Doing things with one hand is a fun challenge. I didn't think that surgery recovery could be so fun! Not only do i have one hand to use, but i have the added challenge that it is my left hand that I am learning to use.
I am learning that I really can do anything good!
Here is that video again
Today's challenges
1. Tightening the lid on my water bottle.
2. Math Homework.
3. Squeezing toothpaste onto my toothbrush.
I think I will skip my shower for tomorrow(nobody smell me). I need to work up to that challenge. Things will be much easier when i can feel my fingers again...
A wise woman once told me...
"Nobody knows how much confidence you have so take as much as you want!"
This has been such a help to me as I have been teaching this past week. I get so nervous to go into my first grade classroom, but as soon as I am there, I remember this phrase. Thank you Rachel Moyes.
Sometimes we think that the whole world thinks we are incompetent, when in reality, we are the only ones that do. We can have as much confidence as we want. The power is within us when we pray to have the strength of the Lord to do the things that are hard or scary to us.
When trials come and our fears threaten to destroy us, remember that we can pray, no matter where we are and we will be given the strength to take the amount of confidence that we need to accomplish the tasks that the Lord has put before us.
Today, I had the chance to be there for someone when nobody else could. This meant that I would not have time to eat any lunch in between my classes. I learned that when I serve and sacrifice things(like my lunch) I am blessed beyond measure. I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life today throughout the ENTIRE day!
For example, instead of eating lunch I ended up at target. Well, the Lord knows who I am and though I was completely willing to be hungry the rest of the day, He had a better idea. Right as we walked into target a woman working there offered us a FREE SAMPLE of kettle corn. How blessed am I??? I had enough food to last my the rest of the day! It seems like a little thing, but I was touched to know that the Lord would bless me, even in a simple little thing.
President Uchtdorf said that the author of Peter Pan said,
"Those that bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
I felt like this today. It was such a simple thing that I did, it didn't take much effort on my part, and the blessings I received were so great that I don't even feel I deserved them. It would take way too long to list every good thing that has happened to me today, but just know, the Lord loves and blesses us for even the most minuscule step in the right direction.
Last night, Ashley(my roommate) and I were talking. We both agree that it is such a wonderful thing that we are not in control of the things that happen in our lives. Sure, sometimes we think we are, but really we are not. The best part is that the Lord, who is omnipotent, knows what is going to happen. Sometimes, I like to imagine what the Lord thinks of me when I am freaking out over little things. Ash reminded me that He knows what is coming, so I can imagine Him smiling and saying, "Amy, if you only knew what was in store for you." I came across this scripture this morning in my scripture study: Psalms 97:1 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad therof Isn't it wonderful that the Lord indeed reigns over everything? Isn't it great that when we don't have a handle on our lives, or don't feel like we know what is going to happen, the Lord does. Our Heavenly Father has a handle on things. All we need to do is have faith and trust that he has it all under control. He will never give us anything that is too hard for us to handle with His help, because, with His help, we can do anything. We can overcome any sin, heartache or trial "fought in the lonely foxholes of the human heart" as Elder Jeffery R Holland says. All it takes is grabbing the Savior's hand. I also am learning about the importance of singing hymns. I have started memorizing them in the shower. Hopefully nobody can hear me. This is my next one I am going to memorize. The lyrics really apply here, I know that "Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past."
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
-LDS Hymnbook
This is BYU's Vocal Point singing "Be Still My Soul"
Well. This morning I woke up with that all-too-familiar pain in the throat. You know what that means. Well when your roommate has been sick, you realize its only a matter of time. So, in an effort to make this the most comfortable illness, I have come up with some plans. (just know that this is somewhat goofy and I am not entirely serious)
The plan
Tuesday(today)
While I am feeling somewhat good-aside from a soar throat and a headache-I need to get a lot done. All of the readings and assignments I have for my classes this week need to be done today!
I am going to need drugs(medicine) and groceries for my "hibernation" so I will go to the grocery store after class.
I will go to all my classes today
Drink water and rest-I need to put off the big wave of sickness for at least another day
Stay positive and have fun talking, singing and laughing before I can't.
Wednesday
I will be feeling a little more awful this day, but I need to push through!
