life in color

As we just celebrated Fathers Day, I wanted to give a special shout-out to some of the wonderful dads and father figures in my life. My dad - June is a special time because we get to celebrate my dad twice: for Fathers Day and his birthday. We really should celebrate him every day because as far as dads go, he’s the best. He is patient, selfless, and gentle. He’s always smiling and ready to serve others, especially his kids. My dad taught me how to do math problems and how to ride a bike. He pulled teeth, coached my failed softball career, and watched countless show choir competitions. When I would come home from a late-night practice or from a friend’s house, I would often find our manual garage door already opened, awaiting my arrival. In those small moments, I knew my dad loved me. My father-in-law - One cool part about getting married is your family grows, and two years ago I gained an amazing new dad. My father-in-law is one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. He ...

Photo by  Paul Hanaoka  on  Unsplash Recently, many LDS teenagers participated in a week-long social media fast after being challenged by President Russell M. Nelson. I felt inspired to join in (maybe because I look like a youth), and I had a great experience. Here are a few things I learned: 1. Even without social media, I still waste a lot of time . Instead of scrolling through Instagram, I watched YouTube videos, looked at Riverdale memes, and read movie reviews. Removing social media from my life is not enough; I must actively replace the activity with something else. 2. I didn't miss it . I thought that seven days without social media would be difficult. But it wasn't. I thought I would it would bother me not knowing every engagement, vacation, and baby milestone on my Facebook feed. But it didn't. I thought I would habitually open the Twitter app. But I didn't. I think it helped that I turned off all notifications. I think I might keep the notifications o...

Photo by  Alexander Possingham  on  Unsplash "Mom?" I whisper into the darkness. Silence. Then the rustling of the sheets as she rolls over in bed. "What is it, Maggie?" she responds. "I can't sleep." "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I just can't sleep." "Crawl back in bed and shut your eyes. Even if you can't fall asleep, you'll still be getting much-needed rest." "Okay. Goodnight, Mom." The other night I had a hard time falling asleep. I don't know if it was the jitters of moving or if I simply binged too many Supernatural episodes that day. Either way, my mind was racing. I listened to every car drive by, every creak of the house, my husband's steady breath. All the while, my mind raced. As I stared at the ceiling, I thought of my mom's advice: Crawl back in bed and rest. As much as I wish that every night I could instantly fall into deep REM sleep and dream of sun...

In one of Christ's most famous sermons , He told His disciples, "Blessed are they that mourn." Truthfully, I found these words a little unsettling. Can we only receive blessings through intense suffering? If life is going well, do I need to seek trials to be a true disciple? I've been pondering this topic for months, and I finally feel like I have an answer that works for me. When Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, I believe that He felt each one of our pains: from heartbreak to stubbed toes to appendicitis. He experienced every moment in which we feel embarrassed or upset or alone. He went through all this to be able to understand us perfectly. With that understanding, He is able to succor us, comfort us, and strengthen us. We are commanded to become like Him, which means we too must succor, comfort, and strengthen others. But we may not have experienced imprisonment, anorexia, cancer, addiction, sexual assault, or depression. We may not be a minority...

Adding up how many hours you've spent on social media in a week is like counting calories on Thanksgiving -- you'll just feel bad about yourself. I'll be the first to admit that I spend way too much time on social media. I enjoy staying connected with others, sharing the happy moments in my life, and having a mindless activity to do when I'm bored or stressed. But I want to be better. I want to limit my social media consumption. However, sometime that's hard, especially when my homework is literally to post on Instagram. So instead of limiting time, I want to better utilize the time that I'm already spending on social media. I want to be proactive and mindful in my social media consumption. I don't want to open the app just to get rid of the notification or to watch every cat video just because I'm bored. I want to scroll with a purpose. That purpose could be to read the news, find an uplifting quote or video, post for homework, find an event n...

Today is International Women's Day, so I felt it was appropriate to write my thoughts about a topic that's been on my mind. In Luke 10 , we read about when Christ visited the home of Mary and Martha. Both women sit at His feet to listen to His teachings. At one point, Martha gets up to cook dinner, while Mary remained. After working in the kitchen for a while, Martha is likely hot and tired and stressed (because, um, the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD is in her house and she doesn't want to feed him burnt Ramen noodles). Frazzled, she calls out Mary for not helping. Christ hears these comments and lightly reprimands Martha for her comments. We often use this story to illustrate the importance of placing spiritual things over temporal, but I'd like to use it to emphasize a different point. First off, I don't think Christ minded that Martha left His feet. He was likely familiar with the family, maybe even close friends with them. He knew Martha's personality and that s...

I've been out of the dating game for a while now, and to be honest, I don't miss it much. It's hard to bear your soul to someone only to find out your personality, hopes and dreams don't match someone's checklist. I've heard of possible relationships going south for a variety of reasons: "He's just not tall enough." "She wants a career and that intimidates me." "He didn't serve an LDS mission." "She has an annoying laugh. I couldn't get past it." "He made some poor choices as a teenager, and that really bothers me." There isn't anything wrong with striving to find the best partner. However, I find it detrimental to judge individuals based on societal, cultural, or even personal ideals. In the New Testament, we read about Joseph. I'm sure that he had fantasized about his future wife and the life they would lead: They would marry and live in the house that Joseph built. They woul...