I am in love with December

Blessed.

So so incredibly blessed! This may just be my best year yet. So grateful for friends, my eternal family, the gospel, and most importantly my Savior and my Father in heaven! One thing I never thought I'd add to my thankful list is my trials. How very grateful I am for my trials, which are so small and minuscule compared to the rest of the world. God has answered my every prayer. He is merciful. He is kind. He loves me and I love Him!

Thank you Warren Miller ski movie.

There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles
And piles
Of trials
With smiles.
It riles them to believe
That you perceive
The web they weave
And keep on thinking free.

It came to pass.

The Book of Mormon uses this phrase 1,297 times. 

How grateful I am for the phrase, "it came to pass." For if it had said "and it came to stay," the book would've been entirely different. Every trial ever endured by Nephi, Mosiah, or Helaman would  never have ceased. Sorrow, guilt, and grief would have continued on, if simply one word was changed - from "pass" to "stay." 

I am so grateful for the promise that my trials will come to pass. That my life won't be like this forever. That I have the opportunity to learn and grow and believe in my Savior more and more everyday because of this trial. I am so grateful that feelings of being alone, forsaken, and forgotten will not linger. These feelings just overwhelmed me, but today the sun came up, it was a new morning, it was a new day; and I realized with a new, fresh attitude that my trials had indeed come to pass. They were no more. I might feel worthless again, but that will come to pass. "Men are that they might have joy." God created us to be happy, and to love Him. 

Comfort.

It is by faith that you can lay hold upon every good thing. I pray with all my heart that your faith will be increased that you are a daughter of a loving God. I testify to you that you have been one of the valiant ones to reach the point where you now are in this journey of life. Just as you are marked as a target by the enemy of righteousness, you have been protected and watched over by your Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They know you. They know all of the forces and individuals around you. They know what is ahead of you. And so They know which of the choices you make, which of the desires you decide to satisfy, and which of the circumstances around you will make the most difference in keeping you walking in the light. I testify that by the Spirit of Christ and by the Holy Ghost, you may walk confidently in whatever difficulties will come. Because you are so valuable, some of your trials may be severe. You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith.

You must have faith to pray. You must have faith to ponder the word of God. You must have faith to do those things and go to those places which invite the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost.

I promise you that within the next few days you will feel the illumination of the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost in your everyday life. When you walk in the light, you will feel at that moment some of the warmth and the happiness that will finally be yours when you are welcomed home again with the hundreds and perhaps thousands of others whom you will bring with you, who have walked in the light because you did.

-President Eyring

I'm trying.

How cute is this!? Maybe it's just the phrase. Brave. I do love that word.

I realized something.

Even in my lowest of lows, there is always someone who is worse off than me. When I feel like life could not get worse, it can. But on the flip side, even when my life is "bad", it's really not at all. I am tremendously blessed. There is absolutely no point in my life where I can sit down and say, "I give up. Life is too hard." There's just no way I can continue on in such an ungrateful attitude. Because my blessings are innumerable. Heavenly Father loves each and every person on this planet, but I am blessed enough to truly know that. How lucky am I to be one of the few to know where I'm going, to know who I am, and to know He is always there for me. So, yes, life may be changing, but it is no way bad. Life is so good to me. He is so good to me!

Sunday thought.

Our future is as bright as our faith.

-Thomas S. Monson

Uchtdorf.

My dear brothers and sisters, it may be true that man is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the universe. At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. But always remember—you matter to Him! If you ever doubt that, consider these four divine principles:

First, God loves the humble and meek, for they are “greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Second, the Lord entrusts “the fulness of [His] gospel [to] be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world.” He has chosen “the weak things of the world [to] come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones” and to put to shame “the things which are mighty.”

Third, no matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances, how meager your employment, how limited your abilities, how ordinary your appearance, or how little your calling in the Church may appear to you, you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He knows your humble heart and your acts of love and kindness. Together, they form a lasting testimony of your fidelity and faith.

Fourth and finally, please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed.

Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 

Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love.

God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.

May we ever believe, trust, and align our lives so that we will understand our true eternal worth and potential. May we be worthy of the precious blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for us is my prayer in the name of His Son, even Jesus Christ, amen.


Additional talk here.

Answer to my prayer.

Click here.

Best. Quote. Ever.

Hal - Is this some kind of dream?

Megamind Godfather - This is a dream come true. You've been blessed with unfathomable power.

Hal - What kind of power?

Megamind Godfather - Unfathomable... it's unf... without fathom...

What I'm thinking today:

Click here. 

:)

I found the coolest scripture in D&C.

First comes the one we all know and love, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you..." And then it goes on to say, "Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness - in the wilderness, because you cannot see him - my voice, because my voice is Spirit, my Spirit is truth, truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound." My favorite part is this promise: "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will." 

