Mormon Messages

I am obsessed with Mormon Messages.

I could watch these all day. Too bad I have finals to finish.

More about the LDS (Mormon) church??

Map Animals

I am home for Easter weekend in beautiful warm Vegas City. In our study at my parents house, we have a world map wallpaper plastered up on one side of the room. Don't think that means I know geography very well, but I do know where all the hidden animals are. My brothers and I would sit around looking for all the different types of animals we could see. And now that I am sitting here alone typing away, I really miss those two boys. These animals remind me of them.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, and all those other Northern European countries is a beaver jumping off a rock into Europe.

Italy is a slug.

North and Central America is a jumping kangaroo - Northeast Canada is the head.

There is a upside down dog doing a flip over the Hudson Bay.

Africa is a horses head (it is facing south).

The Obsqaya Guba Bay is a running man without a head.

Iceland is a little guppy fish.

Maybe there are more, but these are just the typical agreed upon map animals in my house. Ask my brother about the diving beaver and he would know what I am talking about. This post goes out to them.

Mountains to Climb

I came across this blog post about Utah and the snow piles. And it made me think about this church talk about overcoming challenges. And then it made me remember my high school cross country teammate Lauren Lucas.

Once, near the end of summer in Vegas, yes scorching hot Vegas, we were doing hill repeats, just for fun, because we are overachievers, and because we told ourselves we were going to take state that year. And after a few repeats, when we were at the top, one of us looked over at the foothills of Black Mountain. Maybe because anything would have been better than running up that hill again or maybe just because a mountain seemed easier...

"Look at that mountain; let's run it," someone said. So we did. Let me tell you right now: Running up mountains is one of the most rewarding physical experiences. It literally feels like you are pulling yourself, and each other, up to greater heights. So we sat there, looking over the Las Vegas valley, looking at all the next mountains we were going to run up. We told ourselves we could run up anything, and I still believe that sometimes.

Walking the Doggie

So maybe my roommate's parents are out of town, and maybe she brought her dog down for the week to keep an eye on him. Ya so maybe we have a dog shuffling around our apartment. His names is Puggs. He is pretty good, usually, but today when I got home, he was prancing off the walls. So I decided, maybe he needed a walk? Then, as I was putting his leash around the collar that was buried somewhere in all his fur, I realized: I have never walked a dog before. Wait what? Yes, I have never walked a dog before. So here it waz, me and Puggs, heading out to do whatever you do when you walk a dog. I mean it wasn't hard; it was actually pretty easy, but I did probably look like a fool when I jogged along side him so that he could trot a little faster. So what, I'm a runner, and he is a dog that needs to get some energy out of his system. Although, I am sure that is not what the girl across the street thought - looks like that little puppy is taking that girl for a one jog of a walk, was what she must have been thinking, or something like that.

Illuminated Texts: These are unreal

Hello Utah

Why Everyone Should Hike Timp, Top Ten

1. It is underrated. It is way more challenging then people make it seem, which I love.

2. You have cell service the entire way. So, if you want, you can surprise your other friends who are hiking Timp and tell them where you are.

3. It gives you a new perspective. You can see everything from up there, but you don't really know what is going on anywhere in Utah Valley.

4. You can meet cool people at the top who tell you they will give you free In-N-Out or that you did an awesome job working as a sports camp counselor that summer.

5. You just keep hiking not even realizing how close you are until you are twenty seconds away. Just keep taking little steps and you will get places.

6. At the right time of year, there are lots of wild flowers. You can even pick your favorite and kiss it.

7. Since you see all the different parts of the mountain, you can choose your favorite. I like the waterfalls.

8. From the summit, you can make thank you videos or even promotional videos in a way chill setting.

9. You could even become a TimpPro.

10. Because everyone else does it. And there is a good reason everyone does.

Having a bad day?

I don't know what it is, but this always makes me feel better.

       Click that smile ----->               :)

I came across this while I was supposed to be studying. Now I just want to share it with anyone who is ever having a bad day.

p.s. I did not create this. I only found it, and enjoyed it.

The Gospel; It's the Truth

Honestly and sincerely, I just want to tell the world that this Gospel is true. The Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. But don't take my word for it. Check it out yourself here. It really honestly is true and brings me so much happiness that I just want to share it!

What I currently understand about differences; I am sure I have a lot to learn.

