God and Government

I know, I know. People hate seeing those words together, but for me, each one helps me understand the other better.

See, all day long I've been perusing various schools of thought about this whole Obamacare thing. Personally, I'm against it. Personally, I think it's a terrible idea. Personally, Obama gives me the creeps. But that's not really my point.

Whilst perusing through various opinions, I found this post speaking out against Obamacare, or those who vote for it at least.  On the same site, there was another post speaking out against God for not preventing/stopping the fires in Colorado.To me these are completely contradictory statements.

On the one hand, we have someone telling the government to back off. Your help only weakens us and promotes bad behaviors. You're really not doing us any favors!

But, God, YOU need to help us more. YOU need to protect us from all harm and danger. If you really were God you wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to us.

The same reasons we don't want government to micromanage our lives are the same reasons God has to sometimes let bad things happen. If we didn't, we wouldn't learn anything. We wouldn't grow or progress. We'd just be dependent forever.

So while I am by no means and expert on government, my belief in God helps me to better understand the kind of government we really need. That doesn't mean we stop caring about the poor and the needy at all! We do want to help them! But WE need to help them, not the government. The more the government lets us resolve our own problems, the stronger we will become and the more willing and able we will be to help those around us.   The government can send the poor and the needy a check every month, but it can't sit with them and listen to them and truly help them like a friend or neighbor can. The poor and the needy need a lot more than just food and healthcare. We all need to help each other, and in helping each other, we will  come to understand God better.

Decidedly Undecided

I've come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to stick to a themed blog. It just won't happen. Life is far too random for that. Some days I want to blog about the random kid at the voting polls who shined his scanner in my eyes. Some days I want to blog about the new apartment my fiance just moved into and how I can't wait to move in with him. Some days I want to blog about how freaking amazing God is. Other days  want to rant about how dumb people are, in the kindest way possible of course.

So here it is, take it or leave it. This is my blog. I've felt prompted several times to blog consistently and I keep ignoring those prompting because whatever I have to say doesn't fit with my theme. Well this is me drop-kicking my theme out the nearest window. I'm going to blog, gosh-darn-it.

I will, however, add that I have a paper cut on my right hand from my high-risk job of filing papers all day.

this small, small world we live in

The other day I was walking along through campus (tra-la-la) and I saw this guy and I did a double take and thought, "that looks a lot like--nah, couldn't be." I thus carried on my merry way.

Well today I was driving to school and I saw him again! This time I knew my eyes weren't deceiving me. I yelled at him, and he yelled back, but he was crossing the street and I was in my car so the conversation didn't go much further. 

But alas, I walked out of my first class and lo and behold there he was again. Mind you, this is a school of 30,000 students.  This time I got to talk to him briefly, yet long enough to exchange numbers. 

So here's the kicker, I got in my car to leave for the day 3 hours later and guess who I see walkin' down the street. Yep. 

So who is the character, you ask? My first boyfriend from 7th grade. 

Why am I telling this story? First of all, I mean, what are the chances really? Last time I checked he was in Lubbock and I was in Utah. 

Second of all, while I was laughing about the comedy of events, and recollecting the foibles of pubescent romance, I had the horrific realization that 7th grade was ten years ago. TEN! 1-0. How is this possible? 

Growing up is the weirdest thing ever.

Rain, rain, come my way

I walked out of class the other day to find a bunch of people huddled under an awning, on their cell phones cursing the rain they weren't prepared for. I looked over to see a light drizzle falling from the sky. Only wielding my favorite navy, zip-up hoodie, I smiled, popped my hood and walked out into the drizzle of doom. About half way to my destination I took my hood off and just let the rain fall. It was wonderful. I couldn't stop smiling. 

Yesterday on my way to the temple, I stopped by LDS Books to peruse a little bit. I walked out with two wonderful CDs and again the rain was falling. It didn't even bother me that I had straightened my hair or that I had nothing to cover my church clothes with. My first reaction was to stick my arms straight out to the side and let it fall. 

For most people, their love for the rain stems from the fact that we've been in a drought pretty much all summer. For me it stems from 18 months of walking around rain or shine, getting splashed by cars, with soaked shoes, looking like drowned rats, all to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that "perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some." Alma 26:30    

I'll admit that before my mission I probably would have cursed the rain just like everyone else, especially if I had actually done my hair that day. Now, however, the rain is a sweet reminder of more important things.

It's official, I'm allergic to Texas

If not Texas at large, for sure Denton. I've been itching like crazy ever since I moved here!

The result of my scratching is these lovely little spots, mostly on my back. They are burning as I type.

So, I've begun planning my escape route outta here. The details are still a little fuzzy, but may include EFY, a December graduation, and a foreign country or two. In the meantime, feel free to send a back scratch-er my way!

The cure for the ouch

So here's the thing: life involves pain, and lots of it, and everybody's always looking for the cure. Well here it is.

