100 Things I’m Thankful For

To be honest, I really don’t care if you read this post or not… it’s more for me and a way of listing all the amazing things I have to be grateful for. If this inspires you to think of all your blessings, then I think it’s a success and if you can’t think of any blessings… well… think harder :).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

100 Things I’m Thankful For:

1. My relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost
2. My super-duper hard working dad, and the BEST momma in the whole world!
3. Having seven amazing, hilarious, unique, and awesome siblings
4. Having siblings that will be my actors in home videos
5. Growing up where there was always a younger sibling that was a baby… so much fun!
6. Trick-or-treating with the siblings (I love Halloween, remember 🙂 )
7. Our old home where I grew up, plus driving through our old neighborhood and reminiscing
8. Our new home where I’m still growing up
9. Living in a cul-de-sac at home
10. Brigham Young University-Idaho, my home for half the year
11. Two professors in particular, Brother Orchard and Brother Williams
12. Learning to walk on icy sidewalks and streets
13. Playing the piano by ear and figuring out arrangements of songs I like
14. Singing alto
15. Doing gymnastics for five years
16. Having the opportunity to coach gymnastics for three years
17. Earning a leotard for free because I knew the most about current gymnasts (back in the day)
18. Potatoes with cheddar cheese
19. Movies that are inspiring (Narnia films, Chariots of Fire, etc.)
20. That I actually enjoyed taking the ACT test three times (and improved my score each time)
21. That I was homeschooled
22. Because I was homeschooled I had more time to play outside, and read a TON
23. Being curled up in one of our blue chairs reading a book
24. Re-arranging furniture… I LOVE re-arranging furniture (although dad doesn’t like it, whoops!)
25. The experience of being a cashier at a restaurant (I’m thankful that it’s over)
26. My job at the library
27. Getting to do fun projects for college
28. Writing for fun!
29. iMovie
30. Facebook (yes, I’m thankful for Facebook)
31. When I understand my schoolwork (specifically American Epidemic stuff, which I ended up loving!)
32. Experiences that taught me empathy
33. When I’m able to do small acts of service
34. Attending devotional
35. That I was able to shake President Clark’s hand and tell him how much I love BYU-Idaho (he said he did too, haha, I hope so!)
36. Cheesy Christmas movies (think anything on Netflix)
37. Watching movies with dad that I didn’t appreciate as being good until I was older (Chariots of Fire, Man from Snowy River, etc.)
38. Finishing homework assignments early
39. Arriving at college after flying and driving all day
40. Seeing the temple from anywhere on campus
41. My bed
42. Warm showers
43. Petroleum Jelly (way better than Chap Stick)
44. When my older brother sings
45. Seeing my siblings as I walk out of the airport terminal after arriving home from a semester
46. Having uncontrollable laughing fits with Diana, or Kaleb, or anybody
47. Having a younger brother that won’t get mad at me when I get mad at him for waking me up
48. Having a younger sister who would act out scenes from movies with me and wasn’t afraid to be dramatic
49. Having another younger brother who was able to fight some super difficult issues from a young age and is super strong
50. Photographic Kimber
51. Allie, the angel… as well as the one that I suggested her name and mom and dad chose it!
52. Spending the night in the hospital with momma after she had Allie
53. Streams… of water… but not the crying kind, the kind that is in our backyard
54. The Atonement (check out lds.org, or Mormon.org)
55. Sleepovers with friends when I was a kid
56. Miracles (there is so much to say about miracles this semester, I’ll have to dedicate another post to it later)
57. Hot single men, emphasis on the men, at BYU-Idaho
58. New apartment (with re-arranged furniture)
59. Being able to walk everywhere
60. That I love my major
61. That I appreciate weather in the 20⁰’s after it being way down in the negatives
62. Stretching
63. The BYU-Idaho Center
64. The employees at BYU-Idaho who all nicely answer the million questions I have
65. One teacher in particular who told me I was a good girl
66. Teachers who appreciate when I finish homework assignments early
67. The best bishops…. All of mine have been absolutely incredible, and kind, and understanding, and sweet, and more….
68. The Foundations courses and how they expand the way that I think about different things and parts of the world
69. Lotion
70. Loving to drive
71. The Road to Avonlea series
72. Having siblings that will watch movies with me
73. The book, “Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus” (SO good, and helpful!)
74. Microsoft Word
75. Being able to take a CIT database class
76. Learning new programs
77. When it is not windy at BYU-Idaho (I think any BYU-Idaho student would agree)
78. Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Dickerson at their two cozy houses
79. Grandpa Dickerson (don’t tell anyone, but he is my favorite grandparent)
80. Being able to understand math a bit better
81. SUNSHINE!!!!
82. Enjoying exercise
83. This blog
84. Classes that get canceled
85. Having the best roommates ever!!!!
86. Deep religious conversations with my younger siblings (they are so incredibly righteous and smart)
87. The Commandments
88. Conversations with good guys/men
89. America!!!!
90. Random people who come up with hilarious videos to watch when I’m tired
91. Our military men and woman
92. Family history
93. People that believe in me
94. The ability to learn and get an education
95. Priesthood blessings
96. Temples
97. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
98. Prayer… it works!!!!
99. My testimony
100. That Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me… and you too!!!!

