Missionary Poem

A friend of mine shared this today in seminary. You can find the original here!

The alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet

I grab my companion's bedding and pull off his sheet.

A groan fills the room; is it already time to rise?

It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes.

The morning activities follow...study, prayer, and such.

When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much.

"We have a super day planned," my comp. says with a grin.

I lowly utter a faithless breath, "Yea, if anyone lets us in."

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street

Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat.

It's 9:30 in the evening, the day almost through;

My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we thought to do.

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot.

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate, "air box"..

We go up into our apartment, the day is now complete,

The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistered feet.

It's past 10:30pm, my companion's fast asleep

Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep.

In the midst of all the sadness I kneel down to pray;

I need to talk to Father, but I'm not sure what to say.

"Oh Father," I begin, "What happened to us today?

I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away.

My hands, my aching hands--worn, hurt and beat;

If only our area was any smaller, we'd knock down every street."

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?

The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike.

Will you send me some cooler weather? The heat is killing me.

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it's very hard to see."

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?

People always laugh at me and call me stupid stuff.

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack;

I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back."

"And what about my family? They don't have much to say,

I'm sick of not hearing from home, day after day after day.

Oh Father, why am I here, am I just wasting time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind."

"My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?

The way he rides his bike, I don't think he can see

Now you have it, I can't go on, I don't know what to do;

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you."

My prayer now finished I stand up, then jump into bed.

I need my rest for tomorrow; we have another long day ahead.

Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away,

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time and another day.

I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice;

A man walks toward me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ."

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to his feet,

"Arise," he states, "Follow me to the shade--you and I need to speak."

My attention's toward the Savior, total and complete. He says,

"Your mission is similar of what happened to me

I understand how you feel, I know what you're going through;

In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you."

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you.

At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do.

I know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet;

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate;

I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, oh the agony was great!

I see you don't like your companion--you'd rather have someone else--

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth."

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you.

I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews.

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack.

I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back."

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day.

I guess when they pounded nails in mine, they ached in a similar way.

It's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to see;

I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast thou forsaken me?"

We have a lot in common, but there's a difference between us you see,

I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me."

He embraced me with his arms, His light filled me with His love,

With tears in my eyes, I watched as He went back to the Father above.

I stood in awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head,

I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed.

My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"

I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"

No matter what we go through, when we feel we can't take more,

Just stop to think about Jesus Christ, He's been there before.

Pinterest Made Me Do It..Again

What could we have possibly seen on Pinterest to spark our creative eye? Why, only the coolest little cake you have ever seen!

Here is an example from Pinterest of what some people did. Now..we didn't want ours to be just plain and boring..

We started off with just making normal white cake mix. Then we separated the batter into 5 different bowls. (Depending on how many colors you choose to use.)

Ashlie took quite a few pictures..of everything. 

These are the five colors we decided to use. Purple, blue, green, yellow, and black. The black was definitely a shocker. It turned out to be everyone's favorite color of the cake.

We started off just taking spoons and drizzling our batter onto the pan. It made it more hectic and original.

It took a LONG time to get all the batter in there.

There is what our cake looked like right before being put in the oven. We were nervous all the colors would mix, but they stayed in form.

Right out of the oven!

"El Horno Es On-o!"

Plating the cake..

And there you have it! There is our lovely, colorful cake! We were very impressed and definitely encourage you all to try it. Great for girls nights!

Kendra(Freshman)McKenzie(Sophmore)Heather(Senior)Ashlie(Junior)Courtney(Junior)

Everybody Has Been There

Every single person has had that time in their life..

where things don't go right.

people say nasty things.

you lose friends.

you don't feel pretty enough.

you don't fit in with the crowd.

bad hair days.

clothes don't fit.

you just want to cry.

Let me tell you something...Even though it seems hard now..It WILL get better.

You are strong. 

You are independent. 

People can't dictate your life.

Believe in yourself.

Because I believe in you.

Even though its not much, its still something to start with.

Everything has a happy ending. If things aren't ok, then you know its not the end.

Have faith. 

Don't let them rule over you.

You are going to be ok.

100th Post

Well.. Pretty self-explanatory. I have been blogging for a little over a year now, about random adventures that I have taken, things that have stuck out to me, and things that tell who I am. So seeing as it is November, the month of thanking and giving, I'll do a post of what I'm thankful and grateful for.

*I'm grateful for my family. That laughs, the fights, the weird conversations. Carson, Gracie, my mom and dad, and even our three little dogs.

I'm grateful for soccer. Even though it has taken me on a roller coaster for 11 years, but it has defined me and helped me find out who I am and what I love.*

*I'm grateful for my talent in running. Without it, I would just be ordinary.

*I am so thankful we have music. Sometimes, you just need some Taylor Swift to cry to, or some Eminem to yell to. 

My friends. Things have been rough, but I'm grateful for the good times, the trials, and all of the memories we have made.*

*My house. My clothes. My I-Pod. Shoes. Purses. Make-up. Cleats. Pictures. My tooth brush. My car. Posters. Quote blocks. My phone.

*I am so grateful for the gospel. Without it in my life, I would be lost. It has helped me so much these last few weeks and I am thankful for our prophets who have helped us.*

*The Book Of Mormom. I am so so so grateful for it. I am almost finished with it, and I have learned so much from it. Its crazy how a book can affect someones life so much.*

*The Temple. Its my castle, and I am going to go there one day.

I am so thankful for the men and the women that serve our country and keep us safe and free.*

*Here is a shocker : I am grateful for school. Without it, we would be so worse off. It is going to be worth it after we get those diplomas.

I'm grateful for those days where I can come home and sit in sweats, with my hair pulled back, and make up off and just relax.*

*I am thankful for the days that I realize I have a life and I'm doing something productive to help someone or do something.

I know there is a lot I missed. There is so much to be thankful for, and this is the time of the season to thank those that have helped you. 

Thank you to my friends. You've made me stronger. You have given me laughs and memories I will remember forever. Thank you to my family for not giving up on me when I've been at my lowest. Thank you Marilyn Monroe for not being a size two and making everyone else feel more comfortable about their bodies. Thank you to The Redeemer for giving his life so we could be here and have these amazing opportunities. 

Just A Quote

"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be."

A Daughter of the Almighty

For you my dear friends, the sky is the limit. 

You can be excellent in every way.

 Respect yourself. 

Do not feel sorry for yourself. 

Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you.

 Particularly, pay no attention to what some boy might say to demean you.

 He is no better than you. 

In fact, he has already belittled himself by his actions.

The Lord did not send you here to fail.

 He did not give you life to waste it.

 He bestowed upon you the gift of mortality, that you might gain experience, positive, wonderful, purposeful experience that will lead to life eternal.

*President Gordon B. Hinckley, Words of a Prophet:
Daughters of the Almighty, New Era, Nov. 2003

Inspiration

As I sit here, trying to come up with something to say, I'm at a loss. Normally, I would have something to write about, but at this moment, I have nothing. No words of advice, no fun exciting trips, nothing interesting.

I could write about friends. How I'm in the midst of mending things with some. Partying with my two best girlfriends. Saying goodbye to one of my best friends as she leaves for her mission.

I could say something about soccer. How I have had over 30 hours of it in the past week and a half. I could mention how Syracuse High Lady Titan Soccer Team took first in the annual Kofoed Tournament at Weber State. Maybe I could slip in that I'm going to California with the Outlaws for a huge tournament.

Some would write about their family. Mine was here for 15 days. I had fun. To many people in our house. It's good to be able to sit and relax in quietness.

But I'll just keep to myself. I'll look for something inspiring to write about. Who knows, maybe you'll see a new quote up on here soon.