Hello my name is....

Have you ever seen those stickers that say "Hello my name is..." and then you are supposed to write in them your name.

I think everyone should have stickers like that all the time, then every time you saw a pretty lady you could look at the name tag and say "Hi [your name is]" I think your nice fancy coat looks great.

That would be nice.

DNA Replication

I am learning about DNA replication right now and boy is it fascinating. (I am not trying to sound sarcastic in any way)

A tiny cell contains the DNA it needs to replicate and synthesize the various proteins it necessary to function. It also contains the information for everything else, and I mean everything else (even if it is just a tiny skin cell), in the body.

Its super.

One day it would be really cool to understand the big picture of how things are created and the essentials of the DNA code.

But for now, I am pretty sure it did not just spontaneously happen after a big bang.

There is too much order and perfection.

I think it was God. Who loves us and wants that we are happy, as well as that we have the capacity to make protein without even thinking about it.

He knows I have a lot of other things to think about.

Heart Prayers

Have you ever just thought to yourself that a certain small thing would be a wonderful addition to your day or life.

Just real quick, for example, this afternoon I was very thirsty. I had lost my water bottle and thought to myself, I just would love it if I could find my water bottle again. It had been missing for a few weeks.

It was just a thought, but at the same time it became what I like to call a "heart prayer." Part of my heart sincerely wanted a water bottle, so that I did not have to repeat the lack of water I experienced today.

Funny thing about heart prayers is that I have a tendency to forget about them. The same was true about this heart prayer until this evening.

My mom sent me a text with the words, "Did you have a grey water bottle?" I replied yes, but it has been lost.

Her response was "I found it under the seat in my car."

It was then, as the Lord answered it, that I remembered my heart prayer.

Planner

I am a person who loves having people and purpose in my life.

Give me a group of friends and tell us to do something just real quick and I will have a joyful experience.

Put me in a classroom and tell me to learn... I will be happy.

I love being busy, having things to do, and people to do them with.

What is there to help me accomplish all that I need to? Well, that is where my planner comes in.

Yes. I use a planner. I love it actually.

Every night I plan my next day and make sure I have everything done that I need to do. I write down thoughts, ideas, things to do, and the occasional drawing throughout the day. At the end of the night I am able to review my day and see where I can improve the next day.

I love a day where my planner is full. I know that that day was time well spent.

Stolen Blessings

Just real quick, this is a semi long story made into a blog about my first experience in buying a car.

It started awhile ago with me deciding I wanted to save up money and buy a car. I worked really hard and saved up money as best I could. And finally I had enough to buy a decent car. I budgeted to make sure I could pay for all of it and wouldn't have to go into debt.

Then came the searching.


My dad and I (because first car buying should always involve your father) looked online at the car ads and wrote down six or seven we wanted to visit and then went to bed for the evening. We slept well, knowing that we had some good cars and a plan to make this purchase happen. I needed the car that next day and we knew we would get it.

The next morning we went on the website for "one last look" for deals.

We found an awesome deal. A really nice car, and a very good price, and needing to be sold quick. At the time it was exactly what we wanted.

My dad called the man and spoke to him. He told my dad that he needed a down payment on it so that he would hold it for us. My dad then called me and had me go meet the man and give a $400 down payment. We got a receipt for it and had his promise that he would hold it. The excitement filled the air and I was so happy with the thought that I would be a car owner that night.

That night came and my parents and I went to his house to meet up with him. We drove there and were suprised by what we found when we got there.

He apparently lives in the cemetary.

He lied to me. He stole my money. The happiness at the thought I had for the future with my own new car was gone. I felt empty. I had been robbed. What a horrible man?! Why oh Why?!?! These thoughts were just a few of my thoughts.

We called the police and started an investigation. What else could we do? We prayed that all would work out. I have faith it will.

Funny thing about car shopping though is:

I still needed to buy a car.

With four hundred dollars less of a budget we went back to car shopping.

We went to the next one on the list and saw a car that didn't run very well, had a super bad paint job and needed a lot of work. I told my dad "it isn't as nice as the fake one" and we moved on.

By this time I was done with the whole car shopping thing. It had been a horrible day and I felt like I had be robbed by Satan himself. I asked if we could go home.

On the way home my mom said that she had a friend who was selling a car we could look at, so we decided we would look at one last one.

He was asking $2000 dollars for a pretty nice car that needed some minor fixes. I felt really good about this car, but wasn't about to go handing my money away.

I offered him $1000.

He said, "How about $1500?"

I said "$1000 cash."

Deal.

It ended up being a really great deal. A blessing. With the four hundred stolen and the one thousand dollars it was less then I had budgeted for. Some of the repairs were simple fixes that saved me about four or five hundred dollars that I thought I would need to spend to get the car running again.

A man stole from me, but still I was the one blessed.

Laughing all the Way

This past weekend I think I had one of the funnest road trips in my entire life, which is saying a lot.

I am a big fan of a good solid road trip, with bonding time, jokes, random screaming, and funny pictures of sleeping people. I have wonderful memories of all of my great trips on the road.

One trip during high school I rode across the country with my parents and grandma, and let me tell you that that trip is not just real quick, so I needed something to occupy my time. My Grandma had her crocheing, my mom had her "happy place" (i.e. she falls right asleep whenever she is in the car.) I decided that I would take a coloring book and crayons. It ended up being a great decision because once I was home I gave my friends a gift from my trip, a page I colored.

Anyway, this past weekend I drove some of my greatest friends to Colorado. I had so much fun and smiled in my heart and laughed the whole way.

You should all road trip sometime.

Inspired Binders

On my desk are two miniature three ring binders. Inside are some paper with words written on most of them. Some pages have drawings or doodles, some contain illegible cursive. Many words are thoughtfully written. Others are just real quick scribbles of quotes made while someone talked.

Those binders alone are worth very little. But to me they are worth something more. The words, sentences, notes, plans, even some of the drawings are inspiration from Heaven.

Little words in a binder. Messages from God.

One binder is full of notes from meetings, trainings, and conferences. Every once and awhile you will see underlines or stars on really great quotes. Scripture references are found in brackets. Arrows point to the main points. Some pages are full of color.

I love that binder. It is black. On the cover is a picture of my family. Behind that picture is my brother's wedding announcement. On the back is a song. Come thou fount translated into Croatian. The words "Ti si Divan, o Nas spase" at the top.

In between pictures of my eternal family and the words "You are wonderful, O our Savior" are found teachings that have changed my life.

The second binder is white. On the cover is a postcard of Christ teaching a little boy. The boy is looking into his face and you can see his focus. On the back is a postcard of Christ in the Americas called "The Bible and Book of Mormon testify of Christ."

I love this white binder of mine. This is my study journal. The words are of things I have learned or that God inspired me to write down.

One tab says talks. The pages that follow are different talks I've written. Many of them I have never given. I love reading them, studying them, and learning from them.

When I receive a prompting I like to write it down and keep in safe.

I know God has blessed me with loads of inspiration found in each of my inspired binders.