Using Social Media as an Outlet

I love social media. It's probably one of my favourite things. I have an account on almost every social media site, and my personal favourite is Instagram. I spend more time collectively on social media in one day than I do on homework in a week. It's actually pretty bad. 

One day, I was in the car with a friend after institute. I was showing her some photos on Instagram. I was showing her my account, others accounts, and I was showing her how many followers I was slowly gaining. I was so excited because I love talking about social media. That's when she asked me the question... One that I will never forget: "why do you like this so much? why do you spend so much time worrying about this?"

I was floored. Honestly, I was. I had never thought about it. Why is it that I love social media so much? Why is it that I spend so much time looking and posting on social media? I didn't know how to answer her. I ended up telling her that I liked the anonymity. I liked getting to share the good parts of my life with others and not the bad. I told her that I like the fact that this gives people the chance to see me and who I am, but none of the negative parts of me; I am able to hide the things that I don't want others to see. 

Of course she thought I was crazy, and said that was kind of a ridiculous reason. But it was my reason. It really didn't make sense to me either, but then I heard a story at the most recent General Women's Session. This talk was given by Jean B. Bingham of the General Primary Presidency. She shared a story that actually meant a lot to me. The story is as follows:

Retrieved from lds.org

"As a young Primary girl, I worked diligently to cross-stitch a simple saying which read, “I will bring the light of the gospel into my home.” One weekday afternoon as we girls pulled our needles up and down through the fabric, our teacher told us the story of a girl who lived on a hill on one side of a valley. Each late afternoon she noticed on the hill on the opposite side of the valley a house that had shining, golden windows. Her own home was small and somewhat shabby, and the girl dreamed of living in that beautiful house with windows of gold.

"One day the girl was given permission to ride her bike across the valley. She eagerly rode until she reached the house with the golden windows that she had admired for so long. But when she dismounted from her bike, she saw that the house was abandoned and dilapidated, with tall weeds in the yard and windows that were plain and dirty. Sadly, the girl turned her face toward home. To her surprise, she saw a house with shining, golden windows on the hill across the valley and soon realized it was her very own home!”

Just over a year ago, I moved back home to change schools. When I moved back, I started going to the Young Single Adult ward. This was actually a really big decision for me. I was supposed to start going to a YSA ward 4 years before this point. I avoided it for a long time. But I felt that it was the right time to finally start going. As time went on, I found myself getting more and more anxious and depressed. I wasn't sure why until I was in a group of people talking and someone started mentioning other people in the ward and how incredible and beautiful they were. That's when I realized that in the process of a year, I had started comparing myself to other people. I had reverted back to a place where I thought I had moved away from. I became uncomfortable with myself and began to look at what others had wondering why I couldn’t have it.

It was when Sister Bingham finished her story that I fully understood what was happening. She stated: "Sometimes, like this young girl, we look at what others might have or be and feel we are less in comparison. We become focused on the Pinterest or Instagram versions of life or caught up in our school’s or workplace’s preoccupation with competition. However, when we take a moment to “count [our] many blessings,” we see with a truer perspective and recognize the goodness of God to all of His children."

I have been using social media to feed my obsession of comparing myself with others. I have been using it in hopes that I would come out on top. Allowing social media to come into my life this way, has made me a different person. I have become obsessed with creating this version of my life so that other people, people that I have never met and never will, would like me. I have become preoccupied with it. My need to be liked and feeling so insecure with myself, has made social media something I spend too much time focusing on.

Just like Sister Bingham said, I need to count my many blessings. I need to stop comparing myself to others. My Heavenly Father loves me, and that should be enough for me. The only opinion that matters is the Lord’s opinion. As long as I continue to work my hardest to return to live with him, that is all I need to be doing. If others can’t take me as I am, well then that’s their problem isn’t it? If the Lord believes in me, has hope in me, and loves me, that should be all that matters.

Me being more comfortable with myself and focusing less on social media will take some time. I am not going to wake up in the morning and be confident with myself. It is going to be a process. But I will just keep taking those baby steps.

General Conference was this past weekend and there were so many wonderful messages related to this. It was really what I needed to hear. I am definitely going to be reviewing all of the wonderful things that were said. 

I hope you all know how much the lord loves you. If you ever feel that you are not good enough, just know that you are. He is always there to support you. It may be hard, but in the end, it will all be worth it. After all, our trials are only a blink in time. 

- Liz

Watch the talk given by Sister Bingham here:



Or Read by following the link to lds.org

Preparing for General Conference

General Conference is coming up!

General Conference is my favourite time of year. We get the chance twice a year to hear from Prophets and Apostles of our Heavenly Father. But the thing is, we only get this chance twice a year. General Conference only comes around every 6 months. We need to make the most of it when it is here!

