monday musing #18

wow, 18 weeks seems like a loooooong time. 

I was looking through some old ones to see if I had written about hymns yet or not, but I got bored looking. ha! Oh well. 

That's what really stood out to me today. 

The hymns. 

I really felt the spirit. Like a lot. Now, since you all know me pretty well, you know that music is pretty important in my life. Hence I always feel the spirit the most through music. 

But today it really touched me. 

I'm been feeling a little deprived of the spirit recently. I think mostly because we haven't taken the sacrament in so long. With a regional stake conference and the temple dedication, we haven't really had normal Sacrament Meetings this semester. So today was refreshing. Because really, that's what our worship is all about. Renewing our covenants and having the opportunity to repent. 

I digress. (is it really disgressing if it's still something really important??)

I thought of the scripture in D&C 25: 12

The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.

Sometimes hymns just say the words I cannot express and so, 

when I sing my little heart out, I know that Heavenly Father understands.

I hope y'all have a great week and that you enjoy fall. 

And get ready for C O N F E R E N C E! I'm super stoked. #ldsconf

con muchisimo amor,

mary abigail

So pretty much my sister is an amazing photographer. 

And here's a sneak peak into the life. My friend Zach saw my planner and was like, "Now that looks like a returned missionary who has something planned for every hour of the day" haha! Gotta love it.

monday musing #17

Today was the Ogden Temple (Re) Dedication and it was wonderful! At the very end we all sang The Spirit of God which was sung at the Kirtland Temple Dedication and it was so powerful! The Spirit filled the Marriot Center.

A few things that Elder Holland spoke about really struck me. First of all he said that sometimes it's a good thing that the temple is closed because then you get to appreciate it more. Those of you who only get to go to the temple quarterly or not at all on your missions can probably appreciate that!

He then talked about how he wasn't able to be there when one of his sons got endowed. So at the time when it was happening in St. George, he calculated the time difference in England and sat and read his scriptures and he said that he had one of the greatest spiritual temple moments in his life and talked about all the things he learned.

He then said that unlike temples sometimes, our covenants and temple promises are never closed and should never be far away. They mean more outside the temple than they do inside as you live your life and keep working towards eternal life.

I am grateful for the temple and for the blessings that it brings not only to our lives, but to the lives of those we serve while we are there. I know the importance of always having a current temple recommend and I hope that we can always strive to do that throughout our lives.

Have a fabulous week!
♥ mary

I killed my eye! It still hurts :/

​#thatscooterlife

This transition between summer weather and football season is glorious

monday musing #16

Hey ladies! Hope you had a fabulous week!

I don't have a lot of time so I will just share what I shared with my girls this week at our meeting. 

Remember this quote from the intro to the Book of Mormon??

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” --Joseph Smith

What an incredible promise. If you get a chance, read this talk this week.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

Or...watch this video.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-03-08-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

Or...do this challenge with me!

(see attached)

I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know that it blesses our lives and that it is the evidence that this gospel is true. I know that as we read it, we can find answers to our questions and that we can learn more about our Savior and His atonement. 

Keep up the great work! I am amazed by all of you!

lots of love,

mary

clean

A messy room. Drop and go. That seems to be the routine these days. One more day, it's put on the to-do list. Clean room! Pretty soon it's going to start jumping off the page. Clearly it's not the number one priority. I look around and see this.
6 empty water bottles
4 plastic bags
a laundry basket with clothes piling over
a bed with the sheets at the end and the comforter falling off
jeans on the floor
shoes out of the closet
school supplies everywhere
one drawer open
music not put away
clothes not put away
The best part about a clean room? The way it feels. To not have to worry about cleaning it. A fresh start. New motivation to put things away as soon as you use them. The renewed ability to concentrate. The feeling of being put together. A full wardrobe of clothes to wear! Organization. The spirit that can be felt. It really does make such a difference. So why do we put it off? Why do we find more important things to do? How does it get so messy over and over when the resolve seems so strong to keep it clean? One feeling I don't like is playing catch up. That happens sometimes. When you move, when you get overwhelmed, when you're too busy to be home. I think I'm experiencing a little bit of all of that right now. Waiting for that day when you have t i m e. When the minutes don't seem to go so fast. But waiting for that day is like waiting for a sun that never rises. It will become a priority! But maybe tomorrow...

monday musing #15

Today I feel the need to share a little bit of g r a t i t u d e.

