hoop kibo von - however you say it, we all mean the same thing.

We're All In This Together (High School Musical Anyone?)

The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell

"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possilby broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies ad little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in the casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God's will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness. ... We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offereing them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If your hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it."
-C.S. Lewis The Four Loves
I believe with all my heart that the quote by Elder Holland that Maridee posted is true. We have the guarantee of victory; there is light at the end of the tunnel. But that is speaking of an end result. It can be the end of a certain trial, or it can be the end of a lifetime. It is not a guarantee that we will not suffer along the journey. Elder Holland spoke of the safety that Christ promises as a harbor. The harbor is the place a ship rests, is repaired, and awaits its next journey, or the continuation of its current journey. The harbor is real; as real as the winds, waves, and rainstorms of the journey we are making. We are all making a journey to the Celestial Kingdom. This will require change to occur between now and the time we reach our final destination. Some of the change I have undergone (with plenty still to go) has been the result of the wear of the road to higher ground. The quote above by C.S. Lewis was one of the ways the promised help and healing came to me in one of the harbors I needed to rest in. From the quote I learned that I was meant to keep continuing down a path, even though the journey was terribly uncomfortable and inconvenient. I have posted it in case there is anyone else walking a similar path.
I am reminded very much of what Elder Neuenschwander said about how his study of the Humanities has increased his understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Until the next Harbor!

His Arms...

Hope According to Samuel Johnson

Its Okay to Laugh

Harbors and Storms

The first devotional speaker that I ever heard at BYU was President Boyd K. Packer, and he made the profound statement that we are now living inside the great and spacious building. All around us are song lyrics and JPEG's, YouTube videos and DVD's laced with desensitizing content.

Yes, there are harbors from the storm-- the church meetinghouse, the temple, the home-- but perhaps even more comforting is that when we have no choice but to brave the storm, the Lord has prepared us with the things that ensure our survival.


Generally, building a harbor doesn't mean throwing out our iPods and laptops. I don't believe that is what Elder Holland meant in his talk. Rather, the harbor is the internal discipline that disciples of Christ develop on a daily basis. It is the daily habit of making correct choices. No daunting wave can capsize a Latter-day Saint who has prepared a harbor in his heart and mind.


It is interesting that the ideas of storm and safety were mentioned not only by Elder Holland, but also by the President of the Church. In his closing remarks, President Monson said that he was reminded of the Lord's words in the Book of Ether. The Brother of Jared had sought His help in preparing ships to cross the great deep. The Lord said:

"Ye cannot cross this great deep
save I prepare you against the waves of the sea,
and the winds which have gone forth,
and the floods which shall come."

President Monson stated, "My brothers and sisters, He has prepared us. If we heed His words and live the commandments, we will survive this time of permissiveness and wickedness-- a time which can be compared with the waves and the winds and the floods that can destroy."

If the Lord has prepared us, then what have we to fear?

The Joys of the Temple

When I think of the word temple, I think of a safe place. The temple is a safe place from the cares of this world-a safe harbor if you will. The picture to my left is of the Portland Temple, the first temple I ever went inside. When you walk inside the waiting area, there is a beautiful atrium with many colorful flowers, thin green trees, and unseen wonders. It has always been my favorite place inside of the temple, not only because I could think but I could also rest my thoughts. I was able to gently gaze around at the beauty surrounding me. I could close my eyes and fill that same peace as if I was alone at sea, resting in a boat in a peaceful harbor. But temples are not just safe places, or places in which you can be freed from the world, but a place to come near unto Christ. I have never felt closer to my savior, than when in that temple atrium.
Temples are a beautiful gift to us on this earth, for God gave us a house in which, if we are worthy, we can come closer to him. I encourage everyone especially me, to never take the temple for granted, but to go to attend it often.

„In the holy temple the precious plan of God is taught, it is here that eternal covenants are made. The temple lifts us. It exalts us. It stands as a beacon for all to see and points us toward celestial glory. It is the house of God. All that occurs within the walls of the temple is uplifting and ennobling. The temple is a place of tranquility, it is a place of kindness, and love, and light.”-President Thomas S. Monson

Don't worry!

