The following a poem is for my Doctrine and Covenants class. It is a creative project that is based on sections 121 and 122 of D&C. I did it on these sections because they have some of the sweetest words of comfort. Words that have been something that I have been able to draw strength from during hard times.
Please bare with me since I am not the most brilliant poem writer.
O God, Where Art Thou?
Trials, hardship, betrayals, doubt, pity, fear, sorrow, despair
How much am I to go through
How much am I to endure
Lord canst thou deliver me from these bonds
Canst thou come from thy hiding place and lay a blanket of comfort over me
Use thy anger against those who have done me wrong
Remember me, please O God, remember me
Peace, peace, peace I feel
Words I hear saying "peace be unto thy soul"
Could this really be just a small moment
Will I able to endure it well
Will I able to sustain this feeling
Has God remembered me after all
How can I know for sure
But I do know, I have known all along
The Savior, my Lord, my God
He who has descended below them all
He who knows and has Atoned for me
He who has a perfect knowledge of things
The one and only Begotten of the Father
He is there, he knows, he remembers
Peace, joy, jubilation, love, gratitude, charity, strength, faith
What more could I feel
What more could I say
Though I may be cast into the deep
Though the jaws of hell may gape open its mouth wide after me
I shall be free
O God, Thou Art Here
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Stand Up And Use Your Voice
How many times in our lives do we have the opportunity to share our beliefs, our thoughts, our feelings, our opinions? Many right?
Now let me ask you this, do we take those opportunities and if we do how often?
This is a question that has been on my mind for awhile and was brought to the forefront of my thoughts today as I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting. With me, my personality is not one to voice my opinions to every person that I meet, not to try and force my beliefs on someone or to try even to persuade them to believe that my way is the right way. In some instances this as been a blessing that has kept me out of trouble and help to sustain some friendships and other relationships. However, in other instances it has been my biggest weakness. I have missed so many opportunities to share what I believe and have failed to act on thoughts and impressions that may have had an impact on someone else's life. I have missed opportunities to make relationships grow stronger and friendships to run deeper. I have missed learning from others opinions because I am so set in my own. By not sharing my thoughts or feelings, I have had times when disappointment and disgust were always present in my mind. By not sharing my beliefs I have missed moment to make my own testimony grow stronger. I have missed moments when maybe I could have been the influence in someone's life to help them back on the right path. I have missed opportunities for service, for bringing a smile to someone and to myself, for bringing laughter into a situation that needed it. I have missed so many other opportunities and chances that I cannot even count them.
It makes me sad to know I didn't have the confidence or will power to overcome moments of weakness. It makes me sad to know I haven't trusted the Lord or the Spirit enough to let them guide my actions and words. It makes me sad to know that I have had all these opportunities and have only acted upon a very small percent of them.
I guess pondering and then writing has allowed me to see where I need to improve in my life and using my voice is a part of that improvement. So I would like to make this promise to everyone within my writing voice, that I will no longer be afraid, I will no longer lack the confidence, I will no longer ignore the promptings that I receive to do the things that need to be done. I will strive to share the gospel whenever I am given the opportunity. I will add my opinion and share my insight during a conversation. I will defend my believes in the way that the Savior does all throughout the scriptures. I will have the confidence to voice concerns and try to fix problems that need to be fix. I will not be pushed to a corner to stand awkwardly, afraid of what other people might think.
Just as President Hickley said, "Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity. Believe that you can do it-whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent."
As long as I got the Lord on my side, guiding and protecting me, I know that I will be able to do many great and wonderful things.
I am Me, I must love Me and I must believe in Me.
I must Stand Up and Use My Voice.
Now let me ask you this, do we take those opportunities and if we do how often?
