My two cents

Just in case anyone thinks that I only obsess over my bike and think/do nothing else, I thought I had better post about other going-ons in my life. I am still working at UVU's Writing Center: this is my forth year. I love being a tutor and helping people become better writers; I guess you could call teaching my "calling" or "purpose" because I love it and it seems to fit with everything I most like to do, besides biking of course :). I am also a Writing Scholar which is a lot like a tutor, except that I work with other disciplines (psychology, computer science, etc.) and meet with the professor to pinpoint the writing needs of the class/students and then tailor the tutoring to meet those needs. My two jobs keep me working about 35 hours a week. I am also taking 6 credits of education classes this semester, and I only have one semester left (Fall 2011) before I student teach (in January 2012). I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, or that I could be teaching in my own classroom as early as Fall of 2012. Crazy! I have met some great people in the education program at UVU, have enjoyed my classes, and, for the most part, I have had some amazing teachers. Right now it is a little frantic because there are only two weeks left before finals, but I know I will be able to get everything done in time.

I have been really dedicated to my daily scripture, prayer, and journal writing time nearly every day since my birthday. I really look forward to waking up to a quiet house at 6 am, reaching under my side of the bed for my scriptures, journal, pen, and flashlight, and snuggling down in the covers for a nice (and mostly uninterrupted) hour of study and thought. This practice makes my whole day so much better. I have found that if I do anything else before my study time it doesn't get done, so I get up, go potty, and then retreat back to bed no matter what else I think of that I could or should be doing instead. I am a much calmer student this semester and I am keeping on top of my assignments with a lot more ease and less anxiety, and I directly attribute this to putting the Lord (and my spiritual self) first. My patriarchal blessing says to put the Savior first, and If I do so, everything else will fall into its proper place, so I have tested this and found it is true! Not a day goes by that I don't run into a friend or acquaintance who makes my day so much happier and brighter, or some little incident or opportunity that warms my heart, and I know these things are gifts from my Savior to lift me up and show me his love. I am SO very blessed, and I know that the opportunity is also there for each of you--look for evidence of God's love for you, and you will find it; I promise!

There was a time when I didn't feel I deserved to be blessed, and I also didn't see manifestations of the blessings I wanted. But you know what? I wasn't striving to do or to find the Lord's will for me. I certainly thought that my will was better and that He just needed to listen to me, give me what I wanted, and all would be well. I realize now how selfish and hardheaded I was, and that I didn't trust the Lord's will to align with my own, but now it has because I finally allowed it to and quit being so stubborn in my wants. I am so happy because I know that as I am trying to listen and follow God's will for me, each of my inner desires and hopes are being addressed and met. If only I had not been so stubborn for so long, I might already be doing what I am meant to do. This is not to say that I regret the past, only that I intend to make the future better by practicing what I have learned. In writing this post today, I didn't intend to share all I have shared, but I do want to help anyone out there who has or is struggling like I was to move forward, trust God, and to exercise faith because it will TOTALLY be worth it. Start today and keep a journal of what happens because it will be miraculous. Life is wonderful, and it is even better when you let God in to experience it with you.