Our Voices

I heard this on Spotify and I really liked it. I can't stop listening to it! This "song" is called Our Voices by One Direction. This isn't the boy band from UK, it's someone else. Here are the "lyrics". Interpret it in your own way - I think this can send various messages to people.

I heard voices. Voices that sounded awful, distant. I saw people. People in a white, swirly fog. Was I awake? Was I in a dream? Was I even alive? And then I realized where I was. I was at the end of a journey - a journey that had started 3 months before that very moment and summed up in 4 simple words... Dare not to regret. Dare not to regret. Regret's powerful and can last a long time. When you live your life with "dare not to regret" you live a powerful life. And you are going to have to ask yourself one question at the sunset of your life, and the twilight of your dreams. Are you going to say it yourself? 'I should have climbed that mountain! I should have met that man! I should have spoke! I should not have been so afraid!' Or... are you going to say to yourself "I have no regrets". "I have no regrets". Because I dare not to regret.

I won't write my interpretation of it because I think this could touch people in more personal ways. It's a powerful message and it really inspires me! Hope you liked it! Go listen to it!

Gravity

This song illustrates the torn feeling in my heart.
Gravity by Sara Bareilles
Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone.

You hold me without touch.
You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain.

[CHORUS:]
Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me.

You loved me 'cause I'm fragile.
When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

[CHORUS]

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on the ground.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down
You're on to me, on to me, and all over...
Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.

Ideas

If you guys would like to suggest any ideas for a blog post, I would be happy to write about it! Even if you just have a random list of questions, ask away.

P.S. Thought this picture was awesome.

Inspiration

I thought I would do a post of quotes and scriptures that are helping me right now. I hope that they will help you too!

"How do we, amidst the challenges of our lives, gain the vision necessary to do those things that will bring us closer to the Savior? Speaking of vision, the book of Proverbs teaches this truth: 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Proverbs 29:18). If we are to prosper rather than perish, we must gain a vision of ourselves as the Savior sees us." -Elder O. Vincent Halec

"I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name." -Alma 5:48


"I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable [of the laborers in the vineyard], but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines." -Elder Jeffery R. Holland


"Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me." -Alma 7:15-16


"We must recognize that we are all imperfect—that we are beggars before God. Haven’t we all, at one time or another, meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? Haven’t we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy—to be forgiven for the mistakes we have made and the sins we have committed?" -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf


"The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans said that those who pass judgment on others are 'inexcusable.' The moment we judge someone else, he explained, we condemn ourselves, for none is without sin. Refusing to forgive is a grievous sin—one the Savior warned against. Jesus’s own disciples had 'sought occasion against [each other] and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.'" -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf


"We are not perfect. The people around us are not perfect. People do things that annoy, disappoint, and anger. In this mortal life it will always be that way. Nevertheless, we must let go of our grievances. Part of the purpose of mortality is to learn how to let go of such things. That is the Lord’s way. Remember, heaven is filled with those who have this in common: They are forgiven. And they forgive." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf


Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalm 61:2
3 Nephi 9:20
Helaman 14:30-31
2 Nephi 9:26-29
2 Nephi 7:8
Mosiah 24:14


"We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, "why did this happen to me?" unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way." -Author Unknown

Peace

When life knocks you down know that your Savior and Redeemer is there to help you back up. 

Pioneer Trek

My stake did our Pioneer Trek in Elberta, Utah on June 14-16th. There is so much to write about! Hopefully by breaking it up it will help me remember everything I wanted to post.

