this is impressive. one day...

in september

the colors change.

in september
the afternoon light grows richer and redder
and the days are warm
and my window is open.

on the way to school i stop and gape at the light around me--
i beg: Envelop me.

in september 

i wear the long-sleeved shirt to bed

but i keep the nike shorts cause

i like the feeling of soft blanket on bare legs.

i wake up a little cold in the dark--

cold enough to put a pot of water on the stove. 

then it's 6 a.m. again
and already life moves too fast. 

Christ's mission

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). 

Christ was anointed and sent by the Father to preach to, heal, and liberate:

the poor
the broken-hearted
the captives
the blind
the bruised

Comforting, no?

evangelicalism

I've wondered what exactly scholars mean when they refer to evangelicalism, and I've wondered which religious groups it includes.  Thank you, Dr. Rachel Cope, for clarifying:


"Evangelicalism includes Protestants who fit within what David Bebbington calls the Evangelical Quadrilateral: Biblicism (belief that all truth is found in the Bible); crucicentrism (a focus on the atoning work of Christ on the Cross); conversionism (belief in the need for conversion); and activism (belief that the gospel needs to be expressed in effort). This means that some Baptists, some Methodists, some Presbyterians (and even some Quakers, Catholics  and other groups claim to be evangelical in thought and experience) are Evangelical, and others are not. It is those Protestants who hold to those beliefs, and who claim the spiritual rebirth/ born again experience."


And now you know.  

dying to write

Feels like I'm dying to write.

Since I'm not getting words out on paper (okay, on word document), my very blood is going to start spilling out of my body.

Frustrating how during the semester I never seem to find time to read and write what I want to read and write outside of school assignments.

Need to make time for it.  No excuses.

We humans have this basic need to let words flow from our bodies.  Maslow, add that to the base of our hierarchy of needs pyramid.  

I long to pray to the One who, because He knows me, teaches me about myself

"Prayer invites self-reflection and demands wakefulness." 

-R. Marie Griffith, God's Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission, pg. 1


Through prayer, I attempt to express myself to God.

I lack ability.

I can't speak the right language; I can't put how I feel into words. Beautifully, though, God understands me no matter what words I pray.  And He understands the words I never pray.  

So why pray when God already understands what I'm feeling?  I pray to show my devotion and gratitude to God, of course--but why try to express myself to God and why ask Him for things when He already knows what I need?

Because prayer isn't about asking God to understand me (He already understands before I ask!!).  Rather, prayer moves me to a place where I can understand parts of myself that I can't possibly "get" until I attempt to commune with God.

God already knows my heart, but I don't really know my heart until I look to my Father.  Prayer gives me the opportunity to learn about what's going on in there.  In my attempt to articulate how I feel, I begin to learn the meaning of the things I experience, the things I do, the things I want.  I begin, in a small way, to understand my soul.  And I've found that as I begin to understand myself, I begin to honor my need to commune and connect with Deity.  I begin to understand what it means to be "home."

I long to exercise my voice.  I long to hear and express and understand myself. I long to pray to the One who, because He knows me, teaches me about myself.

happy Sabbath!

some of my favorite songs to listen to, especially on Sundays :)

sex...

is all over the place in our media.

We never really talk about it in a good way, though. 

I wish we talked about sex in a good way. 

how bad do you want success?

thoughts of Gustav at 2 a.m.

So I can't sleep--and what do I do when I can't sleep?  Think about weird things.  Like names I love.

I happen to love male names.

My favorite right now is "Gustav."  I know, right?  You've probably only ever heard it on that movie "Ever After."  Also there was a hurricane in 2008 named "Gustav."  (I know because I googled "Gustav.")

Gustav would be a sweet name to name my first male child.  But I don't think that's gonna happen (can you imagine that?) so here are the names I would actually love to name my future children:

1. Gabriel
2. Peter
3. Ezra

All Biblical names.  I love the names "Gabriel" and "Ezra" because I love saying them.  I love the way they sound.

And I love the name "Peter" because of Peter in the New Testament.  He is one of my favorite people and I'm excited to meet him in the next life.

Yup.  These are a few of my 2 a.m. thoughts.

<3 peace, love, and sweet dreams

I want to know, for myself, what is real.

I want to know, for myself, what is real.

Do you ever think about that?

With all the lies they feed us, I should consider this more often.

What is true?

What is false?

Are "they" brain washing us?

And who are "they" anyway?  (I personally have many theories on this.  Good topic for a longer blog later...)

