The Madness of March

I love March Madness. I love that at during the last few weekends I can find a good basketball game on at any given time. I know we just talked about multitasking in class, but watching basketball and doing homework is one of the rare exceptions I think. ;) This tournament has been crazy! My family set up a group to compete each others brackets. My bracket was busted very early on, but I love that it has got us communicating and having fun even though we aren't watching the games together. When the question was asked if technology has brought my family closer of made us more distant, I would say it has definitely brought us closer. I get facetime calls from my little brother a few times a week, I catch up with my mom at least every Sunday, we have group chats that keep us updated on everyone. There are definitely ways that modern media has distanced us, but overall I think it has been a huge blessing for my family.

Speaking in Church

On Sunday I had the blessed opportunity to speak in church. My topic was the blessings of the temple which I thought would be super easy so I never sat down to write anything until late into the week. Sunday morning (thank goodness for 1:00 church) I found myself in a panic and scrambling for resources. I have never been more thankful for lds.org and how quick and easy it is to access any talk I want. I quickly printed off a bunch of quotes that I liked and sat down to put in my own thoughts and experiences. Miraculously everything came together so smoothly and better than I ever could have imagined!

Here is a story that I shared:

President Hugh B. Brown, formerly a member of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency, provided a personal experience. He told of purchasing a rundown farm in Canada many years ago. As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet high and was yielding no berries, so he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small stumps. Then he saw a drop like a tear on the top of each of these little stumps, as if the currant bush were crying, and thought he heard it say:
“How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me. … How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”
President Brown replied, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down.’” 

I related this to our new Provo City Center Temple. The Tabernacle served a wonderful purpose,  but God had something better in mind for it. He "cut it down" just so he could build it up for something greater. We now have the opportunity to partake of the blessings of it.

The Dorito Effect

My husband and I got out of Provo this weekend! It's always so nice for me to get out and have a break from the chaos of it all. Anyway, when we went to Canada over Christmas break we started listening to an audio book called The Dorito Effect. It was super interesting, but we haven't had time to finish it since then until this trip. 

First of all, I love audio books. I really don't like reading because I feel like I am wasting my time. With audio books, I can multitask and do whatever I want while I listen. I love that modern media gives us options so we can enjoy things in different ways. 

So this Dorito Effect book is pretty neat. I'm really into nutrition and healthy eating so it's right up my alley. The premise of the book is that flavor and "fake flavors" in our food is causing people to become addicted to things that really aren't even natural foods. The epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are not tied to the overabundance of fat or carbs or any other specific nutrient. Instead, we have been led astray by the growing divide between flavor—the tastes we crave—and the underlying nutrition. 

Isn't that so interesting? If you are at all interested in nutrition and the way food has been changed today, check this book out. Whether you read it or listen to it, you'll love it! 

Connected Cousins

My husband and I both have large extended families. So we have lots and lots of cousins to keep track of. 

Each of our families have a different way of accomplishing communicating. My family uses email and his family uses Instagram. Both techniques have their pros and cons but the point is that they both keep our families together.

Once people move far away it is easy to not know what is going on in their lives. I really think it is important to stay current with family members because these relationships last forever. 

In just one week we got a new cousin, had a cousin get home from a mission, and a cousin move. Thanks to technology we had pictures of these important events even though we are far away. 

Facetime

Does anyone else ever wonder how people survived without Facetime or Skype? Maybe some people appreciate it more than others do, but if you have ever gone through a long distance relationship, I'm sure you are one that is thankful for this modern convenience. 

My fiance' (now husband) and I went the entire summer in different countries. He was in Canada, I was in Utah. Then I was in Bolivia, then Peru, then Illinois, then Missouri. No matter where I was, I could see him and he could see me. I just think it is so amazing that we have a tool that makes the world so much smaller. 

Being at school and away from family also makes me appreciate Facetime. Almost every Sunday my husband and I check in with our families and it's so fun to not only hear them but see them too. We both have just one sibling left at home and I think it helps them to feel more included when they get to see their siblings more than once every couple months.  

We are so lucky to live in this time! 

Power or Poison?

I found this picture somewhere in my social media exploring this week. I see the needles as something that could either be a power or a poison. Sometimes needles can give us powerful substances that immunize us against terrible diseases. Media can certainly empower us for good. 

Needles can also give us substances that poison our bodies with drugs. Addiction can play a huge part if these substances are abused. Likewise, when we abuse our media choices, we can become addicted and completely overcome by it. 

What do you think? How do you interpret it?

Vain Things of the World

I have been studying in the Book of Mormon in the book of Alma. In chapter 5 Alma is teaching the people in Zarahemla who have gone a little bit astray. Verse 53 says:

"And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these tings, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches?"

I am also reading the Institute Student Manual along with it. Here is what Elder Holland has to say about this scripture:

"In terms of preoccupation with self and a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive and it accounts for much of the unhappiness in the modern world. One would truly need a great and spacious makeup kit to compete with the beauty as portrayed in media all around us."  

I totally agree with Elder Holland. Alma 5:53 is more prevalent than ever today. We have to continually be on guard to not let the media influence our desires and actions too much. Otherwise, we will be caught up in the temporary happiness that the world provides.  

Be the Good Billboard

I have a job and an internship this semester that both require a lot of travel throughout Utah County. Recently I have noticed how overwhelmingly annoying the billboards are. They are getting more and more obscene in my opinion. I find myself looking at them without even thinking and then having a phrase or a picture in my mind for the rest of the day. Of course this is exactly what the advertisers want to have happen. They come up with something so catchy that just a couple of seconds of viewing will hook you. 

Like everything in the media, there is good that comes from some of the messages. I will occasionally read something that is new or interesting or that makes me think. 

These billboards have made me think about what kind of messages I want to send to people who I just meet me for a moment? Am I sending a vibe of love and kindness or am I like those annoying billboards that only relay disappointing information? 

Be the good billboard.

The Best Wedding Gift

I just got married over the Christmas break and one of our most beloved wedding gifts was 

an apple TV

I find it so much more useful than regular television because I don't have any particular shows that I watch. With this little device I can more easily choose what I want to watch and not just what is offered. I feel like I can use the media for good in my home. Here are a few ways that I love using it:

Playing Mormon Messages while we get ready for church

Exercising & yoga videos

Showing pictures & videos to each other

Playing music

And of course, Netflix

Pandora, Pinterest, & Paleo

I am one of those people that falls asleep in every movie I watch. I'll skip to the end of books so I don't have to read the whole thing. I scroll through my news feed until I see a picture of a baby because that's all I care about. 

You get the idea. I just don't like a lot of media in my life. 

So I've been thinking...what kind media am I exposed to that i'm not even aware of?

PANDORA: I need just enough background noise while i'm doing homework that I can keep my spirits up without being distracted. The Indie Folk Revival station to be specific. 

PINTEREST: Ever since I found out about Pinterest I have been in love with it. My biggest boards are the ones with healthy food, clothes, and all-natural hippy stuff.

PALEO: I love food. But I love a special kind of food. I don't eat gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and very little sugar. Paleo is a way of eating that takes you back to primitive life before food was processed. I read a lot about the benefits of eating this way and i'm always on the lookout for a new recipe to try.

These are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy modern media. So far, they have proven to be really good and enjoyable outlets for me to discover new things and find happiness in what interests me.