Change.

Of course we all know that things change, but change can mean so many things.

Regardless of your circumstances, know that good things come from change. Embrace the changes that are happening in your life and look forward to the good things that are yet to come.

Remember the good ol' days, but also rejoice in the now.

Smile when change comes your way and know that it is an inevitable part of life.

Happy Tuesday (technically Friday for me, with my Vegas trip and all)!

Pictures to come.

Charity.

"And now abideth in faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

-1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a great way to raise awareness, but so many are not donating to this cause, as well as other causes that need an equal amount of attention. Let's focus on helping as many others as possible, not just one certain illness/disease/disability/trial.

Love one another.

Here is a list of some great charities to donate to:

• If you're interested in helping families in poverty, go here.
• If you're interested in helping orphaned children in the UK and developing countries, go here.
• If you're interested in humanitarian projects, go here.
• If you're interested in helping families adopt children, go here.
• If you're interested in helping animals, go here.

And of course, there are so many other charities that are in need of your donations.

Thoughts 2.0.

Dogs are the best.

Thoughts.

Enjoy your life.

Make time to do something fun.
Happy Thursday.

PS: In one week I will be sitting poolside in Vegas. Cannot wait!

Goals for Life.

1. Let your heart be softened. 
2. Become humble. 
3. Realize your potential. 
4. Do what you can to become the best you.

Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us. He knows who we are and what we can become. Strive for the best, and don't settle.

Dear Friend Who Needs to Know.

If you haven't read this story in Cosmopolitan, you might want to. And while you're at it, you should take a quick glance at the comments in response to this article.

It is easy to tell Keli Byers that she can just go find another school, or that she just doesn't understand how the Honor Code and the Law of Chastity help to keep us safe. I am sure she has heard both of those statements multiple times, but it goes much deeper than that.

There is truly a crisis happening in our world and we need to ban together, united on our foundation of Jesus Christ and his gospel, and show others the truth. Without the gospel, we are missing the essential piece that is eternity. 

The gospel is simple. It is pure. There are no grey areas. 

The disconnect happens when people, with good intentions, try to change others by force. The truth is that we all struggle in certain areas, and we would not be willing to change simply because someone else told us to. It would take a change of the heart, which is a process.

Let me put it this way, to ask someone to change his or her views instantly is like asking an investigator (someone learning about the Church) to get baptized on the first day of meeting the missionaries, complete with a lifestyle change (Law of Chastity & Word of Wisdom) and an understanding of the Book of Mormon, modern-day prophets, Joseph Smith, etc. We would never require this of the new members of the Church because we understand that conversion takes time. Change takes time.

Okay, back on topic here. Upon reading the story from Keli in Cosmopolitan, I found myself wandering onto the BYU feminists website (stay with me, here) and I found this story.

I think the proper response to both articles comes in the form of a letter.

Dear Friend Who Needs to Know,

Christ loves you. He truly understands your pains, struggles, and sorrows. He knows you personally and has a plan for your life. 

Though I'm sure you already know, the gospel is freeing. The power of the Atonement can change our outlook on life. It can help us to become perfect, as our Heavenly Father is. And if we all have the common goal of becoming perfected, we can work through our misunderstandings, challenges, and trials. Because of Christ's infinite Atonement, we are able to continue toward perfection.

The truth, Beena, is that we do want you. Every bit of who you are is welcome in the Church. We are not perfect, and we do not expect anyone else to be perfect. What we expect is an earnest desire and a willingness to grow and become like Christ.

Keli, we have all sinned. We know what it is like to feel like we have done more than we can be forgiven of. But, through repentance, the Atonement can bring you comfort and peace. 

Understand, sisters, that the issue is not BYU standards, nor the attitudes of those in the Church. The heart of the matter is the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to be a part of it. 

By living our lives in a righteous manner (though we make mistakes), we can grow closer to our Father in Heaven and we can feel the joy that comes from the gospel. We can bring that light to others who are in need, and we can help them to grow.

Stop comparing yourselves with others. Know your true worth is infinitely important. What you have done is of no concern because we are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and that is what matters in the end.

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfected in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

-Moroni 10:32

With love,

Someone Who Understands

We do not fully know the circumstances of these, or any other, members of the Church. What we do know is that we are all sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. In the words of President Monson, "We must develop the capacity to see men [and women] not as they are at present but as they may become."

"His hand is always outstretched, no matter how deep we feel."

Long Day.

Today was a long day at work, but it was great!

Glad to be home watching HGTV and relaxing.

Happy Monday (and also one-day-closer-to-Vegas-day)! Looking forward to some time away with hubby.

Nostalgia.

Am I the only one who loves to listen to old music?

I know it's not that old, but I am really digging the Dixie Chicks today.

They were some of the greatest country music artists of all-time. Love them! And it's nice to remember riding around in my mom's car as a small child, jamming out to these ladies. So many good memories associated with the Dixie Chicks' music.

Changing the World.