Thoughts?  Anyone?  Probably no one will respond.  (Don't worry.  One day I will have someone to converse with about such things.  Significant Other, where are you? jk jk.)

For now, a journal entry will suffice...

And of course, God always listens--and I'm thankful for that :)

one reason to do something good today: Karma

"whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord..." (Ephesians 6:8)

"But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done..." (Colossians 3:25)

entitlement

One problem with my generation is this attitude of entitlement.  We tend to want what we want, but we don't want to actually do the work it takes to get what we want.  


What a mucky attitude.

mustard greens in the green smoothie

Momzie bought mustard greens to put in green smoothies and at first I was a little scared to try them--pretty bitter--but my mom made up a good concoction that tastes fantastic!  Here ya go:

1 cup water
8 oz. greens (mustard greens + spinach)
1 cup frozen mangoes
1 banana
1 peach
1 orange
1 TBSP flax seed

Blend and enjoy :) mmmm!

Women of God

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

MARGARET D. NADAULD

be a goddess

Artist Selina Fenech defined a goddess as:


"A woman who is in the process of learning to know, accept and love herself on all levels, Mind Body and Spirit. A woman who, because she focuses on personal growth and self awareness, experiences a life increasingly filled with peace, love, joy, passion and fun. A woman that understands she has unlimited capacity to make her life anything she wants. A woman who is inspired to give to those around her our of her sense of gratitude and abundance." 

I like that.  

a little early-morning coldplay

here's a little love to start your day.  one of my very favorite songs! <3
happy thursday!

happy independence day!

We had a fabulous 4th of July.  I'm home in Idaho for the summer so I spent the holiday with my family and also with Ariel, my dear friend and roommate at BYU.  I was so happy to have Ariel here and to be able to show her my hometown.  Idaho Falls is such a beautiful place and I love the people here.  

We went to the local parade in the morning; then we went to Rexburg to spend time with some extended family (including cousins who live in England that I hadn't seen in four years!! SO good to see them!); later my sisters, Ariel and I came back to Idaho Falls and met up with some friends for the fireworks show. I was told that our fireworks show put on by Melaleuca was recently rated #2 in the nation.  I don't know about that, but I do know every year Idaho Falls enjoys an incredible show and that this year's show lived up to its reputation! We were in awe as we watched 40 minutes of beautiful fireworks in the sky.  During the finale we listened to "Come Thou Fount" and I thought about how thankful I am not only to live in this free country, but also to know that Jesus Christ made all of our lives here possible. 


God bless America! 

before the fireworks

Mother Teresa: "Do it Anyway"

Mother Teresa: “Do it Anyway”

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they might be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;

it was never between you and them anyway.

slowing down, finding peace

Did you ever think it would come to this? Information withdrawal?  Really? 

Let me back up here.

Over the past two weeks I've been trying to slow down because I feel like I'm in the midst of chaos so often that I've lost time to just "be still" and think.  I've been working to cut out the extra "noise" in my life and just "smell the roses."  I've been trying to live in the moment, appreciate what's around me, get more in-tune with myself, and most importantly, contemplate my relationship with God.  I've been doing simple things like meditating 20 minutes daily, going on walks and bike rides, sitting outside and watching the sunrise more often, staying in bed for a few extra moments in the morning just to listen to the birds chirp outside my window, reading books I want to read, making time to talk with people and be more aware of what they need.

It was hard at first, because since my junior year in high school I've been cramming things into my life--always trying to do more.  I think I believed, "The more I do, the better I'll be."  (wrong!) So of course slowing down was hard at first!  But after only two weeks of slowing down, I look back and wonder why I chose to go at such a crazy pace.  I now feel so much more peaceful because I'm more in-touch with myself!  I'm making time to contemplate what life's about, where I'm headed, and what God wants me to accomplish.  So slowing down and creating a more peaceful lifestyle has been quite an exciting revolution for me.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about what I want to change in my life to become the person I want to be and to live the best life I can--cause here's the fact:  We're only living this life once, so we've gotta make it good!  I've been thinking about this talk by Elder Oaks.  In our personal efforts to come closer to Christ, we need to figure out the best things in our lives--and then choose to pursue the best things over the "good" and "better"options.

One last thought: When I'm more in-touch with myself, it's easier for me to be more in-touch with others.  Rather than becoming more selfish, I begin to look outward and to be a more giving person.  I think it's easier to love people when we feel inner peace.  

* * *

<3