Random

Ok folks...Guess who I got to spend the weekend with?

THESE PEOPLE! Lindsey was there too - and I have a lot to blog about her and our trip to saint george. I will have to do that tomorrow or this weekend. I have too many pics to upload.

I was just thinking today how awesome my mom and dad are. They are FABULOUS. I am not just saying that because I wrecked my car this week and they are helping me fix everything like they always do and were only a little bit mad, but mostly just happy that I am OK.

Here they are hiking around...

If THIS man:

...happened to have a baby with THIS girl:

That baby would probably look a little something like this...

AND SHE WOULD BE AWESOME! But not as awesome as me - because as incredible and entertaining as Dr. Phil and Kelly Ripa are and as similar as they seem to my parents...Michael and Lisa Christensen are better.

Whitney

When I watched Cinderella I wanted to be the Fairy Godmother. I thought that she was so much prettier than Brandy - and she could fly and had fairy dust/magical powers...Not to mention her voice. HOLY COW. You will be missed, Madame Houston.

Thoughts on Faith

I have been thinking an awful lot about faith lately (awfully lot? who knows). I think it is because for the first time in life I really don't have much of a plan for the future. I am going to graduate this year and I am single and needing to go to Graduate School and also make money and I don't really know exactly how to do that or what to do or where to go from here.

I thought when I graduated high school that I knew exactly how my life was going to turn out, but let me tell you this - it has been COMPLETELY different than what I imagined. Not that my life is bad. In fact,  most days my life is pretty great. I just never really pictured it being the way that it is. I know, I know, welcome to being an adult, Miss Kate.

I think of all those sweet people that I taught on my mission. They would ask me how they could possibly believe the story of Joseph Smith. How could God possibly appear to a fourteen year old boy? How could that uneducated boy years later translate new scripture from Gold Plates that he found buried in a hill? I used to tell them this - "All God is asking you is to trust him. The knowledge and the confirmation will come. For now you just need to trust in God and keep an open heart. Be patient and trust him. He is asking you to have faith." I feel like God is trying to tell me that same thing in my life right now. All he is asking me is to trust him. That is all he wants for you too.

A lot of people bore their testimony about faith yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. They are right. This is such an interesting time of life for us. The possibilities for life when you are young and in your twenties are absolutely endless. It can be scary and confusing and hard to know where to go or what to do. One day we will all look back, if we are faithful, and see that God was leading and guiding us all along.

It is hard when you plan and try to figure things out and nothing works out the way that you want it to. It is hard when you pray and pray and pray and it feels like it is all for nothing. The point is: God still loves you. He is still listening and he always has your best interest at heart.

So if your life is unhappy or promised blessings are nowhere to be seen that is because it is not the end yet. Your story is still being written. God sees us in terms of forever. Our story is forever. All we need to do is have the faith to get us through right here and right now.

I have also been thinking about why bad things happen to good people. This whole "Josh Powell" thing makes me sick to my stomach. How could God put those two beautiful little boys through that hell? Once again it comes down to faith. God could not send all of us to happy perfect homes because everyone has their agency. That is where the atonement comes is. He sent His Only Begotten Son to the lowest of the low, to experience EVERY PAIN and EVERY SORROW. My favorite line from Preach My Gospel: All that is unfair about life will be made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few words from an apostle of the Lord on faith:

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe.”
― Jeffrey R. Holland

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until Heaven - but for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ...they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust in God, and believe in good things to come."

More Blessed and Holy - More Savior, Like Thee

When I was on my mission I promised myself ONE THING...that I would NOT work at the Missionary Training Center when I came home. I LOVED my MTC experience and my MTC Teachers, but I feel like there is such a stupid stigma in Provo of "OOOH! That person works at the MTC? Wow. Look at them. They must have been an awesome missionary," OR "Really? You work at the MTC? Can't you get over your mission already?"

I don't know that I was an awesome missionary, although I certainly tried hard. I also think that I am not one to live in that past and have adjusted to being home pretty well. However, my attitude definitely changed when I moved to Utah. I was looking for a job and I really wanted something close and part time and something I would enjoy, so I gave in and applied at the MTC. Several interviews and practice teachings later I was offered a position.

Working there has been the most incredible experience. I saw my first district of elders leave this week and just two days ago welcomed nine new missionaries (INCLUDING THREE HERMANAS! YAY). I love teaching and I love being around the missionaries. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel important. It gives me confidence.

They are so good. All of them. Even the ones that struggle. They try so hard and they think that I am the coolest person EVER just because I am their teacher. I would not spend my Friday nights in any other way. I am so proud of each elder and sister who has the courage to sacrifice two years and serve the Lord. I didn't really recognize what an amazingly hard thing that was until I actually did it.

Here are my elders that just left for the field...

I love these boys! I miss them. I was reading their teacher reviews and was just overwhelmed with how incredible they are. Here are a few of their comments...

"Hna. Christensen's attitude is amazing! She's always ready to teach the language and willing to have a little fun in the process. She is able to adapt to people's learning styles well and knows what each missionary needs. She has an amazing liveliness about her, that, even when the missionaries are struggling or down, she can get them ready to learn and teach."

"Hermana Christensen can teach grammar very easily.  For us being her first district she did an awesome job at helping us understand Spanish concepts and having fun while doing it.  When it came to working hard on something she wouldn't let us give up and kept helping us to understand the topic."


"I really liked that she cared about each missionary individually. She made me feel good about myself and was very encouraging and very nice. She helped me to set good goals. And was alwyas caring and nice. And was helpful with teaching us how to teach investigators in certain situations."



"She really taught me well with the spanish.  She always had the spirit with her.  She seems like she really wanted to teach us.  She's awesome."

"I like that this teacher is a hard worker, and really tries to relate with the missionaries. She tries to help us as best as she can. I appreciate how she encourages us that the language will come, where as other teachers don't really do this so much. She's a positive, uplifting, and optimistic teacher. I appreciate that the most."

I do not share that to say that I am amazing and I am not posting about teaching at the MTC to make you think that I am a great teacher. I am just lucky to get to spend my days in the presence of such humble kids who try hard and who love me for exactly who I am...imperfections and all. It uplifts me, inspires me, and makes me want to better.

SPOTLIGHT # 2

I saw this audition on American Idol the other day...

Which naturally made me think of Carrie Underwood. 

She is so beautiful and classy. Every picture of her is perfect. I just love her. I wish I looked like her/could sing like her. That would be awesome. I think we should be friends. 

"A sloth is near. It is here. It's gonna happen."

Watch this video:

This may or may not be me...except not with sloths. I don't think I get as emotional over animals as she does. I do cry when I see roadkill sometimes. But seriously. Any wedding. Any movie about a wedding. When I read the obituaries in the newspaper. When Les Mis or Wicked come on my iPod. When it is windy outside. When someone tells me a really sad story or is having a really bad day. ESPECIALLY when someone tells a really hilarious story, like the one in the video. It is very easy to make me laugh so hard I cry. The strange thing is that I think I actually have a very high tolerance for pain. I just can't take watching other people go through it. I can hardly watch CSI or Greys Anatomy or any show where people constantly die in brutal ways or are in pain. The worst is looking through old pictures from any time in my life. Luckily I live a pretty easy life and am in the middle of the emotional scale most of the time.