It'll catch on.

Has anyone else noticed that when Facebook is unaware of a person's gender,

it uses their as a

third person singular neuter possessive pronoun?!?!?!

I know, right? I just barely noticed, and it blew my mind!!

So, just wanted to say, Thanks, Facebook, for contributing to the dissemination of this usage and securing its advance into acceptable, everyday speech. I'm a fan!

And hearing they may hear.

Quelle surprise! Another French poem. So for some reason, we've been talking about this poem an awful lot in my French poetry class. I think our teacher is trying to teach us something, but I just can't quite grasp what . . . but what I have retained from this is the importance of SOUND. Clearly an important element in lyric poetry, obviously, but it seems to be more than just that. We've been talking about how you recognize something by their voice, and how the tone of someone's voice changes all the meaning. One time when I was in primary we had this activity where our mothers were blindfolded, and we each had to just yell "mom" as loudly as possible, and the first mother to find her child won. Guess who won? Moi. Hands down. Anyway, here's the poem:

Paul VERLAINE

Mon rêve familier

Je fais souvent ce rêve étrange et pénétrant /----/ I often have this strange and penetrating dream

D'une femme inconnue, et que j'aime, et qui m'aime /-/ Of an unknown woman, whom I love, and who loves me

Et qui n'est, chaque fois, ni tout à fait la même /---/ And who is not, each time, neither exactly the same

Ni tout à fait une autre, et m'aime et me comprend. /-/ Nor exactly another, and she loves me and understands me.

Car elle me comprend, et mon coeur, transparent /---/ For she understands me, and my heart, transparent

Pour elle seule, hélas ! cesse d'être un problème /---/ For her alone, alas! Stops being a problem

Pour elle seule, et les moiteurs de mon front blême, /---/ For her alone, and the sweat on my pale brow

Elle seule les sait rafraichir, en pleurant. /---/ She alone knows how to cool it, crying.

Est-elle brune, blonde ou rousse ? - Je l'ignore. /---/ Is she brunette, blond, or red-haired? I don't know.

Son nom ? Je me souviens qu'il est doux et sonore /---/ Her name? I remember that it is sweet and resounding

Comme ceux des aimés que la Vie exila. /---/ Like those of the loves ones that life has exiled

Son regard est pareil au regard des statues, /---/ Her look is the same as the look of statues,

Et, pour sa voix, lointaine, et calme, et grave, elle a /---/ and, for her voice, distant, and calm, and deep,

L'inflexion des voix chères qui se sont tues /---/ The inflection of the dear voices that have quieted.

So. yeah. Sonore. I asked Megan if that was a word in English. She said it's not. But I looked it up! (By the way, m-w.com is now on my computer's automatic list of most-visited sites, FYI). Sonorous, sonority. It's a real word. There's just something so great about sound and the uniqueness of each person's voice. There are always those people whose voices you just love and can't get enough of. And, naturally, there are those people whose voices you can't stand (*fingers crossed that that doesn't happen with my kids!*).

Last week I taught in Relief Society about Joseph Smith being the instrument for the Restoration of the gospel. I asked everyone what they know specifically from the First Vision, and this one girl mentioned how one of the most notable things was when Heavenly Father called Joseph by name and told him to listen to His son. For some reason that really hit me, just the few things that we actually have record of Him saying. (Today in my French class, our prof. read from the Joseph Smith history the account of the First Vision, and I was happy to note that I still have it all memorized in French. Don't think that's going away anytime soon!) And the IMPORTANCE of what He said, especially. "Joseph, this is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!" Nothing was more important than that; nothing needed to be understood more than that. And I love also that He didn't say, "listen to Him," but "hear Him." It's not a passive thing; it's active.

So I was thinking about that during the week. About hearing the voice of the Lord and what an amazing thing that must have been. I was at the temple on Saturday, with those thoughts still rolling around, and I was struck again by something else relating to the voice of the Lord--how sweet and kind and gentle of a voice He must have. And then, I swear on my life, this old man in the temple had THE sweetest voice I have EVER heard. I pretty much just started crying when I heard him speak. He probably just lives in the temple. If he doesn't, he should.

