Enjoying the Simple Things

These last few weeks have been interesting. For part of them I was sure that I was getting sick. I will say that I managed to finish the book Catching Fire and then passed in on to my sister Megan. She's started on the last book "Mockingjay" which I'm hoping to read during the break.

I've been slowly regulating my sleep patterns which is good. I've also had a lot of fun with my girlfriend Wendy. I went to a play called Enchanted April twice because it was really cool. I went once with my good friend Chellie and once with my girlfriend. It's about a couple of British ladies from the 1920's who decided to escape on vacation to rent a castle in northern Italy. It's hilarious and deep.

Lately, I've learned just to enjoy the simple things. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For me it always represents home mainly because I been eating them since I can remember. I love the simple contrast of flavors.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to guess the future or make plans and we don't just enjoy the simple things. Lately, I've been doing that and it's been nice. I invite you to enjoy the simple things. They bring a lot more happiness than you know. I hope y'all have a good week!

Life's Like a Jump Rope

So this week has been pretty mixed. I didn't go on a second date. My sister Catherine is pregnant with my future niece or nephew. My roommate Eric got a contusion and I had a test. I also went to the temple with a long time friend of mine.

So from all this I thought about how we all have long or short life plans. These almost spring from hopes or fears. One of my dad's favorite quotes is "Man plans and God laughs". I definitely think this is true. I think that sometimes the Lord just shakes His head, smiles and says "Why do you want that? You don't need that."

I think that sometimes like Carl from UP that we have some dream(s) that we want to come true and they don't. Sometimes our cakes burn, some times we fall back into a bad habit, or something else doesn't go as planned. We then, like Carl, feel that we're a failure and we get down on ourselves. As I prayed this week, I expressed this feeling to the Lord. He quietly let me know that I was still where He wanted me. He let me know that His plans were different from the ones that I've made for myself. With small plans, it's pretty easy to give up. With big plans, you just have to take a deep breath and ask the Lord to help you accept His plans for you. Sometimes we need to accept His plans and enjoy the "detour".

A tender moment today, I was at church and someone was watching Mormon messages. They started listening to a kid singing "Families Can Be Together Forever". This caused a sudden pang of homesickness. Luckily my sister came over and I got lots hugs.

I will say that I came up with up with a plan towards the end of week and the Lord has effectively given a me way to do that. The title of this blog comes from one of my favorite songs by Blue October. This is a happy, up-beat song with a good message.