The Flood Begins

Holy smokes! Two years.... I can't believe it. Joseph Mohrman is home. I have had some messages back and forth with him through Facebook and I am just going a little crazy inside knowing that he is HOME and I can see him soon. Two years. Man. I feel so weirded out today.

And so the flood of missionaries coming home begin.....

Long Awaited Update

Oh dear blog. I have neglected you so much and I am sorry about that.

Here is a little update on life.

School has finally started! I have a good semester course load. I am taking German 101, Methods of Teaching World Dance, Beginning Irish, Advanced Percussive Footwork I am on the Back-Up Folk Dance team again, and I am retaking Statistics. I am also a TA for my friend Kellianne's beginning clogging class. 

I have not had a lot of homework yet but it has only been the first week of school. I am excited to see how things play out for me. 

I got a raise at work! I am way excited about that! I have been working there for just over a year now and I love it there. I just hate that it is so far a way from the rest of the world on campus and at my apartment. :( What a shame. haha

Chad Lanham came home. He came home because of a back injury. He served a very full mission. The stories I have heard from him and the comments and posts that friends from Brasil have said on his Facebook definitely show that he was a great missionary.

Well Chad and I are now dating. We have been since he came home pretty much. However last night we made it official in a lot of peoples eyes and opinions. We posted it on.... gasp... Facebook. haha I didn't care either way, if we did or didn't, but we decided to do it so he could get it over with and let it out to his friends in New York. He told the ones that really would care rather in person or called them before we posted it.

Isn't he just the bees knees?

Prepared to meet God

"If we are well prepared, death brings no terror. From an eternal perspective, death is premature only for those who are not prepared to meet God." -Elder Russell M. Nelson.

Morgan Meservy was prepared to meet God. Morgan graduated a year before me. He had gotten home from his mission in May, just after his brother Blake (who graduated with me) left on his, and just in time for McKenna to graduate from high school. 

Last night, he was driving his scooter and a car hit him. He passed away. When I get more information I will post it. 

My  heart goes out to the Meservy family. Morgan's influence has left a mark on my heart, even though I didn't know him nearly as well as I know McKenna. Kenna is like a sister to me so this is hard for me to not know what to say really. 

Morgan, watch over those you love and continue the work. Thank you for the great and strong example you have left in this world. Your service as a missionary will always be felt.

Blake and Morgan before Morgan goes into the MTC.

Morgan at the MTC

Morgan and McKenna before the MTC

Morgan with his newly graduated sister McKenna

I got the pictures from McKenna's Facebook.

Thinking about the quote from Elder Nelson, I really started to think about why so many things like this have been going on in my life. Friends have gotten cancer, people have died, people have gotten in bad situations. I got kind of annoyed last night. I just cried and said, "Why?! This kind of stuff isn't supposed to be happening to me and my friends. This is only supposed to happen to other people. People I don't know." but that is just it; it does. It happens to everyone. Morgan was ready to meet his Father in Heaven. Not saying that I want to die or anything, but I cannot wait until I can face death in the face and say, "I am prepared to meet my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ." The thought of being prepared for anything to happen really is magnificent. how may people could say that they would be ready to meet God? I don't think many people know they are.

So what can I do to be more prepared?

Believe, Obey, and Endure

That is what we can do. Thomas S. Monson puts it so plainly.

Believe:

Through the winds of change

Encircled by the clouds of pain

I guard it with my life

I need the warmth—I need the light

Though the storm will rage

I stand against the pounding rain

I remain

A keeper of the flame. 1

May you believe and then may you keep the flame of your testimony burning brightly, come what may.

Obey:

My beloved young sisters, you have the precious gift of agency. I plead with you to choose to obey.

Endure:

Finally, may you endure. What does it mean to endure? I love this definition: to withstand with courage. Courage may be necessary for you to believe; it will at times be necessary as you obey. It will most certainly be required as you endure until that day when you will leave this mortal existence.

I love these words. I need to believe, obey, and endure and I will be prepared to meet my Father.

So remember,

"If we are well prepared, death brings no terror. From an eternal perspective, death is premature only for those who are not prepared to meet God." 

