Scatter Sunshine

In a world where sorrow ever will be known,
Where are found the needy and the sad and lone,
How much joy and comfort you can all bestow,
If you scatter sunshine everywhere you go.

Slightest actions often meet the sorest needs,
For the world wants daily little kindly deeds.
Oh, what care and sorrow you may help remove,
With your songs and courage, sympathy and love.

When the days are gloomy, sing some happy song;
Meet the world's repining with a courage strong.
Go with faith undaunted through the ills of life;
Scatter smiles and sunshine over its toil and strife.

Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten every passing day.

Hymn # 230
Written by Lanta Wilson Smith

Go to the Mailbox

A few days ago Candace, Stacy (my roomies) and I were just hanging out in our apartment. Bored. Nothing to do. Wanting to socialize and meet some new friends. But we weren't entirely sure how to go about it. I told them that we needed to go check the mail. In my last apartment, when we wanted to socialize we would sometimes go check the mail. For some reason you can't get from the apartment to the mailbox and back without running into someone to talk to.

So we went to the mailbox. All three of us. At the same time. And we weren't ten yards out the door when we ran into some guys to talk to. They were looking for hotdog buns. We didn't have any, but Stacy had hamburger buns. So we improvised. The guys invited us to eat hotdogs with them. We did. We chatted and laughed and had a good time. Then they invited us to go to a bonfire up in American Fork Canyon. We did. They also told scary stories that made the hair on the back of our necks stand up. But we had a blast! And we made new friends. All from going to check the mail.

When looking for enemies, Go to the Mattresses.
When looking for friends, Go to the Mailbox.

Christmas and Disneyland

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The happiest place on earth!

I know we're just barely starting summer, but the other day something reminded me of Christmas (and since then I've been going Christmas crazy). I love the Christmas Season. I started thinking about things that bring me that same kind of joy and excitement. Disneyland. There is nothing like Christmas and there is no place like Disneyland. These are probably the two things that make me the happiest.

I started wondering why that was. I'm not greedy or materialistic (at least, I don't think I am). I sat mulling over the kinds of feelings I have when it's Christmas and when I've been to Disneyland, feelings that can't really be duplicated by other things. It was then I realized it wasn't just Christmas or Disneyland alone that make me so happy, but rather the people involved. Christ and my family.

Christ is the center of Christmas, and who can bring more joy than him? It is the Spirit of Christmas, the notion of being Christ-like, that makes the Christmas Season so unique and wonderful. And getting to share that with your family makes it even better.

I have never been to Disneyland without my family. And really, if I didn't have them there to share the experience with me, it would have been completely different. I probably wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. That I am certain of.

It isn't where you go or what you do, but who you are with. The two things that make me the happiest: Christmas and Disneyland - Christ and my family. I'm not greedy or materialistic; I think I've got my priorities right (those two at the top, at least).

I love this gospel and I have been so blessed to have it in my life. I know sometimes I make mistakes and mess up, as do we all. But I also know that the Lord loves us and has given us the opportunity to repent and return unto Him. We can always return. His arms are open, waiting to receive us. He is waiting for His children to come home. I am so thankful to have been raised in a Christ-centered home. I am so thankful to my parents for all they have taught me. I love them so much. I love my family with all my heart, and I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation, and that I will always be with them. Nothing makes me happier than being with my family.

To my family: Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I know sometimes I can make things difficult, but you never give up on me. Thank you for all the wonderful memories as I was growing up. I love how close we all are, and I can't imagine my life without even one of you. I love you.

It's the most wonderful time of the year - When the whole world has the Spirit of Christ.
The happiest place on earth - Where you can spend everyday with your family.

Writing Prompt

Just for fun I want to try something. There are a few things I want to blog about, but I can't decide which one I want to do. So instead, I won't do any of them; I do something completely different. And this is where you come in. If you leave a comment with a writing prompt on it, I'll write on that. You can either have it be a general topic, or it can be something you want me to turn into a sort of story. You could even start the writing and end it with... And then I'll continue. It could be anything like, prairie dogs, stars, or what happens when you give a mouse a cookie.
I guess it's mostly just a writing exercise for me. But you and I - I bet we could come up with some pretty good stuff. :)

It's My Thing

I love to write. I'll write anything. Give me a pen, some paper, and a topic and I can just go. But believe it or not, sometimes I slip up and don't write very much (besides school papers, but those don't count). Things just get so crazy that occasionally I feel like I don't have the time. What a silly thought. That's like thinking that you don't have time to breathe. Okay, so writing takes a little more effort than breathing does, but only because you can multitask while breathing. But when something comes so naturally, it's silly to think that there's no time for it, or that you can do without it for a while.
It's one of my goals to write everyday, whether it's a journal entry, a poem, something to put in my junk book, part of my book, anything. And it comes so easily that I don't really have to put much thought into it. I just write. It's incredible really. Writing can reflect so much of what I'm feeling, what I'm thinking. I don't know if what I'm trying to express always comes across clearly to the readers, but I'm not too worried about that. I mean, my audience isn't really that big anyway--but I give my thanks to those dedicated few. :) Sometimes my writings don't even have an audience. It's just a way to let go. Once I get it out on the page I don't have to carry it around with me anymore. But sometimes, it's a way to relive those funny little moments. There's so much out there to write!
Back in high school I was going through a hard time and one of my closest friends told me, "Find something that's yours, something that no one can take away from you, and hold on to that. Your writing. That's your passion." He was right - it is my passion. Something no one can take away. And I love it. Writing: It's my thing.

On My Mind

I've been so busy lately that I haven't really taken the time to expound much on thoughts I've had and on things I've realized lately. I may expound on some later when I have more time, but for now, here are just some of the things that have crossed my mind.

~It's getting cold outside. Did I really need to point that out?

~However, today was a beautiful day.

~I am blessed to have such close relationships with my family. I've realized from listening to my roommates that parents (from their view) are very difficult to get along with, they "just don't understand," and fights with parents are common. Same with siblings, only they're more on the annoying side than the not-understanding side. I've never had that problem. I love my parents, and there have never been any issues between us (at least, that I know of). I get along great with my brothers, and I've never thought of them as being annoying. A little bit off the walls maybe, but not annoying.

~I completely broke the rule of parallelism in that last item, but figured not too many of you would notice.

~Friends are great to have. Even the ones who see you everyday and say hi, but you never learned their names and they don't know yours.

~I miss my dog.

~Being unexpectedly shocked by a scanner that beeps as it does it is... well, shocking.

~I love Christmas music. I just love Christmas. Not for the gifts and the treats (though those are great - especially the treats), but just the overall feeling that it brings. Why can't we have that feeling all year round?

~People are just human, no matter how good they are. They make mistakes. But so do I.

~Once I start, I can just ramble. Seems like I do that a lot. Is that a bad thing?

~I actually published this post, then realized it didn't have a title. Whoops. So I gave it one. :)

I had some other things I was going to mention, but they were more on the spiritual side and deserve a little more attention than simply being put in a list. Basically, there are lots of things in life that get overlooked, especially the small things. I love finding those small things, even if they're things I've found before but just haven't thought about lately. I am blessed. I know that. And I love life!

The Other Blog

A few years ago I made a second blog. It's just been sitting there being ignored for over two years. I decided to change it into a cooking blog. I'm excited!! I'll post a bunch of recipes on it and different things I've learned while using the recipes.
If you're interested, check it out.
There isn't very much on it right now, just an introduction of what it's about, since I just barely made the change last night. But I'm hoping to make updates to it at least once a week, if not more.
Let me know what you think!
Cooking at College