This name came to be from the Primary president who used to be in Nursery with me back in my previous ward. I got it because I spent the majority of my married life in various Nurseries (3.75 years in Nursery out of the then 4.17 years married). When I was released as a Nursery leader I was sad, but I knew it was coming at some point. I came to terms with it and was ready to see what calling the Lord had in store for me next.
Fast forward several months, my husband, dog, goldfish, and I moved to a new state and, thus, a new ward. I was really excited to find out what calling I would get. After being in the ward for a few months, my husband and I were asked if we would like accept a calling as Nursery workers. When I heard that I was surprised. I thought that I was done with Nursery and would move on to something else. When we were asked about what we thought of that calling I said "I'm used to it" (Not in a negative way, just as a matter of fact).
After the surprise wore off, I became grateful for the opportunity to serve in Nursery for the third time. There were things I wanted to improve upon as a Nursery leader, so I was grateful to have this opportunity to truly magnify and fulfill my calling.
In Stake Conference last week, testimony meeting in Sacrament yesterday, and in General Conference earlier in the month, it was mentioned how the calling we are in right now is the best calling for us, how the calling we are in right now is the most important one, and how our calling right now is the one for us.
I am truly thankful to be in Nursery again. It really is the best calling ever. Being a Nursery leader is the most important calling; it is where children learn about the Gospel in a more formal setting for the first time. I absolutely LOVE serving in Nursery; it is this calling that helped me decide I wanted to major in Family Studies.
I absolutely love all the children I get the opportunity to teach and know better (both in my current ward and in the previous wards). They know so much about Jesus and His gospel already in the 18 months to 3 years they have lived thus far. It truly blows me away. I'm thankful to all of their parents for doing a great job in raising them. I really think that these children will accomplish great things with their life.
I am grateful to call myself an "Eternal Nursery Leader" (4 years in Nursery out of the 5.17 years married and counting).
Monday, October 30, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
A New Kind of Airline
How great would it be if there was a truly pet-friendly airline? I know most airlines allow pets under a certain size (height/length) to fly in-cabin, as long as they are in a carrier and stowed beneath the seat. If they are larger than that size and you want your pet to come along, then they have to fly as cargo.
I, for one, don't want my dog to fly as cargo, but that is my only option I have because Buttercup is slightly too long and tall to fly in-cabin. I don't want to put her in the care of complete strangers. I am currently reading a book about Secret Service dogs and a small portion of the book was spent telling horror stories of having to fly commercial when they travel (they now fly on military planes). The horror stories (baggage handlers opening kennels to pet the dog and not closing the kennel all they way leading to the dog escaping the plane upon landing and running loose on the runway and the handler being told if he doesn't get his dog it will be shot, dogs being put on the wrong plane, etc.) were all concerns I had before reading this book. It is these reasons that I don't fly with Buttercup.
My dream is that there would be an airline that allows domestic pets of any size to fly in-cabin. The pets would need to be domestic. They each get their own ticket and a personal bag. They would get their own seat. There would be a total of 4 seats per row (2 on each side of the aisle); could maybe do 6, but 4 would be better that way it's one human and one pet per row per side (limits contact between pets). They would also have to be current on all vaccines and have the paperwork to prove that they are.
If I had the $200 million start-up cost and the know how, I totally would. Alas, I don't think I will ever have that kind of money. Hopefully, there will be somebody someday that will have the means and know how to make this dream a reality.
I, for one, don't want my dog to fly as cargo, but that is my only option I have because Buttercup is slightly too long and tall to fly in-cabin. I don't want to put her in the care of complete strangers. I am currently reading a book about Secret Service dogs and a small portion of the book was spent telling horror stories of having to fly commercial when they travel (they now fly on military planes). The horror stories (baggage handlers opening kennels to pet the dog and not closing the kennel all they way leading to the dog escaping the plane upon landing and running loose on the runway and the handler being told if he doesn't get his dog it will be shot, dogs being put on the wrong plane, etc.) were all concerns I had before reading this book. It is these reasons that I don't fly with Buttercup.
My dream is that there would be an airline that allows domestic pets of any size to fly in-cabin. The pets would need to be domestic. They each get their own ticket and a personal bag. They would get their own seat. There would be a total of 4 seats per row (2 on each side of the aisle); could maybe do 6, but 4 would be better that way it's one human and one pet per row per side (limits contact between pets). They would also have to be current on all vaccines and have the paperwork to prove that they are.
