surroundings.....

Wow here it is summer conference time agqin for UAAE. Its amazing how quickly time flies by! It is always fun to get together with all the ag teachers from around the state. It makes you feel like you have 100 close friends. Tours were great but wish we would have had more time. Our guest speaker was amazing Stacey Bess the author of nobody dont love nobody, or also known as beyond the blackboard. It was a really amazing hallmark movie about a school with no name where she shares her story of her experience teaching the transients under the 6th south bridge in salt lkae. Truely inspirational story the main message she gave us is to show the students that we are human and that the students really just want to be loved. I think this is why i got along with some of my students better then others because we shared a connectedness and they could see me as human and not just some awnery teacher like the others they have. I feel a little awkward here because i feel like i dont beling. Im not like the rest of them but also im not teaching so i kind of dont belong here. I hate that feeling!!!!! I never really have felt completely accepted here i feel like i have to force myself into the little groups. Its like high school all over again sometimes anyways it feels that way. Well off to the steak fry to make new friends.

Life changes.....

Wow here I am all moved in, living with my parents again. Never saw this happening! Here I am 23, a college graduate, and a school teacher. Well should I say was a school teacher, now I'm just a bum looking for a job. I sent in my letter of resignation to my school back in April. It's not that I didn't like my job, it wasn't my ideal, but it worked for me. I never thought that I would have a hard time leaving. But when it came down to it, I actually took it harder then I thought and almost cried a few times at school. I held the tears back and was  tough girl. Everyone is so curious why I left my career and are very sceptical about my reasons in doing so. I needed to do something for me. I needed to help myself become the person that I want to be. There will always be a time to work the rest of my life. I know my family doesnt really agree with me, or understand why I am doing what I am doing, but for the most part they are supporting me. I resigned from my job so that I can serve the Lord on a full time mission. No I haven't got my call yet but am close to putting my papers in. I postponed for a bit, and am almost ready to continue on with them. Things are finally starting to work out, grandma is doing alot better, my car is finally sold and now I just need to transfer my records and get going on my papers so that I can get my call. I have lots of work to do to start preparing myself, but it will all be worth it in the end. This is going to be an amazing summer. I want to do lots of things, now its just a matter of getting them planned and carried out. Its going to be an amazing summer as well because Annie will be here with me as well, her mission got postponed so now we have more time together and she can help strengthen my testimony as well. Now I just need to find a job until I leave and things will be golden for me. I also need to update this more often, however I'm pretty sure no one is really reading it, its more  of just an online journal for me anyways.

Random thoughts from General Conference...

Oh who doesn't love General Conference time hearing from the leaders of our church with all their advice and revelations and teachings that we need to hear. I feel as though everything that is being said is directed towards me and how I need to change and do things differently in my life.  The main message that keeps coming out to me is the Church Welfare Program, it is the 75th anniversay of the  program. I feel like maybe I should be doing something to help.

Well some other random thoughts and messages that I have gotten out of conferenece is....
Missionary work is the lifeblood of the church, if you are able go out and serve- President Monson

Be examples of the believers, Keep the Sabbath day holy. Keep unspotted from the world, Go to the house of prayer, and Rest from our labors.- L Tom Perry

It is our Duty to invite other to come and see what we have. We as members of christ are: a loving people, through love we are obedient. We are not alone, Christ will assist us.- Walter F Gonzalez

Pain brings you to humility- Kent F Richards

Prepare your self and those you lead- Henery B Eyring

It is one thing for others to call us mormons, but is different if we do. We need to use the churches full name. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If we are carrying a  burden we need to forget it.- Boyd K Packer

Death is part of life. We live to die and die to live.
We need to not take the cafeteria approach, picking and choosing which commandments to keep. It does not work, we need to keep all of the commandments. -Russle M Nelson

 Those seeking the Gospel are usually most interested in Doctorine Regarding the Family. Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits, we need to seek him and find him, we are his offspring.
Satan  uses: Selfishness, greed and pornography to break us down. True happiness is found through family. Satan does all he can to destroy the family. We need to create a Christ centered home, listen to the counsel of the church leaders, hold FHE, daily prayer and scripture study, it will soon become a family tradition. There is great power in protection if we are doing what we should. Parents will be held accountable for the love and righteousness that they are teaching their families.  He shared an amazing parable ....

Twas a sheep not a lamb that strayed away


In the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong;

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong, it won’t take long

Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when sheep are lost, what a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay!

-C. C. Miller

We need to be setting good examples to those around us, we do have people that  look up to us. It may not always be the lamb that strays, but the sheep that then lead the lambs with them.
-Richard J Maynes
 
Some questions to consider.
Who is entitled to a testimony? Is revelation necessary? Testimonies growing is it necessary?
- Cecil Samuelson Jr
 
Common Desires- Food, sleep and shelter- Dallin H Oaks
 
Some thoughts from Music and the spoken word-
We become our best and truest selves by helping others indeed a good yardstick for measuring sucess is how our life influences othe people for the better.
 
