To Stand or Kneel?

First of all, I just want to say that this is not a political post!  I will not be commenting about any specific opinions about the NFL protest.

This last weekend, I was blessed to be able to attend women's conference.  I truly felt that some of the talks were meant specifically for me!  I left the conference with a spiritual glow and determination to be a little better and try a little harder.  Then a few days later (or maybe the next day, I'm not so good with remembering the dates) the internet exploded with scandal and outrage!  Friend argued against friend and neither could understand the other's perspective.  I felt disheartened after being so inspired.  Then I happened to remember a quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk about the three sisters, specifically the mad sister:

"She didn’t think of herself as a mean person. To the contrary, she felt that she was only sticking up for herself. Everyone else, she believed, was motivated by selfishness, pettiness, and hate. She, on the other hand, was motivated by good intentions—justice, integrity, and love.

Unfortunately, the mad sister’s line of thinking is all too common. This was noted in a recent study that explored conflict between rival groups. As part of the study, researchers interviewed Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East, and Republicans and Democrats in the United States. They discovered that “each side felt their own group [was] motivated by love more than hate, but when asked why their rival group [was] involved in the conflict, [they] pointed to hate as [the other] group’s motivating factor.”3

In other words, each group thought of themselves as the “good guys”—fair, kind, and truthful. By contrast, they saw their rivals as the “bad guys”—uninformed, dishonest, even evil.

In the year I was born, the world was immersed in a terrible war that brought agonizing grief and consuming sorrow to the world. This war was caused by my own nation—by a group of people who identified certain other groups as evil and encouraged hatred toward them.

They silenced those they did not like. They shamed and demonized them. They considered them inferior—even less than human. Once you degrade a group of people, you are more likely to justify words and acts of violence against them.

I shudder when I think about what happened in 20th-century Germany.

When someone opposes or disagrees with us, it’s tempting to assume that there must be something wrong with them. And from there it’s a small step to attach the worst of motives to their words and actions.

Of course, we must always stand for what is right, and there are times when we must raise our voices for that cause. However, when we do so with anger or hate in our hearts—when we lash out at others to hurt, shame, or silence them—chances are we are not doing so in righteousness."

The rest of this talk is so good!  You can read all about it here.
This talk could not have come at a more perfect time!  This quote almost perfectly sums up our politico-social climate!  We all want the same things.  We can all teach each other something if we will only listen!
In the end we are all children of God and He loves all of us!  Just because we may disagree with someone doesn't mean that they or we are bad.  It just means we have different opinions based on our life experiences.
Anyways...  I just wanted to share this awesome talk with you in the hope that it would bring you as much comfort as it brought me.  I would just like to sign off this post by putting one more quote from this talk:
"So, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we will love our enemies.

We will overcome anger or hate.

We will fill our hearts with love for all of God’s children.

We will reach out to bless others and minister to them—even those who might “despitefully use [us] and persecute [us].”








Love,


Courtney












PS-I'm sorry it's been forever.  For some reason, the thought of writing on this blog was very overwhelming.  Hopefully this spark of inspiration will stay lit and you will get to hear more of my insane ramblings!  Have a great day!

Things That Bring Me Peace

****I just want to say that my vote was not cast for either of the mainstream candidates.  That said, these election results REALLY stress me out.  Nothing in this post is meant to be offensive, but if you are a hardcore fan of either candidate, this post might not be for you.*****

This post is really just for me.  It is meant to remind me of the good in the world and what I can use my energy for.  To remind me not to dwell on the negative, but to find ways to prevent this from ever happening again.  What follows is a list of videos  that bring me (that's me personally folks) peace.  If they bring you peace as well, then awesome.

I love this video because of the point he makes about us needing to try and understand other's perspective.  That really hit home for me.

I love this non-political political video!  Stick around this channel for some clean, witty humor.

This video has nothing whatever to do with the election, but it makes me happy so.....

Cute animal videos make everything better, right?

