Don't settle for anything less than you deserve!

I've been thinking a lot lately and while yes, that can be dangerous, I have come to one conclusion: I will not settle when it comes to marriage.  It's been 4 1/2 months since I last posted on here!  I can't say anything huge has happened in those 4 1/2 months but I am two weeks away from finishing my 5th semester of college! :) The reason I really decided to write this blog post is because I saw this picture on Facebook:


Yes, some of the things on it are a little silly, but for the most part I really liked it and I decided I wanted to write more than just a Facebook post about it because, while no, I won't ONLY marry a cowboy despite what some of my friends think, I want to marry someone who does have good manners and who cares deeply about me.  I want to marry someone who respects me and my parents and who will put my well being ahead of his own, just as I will do for him.  I want to marry some one who loves God more than anything else and always puts his relationship with Him first because I know that when we both have a deep relationship with our Father in Heaven and understand the Atonement in our lives, we will be able to get through anything that the world can possibly throw at us.  I haven't always had the greatest self esteem.  In fact, that is something I have struggled with most of my life but this I do know: I know that I am a daughter of God and I know that he wants what is best for me and he would never want me to settle for less than I deserve.  Sometimes (most times), waiting for the Lord's timing can be REALLY hard!  It has taken me a long time to learn to be patient.  Some of you might think "Gosh Carly, you're really young, you don't know the first thing about waiting for and accepting the Lord's timing" and guess what?  You're probably correct!  I don't understand why things happen sometimes.  There is still a lot that I need to learn but I do know that I'm happier when I seek the Lord's will in my life even if it's not what I thought I wanted!  And let me tell you, I've learned that the hard way, in my short 21 years!  So now that you know more about me than you probably wanted to, I would tell you this: never settle for less than the Lord has in store for you.  It may take longer than you would like to get there and sometimes there is an easier way that may present itself, but be patient!  Continue striving to be the best person that you can be.  Strengthen your relationship with God and eventually, things have a way of working themselves out!
Love, Carly

My Thoughts About The Last Three Months

If you would have told me in January that I would be staying in Rexburg for the summer, there's no way I would have believed you!  At the start of every new semester, I get pretty homesick and it just takes me awhile to get used to being in Rexburg again so for me to voluntarily stay here is a pretty big deal.  At the end of March and the beginning of April, I felt like I really needed to stay in Rexburg.  I was dating someone, and while that wasn't the only reason I stayed, it was the reason I initially started to think about staying.  Well, the last week of the semester, after I had already made all of the arrangements to stay, we broke up.  I started to question my decision to stay, but I still felt VERY strongly that I needed to stay in Rexburg.  I got a job after only looking for one week, I was able to get a contract for the apartment right next door to the apartment I was living in, and I was going to be roommates with two of my best friends.  The day I was leaving Rexburg to go home for the break between winter and spring semester, I found out that my mom had hurt her hand really bad, would have to have surgery, and really wouldn't be able to use her hand for at least a month.  Once again, I questioned my decision to stay in Rexburg.  I'd already paid my rent for the entire semester and I'd just been offered a job that morning.  When I got home, I talked to my parents about what I should do.  They both encouraged me to come back to Rexburg, even though I really felt like they needed me at home to help out on the ranch.  My mom told me several times that there must be some reason that I needed to stay in Rexburg since I'd gotten an apartment and a job with very little effort.  I felt really guilty leaving to come back to Rexburg at the end of the week that I was home.  My mom had her surgery two days before I left to repair the nerves and the tendons that had been cut when a calf kicked her hand along a barb while fence.  The only thing that made me leave was the overwhelming feeling that I needed to be in Rexburg, so I left.  When I look back on the past three months, there aren't any really huge reasons that I can pinpoint as to why I needed to stay here, but there are a lot of really little things.
      First, I have never had a real job working for anyone other than my parents, and while I was just working at a restaurant, It has been one of the biggest learning experiences I've had in my life.  I feel like I'm a fairly responsible person, but I feel like having this job has taught me a newer level of responsibility.  I had to learn to work with people that I really didn't get along with.  And the thing that has been most valuable about having this job is it has given me a different perspective about work in general.  I've had to work all of my life, but I always looked at the things that we had to do on the ranch as a check list that needed to be completed as quickly as possible so that I could do other things.  I've had a lot of time to be by myself to think this summer and my thought process regarding this has changed.  Living on a ranch is really a full time job that doesn't end.  There are always things that need done, and just as I was always looking for things that needed to be done at my job at New York Burrito, I should be doing that when I'm at home.  There are soooo many things that always need to be done that I just never even considered doing.  I'm thankful for all that this job has taught me, even though most days I dreaded going to work.  It has made me appreciate the upbringing that I had.  When I started my job, I never thought I would learn all that I did!
     Second, I had the privilege of being a Relief Society teacher in my ward.  This is my fourth semester with the same calling!  I have learned A LOT because of this opportunity.  I have grown closer to my savior and my understanding of the gospel has increased.  In my patriarchal blessing, I was told that I would be called many times to be a teacher.  I have seen that promise come to pass and I have also seen a bunch of the other promises I received regarding teaching come to pass as well.  It has been an incredible experience and has really strengthened my testimony of the power of Patriarchal Blessings.  I know that they are TRULY from God!
      On a less serious note, I had the incredible opportunity to go to an amazing concert here in Rexburg.  Josh Turner did a concert on campus and my roommate and I went to it.  If you know me, you know that I LOVE country music!  Josh Turner is one of my favorite country artists so to be able to go to his concert was awesome!  I had a blast!

