"I can do anything good!"

I think that we should all strive to be a little more like this girl by realizing how much we have been blessed with and being grateful for it all.


My favorite is, "I like my WHOLE HOUSE!!!"

Waiting

I saw this play today called Waiting for Godot and it really was life changing. They play was about these two guys who were waiting for this one guy, Gadot. Throughout the entire play, they did nothing productive to pass the time. They would think of things to do, but then not do them. That was a very long story in a couple very short lines, but the gist of it was about how we wait for things. Gadot could be anyone or anything. It could be waiting for a career, waiting for marriage, waiting for the bus to come, or waiting for our Savior.

The question is, "What do we do while we wait?" Do we play games on our cell phones or do we do something productive like have a conversation with the person sitting next to us.

After the play we had the opportunity to talk to the cast members and one of the main characters made an interesting comment. He said that he has a theory that we are all afraid of each other. I agree with him to an extent. When we are sitting in class, do we say hi to the person next to us? When we are walking on the sidewalk and someone is walking towards us, do we say hi do them? Do we even make eye contact? I usually don't. That made me think, what if we got rid of all that unnecessary fear? What would life be like?

Another point that was brought up was that this life is about "doing". If we are not doing anything productive, then our life seems pointless and dull. This is because we aren't doing anything! So, another way to create your own sunshine is to go out and do something productive. Don't waste your life away by facebooking or playing Angry Birds or watching Seinfeld. I promise you that you will be happier and your life will have so much more meaning if you "go and do".
(1Nephi 3:7)

Nearer my God to Thee

I happen to be obsessed with this song Nearer my God to Thee, sung by Vocal Point. It's just so so so good. For the story that this song was inspired from, look at Genesis chapter 28. Enjoy!

Happily Ever After

This guy.

Yep. This is the guy we all want to marry. Handsome smile, flowy brown hair...fugitive...hmm, or maybe...

This guy!

Who wouldn't want to marry Tarzan? He's strong, he's sweet, he lives in trees...

Well, whichever disney character strikes your fancy, there really are good guys out there.
I promise. I actually met one the other day! (Just kidding, there are a lot of good guys out there :) )

Anyway, the article "Your Happily Ever After" from Dieter F. Uchdorf explains how our own story can end with a happily ever after.

Yes, it is kind of a long article, but you should read it! The whole thing! Really, it's worth it.

One of my favorite quotes from it is, "Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”

He Can Heal Us

This video touched me as I watched it today, and I just wanted to share it will all of you, and I hope that you feel the same comfort and love and truth that I felt as those prophets, seers, and revelators testified of Jesus Christ.

Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think

I tried to post the Pixar short film Boundin' but I could only find it in German and Spanish. I figured that most of you probably do not speak those languages, so instead I just found the words to it. If you REALLY REALLY want to watch the video (which you should because it's adorable) then just watch the movie Incredibles! It plays right before it. Anyway, here it is! Enjoy :)

(Pssst, make sure you read the whole thing!)

Here's a story on how strange is life with its changes
And it happened not long ago.
On a high mountain plain, where the sagebrush arranges
A playground south of the snow
Lived a lamb with a coat of remarkable sheen,
It would glint in the sunlight all sparkly and clean,
Such a source of great pride
that it caused him to preen.
And he'd break out in high steppin' dance.
He would dance for his neighbors across the way.
I must say that they found his dancin' enhancin'
For they'd also join in the play. 

Then one day… 

Then a-boundin up the slope
Came a great American jackalope.
This sage of the sage, this rare hare of hope,
Caused to pause and check out the lamb.
“Hey kid, why the mope?” 

“I used to be something all covered with fluff,
And I’d dance in the sunlight and show off my stuff,
Then they hauled me away in a manner quite rough
And sheared me and dropped me back here in the buff.
And if that’s not enough
Now my friends all laugh at me
Cause they think I look ridiculous, funny, and pink.” 

“Pink? Pink? Well, what’s wrong with pink?
Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think.
Does it matter what color? Well, that gets nope.
Be it pink purple or heliotrope.
Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down,
When you find that you’re down well just look around:
You still got a body, good legs and fine feet,
Get your head in the right place and hey, you’re complete! 

“Now as for the dancin’, you can do more,
You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar.
You just get a leg up and ya slap it on down,
And you’ll find you’re up in what’s called a bound.
Bound, bound, and rebound.
Bound and you’re up right next to the sky,
And I think you can do it if you give it a try,
First get a leg up, slap it on down…” 

So every year, along about May,
They’d load him up and they’d haul him away,
And they’d shave him and dump him all naked and bare.
He learned to live with it, he didn’t care,
He’d just bound, bound, bound, and rebound. 

