Remember who you are....

My trip to Hawaii this last week was AMAZING in so many ways. Just what I needed. It's BEAUTIFUL! Who doesn't love Hawaii? But, it's more than a beautiful place to me. I feel like it's more beautiful to me because it's home, it's family, it's learning and growing, it's where I learned who I was, where I gained my testimony and understanding of God and testimony of Jesus Christ (see Mosiah 18:30).

Those things are so important to me and so helpful right now in life. I feel like I've been searching for a while for the next step, what I need to be doing, etc. I learned a few important lessons:

1. We need to understand clearly who we are and where we are from to move forward.
2. The eternal plan of happiness and gospel of Jesus Christ are consistent and sure.
3. It's all about family! I love my family! Home is where family is. :)
4. It's important to identify what's most important and move forward boldly living and true to those beliefs.

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to grow up in Hawaii. I love the culture of charity, love, care, and aloha. The pace is slower, people are patient and you can be yourself. The pace gives you the chance to stop and reflect and focus on things that are really important (the beauty of the world around helps too).

In contrast (and I realized this trip how stark the contrast is), there are some interesting and wonderful things I have learned living in Washington DC this past year or so. In general, I think the culture is one of pro-activity. No one waits around for anything. It's a culture of busy-ness and getting ahead. Ambition is important and the work ethic is admirable in some respects, but I wonder how many priorities are compromised or forgotten in the busy-ness of life.

In comparing these two cultures I realize the importance of each. We need to step back and remember our priorities -- who we are, what we're here for, what we truly want to accomplish each day, how we can live with the aloha spirit -- and then go forward and do something about it. People focus so much on getting ahead professionally, but I think it's more important to live the gospel ambitiously. :) As we learn in D&C 58:26-29, we should not be "compelled in all things," but should "be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."

This all goes back to two things my parents taught me:

1. Dad always talks about how Hawaii is amazing because of the consistency of the temperature. I love that, but I love even more the consistency of the gospel and our Heavenly Father's love and plan. Even in different cultures we know the standards and principles of our Heavenly Father's plan and need to be true to them.
2. Mom often teaches to not let things that matter most fall to the mercy of things that matter least. It's all about love and the Aloha Spirit! :)

"It's always hard to leave this place!"

I LOVE Hawaii! I LOVE my family! It was the perfect two weeks! :) I feel so blessed and it was VERY hard to leave.

Here are some of the highlights and things that I love and miss:

* Kayaking, going to the temple and talking with MOM and listening to her great Stake Conference talk.

* Running the beach, hiking Kokohead stairs and exploring the Waimanalo fishponds with DAD....and watching him distribute cookie dough via airplane. :)

* Hanging out with CARI at all our favorite childhood spots, watching her take thousands of pictures and just being together!

* Discussing politics with MIKE and watching him explain to Kai that the ipod needs to be recharged and how the DVD player is now unfixable. :)

* Making forts for 10 sleepovers and "good mornings" with KAYLA, "running" the beach with her and watching her make friends everywhere she went.

* Building sandcastles, looking for the fish and monkeys, cuddling "at" KAI and watching his first reaction to sand, the ocean and eating shave ice.

* Smiling and making fish faces with MASON and watching him enjoy the tradewinds from the window.

* Debating important issues with MATT and watching him be a dad....it's pretty cute!

* Hanging out and talking with MEGAN in a lot of wonderful places and watching her be a mom. So sweet! :)

* Meeting and holding the adorable and sweet NOAH.

* Running around the lake with JOSH and talking to him about so many fun and important things as we drove all over the island together.

Some of my favorite memories all together are:

* playing at Kalama Beach

* hiking to the bunker and Maunawili Falls

* swimming at Hanauma Bay

* sitting together at church in Kailua

* enjoying Lanikai Beach

* watching the kids play at the "paygounds"

* learning about Samoa and Josh's last two years

* exploring the Polynesian Cultural Center

* eating at Orange Grove

* hanging out on a siblings and spouses night out

* just being all together!!! :)

I learned a lot:

* Family is what makes a house or town a home. :)

* I am so grateful that I got to grow up in Kailua.

* Understanding and remembering where you're from (places, people, experiences) helps you understand better who you are and where you're going.

