So I am sitting here thinking about how happy I am. My life is seriously going so well. I'm successful in my MANY (count 'em THREE) jobs, I bought a house, and my personal/ spiritual life is going amazingly. I was thinking about how I really couldn't ask for more right now. I'm so very happy. Then I thought of the one thing that would make it all EVEN better. My MISSING LINKS. What are my missing links you ask? Well more like WHO are my missing links....allow me to explain....
So I live in Queen Creek in my very own adorable house with my bestest friend Aubry and I literally live 5 minutes in all directions from almost my entire family. Its amazing I love it! But there are missing links and this is where I start to think: LIFE IS SO UNFAIR!!!!! Why do I have to live SO FAR from some of my favorites in the world. I wish that I could create my very own island where me and all of my family and favorite friends can live in peace and harmony for time and all eternity!!!! Guess this is how heaven will be huh?? Well until then I will just sulk in missing them and provide you all with visuals...Now I didn't have time to get pics of ALL my missing links but there is at least 1 from each family that I miss. Here they are, no particular order....
This is my Daddy and I. I miss him so much every day and I wish he could be here with us. This is one of my bestest friends ever in the whole world Lindsey Marie. One of my many Texans that I miss dearly. Her husband is in Border Patrol and I NEED them to get a transfer here :) This is my other bestest friend in the world Melanie. She thought it would be cool to marry a GENIUS who goes to Oxford and now she lives SO FAR in England. But I will visit them soon...I miss Zar (her hubby) dearly as well. And of course my big brother Travis...Pharmacy school...Vegas...no big deal. I miss my brothers so much. And of course TY...same caption as above picture HAHA My WENDEL!!!!!!! AKA Wendy. AND CLAY! She married my cousin and luckily her and I were already besties! I miss them both so much and I especially miss all of our ugly face pics.. My older sister Jenn (and her family too). They live in Vegas too and I miss them so much it hurts! I never get to squeeze 3 of my 12 nieces and nephews...that is completely unacceptable. My MEGGIE and RYLAND...They are more of my Texan loves that I miss so much. They are the best ever and I miss laughing till my belly hurts with them. Here's another picture with more Texans...I miss all these crazies so much and all of our 24/7 party fun times! (this also can represent the Don Larson family!!) MY PITA!! AKA Sandra...I miss this girl so much...another bestie, another Texan ALEXIS DON...Seriously this is my Cuzzie Poo ROO MOO. My bestest lover pants wonderful cousin poo...I love her love her love her love her...damn Texas. (This can also represent her baby that I haven't gotten to squeeze and more Don Larson's) Shannon GRIGGS...She lives in Utah and I miss her so much...I think that I talk to her on the phone more than anyone alive. I love her so much and I don't know what I'd do without her. This is me representing the Keith Larson's. I miss them so much and wish they would just move here already!!
What would my blog be without a dedicatory(sp?) post to my better half...AUBRY. HAHA. Its been quite the long running joke that Aubry and I are lesbians, married, girlfriends, etc. Well clearly this is untrue...who cares if we call each other wifey and hubby? No. Big. Deal. I have been thinking about my friendship with Aubry a lot lately. It started out in the year 2007 at EAC...this is when I first met her! We became roommates shortly after that in 2008. We were good friends at EAC...and hung out all the time...but we weren't BEST friends. Girls tend to use the word BEST loosely when talking about friends...and I have fallen victim to that quite a bit. Aubry and I always claimed to be best friends back then but we weren't. It wasn't until I moved back to Arizona and we started living together, that we became REAL best friends. Seriously I don't know what I would do without her. She is my best friend soul mate! There is not a single thing we don't know about each other...SERIOUSLY. Our friendship is so easy and there is no back stabbing, fighting, men stealing-cattiness. And there never will be. Our friendship is such a breath of fresh air for both of us. Don't get me wrong we've had our fights and issues BUT they don't last for more than an hour TOPS.
