Between The Lines Of Life

By Clarissa Enos Plagmann It has been 147 days since I started dating my wonderful husband, 109 days since I said yes to marrying him, and ten days since I said yes at the altar and forever altered my life by agreeing to love him for the rest of my life and into the eternities. It wasn't exactly an easy decision. After all, we moved quickly. I was hearing murmurs from people on both sides of the spectrum. Some were saying we were moving too quickly, others were congratulating us on knowing what was right. And in the back of my mind I wondered if I'd gone insane. But then I heard these four words: "Fear is a choice!" Those four words helped me to realize that those doubts I had were out of fear. Fear that it wouldn't work out, fear that I didn't really love him, fear that for whatever reason we'd fall out of love. It was then that I decided to substitute "Fear" for "Love." "Love is a choice!" It is! The chemic...

By Claire Enos Life has a way of tearing you down until you don't think you can take any more, lifting you back up, and then bringing you down farther than before just to bring you up higher than you've ever been. Lately, my life has been a roller coaster ride. This whole year has been one long ride of ups and downs. Despite everything, I try to stay as positive as possible. I've been at my absolute worst and had people come up to me and say I make them smile because I always seem to be so happy. So, how do I do it? Well, sometimes I don't even know how. But, I'll try to share some of my favorite remedies for a happy and positive outlook: Music - Music is one of the best remedies of all time. All it takes is one good uplifting song and suddenly I can't be upset anymore. I just have to keep moving forward and put on a smile. Strange how that works. Amazing Friends - I have an amazing group of friends! Some, I talk to about anything and they always seem to ...

I started this blog a few years ago to write up my feelings and thoughts on life. Lately I haven't really used it for my feelings or my thoughts or anything. I'm going to try starting that up again, so here goes: I'm a normal girl. I don't know who I am, or where I'm going, except what I've been told. I do know that 2+2=4 (don't ask me why, I don't understand that much) and I do know that the stars we see at night most likely have already died, so essentially we are seeing into the past when we look up into the universe. But that's not much, I know that. And it is our duty to learn as much as possible in this life down here on Earth. Life is hard. Everyone knows that. There are some people who seem to have mastered the art of living ("seem" being the operative term here), and there are others (like me) who barely know how to take one step at a time and somehow seem to mess everything up without thinking (because they aren't thinking...

Today in Fast and Testimony meeting my Bishop talked to us before he turned the mic over for testimonies. He read the lyrics to this song and replaced all the mentions of "home" with "in our apartment". I thought that was really awesome, so I decided to post it for all of you as well. Keep this thought in your hearts, and remember this when times get hard. Maybe the problem isn't that you suddenly have all these trials, but that you aren't being loving enough to your roommates and/or family members. I love you all! Have a great week! <3Claire

So, I've been on Christmas break for a week now, and it's been marvelous! Here is a quick run-down: December 12: My roommates and I all bought presents for each other, then we opened them together this night. It was a fun girl's night and we really bonded for the last time, since we won't be sharing an apartment next semester! It was a lot of fun. Then we watched Confessions of a Shopoholic and went to bed late. December 13: I finished the last of my finals and we cleaned the apartment thoroughly and packed all our stuff. Then we had White Glove. It was nerve wracking but we somehow made it! It was great to have everything done so early though! December 14: Hannah and I moved our stuff to our new apartment that we'll be living in next semester. We had some help from a couple roommates (Mariel and Abby W.) and Eric, one of our Family Home Evening brothers. That was fun and took most of the day. Then I packed the rest of my stuff, stuffed it in Abby W.'s ca...

I just realized it's been a while since I last posted on my personal blog. I can't believe I've kept myself from it for so long. There's been a lot going on since the last time I posted, and possibly I might catch y'all up. But for now I just thought I'd share the family pictures my family took ourselves this past Monday as a FHE (Family Home Evening) activity! We hadn't had one taken since before my Senior year of High School and I'm now a Sophomore in college. Anyway, without further ado, here are some of the pictures right now: The Whole Family: Royce, Daddy, Anthony, Mama, Melinda, Kristina, and myself. The Women: Mama, Kristina, Melinda, and myself. My brothers: Anthony and Royce. My brother Anthony. This one is of me. I was trying to show my brother Anthony the correct way to do the pose. My brother Royce. My mama.  The Men: Daddy, Royce, and Anthony. My Daddy. Daddy and the Girls: Daddy, K...