Jan's Journey: challenge day and a sunday thought.

this past week i was able to do an activity like this.

during high school i was on a committee called Aware to Care. We worked so hard to get this group to come my senior year and do it with the senior class but it costs a lot of money and we weren't able to get enough last year. so i got to come back and help as an adult supervisor. the experience was incredible. we spent the first hour or so playing and dancing with the students (there were about 100 of all different "groups" at school and a few teachers and then a few volunteers) after that we sat all together and the boy and girl in charge shared a little bit about their lives and talked about how we, as genders, are supposed to fit a certain role and we are all told to man up, don't cry, get over, it's not that big of a deal, act like a lady, be a man and all of these other things. then we talked about how we all have a iceberg. everyone sees 10 percent of us and thats our image and what we allow them to know. but what about the other 90? well we all got into groups of about 5 or 6 of teachers, students, and adult volunteers. we went around and said "if you really knew me..." and we were supposed to show 100 percent of the iceberg. it was amazing. the people you thought had a perfect life were going through so many things and everyone was sharing who they REALLY were. then we did an activity called cross the line. they would ask a question (like the ones above in the video) and there was not a dry eye. everyone was hugging each other and comforting tears. whether you knew the person or not. it was awesome and i learned a lot. i really wish we could have gotten them to come last year but thats ok. but it has made me think about a lot of things this week. things like these..

we've all heard that saying that "beautiful things don't last" and i actually believe that. because it says things. I take that as in the items of life. think about it. how many times have you bought a new shirt that you thought was beautiful? you probably wore it a lot for a while but after some time it falls into the back of your closet. how many times have been obsessed with a certain song and after some time you get sick of it? how many girls or boys do you know that are beautiful but when you get to know them they don't really have a personality? what about all those movie stars? and how we all look up to them so much we almost have them consume our lives? are they going to last? it made me think of one of my favorite songs. take a listen.

So i was talking to my roommate about this (hannah) and we decided that beautiful things don't last but beautiful souls do.

i love love this quote. we should count ourselves first! maybe we don't have the latest fashions, the best hair, the best skin, smile, teeth, blah blah blah but we were all create in gods image and that in itself is beautiful. so next time you think you aren't good enough or aren't beautiful think of this quote.

next on this tangent is beautiful love. a lot of people spend so much time at a young age looking for love or just someone to love them. but i feel like there are two kinds of beautiful love. the love that lasts and the one that doesn't. we see all over the media the famous couples that get married and get divorced a few weeks later and so much of that other crap all around us. sometimes its hard to think if the real kind still exists. well here is a little story for you. an apostle was traveling from country to country and beside him was his wife. they have been married for a long long time. as he introduced himself he spent very little time talking about who he was but instead gently squeezed his wife's hand, looked her in the eyes and then looked at the group he was being introduced to and said, "I'd like you to meet my queen" that is true love at it's finest. it's still out there but it will come at the right time and in the right place. here is another song. just because music expresses thing so well.

challenge day effected me the most in the way i think about people when i see them. whether i know them or not i try not to have that tunnel vision that comes so natural to all humans. i've really tried to fix this at work. it's been very interesting. i've decided to try to give out more compliments to people on simple things. to try and smile when i pass people as a walk. and when i ask how they are doing really listen. i've learned that the only way to be happy is by doing two thing, caring and serving others, and depending on christ.

that was something that was so hard for me at this challenge day. i wanted to hug each of those kids and whether they were religious or not i wanted them to remember they had a heavenly father who loved them and was there for them through everything. i've been thinking about what it means to find yourself because that seems to be what everyone is wanting to do now days and i know what the only way to do that is through christ. he is there for you always.

what an amazing testimony. i'm so grateful for my knowledge that i have that i have a heavenly father that loves me. i'm so grateful for a family that is always there for me and that we can be together for forever. i'm grateful that i know i am never alone and that christ can help me through any trial i am having. and i know he is there for each one of you too. he lives. let me end with one last video. one that i think is the most powerful. if you're like me you may need to grab a tissue. The gospel of Jesus Christ is real. it accepts any willing and will help any that are needing. He is there and He wants to help you. You just have to let him.