So with all this mushy gushy going on I will get to my main point of this post. Aubry and I are growing older and getting to the point of....dare I say it....MARRIAGE. And we all know that one will get married before the other...and I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be her (while she thinks the opposite, of course). Aubry's been going on a few dates and I've gotten a taste of life without my best friend. Well first and foremost I have come to the realization that I don't really have friends except for Aubry. And second I have realized how bad it sucks HAHA. I'm assuming this is how my twin brothers will feel HAHA and now I can relate. But I won't focus on the negative(depending on how you look at it) or what is to come LOL I will focus on how much I LOVE my best friend and how grateful I am to have her. She supports me in everything that I do and always tells me what she really thinks. She was a HUGE part in my coming back to church and doing the things which were right. We've gone through so many transformations together and the past few months has been the best transformation of all. One thing that I know for sure is that we will both be getting married in the temple...something both of us have struggled with in the past...but now we know for a 100% fact that we have our temple marriages in the bag, and we did it together! One can only hope and dream that we get married around the same time so that we will see each other take that step (Aubry's convinced this will happen haha).
We are best friends forever and nothing will ever change that. Now we just have to hope that our husbands won't mind the 4 of us being roommates for the rest of all time. JUST KIDDING.
p.s. I can't wait for our little girls to be best friends :)
and now you can enjoy a random photo montage of us hahaha in case you weren't sick of us already!!
So today I've been thinking about funny people. I have a very specific humor so who I think is HIGHlarious (as Perez Hilton would say...FYI he is NOT on my funny list..he is on my most annoying gay man of all time list.) might differ from who you think is. But this is besides the point. What I was really thinking about was people who TRY to be funny. Oh yes they are all around us...I'm one myself except I'm usually successful when I try HAHA. Today I was thinking about those poor dear souls who try so hard...yet fail so miserably at the art of hilarity. I see it at work, at the grocery store, on blogs, and of course on Facebook. Our society is HUGE on humor. Everything has to be a joke or have a pun. Completely inappropriate laughter is something we all seem to thrive on. Well my family does anyway.
I get it, now I'm sounding mean/conceited. NOT my intention, promise! I just seem to get easily irritated by people who are constantly updating their FB with a status that is terribly un-funny which makes me want to punch them because I can feel their humor desperation with every word. I, my friends, am not a fan of desperate humor and I am HORRIBLE at pity laughter. I've even come across some bloggers who are just too much. Now I LOVE laughter...LOVE IT...but WHY does everyone feel so much pressure to be funny ALL the time? We all didn't get a funny bone. Some are meant to laugh, while others are meant to be laughed at. I guess I just want these two groups to be more distinguished. So now that you know my thoughts...decide, is your life calling the laugher? Or is it the comic? Both are VERY important and one CANNOT exist without the other. Now you may disagree..but I am definitely a self-proclaimed comic. What are you?
I'll leave you now with a face that can always draw laughter from those around me...its my most prized ugly face...my brothers prefer slapping me over laughing at me when I flash this face at them..or send them the periodic picture message of it. It is my best weapon. ENJOY!
I can't believe its 2012! Where did the time go? Too bad its all going to end in December. HA. Well I can't even believe that I made it through 2011. I had so many ups and downs and I can't believe where I ended up! Don't worry its a good place. It took me so long to get where I'm at and the transformation feels so good. I'm so grateful to have a new year to explore myself and my beliefs further and move on to chapters I never thought I'd get to in my book of life. (HA). I'm finally me again and it feels fantastic! I love my family, I know who my TRUE friends are, and I finally have my religious back bone again. This blog feels like quite the spiritual blog lately I'm sure...and I'm sorry if that's annoying...it's just where my head's been at. I really love life now so the new theme of my blog will be "How Rachel Got her Groove Back". Happy 2012! Here's to a much better year than ever before!
So I realize that the majority of my posts might seem kind of preachy but I assure you that is not my intention. I have a mind that goes a mile a minute and I enjoy "researching" certain thought processes so that my brain can feed its hunger to know every little detail about a certain subject. I love being well informed about things I'm interested in so that if any of these things ever come up in conversation, I can discuss it with REAL content and opinions to back it up!
So what is running through Rachel's brain today?? The difference between LOVE and LUST.
