I'm pretty sure that every time I log in to update my blog I have to reset my password because I cannot remember it!
Winter semester has been started for about a month now and I am convinced that this is the most stressful semester of my college career so far. It's great, I love school and all the other things I am involved in, but sometimes I wonder how I will survive! I am still teaching my dating and courtship class, which I absolutely love! (I think I could have this calling forever and I would be happy). This upcoming Sunday I am talking about Finding and Seeking. I am going to hide people's "eternal companions" (just papers that say that) in the classroom and have them find them. I'll tell you all about it after I do it. I hope that it goes as planned:)
As for school, probably the two highlights of this semester are that I am taking a guitar class, which I love! The teacher is so cool. He says the funniest things! And the topic of research papers and projects that I have chosen this semester is....Sex Education/Sexual Beliefs. Its great! I get to write a paper and create a family life education program using the topic. Pretty much the idea is that if beliefs lead to actions which lead to results....and we don't like the results, we really should re-evaluate our beliefs. So at the end of the semester I will be co-teaching a workshop about sexuality (i'll keep you posted so you can come if you want;)
Oh, and I have a new passion! TYE-DYE. I had never made a tye-dye shirt until this summer and as soon as I put the tye-dye shirt on, i knew it was love! This semester i have instituted Tye-dye Tuesday. Yes. Every Tuesday I wear tye-dye:) Before last weekend I only had two tye-dye shirts, but now I have 6! I think the reason I like them so much is that 1) they are so colorful, 2) you put the dye on there without really knowing what it will turn out looking like and then surprise! it turns out amazing no matter what!
You know that little story about the child sitting underneath it's grandma's embroidery hoop...all the threads and colors are jumbled and don't make sense, but then when the child sees the front it is a beautiful picture. And how this is like God guiding our lives...we can't really see what is going on from this earthly perspective. I'd like to think that I am a tye-dye shirt. Sometimes i say "Lord, there is too much white" or "Why are you using those colors...I want you to use these colors" or "Why are you scrunching the fabric here" or "What are those rubber bands?" but in the end i will get washed and dried and be the most amazing tye-dye shirt...I just need to be patient:)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I am a pathetic blogger. Sorry:( I'll try to be better and put it on my list of things to improve on which includes exercising, reading the scriptures more, doing service, asking boys on dates, and cleaning my room.
I always tell Meg that I never know what to write on my blog and she always tells me to write about things that are going on. So here is what has been going on:
I also just started teaching the Dating & Courtship class in my ward. This is not a usual Sunday school class...In fact this is only the 2nd ward I have been in that has this class and the Sunday school president said he was a little skeptical and cautious at first because usually these classes end up being a place where people talk about how sucky it is to be single. My class is different though!! I have a co-teacher and we are both making the focus of this class to be preparing these people to have strong relationships through personal growth and preparation. My first lesson (and the talk that I gave preceding the lesson to introduce the class and try to get people excited in coming - which was successful...the class was packed) were about how to be more Christ-like in our dating. I focused on following the example of Jesus Christ...even in dating. I talked about being humble, grateful, prayerful, and positive. Both the talk and lesson went very well. Thanks Mom and Allen for coming and supporting me:)
The funny thing is that this week, I discovered that I needed that talk and lesson more than anyone else. You know how you think you have mastered something only to be rudely awakened to the fact that you have SO much more to learn. Yeah Hi I'm only 21, but for some reason I think I'm like 35. So my faith and patience are definitely being tried right now. Meaning I thought I knew how my life would go from here, but I really don't. For the first time in my life! I am discouraged about dating. (this is blasphemy coming from me really, i am the like the dating fairy always making sure that people are positive about dating and relationships no matter how difficult they are) I am not freaking out about getting married (don't jump to conclusions) I just feel like I should be having more dating experiences...you know like a boyfriend maybe...but apparently this is not the time. And there must be some other things I need to focus on (not that I am writing dating off, if you remember one of the things I am working on is how to ask guys out, really its not as easy as it sounds).
So honestly the only things going on right now are school and work. Probably the most exciting thing that happened this last week is that I discovered the Baja Chalupa at Taco Bell...so delicious. I have become a Taco Bell connoisseur because I eat on campus every night and my options include Taco Bell, hamburgers, pizza, pasta, wraps, rice bowls or sandwiches. Seems like a good variety but it gets old fast.
