my birthday gift to my Father

As the anniversary day of my birth starts, I want to express my gratitude and love to my Father in Heaven for all the things he has given me in my 26 years of life.

“Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

• I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life that guides me each and every day, gives me hope, and leads me in the path of true happiness
• I thank Him for a wonderful, loving family: for a mother and father who raised me well, taught me the truth, and have always expressed their love for me; for sisters who are always there to humble me, have fun with me, talk with me, defend and stick up for me when I can't do it for myself, who share dreams and passions and laughter with me.
• I give thanks for the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who made this life possible and made it possible for me to be cleansed from my sins, for my mistakes to be sanctified for my well being, and provided the way for me to receive eternal life.
• Thanks to my Father for good friends, for all the wonderful people in my life who have supported me, loved me, cried with me, laughed with me, mentored me. 
• I feel gratitude for the many material blessings I have been given, that I have never lacked for the physical necessities of life: food, home, clothing, water; but that I also have an over abundance of material comforts: TV, computer, bed, entertainment, music, books, shoes, etc.
• I am grateful for all the opportunities I currently/have had for education, for travel, for amusement, for entertainment, for learning, for leisure, for work, for growth.

I love my Father in Heaven. I know that He is the one and only true God. That He is the Father of all of us, His children, and He loves each of us indefinitely. I know that Jesus Christ is His Son. That Christ died for our sins, but also for our pains, our weaknesses, our temptations, our sicknesses, our heartache, and every other physical/emotional/mental experience in this life. I know that He lives, and we all shall live again, to be resurrected. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His true church restored to the earth, restored with every teaching, ordinance, and authority necessary for happiness in this life, and eternal life in the life to come. If you want to know more about how/why I know this, or how to get the happiness that I have experienced in my own life, please ask. God loves us all and wants us all to be happy. It is possible through His true church.

self esteem boost

After deciding to not go to the pool today in favor of instead going with the sister missionaries to feel the spirit and do some good, the person they had an appointment with ended up not being there. Sad reality of missionary life. I left them to their backup plan (you RMs out there know what I'm talking about). Then came home, changed and quickly ran down to the pool to get some SUN! I was excited as this would be the first day my sunburned skin has felt ready for additional UV rays since the tragic burning at Virginia Beach. I met up with my roommate and noticed that the lifeguard was eyeing me peculiarly.....once my roommate left I found out why. He wanted to ask me out! He told me I was cute (quote "even your name is cute") and he couldn't wait to spend time with me. Well I'll admit he's a charmer, a bit of a smooth one, but a nice guy. So that was flattering.

JOYs for today:
- already feeling pretty when someone else tells you so
- cleaning...baseboards, washing machine, vacuuming, dusting...cleanliness really is next to godliness, I feel like a sweaty, tired but joyful goddess after cleaning
- laughing with roommates
- cheesy Disney movies that give you warm fuzzies right after making you roll your eyes
- making great plans for my bday tomorrow!! (stay tuned for unveiling of successful completion of said plans tomorrow)

funny morning thoughts

went running this morning and noticed once again, that the air is a bit tinged here. it looks orangey compared to the clear, sunshine in the dry West. another factor of the humidity.
I ran by the freeway around 8ish...rush hour. and it was hilarious that at times i was running quicker than the cars just over the fence. and i am not a quick runner. :)
i hate it when you can't go to sleep at night even when you are exhausted because you are thinking about something. that was me last night. i was so excited about the job at USAID and wishing, hoping, praying that i would get it. now to wait. i hate waiting. and not being able to sleep.

Quotes I like

Found these gems

My first post...of many to come

Today's JOYs: 

• AWESOME interview at USAID (ps: i really really want to work there, it sounds amazing)
• span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">awesome short, lunch time concert in the middle of Woodrow Wilson Square before my interview, loved the cute R&B singer
• gorgeous day in DC today
• metro was surprisingly not crowded at rush hour
• not passing out in the metro while on my way home STARVING

Funny things of today: I have been itchy all day from my healing sunburn, good because it is no longer hurting, but kinda funny that I was scratching my back in the metro and all through the American History museum. :)
Also, in the museum they have an interactive station where you can answer a poll question, then it compiles all the answers. The question was "Who was the most effective US president?" The results were ranked according to votes...the results posted slowly from 10 to 1...number 3 (not too surprisingly) was Abraham Lincoln...then number 2 came up...BARACK OBAMA. Number 1 was George Washington (of course). I could not believe it. The American public believes that OBAMA has been more effective as a president than Abraham Lincoln? W.O.W.