Institute!

So pretty much Sister Poulsen is the most amazing gospel teacher ever. I always learn so much in her class! Today was about Ephesians. Paul's message to them was about becoming one. She shared with us a bunch of cool Hebrew stuff about different meanings of the word "one" and it was so great. Everything I've ever been taught jives with what the truth actually is. (Can we say, God (and His church) is the same yesterday, today, and forever?). She didn't actually share this verse but it pretty well sums up a lot of the point:

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)

I love this verse. It sets forth that the Father and the Son are two distinct beings but are united as one (Hebrew: "one together") because it also sets forth the analogy that we can be one with them--one together with them. And of course, knowing that we are certainly distinct beings apart from God, Jesus just disproved the idea of the trinity right there. Anyway, that's why I like that verse. But our lesson was about one-ness. The coolest part was probably when she went over the armor of God. Interpret: God's armor. New idea! But it's awesome!

-loins girt about with truth-- what is truth? Well, Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, so there.
-having on the breastplate of righteousness--what is righteousness? Another student shared a piece of Chinese, where part of the character for "righteousness" is the same as the character for "lamb" which is Christ.
-your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace--the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ our Savior
-taking the shield of faith--where is our faith centered? In Christ.
-the helmet of salvation--where does our salvation come? From Christ.
-sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God--straight from John "In the beginning was the Word;" testifying of Christ

So, like, wow! God's armor is Christ. We are to put on Christ. Putting on the armor of God is Taking upon us the name of Christ, like the covenant says. WOW! It all fits together! Isn't it just amazing? Yup, the gospel is amazing.

Story Time

What a week! It was exciting. Really. Monday night I went to the Vienna Piano Trio Concert. It was at the U, and some smart person had scheduled some other big event at Kingsbury Hall at the same time as the Trio at Libby Gardner Hall. So there was no parking, anywhere. Ridiculous. Anyway, after driving around for a while I parked on some street and ran across a squishy field to get up there and I missed the whole first Sonata. The rest of the concert was pretty darn amazing, though! Super good!
. Tuesday I had the first rehearsal for the pit orchestra at LHS. THey told me they'd have a keyboard. But I didn't expect that that's all they would have! There was no pedal, amp, cable, or music stand to go with it! We found what we needed (no pedal, but I dealt with that just fine) but it was ridiculous. Also apparently everyone else had been given a contract. I never got one and so they better get me one soon!
. Wednesday we were supposed to film stuff for the show I'm directing. The wind was pretty bad so my boss cancelled filming about 20 minutes before it was supposed to happen. So I went back to the VBC and started working on piano festival stuff. Then it rained, and snowed, and I just sat on the floor counting checks to avoid driving home. Well, also because it needed to be done. I think it was after nine when I actually left, had to clear off the car but the roads weren't too bad anymore.
. Thursday I had to fight with the copy machine and get everything ready for the Piano people to do everything for the piano festival. We counted registration forms, scheduled competition times, scheduled practice times, changed stuff so siblings were closer together, addressed envelopes, wrote letters, copied repertoire, stuffed envelopes, combined family members into the same envelope (yes, after the fact), and ordered all the envelopes by zipcode. Would have been done right around 6 if I hadn't been called by someone in the planetarium telling me there were boy scouts there waiting for a show. I think THAT is what killed the last of my brain for the week. I had been checking the calendar every day to make sure there were no people listed as coming to the planetarium for a boy scout show. There were NO PEOPLE listed as coming! I even called my boss on Wednesday to make sure that if no people were listed that means I don't have to be there and she confirmed it. So I told the other guys we didn't have to be there at all and I told a professor he could use the planetarium and he calls me at 6 to tell me there are boy scouts there. Total freak out on my part. I'm trying to organize envelopes into families and then I have to call my boss and find out what to do, she gives me instructions but i can't exactly go over there, so now I'm calling people and texting people and oh man it was just bad. I still don't know what happened to them. I hope they found something fun to do in the museum or something and will get their show rescheduled all nicely. Then I didn't get my envelopes sorted but we had to wrap up so we put everything in a safe place and went out for food. Then I sorted envelopes by family on my own and went to institute super late. Hey, at least I went! After that I went to my BFF's house and we put the things in zipcode order and looked up wedding ideas and talked until like, 12:30.
. Friday I tried to get up early and read my assignment and take my quiz, and then the quiz was a fake quiz! Rude, right? Well, whatever. Class was all right but my brain didn't work. I almost forgot to go to band. But I went to HARBOR it made me smile. Then I practiced. I could have gone home b/c the other practice was cancelled but I didn't b/c my brain didn't work. And then even though I was there I missed half the recital I needed for my concert report because it started at 7. Nothing ever starts at 7! Oh well. That's not even everything that happened last week, but, it works! Somehow...