~Heather

The Future…

This week I have been kind of stressed about the future and how everything is going to work out. At BYU-Idaho there is so much pressure to be a good student, get married quick, make a difference in the world once you leave, etc. Seriously, I can only handle one thing at a time, which is, right now, working on being a good student. Of course, I plan on marriage and a family, but whether you like it or not, you can’t just make someone marry you, getting a degree sometimes takes longer than four years, classes can be really, really hard, and maybe you’re not as smart as you think. However, thinking positively, there is hope. It is possible to get an education, be smart, get married, and succeed in the world. It just doesn’t seem to be happening all that quickly for me.

Whatever.

I know there is hope because I’ve seen all of this happening to other people around me all the time. In fact, everyone around me seems to have all of this stuff happening… which is lessening my chances to find a man (in terms of marriage).  🙂

Okay, I just need to chill out. I know that things will work out. In fact, the last two days I’ve been unusually excited for the future, even though I really don’t know how everything is going to work out. It all goes back to faith and trust. Seriously (which is one of my favorite words), it will all work out, God has a plan, and I’ve just got to keeping having faith and trusting in His timing.

Below is a great video that has to do with having hope for a bright future.

~Heather

Choose to be pure

I am currently taking a Family Foundations class (which is the reason I created this blog), in which various topics are discussed such as marriage, families, and children. Something that we discussed as part of my class this week was marriage and the sacred topic of marital intimacy. In the world we live in today anything related to intimacy is looked upon as casual and without any real meaning or responsibility for those involved.

There was a General Conference address given by Elder David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” where he stated,

“Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of Their creative power. Specific guidelines for the proper use of the ability to create life are vital elements in the Father’s plan. How we feel about and use that supernal power will determine in large measure our happiness in mortality and our destiny in eternity….

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God-and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies.

…the Lord’s truth is not altered by fads, popularity, or public opinion polls.”

(link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-believe-in-being-chaste?lang=eng)

Wow. When I read this I thought, “Dang, Elder Bednar hit the topic right on!” Honestly, I don’t know what else to add. It really doesn’t matter what the world’s standard is on morality, we will each be responsible for how we use this power as individuals. Below is a great video I found that has to deal with youth who have chosen to be sexually pure.

~Heather

Be grateful :)

What is it about us people that make us so impatient and untrusting? I mean, I seriously had one of the best weeks I’ve ever had in my whole life last week, and yet this week I’m practically back to where I was before, forgetting all the miracles and blessings that happened last week. I’m so quick to forget all the things that Heavenly Father has helped me with and all the things that He helps me with on a daily basis.

So, this is what I wrote last week as part of my journal:

A Week of Miracles: October 13-17, 2014

Monday–

*Brother Embree changed our speech presentation date from Wednesday, to Friday, you have no idea how much this was a blessing.

