Spring has arrived...with a snow storm

This week the weather was great, except for the day when it snowed. Yes. I realize that it is almost June and therefore spring should be giving way to summer, but winter poked its head in for one more visit. I pulled out my winter coat and drove to school. I have to say it was fun to see the snow again, even if it was very unexpected. I don't know if everyone was a fan of it, but hey there you go. I was reminded of a story I heard about President Boyd K. Packer in my Teaching of the Living Prophets class. He was one day preparing to go outside and paint his house when it started raining. He declared his independence from the weather and painted anyways. Kind of a cool story about not letting the weather determine your mood. Anyways, I got to teach the English Sunday School today. There two other people there besides myself. (everyone else was in their respective language class). The main topics we spoke about were the power and influence of righteous parents and righteous friends. We spent so much time on those two things that we did not get to the stories of Gideon and Samson with their lessons about having faith in God and making and keeping covenants with God. It went very well. In the combined meeting we had after Sunday School I had a very strong feeling of gratitude for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I dont mean to be all preachy with anything that I say, I am just very grateful to know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and that we have scriptures on the earth to help us in our every day lives. I was excited to hear about Scott's homecoming. I found the pictures of the cousins on facebook. He looks good and from what he talked about, the letters I read, and all of the other things that I have heard about him, he was a very successful missionary. That story that mom told me about him meeting another missionary on her way to California from the Netherlands was, well a great example of how small the world is. Wow! I love you all. Wish me luck this week, I have another Chemistry test. I am determined to do better on this one. I am excited for Hillary. If your call gets there before Thursday, feel free to call me up and we will all listen in as you read it. We could even do the skype thing so we can see it. I love my family and am so grateful for my life. It is not always easy, but it is worth it and most definitely wonderful.

Faith

That was one of the big themes at church today. Its one of those great themes in life that is always good to have repeated. This week was a busy one. The big event of the week was a chemistry test on Friday. I didn't fail but I got as close as I could. Its a very difficult class. After church I went with one of my roommates and visited a guy in my apartment complex and we just had a real nice conversation. They are both in their masters program and shared their experiences in getting into their programs. That was a really comforting conversation for me. I guess I have been worrying and second guessing whether physical therapy is the right field of study for me. Basically, the main thing I got from this conversation was that the Lord is in control. If I am supposed to go into Physical Therapy and I give my best, the Lord will take care of the rest. That is not always easy for me to accept, but I know that that is how it is. The Lord knows what He is doing, even if I don't. Anyways, I am grateful for church and even more grateful for Jesus Christ. I love you all. Never forget what a wonderful thing it is to be alive.
Russell
PS This is a great video just talking about the importance of being strong. Enjoy!
PPS To see the movie on a bigger screen just click on the little button in the lower right hand corner.

This is a video that I thought was neat. It is about the amazing gift to choose. Choose to make today wonderful!
The Freedom to...

Adversity

That was the theme of our sacrament meeting this morning at church. What an appropriate theme. I have more tests coming up this week as well as lots of work and responsibilities for all of the above. I worked a lot this week, with the busiest day being Thursday where I was working from about 11:30am until almost 10:00pm. It was really interesting how not tired I was throughout that period of time. Of course about midnight I started getting loopy and really realize that I was pretty tired. Anyways, from what was said today, I just was very grateful for Jesus Christ. My roommate Zach said something pretty interesting last week, "I know that the Atonement can help you through [anything]." And boy that is true. We just have to be willing to let God help us and He will willingly do so. I am grateful for experiences that are hard. That is not always true in the moment and it is often hard for me to realize in what ways a certain trial has helped me, but I know that Heavenly Father is there for us. I guess that is the important thing to remember. I am also very grateful for my family. In times of hardship it is really great to know that we can have loved ones to whom we can go for love, support, and someone who will listen. I love my family! On Saturday evening, I went to the Provo Temple and was baptized on behalf of 19 of Uncle Ron's relatives. It was great! (For more information on LDS Temples and the service done there, visit www.mormon.org) I also did some Chemistry homework and last night I did not sleep well because I was having nightmares about Chemistry. Maybe something is seeping in or I am just really not getting it. Anyways. I love you all! "I believe in Christ, so come what may." With that in mind, you can always remember that it truly is a wonderful life! And if its not, well, it will be, just you wait.

Happy Mother's Day

Well today is Mother's Day so for all the Mothers reading this, know that I appreciate what you do and have done for me and for your children. I love my Mom very much and have only spoken with her briefly today. She is awesome and I am very grateful for her. At church today, we had some really great talks about Mothers. The first talk was given by Thomas in the Spanish house. I can echo a lot of the things that he said about his mother because they apply to my mom, too. She is always checking up on me to make sure that I have everything I need from hangers in my closet to food in my fridge. I know I annoy her sometimes with my quirks, I am just trying to be what she and my Heavenly Father want me to be. Sorry about not posting last week, I got caught up in other things, I guess. I have decided to not take Physiology until I take some Chemistry, but right now I am wondering if that was the right decision. Chem 105 is killing me. It is just a General Chemistry class, but it taking up most of my time right now. Between that, Stats 221, Working with Brother Minert and at the MTC teaching German to a group of Missionaries, life is pretty busy. But I can not complain. It is simply too wonderful of a life. Yes it is hard at times, (most of the time right now) but I know that my Heavenly Father is always there and that He is watching over and protecting me. He is giving me strength to do things I did not think possible (like Chemistry Homework). Anyways, I am grateful for all of you and hope your week goes amazingly well. Have a wonderful week, because it should be. It's a wonderful Life!