Joseph Hon-Fu Sin

   This is old news for some of you, probably most of you, but... I met someone. And I'm going to rave about him for approximately the next five minutes. I'll try not to gush for those of you who have sensitive stomachs (or witty minds to mock me with later... Janna...)

Toronto airport

Anyway, he's absolutely wonderful. 

He's brilliant. I tend to go to him with all of my questions- 

medical, spiritual, common sense, familial, friend, doctrinal, academic, etc.

He's musical. I've always felt buckets of peace when listening to the piano.

And he's impressive- as in sight-reading-difficult-classical-music-beautifully impressive.

He's athletic. Way more than me. Not that it takes a whole lot most of the time. 

He's genuine and kind. They're the first things that drew me to him. 

He's loving. For some reason he seems to love me dearly and think I'm something incredible. I'm all about keeping that little exaggeration perfectly in tact. 

He's happy and peaceful. And a bit of that gets radiated out to me.

Especially on those days when I want to strangle students 

or when I'm stressed about some dumb little thing. 

He loves the Gospel. He has such strength and testimony that brightens my life.

I love talking to him about it and sharing experiences and beliefs.

Bored at the Toronto airport, waiting for our flight, which was cancelled...

   So, yes, Lindsay is in love. As trite and ridiculous as that sounds and as much as I NEVER thought I would write that in a blog... well... the time has come to tackle my pride and say it out loud for my family and friends. I realize love has different levels and I know I'm only starting, but I'm starting nonetheless. 

Isn't that lovely?

(I'm done gushing/raving now... see, that really wasn't that bad, was it?)

An 18 Year Old Poet

   First of all, I realize there are some dashes in 18-year-old, but it looked weird in the title, so I'm omitting them. (Poets can take certain grammatical liberties that 7th grade English teachers cannot.)

   If you read my entry about the bookcase, you know that I've been cleaning. Part of that cleaning made me get rid of my filing cabinet which has steadily been with me since I first moved to college. It's pretty organized, but I haven't sorted through any of it for a very long time. Well, when I was emptying it out I found something- sketchbook papers with poetry on them.

   Now, the first time I ever wrote poetry (not for a class assignment) was on the Church History Tour after high school graduation (June 2003). Every so often in the last 7 1/2 years I've wondered what happened to those poems, but figured I probably threw them out long ago or that they were in some box somewhere full of 'memory things' as I like to label them. Surprise! Some were with me all along! Now, I'm definitely not saying I'm a brilliant poet now (definitely not), and I definitely wasn't a brilliant poet then (most have the exact same meter). However, I am saying that it's really fun to have these to look at and remember. I know I had more because I remember vaguely writing some others, but these must have been the ones I deemed good enough to make 'final drafts' of. (They have decorative borders and are written in what I guess would have been my best handwriting at the time.) I also found a song I'd written. I didn't remember I'd ever written a song, and I didn't remember it even was a song until about halfway through the second verse when it hit me what those little marks were by each line- since I can't write music, I'd just put little dashes to indicate that the pitch went up or down relative to the last note.  haha Believe me, we should all be happy I didn't pursue a career as a songwriter. I'll happily leave that up to Ry in the family.

This is one right after I went to the Sacred Grove.

I went to where the prophet stood

I walked his very steps

And in my heart I knew the good

Brought by the Lord’s concepts

I seemed to feel his very soul

It merged intent with mine

The tempests ‘round me seemed to lull

Through sacred peace divine

I felt assured of love and grace

As well as knowledge learned,

I did not see His very face

But my heart no longer yearned

 The Holy Spirit’s loving arms

Were wrapped around so tight 

That all the worldly wealth and charms

Couldn’t touch with their fake might

This Gospel means so much to me

Faith growing each new day

That though Christ lived across the sea

He forged for me the way

My heart’s been touched by Holy Hands

The tender seed caressed

 When I walk through this sacred land

I know I have been blessed.

