because of Him

"There is no other name, nor any other way, nor means, whereby salvation cometh, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." Mosiah 3: 17 / Book of Mormon

There truly is no other way. 

blessings; peace and hope; mercy and love; every good thing in my life

is because of Him. 

And only Him. 

He is my Savior, my Friend, my constant Advocate and unfailing Comforter. 

His hands are stretched out still. 

Among many emotions I feel during this season; gratitude, love, hope, and joy, 

most of all,

I feel whole.

Because of Him, I can embrace this life, and use His Atonement every day to change, grow, and accomplish what I could not do on my own.

Because of Him, I have a refuge from the world. 

Because of Him, I can gain an education, and it will stay with me forever. 

Because of Him, I am surrounded by friends who teach me every day. 

Because of Him, I have parents who support me in everything I do. 

Because of Him, this world is a gift. 

Because of Him, I can pursue my dreams.  

Because of Him, I keep walking. And I am never alone. 

Because of Him, I can live with my family forever. 

Because of Him, I open this book every day. 

Because of Him, I am me. And I am enough. 

  

Because of Him, there is light. 

Because of Him, miracles never cease. 

Because of Him, I can do hard things. 

Because of Him, there are no endings. 

All that I have, 

All that I am, 

and All I can be, 

 is Because of Him. 

spring & senioritis

It's real, people. 

Symptoms include: an impulsive habit of counting down the days, questioning why you are still here, and weighing the future repercussions if you were to drop out 4th quarter. 

not even kidding, it's bad. 

Nonetheless, there is still plenty to smile about:  

like, SPRING. I've never received so much joy through Saturday weeding. 

I'm gonna have a terrible time picking wedding colors. I love subtle shades of orange in Autumn, evergreen in Winter, and then spring comes along to complicate matters with gorgeous pinks & blues. ugh. 

I did a little homework this weekend. Emphasis on "little". 

Just your usual super-splits sesh. 

And some senior pictures, because YOGO. [you only graduate once] 

also, awkward hand edition. 

AND a throwback to our CR adventure. Creds to Anna for making the vid. 

YouTube link 

you beautiful weekend, you

Because 1. CONFERENCE WEEKEND and 2. spring flowers are contagiously joyful. 

My life needs the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I need to hear a living prophet and apostles.

I need to feel heaven's embrace through their testimonies.

I need to know that there is hope in this journey,

and I need to remember the power of making and keeping sacred covenants.

I just love it and need it.

With that, here are a few of my favorite quotes from the past two days:

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is not weight, it is wings." / Jean A. Stevens

"You have the Savior of the world on your side." / Gary E. Stevenson

"His Atonement enables us to do better. He desires to enliven us." / David A. Bednar

"Love is the very essence of the gospel." / Thomas S. Monson

"The truth will always be opposed." / Lawrence E. Corbridge

"He knows things about us that we don't know about ourselves." / Michael John U. Tech

I let those words sink in during a Saturday evening run & my love for Oregon grew simultaneously.

Also, me and la familia bonded over waffles & strawberries, couch snuggling, and roxyann walks.

Just a beautiful all around weekend.  

this world of ours

I can go anywhere; even a tiny Costa Rican branch, to feel the power of God. 

I can go anywhere; even a Latin American city, to enter into a House of The Lord and experience peace. 

Heavenly Father's love is large enough to cover every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; and small enough to fill my heart wherever I go. 

Experiencing a culture gives me a greater understanding of people; and consequently, a greater desire to embrace them. 

It strengthens my knowledge that everything and everyone is a part of a plan. 

I feel such immense love for this world of ours, the people in it, and my place through it all. 

I have my Heavenly Father and His Son to thank for that. 

out with a bang

Today was our last day in Quepos. I will miss everything; the food, the ocean, the sunsets, the jungle house, the monkeys, the flowers, everything. 

But today was the bomb.com 

We like to go out with a bang. 

And the grand finale...

But seriously. Best fish tacos that ever graced the earth.