Some topics are hard to discuss, but are necessary for understanding so many aspects of life. I don't enjoy controversy, so here are my simple thoughts about feminism.

Feminism is one of the things that really grinds my gears. Now, before you give me the eye roll and click on to your next favorite blog to read, let me just explain.

This post (trust me, you should read it) gets it all wrong.

The first issue in this article shows up right in the beginning. Let me say, I will not deny the fact that in other countries, there are serious issues of female inequality. And those should be dealt with. But American women are not suffering the same oppression. Today's (American) women are able to get an education, have a career, and any opportunities that they want. We are not forced into marriages, we are not beaten to death, we are free to make choices.

Feminists claim to solve the issues of inequality in other countries. That is absurd. People who change the world are not those who seek attention. People who change the world do not seek to put others down.

People who change the world love others.

I'll be clear, I have no problem with people taking a stand for women placed in harmful situations, but that is not what that today's so-called feminists are aiming for.

Feminists get it wrong because they want women to have it all. Men are pushed aside, and women are put on a pedestal. Feminism says that women can do it all. But we can't. The truth of the matter is that men and women need each other. Without the other, families, societies-- even humanity itself-- would not be able to continue. The truth is that we are co-dependent upon each other.

Like many others, I believe in equality. I believe in respect. I believe in love for others. And that is how we will change the world.

Thursday.

Enjoy today.

Updates.

You all know we moved in to our new apartment about a month and a half ago now. I thought I would share some updates.

1. We got a new couch. It's a sectional, and we love it. Our living room seems to have gotten smaller, but our furniture has just gotten bigger.
2. I'm redoing our dining room table ASAP. It will be beautiful and red. I can't wait.
3. Our bedroom is complete. She is my pride and joy.

4. The bathroom is next.

In other news, this week is finals. So far, I've gotten really great grades. All this hard work paid off! Only one more final tomorrow.

Next week is a huge conference here at BYU and I will be working CRAZY hours. If you don't hear from me, I'm not on vacation. Just working. A lot.

And then we are making a trip to Las Vegas! We are so excited!

Well, that's all that's going on in the Marsee World. Happy Wednesday!

Thoughts.

I love the temple. It has brought so much peace into my life.

Happy Tuesday!

Life is Good.

Sorry for missing Friday!

Anyway, this weekend was a good one. We spent Saturday doing whatever we wanted (that hasn't happened in a long time)! We got to go to the life sciences museum, the movies, the mall, and Olive Garden.

We saw X Men, get it?

Sunday we went to see one of our friends from Indiana give her homecoming talk! It was good to see a couple of familiar faces. Welcome home Sister Kelsi Curtis!! And on the way home, we had some car trouble. After lots of anger from my end, we got a tow truck and figured out that we had a rock stuck in our brakes. Luckily, it worked its way out and our car is just fine. Thank goodness my husband stays calm even when I am not. Haha.

Then we went to get our new (to us) couch. It's beautiful. Pictures to come later.

Anyway, great weekend with my husband. Some DIY projects to come on our dining room furniture. Vegas vacation with hubby soon. And today is the last day of classes. You all know how excited I am about that. Life is good.

Happy Monday!

Long Day.

Swamped.

Headache.

Tired.

So glad I have a husband who loves me and helps me when I have a hard day. You're the best, babe.

Preparation.

Today was a good one!

I realized (even though I sort of already knew) that the Lord has been preparing me. It isn't a coincidence that things have happened the way they have.

It's because I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I met my husband, and it's because of him that I moved to attend BYU, and it's because I attend BYU that I changed my major to Family Studies, and that leads into so many other great things.

I cannot express how excited I am for the future and all it holds.

Also, look at this funny goat.

Happy Wednesday!

Just Keep Swimming.

Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills, when life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?

I don't wanna know what you gotta do when life gets you down.

How often are we like Marlin, feeling completely hopeless and annoyed by the little struggles in life? Well, if you're anything like me, you feel this way more than you should. The world would be a much better, happier place if we all had attitudes like Dory.

When life gets you down, just keep swimming.

Stay positive. The hardships will pass.

----------(pause)----------

To end on a less-serious note... Utahns have some interesting quirks.

This week, the hubs and I found out that there's a difference in pronunciation between "Laura" and "Lora". Well, where I come from, both sound like l-or-uh. Here, they differentiate between l-aw-r-uh and l-or-uh. I even met somebody named "l-aw-r-ee" (Laurie), and it is not pronounced "l-or-ee". (I guess my Aunt Laurie has been pronouncing her name wrong for years!) 

And apparently, Laurel is pronounced "l-aw-rel", not "l-or-el".

My mouth can't even make that noise.

I guess I've been doing it wrong my whole life.. Either that, or these Utahns have an accent that I just don't get.

Today.

I saw a deer eating a tree on campus.

That pretty much sums up what kind of day I've had.

Isn't she cute?!

Weekend Plans.

This weekend will be awesome. Gonna spend time with Sammi and John (after a whole summer apart)! We are pumped.

Pictures to come.