All You Need is Love

Part of our Relief Society lesson today was on love and it kind of struck me. We were talking about how sometimes people think that saying 'I Love You' is a sign of weakness and that we don't say it often enough and actually mean it. In my family we always joke about how my grandpa told my grandma, "I told you I loved you once! If I change my mind, I'll let you know!" I grew up in a loving home and we often used the word "love". It's weird though, because I grew up with boys. I feel like the older we've gotten the less we tell each other, but the more important it actually is to say it since we're not all in the same place anymore. I've also always felt like this is one of those phrases you don't take lightly and just throw around like little high school girls on Clueless. I could go on and on about how there are different types of love and how we love people in different ways; i.e. friends, family, those we have stewardship over, etc. Love is an innate human quality. So, I am resolving to tell my family that I love them more often, and I'm going to strive to let my girls in Relief Society know how much I care for them too. I feel like we have to be humble to be able to do this, so we'll add that to my list of desired qualities!

"We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love - it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God,"Ensign, Nov 2009, 22

Don't you hate it

When you waste your cutest outfits on work??









Also...sneak preview for that little photo shoot I did...

And if you're looking for a great way to escape during your day...start reading this:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2007/09/black_heels_to_tractor_wheels_a_love_storythe_complete_saga_to_date/

It is just lovely! I find myself giggling and sighing aloud whilst reading it.

Creativity

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. . ". . . Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn't it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy (see 2 Nephi 2:25). Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things. - "Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 118–19

Christmas in March?!

Oh my gosh! I'm soooo excited for next week's Interior Design class! It's the final class, which makes me sad, but we get to actually play with fabric and paint swatches and what not and design a room. I can't even tell you how much my eyes lit up when they said that! Renee said it's like Christmas for me and I won't be able to sleep this week!! I've been dying to get my hands on some fabrics and actually do something!! I have to say that this class is a double edged sword for me. I want soooo badly to have a place of my own that I can go to town on and decorate. But it makes me realize how far I am from actually being able to do that and I get soo bummed out! Oh well, I have the rest of my life to live on my own and decorate my house, right? On the other hand, it is making me so much more interested in getting into the Interior Design field and I'm dying to talk to my mom's friend, Letha, to see what I need to do. Then I can decorate everyone else's houses and get paid for it, right?! So that's a good thing...

Wanna know something? I had a careers class senior year of high school and we had to write a little paper and research what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wrote mine on being an Interior Designer, and decided that the hours were too crazy if I wanted to have a family. Well...guess what? I don't have a family, so I'm pretty sure I need to look into pursuing this. I've been feeling so stagnant lately, although I'm still totally happy, and I think part of it is because I've always just had "jobs" and I've never had a "career" and I really feel like that's something I need. Call me crazy! It's either looking into doing something I love, or moving to another state (which I've also been considering...NYC, DC, Portland). Sidenote: this whole moving thing could be a result of my apparent Spring Fever, and I may feel better after my cruise.

Anyway, I think I mentioned before that I've decided that this is my year to take life by the horns and make changes, and do the things I've always wanted to, but have maybe been too afraid to do in the past. Apparently, my best friend pointed out I really can do these things any year BUT that's what I decided for this year, so that's what I'm doing! So far I've done a little photo shoot (which I've secretly always wanted to do), I've taken this Interior Design class, I'm deciding on which painting class I want to take next, I'm going on a cruise, I'm planning a trip to NYC (which is somewhere I haven't been yet and have wanted to go forever!), and I'm thoroughly enjoying where I'm at in life! I have to say though, I recently discovered that contrary to what I believed as a child, I really don't have Mariah Carey's range anymore and I'm saddened. When did I lose that?! Also, I have wicked internet ADD and I think I've reached my limit for the night.

Spiritual Thought Sunday...

So, I have inspired myself by last week's post to do a little spiritual thought every week. We'll see how long I stick to it! I was going to say I'll be doing one every Sunday, but I'm already a day late. Shhhh! So anyway, yesterday's Relief Society lesson was really good and was on choices, so I dug up this little quote that I liked.

“It is clear that for us to have [God’s] gift [of eternal life] and to be given [the] trust [of our Heavenly Father], we must be transformed through making righteous choices where that is hard to do. We are prepared for so great a trust by passing through trying and testing experiences in mortality. That education can come only as we are subject to trials while serving God and others for Him.” - Henry B. Eyring, “Adversity,” Ensign, May 2009, 24

We were discussing yesterday that sometimes the right decision is the hardest thing to do, but by trusting in the Lord and having faith he will never lead us astray and we will always feel his love and be happy. We may not see immediate results from our right decisions, or get the immediate happiness, but it will come.

Am I a Crazy Person??

Hold on!! Before everyone answers at once, you haven't heard why yet! My name is Melissa and I hoard candy. I will buy a candy bar while I'm in line at the grocery store, but I won't want to eat it...I'll go home and hide it in a drawer. I want it...but I don't want to eat it. So I'll end up with little stashes of cookies and candy everywhere. Occasionally I dip into them and treat myself, but a lot of times the chocolate gets all white and I don't eat it. AND if I do eat it...I eat it quickly in my room so nobody can see me. Is that so weird?? I guess I feel guilty eating it or something!?

For example, right now I have a stash of Canadian chocolate bars in my nightstand from October, I just finished a box of Christmas oreos in my closet a few weeks ago, I have a couple of little suckers in the top drawer of my nightstand, a box of fudge covered mint oreos in the bathroom of the house I'm housesitting this week, a bag of microwave kettle corn in my backpack, a jar of Valentine's candy on my desk, and a pack of Big Cup Reese's in my desk drawer. That's only the stuff I can remember! Who knows what else is out there!? Does anyone else do this, or am I really a crazy person?? I buy it because I want it, but I don't want to eat it... And I'm the one with a psychology degree! Ironic...

Church = Disneyland??

I realize that I freely blog about random shenanigans all the time, but I rarely blog a little spiritual something. I just have to say that sometimes I feel like church is Disneyland. Is that crazy? Maybe a little. I'm just saying that sometimes I feel like it's the happiest place on earth. I love going to church every Sunday. It's the recharge that I need. No matter how hard my week has been, every time I'm at church I'm happy. I love my calling, even though I joke around sometimes that I don't. It keeps me sane and gives me an excuse to put others first. I love being around the women in our ward and being uplifted by them every week. I love hearing the hymns and admittedly get a little teary-eyed every time the women sing in Relief Society. It's just so beautiful! I love being surrounded by people who have the same goals and beliefs as I do. I love being able to seek refuge from judgement and find peace in an environment where you're part of another "family". So it doesn't have roller coasters or giant cartoon characters, but it's my happiest place on earth!

"Life often feels like a great pile of obligations, frustrations, and disappointments. But the Lord is there, always the same, His arms still outstretched. When we feel overwhelmed, we have to remember the peace He has spoken to us on previous occasions. His peace brings comfort and strength; the world cannot give that to us." -- Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love, Ensign," Nov. 2006, 111-12

Remember When...

Remember how in Elementary School you would have contests with your friends to peel your little mandarin oranges in one piece so it looked like an elephant head? Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Canadian friends.



Have I lost that childish innocence?? This does not look the same anymore ;)