forwarding address

Since I'm all grown up and a married man, I thought it might just be a good idea to do a blog with the wifey....  From now on if you are interested in hearing about we're up to, you can reach us at the following site....

www.lindseyandrob.blogspot.com

Cheers!

Catching Up

Wow... Its been a while... I was just talking to a friend via text and she told me that I should update ya'll on my blog. (whoever reads this anyways....) There has been SO MUCH that happened since I last posted in February.

welp... heres a brief summary of my life through photos since I've last posted

Zion's trip with the boys. This was the last little Hurrah before I got married

Lu and I got married on May 10, 2012

This is one of my favorites from our engagements

Here is the first time that I had ever seen her dress. She came up
behind me and then we ended up getting shots right when I saw her
for the first time. I promise I am excited, and not nearly as stoned as I appear.

I love her shoes, so funny

Cheesy Shot

Ain't she pretty???

Coming out of the Temple

Now she's barefoot. She said her fancy shoes weren't very comfy
so she simply just took them off while we walked around outside.

We went to Zion's for our honeymoon. It was a great time. We went hiking...

Horseback Riding....

and River rafting...

later on in June we went on a family vacation with my family to the Bahamas
It was an awesome cruise with lots of delicious free ice cream,
unfortunately the trip wasn't quite as good as it could have been for me...

because I got ROASTED on the first day on the beach. This was a couple
days into the trip. It was a little worse than this at first... I swear I put on
sunscreen. Truth be told, I actually put it on more than once!
(sorry if this picture makes you feel uncomfortable...)

While the rest of the family was out paragliding and having a blast,
this is what I was doing. Moaning, Groaning, and not really enjoying myself...
Lindsey stuck around with me though, even though I was really boring.
She must love me

After we got back from the cruise, I got to go and work in the Salt Lake temple.
It was construction work... renovating the locker rooms and other areas. The
experience truly was one that I'll never forget. We worked 12 hour days for
3 weeks straight. It was hard work, but it was quite a blessing to be a part of.

Those are all the pictures that I have. The rest of the news is not really exciting anyways. School started up again, and I signed up for 18 hours of school Now I am looking at the final few days of class next week. I've been crazy busy, yet my grades this semester have been better than any other semester I've been through.

Life is good. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Til next time! (Hopefully its not in a year...)

Lindsey, My Wife to be (sappy...)

So.... I didn't do the amish project. I'm thinking about doing it after I'm married. Its too hard to get everything ready without the convenience of social networking. Who knows, maybe I'll do it after I'm married. By then there might only be one person I'd want to talk to anyways right??? haha we'll see...

I've been asked if I would post a blog about how I proposed to her. So, although its really not as spectacular as some of the stories you hear about, I liked how it went down because it was simple. A wise man once said, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." At least I think that is how it went anyways.

Here we go. So the week we were engaged we had planned to go to the temple to do a session on thursday, and we were going to go on a date that friday. She had kept asking me what we were going to do  on the date, and I kept it a mystery. I was planning on proposing on thursday, but I figured if I didn't say anything about friday night, that she wouldn't expect anything til then. (turns out she wasn't expecting it at all for a couple more weeks)

Well, we go and do our session at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. As we are doing our session, and afterwards when we were in the Celestial Room I was doing my best to remain as cool as possible. (wouldn't want her to suspect anything....) I was doing a great job at keeping my composure up until the time came that we left and it hit me that I would be proposing really soon... It was at this point that I got really nervous. I took a trip to the bathroom so I wouldn't wet myself, then changed, and met her in the lobby.

Once there, I took her bag. Which was really weird because we were going to different cars, and I never take her bag... and instead of going to the parking lot, I suggest we go to the front "because I've never seen the temple at night before." We get to the bench in front where I had decided was the place to drop my knee, and I give her a big hug. Its all romantic and all... just picture it, The temple is glowing with the night sky behind it, the valley below looks beautiful with all the lights, the sky had cleared up and you could see a few stars above, and it was like 10 degrees outside.

