Life isn't about just hanging in there, it is about moving forward until you become all that you can become.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Reproducing Beauty and the Beast

Not that we are already thinking about babies....but if we were to have one, this is what it might look like.


Create Your OwnMake a Routan Baby

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Ongoing Prop 8 Dispute....

For the last couple of months I have almost been annoyed with the manner of which the church's stand has been on this proposition. As someone who is a very close associate with many who choose a different lifestyle from my own, it has been difficult for me indeed to attempt to defend the church's council when my own political thoughts had been in disarray. I found this quote by Elder Maxwell to be very interesting indeed. With all that is going on in our nation at this time, it seems that prophetic counsel is once again coming to pass for our generation. In my American Heritage class, there was a quote shared by Brigham Young who stated that, "When the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call on the 'Mormon' Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it" (Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 361) However, with the rumors surrounding that the people's vote will once again be overturned it looks as though our democracy is beginning to "hang by a thread" and that the people's voice is no longer being heard.

As for Elder Maxwell's quote, I find this to be extremely good prophetic advice to those who are having a difficult time understanding why the church may have needed to get involved. Pay close attention to the way he words his advice on our involvement:

'Elder Neal A. Maxwell's counsel below is prophetic. Elder Maxwell was known to be very politically active. The question is: As Elijah asked, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him [and His prophets]: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word." I Kings 18:21'

Neal A. Maxwell, "A More Determined Discipleship," Ensign, Feb 1979

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.

'"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes willbe lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices areclear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us,let us not then complain of the heat."…there is occurring a discounting of religiously based opinions. There may even be a covert and subtle disqualification of some for certain offices in some situations, in an ironic irreligious test for office. If people, however, are not permitted to advocate, to assert, and to bring to bear, in every legitimate way, the opinions and views they hold which grow out of their religious convictions, what manner of men and women would we be?

"If we let come into being a secular church which is shorn of traditional and divine values, where shall we go for inspiration in the crises of tomorrow? Can we appeal to the rightness of a specific regulation to sustain us in our hour of need? Will we be able to seek shelter under a First Amendment which by then may have been twisted to favor irreligion? Will we be able to rely for counterforce on value education aided in school systems which are increasingly secularized? And if our governments and schools were to fail us, would we be able to fall back upon and rely upon the institution of the family, when so many secular movements seek to shred it? It may well be that as our time comes to "suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:41), some of that special stress will grow out of that portion of discipleship which involves citizenship."

So, my dear friends, the day has come for us to choose "whose on the Lord's side who? Now is the time to show." I have come to learn even more so now the importance of loving someone for who they are and not for what they do. These associates will continue to be dear friends of mine, but I must defend what I believe.

Finally, here is an article about Elton John that I was a little skeptical about reading, but he actually defends proposition 8! Go ahead and take a look...http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-11-12-elton-john_N.htm

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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Reaching for Higher Ground

What a great couple of weeks. Things continue to move forward slowly with Kaylinn and I, but moving they are. What an amazing girl! If I could only begin to describe how amazing she really is, I would fill up about 20 posts worth, and that would only be the beginning. One thing that she and I have decided to do, being that she is endowed, is to try and go to the temple every week. This was our first week going, and being that I hadn't been in a while, was surprised to see some of the "changes". Threw me off a little and was intrigued by the changes. But most of all, I can't believe that I had been putting off the opportunity to feel such peace. You see, for whatever reasons I just had not been to the temple in a really long time. Something always came up when I wanted to go. I even made the attempt to head out to the Newport temple (tiny by the way) about 3 weeks ago and blasted MapQuest sent me on a wild goose chase and I showed up 3 minutes late for the session. I am just so blessed to be dating a girl who is worthy to go to the temple and has the desire to go on a weekly basis. I have always had certain curiosities about things in the temple, none that have made me doubt, but when I asked her about them she just said, "I don't know. I don't really think about them. I just accept them for what they are and realize that someday I will know." Like I said, amazing! I am excited to fulfill this goal we have made to go to the temple on a weekly basis. How did I get so lucky?

Another thing we have decided to do is to do a scripture study every time we see each other. I just had this really strong impression that she and I should make a solid foundation to our relationship. That we shouldn't just focus on the physical benefits of a relationship, but to create a deep emotional and spiritual foundation. It has turned out to be such a great experience and she has so many great insights that I have never seen before. And what better habit to get into now as a couple than having a prayerful scripture study.