The part about poison in this video is profound.  **some bleeped out language**

I know this video has been posted on Facebook a lot, but there's some gold in here!  Don't say something until you can say it with love.  Dang...  If everyone did that Facebook would not be a minefield right now.

I honestly don't know why, but this video is so relaxing!!!!!!!!

\

This song makes me happy!!  Try to watch this video without smiling, I dare you!

This video really reminded me that with God, we can do anything.  So much peace and comfort from that thought.  The most peace can be gained from studying the scriptures and being close to the Spirit.  I'm so thankful to have the Gospel in my life.

Love,

Courtney

PS-Note to self:  Stay off Facebook!!!!!!!

PPS-I hope this post didn't offend you!  I really did just sort of make this for myself!!  Have a great day!

Sorry Not Sorry

Okay, I am a little sorry about the rant that is about to explode on this blog.  You have been warned.

Remember the ice bucket challenge?  That produced some hilarious videos and also brought up some serious feels.  What about the blue versus gold dress controversy?  All fun times on the internet right?

Let me fill you in on the latest internet trend.  Wait, no.  Let me show you.  Click here to witness the phenomenon of the #don'tjudgemechallenge.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.

Yep.  They're all pretty much like that.  Don't get me wrong, I think they are hilarious.  But I have one teeny-tiny problem with them.  These videos promote the idea that you are only worthwhile if you are wearing makeup and expensive clothing.  That if you don't fit into the cookie cutter of societal beauty, you are less of a person.  That's just plain not true folks.

This person:

Is just as worthwhile as this person:

Wearing makeup and nice clothes isn't a bad thing at all.  I love doing it!  But, it isn't important, and it certainly doesn't determine your importance as an individual.  

Phew...Sorry about that!  Just had to get that little tidbit off my chest.  Hope you're having a great day!

Love,

Courtney

Something To Think About...

Since I have had a LOT less free time, I've really missed blogging.  My thought has been, "I have been working so much that there really hasn't been time for writing." Or going outside, interacting with people and so on.  But is that really true?  I'm pretty sure that I've had time to watch a lot of Netflix and troll on Facebook, so what's the deal?  Then, I started thinking about this really cool YouTube video about this very subject.  (Ooops... That's just like watching TV...)

Whiiiiich led me to this little gem.

Which led me to this one and this one.  They are both a little too heavy and too rhyme-y.

Is it ironic that I learned about being present and using technology a little less through this same technology?  Yes...  But it doesn't change the message.

This really strengthens my commitment to be more present and involved in my life.  

I so appreciate the people who read my blog and support me in it.  Blogging has changed my life and I'm sorry I've been so neglectful to writing my blog and reading/commenting on other's blogs.  Doing this helps me in so many ways. I promise to be more consistent and less sporadic. I really want to try and focus on the things that matter in life and not waste it watching TV.

Working has really thrown me off my groove.  I never realized how difficult having a part time job would be after all this time.  Thanks for being patient with me while I figure all this out.

Love,

Courtney

PS-Seriously, thanks for being so supportive.  

A Case For Valentine's Day

Just to start out, I want to say that this post is not directed at anyone who reads this blog.
I have been reading about a lot of hate on Valentine's day on different websites, so I thought it would be fun to post some arguments in favor of it.

Argument #1:  We should tell our family/friends/spouse/boy or girlfriend/etc that we love them every day, therefore Valentine's day is stupid.

Response:  I completely agree with the first half of this statement.  We should tell our loved ones that we appreciate them regardless of the date.  Valentine's Day is just a special time to recognize those we love.  That's really what all holidays are about... Should we just not celebrate anything?

Argument #2:  Valentine's Day is a holiday created by Hallmark/other businesses to make money, therefore February 14 is just another day.

Response:  Although card companies and the like do probably profit from V-day, they did not in fact invent it.  It was actually created to honor Saint Valentinus (and a bunch of other guys, but that's another story) who, "was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell." (taken from a Wikipedia article, linked here). Geoffery Chaucer was the one to push St. Valentine's Day towards the romantic date we recognize today (including giving cards), in the 18th century, well before Hallmark was established.

