Adventure Time!

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist. That is all." (Oscar Wilde)

My life has been crazy busy of late. Between work, my responsibilities at church, and trying to maintain my own personal goals to exercise and study a little each day my time is quickly eaten each day. I've started to feel like I'm merely existing as opposed to truly living. Saturday, as I sang throughout my childhood years, is a special day; a day to get ready for Sunday. Well, I do my chores, and run my errands, but today I woke up knowing I was in desperate need of...an Adventure!!!



So I headed out bright and early this morning to go exploring! I've lived in Utah off and on for many years, but throughout that time I have rarely been around for the summertime, and I've done very little exploration in that time.

I headed for Provo Canyon, and took a different route from my norm, Dr Seuss' words resonating in my soul: "You're off to great places. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!"




It was a glorious morning! Beautiful weather: mid 50's, not a cloud in sight and a bright beaming sun overhead. Couldn't have asked for a better day. The trail I happened to take was straight up, but it was so worth it. Pretty soon my path was lined with sunflowers, which are one of my favorite flowers...

Until suddenly the path opened up and I was in this awesome meadow of flowers...

Every now and then my path would open to a view of the valley...

or would curve back around to see the canyon below...

Unfortunately pictures can never quite do the real thing justice. I can't quite convey the whole experience without being able to help you feel the kiss of the sun on your skin, listen to the whisper of the wind's secrets, smell the spice of the dirt, flora and fauna, hear the chatter of the birds in the trees or the bees among the flowers; I can't impart the peace that fills your soul by being out in God's lovely landscape: a peace that fills to overflowing so that I could hardly restrain the need to sing in exclamation, "How great Thou art!!!"

So while most of my days may just be existing, surviving, trying not to drown, I appreciate days like today- a day when I could escape, live a little, and renew my reservoirs to keep going another week. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience;" or in other words, "men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

Don't worry, Dr Seuss, I climbed my mountain; today was a great day!!

HANGER: Hunger+Anger

So there we sat: Hollie, Bethany and me. We sat, and sat, and sat.

It all started when Bethany and I decided to watch a movie. Hollie, being a sort of a gypsy this summer with no official place of residence, had crashed at my apartment waiting for me to get home from work. After a long day at work I slunk through the door to collapse in my living room, Hollie reclining on my couch, and Bethany soon bursting through my door with all her wonderful bubbly-ness.

After briefly catching up with one another we began to discuss our course of action. We had planned to watch a movie, but Hollie was hungry, and wanted to grab dinner first. Bethany and I were both relatively indifferent, each having had a late lunch. We ventured forth in search of Thai Curry. Now, you need to understand something about Hollie: she is willing to try new things, but when she's paying for her food she wants what she is used to, and she's very particular about where and what she eats. So as we headed out Hollie commandeered the search for food. We ended up at Bangkok Grill, and we were promptly seated.

And there we sat: Hollie, Bethany and me. We sat, and sat, and sat.

My relative indifference to having dinner was soon becoming less indifferent. Bethany was only slightly behind me in those feelings. And as for Hollie...well...let's just say Hanger was definitely settling in. Her fidgeting was becoming more pronounced, and was slowly spreading to me.

After being ignored for nearly a half hour I looked at the others and declared that we were leaving. Hollie, despite being Hangry was somewhat hesitant to try a different Thai restaurant, and it took several minutes to persuade her to leave in search of food. We ended up at Thai Mango, hanger definitely settling in for each of us.

If you don't know what hanger looks like just imagine Katie-Ka-Boom from the Animaniacs. And then remember that there were three hangry girls...

We were quickly seated, and our water brought. After a couple minutes the waitress came to ask if we were ready to order. I responded in the affirmative, letting her know rather testily that we had waited for a half hour at Bangkok Grill without being served, and we were more than ready!! She said she would do her best to get our food to us as quickly as possible. To our great delight and relief that blessed waitress was true to her word!

And there we sat: Hollie, Bethany and me. We ate, and ate, and ate. And it was awesome!

Best tip I ever left.

HANGER: don't let it happen to you. 

My Soul Hungered

For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them...Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord (2 Ne 4:15-16)

This is often how I feel about the gospel; but there are times when I become a little more lackadaisical in my spiritual efforts. Every now and then it seems that those "small and simple" day-to-day duties of reading my scriptures, or saying my prayers, or even worshiping in the temple, etc, become...rote. There are other times when my life gets rather hectic, and finding the time for those daily acts of worship becomes difficult. (I know, I know; I'm totally alone in this! Who ever really gets *that* busy! Call me crazy...) 

