Spiritual Quotes That Have Helped Me Get Through

This is another one of those posts I debated on writing, mainly due to its spiritual nature lending to Latter-Day Saint theology.  

It was May, 2019, and President Nelson was finishing up his tour of the Pacific Islands.  It was an amazing tour, and he was finishing up in Tahiti when he said, "There’s trouble ahead.  Prepare for attacks from the adversary. Please protect yourself from Satan’s traps, including harmful drugs and pornography."  Pretty standard warning, really, as the Adversary is always attacking.  It's the "trouble ahead" that kept echoing in my mind.  I mean, there's always something to look out for.  Life is full of highs and lows.  Despite my internal dialogue I took the warning to heart, still living life, still hopeful for the future, just glancing at the storm on the horizon that seemed to circle as if in a holding pattern.

This year has been crazy, there's no denying it.  Memes abound for coping and remembrance.

The first quote is from Elder Neil A. Maxwell.  Funny enough I shared this quote about two years ago on this blog, and then removed it.  I was afraid it was too deep to share, but I'll share it again.  It's from 1984, when I was two years old, and Elder Maxwell is speaking to the children of the church: 

"It’s extremely important for you to believe in yourselves, not only for what you are now, but for what you have the power to become. Trust in the Lord as He leads you along. He has things for you to do that you won’t know about now, but that will be revealed later. If you stay close to Him, you will have some great adventures. You will live in a time when instead of just talking about prophecies that will sometime be fulfilled, many of them will actually be fulfilled. The Lord will unfold your future bit by bit.  All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been done, so you’re going to live in a time of high adventure. You were brought to this earth because you can handle that time of adventure, and you will do well."

This quote has brought me a lot of comfort these last couple years.  I look at that quote and think, "High Adventure."  What does that even mean, and does it mean what I think it means?  Are we in those times of adventure now?  Or are we not quite there?  Whenever it is, we have the strength to overcome.

On August 5, 2020, Russell M. Nelson tweeted: "Dear friends, the road ahead may be bumpy, but our destination is serene and secure. So, fasten your seatbelt, hang on through the bumps, and do what's right. Your reward will be eternal."

Here are two more quotes by President Nelson. "You were taught in the spirit world to prepare you for anything and everything you would encounter during this latter part of these latter days. That teaching endures within you!" "Plead with the Lord for the gift of discernment.  Then live and work to be worthy to receive that gift so that when confusing events arise in the world, you will know exactly what is true and what is not."

There's many more quotes that have helped me find strength through discouragement, but these are the main ones.  Life is crazy and uncertain, but we will survive.  We have the strength to overcome.

"The Father is at this moment aware of you, your feelings, and the spiritual and temporal needs of everyone around you." ~ Henry B. Eyring

 

A Wooden Delight from Germany

It was a pleasant day in Rüdesheim am Rhein, the air a crispy autumn.  Hills covered with vineyards.  Streets full of quintessential quaintness.  Ornate buildings with wooden decorations, vines, narrow alleys, restaurants and shops.  There's an airway tram that leads to the top of a hill where you can view the Rhine River from above, ships slipping out of sight.

There's a Christmas shop, which are always a treat to visit while in Germany.  Large and full of warmth.  The window display overflowing with ornate nutcrackers.  

In a back room was a cupboard.  Inside was a delightful array of wooden figurines and displays.  Hand painted dolls and sets.  Some were Christmas themed.  Some represented the seasons.  I wanted one of the spring fairies holding flowers.  If I had a few hundred dollars I wouldn't have hesitated.  They were pretty and sweet.  Detailed.  There were notes everywhere written in English and other languages forbidding picture taking.  So I attempted to take a mental image, which, after nearly two years, the image is fading to a blur.  Emotion and wonder remains.

While heading back to the river I went into a little gift shop tailored for tourist.  After some exploring I found a small cupboard with tiny wooden figurines just as delightful as what I saw in the previous store, but at a price I could splurge.  I found a little girl wearing a winter coat and holding a star.  She was quickly purchased and has had a treasured spot on my dresser ever since. 

She's apart of the Hubrig Winter Kids collection named, "Star, Give Us Light."  I've been searching online for this figure since the trip in October of 2018, just to find more of the like, and other wooden German styled Christmas decorations, which are hard to find here in the States.  After much time I found Erzgebirge Palace, which has many fun things to see.  Germany really has some fun Christmas decorations, figures, displays, and ornaments.

You Are Extraordinary

C.S. Lewis once said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

I don't know what you are dealing with right now.  I don't know your worries.  Dreads.  Thoughts.  Heartaches.  I don't know what keeps you up at night.  I don't know what makes you laugh.  What you find joy in.  What tickles your fancy.  I don't know your struggles.  Your triumphs, your failures, and everything in between.

