Mind BLOWN

An excerpt from my journal:

"My seminary teacher said that whenever the Old/New Testament references "Lord" or "Father", they're actually talking about Jesus Christ. This kind of blew my mind. He said whenever we pray, we praying to God, and Jesus is like the messenger to God because we aren't to be in God's presence. I've been thinking on this topic all weekend and I'm going to talk to my seminary teacher tomorrow."

This also means that Moses saw Christ in the burning bush, not heavenly father. He explained it by saying that most visitations are through Christ, when I'd always thought it was through heavenly father. He explained as Jesus being our God, and that most everything is done through Jesus Christ, and God is just kind of a supervisor. (most) All actions were done through Christ, except for combining intelligences and spirit in the Premortal World. Well, I'm going to go have one of those really deep conversations with my seminary teacher tomorrow and hopefully I'll organize my thoughts a little more.

and this last one just because it's kind of funny:)

Winter

Most people think winter is really depressing. It gets dark earlier and it's ten times harder to get out of the bed in the morning. Although this is true, I think winter is probably the best season that there is, and especially this year. On Tuesday, I saw the Warren Miller film, and my dad and I were trying on ski boots yesterday. Needless to say, I am really pumped for the ski season. Plus, it's snowing outside which I'm hoping means a promising ski season.

Winter also contains a bunch of other great things:
-There is this cool thing that America does called Christmas which happens to be a really fun holiday.

-Snow allows for snowballs, and everybody loves snowballs.

-I know this isn't really important but I'm kind of looking forward to the release of The Hobbit(and The Dark Knight Rises comes out on DVD)

-Ice Skating. I don't know why but I'm just looking forward to ice skating this year.

-Thanksgiving is kind of a winter holiday, anyways, we are going to my grandmas house this year and calling her an amazing cook would be an insult(because she's better than that).

-The Day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. I went for my first time last year and I'm planning on it again this year. Since I stay up until 5 in the morning anyways, it might as well be while Christmas shopping.

-Along with Christmas, we get Christmas break. I haven't had a real break since summer because I've always had to stay back for football.

-And finally, the most important thing ever: HoT ChOcOlAtE!!

 

The Warren Miller FlowState trailer:

"Skiing is about expressing yourself. You are given a white canvas and then you fill it with your creativity." -a quote from the movie

Life...

....is stressful. This week has been crazy. I'm not sure whether to say it's been good or bad but as of now I'm going to stick with bad. I did horrible on my math test which means for the first time in my life I am going to get a B. This didn't go over too well with my parents either....at all. Because of this, my parents said I can't have friends over on Friday. Now that wouldn't be too bad but this is basically the only day in the next month that I'll be able to do anything.

Speaking of friends, my dad and I made a deal that if I did so well at my football game, that I will have redeemed myself and I will be able to have friends over again. The good part is, for the first time since my concussion, I have a starting defensive position. Throughout the season I've started on special teams but not defense. That's like saying you only go in for the penalty kicks on soccer. Of course I've played when we were ahead, but considering we lost the past two games I didn't get that much playtime. Finally after all that time of giving it all I've got, and just wondering if coach noticed me, I know it's payed off. So that's a lot of pressure to do good, and a potential for a lot of hard work to be lost really quickly.

Next, I am trying to get my driver's license. In order for me to do this, my parents mandate that I must first have my eagle project done. I've been eligible to start working on my project since last December. This summer, I had a project signed off and ready to go and the day before I went to do it, it was shut down by one of the city employees. Now, I've called Primary Children's and I'm trying to get another project approved, but the only time it works to meet to get an approval, my parents won't be available.

So there's a lot of good things that seem to be becoming negative instead of positive. But, the week is still young. I still have football game to play, and Friday to (hopefully) look forward to. This week is also general conference and you can't go wrong with that.

Stop, Look, and Listen!

At the beginning of every class period, my seminary asks us if we have seen the Lord's hand in our life. He says you just have to stop, look, and listen, and you will see how the lord has touched you and your surroundings. Well, Brandon and I went four wheeling yesterday and the views were incredible. We went up to diamond fork in Spanish Fork canyon. We were on this road that winds up through the mountains towards strawberry reservoir. I definitely saw the Lord's hand at it's best and it was immaculate. Even Brandon who is generally emotionless was taken back. Most of the time during this time of year my family will take a drive through the canyon and see the views from a distant. However, yesterday we were actually in the middle of the beauty. We would drive right through the middle of the orange and yellow aspens and the scenery was just picture perfect. Unfortunately, the photos I did get was with my phone, which I have no idea how to upload photos from. We reached several peaks and amazing viewpoints. We watched the sunset fade behind the mountains and felt the cool breeze drop to a crisp. At the end of the day, Brandon and I both looked at each other and we could tell we were thinking the same thing"we are definitely taking dates here next year!" Overall it was an outstanding experience and now when my teacher asks if I've seen the Lord's hand, I can simply say yes :)

 These two pictures were from previous years.

 And these two just look like yesterday.






p.s. I was running out of descriptive words.

Life

Whenever life is going right, it goes left :)

Whenever life is looking up, you fall down.

Whenever life is getting good, it goes bad.

Whenever you seem to achieve that one moment of happiness that you wish would last forever,

You are soon overcome with negative emotions that seem twice as worse as you felt good.

Life is cruel!

There have actually been moments in my life when I have felt so happy, that I was actually fearing what comes next. And you know what, the bad did come. My happiness stolen from me, out of my reach. But your not supposed to live life in fear. They say live life to the fullest.

How am I supposed to do that?

I think it's the way you handle these situations that create character. Your personality is based on your experiences, where you've been and what you've been through. Your personality is where your going. It is as your emerging out of the tough times that you show your true colors. Who are the strong and who are the weak? Who is willing to forgive and forget? Are you going to let that experience define you, or are you going to own it and grow from it.

Honestly, one of the qualities I look for in a friend, is rebound. Like a rubber-band, when pulled back they soon recover and return to their original state, just a little more stretched out than before. Some rubber-bands are thicker and take longer to recover, but that is still better than a broken one. 

That said, don't ever pull some back to the point that they break:(

Friends:

A friend, true friend....is one who is with you through all of this. This shows there true personality. If your personality is where you are going, then if they aren't helping you then they obviously don't want that friendship to go anywhere either. And if they do help you, then wherever they're going they want you going to the same place. 

I know this was a lot of unfinished thoughts. Thanks for listening...  :) 

Writing

I think everyone has brilliant ideas at heart, 

but the hard thing is expressing them. 

I have all these experiences,

and different events locked up inside of me,

that I want to share them with the world. 

How do I share them?

And if I do....will they even understand it like I do?

Whenever I try to convey my ideas, 

somehow it goes from some masterpiece,

to a negative ranking on myaccess.

Maybe people could understand me better,

if I could explain better...

Or maybe, they don't have the same experiences I do,

so it's difficult for them to have empathy.

Either way, just something to think about

Brian Regan-I Walked On The Moon (Full)