interview with lindsey stirling

So on Tuesday evening Bonnie L. Oscarson and David L. Beck (young men and young women general presidents of the Church) met with world-renowned (I even met fans of hers in Belgium!) dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling and did this really cool broadcast called a face2face, which essentially just means it was a live interview and that youth from all over the world could ask Lindsey questions.

I watched it and loved it! I love her testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love that she keeps her standards, and that her team calls them "Lindsey rules" on tours. I love that she is real with these kids. She isn't ashamed of sharing her own experiences to help them.

Share this with friends! Share it with family! Her story is inspirational and she has great things to say!

P.S. If you're interested, there was also one with David Archuleta on the 24th of June! You can find that video here.

another idea

So last Tuesday one of my favorite people got home from one of my favorite countries!

On Sunday I had the opportunity to go to listen to Sister Chelsea Elting speak about her experiences in the Netherlands. I even had the honor of preparing a musical number with the lovely and extremely talented Sister Andrea Wood, which went quite well if I do say so myself! Maybe I'll see if I can get the audio on here at some point.

Anyway. As I talked to Chelsea about the struggles of being home and such, we joked about how there should be a returned missionary recovery program. One thought led to another and we ended up deciding that actually... A recovery program would be really helpful. And a blog would be an easy way to start that up.

And thus... An idea was born. In the next several weeks, there will be several changes that go down on this blog! I will be adding Chelsea as a contributor and we will be posting about the things that are difficult about being home and about the things we and others do to cope!


Stay tuned, friends. It's going to be really cool.

starting again

So...

I'd like to apologize for writing that post about being back and how I was going to keep a record of my efforts to build the Kingdom and such, because I said that and then I didn't start recording any of that. The truth is that the last six weeks have been surreal. I have trouble speaking English. I have trouble not eating the food I'm used to. I have trouble having free time (wish I could have told my mission self that one!). I have trouble not planning every second of every day. And... I have trouble getting the motivation to start doing some of the things that I did before I left. Blogging is one of them. So it's taken me a while to really want to write anything. The good news is that I think I'm ready to start documenting my spiritual journey here. And that's mostly because I feel like this is one of the ways that I can truly continue to "paint [my missionary badge] on [my] heart."

I'm glad I came to that conclusion, because that's honestly been one of the hardest things about being back. I'm not entirely sure how one goes about doing missionary work at home. I've been so unsure about how to be an effective member missionary - how to continue to make a difference and help the Lord in His glorious work. But I am convinced that this blog, among a couple other things I've been figuring out, will help me be able to share what the Lord wants me to share.

I realized on my mission that we don't just belong to a Church. We belong to a lifestyle. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ means not only attending Sunday meetings, but living the way that the Savior lived. Loving as He loved. Using that love to become a better, stronger person. Doing our best to live up to our divine potential. We are children of our Heavenly Father, who sent His only Begotten Son to suffer and die for us to enable us to not only return to our Heavenly Father, but also to be okay along the way. To find happiness in enduring. To find motivation to reach out to others and serve. To bring as many as we can with us!

I went to my YSA (Young Single Adult) ward today and it was awesome. It was probably the first time I've been to all three hours of church since I've been home due to homecomings and things. The peace I felt was wonderful. I went to the temple last night and the peace was wonderful. I love the peace I feel after a good talk with my Heavenly Father. Or reading my scriptures! Spending time with my family! Basically I just love that it's so easy to feel my Heavenly Father's love. I mean, He sent His Son for us! And Jesus Christ Himself... Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends! (John 15:13) We are so loved. God is watching out for us. He's given us tons of things to help us out of hardship and lift us up! I'm so grateful for that. I have no idea where I'd be without all those things and the knowledge that I have that I am His daughter.God lives. Christ lives. I love Them! I'm so grateful that the Spirit has testified those things to me.

Life is good. I think it's safe to say that, though I miss many things about my mission, I'm okay. :)