New Year = New Me

  Wow, it certainly has been a while since I have posted.  I'm not sure if anybody still reads this, but if someone does, sorry I haven't posted in a ling time!  Things sure get busy, especially with school and the recent holiday season.  Anyways, happy new year!
  A new year seems to be the prime time for looking at ways to improve!  New year's resolutions are extremely common, and usually involve things such as weight loss and increasing one's success.  I'd like to share with you my goal, which, by the way, isn't one of those I just previously mentioned.  My goal is to be more positive, and through being positive, drawing closer to God.
  I just recently lost a friend to cancer, which has been very tough for the whole community.  A somber feeling seems to follow me and my friends wherever we go.  It has been extremely difficult for me personally to find the positive things in life.
  Through these sad times, I have learned just how important it is to have a positive outlook on any and every situation.  Sadness is certainly an important emotion, for, without sadness one cannot know pure happiness.  In all this sorrow that I have been surrounded with, the happy moments I have enjoyed have been all that much sweeter.
  So, my goal is to find a bright light in all of the darkness I encounter.  I will let everyone know how it goes, and will update you on personal experiences I have had involving my goal.
  My goal of being positive goes hand in hand with my other goal, which is drawing closer to God.  He is the light; He is hope, and I know that through Him I can find happiness in all of my trials.
  So, this is my introduction of myself for this new year, and I'm looking forward to picking up blogging again!  So, I hope everybody is having a wonderful day, and I can't wait to see what this year holds!  :)  ~Sky

Be the Good You Want To See

  Short post today due to school starting up, which makes my schedule a little crazy.  Today during an assembly we had, our ASB president gave a little speech about being the best you can be and helping other people out.  People at school are always saying things like that.  "We are all friends here!"  "We are one student body, so let's all be united and be good friends to each other!"  "This year our goal should be to mingle with people we wouldn't normally mingle with, in order to get rid of social groups!"  It's a constant thing.  However, being in high school, inspirational sayings and speeches that are overflowing with positive words are just that words.  People say them, everyone agrees with the idea, and then we forget about it 10 minutes later.  There is no action taking place.  But...
  What if everyone listened to those words?  What if everybody acted on them to the best of their ability?  People that are always left out in group projects wouldn't ever work alone.  That kid that sits alone during lunch every day wouldn't have to sit alone anymore.  If someone said something hurtful to you, somebody else would have your back and stand up for you.  While it is hard to get out of the comfort zone (I really have a hard time with it sometimes), it is so worth it if it means you're helping someone else.  Isn't that what life is all about?
  In the Book of Mormon, 2nd Nephi chapter 2, verse 25 says, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy."  What better way is there to feel joy than helping those around you feel joy?  Mosiah chapter 2 verse 17 states, "... than when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."  Being kind to those around you is serving the Lord, and when you serve Him, blessings will come to you.
  So, when you see somebody that needs a friend, or looks sad, and you think, "Man that person could use a friend.  I hope someone talks with them," be that someone!  Reach out to them!  We are all human beings.  We all have feelings, problems and bad days.
  I'm sorry, I lied.  This post wasn't as short as I had planned.  Basically, the moral is, be the good you want to see in the world.  Do what you can to make someone's day a little better.  I promise it will make your day a little better too.  ~Sky

New School Year

  Hello everybody!  I am sorry for hardly posting this summer!  I have had so much going on!  For those of you that still read my blog, I just wanted to let you know that I will be posting more frequently during this school year.  So, if you're still interested, get ready for more posts because I will certainly be writing more!  Thank you guys for reading!  ~Sky

Surroundings

  I have been doing a very poor job of keeping up with my blogging lately, but I'm hoping to change that.  I'm wanting to get right to the point in this post, and that is that the people we surround ourselves with day to day have a huge influence on us.  I head a story recently about a husband and wife that went on a lovely mountain hike.  They had decided that they would picnic at the peak of their hike.  When they reached the picnic spot, the husband pulled several pieces of chicken out of the picnic basket.  He passed half to his wife, and began to eat his half.  He found the chicken to be the best chicken he had ever made, and he asked his wife if she felt the same.  She replied, "Yes, this chicken is delicious.  I'm thinking, however, that you bought marinated chicken instead of plain chicken, which is why it tastes so good."  The husband, now slightly embarrassed, recalled that he had in fact purchased marinated chicken, and that it was not just his cooking skills that had made the chicken taste so delectable.
  In this story, we are the chicken.  Our friends, neighbors, family, and social media are the "marinade".  If we decide to surround our selves daily with people that are happy, loving, selfless, and good, then those attributes are more likely to be found in us.  Individuals are constantly building habits based on the people around them.  Surrounding ourselves with positive people will surely help us to gain a positive attitude, and a positive outlook in situations that don't seem to have any goodness in them.
  I have had many different kinds of friends throughout my schooling, and looking back, I can see that each and every one of those people influenced my behavior and my attitude, sometimes in a positive way, and sometimes in a negative way.  Surrounding myself with happy and loving people has helped ease my burdens and has taught me how to be a better friend towards others.
  Changing surroundings can be a hard thing to do.  Change in general is a difficult thing to cope with.  However, I know that if the change is for the better, then it is worth it.  If the people you spend your time with are not good influences, you can surround yourself with people that are.  It is possible.  And it is so rewarding.