This is the day I finish my assignment for literacy that is due Thursday, and complete ALL my math homework for the week, take my math test(even though it is the first day it is open), and hopefully make it to the temple.
My cousin Tessa will be in town, so if I wanna see her before I am dreadfully sick, I can see her this day as well.
Drink water! Take medicine. dayquil and niquil.
Stay positive(or complain a little)
Thursday
Sick day!!! (I can miss some class today-if needed of course)
With any luck, I will have gotten my homework done for the week, so I can sleep!!!!
I do need to go to the class that I have a presentation in. But I can email my other teachers(if its really bad I can miss my presentation)
If I am feeling strong, I will go to my classes(we will see)
Groaning and complaining may happen this day(Don't be too hard on yourself for having a negative attitude.)
Drink water, sleep, nap, snooze, doze, take medicine, sleep some more.
Institute may be a possibility if I am feeling well enough
Make Ashley do things for me
Friday
Sick day #2 (I have no class this day, so feel free to stay in bed alllll day!)
Movies movies movies and more movies!
"The Best Two Years"
"The Road to El Dorado"
"Cheaper by the Dozen 2"
"A Walk to Remember"
Drink water, sleep, medicine
Make Ashley do things for me. Perhaps a Back massage
Saturday
Time to get better
Take a shower, put on real clothes-not just sweats.
Make sure I finished all my homework
Do my laundry and wash my germ infested bedding, towels, and clothes
Clean my room(odds are it will be a mess)
Still drink water
Get some fresh air
Sunday
All better!
Resume life as usual
And there you have it. This is a fool-proof sick plan. We will see how it goes.
I think it is no coincidence that after a rainstorm a beautiful rainbow like this one can appear.
Maybe it is just me, but I feel like every day there is something that we can consider a rainstorm.
It is easy to focus on the storm. It brings fear that we will not make it through, doubt that it will ever lift, and frustration that we cannot see the sunshine through the clouds.
However, there are rainbows in our lives. We have to emerge from the safety of our home to see the rainbows. We have to believe that if we go outside and look there will be a beautiful rainbow.
As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf encouraged us in General Conference today, we should be happy right now. We shouldn't wait for the end of our lives to be happy. So, I am going to start looking for things to make me happy through this journey of life. I will look for the beautiful rainbows that come every day BECAUSE of the storms that come.
Today, I had several of my friends say the right thing at the right moment. This was a rainbow to me. I am amazed at how much my Father in Heaven loves me. He sends me angels every day. Words can't express the gratitude I feel for their words of encouragement. Because they followed promptings my life has been greatly blessed today.
Another rainbow today was the delicious pizza I had for dinner. I know that doesn't seem big, because it's not really. But these are the moments we need to look for. I savored that pizza, because I could. Life is made up of ordinary moments that can be turned into extraordinary moments if we take the time to notice them.
This is one of my all-time favorite videos. Notice that it shows the rainbows as well as the storms. They are all beautiful moments in our lives because they all "lead us to the Savior of the world."
Today is a big day for me. I am teaching my first language arts lesson to 2nd graders.
I will admit that this morning fear overwhelmed me. I know I am not the only one in my major that feels this way, but when I look at my peers, they all seem to have it together and I am convinced(by Satan) that I don't measure up.
Thanks to the wise counsel of my mother, I know that I can pray to have love for the students I teach today and that the Lord will teach through me even when I feel inadequate. In fact, I have learned recently that through my weakness, the strength of the Lord can come through.
I read this in my scriptures the other day. It really shows how I feel. I look at where I need to go in order to be an effective teacher, and it seems impossible, but I know that in these times of weakness, the Lord can bring strength out of me. 2 Corinthians 12:10 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
This video just reminds me that I do have so much to offer. "He loves me the way I am. He is my strength when I stand." I have to do the standing, he will provide the strength.
Matthew 11:28-29
28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
I believe Him. I know that he will strengthen me when I feel small. He loves me with an infinite love. He will not leave me alone. He listens when I pray, and he answers. He knows I can be a teacher. And if He knows I can do what he has told me to do(be a teacher), then I can! That is all there is to it. I just can. I don't know how, but He does.