This is a question that has been on my mind for awhile and was brought to the forefront of my thoughts today as I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting. With me, my personality is not one to voice my opinions to every person that I meet, not to try and force my beliefs on someone or to try even to persuade them to believe that my way is the right way. In some instances this as been a blessing that has kept me out of trouble and help to sustain some friendships and other relationships. However, in other instances it has been my biggest weakness. I have missed so many opportunities to share what I believe and have failed to act on thoughts and impressions that may have had an impact on someone else's life. I have missed opportunities to make relationships grow stronger and friendships to run deeper. I have missed learning from others opinions because I am so set in my own. By not sharing my thoughts or feelings, I have had times when disappointment and disgust were always present in my mind. By not sharing my beliefs I have missed moment to make my own testimony grow stronger. I have missed moments when maybe I could have been the influence in someone's life to help them back on the right path. I have missed opportunities for service, for bringing a smile to someone and to myself, for bringing laughter into a situation that needed it. I have missed so many other opportunities and chances that I cannot even count them.
It makes me sad to know I didn't have the confidence or will power to overcome moments of weakness. It makes me sad to know I haven't trusted the Lord or the Spirit enough to let them guide my actions and words. It makes me sad to know that I have had all these opportunities and have only acted upon a very small percent of them.
I guess pondering and then writing has allowed me to see where I need to improve in my life and using my voice is a part of that improvement. So I would like to make this promise to everyone within my writing voice, that I will no longer be afraid, I will no longer lack the confidence, I will no longer ignore the promptings that I receive to do the things that need to be done. I will strive to share the gospel whenever I am given the opportunity. I will add my opinion and share my insight during a conversation. I will defend my believes in the way that the Savior does all throughout the scriptures. I will have the confidence to voice concerns and try to fix problems that need to be fix. I will not be pushed to a corner to stand awkwardly, afraid of what other people might think.
Just as President Hickley said, "Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity. Believe that you can do it-whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent."
As long as I got the Lord on my side, guiding and protecting me, I know that I will be able to do many great and wonderful things.
I am Me, I must love Me and I must believe in Me.
I must Stand Up and Use My Voice.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Heroes In Our Lives
When you think of heroes, who do you usually think about? Do you think of characters in a book who do something courageous? Do you think of people like Superman have have all these awesome powers and makes sure they use them only for good? Do you think of political leaders who have led this country through hard times and stood up for their beliefs? Do you think of celebrities who have millions of dollars, with fake pretty faces and all their wonderful input on life and its troubles *ahem*
We all have those people in our lives that have made a huge impact in what we do, what we say and how we act. They are those people who we may model ourselves after and follow their every move. They seem almost to be able to do no wrong and they seem almost perfect in our eyes.
Now I want to ask you, how many of those people have you met in person? How many would drop everything to either come to your rescue or just to talk? How many of them would give their lives to save yours? How many care enough about you to tell you when you are doing wrong? How many.... How many....
The list gets smaller and smaller doesn't it
Growing up I had all those kinds of Heroes, book characters, superheroes, world leaders and yes even celebrities. But as I have grown and have become somewhat wiser and more mature (at least I hope I have), I have come to realize that while those people are great, they should not be the ones that matter the most to me. I will most likely never meet them (with half of them being fake and all) and they probably couldn't care less about me and what I think.
I have come to look up more to those around me, namely my family and in particular my Mom. A person who is so selfless, caring, strong willed and so Amazing that it wouldn't surprise me if she was Wonder Woman in another life.
How many people can you say have put their very difficult trials aside to makes sure their friends and their family are taken care of. How many people can you say believe so passionately about their beliefs that they are not afraid to bring them up in any conversation. How many people can you say love their family so much that they would drop everything to make sure they feel welcome when they walk through the front door. How many people can you say goes to almost every single game, performance or activity that their children are participating in. How many people can you say are so devoted and so in love with their spouse that they make sure that dinner is on the table, the house is clean and nothing can come between them and their time together. How many people can you say are able to cook, sew, paint, create, teach, laugh, cry, direct, instruct, discern, joke and love.
No, my Mom is not perfect but that is what makes me love her so much. She works so hard to overcome her flaws and become stronger. She wants to continue to learn and continue to grow everyday. She teaches me everyday how to become a better person and I am so grateful.