I love that! In the beginning it says how He is calling you to like one in the wilderness; we can't see Him, but He wants so desperately for us to hear Him. And then how it says if we align our will with His, if we share the same desires and determinations as He does, He will show His face to us, in His own way. But we will see Him. I love it.

{Doctrine and Covenants 88:63-68}

Hello friends,

ilovesummer.

That is all.

Family.

Tonight our family played football. There is definitely something about that sport. I love it so much! By the end of our game with our 15-yard field and horrible punts, I was clutching my side from laughter but mostly because I am that out of shape. It is times like these that define my family. Protesting over sketchy calls, or making up ludicrous plays, or trying to tackle your 6'2" dad, this is when I love my family the most. So thanks again, football, you always make everything better. 

The black blanket of galaxies stretches out before me. The waves curl and hiss and then retreat, an endless cycle that makes me lose my worry. With each dying wave retreating into itself again, it pulls out strife, grief, and pain, and when it laps over my toes dug in the sand, it instills inside of me peace, joy, and comfort. I can't explain why these phenomenons in nature make me whole. But when I stretch out on the grass and think of my own nothingness in this big world, I become closer to Him, when I realize He made all of these divine pleasures for me. (And for you.)

About moi

1. what is the background on your desktop right now? Me and my best friend Mere!
2. what is the most played song in your itunes library? Dream by Priscilla Ahn 
3. *nsync or backstreet boys? britney or christina? Nysnc, and britney. I grew up on them.
4. who is your celebrity bf? Matt Damon
5. what is your guilty pleasure movie? Pride and Prejudice 
6. if money wasn't an issue, what is the first [selfish] thing you would buy/do? Buy a horse! Complete with a mountain ranch of course ;)
7. what is your favorite cereal? Fruit loops! 
8. jude law wants to give you a kiss. what do you say? You're suuuper attractive but I think kissing is gross!
9. if you had an extra hour in the day, what would you do with it? Sleep/watch psych. 
10. what is your favorite restaurant? Bajio, In-n-Out, or Sizzler 
11. what is your favorite tv show? Psych! 
12. what do you waste most of your time doing? Facebook
13. what book are you reading right now? The Silence of God, The Shack, Les Miserables, and the Book of Mormon of course.
14. what is one of your pep peeves? When people crack their knuckles or walk too slow.
15. what do you constantly crave? Bajio.
16. what article of clothing do you want super bad? Anything from Soel/Called to Surf
17. what do you wish you could do? Right now? Go on a mission!
18. what is your favorite song? I love Sail by Awolnation and Fall at Your Feet by Boy & Bear

Discover a theme?

Mm, girl.

Guess who shook L. Tom Perry's hand at Costco the other day?

This girl. 

He is very tall. And his wife is very small. And you wish you knew what he was purchasing. (You really do, you just don't know that you do.)

Today was a marvelous day, I had my first surf-n-slurp of the season, plus... it's May. What's better than May? I get to talk to my sister this month! Woo!

My sunday school lesson:

Not quite appropriate? Who cares? It all made us bawl!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNlcr4frs4

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the joys of my favorite past time :)

Just happy things.

I love this man more and more every time he speaks!

Click here. 

And click here to go to my favorite song of conference! So powerful, I got chills:) Love those cute missionaries. 

Spring winds.

Deep wind that flows into my mind, into my lungs, into my heart. With a gust, it blows away all my stress, fears, longings, and harmful wonderings. Slowly, with a caressing breeze, it refreshes my burned out mind that is slowly fizzling to irrelevance. With a push and a pull it takes away all the pains in my legs, all the pains in my mind. In stark reality, the wind invites me outdoors, beckons to roll down the windows and literally drink the mountain air.  It tangles my hair into impossible knots and opens my eyes to new worlds in the same neighborhoods. The wind follows me along a path of trees, awaking each and every leaf, making them dance before my eyes. It pushes away clouds, makes way for the sun. And with the sun and wind comes a freedom that I never dared taste. With this comes a sense of belonging, and sense of rightness to the world when everything is going wrong. 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Love photography? Then go here. I am absolutely in love with this concept. I could look at it for hours! Plus it makes me homesick for Tokyo. I miss it.

Today was kind of a bum day. My best friend is on the plane for China! But I love my friends here too:) Today Mr. Myrup taped me and Abby's mouth shut. It worked, for a little while..

Who's excited for this? I sure am!!

Today my mom bought me a calculator. A pink one. Is it sad that I was super excited about it?

Happy Spring Break!!! Here's some lovely reminders and cute pick-me-ups to give you a brighter day on this snowy wonderland {personally, I kind of like it!}