Life is a Funny Thing

Life is a funny thing.  I think this is my new favorite phrase.  I feel as though it encompasses just about everything; the good, bad and ugly all in one little phrase... "Life is a funny thing."

Recently I've been very busy; busy with school mostly but also with family, friends and the pile of homework that feels as though it isn't getting smaller even though I know it is.  I find myself busy with church and the stresses (some good, some ... well not) it entails and wondering about how I'm going to survive these next few months.

Today in Institute we talked about what I needed - exactly.  We were discussing D&C 38.  In versus 1-10 it describes the Lord's resume - if you will; and all of His qualifications (which have been highlighted in red) for us being able to put our trust in Him: 

1. Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great ^aI Am, Alpha and Omega, the ^bbeginning and the end, the ^csame which looked upon the ^dwide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic ^ehosts of heaven, ^fbefore the world was ^gmade;     UAdd a Note 

2. The same which ^aknoweth all things, for ^ball things are ^cpresent before mine eyes;     UAdd a Note 

3. I am the same which ^aspake, and the world was made, and all things came by me.     UAdd a Note 

4. I am the same which have taken the ^aZion of ^bEnoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have ^cbelieved in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the ^dblood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them.
5. But behold, the residue of the ^awicked have I kept in ^bchains of darkness until the ^cjudgment of the great day, which shall come at the end of the earth;     UAdd a Note 

6. And even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear my voice but ^aharden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo, is their doom. 

7. But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine ^aeyes are upon you. I am in your ^bmidst and ye cannot ^csee me; 

8. But the day soon cometh that ye shall ^asee me, and know that I am; for the ^bveil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not ^cpurified shall not ^dabide the day.     UAdd a Note 

9. Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the ^akingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome. 

 10Verily I say unto you, ye are ^aclean, but not all; and there is none else with whom I am well ^bpleased;

As our discussion progressed we talked about faith and how the natural man within each of us struggles with the concept of faith - particularly in something or someone that can't be seen with the natural eye.  Logically it seems so backwards to not put your full trust in God, after all He is the creator of the Universe; but something within each of us is reserved.  Despite his consistency in providing all we've every and will ever need.  

While pondering some of my personal struggles I find myself recommitting to putting my faith in Him who knows best.  I still don't understand why things happen, and I could allow myself to justify my unsettled feelings that still seem to slip back into my thinking.  However from this time forward I am going to try harder to see what my Eternal Father sees; to know what He knows.  Until then I am going to do my best to not put my trust and faith in the arm of the flesh, but rather in the hand of my God.  The older I get the clearer it becomes to me that He knows me best and knows how to best succor me.

There is a song by Janice Kapp Perry called Song of Testimony.  The chorus of the song always strikes me as special.  This this I add my testimony, "I know God lives.  I know He loves me.  I know He hears and answers my prayers.  I know His Son is my redeemer and that He died for me that  I might live eternally one day."  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Blow and Throw

Don't you hate it when life just seems to blow?  I'm not talking about runny noses, or tires, finals or anything like that... it just seems to - pardon my French, but suck.  Please, don't read this wrong.  I'm not looking for sympathy, empathy, or any other kind of -pathy.  I just wanted to write about something that was rather obvious to me today. 

On a completely related topic that has started rather negative (sorry), but will change I promise; I read a friend of mines blog who is serving a mission.  She talked about something completely perfect related to this issue of blow-age.  (Thank you Merrit!  Talk about inspiration!)  

She shared that Ether 6 talks about the Jaredites who were a people who left the land they were living in to find a land of promise that would be provided to them by God. After they embarked on this tremendous voyage they began to encountered some pretty nasty waters.  The winds blew constantly and I'm sure none of them did enjoyed the cramped, stuffy, dark boat ride here.  (The phrase "tight, like unto a dish" comes to mind.)  However this friend of mine brought up a very good point; the winds blew so they could arrive in their promised land.  She related how the winds that blow (sometimes blow us down) hurt and are anything but pleasant, but that how they always will help us get to the place we need to be.  As I contemplated the yucky state of life I sometimes find myself in, this knowledge (call it a testimony if you like) brought great comfort to me tonight.  Seriously my blogger stalking friends, I encourage anyone who needs to find some extra strength to read Ether 6 with a similar outlook.  I know that I'll never look at this story the same way again. 

The Church is true my friends.  It provides the path for us to achieve our "Promised Land", but I also know that we can't really get there with out the yucky, not fun, even sucky times.  They are a part of the grand design - I just know it.  God's in control, so it'll all be alright!

Much love,

Brittish Knees

...Count Your Many Blessings, See What God Has Done...

Dear Blog Stalkers,

Today is the our national day of gratitude. (News Flash!)  Thus it would be un-American of me to not post something about all the things I've been grateful for in 2010.

