....and I am ready to go - in some sense of the meaning. Pandora's box opened up when I came home six weeks ago. Everyone in my immediate family moved. Some moved houses, others moved cross country. And, everyone is moving on in their own way. It was absolute chaos, and still kind of is.
The beautiful thing about chaos is that as we come to Christ He will order our hearts in Him and his gospel. Against the back drop of a chaotic life, we can see more clearly the simplicity and beauty of the gospel. As we search for Christ and hold fast to him, our Rock and Redeemer (Helaman 5:12) he will redeem us, and make us whole.
www.mormon.org
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ready to Go
I have only a few days until I leave for a mission. I am ready to go. I'm sure when it comes down to it, I won't feel so much that way, but right now.... I just want to go.
There are so many emotional up and downs of waiting. BUT the best thing about any type of down is that it is another opportunity to draw closer to the Savior.
There are so many emotional up and downs of waiting. BUT the best thing about any type of down is that it is another opportunity to draw closer to the Savior.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Theories
Wal-Mart Theory
Wal-Mart has the business strategy of selling lower quality products for a lower price.
When a person goes to Wal-mart they go because they want a product now, for the lowest absolute price. They are okay if the product breaks, wears out quickly, or is substandard because "it's from Wal-mart, what do you expect". They got what they wanted, when they wanted it, and didn't need to work that hard to obtain it.
You go into Wal-mart to buy something because it's cheap. You know it's cheap, but you don't expect it to last for long. You pay less for it an it doesn't last you as long. Most people have become okay with this trade off.
BUT - I see this coming up in all faucets of life. This "wal-mart" mentality has spread to marriages, families, education, politics, careers, and society at large. People are okay with paying less for something that isn't as high quality. "Oh, if I don't like it, I can just get a new one." "Well, it was a bargain, how do I expect it to be quality."
Do you see how toxic that is to marriages, families, and all other social relationships? If you don't work for something, how do you expect it to last. People quit working at their marriages, cheat in school, and lower their standards at work so they can get ahead quickly. If things don't pan out as they hope, it's fine, there is always another spouse, school to get into, or job to get. It's no big deal, besides I didn't work that hard for the first one anyway.
...I hate Wal-Mart.
Facebook Theory
It's sad and disgusting when people start to think in terms of facebook statuses. It slowly robs people of privacy of thought, and cheapens our quality of thinking situations through with logical, detailed, methods. Rather, people impulsively updates their status to reflect the current thought running through their mind.
My theory on facebook is that like anything else, has potential for great good, and great harm. It's amazing to catch up with old friends and family. But once you start thinking in terms of what you want to post as your facebook status, you have issues. At that point you've given up conscious control of your thoughts and have allowed an outside source to influence your thoughts. How is a drug any different? An outside substance/source which influences and controls your conscious thoughts.
Just some food for thought.
Wal-Mart has the business strategy of selling lower quality products for a lower price.
When a person goes to Wal-mart they go because they want a product now, for the lowest absolute price. They are okay if the product breaks, wears out quickly, or is substandard because "it's from Wal-mart, what do you expect". They got what they wanted, when they wanted it, and didn't need to work that hard to obtain it.
You go into Wal-mart to buy something because it's cheap. You know it's cheap, but you don't expect it to last for long. You pay less for it an it doesn't last you as long. Most people have become okay with this trade off.
BUT - I see this coming up in all faucets of life. This "wal-mart" mentality has spread to marriages, families, education, politics, careers, and society at large. People are okay with paying less for something that isn't as high quality. "Oh, if I don't like it, I can just get a new one." "Well, it was a bargain, how do I expect it to be quality."
Do you see how toxic that is to marriages, families, and all other social relationships? If you don't work for something, how do you expect it to last. People quit working at their marriages, cheat in school, and lower their standards at work so they can get ahead quickly. If things don't pan out as they hope, it's fine, there is always another spouse, school to get into, or job to get. It's no big deal, besides I didn't work that hard for the first one anyway.
...I hate Wal-Mart.
