Thought you would love this...

Dearest Brother Johnson,

For my last post I wanted to thank you for your class this semester. I just came up with the idea after I heard a quote I thought you would love. My older sister, the one who lives in North Carolina, just gave me a call and we were discussing the future and some of the relationships I am in and a quote came to her mind.  She said, "On sunday a man described marriage as 'the art of being in a passionate friendship.' "  It felt like truth to me and since meeting you, I feel like you would feel so too.

That is what life is all about, isn't it?  Allowing God to magnifying the "little" things in life.  A good friend in life can sometimes be considered a little thing, but in reality, they are the biggest things.  And that is all a spouse is, a good friend magnified into something passionate.

I know your class helped me catch a little more of that fire of really living and I say thank you for that.  I hope your summer is great and life continues to be fulfilling.

Sincerely,



Alexis Redd    

So Excited

This term has been super difficult for me.  I moved away from Provo, which is typically my schooling scene, and am living at home alone while being in compacted classes I am very unfamiliar with.  Rough stuff.  Part way through the term I made a very big decision that I am now, finally, getting hyped up for.

I AM GOING TO SPAIN!!!!

I have known for a few months now that my brother in law was going to direct a study abroad there.  They had done an Italy trip a few years back and none of my family made it over to visit them and we all kinda regret it.  I had been thinking seriously about going but knew it was going to take quite the chunk out of my savings. Finally, I prayed about it and did some budgeting and felt the confirmation that I should go...and I am so glad I did.  

Because of school, I haven't gotten that excited or informed on Spain.  I had a small window of beauty pulling me through these final weeks of class but other then that, I haven't embraced the full reality of what is about to happen two weeks from now! 

The siblings I am going with live in North Carolina. They have a little girl who is over a year now and we haven't seen her since Christmas.  Yesterday I received a text from them of Asha, my little niece.  They had been at Lens Crafters getting new glasses when Asha, feeling a little left out, put on a pair of super round framed glasses! When I saw that picture my heart just melted and I just wanted to be with them so bad.  Spain is looking really exciting right about now.  

forget me not

“The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in the pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of everyday moments.  They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives.  These are they who are truly happy.”

-President Uchtdorf

This excerpt was taken form President Uchtdorf’s “forget me not” speech in Nov. of 2011.  The talk was later published in a beautiful little book, complete with picture and emphasized statements.  It is a gem for sure.

I love how President Uchtdorf has always testified of such foundamental, timeless truths that the world has twisted so effectively they seem too good to be real.  He talks of our infinite worth as children of “the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe!”  He is our Father and He loves us.  How foreign that is to the world today.  I have such a testimony of such truths and do know that the Lord hasn't forgotten us, now we must not forget to live and honor His sacrifice.  

Marinate

I was able to attend a fireside tonight with Jon Bytheway.  It was phenomenal.  He talked about the first day he went on with his wife.  They had decided to do a BBQ up in the mountains here in utah.  He also thought it would be cool to start off by purchasing the food for the BBQ together. Off to the grocery store they went. They picked up some chicken to be the main course and headed up to the spot.  He proceeded to tell us that the chicken he cooked up was some of the best stuff he had ever made! His date, and future wife, pointed out to him that he had purchased marinated chicken. Bishop Bytheway had no idea what that meant. She proceeded to point out to him that the chicken had been soaked in a mixture to enhance its flavor and that is what marinating is.

He likened it back to us by saying, "We are all marinating, whatever you are surrounding yourself with you are becoming."  He shared a quote that states,"Regardless of your original intentions, you become what you surround yourself with."

I loved this metaphor and plan to spend a little bit of time pondering and seeking revelation on what am I marinating in?

Africa

My parents have been doing a humanitarian project in Kenya, Africa.  They are working with a group of farmers and a local dairy to get native milk on the market.  They have been involved for a little over a year now and I was able to accompany them on their first trip last April.

Since then they have been back and forth a few times, this last trip now lasting two months for my mom and my dad signing on for another! I have really missed them.  I knew I was moving home around the end of April and that I was going to be starting summer school up here in Salt Lake.  The two classes registered for, Statistics and Communications in Organizational Settings, were both going to be a challenge for me and I was excited to have my Dad around to help me.  Little did I know that their recent trip flew them out the very day I moved home and wouldn't have them return until days, and now months for my Dad, after my final exams and papers would be turned in.  Comical.

The only correspondence I have had with them is through email.  I am really grateful for email but it lacks physical connection.  The other day I thought I was going to have the opportunity to Skype with them and I realized then how much I missed seeing them and hearing their voices.  Alas, we were unable and I have since thought a little bit more on how much we have to be grateful for.

The reality struck me that we have email, Skype, telephone communication, etc. that allows us access to nearly every corner of the globe, and how phenomenal that is.  And there my parents sit, in Kenya, Africa, with little orphans who have no underwear, no toilet and no bed.  But with big smiles and open hands they greet us!   I remember being so humbled by their gratitude for life, their contentment with their circumstances and their gratitude for any growth at all.  I fell in love with the African people and will forever look to my experiences with them as examples of Christ-like attributes.