Good, Better & Best

Have you ever had that feeling? The feeling that you were doing something that was definitely worthwhile, but you knew that you could be doing something better? Because I have. I have it all the time.
We live in a world where everything is so advanced and distractions are just around the corner. (My dad gives me this talk many times) And sometimes, the distractions aren't necessarily bad, such as texting or listening to music on the couch, but there are definitely better things we could be doing. ("Like emptying the dishwasher," says my mother, who's always got something for you to work on ;) But as much fun as texting your friends is, or seeing what's hot on the radio, it's definitely not the best thing we could be doing.

Whenever I get this talk from my dad, I always stop what I'm doing and ask myself, "What are some of the best things I could be doing?" Sometimes I can come up with some, and sometimes I can come up with a lot. Here's a list of the few of the things that come up first when I think of the best things we could be doing:

1. Read the scriptures! (Better yet, study and mark them with little notes on your thoughts)
2. Find something around the house that needs getting done, and do it!
3. Help your mom with dinner (I've been told she loves that)
4. Work on improving your talents
5. Work on your eagle (. . . Don't worry it'll be done before Valentines day!)
6. Call your friends and go do something! (If you didn't like all the previous ones)
7. Use your imagination! Create another world! (See previous blog post "My little world")

And there are definitely many more things you could be investing your time in. Now I know I'm not the best example at this, but I'm working on it!

D&C 58:26-27

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore, he recieveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and bring to pass much righteousness." I also think that the verse after 27 is significant. It says,

D&C 58:28

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise loose their reward."

So remember, there are good things, and believe me, there are a lot of them! There are better things, which are still good, but they're not the best things. And the best things are the things that we want to be spending most of our time doing.

Oh, by the way, if you ever see me doing something that looks like it's wasting time, just slap me and say, "Trevor. Good better and best!" (. . . Ok don't really slap me. Just remind me :)

Somewhere In Between

You know those days when you say to yourself, "Man, I have every right to be happy right now, so why aren't I?!" This is one of those days. For me anyways, hopefully not for you ;) Don't ask me why, cause I'm not completely sure. I'm still trying to figure out myself. Questions like, "Why do I have no patience for this kind of thing?" and, "Why is this subject always on my mind?" Many times it's frustrating, and leads to a state of mind that I hate living inside of. Yeah, I'm a confusing kid. But trust me, I try not to be! I try to be as simple as I can so that people can understand me. Maybe it's on my journey to let everybody else see what I am, that I'm lost about myself. It's like one of those one-way glass windows. Everybody can look through and see me, but when I stare back, all I see is dark shaded glass. So today, I'm somewhere in between. In between emotions. Trapped between two conflicting things happening in my life. So how am I feeling about all of this?

Mood of the day: Unknown

Messed Up

Alright, who here that's reading this loves to sleep?! Woo! Yeah, I do too. But I'm going to let you in on a little fun fact about me.

Fun Fact #243:
Trevor could not sleep in if his life depended on it.

So with that newly found fun fact about me, you can imagine my pain on Christmas break when I stay up until 11:37. . .and wake up at 7:26! Yeah, I know! It's incredibly stupid! The best I can do is just lay there in my bed, hoping I will be able to drift back into a blissful slumber, but alas, it cannot come to pass with me and my messed up internal clock! But that's how it's been my whole life. Yep, I've heard many times that I'm a deprived child, but think of all the things you miss if you sleep till 1:00 PM! I would rather wake up early than late.
There are still times though when I wish that I would just knock myself unconscious and be out for the day. I won't deny it.

Peace

Christmas Time

What comes to your mind when you see or hear those two words?

For little children it's most likely big colorfully wrapped boxes holding inside them something they've been begging for all year. For more mature youth, such as teenagers, they've hopefully figured out that Christmas is a time for giving, and they start giving out presents to all of their friends and family. For the adults with children of their own, the first things that come to their mind are probably those of chaotic shopping, putting up decorations, and more. But they know that Christmas time is for time spent with the family and for Christ, and it really is.

What comes to my mind when I hear those two words?

Peace. Soft peace. Just feeling comforted, warm, and feeling loved. That is what I think of first when I think of Christmas time. I don't get much of this time to myself though, mostly because of my over excited younger siblings who are so eager they just can't control their actions and often run around the house screaming who knows what and playing with their new toys. Don't get me wrong, I love my siblings, but many times I wish they could just calm down and enjoy the peace of Christmas.

The night time is my favorite part about this holiday. Maybe not particularly on Christmas itself, but on days leading up to it. Christmas Eve is always my favorite time. We go, as a tradition, to our grandma's house for dinner, for the puppet show nativity, for the reading in Luke, and later in the night, she always has a new Christmas book that she reads us. By the time we're finished at grandma's house, our family piles into our car all bundled up in blankets ready to head home. I can never predict how the drive home is. Sometimes it's quiet, peaceful, and I can think clearly about things. Other times it's hugely chaotic and nobody can stop talking, let alone fall asleep. But those times when everything on Christmas Eve is quiet are the times I cherish. The one thing that I can think of comparing it to are the times when you're just sitting in the temple with no distractions or nobody talking around you. That peace that just flows so freely and smoothly through your body, and the knowledge that everything is alright, no matter what you're facing, is the peace that I think of when I think of Christmas time.

