Sunday, March 3, 2013

Drops in a Bucket

I was thinking today about all the wonderful people I have met in my life time. Everyone I have met has been unique, special. I feel so blessed to have met the people that I have. That got me thinking about how important our time here on earth really IS! Some people think that their life only effects themselves but that is SO wrong. Each person we might has the potential to influence us one way or another, and we do the same to them in return.

Can you imagine how boring life would be if it was just yourself? Each person you have the chance to interact with provides that much more color and depth to YOU! I think of it as a bucket. When I come into contact with someone, I get another drop in my bucket of life. My life has been filled with drops from people for which I am SO grateful for! Has every drop been clear and beautiful and enjoyable? I can't be honest and say that it has. Some drops have been sour, bitter even. Some seem like poison and yet they too add to my life experience and in the end, do benefit me.

We have the blessing of being drops to others as well. Encounters with people are not a take only! You are always giving out drops to other people. Sometimes the drops YOU offer are sweet, sometimes not. Imagine the power that gives you. You have the capacity to influence lives for good or for bad by how you act. That is HUGE.

Luckily, for the most part, we get to choose what kind of drop we are going to offer someone even though we can't choose what drop they will give back to us. Let's give out good drops. Make every interaction be a positive one, a happy one, for the receiver. I think by doing that, you might just find that more of your drops become sweeter too!

Thank you to all the people in MY life that have blessed me with so many happy drops. You are all AMAZING and I love you.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Guests

A good friend of mine suggested that I have a couple of guest authors on my blog to talk about what makes THEM so happy. I thought this was a GREAT idea, so over the next little while, I will be inviting a couple of my "happiness heros" to make little guest posts.

My first guest is......

My little bro!

That's right. He is my hero and I love him. He is also on a mission for our church right now and his optimism impresses me always. Here is part of his letter that he wrote home last week:



OH. MAN.

Being a missionary is the best thing ever. In case you are wondering, it is.

This Thursday I was on exchange with Elder XXXXX. Around 1 PM a massive rain storm started up in the middle of our finding time, and we were getting pounded by rain. After enduring this for about four hours, we had to head home so that we would arrive in time for the Zone Leaders to take us to our dinner appointment. The return journey was about 40 minutes.

I'm just going to tell you: I've lived in Washington before, so I know what cold, constant rain is like. I've lived in El Paso, so I know what strong wind is like. I've lived in Utah, so I know what low temperatures are like. But I tell you, I have never, ever, been so cold and so wet in my entire life. Literally every single inch of me was soaked and freezing to the bone, and since I consider myself a pretty thick-skinned person, that means it was cold. It was raining, visibility was poor, my brakes weren't working, the wind was blowing against me, the road was slippery, huge puddles were everywhere, I was tired from hours of previous biking, and it was cold.

In short, it was one of the greatest moments of my life.

For as I was biking, it occurred to me that there was literally no reason for me to be out here, from a worldly standpoint. Here I was, weather-blasted and in very real danger of running into the side of a car (due to slippery roads and faulty brakes - which have since been fixed, Mom) -- should one suddenly appear in front of me -- biking for forty minutes. So why was I doing it? What was the point of it all?

Well...because the Church is true.

Since the Church is true, and since God is our Father, and Jesus Christ His Son, and Joseph Smith His Prophet...none of this mattered. My frozen fingers, the water sloshing around in my water-tight shoes, the rain in my eyes -- it was all worth it, because the Church is true. I was out here because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life. The storm may rage, the floods may rise, and Carolinian drivers may disregard all traffic rules and common sense -- but the Church is true, and I will spread the Good News, no matter what the weather.

I had a lot of fun in that bike ride. I was so incredibly happy the whole time. It has literally been the highlight of the last month or so. We got home in time for dinner, and I got changed into dry clothes (best feeling ever!), and Elder XXXXX went and collapsed in the bathroom, because, sadly, he is not as cold-resistant as I am, bless his heart.

People are getting taught, the work is progressing. I am learning all the time what it means to be obedient, or how to be more diligent, or how to be more effective. Thank goodness Elder XXXXXXX is so patient with me.

The Church is true. I love you all. I love my mission, I love my area, I love the people I work with, and I love my companion. I am so grateful that I get to serve the Lord.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder XXXXXX


Isn't he AWESOME?!?!? His love fills his life with light and I LOVE IT!!!

Good work, kid.

Chocolately Goodness

If there anything happier than a perfectly make chocolate chip cookie? You know the kind. A gooey, warm, melty, soft round bundle of joy?!? THAT is a pocket of sunshine.

What is better than finding one of said cookies?

Making one and then enjoying the fruits of your labors : )

Yum.


In the past, I had difficulties creating any chocolate chip cookie that was relatively edible. My dear friend, Susan, is a perfect cookie baker and has been so generous to share some of her tips with me over the years. Here they are:

1st: use salted butter, softened throughout the day on your counter. It tastes best

2nd: after completing dough, wrap it up and chill it in the fridge for an hour or two. Keep the dough nice and cool until it is popped in the oven. This will keep the cookies from spreading.

3rd: when time to bake, scoop out the chilled dough with a small cookie dough/ ice cream scoop. You will get a perfect shape every time.

