Expressions of Love

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...




A ladle-ful of love.

"Don't withhold those natural expressions of love.... That will make life far richer and more pleasant and purposeful."

Can't wait to see you in 18 months!

I cannot wait to see the Spirit work miracles in my life in the next 18 months and in the lives of those I am now preparing teach. As I have been preparing to serve, I have had concerns about how very little I know. How could I ever teach the gospel when I know so little? Just after I received my call I remembered a talk given by Elder Neil L. Anderson in which he stated, “You don’t know everything, but you know enough.” I certainly don’t know everything, but I know enough. I know this is the true church of Christ. I have a testimony of the Savior’s atonement. I know He lived and died for us. I know Heavenly Father knows us each by name and He loves us beyond belief. I know the power of prayer and the power of the Priesthood are real. I have seen these powers work miracles in my life. I am so excited to share the gospel with those whose hearts long for the happiness that the gospel brings. I know that the Spirit will direct my steps towards these people and guide my words so that I may teach and serve them. I love this gospel, and I love my Savior. Again, I am so very blessed to have this knowledge that it leaves me in tears. I am so, so happy!

Mahal kita!

P.S. If you would like to receive my weekly email, please shoot my mamma an email and ask her to add you to the list! donna.breckenridge@comcast.net.

answers and angels

"There should be times when you and I leave tears on our pillows out of gratitude for what God has given us."

- Niel A. Maxwell

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i love answers to prayers.

i have been receiving so many recently, in all sorts of ways.

it is incredibly comforting to know my heavenly father knows me, He loves me, and He wants the absolute best for me.

he has also placed so many angels in my path who have blessed my life beyond belief. there just aren't words enough to express my love for these angels.

i am so very blessed, it leaves me in tears.

2011

"As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives.

This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year—and every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life. Such is the wonder of faith, repentance, and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The poet Robert Browning wrote:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, 'A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'

Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

To all such of every generation, I call out, 'Remember Lot’s wife.' Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of good things to come' (Hebrews 9:11).

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."

The Best is Yet to Be, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, 2009

(To read Elder Holland's full talk, visit http://lds.org/liahona/2010/01/the-best-is-yet-to-be?lang=eng )

G-rated

I just have to document this because I never, ever, ever want to forget it. One of the deepest conversations I've ever had with a very dear friend of mine.

Me- "I didn't know how to bring it up. I seriously thought about texting you '[Insert something slightly inappropriate here]' But that would have been inappropriate ;)"

Larissa- "Stating the simple innocent truth in a slightly provocative possibly suggestive manner is not inappropriate...well, not always."

.......

Me- "And then he leaned in, tenderly grasping my face, staring longingly into my eyes for what seemed like a lifetime...I saw his lips quiver in the darkness..."

Larissa- "Haha, if I wanted a romance novel I would've gone to my grandma's and read one of hers...I just want the story! Unless of course that is the story...then continue, but it would be great if you just toned it down to G for me, so I don't feel like I have to close my eyes while I read your texts ;)"

Me- "It IS G rated! No swearing or taking off clothes of any sort."

Larissa- "Ha, please find me a romance G rated movie where a male tenderly grasps a female's face with quivering lips in the darkness, then I'll believe you (but I am glad there's no swearing or absence of clothes of any kind.)"

Me- "Me too. P.S. I'm trying to hack into your work email. What's the username and password?"

I'm really going to miss you, Larissa.

Also, remember that time Donny Osmond thought you were me? Oh, Donny :)

my white christmas!

bit by bit

i feel like my entire semester has been centered around discovering people, & i've learned so much about why people live the way they do. i have loved learning about the cultures, religions, languages, and physical features, as well as the political, economic, and development factors that have created our world's incredibly diverse character.

it's easy to generalize peoples as a group and simply assume they are all alike. over the past few weeks, however, i have been impelled to examine why people are who they are individually.

i've been thinking about the experiences and people who have helped me become me. who am I?

as i've taken a good look at my life, i have been more inclined to examine those around me in a similar way- personally, not generally.

i often wish i could see someone's entire life in the blink of an eye. imagine how much more compassionate and understanding we would be if we could do so.

so why are we less compassionate than we often should be? do we really mourn with those who mourn; comfort those who stand in need of comfort?

i think we often presume we're not making much of an impact in the lives of others unless we're doing something big- something monumental that will change their lives. i believe, however, that most change comes line by line, bit by bit.

there have been countless people who have made me who i am, without even realizing what they have done. the friends from grade school whom i have since lost contact with, the professor who left a kind note on my paper, the young women leader who brought me flowers when my heart was breaking with sorrow, the nice old couple down the street who made me feel like their very own granddaughter, the neighbor who put her slippers on one winter morning and drove me to school when i missed the school bus, the girl in my freshman ward who brought be cookies after i had surgery, the girl at the testing center who genuinely wished me good luck before a test, the professor who remembered my name and waved to me while walking across campus, my very best friends who make me laugh until i cry even when i'm sad, the friend whom i consider a sister after this summer, the "aunt" who surprised me with a sweet note in the mail, the friend who wrote a note in the dirt on my car & the friend who wrote a note with ketchup on my car (haha), my mother who pushed my hair aside this morning and asked if i was okay after i came home sick last night, the friend who always creates the most random adventures, the boss who invites me into his office regularly to talk as friends and in whom i can confide, the old man at the creamery who shared with me his secret to a long & happy life, someone i hardly know calling me by my name.

thank you. thank you for really seeing me.

i hope, with all my heart, you know that i see you too. and i love you.

"Examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to become the kind of person you want to be, and do it." -Joseph B. Wirthlin