1) I'm grateful I survived the first week of school

2) I'm grateful for testimonies

3) I'm grateful for thunderstorms

4) I'm grateful for the piano

5) I'm grateful for good friends

School is going to be a doozy this semester! It'll be good though. Just remember how important education is and how you really are responsible for your own learning whether it's spiritual or secular. You get out of it what you put into it. So keep on learning new things! That's my plug as a future teacher Ü

Aren't fast and testimony meetings just the best?! I went to two today and there seemed to be a common theme as there usually is. God's Plan. Just keep trusting in it. 

As y'all know, music is a big part of my life. When I first came home from my mission, I would literally sit at the piano for hours and just play. It was the greatest therapy. Well, I tried to keep up the habit all summer and I did pretty good! This semester I'm taking piano lessons and after week one, I already strained my hand. Yikes! (yay for little hands. not.) anyways, there's nothing that'll bring the spirit more than sitting down and playing some hymns on a Sunday afternoon. 

"By helping others come unto Him, 

you will find that you have 

come unto Him yourself." 

--President Henry B. Eyring--

Sidenote: Random acts of kindness are the best! I baked some cookies and ding-dong-ditched some houses with a friend this week. It was a blast! Seriously, you never know who's day can be made. Plus, I don't know how this even works, but after doing service, you're the one that always feels better!

Get creative this week and go out and serve!

Love y'all bunches!

We went and got ourselves some floats. If you Instagram with some hashtags like #hashtagfriday they give a free one. We added...#iwantanotherone haha!

Went to the Ogden temple open house on Friday. It was beautiful! 

Football season has arrived! Wins for the Seahawks and BYU this week!

Went to Swig this week! It's a soda shop. The honeymoon was created by my friend Jacob and his new wife, Alyssa 

I had to wear this all night last night while I was working. It was embarrassing and we got the weirdest looks. The things I do to get paid the big bucks...

I got to go rock climbing with one of my favorite families yesterday. Climbed a 5.10 after a year and a half of not climbing. I was pretty proud of myself! I sure did miss the view from Rock Canyon while I was gone! 

FOCUS

Avoiding. Staring. Procrastinating. Excluding. Deterring. Worrying.

Yup, that about sums up how what I've been doing the past two days. I seriously can't seem to focus on doing my homework. So here's the deal. School started this week. Wasn't too thrilled about it because I didn't have much of a break, but I think it's going to be ok. One step closer to being a teacher right? So all my lovely professors decided that they were going to be smarter than the others and put a heavy course load at the beginning so that we didn't have as much to do near the end of the semester. *Thank you BYU professors for being so kind* These next two weeks are going to be death. Assignment after assignment after assignment. Reading textbooks, writing papers, practicing the piano, observing classrooms. And here I am. With my to-do list. My pens. My notebooks. My textbooks. My computer. My water bottle. And all I can do is get distracted. For those who know me well, it's a known fact that I work better under pressure. So how do I trick my mind into thinking that the pressure is on! I have to get it done tonight! Because so far, everything I've tried doesn't work. I sit and stare, check email there, facebook here, pinterest on the half hour, instagram sporadically. It's a mess. I keep skipping from assignment to assignment but never complete one. Nothing to check off the list yet. The subject matter is thrilling. The time it takes, not so much. Even the thought of the endless tasks is daunting as the semester unfolds one day at a time. 1 week down, 13 more to go. But who's counting.

