might not be here where I feel safe
We all learn to make mistakes"
~Misguided Ghosts by Paramore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6c4q-hqpu0
I LOVE that song. Ever since I got their newest CD (Brand New Eyes) I can't stop listening to that song. It just clicks for me I guess. Anyways, that has nothing to do with this post. So...moving forward!
Brent has started up Quotation Creations again. To refresh some memories, my dad used to run that business before he started roofing in Logan. Once Homer Roofing started up, Quotation Creations pretty much died. It changed hands a few times but no one really did much with it til now. Brent has had a booth at Richmond Black & White days and Logan Summerfest this last weekend. I don't know much about business, but it seems like it did okay. For those who don't have a clue what QC is, let me give you a quick run down. The product is framed and matted quotes featuring a picture of either the person who said the quote or a picture that correlates. ex) temples, Christ etc...
The reason i'm bringing all this up is that i've started working for Brent. I helped take orders in the booth for a good portion of friday and all day saturday. And today I put together the 6 pieces that were custom ordered and finished most of a 20 piece order that had nothing to do with Summerfest. Let's just say it's been a long day. (Literally, it was the longest day of the year. Happy Summer Solstice everybody!)
I got to Brent's at 8 AM and left at about 10:45 PM. He trained me for about a half hour then let me loose. I spent a good chunk of time at the storage unit trying to find the right mattes, frames pictures, glass etc for the custom orders. Then it was time to get started, right? Well it would help if the keyboard worked on the computer so that I could actually type up the quotes. It would seem that all hope is lost, but have no fear. My ingenuity kicked in. The 20 piece order called for all cherry frame 7x16's, 10 of a temple quote, 10 of Hinckley's '' it isn't as bad..". Well we had a few of the right quotes already matted but in the wrong frame. So i disassembled them, put them in the right frame, stapled the cardboard, rolled out the paper backing, put on the protective dots and the company sticker, and nailed the hooks in until Brent came home for lunch to problem solve. I was able to rummage through some of the old pre-typed papers and find a quote or two for the custom orders. And we had a few of the correct pictures at the house. But none of them had all the necessary elements. So Brent brought home a keyboard, found the huge temple picture we needed in a mysterious box, and went in search for a Thomas S. Monson photo. When the company was started, Gordon B. Hinckley was the prophet, so we have TONS of pictures of just him and absolutely zero of just Monson. Sadly, I ended up having to cut up a picture of the old First Presidency. Brent brought me a pita for lunch, which was delish, but he had to go back to work...as did I.
I ended up formatting all the custom order quotes, which is a pain in the rear when you are as brain dead when it comes to Word Processing programs as I am. Then came the fun part. Assembling the product from start to finish! The process goes as follows.
1) Find proper frame thats not chipped or scratched and matte that is the correct color with the corrrect size opening and in good condition.
2) Center picture in matte opening and tape down using the most difficult two-sided tape gun ever invented.
3) Center paper w/ quote in the other matte opening and tape down using aforementioned tape gun.
4) Go outside to avoid suffocating/getting high from spray adhesive and stick the matte to the cardboard backing.
5) Find a pane of glass that's not scratched and Windex the crap out of both sides.
6) Look for dust particles between the glass and the matte and shoot them with the compressed air can thing. Do this about 7 million times as needed.
7) Insert matte/cardboard combo into the frame with glass in front and use the crazy black 'framers point' gun to sorta staple the cardboard into the frame.
8) Measure and cut the brown paper backing and use that darned tape gun again.
9) Place protective felt dots and company sticker on the bottom.
10) Nail in the hook using the most ridiculously small nails you can possibly imagine. Place tape over hook to avoid scratching other things.
Repeat approximately 26 times and you have my day today. That doesn't include printing/formatting/cutting the paper or searching through the slightly unorganized boxes for the proper picture. Much less the most difficult task i've ever faced, which is the main reason it took me til almost 11 PM to finish. That blasted tape gun!