So, continuing on in this train of thought, I compiled a short list of some of the people in the Book of Mormon who heard the voice of the Lord:

1-Lehi. 1 Nephi 16:9, 18:5

2-Laman and Lemuel. 1 Nephi 16:39

3-Nephi. 1 Nephi 17:7

4- Isaiah. 2 Nephi 16:8

5- Enos. Enos 1:10

6- Jacob. Jacob 7:5

7- People of Alma. Mosiah 24:16

8- Alma (the elder). Mosiah 26:14

9- Alma (the younger) testifies of the voice of the Lord. Alma 13:21-22

10- Ammon. Alma 20:2

11- Samuel the Lamanite. Helaman 13:3

12- Nephi (the other Nephi). 3 Nephi 7:15

13- The other Nephi's son, Nephi. 3 Nephi 1:12

14- Mormon. Mormon 3:14

And that's not even close to being a comprehensive list! It's insane!

Anyway, the point that I'm getting to is that the Lord WANTS US to HEAR His voice.

It's as simple as that. He wants to lead and guide us, to comfort and reassure us; to encourage and uplift us; to motivate and inspire us; to help us make good choices and be good people and return back to Him. WE just need to HEAR Him.

Which is why He sends . . .

Prophets & Apostles

And why, two weekends a year, we have . . .

GENERAL CONFERENCE!! (click on ME!)

Yes, it's so we can HEAR His voice. As He said, "whether by mine own voice, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:38).

I love all the sounds of Conference. The announcer guy. The MoTab. The prayers. The voices of the General Authorities. Everything. But I think that this Conference, I'm going to try to listen extra hard with my spiritual ears, and try to hear what the Lord wants me to hear. And I invite you all to do the same. Isn't it amazing that the Heavenly Father can SPEAK to us today through His prophets and apostles?

HOORAY FOR CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!! Happy hearing :)

Luke 5:1 "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret . . . . And great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities."

I'm Babette.

So some certain girls came over to my house the other day to visit. Only one of the girls was there to begin with, so we were just talking. She's maybe 20 or 21, and she's a cute girl. Very expressive, kind of little-girl face. As we were waiting for the second girl to show up, she asked if I was dating anybody, her face expectant and excited. "Nope," I replied. Her face just totally fell. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, she gave me a sad look and said, "I'm sorry!"

Is anybody else shocked at this reaction? I was!! Does my whole life's happiness depend on whether or not I'm dating anybody? I assured her that I am fine with the situation, but apparently I shouldn't be. After all, how old am I again? Wow. Not seventeen anymore, eh? With no boyfriend, no prospects even. How sad. Tell me about it, right? Don't worry about that girl, though, she's about to get back together with her boyfriend. Phew.

This interaction was followed up by another with one of my co-workers. I told her about what had happened with my visitor, laughing at the girl's reaction, and my co-worker asked me how old I am. I told her that I'm 24, soon to be 25, and she asked if I was excited for my birthday. I guess I didn't show enough enthusiasm for my upcoming birthday, because she spent the next 15 minutes apologizing for mentioning it. Her words: "I thought you weren't excited about your birthday because you're getting old!" And she wasn't joking. Another 21 year old, just FYI, already married. So, you know, she's got me beat.

I've been thinking about these two interactions quite a bit this past week. I think this is what I hate most about the culture in which I live: the idea that if a girl is over 22 and not married, she is old. And probably never going to get married. Which, you know, makes sense, because who would want that? Honestly. But there is something seriously wrong with a culture that makes people think that their worth somehow goes down as their age goes up. At least, for single people. Good-for-nothings! But really, I'm okay with my life. "I like my life; I like my friends; I like my stuff." But what I don't like is feeling like I shouldn't.

So instead of worrying:

I decided that I'm just going to embrace it. {Since apparently, this is what the entire (population of 21-year-olds in the) world thinks already.}

spinster (n) : a woman who is not married, especially a woman who is no longer young and seems unlikely ever to marry.

And since I'd be quoting this anyway if I were telling this story (to Megan) in real life:

#1-

JANET: Yeah, why don't you go sit all alone in your room so you can start getting used to how the rest of your life's gonna be.
PARIS: I'm not alone.
JANET: Oh, really? Who do you have besides your poster of Noam Chomsky?
PARIS: Who do I have?
JANET: Yeah. [Paris begins to speak but falls silent.] That's what I thought. Very sad.

#2-

AT LORELAI'S HOUSE [Lorelai walks downstairs and opens the front door to pick up the newspaper. A cat is sitting on the porch. Lorelai goes to the phone and dials.]

RORY: Hello?

LORELAI: They know.

RORY:Who knows?

LORELAI: The cats -- they know that I've broken up with Jason and that I'm alone and they've decided it's time for me to become a crazy cat lady.

RORY: What are you talking about?