For those of you who don't live in Utah, here are some picks of the beautiful leaves around here this time of year (well more like Sept Oct). I can't take credit for these pictures, but they are of BYU.
And I made up a joke! What does the tree do when the wind insults it? It leaves! hahaha okay okay lame joke, but its the first joke I've ever made up:)
I always tell Meg that I never know what to write on my blog and she always tells me to write about things that are going on. So here is what has been going on:
I still work for Flourishing Families except now I am a student leader - a great opportunity...I am learning SO much! Just recently me and my two co-leaders just picked our new team of 18 research assistants out of the 75 that we interviewed. I have NEVER done that before and boy was it challenging. How do you eliminate people when they are all qualified?? So now we are preparing to train them next semester. I am really excited for this part.
These are my co-workers Jessie and Rachel at a Murder Mystery Dinner in September. I love these girls, they are my co-workers and my best friends.
These are my co-workers Jessie and Rachel at a Murder Mystery Dinner in September. I love these girls, they are my co-workers and my best friends.I also just started teaching the Dating & Courtship class in my ward. This is not a usual Sunday school class...In fact this is only the 2nd ward I have been in that has this class and the Sunday school president said he was a little skeptical and cautious at first because usually these classes end up being a place where people talk about how sucky it is to be single. My class is different though!! I have a co-teacher and we are both making the focus of this class to be preparing these people to have strong relationships through personal growth and preparation. My first lesson (and the talk that I gave preceding the lesson to introduce the class and try to get people excited in coming - which was successful...the class was packed) were about how to be more Christ-like in our dating. I focused on following the example of Jesus Christ...even in dating. I talked about being humble, grateful, prayerful, and positive. Both the talk and lesson went very well. Thanks Mom and Allen for coming and supporting me:)
The funny thing is that this week, I discovered that I needed that talk and lesson more than anyone else. You know how you think you have mastered something only to be rudely awakened to the fact that you have SO much more to learn. Yeah Hi I'm only 21, but for some reason I think I'm like 35. So my faith and patience are definitely being tried right now. Meaning I thought I knew how my life would go from here, but I really don't. For the first time in my life! I am discouraged about dating. (this is blasphemy coming from me really, i am the like the dating fairy always making sure that people are positive about dating and relationships no matter how difficult they are) I am not freaking out about getting married (don't jump to conclusions) I just feel like I should be having more dating experiences...you know like a boyfriend maybe...but apparently this is not the time. And there must be some other things I need to focus on (not that I am writing dating off, if you remember one of the things I am working on is how to ask guys out, really its not as easy as it sounds).
So honestly the only things going on right now are school and work. Probably the most exciting thing that happened this last week is that I discovered the Baja Chalupa at Taco Bell...so delicious. I have become a Taco Bell connoisseur because I eat on campus every night and my options include Taco Bell, hamburgers, pizza, pasta, wraps, rice bowls or sandwiches. Seems like a good variety but it gets old fast.
For those of you who don't live in Utah, here are some picks of the beautiful leaves around here this time of year (well more like Sept Oct). I can't take credit for these pictures, but they are of BYU.
And I made up a joke! What does the tree do when the wind insults it? It leaves! hahaha okay okay lame joke, but its the first joke I've ever made up:)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Prevention and Preparation
So I'm a Marriage and Family Studies major, right? Right. Except every time people ask me what I want to do with that I have to tell them honestly I have no idea. I feel like my three options are : research, teaching, or counseling. Out of the three I want to do teaching, but I have no idea where or how or what. I've thought about teaching community courses...but I'm not sure how one goes about acquiring a job like that. I've also thought (only a little bit) about getting a masters and such to teach at a university or something. Overall I don't know what exactly I would teach...just stuff about Marriage and Family I guess...(real specific, I know). Just the other day though, we were talking to one of the ladies we interviewed and she asked us what we wanted to do with our majors. And as we were talking I had two realizations.
