I feel my Savior's love, the love He freely gives me.

I feel His love when He gives me commandments that help me become more like Him.
I feel His love when He forgives my faults, mistakes, and blunders, and accepts my efforts.
I feel His love when I am around the beautiful friends He has blessed me with.
I feel His love when He showers the valley with sweet, sweet rain.
I feel His love when I spend time enjoying the marvels of the awe-inspiring Earth He made us.
I feel His love when I hear His servants give us counsel every 6 months at General Conference.
I feel His love when I study the words of past prophets in the scriptures.
I feel His love when I pray for help to be the girl he designed me to be, because I definitely can't be her without his help.

Yes I know Heavenly Father loves me.

OHMYGOSHGUYS THIS BLOG.

So, yesterday my mom told me to check out a blog called The Red Headed Hostess. So this morning, after I finished up my talk that I'm giving in sacrament meeting today, I took a look.

Oh.

My.

GOSH.

Guys.

This blog is now my favorite blog ever.

It is written by a woman named Shannon who taught seminary for 13 years. She is a scripture MASTER. She keeps the most incredible scriptures journals, one organized by topic, and one that's chapter by chapter. They are full of personal insights, references to hymns and general authorities, cross references, visual aids, things that bring the scriptures to life. 

Look at the detail! And some of her visual aids are printable, so you can stick them in your scripture journal, too! It's just wonderful. She inspired me, so today I put together my own scripture journal and I am hoping to make a journal rich in insight like The Red Headed Hostess's is.

Ooh wow wow!! I am so impressed by her.

hymns

"the lord is my light, then why should i fear?"

"death shall not conquer the hero again."

"i do not ask to see the distance scene--one step enough for me."

"he lives, all glory to his name."

"my god, how great thou art!'"

"oh savior, stay this night with me."

"and we hear the desert singing: carry on, carry on, carry on!"

"we heed the words our prophet declared: let each who's worthy go forth and share."

"fear not, and be just, for the kingdom is ours. the hour of redemption is near."

"i'll be what you want me to be."

"there is no end to truth."

why are hymns so wonderful?

creation.

Look at this. Look at it long and hard. I know it's hard to do with my not-so-great camera quality, but try to look at the detail of the stems, and the petals, and the colors. Look at each and every flower {and dandelion}. Think about it for a minute.
Better yet, go stand outside. Look at the sky. If it's dark, look at the stars. Look at the clouds, and the rocks, and the grass, the birds, the crickets, and your own two feet.

And tell me, how could that have been created, molded, colored, engineered by chance? Or worse, science?

I guess I just don't understand that kind of thinking.

And you don't know how it feels to be your own best friend.

"Oh thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together against thee, not by me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."

3 Nephi 22:11-17 <3

{Outside Looking In by Jordan Pruitt}

holiness to the lord, the house of the lord.

This post is inspired by the lovely Jadyn Maree.

Who, PS, happens to be my bestie. And we are having one heck of a senior year.

We are super close and stuff, like, so close, that we like to snack on each others heads. obvi.

So anyway, Jadyn Maree posted about the beautiful temples of the world. When I read this, I thought, gosh, this should be a bloggy chain challenge thingy. Everyone will be showering the internets with a plethora of beautiful temples! So, I'm copying Jadyn's post. To see it, click the link I put up there.

"At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can 'see' things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known." -Boyd K. Packer

I challenge YOU to clutter the internet with these beauties! Post your favorite temples! {now that I think about it, these aren't my favorites, besides gila valley. these are just randoms. you can post randoms, too..}

Ready, set, go!

But these handprints on the front steps are mine.

Once upon a time, there lived a happy little lump of clay.

{hear me out here...}

The little lump of clay lived in the corner of a sculptor's workshop. There he stayed nice and warm, and there were many other little lumps of clay to keep him company.

