Don't Ever Forget

      Here in this life on this earth, we have a veil.  There are so many spiritual and eternal things that we can't see or understand.  It's so easy to forget.
     
      I forgot.  I looked away from my eternal goal.  Because I wasn't focused on God, my path no longer pointed toward Him.  I strayed, and found myself stuck and alone.  The things that had taken me away from God had turned on me, and I was constantly being tortured by regrets, bad feelings, and lies.  Darkness had crept up.  And all I could think was that I had failed.  That I wasn't good enough.  That I wasn't living up to what was expected of me.  And there was no point in trying to get back.
      I started doing things I had promised myself I would never do.  I gave in to things I never thought I would be tempted to give in to.  I almost turned into someone completely different.  I've always been a happy person, but rarely was there a smile on my face.  And if there was, it faded all too quickly.  People noticed that something was wrong, and stopped enjoying my company.  If someone asked if I was okay, I would just shrug it off and leave.  I wanted to stop feeling like I did, but I wasn't willing to accept help or do what it took to get out of this hole I had stepped into.
      It got really bad.  I couldn't bring myself to go anywhere.  I cried all the time and was angry and irritated constantly.  I insulted my family and verbally hurt my mom, who is my greatest hero.  There was one day when I couldn't eat, couldn't stop crying.  I skipped voice lessons and left my house.  I walked to a nearby park, and walk around and back and forth, sobbing, for three hours.  I wasn't planning on going home anytime soon.  Then suddenly it all went away.  I stopped hurting.  I wasn't happy, but I wasn't hopeless either.  I walked home right away.
      The next day, I went to to the temple.  I hadn't been in so long, and the familiarity and love of the place was a great relief and comfort.  Near the end of my time there, a great clarity was brought to my mind.  I suddenly knew.  It was as if someone had been speaking in a different language, but had changed to the language I understood.  "You're not looking in the right place.  You're focused on the wrong things."  Then I remembered.  I remembered the times when I had felt the love of Heavenly Father so strongly I couldn't contain it.  I remembered when I had been healed by His power.  I remembered how strong my relationship with Jesus Christ was.  I couldn't imagine how I had been persuaded to stray from those things.  The things that mattered and affected me most.
       I'm not going to tell you that everything was rainbows and sunshine from there, because it wasn't.  It didn't get better right away.  And you know what?  Sometimes it gets really hard to believe that it will ever get better.  But I'm starting to come back to life.

      There was one time, a couple of years ago, when I was very sick.  There was nothing any doctor could do.  No explanation or solution.  But one day I prayed harder than ever I had before, and suddenly my pain was gone.  But not all trials end that way.  We won't always be instantly healed.  But God will always heal us when we are willing to let Him.  He is always there, even when we can't see Him.  Jesus Christ loves us more than we can possibly imagine.  We are capable of feeling so much love, and yet we can't even fathom the amount of love that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have for us.  And it is always there.
      Don't forget.  Don't ever forget.  Because God is there, and always will be.  He will guide us in every step of our journey.  His hand is always available for us to hold on to.  Don't you ever forget.

The Parable of the Geode

Once there was a cave full of glittering crystals.  This cave was situated near a popular mountain trail, and so became a major attraction for hikers.  During the Spring, Summer and Autumn months the cave was flooded with tourists and natives alike.  People “oohed” and “aahed” and flashed cameras, often pointing out favorite formations and clusters.

Amid the sparkling glamour of a particularly gorgeous crystal bed, there lay a rock.  A magnificent rock of his kind, but in comparing himself to the beauty of the gems he felt downright ugly.  No one wanted a picture of him.  No one commented on how amazing he looked.  He told himself that all he ever did was get in the way of what the people really wanted to see.  And all he wanted was for someone to notice him, to say he was good enough.  But he never noticed when someone did.

Years went by.  Snow came.  It melted.  Leaves grew, then fell, and snow came again.  As this cycle rotated again and again, the rock became more and more miserable.  He dwelt only on the fact that he wished he was something he wasn’t.

Then one day, a certain man entered the cave.  He wore the apparel of one who often works with minerals.  As he walked through the cave toward the rock he admired the crystals, making comments supported by more knowledge than any previous visitor had possessed.

“How wonderful,” thought the rock.  “This man, of all people, will know and acknowledge my worthlessness.”