For the past little while I've been dealing with a lot of pain, and/or numbness, which is sometimes more painful than pain in its own little way.  ANYWAY (I have a point, I promise) tonight I went to an Old Testament class at the Institute. Towards the end of class the teacher showed a slideshow/movie about the life and mission of Jesus Christ, and as soon as it started I was flooded with a familiar warmness, and for the first time since I've been home, I felt...at home. I knew at that moment that no matter how big this "ouch" is, or any other will be, Jesus Christ can cure it because He's conquered all of the "ouch"es there ever were or ever will be.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and can heal any wound, and I am so grateful for that.

Honey, I'm hoooome!

Well hello again blogging world.

I have returned home from my mission, and I can't say enough about how wonderful it was. I'm not one to cry, but that is one subject that really tingles my tear ducts. Usually if I bounce my right leg enough I can keep from actually crying though. Seriously though, I loved it. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done until I came home. Being home the last 7 weeks has become the hardest thing. Not a day goes by that I don't think about it and miss it dearly.

Me with one of the families I taught on my mission <3

Since then I have been to Utah and back, New Hampshire and back, and now I've moved to Denton and started school at the University of North Texas.

Soooo why on earth did I title my blog The Daily Ouch? Well it just so happens that "ouch" is one of my most commonly used words. If you could digitize and enter my daily vocabulary into a database, and put it in descending order of the most commonly used (not counting articles and basic parts of speech), I'm pretty sure "ouch" would be in the Top 10. So one day the title "The Daily Ouch" came to me and I thought it'd be a great blog topic. Although, the other thought that came to me was that I'm horrible at staying on one topic in my blogs. So be forewarned that while I'll try to focus, I can't make any promises.

And just for clarification this blog isn't meant to be negative or whiny. The idea here is to find humor in the foibles of life. I think our "daily 'ouches'" make up a big part of who we are and they are worth embracing. Plus, I honestly find them funny.

So  today's "daily 'ouch'" is going to be combined with yesterday's "daily 'ouch'":

Yesterday I went wake boarding for the first time with my awesome new roommate and her awesome family. For those of you that have been wake boarding I could probably just leave it at that and you'd know what I mean. But for those of you who haven't been introduced to the sport, let me just tell you it was a blast. Interesting fact #207 about me, however, is that I have essentially no upper body strength. So my arms are killing me today. I mean I could barely twist open my nail polish cap this morning, THAT sore. And I also acquired a bruise on my left knee somewhere along the way. OUCH!

Despite being sore though it was worth it. I'm a firm believer that we should take every opportunity to do something that scares us.  Wake boarding scared me, but I did it anyway (I can't resist a new adventure). And even though I'll never be a pro-wake boarder, it still felt so good to just give it a go and keep trying after every miserable fail.

p.s. Not every entry will be this long.

Fighting the Good Fight: the New Drug

So waaaaaay back in the 1800s, Joseph Smith, prophet of God, revealed to the world the Word of Wisdom, which instructed us not to partake of tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and other harmful substances. It wasn't until much, much later in the 1960s, that scientists started catching on that tobacco really is harmful to the human body. Well my friends, ever since at least the 1970s, prophets of God have been warning against pornography, instructing us to avoid it like the plague.  And look what scientists are finding now.




Please help share this knowledge with others. This knowledge can help save souls and families.
www.fightthenewdrug.org

This just made my day

Called to serve!

I have been called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Washington Spokane Mission!!! I report to the Provo MTC on February 3, 2010!!

Speaking of mission calls...

So today I woke up on a cloud. I had looked forward to today, the day when I would be able to say "MY MISSION CALL COMES TOMORROW!!" And I did say it. Repeatedly. All. morning. long. Actually my friend and I had a little duet going. As we departed class today, we parted with joy knowing that the next time we saw each other we would have our long-awaited mission calls.

And then 12:17pm happened. My glee was quickly snuffed out by one simple statement: "The mail doesn't come tomorrow; it's Veterans' Day."

I mean who makes these decisions? How is the mail at ALL correlated with Veterans' Day? Don't get me wrong, my parents and many a grandparent are all veterans and I am thoroughly grateful for all the freedoms I enjoy because of the people fought for them. But seriously people, why give mailmen the day off? BYU students, NOR their traffic clerks get the day off. People need the mail. I mean what if the veterans want their mail?! I'm just saying, we should re-think this.

AHHHHHHH!!

I turned in my mission papers tonight!!! After going back and forth and back and forth for a very long time I have finally made the decision! In 2-4 weeks I will find out where I will be called to serve for the next 18 months of my life!!!

: )

.

A Day of Little Miracles

So Mondays are typically HORRIBLE days for me. But I was particularly dreading this Monday because I had SO much to do and so little sleep/time. So because of the extra dread, I was sure to say extra prayers that I could have a good Monday today. Let me just tell you that God has answered my prayers in the smallest, yet most meaningful ways today and the day is not even over yet.