However, one day, the sculptor picked up the lump of clay and flopped him onto a cold table. The sculptor began poking and pushing and squeezing and pinching at the lump of clay. "Master, stop that! It hurts!" the little lump of clay cried. But the sculptor smiled at him and whispered, "Not yet."

Then the sculptor carried him to a small round tray. The tray started spinning, faster and faster. The little lump of clay was afraid and confused. "Why are you doing that?" he yelled at the sculptor, "I don't like this! Master, please stop!" The sculptor chuckled and gently said,"Not yet."

Soon, the tray stopped spinning, and the sculptor set the lump of clay in a hot oven. He's going to burn me to death, the lump of clay thought. "This is madness! Why would you do this to me? I have never done anything to deserve this! Master, it's unbearable in here! Get me out, now!" Again, the sculptor whispered, "Not yet."

After what seemed like forever, the sculptor gently took the lump of clay out of the oven and set him back on the table. Before the little lump of clay knew it, he was being slathered in different paints, some white, some pink, some gold, and all very smelly. The fumes made him sputter and gag. And the brushes tickled incessantly."Master, that is awful stuff! Please, stop it." As the sculptor smoothed the paint on with a small brush, he smiled again and said, "Not yet."

The lump of clay was completely covered in wet, sticky paint, and just when he thought he could bear no more, the sculptor again set him in the scalding hot oven. "Master! Master! Not again! Please, Master! I can't take it! Let me out!" The sculptor turned to the lump of clay, tears now streaming down his face. "Not yet."

After many agonizing hours, the sculptor reached in and picked up the tired, worn out lump of clay. The lump of clay breathed a breath of fresh, cool air. "Master? What is happening now?" he whispered. The sculptor set him high on a clean, white shelf. "There," he said, "I have created just what I intended. Just look at yourself!" The sculptor held up a hand mirror for the lump of clay to look at his reflection. But what he saw in the mirror was no lump of clay. "That, that can't be me!" There stood a gleaming, shining, beautiful teacup. "But, Master, I'm just a lump of clay!"

"But that is you, little teacup. That is what I have made of you. If I had not worked you, you would have become dry like a rock. If I had not spun you on the wheel, you would have crumbled. If I had not subjected you to heat, you would have cracked. If I had not painted you, you would have been gray an bland. The second trip to the oven gave you strength to endure. Now, you are everything I ever dreamed you would be."

The teacup sat in silence, and a tear fell down his cheek. "Master, forgive me. All this time, I did not trust you. I thought you were hurting me. I had no idea that this is what I could become. I was blinded. Thank you, Master. Thank you."

{This House that Built Me by Miranda Lambert}

All I want is to rock your soul.

I love this church. I love everything about this peaceful, wonderful, involved, perfect church.

{Rock Your Soul by Elisa}

I'm gonna learn to ballet dance.

Happy Sunday!

Enjoy, I know I did.

P.S. You might need to watch it outside of my blog, since sometimes part of the picture gets cut off.

Toodaloo.

{Whole Wide World by Mindy Gledhill}

Whenever one door closes, I hope one door opens.

So, this is pretty much my new journal. Just in case you were wondering why the heck I kept up with this guy every day for like the past week and a half or something. It's

a goal of mine, to journal every day. Blog counts, right? Right.

Well anyway, I have been feeling really really happy lately. Life hasn't gotten any easier, in fact, sometimes things feel heavier, but I feel much happier than I usually do.

I think in a way, my trials have made me stronger, thus making me feel on top of the world. Also, finding that faith in Heavenly Father's plan does pay off after all feels pretty dang stupendous.

I'm so grateful for my Heavenly Father for leading me through these days, whether they be happy, rejoiceful, fun, mediocre, sad, lonely, hectic, frustrating, or just plain old bad.

One of my favorite quotes of all time has helped me to rely on his leading:

"When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly."

~Edward Teller

I feel lucky enough to say that God is giving me solid things.

