As of Late

Since November (sorry for not posting sooner!!), some things have changed, but not much ;) Here is a quick recap:

Still in school, trying to learn everything I can, be a good student and classmate, and get good grades! I LOVE my art classes! (I've even come to appreciate and like math more!) I had a sculpture piece accepted into an art journal for the school I'm at. SO COOL!!! It'll be out in May. Hehe.

I'll be finished with my Associates of Fine Arts in December. I'm leaning toward a degree in family and marriage studies from BYUI or UA with a minor (or double major) in ceramics or 3D visual arts. Still not exactly sure where I'm going, but eh, it'll work out... I'm pretty sure I'll be moving from Tucson here in the next year or two though. I feel the itch to adventure elsewhere ;)

Summer plans have been secured! A week visit to the fam in St Louis, yay!, then off to the east coast, aka, I'm going back to camp! (Hopefully this will tide over the moving itch for a bit). I know my post about camp last year seemed not as "shining, happy, I want to go back there" kind of post, because camp was really hard, but camp was really amazing and it hurts my heart thinking about not going back. Plus I know what I'm getting myself into and can be prepared a little more. The friends I got along with best will be back too which is comforting.

Church is fabulous! I LOVE my calling! (It'll be put on hold while at camp, but they said I can come back to it:) Teaching the young women is amazingly rewarding. Getting to take part in discussion type teaching and learning with all of us participating is just cool! I know to understand the Gospel you have to study and pray, fast and ponder, and desire and apply. What a testimony builder to see these girls doing that! Trying to be prepared for teaching (remembering to do all of those things too) has been humbling.

Ive been lacking on going out with the missionaries in my ward, which I have been feeling in my soul! Every. Member. A. Missionary. Is a motto I'm trying to live by, along with the scripture found in the Book of Mormon in 3Nephi 27:27 "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

I really do recognize my human nature and that the only way to achieve the divine nature that is Jesus Christ, I must give, have, obtain and be, as Peter writes in 2Peter 1:4-7, all diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. I have a long way to go, but I see the path and am trying to stay on it.

Institute! It has helped me so much in recognizing the need to study and know the scriptures and how to apply them to my life (there is also the perk of the cute Tyson in my class that usually sits by me and his amazing perspective ;).

I've officially aged out of institute and won't take classes during the day anymore. I'll see about a mid singles evening class or stick with my plan of doing genealogy during the 2hrs each week I would have been in class. I feel either is a good choice, but I am really leaning toward genealogy.

Work has been work, somehow I just keep doing hair and more hair. I usually love doing it, but sometimes not so much. I have to remind myself what a blessing it is in my life to have these skills and be thankful I have the clients and income I do from it. I have met great people doing hair and enjoy talking with them. (Their going to hate me whenever I tell them I'm moving)

Speaking of hair jobs, I resigned from Zotos! I felt prompted to do so. I think hair and educating about it is going to officially be on the back burner soon because I need that time to be working on organizing my home and my time a little better.

Since I have started to eat local, organic, mostly veggies and fruit diet, I need that said time to keep up with dishes and food prep ;) Wowza, there is A LOT more to clean up when you make everything from scratch.

Perk though, I've lost 15 or so lbs and quite a few inches since starting this in January. My mind, spirit, and body fully appreciate the change. As does my self confidence. It's been pretty amazing to realize once I have the food and eating right down, the exercising will kick in automatically. I've already noticed that I WANT to get out and be active because I FEEL a need to do it. My body is telling me too. That is a totally new experience, but pretty amazing. My friend Andy (the cute one I cut his hair, [mini update: we are totally friends, maybe even just client to stylist. We seem to be completely opposite on religious and political views, so no go, but he's nice and cute still]) had found a better/lighter bike for me so I can start commuting more on it than using my car too. Health benefits are sure to be had unless you count the higher risk of being hit by a car in Tucson. But whatev, its still worth the change ;)

This pursuit of my health change kicked in because I wanted a stronger testimony if the Word of Wisdom (Doctrine and Covenants Section 89) and tried The Lord on His promises contained in it. I know that by following His law of health we are blessed physically, mentally, but most importantly spiritually.