I mean I know basically, like we all do, the difference of the two BUT I wanted to really look into the content on the church website. I think being single makes me more facinated with this specific subject because in the world today the two have merged together so much that it's extremely difficult to tell the difference.
I'm all about the LOVE (not that I haven't lusted after anyone...Channing Tatum, Ryan Gosling, yum.)and to say I've been looking for it in all the WRONG places would be the understatement of the century (but that's another day another blog post). So here's where the problem lies...when most girls are all about the love a lot of dirt bag boys are all about the lust. The majority of these boys know exactly how to make you believe that they too are in it for love or that they REALLY, TRULY like you. Now don't you get me wrong there are a lot of MEN out there searching for love, not lust. But seperating the two can become a very difficult task at times.It becomes so hard to tell the difference between love and lust and then you throw infatuation in there and you have a whole cluster you-know-what. So I searched on the church website and I found a short and sweet little excerpt on love, lust, and infatuation. I really liked it so I thought I would share...
"Often what we call being “in love” is actually infatuation. It’s that exciting feeling you have when you discover that you really, really like another person. That feeling usually includes an element of physical attraction. There’s nothing wrong with being infatuated with someone. It’s a normal and important part of getting to know what you like about other people. But sometimes it isn’t much more than a quickly passing excitement.
Love, on the other hand, is a much deeper and richer emotion. It develops over time as you get to know and value the character of another person, as you enjoy the relationship you share, and as you become committed to acting in the best interests of that person. It includes caring, friendship, and respect, in addition to physical attraction.
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered this description of love: “True love elevates, protects, respects, and enriches another. It motivates you to make sacrifices for the [person] you love” (“Making the Right Choices,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 38).
Lust, on the other hand, is pretty much the exact opposite. Instead of elevating, it lowers. Instead of protecting, it endangers. Instead of enriching, it impoverishes. When you are feeling lust, you are thinking about the other person mainly as a means to satisfy your own physical desires. As Elder Scott taught: “Satan would promote counterfeit love, which is really lust. That is driven by hunger to satisfy personal appetite” (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 38).
Although infatuation can lead to love, lust actually keeps love from growing. According to Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Lust prevents the development of true love” (“Cleanse Us from All Unrighteousness,” New Era, Feb. 1987, 7). True love motivates us to place the comfort and convenience of the other person before our own, while lust does just the opposite.
To keep your relationships on the right track, try to focus on the other person as a whole person. Do things together that will help you get to know each other’s personalities, interests, and character traits. Think how you would want someone to treat your younger sister or brother, and try to treat the other person accordingly. Then love can grow out of a foundation of friendship and respect."
Neat huh? I know you married's are thinking DUH RACHEL! Let me provide with an FYI moment in closing...
In my old age I've become pretty good at not being fooled by the world's d-bags. But truth be told...I've been caught up with a few boys that were less than worthy of my time, yet somehow they would get it anyways. This is where the nice guys suffer...at times the nice ones aren't the ones I am immediately attracted to (something about those bad boys right?) But the more mature I become the more I realize that its not about how infatuated or attracted I am to the person or his traits but it truly, truly is about what is inside (cliche I know). Which boy is going to take me to the temple? Which boy is going to be able to raise my children to be STRONG and FAITHFUL members of the church while loving them unconditionally? Which boy is going to love me for all of my imperfections? Not the lustful bad boy, thats for sure! So on my "quest"(haha) to find the right person, I've made a promise to myself not to write off the good boys and to keep my guard up for the lustful ones.
Took me long enough to finally get this through my brain, huh family?
I made my Mormon.org profile and it finally got posted on the website! Click on the cute little picture below if you want to check it out! It was fun to make so if you haven't made one, you totally should.
So I'm sure that most of you have heard about the (somewhat) NEW "I'm A Mormon" media blitz. We learned about it last week in church and watched a lot of the ads. I felt extremely proud and inspired by all of this. The picture above is one of the ads that is up in the middle of Time Square in New York City. How awesome is that? They are and will be everywhere (subway's, taxi's, billboards, tv, etc.) I can't wait to see all of the positive effect's this will have and the positive feedback from those around me. But as Mormon's we also know what else it will bring...religious persecution...and probably some very bad persecution from those who already have personal vendetta's against us.
