Surprise

I know I just wrote but I had to write again. I had completely forgotten that I had a little party Saturday night. I went to celebrate a birthday and then I hung out with my awesome friend Julie. We watched a Muppet Christmas Carol and put up Christmas decorations. It was so much fun!! For some reason when I help someone else put up decorations it's more fun and magical then doing it for my own family. I learned that they make awesome temple ornaments which would be cool to have one for each temple or something. And to kind of go back in time on Thursday I had the chance to go to the Hale Center theater and watch a Christmas Carol with my mom and sister. That play gets more amazing every time I see it. I love the message it shares and how you can tie it into the gospel and into life. Everyone gets a second chance and you never know how much a little thing can help. Scrooge caught little glimpses from the past, present, and future and that was enough to turn his whole life around. The thing that hit me the most was when Bob Cratchit sang What Child Is This. For some reason that song hit me pretty hard and it has become one of my new favorite songs. :D I feel like rambling a little bit so be prepared. Yesterday was Wednesday and that means dinner group and institute. At dinner group I witnessed a priesthood blessings. I have a lot of faith in the priesthood and it made me happy that those 3 young men were worthy to give a blessing of healing and health. I love it when guys take their priesthood responsibilities seriously and I know if for some reason my dad couldn't be there I know there are guys that I can turn to. At institute the regular teacher was back and something interesting happened. At the beginning of the semester I liked him, then I was a little annoyed and didn't like him. Yesterday I realized I had been kind of judgemental and a little selfish. The lesson was very powerful and I thought my chest was going to burst. Some of it because of sadness but I was also happy. We talked a little about testimonies and that they are important. It reminded me of testimony meeting last month. I had planned before I left for church to bear my testimony. When I got up there I was so scared but I knew what I was saying was true and it came straight from my heart. Afterwards a girl in the ward told me she loved my testimony. She said it was so pure and straight from the heart. I know now that all the doubts and maybes I have been having shouldn't be there. I know this stuff is true. I have faith and hope in it probably more then I even know. Back to class when we were talking about testimonies there was a quote mentioned and I can't remember it know but it's "Charity preventeth a multitude of sins." Charity is an amazing gift that can help build up your testimony. If you have the pure love of Christ you wouldn't do anything bad and you would continually be out there helping others, being selfless, and becoming more humble.
Sorry for the rambling I guess I had more to say then I thought. The church is true and there are many wonderful parts to it. Until next time remember that you are amazing and Heavenly Father loves you!!! :D

Baptism

Sorry this is delayed but here is another post. Last week and the beginning of this week have not been so good but there are 3 days that were amazing. Last Saturday I had the chance to witness 6 baptisms. The first 4 were children from my parents ward. It was good to see people I haven't seen in awhile and to watch these children take a big step toward exaltation. The other two baptisms were my cousin and another little girl. Something funny the other girl was the cousin to my friend. So it was good to see her. Anyway it was cool to watch my cousin's bother get to be a witness and to watch my dad fulfill his role as a priesthood leader and was able to join in the circle for the confirmation. All 6 of these little kids are amazing and they have no idea what blessings are in store for them. Sunday was the Christmas devotional and i love hearing from the first presidency. They should a clip of Christs birth from when Mary is told by an angel to when they flee to Egypt. Those kinds of movies that depict Christ's life always touch me. Sometimes it doesn't seem real that someone loves me so much to go through all that pain and suffering. I am very grateful that Christ is our Saviour, brother, and friend. To go along with this yesterday I had the opportunity to go do baptisms for the dead. It was nice to go to the temple and step out of the world for an hour. The world is full of distractions that sometimes you just have to get away from it. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to help those you have passed on. A story that has stuck with me from young women's dealt with baptisms for the dead. My young woman leader told us when she was in young women's that when she went to do baptisms she could feel the presence of spirits in the room and she felt gratitude. I know there are spirits who have passed on waiting to be baptized and confirmed. It's always nice to know you are helping others and this is the biggest help you can give. It's completely selfless, and to me it gives me a tiny glimpse of charity. :D Sorry if my thoughts don't flow well but I really felt like sharing a little bit of my testimony. Thanks!

Thanksgiving

This past week was Thanksgiving. I am so grateful to have a day where we can truly stop everything we are doing and take the time to think of what we are grateful for. I think gratitude is taken for granted. We are so busy with life and trials that instead of thinking I'm so glad I have a job or I'm glad I'm going through a learning experience we think why is this happening or I'm miserable. I know I am guilty of this but I have noticed when I pray I get into that mindset which I love. Prayer is really important to me even if I'm not consist all the time. It gives me time to really think of blessings during the day or week. I know that was a big leap but in Sunday school we talked about prayer. It was nice to go over the basics of why and how we pray. There is a girl who is learning about the gospel and I hope close to being baptized. She told us the missionaries told her prayer is like a sandwich. You have the bottom and the top so the start and end of the prayer but the middle is up to you. There are many kinds of sandwiches so there are many things you can put in your sandwich. I thought that was a really good visual and analogy.
Ok so back to Thanksgiving. By night I was a party animal but by day I spent time with my family. It was nice to see my sister who lives in Orem and just spend some time eating and cooking as a family. We also wrote our annual Christmas letter which was weird because I have done nothing with it in the past and this year I had to write about my dad. So I hope it turned out ok. It was so much fun to be around friends and just to sit around and talk and learn more about each other. One of the nights I saw Pursuit of Happiness for my first time. That movie was depressing but there was a good message to it. Hard times will come and for some people harder then others but if you preserver, don't give up, and grasp onto the tiny positive things it will get better. Will Smith kept going even though he was upset and tired and in the end all his hard work paid of. This is an amazing message that can apply to our lives now. A thought that just popped into my head is Heavenly Father doesn't gives us trials more then we can handle. That makes me happy because knowing that I know life will be hard but I will be able to overcome it and become a better person in the process.
I hope that everyone had the chance to be in the attitude of gratitude. It makes life easier and your glass will always be half full. :D Until next time remember to laugh, smile, and live.