* Love and the aloha spirit is what it's all about! :)

* I'm grateful for consistency. (More on this a little later.) :)

Live after the Manner of Happiness

We had a nice Stake Conference the last couple of days. My main take-away was what Elder Claudio Zivic taught from 2 Nephi 5 about how the Nephites learned to "live after the manner of happiness." Some of the main things they did included:

• keeping God's commandments
• studying the scriptures
• having families and children
• working hard
• developing their abilities and talents
• receiving direction from the Lord
• building and working in the temple

It's a simple formula really....love the Lord and follow Him! That doesn't mean there won't be wars and trials, but we can be content in knowing we're doing what He would have us do. As we care more about the things of God than of men we will be happy. I was inspired this morning reading the first several chapters of Acts as the apostles are beginning their ministry after Jesus' resurrection. They are steadfast in their witness of Him, even when several people threaten and do put them in prison they are committed to the Lord, saying "We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29)."

Maintain what Matters Most

I just spent a wonderful weekend in Boston! It was awesome to see the leaves, explore the city, take a break.....

.....and attend a fantastic conference with about 500 other single members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The theme of the conference was "Stand Together: Maintaining Perspective on what Matters Most." There were some fantastic speakers and opportunities to think together about how to strengthen ourselves and others in the gospel. Here were some of the highlights:

Elder Matthew Eyring:

* maintain a life-long commitment to Jesus Christ

* remember the power of understanding true doctrine

* treasure up the words of life

* understand that your struggles really aren't relevant because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ

* tie yourself to the feelings you have when you read your scriptures

* gain power when acting in faith even through uncertainty

* we are agents to act, not objects to be acted upon

* we need revelation!

* ACT so the Lord will guide you to receive more light (1 Nephi 16:29)

* are we prepared to listen, feel, act? :)

* the shelf-life of a prompting is very short! act quickly.

* serve, sacrifice, go to your knees and DEPEND ON THE LORD! :)

* boldly declare who you are and what you're about

* don't be afraid to sacrifice and ask for sacrifice from others

* act and invite others; never shrink as members of His Church

* "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ!" (Romans 1:16)

* be unafraid to be who you are!

* sacrifice and consecrate all that we have to the Lord and His kingdom!

Elder Clayton Christensen:

* There are less standard sacrifices asked of us now, but "it is not meet that [we're] commanded or compelled in all things"... but we should "be anxiously engaged in a good cause...and bring to pass much righteousness." (D&C 58:26-28)

* What have you been doing on your watch?

* The standard of sacrifice is ALL things!

* Sacrifice everything for the kingdom -- there is so much to do! Create a plan of action!

* The Church needs you!

* Find out what questions people have.

* Sacrifice time to serve in the temple.

* Remember what matters most -- what matters most to God needs to be what matters most to us!

* Sacrifice for the Lord and you'll be happy.

* Be innovative and creative in your attempts to build the kingdom of God!

* See a problem and solve it. Take the initiative!

* Seek for inspiration and revelation.

* When we hit a roadblock follow the ways of God (Isaiah 55:8-9) and build the kingdom in His way -- by the simple and weak, be humble and open, we're not perfect, create a need, get to know people, go after the one like the Good Shepherd

* Lose yourself in the gospel! (Mark 8:35)

* Come sacrifice all that you have for the kingdom of God.

* Build kingdom in Lord's way....we'll be successful and you'll grow!

Sister Kristen Oaks:

* We are a covenant people to "stand as witnesses at all times" (Mosiah 18:8-10)

* Heavenly Father loves us personally -- you're a child of God!

* Be the best you can be -- be a disciple of Christ!

* Honor your emotions -- you are a celestial being here on a visit!

* Be anxiously engaged! "Real princesses save themselves." :)

* Know and understand who you are.

* Understand the priesthood.

* Sanctify yourselves -- your faith will demand the best of you.

* Prepare to live after the manner of happiness

* "Taste" the principles of eternal life.

* We are in enemy territory, so get up and read the Book of Mormon.

* Recognize the voice of the Lord.

* Be kind to each other.

* Look for service.

* Comfort those in need.

* Stand by each other.

A few other thoughts by some other fantastic speakers:

* Define what spiritual success is for you.

* Live the gospel with ambition!

* Pray for inspiration.

* Come drop my burden at His feet....to do and be what He wants today!

* Choose spiritual success and make a purposeful plan to achieve it.

* God is with us!

* We can't turn back -- it's not consistent with who we are--children of God.

* Know His voice; don't get lost.

* Nothing can separate us from the love of God (see Romans 8:35-39).

* Jesus Christ offers the abundant life.

* Come boldly to the throne of grace for mercy (Hebrews 4:16).

* What if the Lord called you to do something important? What would your response be?

* Do you feel closeness to the Lord in prayer? If not, why not?

* We need to be loved and cherished by others

* People come here to become world experts, but you're the best....the light of the gospel shines in your faces!

