I Choose Him

Here is a song that has been dear to my heart ever since I heard it.

There is one part in particular that really stood out to me a couple weeks ago and I have thought about it often since then. It starts at 1:38. These are the lyrics to this part.

He's given me His trust, so I'll be strong enough,
To run from a dangerous touch, I don't need that kind of love,
I don't need that crutch, He's given me his trust.

God trusts me. 
He knows that I am strong enough 
to run away from the things that 
will not bring me eternal happiness. 
He knows that I will choose Him 
and his ways. 
His trust allows me to make my own decisions. 
He isn't going to force me to keep the commandments 
and be worthy of eternal life, 
but He trusts me to make those decisions on my own. 
It doesn't matter what the world thinks of me.
The only person I need to please is my Heavenly Father.

I choose His way. 
I choose His plan.
I choose to keep the commandments. 
I choose the temple.
I choose to be with my family forever.
I choose to be a witness of Him at all times, in all things, and in all places.
I choose to serve him always.
I choose His love.
I choose joy. 
I choose HIM.

one of those moments.

thursday was my last day student teaching the sixth graders. i also had a job interview in ogden. then, that night i went to the sunrise elementary kindergarten opera. my kindergarteners have been working on this opera for months. did you know that kindergarteners could write, try out for parts, rehearse, and perform an opera? well, they can. and it was incredible. so incredible. it was one of those moments. one of those moments that remind you of your passion for teaching. they put so much work into it and they owned it. if you watched it you would be surprised that they were kindergarteners. i was so impressed with their performance. i'm glad that i had a small part. after, i went up to the classroom to congratulate them and another one of those moments happened. one of those moments where you have 15 to 20 white-faced kindergarteners surrounding you all trying to give you a hug and telling you how much they miss you. one of those moments when you miss them so much. one of those moments that make all the work that goes into teaching worth it.

one of those moments.

Meet Tyler.

She is a duck.
A baby duck.
Kendra's duck.

Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

 

Friday night. We did something hard. We stayed up the entire night. Why in the world did we do that?

Relay for Life.

I created a team in honor of my dad.

This was my BBQ This! Relay for Life team. Throughout the entire night at least one of us was walking around the track of the fieldhouse.

We did this to fight cancer. It symbolized that cancer never sleeps. We were celebrating, remembering, and fighting back.

Our team worked very hard on fundraising. Our total was $1,152.12. Out of all 33 USU Relay for Life teams we raised $22,219.77. 

The money will go towards cancer research and services for individuals who have cancer and their families. We are fighting for a world with more birthdays.

It was hard. 

There were moments when I felt like my legs were about to fall off. There were times when all I wanted to do was sleep. There were moments when I felt so emotionally drained and thought that I wasn't going to be able to do it. 

It was completely worth it.

It's really neat to be a part of something like that. 

It's a good feeling knowing that you are making a difference.

For more information go to relaforlife.org. 

God will speak this weekend. Will you Listen?

For the next two days, we get to hear from living prophets and apostles. 

They speak the mind and will of our

Very loving Heavenly Father. 

We can receive comfort, 

direction, 

peace, 

inspiration 

and answers that we are searching for. 

So I challenge you....

come up with a question. 

A question. 

A problem. 

Maybe a trial you are struggling with. 

Pray about it. 

Then watch General Conference. 

And don't just watch it. 

Absorb it. 

Take it in. 

Listen with you whole heart, might, mind, and strength. 

Feast. 

You will receive an answer. 

God is speaking this weekend. Aren't we so blessed??

j.c.o.

You know that best friend that is always there for you?

She can be goofy and crazy with you.

But she can also talk serious stuff and cry with you.

She was there when you were broken and she helped hold the pieces together.

She loves going to the DI and taking pictures with you.

You don't have to be talking to enjoy each other's presence.

She likes watching Titanic as much as you do.

She tells you all about her secrets and listens to yours.

It feels like you have known each other forever.

But really it has only been two and a half years.

And distance....doesn't make a difference.

This is her.

Once upon a time...last night...we went shopping.

Don't mind me. I'm just going to ramble for a moment.

Lately, I have felt busy every moment. Then, I will have a moment when I take a breath and feel like I should be doing something. Sometimes I even feel like I'm forgetting to something. Like today. I needed to be doing something but I couldn't remember what it was. Oops.

Then there are times at 9:00 when I sit down and suddenly feel exhausted. Maybe I'm tired because it has been a busy week. And today was the teacher fair. Oh, the teacher fair. I don't think I want to say too much about it right now. Except I loved the outfit I wore. Seriously, it was very professional and very me. And....I stood out.

I think that I need to remember to make decisions for myself. What I do in my life mostly shouldn't depend on what outside parties think. I have to do what is best for me. Especially at this time in my life. I don't have children, a husband, or even a boyfriend that I need to take into account when making decisions. I am a single lady of 21 years and I have the world at my fingertips. It doesn't matter what other people think is best for me. What matters is what is really best for me. That, my friends, is between me and my Heavenly Father.

Sometimes I feel like I have an adult life. I go to "work" everyday (aka student teaching) from 7:15 a.m. to about 3:00 p.m. Then I come home, make myself some food, check my email, maybe go to the temple or run other errands. I do things for my calling, plans some lessons, go the gym, do the dishes, or my laundry. You get the idea. Well....I like it. Except for the part where I don't really have a social life because I try to go to bed early.

I have moments of clarity where I can see how I am doing in my life and I make goals to be better. Sometimes, I get through the day and I don't think I've made any progress. There are moments where I feel like a complete failure.

You want to know something my institute teacher told us last night? "If you could see yourself as God sees you, you would never have a depressed day in your life." Isn't that incredible? Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ see me as I can become. It is about time for me to see myself in that way. Also, I need to work on seeing other people in that way as well. Because I have no idea what they are going through and as many times as I have felt the everlasting love of my Savior they have probably felt it too. You might have felt it. If you haven't, you can. Just ask him. Tell him you want to feel His love. He loves every single person perfectly. What an awesome thought.

I miss my best friends a little bit. Maybe a lot. You know who you are.

Maybe I want to go to sleep. Maybe I need to do an assignment before I can go to bed. Maybe I decided to blog instead. That's more important than sleep, right?

I am the team captain of a Relay for Life team. Which is incredible really. I'm so excited. The only problem is that I don't have enough team members. And I haven't been doing very well about fundraising.

I'm thinking that this is getting very long.

I think about it all the time

Its true. I do think about it all the time.

Before I go to sleep.

When I wake up.

I basically want to tell everyone about it.

But I can't.

Not yet.

Oh. But I reeeealy want to.

The cyber world isn't ready.

Or maybe I'm just not ready to tell the cyber world.

Sometimes I think about it when I'm teaching the sixth graders.

Or when I'm driving.

And eating.

And maybe some people know about it.

I think about it in the shower.

When I'm running.

Have I said too much?

Is it obvious?

That is possible.

Sometimes I get so excited I feel like I'm going to explode.

But then there are moments when I'm so scared I could pee my pants.

I think about it when I'm listening to music.

And when I'm cleaning.

I'm thinking about it right now.

I think about it all the time.

sometimes i need to remind myself.

End The Word

Spread the Word

To End the Word

The words retard and retarded are offensive and hurtful. Please don't use them. Go online right now to www.r-word.org. Take the online pledge to end the r-word. Together we can make a difference.

p.s. This is last year's shirt. The message is still the same. :)