deceived by the board

On my Pinterest board I have read all kinds of books, and seen all kinds of movies. On my Pinterest board I dress like a fashionable cowgirl and have 100 pairs of cowboy boots. On my Pinterest board I have a pink tractor and live the country life. On my Pinterest board I quote many wise people. On my Pinterest board I know every lyric to every country song. On my Pinterest board I own a bunch of huge expensive homes. On my Pinterest board I spend my summers on a private island and get awesome tan lines. On my Pinterest board I build dressers, and paint mason jars. On my Pinterest board I do creative things for the holidays. On my Pinterest board I am friends with all of the celebrities. On my Pinterest board I throw fantastic parties. On my Pinterest board I bake mouth watering desserts. On my Pinterest board I am an amazing writer and blogger. On my Pinterest board I do intense workouts to burn off those desserts. On my Pinterest board I am a professional nail artist. On my Pinterest board I travel the world. On my Pinterest board I read Shakespeare and listen to Broadway music. On my Pinterest board I buy all kinds of perfumes. On my Pinterest board my hair is ready for a wedding every day. On my Pinterest board I am a skilled guitarist and own all kinds of beautiful instruments. On my Pinterest board I own a huge wardrobe. On my Pinterest board I am having a very large wedding. On my Pinterest board I am a professional photographer. On my Pinterest board I get strait A's. On my Pinterest board I competed in the Olympics. On my Pinterest board I get whatever I want. On my Pinterest board I have children and am an awesome mother. On my Pinterest board I am the perfect tumbler. On my Pinterest board I am a genius. On my Pinterest board I have hand writing good enough to sine the declaration of independence. On my Pinterest board I know everything there is to know about history. On my Pinterest board I re-live my childhood every day. On my Pinterest board I visit Narnia and Hogwarts often.  

My pinterest board has deceived me.

Feel my Sunlight

p.s. Summer is so close I can taste it.

all the times

{My sister and I six years ago}

Well, I caved. I cut my bangs again. I tried growing them out but I got tired of braiding them so here we are. I have recieved mostly good comments, however, my favorite comment came from one of my four year olds yesterday durring class. She said "You look pretty and beautiful with your bangs, but you look kinda weird." I just laughed.

I have had a few experiences with kids in the last couple of days that have made me think. This specific girl shook me awake and made me realize how much kids are watching me. They are always watching. Yesterday at the gym a little girl came up to me as I was taping my ankle and said "I saw you when you were a teacher {I had just changed and put my hair up for tumbling} I liked your hair." Then she continued to talk saying things like "It's cool how you are a teacher and you still do tumbling. I want to do that when I get bigger." Then she showed me all of her tricks and asked me more questions. It just made me realize that I am being watched by the kids that I do know, as well as the ones I don't. I just thought I'd share that with a warning to you. Think about what you do. You never know who is watching you, and who wants to be just like you.

Yesterday on the drive home from the gym I listened to my little sister tell me a plot to an episode of Good Luck Charlie. She didn't know I knew it was Good Luck Charlie so she explained every aspect of the show. She told me what each character looks like and what they did. She told me everything she thought was funny. I just let her tell me. It made me laugh because it seems like that was me a few years ago, it also made me laugh because it made me think "is this what being a mother is like?" That freaked me out a bit. I mean, I only have two more years of high school, then we are released into the real world.

Oh how short these last 10 years has been, an oh how much I have learned. All the people I have met, and all the strangers I have talked to. All the groups I have been a part of. All the days I made my way to school. All the math problems I have done, and all the spelling tests I have taken. All the performences I have been a part of. All the tumbling class I have taken, All the tumbling classes I have taught. All the times I have laughed, all the times I have cried. All the times I have sat around the Christmas tree to oppen presents. All the rides in a car seat, to all the times behind the wheel. All the Sunday nights. All the songs all the blog posts, all the pictures. All the bikerides, all the TV episodes, all the times with friends, all the "hellos", the "goodbyes", the "I love yous". These have shaped me. These are me. And I love it.




Feel my Sunlight



p.s. Only 33 days until National Championships. Only 33 days until I can eat sugar. See you on the flipside.