LORELAI: There's a cat on my doorstep.

RORY: Well, that's better than a bun in your oven.

LORELAI: It's just sitting there, staring at me, like he knew this moment was coming. It's still there. Why is it still there?
RORY: Mom, it's a stray. It's passing through. It's hanging out. Relax. Move away from the window and go back to bed.

LORELAI: It's not fair. We just broke up. It just happened. I'm still young. It's still possible that I'm gonna have a successful relationship. You don't know. My eggs are still viable.

RORY: Are you yelling at me or the cat?

LORELAI: The cat. I think he flipped me off with his tail. I'm Babette.

RORY: Babette's not single.

LORELAI: Whose side are you on? Circle the wagons.

RORY: Sorry.

LORELAI: Everyone knows. They can see it in my face. "She's single again. She couldn't make it work again. She picked the wrong guy again." [to cat] Hey, do not lick yourself in front of me.

RORY: Mom, I need you to get a grip. You're tired, you're stressed out, and you're not seeing things clearly.

LORELAI: Oh, my God!

RORY: What?

LORELAI: There are two of them. They're not even easing me into this, those bastards. I give up. I guess I need to start collecting newspapers and magazines, find a blue bathrobe, lose my front teeth.

RORY: Well, obviously, you've got a busy day ahead of you, so I'm gonna let you go.

LORELAI: Yarn balls. I need to find some yarn balls.

RORY: Bye.

[Lorelai opens the front door.]

LORELAI: [to cats] Hey, I am a young, desirable woman.

So guys, I guess the time has come. I think I'll wait until my great summer is over (one last youthful hurrah), and then I'll get started on operation SFL: Spinster for Life. Here's the plan:

1-Throw out all my clothes. Go to the DI and stock up on muumuus and bathrobes. Too-big-at-the-top jeans and a few holiday sweaters should be good for my new lifestyle. Throw out all my shoes; buy another pair of slippers.

2-Get a haircut. A hideously unflattering, really short haircut. Buy some curlers. Start experimenting.

3-Buy a cat. And a cat friend for that cat. And one more cat, just for the heck of it. Hopefully my roommates won't mind. Or better yet, I'll get my own {one-bedroom attic} apartment. Or better yet, move back in with the parents.

4-Stop wearing makeup. This one's going to be a bit of a challenge for me, but I think I can do it.

5-Look up a few tutorials on knitting and crocheting. Buy some yarn and needles. Get to work.

6-Stop going to school, exercising, or anything that would be considered "bettering" myself. None of that.

So, yeah. Come my 26th birthday, I should be well on my way to my new life as a full-blown spinster. Let me know if you have any other ideas for me!

Number 1 sign my life is going right.

I feel like the quality of my life can almost literally be measured by one little thing: the number of lists I write. Seriously. I LOVE making lists. More than is probably normal to like making lists. I probably make an average of 5 lists a day, depending on how good my life is going. These days, I'm a list-making machine. That's how good it's going for me.

What is it that is so wonderful about lists? What makes it so life-affirming? For me, I think it's just the fact that I have something to look forward to, something to plan for, something to DO. How great. And even though most of my lists include a whole bunch of homework that frankly, I don't really care about most of the time, it's still better than what my alternative list would be like if I didn't have school (probably something close to: -buy more cereal, -watch more Gilmore Girls, -sleep in, . . . you get the idea). Also, I think that for me it's just a good feeling to know that I am {somewhat} organized, that I am actually getting things done (even if the most minimal amount of effort is put into it sometimes, it still gets done, and that's what really matters, isn't it?). Hooray for being productive!

Here's a list of the top few things I'm making lists about right now:

1. Like I said, homework lists are pretty frequent right about now. I keep one list in my planner and one on a Post-it. The double-list seems to be more effective in enticing me to actually work.

2. Summer plans list. This one just grows daily.

2a. Each separate summer plan has its own list. Things-to-do in each city, etc.

2b. This will all soon lead to my favorite list of all time: the PACKING LIST!!!! (do you hear that chorus of angels singing, or is that just me?)

3. Bridal Shower list. I'm planning a bridal shower for the bestie, and let me tell you: it's going to be the best party I've ever thrown--despite what my dream last night would lead me to believe. If not the best party then at the very least it will be the best-decorated party I've ever thrown. And I'm okay with that. This list breaks off into several other {blessed} lists, such as "food," "decorations," "things to buy," "things to spray paint" (no, I'm not joking), "guest list," etc, etc, etc. Can I just say how much I LOVE lists that lend themselves to sub-lists? My fav.