• Outfits: I spent a good amount of hours sewing my two skirts and bonnet with a young women's leader. She helped me out a lot! I was excited to wear my pioneer outfit even though I knew the many layers would be really hot. My leader had some fabric that she saved from her great grandmother. She offered to let me use it. I loved how the skirts and bonnet turned out! The fabric made it look even more pioneer-y. Thank you to Sister Patterson for all of your help! And thank you to Kathy Russell for letting me borrow a few shirts and things!
• Families: When we got to the Trek site we were divided up into our families. A girl in my family was sick and wasn't able to make it so we ended up with 3 girls, 4 boys and our Ma & Pa. Brother and Sister Ball were fantastic! I had already met them a few years ago so I was really excited to be in their family. Both of them are so kind and very funny! Pa liked making up songs about all of the dust in our noses :P He made up so many jokes along the way. My family was just awesome! I only knew one of my sisters but soon got to know my other one. Both of them were a lot of fun to be around! I had never met two of my brothers but I had seen them at school. Nick was also a silly one!
• Walking: Where to start on the walking... well.... we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked some more. We walked a total of 20 miles in the heat! As we pulled our handcart I kept thinking about how miserable the heat was but a thought would quickly pop into my head about how miserable the pioneers must have been in the freezing cold! I admit I would rather be cold, but I was grateful that we weren't shivering the whole way. I think that would have made it even harder on us. I was lucky to not have gotten any blisters on my feet like many others did. I only had a small one at the very end and it wasn't very painful. I did get one on my hand from the handcart but it wasn't a big deal. And! Guess what! I didn't get sunburned!! For those of you that know me you know me I just fry in the sun. I was sure to keep putting lots of sunscreen on and it worked! My bonnet kept my neck, ears and face in the shade the entire time. I actually got a tan! This NEVER happens! I honestly can't remember the last time I was tan and not a lobster. Huge blessing!
• Dust: I am allergic to dust. Let's just put this one there. I get really bad allergies to dust so I came prepared with allergy pills! However, the second day I forgot to take one until we were already walking - when the allergies kicked in. The wind was blowing really bad all that day. We were going through really fine dirt and a lot of us were sneezing. By the time the trek was over I had dust in places I never thought dust would be! TMI right? No worries, I am talking about inside my ears and all down my back. I don't think it helped that we were all sweating like crazy, either. I'm just glad my sunscreen smelled good! ;)
• Ancestors: I couldn't find one of my ancestors to represent on this trip. But the same leader that helped me sew my clothes said that I could walk for one of hers! Her name is Elizabeth White Stewart. Her family came from England when she was just 16 years old. Her father died when she was only 5 and had a few siblings. Her family were converts to the church. They spent 5 weeks on a ship coming over to America. When they arrived they were told they had to walk 4 miles to camp. They didn't know they had to walk all that way until they got there. When the weather was fair they would walk between 15-25 miles per day! This really touched me. We only walked 9 miles on the first day, which was the most we did in one day. We walked 20 miles in three days! It is beyond me how they were able to do that in just one. They truly had faith in their God and they KNEW He would help them, and that He did. 
• Woman's Pull: When we reached the hardest part of the trail we were all gathered together so that a stake leader could talk to us. He quickly told the priesthood to come with him and start walking down another trail. They had no handcarts, so we knew that we were going to be the ones taking them. We were told that we wouldn't see them for a while and none of us (besides the leaders) knew how hard the upcoming trail would be. We could already see that we had to pull all of the handcarts up the hill, and it was covered in deep, fine dirt. We all pitched in and helped each other get the carts up as fast as we could. It was hard, but what a great experience! And here comes the best part. As we continued to pull the carts the dirt got much deeper and the dust was horrible. You couldn't see your feet because we were up to our calves in dirt! The trail had just been plowed and someone told us there were 7 more layers of dirt added to it. The carts obviously sank with us. We continued down the trail when we looked up and saw the all of priesthood! All of them had their hats over their hearts and they were crying. Later we learned that they could see us pulling the carts by ourselves. It really touched me how much they really cared about all of us women. I had no idea this would impact them so much, but it really did. They care about us so much! It was then that I realized how true and caring their hearts are. One day I will marry a worthy priesthood holder who holds the same respect for me.
• River Crossing: This was one of my favorite parts of the trek. I was nervous at first but it really wasn't bad at all. The water was cool and our wet clothing cooled us off. My family really didn't have much struggle getting through the water. When we parked our carts I went back over to watch the others coming. I was amazed at how many of the priesthood bearers went back for the women. Again I was shown at how much they really do care. Some of the girls were disappointed that they didn't get wet, but they weren't complaining about the kindness of the men in our stake. One of the Ma's said that she was grateful for her husband, who carried her across, even though she did want to go in the water. She then said to look at it in the perspective of the pioneers coming across the plains. The men showed so much respect to the women! They did all they could to help. Many of you are familiar with the story of the 4 men who continued to walk back into the freezing river to help others cross. ALL of them lived with the effects of carrying people through the icy river for the rest of their lives. This story touched me even more when I saw the men in my stake doing all they could to help the women around them. 
• Meals: We were fed so well on this Trek! Our first evening we arrived at camp two hours early. It was nice to relax and chat with our families. My family played a game called "Don't Eat Pete!" with a TON of M&M's that our Pa had brought. They weren't melted but they were soft and it was a great treat after walking for so long! That night we ate stew and salad for dinner, along with another side that escapes me. Chocolate chip cookie for dessert! In the morning we had french toast, ham and eggs for breakfast. Lunch was a sandwich with chips and some fruit. Dinner the second night was taco salad! Yummy! Cobbler was for dessert. That night we also had a little surprise. About the time that everyone was finished eating and starting to clean up dinner, a biplane started flying pretty close to our camp. It circled around a few times and suddenly it dropped something! The plane came around again and dropped yet another something. We discovered it was boxes of FatBoy ice cream sandwiches! YUM! The next day we had pancakes, ham and eggs. For lunch... a stake leader talked to us about the rations of flour that the pioneers ate. He gave us all a 4 oz. sack of flour and told us that was our lunch for the day. Some people believed him, but many of us knew he didn't mean it. It was really eye-opening to hold that in your hand and think that that was all they ate for an entire day! We actually had a piece of bread and an apple for lunch. It wasn't much but it was really good. They did provide us with butter and honey butter, though. For dinner we had hotdogs and hamburgers with chips and fruit. We also got another chocolate chip cookie. Root beer was served instead of water but I held strong and wouldn't drink it even though I really wanted to! (New Year's goal was no soda for an entire year.)
• Testimony Meeting(s): On the second (last) night we had a stake testimony meeting. Some of the leaders played music and sang. After the musical numbers it was open for any of the youth to come up and bear their testimonies. There were so many of us that wanted to go up a stake leader had to tell us that no one else could come up because it was getting so late. Most of my family wanted to go up but we didn't have the chance to. For devotional with our family that night we decided to do our own little testimony meeting. We sat in a close circle and you could definitely feel the Spirit! I loved my family and the testimonies that we shared. It was such a precious moment to me. These people were there for me, and I was there for them. We all worked together and made our hard task doable! Thank you for the great experience guys!