Okay so it's really not that hard to use. Maybe a little annoying at times, but I can handle that. When it comes time to refill the dang thing? That's another story. It probably took me a good century and a half to figure out how to wrap the freakin thing around all the little wheels and crap in the right order. The diagram on the little thing is about as useful as an umbrella in a tsunami. After literally a half hour of trying to understand the arrows, i decided it was time to whip out the iPhone. It's a sad day for humanity when a girl has to look up a YouTube video to figure out how to refill a tape gun. It took me another 20 minutes to even understand that because they were using a different model of the gun in the video. I'm still not really sure how it happened, but I closed the plastic cover and said a little prayer and it worked. Don't ask me to do it again because i'll just have to pull out the phone. By the time I conquered Mt. Requires-A-Degree-In-Engineering-To-Refill-This-Thing, it was too late to hammer the hooks into the last of the 20 piece order unless I wanted the neighbors downstairs to set Brent's house on fire. So I did as much as I could without creating a ruckus.
Long story short, I never knew framing and matting could be so exhausting. But I am totally pooped. Good news is I still get to do the dishes (even though I literally have been home for a total of 15 minutes today...so i'm not sure how that translates into me getting the wonderful opportunity to do everyone else's dishes...?) pack for LTC, and shower between now and 8 AM. As much as i didn't enjoy getting a large slash in my thumb from the framers points, spending all day listening to the neighbors quarrel, and spend one of my precious few free days of summer in a house by myself, I really did learn a lot from all those quotes. Most of them were from Prophets and Apostles who are probably the most wise persons on this earth. I think my favorite was one by Thomas S. Monson.
"Courage becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully, but the determination to live decently."
There were a few others that were pretty good, but I like them better in Spanish and I don't see the point in writing in a language that no one (who reads this) would understand. I'm grateful that we have been given such wise leaders in a time and place such as this. I'm also amazed at the way things have worked out for me with this job. With my crazy busy summer, i can't get a normal summer job because of how many sporadic weeks I will be gone. I needed a job with VERY flexible hours and Brent needed someone who could spend bursts of time to fill orders. It probably couldn't get more perfect for either of us. I'm getting paid piece rate so I can take my time and do things right like I like to, and Brent doesn't get screwed over for his employee taking an hour to fill a tape gun. It just goes to show how if we put our trust in His hands, He will take care of us. The only thing that matches my complete and total exhaustion from today is the amount of inspiration i've witnessed through reading the words of His servants. It feels good to feel good :)
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Learning To Breathe
"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."
I think that quote pretty much sums things up.
We had Stake Conference at 10. You would think we could get there on time considering how reasonable of an hour 10 o'clock is, but no. We are the Homers. Good news is, once we got there things were okay. One of the general authorities said a few things about my old Young Womens leader who is the current Stake President's wife. I've always really liked her and thought she was just a flat out good person. It was nice to hear such good things said about her from someone with such prestige. I've been really interested in temples lately since I got to go do Baptisms in the Nauvoo Illinois temple. That was a neat experience in its own right, but not a story for right now. Anyways, i was reading about temples on my iPhone and learned some very interesting facts. I got these off of the official church website, not just some random guy making things up.
1) The Logan temple is the second oldest temple still in operation, with St. George being the oldest.
2) The Manti temple is built on land that the BOM prophet Moroni dedicated as a future temple site.
3) The Vernal temple is built from bricks that were donated from a local homeowner who was planning on razing his house.
4) The Nauvoo temple is one of the only temples that faces west and has a westward facing angel Moroni. (It faces the Mississippi River)
5) Something I probably already knew but never put together is that all 3 BYU campuses (Provo, Rexburg, Hawaii) have adjacent temples.
If you don't trust me, check out the site below. You can click on the name of the temple to find out more fun facts.
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/chronological/
Anyways, I enjoyed getting to know more about a few of the temples. And the Conference talks were good too.