Today while surfing the web I decided to Google (what is it with me and Google HA) articles regarding these ads. I knew there were bound to be some and I was prepared for the worst. I was pleasently surprised by some, and completely shocked by others. There was one in particular that a Mormon girl wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune (I would post the link but I don't want to lead any of you to that crap)that left me floored. She was in complete disagreement with this whole media blitz. Now I understand not everyone will agree with it, (Mormon's and non-Mormon's alike)but it was the things she was saying that made my blood boil. Just to name a few...
"But these ubiquitous ads are also drastically misleading. Come to one of our meetinghouses on any given Sunday and you’d be hard-pressed to find a group of faithful like those represented in the “And I’m a Mormon” advertising blitz."
"Sadly, as a whole we are far less interesting than what the ads have masterfully conveyed. Generally speaking, we are collectively a boring people. We might try to mix it up — sometimes serving ethnic fare at our ward dinners or altering the tempo of a hymn, but for the most part, as a group, we are steadfast, obedient, charitable, fertile and a bit dull."
"But really, is there much difference between people joining my religious ranks because of these well-crafted advertisements and those who join because they had a little crush on the cute and kind missionary who taught them?"
Why would someone say these things about her own religion? Clearly this had to have been a prayerful decision and one approved by our leaders. Now don't get me wrong, people are allowed their own opinions, BUT as Mormon's I feel that we are under ENOUGH fire from outside sources. As a member of the church, why would you encourage them? Now they can say "Well I saw this article where this Mormon said this...so it must be FAKE or a POLITICAL PLOY or another CRAZY Mormon idea." Why would you add to the persecution of your OWN people? Don't even get me started on the comments. TONS of non-Mormon's were praising her and her ability to stand up to and call foul on her "Cultish Religion". As I read the comments I went from complete FURY to complete sadness. I even cried a little (shhh). I still am in awe at how people can be completely cruel with NO REMORSE. I could never ever say the things people were saying in those comments to ANYONE no matter how much I disagree with them. There were many times as I was shuffling through the comments on all these different articles where I wanted to comment back, speak my peace, tell them about all the good things our religion has done for my life, all the GOOD people I know and love that ARE extraordinary like those you see in these ads, say something so completely perfect that they would have nothing to say but SORRY. Sorry for being so cruel to people who would show you nothing but kindness if you were to walk into one of our church services. Sorry for spreading terrible rumors and shading the truth. I think about these people that say such hurtful untrue things and I bet half of them have never even come into contact with a Mormon. I know that there are some "bad apples" in the LDS religion but aren't there "bad apples" in every aspect of life? People claim we are so judgemental and close-minded yet THEY judge us and aren't OPEN to our religion. I believe there is a word for that...HYPOCRITE. I feel that it is so simple to understand and to break down yet they can't understand that by them being SO HATEFUL toward something they know little to nothing about, they are NO BETTER than what they claim us to be. Which makes me wonder:
Is it worth it? Worth it to defend myself, my family, my friends, everything I believe to such heartless people? The bitter side of me says NO...they aren't worth it. They don't deserve to hear my feelings about something so sacred to me. Then I think about being Christ like. That's always the hard one. What would He do? He would love them and I have to do the same. Defending my beliefs is 100% necessary for me, which probably doesn't come as a surprise to most of you who know me. For once though I would like to do it through my actions not my words. This is where I will use the attention of the ads to do good. To break the mold of what people THINK is a Mormon. I remember a time where I was somewhat ashamed to tell people I was Mormon because of the responses I would get. Now I don't give a damn. I am so proud to be who I am and to believe what I believe. Mormon's are extraordinary the way these ads say they are. You know how I know this? Because I see and I've seen it with my own eyes for the past 22 years. Now tell me those of you who speak so hatefully against us, how do you know this? Last time I checked "actions speak louder than words".
Now that I've completely gone on a rant..haha here are some of those incredible ads that I find to be so inspiring...enjoy :)