The aftermath of the concert!

       I also got to go to Utah for a week at the end of June to spend time with Clay, Emily and Keith.  I most likely wouldn't have been able to go if I was at home and it was sooo fun to spend so much time with my precious nephew.

         Lastly, I've met some pretty amazing people this semester who have had a lasting influence on my life.  While I did miss the home comings for my cousin and best friend who had both been serving LDS missions, the friendships and relationships I've made this semester made it a little bit easier to miss them.  I truly believe that god puts people in our lives, precisely when and how we need them.  He is intimately involved in the details of our lives and this semester, I have really been able to witness that.

I'm grateful that God knows exactly what we need in our lives and I'm thankful that he guides us to do what we need to do if we will but seek his guidance.  He knows what we can become if we do the things that he would have us do.  He knows exactly what circumstances we need to be placed in in order to grow the most that we can.  This semester has been a huge learning experience for me that I wouldn't trade for anything!  

This is why I keep a Journal/ We are sooo Loved!

As I was reading through some journal entries from the beginning of 2016, I came across one where I wrote, "I can definitely feel the Lord's hand in my life!  I know that I wouldn't be able to get through school without my Savior's help!"  As I was thinking about this tonight, I was just thinking about how I don't think I would be able to get through this life if I didn't have some one who I could turn to any time, day or night who knows EXACTLY how I'm feeling.  Last semester was the first time in my life when I truly felt like my savior was right beside me, giving me the strength that I needed to get through the things I was going through and to fulfill all of my obligations.  I have felt his help before but not the way I felt it last semester.  I'm so thankful that I established the habit of writing in my journal every day, a long time ago because I needed this reminder tonight, that my Heavenly Father and Savior are ever so mindful of me and truly want what is best for me!  

Blessings

I finished the Book of Mormon again this morning!  I think that I have learned more from reading it this time than I have any other time in my life.  I needed answers, I needed guidance and I needed help.  I have received ALL of those things throughout the last 6 months!  I have truly felt the hand of the Lord in my life more in the past few months than ever before.  What a blessing it is to know that he is ALWAYS there for me.  I am so thankful for the influence of good friends.  I'm so thankful for the guidance and direction he gives me.  Life is just really hard sometimes!  I know that I would not be able to get through it if it weren't for the Gospel.  The last several times I have read the Book of Mormon, I have kept a journal of insights that I have received as I was reading.  I love going back through all of those journals and reading my thoughts and how I applied something at that specific time in my life.  I have such a strong testimony of Journals.  I have literally written in a journal every day from the time I was in 6th grade.  While most of them are full of silly, unimportant things, going back and reading them has helped me to realize that even though it feels like I am the same person, I have most definitely changed.  I don't know whether my journals will ever help anyone else, but they have for sure helped me!  I am so incredibly thankful for my Savior!

Just Some Thoughts About The Future

I've been thinking a lot lately about whether majoring in Animal Science is really what I'm supposed to do.  I mean, I'm not going to lie, when I first started college, my only goal was to get married, drop out of school and have a family.  As I've started to take more classes for my major though, I have realized that it is truly what I'm passionate about!  I can't imaging myself doing anything else!  Living on a farm or ranch is hard work, there is no doubt about that.  I keep asking myself if that is really what I want for my whole life.

Honestly, I can't imagine living anywhere else, or doing anything else.  I have watched my parents and so many of my cousins struggle through hard times and I know that while it's hard, it has made them all stronger people!  I'm so thankful for all of the examples I have around me, especially my family members!   My dad always says that he is a teacher so that we can afford to live on a Ranch.  I know that he would rather be at home helping my mom, but for the time being, it's not possible.  I'm so thankful that my parents sacrifice so much for my family, so that we can live the way that we do!  

Two months are gone?

Wow, I can't believe that January is over and that my last blog post was before Thanksgiving...  Time just got away from me I guess :)  One third of my 4th semester at BYU-Idaho is already over!  It has really flown by, mostly because I have just been so busy!  I'm taking more credits this semester than any other semester (only by one), and I have been amazed at how much I can get done when I actually use my time, rather than wasting it!  I'm taking Chemistry this semester and I was really worried about it at the beginning but it's actually been going really well and I am feeling pretty good about it!  I feel so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to come to BYU-Idaho and experience so many new things!  I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life soooo much this semester!  I know prayers are answered and that He TRULY cares for us!  My mom sent me this picture at the beginning of the semester when I was having a really hard time :)

I'm so thankful for my Heavenly Father and I know that he cares so much for me and wants what's best for me!  I am also soo thankful for my mom and dad who want the same for me!  They are such great examples to me!   On another note, I have gotten really good at getting dressed in the dark this semester since I have early classes every day!  haha :)  It's pretty depressing when I have already been to class and come home and all of my roommates are still in bed asleep...  But having classes early in the day has always worked better for me and this semester has been no different!  I am looking forward to the end of this semester, not because I want to leave Rexburg necessarily, but because it means my cousin and best friend will be getting home from missions!!!!  I'm sooo excited to see both Maddie and Maycee!  It feels like the past year and a little bit have gone super fast some days, and super slow other days, but I'm just super excited to see them...  (as I already said...)  I'm really excited to see what the next few months bring!