Sunday, February 23, 2014

This Is Our Purpose

"Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass... Such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.

"This should be our purpose—to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow. Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress toward our goal of eternal life."

- President Thomas S. Monson, "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee" November 2013

"Good Timber"
Douglass Malloch

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.



[Image Source]

Monday, February 17, 2014

A Million Miles Apart {iPod Shuffle Game}

I came across this game on tumblr and thought it sounded fun. What you do is you shuffle all the songs on your iPod and the first lyric line of each song is that line in your poem. Here's mine:

1. A perfect day is spending my life with you
2. Everytime I see your face
3. Stay with me
4. I know you want to talk
5. Never knew I could feel like this
6. Hey, time won't wait
7. This is my December
8. I look away
9. [I] Never win first place
10. I know your dreams
11. Ecstasy is all you need
12. Dear angel of mine
13. Another day is going by
14. I walked through the door with you
15. Creator of the universe
16. I get lost in you
17. Drinking wine and thinking bliss
18. I was tired of my lady
19. She was watching the taxi driver as he pulled away
20. I was betrayed
21. Too many broken hearts fallen in the river
22. I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted
23. Well, I know just what it is you want
24. Here it comes
25. Never had an ordinary day
26. When darkness is no less
27. Like a man on a wire
28. Bravo! Bravo!
29. Baby, baby, baby, you're my voodoo child
30. We're standing face to face but a million miles apart

Songs:
1. "Nothing But Love" - David Hodges
2. "Falling In" - Lifehouse
3. "Kiss Me Slowly" - Parachute
4. "Shame On Me" - Ryan Cabrera
5. "Come What May" - Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
6. "Simple Things" - Jim Brickman
7. "My8. "Fall to Pieces" - Avril Lavigne
9. "Don't Let Me Get Me" - P!nk
10. "More Than Love" - Sweetbox
11. "Big Machine" - Goo Goo Dolls
12. "Dear Angel" - April Sixth
13. "I'd Do Anything" - Simple Plan
14. "All Too Well" - Taylor Swift
15. "Make Us Whole" - David Hodges
16. "Guessing" - Against the Current
17. "Crystal Ball" - P!nk
18. "Escape" - Rupert Holmes
19. "Waiting For Superman" - Daughtry
20. "Angel In Disguise" - Cinema Bizarre
21. "The Things We Do For Love" - Spectacular! Soundtrack
22. "Attack" - 30 Seconds to Mars
23. "Halfway" - Parachute
24. "Space Cowboy" - Nsync
25. "Emma" - Katherine Nelson
26. "Dawn" - Poets of the Fall
27. "Saving Grace" - The Afters
28. "Bravo" - Kessler
29. "Voodoo Child" - Rogue Traders
30. "Falling Out of Love" - Age of Information