We also tried to do as my chiropractor suggested to me a couple of months ago, a sugar fast. It is so hard to stay away from any form of non-healthy sugars. But, I was able to make it three weeks before I caved. This was the temptress, Jogurt. It is a frozen yogurt bar of pure divinity. You can choose from like 10 flavors of yogurt and then mix in whatever you want. I highly recommend the english toffee ice cream with heath bar add-in. Pretty sure I could eat that continuously for the rest of my life. So, being that the sugar fast did not work, we are trying the moderation thing cause cold turkey is just not happening! He also told me that it really needs to be like 80/20 anyway. haha I dare you to try it...NOT EASY! It does help you feel really healthy though, especially when you are eating loads of veggies!

To answer any speculations out there...no, we are not engaged. Time is the best tool for building a solid foundation. If it is meant to last forever, than taking a few minuscule months to make sure that it will work is fine by me. The only way for me not to destroy this one is just to take it one step at a time. She is so supportive and I have never met anyone who wants to work for me as much as I do for her. L-U-C-K-Y is what I am.

Everything else in life continues to move forward. I am excited to see my sister and her boys here next week. I sure do miss the family a lot and am hoping that I will be able to utilize my vacation days in a more efficient manner this next year. On that note, I will say adieu.

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Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Taking the Plunge...and Loving It!

So, after days of me contemplating about whether or not I should just go for it, I decided to take the plunge and see what happens. All I can say is that I am very glad I did. Kaylinn is absolutely an amazing person with so much going for her. I seriously have a hard time focusing and just can't wait to be around her again. There is a lot to say about her, but I definitely do not have the time to spill it all out via blog. Lets just say that I am in very good hands, and very fortunate to have this opportunity. My parents (who happened to be in town) and sister Malissa were able to meet her this last weekend and they were very impressed by her. I will admit, I was a little nervous to see how they would react being that she and I haven't known each other too long, but they liked her a lot. BONUS! I really have never felt so happy and excited to be with someone. It has only been a couple of weeks I know, but we are playing it smart and making sure that we let time be the most important factor in our relationship. She really is so great, and I know you all would really like her. I know I do!

Anyway, here is a picture of her for all of you curious followers. The first is my favorite pic of her and then the other is one we took at Disneyland while riding the train around the park. She is almost as obsessed about that place as I am...but not quite! And I do know what you are thinking...the most incredible smile ever. :)


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Monday, September 29, 2008

Pushing Back the Fear

Well, here it is....September has come and gone and I can't even believe it. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Which, if you think about it, really makes sense since I haven't written since the last full moon. So, in a very particular order, here are the things that have happened of note in the last month.

6. I finally finished the Twilight series. This rage started for me a year ago in Florida when I had nothing to do and all my friends were reading them. I thought the idea for the final book was extremely good, but I was fairly disappointed with the ending.


5. I went to see Wicked. All I can say is oh my jolly-goodness. It is absolutely amazing. I have seen it twice and will be going this weekend with my parents and then hopefully next weekend too. LOVE IT!

4. My position here has been extended until Jan. Even, though I am in a temporary position still, at least I have the guarantee of a job until then, unlike most of my fellow interns. I have been asked to join a basketball team with a bunch of parkside big shots, so I am hoping that this will turn into some sort of permanent postion for me.

3. I think that for the first time since we were kids that my relationship with my family has started to strengthen again. I have missed being able to laugh and have fun with my fam. So, when I went home this last month, I made a conscious effort to spend a lot of time with the family that was there. I have also tried to make a better effort with keeping in contact with them, which has always been kind of difficult for some reason, but I am loving the results.

2. Rise and Shout the Cougars are out! For the first time in 2 years I was able to go to a BYU football game. Luckily I went to the one where they cremated UCLA 59-0. I also have gotten satellite TV so that I can watch every single game and not even feel bad about it. Amazing.

1. Around the end of August, my sister Malissa and i were talking and she recommended (being that my social life down here has been close to non-existent) that I try and sign up for a singles website. I was not too excited about the idea. My friend Courtney and I checked one out right after I got back from my mission and I just didn't like the idea. So, about 2 weeks ago I was doing my scripture study and I read in 3 Nephi 14:7-8 "Ask and it shall be given unto you; SEEK and ye shall FIND; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For EVERYONE that asketh receiveth; and he that SEEKETH, FINDETH; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." I have never felt stronger in my life that the reason I am 27 and without a band on my finger is because I had given up.

