Outer Space: Stretching the Mind

I wrote this up for my science class, but thought it might be applicable on here too. I went to a free showing of "Black Holes" at the planetarium as part of my class requirement and had some neat "aha" moments there. 

One thing that really stuck out to me near the end of the show was something that the narrator said. He said something like “If nothing else, the idea of black holes has helped human minds to really stretch more”. Right away that made me think," So if we knew everything about black holes and everyone got stuck in that way of thinking (even the thought being true), it wouldn't give much for our minds to stretch and ponder about it." In the same way, if we knew everything about our lives or everything about truth as it is (like really knew, without a doubt), it wouldn't give any room for our minds to stretch beyond to other possibilities. Maybe there is only one true possibility, but I think there really is something to being able to see outside of that, to think outside the box. If everything we know is spoon-fed to us, how could we ever learn for ourselves?

I'm so glad for faith and the growth our Heavenly Father allows us by not telling us everything. I bet it takes a lot of faith on God's part for me that I'll follow in his ways, even when I don't know everything. I hope that I can live up to the trust I know God has put in my life. I'm going to try anyways :) 

Dentist Appointment

So guess what? There are a LOT of places around here that have discounts for people filling out their Mission Papers. So after doing some research and making some phone calls, I found a place that would give me free x-rays, exams, and a quote for how much it might cost me to get all my wisdom teeth pulled and whatnot.

For those of you who don't know, Mission Papers are like application papers to be able to go on a mission. I need to get okay's from my Dentist and Doctor saying that I won't have any issues in this next year and a half or so of my life. So dentist appointment, check!

The time is NOT mine...

...It's the Lord's :)

As a college student, I'm asked to do a lot, and in my faith, I'm asked to do even more. As a college student, I'm supposed to finish all my homework, be engaged in my classes, study well for exams, check off my to-do lists, get enough sleep, have food in my cupboard to eat. According to the Lord, I've got to also serve the people around me, take time to study His word, go to church, fulfill my calling, pray, be grateful to people, make time for others, and so much more. It's easy for me to feel like I "just don't have enough time" to do all that, to feel overwhelmed with all that I've got to do, but really, when I put the Lord first, everything else seems to fall into place much better. 

A friend once told me to "pray about it", in order to find the time I need to accomplish everything. At first I honestly thought, “What a typical answer”, but if you think about it, that “typical” answer is so true! 

Okay, you can’t only pray for time and expect it to come with no effort; you've got to put your prayer into action too. But knowing that my day isn't really my own, but one the Lord has given me really helps me keep a good attitude of doing right with my day. With that mindset, I've been working on getting to sleep on time and setting goals and accomplishing them within my day, because I really do want to use the day I'm given for good. 


Early to bed, early to rise: There’s two benefits here; one – I get a solid 7 hours of sleep every night; I feel much better when I’m well rested verses when I’m running on nothing. And two – Having a good amount of time to prepare for my day in the morning really makes a difference. A good breakfast, a good mindset, and time to prepare well for the day, all make for a better start than my rushing and stressful mornings; I definitely want to make this a hard-core habit in my life now.  

Making Goals: It helps me a ton to write lists. In the morning I'll write a list of “goals for my day”, and then see how I did at the end of the day. Today, I want to memorize a scripture, eat good food, exercise, study my scriptures, spend good time with my roommates, find ways to help people around me, update my blog, finish my homework, go to the store, make enchiladas, and buy new headphones. :) I’ll let you know later how all that goes. 

Caught in the Snares

So first of all, that whole "frustrated" issue from the other day has still been bothering me. I'm starting to feel like "Hey maybe I'm not really needed on the field now that ALL these other sisters are up and getting ready to go too." I know that's not the right attitude, but I've been thinking "Oh someone else (who is probably more qualified) will do the work, so why should I try?" 

But I was studying on a few tangents of thought this morning, and eventually came across a scripture in Alma 12 that sort of struck home for me on the subject of my "frustrations". In verse 6 and later 11 it reads, "And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity... And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction..." So translation: Satan (darkness) very subtly creeps up into our lives, and if ignored or let to continue, that darkness will take over and have much greater power over us to lead us down. 

