A Lifeline that Keeps Me Grounded

One of my favorite things about Sundays is that I can dedicate a whole day to becoming closer to the Savior. My absolute favorite way to do that is through music. I usually turn on my Hilary Weeks station and I sing and ponder and maybe even do some interpretive dancing on the things that I hear. (Of course in my own privacy because my dancing is pretty scary).

I love discovering new music that I didn't know existed-- a new song that seems to mean more to me than the others.

What Love is This? --Kari Jobe

One of my favorite parts about church is getting to sing/play hymns. I love being able to share my testimony through music. I love love love it. 

Every Sunday at 9:00pm I have the opportunity to go to "Hymns on a Hill" which is a tradition at SVU where students on campus come and we sing on the front steps of Main Hall. I love being able to find unity among the students of campus by giving praises to God through song. 

It's pretty legit. (This last Sunday was freaking awesome... there was so many people and it sounded LEGIT!)

I like to imagine our voices ringing through Blue Ridge Mountains... and our testimonies bouncing off the trees. A little illogical- but when we are singing "All Creatures of Our God and King" what else am I supposed to thing?

In short, I adore hymns. Especially when there a lot of people there. It's awesome. So if you're reading this and you go to SVU, you should come to Hymns, you won't regret it!

Thanks to you two beautiful ladies who always go to hymns with me
And thanks for having beautiful voices that cover my screech

I love music. I love music that will allow me to feel the spirit and come closer to Christ. The song above describes exactly how I feel. I know that Christ suffered in the garden and that He died for me. I have a hard time comprehending the immensity of his love and how that love is enough for Him to take away all of my pain, and suffering. I know that He lives. He walked on this Earth, "healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead". 

I look forward to the day when I can run to the savior and wrap my arms around his neck and tell him "Thank You". 

 I look forward to the day when I can touch the wounds in his hand and feet, and I can feel His welcoming embrace. 

I love music. I love the Gospel. And I love the Savior. 

Have a Good Easter

#BecauseHeLives

The Greatest Woman

So there is this lady. She's a little bit older than me... okay... she is kind of a lot older than me, (no mom, you aren't old... just older than me!). I kind of already gave it away... but this woman is my mother. And she is my biggest hero.

Before she was my mother, she was a daughter (She is the oldest of 7... I think that is how she stayed patient enough to not kill us four kids) and a sister.

I got pretty lucky being able to be BLOOD related to these awesome women.
My Mamma and Grandma are pretty rad

I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to call these women family

My aunt Shannon, Mama, Uncle Seth, and his Wife Betsy

When my aunt was diagnosed with Leukemia we got the opportunity
to go and stay with her for a couple weeks in Idaho Falls. Like I said,
my mom is a pretty awesome sister.

Being able to watch my mother interact with her siblings and how she would do anything to help them has shown me what kind of sister that I need to be. Watching the awesome relationship that she has with her mom (who is my freaking awesome Grandma) makes me hopeful my mom will always be one of my closest and best friends. (Who am I kidding, heck yes we always will be!). My mom adores her nieces and nephews and is selfless in helping all of those she calls family.

This child that she is holding is Logan. He came camping with us once and lets just say that he screamed. The Whole. Entire. Time. I swear that my mother has this magic touch with babies and she can just knock em out. (Not really knock him out, she just got him to sleep when the rest of us couldn't).

Well, after those years of being only a daughter and sister and next thing you knew she was a mother. To four of the most crazy, psychotic, awesome, somewhat obnoxious children ever... See picture below for evidence.

Mom, I don't know how you managed to raise us and not kill us. I'm sorry for all the H*** we gave you! I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... ;)

Let's just say that I won that competition ^^^^^^^ People thought that my costume for Wacky-Tacky day was AWESOME... (You think we're competitive much?)

So imagine this... I am 12... I like my mom by that point (I think I went through a year where I didn't really like her very much... sorry mom. haha), and It's my turn to go to girls camp. I was excited. My mom had been at girls camp they year before and she was the 3rd year certification leader that year that I got to go.

Here's the thing about my mom. She goes all out. ALL OUT. (You can see the wacky-tacky pictures above for evidence). The year that my mom was the 3rd year certification leader their year's color was blue. For the day that you wear the color of your certification color, my mother painted herself blue. Yes, you heard that right. SHE PAINTED HERSELF BLUE! So yeah, she goes all out.

