YOU are a child of God.

I am. You are.
Sometimes, when we all have something in common it becomes a commonplace truth to us.

But here is the deal. When it comes to people, the glass is SO half-full.
I used to be more of a judger. (At least, it's something I have been working on ever since my mom commented that I can be a bit of a snob.) 
It wasn't like I thought people were beneath me... I just couldn't believe how GOOD they were. I thought there must be a catch. Sometimes people are so genuinely kind, smart, funny, athletic, talented, younameit- that it's easy to feel out of my league, socially speaking.
I'm not saying that when you give people a chance you will become best friends with everyone you meet. But I do know that when REALLY try to love them, you are always surprised for the better. Seeing people as Christ sees them means we have a gracious heart and a kind tongue- we are always predisposed in their favor.
This includes being patient and loving with ourselves... usually more difficult. 

"Treat everyone you meet as if they are fighting a great battle." -commonly misquoted to Plato
We usually don't know what battles everyone is fighting in the secret chambers of their hearts. That's both normal and appropriate... the danger lies in our assuming their battles are any less real, just because we don't wear our life stories on our sleeves. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I've wept bitter tears over someone else's situation... and wished I had treated them differently before I knew what they were going through.

We are children of God.
We. are Children. of God.
If we are not put on this earth to love others and bring light to those around us, then frankly, I have no idea what we are here for.

The God I believe in is not one who is halfhearted in His desire and effort for our eternal happiness.
Have faith. Open your eyes and see the beauty around you.

September Week 5

Well, first off, this week is to :

See the beauty in those around you - pray to see them as children of God.

I may want to extend this to seeing the beauty in life around me, including people.

But first, the flowers above are forget-me-nots.  Last evening, in the General Relief Society Meeting, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf encouraged women worldwide to forget not to be happy now, and to recognize the blessings in our lives.  Tonight, Alex Boye reminded us that "everything is a blessing."

Everything is a blessing.

I'd just like to post about how blessed Lauren and I have been.  We are reminded in the scriptures, many times, that focus on God and His plan will result in direction and blessings.  

Let me bear my testimony that that is true.

As these weeks have gone, I've been busy, and confused, and stressed, and tired.  Yet consistently, as I have focused on bettering myself, I have been blessed with the strength to continue.  When I was searching for a better perspective, I was able to find a talk in the Ensign that gave me exactly what I needed.  Last week, Lauren and I received the Elder Anderson's counsel as a supplement to our focus.  And this week, we've been blessed with the opportunity to hear both from an Apostle of the Lord and another man who has dedicated his talents to spreading the news of the Gospel, who both spoke on topics that have enabled us to change even more completely.  As a result of my desire to become better, I've not been left alone.  He is providing the means to learn and to grow, and I just need to do the work.

I am grateful for the opportunity to grow, and I am excited to start a new week, and recognize the beauty.  I will strive to forget not that like me, others are children of God.

Everything is a blessing.

September Week 4! (For the record.)

Sorry we're behind. The week is almost over BUT I am still going to post our goal:

Week 4: Be real! Be honest. Be open.

Ok, honestly?
Cebre and I are probably THE best communicators I know. If really ask how we are doing, we are the ones who will say,

"Actually, I am overwhelmed with school and work and I've been throwing up for two days straight- but other than that, I am great! How are you?"

Probably more than you wanted to know. (But it is the truth!)
[Cebre edit: I actually was just reminded this week about how I won the "Most likely to tell you how her day is ACTUALLY going" award freshman year.  Funny.]

But Elder Anderson gave a devotional this week that if we ask the Lord for direction, He will show us the ways in which we can be more honest. More virtuous.
http://universe.byu.edu/index.php/2011/09/13/elder-neil-l-andersen-calls-byu-an-oasis-of-righteousness/
(Sorry, they don't have a video of the speech up yet.)