Lately, my life has made a few turns. In the midst of these changes I've been trying to re-figure out how to juggle the balls of life. In many ways I've been successful at getting most of those balls juggled fairly well, but my scripture study has been one ball that just hasn't stayed air borne too well. I have been determined, though, to make a more concerted effort to reestablish the habits I had of studying my scriptures daily. I'm still working on getting the "daily" part of that goal down, but I'm doing significantly better. 

But I mention all this mostly as a set up to what I really wanted to express.

About two weeks ago I was ready to crash into bed, when I was suddenly hit with a strong desire to read my scriptures. I acted on that feeling, and ended up reading for quite a bit longer than I thought I had the strength or acuity for at that particular moment. I was reading in 2nd Nephi 9. This happens to be one of my favorite chapters. I remember that this was the chapter that night because part of the reason it had been a while since I'd last read my scriptures was that this was the next chapter sequentially in my reading. It's a longish chapter, and I wanted to read it when I had time to read the chapter in its entirety. So I kept putting off reading my scriptures due to "lack of time."

Anyway...

Reflecting now I don't recall gleaning any particularly stunning insights as I read, but I felt like I had been dehydrated for a really long time, and was finally getting a drink. And I couldn't stop; I couldn't get enough to slake my thirst. I felt this glow start to well up inside me. I knew with distinct clarity that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, is scripture, and is another Testament of the Christ. I felt the overwhelming peace of Heavenly Father's love. 

I love the scriptures. My soul really does delight in the things of the Lord. I love moments when I can simply be still, ponder, and enjoy the quiet stirrings of the Spirit. And that's the point. I get so exhausted by the pace of this world, and my soul begins to hunger. So despite the ever demanding tasks of life, and the seeming lack of time, and even though I'm still no master juggler, I hope to figure out how to prioritize sufficiently to be able to incorporate that particular ball...even if that means dropping another. 

I'm Glad They Called Me on a Mission!

This past Sunday I had a friend ask me about how I decided to serve a mission. I often ponder on how much my mission has affected me. I grew up with a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but my own personal insecurities hindered my ability to truly allow that testimony to take deep, personal root. I always knew, intellectually, that the principles and doctrines taught in the scriptures and by living prophets were true; however, looking back I think I never really had a deep, down-in-my-heart conversion of certain, necessary truths.

Anyway, in the last couple years I was at BYU my behavior began to deviate from what I knew was right and appropriate. I found myself in a pretty dark place relative to what I was accustomed to growing up; I had been raised in a Celestial home, and I had allowed myself to detour to a terrestrial plane. The darker my own soul became the more I pulled away from my family. My older brother noticed the darkness and distance, and he reached out and pulled me back in. I will always be grateful for my elder brother who wouldn’t let me fall. Following his counsel I sought out the spiritual and temporal help I needed. As I began to heal and overcome my debilitating insecurities, I began making exponential progress back to the light I had once known, and beyond to greater depths of light and conversion that I had not before experienced. I am eternally grateful for my elder Brother Who would not let me fall, an elder Brother Who had the power to heal all my wounds, an elder Brother Who could give me a new heart, and an elder Brother whose love and peace surpassed anything I could or can comprehend.

As I drew closer to the Light and Love of my Heavenly Father I felt prompted to serve a mission. Despite my lack of desire to be a missionary, and my fear of serving in that capacity, I acted on that prompting and began pursuing that course. Taking those steps to serve as a missionary brought the peaceful confirming feelings of the Spirit that this path was right, and that witness gave me the strength for the next couple years to follow through with my decision.

I won’t try to avoid the fact that those eighteen months were extremely difficult and that there were times I felt like giving up, but ultimately those months rooted me in the gospel of Jesus Christ and helped me gain the deep, down-in-my-heart conversion I had lacked. My mission acted as the rebar for the foundation of testimony laid by my parents. Elder Nelson said in October 2012 Conference, “The decision to serve a mission will shape the spiritual destiny of the missionary, his or her spouse, and their posterity for generations to come.” Although I have yet to marry and have a family, I know that my mission has changed the course of my life, and therefore has shaped the destiny of my future family. I have experienced, as Malachi declared, the refining fire of the Lord (Malachi 3: 2-3). I have felt the reality of Isaiah’s witness that, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40: 31). I have experienced the power of the Savior’s promise when He lovingly instructed, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

And so it began...

My path to a mission was neither expected nor easy, but the effects will be eternal. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He lives. I know that I am beloved of my Heavenly Father; we are each His children and we are known and loved individually by our God.

And so...

...

...it ends *sniff*

Polls, Parties and Politics, oh my!