Tuesday–

*Saw and talked to (with Diana) A**** A******* at the gym, where I saw a great example of the good guys that are here at BYU-I and that do want to get married.

Wednesday–

*After some intense internal struggle for a long while, I said hi to T****, passed off my proclamation scripture to him and then, serious miracle, he asked me on a date! This one should get a million points.

*Another miracle. I’ll probably get a 96% on my first exam for Ethics class, the test of which was really hard and apparently not a lot of students did well. I only had to re-explain one question, but even without that I would get a 92%.

Thursday-

*I made a friend! Elizabeth is now a really good friend.

*I was able to have a long, really good conversation with J****, just us two!

*I have seen and talked to three different guys that are single, but are good righteous guys that maybe have some potential.

 Friday-

*I was confident and my speech went really, really well, even after all the worry.

*I was able to re-connect with Michaela, who made me laugh for an hour in the library.

*A*****, D*******’s brother, asked me on a date! Two in one week (and will have been half of my dating experience)

*My 3:15-4:15pm class today was canceled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Since Wednesday, I have been more confident than before.

[By the way, all the “*’s” are for privacy’s sake :)]

 

After reading through this and knowing how many of these things were things I had prayed or asked about, I should be floating on clouds of joy this week, right? In our apartment we decided to have a “miracle wall” where we take sticky notes and stick them up on the wall whenever we experience or see a miracle, blessing, or are thankful for something. I filled up the wall the first day with all of these things, but since then I haven’t been thinking as much about it because I’ve been focusing on the things that aren’t going my way this week.

I need to change my attitude and find things to be thankful for this week, even though it hasn’t seemed quite as incredible as last week. Actually, I’ll start it now, here goes:

My Second Week of Miracles 🙂

Monday-

*After getting only 1 ½ hours of sleep, I was able to wake up to my alarm and exercise before classes (I get super paranoid about waking up on time, so this was big).

*Got to do Pilates in the morning (if you’ve read my previous posts you know that I love doing Pilates).

*After sending my brother, Kaleb (or Elder Dickerson), who is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, two emails which totaled 4,800 words explaining all my problems, he sent me the sweetest, inspired, BEST email ever!!!! I love my brother Kaleb.

*Had a good venting conversation with my Momma.

*Went to bed around 10pm… believe me, this is a miracle!

Tuesday-

*Got a lovely 10 ½ hours of sleep!!!!

*Made homemade brownies.

*Was able to finish the group meeting assignment fairly quickly.

*Walked around the track by myself and was able to have some good alone thinking time.

*Read and pondered the scriptures and other blessings I’ve received for about two hours.

*Heavenly Father helped me prepare my speech, which I was finally motivated to work on.

Wednesday (today)-

*Once again I was able to wake up after getting two hours of sleep (I know, I need a better sleeping schedule)

*Was able to present my speech to both Brother Embree and the PPC, that’s one more thing checked off the list.

*It is sun shining outside!

*Even though I’m super tired, I had some bursts of excitement about being here at BYU-Idaho (probably inspired because of the sun shine :))

*I know Heavenly Father is preparing me for my future husband and that He will bring my man to me when the time is right.

 

Okay, so maybe some great things have happened. If nothing else, I’ve got brownies to eat when I finish all my homework :).

So, yeah. Be grateful. Make a list of your blessings if you’re depressed. Pray all the time. Smile at other people. The end.

~Heather

Although this is a little bit early, “In the Spirit of Thanksgiving,” here’s an awesome video about being grateful.

Marriage is a miracle

Lately, my older sister, Diana, and I have been thinking a lot about marriage and dating (or lack of dating in our case). Man, this whole dating and marriage thing seems ridiculously hard and sometimes impossible. How are you supposed to find a guy that has the same standards as you, is a member of the Church, actually wants to get married, and is decent looking? Yeah, all four of those things don’t seem to fit very many guys. Seriously, the guys that it does fit are already married.