* Have courage to live the gospel!

* Leave what you're doing and reach out to others.

We also sang some wonderful hymns that helped me learn some important things:

• More Holiness Give Me (more gratitude, more trust in the Lord, more hope in His work, more fit for the kingdom, more used would I be)
• Onward, Christian Soldiers
• Hope of Israel
• In Humility, Our Savior
• True to the Faith

It was a great weekend! :)

Off to Massachusetts..... :)

Decisions and Revelation

I've learned a lot about decisions and revelation lately. Often you have to make a decision and move forward before an answer will come..... :)

Wonderful Weekend! :)

Life is good...."oh-cud" for four "good mornings" I got to spend time here with some of my very favorite people! :)

Proactive Disciples

I have been thinking a lot about the importance of being proactive over the course of the last year (it's kind of the culture of DC), but especially in the last few weeks.

We are agents for ourselves. We can choose and we must choose to act or be acted upon, as Elder Bednar often likes to talk about. He gave some very neat counsel at General Conference a couple of weeks ago when he said that we need to "be learners who act and thereby receive additional light and knowledge by the power of the Holy Ghost--not merely passive students who primarily are acted upon."

As we learn in D&C 58:26-28, "It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

In her most recent talk on personal revelation and testimony, Sister Thompson referred to a great moment in the scriptures in 1 Nephi 15 where Laman and Lemuel told Nephi that they couldn't understand the words their father, Lehi, taught them. Nephi asks simply, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" And they said, "We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." Here is a perfect example of the importance of asking, working and finding out for yourself what's right and doing it...being an active disciple of Christ and not a passive follower!

I'm grateful for these examples and reminders. I love General Conference! I feel like we are at a very important and crucial time in history. We need to choose who we are and what we stand for. We need to not be shy about sharing our beliefs and values. There is urgency being proactive about learning and doing what's right. Here's a link to some of the highlights and another fun reminder to Seize the Day! :)

13th Article of Faith

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report of praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

I love these words written by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842! I can't think of a better code to live by. These are definitely not values being taught by the world these days; which makes them all the more valuable and important. The truth and standard of God never changes. I love it! I know we will be happy as we live His teachings and follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We each have an important role to play in standing up for these truths. Here are a couple of my new favorite websites for women and youth that teach and show examples throughout history and in modern times of the people standing up for what's right and being examples of truth and righteousness! Let's go and seek for something lovely today....and share it with someone else! :)

Hyperventilating

So, I think it's a sign.....hyperventilating at work....I'm a little stressed. :)

So, to calm down a bit I went for a little walk and ended up at Macey's....of all places. Ha, ha, ha. I hate shopping. But somehow this was peace and relief away from my desk for a minute.

I did find much greater options for stress relief throughout the rest of the day:

* talking to my sister and hearing my nephew say he didn't know where he wanted her to put his band-aid (he just wanted one because his older sister had one)

* crossing a couple of things off the to-do list

* walking around the city a little bit

* May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You

* beautiful fall day and sunset over the Potomac River

* 3 Nephi 17

* dinner

* roommates

* yoga

* biking

* reading

* running

* blogging

Connected

We are all connected! That's one reason I love geography and the gospel -- they teach some of the connections! :) We are all brothers and sisters no matter where we come from or what we do. I love the feeling of being connected to something bigger than myself and to those around me. Lately I've been thinking a lot about this:

* As I have been thinking about 9/11 quite a bit the last few days I have been reminded of how random it was who lived and who died...it had to do with where you sat at work, whether you were late or not, what flight you booked your ticket on. It's quite amazing! Some of these random people will be forever linked together. Really we are all connected. I found people walking around Washington D.C. last Friday being much more friendly than usual. Each person that we pass on the street or cross paths with is connected to us in some way. We share more than I think we realize or acknowledge sometimes.

* I love the song, "Each Life that Touches Ours for Good." I've been thinking about many people lately that have touched my life without them really knowing it. What if we were to share more often the gratitude we feel for those that touch our lives each day -- in big and small ways?

* No man is an island entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less, as wells as if a promontory were,

as well as a manor of they friends or of thine own were;

any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

it tolls for thee.

- John Donne

* Back to 9/11, how selfless and wonderful were those who (after knowing a little bit more about the horrific-ness of the situation) still rushed in to help? Many of the firemen that rushed in must have known they were going to die. Their selfless sacrifice because of a connection to others and desire to help is an inspiration and what life is all about. I realized today that we really do need to be ready to die at every moment. Our lives here on earth are temporary. We don't know how long we'll be here or what's coming next, but if we live our covenants and follow the example of Jesus Christ in ALL that we do -- the big and the small things every day -- we will be ready and that's all that matters. Why do we ever selfishly worry about ANYthing? A project at work that we need to get done when a person in front of us is concerned about something?