Some of the most obvious things are family, friends, a warm home (especially on this freezing Thanksgivng Day), a closet of clothes and a plethora of shoes.  I'm thankful for awesome words like trebuchete, hippopotomus, and onomotopeia.  I'm grateful for the hard, yucky, miserable times of life becuase they help me appricaite the joyful times all the more.  I'm grateful for mounds of homework that take entire five day weekends to do because it means I'm getting an education and I'll eventually be able to graduate and have a classroom of children who will hopefully love me!  I'm grateful for socks, fireplaces, string cheese, and grandma's homemade rolls.  I'm hankful for screaming nephews because that means I have ears that can hear and that I'm alive.  I'm thankful for being 23 because it means I've had 23 years to gain experience and hopefully that I'll have a good 50+ years to continute in my adventure called life.  At this time of year, I can't help but being grateful for my religion.  Being a memeber of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided me countles blessings; many of these blessings can be mine even after I depart from this mortal life.  More than anything I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who is very aware of an loves me. Who knows what I need, better that I do; who loves me enough to let me make wrong decisions, dispite the pain that they will cause me. 

You see, this year I have about a zillion more things to be thankful for than I did last year.  And I hope next year will bring about a zillion more!  :)  Start counting your blessings, guarunteed you won't be able to get them all.  Oh!  Don't forget those really important things like utility bills and  Cinnamon Life!! ;)

Thanks for being a part of my life!

Peace,
Brittish Knees

Don't worry! I'm not dead.

My Dearest Fan Club,

I've been worried about you lately... okay, so not really (sorry, but it's ture).  My life has been focused on me, self-centered I know, the group of 22 six and seven year olds I hang out with all day, and my family.  Aah the life of a pre-service teacher.

So field (for all you non-elementary educationers that's where I spend three weeks of the semester in a classroom practicing all the things I was learning) started last week... actually it was a week ago Wednesday... which is almost tomorrow.  (Oh wow!  I should probably go to bed.)  I guess I just wanted you to know that all is going well.  Dispite some bumpiness at the beginning, I am really enjoying it.  I'm glad that I'll be able to come back to this same class of adorable first graders in January to do my for-real-deal student teaching.  They are fun, and they hug me daily and tell me they love me.  Who wouldn't want that?  Call me crazy, call me weird, but I call me a future teacher. :)

Peace out world, well at least until probably Thanksgiving.
Brittish Knees

Pure Inspiration!

Today I had an amazing opportunity to see one of my educational heroes, her name is Erin Gruwell.  For those of you who've seen Freedom Writers know who I'm talking about, for the rest of you let me introduce you to this amazing woman:  Erin was a first year English teacher in 1994 at a pretty rough school in Long Beach, CA.  She'd grown up in suburban California and with her first step into the classroom she realized she had absolutely no idea how to teach the kids in her eighth grade class.  So I don't ruin the movie for you, I won't give too many details but lets just say that Erin was able to tap into their lives and make a difference.  

The reason I've chosen to blog about this today was Erin was at UVU today.  She spoke to an audience full of University faculty and staff and students (both at the university level and high school/jr high) to tell us about her story.  Throughout the course of her lecture, I'm not going to lie, there were several times that I was moved to tears as I thought of the horror of the situations the kids in her classroom dealt with on a daily basis.  At the end of her speech she left each of us with a challenge to make a difference; not necessarily by standing in front of a tank as other brave patriots have, done but by changing the life of the one.  She said something that's stuck with me today and I hope will stick with me for  the rest of my life, "most people don't need a handout, they need a hand up."  Meaning that there are people who are in need of help, but rather than providing them with a couple bucks, provide them with an opportunity to overcome their current circumstances and rise to a higher level or life.

Today I've been re-motivated to be a sincere friend.  To stand up for the one who is different, who is ostracized, who needs a smile and needs a friend.  My challenge to you is to make a difference, however you see fit.  Oh... and to watch Freedom Writers. :)

TV Dinners

The funny thing about TV dinners is the have the ability to make everything taste the same.  The miracle behind this happening goes as follows:
 

Step 1:  Peel corner of package off for ventilation

Step 2: Put in microwave on high for 3 minutes (seems plenty long to me, but keep reading)

Step 3: Take out of microwave, and remove the rest of the lid.

Step 4: Stir and put back into microwave for an additional minute.

Step 5: Again stir the screaming hot liquid that for whatever reason doesn't LOOK hot.
Step 6: Indulge.

Okay, okay... so maybe my stupidity plays in a little here, but according to my experience if something isn't bubbling or steaming (which this meal wasn't) it's not hot. WRONG-O WRONG-O!  I placed one of these delectable looking raviolis into my mouth.  I should have spit the dumb thing out, but there were co-workers around.  So I did what anyone in my shoes would have done and started to chew to swallow.  This was also a mistake, because all of the cheesy goodness that I should have been indulging in was burning every taste bud in my mouth off! 

Moral of the story: next time you're running late, skip the TV dinner and buy a bagel instead.

Smile for the Birdie!

Last weekend I tagged along with my sister and her adorable family while they did family photos.  Well, I guess I didn't really tag along, I had a very important job: to get her three kids to look and the camera and genuinely smile.  You might be thinking this would be simple.  Saying "smile" or "cheese" should do it right?   

Wrong-o, wrong-o!  

 I'm pleased to announce that I did a marvelous job, even though I haven't seen the photos.  However my sister seems happy with them, thus my attempts were a success!

After everything was done with the whole family they did some individual shots, which I wasn't so successful in the smile dept. so Mommy got  that job while Daddy and I played with the other two kiddos.  (Best job ever!)  As the day continued the oldest of the kids started to get sleepy, so I piggy backed him back to the car.  The photographer got some great ones of us.  Let me know what you think. :)