1) I was going to wake up at like 5am to get some mandatory things done before 8am class. I was unable to wake up until my normal time at 6:15am, but I still was able to get everything done and get to class on time. I am a firm believer in Alma 37:37: "yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep." He really does. He keeps me asleep a little longer when I would wake myself up and stress myself out.

2) I had 5 minutes of classbreak today and decided to book it down to the vending machines to grab a snack. I was on the 4th floor, the elevators are usually incredibly slow, and the vending machines are in the basement. I decided to run for it regardless. When I got to the elevator, it was on the third floor headed up. I went down, got my snack, and when I came back the elevator was there waiting for me. I made it back with time to spare.

3) This is the teeniest tiniest most random thing. But apparently when I put my earrings in this morning, one of didn't actually make it in the hole, but was just kind of pinched on. I didn't realize this until I scratched my ear in class and it fell off with the back still on it. It was just a miracle that I didn't lose it and shamefully walk around with only one earring all day.

All in all, it's been a great Monday and I thank my Heavenly Father so much for that!

New Life

So I have started my new semester at BYU in a new apartment with new roommates, new ward, a new outlook.

So far, it's been AMAZING. I've been here 2 weeks now and have enjoyed every second. Ok, there may have been a few weird seconds, but overall, life is great.

Also, our apartment has started a blog so if you would like to experience the inter-workings of apartment 219, feel free to follow at 219girls.blogspot.com

What Would....Tyra Do?

Hi, I'm Susan, and I have recently become addicted to ANTM. (Hiiii, Susan)

This is an addiction that formed in the matter of a few weeks. It is a direct result of having no school and no job, a completely responsibility-free summer in New Hampshire. After watching 4 episodes on YouTube this evening, I decided to call it a night.

As I went to bed, however, I realized I would never be America's Next Top Model. First of all, I would never audition. Second of all, as the plus-size model so eloquently put it, "your body is a temple, and sometimes my body wants cheesecake!" I'm not plus-size, but it would be better if I were because as is, I'm just the inbetween girl that doesn't really have a place in the industry. *sigh* Oh well, more cheesecake for me!

ANYWAY, that's beside the point. The point is that I have a better goal in mind. This is where it gets good and cheesy. What if we put all the fierceness of being a model into being a servant of the Lord?

Smiling with your eyes = having His image in your countenance

Standing up straight = standing for what's right in a world of slouchers

Creating tension = being anxiously engaged rather than just floating along

Not posing = not just going through the motions, but really feeling what the Gospel is all about

I hope that this is making sense, even if you don't watch the show.

One more thing: The models on the show look to Tyra most of all as their example. Tyra gave this whole weird presentation about how she is the "Goddess of Fierce" and she needs an heir to throne.

Well Jesus Christ is my example. He is everything I want to be. I know if I watch and learn from His example I will come out on top; I will inherit all my Father has in store for me-which makes a contract with Elite Model Management and Covergirl look about as valuable as the stupid bug that keeps flying around me. On that note, I'm signing off and shutting down so the bug won't be as attracted to this vicinity.

Love is like riding a bike.

I realized this today as I rode down a hill without holding the brakes, just feeling the cliche wind in my hair.

The most important part of both is trusting yourself. Once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. You do, however, have to relearn how to trust yourself. See, ah, I don't really know how to describe it. It all made since while I was on the bike.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: first love is hard. It takes a while to find the balance and the brakes, and eventually you may fall face first and chip a tooth. From then, you have a choice to make. You can get back on the bike or not. If you chose to get back on the bike, you already know how to ride it now, you just have to learn to trust yourself. It's a leap of faith, but if you don't take it, you'll never feel the wind in your hair.

I have an announcement to make

I, Susan, who is mildly asthmatic, unathletic, and an overall whimp, completed a 5k this morning AND still had energy left afterwards. AND didn't have her lungs burning a hole in her chest.

I am firmly convinced that this means that the stars aligned today so I encourage you all to go out and try to do something you couldn't do before. I bet you can do it!

Bookstores

Ok before you engrave the notion in your brain that I am a creeper who takes pictures of people in windows, I did not take this picture. I just...stole it from the internet.

Anyway, I just love bookstores. There's something so enlightening about them. You don't even have to buy anything, you can just walk around, or curl up in a window and read. I really can't say more than that...I just love them. Borders is my personal favorite. Barnes & Noble has good cheesecake, but other than that, it's usually too big for my taste. But I'm not biased...

So if you haven't yet, go peruse a bookstore. Never know what might strike your fancy.

BED

Ok, sorry I've missed a few days. Lately, though, the thing that has brought my greatest joy is going to bed. Oh my goodness. I am so swamped with final papers bed brings sweet relief every night.

Also, I am very grateful that I have a bed to go to at night. A lot of people in the world sleep on dirt or cardboard. So if you have a bed to crash every night, please smile.

I am also grateful to have a job and to be getting the college education that makes me want to collapse into bed every night.

So even when you feel like collapsing, there's still something to be grateful for.