So I'm in a Natural Disasters and an Environmental Stewardship class, and I just got on the news to see whats going on when I came across this video below. Then I looked up the Afghan landslide and I gotta say that I am so grateful to live somewhere where I don't fear for my life or families life everyday. At least for the most part. But I don't know how I could deal with what these people are dealing with. What would I do if my home and everything I had, got destroyed? Where are my priorities? How much do I value my material possessions? Do I value them too much? Do I value them above people?
This also just makes me so grateful for my family. And the chance I have to be with them in the afterlife. I know that even if my stuff got destroyed in a tornado, that I would still have my family. It also makes me realize what should be important in my life. If my home were to be destroyed, how would I deal with it? Would I curse God and die? Or be grateful for what I did have? Just something to think about! I love my family!!
http://www.weather.com/news/photos-tornado-outbreak-midwest-deep-south-20140427
http://www.weather.com/news/dallas-texas-severe-weather-damage-20140508
Afghanistan Landslide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN2Fy7Tu2X0
Baltimore landslide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1ZJY779TFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xvi-JNLRRU
My Family
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Just Good Stuff
So in my environmental stewardship class we are talking about how the world is changing, and then again how technology is changing the world, in my World Foundations class. So I think its a sign for me that I need to reconfigure my life. And it just so happens that I found this video which is probably one of my new favorites. You might want to mute it at 45-46 seconds in because he does say a not very nice word... But anyways, I believe in everything else he says whole heartily. You can watch it here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcQ_CeLguJo
And I just read this for my science class, but its awesome how it talks about the problems we have in the world today, and how we should view and overcome them, yet it was written in 1995. And it still applies to today, probably more than before. The Lords knows ALL.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/09/serving-the-lord-and-resisting-the-devil?lang=eng
Oh and if your feeling down on yourself, watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
And this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35say5G5cz8
And this just makes me cry. But its still awesome. And I love Carrie Underwood. And the people that serve our country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTnWFT3DvVA
And this one from Scotty McCreery. We're getting married. Someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFlv4O7VE-A
Ya you could say I'm addicted to YouTube. Ok, well I'll say it. I'm addicted to YouTube. I could spend hours and hours looking at random videos. Heck its how I found this gem right here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXotGSe_JE
Ok, I'm done now! Oh and I love my family! Chanda and Nate called me today, and after laughing through the whole conversation, I just had a much better day, and I'm so grateful for them and for the great examples they are to me. I love you guys! Peace Out!!
And I just read this for my science class, but its awesome how it talks about the problems we have in the world today, and how we should view and overcome them, yet it was written in 1995. And it still applies to today, probably more than before. The Lords knows ALL.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/09/serving-the-lord-and-resisting-the-devil?lang=eng
Oh and if your feeling down on yourself, watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
And this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35say5G5cz8
And this just makes me cry. But its still awesome. And I love Carrie Underwood. And the people that serve our country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTnWFT3DvVA
And this one from Scotty McCreery. We're getting married. Someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFlv4O7VE-A
Ya you could say I'm addicted to YouTube. Ok, well I'll say it. I'm addicted to YouTube. I could spend hours and hours looking at random videos. Heck its how I found this gem right here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXotGSe_JE
Ok, I'm done now! Oh and I love my family! Chanda and Nate called me today, and after laughing through the whole conversation, I just had a much better day, and I'm so grateful for them and for the great examples they are to me. I love you guys! Peace Out!!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
I Will Never Go Back To My Old Habits of Fasting
Today was an awesome day. Like Seriously. And here is why. I got to see and talk to my family!! Sure it was over Google chat, but it was awesome!! Oh, and I fasted. Which is one of the things that our Stake President told us to do out of the 3 (you can read my last post to find) out the other two. But anyways, today was the first time I have ever even tried to fast the whole 24 hours, but holy cow, I HAVE a testimony of fasting.
So last night I started fasting after dinner, even though I had a date later and we were going to watch a movie after that. So on my date we didn't eat anything or go out for ice cream which was nice for me that I didn't have to move my fast back even later today, but anyways it was tempting to eat popcorn during the movie, but I restrained. You can be proud of me. Haha. And later that night as I was getting ready for bed, I was trying to think about what to fast for and realized that basically all the other times I have fasted, I had just been like, "Oh yeah, I need to fast..... I'll fast to stop biting my nails." But this didn't really have much meaning to me because I didn't pray to know what I should fast for, or even pray before I started my fast. I just got that fast in my mind, and just awaited the hours till church ended so that I could go home and eat. I had no idea what I was missing. Actually taking the time to think about what I wanted to fast for, really made a difference. And then praying- actually praying for the things I was fasting for also made a difference. Normally whenever I wake up in the morning on fast Sunday, my throat is dry, a little bit more dry than normal which meant that whenever brushing my teeth, I could just gulp a little swig of water. Well today when I woke up, I wasn't even thirsty. Thank goodness. And as I was getting ready for church, I heard a knock on the door and it was the guys who brought the fast offering slips, so I paid my fast offering! I think I have only done that like once, maybe twice in my entire life. So it felt good to do that. Then me and my roommates went to church, and this is where I felt the biggest difference between my other fasts and this one.
