Wednesday, September 14, 2011

All About Following Your Impressions and Timing

This post is in complete response to my religion class which had an impact on me today... Go figure, huh? We were talking about impressions and how God will sometimes tell you to do something or tell you not to or maybe just allow you to make your own decision and will just get back to you later. I believe all of that so the part that was interesting to me was the professor's application of the principle.

He began by talking about his dating life in college. There was a girl he had dated in high school from his small hometown in southern Utah and when they had both graduated and came to BYU, there is no escaping someone in a small Utah town but in Provo he gave into his fear. He was afraid of where things were going and even though he hadn't spoken to her in over two months he had continued praying about whether or not she was girl he was supposed to marry. Eventually he felt like he should do what he felt he should have done all along and give her call. She wasn't there because she had gone home for the weekend, so delightfully he left a message to have her call him back. It would have been to stressful and nerve-racking to actually talk to her. In any case, his dad calls and lets him know the news; she is engaged. So the next week he hears back from her and she asks what he was calling for. He tells her he was just calling to congratulate her on her engagement. For the next six years of his single life, a specific scripture continually came to mind, "Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now." (Doctrine and Covenants 9:11)

In time, the blessing of marriage didn't escape him completely. Once he turned 29 years old, he was no longer single and eventually married his wonderful wife. He did learn his lesson. The other interesting thing was that again even in the celestial room of the temple as he was about to get sealed, he became afraid. He was about to make a covenant that had eternal implications. He wasn't praying about a major or where to live, things he could change, he was praying about who to be married to for time and all eternity. The consequences of this choice would forever change his life and the lives of others. As the pressure continued to build, his fiance noting his emotions, well long story short, he never got the impression to go for it and followed his gut and the feelings he had before and got married. It wasn't until afterwards that he knew he made the right choice.

The lessons he had learned from all these things were that he couldn't let fear keep him from making the right decision. If he felt like he needed to do something, he should follow the impression (as long as it made sense and was according to his standards and principles, of course). Impressions are given for us to act on them, in the time that they were given. If he had followed the impression to date his high school sweetheart things could have played out very differently but the time had passed he no longer could do what he originally felt prompted to do. Don't date someone's fiance. Don't date someone's wife. Write that down if you need to... But lastly, he pointed out something truly significant. Not only did he remember the impressions and feelings he had when dating his own wife, but in the end, marrying her was his decision. It wasn't the Lord's decision. He couldn't blame God if it didn't work out. He chose her out of everyone else in the world to be his eternal companion and she chose him. God let him know that his choice was the right one, but allowed him to make it his choice. I just felt that it was truly significant, at least for me.

Learning to recognize promptings, following your feelings, and remembering the Lord in your life will help us all find the blessings and joy and happiness that God has always been wanting and intending for us to enjoy. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is so very crucial in achieving our temporal and also divine potential and in our becoming even as He is. Simply put,when the Spirit speaks... Just do it.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Patience... Ugh!

Sometimes I wonder if life truly needs to be as hard as it is or am I just subconsciously making things more difficult for myself than they need to be. Either way, I hope that when it is all said and done I will appreciate what I learned from it all. I pray that I might learn patience, remember who I am and my covenants, and in the end, someone will appreciate the character I have become because all these experiences are sure making me into quite the character. The biggest thing I am grateful for at the moment is the fact that at the end of the day, I have faith that tomorrow will come and it has the chance of being better than the one it followed. A new page is a new start.

"But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for." (Paulo Coelho)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Music Is My Life

There is one thing when a music artist writes a sensational song but it is a totally different ballgame when they then match that with an astoundingly creative music video. I was doing my laundry this morning and between some really well fought out college football games I was perusing VH1 and these are just a few of some outstanding artists that got my immediate approval.