Clayton Christensen- Metric by how God will assess our lives will not be by dollars but individual people whose lives one touched. Don't worry about the level of individual prominences you have achieved, worry about the individuals you help to become better. When we are concerned about the welfare of others and go about doing good we touch lives that will never quite be the same.
 
Think of the people you most admire, most likely it was not their accomplishments that touched your life but their acts of kindness, not their beauty but by their hearts, not their successes, but their support. The same is true for all of us, what will be cherished is the difference we made in others lives. What will be valued is the love and service we've offered. Remember a good character is a best tombstone. Those that loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget me nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts and not marble.
 
Sorry this was a lot of ramblings, but this is some of my thoughts and some of the things I got out of conference so far.... Think of the song Each life that touches ours for good, and apply it to your life.
 

Oh how I am blessed... David Archuleta

So temple blessings really do happen, I haven't been since before my back injury and kept telling myself I will go tomorrow. Well tomorrow came and went and I never did go, that was until Friday April 1st, and no this is not an April Fools Joke it was pretty much amazing!!! So since I kept saying tomorrow  I decided Friday was the day, I even wore my dress to school so that I could just stop on my way home from school and not have any excuses. Well I stayed later at school then planned, but am going to thank the two students that held me up at school. They will never believe what happened to me after that, I still am in shock a little. Well I had just finished getting my clothes and was getting ready to go change and this boy walks into get his clothes he has a smile on his face and kind of looked like it may have been his first time or something. So I go change and come out and sit on the bench to await my turn for confirmations and this boy comes and sits with me. Just me and him go in to get confirmed and I go first and he waited his turn. Then we switch spots he sits down closes his eyes and is ready to go but the bretheren had to ask his name, and he gets a smile on his face and says Archuleta. Archuleta, I had been thinking oh it could not be him ever since I first saw him, I'm just crazy for thinking it. So the brethern say oh I thought that was you David. I'm sure my eyes got really big once he said his name. I sat there and of course I couldnt really think of anything more then omg it really is him. Well we finish up and are walking out the door, well as you all know I'm not so shy anymore, of course I'm going to talk to him. So I turn to him and say I just want to say hello and tell you I'm proud you stick to your standards. Then we walked downt he hall to the baptistry, I was baptized first and then his turn was next well I went and got dressed and was just sitting there feeling the spirit and here he comes and walks in and sits behind me. He talked to the brethern on the back row and then sat there writing something and then on his way out, he stops behind me and  says Sister Allred right, what was your name so I told him and then we just chatted for a bit. Never thought that would ever happen to me. David is really humble, cute smile and didnt make a big deal about him, he acted as if he was just a typical person, I mean he is but he's also a very well known person and was humble about it all. What amazing blessings from the temple.

Day 3 Your Favorite Teacher.... wow I really need to stick to this.

My favorite teacher....

In High school  it had to be Mr. Gowans, he is the reason I am where I am today. He helped me combine my two passions teaching and Agriculture.

In College it would have to be Dr. Tarpley for the short time he was here, he could make a dry subject be fun, I need to find his enthusiasm for life, but can never be the teacher he is. Also Dr. Warnick he was more of my teaching style and has taught me how to be successful in teaching, he's always there to offer advice and new techniques that could work for everyone.

now lets see if I can stick to this again.

Day 2 your definition of success....

Sorry I know its way past day 2 but really should start it back up. I forget to get on here sometimes it takes me weeks to months.

Anyways my definition of success.... It doesn't always mean you have to have something huge to show success. Just making it through one day at a time can be a success, some days really are a struggle to make it through especially teaching teenagers. It's not always as easy and you think it may be, especially when you are only a few years older then them and almost all children and young adults have lost respect for other people. One of my greatest successes in my life is actually graduating college and getting a degree and a job where most people in my life said I never would actually be successful. Most of you know me well enough to know that I am stubborn when someone tells me I can't do something it just motivates me even more to prove them wrong.

For my chosen career I can't look at my paycheck as being successful, money isn't what makes us successful its being proud of making the accomplishment that took time getting too. I may not make nor ever will make as much as my siblings being a teacher, however I also can be happy doing what I am doing and feel successful, just as much as they do when their big checks come every month. My motto is do something you can be happy doing, not be miserable and have lots of money, because money really doesn't equal success like the world makes us think it does.

Country Strong Clip - Beau and Kelly

Timing is everything!!! There is a time and place for things, its not coincidence, but rather God's plan for us. We all lose loved one throughout our lives and sometimes wonder why them and not me, its natural but we just need to understand that there is a time for everything in our lives. And yes we can be hurt or healed by love and its the right timing that makes it worth it. We can't live our lives hiding from those opportunities because we have been hurt by love in the past but rather we need to live through each experience they lead up to the right time of when things are supposed to happen for us. I believe that timing is everything. Such an amazing song from one of my favorite movies from 2011, ?Country strong, the song is Timing is everything, Trace Adkins sings it on the soundtrack but its much better in the movie.