Facebook Theory
It's sad and disgusting when people start to think in terms of facebook statuses. It slowly robs people of privacy of thought, and cheapens our quality of thinking situations through with logical, detailed, methods. Rather, people impulsively updates their status to reflect the current thought running through their mind.
My theory on facebook is that like anything else, has potential for great good, and great harm. It's amazing to catch up with old friends and family. But once you start thinking in terms of what you want to post as your facebook status, you have issues. At that point you've given up conscious control of your thoughts and have allowed an outside source to influence your thoughts. How is a drug any different? An outside substance/source which influences and controls your conscious thoughts.
Just some food for thought.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Chocolate Fudge Sauce Pudding Cake
I don't have much of a sweet tooth, nor do I particularly enjoy chocolate, but every now and then a dessert comes along that I fall in love with. Crème brûlée with raspberries is one of them, and this Chocolate Fudge Sauce Pudding Cake is another. A co-worker made this for me and my apartment when I was working in Florida. He made it in individual ramekins and it is such a rich cake I could hardly finish that. It's amazingly dense, so literally five bites with ice-cream is enough for one person.
Pictures and words don't do this dessert justice. I recommend you make it, or have someone else make it, and then just enjoy the chocolaty goodness that will make your mouth fall in love with your fudge covered fork even more.
mix:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa
stir in:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Spread in 9" square pan.
mix and sprinkle on top:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
pour over:
1-3/4 cups boiling water
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Pictures and words don't do this dessert justice. I recommend you make it, or have someone else make it, and then just enjoy the chocolaty goodness that will make your mouth fall in love with your fudge covered fork even more.
mix:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa
stir in:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Spread in 9" square pan.
mix and sprinkle on top:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
pour over:
1-3/4 cups boiling water
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
It's been a while.
Since I last wrote I've been to New York and have been helping a friend of mine clean, paint, and remodel her new house while simultaneously packing her old house and watching her two adorable boys! Staying busy has been such a phenomenal blessing.
I'm excited to start shopping for my mission. As it's getting closer to departure time I find myself more thrilled that I made the decision to go. The amount of encouragement has been a huge support and comfort. Just telling people what I'm doing and their positive response has helped me stay focused and practice missionary skills. Soon, I'll be able to do it in Spanish!
As for New York :) I went with Christina and her Aussie friend Natalie. We stayed in Jessica's former roommate's apartment. The girl was actually in DC for the weekend, so we had her room to ourselves. The trip included many highlights such as Phantom of the Opera, bartering in behalf of Natalie, seeing Time's Square, Fashion Row, getting the smile discount on a hilarious caricature, and having quality time with my cousin.
Life is good.
I'm excited to start shopping for my mission. As it's getting closer to departure time I find myself more thrilled that I made the decision to go. The amount of encouragement has been a huge support and comfort. Just telling people what I'm doing and their positive response has helped me stay focused and practice missionary skills. Soon, I'll be able to do it in Spanish!
As for New York :) I went with Christina and her Aussie friend Natalie. We stayed in Jessica's former roommate's apartment. The girl was actually in DC for the weekend, so we had her room to ourselves. The trip included many highlights such as Phantom of the Opera, bartering in behalf of Natalie, seeing Time's Square, Fashion Row, getting the smile discount on a hilarious caricature, and having quality time with my cousin.
Life is good.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Home for six more weeks
I'm home, and it feels great. Since I moved out after high school I haven't returned home for any long periods of time. So being home, and not having any extraordinarily pressing engagements, feels wonderful. I'm able to spend mornings exercising, reading 'Preach My Gospel', and putting my life in order so that I can successfully leave all personal affairs at home while I'm on a mission.
But here's the real story. Monday night our manager took everyone out to dinner because we had reached an office goal. As I was waiting for our food to arrive, I noticed both my managers sitting at the end of the table, talking with each other. Up until that point, I hadn't thought about how I was going to tell them I was leaving. Thus when I saw them sitting there, it was the perfect opportunity. I went over, sat down, and said, "I have bad news, I'm not coming back once I go home." One of my managers immediately said "I think that's a smart move." He then explained how right before his mission he spent time with his family and friends, and how that was one of the best things he could have done.