Stand firm

{Have y'all signed up for EFY yet? I promise you won't regret it!}

            "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft,      

                  and did wax stronger and stronger in their               

humility,         

                  and firmer and firmer in

the faith of Christ,         

                             unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea,

even to the purifying                

                              and the sanctification of their hearts,

which sanctification cometh because of their             

                 yielding their hearts unto God."

                              -Helaman 3:35





 The only way to find true joy is through staying firm in the faith. I know that in these later days the influences of the adversary are stronger than ever. The pressure to be pretty and popular is more prevalent than ever before. We can not yield to the adversary. Not even a little bit. Because it is in those moments when we let our armor down when the piranhas jump out of the water and bite on to our flesh. While our wounds can be healed with the Band-Aids and stitches that Jesus Christ has provided us, we will still feel pain. Repentance does not come without pain and heart ache. Our wounds may heal, but we will always have a scar as a reminder to never let down our armor again. Because it would be much easier if we would have just kept our armor on in the first place.

Today Satan's tactics are different than they have ever been before. He targets us with strong bate that dangles in front of our eyes every time we turn on the TV or computer. You can not walk the hallways at school and not see the influence he has had on the world today. You can not avoid everything he has to throw at you, but you can avoid much more by the decisions you make. You have the power to steer clear of much of the nasty that he has to offer. If you make an effort to avoid his temptation you will have an easier time when faced with it.

I'm not saying you must all quit listening to music, or watching TV, but I am challenging you to re-think what you chose to watch. I am not perfect, and I have my faults, but I will give my best effort to do the same. Because when you really think about it, Is listening to that one song really worth it in the end? Would that new outfit that shows off your shoulders and the exact shape of your legs really make you feel beautiful if you were standing in front of the Savior?

I am not trying to tell you what you should or should not do, because It is not my place for that. We are all human and we all make mistakes, that is why I am encouraging you to strive to be better. We can all benefit from being a little better. We can all benefit from being a little stronger when it comes to the temptations of Satin.

Our strength does not come in the same way that the world thinks it does. It does not come from running long distances, or lifting large weights. It comes from constant prayer, and regular scripture study. I have learned for myself that the more I do these two things, as well as attend church and other things like that, I become stronger and am more able to resist the temptation of the devil.

Let us all band together as an army ready to fight. Because we are already at war. We are fighting a fight where the enemy can't bee seen. We are fighting a fight that will prove fatal to many souls. It will not be a physical death, but a spiritual death that will come when we yield to the temptations of Satin.

Lets make an effort to lift our brothers and pull them to safety. I think we worry too much about what people will think of us if we talk to them about the gospel, but we should be worried about what will happen to them if we don't .

Our time is now, and we must fight. Stand firm in the faith.

Feel my Sunlight

p.s. So I haven't blogged much as of late because I have been spending my time trying to link my blog up to Facebook and Twitter. So far I have accounts on both, but haven't decided if I want to hassle linking up and using them. Would this be beneficial to my readers or would you all rather just read strait from my blog? Just a thought.

My contact info has changed!

Email me

feelmysunlight@yahoo.com

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Arise

I know it's early but I just had a wonderful realization and thought I should share.

I woke up to my alarm and all of its alarm goodness. I started to get ready when I realized that it is Sunday. It is only Sunday in my three day weekend. I don't have to go to school today. I can go back to bed! {after I blog about it of course} Happy Sunday my friends. Go serve God today.

The EFY music was put up on the EFY website and I have listened to the first thirty seconds of each song only about a bazillion times. EFY please come faster!

This post will be short because I want to go back to sleep, but I thought I'd share this awesome video with you.  It just so happens that this song is my alarm. Fitting right?

 

 

 

 

Feel my Sunlight

10th grade lament

{My friends and I with Shannon Hale at the beginning of the year.}

 

This year has been a lot, but it doesn't seem like it should be ending yet. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for this summer to come and won't miss school a bit while I am chilling in Missouri, or meeting attractive warriors of Helaman's army at EFY this summer. But there are things I have learned this year about myself that I hope I can carry with me for a long time.

