Friday, December 23, 2011

The Prince of Peace

For some reason I have this bad habit of making friends who are older than me. Last December, almost all of my close friends graduated and left Rexburg. On top of that, I had my closest friends who were still in Rexburg completely abandon me. I had never had that experience before, and it messed me up. I couldn't (and still can't) figure out how I could just be dropped like that. I felt completely used. It was horrible. I can't tell you how many nights Jessica and I sat together and just cried. I wanted my "old" life back. During this time, I prayed that I could feel peace and reassurance that I would be ok.

At the beginning of the year, I moved into 105 with the only friends I had left. This was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I learned so much from these girls and I love them so much! They were just what I needed and I plan on staying good friends with them for a very long time! They and the some of the best boys ever pulled me out of my misery, fear and anxiety. I had peace in my life. 

Then came July and all those friends graduated or got married too. (You see this bad habit of mine?) I decided to move back home because I literally didn't know anyone to move in with and I didn't want to go three months living with unnecessary girl drama. The difference this time was that I now had that peace that I had prayed for. I continually pray that I will be able to keep that peace and I have been so incredibly blessed that I have been able to.

Now I am graduated from BYU-Idaho and will be going out into the real world for the first time. I have watched so many of my friends that have panicked about this next step. I see how afraid they are and the anxiety that they feel. I, on the other hand, have already gone through that phase. I did it about a year ago. I have also already worked my way through it. I'm not stupid, I know it will be a big adjustment and it won't be easy, but I am not afraid. I am so ready for that change. I don't have a job, and I have no clue where my life will go from here, but I feel peace.


At graduation, I was talking to a friend and he asked how I felt about graduating and moving on with life. I told him I wasn't that worried about it. He replied "well, I guess it's different for you cause you have your parents here." I was so irritated by that! This has nothing to do with the fact that I have my parents with me or that I happen to be from Rexburg. If he wanted to, he could move back in with his parents. No one is stopping him from doing that, but he wants to have his own life. Guess what, so do I!  I am doing the same thing everyone else is doing. I feel good about graduating because this is something that I have been working on all year. Not just the homework part, the mental part - the moving on part. I've already faced it and I am ready for it. I feel peace.

At church the other day we read Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

I have been thinking about that scripture all week, especially the last four words. I have felt so blessed all year for having been given the wonderful gift of peace. It has made all the difference in my life this year. It is one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received, and I am eternally grateful for it. I still have trials and life is not perfect, but that peace gives me the reassurance that I am following God's plan for me. I hope that I am always able to live so that I can have that peace in my life.


The best part is that anyone can have this same gift. It has already been given to us, all we need to do is receive it.  


Merry Christmas!



Sunday, December 11, 2011

Art Humor

I follow quite a few photography blogs. One of these is Bent Objects. He does some pretty cool stuff. I think his site is worth taking a look at.


ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Museum of Coffee History Art (M.O.C.H.A.)


My final project for Graphic Design is to design three posters for the Museum of Modern Art (M.O.M.A.) so this was particularly entertaining for me.

I'm turning into one of those art nerds  :)

p.s.  it's actually December 12th now.

December?

The following pictures were taken yesterday (December 10, 2011)


Yes, you saw correctly. That girl is in a tank top! In the middle of December!


And if that wasn't convincing enough, this is me, with no coat! In the middle of December! If that's not proof that we are having unusually warm weather, I don't know what is.

Don't worry, even though the weather hasn't gotten the memo that it's December, we are remembering.


We decorated our tree today!


So excited for Christmas!



Thursday, December 8, 2011

7 top posts

1.  Porter wrote me a song!

Why this is my top post, I have no idea. But it is amusing to me and makes me happy every time :)

2.  This is why I never made it to printmaking today....

I was actually really surprised that Porter's song beat this post! This is when Jessica and Kevin got engaged, so I had a million random people looking at my blog to hear how it happened. I don't usually count this post, because people weren't actually reading for me, so I don't know if it really counts.

3.  Remember the AWESOME post?

This is when I was almost a legit photographer and I took pictures for the Craze! Yeah, that was pretty cool.

4.  2 in one day!

It actually kind of irritates me that this is so high on the list. Why? Because the reason it is high is because people blew it up and decided to make it a big deal when it wasn't. I meant for this to be a little insignificant, entertaining post and for some reason it became a big deal. I actually had a whole post dedicated to this irritant, but it somehow got deleted. oh well, it's probably for the best. Lets just say that although I like to discuss controversial topics, I don't like to do it 24/7. Sometimes I just want to put a fun movie on my blog and have people say, "that was interesting." Anyway, I could go on (and on, and on...) but I won't. The bottom line, as I said before, is that this is my blog and my experiences, and they are not up for debate. That can be reserved for Us Meets World. Thank you.

5.  In Response - The Friend Zone

This is the post that started Us Meets World!

6.  It has been a particularly hard week

This was a depressing day, but a good learning and growing experience for me. I'm glad that people got something out of it.

7.  What's in your purse?

I always have really random stuff in my purse, so I decided to blog about it. I really liked this post, probably one of my favorites  :)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

2 in one day!

sorry, I know I already posted today, but I just found this and it is something I have been struggling with for a long time, but particularly this semester.



my conclusion? Girls can be "just friends", but guys cannot. Because of this, it ultimately makes it impossible for guys and girls to be friends. It never turns out good! (at least for me)

I should have listened to Tyler Shotwell when we first had this discussion years ago. My life would be so much simpler!

the meaning of Christmas (kid history style)

Friday, December 2, 2011

Us Meets World

Remember this post? Well, Us Meets World is officially up and running! We currently have a heated discussion about money that I just contributed to (Money Can't Buy My Love) I'm trying to bring some peace back  :)

Anyway, if you like overly opinionated people, take a look! Feel free to comment and add your own opinion as well. Seriously, this is meant to be open to anyone.

p.s.  Dad, make sure you comment on the right blog  :)