First, in whatever capacity I teach, one of my main focuses I want to be Prevention/Preparation. Instead of solving problems I want to prevent them by preparing people for being married and having a family. I had already been thinking about this because I finally started reading a book Karen and Merrill had given me "First Comes Love" (which I love by the way...Thank You Kar and Mer!). There is a story in it which I found surprisingly poignant.
There is a man standing on the side of a river. He sees a family floating down the river on a raft. They are about to go around a bend and encounter some rapids. The man on the side of the river can see that, and he can also see that the family cannot see what is coming. He watches as they round the bend. When they hit the rapids everyone flies off the raft. The two adults swim to the land, but the two little boys are pulled under the current and are drowned.
What a simple, but terrible story! The book relates this to marriages and families. I think it is so true. People don't anticipate disaster or crisis to strike their family at anytime, but they do and if you are not prepared people fall off the boat and sadly people drowned...emotionally. It is heartbreaking. This is happening all around us. A lot of the families I visit are either single parents or some are even in the thick of divorce, and I often think "How could this have been prevented?" So much hurt and confusion and despair. And what repercussions! I just look at the kids and feel for them, for the relationship struggles they will have as a result of what they are going through.
Which brings me to my next realization. The woman we were talking to asked me who I wanted to teach...college students, adults, children? Honestly I had never even considered teaching children about having strong marriages and families. But as I thought about it I realized that that isn't such a bad idea. Why not start early? Shape an image of how to make marriages and families last amidst the efforts to break them down. I even joked with Jessie that maybe I should teach sex ed. (Could you see me as a sex ed teacher? That would be fun!). I was talking to another girl in my internship and she was like..."You should start up a program!" You know like DARE, but with marriages and families. Like Preparing For Our Futures or something like that. I don't know. It is just something I was thinking about. People might think that it is a weird idea...getting married and having a family is just something that happens right? Why study it and "prepare" for it? Ummmm....because they are probably THE most important aspect of our lives. Marriages and Families can cause the most joy and also the most sorrow in our lives. I, personally, am all about intentionality. Being aware of the things that I can do to make my marriage and family stronger and more resistant to deterioration and doing them!
First, in whatever capacity I teach, one of my main focuses I want to be Prevention/Preparation. Instead of solving problems I want to prevent them by preparing people for being married and having a family. I had already been thinking about this because I finally started reading a book Karen and Merrill had given me "First Comes Love" (which I love by the way...Thank You Kar and Mer!). There is a story in it which I found surprisingly poignant.
There is a man standing on the side of a river. He sees a family floating down the river on a raft. They are about to go around a bend and encounter some rapids. The man on the side of the river can see that, and he can also see that the family cannot see what is coming. He watches as they round the bend. When they hit the rapids everyone flies off the raft. The two adults swim to the land, but the two little boys are pulled under the current and are drowned.
What a simple, but terrible story! The book relates this to marriages and families. I think it is so true. People don't anticipate disaster or crisis to strike their family at anytime, but they do and if you are not prepared people fall off the boat and sadly people drowned...emotionally. It is heartbreaking. This is happening all around us. A lot of the families I visit are either single parents or some are even in the thick of divorce, and I often think "How could this have been prevented?" So much hurt and confusion and despair. And what repercussions! I just look at the kids and feel for them, for the relationship struggles they will have as a result of what they are going through.
Which brings me to my next realization. The woman we were talking to asked me who I wanted to teach...college students, adults, children? Honestly I had never even considered teaching children about having strong marriages and families. But as I thought about it I realized that that isn't such a bad idea. Why not start early? Shape an image of how to make marriages and families last amidst the efforts to break them down. I even joked with Jessie that maybe I should teach sex ed. (Could you see me as a sex ed teacher? That would be fun!). I was talking to another girl in my internship and she was like..."You should start up a program!" You know like DARE, but with marriages and families. Like Preparing For Our Futures or something like that. I don't know. It is just something I was thinking about. People might think that it is a weird idea...getting married and having a family is just something that happens right? Why study it and "prepare" for it? Ummmm....because they are probably THE most important aspect of our lives. Marriages and Families can cause the most joy and also the most sorrow in our lives. I, personally, am all about intentionality. Being aware of the things that I can do to make my marriage and family stronger and more resistant to deterioration and doing them!
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