I have learned how to sew, how to cook and how important it is to keep a clean and orderly house. I have learn what it means to be in love with someone after 30 years and what I want out of my own marriage. I have learned that trials do not stop after a certain age but I have learned how to overcome them. I have learned what it means to believe in yourself. I have learned what it means putting others first and I have learned how to be selfless. Though I cannot honestly say that I have mastered all of these traits, I have been taught by someone who is on their way to doing so.
True, we have had our disagreements in the past but I have come to respect and see my mom as one of the truest friends that I have ever had. I cannot express my gratitude for all that she has done for me. She has gotten me out of some pretty nasty times just by listening and saying maybe two or three words.She is so close and in tuned with the Spirit that she has that power to know exactly what you need to hear. She lights up every time she wants to teach me something about the Gospel, usually something she has learned or discovered and through this she has given me the desire to learn and to study the scriptures and principles of the gospel and that has been one of the greatest gifts she could have ever given to me.
I just want to say I love you Mom. Thank you for believing in me, for giving me hope, for giving me love, for showing that I am special, for teaching me skills, for being there when I need you, for listening to worries and complaints, for listening anytime I just want to talk, for the little text messages you send telling me you love me, for showing me how to love my future family and spouse, for showing me to stand up for what I believe in, for showing me you are never to old to learn new tricks, for being an example to me on how to follow the councils of the leaders of the church, for teaching me the important things of life, for teaching me how to enjoy, for teaching me how to laugh. Thank you Mom for everything.
You Are My Hero
I Love You So Much
Happy Birthday
Love Lise
We all have those people in our lives that have made a huge impact in what we do, what we say and how we act. They are those people who we may model ourselves after and follow their every move. They seem almost to be able to do no wrong and they seem almost perfect in our eyes.
Now I want to ask you, how many of those people have you met in person? How many would drop everything to either come to your rescue or just to talk? How many of them would give their lives to save yours? How many care enough about you to tell you when you are doing wrong? How many.... How many....
The list gets smaller and smaller doesn't it
Growing up I had all those kinds of Heroes, book characters, superheroes, world leaders and yes even celebrities. But as I have grown and have become somewhat wiser and more mature (at least I hope I have), I have come to realize that while those people are great, they should not be the ones that matter the most to me. I will most likely never meet them (with half of them being fake and all) and they probably couldn't care less about me and what I think.
I have come to look up more to those around me, namely my family and in particular my Mom. A person who is so selfless, caring, strong willed and so Amazing that it wouldn't surprise me if she was Wonder Woman in another life.
How many people can you say have put their very difficult trials aside to makes sure their friends and their family are taken care of. How many people can you say believe so passionately about their beliefs that they are not afraid to bring them up in any conversation. How many people can you say love their family so much that they would drop everything to make sure they feel welcome when they walk through the front door. How many people can you say goes to almost every single game, performance or activity that their children are participating in. How many people can you say are so devoted and so in love with their spouse that they make sure that dinner is on the table, the house is clean and nothing can come between them and their time together. How many people can you say are able to cook, sew, paint, create, teach, laugh, cry, direct, instruct, discern, joke and love.
No, my Mom is not perfect but that is what makes me love her so much. She works so hard to overcome her flaws and become stronger. She wants to continue to learn and continue to grow everyday. She teaches me everyday how to become a better person and I am so grateful.
I have learned how to sew, how to cook and how important it is to keep a clean and orderly house. I have learn what it means to be in love with someone after 30 years and what I want out of my own marriage. I have learned that trials do not stop after a certain age but I have learned how to overcome them. I have learned what it means to believe in yourself. I have learned what it means putting others first and I have learned how to be selfless. Though I cannot honestly say that I have mastered all of these traits, I have been taught by someone who is on their way to doing so.
