My Week of Miracles

This week has been such an eye opener to me.
On Monday in Institute we were talking about all the miracles that Jesus performed and how most people in our day and time write off our everyday miracles as coincidences.
I guess God just wanted to illustrate to me that we are surrounded by miracles every day, so He filled my week with TONS of miracles.

Last week: My OChem teacher announced that instead of having our test on Thursday, it would be on Friday instead. That opened up a whole bunch of problems. I had to work on Friday because...well, I always work on Friday. I made arrangements to take my test from 8-12 in the morning on Friday because that was the only possible time for me to do so.

Monday: I opened up my work schedule and noticed right off the bat that I was scheduled to work during my test review session. GREAT right? I would see to that later.
While at work my client's mother informed me that they would be going out of town on Friday and Saturday.
My first thought was about how over half of my hours for the week were scheduled that client on Friday and Saturday. There is NO way I would have been able to get by with that few hours.
After taking a couple of seconds to process what was going on I realized something else: This is my off week for A&P lab, which means I could work on Tuesday (Miracle!)
Together we were able to figure out a schedule that cut only 1.5 hours instead of the 8 or so that it was originally. (Miracle!)
Also, this meant that I could take my test at the regularly scheduled time instead of at 8 in the morning. (Miracle!)

Tuesday: My OChem lab instructor extended my lab an hour, so it started at 8 instead of 9. He lectured on NMR for an hour and when my lab group was supposed to leave to do a Spartan lab experiment (my lab is split into three lab groups. Every week there are 3 labs going on, so this was my week for the Spartan computer experiment), he gave us the option of staying and doing the computer experiment on our own time so he could help us with NMR interpretation. (Miracle!)

Wednesday: My client was supposed to go to see a specialist for an hour, but my client's grandma was in town for Grandparent's Night and was going to take him to dinner. That hour was cancelled, and I got to pick it up! (Miracle!)
I talked to the Front Office and Seasons of Hope and they were able to find two people to cover a couple of hours with my client so I could go to the class that I was originally scheduled to work during. Their schedule had changed just enough to accommodate my hours. (Miracle!)

Thursday: Commence freaking out...OChem test on NMR tomorrow.
After I got out of my 8 o'clock Institute class I went to do my Spartan experiment. My instructor asked me how my test went, so I told him it wasn't until tomorrow. He looked at me and told me to go home and study and do the Spartan on Monday. (Miracle!)

Friday: Hasn't happened yet, but hopefully another miracle will happen and I will magically get an A on my NMR interpretation :)


I know that most of these things might seem like coincidences, but I am a big believer that God is behind every coincidence. I've had FAR too many of them happen to me in my life (and especially just in this week) to believe that it just happened to turn out that way.

"...this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.” 
~Paulo Coelho

There is DEFINITELY someone out there who loves me and wants me to succeed in my endeavors.

Why is he my hero?

So, in my last post I expressed that Michael McLean was my hero, so now I figure that I will explain why.

On Sunday March 14, 2010 Michael McLean came to Soda Springs to speak at a fireside.
Maci and I went half an hour early to be sure to get a good seat :)
I don't remember much about the actual fireside except for one thing.
Let me remind you that I had been broken up with a little more than a month before...
This is what he said.
"I'm going to go off on a tangent here for just a second because I feel like this needs to be said. Someone here came with an exceptionally large burden. I don't know what it is, if you're feeling inadequate or heartbreak or what, but this song is for you." 
He then sang Ninety and Nine, which is my favorite song by him.
Then he came to this part:

You are one of the Ninety and Nine

Have you any idea how brightly you shine?

You are safe in the arms of the fold 

And it's time you were told 

That I know where you've been

So I know where you'll be

Because all of your life you've been following me

You are more than just one of the sands of the sea

Or just one of the ninety and nine

You are mine!

I know that these words could apply to so many people in so many situations, but at that moment he was speaking to me.

It was certainly what I needed to hear at that moment :)

Just exactly what I needed!

It's no secret that for the last little while I've been caught in something of a FUNK!


I hated school,
    I hated being in Pocatello,
        I wasn't too pleased with how work was going,
             I was getting bugged by things that normally wouldn't bug me and,
                 I felt like I had let some people down in a big way, which made me disappointed in myself.

