Thanks So Much!!

Thanks so much for all of your positive feedback on getting into BYU"s Graduate Program!! I'll continue to need lots of prayers as I continue!
Last week was a really full week. I am doing an internship with the DCFS Domestic Violence Unit. I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the State Domestic Violence Training. I then spent Saturday in Salt Lake at the Utah Coalition against Pornography Conference. My brain is on overload big time! There is a lot of helpful information out there. I am putting together a workshop called, "Beware: Potential Relationship Problems Go High Tech"., and will be presenting it to various groups. I will be talking about potential problems of online pornography, online relationships etc. My goal is to get the public educated so they know what to look out for for themselves and for their children. Pretending it's not a problem or that it can't or won't happen to you is definitely part of the problem. Technology is fabulous but can also be lethal and addictive. For warned is for armed! Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now! :)
I am so grateful for my family and friends. Knowing that you are there rooting for me is and always will be a major blessing in my life. LOVE TO YOU ALL and Happy Day!!!!! :)
Thought for the day: I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

I Got In!!!!!

Oh my gosh I can't believe it but I got accepted into the BYU Masters in Social Work Program! I am still in shock but I'm soooo excited! I graduate from UVU on April 30th and then its on to Grad school. Me?! Wow! I have been so blessed and it just goes to show that miracles do happen! Happy Day!!!!!!:)

Burdens

Yesterday in class we talked about burdens and what they were. After several answers, all which had a negative connotation to them, the instructor asked if there were such things as positive burdens that we bear. Interesting question. In the Ensign it states that the way we respond to trials can have a great effect on whether they become roadblocks in our lives or expressways to learning and growth. When we anguish over difficulties, the experiences only serve to weigh us down. Remembering that these trials are part of the great plan of happiness helps us to see them as opportunities to grow and learn.
A common misunderstanding among members of the Church is that if we strive with all our might to live the commandments, nothing bad will happen to us. Not true. Remember that Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve explained:" No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, and makes us more tender and charitable. It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire. Spiritual growth can often be achieved more readily by trials and adversity than by comfort and tranquility."
We are not always healed from pain and sickness, sometimes we are "healed" by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. (Dallin H. Oaks)
I am grateful for the Gospel in my life because I have felt the tender mercies of the Lord in my life many times. Knowing that the Lord knows me personally and knows how best to help me reach my potential here on this earth, helps me to have faith that all will be well even and especially in times of trial.
Love to everyone and happy day!
Thought for the day: Be confident enough that you won't settle for a compromise just to get by.

You Call That a Pick Up Line?

So the other day I was walking out of the library and overheard a very interesting conversation. A guy was walking in and said to a really cute girl, "Are you ok?" Well the girl looked confused and told him that she was and why he asked. He proceeds to tell her that she looked like she was LIMPING as she walked.--Ok, does anybody besides me see a problem here? Really? REALLY?! Well the girl told him there was nothing wrong with her legs (they looked ok to me)but she WASN'T amused by his comment. I, however, was VERY amused and chuckled all the way to my class. Wow, that was a new pick up line I'd never heard before and to tell the truth, hope I never hear again! ha ha ha
Life is still crazy and I still feel very blessed AND graduation is next month. HOLY COW!!! Hallelujah!!! Happy Day!
Thought for the day:What some people mistake for the high cost of living is really the cost of high living.

NINE WORDS WOMEN USE

1) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2)FIVE MINUTES: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3:NOTHING: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4)GO AHEAD: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!!
5)LOUD SIGH:This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing.(Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)
6)THATS OKAY: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
7)THANKS: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.(I want to add a clause here-This is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot"-that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say "you're welcome", that will bring on a "whatever" )
8)WHATEVER: Is a woman's way of saying "UP YOURS!"
9)DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, I GOT IT: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3.

Yes, I Am A Blonde!

So yesterday I was on my way to the student center to a meeting and stopped by the rest room on my way. As I walked in to a stall, my cell phone rang. Now I usually DON'T answer my phone in the restroom but since I had just walked in and nobody else was in there, I answered it with my usual perky (ha ha) "hello" at which a man on the other end greeted me with an equally enthusiastic "hello, how are you?" I was just ready to answer when the automatic toilet I was standing in front of suddenly flushes(and it was loud!). It scared me to death and I jumped and accidentally flipped my phone shut, hanging up on whoever was on the other end. Yes, that is how my day started. I never found out who was on the other end because he didn't call back.(OK, really, would you?) He either thought that a bomb had gone off, or that an airplane was taking off and I was underneath it, or HEAVEN FORBID, he knew it was a loud flushing of a toilet! How mortifying! So if you are having a particularly bad day, just know it could be worse! I shall end my post now. What more can I say? Ahhhhhhh! Happy day? :)
Thought for the day: Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will come in and clean them?

Staying in the middle

One of my favorite stories is about the man who was trying to find a good driver to skillfully maneuver a steep mountainous road to get his product safely to the other side. As he interviewed three people for the position and he asked each about his skills, the first man said that he was so good that he could get right to the edge of the road and be completely safe. The second man, wanting to outdo the first stated that he was so good that he could drive to the edge of the road with half his tire hanging over and still be safe. The third man explained that he stayed as far away from the edge as possible to maintain safety. The third man was hired on the spot. Yesterday in class, we were discussing the highs and lows of spirituality that we go through. Just as the truck driver in the story who stayed as far away from the edge as possible, so must we continue to do the basics to maintain a strong testimony. There are times when work, school, or home life pressures get to be overwhelming and we slack off from praying, reading our scriptures, attending church or even just being grateful for the blessings we have. The very things that keep us safe and happy. When we start to concentrate on the things that are wrong in life, that's all we tend to see and we get precariously close to the edge. When we stop doing things that we know are right, it is easier to continue on and become complacent about our lives. We might even convince ourselves that we don't need any spiritual help and are doing just fine on our own. I know that I am most happy and at peace when I am striving to live a Christ like life. I fall very short in so many aspects but that isn't the point. The point is that we all keep trying and when we mess up, we pick ourselves up and keep trying. Remember that Christ didn't say it would be easy, but He did say it would be worth it! Happy Day!
Thought for the day:There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.