Recently, I had a friend remark -very kindly- how he felt lots of times girls act uncharacteristically rude or dishonest when they try to shake off boys who are interested in them instead of just telling the truth flat-out. (It's not a problem I have very often- but it was a good example to me of how honesty is more than simply not cheating on tests.)Personally, whenever I am unsure about which course of action to take, I ask myself which one is more difficult. Usually, the opposite of my natural instinct is the right thing to do... so lucky for me! It's not too hard to figure out.
Jesus wasn't very popular. So thank goodness, I don't have to be either!
Real-ly.

LURVE TO SERVE

I have meant to write about this for a week now, because it is something I feel rather strongly about.
But because I didn't... you get the recap version instead!

Like Cebbies said, our week 3 goal was a focus on service.

I was so excited- something I have tried doing for a while now is making a concious effort to serve someone every day.
I know "serve" can sometimes be vague. It usually connotates how the other person recieves your action rather than the purity of the intent which you gave it. So in my head, I think of service as simply doing something nice for someone- and then I don't worry about how they take it. (I prefer to think that the good I have done people outweighs all the other times when I've creeped them out.)

*There is a great quote that I know but cannot cite correctly so I won't post it until I find it verbatim.*

The point is, our call is to give love. (Personally, I'm a lot better at listening to people than winning them over with baked goods. But everybody does what they do best.)
The important thing is to make an effort to give love even when it seems inconvenient or uncomfortable.

For example! Sunday night of last week, my professor told me the paper that I had spent Saturday writing was too off-topic. So I took it as a challenge to not become self-absorbed in the two days I had before the paper was due. Monday, I still went to FHE. Tuesday was my crunch day... but I was so blessed.
I spent the morning and a bit of the afternoon in the library working on it. I mean, I had already done the readings for it- but looking back, I honestly don't know how I cranked out over six pages so quickly. I even took an hour break in the middle to help my friend film a standup. I saw her in that blazer and my heart melted a little; I know how heavy that camera and tripod is for girls our size. And it was great!
I came back to the library and STILL finished my paper early. I did something else that was good that night- maybe I went to the temple; I don't really remember. But it was so great. I knew I had been blessed with extra time because I was trying to put the Lord first.

And here is something I never even expected!
Being written the day before it was due, I wasn't expecting a good grade on the paper. I thought it was pretty mediocre compared to all the other ones they would read. As a broadcast major, it is really hard for me to write research papers that don't feel like news articles. And this is a 400 level PolySci class (that I took just because I wanted to- don't judge!) with professors who are known for being tough graders.
But on my paper, beside my circled final grade there was this note:
"You write very well. Good job."
I could have cried, had I not been in the middle of my next class when I finally snuck a peek.

I still maintain that the paper is nothing special. And I still maintain that you get blessings for serving above and beyond what you expect or deserve. Kind of like reading your scriptures. I just can't function well without it. And I think I'm okay with that.

September Week 3

Growing up, I would occasionally have little crushes on boys. I considered the jaded and dejected feeling I had to be heartbreak--but most of those emotions could be dissolved through rational and logical thought. When I finally experienced my first end-of-relationship heartbreak, I was shocked.

My head and my heart were completely disconnected. I remember feeling as if my heart was just wayyy too full; it was swollen and painful and simply consumed me as a result. Thus, every thought I had was on myself, and my emotions. It was all about me, and no deduction that I was better off this way could convince me otherwise.

But I really wanted to change.

So I began praying for opportunities to recognize not only the need in myself, but in others. And mercifully, I was blessed so that I could. What started out as constant and consistent effort to look for opportunities to serve became second-nature. There was no more thought required, I wanted to serve others.

Despite my selfish thoughts and my young, swollen heart, I was blessed with comfort and peace.

I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.”10 And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”11 The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.

I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.

...

My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.”13 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.

