Thursday, June 30, 2011

More than Conquerors.

Carl Bloch, Christ in Gethsemane, 1805, found here


I've recently fallen in love with this painting. When I'm down, I find so much comfort in the fact that Christ has experienced all of the sufferings and pains that I have, and that He conquered them all. I love that in His darkest hour, He had angels to come and lift Him up; surely in my time of need, He will send some to lift me up as well. 



"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
-Romans 8:16-18, 35-37



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

First conversation of the day

(7:15 AM)


Me: "Last night I dreamed that we went to a restaurant and you wouldn't let me order any food, so I got really mad at you."
Brandon: (with a funny little smile) "Are you ready to hear my dream?"
Me: "Yeah..."
Brandon: "I dreamed that I found an old VHS tape titled 'Rebecca Black: Prophets Tell of Future Media.'"
Me: "What prophet was it?"
Brandon: "Joseph Smith."

Why didn't he warn us if he knew?!

found here

Sunday, June 26, 2011

When I'm home sick on a Sunday...

...I watch Mormon Messages.

Today, I'm watching the interviews with our church members. They're all AWESOME! I'm loving this two especially:








Beautiful.


Have a happy Sunday!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Kid History

Last night, we went to the special premiere of Kid History episode 5. If you haven't seen episode 1, start here. It's FLIPPIN' AWESOME.

Us with our tickets!

It was weird to hear the guys talk with their adult voices, but they were so cool. They were really nice and stayed to meet all of us. It was sooooo awesome.

Brandon's just a little too tall. haha

Plus, I think episode 5 might be the best one yet. "No, you're not yistening! Watch my bum!"

And they a crowd shot of us at the end. We're in the back left corner. Look for us!


Ninja Vanish!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Today, I am grateful.

I've been sick and grumpy for the past few days, wallowing in my hardships and making myself miserable. I'm tired of feeling that way. Today, I want to be more happy and grateful.

I'm grateful that I get to spend my summer on BYU's beautiful campus, learning new things and relaxing under shady trees.

I'm grateful for my sewing  class that has inspired me and brought me new friends.

I'm grateful for my job and the fun I have with my beautiful, cheerful co-workers. They are truly angels. (EFY kids, treat them well.)

I'm grateful for my wonderful group of family and friends who love me no matter what.

I'm grateful for my sweet husband, whose love I'll never deserve. He takes such good care of me and helps me to be my best self.

I'm grateful for my temple covenants and the chance I have to renew them often. The temple is the best place on earth.

I'm grateful for my opportunities to know my Savior better. His grace continually astounds me.

I'm grateful for gratitude. I feel so much calmer, happier, and more peaceful after writing that. We are all so very, very blessed.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

One Year Ago Today...

I know he isn't in this picture, but he took it, and that's the best that I've got.

...I met my sweetie pie. 

A bunch of us went on a hike for FHE. Somehow we ended up kickin' in the backseat together, and as everyone else in the car was being loud and rowdy, I caught some of the funny little comments he made under his breath. "Hey," I thought to myself, "this guy may be quiet, but he's hilarious!" 

Ahh, my sweet little introverted husband. 

On that drive, I had no idea that that cute, quiet guy with the squinty eyes was my perfect match, my best-friend-to-be, my eternal companion. I'm so glad that God led us to each other. 

Thanks for improving my life the minute you walked into it, Brandon! I love you so dearly.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Ex Voto

The image I inspired, painted by Cassandra Barney


Do you remember how I submitted a writing sample to the "What Saved Me" project by Cassandra Barney? I didn't expect her to pick my piece for one of her paintings, but she did. 


She said it was one of her favorites; It's one of mine too. Every time I look at it, I get teary-eyed thinking about my wonderful husband who raises me up. 


PS- If you want to see it on display, visit Salt Lake's Kayo Gallery from June 17th to July 13th. 

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Why I'm not worried about the Book of Mormon musical




Yes, I've seen the bantering and contention all over facebook. I don't want to add to it. But I do want my voice to be heard.

As I sat in the temple the other day, I thought about the Book of Mormon musical and the twisted, offensive things it portrays. It's always sad when someone mocks the things that are sacred to me. 