So I made the mistake of not taking in account the temperature outside... (my bad...) But what it ended up being like was us two standing there in each others arms. Her with her skirt, and me without a coat and holding her bag. she says, "can we go to the car now?" and I replied "no." (so romantic don't you think???) and we stood there for like ten minutes; just shivering away while I tried to muster up the courage to propose. Finally, after some sappy talk I dropped a knee. I told her that she was the one that I wanted to spend eternity with, presented a CTR ring (yep, I sure did! "choose the rob" kind of thing....), and asked her if she would marry me.

Then she looked at me, and didn't say anything for what seemed like forever... (she said later she was trying to find something smart aleky to say but couldn't think of anything) and then finally said yes! she said yes!!! then I gave her a kiss, and we went to my house and spread the news to all our loved ones. It was a great night.

Lindsey and I will be sealed for time and all eternity in the Oquirrh Mountain temple on the 10th of may. As each day passes I become that much more excited! World, I love this girl. I hope anyone I know and love who hasn't met her yet will get the chance to soon. I am certain you would fall in love with her too!

The Amish Project

Dear Friends and Family,

Just recently, in fact... an hour ago. I was just winding down getting ready to go to bed, when I decided to check my fantasy basketball numbers for the day. I did not get to them, because as soon as yahoo came up the front page had something that caught my eye.

It was about Jake Reilly (ESPN's Rick Reilly's son). Jake went on a very interesting adventure. For 90 days, he went without a cell phone, email, and social media. The article that interviewed him was very well done. See for yourself! Check it out!!

He is asked about his experience and most of his answers were inspirational. He talked about how he became so much closer to those around him, and how he found out which friends of his were actually as close to him as he had thought in the first place. Jake also learned that life is meant to be lived more fully than the little devices we hold in our hands.

Seriously though, this was so amazing that I have decided that I want to give it a shot. I want to see what its like to live without all these things that occupy so much of my time. I want to try it for 90 days. Looking at a calendar, If I start on February 1st, I could finish my 90th day and be back to the "real world" by May 1st. The more I think about it the more I really truly sincerely want to give this a shot.

However, I have a few obstacles in my way... a major one is the fact that I am getting married in May, and will likely need Facebook in order to get what info I need from certain individuals, especially those in Australia. (or is that just an excuse??? perhaps that is just an excuse? I could find a way possibly to work around that.....)

Next is my calling. I haven't relied on emails all that much until I received this calling, Everyone seems to be able to contact me best through emails... again, ways could be established to overcome this barrier...

School. Unfortunately there really is no way out of this one. I NEED to be on the computer for this one because my classes all require me to use the Internet to turn in assignments and/or get a hold of the professors. Not to mention the fact that I have an online class...

But those are really the only legitimate things that come to my mind as things that would hold me back from achieving this goal. I know that part of the reason life on the mission is so enjoyable is that you really are more aware of your surroundings and less occupied with technologies and other distractions. So I know I have done it before, I would love to do it again.

I am going to go for it. Today, the 31st of January 2012, will be the last of my social media contact until May. If you need to get a hold of me... call my house. ha ha! the number is... (801) 268-2021

I feel excited to see what the next few months are like, and can't wait to report them back to everyone who is interested.

Til Next time!

Rob

Thanksgiving Part 2

As promised earlier, I will now report on dinner with Lindsey's family.

It was really nice of them to invite me along and even more nice that they understand clearly my celiac diet. Eating dinner with another family that also is experiencing the blessings of a gluten free thanksgiving meal was seriously such a blessing. I did not feel singled out whatsoever, and everything was delicious.

Even better than the food was the company. I loved meeting members of Lindsey's family that I had heard of but never met before. One of these family members was her step mom Terri. Terri seems like a great woman, and from what I can see, she is very loving and concerned for all of her family members. As should be expected when you meet the family of the girl you're dating, you are on the receiving end of a hard time. Consider it a test; you pass, and you receive approval to keep dating, you fail, and well... it'd probably make a bumpy road for the future. It was Terri, however, that completely caught me off guard with this said hard time.

She cornered me in the kitchen, and dropped the question that seemed like a bomb being dropped. "So, What do you like about Lindsey?" No matter what I said, I almost felt like it was a losing situation. If I say some grade school answer, then she might not take me seriously, yet if I churn out some beautifully-poetic-chickflicky-answer, well... then I'm going over the top. ha! I replied that "I like being around her." I hoped that would suffice, and she'd give me clearance to leave with my dessert to the other room. I was wrong, she then said, "that's not good enough, I want to hear something thoughtful and sincere." To which, I replied that she would have to "give me a bit to think about it then." (cunning, don't you think?? I thought so too....)