One of my most favorite things about Christmas is the music. Not the jazzy "Jingle Bells" or "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," but soft music that just makes tears come to your eyes, although you can't explain why they do. Piano music is my favorite type of music to listen to at this time of year, just because it's such a powerful mood setter. For instance, when I listen to Christmas hymns like "O Holy Night," or "Away in a Manger," it's just so beautiful for me. That is, if everything else around me is still and quiet. I love listening to arrangements of these types of hymns without words, just so I can choose to sing along in my mind, or just let the flow of the notes take me away.

Now, don't think that just because I wrote this long blog post about how I love the quiet solitude of Christmas means that the only thing I enjoy about Christmas is that. No! I love everything else that comes with it! The family gatherings, the presents, the birth of Christ, it's just that the thing that I most enjoy about this holy holiday is the peace that so gently flows with it. The peace that surrounds everybody on this time of year. The peace that allows us to forget our troubles and our problems, and to let us feel loved and comforted. That is the thing I most look forward to about this time of year.

Peace

Hello

Good day!

Sometimes it's nice just to say hello.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some things just aren't meant to be understood

Has anybody ever been confused? Like they had no idea what was going on? And no matter how hard you tried to understand it, something just hit you and hit you good. And the most frustrating part about it was that you didn't even know what it was that you're confused about.

That's my definition of confusing.

So I'm not sure what this post is about, just because I don't know what I'm confused about. But I do know that I am confused. If anybody were to ask me what was wrong, or why so serious, I would not be able to answer them. Truly. I've never been very good at finding the right words to say to people when I'm trying to give them advice, or trying to answer a deep question, and it's upsetting. So, so upsetting. I feel like a failure every time I stop in the middle of a sentence trying to think of the right thing to say, while in the mean time, everything else I've said just floats away in the air, like it never existed.

So I suppose that this post wasn't really meant for any of you, it was more for me. Sometimes you just have to write about your feelings, even if you don't know what your feelings are, just to make you feel better. But it has helped. If you read this, give yourself a pat on the back, because I just realized that this post really was for me. But thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Death by Duty

Ok, so in our ward, every national holiday, we put up American flags. (I'm sure most wards around here do it too) It is the young men's duty to post those flags in our ward. Through rain, wind, sleet, snow or hail the young men are expected to perform this task. If the ground was so iced over that you could skate on it like an ice rink, the young men are still expected to find a way to get that flag to stay upright. That's right. We are dedicated.

We are now rethinking our commitments.

Today, as many of you might know was Veteran's day! As you may also know, it's the middle of November. Snow has been falling here and there for a couple of weeks now. What is snow a sign of? That's right. The temperature has dropped enough to freeze the moisture. (A.K.A. It's freezing)

Now before I continue, let me just say one thing. I extremely, intensly, severely, with a firey passion, hate the cold. Hate snow. Hate everything that has to do with the frozen moisture. (Besides ice. Ice is cool)

So last night at about 8:00 I recieved a phone call from the 1st counsler in my quorum.
"Hey Trevor!" He says. "Guess what? Tomorrow is Veteran's day! Guess wh-"
I already knew what was coming.
"Flags." I said.
"Yep. 6:00 AM at Zack's house."
So here I come to Zack's house at 6:00 AM. It's dead dark outside. When I get to his house there's a car outside it. I get in and it's loaded with about 8 people. My assignment was Alpine Vista, so we go to the church, load up with our flags and rebar, and head out. By this time it's about 6:15. So we hop out of the car to start posting the flags, and I am just hit by a huge wave of pure coldness. Now I didn't notice this either because it was dark, or I was just to tired to notice, but the wind is huge! Like it always is in Lehi... Anyway, we're fighting against the wind up the street putting a flag at every house. It's so crazy cold outside right now that my fingers were white in the first 3 minutes. So about 10 minutes later I notice another funny thing that I should have noticed a while ago.
It's snowing.
That's just great. Snow + wind = one of the most uncomfortable situations ever. Ever. Anyway, by the time I get home I can't feel any part of my body, (yes, I was wearing a jacket. I'm not stupid) and it's just getting light. 6:50. Well, time to get ready for early morning seminary!

Don't get me wrong, I love teacher's quorum! I love young men's! I love all the war veterans who served our country! But sometimes times I dislike what we do in the quorum and as the young men of the ward. Such as this one experience.
Yes, I need to have a more optimistic attitude about the things we do together... Well, there's something I have time to work on!