Spring Cleaning for my Brain.

This week's post is going to be a little like my journal entries; random blurbs about random stuff in random order. I think like a 16 year old so bear with me.



Turns out the dashing young lad I asked to Sadies got knocked out cold, or, as his friend--who's elbow it was--so nonchalantly put it, "Went night-night" in basketball practice. Luckily I saw him at church today and, despite the black eye, he was laughing and joking as usual so I think he'll be alright. Good thing the dance isn't until the 26th.

Hey...I'll be thinking like a 17 year old by then! ....scary.



Fund raisers for EFY (Especially For Youth: a gospel-centered summer-camp type program with dances and all kinds of fun stuff) are going well. We are only about 1/9 of the way there but I'm sure we'll make it. Why? I don't know. I have come to realize I absolutely despise sad endings to anything and refuse to have them, so we'll make it. Look out Provo, Utah, here we come!!

And thank you all for being such beef-jerky lovers!!



And to Elder Clifford who let us use his superhuman recepie!



(Oh, and by the way, we refers to me and my two friends I have quite literally had since nursery, before I was even five. I know, I'm terribly spoiled.)



A guy held the door open for me yesterday. That was really nice of him.



Lunch was del-i-cious!! I can't even spell what it was called, but it was down right yummy!



My mom is making money selling her hand-made jewlery :D Her excitement is extremely contagious! Thanks Aunt Kristi!



Oh yeah...there was something I've been meaning to post since...a looong time!



Okay, so there will yet be a point to this post.



It was one windy sunday afternoon when I noticed this. I was sitting in church, way up at the front where me and my family usually are to give my baby brother some wiggle-room, and it was during the sacrament so no one was up there speaking. My attention was drawn to the tall, curtained window that sits right in front of our seat because the wind was really whippin it up that day.

To natives of our town, this isn't anything significant. In fact, our highschool track team has t-shirts that say things like, "We don't run like the wind, we run against the wind."



But back to my story. It was really windy and I remember hugging my jacket to myself, grateful that I could be sitting inside a warm building at the moment.

And then I realized just how fortunate I really was. This wasn't just any buildling. It was church building. Whenever the winds began to whip up in my life, I had shelter to go to. I had sustaining truths, enlightening principles, even a resevoir of love.



Some didn't. Several came to mind in fact.



Being raised in the church I had always wondered how in the world people coped without the gospel. What did they do when they had had a rough day and couldn't just fall to their knees and cry out to someone who they knew was always listening? How did you even do highschool? All the shifting trends and values and perspectives and personalities, and appearances! What did you do with all the emotions that come when you really screw up? And even past that I have questions.



I'm sure there are ways, but it's always been something that has made me want to be a missionary. I want to bring people out of the earthly winds of confusion and into the welcoming shelter of the gospel.



After everything I've been blessed with, I feel I owe it to Him.

The Warmth of the Fireside

Sorry. I have been slacking...I think...I'm a little too tired to remember. Perhaps the better word is busy.

Either way, I had the most refreshing weekend! It started off with a youth temple trip which, I think, is pretty self-explanatory. I then 'worked' concession stands at the basketball game for my class, and, while pouring nacho cheese on a tray of month old chips, got asked on a date. So I rushed home to wash out the smell of hotdogs and it was off to the bowling alley!

We had a really fun group and my stomach began to hurt from laughing by the time we got there. After me and my date got 2nd place (we would've gotten first if it wasn't for me :), we grabbed a MceeD's icecream and headed for the Stake Dance! I HEART dances so enough said.

But the best part of my weekend happened the next day. First off, it was one of those Sundays where every lesson, talk, hymn, and prayer answers a question you've had and you (well, at least I) walk out a big, fat smile with legs. What only added to it was the fact that it was one of my friend's (and sunday school teacher's) mission farewells. At the age of 19 he was off to South America serve the Lord for two whole years and, I assumed, the rest of his life. I attended his ordination and, well, let's just say it was too amazing for a mediocre blogger's words. I'm so proud of that kid!

Heheh, wow. I haven't even got to my point yet. Like I said, I've been busy.

After that there was a youth fireside (or a devotional for us crazy teenagers who need it). And guess who the speakers were? My peers. Yep. One of the guys that was in the group on my date was one of them and was scared to death. Another was our senor class' president, or a girl that I really looked up to. The third was a girl I had seen at girls' camp last summer, and the fourth I had seen at the dance.

