Three Words

The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship.

1. Let me help
Good friends see a need and then try to fill it. When they see a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they jump in and help out.

2. I understand you
People become closer and enjoy each other more when the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know - in so many little ways - that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. And this can apply to any relationship.

3. I respect you
Respect is another way of showing love. Respect demonstrates that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become closer friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships.

4. I miss you
Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other "I miss you." This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how important you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say "I miss you."

5. Maybe you're right
This phrase is very effective in diffusing an argument. The implication when you say "maybe you're right" is the humility of admitting, "Maybe I’m wrong". Let's face it. When you have an argument with someone, all you normally do is solidify the other person's point of view. They, or you, will not likely change their position and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying "maybe you're right" can open the door to explore the subject more. You may then have the opportunity to express your view in a way that is understandable to the other person.

6. Please forgive me
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

7. I thank you
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

8. Count on me
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating "you can count on me."

9. I'll be there
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase "I'll be there." Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

10. Go for it
We are all unique individuals. Don't try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how far out they seem to you. God has given everyone dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only. Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to "go for it."

11. Bonus: I love you

Perhaps the most important three words that you can say are telling someone that you truly love them. This satisfies a person's deepest emotional needs; the need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words: "I love you." Love is a choice. You can love even when the feeling is gone. "

Trip to Cedar City

Fantastic Weekend

Finally I was able to make it back to Cedar City from Thursday October 14th thru Sunday October 17th for a Theater Arts and Dance Department Reunion and fundraiser. What an awesome weekend it was! I left Thursday after work, about 4. The traffic was horrible until Spanish Fork due to road construction, but after that it was smooth sailing. I finally arrived in Cedar city about 8:15 and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some breakfast food before heading to Kay's! I love staying at Kay's home, it is so welcoming and peaceful. Kay is a very dear friend of mine. He was my modern professor in college and a co-worker afterwards with the American Folk Ballet. It had been a year and a half since I had seen Kay, but you would never know it. Our friendship is one of those that it doesn't matter how much time goes by, when we see each other, you would never know it. Steve Nielsen met me at Kay's. Steve and I graduated from SUU today and haven't seen each other for years, probably 6 years. Steve had invited me to perform with him on Saturday night, so at 9:00 Thursday night, it was off to the studio to rehearse and learn the piece! We danced until midnight, when campus security showed up and kicked us out! Nothing like getting in trouble by campus security on the first night back in town! hee hee hee. Steve and I stayed up until about 1:30 AM talking and catching up. Lot's has happened in both of our lives!

Friday morning came very early, we had a meeting at 9:00 AM and I was teaching at10:00 AM. Oh how I love to teach. It was an absolute blast teaching college kids who are majoring in dance. The studio was gigantic! I love it! The went amazing! I could have used 2 hours, rather than an hour and half. After my class, Steve and I rehearsed with some of the students that we had asked to perform with us. At noon, Steve taught a jazz/musical theater class, which I took. After his 1.5 hour class, more rehearsal! At 3:00, it was time for Tech Rehearsal on the stage, then a dance panel from 4-5! Busy day!

After panel, it was off to St. George to see Tarzan at Tuacahn. It was a good show, but not up to par for a professional theater, it was more on the level of a high school show or community theater. However, Steve and I had a blast! I love going to the theater to see shows!


Saturday, it was dress rehearsal from 12-3, then off to get ready for the performance and reception. The show turned out amazing, the reception was a blast. I love seeing friends that I haven't seen for 10-12 years! It was just like the good ol' days!

I am so glad that I was able to head south and make the memories! I came home on Sunday and actually started looking at apartments in Cedar. Cedar is home! I love it there, perhaps in the next year I will end up there!

I wish you enough

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.


Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.


I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.


They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.


TAKE TIME TO LIVE....

To all my friends and loved ones,
I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you & keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you
& be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you & give you peace.

Trust

Today I was reading a friends blog and she talked about the song "Consider the Lilies." In reading her blog and then listening to the song, I realized that I had also built a wall. The song goes, "And He will heal those who trust him. And make their hearts as gold." The beginning of the song says, "Consider the lilies of the field, How they grow, How they grow... Consider the birds in the sky, How they fly, How they fly."

Thanks to my dear friend, I too realized that I have built a wall to keep the hurt out and in turn to prevent the happiness and joy I deserve out. It is time for the wall to come down and for me to begin trusting again, trusting those in my life now, trusting new friends I meet and trusting GOD.

I had a great conversation with my mom today about my life and stresses that are happening, situations and feelings that have arisen. I am so grateful for her and the love and support she gives. Her advice is very welcome and really helped me make some decisions today. Thanks Mom, I love you.