I'm so grateful to live in a nation of freedom, a nation established on principles of "liberty and justice for all." The past couple elections I have voted via absentee ballots, so this year was my first experience with the polls. I knew where I was supposed to be and when, and my friend and I planned on going early to get a prime spot in line. We met up a little before 7 am Tuesday morning and were quickly ushered through. As I filled out and prepared to submit my ballot a curious feeling stole over me. It was a similar feeling to when I bear my testimony of the gospel of Christ. I felt a little nervous, but I felt that the Lord was pleased that I was there, doing my civic duty, trying to make a difference in this world. I cast my vote! And felt so happy! Regardless of the outcome, I knew I had done my part. It felt awesome to participate.

That evening a group of friends came over to my house to watch the outcome of the election unfold. We made a good ol' American dinner: steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus and brownies. As the stress of the evening mounted and the disappointment hit when Mitt Romney conceded the election I felt several emotions vying for my attention. Initially I was grateful for the foundation I have in the gospel of Jesus Christ; that testimony acts as an "anchor to my soul" (Ether 12:4), and gives me stability regardless of the vicissitudes of life. I was grateful to know that this little world of ours isn't just hanging out in the middle of some vast universe, but rather we are under the vigilant and loving eye of a Creator, Who has a plan, Who knows what is happening and is guiding the course of this earth and its people. I was disheartened and disappointed in our nation; I couldn't understand how people could be so blind to the problems that have arisen because of what President Obama had initiated in his first term in office. Why would we want to continue in the downward spiral we are on? And I don't know if Mitt Romney could have done much to mitigate the trials our nation is facing, but we already know the President's track record, and it boggled my mind that people could reinstate him as President. This may sound dramatic, but all I could think of was the verse of scripture from Helaman 5:2, "For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted." I see this happening; I see our laws being perverted from the values and principles they first incorporated. We live in an ever degenerating world, and it hurts my soul to see people voting for leaders and laws that undermine righteousness.

I don't mean for this to be read in a hateful tone. I will continue to pray for my leaders, for this nation, for those in the military, and the world as a whole. I believe that Christ will return to the earth as He promised in the scriptures. I believe that we have a responsibility to prepare the way for His coming. I yearn for the time when He comes and peace may be brought to this world. I love how Isaiah puts it when he writes, "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing" (Isaiah 14:7). That day will come. I may not always agree with the political leaning of our great nation, but we are still a great nation; this is still a land of liberty. I am proud to be an United States citizen! I'm proud to have voted! May God bless America!

ATTACK!!

My company recently moved our corporate office to a new building. The layout of this new structure is a two story square. All the offices are on the perimeter of the square; in the center is a large, open area. This atrium is where the receptionist desk is located. On the second level, ringing my desk is an open balcony.

Anyone with even a single devious bone in their body would perceive my apprehension in sitting at such a prime target, I mean, desk.

Apparently the IT guys at work have multiple devious bones in their body...

Shortly after settling into my new target...doh! I mean, desk, I was innocently going about my responsibilities when I was nearly killed by a well aimed missile disguised as a piece of candy corn! I looked up to see one of the boys ducking guiltily into his office above me. After shooting him a nasty glare, shaking my fist briefly, and calling up a hollow threat I went back to work, but a little voice in my head warned that this was merely the beginning...

Ever since I've been plagued by incoming candy corn! But the worst of it is that the attack is catching on. The HR lady, the CFO, random people from Accounting... I new it was bad when a piece of candy corn whizzed past my head, and I looked up to see the President of the company looking down on me, laughing. What?? Did he really just throw a missile of death at me? Yes, yes he did.

And so goes my life at work: dodging the random debris of candy and water bottles that gets lobbed at me from above...Yay (absolutely NO sarcasm dripping from that exclamation...)!

The Cutting Edge:

So over the weekend my coworker got a hair cut. From the front it looked really cute. I complimented her, and she gave me a rather flat look in response. Upon probing as to the reason for her obvious annoyance with her hair I discovered that what looked nice from the front was, well, not-so-hot in back. Kind of like a mullet, only the back wasn't no party! Poor thing. Whoever cut her hair had cut a wedge out of it at the nape of her neck. Unfortunately her hair is short enough that to properly fix her hair requires growing it out for a bit, but I told her that I could at least help to even out the area so it wasn't such a blatant mistake. 

Hope began to shine in her eyes... and I pulled out a pair of scissors to restyle the back of her hair. And in case you were asking yourself, "Wait, you're at an office; were you using paper scissors to cut her hair?" the answer is yes. *Shrug* I do what I can! There are two other girls in that office, and they offered their input as to how best fix her hair. Just as I was proceeding to snip away, the president of our company walked in the room. Great. He stopped, looked a little confused, asked if I was using paper scissors, shook his head, and walked out laughing. Well, Frank was the first of many who came in and laughed in the two minute time frame that it took to remedy my coworker's poor hair problem. It was certainly an interesting couple of minutes! 

Ever since, I have had the funniest desire to watch Edward Scissors Hands...