Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

I was reading this great devotional today that Jeffrey R. Holland gave at BYU in 1999, called "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence," and I found this wonderful quote.

"If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. It's been done before. Don't give in. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. 'Cast not away therefore your confidence.' Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

I loved this quote, because recently I've noticed that I question answers I have been given. This just helped me a lot, and I'm learning that Heavenly Father doesn't give us an answer only to turn around and give us another one. So if you get a chance, read this. It's really inspiring.

Summer Life.

I've been home from London for about 3 weeks, and I can't believe how fast it's gone by! I'm going to be back at BYU before I know it. I've been looking for a job, and that's been driving me nuts. But I have two interviews next week for jobs on campus, so maybe something will come of that!

My roommate Laura is engaged, and she asked me to bake her wedding cake! This has always been a dream of mine, and I am so excited. I'm thinking a 3-tiered lemon poppyseed cake with lemon curd filling and buttercream frosting. I can envision in my head what I want it to look like, it's just creating it that I'm nervous about. But all great cooks start somewhere right? And a goal of mine is to be a great cook!

I'm loving the warm weather. I came home nice and pasty from London, and thanks to some good old sun my freckles are beginning to come back. I've brought my Ray Ban Wayfarers out, and I've been loving it. And all the rain has made the Salt Lake Valley beautiful. I love waking up early in the morning, looking out my window, and seeing green everywhere. I hope it stays that way.

Yesterday my family went through the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, and it's beautiful. When we arrived, there was a storm raging. I don't think I've ever seen it rain so hard in my life! But once we got into the temple, I couldn't even hear it. And there are pictures of Christ everywhere, which I absolutely love. I just love that our church builds such beautiful structures for us to come and sit, and just feel at peace.

So far summer has been going well. Life is good.

Life After London

I got home from London last Monday, and after 12 hours of flying, it was great to see my family! However, I admit I miss my London family. I made some great friends and learned a lot. One of my favorite things that I learned on my trip was respect for other people. I loved learning about different cultures and seeing the way people on the other side of the world live.

London is such a great city to explore because it offers so many different views of life. There are so many ethnicities and cultures in various parts of the city, and I love that. I learned the history of London and of England, as well as the history of other people and places. India has a huge influence over England, so the Indian culture is prevalent in London. And I discovered Indian food, and absolutely loved it!

London was a great experience, and I loved it. I would recommend a study abroad program to anyone! You learn to get outside of yourself and see how different parts of the world work. I absolutely fell in love with London, and I'm counting down the days until I can go back!

Scotland!

Last week we spent 4 days in Edinburgh, Scotland. And I absolutely loved it! It was probably one of the highlights of the trip. The 4 1/2 hour train ride was pretty uneventful, but once we got to Edinburgh I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. It's definitely a city like London, but a lot smaller and more manageable. And everything is so old, but in a really beautiful way.

When we arrived we hiked up to Arthur's Seat, and after some slipping and sliding, we made it to the top. It was SUPER windy, but the panoramic views of Scotland were incredible. We also toured Edinburgh castle and walked the Royal Mile, which I loved. Bagpipe music was pouring out of each store, and there are kilts everywhere. Seriously. I loved it! I love that heritage and culture is still such an important part of the Scottish lifestyle. Men still wear kilts, and each family name has its own tartan, or style of plaid.

My friend Laura and I on a boat in Scotland.

One of the many guys in kilts!

The Edinburgh castle. So cool!

The famous Royal Mile.

The view from Arthur's Seat.

My London Top 10!

I love watching David Letterman's Top 10, so I thought maybe I would make my own Top 10 of my favorite things of London. So here it goes. And it definitely won't be as funny as his lists.

10. Kahn's Indian restaurant

9. Bueno bars! And British candy in general

8. Regent's Park

7. Portobello and Burrough Markets

6. The Waffle House on Queensway

5. Wicked!

4. Primark

3. Chocolate covered everything from Cranberry

2. Imperial War Museum

1. Minding the gap

This is in no order, and I definitely have more things to add to the list, but these are just some things I would recommend to anyone coming to London.

So Much to Catch Up On!

Stourhead, which is a beautiful garden and mansion.

Defying Gravity!

Touching the rocks at Stonehenge

I'm in the middle of my third week of study abroad, and it is going by so fast. I feel like I've done everything. We've been to Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and all of the other cool places. Last week we even went to Stonehenge and were able to touch the rocks! It was so cool because no one ever gets to do that.

We finally have hot water at the Centre now, and because of what we put up with, the faculty is letting us ride the London Eye for free! I'm so excited because that was something I wanted to do, but because of the price I wasn't sure if it would be worth paying for.

My new ward, the Peckham Ward, is great. I'm the Primary chorister and I have so much fun. The children are adorable and I love them already. It's so neat being in a local London ward, because I get to see how the Church works in other parts of the world.

Yesterday we got back from visiting Cornwall, and it might be one of my new favorite destinations. We visited Pulperro, Truro, and Tintagel, which have some beautiful beaches and cathedrals. And Cornish pasties are amazing! We stayed at a beachside hotel in Falmouth, and had an amazing time!

I love being here. I've made such good friends and I've learned so much. I'm worried that the time is going to fly by!

In Love.

I have fallen in love with the city of London. For the past 6 days, I have been on the go, trying to see and experience everything. Yesterday alone we went to Westminster, Hyde Park, Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, ad Picaddily Circus, and that still isn't everything!

Being here has opened up my eyes to so many amazing things. At St. Paul's Cathedral, I was asking myself how in the world people could build such a beautiful building. Where did they start? How did they figure out how to do it? I can't even comprehend it.

Yesterday at Westminster Abbey I walked through Poet's Corner, where many prominent British poets and authors are buried, such as Wordsworth, Dickens, Hopkins, and Owen. I was so excited because I studied many of these writers last semester in my English 292 class, so to see where they are buried was such a neat experience.

London is so beautiful, and I can't even begin to start telling how grateful I am to be here. This really is a once in a lifetime experience, to actually live here and immerse myself in the cultures and people and food and fashion and everything else that comes with it!

Kensington Gardens...Beautiful!

Kensington Palace

St. Paul's

The Prince Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens

My home for the next 6 weeks!