A Summer Review

Like I said before, it's really been a great summer. Here's some proof:

Ward Service Activity - yay for free shirts!



Relief Society Activities - in which we made homemade ice cream that was delicious

 Girls' Night - Pizza Night!

 

Pranked! But I'm pretty sure this got me out of a speeding ticket.



Ward Campout - at which I perfected my potato chopping skills and dominated at Egyptians Ratscrew

Four wheeling with family - it was a little dusty.

 Oh yeah, I got to go to Europe for 3 weeks. No big deal. (!!!)

 A definite highlight was getting these lovely ladies back!

My dear Chilean friends came to town!

Sound Boothing it up for VPLCT. Because when we do things, we make it legit.

Ward Activity at Mona Lake:

THIS came in the mail:

D-RAG was formed. (I have never laughed harder than I did playing "Farkle")

Sunday Stroll at Bridal Veil Falls - We got a little more wet than we planned.

Stacy on drugs. Ok, this wasn't exactly a highlight, but it's given me some stories to tell.

Many nights at Sonic:

Weekend at my house! Boating, Four wheeling, wearing matching shirts, and having a nerf war while rocking out to N*SYNC. It doesn't get better than that. 

Graduation Buddies! Look at us, all mature and stuff.

Alpine Slides - Walking "Epically," freezing water, and falling down the mountain in slow motion.

And this is just the stuff I have pictures of. It doesn't include game nights, FHE campfires and windsurfing, weddings, karaoke nights, BBQs, outrageous group text conversations, movie nights, birthday parties...just so much fun stuff happening around here!

This Bumpy Road

Well, I got a job and now it's back to school for me. Before I was ready, my summer came to an end. I can't help but sit here and think about what all I have experienced over the past 4 months. It has definitely been a bumpy ride with some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. I have been so bad at updating my blog because as of late I have noticed that my best moments to my days have usually been too personal to post on a blog. 

Life is so good. I have so many blessings and I have had a lot of fun with some of the best people this summer. But, there is opposition to all things and so, as great as this summer has been, it has also been in some ways just as horrible. Relationships gone wrong, stress over life decisions, best friends in far away places, (still) undiagnosed health problems, a dream vacation tainted by sickness, my inability to face confrontation, and a constant search for answers and direction. I realize that my health problems are not near as bad as some and I know that life could be so much worse, but God knows what trials we need and can handle and these are mine; the ones that push me to my limit. 

I was staying up late chatting with my roommate the other night. (We tend to do that a lot - talk late into the night because neither of us really want to go to bed without getting some sort of an answer to life's big questions. We definitely have fallen asleep on our floor still seeking answers that have yet to come.) As we lounged on our awesome couches, we were marveling at how life had gone from being so great to suddenly so crazy for all of us all at the same time. Why so much all at once? I read a quote yesterday (that made us laugh because of how much it rang true with us) that kind of answered that question. It's from a general conference talk by Elder Scott called "Trust in the Lord":    

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more."

Obviously I am not perfect, but I don't feel like my current trials are negative consequences to any bad decisions on my part. For example, I'm not sick because I have been abusing my body with drugs or alcohol or anything. (It might be partially because of my inability to handle stress in a healthy way, but that's not entirely my fault). It's just a trial I am facing as part of my life's test. I agree with Elder Scott, that the Lord has to push us to stretch and reach our potential. And you know what? In a weird way I feel honored that the Lord sees me as someone ready and able to grow more. Do I dare say these trials have been a blessing?

I guess that's what I have been reflecting on and what I wanted to write this post about because I have come to the conclusion that: Yes, these trials have been a blessing in my life. They have sucked. Really, really sucked and I don't want to live them again, but I wouldn't wish that they had never happened either. I feel like I am a way better person than I was at the beginning of this summer. Here's just some of the things I have been learning:

• I have learned so much about myself and my reliance upon God. After being, in one way or another, abandoned by the people closest to me this summer, I found I had a lot of time with just me and the Big Man above. My prayers became real and long. I realized He was aware of me and cared about even my littlest problems.

• I have learned what it's like to not be healthy and now I can have empathy for those who are suffering also. For the first time I was sick and did not know what was wrong or when I would be better. It's kind of scary sometimes, but mostly it's just tiring. I also realized that I can survive an IV. It was horrible, but I did it - which if you know me, you know that's a big deal. And Bonus! I am 20 lbs lighter than I was a year ago at this time. Right on.  

• I have learned to love and rely upon the Book of Mormon more than ever before this summer. I can say without a doubt that reading it brings clarity to my life, answers to my prayers, and a peace to my soul that I can't find anywhere else. When I was my sickest and far away from home, I would read the Book of Mormon when I couldn't sleep at night. It didn't heal my stomach, but it helped me calm down until I could finally sleep again. Not only does the Book of Mormon contain precious gospel truths, it also is a way to open yourself up to the Holy Ghost and personal revelation.

• I have learned how the Holy Ghost talks to me. I have learned to seek answers not only in the Book of Mormon, but also in general conference talks, my patriarchal blessing, at church, in the temple, and through the counsel of church leaders. God always answers our prayers, even if the answer for now is just "wait." In the meantime, He will bless you with feelings of peace that everything will eventually work out and give you the strength to endure. 