Rock canyon is calling. Friends are calling. BYU football is calling. Work and Glory is calling. Music is calling. Blogging is calling. Cleaning up is calling. The sun is calling! And yet, here I sit. The open planner is filled with a multiplicity of colors, each signifying its own work to be done. Will it ever end?

Happy First Day of School!

It feels weird to be starting school in September again. And I kind of forgot that life at BYU continued while I was gone. So today was a little crazy. Bring me back summer with the less than 7,000 people on campus!

As much as I love learning, I'm not exactly thrilled about all the assignments that got thrown at me today. But it should be a great, but busy semester that will get me one step closer to having a lovely degree and my very own classroom. 

For my writing class, we have to spend 5-10 min 5 days a week just writing. About anything we want. So if there's any prompt ideas, give'em to me! And of course, where else should these little pieces of writing be placed except for on my blog?? As my teacher told us today, writing is not given life until it is shared. 

So here's the one from today. Remember, they aren't perfect, polished pieces, but rather just the first things that will pop up in my head given the prompt.

I AM FROM...

I am from a magical place where the tall evergreen trees meet the crystal blue waters of the Puget Sound. There are majestic mountains, beautiful flowers, and all kinds of wildlife. Birds can be heard chirping in the early morning, raccoons can be seen with beady, bright eyes at night.

I am from a cute, modest house with shutters and a red door. A house with a circle driveway and apple trees in the front yard. The basketball hoop has had its fair share of bump games, the playhouse in the back is filled with memories of imagination and house adventures.

I am from a loving family. Within 25 miles of my house can be found 6 other houses full of this dear kin. 

...and that's it! It seems like an abrupt ending, but we really only had 5 minutes in class today haha! So it's just a little sampling I guess!

A few other things that stuck out to me today:

One of my teachers was talking about how great our profession is as teachers and that we get to come home every day and say that we made a difference in the world. How cool is that! It's the truth!

From RA class, 

""Your task is not to become a leader. Your task is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely - all your gifts and skills and energies - to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and enjoy the process of becoming." --Warren Bennis

A current favorite song.

monday musing #14

First Sunday of my new freshman ward was a blast. I'm starting to feel like a celebrity because everyone knows me as the almost 22 year old RA/RM. Oh boy. 

This also means that school starts in 2 days. Blahh. 

On the bright side of things, fall = football season and I am very happy about that Ü

One win for the cougars and hopefully many more to come!

Today we learned about Jonah in Sunday School. Our cute teachers had us watch the song from Veggie Tales. Whatever works, right? haha! 

So Jonah got a mission call. 

<<What did you think when you opened your call??>>

Jonah wasn't too happy about it. We read in the scriptures that Ninevah was a very wicked place and so Jonah was a little bit apprehensive about going there. 

<<What fears did you have before you left??>>

So he didn't. And as he was "running away from the Lord" (is that even possible?) he got swallowed up in the whale and you know the rest of the story.

After he got out of the whale, he repented, went to Ninevah, and the whole place was converted. BOOM. 

Moral of the story.

Trust in the Lord. 

1 Nephi 3:7 go and do, the Lord will provide a way

know that you were called to your mission for a specific reason

there are some hearts that only you can touch

pray for strength

You've all accepted the call you received, so now trust in the promises from the Lord. You might not be converting cities, but you can make a difference. And realize that if you're having a hard time and maybe your attitude isn't as good as it should be, that you can repent and turn towards the Lord. For through Him is found peace and true success.

I have had a lot of opportunities this week to talk about my mission this week and I am so so grateful for that time in my life and for all that I learned. What a great experience. It truly is preparation for the rest of your life. Live the principles in preach my gospel, strengthen your habits of scripture and prayer. It will all be worth it. I promise.

LOVE Y'ALL!

♥mary

this was my first selfie ever. IN case y'all didn't know, selfies are kind of a big deal in the social media world these days

Frisbee friends :) we're also pretty awesome at tennis #fitforlife

Dad hard at work. Isn't he great??