Life

I know it's been a little while but I'm back. So life has been good and I feel like I have accomplished some big things and I need to work on doing more. I have signed up for classes for January at UVU, working on applying for jobs, going to ward activities, and meeting/ getting to know new people. Last week for FHE we played toilet paper dodge ball and it was awesome. I was pretty good about being one of the last people in and it was kind of cool. Then I got to play volleyball 2 days in a row. I'm slowly learning to not be afraid of the ball even though it's kind of scary when I'm on the front lines. Over the weekend I had a blast. I got to hang out with my amazing friend Julie. We watched an awesome movie, went to an open house and went to an amazing organ concert. The organ concert took place at the Madeline Cathedral in Salt Lake. I had not been inside in 4 years and I forgot how big and how amazing the acoustics were. A girl in my ward was having a concert and the songs were awesome. My favorite song was the last one she preformed because it had a lot of dissonance and it came to a big end. It was cool to go support her and to have a good amount of people from the ward come to support her also. So a big thing that happened was yesterday there was a cluster fhe. They had a barn dance and I had decided I would go even though I'm not a fan. I ended up having a lot of fun. I got to dance with a couple of cute guys, line dance, and afterwards i went to Ihop with some people and just hang out and talk. It was awesome!

Halloween

Last week was Halloween. It was sooo much fun. I am very grateful for friends and the opportunities I had to be around those people I care about. For Halloween I dressed up as masquerade party goer #15 from Phantom of the Opera. It's quite a mouthful but it worked out splendidly. I wore my choir dress, had my awesome friend Jenny curl my hair and I borrowed her mask which was beautiful. I got to go trick or treating to one house and hung out for a little bit there and then went to my friends house to party. It was one legit party. There was a mummy pinata that didn't have a chance, a spooky movie, homemade root beer, and of course card games. It was just a lot of fun.
On the weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go to 2 wedding receptions, a baptism and of course party some more. The receptions were so beautiful and I loved the feeling I had at both of them and the love in the rooms. The couples were so happy and you could see it glowing on their faces. Along with that at the baptism I tagged along and I'm so grateful for the choice the girl made to join the gospel. She had so much support from her family and friends and I hope her choice sparked something inside her family. It was an amazing experience.
I mentioned I partied it up and with that I continued Halloween by watching Arsenic and Old Lace. That movie is hilarious and the group that watched it were pretty funny to be around. On Saturday after the baptism I went to my friend Julies house and had so much fun. We of course had to watch the pink bible version of Pride and Prejudice, followed by a card game with math. I learned I don't know how to add to 11 without my fingers. It was a sad night but we ended with Pete's Dragon and sang along to the songs we were awake for. :D It was an awesome end to an awesome week.

Crazy Week

This past week has been a little insane but I was able to help out alot. I have helped some friends move, take care of some cats, and took a friend to the dentist. It felt so good to help out friends and that they know I would do anything to help. The best thing I had happen was receiving my second calling. A couple weeks ago I was asked if I would accept a calling to serve on the missionary committee. Today I was officially called and sustained. I'm very excited to help out inactive as well as nonmember get excited about the gospel. I know that I have been called to serve as a ward missionary for a reason. Along with this I have still been strong with the Book of Mormon and Way to Be. Today I read about being positive. There was a phrase that struck me. On page 84 it asks who wants to be depressed and feel negative. "Optimism, on the other hand, and looking on the bright side, refreshes everyone." Being optimistic does refresh a person and everyone around you. You have energy and it is contagious. Being pessimistic brings fear and depression which is the opposite of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. I think it is amazing how in the worst of times there are still people who are positive and have faith things will be better. I hope I can be an optimistic person and help lift those around me that may be struggling. Today I recieved a really nice compliment. Someone told me that they love how smiley I am. I have been complimented on my smile and I know I need to learn to see that. Smile, be positive, and remember you are awesome! :D