First, our opening hymn really got to me and I could just feel the Spirit and the power that my Savior has in the song: I Know That My Redeemer Lives. Here's the link to the lyrics.
https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/i-know-that-my-redeemer-lives?lang=eng
The second verse was the most powerful to me because He just does SO much for us!! And we don't even realize that WE ARE THE REASON HE LIVES!! He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to silence all my fears, to wipe away my tears, and to calm my troubled heart. He LIVES so that I can look to Him and depend on Him. That is just awesome!
After the song ended , and after the sacrament, and announcements, the 2nd Counselor got up to bear his testimony and my heart immediately started pounding. This wasn't just any normal heart pounding like when a cute boy walks by, but it was like, I could feel it through out my ENTIRE body, and I was worried I was like shaking the chair... It was just a CRAZY feeling that I had never experienced before. So I got up and bore my simple but very strong testimony about the Spirit and about the Temple and my family. And I just felt great.
So then in Sunday school I was just in a great mood which is... just great and it makes making friends easier, and listening easier, and focusing more on Christ WAY easier. And then we go into Relief Society. It was awesome!! One of my favorite Relief Society lessons ever. Oh yeah, and today I got sustained to be a Ward Compassionate Service Person, which I am actually really excited about. In case you wanted to know. Anyways, I got to Relief Society and it was fun because I just talked to the girls around me and got to know them, and one girl even told me that she liked my testimony, which was just nice to hear. But we had a lesson by my roommate about 3 things. Can you guess what they were?? Fasting 24 hours, praying in the morning, and speaking well of others. What a coinkadink! She first she started off by having us write down our goals for this semester and then told us that we could achieve those goals if we do those 3 things.
So while talking about fasting, I of course had to share my experience of today and how I have felt the Spirit ALL day today. In Sacrament Meeting, in Sunday school, and already in Relief Society. Which is definitely not a usual thing for me. And this just strengthened my testimony of fasting even more as the Spirit told me how awesome fasting can be. And I am definitely being blessed with the Spirit because I have fasted with a prayer in my heart. I just KNOW that when I fast, the Spirit of the Lord is with me, and I learn so much more, and become a better person. So then we talk about morning prayers which I have also just recently (like this last week) gained a testimony of, which was nice to realize that that is what makes my days go better. And this last week, not only did I complete what I hadn't the week before, but I pretty much caught up with my homework. I KNOW that that was the Lord helping me buckle down to do it, and get caught up.
Then we talked about improving our language. Which probably could have been a lesson in-n-of itself. Don't really know how to spell that phrase, or even what that means.... Anyways, our teacher showed us a video, and we only watched the first 2 minutes during the lesson, but then I went home and watched the rest of it and it is worth watching. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVvE4tr2BI
I just know that it is SO important to treat people like they are sons and daughters of God. I found this quote on Pinterest that says, "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so be kind." I love this quote because no one on earth really knows what others are going through, so it is so important to be kind to everyone. Sure we aren't perfect, but no one is. We all sin differently. So we shouldn't judge. Judging a person does not define who they are... It defines who you are. And when we bring people down, we are also bringing Christ down. And my Stake President did not tell us to not speak bad of others, he told us to speak well of others. Which means that even if you just don't say anything at all, you are wrong. You should be speaking GOOD of others. And just on the opposite end of things, if you feel like everyone hates you, or you have no friends, and feel alone, never allow yourself to be defined by someone else's opinion of you. Your value doesn't decrease based on someones inability to see your worth. We just need to love everyone NO MATTER WHAT. Because everyone is a Child of God who is LOVED by Him and Christ so much that Christ died for them. And for you. And just adding in a little quote to sum up my thoughts:
So last night I started fasting after dinner, even though I had a date later and we were going to watch a movie after that. So on my date we didn't eat anything or go out for ice cream which was nice for me that I didn't have to move my fast back even later today, but anyways it was tempting to eat popcorn during the movie, but I restrained. You can be proud of me. Haha. And later that night as I was getting ready for bed, I was trying to think about what to fast for and realized that basically all the other times I have fasted, I had just been like, "Oh yeah, I need to fast..... I'll fast to stop biting my nails." But this didn't really have much meaning to me because I didn't pray to know what I should fast for, or even pray before I started my fast. I just got that fast in my mind, and just awaited the hours till church ended so that I could go home and eat. I had no idea what I was missing. Actually taking the time to think about what I wanted to fast for, really made a difference. And then praying- actually praying for the things I was fasting for also made a difference. Normally whenever I wake up in the morning on fast Sunday, my throat is dry, a little bit more dry than normal which meant that whenever brushing my teeth, I could just gulp a little swig of water. Well today when I woke up, I wasn't even thirsty. Thank goodness. And as I was getting ready for church, I heard a knock on the door and it was the guys who brought the fast offering slips, so I paid my fast offering! I think I have only done that like once, maybe twice in my entire life. So it felt good to do that. Then me and my roommates went to church, and this is where I felt the biggest difference between my other fasts and this one.