In other words, that ecstatic feeling I had just a couple of weeks ago was GONE-ZO!

...All I can say is thank goodness I have a Heavenly Father who loves me.
...He cares for me and even when I am at my weakest I am upheld by his righteous omnipotent hand.
...And I know that Jesus has felt these exact feelings, so he knew exactly how to succor me.

I went home this weekend for two things.
1) Conference
2) I really needed a hug from my mommy.

Before I made it out of town I made a stop.
I went to DI first to look for a tape player for Mystie (hers was eating her tapes).
  While I was there I decided to look at the books and see if there was anything worthwhile.
     That's when I saw it...
         Hold On: The Light Will Come, a book by none other than my hero, Michael McLean.
         I had never even heard of it before, but I knew I had to have it.

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

"Somewhere between holding on and letting go, between love lost and love found, between promises made and promises kept, between those who build us up and those who let us down, our lives are lived and our lessons are learned."

"I've had the extraordinary blessing of getting not what I thought I wanted, but what I need." (This was followed by a little bit of a song he wrote):

All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of,

Everything I hoped, and all the things I prayed for

Couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given,

I've been given what I need.

You're Not Alone:

You're not alone, even though right now you're on your own.

You are loved in ways that can't be shown,

Your needs are known

You're not alone.

...Well, I know that it's not easy, but I know that it won't last,

'Cause one who loves you more than me

Is sending blessings fast

...And even when it's hard to find the words,

Your prayers are always heard.

You're not alone.

"Who are you doing this for?"

"And on the days when being good didn't come as naturally as I would have liked, I didn't need to obsess over the failures, but rather than get back on track and keep moving forward."

"If you're good, and you're doing what you're doing for somebody else, you won't fail."

"...that doesn't change my passionate belief that God knows us, and loves us, and has a plan remarkably tailored to help us figure out how to live happily."

"...my happiest moments...come when I've acknowledged Him."

I was already feeling a little better after reading these words...but then it was time for conference.

Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy spoke about pain in the Saturday Morning session.

He said that pain was a gage of your patience...

   That Christ is not a silent observer in our lives...

       That Christ chose to suffer pain so that He could understand us...

            That healing comes in many ways-each according to our individual needs...

               That our circumstances might not immediately change,

               But we will be encircled by the arms of His love.

Then he said this:

"Behold, ye are all little children and ye cannot bear all things now. But fear not, ye are mine."

It took all of that to finally make me realize that I was being pretty stupid.

I realized that I hadn't really let anyone down...the situation was out of my control.

I realized that I was hating Pocatello because I just needed a hug from my mom.

I realized that I am hating school not because I have years to go, but because my classes are just legitimately boring right now.

I realized that I should be working for the kids and not for me.

And I once again realized Heavenly Father's love for me. In a very VERY strong way.

Needless to say...my happy is back :D

The Alchemist

The Alchemist is a book that was required reading in Sophomore English.

It's also one of the best books I've ever read.

It's not often that I find a book that I actually enjoy enough to buy and re-read.

The Alchemist is a story about a shepherd boy who has a dream about a child telling him about a treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. A gypsy woman tells him to go to the pyramids because the treasure is real. He meets a king who tells him about his Personal Legend. Basically...this is his journey into the wilderness and finding out what his life is about. It has some seriously deep statements! Here are a few (dozen) of my favorites:

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. (This was my quote of the day :) Page 11

It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. Page 15

What's the world's greatest lie? It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives  become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie. Page 18

At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend. (Talking about when a person is young). Page 21

To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation. Page 22

And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. (This is repeated many times throughout the course of the book) Page 22

He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of. 

People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being.

If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it.

Sometimes it's better to leave things as they are...

...it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.

...There is a force that wants you to realize your personal legend; it whets your appetite with a taste of success.

The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon. Page 32

He realized that he has to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure.

He had not a cent in his pocket, but he had faith.

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse. Page 58

Sometimes there's just no way to hold back the river. Page 59

Never stop dreaming. Follow the omens. Page 62

Making a decision was only the beginning of things.