I found this picture online claiming that it was the border between the Baltic and North seas, but with a little more research, I think it was taken in Alaska. Some of the water is fresh water that has been created from glacier melt. Because of the differing densities, the bodies of water are mixing much slower, so much that is appears as if they are not mixing at all. I don't know how valid this argument is, but this picture really got me thinking.

America is all about borders - that law in this state and this law in that state, moving west and pushing forward the frontier, this race/color verses that race/color. Why can't these boarders mix?

This is apparently the border between Belgium and The Netherlands, right along side a cafe. Can you imagine eating your lunch in The Netherlands and then stepping over to Belgium to take a stroll? What if it were like this between California and Mexico? Maybe you are thinking: that is not the same thing - Americans and Mexicans are just different. How different? (2 Cor 4:18) Seriously, let's think about what really matters. (Weightier Matters, Dallin H Oaks)

I am an English major emphasizing in teaching and therefore, American literature. The more I read, the more I feel sick when people talk nonchalantly about slavery or color. The more I read, the more frustrated I get with causal descriptions of what race is. Do you know what race is? Seriously, think about it. In my multicultural education class we learned that Race is a social construction that categorizes people based on physical appearance. Ethnicity explains where each individual comes from. So what race am I?

When I was little, I always thought I was White. Actually, I thought everyone whose skin wasn't really dark was White. Then my Asian and Mexican and Middle Eastern friends told me they weren't White. I came to find out that at one time in American history, people who came from Ireland were not considered white, or people who came from Bohemia or Italy - anyone who came in as an outsider, an "other." The definition of white has changed over time, and it really isn't just about the lightness of ones skin. What a racist term. I don't want to be white.

But then, am I Caucasian? Someone told me Caucasians came from the Caucus Mountains. I didn't come from there. A quick skim over the Wikipedia page confirmed my opinion that Caucasian is about as racist a term as White. So what race am I?

Who cares what race I am; that is not what it is all about anyway.

This is a picture of the class divide somewhere in Brazil. How could you seriously sit in one of those balcony swimming pools, look down on all that poverty and seriously enjoy yourself? Things like this, interactions between people who are different from one another, don't have to be like oil and water.

Now I am not saying we are all the same. We are not. We are all very different from one another. But I have come to the conclusion that engaging with "the other" is the only way to truly express one's self. A community of people function like a body (1 Cor 12:12-26). If you begin to draw a stick figure and only draw the circle, the drawing does not reach its full meaning until the body is attached. Each of us with our differences makes up a part of a beautiful whole (for more, look into relationality).

So regardless of what race society says you are or what race your neighbor is, I want to always remember that society made up these classifications, and God made up people who look different, talk different, act different - all in different beautiful ways - but all with the same amount of worth as children of God with divine potential. There doesn't have to be borders between us unless we create them.

For more: No More Strangers  by Alexander B. Morrison and Concern for the One  by Joseph B. Wirthlin

Retro Perspecto

My mom keeps this Rubbermaid of old fabric that she might want to use for sewing. I was looking through it this Christmas break and came across this gem. All I am saying is that my mom used to wear these! I only wish you could try them on yourselves.

But, ya know, this got me thinking...who can pull these off? Could I pull these off? Maybe without the running tights underneath :), but really. I am not going to lie, I was tempted to wear them to school. Maybe I could even bring a typewriter or some quills with ink or parchment or ya whatever else is out there. Maybe tomorrow, ya know?

A Streetcar

I don't know if you have ever read "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennesse Williams. I am not recommending it. It is a horribly tragic and depressing play. I didn't enjoy reading it at all. But, I could not put it down. I was so intrigued by everything that was going on between these characters - what they were thinking and feeling and why and how they were living. After finishing the play, I read an essay by Williams called, "A Streetcar to Success." I must say it was equally intriguing, but after reading it a few times, I cannot say I agree completely. But I can relate and understand his crisis of identity. (Sometimes I wish some of these authors just had the Gospel because I think it would make them so much happier) Anyway, Williams does have a few things right:

"That time is short and it doesn't return again. It is slipping away while I write this and while you read it, and the monosyllable of the clock is Loss, Loss, Loss, unless you devote your heart to its opposition."

Life is hard. But is that way for a reason.

I think Williams and I would agree, we don't want it any other way.