But I do know this: You are extraordinary.  You are amazing.  You have so many gifts and talents.  You have loved ones.  Dreams you wish to achieve.  Places you wish to see.  You have the power to make someone smile.  Bring someone happiness.  You are of infinite worth and potential. 

“The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well.”  ~ Neal A. Maxwell

 

Random Thoughts: August 2020 Edition

When I was in High School my least favorite class was Physical Education.  It was so hard getting an "A" in that class!!!  And one of my least favorite segments was badminton.  Maybe it was the quality of the birdies, but they never flew right.  -_-;;  Pickleball is gaining popularity in Utah.  Don't know how long the sport has been around, but there are community pickleball courts popping up here and there, and people are always playing.  It's hard getting an open court in the afternoon/evening.

So I went onto Amazon and found out there are several sport travel nets that can be purchased that don't need to be staked into the ground.  They're free standing.  You can play a few games with these nets such as pickelball, badminton, and volleyball.  I got one of these nets.  Recently bought a pickelball set and some birdies for a badminton set I got over a decade ago.  Last weekend I set it all up and honestly had a lot of fun!  Didn't play with any rules, and didn't keep track of points.  It was fun hitting the balls and birdies back and forth.  Maybe badminton is the sort of sport one needs to grow into. :P  Pickelball is pretty fun, too.

With that said I actually took a tennis class when I was a kid.  Wasn't too bad!  Wasn't all that great, either!  But it was fun, and I enjoyed going to the lessons.  My favorite memory, though, has nothing to do with tennis.  When my group did well our teacher awarded us with cans of Pepsi.  So now whenever I drink Pepsi I think of tennis.  (I prefer Coke, but like both).  But it's funny how the taste of Pepsi always brings me back to when I was a kid, hot Summer heat, hitting tennis balls, and finishing the afternoon with the ice cold drink.

My car is thirteen years old.  It's been a good, dear little car.  Dependable.  Kept my family safe when a tire blew while traveling 80 miles an hour in the middle of the Utah desert.  It's now starting to show its age.  A few days ago it struggled to start.  This has now happened a few times. Maybe it's the starter.  Maybe it's the battery, which I haven't had to replace once all these years, so it's probably that.  Hopefully.  Cars baffle me.  It's now just a maintenance game.  I'm lucky to have it, so counting my blessings.  It's been a good little car. 

Went on a drive with my Mom, Grandma, and Aunt a couple days ago.  We decided to explore Midway a little more this time.  The city reminds me of a super miniature Solvang, since there's a Scandinavian theme with some of the buildings and art.  We wandered down streets and ended up in this residential neighborhood with the most interesting homes.  Many of these homes had murals and dutch style painted embellishments.  They were honestly really cool, and something I've never seen before.  Some of the murals were really amazing.

I'm missing travel so much I'm honestly romanticizing airports, including layovers.  Layovers are no fun, trying to nap in uncomfortable seats by the gate, but I'm actually missing airports and layovers.  How weird is that?  I don't miss flying in the cramped coach section, because I always end up with the middle seat.  Packed sardines in the sky.  I think I'm missing the wonder of going places.

Have a great weekend!

It's Friday!! :D

Visiting a Movie Theater Again After Several Months: Empire Strikes Back

Last weekend was my parents 39th wedding anniversary.  My Dad was trying to figure out what to do with my Mom to make it special, but there's still a lot of limitations in regards to what's open and whatnot.  He discovered that Cinemark was opening again, and that you can rent out a theater for $99 with a small selection of movie options for 20 people or less.  Our family gathered to watch Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, which is possibly one of the best movies ever created.

It's been several years since I've seen Empire, forgetting nuances, and it truly is a masterpiece.  (It's really embarrassing how long it's been!)  The pacing, editing, humor, subtle romance (minus the sibling bit -_-;; Do you're genealogy peeps), character development, one-liners by more than one character, music, etc, etc, etc.  Even the kids were completely engaged and glued.  This was their first time seeing it.  And I forgot how much I missed the Twenty-First Century Fox fanfare at the beginning!  Ahh!!!!!  Classic!!!!

These last few months have proven interesting for the entertainment industry.  Won't get into it.  In the beginning of the pandemic I missed going to the movies, but the feeling of "missing it" has turned to apathy.  There's more than one way to find entertainment and to escape this World.  Reading.  I've been reading more.  Watching classic films and shows has been fun.  YouTube and podcasts.  

Here's a list of movies Cinemark is offering for the $99 theater rental: Jurassic Park, Inception, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bloodshot, Empire Strikes Back, Jumanji Next Level, Harry Potter 1, Harry Potter-Deathly Hollows II, Greatest Showman, Goonies, The Avengers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Despicable Me.  Some of these movies are also available as $5 tickets for adults and $3 for kids.  There's also good deals on concessions.