But then the Church's official statement about the musical popped into my mind: "The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ." 


Here's the thing: the musical has no real power. It may capture national attention, win 9 Tony Awards, and give some people fleeting wealth and satisfaction, but in five years, it's not going to matter. This musical does not have the power to change lives, soften hearts, and bring people to Christ - but the book does. 


The Book of Mormon is still important 180 years after its first publication and over 2,000 years after it was written. Do you think that this vulgar, frivolous musical will ever have an influence like that?


The Book of Mormon is powerful because it is true. It has changed my life, and the lives of millions of others. It is the word of God. Nothing can change that. Nothing can lessen its influence - not even some silly Broadway musical. 


I'm reminded of the words of John Jacques: 
Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.


Thursday, June 9, 2011

My husband is cute.

Brandon: "Where did you get that beautiful face, my dear?"
Me: (pointing upwards)
Brandon: (singing and looking towards the heavens) "Thank yooooou!"

Just before entering Disneyland for the first time

I love you, honey :)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

A day in the life of a BYU Jamba-ite

Found here.

Today was one of the craziest days in my (almost) three years of working at BYU's Jamba Juice. It was so ridiculous that I just had to laugh. 

Our two lovely locations. Awwww. Found here.
Background:
We have two Jamba Juice locations on BYU campus - one in the Wilkinson Student Center, and one on the other side of campus by the athletic buildings. I've spent most of my time in the Wilk store, which is much bigger and busier. While I know the Wilk store like the back of my hand, I've only worked at the SAB store three times before today. For the first time, I've been given a shift down at the SAB - a Team Lead shift. That means I'm supposed to be in charge of the other employees and know what I'm doing...which can cause problems. It's hard to be a good leader when you don't know where anything is kept, but I do my best.

Part One:
My first shift today was at the Wilk. It was smooth sailing, since we don't get many customers between 7:30 and 11:00 AM. However, we did have an older man named Alfonso ask for carrot juice with the pulp on the side. My co-worker juiced the carrots and put the little bit of thicker stuff that didn't go through the strainer in an extra cup. When she gave the man his juice, he said, "No! I want the meat of the carrot. It has good fiber!" So, poor Elizabeth got into the cabinet under the carrot machine where the pulp falls and dumped the good ol' "meat" into a cup for Alfonso. (Don't worry, it was clean under there!) He was much happier with this arrangement, and proceeded to pour some of the carrot juice onto the pulp. Now, here's the question - why doesn't he just eat a bag of carrots?! Creative answers are welcomed for submission. 

Part Two:
This is the crazy part of the story. At noon, I went down to work at the SAB store. One of our juice dispensers had gone on the fritz and had been randomly spitting out juice and water since the wee hours of the morning, leaving the floor wet and sticky. There were no clean blenders, a line of camp kids out the door, and only three people working. And one of them left when I came in.

"We're out of ones...and pennies," Elizabeth told me from the register. At the Wilk, we get our change from a special Cougareat money room, but the SAB keeps its change in a safe - a safe that, only having worked there three times, I didn't know the comb for. I called our managers up at the Wilk to get the combo. It didn't work. I called again, and this time got the right one. There were no one dollar bills in the safe, so I had to call the money room to have them delivered.

"We're out of strawberries," our other co-worker called out. We dug around in the fridge for a good 5 minutes until we found some more. Meanwhile, the line got longer. 

"We're out of lemonade" was heard 15 minutes later, and "we're out of mop heads" was another 5 minutes after that. And half of our sherbets were hard, making it a pain to scoop them.

The camp kids finally left at 1:15, ending a 2-hour, non-stop rush. 

We washed the dishes, wiped the counters, mopped the floor with a bunch of rags Elizabeth had tied to the mop handle, and laughed at the crazy mess we had barely survived. 

Last year, some of us would joke about what "Jamba Hell" would be like. I'm pretty sure I lived through it today.

But hey, at least I didn't have to wear the banana suit.

Found here.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Just what I needed today.




Thanks again, Mormon Messages. You never fail me.