May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, … my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”14 In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”15 Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness … afraid … river … alone.” To this end I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"The Ministry of Angels", Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Nov. 2008

Given above the testimony of an apostle, Lauren and I are embarking on week 4, which focus is:

Love to serve

This week, we will pray for opportunities and recognition, and hope that like the angels that bring us comfort and peace, we may be able to serve as well.

What is Love?

 Of course, when you surf the internet, you can always find weird things.  I've found this a few times in my internet-life, and even if the quotes aren't completely valid, they're sweet.  True source unknown.

1. When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love. 
Rebecca- age 8
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2. “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”
Billy – age 4
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3. “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”
Karl – age 5
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4. “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”
Chrissy – age 6

  5. “Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”
Terri – age 4
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6. “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.”
Danny – age 7
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7. “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss”
Emily – age 8
————————————————————————
8. “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”
Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)
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9. “If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,”
Nikka – age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
———————————————————————–
10. “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.”
Noelle – age 7
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11. “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they

know each other so well.”
Tommy – age 6
————————————————————————
12. “During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I
looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and
smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.”
Cindy – age 8
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13. “My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don’t see anyone else
kissing me to sleep at night.”
Clare – age 6
————————————————————————
14. “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”
Elaine-age 5
————————————————————————
15. “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says
he is handsomer than Robert Redford.”
Chris – age 7
————————————————————————
16. “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him
alone all day.”
Mary Ann – age 4
————————————————————————
17. “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”
Lauren – age 4
————————————————————————
18. “When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little
stars come out of you.” (what an image)
Karen – age 7
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19. “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t
think it’s gross.”
Mark – age 6
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20. “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if
you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”
Jessica – age 8
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21. And the final one — Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked
about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked
what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just
helped him cry.”

I've Got the Magic in Me

Tonight I was reading an old devotional by Elder Uchtdorf, just because I needed a little pick-me-up. I ran across this gem:

"Frankly, it takes work. For any relationship to survive, both parties bring their own magic with them and use that to sustain their love."

Maybe he was talking about marriage. But I think this applies to all of the relationships we hold dear- family and friends- as well.

I just like the thought of that. You hear all the time that relationships take work, and it sounds like drudgery, like it's some uphill struggle to maintain liking someone and staying close to them. But I also believe in kindred spirits. You bring your magic and they bring theirs, and then you combine forces to start the fireworks. That is how you make relationships work. Holler.

I highly recommend the rest of the talk- you can read it here.
I love you, Elder Uchtdorf. (Thanks for validating us.)

September Week 2

My mini message:

When Lauren and I decided to "Think of Others First" (challenge week two), I expected to be demonstrating my thoughts through action.  I'd let them turn into my lane, I'd open doors for them, I'd ... whatever.  My thinking of others first was primarily focused on giving them respect and notice through physical actions.

But then I got put on crutches.

I don't know what happened.  And I don't know when it will all be over.  But what I have learned is how much people at BYU serve!  So many people have shown their thoughts through their actions by not only waiting to open the door for me, but backtracking after they passed me to come back and open it.  And sadly, I couldn't do the same for them.

But somewhere amidst the crutches, and school starting, and life being crazy, I was prompted to think of others first in a different way than I previously planned.  Don't treat others with so much sarcasm and later Don't speak ill of others.  

Our challenge this week is to

Care deeply about relationships

This can be relationships with our peers, family, and then also our Heavenly Father and Savior.  It's so easy in every-day live to get mixed up and caught up, so that you don't even give time to those for whom you care.  This week, we're going to extra focus on proving the focus and love to maintain the relationships that we both have and care about.

And perhaps as we think of others first in not only our actions, but our words, we will also be able to further strengthen these relationships.  As we stand strong and do what's right, as we are "valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge, Ensign 2011) we will not only deepen our friendships and familial relationships, but we will also grow closer to our Savior as we become more like Him.

Goals for this week:
study the scriptures every day
go to the temple
pray for opportunities/increased ability to love
work for relationships, even if inconvenient, maintain friendships, keep them deep