Life As I Know It

Hello blogging world! Happy Father's Day to all you fathers and future fathers out there! I hope ya'll are having a great day today.

Now for updates from "The Life of Liz." :)

My job is awesome. I could not have asked for a better summer so far. I have to say, the pool has definitely gone UP HILL since last summer. My lifeguards are so adorable and we have a ton of fun. I am officially "Mom" or "Ma" which is extremely funny, and the rest of the management team is a blast! I am so glad that we get along and work really well together.

I am officially a member of the Mountain Park Singles Branch. I am a member of a branch. A branch in which I drive 40-45 mins to get to church. I never thought that a) I'd be in a branch and b) I'd be driving more than 20 mins to get to church. I feel totally legit now! :D Weird, I know. But I love the branch. We have so many fun activities and I feel completely at home there. I've also met a lot of new people and it's definitely been a different, but great experience. I'm actually going to be sad to leave in August.

Vacation is in two weeks! I'll let you know where I am when I get there (And I'll explain this later...).

Swim lessons are hysterical, as always. I teach the cutest, craziest, most fun kids ever. This past session I had a brother and sister who wouldn't even put their chin in the water at the beginning of the session. By the end, they were both holding their breath (without holding their noses) and going under water for about 25 seconds. I was so excited for them! It was such a rewarding experience to help these kids overcome their fear of the water. I am in love with teaching.

I'm sick, nothing too big...it's just annoying. Lol.

I miss my sister and brother-in-law. Wait! Do say what?! That's right. I miss them.

On Monday, Mary Katherine and I will be going to visit Habersham County. Pretty excited, not gonna lie. MK just got a job teaching up there and we're going to take a look around. It's a pretty small county too. Apparently you can get from one end to the other in 20 mins or less. Depending on how many red lights you hit along the way. BUT, I've heard it's got some really cute, small-town life cities. So I'm kind of excited.

That's about it for me! I know it's not too exciting, but it's my life! We'll see you soon! :D

Mama said, "Home is where the heart is," when I left that town...

Due to extreme craziness that has been taking place for the past month, blogging has been placed on the back burner. However, due to thus said extreme craziness beginning to wind down, blogging has again become possible. :) [Has anyone else noticed how much of a weirdo and complete dork I am? Just checking. :)]

As you can tell by my status, I am home and no longer in "The Burg." At first it was not fun and definitely difficult to swallow. There was a lot of crazy things going on, like I said, and unfortunately a lot of drama that I wanted no part of. So about after a month of this, and after a month of hoping and praying things would magically get better, I decided to act and remove myself from the drama. Best decision. Ever. It is truly amazing how much the pettiness, meanness, and drama of others can affect someone else. What it can do to a person. It truly wears on you.

But right now, I can not complain. It's true when they say that which does not kill us makes us stronger. The pettiness and drama I mentioned earlier lead me to a few conclusions about certain things; conclusions I needed to come to. It forced me to think through things that I didn't want to think through. Unfortunately, the drama was needed; almost necessary. The outcome: a better perspective, a better handle on life in general, a sharper focus on the people that actually matter, and a re-dedication to being exactly who I want to be --- me. Since this wonderful epiphany, life has been infinitely happier and home has not been all that bad. :)

Having Faith When Things Don't Make Sense

Facebook and I have a love/hate relationship. I love keeping in touch with friends and looking at people's pictures, etc. But I hate the information I see, hear, or read sometimes. 5 minutes ago, I hated it. I read a conversation on my homepage between two people I wish I hadn't read and it made me question not only my decision to go home for the summer, but Heavenly Father as well. Note to everyone: Never question Him. Period. And even if you do, He'll send someone very soon to reassure you that He's right, and you just need to follow Him.

The other day I received an answer to many prayers. My answer was to go home. So today when I saw this conversation on Facebook, I burst into tears and said to myself, "Why? Why I am going home? Why should I go home? I want to know why I'm doing what I'm doing. I want to know why I'm following God's plan. I want to know that I'm going home for a purpose and I want to know what that purpose is!" Just as I started doubting, my roommate came home and asked me what was wrong. I told her everything I had just said to myself in my head, and this was her answer:

"Liz, when God told Noah to build an ark in the middle of Jerusalem, did it make sense?"

"No."

"When God told Nephi to go back and get the plates, risk their lives, all that jazz, did it make sense?"

"No."

"When God told Joseph Smith to restore the gospel and build up a church, did that make sense?"

"No."

"Sometimes God asks us to do things that don't make sense. He asks to do things we don't want to do. But we do them because we love Him. We do them because we know, and I know you know, that something bigger, greater, and better comes from it. Amazing stuff came from all those other things. Amazing things will come from going home, if you have faith that they will."