Speaking of which, there have got to be at least half of the guys here at BYU-Idaho that are married. I have never seen so many rings on guy’s left hands before. It’s funny, we joke that we first look at a guy’s face, then his hand, then either away or back to his face (if he’s single).     For me, another one of the frustrating things is that it seems that the only guys that are comfortable talking and having a long conversation are the married ones because they don’t have to worry about finding a mate anymore and are comfortable where they’re at.

I serious believe that marriages are miracles. Seriously. Having all the different factors work together and knowing that it’s right with the Lord, getting married is incredible. If nothing else, being an old single lady at BYU-Idaho (I’m 22), has taught me how much the Lord has a hand in good marriages, as long as the man and woman involved are focused on what God wants them to do. However, I do think that through this frustration, it will make finding the right person and getting married in the future more significant and I think I’ll be way more appreciative and grateful of the Lord’s hand in my marriage since I didn’t get married right after starting college. Also, because I’m not yet married, I’ve had the opportunity to focus on my education without having the worries of a home and family to take care of yet.

I think the biggest thing is to not rush or force something that you want and forget about the Lord’s timing. He knows what is best for you and he knows the potential people that you could marry that could be right for you. He knows who you’ll end up marrying and when it will happen, so really, as long as someone knows and sees it all, it should be okay, right? But, man, it’s not very easy being patient and getting your hopes up time and again, only to have them crash back down.

I seriously (I like the word “seriously” if you can’t already tell) can’t wait until everything works out and I find the man that is right for me and get married when it’s the right timing. It will be great. Yeah, that doesn’t mean that other problems won’t arise and trials and challenges come up, but it’s one more step to becoming closer to and more like God, and I can’t wait to start down that path.

And of course, to end with a video (I love videos)…. This one doesn’t specifically talk about marriage, but the overall principles discussed can totally relate to marriage/future marriage. Enjoy!

~Heather

“Anxiously engaged in a good cause…”

Yesterday morning, I got up after getting about 4 1/2 hours of sleep, feeling super depressed about all the homework that lay ahead, as well as a 30 minute group presentation to present, speech to prepare, and an exam that, according to our professor, would take a minimum of four hours to complete. This was not going to be a great Wednesday.

I started doing my Pilates in the living room (I do Pilates and some other exercises before class on Mon/Wed/Fri), and I slowly started to feel a little excited about the day. It was weird. A couple times, in between my side lunge thingie’s (if that’s a word), I got excited thinking about how  I was already getting my exercise done, I’d be done with my group presentation that day, and I would have lots of assignments to keep me busy and productive during the day. I was excited to get to work and start the rest of the day.

One scripture that I really like comes from D&C 58:26-28 which says, “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherefore they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their rewards.”

To be “anxiously engaged in a good cause” is actually a big blessing. To have the opportunity to attend college and spend my days learning things I wouldn’t have known otherwise is a really amazing opportunity and blessing. I get to spend my days learning. While yes, there are some assignments that don’t exactly thrill me, overall, working on these different assignments will benefit me if I apply what I have learned to the rest of my life.

It’s the little daily things that really matter and since I love watching videos, here’s another one of my favorites about “Moments that Matter Most.”

~Heather

“Faith, Hope, and Relationships”-Elder Michael T. Ringwood

So, I’ve been all worried about getting married because here at BYU-Idaho, marriage is stressed big-time. There don’t seem to be any prospects in my future and I’ll be graduating in two more semesters, which for me I think of as time running out. Obviously, I can’t make anything happen, so its been kind of depressing.

Today I was reading the scriptures and then found this talk on lds.org about “Faith, Hope, and Relationships,” by Elder Michael T. Ringwood which is exactly what I needed to read.

“Faith, Hope, and Relationship”-Elder Michael T. Ringwood

The whole desire thing is there, but to be honest, I don’t have a ton of belief about the whole thing, and there’s some hope as well, but I need to work on that too. But hey, you’ve got to start somewhere and a desire is still a great starting place.

In my own life, I’ve seen both positive and negative examples of marriages, the best positive example being my parents.