I am glad that I chose to go on Trek this year! I was only a couple months too young to go on the last one four years ago. I will remember this experience for the rest of my life. I learned so much more than I had originally thought I would. Even though I didn't wear the name of my ancestor I could feel Elizabeth with me. I know she was happy that I decided to represent her.

The Lord Will Direct Us

There will come trials in life that we will feel are very unfair or even too hard to handle. I wanted to share a talk that is very inspirational to me and I know that Heavenly Father wants us to always remember the principles taught in it.

As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten by D. Todd Christofferson
(April 2011 General Conference)

I know that the Lord has another path for me my senior year of high school, I just don't know what it is yet or why He needed me to walk down another road. I am confident I will find out when He knows that I am ready to figure it out. I am so grateful that God knows I am strong enough to handle my trials, even though I doubt myself a lot. I think we all do. Perhaps it's a good time to take a look in the mirror and tell yourself that you love yourself.

Faith does not make a task easier; faith makes the task possible to accomplish.

I'll Show You How Great I Am

Today I started the summer weight lifting class at Mountain View and I have to say... it kicked my butt! After being lazy and not lifting for a couple weeks my body had no idea what it was in for. It was a little intimidating being the only girl, but all of the guys were supportive. Special thanks to Jake Tessers for being so patient even though he still pushed me.