* I did some temple sealings a couple of weeks ago. So wonderful! That's the best way to be connected to loving family FOREVER! :)

* I have also been thinking a lot about family history work lately. Have you seen the NEW FamilySearch.org site? It's so neat! And wonderful to think about families being connected for generations. New technologies are helping to make research so much easier. It's so exciting. Just looking around a little bit made me feel like if I really got involved I'd be addicted to helping to solve the puzzle and find the connections. :)

* Jesus loves EVERYone. We can't get to heaven on our own! :) We need Him and we need each other! I am grateful for the connections in my life and know that real happiness comes as we keep our covenants and "are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places (Mosiah 18:8-9)."

9.10.11

It seemed like a special day, so I did something to celebrate: :)

It was nice to get all cleaned up after hauling wheelbarrows full of mulch around Marvin Gaye Park in DC for the 9/11 National Day of Service.

Happiness Project - Strategy

Ever since reading The Happiness Project a few months ago I started working on my own strategy for happiness. Here is a *list* of things that make me happy:

My actual strategy is still a work in progress, but here are a few of the things I have identified that I need to do in my life:

* exercise in the morning

* read scriptures in the morning

* write in my journal at night

* decide to be happy every day

* learn Chinese

* always be reading a good book, write book reports

* plan for my next vacation

* de-clutter

* live simply

* be kind, be humble

* get to know everyone

* be happy, don't complain

* live so that it can be said of me that I never said anything bad about anyone

* spend more time at the temple

* decide where I will spend my time and money -- identify causes to support

* always have an idea for a future job, goal

* remember that it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing....follow the Spirit and do what I think is best for me! :)

* look for a job or opportunity to work with world cultures and people

* come to know God and Jesus better everyday!

* stand up for what's right -- live with integrity -- be ready to stand up and be counted.

Sunday!

I love Sunday and what a special Sunday! :) I'm an aunt again! I sure can't wait to meet little Noah Matthew. :) Two months from today! :)

Another couple of neat insights from the day:

* I love Fast Sundays. It's good to fast. I felt the blessings of the fast today....and much needed direction. I love when there are lulls in the meeting so you can really think about your testimony and love for the Lord. I had some great time to think and almost got up to share a few times my knowledge that God knows us and loves us and leads us. :)

* I love the New Testament. I love studying the words and teachings of Paul. What a neat missionary and leader. Here are a few of the my favorite verses from the week:

"God hat chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty (1 Cor. 1:27)."

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Cor. 2:9)."

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase (1 Cor. 3:6)....For we are laborers together with God (1 Cor. 3:9)."

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you (1 Cor. 3:16)?"

* I'm grateful for the reminders throughout the day of God's care and blessings:

"Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath, and are recorded with this seal and testament... (D&C 98:1-2)."

"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up (D&C 84:88)."

* I love the temple. It was nice to get to go twice this week and do different ordinances and learn and think more about what this life is really about....eternally. :) I've still been thinking about that some and the neat and wonderful and important work of family history in finding our ancestors and piecing the puzzle together of how we are all linked back to our Heavenly Father.

* I love the guidance I receive from the Lord.....about where to go, what to be learning and focusing on and following opportunities along the way. :)

8/31

Another year has gone by. This last year has given me many opportunities to learn and grow. It has been very different than I expected. It has been hard in many ways, but neat in many ways too. I feel like the infamous 8/31 was definitely a random day in the life. It was a good day!

Here are some of the highlights:

* 3:00 AM trip to the E.R. -- to be sure to enjoy as many hours of the day as possible and go back to where it all began :)

* drive past the monuments and a quiet Washington D.C.

* a little sleep in

* workout and a little reading

* reschedule a couple of meetings

* lots of work and emails and planning

* figuring out plans for several events the next few weeks

* wonder if my nephew is coming today? :)

* nice birthday notes and texts and messages throughout the day

* time/opportunities to remember what life's really about -- focusing on people and being kind (less on the meetings and deadlines and "things" that get in the way)

* ice cream run

* walk to the Martin Luther King Memorial

* roommate dinner

* roommate cake and ice cream

* talking to family

* movie and relaxing

Life is good! I'm glad to be alive! :) Another year older and hopefully wiser too. :)