Now in this world of ups and downs…
So nice to know there are jackalopes around.

Sharing Sunshine

Have you ever become so engulfed in your problems and sorrows that you just don't know how you're going to feel happy again? We learn in Harry Potter that it means a dementor is near, and in order to remove it, we must use the Patronus charm, or, in other words, create our own sunshine. I have found that one of the best ways to "create your own sunshine" is to share it with others! We all have sunshine in us, and we can all find someone with whom we can share it. What I mean is, to think about something you can do to serve someone. And you know what? It can be as simple as sending a text to someone that says, "Hey, thanks for being my friend," or perhaps, "You have such a beautiful smile! Thanks for sharing it with me!"
Gratitude, as we mentioned in an earlier post, is a great way to lift spirits. Take a minute to ponder the blessings in your life and the things you are grateful to have, and write them down. As you do this, you will find that there is much to be grateful for and it helps you to see that life isn't so bad. Also, if you find that there are any specific people you are thankful for or acts of service people did, no matter how small, be sure to express that gratitude for them and what they did. In a recent LDS General Conference, President Monson stated this quote: "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." Expressing your gratitude is sharing sunshine.
Another thing you can do is give someone a phone call, write a nice letter and bake cookies and secretly deliver them to their doorstep(or any one of these individually), or just smile at a passerby, as mentioned in Megan's last post. There are so many things we can do to divert our attention away from ourselves and focus on other people. So, one time, I was finding it difficult to enjoy being around a person. I just found myself not liking them, but it was someone I needed to work closely with. The idea came to me that I should just serve them. So that's what I did. Their birthday was coming up, so I bought them chocolate and made a card and things and delivered them to her house. I did something similar for Christmas, and I would send them simple "hello" texts. As I did these things, I found myself feeling so much love for this person! It came from giving of myself and serving. Sharing our sunshine with others helps us to see that there is light in us, because we all have that light of Christ, the ultimate example of sharing sunshine. He can help us see that light, even in the midst of a thunderstorm.

"Olo?" "No, it's hello." "Oh, hello?"

Hi friends! 

So, I'm at a new school where I know no one and so this next topic is very...applicable. Also, Brenna happens to be a PRO at this, and that is: saying hi to people! It's really easy but really effective. As humans, we are very social creatures and we like to talk and interact with one another, or, you know, we should.

So this one time I was having a not very good day and the girl I was sitting next to in one of my classes turned to me and just said “hi” and introduced herself. It was a really simple thing to do but it really brightened my day.

It's really amazing what a simple smile can do for someone.

My roommate told me a story about this. There was a this guy in high school and he was really popular, but really nice. In a class he had been assigned to sit next to this girl. She was really quiet and never talked to anyone. The guy (I don't remember his name) decided that every day he was going to say hi to her. For the first few weeks she never said hi back to him, but eventually she did, and gave him a short, “hi.” Slowly, he started having short conversations with her. It may have been just small talk, but that didn't matter. One day, the guy didn't really feel like saying hi to her that day because it she was hard to talk to but he felt like he really should. Little did he know that on that day, the girl was having an especially awful day. She felt like no one loved her and she had contemplated taking her life. She later told him that because of his kindness, she is still alive.

You just never know what a simple act of kindness can do for someone.  

Advice From Elder Busche

This is a beautiful message, and I invite everyone to go and watch/listen to it right now. It gives me so much hope and comfort when I watch it. I love to watch it and I know what Elder Busche says is true. Our Heavenly Father loves us, and He is there. He hears us. I invite you to pray to have the Spirit as you watch this and pay attention to what He prompts you to do. I know that we can have hope in Christ, our Savior, and He will always be there to lift us up when we turn to Him, and that it is because of Him that our lives are filled with light. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
You can watch "Advice From Elder Busche" here.

Forgiveness

In light of recent events, I feel like this post is much needed. It may be the hardest to do, but it is so worth it. Not only will you be happier, but you will also be more free. You won't be shackled down by hate and anger.

So here's the second tip:

Forgive people. This is not that easy to do sometimes. I recently found that I tend to hold grudges against people. I didn't think that I did, but I do. I kept on dwelling on mean things that people have said or done and I realized that in order to get rid of any anger I felt towards them, I needed to forgive them.One person in particular was really difficult to forgive and it took a long time to forgive him, but once I did, I felt like I could really let that part of my past go and finally move on. It's such a great feeling!

And here's a scripture to go with it!

"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." D&C 64:9-10