MAJOR CLARIFICATION

"We are not going on missions, and we are not engaged."

Thanks to Hiram Jacob, that statement is no longer true!

Let it now read,
"We are not going on missions, and one of us is not engaged. The other one was just too great of a catch!"

CONGRATULATIONS to Cebre and Hiram!!

We were cute freshman year.

I have evidence that proves it.

Just look at our long, luscious locks!
(Cebs, are you still donating yours?!?)

Locks of Love: if that's not charity, I don't know what is.

Charity is... not a blogger?

Quick note: I've been still following each week of charity focus... and every week has been a challenge. Thus, every focus has been exactly what I needed.

Thank goodness for inspiration!

This week's focus is:

Charity thinketh no evil.

We Used to Know...

Laur...

We knew even then.

January Weeks 3 and 4

Hello, all!

This is my version of short, hopefully everyone's version of sweet, and your version of "to-the-point".

January Week 3's focus was

"Charity suffereth long."

I learned something last week.

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. (D&C 78:17-18)

Our Heavenly Father also wants us to succeed. He loves us as His children. Through the Atonement of Christ we can change and become something new; we can accomplish the righteous desires of our heart.
It will not necessarily be easy. Just because we're focusing on charity this semester does not mean that we will be blessed with these Christlike attributes from on high.

But I know that He will bless me with opportunities in which I can grow and become more like Him.

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This week's focus is

"Charity is kind."

For this I have one itty bitty bit of advice: Listen to yourself. Listen to the words you say, and the thoughts you have before you speak them. I believe we are inherently good; we are children of our Heavenly Father. Your innermost part desires to be kind. Listen.

We cannot be arrogant. We cannot be self-righteous. The very situation in which the Lord has placed us requires that we be humble as the beneficiaries of His direction.
While we cannot agree with others on certain matters, we must never be disagreeable. We must be friendly, soft-spoken, neighborly, and understanding." -President Gordon B. Hinckley

Let us be long-suffering. Let us be kind. Let us be firm in the faith of Christ, for through him all can be accomplished.

Game Plan Pt. 2: The Charity Project

Guess what, internet- 

We're BACK!!!

And brutal as ever.

After a lovely Monday evening chat, we've decided to shake some things up this semester!
Namely, we will focus on a specific SCRIPTURE every week that correlates with our chosen VIRTUE that we're developing. 

 "A memorized scripture becomes an enduring friend that is not weakened with the passage of time." -Robert D. Hales

We'd also like to welcome kindred spirit Chelsea Eversole as a new blog author!

(Interested in posting with us? If you are also a goal-setting, marriageless, missionless blogger, contact Cebre or Lauren. Devotion to girls' nights and the series Once Upon a Time an extra plus.)

January
Week 2: The Kick-off!
I read this over Christmas break and it blew me away. I'm taking it as my personal theme for the semester. It encompasses everything I need to work on and want to be. 

"Therefore, dearly beloved sisters, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed." D&C 123:17

At this point, we are turning our attention to CHARITY. And all the things it does. Each week will focus on a specific aspect of charity- and have an accompanying scripture to be revealed at the beginning of that week. We can feel your suspense building already. 

Week 3: Charity suffereth long.
Week 4: Charity is kind.
  
February 
Week 1: (beginning Feb. 5) Charity envieth not.
Week 2: Charity is not puffed up.
Week 3: Charity seeketh not her own. 
Week 4: Charity is not easily provoked.


March
Week 1: (beginning Mar. 4) Charity thinketh no evil.
Week 2: Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.
Week 3: Charity beareth all things.
Week 4: Charity believeth all things.

April 
Week 1: Charity hopeth all things. 
Week 2: Charity endureth all things. 
Week 3: Charity never faileth. Cleave to it!
Week 4: Charity is the pure love of Christ. 

Props to Cebre for finding our closing catch-all scripture:
"Wherefore, my beloved sisters, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which He hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the daughters of God; that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as He is pure." Moroni 7:48

December Week 2

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!

What, you ask? DECEMBER WEEK 2!!

OMGee how awesome! The glory of finals! The thrill of packing! The ride to the airport!

These things and more are just around the corner!!!

There's a good reason I'm posting this.
No, not really.
But I will give you 25 points if you can identify both of these American Girl characters.

So what is the deal? In the midst of our crunchiest of crunch times, we decided long in advance to
BE GENEROUS. GIVE! 
We hereby pledge to focus on PEOPLE instead of PROBLEMOS.

Personally, I plan to do this by scheduling them in. Instead of studying, Tuesday night I will be wrapping books at Barnes & Noble and taking charity donations. Wednesday I will be chilling in my favorite building in all of Provo reading bedtime stories with Rosa (so she can, in turn, read them to her grandchildren during the holidays!) Hopefully I'll be able to go to the temple so I can decide whether I can work 3 jobs and keep up my grades. (Even as I write this, I feel like the answer is "no.") Ok. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the temple and feel good about my decision.
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But you know what I would like to give right now?? I would like to give some thanks.

At the commencement of the FINAL WEEK OF THE SEMESTER (crazy!) I would like to acknowledge how blessed I have been.
It's weird. When I think about it, this semester had a lot of "downs." But on the whole, I feel like the "ups" outweigh them 100 to 1. Really. I can't remember the last time I felt so peaceful and so happy so consistently over a period of time. I love school. (I am posting this before my finals because I don't want the possibility of a bad grade to skew my perspective.) But I do! This semester has blessed my life in ways I would have never ever anticipated.

I got to know- or got a lot closer to- lots of people who I initially found intimidating or thought I wouldn't be friends with. I got a better idea, at least, of things I could do for the rest of my life and things that would kill me. I discovered and redefined what things that are important to me and what I can live without. I had lots of heart-to-hearts. I tried to say "yes" as often as possible- did a lot of new things- made a lot of good mems. I made mistakes and I made good choices and I felt it all.

And after this week, I can say that I made it! One year from now I will be done with college. I used to be scared of graduating but now I'm kind of excited- excited about the time I have left and excited about the future. I have no clue what I'll be doing this time next December, but I think I am going to like it. Whatever "it" is. Moral of the story is, the Lord looks out for us.

            Story Time:
        I know He cares about the intimate details of our lives because on the first day of school I just happened to bump into a friend buying school supplies who just happened to mention the 472 class she was in- that she ended up dropping, but I added. Besides being my favorite class, that was where I heard about Washington Seminar, which prompted me to act on the feeling that I should go to Washington D.C., which led me to change my minor and graduation date. Just one example of the many extraordinary coincidences and tender mercies I've had. I can't even list them all.
           Just last week I called Cebre to discuss some things that had been on my mind. *LITERALLY* every time we talk about topics from this blog- our experiences are so similar, it's a little uncanny. Which means: I CAN'T WAIT to come back from break and plan next semester's goals :)

Dear 2012: I love you already. Here's to the best year of our lives thus far!!
(And yes, I am already planning my 12/12/12 Apocalypse Party. You may start getting excited now.)