Somehow that night I snuck out and never had to respond to Terri's question. Later on I found myself joking around with Lindsey about it. We talked about how we knew the next time Terri and I saw each other she would pick up right where we left off. We joked about what funny responses would be. Things like how Lindsey is a good kisser, or that she is a sugar momma. Obviously I do not see myself answering in such ways, But for a moment tonight (yes I know its way past my old man scheduled bed time) for Terri, and anyone else who cares, I want to share with you just one reason why I love Lindsey Taylor.

The past couple months that we have dated have been educational for me on my part. Lindsey has taught me moments that matter most in life, are not what I've been focusing on my whole life. For example, Sports. You ask anyone, and they will tell you my life revolves around ESPN and big sporting events. Since we've started dating, my St Louis cardinals won an improbable world series. I was so excited about this remarkable accomplishment, and couldn't stop talking about the whole ordeal. Although she could see my excitement, all she ever did was laugh about fat Albert's last name. "Poo-holes!" she would laugh about it all night long! Again and again something would happen in the sports world that I would just be so stoked about for some reason or another, and she'd give me the old, "that's great rob..."

It was Lindsey that got the point across, that at the end of the day, win or lose, it all really just doesn't matter. There is more productive things to worry or get excited about than silly sport results. So this last weekend, when the Utes totally blew their chance to play in the PAC-12 championship game, instead of being completely heartbroken like I normally would have been; I simply had an outlook like "oh well... maybe next time, its all good."

That may be the worst example to illustrate my point. But I want it to be known, that Lindsey helps me every single day, to realize the importance of the things that matter most. In all that she does and says, she always points me in the direction that I should be facing. As cliche as it sounds, she knows who she is, and what she stands for. She knows what is important in life, and has prioritized her life in ways to accomplish the things that she needs to get done. That is a great standard for me to follow. For me, knowing that she is going full speed in the direction God would have her go, is one of the greatest ways I know she is the one I want to be dating right now.

This video is a Mormon message from one of my favorite talks. It shows how I feel. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

thanksgiving part 1

So the past few weeks have been pretty interesting. Truth be told, if I filled this entry with all that could or should be said, It would likely be about 3 miles long. So to be brief, I will only discuss a few things. First things first....

I have decided that my days go by so much better when my mornings are as productive as they possibly can be. Lazy days are determined in large part by the mornings that I was a slob, and of course the best days happen when continued from awesome mornings. We are all big fans of awesome days, so it became very apparent to me that my mornings need to consistently rock.

To do this, I had the idea of going to bed earlier so I could wake up earlier. A LOT earlier! My new routine has me waking up at 4:45 every morning, and depending on the day I will either swim, read scriptures, then hit the train for school, or I will skip the swim, study scriptures, then get on the train. It is still a work in progress. My inner clock is all sorts of messed up, and I'm awake when I shouldn't be, and I'm asleep when I need to be busy. But I'm hoping that soon enough I will be on track and on the old man schedule.

In other news, I got to celebrate thanksgiving twice this year. I had a meal with my own family, and I was blessed to be able to eat with part of Lindsey's family as well. Thankfully the two meals were on two different days. I ate with her family on sunday, then on thanksgiving thursday I ate with my own. I will blog about Lindsey's family outing soon enough...

The meal with my family was so great. It was so great to be able to get together with all of my mom's side of the family again. It has honestly been at least a year since we were all together at the same place at the same time. Everyone is busy living their lives in various different spots. The short time we spent together was not enough to get around and really catch up with everyone, however it felt so good knowing that everyone was alive, well, and happy. And of course we were all happy, It was thanksgiving! Its food, food, gratitude, and more food! ha!

The food, although it was a great plus, would eventually turn into a painful minus as well. Not long after our dinner did we find that most of the family that got together to celebrate thanksgiving with dinner also got food poisoning from it as well. Last night and this morning were not very pleasant. Hopefully now the worst is behind us.

Thats about as brief as things could be told for the past couple weeks.
I need to get better at this blog thing.

This is me today

DISCLAIMER

This one is for Danielle Taylor.... and anyone else actually that is curious....

