"Are you twins?"

I stopped by to visit my brother in the store where he works.  A lady asked us, "Are you twins?  You look a lot alike."  I love it when people say that.  Because, little do they know that my brother was adopted.  We usually don't say anything, just smile, agree with them, and say, "Yep, we are brother and sister!"  It is another testimony that he was meant to be my brother.  He just came a different way!

Thankful

I am grateful for

The people in my life:

• Mom: for doing so many little things to make my life better and always loving me no matter what
• Dad: for being the most patient person I know and for his example of diligence and faith
• Joseph: for being such a hard worker and being an example of service
• Jeniel: for helping me learn to balance life and school and have fun, and for helping me stay motivated
• My grandparents: who are now gone, but I continue to be blessed because of them
• All of my extended family and great friends who bring joy and meaning to my life

Health:  I'm grateful that pretty much worst thing I have to suffer is the occasional cold or flu.  I am blessed with heath both physically and mentally and I am so very grateful for it.

Education: I'm grateful for a mind that is alert and that can learn.  I'm grateful for the means to attend school and earn a degree.  I love being able to learn new ideas, figure things out, and increase my skills.

Utah: A lot of people often express their dislike of Utah for various reasons.  Utah isn't perfect, by any means.  But there are lot of things that I am very grateful for about Utah.

• Temples everywhere!
• Mountains: beautiful sites and hiking
• Most of my family is here
• 4 seasons (weather is never boring)
• Relatively safe: kids can play outside, we don't have to have bars on our windows, or fences and gates around our houses
• No hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami's, or other huge natural disasters  (but probably a big earthquake someday)
• Wonderful people from all different backgrounds: lots of talent!
• Temple square events
• Southern Utah sites: beautiful!
• Missionary opportunities

Most of all, I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with everything that I have: my life and the opportunity to serve the people around me.  I'm grateful for His love which is brought to me through those around me. 

Temple time!

I am so grateful for temples!  Since I moved home for the last few months, my routines and schedules have changed.  Not having roommates or much of a social life as well as being overwhelmed with my thesis and studying for the Praxis test has made me feel bogged down and discouraged.  I realized that my temple attendance (along with other things) was lacking.

One morning that I didn't have school, I decided to go to the temple first thing.  I didn't get up as early as I planned (Satan gets to me that way a lot).  But I got dressed and headed for the temple, only to find that it was closed for the yearly cleaning.  I felt defeated.  Satan was working hard on me.  I was stressed with school and time was precious.  It would have been so easy to just go home and study.  But I couldn't give in that easily.  There were several more temples within a 30 minute drive.  I thought of all the many people throughout that world who are lucky to go to the temple once a year or even once in their entire life.  Surely I can drive a few extra minutes to get to another temple.  How blessed I am to be so close to so many temples!  So I went to another temple.  It ended up taking a huge part of my day, but it was worth it.  I conquered Satan, at least for that day! I felt the beautiful spirit of the temple as I served and was reminded of Heavenly Father's love for me.

I have wanted to be a temple worker, but it hasn't worked out so far.  I decided that for the rest of the year I would try to spend about as much time in the temple each week as I would if I were a temple worker, which means going at least twice a week.  I have already noticed a HUGE difference in my life.  I feel better.  I feel happier!  It is a little easier to get out of bed in the morning.  It is a little easier to stay motivated with my school work.  It is a little easier to feel loved by Heavenly Father, others, and myself. 

I am so grateful for temples!  I know that the covenants and ordinances of the temple make it possible for us to be with our families and loved ones forever.

"I'm a Mormon" profile

I finally did it!  Check out my profile by clicking the "I'm a Mormon" button on the right.  Learn more about what I believe and why.

Life . . . it's like a Disneyland ride

Do you remember the ride "Autopia" at Disneyland?  As little kids, we were so excited to actually get to drive the car, control the steering, and push on the gas or the brake.  We felt so grown up!  Of course, there was a track there to keep all of us young and inexperienced drivers on course.  It was a bit bumpy but oh, so fun!

In a class I attended recently, we talked about how life is a lot like this.  We are all Heavenly Father's "inexperienced" children here on earth to learn and gain experience.  Heavenly Father has provided the "track" to guide us where we need to go.  He knows the amazing potential that we each have and how to get there.  As long as we stay in the car and keep our foot on the gas, we will get there!

So how do we stay in the car?  By doing our best to be obedient to the words of the prophets and living the gospel of Jesus Christ, by never giving up, by continuing to move forward despite discouragement or uncertainty, by doing our best to prepare ourselves to be able to serve Heavenly Father by serving the people around us.  So get your engines ready, stay in your cars, and keep your hands on the wheel and your foot on the gas!  It might be a bumpy ride at times, but Heavenly Father will not abandon us.  And don't forget to laugh and have fun along the way!  Make everywhere you are, the "Happiest Place on Earth."