One evidence for God's love is the way He cares about the details of our lives. At least, He wants to hear about the details. He wants us to pray to Him, to ask for help when we need it, to say thank you when He blesses us, to show our love to Him. We love Him because He first loved us, and sent His Son to give us a way back to Him. I am so grateful for His loving care. I know that He will be there to bless our lives. Always. We don't have to worry.

And now.... for a complete switch in topic of conversation AND the game you've all been waiting for! (drumroll here, please) NAME THE MOVIE QUOTE! Here you go. You have three guesses. The first one to guess correctly wins..... the satisfaction of having good taste in movies. "True love is the greatest thing in the world. Besides an MLT... Mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is perky... I love that." (No fair looking this up on IMDB. That's cheating.)

Hometown Feeling

Perfect Hope

When I was in high school, I was inspired by artsy bloggers who made websites their space to better the world. One of my favorites, Christine Castro, began a semi-weekly / monthly e-mail list where the only sendout was a list of Good Things. It inspired me! There was so much out there to enjoy and love if only we'd sit up and take note.

So in making this my own, I began crafting notes and collages to friends and boyfriends across the years, filled with my own kind of positivity: a list (visual or verbal or both) of good things. The above is one I made my junior year in high school to my first love.

There is such a power in this: gratitude and positivity allow you to stand up above your current situation, however trite, mundane, or aggravating it may appear to be, and choose the good. So along those lines, here are the things I've learned and experienced on Humanities Council for which I'm thankful:

1. Friendships with some pretty great people
2. Experiencing different leadership styles
3. That feeling of Getting Things Done
4. A deeper knowledge of the ins and outs of the University and College
5. Info on scholarships, internships, alumni connections, and enriching events
6. Developing power point presentation skills
7. Developing presentation skills, period
8. A great collared shirt...

This may be a little random, but I'd like to end with one of my favorite poems on gratitude by e. e. cummings:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings; and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any – lifted from the no
of all nothing – human merely being
doubt imaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake
and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Court's Post

Simplicity

I don't want to dress this one up. I'm going to keep it specific to Humanities or this could get long...

I am thankful that I stuck with the second half of Comparative Literature after a--humbling--freshman year experience with it.

I am thank for Dr. Peer opening my eyes to the connections between the arts and history. I'm thankful that I didn't try to look up every new vocab word he used.

I am thankful for Dr. Hague's usage of philosophy in translation classes. Especially when it pointed out the many logical fallacies of Rush Limbaugh, atheists, and people in general.

I am thankful for the labyrinths of Jorge Luis Borges, the odes of Pablo Neruda, and deaths of Horacio Quiroga.

I am thankful to Maridee, the Clubs committee members (past and present), and the rest of the HCSC for putting up with me.

I am thankful for the opportunity to think deeply about leadership.

I am thankful for failures and successes, each with their own lessons.

I am thankful for 한국어.

I am thankful that I can put silly images on this blog.


I am thankful.

I am Gratful for Second Chances

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

Gratitude!

Gratitude helps us be happier with life. It's the idea of counting blessings. If we forget to do that, it's really hard to realize just how blessed we are and how much reason we have to be happy with life.Life is beautiful, but we must remember to look for the beauty in life. It's our choice whether to be happy or miserable. In the movie "Life is Beautiful", the father finds ways to help his son be happy in the middle of a concentration camp. It's one of the most inspiring movies I've seen and it reminds me that I can be happy throughout my own, much smaller trials.

My Favorite Things

The Little Things...

Alright, alright...So I know it's not Thanksgiving, but I love this video! I remember the first time I saw it I couldn't help but email it to all of my family and friends. Each person in the video has a unique circumstance in life, yet each is specifically grateful for a variety of blessings. Some seem to be of larger importance, miracles even, while others are day to day occurances, yet they all merit gratitude.

Isn't it inspiring to see how some of these New Yorkers recognize even the simplest of their blessings each day! -- Muffins, donuts, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, when the MTA works and I get to class on time, when someone doesn't get in a fight on the train, when you're skating down the street and a taxi driver sticks his head out of the window and says "get off the street" yah I'm grateful when that doesn't happen... :) -- Often times I thing we take such simple things for granted, and even fail to recognize them as blessings until they are taken away from us.

May we take time to recognize the simple yet sweet blessings that we often take for granted!

"Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality."

Elder Dallin H. Oaks