A life well lived...

What does it mean to live a life that was well lived??...What exactly defines that?? Some may say it's to live a life that is perfect or to do everything in your life perfectly: always kind, always happy, always laughing, always positive, obedient in all ways...respectfully I would have to disagree with this. My greatest fear is to live a meaningless life or one that wasn't lived as i would say "well"...I have made multiple mistakes in my life as i know others have too. Who's to judge though (besides God of course)? After all we're all human, we're bound to slip up every once in awhile. But isn't that what makes a life well lived, to make those mistakes but then to learn from them...or to forgive others for their mistakes? I one hundred percent believe with my whole heart that the most important thing in life is only to learn and to better yourself as you go about this life. We all know there will be bumps, fights, mean words, trials, lies, and backstabbing...it's life. But there's also so much beauty that can come from all those terrible things. To learn how to overcome, how to compromise and negotiate, how to replace those mean words with kind ones, how to expand our faith in God and people we love when hit with trials, and of all how to forgive. What else is considered a life well lived??...I believe one that is filled with love and compassion. Obviously we can't all have perfect days and always be happy and laughing, we can strive for that but the likelihood of it is small. But i feel like no matter what we're going through there's always someone out there that has it worse...i feel that even on our bad days love and compassion should be never ending. It's funny because it wasn't too long ago when i myself was struggling with some bumps that had come up in my life...and i remember feeling down and a bit disappointed; however, a couple days before that i knew a family that had been struck with such tragedy that most would consider unbearable and I instantly felt so guilty for feeling even the slightest bit down because my bump was no where near comparable to that poor family. I felt so silly and so guilty for being so bitter when at that time I could in no way compare my life to that family's. I was so blinded my bitterness to see how truly blessed i was even though things weren't necessarily going my way. How selfish was i being?? Instantly I began to work on putting that bitterness and disappointment aside and allowed those feelings to turn into love and compassion for that family. I'm sure as a high schooler i was very selfish (as most are), but we grow up, I have grown up,we leave and we learn things. We learn how to reach out and better the bad. We learn compassion and true love. We learn how to be accepting of others and we learn how to forgive. Do we learn it all at once? Of course not, but through our mistakes and others we do learn them. Are these not the right steps or the right track that leads us to a life that's being well lived...i mean of course there's always the opportunities of service to go help and go to other countries and all of that which don't get me wrong are WONDERFUL things that i hope to be able to be apart of one day...but if at this small time in our lives those things aren't really in eye's sight...then these small acts that create GREAT change are just as or maybe even more important. We all have the opportunity to bring the beauty back to this beautiful world that so many have let be destroyed with filth. So as I would say..BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD! :) I love you all!

*Home Sweet Home*

       Just driving down the road listening to the soft pitter patter of the rain drops hitting the windshield of my car, looking to my left and to my right seeing the green valleys and hills...coming up to the Y i take the right turn. Ah finally familiar ground...the hills, the valleys, the roads, the smells of fresh country air, pulling into town, driving over the exact eight bumps on the bridge, Hamps on the left Corbett's on the right, highschoolers up town, people dining at Bergy's, taking my left by Ez-Way and at last I pull up to a bluish gray familiar building I call my home. Ya know we move on and go out to aspire to bigger and greater things than this little town we've all been "stuck in" for eighteen years of our lives, but within a year after having moved on this little town and everything about it doesn't seem so bad anymore. Quite frankly, it turns into everything you have loved, love, and will love. It's what influenced me and impacted my life to help me become who i am today. I have lived in St. George for four months which during that time was my home and now I'm in a different town which I now call home, but these are all homes away from my real home. I can live in so many different places and travel to many different cities but this little town of Grace will always be home to me. It's where i grew up my whole life. It's where I found my childhood friends. It's where I was always supported. It's where a third of my life's memories were made. It's the town where everyone knew who were. It's the town that my heart holds so dearly. This little town never changes, it's so traditional that you almost feel like you have traveled back in time back to those little towns where everyone knows everyone and everyone's routines...in the mornings all the old men meet up at Ez way to drink coffee and B.S....At Hairbenders where all the chit chat and gossip happens...Kathy mowing her lawn in her black tank shorts and little walkman...workers of Pacificorp eating lunch at Ez way or Bergy's...Greg London continuously cracking jokes in the Pharmacy at London Drug...it's those little things that really do count. What fickle and irrelevant things right?...but it's just so much more than that. It's home. There's nothing like it...the place where my family and friends are. The place that honestly had an effect on every aspect of my life. Don't get me wrong, leaving and going to do your own thing and finding your own way in life is amazing, but i will never forget where my real home is. No matter how crazy this ride can get...there's always this one little quiet beautiful country town I can return to that will always re-remind me of what life is really about. <3

I stand taller on my knees....

So...yes it is true i have been converted into a blogger! Something i really never thought i would get into, but here I am! I am new at this so bear with me. :)....Today while I was on my way to church i heard a song on the sounds of sabbath and in this song the lyrics..."I stand taller on my knees.." were sang. No words had hit me harder than these in such a long time. How can an oxymoron be so true and so valid?! I had never thought of it this way, but as i sat and thought about it nothing could have made more sense. They always say when life gets hard fall to your knees....so wouldn't that be a form of weakness some may say?? Of course not, in fact it's the complete opposite. For one to surrender their "pride" and to fall to their knees asking for the Lord's help makes them taller in so many others' eyes and the Lords. As I thought about it all and the times I had knelt down in prayer to ask the Lord for help I realized i had never felt stronger in my life than in those particular times. I knew he was there listening and was willing to help and it was always then i was standing taller with confidence ready to face any adversity. That's when i thought about Emma Smith...I hold her in such high esteem. No woman stands taller to me than Emma Smith, and why some might ask? Didn't she fall away some might question...but even so what wife/mother/daughter can go through such trials and endure them all? I'll tell you, it's one who knew that all she had to do is fall to her knees and ask for help and strength, one who was willing to be humbled and to set aside all pride. Without her faith in prayer and the Lord 100 percent on her side, her trials would have been nearly impossible to face....what an amazing woman. I also read this Mormon ad the other day that said "send a knee-mail". How clever right?? Hmmm maybe the Lord is telling me i need to be praying a lot more or maybe he's just strengthening my testimony of prayer even more. Well seeing as how it's Sunday i figured my post could be a little more spiritual today :), but i just believe those lyrics 100 percent with my whole heart and can testify with every fiber in being that through prayer and faith we do stand taller each and every day. :) What a blessing right!