We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand. Page 76

Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Page 85

Because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning. Page 93

Go and try. Page 95

The future was already written by Allah, and what he has written was always for the good of man. Page 101

The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity. Page 103

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. Page 116

One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving. Page 122

There is only one way to learn. It's through action. Page 125

Even though I complain sometimes, it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly." Page 130 (This is from the perspective of a human heart)

I know there are a lot of quotes, but I hope you enjoyed one or two of them (if you even made it this far!) This book is jam packed full of awesome quotes. It's very thought provoking and I strongly recommend it to each and every one of you! You'll love it, I promise!

Learning a lesson from my own journal

Every night after I finish writing in my journal I sign it with my signature and an acronym.

P.U.S.H.
I started writing this at the end of my entries when I was in seventh grade when Logan came home from his mission.
He had a wrist band that said it and for some reason it really took an effect on me.

PUSH- Pray Until Something Happens

I guess I wrote this for so long that it just became habit and it almost lost its meaning for me.
Then, the other night, when I wrote those four letters I stopped for a minute and thought,
"How long has it been since I actually prayed UNTIL something happened?"
I pray every night and almost every morning, but I realized that most of the time I will pray for something once and then it might be quite awhile before I pray for it again.

Then I started thinking about each letter individually.
I find that when you do that you find greater meaning in the phrase.
For example:
I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know that my Redeemer lives.

Pray: I have a strong testimony of prayer. I know it works because I have seen its long lasting effects in my life and in the lives of those around me. Prayer IS our direct connection with God. As the quote on the top of my blog says,
"God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams. But He can't if we don't pray and He can't if we don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."

Until: This is the word that I found the greatest meaning in. Until: up to the time that or when. Until to me means never giving up. Taking your time. Being patient. Trusting in the Lord's timing. Always and forever.

Something: Notice this says something not what you want to happen. As Brad Paisley says, "Make no mistake, every prayer you pray gets answered even though sometimes the answer is no."
It's tough to swallow, but sometimes the something we get answered with is the exact thing we DIDN'T want. So always be on the lookout for something, not necessarily the thing.

Happens: It will happen. Your prayer will get answered...you just have to wait sometimes.

Who would have known that I would get such a spiritual feast from something that I've seen hundreds of times?

Gosh I love my journal :)

On my mind...

A few days ago Ryan texted me at 6 in the morning (RUDE!) with an amazing quote. So I forgave his rudeness. It's no secret that Jeffrey R. Holland is one of my favorite speakers, and this quote really drove the point home.

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe." 


I know with all my heart that this man is inspired. I feel the spirit so strongly every time he speaks! His words always always ALWAYS bring tears to my eyes.


ESPECIALLY these ones:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

♥

Blessing number 27

Home.


"Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." ~Christian Morganstein

I have lived in a lot of places in my life and in a sense I really don't know what town I call home

because I've called all of those places home at one point.

What I do know is that wherever my family is,

That is home.

I surely love this place. It is home.

I know that no matter how bad life gets, I will always have a home to go to.

Even though I don't have my immediate family with me in Pocatello

I have a makeshift family of friends that helps me to call it home.

It may be a strange family, but it's a family nonetheless.

I'm grateful for home.

Even though my family doesn't live here, it too is home.

Blessing number 26

Trials


I have a strong belief in the quote, "If He brings you to it, He'll bring you through it."

I've had a lot of not so fun times in my life,

but I haven't been beat yet!

I love the feeling you get when you come to the end of some trial

and you realize that you had the Big Man Upstairs

was right there the whole time.

I also love this quote by Mother Theresa.

"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle.

I just wish he didn't trust me so much."

I have come to know that I can make it through anything

and I am BEYOND grateful for that.

This is my favorite painting by Simon Dewey.

It is titled Abide With Me.

I found the lyrics to this hymn fitting.

I think of these words when I'm having a hard time.

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide

The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide

When other helpers fail and comforts flee

Help of the helpless oh, abide with me

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;

Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

Blessing number 20

QUOTES


I have always been a huge fan of quotes.

I have been known to sit in front of the computer for hours looking for new ones.

On Facebook this month I have been doing a Quote of the Day

In my notes section and I also write that quote on the white board in my apartment.

I have even started something that I call The Bad Day Book. Lame, I know.

I put a bunch of quotes in it that for some reason make me feel better.

I also put in pictures of my friends and family

And lyrics to music

And just some old inside jokes

And stories about things that I've done that show either accomplishment

Or gratitude

Or just how blonde I really am.