But how can we make the most of it? What do we as members of the church, or investigators, need to do in order to be prepared for this amazing conference?

I was fortunate enough this past week to get to teach a relief society lesson on preparing for general conference and making it a meaningful experience. Honestly, I am so glad that I got to teach this lesson. I learned so much about preparing for general conference. I got to talk about things that I had never talked about before.

There are so many things to think about when preparing for general conference. I found a great article on the LDS youth website called "Getting the Most out of General Conference". This article really got me thinking. It talked about different things that we can do before, during, and after conference in order to make it meaningful. It helped me realize that preparing for conference really is a process. It requires attention before, during, and after.

https://www.pinterest.com

General conference involves quite a bit of preparation before hand. One of the things that I hear most often is to prepare a question to bring to conference. This is extremely important. General conference is made for us, and the Lord has so many things for us to hear. But we need to have an understanding of what we want to know. Our Heavenly Father is prepared to answer our questions, but sometimes we just need to ask. When preparing before hand, we can also fast and go to the temple. These are things that we can do that will help us to be more in tune with the spirit. There are some temporal things that we can do to prepare that will allow us to be more in tune with spiritual promptings during conference. In my relief society class, we came up with a list of things that we can do in order to be more prepared. We came up with things like getting enough sleep the night before, making sure that we have all of our note taking materials ready to go, and having things prepared for the weekend. We don't want a whole lot of distractions while we are trying to listen to the wonderful messages being shared.

There things that we can do during the conference as well. The main thing? LISTEN!! We need to listen intently as the prophets and apostles are speaking to us and sharing the messages of the lord. They have worked so hard preparing for this, so we should be listening. If that means having doodle pages ready or having to take a Pinterest break every once in a while... do it. I found a couple of great focus grabbing activities that allow you to write notes while colouring or doodling. Let me tell you, I will be downloading them. You should also look your best while attending conference. Even if you are watching at home, you should be dressed for it. Take the time to show the Lord the appreciation he deserves. Sunday Best is the way to go!

https://www.instagram.com/armyofhelaman/

After General Conference is over, take the time to be sad, because we won't get this again for another 6 months. Once you have gotten it out of your system, take the time to review your notes and set personal goals for yourself. Also, show extreme gratitude for conference. Thank the Lord for the messages he has prepared. Thank the general authorities as well. Send them a letter. They really appreciate it. I read in an article that the words spoken at conference are like our compass for the next few months. Continuously go back after conference and re-read and re-watch the talks that were given. You will learn something new every time that you do.

It may feel like a lot of work to prepare for general conference, but I can promise you this... it's worth it. General Conference is the time when we can hear messages from the lord that are meant for us! We can learn so much during those two days, but only if we are open to it, and only if we properly prepare.

Come listen to a prophets voice! Tune in on Saturday October 1st and Sunday October 2nd at 10:00am MST. The sessions are being broadcast at any chapel and on lds.org. It is also being live streamed on youtube.

I hope you all enjoy conference this year!! Let me know what you think!

- Liz

Apple Picking

Hey All

So today, Marissa and I completed the first thing on our Project Autumn list. We went Apple Picking!! It was actually a lot of fun! Something I would definitely do again.

We decided to start off the day with Brunch, and oh my goodness, we ate so much food. It was actually embarrassing. But delicious. It really was though... Sunset Grill... go there!

After that, a Michaels trip was definitely needed. How does one get through a Saturday without going to Michaels. Oh, and if you don't know what I am talking about, you need to crawl out of that rock you are living under, and go out. It is the single greatest craft store ever. It is a teachers paradise and party planners thrive there. Anyway, we got some stuff for the Teal Pumpkin Project, and of course, I bought new note cards, because I'm hopeless. I digress.

Then it was time to actually go apple picking. We went to an orchard called Orchalaw Apple Farm in a little town between Brampton and Georgetown. It was a pretty good orchard. There was really a lot to choose from. It was a little confusing though because there are two areas connected to the farm. One for apple picking, and another there you can do other fun activities like baking a pie, or at least that's what Marissa told me.

The way they had it set up was we paid on entry and got a bag for our apples. It was 26 dollars to fill the bag which comes out to about 20 pounds of apples. Neither of us needed that many apples, so the cost and the apples were split. On the weekends, they offer free wagon rides into the orchard. This was actually great! we got to have a bit of fun on the wagon, and we were able to get to the good apples.

The honeycrisp apples were the favourite of the day. I think at least half of our bag was honeycrisp apples. We were super lucky though, because they said they don't normally let people pick those. But they opened it up for the public. They are actually really expensive, and we got them fresh for a half decent price. We also got some Macs and some Galas, but those aren't as impressive.