Stay on the Sunny Side

  Everybody has bad days.  It's a fact.  There are some days when nothing seems to go your way, and all you want to do is go home, lie on your bed, and eat chocolate while reading, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  Well, maybe that's just me.  The point is that every single person out there has times when they are feeling down.  One of the many difficulties of a bad day is figuring out how to cope with it.  Some people don't talk for the entire day.  Others shirk responsibilities.  Maybe some even read big books and eat chocolate. :)  For me, I do read and eat, but I also rant.  I will ramble on and on about every little thing that contributed to my bad day.  While it is a bad habit that I am currently working on, I still have my times when I forget, and I begin spouting out random nonsense in an irritated manner to my friends and/or family.
  I was talking with my mother the other day about how my day hadn't been as great as I had wanted it to, which then led to a discussion about how we can control out feelings and make the best of things in a bad situation.  Now, that is not to say that we should never be sad or sorrowful.  After all, how can one know happiness if they are never sad?  While it is okay to feel sad every once in a while, we should not sit around wallowing in our self-pity, waiting for something extraordinary to occur that will brighten our day.  That is not how life works.  While my whole week had felt awful, I realize now that I had done nothing to improve its quality.  I walked into each class with a scowl on my face, and made as little conversation as possible with my surrounding peers.  My dear best friend could tell that I wasn't feeling all that great, and she didn't pry.  However, every time she saw me, she would give me the biggest smile she possibly could, and would hold this big grin until I finally smiled back.  While it was a small gesture, it helped me get through the week more than she probably realizes.  She was constantly shining a ray of sunshine into my dark day.  I'm so grateful to her for her great example to me to smile, even if things aren't going according to plan.
  Her example has inspired me to look for the good things, especially if I'm feeling as if there are none.  She has showed me how to "stay on the sunny side".  I'm so grateful for my wonderful friends and their wonderful examples to me, and I hope that those of you who read this will try to look for the sunshine in your darkest times.  ~Sky

The Window

  There is a story of a woman who, while working in her kitchen, would look out of the window and into the neighbor's yard, where her neighbor was usually hanging up her laundry to dry.  The woman would scowl and inquire of her husband as to who taught their neighbor to wash her clothes.  "They're filthy," she would say, "Someone did a poor job of teaching her how to clean clothes."  This went on for several days.  Then, one morning, while doing the dishes, the woman looked outside and exclaimed, "Look!  Our neighbor has finally learned how to properly do laundry!"  To this her husband replied, "Actually, you will be surprised to know that I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."  The woman stared at her husband flabbergasted.  She had always thought that her neighbor's laundry was dirty, while it was her own window that needed cleaning.
  This story really put things into perspective for me.  It made me wonder to myself, How often have I judged someone else when I was in no position to judge? I then went through my day and thought of all of the times I had thought ill of somebody.  Then I went through and thought of all of the mistakes I had made that day.  There were several instances when I had been judging someone's clean laundry based on what I saw through my dirty window.
  While this realization brought me disappointment in myself, it also brought me hope.  Now that I had realized this problem I had, I would be able to fix it.  I had brought light to it, and would now be able to proudly say, "I'm improving!"  Besides, isn't that what life is really all about?  Moving forward?  Progressing towards a perfect state?  Nobody is perfect, but as long as we are trying our absolute best to be like Christ, we have a promise that we will "be perfected in Him."  So don't judge someone's laundry through a dirty window, or in other words, don't expect others to be perfect when you yourself are not perfect.  We are all trying our best, and that is what counts in the long run.  ~Sky

April 15

So many things have happened since the last time I posted but one thing happened that was really cool. My mom and I were out shopping and we passed a lady on the street corner holding a sign asking for money. Usually we don't give money to those standing on the corners but choo to give them food. But on the lady on the corner was no lady she was a girl. She couldn't have been older than 20 and her sign said she was a single mother. She was skin and bones and looked so embarrassed to be standing out there. My mom turned the car around and we handed her $5, which isn't a lot, but she was so grateful. The lady started crying and saying thank your continuously. Although we didn't do much I'm glad that I was able to help someone. I know that when we serve others we are serving God.

