Studio C & Roommate Bonding

So Friday night, my roommates spent probably about an hour just sitting around and watching Studio C skits together. For the average onlooker this may seem normal for a girls' apartment, but for us, it was a big deal. You see, one of my roommates ever spends time at home, or if she does, she is just working on homework. And another struggles with depression, so to get her to interact with the other three of us is like pulling teeth sometimes. So as we slowly gathered one-by-one around our TV, it was pretty stinkin' happy.

And BTW, most of those Studio C skits are HILARIOUS. I am grateful for those skits that perpetuated our roommate bonding last weekend.

On a side note, so we were watching the skits on YouTube on our TV. And that sneaky YouTube company, they have it set up it so if you don't touch any buttons, it'll automatically play the next video like 10 seconds later! So it gets super addictive to hard to turn it off! :P It definitely now makes me reflect on the reinforcement schedule theory!

Peace & Happiness > Social Media Time

So about two weeks ago I made a conscious decision and made a specific goal in regards to my social media usage. You see, I am very prone to just take the random extra minutes I have throughout the day and just pull up my Facebook feed or browse things on Instagram. But those few extra minutes are easily prone to turn into 10, 30 minutes. And especially before I got to bed at night, if I open up any platform of social media as I'm laying there in bed, I'm a goner. It'll be an hour later and I'm STILL on Instagram...and I can't even really remember what I did for that whole hour.

So least to say, you can see what I wanted to change something. I've been trying to clear my mind and stay more focused on more important things throughout the day, so this is why I set new social media goals. I set the goal that I will only get on social media every Friday. I have also allowed myself to get on once in a while to post something happy I have found or to check my ward Facebook page. But besides that, I've done pretty well at staying sober from my social media-ing.

And you know what?! It's been WONDERFUL. Instead, I've re-established a love connection with the Family Search app for iOS! In my random minutes of down time, I flip out my phone and I go to the record hints and connect them to my ancestors. And shoot, did I get more done in one week of this then I had in probably the past three months. 

That being said, it's not just the happy genealogy work I'm getting done, but I realized something very happy yesterday. The past two weeks have just been SO much better for me emotionally. I'm able to focus better, my life is falling into place and just the internal me is so much consistently calmer than really ever before. So as I was being thankful and wondering why the change these last two weeks or so, I realized a most-likely connection. My social media sobriety. =D I know it's not just the sobriety, but I do believe it has seriously played a role in it, and for that, I am VERY grateful for the little ways (like this) that the Spirit teaches me ways to improve my life and make me happier.

Church, ADD & Airplane Mode

Living in Provo and being a YSA is a surely a unique experience. In general, the people here are more talented, prestigious and spiritual then if I were to go back to my singles branch back home. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging, just simply observing.

As such, I would hope that we as BYU population would be more immune to the distractions of our smartphones during church, but sadly I have noticed that is not the case.

So I have ADD, so having my phone on me during church just is a no-go because I get SO easily distracted by it. So within the last six months or so, I took a challenge to keep my phone on airplane mode for all three hours of church. And wow. I like who I have become since then; more attentive to the Spirit, more eager to listen to the teacher and more able to engage in socializing with those around me.
That being said, this experience of my own has also made more aware of others' media choices during church. Instagram, Facebook, eBay, surfing the internet and texting. WHAT THE?! I think the most alarming thing to me is the possibility that these said individuals are just no longer entertained by the speakers or the teachers so they just pick up their phones and go AWOL with their spiritual learning. I'm a worrier, and I worry for them. 

I know that these last days, the days that precede the Second Coming of the Lord, are not and will not be easy to live in. And being not only physically present, but also spiritually and emotionally present when we attend church and church-related activities alike, will help us strengthen our spiritual armor. It is SO hard for me to see many wonderful, amazing people choosing their phone instead of airplane mode and spiritual enrichment. 

So I guess a good question for you readers is: how can I help these said individuals?

New Posts & State of Union Address

Hello All!

So it's been a long time since I have posted anything on here. I think it is because I have found other creative outlets the past few years. So for an update on my creative life can be found on Instagram @trickleintoflood .

In other news, I'm going to use this blog for my writing assignments in my Media, Human Development and Family class with Dr. Sarah Coyne at Brigham Young University. I get to blog once a week about my different experiences and feelings about media in my life and in general.