True, we have had our disagreements in the past but I have come to respect and see my mom as one of the truest friends that I have ever had. I cannot express my gratitude for all that she has done for me. She has gotten me out of some pretty nasty times just by listening and saying maybe two or three words.She is so close and in tuned with the Spirit that she has that power to know exactly what you need to hear. She lights up every time she wants to teach me something about the Gospel, usually something she has learned or discovered and through this she has given me the desire to learn and to study the scriptures and principles of the gospel and that has been one of the greatest gifts she could have ever given to me.
I just want to say I love you Mom. Thank you for believing in me, for giving me hope, for giving me love, for showing that I am special, for teaching me skills, for being there when I need you, for listening to worries and complaints, for listening anytime I just want to talk, for the little text messages you send telling me you love me, for showing me how to love my future family and spouse, for showing me to stand up for what I believe in, for showing me you are never to old to learn new tricks, for being an example to me on how to follow the councils of the leaders of the church, for teaching me the important things of life, for teaching me how to enjoy, for teaching me how to laugh. Thank you Mom for everything.
You Are My Hero
I Love You So Much
Happy Birthday
Love Lise
Monday, March 14, 2011
Pics of The Crazies
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Viva Las Vegas
Trip to Vegas=Epic
Boys Basketball Championship=Not so much
Though the game didn't turn out like we were hoping, the good definitely out weighed the bad for the trip as a whole.
Some key moments of the trip are as follows
1. singing the whole way down to Vegas
2. Listening to the last couple minutes of the BYU game on Friday, pulling off to a rest stop because we were losing reception and then celebrating at the rest stop with a bunch of old people staring at us -GO JIMMMER 52 Points!!
3. Partying with the crazies of Las Vegas (I will leave that up to your imagination)
4. Taking crazy pictures
5. I am sure getting a little high by all the crap everyone was smoking-bleh
6. Trying to look anywhere but at the ground and at the lovely billboards--I felt like I needed to take a shower afterwards-double bleh
7. Going to breakfast and then locking the keys in the car
8. The dollar store trying to find a wire hanger
9. Breaking into our car with the wire hanger
10. More pictures...and enjoying the lovely, beautiful, warm weather
11. Back to the strip to visit all the places we missed the night before--Bellagio Fountains (new favorite), M&M store (wish I had more money to spend), a cool indoor mall that tries to make it seem like you are outside, etc
12. The boys basketball game (a very bitter sweet experience)
13. Driving and getting home at like 3:30 and enjoying the bright lights and craziness of good old Provo
Some things to clear up
1. Don't look down while you are on the strip at night- or really anywhere for that matter
2. Mormons do not have horns
3. Yes mormons can be engaged and get married
4. Some Ute fans are really annoying
5. Some people are made for multi-tasking, some definitely are not
6. I am sick of oranges and cheese its
7. Don't drink a whole liter of water between fillmore and Beaver--let's just say it becomes a very, very long and uncomfortable car ride.
8. staying up until 3:00 for two nights in a row after a whole day of just go go go does wonders to your body--sorry to whoever is speaking today at church, I might be sawing logs in back
9. Wear good shoes for walking...blisters+heals=no fun
10. Pictures to come!
It was definitely a weekend to remember...
Boys Basketball Championship=Not so much
Though the game didn't turn out like we were hoping, the good definitely out weighed the bad for the trip as a whole.
Some key moments of the trip are as follows
1. singing the whole way down to Vegas
2. Listening to the last couple minutes of the BYU game on Friday, pulling off to a rest stop because we were losing reception and then celebrating at the rest stop with a bunch of old people staring at us -GO JIMMMER 52 Points!!