Ways to Cope With Stress

-eat lots of chocolate
-procrastinate everything
-cry. multiple times.
-sleep, sleep, sleep!
-watch TV and movies (with friends--even better!)
-call people I haven't talked to for a while
-pray (should be higher on the list...)
-listen to music
-make random lists
-waste time on the internet

incomplete to do list (to be done [mostly] in the next week)

-wait for final paperwork assembly
-sign and submit paperwork
-email planetarium videographer
-schedule filming times with videographer and actors
-film scout shows
-write more scripts for other scout shows
-write science olympiad tests
-find science olympiad event coordinator
-research public transit in Milwaukee and Chicago
-buy tickets and reserve hotel in Milwaukee (?)
-learn music for LHS musical pit orchestra
-play flute accompaniment up to tempo
-email piano people for scheduling
-schedule and carry out "the meeting" (nearly all-day event)
-write a neopolitan composition, a canon, and a 2-part invention
-not to mention practice the piano 3 hours every day

nothing in particular

I don't have anything specific to say really, just random thoughts about random things that happen. I should get all the paperwork actually turned in to the government this next week. I bought a dress today. Chelsea came home Wednesday and we totally did stuff and I am so happy she's here again! Then I went to see Jamie for the first time also, since she came home last December! It's amazing what the gospel does. Tomorrow is fast Sunday. I've got a big reason and a bunch of other reasons too, I don't know what to focus on. I haven't exercised since my triathlon. I don't know what's going to happen this summer. It's hard directing a movie, I'd almost rather have someone else tell me what to do than me telling everyone what to do... depends on my mood I guess. I hope I'm not offending people again, that tends to happen without me intending it at all, every once in a while. I gave my Mars show today in front of a full audience and pulled it off all right with the changes I added. More random posts to follow.

Freedom of Religion

There are things I find odd about the United States. For a country founded on principles of religious freedom, to be more specific. Yes, a country founded on principles of religious freedom. Let me elaborate. We are taught in school that people came here to escape religious persecution. Now, take into account the first amendment to the constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I just read this and was surprised that the first thing mentioned is not freedom of speech, but freedom of religion. I realize it is referring to congress but I believe it should apply to all people. The free exercise of religion should not be infringed upon. What I see happening around me is that when someone decides to say something publicly about God or religion or his beliefs, there is an immediate uprising against him! You hear all this hubbub about "separation of church and state" and people not wanting to have other people's religions forced on them, but if you really think about it, what is happening is none other than RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. If a person has a belief in God, he should have no reason to fear exercising it, even publicly. It is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. People fled to this country to escape religious persecution. How will we explain to our founding fathers in the next life that even this land of freedom became a place of persecution as well?

What you probably HAVE been waiting for...

I will preface my post with this: I always dreamed I would be whisked away by a foreign man. I just didn't know how.

I could start from the beginning, but I don't know where the beginning is . . . it could be anywhere! So this could be a short story, or a long one. Hmmmm... I'll shoot for a happy medium.

I served a mission in Quezon City, Philippines, Sep '08-Mar '10. Sylves served there from Sep '07-Jul '09. So I suppose we saw each other at Christmas Conference '08 and a couple zone conferences in the Spring of '09. I don't remember him, we never talked or anything but everyone knew my name being the white sister who always played the piano :-). He says he kind of liked me and hoped there would be a way for him to contact me after my mission. Well, when I came home, there were millions of friend requests on Facebook from fellow missionaries and such. Since I could tell from his picture that he was from my mission I accepted his request.

That would have been April. Skip to August... I was on Facebook doing things for HARBOR and he starts chatting with me. It was surprising but not creepy. I knew what he was doing but it took me a long time to accept it. That time was filled with prayer, reading of the scriptures, meeting with my bishop, talking with my parents, reviewing my patriarchal blessing, and attending the temple. I knew Sylves was different. I had to visit him. That was my trip this past December. Everything worked out very nicely for it to happen.

Sunday, December 12: got up early, showered, ate breakfast, and was playing the piano in the time before church. Sylves came to sit by me and said he had something to give me. He had been telling me that but had led me to believe it wasn't the ring . . . well, it was! Since it was the sabbath day, it was already a special day, and he wanted to make it extra special for such a special girl like me :-) Well, yeah, he makes me feel pretty darn special and even until now I feel good about my decision to say yes. And it is a most definite YES. I know things will not be easy, not in the least, but I still feel good about it. A kind of peaceful feeling.

So the plans: 1. get him here ASAP (not a simple task what with the immigration process and all)
2. be married April 30 in a temple of our God
3. work in CA over the summer for his uncle who owns a restaurant there
4. finish school at WSU
5. go back to the Philippines (whisking away complete!)