4. Ongoing "things to do list" includes gems like "finish taxes," "return DVDs to Walmart," "buy a watch," "wash my bike," "put air in my bike tires," etc, etc, etc.

5. Fall class schedule list. Sadly, this one is pretty short since the options are disappointingly slim.

6. Books to read list. This one always gets put on the back burner. Sad. Oh, hey! That's what would replace my homework list. Right. I'm trying to finish Pride & Prejudice and then next up on the list is Mere Christianity and Les Miserables. I keep trying to tell myself that I'll have time to read once school is over, but that's probably not true.

Speaking of summer, I'm really looking forward to the third week in April, not only because it's my birthday, but because the semester will be over (I've hit that point where I lack the motivation to even look at the syllabus to see what I ought to be doing. It's pretty bad.), and my homework to do list will suddenly look something like this: (except, of course, the couple of classes that I'm planning on auditing. But other than that...)

My medium of choice for my lists is Post-its. I don't think I could even get through one day without Post-its. I have 4 different colored stacks of Post-its in my backpack at all times. But I would be just as lost without my planner. Haha, you should have seen my missionary planner. They are so small that a Post-it pretty much takes up an entire page, and I usually had at least two per page. It was a nightmare. I am so happy to be able to have a regular, full-sized planner that is happy to accommodate all of my Post-it needs.

So yeah. Life is good. Just ask me, and I'll give you a list of all the reasons why :)

Seems oddly fitting for the Spring Break that should have been . . .

Guys. This is pretty much my favorite French poem ever. Brought to my knowledge by one Prof. Hurlbut, whom I just adore.

So it's Spring Break this week. For everyone who doesn't go to BYU. For those of us who do, this week is full of a whole bunch of same-old. Same-old classes, same-old homework, same-old regular work. The sunshine, however, is fairly new. Too bad I'm stuck inside the entire week. If it's not class, it's my room. If it's not my room, it's work. Did I mention how I'm so poor right now that I'm kind of freaking out about how I'm going to pay for all of my summer plans? Basically this panic translates into me picking up a whole lot of shifts at work. I'm aiming for 30 hours a week. Yes, that's on top of doing homework and studying for my 14 credits' worth of classes, trying to organize things for for my summer internship, editing for a student journal, and getting ready for Lu'au (memorizing words and practicing dances). And yeah. It's times like these when I think to myself, "good thing I don't have a boyfriend/husband/friend/dog," because they probably would forget about me anyway.

So. That being said, here it is, Brise Marine (Sea Breeze) by Stéphane Mallarmé:

La chair est triste, hélas ! et j'ai lu tous les livres.

The flesh is sad, alas! and I read all the books.

Fuir! là-bas fuir ! Je sens que des oiseaux sont ivres

To flee! to flee out there! I feel that the bird are drunk

D'être parmi l'écume inconnue et les cieux !

to be among the unknown foam and the skies!

Rien, ni les vieux jardins reflétés par les yeux

Nothing, neither the old gardens reflected in the eyes

Ne retiendra ce coeur qui dans la mer se trempe

Will hold back this heart drenched in the sea

ô nuits! ni la clarté déserte de ma lampe

o nights! Nor the deserted light of my lamp

Sur le vide papier que la blancheur défend

On the empty paper sheathed in its whiteness

Et ni la jeune femme allaitant son enfant.

And neither the young wife nursing her child.

Je partirai ! Steamer balançant ta mâture,

I will leave! Steamer swaying your masts,

Lève l'ancre pour exotique nature !

Lift the anchor for exotic lands!

Un Ennui, désolé par les cruels espoirs,

A weariness, bereft of cruel hopes,

Croit encore à l'adieu suprême des mouchoirs !

Yet believes in the ultimate farewell of handkerchiefs!

Et, peut-être, les mâts, invitant les orages,

And, perhaps, the masts, inviting storms,

Sont-ils de ceux qu'un vent penche sur les naufrages

May be those a wind bends over in shipwrecks

Perdus, sans mâts, sans mâts, ni fertiles îlots ...

Lost, without masts, nor masts nor fertile islands,

Mais, ô mon coeur, entends le chant des matelots.

But, oh my heart, hear the song of the sailors.

Cruise, anyone? Sadly, I think this is probably as close as I'll get for Spring Break.

But still, fuir, fuir I will!

Just not this week.

All is well.