It was really fun going to the movies again and having the theater to ourselves.  Seeing Empire on the big screen for a second time was awesome, the first being back in the 90's at a theater in Bakersfield CA.  Everyone needs to see Empire Strikes Back on the big screen.  So good.  I'd love to see Ever After in the theater again.  Heh, don't know what the demand would be, but I saw it five times in the theater.  I saw the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie seven times in the theater.  Good times.

Hope you're having a great day.  TTFN.

 

Changing My Mind, Again. -_-;;

It's two in the morning as I write this.  This is sorta becoming a habit!  Not a good habit.  Classical music is playing from a streamed station, the notes clashing, weird 21st century crap.  I prefer notes when they're a little more harmonious.  A little more pleasant to the ears.

Heh, um...

My quest for health is one of temptation and woe, mingled with side steps and whatnot's.  A search for the sustainable and realistic, mostly.  That's the frustrating thing about losing weight and getting healthy.  We're all so different!  Our bodies are different!  Foods and exercise affects us all differently.  What works for one person doesn't work for another.  And that is why the health industry is worth billions.  

In my last blog post or so I said I was going to go 90 days without sweet treats.  Then I did the math, realized it was going over a couple birthdays plus Halloween, and that I was being unrealistic.  Really, what I realized is that I was feeling a low level of anxiety over it.  Like this under the skin vibration of sort, putting me on edge.  I felt it with my one treat a week goal as well.  This is probably why I keep failing at this goal.  But over the weekend I decided that I'll allow myself two treat days a week, one on the weekend and one during the week, spreading it out.  This isn't go crazy over treats, just that I'm allowed a little ice cream, or brownie, or whatever, within reason.  Twice a week.  When I made this change that under the skin anxiety feeling went away, so maybe this plan will work.  I'm also aiming for walking a 5k everyday.

(Okay, the music is getting ridiculous.  Weird Neo-classical harpsichord stuff.  Turned it off and turned on some Brahms.  Much better.)

I'm also making some changes this week.  We'll, deep diving in learning and skill developing.  My main focus right now is wanting to improve my writing, so I created a crash course writing workshop from online resources focusing on grammar, story telling, building sentences, and short story crafting.  There will be writing exercises and short story reading assignments.  I need to throw in some punctuation study as well, as it still baffles me.   I'm also going to start learning Photoshop, video editing, audio editing, and other useful skills, but not all at once.  There's a lot of stuff I want to do.  There's a lot of stuff I need to do.  Can't forget music learning as well.  I want to create both instrumental music and vocal music.  And get my YouTube going again.  A lot of dreams.  A lot of projects.

Anywho, I should finish this up and head to bed.  I get spooked sometimes and have a hard time sleeping.  Gotta go brave the night.  Heh... 0_0 ... -_- zzzzzz

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." Roald Dahl

August Health Goals: Conquering the Brain

One day I'll look back at this.  One day I'll look back and remember all these failures, and it will be a testament that failing multiple times is what led to my ultimate success.

Turns out it's harder to get back on track after getting off track.  July wasn't horrible by any means.  It just happened.  Came and went.  C'est la vie.  Au revoir.

And we're already a third into this month, which is crazy.

Much of my goals are the same.  What is different is my approach, certain realizations.  I've been taking huge note of my mental space.  The tricks happening in my brain, much of which I'll keep private, such as false beliefs that began in my young twenties.  Lies I created by false observations that hurt my self-esteem and worth.

The mind is so important when it comes to change.  If you don't change the mind it doesn't matter what you do in the physical world, as the mind will sabotage as soon as it gets the chance.  It's one of the reasons so many people lose weight and then gain it back.  The mind.  There are so many reasons people gain weight.  Some of it can be chemical/physiological.  Some of it can be mental, hardships, depression.  I've been pinpointing the points in my life that has caused insecurity.  False beliefs.  Fears I'm protecting myself from.  

There is one thing I'm going to do starting today.  I'm going to go without sugary treats for 90 days.  I've done it before, a few years ago, but I've been trying to do it again.  Each time I fail.  I need to retrain the way my body works.  Retrain my thinking in terms of conquering cravings.  Balance energy levels.  Detox.  But really I need something I can control.  Something that will give me strength in the doing.  

I've taken before pictures wearing a couple shirts that are too small.  Took measurements.  Weighed myself, and I'm just 5 pounds up from the start of the year.  I dug up incomplete fitbooks, so I'm going to complete them.  I got some cute paper and drew 90 circles, so I will be crossing them out as I go along.  

I'm tired of failing.  I'm tired of not accomplishing anything. 

So I begin again, and this time I will make it.  This time I will succeed.

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

Finding the Joy in Life During Extraordinary Times

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.... Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." ~ Jenkin Lloyd Jones

I kinda don't know how I feel about this quote.  