When we got home, it was time for me to take a nap. I've been incredibly tired lately. I slept through lunch at girls camp and a devotional or two. It was only early afternoon when i fell dead asleep on the couch. Anyways, I woke up a few hours later to my entire immediate family minus Brent, who was on his way over. I realized today how blessed I am to have all my sisters still live so close, and of course Brent. It's great to be able to see them weekly and of course I love seeing Kaden & Avery (nephew and niece) grow up little by little. We spent some time in the front yard checking out new cars and eating some crazy good apple dip stuff that Kristi made. Then we went into the living room and had all the Dads open up their Father's Day gifts and shared some memories. It was funny to see full grown men shoot foam balls at each other from plastic guns.
Next was the famous family fire. It seems like we always put one of these things together whenever the family is over. We have a fire pit in the backyard and we gather round for flame roasted tri-tip probably at least monthly. There really is something great about a fire. Once I had my fill of meat, someone started singing the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Slightly ghetto, I know. So I pulled out my iPhone because I have an App that has the top 100 songs of the last 50 or so years. Whaddya know? It was the #15 song of 1999. Naturally, we had to listen to quite a few other memorable songs. And that inspired Brittny to pull out her iPhone and look up one of those "You know you're a 90's kid if..." lists. I never realized how much I still remember from the California days, which is weird considering I was only 7 when we moved here. It really was fun to sit with my siblings and just reminisce around the fire about our childhood. It's those kinds of moments that make all the fights, tantrums, misunderstandings, short comings and generally negative points of family life worth it.
I really do love my family. And I hope they all know that. Because I would never ask for a different one. We ARE weird. We sing broadway musicals at random times, we quote movies and tv shows as part of normal conversation, we buy and sell cars from each other, live in each others houses, more than half of us share an employer. We can NEVER arrive on time to ANYTHING, no matter how much notice we have. We even sing 90's songs at the top of our lungs in the backyard for father's day. But we are a family. I'm part of it. They're a part of it. I'm theirs and they are mine. We certainly aren't perfect and imperfect people can't make up a perfect family. But we ARE a family. And to me, some part of that seems perfect. To keep with the theme of quoting my second favorite book, I think this is pretty accurate. Especially today.
"As much as I don't understand my mom and dad and as much as I feel sorry for both of them sometimes, i can't help but love them very much."
As for the title of this post, it's the title of a song by Switchfoot. As my previous post mentioned, i've grown a lot lately. And growing pains come with growth, go figure eh? I've found my coping mechanism to be music. Not playing it or writing it. I have about negative zero musical talent. But when it comes to listening to it and really feeling it. Well I could do that for the rest of my life. I've found that song to be one of my favorites and the lyrics really hit home for me. The title of my blog comes from the song by Pearl And The Beard by the same title. I don't know why I seem to be able to find comfort in music when I really know nothing about it. But it works for me. If i mention a song in my posts, i'll try to include a link to a video or the lyrics so maybe it can work for you as well.
In conclusion, I love my family. I might not always like what each person does, but i'll always love who they are. They are mine. Not perfect, but i don't need perfect. Just them. I hope everyone has had a good Father's Day in one way or another. I know there a few friends of mine lacking a father figure who have been on my mind today and I hope today hasn't been too rough on them. Luckily, I know that they know of the Father who really counts. And as much as I love Keith Clark Homer and as much as i believe he loves me, I'm glad to know that there is a Father whose love for me is as endless and unconditional as that great Mississippi which the Nauvoo temple faces :) See what I did there? I tied two parts of the post together! But really, my Heavenly Father has been on my mind a lot today and I am so incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love I feel from him each and every day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_szOi0fQ5bM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHBsO3jHLfo
First one is for Switchfoot, second for Pearl & The Beard
"Always do right; this will gratify some and astonish the rest."
I think that quote pretty much sums things up.