Yesterday was a great day as well. It started off with a long over due massage. She knew exactly where I hold my stress and pointed out that is why I have been having headaches. During the massage I realized that some of the stress in my life is self inflicted and I am the one to resolve and remove it. Saturday night was priesthood session of conference, which means the girls get to play while the men are being counseled! I headed out to my friend Tanji's house where we ate TGI Friday's and just talked and got caught up. What a perfect night and way to end Saturday!

Life is good and is going to get better. Thank you to allb of my friends and family! You are all amazing.

GOD Bless America

I'm so tired of seeing what's WRONG with this country....this was truly refreshing!Enjoy. I did!


From a Romanian Newspaper

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA


Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America ') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'.

~An Ode to America~

Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

On 9/11, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about...

Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.

After the first moments of panic , they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing: 'God Bless America !'

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unites the Americans in such way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion.... Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu
(This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever..) It took a person on the outside - looking in - to see what we take for granted!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Two Years

What a crazy and wonderful two years! It was two years ago today that the judge signed my divorce papers and I became a single woman again. In looking back at the last two years I see how blessed I have been.

During my marriage, I became extremely submissive and gave up on a lot of my dreams and goals in life. The one goal which I never gave up on was being a wife and a mother. I have two of the most amazing children (babies from another mother) whom I am still very blessed to see and spend time with on a regular basis. They are two of the largest blessings in my life. It does make my heart ache to hear the challenges they are facing in life and the feelings the have towards people in their life. Children should not have to understand happenings in life at such a young age. I am amazed at their comprehension and understanding of people, their actions and their words. They have a deep understanding, much deeper that I think we as adults give them credit for. They have and understand their feelings and are very creative in their ways of expressing them. Michael and Sabrina are amazing and the best children! I love them with all of my being and am so grateful for them.

I originally was ashamed of my divorce. It is something I never wanted in my life. I always wanted to be married only one and to the man that we would grow together, love, and support each other. Spend time building each other up. Unfortunately that did not happen in my marriage. There were 25 months spent trying to make it work, changing myself so that it would work. I was very blessed to spend many hours in the temple, praying about what to do... then the answer came that it was time to leave... it takes two people working at a marriage and giving to make it work. It was time for me to leave the abuse. I think this was the hardest part for me. My ex was only physically abusive several times in the marriage and I was great at making excuses for it. The first time was 2 months into our marriage, when I ended up with two small black eyes and a cut across my forehead. He did an amazing job at justifying his actions. There was the bruises on my ribs from him poking me, the bruise on my shin from him kicking me... the bruises on my stomach from him 'tickling' too hard. Then there was the verbal, which is also mental and emotional abuse, and the spiritual abuse. I struggled with realizing it until I was able to meet with a counselor, read several books and made some tough realizations, as well as going back to a self discovery stage. I was great at making excuses for his behavior and even got to the point of blaming myself. It was a horrible place to be and I realized that now. I am back to my spunky, loving life and living life self. I am checking goals off my list and completing wants and wishes off of my bucket list.

I think that his family is great and amazing. I have enjoyed keeping in contact on a high level with his family. His mom sent me a very sweet letter, even stating that she was grateful that I had gotten out and away from the abuse. His sisters have been fun and amazing. I love seeing their children grow and have new experiences. His family are blessings in my life!

I pray that my ex can become the man that I saw in him, especially now that he is remarried to a woman with 2 children. I would hate for her to have the same experience I did and for her children to go thru a 2nd divorce.

As for things I have been able to do over the last two years...I am back in school studying Chemistry and Biology, working towards working in the forensics field or medical research field. School is challenging and I love it! I am still teaching dance and am back to being the Assistant Director of Southpointe Ballet company. I have been on a hot air balloon ride, I have returned to Disneyland with the kids, I have been to Europe and am going back in 3 months to experience more! I have met amazing men, who have treated me with the utmost kindness and respect. I have rekindled friendships and have become more social again! Life is amazing. I am so grateful for my trials and the lessons learned thru them. I am grateful for my blessings. I know that GOD is real and truly cares about each and everyone of us. He has carried me at many times thru the last two years and 9 months. My ex and I were separated for 9 months prior to the divorce being final.

I am grateful for Mandi(his first ex-wife) and our friendship. I love that we have become friends, after all we both experienced a very difficult marriage. It was very strange at first to sit down with her and compare our experiences with him. Our stories are almost exact, even from the phrases he used on us. She is a blessing in my life!

So, here is to another exciting time in life, to checking more off my bucket list, to finding my spouse, to starting a family, to living life to the fullest. Thank you to all of my friends who have been there for me in the difficult and sad times. Who have been there to lift me up and keep me going, to hold me back when necessary. I love you all and am grateful for you everyday!