First, our opening hymn really got to me and I could just feel the Spirit and the power that my Savior has in the song: I Know That My Redeemer Lives. Here's the link to the lyrics.
https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/i-know-that-my-redeemer-lives?lang=eng
The second verse was the most powerful to me because He just does SO much for us!! And we don't even realize that WE ARE THE REASON HE LIVES!! He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to silence all my fears, to wipe away my tears, and to calm my troubled heart. He LIVES so that I can look to Him and depend on Him. That is just awesome!
After the song ended , and after the sacrament, and announcements, the 2nd Counselor got up to bear his testimony and my heart immediately started pounding. This wasn't just any normal heart pounding like when a cute boy walks by, but it was like, I could feel it through out my ENTIRE body, and I was worried I was like shaking the chair... It was just a CRAZY feeling that I had never experienced before. So I got up and bore my simple but very strong testimony about the Spirit and about the Temple and my family. And I just felt great.
So then in Sunday school I was just in a great mood which is... just great and it makes making friends easier, and listening easier, and focusing more on Christ WAY easier. And then we go into Relief Society. It was awesome!! One of my favorite Relief Society lessons ever. Oh yeah, and today I got sustained to be a Ward Compassionate Service Person, which I am actually really excited about. In case you wanted to know. Anyways, I got to Relief Society and it was fun because I just talked to the girls around me and got to know them, and one girl even told me that she liked my testimony, which was just nice to hear. But we had a lesson by my roommate about 3 things. Can you guess what they were?? Fasting 24 hours, praying in the morning, and speaking well of others. What a coinkadink! She first she started off by having us write down our goals for this semester and then told us that we could achieve those goals if we do those 3 things.
So while talking about fasting, I of course had to share my experience of today and how I have felt the Spirit ALL day today. In Sacrament Meeting, in Sunday school, and already in Relief Society. Which is definitely not a usual thing for me. And this just strengthened my testimony of fasting even more as the Spirit told me how awesome fasting can be. And I am definitely being blessed with the Spirit because I have fasted with a prayer in my heart. I just KNOW that when I fast, the Spirit of the Lord is with me, and I learn so much more, and become a better person. So then we talk about morning prayers which I have also just recently (like this last week) gained a testimony of, which was nice to realize that that is what makes my days go better. And this last week, not only did I complete what I hadn't the week before, but I pretty much caught up with my homework. I KNOW that that was the Lord helping me buckle down to do it, and get caught up.
Then we talked about improving our language. Which probably could have been a lesson in-n-of itself. Don't really know how to spell that phrase, or even what that means.... Anyways, our teacher showed us a video, and we only watched the first 2 minutes during the lesson, but then I went home and watched the rest of it and it is worth watching. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVvE4tr2BI
I just know that it is SO important to treat people like they are sons and daughters of God. I found this quote on Pinterest that says, "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so be kind." I love this quote because no one on earth really knows what others are going through, so it is so important to be kind to everyone. Sure we aren't perfect, but no one is. We all sin differently. So we shouldn't judge. Judging a person does not define who they are... It defines who you are. And when we bring people down, we are also bringing Christ down. And my Stake President did not tell us to not speak bad of others, he told us to speak well of others. Which means that even if you just don't say anything at all, you are wrong. You should be speaking GOOD of others. And just on the opposite end of things, if you feel like everyone hates you, or you have no friends, and feel alone, never allow yourself to be defined by someone else's opinion of you. Your value doesn't decrease based on someones inability to see your worth. We just need to love everyone NO MATTER WHAT. Because everyone is a Child of God who is LOVED by Him and Christ so much that Christ died for them. And for you. And just adding in a little quote to sum up my thoughts:
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