I feel good and I'm not confused about food anymore (I don't buy food thats packaged and I try and eat things as they would have come out of nature). Another perk, I don't feel guilt at all with what I eat, including fats and carbs. I think taking a nutrition class at the same time has added to the knowledge I needed to withstand the "not healthy for me" food. The book In Defense of Food by Michael Polan is highly recommended.

Well, I think that's a good start to catching up. I'll post again soon about the guy who flirted with me at the library and told me he had a dream we got married.

What I'm Thankful For: 10 days worth of thankfulness

So that whole blogging everyday didn't really happen eh? Lol. Here is a rundown of my Nov 2-11 in terms of thankfulness.

2nd: I am thankful for amazing friendships and the ability to laugh with those friends.

3rd: I am SOOOOOOOO very very thankful for the Temple and for making covenants with my Heavenly Father. The blessings that have come into my life since being endowed are innumerable.

4th: I am thankful for the opportunity to serve and help within my family! My sister was really sick and I had the chance to help. I love my family!

5th: I am thankful for talents. Those that have been given to me, hair cuttin especially has helped me this year, to use and especially those given to others to share with the world. There truly are so many talented people in the world I love it!

6th: I'm thankful for my sister being born 35 years ago this day. She is an amazing person with such patience and the ability to love and care about everyone. She is a great example of how to be a good listener.

7th: I am thankful for the ability to apologize for my imperfections, for the power of the words "I'm sorry".

8th: I am so thankful for the ability to to teach. I'm not Miss Amazing at it, but I am thankful all the same. Here is where I throw out there that I have the goal to become a Seminary/Institute teacher and will pursue that route after my bachelors is done. Yay teaching teenagers about Christ and the Plan of Happiness!!! Funny side note: after deciding I wanted to teach the youth I just got extended a new calling at church... I'll be the new Laurel advisor (teacher for the 16-18 year old girls) lol. The Lord truly does know what we need! It's also amazing I'll get to teach the new curriculum! Woot! Woot!

9th: I'm thankful for all of my family! My mom for loving me and teaching me so much and always being willing to look past my imperfections, my dad for showing me I can do anything if I put my mind to it and for his ability to see beauty in what's around him, my brother Scott for being so smart and being the kind of person I look up too, his wife Mindy for showing me by example how to live and sacrifice for a family. She is an amazing mom who I hope I can be like someday. Sam for being so fun, smart, and feisty. Katherine for being amazing! I love that she loves we have so much in common(drawing/art, cooking, and playing dress up for those who didn't know ;) Ben for being here and adding another amazing person to our family. Karatcha got a whole thankful day of her own, but I really am thankful for our friendship and how she calls me out to be better. I'm thankful for Patrick and his ability to love his family. I'm thankful for my babes, Jakob for being funny and for asking so many questions wanting to learn everything, Kirsten for how sweet and kind she is, Jonah for his ability to crack me up and for loving people so freely, Kaylah for being my princess babe and helper in the kitchen, she makes me smile. Riley for being an amazing artist and someone I look up to for all the talents and abilities he has, his wife Silvia for being one of my best friends who freaking cracks me up and helps me to have perspective on life. Their combo of spirituality has helped me out a lot. I truly am thankful for my family!!!

10th: I am thankful for my car, for the ability to go and do things I need to do and the things I want to do. Coug has taken me many places and I hope he'll be able to keep doing that. He's a great little car :)

11th: I am thankful for my freedom and those who serve to protect this country I love. I am thankful for America being a promised land of The Lord. (Check out The Book of Mormon for perspective on that coolness:)

At Stake Conference today I loved that we were told to be wise optimists, not pessimists. Everyday we truly do have something to be thankful for and that can help us to be better people. Now onto another week looking forward with optimism and thankfulness!

What I'm Thankful For: Things That Make Me Go Grrrr

Happy November 1st!!! I'm going to try and post everyday this month with what I'm thankful for and why...