It felt SO GOOD! I felt like I was on cloud nine after I told them!!! It was such a confirmation that going home was the right option.
So I talked out some logistics with them, and then went back to my seat where dinner had arrived. Now our car arrived a little late, so we were behind the curve by about 40 minutes. We were just starting to eat when everyone else was starting to go home. Also, while we were eating, Ryan too the car to Wal-Mart to get groceries. So after dinner we had to wait for him for another half an hour. Thus, by the time we were starting to drive home - which was still a solid hour away - it was around 12:30am. Lovely.
As we were sitting in the parking lot, waiting for Ryan, I was reflecting on how great it felt to know that that was the last parking lot I would sit in as Pinnacle employee. I would never need to wear that ridiculous uniform again with clunky sneakers, ill fitting shorts, and hair that reeked of McDonald's. i would never need to deal with the Floridiots again!!!! I was going home. Pure euphoria.
When Ryan finally showed up, with half of Wal-Mart in the van, we pile in, pull onto the freeway, and head for home. I was full, I was happy, and I was leaving Florid. As we started to drive home I noticed that the car was starting to shimming in an odd sort of way, and thought to myself "I bet something is going to happen - I bet there is no way we can get home before 2am...." I ignored the odd shimmy and continued to happily reflect on the decisions I had made with life and where I was headed until...
BOOM!!!!
The van jerked to the left and back to the right as Brandon locked his arms on the steering wheel and slammed on the breaks. Simultaneously Kerry and Joy start screaming, Ryan starts swearing at the top of his lungs, Natalie jumps up from Ryan's lap, and I start laughing! OF COURSE!!! Of course something would happen!!!! The cacophony of voices continued until Brandon pulled the car over on the side of I-4 near DinoWorld and we all piled out into the grassy median to find a blown out front left tire. Kerry, Brandon, and Ryan all put their hands in the air in one form or another and cured the van. Natalie and Joy were still trying to figure out what was going on. And I continued to laugh.
We quickly found out that the hazard lights wouldn't turn on and neither would the car. The car wouldn't even turn over. So we sat on the guard rail while Brandon assumed responsibility and started calling people. I continued to laugh...of course something like this would happen.
Eventually a highway response vehicle came to help us, some coworkers came to pick us up, and the van got home (the battery had come disconnected when the van was jolting to and fro as we came to a thrashing halt).
Oh, the adventurous life of a summer sales rep. Next time I'm going to be a tech.
But here's the real story. Monday night our manager took everyone out to dinner because we had reached an office goal. As I was waiting for our food to arrive, I noticed both my managers sitting at the end of the table, talking with each other. Up until that point, I hadn't thought about how I was going to tell them I was leaving. Thus when I saw them sitting there, it was the perfect opportunity. I went over, sat down, and said, "I have bad news, I'm not coming back once I go home." One of my managers immediately said "I think that's a smart move." He then explained how right before his mission he spent time with his family and friends, and how that was one of the best things he could have done.
It felt SO GOOD! I felt like I was on cloud nine after I told them!!! It was such a confirmation that going home was the right option.
So I talked out some logistics with them, and then went back to my seat where dinner had arrived. Now our car arrived a little late, so we were behind the curve by about 40 minutes. We were just starting to eat when everyone else was starting to go home. Also, while we were eating, Ryan too the car to Wal-Mart to get groceries. So after dinner we had to wait for him for another half an hour. Thus, by the time we were starting to drive home - which was still a solid hour away - it was around 12:30am. Lovely.
As we were sitting in the parking lot, waiting for Ryan, I was reflecting on how great it felt to know that that was the last parking lot I would sit in as Pinnacle employee. I would never need to wear that ridiculous uniform again with clunky sneakers, ill fitting shorts, and hair that reeked of McDonald's. i would never need to deal with the Floridiots again!!!! I was going home. Pure euphoria.
