'Tis the Season...for my yearly Christmas Letter

Christmas 2009


The Warmest of Holiday Greetings to you all! It has been far too long since I have been in touch with many of you. Thank heaven that Christmas comes around every year so that I will make myself sit down and write an update of what is going on in my life.


An update on my life: I continue to teach Medical Anatomy and Physiology at a high school in Davis County. I am enjoying my job and most days I like teaching! The Master’s of Business Administration program keeps me very busy, but is a rewarding experience. I am learning new things every single day and I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to follow the prophet and get all of the education that I can. I am truly blessed to be in a situation that I can attend Graduate school and further my education. As far as my love life is concerned, I continue to try to Love Life. I have seen a lot of friends get married this summer, and I am truly happy for each one of them. Sometimes I just wonder if I will ever be blessed with that opportunity. I am sure it is one of Heavenly Father’s ways of trying to teach me Patience! I update my blog every now and then.


This summer found me taking a road trip to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. One of my mission companions was sealed in the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple and I had the opportunity of being there for this wonderful occasion. I also had the privilege of serving as a Stake Girl’s Camp leader again this year. I have always loved Girl’s Camp and I am grateful for every chance I have to help out.
I am very excited for next summer. I have already purchased my ticket to fly to Japan in June of 2010. I will be spending 15 days in Japan visiting the wonderful friends I was blessed to meet when I served a full-time mission there 4 ½ years ago.


This year has filled my life with many new experiences and plenty of excitement. I have had the opportunity to make new friends in the Master’s of Business Administration program and through my Church callings. I have had trials and challenges that have reminded me of the importance of relying on our Heavenly Father. Through those challenges I have also been reminded of the wonderful, amazing, incredible friends that I have been blessed with in my life. I hope and pray that I am being that kind of friend to those I know and love. Our Heavenly Father truly does take care of us and answer many of our prayers through the friends we have.
I am grateful for this life that I have been blessed with. I have a wonderful family, the best friends anyone could ask for, a good job, the chance to further my education, safety, opportunities to grow, and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


I know that God lives and that Jesus Christ is His son and our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. I am grateful for that knowledge every single day of my life. I know that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ each one of us will be resurrected with a perfected body and can live Eternally with our families if we live worthy of that blessing. I know that Joseph Smith restored the Gospel in the Latter-days and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, written for us in our day. I am grateful for the knowledge that families truly are Eternal and I look forward to the day I can be sealed in the Temple to a worthy priesthood holder. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church, and it teaches us the will of our Heavenly Father.


I hope and pray that each of you is happy and doing well in all aspects of your life. I hope that your families are happy, that life is treating you well, and that you are happy. I hope that each of you are able to find the simple joys of life each and every day of your life and that when times get tough you are able to trust in our Heavenly Father to help you through.


I love each one of you and am grateful that you are a part of my life. Have a very Merry Christmas!


Love,
Rachel

Attitude of Gratitude, Days 21-30 (Finally)

Day 21: Good Teachers
Day 22: Priesthood Leaders
Day 23: Men who still know how to be a Gentleman
Day 24: People that can always make you smile
Day 25: 5 Day Breaks from work
Day 26: Opportunities to Serve others
Day 27: Games Night
Day 28: A good movie that when you leave you feel motivated, uplifted, and want to be better.
Day 29: My Parents
Day 30: My Job

An Attitude of Gratitude

Day 1: Dear Friends that have touched my life
Day 2: The Gospel
Day 3: Opportunities to further my Education
Day 4: Missionary Work
Day 5: Free Time
Day 6: Divine Guidance of the Holy Ghost
Day 7: Sleeping In
Day 8: A Peaceful Sabbath Day
Day 9: The Support of a Loving Family
Day 10: My Health
Day 11: Those who valiantly and faithfully have served, are currently serving, or will serve in the U.S. Military.
Day 12: My Mom
Day 13: Friends that are family. Love you guys!
Day 14: Wholesome, worthwhile Entertainment
Day 15: Eternal life and Eternal Families
Day 16: A Good Job
Day 17: Laughter
Day 18: Temples
Day 19: Hopes, Dreams, and Possibilities
Day 20: Good Examples and Heroes. All of the amazing people I learn so much from and look up to.

Dear Federal Government

About this economic stimulus package that has supposedly "saved" 1 million jobs, what about the millions of others that can't find a job and are losing jobs because of the economy that you are "saving." 10% jobless rate and likely to go higher. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the government and their policies and practices.... I didn't think so.

