Words

I have always loved words.


I decided when I was three years old that I wanted to be a writer. I knew that only grown-up people could be writers though, so I was going to have to wait until I grew up. I waited and waited all day long, and by the time my father got home from work, I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't even know how to write my name yet, but I dictated my very first book to my mom that evening. It was about Barkley from Sesame Street. I drew pictures to illustrate it. Since Barkley was too hard for me to draw, I always made him a tiny little dot in the distance.


My love language is called words of affirmation. For those not familiar with the concept of Love Languages, it is basically the idea that we each have a particular favorite way in which to receive love. For some, they feel most loved when they receive a gift, or when a loved one spends quality time with them. Some feel most loved through service, others through touch. And then there are those like me who benefit most from words. Oh, I can feel love through the other love languages, but for me there is nothing more powerful than being told "I love you." I would choose a heartfelt note over a gift any day. Words are life to me. Kind words are never forgotten, and harsh words crush me more than most.


I've noticed that words play a powerful role in how God speaks to me, as well. Of course He knows my love language. :) We all know that reading the scriptures brings us closer to God, but I find that I often feel His love in words of truth I stumble across in fiction books or in song lyrics. When I am upset, I find that He often brings words from literature or music into my mind, to bring me the comfort that I need.


Words are power. One of the apostles in my Church, Elder M. Russell Ballard, has said that "There is truth in the old adage that 'the pen is mightier than the sword.' In many cases, it is with words that you will accomplish the great things that you will now set out to do."I think that this is true for all of us. 

Fortune Cookies

Fortune cookies never lie, right? They always come true? :)

Ha, well, no, but dang it! There IS something exciting/comforting in that random slip of paper you find inside. Here's hoping there's some truth in these fortunes. :)

Something to remember...

next time I start stressing out about what's going to happen to me after graduation:
"Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts."-Arnold Bennett

Everything's amazing and nobody's happy

We live in an amazing time.

We're not peasants out in the field anymore, just trying to get by. We live in beautiful homes, we have plenty of food, we have multiple pairs of shoes and plenty of warm clothes. We don't have to depend on a fire to heat our homes in the winter. We have access to running water (even hot water!). Since our basic needs are taken care of, we can develop our time to educating ourselves and building careers in fields nobody dreamed of a few generations ago. The technologies available to us would be perceived as miracles by the people of the past. We have instant communication 24/7 from nearly every place in the world. We have access to the internet that connects us with essentially all the knowledge in the world. We can flip on a TV and watch an event that's going on on the other side of the planet. If we want to travel to the other side of the planet, we can climb aboard a flying machine and get there in a day's time. The possibilities today are truly limitless! What do our ancestors think as they watch the amazing opportunities we are blessed with?

And yet, has all this prosperity and technology made us happier? No. Granted, there are still problems in the world, not everything is sunshine and roses. But how often do we get caught up in "first world problems" and forget to look around and be grateful for all the things that we do have? We are living the dream! Let's not forget that.