"And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;"

-D&C 11:12-13

This scripture has been on my mind these past couple of days. Well, weeks, really. I just love feeling like Heavenly Father is still guiding my life. You maybe know of my host of irrational fears, and one of them recently was that after my mission, I would never feel a prompting as strong as the one I got to go on a mission. I am very happy to have that irrational fear calmed and feel like my life is still in the Lord's hands. I used to have a really hard time with this; I felt like the Lord's plan for my life was going to happen no matter what and that I had no say in it. As if I wanted to resist and plan out my life all by myself (This is where He laughs to himself and says, "Oh you little child. Nice try."). My change of heart with regards to this was summed up very nicely today in sacrament meeting when the speaker talked about how our desire ought not be ours alone and how we need to align our will to the Father's.

So true. Because, really, He knows all. He knows exactly what experiences I need to grow and become better (He really has his work cut out with that one) and be happy. He has a plan for my life, and what a comfort that is!! Of course, I still do my part to live my life and plan and work toward things and try to be and do my best, but then I try to seek His will and His guidance for my life. And sometimes it works. And it's a wonderful feeling. I'm so happy with my life right now and I feel so happy about the future and I know that things are going to work out. Je suis bénie! A few months ago I had an experience with asking the Lord if everything was going to be okay. And He just said, "tout est bien" (yes, the answer came in French like that)--"all is well." How comforting to know that He's taking care of things, AKA my life.

Going along with this, I was just rereading this talk by President Uchtdorf from last conference and I was surprised, in reading about his experiences in a little town in Texas for pilot training, to find this passage:

"At the time, Big Spring, despite its name, was a small, insignificant, and unknown place. And I often felt exactly the same way about myself—insignificant, unknown, and quite alone. Even so, I never once wondered if the Lord had forgotten me or if He would ever be able to find me there. I knew that it didn’t matter to Heavenly Father where I was, where I ranked with others in my pilot training class, or what my calling in the Church was. What mattered to Him was that I was doing the best I could, that my heart was inclined toward Him, and that I was willing to help those around me.
I knew if I did the best I could, all would be well.
And all was well."
{The footnote here says that Pres. Uchtdorf graduated first in his class.}

The talk continues . . .

"Please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed.
Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
(You Matter to Him, Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

This part really struck a chord with me too. About a month ago, I literally wrote myself a note in French that said, "Today, I really need to remind myself of the fact that I will not always be single (*fingers crossed*), a student, poor, a roommate, a Provo city resident, friendless (at least, friends that are also single)." And then President Uchtdorf just goes and says, don't worry, you won't be. It's just your life right now. And another one of his quotes echoes in my mind: "No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations." It's just beyond reassuring.

Another speaker from last conference, Elder Cornish, told a story about how while riding his bike home after a long day of work, he prayed that he would find a quarter so that he could buy a chicken drumstick (substitute chocolate in there for chicken drumstick and you get my every day). He desperately wanted that chicken to give him the extra push he needed to get home, but he only had a nickel. He says, "As I rode along, I told the Lord my situation and asked if, in His mercy, He could let me find a quarter on the side of the road. I told Him that I didn't need this as a sign but that I would be really grateful if He felt to grant me this kind blessing." Well, lo and behold, as he started watching the road attentively, "trying to maintain a faith-filled but submissive attitude," he saw a quarter on the ground. He bought the chicken, ate it happily, and was filled with relief and gratitude. And fried chicken. Haven't we all been there? "I don't need this as a sign, Lord, but I would be really grateful for this little blessing. Please?" I remember one especially trying day on my mission. My companion and I had walked ALL over our area with very little to show from it. At the end of the day we were headed over to the church for a branch activity that we'd invited some investigators to. We tried not to complain, but, she later told me, all my companion secretly wanted was some cookies and all I secretly wanted was some letchy (letchy season is teasingly torturous in the islands because it's growing everywhere but you can't just ask for some . . . we often joked about only knocking doors that had letchy trees for a while, just to increase our chances of being offered some. I don't remember if we ever really did). So as we were cutting through the gas station to go to the chapel, one of our best investigators, Pako, pulled up at the same time. He had another guy in his car (some kid that he'd hired to work in his yard or something?) and while we were talking to Pako in the parking lot, he sent the guy inside. Do you know what he came out with?
Cookies. For us. The pink Valentine's day-themed Arnott's cookies that are so good. The exact kind of cookies that my companion had been wanting. Coincidence? I think not. So, that made us happy. We thanked Pako profusely and continued on our way to the chapel.