• I have learned that especially when it comes to big questions, God uses more than one witness to give us direction and answers. He doesn't expect you to just feel one small impression once and that's it: "Hope you got that. Good luck!" No! If you feel an impression, it's ok to tell God what you are thinking and ask Him if that was right. He will confirm it many times if necessary, because he understands that we are living by faith and sometimes that's hard when doubts, fears, and opposition come.

• I have learned to trust more that all things are possible with The Lord. Sometimes we cannot see how things could possibly work out, but He will never ask us to do something without providing a way for it to be accomplished. That doesn't mean that we can just sit on our butts until the miracles happen. No, the prerequisite is that we are doing all we can to move forward, then He will fill in the rest.

• I have learned in a more real way how important service is. When we look outside ourselves, the inside takes care of itself. I am happiest when I am fulfilling my calling. It's a distraction from my own problems and I feel like I am blessed for it. The biggest blessing I have received from this is the friendships I have made that I otherwise would not have. 

• I have learned how wonderful my friends are. I rarely had a night in, despite how "free" my summer was. Whether we just went out to get half-priced Sonic shakes or went on random adventures up the canyon, we always have a good time and share some good laughs. 

• I have learned that I have the gift of faith. 

• I have learned that I have potential. 

• I have learned that God's plan for me is bigger than I imagined for myself.

  

• I am still learning patience.

I sometimes wish that I could just skip ahead a year and know my future right now. Wouldn't that be great? No more questions. It sure would make patience easy. But, if I wasn't walking in the dark right now, than I would not have the opportunity to rely on God each step of the way and develop faith, patience, and whatever other attributes the Lord is currently pushing me to acquire. I don't currently understand everything but it's ok. I believe what Elder Scott said:

"If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit and for that of those you love." 

The end of the summer has not marked the end of my trials nor does it mean that I am now all knowing. No way. I am still in the middle of some of them and I am sure that there are many more to come because that's life. I still have so much to learn. And I think God has realized that and that is why He has sped up the learning process for me these past few months. I don't want to be prideful and say: "Bring it!" I'm not yet that great that I want to pray for more trials, but I will say "thanks" for the ground I have already gained on this bumpy road.



  

Assassins

Last night, I got an award for being a lying double crosser. I have never been so proud.  :P

You see, this past week a group of about 25 of us played this game called Assassins. I had never played it before, but I got really into it. What happens is everyone gets assigned a person they have to "kill" with whatever weapon they are assigned (squirt gun, silly string, spoon, flower bomb, a hug, etc.). Once you kill your person without getting killed yourself, you then take over the dead person's assignment and try to kill that person next. When the game starts, no one knows who is assigned to kill who, so it makes you paranoid and you don't trust anyone. This game really brings people together.

Anyways, I ended up being a part of a super alliance of 5 people. We worked together to take out our biggest threats and, well, basically everyone else who wasn't us. This required a lot of "acting" (lying) and I was a double agent for a while there. I had to work with our greatest enemy to help get him where we wanted so that we could take him out. That was an intense night.

This game lasted a week and last night they gave out awards. I never died which is awesome. I got glasses with a nose attached (like a disguise) for being sly. I got double dipped chocolate covered peanuts for being a double-crossing double agent. And I got a plastic ring for being apart of the super alliance. Woot! Go team.

I had a lot of fun, and I made really good friends (well...within my alliance), but I will admit that I am glad that the game is over. Now I can go outside again without being afraid that someone is lurking in the bushes to get me.



The Alliance - enjoying frosties on the porch of our arch nemesis who we had just "killed"

Unofficial silly string revenge by Brooke. I may have helped to kill her the first day of the game and she may or may not have held a grudge all week. :)

Package from France

I got my first ever package from France! It was exciting because I wasn't expecting it at all. Shouldn't I be sending her packages instead? It couldn't have come on a better day, because I was having a pretty blah day up to that point. In the package was French chocolate and two letters. One from Lorraine and one from her companion. Both of them were great letters in which they shared powerful testimonies. I am so proud of my little French missionary! And I am so grateful that she bothered to send her love and support even though she is all the way on the other side of the world and very busy serving the Lord.

This is one of my favorite parts of the letter Lorraine sent me:

"Stacy - I've only been here two weeks, but I'm understanding why you loved your mission so much. You can have the worst day and then the most wonderful miracles...I've been studying grace a lot lately and it is powerful. God really loves us so much. Sometimes life is just really, really hard and God doesn't make it easier when we ask Him. But through the enabling power of the atonement, Christ can carry us through our trials."

The Alpine Loop - A Sunday Adventure

Sunday afternoon three cars worth of ward friends decided to go on a drive through the Alpine Loop. I had never been before and it was gorgeous! I was really enjoying the beautiful scenery and the perfect weather. It was unfortunate that I got car sick after a while from all the hairpin turns driving through the canyons. I have never gotten car sick before, so it was quite surprising, but I am happy to report that thanks to the care of some great friends, I never puked! Thank goodness because that would have been embarrassing. We stopped at a mini camp site to get me some fresh air and there my friend Brad begged people for motion sickness medicine. Yeah, I took unpackaged drugs from complete strangers. Brad assured me that they were nice strangers though, and the drugs worked! I just started to tingle and get loopy on our way back down the mountain. Good times. People enjoyed hanging out and throwing the Frisbee around up there too while they waited for me to feel better. So kind, so patient. I love my ward.