Christmas Letter 2007

Christmas Letter 2007

To my dear Family and Friends,

I haven’t really known what to write for this year’s Christmas email. My life has been so blessed with wonderful family, friendships and acquaintances. This year taught me to cherish what I have and live life to the fullest.

I have to say it doesn’t really feel like 2007 happened at times. There have been glorious ups and tragic downs. But through it all I have been blessed to recognize my blessings and am so grateful to those people who have always been there. I wanted you all to know that I am grateful to know each of you and let you know that I think of you often.

The top ten things that 2007 has taught me:

10.“Not your gall bladder huh? Let’s have you eat a really fatty meal and see what happens…”

You really don’t need a gall bladder to survive. Get rid of it, it’s MUCH better than the pain of keeping it

9.“Welcome to my empty apartment!”

Having an empty apartment isn’t so bad when you have great friends next door and close by looking out for you. It’s also not so bad when you figure out that an air mattress is MUCH better than a makeshift bed of pillows or the hard floor. (thanks friends and family that donated to the cause of helping me stay comfortable those last couple weeks!)

8.“You want me to what?!”

Singing a solo in Church is still scary

7.“Sweet Child O’ Mine!”/ “Leo you hit EVERY kid square, you better get a second car”

Guitar Hero and Life parties really are the answer to stressful situations

6.“Understatement of the year”

Sometimes the greatest blessings come when you take your biggest leaps.

5.“In cards and flowers on your window/ Your friends all plead for you to stay/ Sometimes beginnings aren’t so simple/ Sometimes goodbye’s the only way. – Linkin Park ‘Shadow of a Day’”

No matter where you go or for how long, goodbyes are still hard

4.“This is why we do this” (Sister Johnson)

Getting up at 4:30am to work at the Jordan River Temple every Saturday was the best thing I could have ever done. That experience taught me more about life, progression, and the love of an Eternal Father. I miss my sweet ladies at the temple. You were all such incredible examples to me!

3.“Words can’t really express how I feel”

Families are FOREVER. I witnessed four incredible Sealings this last year which were four of the greatest experiences of my life. I also lost two close friends to cancer within two weeks of each other. Their families are such witnesses of strength and faith for me. The world has lost two great individuals, but their memories and testimonies will forever teach me what life is all about. I love you all!

2.“Collapsing from pain on HR’s floor at work and being wheeled out to the car for the ER in an office chair is soooo embarrassing!!!!!”

Two surgeries in one year really isn’t so bad when you’ve got Mom around as well as good family and friends.

1.“Why can’t we do anything simply in this family? How come it’s always got to be dramatic? We can’t just get sick, we have to have surgery. We can’t just move home, it has to burn down.”

When you finally decide to move home, don’t do it during fire season. And especially don’t move all your stuff a month in advance. All my stuff was moved the first weekend in October into the garage and various rooms in my parent’s home. The last week of October my parent’s home was taken in the Slide Fire…we are okay and grateful to Grandma who has openly welcomed us into her home!

As with every coming year I learn something new about myself or come away from it with a little better understanding of how it works. My last year in Utah was definitely a memorable one. And I’m grateful that I have something to build upon with my new beginning in CA.

For those of you that are wondering, I am currently working as the Wildfire Outreach Program Manager for Rim Family Services. I help direct Outreach Crisis Counselors, hired by FEMA, to the areas of devastation and worry on the mountain. Through the program we work to reach every individual affected by the national disaster and hopefully return the community back to a sense of normality. It’s very rewarding work and I have an incredible team of employees. We have a blast together! Every day is an adventure with individuals we meet.

As I look toward the future I’m hoping to eventually end up in the San Diego area working as well as going to school for my PhD. We’ll see what Heavenly Father has planned for me. I trust that He knows what’s best as long as I’m moving forward. My family and I are just fine and moving forward as well. It’s been so good to be so close. I know that moving was the right decision. That is witnessed to me daily. This is where I need to be. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss my dear friends and family in Utah and scattered throughout the USA and the world as well. I hope that this letter finds you all happy, well, and enjoying good company this Holiday Season!

All my love and prayers!

Michelle (Shell-a-bell, Shell, Mish, Meesh, Meech Meech, Scully, Super Mish, etc.)

The Secret

Well, it has been a while since I have posted on said blog. Life has had it's ups and downs as of late with a little craziness mixed in. But I am enjoying it. I just finished this book called "the secret". I really enjoyed the principles taught in the book. But I do think that there should be a perspective given to it.

I, like I have said previously, am a religious person. Being such I believe that God wants His children to be happy. He wants us to accomplish what will make us happy. By focusing on the prize and Him first we can accomplish anything.

What happens isn't necessarily that we have the nicest car or the nicest house or even every monetary dream we could ever want...we start to align our goals with God and we are satisfied with what we have. We also discover what our potential is and what we can accomplish and we have a new drive to accomplish it.