-Elder Russell M. Nelson

Food Glorious Food

I started a food blog today. I had started one with my friend Kayla but that didn't really take off since we didn't see each other as much as we wanted to winter semester. Take a look at my experiments turned success!

Politics Anyone?

Guess who did their duty as a citizen and voted yesterday?

Oh that's right. I did! I hope you all did as well.

Keep Calm and Carry On: Part 1 - beginning the blog series

I am finally starting to read the books that Craig Call gave me to read back before SPAC tour. I have been pretty busy and then I couldn't get myself to actually read for a while, but I am finally doing it.

The first one I am reading is called Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy By Richard G. Scott of the Quarm of the 12 Apostles.

If it was my book I would mark it all up and then write about it later, combining all of my thoughts and spiritual feelings/experiences into one big l o n g post. However, it isn't my book. It's Craig's book. I can't really do that. So what to do? Write it all down in my journal like I would have the book and more? I am almost out of room in my journal and I need a new one. Soon. I know that I am going to have a lot of things that I will want to read back on and remember how this or that made me feel so I had to come up with something before I started reading.

That is when it hit me. A brrrrrrrilliant idea! I have a blog. Why not use that? Duh.

So, I decided that I am going to start a blog series that have thoughts concerning this book; things I have thought about, learned, realized, or just thought were interesting. 

I guess I will start with the first thought right here and right now. For the rest of the series that will come, you can go to the {keep calm and carry on: the series} page of this blog.

Elder Scott says on the subject of having a settled/unsettled conscience, "The ability to have an unsettled conscience is a gift of God to help you succeed in this mortal life by being motivated to make needed change."

Wow. I never realized that an unsettled conscience was a sign from God that meant that something needed to be improved or changed. Thinking back on all of the things that happened this past year and all of the times that I had an unsettled mind I realize that it is so true. 

For example. Back in November of 2011, right around my birthday, I was in a ton of debt. I was so worried. I was working but I couldn't seem to figure things out. I couldn't register. I hadn't received my scholarship because I couldn't register as well. This was the lowest I have ever felt. The smallest I have ever been. I was scared out of my mind and didn't know what to do. 

The idea of only working during the Winter semester was planted in my mind. People do that all of the time. You can take a semester off no problem. Two semesters? Don't even think about it because it is like you are giving up on school since you took off a year. I strongly considered it. I would have done it. I was planning on it.

I still thought about doing SPAC (the back up folk dance team that tours to elementary schools) however. I wanted it and I had worked hard for it. I would be giving up pretty much all of my chances of ever getting on PAC if I took off the semester to work. But I needed the money.

Conflicted feelings about what to do were driving me nuts. I went to the temple and I could have sworn that I had gotten my answer to drop out for the semester and give up SPAC. Yet, I was told that I needed to at least audition for SPAC. It would be a good opportunity for me and a fun experience.

I auditioned.

I got in. Wait. WHAT?!

Now what do I do? I prayed and got told that this was what I needed. I needed to be on this team. I knew I would grow a lot. I knew that school was not something that I want to end.

I had been thinking about dropping out completely. Altogether. done. Finito. Audios to getting a Bachelors of Arts in Dance. If only I had seen and knew earlier that my unsettled and conflicting thoughts were a sign to me saying that I needed to change. My work ethic needed to change.

My work ethic has definitely changed. I am currently working full time at BYU, the same positions that I did during the school year. I need this and I actually quite enjoy it. The people are fun to be around and we joke with each other all of the time. 

Something told me it wasn't right. I took that to the Lord. I am definitely going to keep an eye on an unsettled mind a lot closer than I have been.

Look for peace and clarity. You will be calm and you will carry on.

have they really come?

Oh the joys of summer.

The joys of walking around... sometimes even barefoot... in the water.

The joys of having beautiful flowers and clear blue skies.

The joys of being just a little bit more on the odd side of life.

The joys of getting ready and excited for school in the fall.

{my dance major council picture for the coming year}

The joys of having a little more time to celebrate birthdays and holidays.

The joys of getting to see your siblings really grow.