Stop & Smell The Sea Roses

California is a beautiful place to live and I don't feel like I take full advantage of it.

I find myself taking the quickest routes home from work

and focusing on the destination instead of the journey.

A few weeks ago while I was with my best friend catching up on our crazy lives at our favorite 

coffee shop called Panikin I found myself checking my phone more and more as 

5 o'clock approached 

knowing full well I was going to be stuck in nasty rush hour traffic.

I of course made plans for right after we were done talking so I needed a fast route home.

Then just like that we saw an ambulance race by and in unison agreed the freeway was a no go

So I decided to take the coast..... which I NEVER do.

Once I started off I got anxious because I knew I wasn't going to make it to where I needed to be.

Then I saw the beautiful coast line and literally drove 10 miles under the speed limit to 

admire how gorgeous it was.

I couldn't believe my eyes, something that I've driven past so many times in my life had left me in awe.

God is truly an artist that's all I gotta say!! 

I definitely need to stop and smell the sea roses more often :)

Clearly I had to cancel my plans, but it was soooo worth it.

Beautiful

What is beautiful?

Tall, skinny, tan, long hair, and so on.

I feel like everyone has their own connotation of what they believe is truly beautiful.

So, what is beautiful to me......

To me music is beautiful, more specifically the Mormon Tabernacle or an awesome cover of songs.... if it's well done I get chills. Guaranteed.

To me marriage is beautiful, nothing makes me happier then hearing of an engagement or someones sweet grandparents blissfully celebrating their 60th anniversary.

To me children are beautiful, you cannot deny the precious sound of a babies laugh or how sweet it is when an older sibling tried to help a younger sibling. Melts my heart.

To me service is beautiful, especially the look on someones face when you help them so selflessly without expecting anything in return.

To me confidence is beautiful, my mom use to always tell me I needed to "own it" and apply that to everything I do. Confidence is something most of us need to work on and the best way to do that is to help other build theirs! So don't tear people down, that just proves you lack true confidence.

To me nature is beautiful, you cannot deny that God has truly placed us in such a beautiful world. I'm sure you're thinking... um no she's crazy the world is filled with so much negativity and yes you're right there, but when you give yourself a chance to truly be still and take in all that nature has to offer you can really appreciate how beautiful nature really is; the stars, the ocean, the mountains, the animals, the flowers, there is so much to love!

I think it's so important to stray away from what the social norms of what beautiful might be and see what truly means the most to us.

What's honestly the most beautiful to me is seeing how God truly loves everyone of us no matter what color, shape, or size we may be. No matter how damaged out past may be he always loves us as a son or daughter..... now that is truly beautiful.

 

Musically Gifted and Eloquently Stated

In honor of the recent news of this girl finding out she gets to see Mumford & Sons on June 3rd

here are some of their songs I listen to on repeat.....

Basically all of them so I will try and narrow it down to the best of my abilities!

I love this band so much, there lyrics are so rad and always spot on! 

1. Awake My Soul (well duh! This is what my blog is named after)

2. Ghosts That We Knew

3. Hold On To What You Believe ( All time favorite jam right now)

4. White Blank Page

5. Where Are You Now

6. Dust Bowl Dance

7. Hopeless Wanderer

8. Not With Haste

9. Below My Feet

10. Winter Winds

11. Feel The Tide

Nothing Better

Nothing makes me happier then General Conference! 

There is something so incredibly special about it. I think the reason why I personally love it so much is because I was baptized on Conference weekend a year and a half ago. 

It brings back so many wonderful memories of the missionaries and all of the special people who helped me get to where I am today. If you don't know what General Conference is and you want to check it out click here.

 I love everything about it, the speakers are truly called of God. I really tried to go into it as prepared as possible with lots of questions with real intent and it is absolutely amazing how the speakers will say EXACTLY what you need to hear..... I'm not kidding I swear!

 One topic in particular that I thought spoke out to me was is the importance of being a good example and having positive self worth this was directed toward Mother's, but since I'm clearly not in that category yet, I just saw it as being a good example in general. When I first joined The Church of Latter-Day Saints many people; both friends and family were a little stunned at my decision. But because my love for the gospel grew ten fold I changed myself for the better and my loved ones noticed and saw me as a great example to them. Lately, I feel like I've been struggling with that a bit. I haven't done anything crazy, but I keep catching myself making little mistake here and there even though I know better! It's extremely frustrating and I get that I'm human and people make mistake, but knowing how important it is to be a good example really makes me what to try even harder especially because Sister Dalton emphasized how amazing a Mother's example is sooo I should probably get some practice in now before that day comes :)

Please listen to this talk to you can better understand what I'm talking about 

by: Elaine S. Dalton 

I promise you won't regret it :)

You Are Loved

Everyday I go through this app called LDS Wisdom (it's free check it out) it shuffles through tons of awesome quotes from the Prophet, Apostles, and other LDS church leaders. It is so inspiring and hey isn't it nice to have a quick motivational pick me up right at your finger tips? 
YES!

 Grant doesn't know it, but he inspired me to get this app because a long time ago (probably 6 months ago) he started collecting these types of quotes to put in his room, but he never followed through with it..... Ever since he left for his mission I've also been collecting quotes that I thought would not only be useful to me, but also to him and his many companions on his mish, in hope of eventually sending a couple his way as a surprise. 

Then today I checked my email while at work (I'm a rebel, I know) and I was surprised by not only one email, but FIVE! What a blessing! 

Quickly I learned that surprising him was not an option, because as  I started reading the first email he writes,

 "I would love for you to send me some quotes like with pictures or something so I can put them around the apt.".... little does he know I've been working on it for a while now haha. So funny!

He managed to constantly pull silly things like this throughout his emails. He sent me scriptures that he felt I needed to read, but I had prayed and stumbled upon those same exact scriptures just the night before!

 There is more, but somethings are just meant for me :)

It's just so crazy how Heavenly Father works. 
He shows his love for us at all times even if our eyes aren't open to it. I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life who constantly push and inspire me to be better. I'm so grateful for my Faith and all the blessings I continue to receive! 

Brother Smart.... His favorite teacher at the MTC

First companion in New Mexico

Elder Snyder's coat rack in his Apartment 

(First one is his)