It makes me think of that analogy of Satan's power as a thread - wrapped around once, it's easy to break, but wrapped again and again, it gets harder and harder until we feel we have no more strength to break free of that darkness (but we are always given a way to break free, as hard as it may be!). Satan seems to slowly pull me down by negative thoughts about my potential and purpose in the world. But I know that my life has great potential and purpose. And I know that as I realize my adversaries (which tend to be my very own negative thoughts), and remember the great love of my Heavenly Father, I will have greater power to withstand the snares of those adversaries.

No More Fence Sitting

Thursday night, I was over watching the vice-presidential debate at a friend's apartment with about a dozen or so other people. We had fun watching, talking, eating pizza, and playing "shots" (of apple-juice, sunny-D, and soda) whenever one of the VP's would mention certain topics. During the debate, I felt like I had a hard time really hearing what he had to say when all I could see and hear around me were the shaking of heads and words of dis-approvement to Biddin from all the people around me. I'm sure if I was in a room full of Obama/Biddin-supporters it would have been the same thing only the other way around though.

It makes me realize though, republicans and democrats seem to be not all that different from each other. Just like in an intense football game; for every die-hard "Beaver" fan out there, there's an equal and opposite "Duck" fan too. And yet there are also people like me who, unless it became truly necessary, wouldn't care about which side I'm on. I think this is often a way some people view religion. Not picking one faith or the other not because there isn't a truer faith, but because they are not compelled to care. OR simply picking one church or another because that's what's easiest and there's no reason to get up and really see if that's they really believe.

It's time to stop being a fence sitter. Just like I do with my faith, I need to study and think about and understand the world of politics better. I need to come to my own conclusion of what I really believe to be the best things for this country to do. I want to hear and learn about the various parties, and then once well informed, decide which party is right for me.

On the religious parallel of this (although religion and politics have a lot ), that's one of my goals as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; to inform the people about the gospel, to help them hop off that fence and make a stand for what is right. I'm glad that I have been able to make a stand in my faith. I know what I believe to be true, and I hope I can help others come to that knowledge too. 

Ask the Missionaries, They Can Help!

Review: Here's a great talk I heard on Saturday morning about missionaries and their work. I may add commentary later, but as it is very late and I need to get to sleep soon (after I finish reading marking 100 pages in a book), I shall forgo that motion at the moment. So watch the clip above, it's a great talk :)

Frustrated

As you could probably guess, that change of policy for missionary age-minimums was a HUGE hype at BYU-Idaho today. We talked about it during math-tutoring, in my science class, during lunch, English class AND Religion. Mostly we talked about how it might change people's life plans as a whole. We also talked about the pros and cons of it all. It is REALLY neat that everyone has the opportunity to serve earlier, and I'm glad that everyone's excited for it, but I want to see this excitement endure. I'm a little frustrated (though I probably shouldn't be) that all of a sudden ALL these girls are planning to go on missions too, they're up and ready to go whenever... now that it's not as much of a sacrifice. Now I'm going at 21 and all of them at 19, and I feel like they get to come back and be on the same page as all their friends. Not me. I'll come back and most of my friends will be gone and married, starting families of their own. I'm going to have to start all over with new peers. That scares me, a lot. It just doesn't seem fair that they get to go without having to give all that up now. But life isn't meant to be fair. I know it will all be alright it in the end. It's just hard sometimes.

General Conference Weekend!

It's General Conference time again! There's a few reasons that I love this semi-annual event.