This bad day book has brought me a  lot of joy

And I would like to share a few of the quotes with you.

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by what we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.”

~Anonymous

“Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can’t prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you’re presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power.”

~Blaine Lee

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt

“There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential.”

~Rusty Berkus

Title match game. Final set. Down by two. Dig deep.

The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.
~Richard B. Sheridan

As long as there is breath in me, that long I will persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

~Og Mandino

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.

~Og Mandino

These next couple are a couple that I've made into a full page. I guess you could say that they are a few of my favorites.

If I feel depressed I will sing.

If I feel sad I will laugh.

If I feel ill I will DOUBLE my labor.

If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.

If I feel inferior I will wear new garments.

If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.

If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.

If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.

If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.

Today I will be the master of my emotions.

~Og Mandino

All your life you are told the things you cannot do.

All your life they will say you’re not good enough

or strong enough

         or talented enough;

 They will say you’re the wrong height

or the wrong weight

or the wrong type to

            play this or

         be this or

                 achieve this.

                  THEY WILL TELL YOU NO,

                     a thousand times no,

             until all the no’s become meaningless.

All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and        very quickly, AND YOU WILL TELL THEM

                         YES!

~Nike ad

QUOTE WALL!!

Remember that quote wall that I posted pictures of a few weeks ago?

Well...I guess it's obvious that I'm gonna be telling you a little bit about it.

Most nights when Kenna, Mystie, and I are eating dinner

I'll look up at the quotes and ask them what they mean. 

And I am now happy to announce that 

I have contributed to it :)

I'll explain these all of these.....

Cause otherwise they probably won't make any sense

This one was actually in my first week here.

Mystie and Kenna were talking about setting me up on a date

with a guy they say I'm DESTINED to marry.

Mystie said, "Don't worry, Kenna and I will create you..." and then kinda trailed off.

That's when I put in my two cents haha

I just love the way Mystie said, "You didn't let me finish!!!"

So...

Yesterday we had a bunch of people over to play CURSES.

(Funnest game in the world by the way)

After they left a guy decided he wanted to make sugar cookies,

who were we to disagree?

While he was in the kitchen making the cookies

Mystie had the bright idea to do some leg wrestling

(Basically you lay on your back with your feet by the other person's

head and link legs and try to flip the other person.)

I won a couple of times, but KENNA was definitely the best at it...

Except for Brian, but he doesn't count.

Mystie wanted me to go against Kenna and I protested by saying, 

"My pants are too slidey!!"

This one started because we fall asleep watching movies basically every night :)

I woke up early Sunday morning to start dinner

(by accident. I thought the clock said 10:30, not 8:30...don't ask how)

I had a lot of extra time considering church starts at 1:30

SO...

I decided to check my email.

I was sitting on the couch and Kenna was still asleep on my bean bag chair.

She started mumbling a little bit...

...but that's a common occurrence so I let it slide.

Then she said in this really whiney voice, 

"I don't KNOW!?

I thought she woke up, so I asked her what she said.

She SNAPPED at me, "Stop asking me questions!"

Then I realized she was still asleep hahaha

It kinda stunk actually...I had to giggle with myself until she woke up

so I could tell her about her own funny moment :)

I personally think this one is the funniest one on the wall.

We were in church singing a congregational hymn, which I really love doing :)

The song was True to the Faith and I was really concentrating on 

the alto line because it's SUPER difficult. I think so anyway....

ANYWAY...so the second verse has a line that says, 

Shall the children of the promise cease to grasp the Iron Rod? No!

Mystie was intently singing, but when she came to the word No!

She lost her place and read the wrong line, so she ended up singing, "YES!"

I nudged her, then she nudged me back

Then we both busted up laughing right there in sacrament meeting.

We couldn't even come close to finishing that verse

We got a few words in during the third verse (then started laughing again)

Finally, during the fourth verse I turned the other way so I couldn't see Mystie

and we got through it pretty alright.

The second counselor in the bishopric was given orders

by the BISHOP to find out what we were laughing about.

He thought it was pretty funny too :)

It reminds me of the time in Sacrament meeting in 8th ward when 

Colten accidentally sang "Tators and Tyrants" instead of "Traitors and Tyrants"

Neither of us can sing that song EVER AGAIN!

Without laughing anyways :)