Challenge Your Fears

So I was in institute yesterday when something was discussed that really caught my attention. We talked about how the things that scare us most are the things that we need to do to succeed and to change ourselves. As I've been contemplating this subject off and on for the last couple hours I came to the realization that just because I'm scared something doesn't mean that I should let it hold me back from doing what I should do. And when I go back and look on the experience it will make me stronger because I was able to conquer my fears.

A Movie Plus Volleyball

So for Family Home Evening tonight my ward went to the visitors center at the temple and watched the movie Only A Stone Cutter. I had never seen it before and was very impressed by it's message. It is the story of John Rowe Moyle. He was an immigrant from England and came across with one of the very first handcart companies. He was also one of the first people to settle what would become Alpine, Utah. After he arrived in Utah and settled in and started his farm he received a calling to work as a stone mason on the Salt Lake Temple. It was a 22 mile walk from his farm to Salt Lake a walk that he made week after week without fail. Even when he lost a leg due to an accident on his farm he fashioned a leg for himself and kept going to complete his calling. One of the things that stood out to me the most in this movie was that when his wife told him after he lost his leg that there were plenty of stone masons to fulfill the work on the lords house he looked at her and said, "But it is my calling to fulfill not anyone else's."

It's that example that I want to follow in my life. I want to be able to say, "It was my calling to fulfill and I am proud to say I fulfilled it." It has kind of put made me think about what I can do to fulfill any of my callings. Even in adversity I should be putting an effort in to fulfilling my calling completely.

After the movie we went to the Institute building the original plan was to have hot chocolate and socialize but another ward invited us to join them and so we had ice cream and pizza and played volleyball. I think I probably played for ten minutes before I decided that I liked watching more. And not to mention I felt like I was going to fall on my face every couple minutes. It was fun to watch other members of my ward play. They had a pretty good game going that was fun to watch.

I also got to see one of my really good friends at the visitors center that I haven't seen for awhile. It was good to see her and to be able to talk and hang out with her.

Lessons Learned

Happy New Years everyone! (15 days late of course but that's ok!) With a new year I hope to start with a new me. A song has playing around in my song for a couple weeks now and it's called Lessons Learned by Carrie Underwood. Here are the lyrics.

There's some things that I regret,

Some words I wish had gone unsaid,

Some starts,

That had some better endings,

Been some bad times I've been through,

Damage I cannot undo.

Some things,

I wish I could do all all over again,

But it don't really matter,

When life gets that much harder,

It makes you that much stronger,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were,

Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

Every change, life has thrown me,

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned.

There's mistakes that I have made,

Some chances I just threw away,

Some roads,

I never should have taken,

Been some signs I didn't see,

Hearts that I hurt needlessly,

Some wounds,

That I wish I could have one more chance to mend,

But it don't make no difference,

The past can't be rewritten,

You get the life you're given,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were,

Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

Every change, life has thrown me,

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned.

And all the things that break you,

Are the things that make you strong!

You can't change the past,

Cause it's gone.

And you just gotta move on,

Because it's all

Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

From everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

From every change, life has thrown me.

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned,

Lessons learned.

Lessons learned.

The part that I think of the most is in the chorus when it says, Some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned.

In my life I want to be able to say that through everything I go through I can say I'm thankful for every break in my heart, I'm grateful for every scar. Because I can recognize that there were some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned.

In my blog I would like to record the lessons learned on my journey that we called life. The good, the bad, the happy, the sad. And hopefully these things that I learn can help someone else.

My Crazy Life To This Point

Wow, I finally have a moment to sit down and breathe. It has been one crazy month. It all started when I came home after Thanksgiving. My mom drove me back to St. George and my goodness the roads were awful. I'm so glad my mom and I made it back to St. George safely. My mom also stayed and watched the concert that I had on Tuesday. I love when I know I have people in the audience to support me. The next two weeks flew by really fast and before I knew it the dreaded week had come. The cursed word of any college student: FINALS WEEK!

It was during this week that I learned a lot about myself. I learned that when you shelter your feelings in it makes you weaker not stronger. By learning to share what is going on in your life the stress can be melted away and lead to something better. I also learned what an amazing thing the Atonement of Jesus Christ is. It isn't just there for seeking for forgiveness, it's also there as a support to us because Christ felt what I felt and knows what i'm going through. It was an amazing experience to learn this. I've learned that when the rocks that you think hold you up and fall out from underneath you it's Christ with his atonement that builds a bridge underneath you to lead you to the right path that you are supposed to take.

And then the rest of that week. Of course once finals week were over and I had to work three days before I could go back and be with my family. Well to describe those three days, lets just say that I'm glad it is over. I think those three days were longer than the rest of the week was, because along with having to work I got a cold. But now I am home and happy to be spending time with my family.

Well I'm going to try the whole blogging thing again. And maybe just maybe i'll succeed in updating it with more than eight months in between. My life in past couple months has been a roller coaster of emotions filled with happy and sad moments. In the past couple months I have moved back home and then back to school. I'm still working on pre-req's for my major but it will be worth it. Right now it is finals week and the stress is never ending. Right now the song that just keeps going through my head is from Princess and the Frog. "Cause I've climbed a mountain and I've crossed a river and I'm almost there."And I truly am. i have two more finals and four days of work and then it's off to spend lots of time with the family. I have to say that I love being a college student. While life is sometimes difficult you learn things about yourself that you never knew. College is definitely a different experience and I'm so glad that I'm able to live it.

Adrenaline Rush!

So today I did a cliff repel down a 150 foot cliff. Talk about one of the scariest things I've ever done before. I'm still kind of shocked that I did it. We first had to climb up through the canyon so that we could get to the top. I felt kinda funny because i'm kinda a klutz and so it was harder to climb up all the rocks that were inside it. At least i only fell once. and then we finally got to the top. I e=was so closed to saying i'm not going to do it. i was so scared, there were times that i thought i was going to fall. The feeling that i had when i got down was amazing. i was so shaky and excited when i got down. i think that if i ever have a chance to do it again i will definitely do it again.

The Sunny Days

Oh how beautiful and warm it is right now. It's the best way to start out before Easter. I'm reading Facebook and all my friends statuses are say how there is so much snow. Once again I am glad to be living where I'm living and always having lots of sun. The two best things about the sun is the heat (obviously) and being able to swim in an outdoor pool. It's such an easy way for me to workout and lots of fun. I'm so glad it's almost the weekend because I get to see my family. So happy!