14 Day Walk with Christ

The past 2 weeks I have been doing a 14 day Walk with Christ. It has been amazing to read some of the questions and think about how I'm doing and what I should be working on. One of the days asked me about service and when I'm doing service am I thinking of Christ. I don't think I have ever thought of service that way before. Usually I'm thinking "I hope I'm helping this person to the best of my ability and that they know I would help them 24/7." I have learned I'm thinking the right things and not being selfish but I need to also include Christ into my thoughts more.
I am still going strong on the Miracle of Forgiveness. I think it is one of the best books ever right after the scriptures. Some people would think the words to be harsh and have you feel like dirt but I find them to be full of love and to help. Sometimes I feel like I am not doing the repentance process right and this wonderful book answers those questions I have. A chapter that has hit me pretty hard so far is chapter 11 about awakening to your sins and starting the repentance process. A line that hit me was on page 153. It says "Repentance of the godly type means that one comes to recognize the sin and voluntarily and without pressure from outside sources begins his/her transformation." For true repentance you shouldn't be forced into but want that desire inside yourself to change. No one can change you but you.
I have felt lately that I have been forced into a couple of big decisions and yes sometimes you need that help but in this case I should want to decide for myself. It's the kind of thing for me and my Heavenly Father to decide about. I am slowly learning that He is there to help me and if I do everything on my part and have thought about whatever decision has arrived that he will help me. I'm slowly letting go of people that are not helping me grow and be happy in life but are doing the opposite. I didn't mean to vent all of a sudden but it's continually amazes me how much Heavenly Father cares and wants me to be happy. I say it to everyone and tell them they deserve to be happy. I deserve to be happy to and should believe in my words and have them apply to me as well as everyone else.
I really am grateful for everyone who has been helping me and everything I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. I want to be the person that others see in me and that my Heavenly Father sees because that person is amazing and she will do many wonderful things in this mortal life. I would like to share one of my favorite songs and was also one of the blurbs I read over the 14 days. "The touch of the Master's Hand by Afterglow." I'm still learning so if you are able to type the song into youtube.

Spiritual Uplift

This past week has been an amazing experience. After a hard conversation I decided to step back and change how to do things. I have been learning to make things from a goal into a habit. I start out my day with prayer, reading the Book of Mormon, and a 14 day walk with Christ. In Young Woman's for 14 days there was a different value with questions to think about and a story that goes along with it. At the end of the day I say a prayer and read a chapter of Miracle of Forgiveness. It has been so amazing and helps my day since I start out spiritually and end spiritually. I have been learning that I can turn to my Heavenly Father and tell him everything and anything. I had been stressed and hurting and once I turned to my Heavenly Father things got better. I felt peace and have continued to feel better about things. I'm so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm also grateful for friends and how supportive all of my friends have been for me in all my decisions and actions. I would like to share one of the amazing blurbs I have read. I hope you enjoy!

Dear friend,
I just had to send you a note to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day hoping you would want to talk with me also. It hurt me, but I still love you because I am your friend.

I saw you fall asleep last night, and I longed to touch your brow, so I spilled moonlight on your pillow and your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so that we could talk. I have so many gifts for you, but you awakened late the next day and rushed off to school. My tears were in the rain.

Today you look sad, so alone. it makes me heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me so many times too. But, I love you. Oh, if you would only listen to me. I really love you. I try to tell you in the blue sky and in the green grass. I whisper in the leaves on the trees, and breathe it in the color of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain stream and give the birds love songs to sing, clothe you in warm sunshine and perfume the air with nature scents. My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need in your heart.

If you only knew how much I want to help you. I want you to meet my Father. He wants to help you too. My Father is that way you know. Just call me, ask me, talk with me. Please, please don't forget me. I have so much to share with you. But, I won't hassle you any further. You are free to call me. It's up to you. I'll wait because I love you.

Your brother,
Jesus

This hits me hard every time I read it and I am sad that I don't remember this all the time. I hope this touches someone and will help someone out. :D

Limousine

Hello!!! :D My name is Kalynne and I have decided to write and blog and share amazing experiences I have had in my life. Last month in September my dad had a birthday. One of his friends surprised him with a Sports Limousine to ride around in for 3 hours. It was red and had a sports theme hence the title Sports Limo. The whole family got to go for a ride and we went up to Park City and came back through Salt Lake. None of us had ever been in a limo before and it was awesome. On the inside they had a back seat face forward, a seat behind the driver facing backward and on one side a long bench seat. Across from that was a TV, a bar kind of thing with glasses, candy, and pop. There was also mini race cars. There was an ipod hookup so we blasted Three Dog Night and listened to oldies music just for my dad. The ceiling was a mirror type thing with lights. We took the scenic route to Park City. We stopped at Bridal Veil falls and got out to take pictures and take in the beautiful site. We headed up to Park City and I have never been downtown Park City. It reminded me of our family trip to Banff, Canada. There were a lot of stories and people walking. It was funny to watch the reactions of the pedestrians. Many college guys and some elderly people would point. It was so beautiful especially since it had been raining. On the way home we stopped at a gas station and there were 2 college guys staring. They had finished putting gas in their car and just stared. They came over to talk to our driver Johnathon and kept trying to look inside the car. Just before we left I rolled down the window and shouted, "J-lo thinks you're hot" One of the guys yelled sweet and I guess I made his night. Our driver was so cool we talked to him pretty much the whole time and told many stories. I would totally ride in a limo again because it's just amazing. :D