I really loved getting to spend so much time with a good friend in the orchard picking and eating apples. We worked together finding and picking the best ones, and by the end of it, we were so tired. We 100% buckled the apples into the backseat of the car as well. Now, I just have to figure out what to do with 10lbs of honeycrisp apples. I am going to find some recipes... any ideas? I will definitely let you know how they turn out!

This experience opened my eyes a little too. This is something that I definitely want to do with my family. When I am married with kids, I want to bring them to an orchard. I want to take them apple picking. I don't want to be one of those moms either who picks all the apples while my kids follow behind. I really want them to get them involved and make it a really memorable experience. I have goals guys!

Item one on Project Autumn has been a success. Please stay tuned for more of our adventures! 

- Liz

Project Autumn

Hey all!

So one thing you need to know about me is that I love autumn. Autumn is my favourite season. Always has been and probably always will be. Fall is just so wonderful. The air is cold and crisp, there are so many colours around, the clothes are just the best, and there is a great selection of drinks at Starbucks!

This fall, I just want to experience everything around me. I want to do all of the typical autumn things. It may be basic, but I don't care. It's what I want to do. I just want to have a little fun. That is why my best friend Marissa and I have started Project Autumn.

We found a "fall bucket list" online at simplykierste.com and decided that we were going to complete it. We have decided however, that we are going to replace tailgating with camping, because we are not about the tailgating lifestyle. That, and it's not really a thing here in Canada.

Marissa and I have been trying to get something like this done for a long time, and I think this is the autumn that we finally do it. It's going to happen guys. I promise.

I will be keeping you updated with the progress of this project with more posts. In fact, there should be one coming at you very soon!!

- Liz

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/top/3418/0/84-inspiring-quotes-from-October-2015-LDS-general-conference.html

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/top/3418/1/President-Dieter-F-Uchtdorf-84-inspiring-quotes-from-October-2015-LDS-general-conference.html

Elizabeth to the Rescue... Now who's going to Rescue me?

I have always been the type of person who loves to help others. I will jump at the chance to assist someone in need. Just always want to help those around me... especially my friends. 

A couple of weeks ago, I had a friend who was not feeling well, and I wanted to nothing more than help. The problem was, I didn't know what to do, or how to make this person feel better. I was stuck. I was out with some YSA when I found out the missionaries were going to visit this person. I immediately volunteered to go with them to the lesson. 

I felt bad leaving the group of people I was with, but it was something I had to of. This is what I told the person who organized the event, who also happens to be my visiting reaching companion. She later texted me back saying "Elizabeth to the Rescue" she also said we were comps for a reason, because I love the rescue as well. This is 100% true. I love it so much; I love feeling like I have done some good. 

The next day, mu anxiety took hold again and I ended up telling a friend that I felt like I was getting too emotionally attached. I felt like I was putting in more effort than I was getting, and I really didn't like that feeling. I received a reply saying that I was their fried and they appreciate the friendship. 

Appreciate. That word really got to me. Appreciate. they appreciate the friendship, but that's it. That's when I realized, that's all I ever am, is appreciated. People are happy when I do things for them, but when it comes to showing love and gratitude, they are not able to show the same level that I am to them. This really made me think. I am always available to help others, but who is there to rescue me?

I love my friends dearly, and I do believe that they would do things for me, but of course there are moments when I have my doubts. I really do feel that in most cases, they would feel as though they are simply returning a favour and not actually helping me out of love. I sadly know that no one I know would drop what they are doing to assist me. 

While this is something that I am slowly coming to terms with, it still hurts a little. I'm not perfect, and I have a lot going on in my life. There are times when all I want is a hug, but there is no one around. My anxiety causes me to feel that I am annoying to others and burdening them with my problems, so I tend to just keep them to myself, but that doesn't mean I don't have them. I want to know that there is someone who won't ignore me when I am trying to figure something out or am going through a difficult time. 

It's funny, because until I was writing this, I really did feel alone. I felt like there was no on there. but then I remembered. It's people. People are not there for me. there is someone who is there for me, but he is more than just people; he is my Lord and my Saviour. I am so often overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness that I will forget that he is there to pick me up when I fall. He has already made so many sacrifices for me, and is still willing to make more. It makes me feel so food to know that there is someone on my side, but also a little guilty that I don't do enough for him. 

I love the lord so much, and I am grateful to know of all the sacrifices that he has made for me and just how much it is that he loves me. I am grateful for the gospel in my life, because without it, I really don't know where I would be. 

I still love the rescue, and I don't plan on stopping. But now I am able to feel more accomplished, and more loved that ever before. 

Liz