As we were lifting Coach Blevins played a CD that was a compilation of motivational quotes. I have heard it many times before but something really hit me today. This is the speech "Be Great, Be Powerful Beyond Measure."

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure, beyond measure. Ima show you, how great I am.Last night I cut the light off in my bedroom, hit the switch, and was in the bed before the room was dark. Ima show you, how great I am. Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick, Im so mean I make medicine sick. Ima show you, how great I am. This kids gonna be the best kid in the world. This kids gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew. Ima show you, how great I am.I have wrastled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, I done handcuffed lightnin, thrown thunder in jail. Ima show you, how great I am. All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know you've got him picked, but the mans in trouble, Ima show you how great I am. But somewhere along the line you changed, you stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good, and when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know, the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, its a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life; but it ain't about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. Thats how winning is done. Cause if you're willin to go through all the battling you gotta go through to get to where you wanna get, who's got the right to stop you. I mean maybe some of you guys got something you never finished, something you really want to do, something you never said to somebody, something. And you're told not even after you pay your dues, who's got the right to tell you that, who? Nobody. Its your right to listen to your gut, it ain't nobody's right to say no, after you earn the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do. Now if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you've gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know you've got him picked, but the mans in trouble, Ima show you how great I am.

The part that really struck me today was the well known line "I'll show you how great I am." I just had this little thought that was telling me it's okay to be selfish when it comes to bettering yourself. I have always been intimidated by anyone who is better than me at something. As I have gone through the girl's weight lifting class I have seen how I better myself. I felt better about myself and my confidence went WAY up! There are times when you will be told you aren't good enough. It's true, it does happen. This is when you get to be selfish. Show them how great you are.

Sometimes I wish I could step out of my own body and yell at myself. Things like "Don't you DARE give up!" or "You show them how great you are!! I really don't care if you fall down, get kicked or beaten up... GET UP AGAIN!" I didn't expect to get emotional while writing this, but I definitely am. I do not deserve to be treated like a nobody -- and neither do you! Show them who is powerful and you will conquer your insecurities.

On a more spiritual note, I would like to illustrate a little scenario for you. Show the adversary how great you are. Show him how powerful you really are. Picture the devil running full blast towards you and he is thinking "alright, here we go! We are going to get him/her!" He sees you reading your scriptures and he instantly halts, confused. As he continues to watch you read he becomes more angry. When you are done he starts to take interest again and thinks he is about to "get you". You kneel in prayer and he is beginning to be frantic with anger. He HATES it when we do the things that God asks us to do in order to keep nourishing our relationship with Him. Brother Hess acted this out in Summer Seminary today. What if we started (or continued) to do those things necessary to grow closer to God? Satan would finally start to have less and less of an affect on us. He will always be there trying to tempt or distract us, but we build up a wall around us as we do the things that God has asked us to do. Think of it as a literal wall protecting you. Building up your wall will really help you avoid the proddings of the devil.

Life is hard. But you can show it how great you really are!

Sleepsong

Many of you know that I have wanted to be on Mountain View's ballroom team for quite some time now. Many of you thought I would make it for sure and I have to thank you for your faith in me. I really have not been as confident as I could be in my dance, or any talent for that matter. I was crushed when I saw the final list and my name wasn't on there. But! Ballroom Co. 2010-13: you guys are going to be SO GOOD!!! I am so excited for you! Don't ever give up!
In regards to that last statement, I realized that I need to take my own advice... I have spent the past hour and a half watching So You Think You Can Dance videos on YouTube. I was really touched by a lot of the pieces that I watched. I wanted to create something that inspires. There really isn't any other opportunity to dance in school my senior year... and so.... I have decided that I want to choreograph a waltz to the song Sleepsong by Secret Garden. When the dance is complete I want to continue to perfect it and work hard on it. My goal is a talent show senior year, performing my waltz!