It was soo cool!!! The guy in my group date ended up doing great, I loved and admired the class president even more, learned a whole new depth the girl I had only seen at girls' camp, and even watched the young man I had seen at the dance, through tears, give a sincere testimony of his Savior and his deep desire to serve him. ...and though his voice was gentle and occasionally broken as he tried to gather his emotions, it couldn't have been any more firm.

My mom once said that she thought the Lord liked to bring us youth together so that we could strengthen each other...Never have I seen that so true until last night.

And then our stake president got up to talk. He humbly began by saying he couldn't have put anything better than my peers had. But I was still glad he continued his remarks because the more he spoke, the stronger the spirit was. The entire chapel remained silent, as if afraid to interrupt it.

It was then that I suddenly got this vision type thing in my head. We were soldiers. The world was a battlefield. And the gentle, good-humored man at the pulpit was our trainer, preparing us for the dangers we would face out there; his instructions straight from the commander-in-chief who knew just what strategems would, in the end, ensure that we came off conquerer.

Crossing the Street

I love when I get little insights at random! It just sort of adds a little bit of a bounce to my step and a twinkle to my eye. I expound upon it and expound upon it until I feel like if I don't blabber on about it to someone I'm gonna ex-pound myself to a pulp.

Thus the blog. Thus you. Again, thanks! :)

So today I was eating some leftover pizza when my baby brother up and decided he wanted to visit my grandma across the street. My Mom decided he'd had enough practice of looking both ways to go on his own. But, of course, she stood in the doorway and watched him.

"Are you watching?" he cried out across the front yard. I snickered at how obvious the answer was but she patiently, with a smile, answered, "Yes. I'm watching."

And then I began to chew that sausage and cheese thoughtfully as I realized just how true the whole thing is! In a bigger picture of course.

I'll bet we were up there just waiting to begin our adventure in this intriguing world called Earth which, from up there, probably just seemed across the street. So, when it was our time, our Heavenly Father decided that, though we were pretty young and inexperienced, He'd taught us all He could. It was up to us to act.

And so we we were off! I'll bet He watched us leave our lovely home, both proud of our courage yet a little worried about our carelessness, telling us to return safely.

From down here that home of ours doesn't always seem to be across the street. It's now across the galaxy. And to some people its so far away that they claim it doesn't even exist. And though some of us haven't even gotten out of the front yard yet, we've all had those frightening moments. I'm sure we've all doubted our abilities at successfully completing this task. So we tentatively ask, "Are you watching?"

And He patiently, lovingly replies, "Yes. I'm watching."

And yet we still forget. We think we can see more than Him. Afterall, we're down here. He's up there. He doesn't know how we feel! He can't see the big picture!

But oh how wrong that is... On the contrary, the entire road is visible from his spot and he can see even the most distant cars coming our way--as well as their speed. I'm sure if my brother hadn't seen a car coming my mom would've yelled out at him to stop, if not ran out after him.

Let us listen to our Heavenly Father. He knows. He warns. He may even, in the form of a stranger, friend, or family member run out to save us.

And the concequences of not listening can be just as deadly.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!

I didn't exactly start out this year in a typical way. I did stay up until midnight playing games, but then I went and watched some corny Barbie video until two a.m.--and didn't even get drowsy. I was into it! I wanted to slap that creepy bad guy with the unrealistic orange eyes and bring the prince to the princess so that they could live happily ever after! Then, and only then, would my life be complete! (and no, my 17th birthday is not next month!)

And then I slept in. And then I somehow found myself on my way to the mall with my family to go shopping for my brother's birthday. I ordered lobster nachos at Red Lobster only without the lobster (I know, I know. My dad already teased me enough) and ate so many that my stomach hurt the rest of day.
I don't think I set any resolutions until last night.

See I don't have the problem of never accomplishing the goals I set because, well, I always lose the paper that I wrote them on so I can't go back and check anyways. I certainly hope none of them were to be organized.

But either way, I love New Years! You get a clean slate of mistakes and a full plate of adventure! And you're even armed with all the lessons you learned from the years prior. You get to start new and exciting projects, improve yourself (like losing weight--as soon as the leftovers are gone), and try new things. No wonder its celebrated!

As you can tell, I couldn't think of anything to post today. I don't have any amazing stories to go with this holiday or anything. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask for help on one of my resolutions. It's to finish writing and editing this story I have been going back and forth to for a couple years. I'm almost done with it but I'd like a few people to read even a few chapters and point out the dull sides I can polish. It's http://www.anneliesstories.blogspot.com. But if you don't want to that's fine too. I've got an amaaazing English teacher, some parents, and a couple of friends who love me just the same :)