Homework and Scriptures

Today has been a homework day. And I mean a LONG homework day. Like hours and hours.  Sitting in the same room almost all day may seem boring, but trust me. It has been fantastic! It’s kind of like Twelve Angry Men! (The sitting-in-the-same-room-all-day part. Henry Fonda <3) 

Most of the homework time has been spent on physiology learning objectives for my test on Tuesday. First of all, OUR BODIES ARE AMAZING! Ahhh! And second, the learning objectives started out being three-pages long, by the time I finished (finished = done working on them today :)) filling them out, there were 36-pages. When I finished, I played the Magnificent 7 while scrolling through the pages for my parents.

Earlier, before the triumphant finish, I took a dinner-break and came back to my screen saver. A quote from President Benson came up on it that said, “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.” I thought for a bit, and I hadn’t read my scriptures yet, so I decided to read them. I read Alma 36 from The Book of Mormon. Wow. What a beautiful chapter! As I read, it reminded me of one of my favorite Psalms, Psalms 34, which talks about tasting and seeing the Lord’s goodness. Alma 36 talks about tasting and seeing too! Both chapters also discuss God supporting us in our “troubles”. I love that Alma and David chose that word. God supports us when we have big trials, but He also helps us when we are simply “troubled” about things. We never have to go through anything alone. The Lord can and will help us with any hard thing we encounter, big or small. We just need to seek His help :).    

Passin' on the Reece's Love

This week, Shayne, my business writing teacher, asked the class to buy something for a stranger and then to blog about the experience. So, here it is. :)

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to go about accomplishing this task. I could have just bought something and handed it to a stranger, but I was afraid that the person would think I was weird, or that they wouldn't want me to buy them anything, etc.. And, let's just face it. Sometimes I'm a chicken. Period. Anyway, I also thought  of ordering something at a drive-thru and paying for the person behind me. Then, I remembered an experience I had earlier this semester.

One afternoon I was sitting on a little hill between the ESC and the HRCB doing some homework between classes. A boy came up to me and said, "My friend wanted me to give this to you." He handed me a Reece's and walked away. The Reece's had a nice note with no signature. Instead, it just said #passitonandon. I remember the note almost every time I walk in the area where I got it and the memory has a positive influence on my day.

I decided to fulfill Shayne's assignment by "passing on" what had been given to me. I went to Macey's, bought a Reece's, and headed up to the library. What better time and place to find someone to cheer up than 8:00, on a Saturday night, in the library, during a BYU football game? I walked up to the fourth floor and placed the candy with a note on a table by a notebook and backpack whose owner was absent.


Who knows if the person will choose to "pass it on," but they might. :)

P.s. This assignment also made me think of this TED Talk by Michael Norton that I came across a while ago. "If you think money can't buy happiness, you're not spending it right." Kind of interesting. Enjoy :)

The Spirits of the Season (Don’t worry. . . . it’s grape juice.)

One of the best parts of fall at the Pike house is picking grapes from the backyard and canning the juice. 

As soon as you walk in the front door, you’re enveloped in warmth and in the sweet aroma of grapes simmering on the stove. Grapes are soaking in the kitchen sink; and clean, shiny mason jars are lined up on the counter, awaiting the dark ruby nectar. Another group of jars has already been filled and is ready to be put in the pot of boiling water to finish the canning process. Juice stains are spattered from the white stove, to the white counter, to the white sink, to the wooden floor. 

The grape fragrance surrounds the whole experience and promises delightful juice spiked with Sprite for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and anything special in between. But more than that, the scent is one of the familiar smells of home. And that’s why it’s wonderful.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Happy Things As Of Late

 

1. My brother, Mr. J., came into town for a business trip! I love Mr. J..
2. I got to talk to another brother, Mr. Bumble, before he flew off to England! (I love Mr. Bumble too :))
3. I found a great study spot in the library!
4. My wonderful mother gave my hair a much needed trim! And it only cost $0!
5. The same angel mentioned above bought my groceries.(Thank you! :))
6. We got candy corn at the store. Happy October!
7. I went to Barnes & Noble three times this week! Oh, what a happy place! <3
8. During one of my B&N visits I read some fantastic board books by Sandra Boynton! I especially enjoyed Your Personal Penguin and Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: a book of moods. Just look at the covers! What's not to love!

 

9. I washed my trusty water bottle.
10. And finally, last but definitely not least, it's General Conference weekend! (P.s. I have been doing such a good job staying awake! Not a perfect job, but a good job. It's okay to be impressed :).)

To quote the great Cornelius Hackle, "Isn't the world full of wonderful things!" (1:54) Make it a great day!