We arrived much earlier than we'd expected, so I suggested that we go up the street to try to contact this old investigator that we'd been trying to get in touch with. We agreed to try this one last house to end off our fruitless day (hahaha... wait for it...). Well, we got to the house and started knocking on the white metal gate. Like many of the houses along that street, I noticed that the lawn was being nicely shaded by several tall letchy trees, covered with the little red fruit. I think the lady who we were trying to contact was named Susanna. Something like that. Anyway, she wasn't home. But her mother was. And yes, she would tell Susanna that we'd stopped by, and no, she wasn't interested in hearing our message. And by the way, would we like some letchy?

As I looked upward while she used the long fruit-picking pole to gather several bunches of letchy for us, I said a little prayer of gratitude for such a wonderful, loving Heavenly Father who blesses us so much more than we know, and so much more than we deserve. We would have been fine that day without the cookies and the letchies, but it just made us so grateful and so aware that the Lord was watching over us and taking care of our needs, as small as they were.
Elder Cornish finishes his story by saying,

"In His mercy, the God of heaven, the Creator and Ruler of all things everywhere, had heard a prayer about a very minor thing. One might well ask why He would concern Himself with something so small. I am led to believe that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that the things that are important to us become important to Him, just because He loves us. How much more would He want to help us with the big things that we ask, which are right (see 3 Nephi 18:20)?" (The Privilege of Prayer, J. Devn Cornish)

So basically, the moral of this post is just to say trust. Trust in the Lord. He is so kind and loving and wonderful and we are His children. Which means that He wants us to be happy more than anything, and He will never let us down and never let us lose our way. He never gives us more than we can handle (even though we may think so). He blesses us for our obedience and our faith in Him and in His Son. And to boot, he gives us those extra little blessings along the way just to help keep us sane. Look for those blessings, trust in the Lord, and all will be well.



Here are just a few of my "trust in the Lord, He will guide you" reminders:

"Yea, we can see that the Lord in His great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in Him." -Helaman 12:1

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him." -Job 13:15

"Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." -Proverbs 16:20

". . . we should put our trust in Him, and He will deliver us." -Alma 61:13

"Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob." -Mosiah 7:19

"Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along." -D&C 78:18

"Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answers to thy prayers." -D&C 112:10

Consider the sheep of His fold,

How they follow where He leads.

Though the path may wind across the mountains,

He knows the meadows where they feed.

He clothes the lilies of the field.

He feeds the birds in the sky,

And He will feed those who trust Him,
And guide them with His eye.

-Consider the Lilies

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

-Be Still, My Soul

And of course, I can't forget my classic "trust in the Lord" song:


Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom; Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene--one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, not pray'd that thou shouldst lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.

So long thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost a while!
-Lead, kindly Light

Do you have YOUR tickets?

Have you ever seen the Polynesian Cultural Center dancers at BYU Hawaii? Pretty amazing, right? The tropical island air, the traditional costumes (the grass skirts, the coconut bras {obviously I've never been to Hawaii and I have no idea what actually goes on at the PCC}), the pounding music, the energetic dancers. Ah, the island life!

Well, BYU's Lu'au might not be as good as the actual island Lu'au experience, and you'll have to imagine the tropical breeze, but in Utah it's as close as you're going to get!! Come experience some quasi-genuine (how's that for an oxymoron) island dancing! Some of us are even legitimately from the places we're representing

(not me, obviously, but that's okay; I am at heart!

YLa Polynésie! and Fiji. and New Zealand.).

Plus, if you didn't come see me last year, you owe me! And if you came last year, I really loved that you came and would love to see you there again this year!

So be there or be lame.

Oh, and let me know if you need me to get your ticket for you!

Je rêve d'été

Can it just be summer already?

So on top of things

Don't worry; I'm studying NOW for a test that starts on Friday. I'm so impressed with myself, so of course I thought, "I should take a break from studying to post a picture of this" (this being the Great Vowel Shift diagram). I obviously failed to take into consideration when the Great Vowel Shift occurred when I signed up for Early Modern English. Clearly, since I couldn't even tell you when it happened. Sometime between the mid-1500s and the mid-1700s? That really narrows it down, doesn't it?

