Between The Lines Of Life

So today I've been having prompting after prompting. They've been like nonstop all day. During my meetings it might have looked like I wasn't paying attention to what we were learning, but that's because I was too busy listening to what I needed to hear and writing everything down. However, in the midst of all this crazy spiritualness I kept getting bombarded with feelings of hurt and exhaustion and other emotions that weren't really conducive to the spiritual promptings I was getting. I was starting to feel a little down. So, I decided to take an impromptu walk in the gardens all by myself. For those of you familiar with the gardens, there's a part of the gardens near the Hinckley where there's a porch with two swings, and a doorway in between. If you go behind the doorway, there are two more benches on either side. I sat down on one of those and poured my heart and thoughts and feelings out to the Lord. I wasn't completely upset but I was definitel...

By Claire Enos I'm tired of people judging me because of the things I choose not to do. Things like not watching rated R movies, and not wearing that gorgeous white lace dress (not the one in my closet) because it doesn't cover my shoulders and probably won't cover my knees either, and even not drinking tea or coffee. These are standards I've grown up with, they are things I was taught at home and at church. However, I'm not forced to follow them. I can choose. See, in my church, we believe in agency. We believe we have the right to choose for ourselves what is right and what is wrong from the age of accountability (8) when we are baptized as members of our church. When we are eight, and are baptized as members, we make a covenant with God that we will follow the commandments and take his name upon us. That we will go forth as disciples and bring others to His light. We make a covenant that we will follow these standards so that we can one day be sealed to our E...

By Claire Enos I can feel it. I can feel the tugging from all directions. The random comments from friends saying I need to do this or that. The comments from people I don't know saying that a woman needs to do this or that. "Get a job." "Finish your schooling." "Don't worry about dating." "Get a good Career." "Take care of yourself." "Pay off those loans." "No one wants to marry someone in debt." "Choose a better major, you won't be able to get a good career with that one." And, for some reason, I listen. I begin to change my view on life and the things that make me who I am. I start making plans to finish school, go on a mission, go back to school, and work in between. I start worrying about my loans because somehow it might keep me from falling in love and marrying some man I might meet in the future. My whole focus begins to change, from my spiritual goals to my material goals. ...

By Claire Enos A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be where I am today. Sitting here, blogging, making plans for my future, based on other events that happened to me within the last year which I definitely would not have imagined as well. In fact, I could write a whole post about everything that happened and I still wouldn't be able to cover the whole year. But, this isn't about reminiscing. It's about saying goodbye to my past. Shutting the lid on the 2013 box, and shoving it into the closet. Maybe I'll look back on it one day and laugh, or at the very least smile, remembering all that happened. But for now, it's over and it's time for me to move on. My friend JG and me a little over a year ago, before he left on his mission. I'm going to open a new box. I already have a few things to put into this new box, so I better make it a big one because I plan to put a lot more into that box. I'm going to write 2014 on it, and it's ...

By Claire Enos Pretty soon, I will be traveling to Mexico and Belize with some students and teachers from my school. This has been a dream of mine for years: to travel to places I've never been before! And I love learning about new cultures. Like many people, I have a list of things I want to do with my life, visiting Mexico is just one of the many things on that list. It feels so good knowing that soon it will be one I can cross off, and an experience I can add to my list of experiences. So, the other day I got to thinking, and decided that I needed a separate list of things to do in my life in case some of the things on the first list don't happen: like getting married and having kids, at least for now. So, my new list is as follows: Graduate with my Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing from BYU-Idaho Pay off my loans and save up money for a Master's Degree Graduate with a Master's Degree in Theological and Cultural Anthropology, preferably from Eastern...

By Claire Enos The last few months have been tough. I admit it, they've been crazy, hard, heart-wrenching, and possibly the worst months I can remember in my short life. However, they've also been the best, most life-changing months I can ever remember. Sometimes it's crazy to think that the hardest times we endure might lead to the best parts in our lives. I'm convinced that without God in my life, and my faith, I might have gone over the edge several times over. If not for my conviction in the truths I know I might not be sitting here writing this blog. After all, what would have kept me here? Without my faith I wouldn't be so close to my family, I wouldn't be here at school studying English, I wouldn't be learning Spanish, I wouldn't have met the people in my life (present and past) who have made me who I am. The other day, Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts, started playing on my laptop. I love that song, so I started singing along. About h...