My whole short leash entry below has nothing to do in any way, shape, or form to the blog just before it where I announced I was dating Lindsey. Phew! now that I've got that off my chest, I better get to something productive....

Ever feel like you're on a short leash?

I do sometimes

Behind Enemy Lines

World, I'm dating this girl. Her name is Lindsey. She went to BYU... I know, unheard of...
anyways, She is super great, I won't go on and on about her right now as I have some studying to do.
Nevertheless, here is a picture, Enjoy.

Goals for this semester

Dear Family/friends,

Here are my goals, wishes, wants, needs, (whatever you want to call them) for this semester.

Church

• prayers and scripture study every day
• journal writing once a week
• 100% hometeaching 

School

• 4.0 GPA
• no sluffing

General

• Limit Distractions (football, frisbee, fantasy football, Facebook, blogging, etc)
• maintain social life
• be in bed by 10:30 pm on school nights

You're help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Love, 

Me

To Whom It may concern

I have been impressed recently that I should post a blog entry solely based from my heart. Something to share to the world that means more to me than anything else that you could imagine. Tonight, I would like to share a portion of my testimony. It is my prayer and hope, that someone, sometime, somewhere will be benefited from the words and feelings that I share.

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

I have been born of goodly parents who have raised me in this church. Although I have been brought up in this faith, I still did not take it seriously until my teenage years. More of a social outing than anything, I went to church with my family because my friends all went with theirs. Eventually there came a time in my life when it was time to decide what I really did believe.  I started to take prayers more seriously, I listened intently to speakers when they talked, and I read the scriptures diligently as I sought out my own feelings. Gradually I came to a point that LOGICALLY the LDS church seemed to make sense. History is not my major for a reason, but there just seemed to be no conflict in any of the church's chronological history.  At this stage of my life, I found myself going to church because of that reason. Everything seemed to make sense, and it was a sufficient enough of an excuse to keep me going each week.

Towards the end of high school was when things really got kicked into gear. This is when not only logical reasoning was my motive, but inside me I could feel my soul being shifted and molded. Not only was I learning, but I was becoming! I was eager to go to seminary each day and I found myself almost on the edge of my seat in sunday school each week. I was praying harder, and studying harder.  I was finding and feeling the truth in my life. This gradual process continued on and on until finally soon after graduation I found myself in a grove we call sacred. It was here that I felt the spirit stronger than I could have ever remembered. I knew then, in my mind AND in my heart, that this was the truth.

Soon after that I was on a mission, declaring the gospel to anyone and everyone in Melbourne and Tasmania, Australia. The best part, was that it was MY testimony that was shared to them. It wasn't anyone else's!  I wasn't borrowing light from anyone else. I declared the things that I knew to be true from study and prayer. My testimony has continued to grow each and everyday since. As strong as it is now, it is amazing how simple it really is, but world, this is for you:

I know with all my heart, that we have a Father in heaven. He is our Creator, our God, and He knows all things. I know that He has a body of flesh and bones just like we have, and that someday we can all be glorified and perfect beings, just as He is. I know that He lives and I know that He has a plan for us to be able to return to live with Him again after this test on earth is complete.

I also know that He has a Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Great Mediator of us all. Christ is the reason we are able to come back to our Heavenly Father again! I know that He atoned for all of my shortcomings and mistakes, all of my pain and grief, and that He can relieve me of my sorrows. He did die, but He did also arise from the grave! He lives! He is our Savior and Redeemer, and He really truly honestly does LIVE!

I know that we can commune with our Father in heaven through prayer. This means that we are never too far away from his divine help. With that help, we can overcome anything that lies in our path. I know that God loves us all individually. He rejoices when we rejoice, and He is sad when we make mistakes. Everything we endure in this life is for a reason. We are His Children, and we can make it back to Him as we remain close to him throughout our lives.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that Joseph Smith was called of God. He was a prophet! He did in reality see our Father and Jesus Christ after he sought answers through prayer. The Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. The Book is true and it really does testify of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reading this book and sincerely praying about its content will bring one closer to God than ever before. It has changed the lives of countless souls, including mine. 