Literally, 4 days later I got an email from an lds singles website offering me a free 7 day trial. Putting aside my pride I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I put in a search and browsed two pages and was pretty much done. Then, on the third page a girl caught my eye. The most AMAZING smile I had ever seen! To make a long story short, I messaged her, got her number, set up a date. We chatted a couple of times before our first date for many hours and something inside of me told me that this girl is completely legit. That was my biggest worry about the website, fake people.

Her name is Kaylinn Wright from the San Francisco area living in Chino (about 25 minutes from me) She is a 25 year old high school teacher. Being that she has a love for Disneyland, we went there for our first date and ate at the Blue Bayou. This girl is absolutely gorgeous and amazing and things went so incredibly well. It didn't feel like a first date at all, more like going on a date with someone I have wanted to ask out for a really long time. That date led to another date, and we have spent a lot of time with each other in the last couple of weeks.

Then, for whatever reason, I started to get nervous. I can't even begin to explain why in the world I would get nervous. Maybe because I couldn't believe that a girl of this caliber would be even slightly interested in me. But I think, more than that, it is I was nervous that things were going SO well SO fast that we had missed a step somewhere and that we hadn't been able to set up a solid foundation. By no means did I want to take any steps backwards with her, just slower steps forward. I have been in a situation like this before, and I got burned badly, so I just wanted to be cautious. It was the hardest conversation I have ever had to initiate in my life, knowing that she might get upset and not understand where I was coming from. I knew, and I felt deeply that this was the right thing to do. So, you can imagine my surprise when she told me that she was completely supportive of the idea. She was very honest with me and said that it hurt her a little (something I never, ever want to do again) but that she understands that for anything to be successful that there needs to be that sure foundation. I just hope she also understands that I want to build that foundation so that it will be successful.

So, I woke up this morning feeling so good about everything. I get to see her again on Wednesday, which can't come soon enough, and I will just continue to enjoy everything about her. But, my followers out there, let me know if I am crazy. Is it normal to feel that way? Why am I such an idiot?

Finale: So, those are the recent events of my life. My #1 has definitely been the highlight since my move to California. Life is really, really good right now. :)

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Friday, August 1, 2008

The Twists and Turns of Life....Ugh...

So, after 6 successful months at Disneyland I decided to take a little vacation home to just get away for awhile. It was super good to see some friends like Brandon and Michelle (which thanks for letting me crash!) and a whole lot of people from back home that always put a smile on my face. As I was away, and on my trip home by myself which consisted of a lot of think time, I felt very strongly that I should start thinking about my next goal in life.....getting a Masters degree. It just seems to keep slapping me in the face that I should really start thinking about it.

As I was visiting some friends on the BYU campus, a friend of mine told me about a job that was becoming available soon where I could work doing something I love, get paid more than Disney, and have my Masters degree entirely paid for. Wow, talk about throwing a wrench in the system. I have been struggling a little bit at Disneyland lately because I have the worst schedule ever. I am always working nights and weekends and I never get to have any kind of social life. AND to make matters worse, I was watching "The Rookie" the other night and there is a quote that Dennis Quaid's dad says in the movie that really kinda hit me hard: "Son, there comes a time when you need to stop doing what you want to do, and start doing what you are meant to do."

I kinda feel like this whole Disney thing is something that I have always wanted to do and so Heavenly Father has kinda paved the way for me to have that experience. Now, it boils down to me needing to find out what He would have me do. That is the hardest part in life you know? Aligning our will with His. So as I am really trying to do just that, it gets harder and harder to make that decision. I will wait and see if I even get offered that job back in Utah before making any decisions. But, we will see where these next couple of months will take me.

Everything else seems to be going well. I was in that earthquake the other day and didn't even feel it cause I was driving. My first real earthquake and I completely missed it. I was so disappointed! I was really anticipating going through my first one and a 5.8 on the scale too! Oh well, I am sure there will be others! :)

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

A Busy, Busy Month

So, I am probably the worst blogger known to man....but I am sure you can forgive me for that. I have finished my internship and I happy to announce that I have been promoted to the next phase of my career. It is called a TSA (Temporary Salaried Assistant) and I will be a manager over the Disneyland Resort Shared Services which covers the three hotel lifeguards, the Disney Dining phone line, and Guest Billing. Pretty much all that means is that I am officially a Disney employee and a fairly permanent resident of the Orange County. This position is until the end of September and then my fate is truly decided. But I have a strong feeling that this is where I am meant to be.

My family came down to visit and this included my brothers family which I haven't seen in 3 years. They have the cutest little boys and they are pretty much the biggest handful ever, but it was so fun to be a part of their first Disney experience. It was great to be with my parents and some of my family again, though the Morrell's have their share of disagreements, it was a pretty good week.

