2 silver dollars

watch it...it's so worth it. :)

are you inspired? :)

sunday school

i love how gospel principles have depth. there are so many layers to discover! and the symbolism is so profound. :) today i was reminded of the layers and symbolism of the armor of god.

we can be protected against the adversary; all we have to do is use the armor god has given us.

"Satan seeks to find any chink in the armor of each person. He knows our weaknesses and knows how to exploit them if we allow him to do so. We can defend ourselves against his attacks and deceptions only by understanding the commandments and by fortifying ourselves each day through praying, studying the scriptures, and following the counsel of the Lord’s anointed"

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

farewell to football

sad news everybody: today was the last football game of my byu undergraduate career. :(

happy news: we won. :) and it was the best game of the season!

the early arrivers :

we got free lanyards! :) and i dunno why johns face is mutu...

the stadium was PACKED...

there were "about 64,301 people" -according to john.

final score:

OH yesss!

rach was pretty excited to sport her shirt.

and to showcase the crazy field-rushing fans.

ninja john...was cold. and anxious to get outta there.

he kept complaining that it was freezing and that it was the longest game EVER.

and that he was hungry.

i.dont.know.

jennie was super happy to be there. it made her day.

thanks cam! and josue. :)

steven sat by us too.

i have never seen him so excited in my life. :p

my last football game ever...at least as a byu undergrad. ;)

the end.

p.s. after the game we all went to cams house for dinner. she made chuk (sp?) with the leftover turkey and gravey from thanksgiving. and it was SO good. :) it tasted just like dads!

think about it...

Adam fell that men might be;

and men are, that they might have joy.

2 Ne 2:25

this is what i read in my scripture study today. everybody knows this scripture. but sometimes, i think, we forget it. we get so caught up in the crazy busy-ness of life that we dont take time to find joy in the journey! today, i found joy in going to the basketball game with jesse and luis. we had fun. :)

the answered prayer

in honor of the upcoming game i decided to include this clip. :) it has nothing to do with this post, besides the fact that its known as 'the answered prayer,' but i just couldnt resist. :p

isnt that amazing!? :D ok, now this is my real post:

sometimes god takes a while to answer our prayers. but he does. he always does. and for that, i am grateful. :)

and btw, im also grateful for family get-togethers and yummy thanksgiving food. :)

the prize

jesse and i hung out with luis today. this time it was my turn to be in charge of the activity. and i decided to have an "engineering day" with the boys. :)

first they got to "test" my group's senior project system. doesnt the casing look spiffy!? :p

this is luis trying to align the transmitter:

and here's jesse trying to align the receiver.

they got music transmitting pretty quick! luis is a pro. :)

the next activity was a morse code game. i gave them a fiber optic cable and a laser and they had to send/receive the message. here is the message:

first luis sent the signal,

and jesse received it,

and then they switched. the message said,

"Scientists dream of doing great things. Engineers do them." :)

and the last activity was a 'How Observant Are You?" quiz/game on a wafer. they had to look through a microscope to read the question and then answer it.

they got bored of this one pretty quick so we chucked the microscope and just did the quiz by itself.

here were the questions:

---*---*---*---
1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
2. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?
3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?
4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?
6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?
7. How many matches are in a standard pack?
8. On the United State’s flag is the top stripe red or white?
9. Whose face is on the back of a dime?
10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?
11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?
12. What is on the back of a $1 bill?
13 On which side of a woman's blouse are the buttons?
14. Which way do fans rotate?
15 How many sides does a stop sign have?
16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?
17. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?
18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?
19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?
20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
21 On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?
22 On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?
23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?
24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?
---*---*---*---

luis won the game, with 19 total! how many can YOU get?

before we packed up luis wanted to solder something. so bryson showed him how to solder a resistor.

i think that mightve been the funnest thing for him. :)

just as we were leaving, bryson wanted to give luis "a prize" for winning the game. that prize was a book of mormon. he handed it to him and told him he should read it. just like that. (bryson's always wanted to baptize a peruvian.)

isnt that amazing? bryson totally just gave luis a book of mormon. i thought to myself, "wow bryson, way to be a missionary!" and i appreciated his example. :)

im spoiled

this morning i had to do a load of laundry...