His Holy House

     Last night I went to the Salt Lake temple with Sara and Laura. As I was there I began thinking about the beauty of the earth and all the blessings we are each given. And, most importantly, about the Holy Ghost and the humbling promise to always have Him with us if we so choose. The greatest and most needed blessings poured through me- peace, hope, steadiness, strength, reassurance, love. Who wouldn't want to enter a place that reminds us of those dearly held blessings we already have access to? So often I forget and go about my life without paying much attention to, and not leaning on, those hallowed gifts from God. 
   There are many things I love about the temple, but one of them is how it helps me to see clearly and in perspective. Priorities are no longer upside-down and topsy-turvy, expectations and rules are centered in the Gospel instead of ten different places that I'm trying to remember and figure out when they contradict. Life can be so much simpler than I allow it to be. The most important things in life are simple and all-encompassing and that is the majesty of the Heavens. Yes, life can be difficult and complicated and confusing, but the things that truly matter never will be, and they will be a guide to help us through those things that seemingly are. 

   I'm still so new at being in the temple, but the beauty is that it doesn't matter whether you've been twice or six hundred times... the Lord is there, waiting to speak to you, and teach you at whatever level you may be at. Each time I learn more, and though I often feel like I'm only grasping the basics, I feel peace that I'm at the level I need to be at. It's okay to work to understand the basics. The Lord has promised that we will understand all that we need in order to make the decisions that are in front of us. 

   As I was reading a Church article before I went, it asked a few questions: What does this decision do for me? and What does this decision do to me? As I sat in the temple and pondered these things, I realized that I have been given light sufficient for my needs. I have received strength sufficient to move forward. I have been blessed. I am being blessed. I am a daughter of God. And He loves me. And now I must "fresh courage take, [for] our God will never us forsake". 

A Bookcase and the Excitement of My Life

Have you ever noticed that the busier you become, the more excited you get over doing the little, mundane things? For example- finally getting new watch batteries or new soles on shoes or picking up something more than necessities at the grocery store and actually planning a decent meal...? Or, in my case, rearranging and cleaning my room and adding a new bookcase.

Now, we all know that I'm not really a cleaner at heart. Never been my forte. However, it's been a disaster since before Christmas break. And I've been craving a change for a while, so when my parents gave me a bookcase for Christmas (woohoo!) I decided to rearrange everything. Cleaning, though, has been intense. There was the typical amount of clothes discarded after being tried on, a few stacks of papers I promised I'd "sort through as soon as I could", bobby pins in every corner, and books, books, books... on the floor stacked vertically, horizontally set against the wall, scattered on the dresser, piled on my nightstand, even a few that had permanent homes on my bed that I just avoided while sleeping (or tried to avoid- occasionally I would wake up to the thud of a book hitting the floor at 3 a.m. after I'd pulled the covers wrong). Point being- the new bookcase is the best Christmas present I could have ever received and is now packed with all the books that are no longer flooding my room.

In addition, everything else is clean too, baseboards included. Well, except that stubborn stack of papers that I still don't know what to do with even though I've sorted through them twice. Why on earth does filing take so long?

Oh, and you may ask, "Lindsay, is your life really so mundane that cleaning and a new bookcase are the best things you can post about?" Well, my answer to you is that bookcases are simple and easy to understand and are therefore much more conducive to being written about than anything and everything else. I'm starting a blogging streak though (I can feel it in my blood), so don't worry (as I know you are), I'll try to be less shallow in the future. :)

