"Slow down a little"

“We would do well to slow down a little, focus and the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most.”

This week has been a week filled with stress, frustration, confusion, and misunderstandings, for some. Why, you might ask. Well, here at BYU-Idaho it's the end of the semester, which means FINALS! I decided that I wasn't going to let finals affect me or the people around me, if I can help it.

            This week my roommate was feeling rather down so I decided that I wasn’t going to let her continue on in such a state. After she got out of the shower I promptly told her to quickly get herself ready and to make sure she looked cute. She was unsure of my excitement but wisely took faith in me and readied herself. I made her gather a few different shirts that she liked and took her on a photo shoot.  

We left Rexburg for a few hours and just took pictures and spent some quality time together. We then returned to Rexburg and went on with everything we had to do, but with a much happier attitude and motivation to get us through the week. I think that sometimes people just need to know that they are being thought of and that they are loved.

        To start off a good week I gather up a picnic basket full of a few random items to eat and then told my roommates to get in some sweatpants and grab a blanket.  We then piled into my tiny car with 7 people and drove up to the Manwaring Center (MC) on campus and had a picnic inside of one of the rooms in the MC.

         We ate snacks and just talked about the semester. We spent about two hours just being together and having fun. I was so happy to be able to spend some quality time with my roommates.  People are what matter and I have neglected to focus on the people around me and let them know that I love them very much.  

Desire, attitude, and trials.

I just had a few Sunday morning thoughts today and I thought I would write them out and make a little more sense of them then i usually do, because we all know my mind can be a little jumbled and hey they still might be, but this is what I'm thinking today. :)

                                   

Our Heavenly Father wants us to be the best that we can be, He knows what we want and he will help us to be better. He can heal us and our natures can be changed no matter what, but we have to have a desire to change. Elder Oaks taught, “Let us remember that desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. . . The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.” As I have gone through this semester my desire to change has become stronger. I know that I need to become a better disciple of Christ; I need to be a more humble follower and my attitude needs to change for the better. I  hope that my desires have changed to more important things and I know better what I want to become, the goal now is to work towards that and not only desire but act.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is my attitude. Is it where it should be? Is it what I want it to be "Where you go, there you are" I think I need to better understand this statement, because it doesn't matter where I go, I take myself with me. This declaration is important because it teaches me to stop constantly wishing I was somewhere else-such as on vacation, living in a different apartment, with different people, and all together in a different circumstance somehow making myself believe that I would be happier. I wouldn't. Truth be told, if I  have these negative thoughts and a bad attitude about where I am and what I’m doing--if I’m get bothered and annoyed easily, if I let myself get frustrated and even angry most of the time, or if I am always wishing things were different, this tendency will follow me, wherever I go. But the reverse is also true. If I am usually a happy person rarely getting annoyed or angry, then I can move from place to place with very little negative impact. Our attitudes reflect who we are. So my desire is there but will I act on it?

There are lots of things that I want to work on in my life and I know that as I seek out my Heavenly Fathers help He will help me to know what I need to do in my live to better myself. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can all be saved and be forgiven in our sins. He will support, keep, and preserve us as we are faithful unto Him. I know that He gives us trials to help us to grow. Alma 36:3 states, “…whosoever shall put his trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” I know this to be true and I know that the trials we receive are for our own good. 

"If I didn't have you"

There is something about music that evokes certain emotions in me. I am grateful for music in my life and the things that I feel through music. I was listening to a song earlier today and it made me think of a number of things in just the 3:30 that it took to listen to it. The song that I was listening to was, “If I didn’t have you.” From the soundtrack of Monsters, Inc. Throughout the song Sulley and Mike, the main characters of the movie, sing about the value of their friendship. They express their love and appreciation for each other with a light hearted mood simply saying, “I wouldn’t have nothing, if I didn’t have you”. As I was listening to this song I thought of the many people in my life that I love and how I really would have nothing if I didn’t have them.

My parents are two of the most remarkable people that I know. They have taught me so much and set a foundation in my life to grow on; they have given me everything from day one and have taught me the true meaning of love. They are an example to me in my life and I want to implement their example into my life and into my future family. 

 I have 9 siblings that have each taught me something and I have learned so many skills from each one of them, without even just one of them in my life I would not be the person that I am today. I am so grateful for the family that I have and the love that I have for each one of them. 

                I also thought about the many friends that I have in my life. As a college student I am living away from home and don’t have the protection of my family or the convenience of family members there for me at all times, as I have in the past. It’s important that we surround ourselves with good friends. At this point in my life “I wouldn’t have anything” if I didn’t have the friends that I do. They have influenced me so much and are the people that are there for me when I am in need. They build me up and teach new things, whether it is of something secular or spiritual, they give me good counsel and help me with my difficulties. I am so grateful for the friends that I have in my life and the incredible people that they are and who they are helping me to become.

                And last but not least my Savior and Redeemer, this is where I truly “wouldn’t have nothing,” if I didn’t have my friend and brother Jesus Christ. He has given me the ultimate gift and I am so grateful for the constant love that He has for me, that I know I can turn to Him at any time and the things that I know to be true through Him.

                In the last part of the song; “I wouldn’t know where to go, I wouldn’t know what to do, Cause [I] know it’s true, I wouldn’t have nothing if I didn’t have…you.”