an amazing woman

this post is to and for my mom; an amazing wife, best mother, & most kind friend.

yesterday was one of my longer days at school. i get done around 3ish and go straight to work for 3 or 4 hours. i got a phone call about 2 hours into work from my mom asking me if it was a "long day" for me. i replied that i had work and institute later that night. her voice sounded off, something was just not quite right. i asked her what she needed and she was trying to find a way for someone to pick up my little brother from basketball practice. i told her i would do it and got the feeling to ask her if she had been crying. she replied with a quiet "yes" and proceeded to break down and cry. my mom was sicker than a dog. she did not feel good at all. her body was aching from head to toe and there was {NO ONE} at my house to take care of her. luckily, i was let off work early to go be with my mom. i got her dinner, made sure she was all covered up in a 2 blankets, a heat pack, plus every layer of clothes she had on. it hurt my heart to see my momma like that.

my mom is the strongest and most loving person i know. she would bend over backwards for anyone even if she was getting the raw end of the deal. she doesn't expect payment. she doesn't even ask for a lot of help around the house even having a 40+ hour week (in 4 days...). she is the BEST example to me. i love her. she has all of the qualities of a wife and mother that i wish i could have. one day i hope i can be just like her because EVERYONE loves to be around my mom. she is wonderful!!

momma, thanks for all of your hard work. for not only working all day yesterday feeling as sick as a dog, but for waking up before 6 AM today and going to work again for the second sick day in a row. taking time out of my day to love you and be around you was easy, but seeing you so miserable was the hard part. i love you. you're the best mom and best friend i could ever ask for. thank you for all that you do!

love,

your favorite morgan

called to serve.

this good looking boy got the letter of a lifetime today! after much anticipation, excitement, and anxiety attacks (on my end of course!) Bryant finally got his mission call! this man is so amazing (it's so weird to call him a man yet he has officially become a man). how blessed i am to have the most loving, caring, genuine, and most amazing best friend to walk the planet! we have been through thick and thin together and i wouldn't have it any other way. i love him.

elder king has been called to serve in the ARGENTINA CORDOBA mission! he will report june 15th.

i know what you are thinking..june 15th? that's like 8 years away...i know. sucky. BUT, i cannot help but think that the Lord's timing is perfect. he knows how big of a breakdown i might be having hahaha. he waited to call bry at a time where i would be out of school but most importantly, i leave to peru 4 days after he reports. FOUR days.

bry wanted my dad to be there when he opened his call, which can get quite tricky. we had been waiting all week long for this call to show up and every day seemed to let us down. my dad is a UPS driver and he has pretty much the worst job schedule ever. he never seems to make it home until after 8:30 pm on a good night. bry got his mail today at 1:30 and was such a champ for waiting for everyone to come and watch him open it. the Lord blessed my dad today. he had the lightest day he's had all year long. he was able to make it home at 7 pm. a true miracle.

the Lord blesses us in such little ways. at times they seem so insignificant, but when reflecting back on it, they are the things that matter most. Argentina-get ready! elder king is coming your way!!

epiphany.

a few days ago i was driving to work and noticed that the clock in my car was running a little behind schedule. noticing this, i changed the time so that it would instead be 5 min. faster than the real time. as i went throughout the day i realized that when i looked at my clock i really did think that the time was what it read to be (instead of being fast). and then it dawned on me..

as i looked at that clock, i saw the time for what it was. i believed in the time it showed me, even though i know i just set it fast earlier that day. i had forgotten what the time really was and not only til i remembered that i set it fast was i able to give myself a reality check and realize that i still had 5 extra minutes.

as we go through our lives are we telling ourselves we aren't good enough? are we looking into the mirror and not truly seeing who we really are? are we telling ourselves negative things so that we believe we aren't as great as we are supposed to be?

like looking at a clock set a little bit fast, we sometimes look at ourselves with a false perception/belief. we cannot even fathom the love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of us. we only come to realize this when we give ourselves that reality check and see that we are not the person that we are telling ourselves we are, just like remembering that our clock is set fast.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

i hope that i can come to accept the fact that i am great. i have amazing potential to bring others to Christ. i want to strive to not only see others through Christ's eyes, but to also see myself as He sees me.

happy sunday!

morgs

B.D.C.

for months i have been getting phone calls from a special someone (or shall i say someones?) i like to call UBS. yes, that's right. united blood services. about a year ago i had the opportunity to donate blood at the institute building and because of my dear institute teacher who was only alive because of blood transfusions i eagerly volunteered. little did i know that i would have the universal blood type of O negative and come to find that UBS would hunt me down like they were ravenous wild wolves..(so if you need blood--let me know..ha)!

anyways, today i finally volunteered to donate again. i even got a cool shirt. hello Blood Donor Club!! who would have thought they would have blood donor club shirts..let's get real guys..i met some very nice people there who donate regularly and it made me realize that no matter how bad needles freak me out (not to mention they are a billion times thicker than normal needles), i need to do something to give back to the community. to love my neighbor. to serve others. to help save lives.

i was very touched to see so many people in one little room to come and donate anything they could. between those who just donated blood or those who donated platelets/plasma, etc. i was touched. i cannot express how much it meant to me to see those who were donating for the cause of saving lives, especially those who were donating platelets for cancer patients. cancer has always been something that has struck close to home. growing up i had one of the greatest best friends lose his dad from lung cancer only later to lose his mother from the same cancer. my grandpa has been fighting cancer for years and i can't help but get emotional each time i see him try to put on a smile to mask the pain. i feel blessed and loved. i thank Heavenly Father for each day i get to spend with him because i know others have not been as lucky. i KNOW without a doubt that Heavenly Father puts trials in our lives so not only that we can grow from the experiences but that we may also KNOW what we are capable of. He sent us others to be answers to our prayers--our friends, family, and even those we may not know right now help us to survive physically, spiritually, and emotionally. so, for this thanksgiving i will continue to be grateful for those who are willing to donate the little things to others in life because indeed, those are the things that truly matter.

