Mormon 3:2-3

Sorry I have become somewhat "inspirational" - only lately but I was reading a sister missionaries blog and stumbled across this amazing gem! I had to go and read the scripture and mark it! Since she wrote it so well I have copied and pasted it! :

I read a scripture during studies this week that I wanted to share. It is in Mormon 3:2-3. (I think!) In vs. 2 the Lord commands Mormon to go and cry repentance unto the people and he obeys the Lords command, then in vs. 3 it says, and it was in vain." I realized when I read that scripture that sometimes we set in our mind that when we are obedient we will receive immediate blessings or everything will work out amazingly. My first thought after reading that was, he did what God asked, why didn’t it work? And then I realized God didn’t command him to go cry repentance promising him great success as a result, God just simply commanded and Mormon Obeyed, no strings attached. What an amazing example. We should never assume we deserve a specific blessing for our obedience. God blesses us in his way and in his time.

The Book of Mormon is real. The church is true!

It's STILL that simple . . .

Last night I was watching a movie with my roommate and friend Tiffany called "Love's Unfolding Dream" it is like the 6th in a series produced from Hallmark and based on a series of books, I love the series because they are good and have little profound gems hidden in them. In fact I will share more than one.

In the first movie (Love Comes Softly) the main character Marty's husband is killed and she is presented with an offer to marry a man to survive the winter and then he will pay for her trip back home. He lost his wife several years back and is still a VERY faithful man. One day she is talking with him and says something about how could God have let such horrible things happen to him, such a good man? He replies with a this (Missy is his daughter):
Missy could fall down and hurt herself, even if I'm walking right there beside her. That doesn't mean that I allowed it to happen. She knows, as far as unconditional love, I'll pick her up and I'll carry her. I'll try to heal her. I'll cry when she cries. And I'll rejoice when she is well. In all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside me. The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen. It's His promise that he'll be there with us when they do.

I love that perspective . . . now for the one that hit me last night. I was hit so hard by the following because it is so true and yet sometimes it is SO easy to forget it as we get wrapped up in the whirlwind of life, the fears and dreams of the future. Here is the conversation that struck me:
Belinda: "Everything seems to be getting a lot harder all of the sudden. Only a few years ago I knew how to get answers to my questions."

Grandma: "You wish it were simple again like when you were a child? You could say a heart-felt prayer to God and just listen for his guidance?"

Belinda: "Yes"

Grandma: "Belinda, it's STILL that simple."

Butterflies . . .

I don't know about you but I LOVE butterflies! They just make me so happy! I decided to look up some quotes about butterflies while working today and found these great ones! I hope they make you as happy as they make me! Have a great day!

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it turned into a butterfly." ~~Unknown

"The butterfly counts not months, but moments, and yet has time enough."
~~ Rabinhranath Tagore
(Indian poet)

"Happiness can be as elusive as a fluttering butterfly, But as easily attainable as a crawling caterpillar. Put aside the net and let it happen."
Brian G. Jett

Heroes

So today I was reading an article on Yahoonews about Bill Gates (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090205/ts_alt_afp/usitinternethealthfinancegates) and his movement toward ridding the world of malaria and stuff. I think he got his point across and he says quite a few things that made me go, hmm I like this guy. So I think that for today on my list of heroes including my mom, dad, and Walt Disney that I can add Bill Gates as well.

Princess moment?

Last night my friend Natalie and I went on our nightly walk. One day we saw two dear in a house's yard and that was just cool! Well last night there were FIVE dear in the church area. So I was just excited because I just think wild animals like that are the coolest and they didn't really like my bouncing around - even with me quite a ways away. I watched Enchanted the other day and of course ALL the princesses have moments when they sing with the animals and they LOVE the princesses right back . . . I tried it and NOPE they run away. But it was sure fun anyway - I don't know how you will use this information in the future but maybe the next time you see a doe or 5 you will be curious enough to experiment yourself or just not waste your time (I recommend the experimenting) . . . ANYWAY . . . have a great day!

For Good :)

So I have time and am not panicked by homework so here is another snapshot of people that have impacted my life for good.

My friend Cyri:
Can't you just tell she is already way happy positive? She has taught me so much about finding what you love to do. She sticks with everything she starts with too if it took commitment. She handles her time and loves it all. No one else would be walking out of the dorm at midnight with their backpack headed to the biology building! She does it so her research can fit into her day and while she may not love the time it takes up, she does it with a smile. She is one of those people that you see on the street and you just HAVE to smile! She just makes me happy! I knew her in High School due to track and then Utah State made her a real part of my life and I love it! I am so glad that my life has worked out the way that it has so far!