(not really true...but erwin, i thought of YOU)

all i had to do was carry my hamper to the back room, start the water, pour in the suds, load my clothes, and let it run. it was THAT simple!

i didnt have to walk "across the complex" to get to the laundry room. i didnt have to walk outside in the cold. i didnt have to carry my box of suds, and my hamper filled with clothes, and my bottle of quarters. i didnt have to get all bundled up, just to do my laundry. i didnt have to spend an arm and a leg (...okay, maybe thats a slight exaggeration...) to start the washer. i didnt have to move someone else's clothes out of the washer. and i didnt even have to wait for a washer to be available.

...all because i live in a house. its so nice to be living in a house. :)

men of God

i am impressed by young men who honor their priesthood. i admire young men who are worthy to exercise their priesthood power. i appreciate young men who are willing to answer the call to serve. i am grateful for young men who have prepared themselves to carry out the Lord's work.

i feel blessed to know such young men.

thank you for your example.

thought balls

"It is the plainest

and the most simple things

that edify us the most,

if taught by the Spirit of God,

and there is nothing

more important

or beneficial unto us."

-Wilford Woodruff

for the past month ive been going to the temple prep class. it isnt the first time for me--its actually my fourth--but i still think its important to go. today we talked about symbols. and even though ive heard the lesson before i learned something new. i found myself being taught by words that werent spoken. they came as thought balls: clear, succinct, deep, and profound. i knew it was Truth.

i left class feeling uplifted, edified, and enlightened. i was grateful.

cams advice

a little over a year ago, cam gave me a magnet that says,

"take time to smell the flowers."

today, i did just that; no homework, no studying, no school. all i did was play. and it was great. :)

unfortunately, i will have plenty of homework to do come monday...but at least i enjoyed my saturday!

my philosophy

obedience is simple to me. whats right is right, and whats wrong is wrong. theres no gray for me. no in-betweens. sometimes i dont understand when people disobey. why do people do it?

my best friends

"Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters. Help carry their load so you can say, like the lyrics of that song, 'He ain't heavy; he's my brother'."

-Ezra Taft Benson

a little bit of magic

last night i was at BYU's Got Talent. it got me thinking about my own talents...and about what they even are. i know i dont have any obvious ones like singing/dancing/drawing/yo-yo-ing (...or maybe i should say public ones? apparent ones? performable ones? whatever -- you get the point...) so last night, i had to ask myself:

what are my talents?

well, i couldnt think of any at the time. i didnt spend too much time thinking about it. i kinda just brushed it off and forgot about it. but today i was reminded of it again at meags' mask club.

the theme of her play was, as the title of my post suggests, that everyone has talents (or magic), and everyone has something to offer. so it got me thinking again. i really wanted to know what my talents were. so i prayed about it. i needed help figuring it out.

tonight, he answered my prayer. he didnt list my talents or tell me everything im good at...in fact, he only told me one. and he didnt even tell me directly. it came as a thought, after chatting with a friend.

so now i know.

but the point isnt that i know. the point is that he told me. the point is that he answered my prayer. :)

the text

tonight i had an IEEE (pronounced eye-triple-E) meeting at 6. usually these meetings last about an hour and consist of: a few quick announcements, a 30 to 40 minute technical talk followed by a q&a, and refreshments. since this meeting was in the clyde, and wasnt supposed to be pau until 7, and institute started at 7 (all the way at cinnamon tree), i knew i'd have to leave the meeting early. i figured i would stay for the entire technical talk (so as not to be rude by walking out in the middle of it) and leave during the q&a. sounds like a pretty good plan, right?

WELL, for this particular meeting there was free pizza. so that meant there was a TON of people there...way more than usual! and that also meant that it was gonna be a hassle to have to step over people (who were sitting on the stairs) if the talk went past 6:40. i didnt wanna do that. :S

the talk started. the pizza eventually came. but the talk continued. and he wasnt stopping to let us grab pizza. i started eye-ing the clock at about 6:30. he was still cruising through his talk. and i was trying to gauge how much longer he would take and how close to the end he was. he didnt seem too close. so thats when i started getting paranoid.

i kept watching the clock. 6:35, 6:36, 6:37...only 3 more minutes til i had to leave. i REALLY didnt wanna get up, in front of ALL those people, and RUDELY walk out in the middle of his talk. it wasnt like i could sneak out without being noticed. but i also didnt wanna miss my 6:48 bus and have to walk to cinnamon tree.