Not only was Joseph Smith instrumental in translating the Book of Mormon, but God also chose to bring His royal priesthood again on the earth. Joseph Smith was given that priesthood, and it has been passed down from generation to generation since then. Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth. Built on the foundation of priesthood and revelation, with Christ himself the cornerstone holding it all together.

As great as Joseph Smith and the ways his contributions in the gospel have benefited the world, we do not follow him directly. It is not his church. Nor is it the church of the living prophet today, namely Thomas S. Monson. This is the Church of Christ. It is His gospel and example we follow today. He is our Lord and Savior. He is Alpha and Omega. He is the Only Begotten of the Father, the Way, the Truth, and the Light. He is our Redeemer, and the Rock of our salvation. He is my very best friend.

In His name I testify, even Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Enjoy

Felt Like blogging but didn't have time for a post...

Enjoy

People Watching

So Earlier this year someone introduced me into this game called people watching. It is a lot of fun. I'm sure all of you already know what it is like because I'm a loser and learn these things long after they lose their novelty, But anyways, today's entry comes from my observations from people watching.
However, in doing this I feel the need to put down a disclaimer beforehand. I am in no way trying to jab at anyone, and i sincerely hope that no one will find themselves offended by this post. It is true, I love you all.

The beautiful thing about people watching is there is so many different things that you can notice. For the sake of time, I will discuss two types of people I have seen lately.

I have a friend who will not be named, who is what I would call an "event chaser." This person perfectly illustrates the first type mentioned. It has happened twice in the last three weeks, and has happened many other times previously, and I'm sure it will happen many more times in the future. What has happened, is an invitation to some "event." Most likely this will come in a mass text sent to who knows how many people. They send this text stating what is going on, and when, and that YOU should come! however what happens when they get a text back with a negative RSVP? They don't even bother texting back again. You see, it seems to me that these "event chasers" really don't care one bit who comes to their event, they just want everyone to know that this event is taking place, and that they will be there.

These are the same people that when engaging in a conversation they are quick to ask, "done anything fun lately?" Clearly they don't care much about you. Its almost like its just a competition to see who can do the best things. Just to add to that, If you do something totally awesome, like for example a rockin' trip to California with your family, (and you let them know), they will usually just go quiet. Beaten, ashamed, and maybe even embarrassed, they will not talk to you until some "event" comes up again.

Now the other type of people worth blogging about are the "people chasers." I have a whole group of friends that hang out ALL THE TIME. But what do they do? most of the time.... nothing. That's right event chasers, I said they do nothing. The funny thing is, they are completely content with doing nothing. Why is that? Because all they care about is being with other people. They could get together, not do a single thing, and yet be happy as a clown because they are with the people they love and care about.

Conversations with these kind of people are a lot more personable. If they must decline an invitation they will not be dropped like a rock, but they will be treated as individuals. Each of these people will live their lives how they feel it needs to be lived, but ultimately, the greatest satisfaction will come with other people, no matter what they are doing.

These are just a few thoughts i felt were worth posting online. Take what you want from them, but keep your eye open. People watching can be a very good learning experience for sure.

Honesty, the lost policy?

Everyone has heard the phase that goes along the lines of "honesty is the best policy." But recently, I have been left to wonder if it has become more of the "lost policy."

For example, Several top notch football teams in the NCAA are being investigated as we speak to see if they are seeking an unfair advantage over their competition. Many of these teams are not only being investigated, but are getting caught doing things that they should not. Along the same lines, the best high school teams in the state are constantly accused of bending/breaking rules here and there. Not long ago we had a huge outbreak of professional baseball players with steroids. Athletes that we looked up to so much as kids were going to court on account of cheating to get better results. I could go on and on in the world of athletes who cheat. A list that would include many many more, including even tour de France cyclists and olympic contestants.

Now that I've talked about the 1% of the population, I suppose it would be beneficial to look towards the rest of us. Most of the time our dishonesty does not make the headline news, and often times it is not monitored by millions of people worldwide. However it can be just as damaging to us as it is to everyone else.

Lately I've been thinking of two types of dishonesty that affect us in Huge ways. Firstly is being dishonest with ourselves. Look around you, look at your friends, your family, your neighbors, or even strangers. Look what they've got. See what they've accomplished? Who they have become? Notice how amazing they are? Now look at yourself. See how you pale in comparison? why do you even bother? They clearly are on a whole separate and higher level that you really shouldn't even put forth any effort any more. Do you sense the dysphoria here?