One thing I learned was that popularity absolutely doesn't matter. In Jr. High I was popular enough. I had tons of friends and I knew everyone. This year is very different. I began this year eating lunch in the park every day with a group of about 9 friends. This was minuscule compared to the huge friend group I ate with last year, but it was still good and I felt like I fit in. Now I don't share my lunch time with quite so many people. I still eat at our little gazebo in the park, but we never have more than three or four of us. There have been times when I wished I was back in that lunch room at Fairfield where our group would fill two and a half tables and we would still have people standing around the group. I wish I still talked to boys as often as I used to. But even though my friend group has shrunk in size, it has grown in how close we are.

I may have much fewer friends this year, but I have spent much more time spending time with friends than I ever have in my life. Part of this is the fact that we can drive now and that it is much easier to plan a get together with three of us than it is to plan a get together with thirty of us. But it is more than that. I have grown closer to several people this year and it has been fun to have someone to tell your embarrassing stories or your thoughts about boys to and have them there to laugh with you. Carina, Nayethzi, Marissa, Katie and Hannah in particular have been a few friends that I have grown closer to this year and have loved every second of it. I have grown closer to my young women’s group so much that the other night the three of us that were there sat with our leader and had a boy confession session for a good three hours. It was a blast and I love hanging out with those girls.

And finally, I must talk about my team. I have grown so close to my team mates this year. This year we struggled when several of our team mates and best friends left the gym to go peruse other things in their lives. I had to say goodbye to a few people who had been a part of my life for a very long time. It was hard for me to think that I wouldn’t see them every day as I had in the past. But in doing this I gained many new friends. I became closer to Teri and we became great friends. I became closer to the other coaches and we now have a lot of fun together. I became closer to the rest of the team. This year has been a switch for me from being one of the young ones last year in my group of tumbling friends, to being one of the oldest on the team. Being one of the oldest and one of the only few competing at nationals automatically puts you in a position of leadership for the team. Though I may not have been voted in to any official position, I feel like I must take the team into my hands and be a friend and an example to my team.

This year hasn't been my favorite, but it has been good and I learned a lot. I am ready for summer... too bad I still have two more weeks.



Feel my Sunlight



p.s. Um the church is true and I love it a whole lot.

p.s.s. EFY is calling my name. I can feel it drawing me in. Can I just go now?

perfect.

 
I know I am supposed to be doing homework right now, but my mind is filled with words and I am afraid I will loose them If I don't record them now.

I learned something today. I learned about perfect. True perfect is not what the world sees. Today wasn't perfect. I heard a few swear words, and had to do some homework, but there were moments that rocked my perfect world.

There are moments in life, though they may be but little, have a great impact on your life. Today as I stood at the end of the mat preparing to do a skill I have been doing for years, I heard a little voice. Little Kennedy, the little girl I coached once, the girl I convinced that she was good enough. Said the words "Lets go Whitney, you've got it." And in that moment all was perfect. I did that skill better than I had ever done. As I walked back she said "good job Whitney". At that moment, all flashed through my head. I was suddenly the little girl watching Shawn throw his big skills and wanting so badly to be like him. I realized that while It may be hard, and it may not have been what I thought it would be, It still is. I am one of the only 5 competing at Nationals this year. I realized that it matters less the medal you receive, or the score you get, but the impression you leave on the younger team. I realized that I cannot and I must not fail. I can't fail them. But with them, success doesn't come from a medal or trophy, it comes from accepting them, and making them feel good. That is why I looked up so much to B, Ashlie, Stirfry, and Shawn. Not because they did cool tricks and won shiny medals, but because they made me feel good about myself and made me feel wanted. They made me feel like I was worth something. I can fall and break my leg at Nationals, but if I am excited for the little ones when they land their back tuck, I have won. And that is the greatest award I could ever ask for.

I also learned something about goodbyes. If you know me at all you know that they are my greatest weakness. While goodbyes may be bitter and they may hurt. While they leave a sour taste on your tong of unfinished words, and unspoken love, they are never truly lost. It may never be the same, but you will always have your memories to hold close. While you think it may be the last time you will ever hold them close, they may come back, even if only for a moment, and it can be exactly how it once was. For just a moment. For a perfect moment




Feel my Sunlight



p.s. Morning side TOMORROW! Ya'll better be there!