April 15: The Little Things

Recently, I have been pretty sick (I am actually still getting over it), and I ended up missing a day of school.  While I was sick, I had a really hard time sleeping, or even getting comfortable.  I would lay on the couch, and end up having to move every five minutes because it just didn't feel right.  It kind of drove me crazy.  At about eight last night, I decided to go to bed.  I collapsed onto my bed in a mound of blankets,  knowing that it would be a while before I would actually fall asleep.  Instead of waiting for sleep to come, though, I sat back up and prayed to my Heavenly Father.  I asked Him to help me sleep.  I pray before I go to bed every night, and the past few nights I had been praying that I might be able to get better.  However, yesterday night I decided that instead, I would pray to be able to sleep.  I had complete faith that He would be able to help me sleep.  Right after I finished my prayer,  my joints stopped aching, my head stopped hurting, and my body completely relaxed.  I fell to sleep right after my prayer, and I woke up feeling better than I had in days.  This simple experience really helped my testimony to grow.  I know that God answers each and every one of our prayers.  We may not always get the answer that we want, but He does.  I am so grateful that I am able to pray, and that my Father in Heaven listens.  He is surely a loving God, and I know that He knows every single one of us.  ~Sky

April 9: Easter

Well, I know this is really late, and I have not been doing the best job at frequently posting on the blog, but I wanted to post about Easter.  I'm going to sound a lot like many of the other Christian people out there that talk about the real meaning of Easter, and how it is not all about the eggs and the chocolate.  I say this because it isn't, and I wanted to share my knowledge of how Easter has a completely different meaning to me.  I saw a quote the other day that said, "Easter should not be about bunnies and chicks.  It should be about the Lamb."  I don't know who said this, but it touched my heart.  When they say "the Lamb", they are referring to Jesus Christ.  The Lamb of God.
  I was able to spend Easter at my family's beautiful cabin this year, and it was such a great experience.  At our cabin, the air feels cleaner in your lungs, the flowers bloom brighter, and the sun lights up the world.  Birds sing nonstop, crickets roar at night, and my family draws closer together.  Our cabin is truly a magical place.  When I am there, I feel closer to God, and I marvel at all of his creations around me.  To have the opportunity to celebrate Easter while we were there just added to the feelings of joy and peace I have when I am there.
  As I sat outside on Easter Sunday, I thought about how truly blessed I am.  There is a Savior, and He died, His hands and feet pierced to a cross.  He did this for me.  He did this for you.  He did this for every person that has lived, lives now, and for every person that shall ever live.  He died so that we may have life again after we die.  Three days after his death, He came back to the Earth, with scars in his hands, feet, and side.  Those scars are there because He loves us.  He loves us so much that He died for us.  Him and our Father in heaven are one in purpose, and I know that Jesus Christ lives today.  I'm so grateful for the example he set for us while on the Earth, and I am eternally grateful for his sacrifice.  For the fact that He bled from every pore while He bore the sins of the world.  That he died on Calvary.  That He willingly did what we could not, so that we might all have eternal happiness.  I love Him so much.  I love all that He has done.  He is the Son of God.  ~Sky

March Challenge: Day 27

Hey everyone!  I'm sorry Mica and I haven't been posting!  This month has been crazy busy for both of us!
So, my wonderful little sister Gracie has made a blog of her own!  She is posting her story from her point of view, and is going to write about many other things involving Type One Diabetes!  You should definitely check out her blog here!
Well, I decided that today my post would be on music.  Music is most definitely inspirational!  People of all ages listen to music, and it can greatly influence their behaviors and emotions.  A lesson I have learned is to listen to the kind of music that puts you in the mood you want to be in.  Let me explain.  For example, I am sometimes feeling sad and down in the dumps.  (Haven't we all felt that way?)  When I am feeling like this, I have a tendency to listen to slower and more sad songs.  However, instead oh helping me feel happy, these songs encourage my sad feelings and help them stay, and even at times increase.  Throughout this month, I have noticed this principle a lot.  Because of this idea, I have decided to listen to happy music constantly when I am feeling down.  It had helped a lot!  Instead of skipping the upbeat and uplifting songs on my iPod, I listen and seek them out.  It has certainly helped my moods improve!
Another big thing for me is playing music.  I play the ukulele, and playing it even more when I am sad or stressed helps me to feel more peaceful.  For those of you who do not play an instrument, that's okay!  Listening to music is just as good!
This post is kind of random, but I just thought I would share my opinion on music with you!  I love music, and when used in a good way, it can be very encouraging and uplifting!  ~Sky