Don't live a meaningless life

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others."
-Morrie Schwartz

I had this quote up on my mirror for two weeks because I needed it. I am guilty of chasing the wrong things. 

Have you ever had where when you decide you are going to do something Satan just pounds on you the other way? That is the only way I can explain the last two weeks. I was having a hard time seeing the good in others. I found myself being short with people and getting angry at little things. I was living a meaningless life. Mainly, what it came down to is that I was focusing on myself.

I've found that the best way for me to love others is to talk with them. Find out what is going on in their life and what they care about. If I don't do this on a daily basis I feel a huge difference in my day. The power that a simple conversation can have astounds me. 

On another note,in my Geography class lately we have been learning about Africa. I learned that every day 40,000 children die from preventable diseases. PREVENTABLE. The reason that they die is because they aren't educated about some of the very basic things. I have come to realize how extremely blessed I am that I was born in the place that I am, in the time that I was, and into the family that I have. When we were learning about these children I felt an overwhelming rush of love for them. I pictured them as my little siblings and how devastated I would be if one of my siblings didn't know some of the basics of health care, and died as a result of that. Just look at all their cute faces!

For a small moment I felt a portion of the love that I know Heavenly Father feels for them. Learning about this was just what I needed to start focusing on others again. Take a minute and appreciate the people around you. Try to not get so caught up in yourself that you forget how blessed you are. 

Trust me, it's worth your time.

The power of a word

This semester I am taking a Marriage and Family prep class. We got to choose what to do for our major assignment for the semester. I chose to  focus on loving others and self love. To help out with that, I have decided to write a different quote on my bathroom mirror each week that pertains to one of those topics. This week's quote comes from an unknown author.

"I can is 100 times more important than IQ"

-Unknown 

I have been blessed all my life to have really smart friends, and while that has been a help at times it has also been a cause of some major self doubt. I would tell myself that I couldn't do as well on a test or write as good of a paper because one of my friends would do a better job than I would. So what?  My neighbors best effort has nothing to do with my best effort. 

You know how it can be hard to be happy for someone else's success? Why is that? There is plenty to go around in this world. Why do we let ourselves give up when we can do anything we put our minds to. I think it comes down to being confident in yourself and your abilities. Allowing yourself to think you can live up to a pre-determined measure. 

Can you think of a time when you decided that you were going to do something no matter what anyone else thought or said about it? Think of how fired up you felt. You could do it because you believed in yourself. Why don't we tell ourselves that about everything we want to accomplish in life? 

The word can means: to have power or means to. Telling yourself that you can do something gives you power. Power over your life. You decide what is going to happen. Don't tell yourself you aren't smart enough or that you shouldn't try because there is someone out there who is better at whatever the particular thing might be. You can do it. 

So drop whatever it is that's holding you back. If it's a group of friends, change your friends. If it's a series of thoughts, change your thoughts. Tell yourself you can and mean it!! You will do whatever it is you want to. Your hopes and dreams ARE within your reach. 

Do you dare to make them come true? Make the word can a part of your vocabulary and I promise they will.

Elder Thompson

Today is the day I have been looking forward to and dreading. My best friend and little brother went into the MTC. I thought it would be a piece of cake since I had sort of already sent a missionary off, but when it's a family member it has a whole new side to it. There were aspects about it that were much harder than I expected and things that were easier. 

It is so weird because it is one of those things we have talked about forever but didn't really know how it would all work out.

This morning all of my brothers and sisters went to breakfast with my dad. I didn't get to stay long because I had a test review in class, but it was nice to all be together. Later in the day we met my grandparents at Chili's for lunch. Pretty much everyone was too nervous/anxious to eat anything. John was the most anxious of us all. He went to the bathroom every 30 minutes right up until the time we actually dropped him off. He probably wouldn't want me to share that, but oh well. 

I was proud of how well I kept it together today. I've had my fair share of tears in the last week. Sometimes I think we just want to make ourselves feel sad. I don't really know why that is. He was really thoughtful of everyone's feelings right up until the very end. He made sure that everyone got to take a picture with him that wanted to. I think he made everyone feel important. 

Look how cute he is!

We consider ourselves his biggest fans. One of the hardest things was watching my younger siblings cry. He is my brothers' biggest hero. I'm so proud of the amazing example he has set for them. He is paving the way for the rest of those tykes. 

We just can't get enough of him! My mom has been a great example of being strong for John. Her reassurance that everything will be ok has been my rock. Getting out of the car at the curb of the MTC was brutal. I thought for a second that I wasn't going to be able to hug him before he went in, but they gave us enough time so each of us could give him a quick hug goodbye. We were both in tears and held tight for just a few moments. In that hug I felt the strength of the Spirit and that everything really would be okay. Even though he was leaving our family I knew he wasn't being left alone. He's in Heavenly Father's hands now and there's no place I would rather he be. 

Even though sending him off has been one of the harder things I've done in my life I know that it will ultimately be a huge blessing. He is going to be an amazing missionary. I can't wait to hear about the things he will learn and the people he will meet. 

I think Winnie the Pooh said it best:

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying 

goodbye so hard.”