If only we all could be like Rudy

Rudy- one of the greatest football movies of all time. My husband recently got accepted to Notre Dame's  Master of Accountancy program and immediately I thought of Rudy. I decided to borrow the movie and realized why I loved it so much.
Based on a true story, Rudy is the story of a young man that dreamt of attending Notre Dame and playing for their football team. The only problem; he was only about 5 feet tall, weighed just over 100 or so pounds, and couldn't make the grades to get in. (**Spoiler Alert). He had a dream and he did everything he could and finally after applying to Notre Dame four times got accepted. He tried out and got on. As the story continues, Rudy works so hard to actually play, but doesn't play until the last game of the season.
Rudy is a great example of perseverance. He works so hard to reach his goals and does nothing to stop until he gets it. He has lots of moments of discouragement and even feels like giving up, but is determined in the end. If only we all could be like Rudy.

God Uses Media

This weekend was filled with some great uses of media and technology. As a young women leader in my ward, I've had the opportunity and blessing of helping the youth practice and get ready for the Cultural Celebration for the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple. Saturday was the performance in the Marriott Center. It was so neat to see the use of technology as the youth were shown on the jumbo-tron and the performance was broadcast on lds.org which could be accessed all around the world. The next day, the dedication was broadcast to 600 buildings across Utah. A recently baptized friend that came with us commented, "It is so neat to see how many people are gathered for this dedication and how it's almost like we are all there." I realized in that moment how much I have taken for granted the other temple dedications I have seen, the many stake conferences that have been broadcast, CES firesides, and of course the biggest broadcast in the church, General Conference. If it wasn't for technology and the ability we have to broadcast to our church buildings around the world or even in our own homes, we would miss out on so many wonderful things. Technology and media really are a blessing and allow more of God's children the chance to participate in and hear the great messages of the Gospel. God uses media.

Click here for the recent Mormon Newsroom article on the dedication.

Snapchat

I remember the first time I heard about Snapchat. I was a missionary and a member told me about this new app that lets you send a picture or short video to someone else who is then only allowed to see the picture/ video for 10 seconds or less. Immediately I thought of all the bad things that people would use the app for and I couldn't believe what the world had come to.
Well, I am currently a Snapchat user. A friend of mine convinced me to get it after showing me that it can be used for good, clean, fun. Although I'm not one to send a lot of pictures on Snapchat to friends and family, I do appreciate sending fun pictures and not having it fill up the memory space on my phone. I currently have less than ten people on my list of Snapchat friends (half of which are mission companions).
As I've thought about my original impression of Snapchat and my current use of it, I have come to realize how there are a lot of things in this world that can be used for both good and bad. The Internet for example has a lot of inappropriate, incorrect, and cruel things on it. However, it is also filled with many great, uplifting, and inspiring things as well.
I think it is good to remember that media isn't inherently bad, but that we should be active consumers of the media we view and use. Talking to one of the young women in my ward, she mentioned that she isn't allowed to have Snapchat. I completely agree. I feel that although I use Snapchat in appropriate ways, it may not always be easy for an immature consumer to know the most appropriate way to use it. I commend her parents for not allowing her to use Snapchat, because I can see how easy it would be for someone to send inappropriate pictures.
Obviously there are some forms of media that are bad for all ages. I believe that we should be active consumers and really think about what forms or types of media we chose to consume rather than just passively accepting the societal norm.

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.

After the bad inversion we had a few weeks ago, my husband has been a lot more conscious of our environmental impact. We both love Dr. Seuss books and lately read The Lorax together. What a great book and great way to educate children about their environmental impact. We read the story to my nephews tonight and asked what they learned. My nephew's response, "Don't cut down tree because it makes our air bad." It was great to see that my nephew was able to understand the main lesson from the story. I love Dr. Seuss and the imagination his words bring. All his stories have such great lessons for children to learn. My favorite lines from the Lorax are:

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues... UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

If you haven't read the Lorax, I strongly encourage you do. It's a great read!