bad things.

i proclaimed this yesterday in sunday school, and i want to remember it:

every single one of us has bad things happen to us.  we feel anger or jealously or insecurities or frustration.   what do you do with those negative feelings?
some of us go home and have a glass of wine, some of us pull out a cigarette, some of us go sleep with a guy, some of us buy a lot of shoes, some of us view pornography, some of us hit things and scream, some of us eat a lot or not at all, some of us even consider suicide.
all of which are unhealthy.
all of which are done to escape, or alleviate the negative feelings.
all of which are temporary.
the one place that we can turn to for real relief and lasting comfort is God.
i believe that we will be happiest through our troubles when we dont seek relief from anything outside of God.

this may not seem natural or easy to do, but it is worth it.

twenty six.

26 things i have learned by my 26th birthday.

1/ that i was placed in my specific family on purpose by a loving Heavenly Father
2/ how to love myself.
3/ how important it is to forgive everyone. even if they are not sorry. grudges bring about nothing good.
4/ what it really means to 'lean not unto thine own understanding'
5/ you should be a good person despite what others say or do
6/ my sins and problems are only different from others', they are not better or worse people
7/ what i am passionate about
8/ we ought to respect others' agency, the way God has left us solely with ours.  i can not control anyone else, but me.  i can control how i feel and how i react to anything. "no one can hurt you without your consent."
9/ that my love language is words of affirmation (what a surprise.) and lack of this or abuse of this, hurts me the most.
10/ how to pray
11/ that i have a really personalized mission and purpose on this earth
12/ how to assess and correct posture
13/ how to handle grief
14/ that soccer is not the most important thing in life
15/ to seek first to understand, then to be understood
16/ i can always run farther or do another set more than what my mind tells me
17/ my self worth is not dependent on how much a man loves me, my weight on the scale, the size of my boobs, the decisions i made in the past, the fanciness of my clothes, what other people think if me, how much i can get done in a day, whether i have children or not, nor my decision to not go to grad school.
18/ that no matter how far we feel like we are, no matter what bad things we've done, no matter what anyone else did to us-- we can ALWAYS turn to the Savior, who waits with open arms, and find joy
19/ you can't change the fruit without changing the root
20/ happiness is a choice
21/ most relationship difficulties are rooted in unclear/unexpressed expectations of roles and goals
22/ there is a definite difference between infatuation and love, and satan will continuously tempt us with infatuations.  infatuations or lust are unrealistic ideas of what someone is, what something will be like, or what you are seeing.  and it is worthy every effort to choose love over infatuation
23/ even though im a big kid now, its healthy to still dream
24/ love is a verb. action. it is a choice.  it is what we choose after the initial "head over heels" obsession.  it is discovering how someone feels and accepts love, then selflessly showing that to them every day.   it is making sacrifices for that person, really hearing them, and even giving them the freedom of agency—to develop themselves as an individual.  it is to know all the dark secrets and faults, and forgiving despite it all.  we are to love everyone. our selves, our enemies, our companions. and above all, we are commanded to love our God.
25/ only the disciplined are truly free.
26/ im only Gods hands.  im here to develop like Him.  to learn and grow, so i can help others. i have learned that i am given people, and trials, and my family, and opportunities so I can be molded into a spectacular woman.  i have power to create a life dedicated to happiness, light, truth, learning, loving, improving, and teaching.  i am not here for just me to enjoy, but i am here to serve Him and help his children find joy as well.

and i am grateful to recognize and learn these things over the past 25 years.  im thankful for everyone and every relationship and every experience that taught me.  26 is finding me at a turning point with many new things to learn and work on.  and im excited for it.
life is so good.
cheers!

Get healthy.

How much sodium do you consume? Any idea?
How much is a lot??!

The average American consumes DOUBLE the recommended amount!

The average mg that you ought to consume each day is 1,500.


high sodium foods to stay away from:
Canned foods
Frozen meals
Pickles
Fast food (taco bell beam burrito has 1,220 mg in it! All your daily sodium in one meal!)
Soy sauce
Tuna in oil
Pretzels
Cheese


Stay away from em! Hypertension (high blood pressure) is your main risk when you dont control your sodium intake.

keep goin keep goin and keep goin.

T shared this awesome pep talk with me.
lets dance!
thanks T.  you're rockin life like a boss lady!




I was made to be awesome.
and i really believe this today.

the loved one

We most often express our love in the ways that we would like to be loved.
Instead, what we should be doing is asking how our significant other feels love. It is not common that any two people receive love the exact same way.

Often times, we feel like were expressing tons of love by doing x y and z! But our partner really doesn't note those things as love, he/she is feeling empty, waiting for v.

Its a simple idea. But it is the root of many relationship downfalls. It is easy to ask or observe what your dearest love is wanting. Then its just a matter of making a conscious effort to express it in that language.

When both partners do this for the other, you cant go wrong. Pure bliss.

And thats the key.