When you fall down...get back up.

I haven't written on here in a little while and must make up for it. Life is constantly moving forward. There is no point where we can simply sit down and enjoy the scenery as it passes by. People try all the time, only to find that things don't go the way that they thought they would. I had an interesting and very personal moment today where I felt that I had fallen to my lowest. Things seemed to go wrong in every possible way. I then took a moment to breathe and to sing some hymns. I actually started out singing the song You Raise Me Up, which isn't a hymn, but has a comforting message about the Savior. As I sang, the spirit touched me so strongly, bringing tears to my eyes and making it hard to sing. I knew that at that moment, even in my own depths of despair, that my Heavenly Father was aware of me and what I was going through. My Savior suffered for those feelings so that He could know how to succor me in my time of need. Feeling the embrace of the spirit and unseen messengers from our Father in Heaven is one of the most amazing feelings that I have ever experienced. I then decided that I needed to make a change. Any change that would release some of the built up emotions I had swirling around inside of me. So I chose to cut my hair. I cut it myself, which was pretty easy, and instantly felt lighter. The change was something simple yet so profound. I love change and I think in my low moments, I'm kind of telling myself that I need a change. You know, not that I'm doing something wrong, I just need something new to excite me and help push me forward. As life is always moving forward, with or without us. Thank you so much for your time and have a wonderful weekend.

Sick Days...

I really dislike sick days. I feel like it's a wasted day of just sitting around, waiting for yourself to get better. Plus, being sick is just never fun. The feeling of having no energy to do anything substantial, the sneezing, the runny nose, and the dull ache in your head and whole body for that matter. It's really just a miserable time that you wish would just be over. Well, today was my sick day, and I hope to not have another. I'm having a really hard time focusing on writing anything that will make sense, so I better end short tonight. Thank you so much for your time and make sure to stay healthy. Have a wonderful evening.

Elder David A. Bednar

So I know I haven't posted in the last 2 days and so I realize I really need to. Last Friday night, my sister Kaytlin and I had the opportunity to attend a Young Single Adult fireside where Elder David A. Bednar, one of the twelve apostles, spoke. It was such an amazing experience. Elder Bednar started out by saying, "We have a weird tradition in the church of going to meetings, listening to people speak, and taking notes...do you ever use those notes? Or two or three weeks after the meeting, can you even find those notes?" Of course this made everbody laugh, and then he told us that we would have a question and answer meeting; and any notes we did take should be things that were taught to us by the Spirit. I don't remember a lot of the questions that were asked, or even his answers, but I do remember so distinctly the answers that the Spirit gave to me. They were so powerful and brought me to tears. They were things I didn't even know that I was wondering about. But once I received the answers, I knew without a doubt that my Father in Heaven was aware of me and knew exactly what I needed to know at this point in my life. The things I received were amazing, and very personal. And the only people who could have known anything about them was myself and God. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me. May all of you know that also for yourself is my prayer. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful evening.

Emotions Reborn

Have you ever read a book, or wached a movie for that matter, more than once yet feel that every emotion you experience is like the first time you read or watched it? I mean, I just finished Book of a Thousand Days last night for the second time (I literally couldn't put it down) and I felt stressed when the main character was stressed, I felt relieved when she was relieved, and overwhelmed with happiness when she was happy. It was crazy, and yet it made the book more real to me. I felt like I was there in the story and that made all the difference. I will definitely read this book again, but of course I will wait a while and read many more books in between. But back to my main point, I just love books like this. The authors speak through their book or movie and let us discover for ourselves what message we want. Like I've said before, I've read a lot of the same books as my sisters, especially my older sister Lyndsi, and I know that we get different things out of them. Not only because she's a girl and I'm a guy, but because we are looking for different things. And that is what amazes me the most, is that one person can write a book and thousands of other people can read it and get their own interpretation of it. Each a unique and distinct interepretation. Just for them. So, I hope you have found a book or movie that is like this for you. If so, treasure it and keep it fresh in your memory. If not, keep searching. Once you find it it will feel like an old friend to you. Good luck with your search and thank you for your time. Have a wonderful day.

Book of a Thousand Days

So, I realize I didn't write yesterday, and because of that I'm going to put my thought for yesterday as my post today. If that makes sense. I got this book from the library just yesterday, and I've read it before as well, it's called Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. As I started to read it I began to see some parallels between the book and my life right now. I guess a quick synopsis of the book would be: there are two girls, a handmaid and a princess, who are being locked in a tower for seven years because the princess refuses to marry the man her dad chose for her. I realize this is kind of a girly book (am I allowed to say that?), but I've always read kind of the same books as my sisters since we're pretty close. And a good book is a good book, no matter if it's written with girls or guys in mind. So anyway, as I began to read I was thinking that that is how I kind of feel. Like I'm locked in a tower with not a whole lot to do, besides write about my experience and enjoy what simple commodities I can. So this is kind of my own personal book of a thousand days. It may not even be close to a thousand, but it will sure feel like it. I count myself lucky though that I can go outside, I can see the sunshine, and I can feel the wind unlike the girls in the book. I have so much to be grateful for, and the list continues to grow each and every day. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a wonderful day.  

The start of my online journal journey

So, this is my first post on my new blog (that's kind of obvious, right?). I'm starting this because, as I was talking with my good friend Jenessa Jensen, we started talking about her blog and just blogging in general. I mentioned that I'm just sitting around with not a whole to do as I wait to go on a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She then suggested that I start a blog, talking about life as a young adult waiting to serve a mission. There are at least dozens if not hundreds of other members of the LDS church my age who are in a similar situation. It's a tough situation to be in, and life may seem to slow down as far as it possibly can sometimes. But it's also a great experience, especially as I need to learn patience. So, I've decided to post on here just whatever thoughts come to me throughout each day. They may be spiritual and enlightening; or they could very well be something random that I found funny or interesting. I might have some core subjects I cover, mostly in dealing with the things I actually do as I'm waiting here at home. For example: books, movies, graphic design, family, the scriptures, and stuff like that. Just my every day stuff that makes up my life. I'm really excited for this and hope that there is something that can be gained from it by someone. Thank you for your time, and have a wonderful day.