In 15 days...

...I will see Josh again, after 2.5 months.  And I can't wait :)   That is all.

The Touch of the Master's Hand

I love this poem.  It reminds me of my Dad.  Some of my favorite talks he gave in church, Dad quoted this.  And I think it's a good thing to be reminded about, once in awhile.

The Touch Of The Master's Hand

Myra B. Welch 

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar, then, two! Only two?

Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

Going for three . . ."  But no,

From the room, far back, a grey-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low, 

said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

"Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

"Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;

And going and gone."said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand, what changed its worth?" 

Swift came the reply:

"The Touch Of The Master's Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A 'mess of pottage,' a glass of wine;

A game - and he travels on.

He is 'going' once, and 'going' twice,

He's 'going' and almost 'gone'.

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's Hand.

Oh my, Where has the Time Gone?

So as I was reading other people's blogs this evening (well, morning), I realized that I haven't written in forever and a day. Therefore, here is a recap of the last four months of my life in one post of pictures.  

Heck yes.

This is how I felt all semester:

I am now secretary for the Editor-in-Chief of this journal:

I went to California and did the following:

 

After California and being sick all semester, I had the following list of homework/tests to do in a two weeks:

(Rachel was really nice to pose with the list)

I also got to attend General Conference and be this close to the prophet and apostles:

(and this absolutely wonderful boy too)

And now that school is out and I only work about five hours a week, my life feels like this:

And that is the condensed version of my life the last four months via pictures (and captions).  I hope you found this informative and enlightening, for I know you, faithful reader, have been in great suspense for months now.  But take heart!  For now you are no longer in the dark....

  

Yeah, ok, sure sign I need to go to bed now.  

'Til next time

P.S. If you happen to know of anyone hiring, please let me know!  

Love One Another

So we were talking about families today in my religion class (LDS Marriage and Family, go figure, haha), and the professor talked about love that matters.  He said something along the lines of loving someone is most important on the bad days, whether yours or theirs.  And so I've been thinking about what love should mean to me. So here's a couple thoughts of love in general:

Real love has nothing to do with what the person does, but who he/she is.  And when I say who he/she is, I do not mean, how they act, what they say, what their accomplishments are, but the fact that they are human.  And more importantly, beloved children of Heavenly Father.  Beloved He says?   That means cherished, dear to His heart,  loved greatly.  And if our Omnipotent Father in Heaven, the one who has seen not only where they fall short,  but also their limitless potential and loves them, should we not strive to see that and love them too?  

C.S. Lewis said, "It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities [potential of men to be gods or corrupted]...that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people.  You have never talked to a mere mortal...It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours...And our charity must be a real and costly love...no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment."

Second of all, charitable love, like my teacher Professor Brooks said, is not dependent on whether it's a good day or a bad day, on their end or yours.  No matter how much they disappointed you, how much they unknowingly aggravate you or hurt your feelings, how much they don't understand, to wish them well in the end is what it means to love one another to me.  To encourage them when they fail, to be understanding when they don't, and to be joyful with them when they succeed and grow.  That is love.

And last of all, "God is love" 1 John 4:8, and to know Him is to know how to love.

It's getting kinda late, so I feel I'm just rambling now, but I do know that you're cherished by the Lord, and at least one other person who cherishes you too ;)   (In case you didn't know, that's me)  

On This Day of Joy and Gladness

So it's now about a month later from my last post so it's about time to blog again, right?  

Because I am once again behind, here's catchup for you.

This past semester has been one of the craziest I have ever seen (though I'm sure I say this every semester), but it has been a worthwhile experience.  Here are a few things I've learned:

--The words "craig" and "moob" can be used for just about anything

--It's true. You really don't get kicked out of the Clyde building after hours

--The Lord does love His children

--Throwing small items at loved ones can become contagious

--If you want 11 people to constantly ask you about your relationship status, try dating inside the ward*

--Sleep and food, especially the lack thereof, actually affect every aspect of your life.  Go figure.

--Denny's has a $2,4,6,8 menu, and it is basically awesome

--Miscommunication can be a great, efficient way to upset people

--I have tendencies to act more like a man than a woman sometimes

--The Priesthood is truly the power to act in God's name

--Gulags and living conditions in communists states are worse than I had previously comprehended

--Insomniacs struggle with taking naps

--The JFSB has some really fun study areas, as does the JKB

--Being sick during finals week may put a damper on your productivity level

--Time flies faster after midnight.  If you're not careful, it'll be 5am or later before you know it. 

--Jack-o'lanterns become old, disgusting men who pee without shame if given enough time

--I am capable of enduring more stress and demands than I thought possible

Needless to say, it's been quite the adventure.  

And then...

After finals week, the holidays came!

This consisted of (ready for another list?):

--a 'cross-country road trip, from Utah to Indiana in 26 hours straight!

--awkward meeting-the-family moments!

--Christmas lights in Charlestown!

--Puking in Fort Wayne!

--Late night realizations!

--Awesome family fun!