through His eyes..

i have been thinking a lot lately. a lot about myself and what i can do better to feel the spirit each day in my life. i feel so stuck in a rut lately-emotionless. i know there are things i can improve on (this is no news flash), but life gets crazy and often times i lose sight of what matters most. lately i have thought about our Heavenly Father and how He sees people--what they mean to Him, how beautiful they are to Him, and their great worth.

as i have grown up in the church i felt like a very nonjudgmental person. i am supportive of those who have fallen short of expectations, done something "wrong," or for those who are just "lost" with nowhere to go. but i have come to realize that i am actually a very judgmental person. i hate to admit it, but it is something that i try to work on every single day. it doesn't just come easy. it's EVERY SINGLE thought i have about EVERY SINGLE person i come in contact with. i feel as though others judge me-my appearance, personality, everything. whether i "should be eating this," "wearing that," etc. i have come to the realization that although i am very judgmental of people, i am very nonjudgmental about the sins they have been involved in because frankly, i have been there. i know i am not perfect. but i can strive each day to have {perfect moments}.

this week i have tried really hard to see those around me through His eyes. i have tried to see their worth, value, talents, and look past their appearances. it has really helped me to realize the importance of human beings on this earth. i have come to remember that even the murderers, thieves, liars, and people like me all sustained Christ. we chose His plan. we have all come down here to learn. and so, i ask this..what would the world be like if we could all just see through His eyes?

What Matters Most

Conference. Many of us have different feelings, emotions, and expectations for this great event that takes place every six months. For some, it's a day we don't have to put our church clothes on and can snack all day long. For others, it's a day of edification. When I was little, I think Conference was always more of a "p.j. day" for me. Each year, it becomes more and more dear to my heart. This year, I cannot tell you how much these 2 days mean to me. It means guidance, goals, and most importantly, growth. It means figuring out what matters most.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught this exact message this morning. I cannot tell you how much his talk has meant to me today. My heart is full because I KNOW it is exactly what I needed to hear. He gives 4 key relationships that we must work on to live in a "more excellent way."

1. With our God

2. Our families

3. Our fellowmen

4. Ourselves

He explains that as we evaluate our lives, we will realize where we have drifted. We can then work on these things to purify our heart and refocus our lives.

This was my answer. This is what I need to work on. I need to spend time with my family, because that is true love. I need to learn to "get along with myself."

I love this talk. Need I say more? In closing, Elder Uchtdorf stated this:

"Reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better... Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you; as his precious daughter or son with divine potential."

If you missed this morning session of Saturday conference, I challenge you to get online and watch it. Don't wait. Spend a little less time on the worldly things and a little more time on what matters most. I know I am going to work hard on doing this.

Happy Conference day!

-Morgs

A Great Choice

Lately, I have had an experience that has really gotten me thinking about how lucky I am. Last week, my air condition in my car went out. Now, for those who live in Az..we know that this is pretty much a deathly situation. Anyways..it's been hot as HELL (for lack of a more perfect word)!! I have sweated my face off with the windows down each day going to school and work--even worse, I have started to feel really bad for myself. BUT I have been thinking about it and I realize how extremely LUCKY I am to have the mom and dad that I have. This past year, I was driving my VW bug around and the AC went out. My mom, being the trooper that she is, switched me cars and drove through the BLISTERING HOT summer for me. Of course, then the AC in the suburban went out and my dad drove that around only to get into his UN-airconditioned UPS truck all day long (update: the suburban now has AC and my dad lets my mom drive it while he switched to the bug that STILL has no AC...). The magical thing about this? I never once heard them complain. I am SO happy that I made the {choice} in Heaven for them to be my parents. I am one lucky kid and will be forever grateful for all that they have done for me!

Blessing in Disguise

Hello again! It has almost been a whole week since I have last posted and the reason for this is the RIDICULOUS amount of homework I have had. I would say that I am pretty good at a lot of things in life--the number one thing I am SUPER AWESOME at is PROCRASTINATING!! Ok, I am not so proud but I'll cut to the chase. In the time frame of a week I had an exam in one class, 2 papers for another, a 20 page paper, another exam (which I failed if you cared to know..), homework for each class, and on top of all this it was the worst weekend for all of this to go down because my parents were out of town. Today was the day that I finally had my last project due-the 20 page paper. I had worked on it last weekend and pumped out about 5 pages of it but then things kept getting in the way until yesterday. I spent 3 hours writing before work. I spent 1 hour writing at work. Then 5 hours writing after my late night class that ended at 10. Why is this a blessing in disguise, you ask? I stayed up writing my paper until around 4:30 AM. I have NEVER EVER stayed up that late to do homework. I usually get to about 12:30 and am out! This usually resorts to me attempting to wake up early which is never early enough and I become a ball of stress in the morning trying to finish all the loose ends. I was so tempted to do this last night but something kept me going. I was exhausted and I know the reason I was able to finish my paper last night was because of the constant prayers I said throughout the day that I would be able to focus and get what I needed to done. Heavenly Father blesses us. If we put in the hard work, He will hold up His end of the deal. Even if that does mean that I am running off of 2 hours of sleep today! Moral of today's story: every choice has its consequence! ;)

Enjoy your day while I figure out where I am going to fit a nap into my schedule!!

-Morgs