My dad and mom are very different in terms of personality, but they are both very committed to the Lord and to each other in their marriage and the covenants they have made. They have both gone through difficult things and were dirt poor when they got married, but they stuck with it and with each other and have always worked things out. One big thing that means a lot to me is that dad and mom don’t ever really fight. Yes, they have disagreements, but I’ve never heard them yell at each other and even when they are disagreeing, they still seem to do it in a respectful way. That’s a big thing, that they respect each other.

There are, of course, numerous negative examples of marriages and instances of divorce that are unique in each situation, but I think the best thing is to focus on the positive and have faith and take actions to make things work out and be committed to the other person and the Lord.

Here’s a really cute video that talks about expressions of love for a variety of different couples. Hopefully, I’ll be like that with my husband someday 🙂

~Heather

“Ask, and ye shall receive”

Recently, I’ve been going back and forth between trusting fully in God’s plan for me, and doubting that things will work out. Deep down, I know that God is with me and will help me through life as long as I put my trust in Him, but at the same time, being human, I want to doubt everything that I can’t see and understand.

In The Book of Mormon (Introduction to The Book of Mormon), I have read, and re-read, these two verses many, many times. In 3 Nephi 27:28-29 it says (Jesus is the one who is speaking), “And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you. Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”

I know, know, know that this is true. I have tested it out for myself and have found the answers to the questions that I ask every time. I KNOW that when we really want to know something and approach God in prayer and with a sincere heart, he WILL give us answers.

Now here’s the part that always frustrates me.

When we ask God a question, or for guidance when we don’t know what to do in a situation, he will answer us, but it will not necessarily come right then. Also, the answer might not be “yes”. I think often times people pray, not necessarily to find out what God thinks, but because they want to feel like they prayed about whatever it was and they only want to have confirmed what they already decided, or only want to have a “yes” answer. I am definitely guilty of praying in this way, but I think the key is to be open to what God knows (which is everything!) and learn to listen for and watch for the answers that He will provide.

I also know that there are situations and questions we have where we maybe haven’t received an answer yet. I also believe that there are some things that we will not fully understand or have the answers to in this life. God has promised in scripture numerous times that if we ask we will receive, and I think that this applies to everything we want to know and understand. So, even if there are things that you don’t think you will ever have an answer for, God knows what you asked and he will answer you either now or later, but he will answer.

I have often prayed about things and then later forgot about whatever it was, but then a few days or weeks later, will have an experience where I know the answer to the question that I had prayed for earlier. Of course, there are also many questions I have where I definitely DO NOT forget  about it, but keep praying for an answer, but like I said, I think the key is to not give up on God and to keep paying attention to the things going on around me as well as taking time to ponder what the answer may be.

Currently, I am praying about a variety of different things, and I am still waiting on the answers to quite a few questions I have, but I know that sooner or later, I will know the answers and I just have to keep trusting in God and in His timing.

~Heather

“Eight cows!”….I mean “Eight kids!”

I come from a family where there are eight children total, which in today’s world, seems like a ridiculous amount of kids. Growing up, I absolutely LOVED having a bunch of siblings. I had an older sister, an older brother, and then a bunch of younger siblings, who I could use as my babies when I played house. I honestly felt, and still feel, bad for people who are only children, or who only have a couple siblings, I think the more the merrier! I didn’t really think our family was weird or anything, I just thought big families were normal and at Church there were also families with lots of kids, so it was all great! I didn’t realize until later that others, outside of our family and Church, thought that more than one or two kids was “weird.” I think some people have looked at my parents like they were crazy for having so many kids, when really they were having the amount of kids that was right for them. I guess what I’m trying to get at is to not be ashamed of characteristics of your family that others may not share or understand. By being positive about your family, you can let others see a perspective that they wouldn’t have known about or understood unless you let them see the positive in it.

~Heather

“Courage”-Esther

I was just browsing lds.org, looking for some more good content about families, when I came across this amazing video about Esther, which goes back to having courage and standing up for what is right. In the case of marriage and families, I think that means to not be afraid to defend your position on the family and to not be afraid of what others may say when they hear your views.

Enjoy!

~Heather