3. Partying with the crazies of Las Vegas (I will leave that up to your imagination)
4. Taking crazy pictures
5. I am sure getting a little high by all the crap everyone was smoking-bleh
6. Trying to look anywhere but at the ground and at the lovely billboards--I felt like I needed to take a shower afterwards-double bleh
7. Going to breakfast and then locking the keys in the car
8. The dollar store trying to find a wire hanger
9. Breaking into our car with the wire hanger
10. More pictures...and enjoying the lovely, beautiful, warm weather
11. Back to the strip to visit all the places we missed the night before--Bellagio Fountains (new favorite), M&M store (wish I had more money to spend), a cool indoor mall that tries to make it seem like you are outside, etc
12. The boys basketball game (a very bitter sweet experience)
13. Driving and getting home at like 3:30 and enjoying the bright lights and craziness of good old Provo
Some things to clear up
1. Don't look down while you are on the strip at night- or really anywhere for that matter
2. Mormons do not have horns
3. Yes mormons can be engaged and get married
4. Some Ute fans are really annoying
5. Some people are made for multi-tasking, some definitely are not
6. I am sick of oranges and cheese its
7. Don't drink a whole liter of water between fillmore and Beaver--let's just say it becomes a very, very long and uncomfortable car ride.
8. staying up until 3:00 for two nights in a row after a whole day of just go go go does wonders to your body--sorry to whoever is speaking today at church, I might be sawing logs in back
9. Wear good shoes for walking...blisters+heals=no fun
10. Pictures to come!
It was definitely a weekend to remember...
Friday, March 4, 2011
"If Only I Had A Brain" and the Lumps and Bumps of Life
I am sure that everyone in this world has days where they can fully relate to the scarecrow on the famous movie, The Wizard of Oz. Days where we say to ourselves "what in the world was I thinking" or "If only I had a Brain."
Lately I have found that I am thinking this a bit more often than I use to. Take this week for example, I seemed to have gotten it in my head that things are more exciting when you do them all last minute. NOT SO!!!!! Having 30 hours of observation to do for you major...a test in statistics...a test in first aid (two classes who like to load the work on you)...homework for all my other classes...a lesson to plan for sunday...ETC should not be left to the last minute, especially when they need to be done in the same week.
Upon looking back on the week I just thought "Aliseea, what were you thinking."
Needless to say I got most everything done...one test I think went ok...the other not so much...homework complete...and about 10 hours out of the 30 complete (luckily that isn't due for a while or I might have to kick something)
What really brought me to write this post was that test that didn't go the way I was hoping...Statistics...For all I care it can go jump off a cliff and die! Anyways after I got out of the test and saw my lovely score, I was kind of put out...in my head I thought to myself "I studied, I prayed for help and I went in there with my head held high, so what happened," but as I thought back over the week I came to the realization that I had not put all the effort into studying like I could have. Thinking about that I then realized that my prayer was a quick and a pitiful one that basically went like this "Heavenly Father please bring all the answers to my head." Not those exact words but you get the gist.
Heavenly Father knows that we aren't going to be perfect during our mortal life and he doesn't expect us to always be the smartest or the prettiest or the bravest (but those things are always nice). What he does expect of us is that we do the very best we can do; whether it is planning ahead a bit more, studying a bit harder, praying a bit longer with more meaning. If we put the effort in, he will put his effort in and together we will be able to accomplish more then we ever thought we could, for with God nothing is impossible.
Of course there will be hard times, mistakes, sorrow, all those lumps and bumps along the way but as a song I like (Little Miss by Sugarland) says "It's alright, sometimes you got to lose until you win. It's alright, it's alright it's alright, it will be alright again, I'm ok."
Though trials seem to take up every bit of life while they are happening, when we step back and look at the whole eternal perspective we can see that they are just small times in our life that are learning experiences which in turn make us stronger. If we let them teach us and draw us closer to Heavenly Father, the lumps and bumps can be some of the most memorable moments of our lives. Moments that help us to appreciate loved ones, homes, nature, health, laughter and all the little things in life that we take for granted.
I can honestly say I am grateful for the Lumps and Bumps of life. They may not be my favorite times of life but they are the times when I grow closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior and also find out a little bit more about myself and how strong I really am.
So my goals for the next little while are first to find my brain, turn it on and use it and second to take on the lumps and bumps and enjoy them, knowing it will be alright again and that I will be ok.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)