a goal we all can agree on

When I was a young kid, my bedtime was 8:30 every night. Bedtime consisted of putting on a nightgown and/or footie pajamas, brushing my teeth, and usually having my mom braid my hair so it would be wavy in the morning. 

My parents had their time together downstairs, and I was confined to my room, trying to pick out the words I could barely hear coming from the TV. 

When I got to seventh grade, I remember a friend of mine telling me how they had gone to bed at 11:30 after trying to get an assignment done. My eyes widened as I repeated her words... "eleven-thirty??" My bedtime may have been upped to 10:00, but a bedtime that late was a New Year's Eve type of thing. 

I don't really know what changed after that, but eventually my bedtime seemed to be all but forgotten as I scrambled to get last-minute assignments done every night. It was there in theory, but wasn't enforced as much, especially as the years went on. 

Fast forward to today, and you will find my whole family in bed, with me still up and about, almost every night. 

Or sometimes I shut myself in my room after getting ready for bed with all my homework that is still unfinished. I light a candle and cherish the knowledge thateven though I still have homework, I won't have to leave that wonderful little place for the rest of the night. 

Or, during the summer, I stay up watching Monk and Drop Dead Diva on Netflix until it is 3am. 

And I came to the realization one day, that I am a huge night owl. Even as a high schooler, on the nights I desperately want to sleep, I can't. I guess I'm just wired differently now.

But even though I am a walking zombie at school occasionally, I love being up alone at night. What used to be my parents' alone time, has now become mine. (sorry guys!)

There is something about being alone, surrounded by quiet and peace, that soothes the soul. It fills you up. It brings you nearer to God. 


I look forward to these hours of recluse, and I wish we could all make time for ourselves... time to just be alone. Time to feel the Spirit. Not out of selfishness. Quite the contrary, actually. A boost in spirit helps us when we need patience. Having some alone time to look forward to makes it easier to spend more quality time with others during the other hours of the day. 

I think the human mind is a very complex, beautiful thing. It never stops working, moving, or thinking...  Never stops stressing, never relaxes until we make a conscious effort to make it calm down. 


And when I do make a conscious effort, I receive happiness and peace in return.  


Let's switch gears for a second. 


I would pride myself in never breaking a new year's resolution, but that's because I try not to make them. There is something about a goal that freaks me out. It's the same reason I made goals like turn in my homework on time during parent-teacher conferences as a kid. I always turned my homework in on time. So there was no chance of failure. I didn't even need to change my ways at all.

Maybe I'm just a no-good, lazy teenager, but I hate making goals. I tend to want results without putting forth the work.

But happiness is a goal even I can work towards. Because I get so stressed with homework and piano and other day to day activities sometimes. And it's not that I'm not happy, I just too often spend more time worrying than enjoying the journey.

And maybe my mind will get into the habit of being calm, and I will have to remind it less and less.

And I won't have to be alone - or away from other cares - to be calm and happy.

Indeed, even a new year's resolution I can handle. 

What are your new year's resolutions this year?

in the eye of the beholder...

Oh yeah... and Joshua Bell has a Grammy. That's pretty cool too...

Anyways... I actually read this several months ago but haven't posted about it yet. It's just been waiting for me in a file and I stumbled across it tonight...

Beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder.

Just take a look at the planet we live on...

There is so much evil, so much ugly, and so much sin.

Well. That's true... says the half-empty sort of guy...


But you know what? We live on a beautiful planet. Sure, there is bad stuff out there. There is much more bad stuff than we'd like... and that is really and truly a sad thing...

But we live amongst beautiful creations... beautiful people... and beautiful truths.

That reminds me of this song... go listen!

I liked the part in the above article that said,
"At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly."

I really do believe that most little children are more apt to stop and appreciate beauty... because every new thing they see is interesting to them...

Maybe it's part of the whole "become as a little child" thing.

Learn to see beauty.

Because, well, we are surrounded by it. And it makes you a happier person... when you see beauty in seemingly simple things around you...

Really and truly.

Such Lessons the Little Ones Can Teach!

---------------
    Some years ago, David Lawrence Mckay shared a story about his grandchildren at bedtime. Grandpa was given the privilege of helping with prayers. The three-year-old knelt at Lawrence's knee and began the precious ritual. When the simple, earnest prayer was over, the child remained kneeling and silent. Unusual! Most scramble into life again with demands for stuffed toys, bedtime stories, drinks of water, and yet another goodnight kiss. Not this one. The silence persisted until Grandpa questioned why the child didn't pop  into bed.
     "Sh-h-h, Grandfather. I am listening!"
     Ah-ah! And shouldn't listening be part of all communication? Particularly with Heavenly Father. Such lessons the little ones can teach.

-Written by Elaine Cannon-

------------    

     I have this friend at school that is not a member of our church. One thing that I love is that she's pretty open about religion, and feels comfortable talking about it, even though she really isn't affiliated with any religion.
     One day we were talking about baptism, and we were explaining why we wait until the age of eight to be baptized. Another friend near me said,
     "We want to make sure that kids know what they're doing and that they believe in the church."
     The girl who had asked replied,
     "But you can't really expect an eight year old to say that they know that the church is true, at least not with real conviction."
     I then interrupted.
     "It's true," I said, "Not all kids will say that they know that the church is true. The important thing about waiting until they are older is that they know what baptism is. They understand the significance of the choice that they are making to be baptized, and understand the promises that they are making by doing so."

     You know how, in hindsight, there's always something you would add? (That's how it is for me, at least!)
     I was thinking after... I would never underestimate the testimony of a child. In fact, they sometimes appreciate the gospel more than older people.
     As people grow up, they are influenced by what the world says. As their own knowledge increases, they sometimes start to doubt, and think that they are smarter than their church leaders. It's a sad thing.

The thing about young children... is that they trust perfectly.
   
     I know that when I was a young child, I didn't know all that I know now. My testimony has grown so much since then, and different experiences have helped it to grow.

There are a few things, however, that I did know.

I never doubted that there was a God.
I never doubted that Christ was the Savior.
I knew that God loved me.
I knew that families are forever.
I never doubted that there was life after death.
I never doubted that Gordon B. Hinckley was God's prophet.

     These were things that I could bear my testimony on. True, I was lacking a lot of knowledge... but it didn't matter. I believed that the things that I learned in church were true. As I gradually matured, and as my testimony matured... I could say-with conviction- that I knew that the church was true. 


    
      And for those of you with children who feel like everything you say goes in one ear and out the other...


Neil L. Andersen said:

“If a child is not listening, don’t despair. Time and truth are on your side. At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself. Your testimony will never leave your children.

“As you reverently speak about the Savior—in the car, on the bus, at the dinner table, as you kneel in prayer, during scripture study, or in late-night conversations—the Spirit of the Lord will accompany your words.”

    To finish... never forget that to enter God's kingdom, we must become as little children.

Matthew 18:2- And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3- And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4- Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5-  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Little children... always trusting... never doubting...