We had Stake Conference at 10. You would think we could get there on time considering how reasonable of an hour 10 o'clock is, but no. We are the Homers. Good news is, once we got there things were okay. One of the general authorities said a few things about my old Young Womens leader who is the current Stake President's wife. I've always really liked her and thought she was just a flat out good person. It was nice to hear such good things said about her from someone with such prestige. I've been really interested in temples lately since I got to go do Baptisms in the Nauvoo Illinois temple. That was a neat experience in its own right, but not a story for right now. Anyways, i was reading about temples on my iPhone and learned some very interesting facts. I got these off of the official church website, not just some random guy making things up.
1) The Logan temple is the second oldest temple still in operation, with St. George being the oldest.
2) The Manti temple is built on land that the BOM prophet Moroni dedicated as a future temple site.
3) The Vernal temple is built from bricks that were donated from a local homeowner who was planning on razing his house.
4) The Nauvoo temple is one of the only temples that faces west and has a westward facing angel Moroni. (It faces the Mississippi River)
5) Something I probably already knew but never put together is that all 3 BYU campuses (Provo, Rexburg, Hawaii) have adjacent temples.
If you don't trust me, check out the site below. You can click on the name of the temple to find out more fun facts.
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/chronological/
Anyways, I enjoyed getting to know more about a few of the temples. And the Conference talks were good too.
When we got home, it was time for me to take a nap. I've been incredibly tired lately. I slept through lunch at girls camp and a devotional or two. It was only early afternoon when i fell dead asleep on the couch. Anyways, I woke up a few hours later to my entire immediate family minus Brent, who was on his way over. I realized today how blessed I am to have all my sisters still live so close, and of course Brent. It's great to be able to see them weekly and of course I love seeing Kaden & Avery (nephew and niece) grow up little by little. We spent some time in the front yard checking out new cars and eating some crazy good apple dip stuff that Kristi made. Then we went into the living room and had all the Dads open up their Father's Day gifts and shared some memories. It was funny to see full grown men shoot foam balls at each other from plastic guns.
Next was the famous family fire. It seems like we always put one of these things together whenever the family is over. We have a fire pit in the backyard and we gather round for flame roasted tri-tip probably at least monthly. There really is something great about a fire. Once I had my fill of meat, someone started singing the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Slightly ghetto, I know. So I pulled out my iPhone because I have an App that has the top 100 songs of the last 50 or so years. Whaddya know? It was the #15 song of 1999. Naturally, we had to listen to quite a few other memorable songs. And that inspired Brittny to pull out her iPhone and look up one of those "You know you're a 90's kid if..." lists. I never realized how much I still remember from the California days, which is weird considering I was only 7 when we moved here. It really was fun to sit with my siblings and just reminisce around the fire about our childhood. It's those kinds of moments that make all the fights, tantrums, misunderstandings, short comings and generally negative points of family life worth it.
I really do love my family. And I hope they all know that. Because I would never ask for a different one. We ARE weird. We sing broadway musicals at random times, we quote movies and tv shows as part of normal conversation, we buy and sell cars from each other, live in each others houses, more than half of us share an employer. We can NEVER arrive on time to ANYTHING, no matter how much notice we have. We even sing 90's songs at the top of our lungs in the backyard for father's day. But we are a family. I'm part of it. They're a part of it. I'm theirs and they are mine. We certainly aren't perfect and imperfect people can't make up a perfect family. But we ARE a family. And to me, some part of that seems perfect. To keep with the theme of quoting my second favorite book, I think this is pretty accurate. Especially today.
"As much as I don't understand my mom and dad and as much as I feel sorry for both of them sometimes, i can't help but love them very much."