4th: Use a silicone baking mat on your cookie sheet. Easy release and ideal consistency!


Use these few tips and you will be ONE HAPPY CAMPER!!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Forrow Your Dreams


So, in case you are getting discouraged from those lofty New Years resolutions, here is a link to an awesome pick me up song.

If you just believe it, then you can do it.

"I believe I can fly" ~William Hung

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Inspiration

“Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings...It's something we make inside ourselves.” 
― Corrie ten Boom

When I was a young girl, my father was transferred overseas to Germany for the army. My family took a visit to Amsterdam in the Netherlands during our time there. I was about 7 years old. My mother had us visit a tiny little street where she pointed out an old building. She told us an incredible story of a clocksmith and his family who bravely assisted and hid Jews during the German occupation in WWII. She told us of his daughter, Corrie ten Boom, who believed that the Jews were God's chosen people and therefore gave everything to protect them during the nightmare of the Holocaust. My mother recounted many of Corrie's stories to us while we there, stories of faith, hope, forgiveness.

One of my favorites that I have remembered countless times over the years is of gratitude. Eventually, the ten Boom family was betrayed to the Nazis and shipped off to a concentration camp. There they witnessed and experienced horrible atrocities. During this time of hardship beyond imagination, she and her sister found ways to rejoice in God's goodness and give thanks in all things, including the fleas and filth. I have always been so impressed by how she found reasons to be grateful when I myself would be so incredible lost within blankets of loathing and despair. You can read about this story in an excerpt from her book "The Hiding Place" here.

I have always thought, "If this woman could be so full of hope in such dire circumstances, cannot I too be filled with hope when something goes amiss in MY life?" She has been my inspiration countless times.

What in our life have we been complaining about that we can find a reason to be grateful for instead? What are our "fleas" that have been pestering us that are actually blessings? I assure you, you will find more sunshine in your life when you change those fleas into friends.

Flashlights under the Bedsheets

You know when you were little and had a really good book that you just HAD to read even though it was past your bedtime so you read it under the covers with a flashlight? Yeah, I had one of those moments the other night. I knew that in the morning I would be tired but I knew that there was NO WAY I'd regret staying up 4 hours past my bedtime to read this book.

It was awesome.

Good books are truly something, aren't they?

Monday, January 7, 2013

Tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow is my birthday!!!

I will be 26. That is SO less glamorous than 25. Really. It is.

But atleast I get a hot date with the hubby tomorrow evening, right? Nah. He is off interviewing all day.

But I DO get to treat myself to a huge carton of blackberries from Costco, right? Nope. Husband has the car.

Ah, but my friend is taking my out for breakfast in the morning! Yeah, until we remember that The Little Guy needs to come with us and the car seat is still in the above mentioned car.

K, I guess it is walking to the corner Subway or Jimmy Johns then, eh? Well, the forecast says 2-3 inches of rain tomorrow!

Dang.



See how easy it is to count the negative!!! So how easy it is to say "woe is me!" It's lame, huh?



Tomorrow is my birthday!!!

I will be 26. Since I turned 25 last year I have had an AMAZING year. Best of my life!! I am SO glad I am still around to be 26. I don't want to miss out on another year for ANYTHING!

True, my husband will be gone all day and well into the night as well, but I know that he'll be thinking of my all day long, just wishing that I was in his arms. He loves me more than I ever imagined someone could love me.

I don't get blackberries tomorrow but I can have them on Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll eat my Reese's Puffs birthday cereal and not feel bad about their lack of nutritional value at all : )

My friend and I can't go out because we need a car seat too, but I NEED A CAR SEAT!! I have a little boy!! He is adorable in every single way and I am SO grateful that I can't go out and party tomorrow because I have him in my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Plus, staying inside and listening to the rain while making crepes together sounds like a LOT more fun anyways!

And my congregation joined with lots of other congregations in a fast that northern Texas would get rain to save the crops and God sends it to us just 2 days later. I'll take it!!

Hooray!!!

Show a little love...

“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.” 
― Gordon B. Hinckley

 Some people are good at making and keeping resolutions. I've found that if I sit down and make a list of everything I need to get better at, my list ends up REALLY long AND I can't just pick one thing on that list to work on. I want to fix it all at once. Then I get overwhelmed and fall to pieces. So, I have made myself a few simple yet very important new years resolutions.

One of those is SERVICE. One of my favorite hymns reads:

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone's burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

Therefore, I have set new goals to be able to answer those questions in the affirmative every evening. I want to look back at my time at the end of the day and be able to point out SOMETHING that I have done that has helped out another one of God's children. I know that I will be happier and God will be happier, and hopefully whomever I was able to serve will also be happier.

I have been doing this for a week and so far I have LOVED it. Every night before I fall asleep I get to think about people that I know and who could use a hand or a pick me up. The next day, I get to act on it! Awesome!

My favorite so far has been the old lady at Walgreens. I took the time to talk to her in line and wish her a Happy New Year. As I walked out of the store, she was unloading her cart and putting all her bags in her car. I helped her with the heavy stuff and then brought her cart back into the store. Simple, but she was pleasantly surprised for the assistance and I was beaming. Fun, huh? And I get to do that every day for a whole YEAR! How amazing is that?

: )