I am sooooo thankful for the ability to learn. Even when learning makes me go Grrrrrr! I've recognized in my life whenever I'm learning something new I tend to be frustrated with it a little, okay maybe a lot, but once I've overcome the challenge of learning and I know something, my grrrr goes away and turns into joy for the knowledge I've acquired.

I really do appreciate the learning that is happening in my life especially all the cool stuff I get to learn in school. I'm learning how to draw better, use a soldering torch, and throw taller pieces on the pottery wheel. Believe you me, all of those things have made me go Grrrr!! I however still love learning even though sometimes its tough. I guess it just makes things that much better when we have to go through the hard part, learning, to get to the joyful part, knowledge.

Randomness At It's Best

I'm finding it hard to sit down and write about my summer since so much is going on in my life right now... I still plan on expanding on my feelings and experiences over the summer, but I'll let you know what's going on right now in my life.

School is in full gear. 18 credits, six classes, three campuses all in only three days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my 8am-10pm away from home days.

Sociology isn't my favorite, but I love my metal work jewelry class... life drawing is hard, but I have to keep reminding myself drawing is pretty new to me so it's okay that I'm not as good at it as I would like to be. History is chill, three hours of slow paced lecture usually ending with a video has been pretty cool. Ceramics is always amazing and yesterday I totally threw a 14inch high vase on the wheel!!! hehehe. Finally math, math is cool, but my teacher not so much. I'm having a hard time learning from his way of teaching and am finding myself avoiding homework at all costs. Hmmm. I should change that, I would really like to not retake this math class. Then there are my Institute classes which are AMAZING! They make up for the classes I don't like at Pima and make me feel way better whenever I go to them. They are the lift and light I need during the week and I am sooooooooooooooo thankful for them.

On the guy front: There is a cute art professor I've met (he's not my teacher [and he's close to my age], so it's okay ;), he seems pretty amazing... So if you amazing art proffesor ever stumble upon this here blog, and you're also interested in getting to know me more, you should probably ask a girl out on a date. Im just sayin. There was a guy in my jewelry class that seemed interesting, but hes turned into annoying vs appealing, but there is a guy in one of my insitutute classes that I wouldn't mind talking to/getting to know more. Lets see what happens.

My social life is kinda eh, my really good friends are all up in Phoenix I haven't been able to go out the the fun restaurants or outings that I usually enjoy, but this has made it possible for me to spend way more time with my family which has been amazing. So I guess my lack of "cool" social life is totally worth it *grin* My sister and I can always laugh and have good times. We both think that I am the "old" person and my 5 year old nephew Jonah agrees. He thinks I am the older sister. It's not as funny when you write it down, but it was freaking hilarious when he told us he thought I was older (which I am not! Kara is five years older).

I've been reading (quick reads, but still good ones), learning how to knit (crocheting is so much easier, but knitting looks cool and seems more versatile), and cooking. I guess I've become a vegetarian. I'm not against eating meat per se, I just don't think I need to consume it with every meal or eat it everyday; I haven't had any in over a month and I feel great. Fresh veggies and fruits with fun things like polenta, quinoa, barley, all types of beans, and flax seeds have been my staples for food consumption. I've been juicing too! :) I've lost 10lbs and it feels pretty good. I'm still all about dairy and eggs though. I've decided I'm going to learn to sew better so I can modify the clothes I already own into fun new things that fit better. It'll be a fun adventure!

I'm the "sub" primary teacher at church right now since my class went to another teacher over the summer. I had the chance to "sub" as the singing time teacher (side note: I don't know a lot about music nor can I sing in tune all the time, but I sure love primary songs and feeling the Spirit while hearing kids sing them). I got to teach the kids, 3-11 year olds, for two Sundays in a row and can I tell you what... IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! We got to sing songs, learn, and laugh for 20 whole minutes. The kids seemed to enjoy it as much as I did! That is a calling I think I would have fun doing, which means I'll probably only ever be a sub. haha.