As for the title of this post, it's the title of a song by Switchfoot. As my previous post mentioned, i've grown a lot lately. And growing pains come with growth, go figure eh? I've found my coping mechanism to be music. Not playing it or writing it. I have about negative zero musical talent. But when it comes to listening to it and really feeling it. Well I could do that for the rest of my life. I've found that song to be one of my favorites and the lyrics really hit home for me. The title of my blog comes from the song by Pearl And The Beard by the same title. I don't know why I seem to be able to find comfort in music when I really know nothing about it. But it works for me. If i mention a song in my posts, i'll try to include a link to a video or the lyrics so maybe it can work for you as well.
In conclusion, I love my family. I might not always like what each person does, but i'll always love who they are. They are mine. Not perfect, but i don't need perfect. Just them. I hope everyone has had a good Father's Day in one way or another. I know there a few friends of mine lacking a father figure who have been on my mind today and I hope today hasn't been too rough on them. Luckily, I know that they know of the Father who really counts. And as much as I love Keith Clark Homer and as much as i believe he loves me, I'm glad to know that there is a Father whose love for me is as endless and unconditional as that great Mississippi which the Nauvoo temple faces :) See what I did there? I tied two parts of the post together! But really, my Heavenly Father has been on my mind a lot today and I am so incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love I feel from him each and every day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_szOi0fQ5bM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHBsO3jHLfo
First one is for Switchfoot, second for Pearl & The Beard
"Always do right; this will gratify some and astonish the rest."
Rooftops and Invitations
So I just realized that I haven't posted for like 6 months. And I don't really feel too bad about that because I never planned on becoming a steady blogger. But it's 1:30 in the AM and i just got back from girls camp yesterday, worked Summerfest all day today and leave for LTC in 2 days. It finally feels like summer :)
There is no possible way to catch up on all the things that have been going on. I can barely believe how much I've changed this past year, especially the last 6 months or so. I discovered my Homeland and was lucky enough to be able to go back again. I've made friends with some of the most incredible people I've ever had the honor to meet. I've learned a lot about Friendships and what a real friend is and how to be one. I've learned what an incredibly blessed life I have and not to take it for granted. I've learned that as my knowledge and understanding of how much my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ cares for me increases, my capacity to love increases exponentially. I've learned what it's like to bomb a math test and how sweet it is to ace the next one. I've learned just how many doors the number 30 can open up. I visited a school I never seriously considered and now it makes the most educational sense. I've learned what pain is and that it's okay to feel. I've learned what it is to feel loved. I've learned to be able to accept people for who they are and not need to change them or myself. I've seen God's green earth in it's natural beauty. I've learned that some songs can make me ok. They don't change the situation, just how I feel about it. I've learned that my Heavenly Father truly is looking out for me and that the sooner I trust that fact, the sooner I breathe again. I know I'm only 17 and I don't claim to have life figured out. But I feel like this last year has taught me a lot. I guess you could say...I've learned how to learn.
"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out."
There is no possible way to catch up on all the things that have been going on. I can barely believe how much I've changed this past year, especially the last 6 months or so. I discovered my Homeland and was lucky enough to be able to go back again. I've made friends with some of the most incredible people I've ever had the honor to meet. I've learned a lot about Friendships and what a real friend is and how to be one. I've learned what an incredibly blessed life I have and not to take it for granted. I've learned that as my knowledge and understanding of how much my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ cares for me increases, my capacity to love increases exponentially. I've learned what it's like to bomb a math test and how sweet it is to ace the next one. I've learned just how many doors the number 30 can open up. I visited a school I never seriously considered and now it makes the most educational sense. I've learned what pain is and that it's okay to feel. I've learned what it is to feel loved. I've learned to be able to accept people for who they are and not need to change them or myself. I've seen God's green earth in it's natural beauty. I've learned that some songs can make me ok. They don't change the situation, just how I feel about it. I've learned that my Heavenly Father truly is looking out for me and that the sooner I trust that fact, the sooner I breathe again. I know I'm only 17 and I don't claim to have life figured out. But I feel like this last year has taught me a lot. I guess you could say...I've learned how to learn.
"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)