The next year at girls camp my mother was called as the Girls Camp Director and it was THE COOLEST thing of my life. It was SO much fun to be able to go to girls camp with my mom and see all of the hard work that goes behind the scenes to make that one week of camp work. My mother is amazing.

I love that woman. I love her so much. She works hard. At everything.

I know that it was hard for her to have to work while we were growing up. But she did it. I know it was hard to watch us deal with the consequences of our actions- but you did it because you knew it would be better for us.  I know it was hard to balance all of our sports schedules.. but she did it and she attended every game.

This woman is my hero. Some of my fondest memories are just crawling into my mom's bed and being able to talk to her about anything (before all of my brothers showed up and ruined the party... and then there would be a fight about who got to lay closest to mom). I loved doing EVERYTHING with my mom. Whether it was going to work with her, going to the zoo, hanging out at the beach, driving me to school, waiting for her to pick me up from practice (my mother's only flaw is that she is late to almost everything... ).

Something you got to know about my mother is that she is HILARIOUS! I miss being able to laugh and her jokes and wit. I miss that. 

She is willing to do anything for us children. I know she loves us. She shows it by the way that she teaches us. She shows it when she makes dinner. She shows it when she calls just to say that she is thinking about me. She shows it by sending me care packages. She shows it by making us do chores. She shows it by holding FHE. She shows it by laughing at our jokes. She shows it by knowing when we need a hug. She shows it by giving us the last piece of pizza even though she wants it. She shows her love by supporting me in everything that I do. When I told her that I wanted to play collegiate soccer, she believed I could do it. She shows her love by telling me I can be anything that I want to be.

She shows her love for us in every action. 

Let's just say there are frequent FaceTime calls just so I can talk to my mom

All of those other things are great, but the greatest thing about this woman is her testimony in the Gospel. Ever since I was little I have distinct memories of my mom bearing her testimony in church. Or my mom giving service. She taught what it means to love the Savior. She taught me what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy. She has taught me to use the Atonement. She taught me to love my neighbor and have integrity. She has taught me that life is hard, but with having the Lord on your side, anything is possible. 

Mom, your example to me means more than you know. 

I don't think my mom knew what she was getting into when she said, "Let's memorize The Living Christ". Several car rides and months later we finally did it. Watching your perseverance as you recited line after line, and hearing your testimony of Jesus Christ come through the words made me admire and love you even more.

The only bad thing about coming back to school after Christmas break
was having to say goodbye to this woman.

So here's to the greatest woman I know. Here's to the strongest woman I know. Here's to my hero.

I love you mom. 

Mommy, 

I love you more!

The Serenity of Solitude

Independence is a brilliant thing that seems to sweep us all at different times of our lives.

It (independence) shows itself in many different forms. Sometimes its the two year old in us just stretching to be able to reach that next milestone. Maybe in eighth grade you don't want to have to ask your parents permission anymore. Maybe when you are a senior in high school you think you are practically an adult and can do whatever you want. Maybe you are a college student across the country creating your own life. But maybe you never have to find that independence- and maybe you never need that independence. Maybe you are always able to find someone or something to depend your life on that always fulfills your independent needs. But I doubt that.

That independence that we all seem to find is accompanied by solitude--At least at first.

It seems that thoughts are the greatest destruction of mankind. Thoughts lead to actions. Actions are either performed by you, or performed on you. That being said, actions that destroy mankind start with one's thoughts. Your response to those two type of reactions is what makes you independent. Your interaction with the things that happen to you, how you respond and what you change are the things that set you apart from the rest of the humans that walk around on this earth. Those actions are what distinguish your independence from that of other people around you.

Thoughts dictate our actions.Our actions dictate who we are. Who we are is going to dictate who we become. Thus, our thoughts dictate who we become.

Who we are and who we become is the very foundation of our serenity in solitude.

Our thoughts are the heart of solitude and finding peace within it. It's hard to be alone. It's hard to not have a connection with anyone. It's hard to question everything that you've ever known because the past has left you weary. You are suddenly left with one thing.

Yourself.

Alone.