Argument #3:  Girls are so materialistic and only want expensive presents.  AKA-I don't have to spend a lot of money to show my love.  Therefore, Valentine's Day must be stupid.

Response:  While there are some people who prefer gifts, to say that all women are that way is a blanket statement.  There's this cool book called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  It basically says that there are five different ways to show your love to someone and that each person prefers a different combination of each.  (If you want to, you can take the quiz to find your love language here).  Thus, by buying your significant other gifts, you may not even be speaking their correct love language.  Also, I have found that a meaningful gift means much more than an expensive one.

Argument #4:  Valentine's day is too much pressure for me, I'd rather just (insert activity here) so therefore, the entire holiday is stupid.

Response:  There is no right or wrong way to celebrate it.  Single, married, dating, etc all people can choose to participate (or not) in any fashion they decide.  Watching romantic comedies, musicals or just your favorite TV show and eating some yummy food is just as acceptable as going to a fancy dinner and eye-gazing.  YOU choose to valentine the way YOU want to.  I think all humans can agree that chocolate should be somehow involved in your celebration though.


Whoa, this kind of turned into a long post!  I hope that you weren't offended by anything I said.  This wasn't my way of saying that I'm some kind of an expert, or that my opinions are the only valid ones.  They are just that, my opinions.
































Thanks for reading!



Love,






Courtney

What Shall I Do?

I am going crazy while I don't have school to keep me busy!  Any ideas?
Also, why is it that if one person does something it's totally lame, but if another person does it (who is popular) it is viewed as a revelation and immediately copied by everyone in the vicinity?  I thought this was just something that happened in high school but I've noticed that it is carried on through our entire lives.  How silly is that? We emulate celebrities and feel bad if we don't look exactly like them.  We are always trying to be someone else.  Well, I'm here to tell you:  "YOU are awesome!  YOU are somebody worth being!  There is no one else out there who can do what you do.  You are just as great as anyone, and God loves you!"
Now could someone convince me of this?






Love,



Courtney

Back Again, Back Again, Jiggity Jig

I have been putting off posting for a long time because I am so far behind.  But I am tired of waiting to catch up, so you will have to be patient as I put up holiday updates and other updates as I can.  How often in life do we do that though, put off things because we feel like we are too far behind to catch up?  I can only speak for myself, but I do that quite often.  Why do we do that?  It only puts us further behind and leaves us more overwhelmed.  Cameron said something that I think really applies to this scenario, “Any journey can be accomplished even if you only start out with baby steps.”  What an encouraging statement!  Even if we are only taking baby steps, we can still accomplish something.  Another quote that I really like is, “Even if you are moving slowly, you are still lapping the people on the couch.”  How true! 

Okay, preachy Courtney is going away.  Now for some news:  Our car is broken.  Yay….I really, really don’t like car problems because I feel so helpless.  I literally know NOTHING about cars so I can’t really contribute to their repair at all.  Oh well, we can’t know everything, right?  I hope you are having a great day!

Politics

I normally don't get involved in politics because they usually lead to arguing etc. etc.  So if you don't like politics either, you can skip over this post.  Anyway, there are two bills gong through the House and the Senate that seriously undermine our first amendment rights.  These will completely change the internet as we know it.  Basically it will make it so that any website that is hosting "illegal" content will be blacklisted by the government.  I know this sounds like a good thing, but this means that search engines like google and yahoo will be shut down.  It also means sites like youtube and pinterest will also go down because they will have videos/links that are being used illegally.   This could be something as simple as using a picture from one of your favorite movies or a video of someone singing the happy birthday song. Today a few sites (such as wikipedia and mozilla) are shutting down to protest this bill.  I don't have a website to shut down, so I decided to do my own protest by sharing information about this.  What do you think about these bills?