Last week I actually sat down and watched President Obama's last State of the Union address. I have felt for a long time that I need to be better at keeping up with the news and politics in the United states, but I just really haven't got around to it. So sitting and spending one hour of my time was a repentant effort of mine to be more in the loop.

Watching the State of the Union address made me think, especially because of what we have been studying in class. Though the audience was very select to be in the House, listening to the speech, the viewer still was able to feel very involved. As the speech continued, the camera men made sure to show the audience very frequently and name who they are and what their position is.

It just made wonder about how the American population reacts to this, and who is actually watching it. I also feel a little bit more motivated to be more involved because of my experience watching this address. :p

The Corridors of Time

This last week I was at a Young Single Adult Conference for my church, held in Seattle, WA, and the theme of the conference was “A Vision to Call My Own”. Throughout the course of the conference, I caught better hold of my own vision for my life. Saturday President Stapley told us that “a vision isn’t relationships, but it’s about where you want to go and who with.” This vision to call my own started to take hold better of my heart. Then it was added upon as we watched Sunday the historic broadcast: The Work of Salvation.

I feel more and more each day how personal this whole work is for me. I have been saved to “come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14). The Lord has saved EACH ONE of us for this day and time.

“For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.

All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil’s power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord’s power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching.” -Elder Ezra Taft Benson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1979.

Every time I read this quote, it gives me the chills. Am I really this important in God’s plan? Do I have what it takes to be a part of the honor of being in the world as such a time as this? Of course! But the adversary is a sneaky one, who slyly attempts to disillusion us into thinking that we’re just nothing much. But we are destined to become so much. So much knowledge, joy, obligation and growth is ours to claim as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We of this generation are the end harvest of all that has gone before. It is not enough to simply be known as a member of this Church. A solemn obligation rests upon us. Let us face it and work at it.

We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us.

May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.” -President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet (1995-2008)

So why are you here? Haven't quite figured out that out yet? Come. Come and see. Come and learn of your place in the Father's design. God Himself is waiting for you to discover who you truly are and learn of the true joy found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Come and join His fold.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." -Psalms 23:1

So I'm Home...

I don't feel very creative - but I want to blog. And quotes are always a wonderful for the soul, so today, quotes it is. Here are my owns hopes, worries and feelings via quotes.

"Do we want to be quitters, or do we want to be valiant servants in spite of all the opposition and evil in the world? Let us have the courage to stand up and be counted as true, devoted followers of Christ.” 

-President N. Eldon Tanner 

 "I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now." 

-C.S. Lewis 

 "Follow your dreams - they know the way." -Anonymous 

"God expects you not simply to face the future; He expects you to embrace and shape the future- to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in your opportunities." 

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

 "A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm." 

-Charles M. Schwab 

"Many young women are serving missions. Many are preparing to serve, not because they aren’t married or have nothing else to do, but because they have a desire to serve and therefore are being called to the work. The reason so many are going is because in the next generation, Heavenly Father will be sending his Priesthood Army to the earth. And He wants to send them to mothers who have been properly trained and taught in the gospel. And what better training can a young woman have than that of serving a mission!"  

-President Hinckley 

"In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how." -David O. McKay 

 "We've got a lot to learn God knows we're worth it No, I won't give up" -Jason Mraz

What Can I Give on My Mission?

30 days from today, I'll be on a plane, heading to Brazil where my life will forever be changed. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I'm SO excited!!!!!

I can't help but to grin ear to ear and get all giddy when I realize what serving a mission for the Recife people means to me. What it means for those whose lives I touch. For those whose lives will touch mine. For those family members and friends that I leave behind for 18 months. It's all about bringing souls to Christ. And I get to be a part of it!

I have to give myself some credit for all this waiting I've been doing. Haha, for goodness sakes, I have been wanting to be a missionary since I was 8!

I love all the different Mormon Message videos that the Church puts out on a monthly basis! And this one definitely had an impeccable release time for me! =)



I'm going on a mission, and NOTHING is going to stop me! I have the blessing of my family's support. My brother, who is a current missionary, told me this week in his letter: "GET ON THAT MISSION NO MATTER WHAT!!! Ok?!"

=) Okay. I will go and do! With a smile on my face too!!!