The man soon reached the place where the rock lay.  He didn’t say a word, but examined the rock for a moment before slipping him into a bag at his side.

A few hours later, the rock was retrieved from the bag and placed on a table beneath a bright light.  The man carefully positioned a very small chisel on the rock’s side.  He gave the chisel a few small taps.  The rock began to crack.  A little more manipulation from the man’s skillful hands and the rock separated in half, falling open on the table.

Little rainbows of reflected light jumped onto the walls and ceiling.  Some of the purest, finest crystal that had ever been seen had just been found.  For so long the rock had believed that he was worthless because he didn’t look like the other crystals.  But he eventually realized that he really was a gem inside.

The End

Carrots, Eggs, and Hot Chocolate

Hello there, people!  This post was put on the Shaking Brains blog yesterday.  Don't forget to check it out there with all the other wonderful stuff on there! :D

      What do carrots, eggs, and hot chocolate have in common (besides being food)?  Let’s find out!

      We’ll do an experiment together.  We have three pots of boiling hot water.  We also have a carrot, an egg, and a packet of hot chocolate.

      Let’s put the carrot in the hot water.  At first, the carrot doesn’t seem to respond.  But after a while, if you look closely, you’ll see that it has expanded slightly and paled a little.  Then if you poke it with a fork, it will fall apart to the touch.  The carrot has given in to its circumstances, becoming soft and malleable.

      Now let’s put the egg in the next pot of water.  Watching it, you’ll notice little bubbles gathering around the shell, but no visible effect.  Even after you take the egg out of the water, the shell is still hard and the weight hasn’t seemed to change.  But crack the egg, and you’ll find that because of its situation, the egg has hardened.

      Now we’ll pour the hot chocolate powder into the last pot of hot water.  Give it a little stir.  Oooooh, can you smell that?  Delicious chocolate scents the air and wafts around the room.  In this case, you can’t take the chocolate out of the water to see what the water did to it.  You pour it into a cup and enjoy what the chocolate did to the water.

      How do we deal with our boiling water?  We are constantly surrounded by a world that tries to destroy us.  Are we like the carrot, who gives in and lets the circumstances take over, becoming soft and unable to defend itself?  Are we like the egg, who when confronted with adversity becomes hardened and unwilling to bend?  Or are we like the chocolate, who embraces the situation and turns it into something that improves everything involved?

Master of Fate

Hey guys!  Here's another post!  This was published on the Inspiration Lamp Post website yesterday (titled 2 Roads: How Decisions Determine Destiny).  Go check out all the other awesome stuff on there!  And don't forget about ILP's Lionheart Mentoring seminar this Friday!

 A long time ago, a man was walking along a forest path.  He followed it faithfully, but he was eventually forced to stop.  For there, just before him, the road split.  He could no longer follow the road, but had to choose the direction in which he traveled.  He had never before been thus confronted, and having no frame of reference to help him, he decided upon the road to the right.  His journey commenced.

This path proved dark and treacherous.  He slipped on wet moss and tripped over rocks and roots.  Often the sound of an unseen animal startled him.

By the time he again walked in sunlight, he was wild with fright.  The sight of the familiar sunny road calmed him, but his anger was strong against the mile of darkness in which he had traveled.  He shook his fist at the shady trees, cursing the path.  He gave no thought to the choice which he had made.

 He began walking again, and before long, he came to another parting of roads.  He again chose the path to the right, giving very little thought to the matter.  He had forgotten the consequence of his previous decision.  His choice was made without consciousness.

This path, too, was inconvenient.  Though bathed in daylight, the dirt was muddy and stuck to his shoes.  Occasionally a thorn bush or animal blocked his way.  Fatigue overwhelmed him as this stretch of road seemed to never end.  Finally, however, the path became more firm, and his way cleared.  Again, relief swept over him; and again, he blamed the road for his troubles.

How often do we think like this man did?  We make decisions every day.  Do we realize that?  Do we take responsibility for our situations, recognizing that our choices brought us to where we are?  It’s important that we are aware of the power we possess in agency.  Sometimes we don’t know what to choose, at first; but after experiencing the consequence of a choice, we can choose how we let that affect us and our choices in the future.  Now, back to the man’s story.