This whole train of thinking sounds so ridiculously down that it just makes everyone who reads it depressed. But world, take a self evaluation, is this your train of thought sometimes?

You are you. Be honest with yourself. You have strengths and weaknesses, but guess what, so does everyone else. Its easy to let things like scholar performance, work opportunities, relationship status, etc crowd your way of thinking that tells you who you really are. Be you, in a world where everyone is trying to be someone else, it is so much more unique these days to just be yourself. There is a reason we aren't all robots, we've been given our own individual characteristics and traits for a reason. Embrace individuality! Learn it, live it, and love it! (just not too much)

The other type of dishonesty worth mentioning is a trickier one to talk about. In a lot of ways it is similar what has already been discussed. This however, is dishonesty with others. The reason this one is harder to talk about is because it cuts deeper within all of us. If I may be so bold, I would even say that everyone of us is found guilty of this. Whether we recognize it or not, it can hurt those around us.

This type of dishonesty can come from simply only sharing part of the truth, but hiding the rest of it. It can come from remaining silent period, while avoiding the difficult conversations. It can also be shown as pride kicks in; by comparing us to someone "lower" than us. You see it through backbiting, rumors, backstabbing, and many other methods.

In short, not only are we hurting others around us by being dishonest, but we are also hurting ourselves. It is in a very real sense a bomb which can hurt us all. Be honest, with yourself, and with others. Your life will be tremendously less stressful and worrisome.

I hope this entry was as good for you all as it was for me. For good measure, and much better words than I can say myself, I close this entry with some help from President Faust.

Enjoy this clip, Its really good

Here is gone

Good song, seems fitting...

You and I got somethin' but it's all and then it's nothin' to me
Yeah
And I got my defenses when it comes through your intentions for me
Yeah
And we wake up in the breakdown with the things we never thought we could be
Yeah

I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
We got to move you, darlin'
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all

And I want to get free
Talk to me
I can feel you fallin'
And I wanted to be
All you need
Somehow here he's gone

I am no solution to the sound of this pollution in me
Yeah
And I was not the answer so forget you ever thought it was me
Yeah

I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
We got to move you, darlin'
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all

And I want to get free
Talk to me
I can feel you fallin'
And I wanted to be
All you need
Somehow here he's gone

And I don't need to fallout
Of all the past that's in between us
And I'm not holding on
And all your lies weren't enough to keep me here

And I want to get free
Talk to me
I can feel you fallin'
And I wanted to be
All you need
Somehow here he's goin'
And I want to get free
Talk to me
I can feel you fallin'

But I know it's out there
But I know it's out there
And I can feel you fallin'
But I know it's out there
But I know it's out there
Somehow here he's goin'
But I know it's out there
But I know it's out there
Somehow here he's goin'
Yeah


Thanks goo goo dolls

Goliath smashes David

We've all seen this picture, or at least know the remarkable story that goes along with it. It is the heroic story of how the boy slays the giant. Within this story is the remarkable lesson that no matter what we are dealing with, no matter how big it really is, we too, like David, can overcome what needs to be overcome.

This story is very moving, and very inspirational, especially when you consider that 9 times out of 10 the outcome is very different. You see, what they don't tell you is that really David is the one getting his butt handed to him most of the time anyways.

It goes right along with the old saying "nice guys finish last." Sometimes I wonder why I need to be in the nice guy/David spot. Not saying I'd want to be a big mean ugly giant either... I suppose either way,  you lose.

Here's to consistency!

This morning I spent some time pondering about various things. I enjoy Sundays because it seems Sundays are the days that I most often get into these pondering moods. Maybe you have the same ones sometimes. Usually when I am in this realm of thought I am completely in the zone.  Something will trigger it, whether it be a quote, a scripture, a thought at church, or maybe even just a random thought that pops into my head.  Whatever the case, that little nugget inside my brain gets dissected and put back together again in so many different ways. Today I'd like to share a portion of my thought process with you, however if it doesn't make sense to you I apologize, this is me on a roll thinking things in my head.

The topic running in and around my mind today was that of consistency. I was sitting there on the couch thinking about everything in my life at the moment. What is consistent in my life? what isn't? what should be? what shouldn't be? what can be?