he didnt seem to be catching my "please-hurry-and-wrap-it-up" vibes...so he kept on going...6:38, 6:39, 6:40...he was still talking. so now i had to make a choice. i was either gonna have to be rude and walk over a whole bunch of people in order to give myself enough time to make it to my bus, or, wait til it was pau and walk to cinnamon tree and be rude anyways by walking into institute late. :( just as i was agonizing over this unfortunate situation, i randomly looked at my phone. and i had a text. it said,

"Institute is cancelled today. Sorry."

wow. can you believe it!? it was canceled! my agonizing was in vain! my paranoia was for nothing! i didnt have to be rude! i didnt have to leave! i didnt even have to hurry to the bus! i could stay for a slice of pizza. :p

i was relieved. and grateful. and all i could do was smile.

just for MEAGS

"Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith. If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God's commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things."

-Elder Kevin W. Pearson

ill be extra extra obedient, just for you. :)

christmas is in the air

3 need-tos

this afternoon in my personal study i decided to read elder bednar's talk, More Diligent and Concerned at Home. i LOVED it. there are so many golden nuggets in this one...and thats why i included it as a link so you can refer back to it! :) here are 3 quotes that i especially appreciated/underlined/needed:

"We need to both express and demonstrate love."

"We need to both declare and live our testimonies."

"We need to be and become more consistent."

football

adeline and i worked on our LAST :) 324 lab this afternoon. we werent able to finish but we put in a good four hours. when 12 o'clock rolled around i started getting anxious...cuz thats when the byu-unm kickoff was!

i TRIED to stay focused...

fortunately, adeline didnt seem to mind when i pulled up GAMETRACKER :)
at about 2 we decided to call it a day...and that meant:

i could still catch the last hour of the game!

YESSS! :)

after hurrying through a homework assignment -- due monday -- i ran downstairs, logged into the computer, turned on byutv, and watched the last quarter on the projector screen. all by myself. in a classroom of the clyde. and i was so content.

final score: byu 24 unm 19

i dunno why i enjoy it so much...but i do. :)

miracles happen

tonight my relief society had an enrichment activity. we planned to meet at aileen's house at 6:30 and then carpool up to the planetarium at 6:45. i was the first to arrive at her house, and as i walked in, they were just finishing up a movie. this is the part that i walked in on:

Many nights we pray

With no proof anyone could hear

In our hearts a hopeful song

We barely understood

Now we are not afraid

Although we know there's much to fear

We were moving mountains long

Before we knew we could

There can be miracles

When you believe

Though hope is frail

It's hard to kill

Who knows what miracles

You can achieve

When you believe

Somehow you will

You will when you believe

In this time of fear

When prayer so often proves in vain

Hope seems like the summer birds

Too swiftly flown away

And now I'm standing here

My heart's so full, I can't explain

Seeking faith and speaking words

I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles

When you believe

Though hope is frail

Its hard to kill

Who knows what miracles

You can achieve

When you believe

Somehow you will

You will when you believe

trying to be like jesus

this morning i was reading The Friend. and this was my favorite article:

A Friendly Swim

Nathan H., age 7, Utah

Nathan H., “A Friendly Swim,” Friend, Nov. 2009, 10

My friend and I went swimming at the swimming pool with our first-grade class. My friend had to wear a life jacket. Two girls came over and teased him about his life jacket. I got out of the pool and put a life jacket on. Then I got back in the pool and looked for my friend. When I found him he was happy I was wearing a life jacket! I try to be a good friend, and when I am, I am happy too.

i want to be a good friend, just like nathan. :)

children of eden

tonight we watched children of eden.

one of the themes throughout the play reminded me of this video:

isnt that so inspiring? :)

the girl at the testing center

today was the last day to take my 281 test. the format of the test was: 1 part open-book, 1 part closed book, and you couldnt take them both at the same time. it was scheduled to close at noon...but the testing center doesnt hand out tests from 10:45 to 12 (on tuesdays) because of devotional...so i knew i had to have the second part of the test in my hand before 10:45.