I have a confession, and many of you already know, but many of you don't: I'm not perfect. I'm not some little Mormon girl who just follows all the rules perfectly and without complaint. If I allowed myself, I'd wear quite a few immodest outfits, and as it is my clothes are right on the border. In fact, I've been told as much before. That is one weakness I'm not ashamed to admit. I have another confession: I don't believe that reading into other religions is horrible. In fact, I do so for fun! I've often believed that if I weren't Mormon, I would definitely be either Buddhist or Wiccan (not necessarily in that order). I believe that many of their guidelines on life and the world around us go right alongside my own beliefs. In fact, I research their practices and beliefs and test them out once in a while, just for fun. Yet another confession: I actually follow horoscopes. Not because I believe they are true, but because they are fun and interestin...

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

"Line upon line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. Conversion unto the Lord requires both persistence and patience." -- David A. Bednar "Converted unto the Lord"  How many of you have heard of the musical Saturday's Warriors? I grew up on the music from this musical and every time I hear the words "Line upon Line" I automatically start singing that song in my head. Here is a video of the song, in case any of you haven't heard it: Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about some really big decisions in my life, and this is something I try to keep in mind. Anyway, today I'm flying back up to school. I hope you all have a wonderful day! I'll bring you an update tomorrow! Love, <3Claire

This year, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm not going to measure myself on how well I do each individual thing on my list, I'll measure myself based on how much improvement I'm making. Mom talked me through making my resolutions more effective, so here goes: Healthier Lifestyle Physical Exercise Go to at least one dance (Swing or Latin) each week Try a yoga class Healthy Eating Plan meals ahead of time Cut out most of my sugar and soda Better Spirituality Study my scriptures for at least 5 minutes a day Pray morning and night Pray over meals Pray and Fast about a mission Attend all church meetings unless I can't get out of bed, and spend more time magnifying my calling Focus on Me Self-Esteem Don't worry about what others think Grades No C's or D's Grades are important, focus on school work and get it all done Grades come first, the rest comes after Writing Get a full manuscript written down Spend half...

There's this infatuation I have with cultures and beliefs. I don't know what it is about them, but they fascinate me. It's not that my faith in my religion is shaken at all, but I just love learning about other cultures and belief systems. I love finding the truths in them. I know it may seem counter productive to some, but I love being able to spot what truths other religions and belief systems contain and putting them to good use in my own life. Because of this, if you ever see me do something strange, that is why. I'm testing out something that other religions and belief systems do that I found interesting. One specific religion I love studying is Wicca. I've confessed to a few friends, and now I'm confessing to the rest of you, that if I weren't already a devout Mormon, I'd probably have been Wiccan. They share many of the same beliefs I do. They worship nature. There are a few flaws in their religion, but other than that it is a very good belief s...

"For any whose lives are not in order, remember, it is never too late to make the Savior’s Atonement the foundation of our faith and lives." -Quentin L. Cook  At this time of year, it's a good time to order our lives. Figure out what's missing and what we don't need and fix it. That is what I plan to do this next year. I'm not just going to keep sitting around doing nothing. Instead I am going to order my life around the Gospel. That's what I got out of this quote. What did you get out of it? Have a good year! <3Claire Quick Note: I posted a new picture on A Snapshot of My Life . Go look!

For a class I'm taking up at school, I was supposed to give a presentation on something from a list of topics. One was Family Reading: Learning Through Books. I decided to slightly tweak the topic and go with: Teaching Children a Love of Reading. They aren't all that different but I really want to focus on children within the family especially. I found several articles (which I'll post links to below) that talk about teaching a love of reading. I'll talk about ten of my favorite tips found in these articles. Read aloud to your kids  from a young age. The sooner you get them hooked on books the better. My mom used to read aloud to me when I was younger. She'd even do different voices and practically act out the whole story to me. This got me interested in the books and eventually I decided to learn to read all on my own so that I wouldn't just be able to read when she was available to read to me. I still enjoy listening to her read aloud to me but not as o...

So I was reading this section of the New Era online called "What's Up?" One of the things in this section was a list of five ways you can share the gospel online. Since I'm online so often I figured I might as well do this. Here is the list: 5 Ways to Use the Internet to Share the Gospel • Post a Mormon Message video on your social media profile. Just click Share at the Mormon Channel on YouTube. • Write about faith-building experiences on your blog. • Share links to Mormon.org or your favorite conference talk on your blog, website, or social media profile. • Post pictures from missions, weddings, baptisms, Mutual activities, etc. • Create a profile on Mormon.org. So I'm going to start posting some good articles about different aspects of the church on my blog as well as talking about important things that happen in my life. Stay tuned for more article goodness! I figure I might as well start now, so here goes: I have this problem with spending all my...