For one, this time, I get to come down to my sister Leisha's house in Utah and visit her family here.  I've already had a manicure AND makeover by my one- and two-year-old nieces. I wiped all the purple eye-shadow off my face, but my nails are still a crumbly, blotchy teal-blue :) Leisha cut my hair yesterday! I'm SO grateful to have the ends cleared and some semi-short hair again! Overall, it's just been really nice to be around family. We have some good times, and I just like the familiarity of it all, it's refreshing :)

And for two this weekend, I get to hear the word of God spoken to me. Maybe that doesn't sound like such a big deal...but it is such a big deal! I get to hear what the Lord wants of me, how I can refocus my life and do better to find greater joy in my life. Here's a few things I'm now challenging myself based on some of the words I've heard so far:

- I'll be PROUD to be a Mormon. I'll know the gospel. I'll live it. I'll love it. (Ann M. Dibb)
- I will follow God's plan for me! (song)
- I am going to spend more meaningful time with the people I love (Deiter F. Uchtdorf)
- I'll become the sort of person that I know I can become (Deiter F. Uchtdorf)
- I'll find happiness in small moments, regardless of my circumstances (Deiter F. Uchtdorf)
- I'll ask Heavenly Father each day for opportunities to help someone in need.
- I'm going to study the Book of Mormon more diligently, seeking for guidance in my life (Larry Echo Hawkes)
- I'll pray always in my heart and remember that the Lord always answers. (Henry B. Eyring)
- I will be a light to the world. (Boyd K. Packer)
- I'll "first observe, then serve" even when it's not convenient to me (Linda K. Burton)
- I'm going to take time to be still and remember the Lord's hand in my life (Walter F. Gonzalez)
- I will utilize my life to show how much I love the Lord (Jeffry R. Holland)
- I will take a better inventory of my life - taking care to record the blessings, large and small, that I receive each day (Thomas S. Monson)

The Race is On!

So today at General Conference the Prophet spoke and told of a change in church policy on account of age-limit for missionaries. Guys can now leave for their missions at age 18, and girls can leave once their 19! Before, it was 19 for guys, and 21 for girls as far as the earliest time that we could leave.

I'm probably not going to change much in my plans, I can't leave much sooner than my 21st birthday (February 16th! :), BUT my little sister, Olivia, who's currently 19 can TOTally go if she wants to. So now we're making it a race. There's a whole list of things both of us need to do in order to be ready to turn in our mission application papers and be prepared in all the aspects for a mission. First step, wisdom teeth. :)

Not Commanded

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."
- Doctrine and Covenants 58:27

I was over at a game night the other night (playing Mafia), and between games I got to talking about going on the mission next year. One friend, Cameron, told me this little shpeel that he tells girls who are preparing for missions (one of them, a mutual friend of ours, Mary, ended up getting married last semester).  He said something like, "It's great for girls to go on missions, but it's not a duty or commandment for you to go." He went on to say that I shouldn't allow my determination of a mission block out or harden my heart to hearing out any other directions that the Lord might have store for my life. And he's right, I do need to keep an open mind to wherever I may be called to in life.

Maybe I am meant to continue my education, maybe I'm meant to find that perfect man and  marry him. There wouldn't really be much wrong with going in those directions (if I feel right about them). And one day I will finish my bachelor's degree, and one day I will become a wife and mother. But right now I really feel like the best thing I can do is to be anxiously engaged in the physical, mental, social and spiritual preparations it takes to be ready for a mission. 

Math Tutoring - Seeing Light Come to Their Eyes

I'm a math tutor at school, and one of my favorite things about the job is seeing the light come to the students' eyes as they come to understand a concept we've been going through. I want to see that same understanding come to the eyes of those I teach the gospel. Because as wonderful as the concepts of angle-bisectors and compound-interest-rate are, the principles of the gospel are of that much greater worth to me, and they change lives to a much higher extent. I want people to see what I see and feel that joy and hope and change of heart that brings so many blessings of good to their lives. Okay, the Lord loves His people (everybody) so much, and I know there are people out there who are going through extreme hardships and struggles in their lives. I also know that the gospel brings so much hope and light and help to those who will hold on to it. I want to share it. I want people to know for themselves too.

What IS a Mission?

First, for all of you who have NO idea what a "mission" is, here's a quick rundown:

For one and a half years, I will commit to serving the Lord by helping His people (everyone) to come closer to Him. I'll do this by teaching, preaching, serving and doing what I can to help others really see what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This is all much easier said than done. But I'll explain that more as time goes on :)