It's a good quote.  There's truth in it.  And life definitely has its hardships and unpredictability.  This year is proof of that.

Two thought:

I've been watching a lot of Frank James YouTube videos.  They're all about personality, personality skits, stuff about Introversion, and understanding INFJ's.  I'm still skeptical about this stuff, but it's interesting, and stuff does ring true at times.  Anywho, he has a video called "Be the Author of Your Life...",  and he share's a good metaphor talking about stories, and that no author writes a story in which their main character doesn't experience hardship.  All good stories have character growth, and in our stories we need to have growth as well, and that means going through stuff of the not fun variety.  We need to be willing to grow, and our lives will be more interesting because of it.

And, well, if you haven't noticed on my blog I have a close relationship with my Mom.  We're family and friends.  But we're also different in many ways.  She declared a couple days ago that she's going to be an optimist again.  She's a natural optimist.  I'm the cynical realist, which is often confused for negativity.  It's the cause of occasional debate.   (Honesty isn't negativity, just saying).  Needless to say, she's always been really positive, but these last several months have stolen that from her, and she's determined to not let the World ruin her spark.  

So although I agree in part with the above quote, and there's good things to take from it, where's the line between acceptance and challenging current circumstances for the better?  Believing that more, good things are possible?

Life has its difficulties.  Life has its challenges.  Life can swallow you up.  But life is also beautiful.  Life has its moments of glimmer.  Despite everything life can still be wonderful.  Life is wonderful.

We may not be where we want to be at times, many times, but there are still so many little things that make life grand.

So I'm going to work on being a little more optimistic myself.  Challenging times can make us weak or make us strong.  We are the authors of our lives.  Let's create in ourselves great characters in our life's story.  Within myself I'm learning to distinguish that which I can't immediately change verses that which I can challenge so I can grow to become a better person.  And I'm going to find the beautiful, extraordinary, hopeful side of life and believe in all that is wonderful in the World.

 

Keeping the Tooth Fairy Lie Alive... :\

This last weekend I watched the kiddos, and I learned something very interesting: My two oldest nieces still believe in the Tooth Fairy, and my Mom and I may have helped contribute to this belief.

Heh.

So...

My second oldest niece was telling me how her friend told her that the Tooth Fairy isn't real, and that it's the parents who put the money under the pillow.  But that can't be true because of  Disneyland.

See, back in February while waiting in line for Autopia my oldest niece suddenly got really quiet and tearful.  She then showed my Mom and I her tooth that just came out, and was worried something really bad happened.  Of course it's normal, and we told her so, and she felt better.  The first night my Mom forgot to put money under her pillow, and that next morning my oldest niece was a little sad.  Maybe the tooth fairy didn't know they were at Disneyland?  The second night my Mom remembered and gave her $5 for forgetting the first night, and because we were at Disneyland.  They typically only get a dollar, but Disneyland is magical, and souvenirs are expensive.

Fast forward to this last weekend.  My nieces were reminiscing about our time at Disneyland, and that the tooth fairy had to be real, because my oldest niece got tooth fairy money at Disneyland, and their parents weren't there, and if the tooth fairy is really the parents, and their parents weren't at Disneyland, therefore the tooth fairy is real.

They were being very methodical in their reasoning.  And I just smiled and nodded my head.  I wasn't going to be the bearer of bad news.  I'm leaving that to their parents when the time comes.

Ah man!!  

Also, it should be mentioned that my oldest niece told me that I could play Elsa because I have white in my hair.  I just smiled and nodded.  She was so positive and optimistic about it!   Guess it's time to color my hair again. :P

 

I'm on a 4th Creator's Playbook Podcast Episode: "Save the Cats, Save the World" :0)

"Save the Cats, Save the World" is the name of the 26th episode of the Creator's Playbook, a podcast created by two of my brothers, Robbie and Steven, and this is the 4th episode I've been on.  Steven was on vacation, so this time it was just Robbie and I doing the episode in which we created a story around a time machine.

It was a really fun episode to be on, heh, though I think at times you can hear the wheels turning in our heads.  Being on the Creator's Playbook is always an interesting experience, because I never know what we're going to create.  Honestly it's a little scary!  What if I can't create anything?!  My head was freaking out at times recording this episode!!  And it was quite the journey.  Imagine a boulder racing down a mountain bouncing this way and that, this is what this episode felt like in my head.

Robbie says this was in his top five favorite episodes he's done.  Of course this is in my top five because I've only done four. :P

But we did have a lot of fun.  And I really like where the story ends up!  I wish we got there a little sooner, but I like the ending.

So if you're curious and wish to listen, the Creator's Playbook is on Spotify and other podcasting sites.

Have a great day,
Sarah

(PS: I mentioned in a previous blog post that I'm working on developing a podcast with my brother Michael.  That's moving along, so hopefully it won't be much longer.)