The man again continued on his way.  But this time, his thoughts were on what he had experienced along this road.  He pondered the first decision he had made, and the resulting situation.  He then realized that his second decision was very similar.  He stopped abruptly as he came to a startling conclusion.  He could have learned from the first experience.  If he had thought about the consequence of the first situation, he would not have made the same mistake.  Shaking the dried mud from his shoes, the man decided to test his theory.  He hurried along the road until he came to another fork.  Overjoyed, he raced onto the road to the left.

The man was so pleased with his discovery that he jumped over the rocks on the path and scampered up the little hills that he came upon.  He ran his hands along the bushes that crept onto the path.  He listened to the birds sing and laughed at the animals that watched him pass by.  When he tripped over an occasional root, he merely got up and kept going.  His happiness could not be dampened.

Have you noticed what changed?  The path itself was not any easier.  There were rocks and roots and bushes in the way; there were still overhanging trees and lurking animals.  The one thing that changed was his outlook.  And that was his choice.


 Life happens; no question.  There are so many things about your road that you can’t control.  But you decide how Life’s happenings affect you.  You are free to follow any path you choose.  You can even make a new road!  Your circumstances, good or bad, cannot be blamed on or credited to anything or anyone else.  Yes, there are occurrences over which you have no power.  You can’t prevent the waves in the ocean; but you can decide whether to surf them or be pulled under.


 You control the direction of your life.  You are the master of your fate.

CEO and Seventeen Years Old

      This article is being posted on the Shaking Brains website on Monday!  Don't forget to check it out!

Jacob Hansen lives in Bountiful, Utah, and is a full-time student at Brigham Young University in Provo.  He is currently working toward a degree in Entrepreneurship and he plans to continue on to Law School in the near future.  He is the CEO and co-founder of Inspiration Lamp Post, an organization with a website and blog meant to motivate and inspire excellence.  He is a talented writer and public speaker with a fair-sized audience on his website.  While his occupations are great and commendable, the most extraordinary thing about him is probably the fact that he is seventeen years old.  

From early childhood, education has been an important part of Jacob’s life.  He feels that the nature of his childhood education has been a great blessing and advantage “custom built to fit [his] needs.”  He grew up under the private tutelage of his parents, a situation commonly known as home-school.  

“From playing bagpipes to reading novels to building forts in my backyard, I was given freedom to follow my heart,” he says.  Because of that freedom, Jacob has always been passionate about education and finding his purpose.  He attended several weekly classes at a nearby private school for four years, then he took personal charge of his education and became involved with a close-knit peer-support group at the age of fifteen.  He relates, “I firmly believe that everyone has a unique purpose to live here on earth, and at that time I was highly determined to discover my own.”  He received advice, studied, and reflected, and eventually decided that college attendance would be the most beneficial decision for his future.

Having no desire to wait four to five more years for that, Jacob started preparing for and applying to various colleges.  In the fall of 2015, at sixteen years old, he began attending BYU as a full time student with his sights set on law school.  “People often ask me how I was able to get to college at the early age that I did and how I manage to do so well while I’m there,” he says.  “I can only speak from my own experience, but I believe that academic success is not determined nearly as much by your own knowledge as by your attitude towards learning and your mastery of basic study skills.”

Hard work and a passion for learning has carried Jacob far when it comes to success and living up to his potential.  He states, “I think the purpose of education should be to enable one to live his/her purpose.  While I will never stop learning, I plan on continuing to attend formal schooling only as long as I need the opportunities and information best presented in that environment.”

Jacob understands that education doesn’t only happen in the classroom, and he finds learning in any situation.  One aspect of his education has been a fondness for writing.  “I have always enjoyed writing,” Jacob says, “and after finding success in a national writing competition, Celine Wardrop (my friend and writing buddy) and I decided it was time that we start sharing our ideas with the world.  We named our joint blog Inspiration Lamp Post.”

Inspiration Lamp Post started out with two teens who just wanted to share their ideas with the world.  But with Jacob Hansen, “just” doesn’t cut it.  He continues, “In the spring of 2015, an idea was sparked inside each of us.  We looked at the world and saw a society of teenagers who were tragically failing to live up to their potential, and so as 16-year-olds we resolved to do something about it.  Shortly thereafter, a movement was born.”

The mission statement of Inspiration Lamp Post says, “Our mission is to create a culture of excellence among teenagers.”  Inspiration Lamp Post has already begun to fulfill that goal.  Teens have been inspired and motivated and lives have been blessed and enhanced because of this organization.

