Friday, July 23, 2010

20 Dollar Bill


I was so touched by a talk President Uchtdorf gave at April's General Conference titled
"You Are My Hands", it has been on my mind a lot lately & so I thought I would share some of the parts that really stuck out to me in my mind. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from his talk:

"I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home.


When we are tempted to judge, let us think of the Savior, who “loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. …


“[And] he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, … [for] all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.”


In truth, we “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We are all in need of mercy. In that last day when we are called to the judgment bar of God, do we not hope that our many imperfections will be forgiven? Do we not yearn to feel the Savior’s embrace?

It seems only right and proper that we extend to others that which we so earnestly desire for ourselves.


I am not suggesting that we accept sin or overlook evil, in our personal life or in the world. Nevertheless, in our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. We know from modern revelation that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen. "
Here is my FAVE part...


One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, “I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.”


With this in mind, let our hearts and hands be stretched out in compassion toward others, for everyone is walking his or her own difficult path. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are called to support and heal rather than condemn. We are commanded “to mourn with those that mourn” and “comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”


In the book of Proverbs we read that “a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Let us love at all times. And let us especially be there for our brothers and sisters during times of adversity. "
So good, so inspirational! I am sure most of you have heard it, read it, etc... I just felt like re-sharing it here on my blog. And the part above that I said stuck out to me the most, the part about what the lady said about the $20 bill. I've always realized that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God & that we are all beloved children of our Heavenly Father. This just help give me a great visual example & REALLY made it CLICK in my head. We really are all worth sooo much & even though we go through life & have our personal struggles & can get stained from the world, we still are worth the same amount. I love it, I love to know through all of my sins & repenting & oops, there I go sinning again & coming back to ask for repentance. Through my weaknesses & struggles, I am still worth so much in the sight of the Lord. And you know what, so is every single person around me. And THAT is how they deserved to be treated. It doesn't matter how tattered & torn they are, they are still worth the same amount as a crisp hardly used $20 bill.
Hopefully this speaks to you as much as it does to me. Thanks for reading. :)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Little Miss Obsessive

Stuff I am obsessed with as of late....


*The show 'Double Exposure' on Bravo. It follows these
two photographers as they do major photo shoots with major stars. The guy is bonkers
& the girl is gorg (she's an ex model), & they used to date each other & they
fight mad crazy over stuff, but they are amazing at their craft.
Very Entertaining!!!*
*The chicken cesar salad at Kneaders. I am very picky
when it comes to Cesar Salad & they nailed this one.
Mmmmmmmmm!*
*The songs:
"My Delirium" by Ladyhawke
"Merry Happy" by Kate Nash
"Kandi" by One Eskimo
"Goodbye" by Greg Laswell
"Starstruck" by Santigold
"You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" by The Submarines
"Samson" by Regina Spektor
"The Kiss" by Pallers
"Everywhere I go" by Lissie
Look 'em up, you won't be disappointed, I promise
(well, unless u have sucky taste in music,
then I can't help you there:)!*
* Raspberries in milk with honey on top. This isn't a new
obsession, I've done this since I was a young one.
Learned it from my gramps, so yummy & good for you!*
*Two finger rings, that's right, rings that go over TWO fingers.
The first time my mom-in-law saw me
wearing one she asked,
"Are those things legal?"
She thought that it was brass knuckles. Awesome!
Made me like the ring & her even more.*
*The show "Bethenny Getting Married" also on Bravo.
If you are familiar with
'The Real Housewives of New York', then yes,
it is the same Bethenny.
She has her own spin off show & I laugh
uncontrollably every episode.
She has got to be THE wittiest lady on TV. *
*The Summer Vanillas home oil collection from
Bath & Body Works.The Berry one is my personal fave.
Just wish they weren't limited edition.*
*The word 'Amazeballs', not always graciously accepted amongst
many people, but I find it to be a crack up
when lightly peppered into any conversation.*
There you have it, my people, what are you obsessed with?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Girls Camp Rocked the Hiz House


Girls camp was even more funnier, awesomier, coolier, bettier, sweetier, spiritualier & dopeier than I could ever imagined. It seriously was a blast and a half! Loved it! We stayed in The Sorensen's sweet cabin (we were roughing it fo sho). So many fun times, and oh how I truly LOVE every single person that shared in on the girls camp experience 2010! Some highlights:

***The ride to and from camp... talk about a partay in the Montero my loves!***

***Doing all of the girls make-up (a wee bit foreign lugging a bunch o make-up to CAMP, but whatev's) & seeing just how beautimus every single one of them really are!***

***Seeing a baby Moose right outside the cabin & naming him "Moosey"***

***Crying my eyes out, later that night after applying make-up to the girls, telling them that
inner beauty is SO much more important than outer beauty, that they are all beautiful daughters of God & that THAT is what REALLY matters!!!***

***Singing awesome silly songs with the girls***

***Having a very spiritual Testimony Meeting Friday night out on the porch surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery***

***Going 'Snipe Hunting' with the Beehives....Priceless***

***Laughing till I nearly peed myself with all of the leaders (basically every second we were there, but in particular the last night, after all the girls had gone to bed) My vision for being a leader myself at camp realized!!!***

***Getting to know everyone sooo much better & literally loving every second of being with all of them, Long Live Girls Camp 2010!!!***




Let's get to some Pix, shant we.....


So, this is the last day when we were packing up & Katie was about to snap a fabu pic of mua & instead got this (which is even MORE fabu if you ask me). For some reason Steph decided to scare me half ta def at this very instant & Katie captured it. Loves!

Here is 'Moosey', inside joke:

"I tried to stop him, I said 'Moose Stop!', but he didn't listen..."

Here is me, Katie & Katee doing our Miley pouty lips face right after the makeovers.

Work it Girlz!!!



Stretching out atop z ladies



Right before 'Snipe Hunting', notice the Beehives have Toothpaste plastered on their faces. The Laurels told them it "lured" in the snipes. Good stuff!





Great times, great times! Thanks Jake for allowing us unlimited back stage access to your sweet cabin, you are the ONLY reason I would ever claim to be TEAM JACOB! :) Thanks to all of the other leaders, not only did you make me feel like a kid again, but you truly made me feel like a true Stand Up Comedian (which, let's all be honest, I so am not! Only at midnight, in the dark, when I am literally Standing Up, whilst you were all laying down)! And especially Thanks to the 'girls', thanks for accepting me into the YW clan with open arms... I love, love, love you ALL!!!