--Robot Unicorn Attack!

--Lots of movies!

--"Jared, hulk it!"

-- Talking to Sister Sabalones via phone!

And much more to follow I'm sure.

And just one more thought.

I really like this quote by Julie B Beck, which I think illustrates was the most important lesson I learned from the past four months.

"[The sisters] articulate uneasiness about the future, sorrow for unrealized expectations, some indecision, and diminished feelings of self-worth.  They also reflect a deep desire to do what is right...

"A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do.  But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."

This semester, I worked very hard to do what was right.  I did my best to meet the needs of my friends, roommates and now boyfriend while trying to accomplish more schoolwork than I had time for.  Though I sometimes saw positive fruits of my labor, I often felt like I still wasn't doing enough and, especially concerning school, it seemed that all my efforts were in vain.  

And because of it, this quote was exactly what I needed to hear. I'm not the only person who feels bad for what she can't accomplish, or inadequate despite my desire to be what the Lord needs me to be, and I should understand that I will not be able to do every good thing.  But as I strive to develop my relationship with my Father in Heaven, and listen for the promptings of the Spirit, everything will work out fine.  I will be able to "prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently," and know that I a really am a worthwhile daughter of God.  

So now, readers of my blog, are officially caught up.  Congratulations.

*ward: LDS church congregation

From the Gulag to the Killing Fields

For my World Civilization 2 class, we are to write a paper analyzing the stories in the book From the Gulag to the Killing Fields.  This is a collection of stories of people who were mistreated in communist states. And to say mistreated is such an exaggeration.

There is a story of children who are starved, beaten, sent to do to tasks that are likely to kill them, given less than a pound of food each day, asked to spend hours criticizing themselves and their fellow prisoners and asked to witness the execution of others all in a North Korean gulag.

There is a story of women who were imprisoned because their husbands may or may not have been involved in "traitorous" acts.  They were tortured in order to give information about acts their husbands were supposed to have committed because they were believed to know more.  They did not get to see their husbands sentenced to death or to see the execution themselves, but forced to hear the news from the very mouths of those who used and abused them.

There is a story of men who supported their country, who risked their lives in war for their communist leaders, some of them even tortured, and still remained true.  These men were arrested because they had too much love and support from their fellow men, and those they fought so strongly to protect were worried they could start a rebellion.  These men, completely innocent, were dehumanized and broken until they had no willpower but to repeat word for word a confession that they were traitors before the court publicly.  Eleven men were sentenced to death, three to life in prison in Czechoslovakia.

These are just a few of the stories I've read so far.  I cannot adequately describe the sadness I feel, knowing that millions of people have been treated like this. I knew that these things happened, but to read firsthand accounts of other human beings treating their brothers and sisters as if they were purely means to an end, with no thought to the sanctity of human life...it's more than I can process.  And sitting alone for a few hours, having nothing but these stories playing in my head can make one very depressed. I'm tired, I'm sad and I still have still more to read.  All I can and want to think is:

"The worth of souls is great in the sight of God"

Time Flies When...

So I realized the other day it's been about a month since I've blogged. Life has just been going by so fast, I haven't had the time to sit down and write what I wanted to share.  Unfortunately, a month is a lot of time to recap, so once again, I'll just have to highlight a few things.

I helped participate in a birthday craiging for the first time ever!  Soooo much fun. 

Me, Sadie, Rachel

the aliens, the abducted, and the hick that got away

I got to go to General Conference twice!  Shavonne, Sadie, Rachel and I stayed at Sarah Parker's place all weekend.  Conference was amazing and spending the weekend with some of my favorite people was a blast.

Conference center right after the Sat morning session

I also got engaged (sorry Jenna) to a 17 year old boy, which was very unexpected.  I think I was making dinner at the time...

Taylor proposing.
Notice the fuzzy edges. Classic cheese (thanks Rach)

 We were going to elope in Vegas, but I would have had to ask for his parents' permission, which would have  been such a mess, so we planned on getting married the day after he turned 18 instead.  That day has come and gone and, well... I got to keep the cool ring he made for me at least.

Yes, that is a $1. And yes, those are Tia's leaves

For Halloween, I dressed up three times in three different ways.  It also happened to be my craziest week of school in the semester thus far, but that's less exciting to share....

Skittles: Taste the Rainbow

Luna and Flounder

camo kitty

This doesn't even cover the common:

14-16 hours of campus time a day

2-3 sleep deprived nights a week 

Friday night study parties

Or the awesomeness of:

7-11 hot chocolate

late night Denny's runs

FHE

learning something new 

busy Sundays

Watching my first real scary movie ever! (The Grudge. Yeah baby) 

a 12 hour date

Needless to say, my life is busy, but pretty much amazing.  It has definitely had quite a few rough patches (ok, maybe more than a few), but it's also been a semester I will never forget (in the positive way, of course). I am so lucky to have the friends I do, the experiences I've had and the opportunity to attend BYU at this time.  I look forward to seeing what the rest of the semester will bring.  :)