How is it possible for Jacob to do everything he is doing and has done without any problems?  It’s not.  Just like anyone else, Jacob has trials.  He says, “I have often thought that things like inexperience and a lack of resources were legitimate obstacles in my life, and they have surely made things more difficult.  But more than anything, the number-one greatest challenge that I have faced is the belief that I cannot do what I dream.”

A lot of people tend to be held back by feelings like this, but not Jacob.  He goes on to say, “This belief has killed more of my success than a thousand years of failure ever could, and so I fight it every day.  Every day, sometimes hourly, I remind myself that I am capable of enormous goodness.  That I was BORN FOR GREATNESS.  That I CAN.”  

Jacob recognizes that he is not the only one who got him where he is right now.  He says, “My success in all my endeavors I attribute, above all, to God and the personal relationship I have with Him.”

Jacob trusts that God is behind everything, but he still passionately believes in hard work. “If there is one thing I have learned, it is that when you take action, doors will open.”

As incredibly amazing as he is, Jacob isn’t the only one who can do great things.  You, like Jacob, have a mission in this life.  You possess the potential and capability to fulfill it.  You can push past the feelings of doubt and inadequacy.

"Never consider your age to be a limitation, because it isn't.  Ignorance, fear, and pride are limitations, but fortunately none of those qualities are intrinsically attached to being young.  So stop feeling discouraged and go hunt down success—the path to changing the world is a long one, and there is no better time to start than today."  

~Jacob Hansen

Rise Above Your Limitations

      This is an article that was posted on the Inspiration Lamp Post website.  Click here to read this article (titled If You've Said This Once, You've Said It Too Many Times) and all the other wonderful stuff on there! (I'm serious--it's VERY inspiring...)

“I can’t do that.”

 How many times have you heard or said that sentence?  If you’ve heard (or said) it once, that’s one too many.

 We all have limitations.  We’re mortal, and there are some things that are truly unattainable.  Example: flying by just flapping your arms.  That really can’t happen.  There is not a single person--past, present, or future--who is capable of that.

 But we sometimes look at simple challenges as impossibilities.  The fact that we don’t currently possess the ability to do something, or it will take us out of our comfort zone, doesn’t mean that we can’t.

 I wasn’t born with many natural talents.  For a long time, I was convinced that I wasn’t exceptionally talented at anything, and I just accepted it.  Being great just wasn’t my thing.  I left it to the “talented” people.  Then when I was about eight years old, I discovered my gift for writing, especially writing poetry.  I had a gift!  I had a talent after all!  I knew immediately that I was good at it, and that became my focus.  I wanted to be the best writer I could, and I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could one day be the best ever.  Now, eight years later, I have greatly expanded and improved my ability in that regard.  The problem with that is that I had never really tried--or stuck to--anything else.

 My sister was born a performer.  Drama, music, dancing, you name it.  She has a wonderful ear for remembering and writing music.  For years I would write song lyrics and then pass them on to her without even attempting to write a melody, because I thought that since it didn’t come naturally, I “couldn’t” do it.

 Then I decided that I didn’t need to depend on her to finish my songs.  I sat down at the little electric piano in my room and wrote a melody to my latest song by myself.  It was hard and took a lot longer than it would have for my sister, but I learned something that day: I really could do it!  My limitations were created only by my mind.  Finding that I was capable freed me in a way.  All of a sudden, I could add guitar chords and harmonies and I even arranged a song and added a violin part (I don’t play violin).  Who knew?  It took me sixteen years to learn that I could do anything, as long as I put in the effort (anything except flying with arms, of course).

 Moral of the story: when you think you can’t, the reality is that you won’t.  It’s your mind that puts obstacles in your way, and you have control over that.  You have the power to choose to ignore the doubts and excuses.  Rise above your self-made limitations, and you will soar.

Sympathetically Yours

      This was posted on the Shaking Brains website just this morning!  If you would like to, you can click here to read it and all the other inspiring stuff written by some wonderful teens!