Yep. Heavenly Father knows EXACTLY what you need, when you need it. I need to have faith when things don't necessarily make sense. :)

"I Was Here"

For a couple of years now I've had this insane desire to visit other countries and provide humanitarian aid. I want to go to places like Nicaragua, Africa, Central America, South America, wherever; and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. One day, I am going to go and do some work. I want to be a part of something huge that is beneficial to hundreds of people. Be it an ambassador, volunteer, coordinator, etc with some organization, I want to do it. I want to leave my mark, but more importantly I want to make a difference is someone else's life. I want to influence for good and I want to contribute portions of my time and life to helping others.

So in 2008 (during the Olympics) when I heard "I Was Here" by Lady Antebellum, I felt like my life's goal had just been put into song. I recently rediscovered the song in my i-Tunes library and have decided that it is the new theme song for my life. Here's the chorus:

I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
Wanna do something better
With the time I’ve been given
I wanna try
To touch a few hearts in this life
And leave nothing less than something that says
I was here

I absolutely love it. So here it is, my life's new theme song. :)

Gratitude

Words cannot express how grateful I am for the things I have in my life. The other day I was having interviews with the girls in my Relief Society and all of the sudden this huge surge of gratitude for them and who they are overcame me. It was was amazing. I cannot thank Heavenly Father enough for giving me this incredible opportunity.

Lately I have been having "life blues" where I just get sad about something that I don't have in my life right now. And every time it happens, I'm reminded just how much God loves me and I remember all the amazing things I do have and am grateful for. When I think of all the opportunities and all that I do have in my life, the "life blues" go away and I receive that little boost of encouragement to push on. So I wanted to make a little list of what I'm grateful for. :)

1. I am grateful for Brigham Young University - Idaho. It is truly an amazing school and my time here has been the best four years of my life up to this point.

2. I am grateful for having a job.

3. I am grateful for a family that love me and support me.

4. I am grateful for all the wonderful friends that I have who are a constant upliftment and joy in my life.

5. Ok, this one might not make any sense, but try to hear me out on this. I am grateful for all the friends I have who are getting married/are married and for those who are pregnant or have kids all ready. Why? Because I love seeing other people happy. Honestly, I thrive off of it. I cannot help but be happy when those around me are. I am SO happy that you are moving into that part of your lives, and I appreciate you letting me be a part of it. I cannot tell you how much it means to me that even though I have not reached that part in my life yet, you still love and include me in your lives. I love it and am so grateful. So, thank you. :)

6. I'm grateful for the gospel. Every little part of it. I'm grateful for the sweet peace it brings to my life when I am living they way I'm supposed to.

7. I'm grateful for my talents. They're all a work in progress, but I'm grateful that God has given me a way to express myself through music and photography.

8. I'm grateful for the little things in every day that bring a smile to face. It's all in the little things of life where I find my greatest joy.

9. I'm grateful for my car. Peter--- thank you for taking me everywhere. And yes, my car's name really is Peter. :)

10. I'm grateful for books and the ability to read. Without these two things, life would not be as fulfilling and enriching.

So, thank you. For everything.

Life is good and I can't complain...

Long time no see blogging world! How goes it? So as my title suggests, life is good and I can't complain. Well, let me rephrase. Life is good and I shouldn't complain. But yet, sometimes I do. School is great, today is my last day of practicum (tutoring high school freshmen in reading), I feel like things are going really well. The calling is great as well, and I have learned so much. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father gave me this opportunity.

Sometimes it does feel like there could be more. I know there can be. But for right now, I am content and happy with things. :) I try not to think about leaving school, which helps keep the "contentness" in full swing, but I know it's also a very exciting thing. So I'm trying to see the upside of life everyday.

Random thought: I just painted my finger nails. I never do that! Completely random, but fun. They're pink.

Other random thought: One week from today I will be in SLC and getting ready to leave for Georgia! It's my sister's bridal shower next weekend and I am so excited because I get to go home for a few days! All of my roommates have immediate family extremely close by. They drive 3-4 hours and boom, there's parents. And seeing as how I didn't go home for Christmas, I am ready to go to my southern home and see all those beautiful trees. Georgia- please be warm for me. I'm coming home!

Well I got to run and prepare for practicum. Love y'all and see ya later! :D

Life's Little Surprises

It's funny how life surprises you. Totally unexpected things happen, things you weren't planning on. And then you stand there thinking, "Wait...say what?!" And then it keeps rolling. I guess it was time for me to start experiencing the "roll with the punches attitude." But at the same time, that's why I love the Gospel. Because of the knowledge I have, I know that no matter what punches life throws, whether I get hit or dodge them, everything will work out. And that's nice to know. :)