#usa rocks

[personalized-plates]

USAROX

[shannaelainestlaurent-blog]

Sacramental pondering

Today sitting in sacrament, I caught myself looking around. I viewed each, specific family together and separately as the whole congregation sang in praise, "Oh little town of Bethlehem." I began to feel the spirit overwhelm my entire soul as I pondered the thought of what it must be like standing from above amongst the heavens. To be God looking down on all the children who gather every Sunday morning to worship in his name. I began to think how the Savior must feel to see the uttermost appreciation of his beloved brother and sisters as they shed tears of gratitude towards him and all his great sacrifice for us. As these thoughts began to spew my entire mind, I felt such an immense love for the work of all prophets, both ancient and modern, for their words that they left behind for us to be able to find out all truths of the ONE and ONLY gospel of God. I realized truly how beautiful religion is. How blessed I am to be born into a country who allows such free practice to believe and worship whomever I want at ease and peace. I just guess really my point here is to thank my Father in Heaven for blessing our country under his name and protecting us away from a dictatorship form of leadership. I am so thankful for the agency to choose in what I want to worship and follow. 

[lilbitbetter]

part of something bigger than yourself

watching m.phelps and r.lochte yesterday completing the relay, you become hyperaware that it truly was a unified effort of four individuals that propelled one individual to becoming the most celebrated swimmer of our generation.

as a man that was second best to a certain ex-kardashian (apparently kris humphries was ranked #1 when m.phelps was a 10 y/o swimmer)...he's second best to no one anymore.

but, dear friends, could he have accomplished this without the amazing lead and efforts of his teammates? hardly. r.lochte's marfan-like wingspan, speedboat maneuvering and purely flawless wave start created one of the most beautiful olympic finishes we've seen.

so, whether you're the one with 9 or 19 medals, whether you're the kid that goes first or finishes last...only to finish first, don't forget that you're part of something bigger than yourself when you're on a team. and that those members are there to make you better that you could be on your own. in this case, they accomplished something heroic and we applaud them in a joyous uproar.

whatever you do, wherever you've been and all the things you carry to your new destination, be proud of what you represent. make yourself a team player that is solid enough to be standing on your own but just as equally- a contributing, butt kicking member of a team you're proud to be a part of.

at work, at home, in a relationship, you always get more than you give if you keep on giving wholeheartedly. be prepared for a seriously exponential increase in returns.