Dear Friends,

This is from a normal, patched-up, immature, short-ish, average-looking, sixteen-year-old girl.  I’m nothing extraordinary or unusual.  I have good days and bad days, and I deal with problems in every single one of them.  I like to talk (what girl doesn’t?), and I giggle and fan-girl just like you would expect a teen girl to do.  I have friends and people I wouldn’t exactly call my “friends”.  I have interests and hobbies and certain things I don’t particularly like to do.  I have responsibilities.  I have little joys and pleasures.  I have problems.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I understand.  I bet if I told you how much I hate it when my little sister leaves my bedroom light on, you would totally get it.  I bet if I described my love for the smell of rain, you’d tell me you feel the same way.  I bet if I said that I tend to feel awkward talking to people I don’t know (especially cool people: I don’t want to embarrass myself), you would feel my pain.  And I’m sure that if you talked about the certain way you eat your pizza, or your unique way of tying your shoes, we would both laugh and agree.  Because I get it; I completely understand, and I probably do the same thing.

You know, I have a New Year’s resolution to have a better fitness plan.  We know how well that will work out, right?  

See? You just laughed (or at least smiled) at that sentence--I can tell.  Why?  Because we all know.

We all have our quirks and differences; to a degree.  No one is exactly like you, because we’re all made up of little bits of everyone else.  You will never meet someone with whom you have every single thing in common, but you also won’t meet someone you aren’t similar to in any way.

I have some interesting little things I say, such as “funsauce”, “don’t die”, and “I’m confuzzled”, which I have picked up from various friends of mine.  And recently, I’ve had some friends telling me that I sound “exactly like” their sister Aubrey* when I say those kinds of things.  Aubrey* is currently serving an LDS mission, and I’ve never met her.  Yet she says the same things, and her family has told me that I even act like her sometimes.  We both like doing fancy stuff with hair, and we both enjoy writing (like neither of us can live without it).  Funny, right?  Someone I have never even seen in person is so much like me.  I’m sure you know, or at least know of, people who are very similar to you.

Have you ever searched your name on the Internet?  (Believe me, you’re not the only one.)  Did you see how there actually were results?  Again: you’re not alone!

Have you ever tripped over something (like a chair) and dropped your folder (full of papers) while walking in front of a bunch of people?  Same.  (I did it on Wednesday.)

Have you ever said something really stupid in front of your crush, or someone you’re trying to impress?  Me too.  (I can’t even count the number of times I’ve done that…)

Have you ever laughed so hard that your face turned red and blotchy and tears were pouring out of your eyes and you fell off your stool and you had to basically crawl to the bathroom where you gagged on your laughter because you weren’t breathing and you found that your cheeks were covered with mascara and then when you walked back you found your friends looking at you with wide eyes like they thought you were the weirdest person they’d ever seen?  Hopefully you’ve never had to experience that… (That was Thursday.)

I hope this has been evidence that we all do dumb, embarrassing things sometimes.  When those things happen to you, and people laugh, please know that most of them aren’t laughing because they don’t like you or they’re trying to be mean.  Most of them laugh because they understand and have probably done that very thing.

I hope this has also been proof that people understand what you’re going through.  We all disagree with other people sometimes.  We all have friend problems.  We all have jealousies and get offended occasionally.  We all go through it.  So don’t feel like no one understands.  Don’t think you can’t talk to anyone about it, because chances are, they need someone to talk to just as much as you do.

A friend of mine says that “what is personal is universal,” meaning that you, unique as you are, aren’t going through anything alone.  I may not know you, whoever you are, but I bet we’d get along just fine.  Because I understand.  I know.

I wrote a poem several months ago for a contest (I didn’t win, in case you were wondering).  I’d like to share it here.

We All Go Through It

Happiness or pain,

Sunshine or rain,

Everyone around you goes through it.

Alone or with friends,

For a while or to the end,

Look around-- we all go through it.

On others you can depend,

For we all understand.

Go lift someone up-- you’ve been through it.

Look around.  Notice others.  They’re human, just like you.  The struggles people deal with are there so other people have the opportunity to help.  So don’t deny others the privilege of helping you with your problems, and don’t hesitate to take the chance to do the same for someone else.  Knowing that there’s someone who understands helps us have confidence in who we are.  It helps us know that we’re not alone, and fewer people are judging us than we may imagine.  I hope you know that there’s at least one person on earth who understands: and that’s me.  But I think you’ll find that most people do understand.  So go on with the confidence that you are you, and we know how it is.  

I understand, and don’t you dare forget it.

Sympathetically yours,

~Patty

*Name changed