If I had the $200 million start-up cost and the know how, I totally would. Alas, I don't think I will ever have that kind of money. Hopefully, there will be somebody someday that will have the means and know how to make this dream a reality.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Why You Should Buy Love Your Life Not Theirs
If you haven't bought the book yet, then you need to watch this video to know why you should. Plus, she's giving away free SIGNED copies. There are 6 days (and books) left to get yourself a free copy. Also, while you are at it, check out this link for when Rachel Cruze will be in your area doing book signings: https://www.rachelcruze.com/book?ectid=10.10.6880
Monday, October 3, 2016
Today's the Day...
...that Rachel Cruze's book Love Your Life, Not Theirs hits the shelves! It's out! I'm so thankful that I got to read an advanced copy of it. It is a must read for all people. It is an easy and quick read. Everyone at some point or another struggles with contentment and comparison living, especially in this day and age with social media and targeted ads. Her book helps teach you how to become an active consumer (thinking before buying).
I think her book really is an inspired book. Something she was meant to write and share with the world. Why? Because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just had General Conference September 24, October 1, and October 2. At General Conference there were numerous speakers that spoke about being content with your own life, stopping the comparisons with yourselves and others, and learning to find and have joy no matter the circumstance of your life. Each speaker chooses their own subject to speak about; no one is assigned a certain topic. Another reason why I feel her book is inspired (and a must read) is because other people have come out with things about loving your life and finding peace, happiness, and joy. Some of these other examples include Hilary Weeks' Love Your Life music album, Elder Richard G. Scott's book Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy, and numerous articles in the Ensign and New Era.
So, please, everyone do me (and Rachel Cruze and yourself) a favor and check out this link: https://www.rachelcruze.com/book?ectid=10.10.6880 Doing so gives me the chance to have lunch with Rachel, which I would very much appreciate. :)
I think her book really is an inspired book. Something she was meant to write and share with the world. Why? Because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just had General Conference September 24, October 1, and October 2. At General Conference there were numerous speakers that spoke about being content with your own life, stopping the comparisons with yourselves and others, and learning to find and have joy no matter the circumstance of your life. Each speaker chooses their own subject to speak about; no one is assigned a certain topic. Another reason why I feel her book is inspired (and a must read) is because other people have come out with things about loving your life and finding peace, happiness, and joy. Some of these other examples include Hilary Weeks' Love Your Life music album, Elder Richard G. Scott's book Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy, and numerous articles in the Ensign and New Era.
So, please, everyone do me (and Rachel Cruze and yourself) a favor and check out this link: https://www.rachelcruze.com/book?ectid=10.10.6880 Doing so gives me the chance to have lunch with Rachel, which I would very much appreciate. :)
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
#LYLbook: Contentment
A sub-habit of quitting comparison is learning to become content. Contentment is being in a state of peace with where you are in life and with what things you have, whether that be a little or a lot.
An important thing to do to get or keep our state of contentment is recording the things we are grateful for, all the blessings which Heavenly Father has given us, and the ways God helped us. I like to write it in my personal journal, but you can keep a separate journal for all the things you are grateful for. It's important to keep track of our blessings because not everyday is going to be a super great day. There will be some days where we feel like we are alone, no one cares, and nothing is going right. Keeping track of our blessings and then reviewing them will help remind us that Heavenly Father is always there for us (so we are never truly alone), people do care about us, and things are going the way it's meant to go. Even when life hits rough patches, it is still important to track our blessings from that day because there is always something to be grateful for, like the fact we are still alive.
Along with keeping track of our blessings, we need to decide what we value. We don't need to do things others want us to do or what the world would have us do; we need to do what we need/want to do. The things we value will probably change over time, so it is okay to re-prioritize. Once we choose our values it's important that we focus on them.
One way to decide what our values are is to look at where the money is being spent and how our time is being used. If we don't like where the money is going and how we've been using our time, then we need to adjust those things accordingly to what we truly value.
A good quote to summarize what it means to be content is from C.S. Lewis when he said "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
An important thing to do to get or keep our state of contentment is recording the things we are grateful for, all the blessings which Heavenly Father has given us, and the ways God helped us. I like to write it in my personal journal, but you can keep a separate journal for all the things you are grateful for. It's important to keep track of our blessings because not everyday is going to be a super great day. There will be some days where we feel like we are alone, no one cares, and nothing is going right. Keeping track of our blessings and then reviewing them will help remind us that Heavenly Father is always there for us (so we are never truly alone), people do care about us, and things are going the way it's meant to go. Even when life hits rough patches, it is still important to track our blessings from that day because there is always something to be grateful for, like the fact we are still alive.
Along with keeping track of our blessings, we need to decide what we value. We don't need to do things others want us to do or what the world would have us do; we need to do what we need/want to do. The things we value will probably change over time, so it is okay to re-prioritize. Once we choose our values it's important that we focus on them.