well...i got to campus later than i had originally planned and didnt get part 1 of the test until 10:18. i knew there was no way id be able to finish it, turn it in, walk all the way around, stand in line again, and get part 2 before 10:45. and i was right...i didnt finish part 1 til 11:30. but i had said a prayer and knew that everything would be alright. (i read my scriptures this morning. :) )

as i turned in part 1 i asked the girl what time tests would be handed out again. she said "around 12", looked at my test, and then said "do you want the second part?"she was actually gonna let me pick up part 2 and walk right back into the testing center! can you believe that!? IT WAS A MIRACLE!!! :) apparently she knew which test i was taking and was kind enough to get it for me without making me walk all the way around to the front and wait for 12 to roll around. i didnt even have to worry about missing the 12 o'clock close time. and i was grateful.

facebook and the gospel

you know how you can create an event on facebook? and invitees can rsvp by selecting either Attending, Maybe Attending, Not Attending, or not even respond? well...this was the topic of our 2-minute spiritual thought at tonight's fhe. :p

this is kinda how it went: as members of the church we need to choose whether or not we're "attending" the gospel. we should exercise our agency and decide how dedicated we want to be to the gospel. we shouldnt be fence-sitters (maybe attend) and we definitely shouldnt not attend. instead we need to choose to attend. he shared the scripture "choose ye this day whom ye will serve..." and somehow related it all together.

does that make sense? :S

i think the spirit taught me...cuz now that im writing it out it doesnt make as much sense. it made a lot more sense earlier. :p help me out here, friends. does it work? can we somehow relate facebook and the gospel?

4 different groups

i went to a prospective missionary fireside today. president heaton led the discussion and we talked about lehi's dream of the tree of life. this time around there was one particular aspect of the dream that stuck out to me. it was the part about the 4 different groups...

A: these people went along their merry ways but got lost because of the mist of darkness. they wandered off and never made it to the tree of life. (1 ne 8:23)

B: this group made it to the tree of life and even tasted of the fruit but fell away because they were ashamed. then they got lost in forbidden paths. (1 ne 8:28)

C: this group held onto the iron rod and made it to the tree of life. they partook of the fruit. (1 ne 8:30)

D: this group felt their way to the great and spacious building. many drowned or were lost in strange roads. (1 ne 8:31-32)

what struck me the most is when president heaton said that group A wasnt hanging on to the iron rod. that kinda caught me off guard cuz before today, i'd always assumed that all four groups were holding onto the iron rod and that each chose which way it would go from there. but it only says that group C caught hold of the rod. and it doesnt say anything about it for the other 3 groups!

so this is the epiphany i had: the ONLY way we can gain eternal life and partake of the fruit of the tree of life is by hanging on to the iron rod! thats how important the word of god is! there's no way we can survive the mists of darkness and great and spacious buildings AND arrive at the tree of life without it! when we let go of the rod, or stop making time for scripture study in our every day lives, we begin to fall away. eventually we become lost and confused by the world and the mist of darkness. and thats when we start wandering into forbidden paths. it made so much sense when i realized that it was when they didnt have the word of god, (or more like they had it but weren't using it) that they got lost. isnt that a beautiful contrast?

this is such a simple truth--it isnt anything new--but tonight i saw it from a new angle. we all know that we should be studying our scriptures. we know it is essential for returning to live with our heavenly father and we have been taught that we should do it every day. my ultimate goal: to be in group C! the key now: just do it! :)

look at me!

ive always wanted to ride a horse...its been on my list of 'things to do before i die' and today i crossed it off the list. :) we got there at about 5 and by then the sun was already behind the mountains. so it was a quick ride -- maybe ten minutes max.

i got to ride irish...she was the calmest, most well-behaved one...and that was a good thing cuz i was the only first-timer. im still amazed at how well-trained horses can be. a simple tug at the reins tells them to stop. or turn. or go backwards. and thats so cool. :)

there was one part of the drive home that reminded me of the drive from lihue to kekaha. it was a two-lane road, the stars were shining, and there werent any houses, or streetlights, or businesses in sight. there were bushes and trees on the side of the road and the silhouette of the mountains lined the sky. it was just us and the mountains and the stars and the trees. and it felt like we were passing wai'ale'ale and going down that stretch right after the bend. it felt like Home. :) and it made me happy.

and just as a random sidenote:

doesnt this remind you of the movies?

the truck. the mountains. the sky. the dog. the cowboy. the horse.

it was great. :)