I am SUPER excited for General Conference! I got to go to a Regional Fireside where Elder M. Russel Ballard was speaking via a webcast and I learned so much... It was such a good preperation for what GC will bring. To watch it for yourself, tune in October 6 & 7 from 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm Mountain Standard Time at LDS.org The Prophets and Apostles of God will be speaking and telling us the things that will help each of us in preparing ourselves to live with God again. Here is an example of what will be said: It's one of my favorite talks from General Conference "Love Her Mother"

Okay, randomess is done. I have homework I have been avoiding while writing this, so I'll be heading back to it now. More posts are sure to come!

The Spirit of God

I had a lot of different experiences over the summer that helped me to grow mentally, spiritually and physically (but I guess both mental and physical growth have something to do with spiritual growth too); this post is going to be perspective specifically from part of my spiritual growth from camp. The learning started at camp, but has snowballed into amazing learning experience after amazing learning experience since I’ve been home.

I thought a lot about the companionship of the Holy Ghost while I was at camp. I thought a lot about how I felt in general; I thought about what I had to do to keep the Spirit with me throughout my days, but since I’ve been home I’ve thought a lot more about the role and mission the Spirit of God plays in the lives of Gods children; our lives which are richly blessed because of the role and mission of the Holy Ghost. I realized I didn’t know how blessed I truly am to have His constant companionship as long as I am living worthy and obeying the commandments of God.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, after being baptized by those who had authority from God (or the Priesthood of God) I had been given the Gift of the Holy Ghost (by someone having the same authority from God to bestow such a gift). The Gift of the Holy Ghost differs from the Power of the Holy Ghost which is fleeting; the Gift means having the constant companionship of the Spirit of God to guide and direct us on this life’s journey as long as we are faithful.

The First Article of Faith from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost”. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I know the Godhead is made up of three separate, intelligent beings. Three individuals who are able to think and act for themselves, but who think and act so similarly, that the scriptures say they are “of one heart, and of one mind” which testifies of Their unity in purpose.

I believe that our Father in Heaven has a body of flesh and bone, that Jesus Christ has a resurrected body of flesh and bone, but that the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit. I believe we are spirit children of God who lived with Him before coming to earth. As part of the Plan of Salvation (which was a plan made in Heaven by God in case His children sinned and became unworthy to return home to Him) we are now living in mortal bodies experiencing life so we can prepare to live with God again. We are on earth to learn/obtain knowledge; knowledge that will help us as we experience what it means to be in and have a family. I know ALL of Gods children who have ever lived on the earth will be resurrected and live forever, more importantly though, I know through promises made in the Temple that we can have eternal families; families that are forever living in the presence of God. All of these blessings depend on if we are faithful to Gods commandments while living here on earth though. These are things I know for myself, but if you don’t believe me? Ask Heavenly Father yourself. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” “For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” Matthew 7:7&8 The Lord has promised to answer our faithful prayers and that good feeling you will receive will come through His Spirit.

 

Sage way to more talk about The Spirit of God…

The Spirit of God confirms truth. He brings peace to your spirit, He brings peace to your heart. The good feelings we have come from God through His Spirit. They are feelings that are a confirmation that something is true, something is right, or something is good. Think about a time when you just “knew” something because your whole being felt good about it… then think about a time when you felt “icky” because something just didn’t feel right. Which do you think was The Spirit of God?

 

I had the chance to speak to a couple of really good friends over the summer about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it reminded me of whenever I go out with the missionaries of how good it feels to have conversations where the Spirit of God is invited to confirm truth to all who are there and willing to receive Him. During these time’s I could see countenances change… the look of peace. One friend over the summer commented on how good he was feeling while we were talking about the Gospel; as if he had never recognized that good/peaceful feeling before. I pray for him, I pray that he recognizes the good things in life and has a desire to have the feeling of good/peace again. That feeling that comes from talking of and learning of Christ.

