Influences

I have been contemplating something I heard recently, and it's hung like a nimbus since I heard it this last week. It came from a book that I was listening to on CD during a long drove. I don't remember the exact phrase, but a boy was talking about how he took this girl from the past (indian times) to a movie in his day. He didn't want to take her to anything gorey or scary, so he ended up taking her to E.T., a perfect movie as he saw.

(I've never seen the movie, so I'm not sure what this next part is talking about, but maybe you'll follow). At one point, they swore and did something only "slightly" crude that he thought was perfectly fine, yet she ran out with hands over her face and tears streaming down her face. When this boy caught up to her, she was crying, "how could you watch something so horrible?!"

That made me wonder how many crude, unrefined, degrading, inappropriate, or negative moments or scenes I allow in the movies I watch. How many times have I watched movies with these "little" things within them that push the Spirit of God away?

More than I should, I'm sure.

I read something in a talk by Ezra Taft Benson in the September 1988 Ensign, that hit me:

"We would do well to follow the counsel of John Wesley’s mother: 'Avoid whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, … increases the authority of the body over the mind.'"

Everything we say, listen to, watch, see, or do has an influence on us. I remember when I was younger complaining to my parents that what movies or music I listened to had no impact on me. But I didn't understand. It does have an influence on me. Every bit of it. The question is whether or not it is a good influence or a bad.

That is the question, and that is what is so much harder to see.

Valentine's Day

This is for you Jenn, my sister love :)

So Valentine's Day... I loved it. I have the best boyfriend EVER! So Monday morning started out normal, just school and work and such (Monday's are my busy days). I had a great evening class, and even got out early.

When I arrived home, I was surprised by the very thoughtful present left for me on the kitchen

table.

Not only did he get me a flower, but he gave me the whole Peace Lily plant! Now I can have beautiful flowers that actually last!! :) P.S. Lilies are one of my favorite flowers.

He also gave me this cute bear - but it's not just one of those bears you buy from the store out of pure desperation because you need something to give your loved one on a special day. No, this one is one of the softest bears I've felt; and I love it! Oh, and I named him Charles :)

Oh, and he gave me a cute card with a squirrel holding conversation hearts - it's kinda an inside joke, but it was super sweet!

Naturally, I had to give him something back! Thank goodness I already had something planned! So I had made these hearts (8 total) with different things I love about Matt on them, then I had a bowl of some of his favorite candy and treats as well as two glass mugs that say "I Love You" on them - filled with sticks of gum - and a paper crown from Burger King that said "My Prince" on it. It wasn't much, but I didn't have much money to buy things with. Sorry, I didn't get very many pictures of this part!

So first off, I have three lovely roommates, Jen, Alexa and Rachel, who were home at the time, and offered to help me with my devious plot. They kindly took 5 of these hearts w/ things I love about Matt on them, and distributed them around Glenwood - at his car, the laundry room in the first building, and the hot tub to name a few. Then they grabbed Rachel's guitar, headed to his apartment, serenaded Matt with a few songs, then handed him the first heart to send him on his way in the little scavenger hunt.

Once he was out of the building, they called me and I ran over to his apartment with the large bowl of random items. With the help of his great roommates, I got the bowl on his bed, with a sign reading "Happy Valentines Day" & the remaining 3 hearts on his bedroom wall. Then I bailed out and waited for Matt to return. When he did...it was so cute! I love him!

Haha :)

Thanks for reading...I know it's a bit long.

Quotes

Me? I'm a quote person. I love quotes! And the smart people who say them give me things to focus on when my mind needs to slow down and think but is going a million miles an hour, or when I've had a hard day (or week...or more), or when I need a good laugh. Really, I just like quotes.

So I've decided to post ten of my favorites (in addition to the ones at the bottom of my blog):

1. "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
- Winston Churchill

3. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we took so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened up for us”
- Helen Keller

4. “You have to ‘Be’ before you can ‘Do’ and ‘Do’ before you can ‘Have’.
- Zig Ziglar

5. “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

6. “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.”
- Earl Shoaf

7. "If at first you do succeed, try something harder!"
- Unknown

8. "You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into one."
- Henry David Threau

9. "The best way to prepare to live life is to begin to live it."
-Unknown

10. "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"
- Vincent van Gogh