Things are going super well in the ward. I finally got a calling and I was super excited about it. I then got promoted and have to work the next three Sundays, oh well, my time will come. I have made a good set of friends and everything seems to be settling down a bit. I will have to update you on the dating life at a later time, cause right now I am not even sure what is going on. :) And so is life for me as a single person.

It is also that time that I am usually getting ready for EFY and let me tell you how nice it is to not worry about it. The program is amazing, but my time was done. I am excited for everyone that will be participating, but count me out!

Thanks for keeping in touch and let me know when you are coming to SoCal. I can't make any promises but I will see what I can do to help.

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Once again, the question arises...

So, a month has come and gone and I haven't written anything. I apologize for my idiocy. It has been a month of many ups and downs (more ups than downs) and I was able to see a lot of my ol' friends.

One of my best friends since high school, Theron, was able to come down with his wife and I was able to spend a couple of enjoyable hours with the man who never ceases to make me laugh. I seriously don't know how he does it, but that kid needs to make it on the big screen some day. I also had no idea that his wife was more obsessed with Disney than I was. Crazy. I was also able to see an old high school friend, Lindsay (Gunnel) Gassins with her family. Last of all, I was able to spend some great quality time with some of my great friends from Florida. If it weren't for them I probably wouldn't have made it through that "growing experience". Thanks to them I was able to have a few days of just pure playing and relaxing. Thanks ladies!

On the other side of the coin, it has been a really tough transition for me here. As far as work goes, I love it. I don't love how they have me under a microscope all of the time, but I love being able to prove myself to this company. The ward and social life have been the toughest. I have never moved into a place where being outgoing can be considered distasteful. Maybe it isn't even that, but people aren't too willing to go out of their way to introduce themselves to me, so when I try to do introduce myself, I just kinda get snubbed. It is interesting to me that those who are not members of the church have been more open to me than those who are.

Not only has that been tough, but because of this I have started to doubt my decision to come out here. I know that I am in the right place, but, I sometimes wonder. At least one aspect of my life is progressing right? That's a good thing. Anyway, it was super fun to see some of you and I guess we will see where I go from here! Not to sound lame....I just know that the Lord will lead me, guide me, and walk beside me as I continue to strive to do His will. Life really is a wilderness, and like Nephi and Lehi of old, we must be willing to allow Him to guide us through the wilderness.

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Monday, January 28, 2008

A Whole New World...

About the title, I work for Disney, so just deal with it. :)

President Hinckley's death came as a bit of a shock. but only because we thought that he was going to live forever. But upon reflecting and thinking about how he became the man that he was I thought to myslef, life has been pretty dang good to me lately. Considering the rather large twists and turns that has brought me to where I am now, I am living a dream, and it is amazing. I couldn't help but thinking that President Hinckley was just like any of us at this age. Trying to establish a career and learning where he fit in this life. I love the story about how, when on his mission, he was ready to give up and head home. This all whispered to me the greatness of this man, because he truly lived what he taught about, "being a little bit better" every single day. I hope that at the end of my life, I can look back and be satisfied by what I have become.

So, what have I become? A Disney employee! Wahoo! Actually, these last couple of weeks it is more like...blah...but that is only because I have been training on the front-line stuff that I will gladly be done with shortly. My biggest stress at this point is that I have to come up with a project to help improve the guest experience at the 3 hotels. That involves a very small amount of stress and pressure. (Did you catch the sarcasm?) However, I am confident that the Lord will help present a problem/solution that I will be able to go off of.

I guess the biggest adjustment I have had to make is in learning how to adapt to the California LDS single life. It is a lot different here than at the very concentrated land of LDS singles...being Rexburg, ID. It just kinda seems like everyone is here to do their own thing and it doesn't matter if someone new comes around. Oh well, I will just do my thing and do my best to break down some of those barriers. Hopefully I will be succesful!

Anyways, life really is good. Oh, I almost forgot! I got to do a walk-through of the Pirates of the Carribean and it was so amazing! Seriously, I hope to someday have a quarter of the imagination that Mr. Disney had.

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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Holy Cow...I live in California!

Yes, it is pretty dang crazy! But here I am, living and loving it in the Golden State. Things are going extremely well and I feel so blessed by this opportunity that Heavenly Father has given to me. So, here I am, working at my dream job, and it hits me....life would only be better if I were married. Any takers? (hahaha) But seriously, I am so happy. I just want to thank all of you who have ever believed in me and have encouraged me to get to this point. I will keep you updated on any cool happenings that go on around here!

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