My pondering on the Holy Ghost has also got me thinking a lot about how the Holy Ghost “speaks” to me, how I feel Him in my life. I had the sweet realization that He speaks to each of us Spirit to Spirit. He does not speak to our brain or our body, which are both mortal, but He speaks to our hearts. The Spirit of God speaks to my heart! If you think about it our hearts are what validate our living… our hearts are the key to our souls. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s totally true! Our hearts pump oxygen, our hearts pump nutrients, our hearts pump life. Our bodies can continue “living” if our brain is injured or if our limbs/organs have been traumatized or fail, but it’s when our heart stops beating that death occurs. Our spirit leaves a mortal tabernacle and returns home to the God who created it.

I want to be able to explain that what we feel, when we feel something different within ourselves, when we feel something good within ourselves, (even when it’s a feeling that we are being corrected because we’ve done something wrong) is The Spirit of God testifying of “Jesus Christ, of His work, and the work of his servants upon the earth” (Bible Dictionary Holy Ghost). Every aspect of our lives is touched by the Atonement of Jesus Christ; that’s why the Holy Ghost can be felt by people who don’t know Christ or don’t know what He did for us. Christ Atoned for our sins, He bled from every pore. He felt every pain we would experience, He felt every heartache we would feel, He knows what it feels like to be hurt, embarrassed, or alone. Jesus Christ then was crucified for each of us, setting an example of an unselfish life, a life of hard work, a life of love and service, a life devoted to God. He gave His life so we might live again with our Father in Heaven. It amazes me that we, through following Christ’s example, by having faith in Him, repenting, and being baptized, WE can have the Spirit of God as our constant companion; A companion who will confirm truth, eternal worth, and the love that God has for each of us.

How truly amazing and sweet it is to know we are children of God and we are not alone in this life. He is sending us the help we need to overcome the trials in this life so we can find eternal joy in the life to come.

I .Love. God.

 

Amazing? YES! Fun? NO!

As I'm reflecting on this summer I am a little overwhelmed with the idea of writing one GIANT post and have found that I don't want to do that because it doesn't seem fun. Multiple smaller posts are a lot more appealing! I don't know if the posts will be in chronological order or random because that's they way things sometimes go in my noggin'.

For now I'll give you a teaser... I have found that I have been correcting people a lot when they say that my summer must have been so fun! I say no my summer was NOT fun. Amazing yes, fun no. I've realized that amazing doesn't always have to be fun.

During this last summer I learned a lot about myself, a lot about people, and a lot about the love of God for His children. I learned to think and process thoughts differently, I learned to be okay with spiders and bugs that I would never have been okay with here at home. I learned that in every situation there are opportunities to teach and re-enforce good values. I learned that eating the same kinds of food every day for two months gets really old, but eating meals with a "family" was highly enjoyable; enjoyable because of the ecclectic group that was Bunk 2. I learned that I hate not being able to cook for myself, but didn't mind that I didn't have to do my own laundry.

I learned that it is important to have a happy place to go to when the stresses of my reality are getting to me. I learned that a happy place can be a great friend with an amazing attitude that is funny and can make you laugh; I learned I love Scottish accents! I learned how important it was to stand in holy places by not always standing in them. I learned that reading The Book of Mormon and praying really are the "easy" answers to keep our lives on track with peace and joy and close to our Heavenly Father. I learned that if I don't have something nice to say, I shouldn't say it at all, but I should try harder not to even think it. I learned it was important to try and have a good attitude even when things were hard, because people who are used to getting upset need to know that we don't always have too.

I learned to love teaching and being around youth even more. I learned that I can do hard and embarrassing things as long as it is for a good cause. I learned to love crafting and the arts even more! I learned how thankful I am I love to learn, create, and try new things. I learned I could be a better Sarah.

Keep an eye out posts will soon come with reflection on some of the learning that is mentioned above.

Maine. It's pretty amazing!

Short post...

God is amazing! Maine is amazing! The camp I am working for is amazing! The people I am working with are amazing!

I won't have time to post probably until I get home in August, but I'll be writing in my journal and will post a couple of my entries for ya'll.

This experience in my life is amazing! 

Oh sweet goodness this is going to be a summer to remember! *grin*