today's ten

1. waking up to a new favorite song
2. running
3. forsythia
4. christin's labeling of dad's birthday gifts
5. good studies
6. caring people
7. the smell of crisp air
8. a sea worthy sweater
9. clean windows
10. feeling loved

I delight in general conference.

The time has come again! General conference is less than a month away.

I love being a Mormon/a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (it's the same thing) for a lot of reasons. One of them is definitely the knowledge that prophets have been called again in our day, just like in the days of the Old Testament with prophets like Moses, Abraham, and Noah, the Prophet today is President Thomas S. Monson. That's him in the picture.

He and the Apostles (yes, just like Jesus' Twelve Apostles) will speak at general conference (a conference that happens twice a year in which all the members of the church, and anyone else is invited to hear from God's Prophet). They speak the things that the Lord would have us know today. We live in such a unique world. A world where the Lord is hastening his work of salvation. People everyday are coming to know for themselves that Jesus Christ's church has been restored to the earth and are choosing to follow Him. There is so much good in the world! Along with that though, it seems Satan is waging his war with more force and effort than ever before. The council and teachings given at General Conference are always helpful in helping and strengthening me to know how to fortify myself, my family, and those that I love and am called to serve against those attacks. To continue developing the faith needed to push on, to press forward and to endure.

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click here to watch general conference
click here to learn about the restoration of Christ's church in our day
click here to learn about strengthening families

"i wanna run in the sun"

now you're supposed to read the title to this post to the tune of sheryl crow's "soak up the sun."

you could say i'm a bit of an odd man out on this upcoming statement, but its true...i love daylight savings time. sure sunday night i went to bed at 9:30, the exact opposite of what one would expect on daylight savings day, but i always welcome extra sleep.  the biggest part of my excitement over daylight savings though, comes from leaving work in the light. i love night and i love love when its light at night!  working ten hour days...i never see the daylight 4 days a week in the winter.  spring, summer, fall, they are my seasons!

and so, when i get home all i want to do is run in the sun. i am by no means a runner, but tonight, i ran to my hearts content.  (allbeit, i did not run in the sun, i ran in the dark with my headlight...silly work and its late nights of paper writing and dirty diet coke drinking (thank you new soda shop too convenient to where i work! eek!)) but running, listening to general conference did my heart a world of good.

first i listened to elder scott's talk from october 2010 on the transforming power of faith and character. one of the things he mentions in his talk is how character isn't formed in times of trial, that's when character is made manifest. i love how in the gospel of jesus christ, we come to understand how the experiences we have in life, the way we face them, the things we learn, the choices can all come together to make something good, something, better and something whole. this made possible through the atonement. i often feel i don't understand enough about the atonement, and i know that i don't. but as i have been thinking specifically about how the atonement applies to my life right now...i have come to recognize many ways that it lifts me up to higher ground, and enables the events in life, the challenges in life to be stepping stones for further growth and attainment. that's not just something i know, its something i have experienced and am experiencing.

the next talk i listened to was from elder kearon, also from october 2010. in this talk he shares the experience of being raised on the arabian peninsula and being bit by a scorpion. although this talk was given to the priesthood, ever since the first time i heard it, it has always rung in my ears. i love when he talks about the anti-nephi-lehi's in the book of mormon. Before their conversion, they were living in "open rebellion against god." but their conversion was so complete and so profound that they not only laid down the weapons of their rebellion, never to fight against god again, but they never did fall away. elder kearon states: "when they laid down their weapons of rebellion, they qualified themselves for the lord's healing and peace, and so can we. the saviour assures, "if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and i will heal them." we are in a constant state of being able to choose to accept our saviour's invitation to return and repent, to come to him with full purpose of heart and he will heal us. he will heal me. and so, when we feel broken, a little broken, or a lot broken...he will heal us. he heals the brokenhearted. this i know.

last but not least, i listened to president thomas s. monson's talk from the relief society general broadcast of 2010. i love this talk so much! its entitled, charity never faileth. as i listen to president monson relate so well with the women of the church over his own experiences and the experiences of his wife, i am always deeply touched. i particularly love the story he shares of an old man who asks to stay as a guest at a home across from a hospital where he was receiving medical treatment. this man's face had been affected by his illness, others had turned him away, but one woman let him stay. and not just stay once, but stay again and again as he returned for futher treatments. this is a story that has made me cry on more than one occasion. i am not easily brought to tears, but when i think of how easy it is to make snap judgements based on appearance or what we think we are seeing, i am forever grateful for those who choose to respond with charity and love. while i wish i could go on and explain all my reasonings, i can't for reasons not all my own. but know this is the take away message...things are never as simple as they seem. respond with charity no matter what. because charity never faileth, not ever.

i delight in being able to choose how i heal my soul at the end of the day. i'm glad i chose to listen to conference. so many things stood out that were exactly what i needed. i often feel like the times i feel the very least "in the mood" to listen to spiritual things are exactly the times when i need to the most. maybe you can relate? maybe not. but if you ever feel like 'now is not the time for that,' give it a second thought and try it. for me, tonight, it made all the difference.

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the transforming power of faith and character, elder scott, october 2010
come unto me with full purpose of heart and i shall heal you, elder kearon, october 2010
charity never faileth, president monson, october 2010

I delight in ten.

Saw this on my friend's blog, fell in love and had to try.

Here's the challenge...list the ten things you love right now, don't think, just do.

1. diet coke from chick-fil-a, its currently keeping my headache at bay

2. raindrops on my face, so much rain in utah lately

3. that the speakers on my phone finally work, then i can listen to this song anytime

4. my scriptures

5. text messages and phone calls from people i love

6. bubbles...i spend most of my day with people under 6

7. happy huge hugs from my sister's (and my) friends at her dance group...makes any monday better!

8. christin's quick wit

9. the ability to write it out

10. sunsets

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idea from here

I delight in dancing.

Sometimes I need someone to commit me to doing things that I may chicken out of doing.

For Monday's FHE, this was the case. We were ballroom dancing. 

History: When I was a Sophomore in high school, I had the most awesome school counselor who thought she had done me the world's best favor ever...got me into ballroom dance! It's the class everyone wants into and usually you don't get to if you're a girl until you're a senior, she said. Meanwhile all I was thinking in my head was...except me!  It ended up being a fantastic experience. I only remember two people in my class, but one I still see regularly as she works at the local grocery store. I love it! Ballroom bonded us for life!

Today: Today I was brave. I went to FHE. I have learned from usually being the last person picked for a team (except for frisbee occasionally) and boy-girl paired activities (unless academically related) I avoid such activities or just decide to get over myself and my fears and find a boy rather than wait to be chosen.  The second usually ends up working the best.

Point of the story: It was a blast! I'm so glad I went! I always say, I am an extravert who masquarades very pleasantly as an introvert. The activities that bring out my extravert-ed-ness are good for me! And when it comes to making up dance moves or pretending like I know what I'm doing or stepping on someones toes (not that the last one happened) I love every minute of it! I was also reminded that I shouldn't let my fears of some things, keep me from doing things that I really love...like dancing!

It's good to step out of your comfort zone and do things that make you stretch. I need to do it more often. I started out really strong at the beginning of the year but have significantly chickened out since then.  It's time to kick it back up and just be brave. Be a yes girl. (and have good friends who help you commit to doing things)