Also, on a side note. I just joined goodreads.com. I suggest it for everyone as it is a really neat website to see what your friends are reading or have read...so join and let me know what to read! I don't have TV anymore so I need new stuff all the time. :)

La Musica

The power of music is the topic for this evening (starting anyway, I'm sure something else will come up). I've been thinking a lot about the tough times or the happy times in life and I've recognized that there are a lot of songs that I associate with those times. There is something about lyrics that can change me or affect me in a way that the spoken word or written word can't. And I got to thinking about the Soundtrack to my life I think the following songs would be on that list:

"Dig" - Incubus
"This is Me" - Faith Hill
"Self Portrait" - Stephanie Smith
"If I Am" - Nine Days
"Matroshka (the Ornament)" - Dredg
"City of Blinding Lights" - U2
"All I Want is You" - U2
"Far Away" - Nickelback
"Kill" - Jimmy Eat World
"Goodbye to You" - Michelle Branch
"Good Friend" - Nine Days
"I Will Remember You" - Sarah McLaughclan
"Chocolate" - Snow Patrol
"Breakaway" - Kelly Clarkson

I'm sure that there are others. But in reviewing these songs it's the lyrics like
"I don't know what you believe, or what you think of what you see, but this is a part of me, of what I do and who I am, all of my impurities are right here on my sleeve, this is me, yeah, this IS ME" that really affect me.

"I'm dealing with the changes of this complicated strangeness". I'm currently reading a book entitled "First Break All the Rules" for work. I wish that more people got to read it. It basically states what I have said before. But people are people and we shouldn't try to force them to change. They will change on their own if it is the right timing for them. Also that people come with their own perception of the world and talents to help them succeed in that world.

I have people at work describing frustrations with their situations, friends dealing with breakups, and just general everyday issues that people deal with. In some cases I'm directly involved in the situation, in others I'm a third party observer, but there is one thing that I have noticed between all the situations. Communication. There is some form of communication that has happened that was misinterpreted, misunderstood, or downright communicated well. What is the difference between good communication and bad? Perception. How the other person perceived the communication is key. That is in everyday communications as well as communications with the Divine.

As I have struggled with a decision, even an everyday decision, I've seen like it says in "chocolate", "On my knees I think clearer". And I've learned that no matter how small or insignificant we think our situation is to God we should still get on our knees. Through His help we can see the other perspective, we can feel what they are feeling and really know how to communicate better. I realize that there are individuals in this world that do not believe in a Higher Power or Being that created us all. But I cannot deny His existence. He has helped me through many experiences and tough times. Faith, Hope and Love changes people. "Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel, luckily."

Maybe mother's councel of "walking in someone else's shoes" wasn't half bad advice?

"The more you see the less you know, the less you find out as you go. I knew much more then, than I do now...I've seen you walk unafraid...Can you see the beauty inside of me?"

It's all about perception...

Integrity

I think I'll write a little about integrity tonight. We had the lesson today and it inspired me.

Gandhi once said (with some help from Keshavan Nair in A Higher Standard of Leadership, p 1) about integrity and leadership...

"Today, many people believe that it is not possible to be successful in the world of business and politics and still to maintain one's integrity - integrity not defined by absence of financial corruption, but by adherence to moral principle in all activities. Many have also come to believe that a major purpose of leadership is to aquire power and privilege. And many believe that practical political and business decisions would be less effective if serious consideration were given to moral issues.

The standard of leadership depends not only on the qualities and beliefs of our leaders but also on the expectations we have of them. As long as we believe that our leaders lack integrity, our expectations are likely to be mirrored in their conduct. Therefore, it is up to each of us to improve our own standard of leadership and thus raise our expectations of those who would lead us."

I love the last line of that statement, it is up to US to expect better things of ourselves and in turn we will expect those things from our leaders. If we allow our leaders to act selfishly, what does that say of ourselves? Are we selfish? Are we demanding the things that we think we deserve?

I've heard many times that my generation is the greatest generation that has ever existed. But I have also heard that my generation and the up and coming generation is the generation of "entitlement". Did we not learn from the experiences of our forefathers? What they fought for in each of the wars of our nation and world? How quickly we forget where we came from and what our real purpose is.

What happened to kindness and an honest day's work? The older I get the more I understand that what we are fighting for in any war isn't necessarily oil, or belongings or religion...it's more fighting for moral values. Moral values that we know deep down to be important.

I am a woman of faith. Not everyone in the world holds my same values. But one thing that is understood beyond boundaries of God and belief in a higher power is the moral principle of LOVE. Love overcomes all barriers. Love gives us a purpose to live for. Love helps us understand the other side of a viewpoint. It defines who we are.

Actions do reflect leadership. What kind of leaders are we? How are we influencing the next generation? Do we stand for what we believe in? Or do we help them along the path of entitlement? In business are we honest with whom we do business with? Do we trust our coworkers and managers?

We still have a choice. We can choose our attitude. We can be honest in our dealings with our fellow men. We can put in that hard day's work. We can expect the best from each other. And we can expect the best of ourselves. A selfish person would be content looking into a mirror for eternity. I would rather be a person that looks through a window and see what beautiful things are beyond the glass.

Change is never easy. Changing character is a lifetime pursuit. Love changes hearts. As it says in the scriptures, "love casteth out all fear". What keeps us from change? Is it the height of the mountain before us that causes us to move aside and say, "oh man, I'm out of shape, there's no way I can make it up that hill."

I suggest: begin believing in yourself. Be the leader, mother, father, friend, spouse, employee, etc. that you would like others to be. "It is not easy to stay on the path; we all need assistance. It is important that we associate with colleagues who share our commitment to be on the path."(p 30) Find those people that support you, love you, and trust you. Believe in them. And whatever or whomever you believe in, be it God, Budda, etc. Believe that you can achieve. That you can change. And never give up the fight. Through your integrity people will have the strength to follow. Real achievement isn't medals, acknowledgements, awards, money, etc. Achievement is integrity. Having that strength to stand up for what you believe and being honest.

I challenge all of us to become better people. Through change and improvement we will achieve our greatest goals.