Misjudging the Snowy Season

   This morning I woke up early and went out to scrape the walks in the dewy morning light from the snow that fell, literally, all day yesterday. It was beautiful and crisp and fresh and the whole world felt magically new and pristine. It was just light enough that the sky is that foggy-gray color without any sunlight peeping through yet. 
   As I was shoveling I was thinking about a couple different things. A) How beautiful it is early in the morning. B) The fact that I may get stronger arms and shoulders from it- always excellent. C) The peace that comes from just being by yourself with your own thoughts to start out the day. D) Writing a blog about the idea that maybe snow isn't all that cold after all (If you have the right clothes and are doing something active) and that maybe I've been misjudging it all this time and should really give things a second chance this winter. 
   After I finished I went inside, got ready (the hot shower was blessed), and was leaving for work, my neighbor was outside helping his wife into their car. We exchanged good mornings and I thought he would head back inside, but instead he stayed out and said he'd wait to be sure I didn't get stuck. He waited for a few minutes while I scraped my windows and gathered my stuff and then he made sure I got onto the cleared road before he waved goodbye and went inside. What a beautiful example of brotherly love and service. How kind it was of him to wait to be sure I was safe and didn't get stuck in the snow plow's drift. 
   I used to dread the coming of winter- the only really good thing about it was that you can sit by a window and watch the beauty of snow as you drink hot chocolate and read. Yesterday and today though, I noticed how much service is naturally given in the snow. I scraped the walks for my neighbors and my neighbors scraped our walks later. Windows were scraped without being asked and snow was swept off the top of cars long before it was actually needed. Girls were helped to cross snow drifts in heels and arms were offered to help each other from slipping. Advice is freely given and warnings are shared. Cookies are accepted and people admit to needing help, which is freely and lovingly given. The warmth of homes is enjoyed a little more. The hello's of passerby's are more readily returned. 

Dear Winter, I'm sorry for misjudging you and not seeing the beauty you bring out in people. You have your not-so-pretty parts too, like all of us do, but you are beautiful in many, many ways. 

Thank you

Shining Moments

Today it seems like winter is officially here. Not only am I sad that the cold, frozen months presented themselves, but I'm also sad that the crisp fall months are saying farewell. However, there have been some absolutely beautiful, shining moments that have lit up my cloudy sky with brilliant sunshine. 

1

This morning, one of my friends, Derek, stopped by the school to say a quick hello before classes started. Not only was I super surprised (he lives in Washington), but so glad. It brightened my whole morning to see him unexpectedly step into my doorway. He has a smile that can light up absolutely any situation and I feel all sorts of lucky in being able to see it!

2

As we were dancing I was able to look out the doors and see the rain turn to snow. There's something magical about dancing while watching the snow fall outside. It also reminds me of countless days at BYU-Idaho rehearsing... and those are always fabulous memories to bring back.

3

Last night I went on a walk and it was the perfect fall evening. How lucky is it that the night before winter comes I was able to stroll around Sugarhouse with perfect weather and perfect conversation? I thought about it all day long- it's always nice to be able to say goodbye properly to a season and usually I don't quite get around to it. 

4

There was a voicemail on my phone at work and after taking a few minutes to figure out how on earth to check it, I listened and it wasn't for me. So happy! I was able to hit the 'Mark as New' button and send an email off to another teacher who needed to take care of it. Whew!

5

I received a couple of emails today that just made me smile. I check my email in the middle of my classes while my students are working independently because it's the only free time I have. And today, waiting for me in the midst of the craziness were a few moments of total warmth and comfort. 

So very, very lovely! Thank you.

"I panicked!"

Students aren't allowed to chew gum; students who choose to go against this rule and are caught with gum get sent to the office to get a lunch detention slip. Being me, I have a hard time sending kids out for detentions. (Partly this is because I'm just a softie, but mostly it's because they'll be out of class for ten minutes while they get the  paperwork and lecture and etc., and they end up missing so much that they never catch up.) Anyway, today one of my students was chewing gum. I told him to spit it out and he did. Less than five minutes later he was chewing gum again. (May I mention that it was bright blue gum that was extremely strong smelling and he is completely unable to chew without opening his mouth widely...) This particular student knew not to push me twice- I usually bend the rules once, but twice and they're out. I told him to spit out his gum and he tried to lie and say he didn't have any. I told him the color and flavor and his face just lit into this shocked look of "How did she know?" And then........      He swallowed it. Blatantly. He and I just kept staring at one another. Finally I asked, "Did you really just swallow it?!" He looked at me, frozen, and blurted out, 

"I panicked! I didn't know what to do!" 

I then put my head in my hands and broke out laughing (while sending him to the office for a lunch detention of course). He tries to lie all the time about trivial things, but he can't help but blurt out the truth every once in a while and it just cracks me up. And yes, I'm still laughing about it- I hope you see the humor. :)