4. Gavin DeGraw - "Not Over You"


3. One Republic - "Good Life"


2. Lady Antebellum - "Just A Kiss"


1. Coldplay - "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall"

Tonight Tonight Remix

"Work It All Out"
(To the tune of Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae)

Never knew how to tell you no
Always doing what you said so
But the thing that really blew my mind
Is I still think of you all of the time

La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn't matter
La la la, oh well, la la la

Where did you go? No blame
But it never has been quite just the same
If I need change - I'd change the time and do it over again
Whenever I see her face it, takes me from this place yet
And I need some change, she's it, again

We got into a fight last night
Don't remember who was wrong or right
Now it's all said and done
Still wish you didn't feel like you had to run


La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn't matter
La la la, oh well, la la la

Where did you go? No blame
But it never has been quite just the same
If I need change - I'd change the time and do it over again
Whenever I see her face it, takes me from this place yet
And I need some change, she's it, again

You got me feeling like
Woah, come on, ohh, it doesn't matter
Woah, everybody now, ohh

Don't stop talkin', let's keep this goin'
I'll be there for you, won't let you fall down
It's my story be who I want to
We can get crazy work it all out

Don't stop talkin', let's keep this goin'
I'll be there for you, won't let you fall down
It's my story be who I want to
We can get crazy work it all out

It's you and me and we're getting bit loud
And it's me and you and we're drawing a crowd
But they can watch if they want to because I will love you

Everbody
Woah, come on, ohh, all you animals,
Woah, let me hear you now, ohh

Where did you go? No blame
But it never has been quite just the same
If I need change - I'd change the time and do it over again
Whenever I see her face it, takes me from this place yet
I will need some change, she's it, again
And I need some change, she's it, again
Yeah it's all right, all right, tonight, tonight

Just singing like
Woah, come on, ohh, all you party people
Woah, all you singletons, ohh, even the white kids

Don't stop talkin', let's keep this goin'
I'll be there for you, won't let you fall down
It's my story be who I want to
We can get crazy work it all out

Don't stop talkin', let's keep this goin'
I'll be there for you, won't let you fall down
It's my story be who I want to
We can get crazy work it all out

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Patiently Smiling and Loving Life

I don't know what it is but I love talking to complete strangers like we are long time friends. This week is the beginning of the Fall semester and being a senior I have a lot of friends in all of my classes and some of the professors have gone from the "weeding-you-out-and-trying-to-grind-all-confidence-you-have-in-your-choice-in-majors" type to the class clowns. I don't think I have had this many professors that I have really enjoyed at the same time while being completely petrified of the subject matter and the syllabi that they are giving us. Here is a great example...

I was in class yesterday and the teacher was trying to just test us on basic material that was supposed to be foundational to the class. At first I figured that I was doing well until we started going over the answers and defending our positions. I honestly batted a thousand! I was completely and utterly wrong on so many things but at the same time, the professor just explained them as simply as he could and kept on going. Lecture was the same way. I don't think I had so thoroughly enjoyed being so utterly confused. It was fantastic! But at the same time, I think I may be in serious trouble this semester.

And surprisingly enough, this all ties back into the idea of talking to perfect strangers. You know the time where you are in a computer lab or at the printer and you hear someone make that sigh that you personally avoid. The sigh of desperation and exhaustion that means something to the effect, "there is not one more thing that I could possibly think that could go wrong but really do I honestly care anymore?" Well of course my curiosity got the better of me and we began talking and asking what was the matter. She was frustrated that again she couldn't get the notes and textbook she needed to finish her homework that she needed done for her psychology class. I wished her luck, told her that she would figure it out, and it wouldn't be that big of a deal soon. Well, she turned the conversation back to me asking what classes I was taking and I struggled to name off all the technical names. She started to smile and laugh a little. "I'm sorry but that just sounds so boring..." I was caught so off guard by her smile and brutal honesty but it just made me laugh. It did sound pretty boring in comparison to becoming a psychologist and owning your own firm, comfy office with a view, and if your clients have to cancel, you always have that cushy couch to take a cat nap on. By the time our conversation was finished she left and I just wanted to sarcastically thank her for telling me how stupid of a choice I had made and how I should rethink my life but all in good humor. It just amazes me how just having a positive attitude and outlook on things, being able to laugh about the small stuff, and being able to work through the big things, life can't get you down. There is so much we don't know that we shouldn't let those things escape us but we should push through and conquer them. Live life, ya know?

There are too many people caught up in little things that they never see the world around them. I can't begin to count the amount of people who have their heads down in their cell phones, stuck on their news feeds in Facebook, whatever... One girl practically walked into me because of a conversation she was having through texts. She apologized as we both smiled and she tried to explain it real fast. I just wanted to shake her out of it! I wanted to reach down and kiss her softly and tell her, "That text can't possibly be that important. Live a little." But I knew that a smile, a soft laugh and a shake of the head would have to do. Seriously people, wake up. Live a little. Love a lot more.