So here it is. Hopefully I can get this memorized (for what, the 5th time in my college career? Why can't it just stick?), along with several other completely useless charts, by next week:It really doesn't look that complicated, does it? I don't know why I have such a hard time memorizing it. Maybe because this is class where we start off with a 15 minute "devotional" (we take turns comparing different translations of scriptures and giving word etymologies), which I follow by about 25 minutes of daydreaming/planning and re-planning my summer and updating my planner. That leaves me a good 10 minutes at the end of class to pretend I'm paying attention. I'm sure the teacher's fooled (seriously. He's kind of the absent-minded professor type, which is adorable, but horribly boring). So wish me luck, because even with the help of my early-bird studying, I'm probably going to bomb this test.

Stakehood!

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one?

Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men,

and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea;

and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath;

and I bring forth my word unto the children of men,

yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?"

-2 Nephi 29:7

Hahaha. First of all, I just want to point out how when I Googled "New Caledonia, stake," the second link that came up was about how Vanuatu's kava reputation is at stake in New Caledonia. That's right--no second-rate kava on the caillou! I almost died laughing. You would get it if you'd have been there. Promise.

Anyway. The point of this post was just to say that

NEW CALEDONIA is becoming a STAKE!!!

Quel miracle!

So. I thought I'd just do a little research (for your benefit, random reader, as well as my own) and find out a little bit more of the history of the LDS Church in New Caledonia. Here it is:

• The first members in New Caledonia were Tahitians that came over to work in the nickel mines (remember this talk by President Monson?). These Tahitian members were organized into the Noumea Branch on October 21, 1961 (Teahumanu Manoi as president). That branch was part of the French Polynesian Mission.
• Elder Thomas S. Monson, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated New Caledonia for the preaching of the gospel on May 2, 1968, and missionaries starting arriving in July of that year.
• The first meetinghouse was dedicated on December 24, 1972.
• The Nouméa New Caledonia District was created on January 1, 1973.
• In June 1975, New Caledonia was transferred to the Fiji Suva Mission.
• The Noumea Branch was divided on May 16, 1976 and the meetinghouse was enlarged.
• The Tontouta Branch was organized on June 18, 1978.
• President Gordon B. Hinckley visited Noumea on June 17, 2000 as part of a six-nation tour of Asia and the South Pacific. He called New Caledonia "a sleeping giant." About 1,000 members attended the meeting to hear the prophet speak.
• In December 2010, total Church membership in New Cal was 1, 949.
• March 2012, New Caledonia is transferred to the Vanuatu Port Vila mission.
• May 27, 2012: The Nouméa District becomes a STAKE! Wo-hoo!!

These members so deserve this; They are just amazing. If you don't believe me, just look at this.

I just couldn't be happier to see this amazing blessing come to these wonderful members' lives! The Church is true :)

Sources:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/statistics/units/world/country.php?country=New+Caledonia

https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_Caledonia

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58573/Country-information-French-Polynesia.html

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/new-caledonia/

Uni...lympics.

Today in my French class, we talked about the guy who founded the Olympic Games, Pierre Coubertin. So . . . let's see. Did I learn anything interesting? Not really. The Olympics, blah, blah, started out basically as a Europe elitism thing,

the Tour de France is the most-watched sporting event in the world (who knew?),

the first (modern-day) Olympic games were in Athens in 1896,

"Faster, higher, stronger,"

athletes used to have to be considered amateurs (aka, rich enough to have that kind of spare time),

the Olympics were held in France in 1900, and the winners received cash prizes.

So yeah. Go Olympics. (By the way, the summer Olympics are in London this year. Maybe I'll hop over there and see some of it.)

So here's a picture of Pierre Coubertin:

Is it bad that this is literally the first thing that came to my mind?

Just sayin.

this beautiful world

Was today not the most perfectly beautiful day? I loved it. And I was infinitely proud of myself for not skipping church to more fully enjoy this beautiful weather. But I did take advantage of it after church by going to a park, laying on my blanket, and reading Pride and Prejudice. It was a magical afternoon. However, I couldn't help wishing it were Saturday, that I could go to the Peppermint Place and then have lunch at Big B's. So, you know, that almost made me cry. But alas, life is not life if it's not changing, right? In heaven there will be a Peppermint Place and a Big B's just for me (and my family too, I guess). Here's to hoping that the weather keeps up! It'll be spring in no time! :)

In other news, I watched the saddest movie ever last night--Sarah's Key.

Sarah's Key is a fictional story (same title as the book it's based off of) about the true story of the Vél d'hiv roundup. The Vél d'hiv {Vélodrome d'Hiver ("winter velodrome" [bicycle track])} roundup was when, on July 16 and 17, 1942, some 13,000 Jews living in Paris (mostly women and children) were rounded up to be deported to internment camps and finally on to work camps. The hub for these deportations was the Vél d'hiv, where prisoners stayed five days in completely inhumane conditions. This roundup was not done by the Nazis--it was the French police themselves (collaborationist France/the Vichy regime).