One way to decide what our values are is to look at where the money is being spent and how our time is being used. If we don't like where the money is going and how we've been using our time, then we need to adjust those things accordingly to what we truly value.
A good quote to summarize what it means to be content is from C.S. Lewis when he said "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
Sunday, September 11, 2016
What It Means to Actually be Blessed and to be #Blessed
Rachel Cruze has a section in her book Love Your Life, Not Theirs that talks about this difference between being blessed and #blessed. She also did a vlog about this difference, so I thought I would share it with you because it is important to know the difference.
I know a lot of what she said was what I posted about yesterday, but she goes into detail describing what each of those steps mean.
What she doesn't mention in the vlog is that most often when people use #blessed they are bragging. She gives the example in her book that people don't really use #blessed when they are talking about their beater car. It's most commonly used on the new car and other expensive things. I'm not against people using this hashtag, but it is important to use it wisely.
What she doesn't mention in the vlog is that most often when people use #blessed they are bragging. She gives the example in her book that people don't really use #blessed when they are talking about their beater car. It's most commonly used on the new car and other expensive things. I'm not against people using this hashtag, but it is important to use it wisely.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
#LYLBook: Comparison
The first habit that needs to change in order to love our life and be content with it is to stop comparing our life to others. Here are some one-liners and quotes that stood out to me:
Another thought that came to mind as I read is that comparison works two ways. We can compare ourselves to those people who we feel are doing better at life than we are and we also compare ourselves to those we think are doing worse than us. This habit is really a habit about pride and learning to take that pride and turn it into humility.
As I read I realize that I am guilty of making assumptions about a person's life when it comes to things I see on social media, especially when it comes to people my age going on fancy trips, buying new cars, or buying a house. Rachel says that whether our assumptions are good or bad they are meaningless and that it doesn't change their or our own situation, so don't waste the energy making assumptions because it's not our business.
Going along with making assumptions about other people, Rachel talks about our perception of reality may also be skewed and not actual reality. This is something that was discussed quite a bit in my Advanced Family Processes class last year. Everyone has a different view of reality. What one person sees may not be, and often isn't, the same as what someone else sees. For example, most people perceive that millionaires live in fancy houses, drive nice cars, and wears expensive clothes, but actually most millionaires look no different than the average person. They live in modest homes and drive slightly used cars.
I hope from this post you have a better understanding of how to quit comparison. Keep an eye out for future posts about the difference between actually blessed vs. #blessed and being content (both of which will provide additional insights on how to quit comparison).
- Comparisons not only steals joy it steals your paycheck
- "When we start comparing ourselves to other people, we're playing a game we'll never win."
- "The Joneses may actually be broke! What you are seeing isn't always the real story."
- "When you get caught up in social media comparisons, you're comparing yourself to make-believe. And when you compare yourself to make-believe, your real life will never feel good enough."
- "Comparing ourselves to others is essentially a coping mechanism for our own insecurities. We believe we don't measure up so we project our insecurity onto others. ... And it's those insecurities--our own internal struggles--that are keeping us from living the kind of life we love."
- "We can't blame ourselves for the thoughts that pop into our heads, but we can take responsibility for what we do with those thoughts." (This reminds me a lot about agency.)
- "Don't feel like you're losing just because someone else is winning. Their success has nothing to do with you, so celebrate their success sincerely while you keep working toward your own."
Another thought that came to mind as I read is that comparison works two ways. We can compare ourselves to those people who we feel are doing better at life than we are and we also compare ourselves to those we think are doing worse than us. This habit is really a habit about pride and learning to take that pride and turn it into humility.
As I read I realize that I am guilty of making assumptions about a person's life when it comes to things I see on social media, especially when it comes to people my age going on fancy trips, buying new cars, or buying a house. Rachel says that whether our assumptions are good or bad they are meaningless and that it doesn't change their or our own situation, so don't waste the energy making assumptions because it's not our business.
Going along with making assumptions about other people, Rachel talks about our perception of reality may also be skewed and not actual reality. This is something that was discussed quite a bit in my Advanced Family Processes class last year. Everyone has a different view of reality. What one person sees may not be, and often isn't, the same as what someone else sees. For example, most people perceive that millionaires live in fancy houses, drive nice cars, and wears expensive clothes, but actually most millionaires look no different than the average person. They live in modest homes and drive slightly used cars.
I hope from this post you have a better understanding of how to quit comparison. Keep an eye out for future posts about the difference between actually blessed vs. #blessed and being content (both of which will provide additional insights on how to quit comparison).
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