When Ryan finally showed up, with half of Wal-Mart in the van, we pile in, pull onto the freeway, and head for home. I was full, I was happy, and I was leaving Florid. As we started to drive home I noticed that the car was starting to shimming in an odd sort of way, and thought to myself "I bet something is going to happen - I bet there is no way we can get home before 2am...." I ignored the odd shimmy and continued to happily reflect on the decisions I had made with life and where I was headed until...
BOOM!!!!
The van jerked to the left and back to the right as Brandon locked his arms on the steering wheel and slammed on the breaks. Simultaneously Kerry and Joy start screaming, Ryan starts swearing at the top of his lungs, Natalie jumps up from Ryan's lap, and I start laughing! OF COURSE!!! Of course something would happen!!!! The cacophony of voices continued until Brandon pulled the car over on the side of I-4 near DinoWorld and we all piled out into the grassy median to find a blown out front left tire. Kerry, Brandon, and Ryan all put their hands in the air in one form or another and cured the van. Natalie and Joy were still trying to figure out what was going on. And I continued to laugh.
We quickly found out that the hazard lights wouldn't turn on and neither would the car. The car wouldn't even turn over. So we sat on the guard rail while Brandon assumed responsibility and started calling people. I continued to laugh...of course something like this would happen.
Eventually a highway response vehicle came to help us, some coworkers came to pick us up, and the van got home (the battery had come disconnected when the van was jolting to and fro as we came to a thrashing halt).
Oh, the adventurous life of a summer sales rep. Next time I'm going to be a tech.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Moving
Dear Friends, Family, and other such cheerleaders,
I am moving back in with my dad until I go on my mission.
This has been an interesting experience for me. At the end of the semester I felt very strongly that I needed to come here to Florida, but was unsure why. As I've been down here I have had an incredibly hard time trying synthesis the different skills this job require. There have also been several other remarkably difficult thing about the work and living environment.
A few weeks back I considered quitting and going home. I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, the whole office was struggling, there is no good stress outlet....etc, etc, etc. But I talked with a good friend who helped me sort through some thoughts and decisions. I concluded that I would stay here until the Lord showed me that my purpose here was fulfilled, rather than reinforcing the habit of quitting simply because I thought things were getting tough.
On Sunday, I had an experience that showed me and confirmed that my purpose here was fulfilled. It was like being liberated from the binding depths of the ocean and wrapped in a warm blanket on the sunny deck of a ship sailing on calm waters. I realized, with contagious joy, that I can go home without quitting - and that was a tender mercy from the Lord. When the idea of going home was tossed around before, I felt like I would be quitting, and now I feel like I'm progressing.
As has been the case before, once I fully commit to the will of the Lord, he makes a path through what I thought would be impossible. It usually isn't the path I would have imagined, but it always turns out fantastic.
Much love,
Susan
I am moving back in with my dad until I go on my mission.
This has been an interesting experience for me. At the end of the semester I felt very strongly that I needed to come here to Florida, but was unsure why. As I've been down here I have had an incredibly hard time trying synthesis the different skills this job require. There have also been several other remarkably difficult thing about the work and living environment.
A few weeks back I considered quitting and going home. I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, the whole office was struggling, there is no good stress outlet....etc, etc, etc. But I talked with a good friend who helped me sort through some thoughts and decisions. I concluded that I would stay here until the Lord showed me that my purpose here was fulfilled, rather than reinforcing the habit of quitting simply because I thought things were getting tough.
On Sunday, I had an experience that showed me and confirmed that my purpose here was fulfilled. It was like being liberated from the binding depths of the ocean and wrapped in a warm blanket on the sunny deck of a ship sailing on calm waters. I realized, with contagious joy, that I can go home without quitting - and that was a tender mercy from the Lord. When the idea of going home was tossed around before, I felt like I would be quitting, and now I feel like I'm progressing.
As has been the case before, once I fully commit to the will of the Lord, he makes a path through what I thought would be impossible. It usually isn't the path I would have imagined, but it always turns out fantastic.
Much love,
Susan
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