He has given me:

An end goal, an "X marks the spot".

The perfect example, His son.

A road map {and a good one, at that!}

And lots of supporters.

a wonderful bishop,

loving leaders, and

Loyal friends.

It'll be good times when I grow all up and He teaches me to fly.

{I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack}

You can always count on me to make you better.

Girls camp...

Girls camp is early morning stops at QuikTrip for strawberry milkshakes.

Girls camp is spending 3 hours in a car, laughing until you hurt.

Girls camp is smearing shaving cream all over each others hair, faces and butts.

Girls camp is 19 lovely daughters of God gathered under one... campsite.

Girls camp is singing at the top of your lungs about mooses drinking juices, shaving your legs, Mormon boys, and Princess Pat's rickabamboo. Day in and day out.

Girls camp is reading the beehives bedtime stories. Because you lovey-love them.

Girls camp is hiking through horsey meadows and dodging pokey branches and crawling around caves.

Girls camp is reading letters from loved ones.

Girls camp is beautiful leaders who tell you they love you on practically a daily basis.

Girls camp is sneaking anonymous warm fuzzies into a leader's cubby because you love them so dang much.

Girls camp is late-night scripture study with the best Laurel adviser. EVERRRR.

Girls camp is cuddling with beehives in a blankie because it's actually cold at night. In Arizona. In the SuMmEr?!

Girls camp is midnight giggles about who can do the best impression of Brett when he loses an argument {me}.

Girls camps is marvelous cooks making marvelous foods.

Girls camp is taking sneak pictures of Brother Sevy because he kind of

resembles Mr. Fredrickson from Up. We love Brother Sevy.

Girls camp is almost crying because the beehives held hands and sang the camp song in their skit. Those are my girls.

Girls camp is patting beautiful beehives on the head because they're just so dang cute.

Girls camp is constantly reenacting scenes from Kid History, Marcel the Shell, and Nacho Libre.

Girls camp is laughing at Bishop getting knocked into a cold pond by his own first counselor.

Girls camp is being super competitive during game day.

Girls camp is beating the blue team's butts at game day.

Girls camp is getting a pantyhose leg full of flour stuffed down your shirt.

Girls camp is realizing makeup is for SQUARES.

Girls camp is raking leaves for a service project and turning it into a modeling op.

Girls camp is having the beehives tell you you're their favorite YCL because you brought them cotton candy to munch on while they waited for showers. And because you read them bedtime stories and share your blankie and pat them on their heads. No big deal.

Girls camp is getting realizing your feet look like they belong to children.

Girls camp is a plethora of spiritual experiences that remind you that you are a daughter of a king.

Girls camp is wearing bandanas and nerd glasses because you CAN.

Girls camp is re-falling in love with the beauty of Christ's creations.

Girls camp is pretty-pretty-please-ing leaders into taking you to Sonic for strawberry limeades on the way home.

Girls camp is just one more little manifestation that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one and only true church on this earth, and the number one way to true happiness. :) I am so thankful that I am so lucky to be a part of this beautiful work.

Girls camp is becoming one.

Becoming one with yourself,

becoming one with each other,

and becoming one with Jesus Christ.

Or at least that was the theme anyway.

{Be Strong With Me by Jenny Phillips. It was our camp song}

P.S. My dream in life is to be a Beehive or Laurel adviser. {sorry Mia Maids. 14 and 15 year olds are super duper drama queens. Can't deal with it.} Really, anywhere in the young women program is good enough for me. Can I be in young women at 18 or 19 years old? Ehh? Ehhh?

P.P.S. Dude. There were SOO many pictures from this years girls camp. My friend Rachel took like 310. THREE-HUNDRED AND TEN. And there were also the legitimate pictures that the leaders made and put together on a disc for us. On that disc were 1,055 photos. 1,055! I had to make the decision to stop putting pictures on this post. Because seriously, these pictures aren't even the good ones. Whatevs.