Katie Nielsen:
Oh! Katie! Look at her! How can you not love her and let her be a part of your life to influence it? I am sure glad I have the job that I have and she got to come back after her mission! I don't even know how to explain Katie. She is just happy and she just has the ability to make your day better (I spend a lot of time with these type of people BUT each is different). These pictures were taken AT work when it was sort of slow . . . we are a little weird but I LOVE it! Pretty much Katie has just made me better (actually trying to explain WHY people make you better is harder than realizing that they do). I love you Katie and Thanks.

(I keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love . . . romeo take me somewhere we can be along . . . yeah good memories which I am so glad we get to have memories and that I have the ones I do!)

In fact ALL of my co-workers have impacted my life with their philosophies on life, steak dinner invitation, deep conversations, long work hours, talks about boys, smiles, life goals, life accomplishments, and each of them just sharing a bit of them with me! Thanks girls so much! I love you lots and miss those of you no longer here! (Chelsie, Emily, Kassidee, Jessica, Katie, Whitney, Alisa, Bethany, Natalie, and Haleigh)
Stephanie Quick:
Somehow I can't not mention my best friend of the past few years. Since meeting in sophomore year and throughout the summers I have been so blessed to have her in my life. She is just happy and cheerful AND outgoing. For years and years I have suffered with being shy . . . and am still not an extrovert, but I can approach people now, she helped me overcome that somewhat. She also allowed me to be me and is willing to be stupid and crazy right alongside me. She has left footprints on my heart and just lets me smile.

My roommates my freshman year of college at Utah State University: (They DEFINITELY contributed a large part of making me who I am today!)
Holy cow was I blessed here - I have heard horror stories of roommates and while I was never worried I never realized how blessed I was to have gotten the ones that I had until I heard those stories.
Sara: I remember the first night I was in the apartment - Sara asked me if I wanted to go to one of her friends with her and I did. It was so much fun! Then we connected. We went hiking, rock climbing, and watched What I like About You together. I love Sara so much. When she got engaged she never neglected me as a friend as I have seen others do. She was SO outgoing and just went with the flow. The Sound Of Silence and Ironic will always remind me of her and Brittany: yep good young Brittany. She replaced Tera in the middle of the year and was just always happy. She was someone I could talk to about anything. She taught me to play the Haunted House game that I love. She looked at life with positiveness and never thought a challenge couldn't be tackled.
Tera: I didn't get to know Tera a whole lot but she taught me a lot about boys and also about confidence. She had hard days, times, and decisions, but she dealt with them well and kept moving forward.
Courtney: Oh Courtney! I was so blessed to live with Courtney. She often threw me into the world of her friends and craziness and I learned a lot from her. She often felt the same way on a lot of issues and situations in life and I really learned a lot from the way she handled them. Plus she was a ride home which made life so much easier on me!
TIFFANY: is definitely my best friend up here at school. She is the person I get to share a room with and stay up late with and LAUGH at stupid corny things with. I never feel "stupid" when I say stupid things around her and she laughs because I laugh right along with her. She has taught me to just laugh. We often have the best late night discussions AND if you look at the picture heading my blog you will see her laughing at my attempt to do a headstand (That picture is a TRUE Kodak moment captured by the timer and it is truly priceless). I couldn't have asked for a better roommate or a better friend to get me through my college years and I don't know what I will do without her next year.

Ashley McCurdy:
Ashley is one of the sweetest people I know. She is shorter and has blond hair and so she was often the stunt of our jokes in high school but since 3rd grade she has been a part of my life and best friend! I love that girl. She just has the greatest smile and laugh and can brig then the day with a hello! She speaks her mind and although she worries a lot she is someone that I have truly enjoyed having influence my life.

Also last for this post Natalie Jolley: yes her last name suggests a lot about her. She is one of my favorite people to talk to also! We have walks at night and they are spent venting or being incredibly imaginative. I even had a run in with a mouse with her AND lost a flip flop all in one day (true story). I am so glad summer was the way it was and I had roommates that interacted with the other apartments because obtaining Natalie as a dear friend has impacted my life for the best! She helps me with my stresses and life overall!

Sorry this is SO long and everything . . . it's SO hard to write about people because you just can't get the words and thanks out or get everyone because one person leads to another and another and another memory and then MORE people and so if I don't get to mention you or talk about you as much as I would like just know that I LOVE you and am so grateful that you shared a bit of your life with me! Again thanks girls! I love you!

Yup . . more! :)

So I realized the other day that if I continue and try to get EVERYONE that has ever made an imprint on my life I will probably never be able to get everyone so I will probably just do a few but know that I am grateful for everyone in my life! :)

P.S. Anatomy test today . . . went not 100% but still good - I think (I only have 1/3 of my score)