My Choice

There is a new movie out there that is getting a lot of attention, it is called Paranormal Activity, and it seems that many of my students are watching it. I keep hearing from my students how scary it is, how they couldn't sleep all weekend, they were crying during the movie, etc. Personally, I don't try to do things that cause me to miss sleep, I have a hard enough time getting the little bit of sleep I happen to get.
For those of you who haven't heard much about this movie, I don't know much about it, but I do know that it received an "R" rating, and that is enough to keep me from seeing it. I have been told by multiple students (including active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) that I should "make an exception" and go see it. "It isn't that bad." "I don't know why you won't watch 'R' rated movies." Etc.
To me it is is simple, I made a decision and I am going to stick by that decision. I am sure there are plenty of 'R' rated movies that overall are pretty good movies, but that doesn't mean I am going to run out there and see it because it is "good." They are rated 'R' for various reasons, I understand this. Here is how I see it: 1. The prophet has counseled us to not see 'R' rated movies and use caution with all other ratings. 2. Our world has enough of that stuff in it, why should I go subject myself to it, pay $8 or more to attend, and give it my undivided attention. 3. I prefer to see movies that are uplifting and inspiring, last I checked, there aren't many uplifting and inspiring movies that are rated 'R.'
This is not to say that I will go out and watch any movie that is rated 'G', 'PG', or 'PG-13.' I try to educate myself on what the movie is about and evaluate what the content of the movie is. I try to be a discriminative viewer and make a decision that I am comfortable with. I'm not saying I am anywhere close to being perfect, because I know that I am far from it. All I know is that I want to always be worthy of having the Holy Ghost as my constant companion.
I am sure some of you out in the blogging world are thinking that I am a prude, sheltered, and intolerant. To this I say, I hope I am intolerant to those things, sheltered from the world as much as possible.
We have plenty of things around us trying to lead us away from the influence of the Holy Ghost and the comfort of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love. I CHOOSE to do everything within my power to always be worthy of the influence, comfort, and guidance of the Holy Ghost. I CHOOSE to do all I can to be close to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I CHOOSE to not subject myself to those influences that the world markets. I CHOOSE to stand up for what I believe. I CHOOSE to follow the prophet.
(Sorry to get on a soapbox with this issue, but I had to get it out.)

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

I LOVE General Conference weekend, a time when the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the opportunity to hear messages from the leaders of the Church. This is always a time of reflection, self-evaluation, and sincere prayer for me. A time when many of the questions of the soul can be answered as you listen to the messages with an open heart and mind, while heeding the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

This morning when President Thomas S. Monson, prophet, announced the construction of a temple in Sapporo, Japan, my heart was full of gratitude. The Church members in Japan are amazing and dedicated in their faith. The Church members on the island of Hokkaido (where Sapporo is located) must either fly to Tokyo, or ride the train or drive for the better part of a day to arrive at the temple.


What a wonderful time we are blessed to live in, a time when revelation continues and our Heavenly Father sends prophets, seers, and revelators to the Earth.

The Final Weekend of Summer

Emily wanted me to post this one, so here it is...with a brief disclaimer, I HATE pictures and I HATE swimsuits. Here it is for ya Em!

It has been a while since my last post, and I really do have a few posts in the works. Okay, let me be honest, I have a few ideas for posts but I haven't actually sat down and composed my thoughts or haven't been brave enough or confident enough to post them.

Life has been busy, but good. Definitely busy.

This past weekend I went water-skiing at Willard Bay with Emily and Brian and their family, along with Vickie. I hadn't been water-skiing in at least 6 years, so this was a bit of an experience. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get up, but decided to go for it. After a few attempts I was able to get up and ski for a while. I forgot how much fun water-skiing is and wish I had more opportunities to do so. I didn't take any pictures, but Emily made sure to be the good mom and get plenty of pictures of her kids, so of course she had to take a few of me. (Thanks for being sympathetic to my dislike of pictures Brian!)

Walking out to the "Deep" water.

I got up and even convinced myself to get out of the wake of the boat! I know, I'm a wimp.

The rest of the day was pretty good, probably one of the most productive Saturdays I've had in a very long time. I took a 15 minute nap, got ready for the day, went and got a pedicure, attended an Endowment session in the Ogden Temple, enjoyed the lightning and rain, changed the oil in my car, and finished preparing my lesson for Relief Society on Sunday.