The movie is about a little girl named Sarah and her family's story of being taken from their home, her quest to save her younger brother, Michèl, and a reporter's need to uncover the whole story. It seriously broke my heart. I would not recommend this film to mothers (parents in general, but especially mothers), sisters, brothers . . . basically anyone who loves their family. You will bawl. This movie did, however, illustrate that even in the midst of the most horrible circumstances imaginable, there is still good in the world. For every evil neighbor there's a kind one; for every heartless soldier there's a compassionate one; for every selfish person there's a charitable one; for every bleak scenery there's a beautiful, breathtaking, rejuvenating one.

So, you should probably watch this movie. It's really great (aside from being completely heartbreaking). Plus it's half in French, half English, so that just makes it all the better. But just be warned: have some tissues on hand, because if you don't cry you probably don't have a soul.

True Blue...

The long-awaited moment finally came! Last Friday I went up to Logan with my friend Jenny for a weekend that we'd been planning for weeks. Luckily for me, Logan just happens to be home to one of my favorite people: Megan (do you get the feeling that my blog is turning into a sort of homage to Megan? . . . sorry). We packed a whole lot of fun things into this weekend, and boy was it worth it trying to make up for all the homework I didn't get done.

So we got there and headed straight over to the USU basketball game. Because, you know, where there's basketball, there's me. Here we are with Mr. Creepy sitting behind us. We won. I found out how USU fans act (fairly rudely, which I guess is fairly normal for competitive sports?).

Megan was nice enough to help me fit in by buying me a game-day t-shirt. I'm not sure how I feel about having cheered for a different school. Oh well. We went out to Firehouse Pizza after the game--so, so good. Pizookies: mmm. Pizza was followed by hot-tubbing where we tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to avoid being asphyxiated by the steam. It was still fun.

Saturday morning we got up early and waited with the crowds to go to the Logan temple. It was worth the wait :) Isn't this temple beautiful? I love it! I still need to go to the Draper temple one of these days. And if anyone is interested in hitting up Manti with me sometime as well . . .you know . . . let me know.

Raced home an hour later than expected, and Megan and I headed over to Walmart. Big mistake. We just went to buy the ingredients for the tortilla soup that we are obsessed with but I can't make by myself because of the whole raw chicken thing. We ended up spending about an hour going through the $5 movie bins.

Our spoils. Yes, I may end up taking half of them back, but we were excited about the Lord of the Rings. Who knew that I would ever like those movies? By the way, if you see the Twin Towers in one of those $5 bins, pick it up for me, will ya? We could only find one of them.

Yeah. Basically what our shopping together yields. We needed the pringles to tide us over while we made the soup. And we needed the hangars because, well, because we have clothes. What better reason do we need, really?

Then we spent the good rest of the afternoon hanging out in Megan's living room, trying to resist Lil' Heaty's coma-like sleep enticements. I spent a good half an hour pretending to do homework but mostly just ate a lot of pringles.

We also spent some good quality time with our besties:

And then Megan taught me how to rock climb! Doesn't she look like a pro? (oh wait, she's not actually climbing in the picture. oops.) And thanks to my friend loaning me a harness, the guy who worked at the place thought that I totally knew what I was doing. Sucker.

We spent Saturday night at the Logan Art Cinema watching Logan Out Loud, this improv group that was pretty hilarious. We especially liked the ghetto theater, complete with broken seats and all.

Oh, side-braided hair. How you take me back.

As if we didn't already know, Megan and I discovered once again that we are the same person. I just spend more money.

Painted our nails and watched Quest for Camelot. Who doesn't love that movie? I was so proud of myself too for remembering almost all the words to all the songs. We must've watched that movie way too much as kids.

After church on Sunday, we got together with Jenny's friend Sarah (who had also come up to visit her little sister, Megan. Ironic.) and had a wonderfully delicious meal followed by two pieces of so-not-fat-free pie and a card game. Which Megan won. My Megan.

So, obviously I didn't become a True Blue Aggie on this trip, nor will I ever. But it was still fun to visit.

Lessons learned:

1. My mattress in provo sucks.

2. The Brigham City temple is very much needed.

3. If Megan and I lived together, we would get very fat, spend all of our money, and do nothing but watch Gilmore Girls and sleep.