There is one thing that accompanies them: their thoughts. And remember, our thoughts control who we become. Solitude is being left alone with our thoughts and being comfortable. Our thoughts have the potential to cause the greatest good--Our thoughts have the potential to be the greatest gift. It is our responsibility to make sure that our thoughts stay in the best place possible. It is our responsibility to make sure that we are managing who we become. To do that, our thoughts need to be in a place that is going to lead us to being a better person. Our solitude determines the quality of the person that we are going to become.

Each one of us has to learn to be comfortable with who we are and what we have done with our lives.

To be able to be comfortable with our solitude, we have to be comfortable with our thoughts. That being said, how does one control where our thoughts go? What we surround ourselves with is what dictates our thoughts.

If what we surround ourselves with dictates our thoughts, and our thoughts dictate our actions, and our actions dictate who we are, and if who we are dictates


We have to be comfortable with ourselves. Solitude gives us the greatest opportunities to study out in our minds the things that could change the world. Solitude allows us to be alone for the rest of our lives comfortably. But-

We should not be content with solitude, but we should be content in solitude.

Solitude will give us our greatest serenity. 

The knowledge incubator

As a college student, you either love or hate the library. There is no in between.

My love for the library extends only to a certain point. I do get a lot done. In my dorm there are too many distractions... So the library is a good place for me to be productive. I also like to people watch... so the library is the opportune place for me to be able to creepily watch someone while being actively engaged in accomplishing my work. (I promise, I'm not a stalker... but yes, I love the library.).

My hate-fire for the library reaches beyond the crawling pits of poisonous spiders and venomous snakes. The library sucks your energy as it taunts you with the expectations and the realities of what you need to do. There are "to do" lists and deadlines that seem to be amplified when you are sitting in the building that signifies success. There is pressure to do well on your own time and the silent competition of others who are studying around you.

I love it. And I hate it.

The Library

Who: The people who attend the library are... starved, exhausted, overloaded, stressed college students. There is the occasional bookworm who actually has the time to just read a good novel... but the rest of us are either studying, making note-cards, writing papers, finishing assignments, or are fully engaged in a cram session for the test the next day that you have neglected to study for.

I have occasionally seen the Netflix addicts enjoying a good episode of  Grey's Anatomy. Or the girl who has to stay kept up on The Bachelor (guilty).

Sometimes there are those who are just so overwhelmed that they have to just sleep.

He actually looks pretty comfortable to me

You know you are swamped when you fall asleep in the middle of typing a sentence

Sometimes there are those who get so distracted by social media that the library becomes a epitome of instagram stalking, pinterest pinning, and facebook watching.

BUSTED!!!

Guilty as charged

And sometimes there are those who just want to scope out the library to see if there are any hot smart people lerking around.... 

And there are those who cannot stay on task... so you just have to go outside and stand in the snow because you don't want to face your responsibilities. (I am one of those people)

The view from the third floor of the library

Maybe I have even had photoshoots...

Yes, sometimes I wonder myself why I am not doing homework

I guess you could say you get a grand spectrum of people who frequent the library. 

What: Homework, netflix, homework, studying, homework, pinterest, homework, netflix, homework, people watching, homework, sleeping, homework instagram, homework, reading, homework. Homework. Homework. Homework. 

Where: At a computer. At a table. At a booth. On a couch. Maybe you're in the "quiet study room" not so quietly studying. Maybe you aren't even studying at all and are taking a nap on the old farted through couches. Maybe you are in the writing center. Maybe you are in the bathroom with the freakishly short stalls. Maybe you are in a study group over in the corner. There are lots of places to hide at the library. 

When: Before class. After class. Midnight. When you need to print a paper. Early morning. You are at the library all the time. ALL THE TIME! I feel almost as comfortable there as I do in my dorm room. It's a good thing I haven't started to move my clothes and personal items into the library. 

Why: Well, most of us want to be successful. I guess we see the potential of being productive in the library. Sometimes I feel better saying "I'm going to the library". Maybe, just maybe, it signifies that I will be able to get everything done. That I will be able to cross everything off of my "to-do" list without it being later than midnight. (Psh, yeah right!)

I like to believe that if I go to the library that the environment of learning will somehow rub off on me. That maybe all the information from the books will simply seep into my brain because I am in the same room with them.

Some people go there just to hang out and feel smart. Some people go to be productive. Let's just be safe and say that most people fall somewhere in the middle.

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How: Sheer force of will and determination.