I started with thinking about things that are not consistent.
One thing is relationships before marriage. It seems relationships will always come and go, friendship bridges are constantly and consistently being built and burned down over and over again. Some of us excel in building bridges while the rest of us are really good at burning them down.  For me, it seems like I'm equally good at them both, but often times a bridge will be built and be fine and dandy just to be left rotting and abandoned some time later. Not burnt or destroyed in anyway, just left alone.

This is just one of a myriad number of inconsistencies that could be observed. The most interesting thing that came across my mind this morning though, is the lack of things that are actually consistent. In fact, I challenge you to find more than I have come up with and let me know your thoughts.

I have come up with a grand total of two things that are consistent. One is change, and the other is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is an old saying that goes something to the effect of, "the only thing constant in life is change." How true that is! Just when you seem completely content with your life, when it seems everything seems to be under your control of every aspect therein; it is in these wonderful moments that it is time to buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride. If life were easy then none of us would be making any mistakes.
Things change so quickly that sometimes it is hard to keep track of what really going on... Look around you and you see millions of people. Each one of those million people have their own lives to live, and more than likely they will each be going in their own direction.
That's a major fork in the road if you know what I mean... I've talked about this before---> Click here to see the blog entry i just mentioned...

Last but certainly not least, The gospel. No matter what day and age you live in, what you are going through, what choices you've made, or any other factors you could imagine, there is ALWAYS solace in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have come to enjoy my gospel study time more than any other time I could think of. I know that the scriptures are here for us for that very reason. I know that the Prophets who speak to us are truly of God, and the bottom line is, no matter how low I feel, the gospel can never fail to raise my spirits up.

I've babbled on long enough, but I hope you enjoyed my train of thought as much as I had sharing them.

More letters

Today is another day for letters, enjoy.

Dear friend #1,
you have taught me so much. Thank you for giving me so much happiness and yet so much grief at the same time. I would definitely not be the same person I am today without your influence on my life. I hope everything goes well for you in the future.
sincerely,
me

Dear friend #2,
You're the man. Just keep doing what your doing. I look up to you more than you'll ever know.
- your biggest fan

Dear Friend # 3,
You confuse me. I love being around you but honestly I need a little help interpreting everything you are, do and say. When you can get around to it, please enlighten me on all your comings and goings.
Cheers,
your confused buddy

Dear Utah,
I love you. I love the mountains, I love the weather, I love being here so much. Thank you so much for all the good times, I'll never forget em!
-your lover

Dear Older friends of mine,
I know, I live in Utah and I'm 22, single, and working at a high school job. Please don't remind me every time you see me. Someday soon, like you, I will have a wife, a career, and a family. Until then please stop reminding me of what I haven't got.
Love you heaps,
Me

Couple thoughts on my mind...

So today is one of those two for one deals. Its almost been a month since I've blogged and now I have more than just the average blog entry to share. The first bit is slightly frustrating as well as humorous at the same time. It is women.

It is so dang hard to understand women, and its made dating.... not as fun. Allow me to explain; you can NEVER understand anything they are thinking, doing, or saying. Its like they all speak a foreign language, that frankly, not even they understand themselves.... Someday, hopefully sooner than later, we all will be able to understand what the heck is really going on. That being said, I have a feeling that it will not be until after we are all perfect and resurrected.

Nevertheless, someone on youtube found this very same frustration that I have explained, and they have made a mock invention of a translation device. Its too bad that it really does not exist. Truth be told they probably would be breaking so fast anyways because they would be working so hard they'd just blow up.

anyways, I hope you enjoy this...

The other thought I have to share comes from the good times. You might even say the best times. Last week We went up to Ogden to watch a firework show. I do not know why the fireworks were on, but the show overall was arguably the best display of fireworks I have ever seen in my life. It was all coordinated to music and everything was just... amazing. Experiences like that are such a treasure cause I'm pretty sure I'll never see anything like that again, and I was with some good kids too so that made it fun.

Coming home was a blast too. I had NO IDEA, that the boys liked john mayer about as much as i did. It was SO AWESOME coming home, blasting john mayer, and singing our hearts out all the way back. All in all it was a really fun trip.

Life is good world, you just have to seek out these simple highlights.