#BecauseofHim

#BecauseofHim I can have peace in today and hope in tomorrow. Because of Him I can receive relief. I can forgive and be forgiven. I can start again. I can change. I know that my Savior lives and that He loves me dearly. So much, even, that he would suffer and die for me so that I could do all of those things and live with Him forever! All things are possible because of Him!

{Learn more about what is possible because of Him at Mormon.org}

Happy Easter!


Love always,
Marley

thoughts on heroics

*** DISCLAIMER: This post is not as light and bubbly as those previous, but I've been working it up for quite some time. The thought just won't leave me alone but I haven't been able to get it into words properly. I've gone through countless edits to try to make everything perfect, alas, that task is impossible. I think this'll have to do for now.***

The problem with a lot of us is that we like to save people.

We like the idea of being someone's hero-- someone's "saving grace," "truest friend," "rock," what ever you want to call it. We like the idea of someone needing us, needing our help, needing our presence in their life-- it's nice to be recognized and to be needed. We want to be the person someone remembers fondly as they think of their hardship and of your help and loyalty through it all. We are a social kind, we look after each other, it's just the way life is. Unfortunately, this can become a great downfall.

You watch a friend dive off the dock into the deep end, the storm is coming and the waves are getting high, it's instinct to jump in after them and haul their sorry butt back to shore. But it doesn't always work like that. Truth is, the both of you can only tread water for so long. Soon enough, your friend may be clinging to you for their own survival, and what then? Bottom line, you can't hold someone up without getting your own head wet.

The fact is, there is only one person who can "save" us and He already has. Jesus Christ's atonement has "saved" us all. (I put the word saved in quotations because I do not believe in the idea that there is one instance on one day in your whole life when you feel close to God and He "saves" you and then you never have to worry about it again. Being "saved" is a continual process of trial and hardship and repentance.) Our loving Savior is there every time we are in deep waters, not just once or sometimes. Always.

All that's left is for us to decide we want to be saved, which I plainly admit is a difficult thing. In times of deep despair we may look up and see the light at the end of the tunnel and want it so bad it hurts but then feel hopeless because it's just so very far and we are in such deep tumultuous waters (we may even feel a little pride in our strength for treading water for this long, what's a few more minutes?). But quite frankly: there is no storm our Savior cannot brave (or calm for that matter). So let Him.

This is not to say that I believe heroics are a bad thing, they most certainly are not. And it is not to say that we should abandon our efforts all together and watch those we love disappear in the storm. I was raised to believe that we should always help our fellow men, and we should. I believe that we have a moral obligation to help those in need of our expertise. Service has a way of helping us feel fulfilled and worthwhile. Like I said, we are a social people, we look out for each other, we need each other, that's just the way life is.

I know I'm sounding contradictory here, so I'll try to make this clear: I'm talking about dependance. A simple act of heroics (if there is such a thing as a simple act of heroics) is not bad, helping people is good, wonderful, fantastic! (And if you ever encounter a situation where someone is literally drowning in front of you, by all means, jump in and pull them to safety!) However, when someone becomes dependent on you to continually exhaust yourself in "saving" them, we have a problem. When someone doesn't really want to be saved, there isn't much we can do. Yes, we ought to try, never abandon our efforts to help someone in need. But in the end, that is all we can do. Try. Make an effort. We ought to keep in mind that we cannot "save" anyone else all by ourselves. The choice to change is up to each individual on their own accord. we cannot and will never be able to change someone no mater how hard we try, how valiant our efforts, or good our intentions.

To those of you who think you are strong enough to brave the waves and the storm, to those who think they can save a friend, family member, or lover, I plead with you to stay safely where you are. Please do not go diving into dangerous waters. Perhaps instead of trying to "save" someone all by yourself, give them the choice, opportunity, and tools to get help from the proper source. Where ever you are in life, dipping your toes in the water, swimming out to save a friend, or in the eye of the storm, please remember that there is One who can walk over dangerous waters, One who is strong enough, One who can help you (and those you love and worry for). He alone can help and heal you and those you care for, but that choice is ultimately up to each individual.

Know that there is never a place too far or too deep, there is never a place Christ cannot reach.

(Matt 14: 30-31)

Best wishes,

Marley





P.S. I have really tired to refrain from sharing my religious views on the Internet, not because I am ashamed of my beliefs, but because I worried about others judging me and/or causing contention... But I think those days are over. My apologies if you disagree or are offended, that is my last intention.

nicknames

If you've ever hung around my roommates and/or best friends and I, I think you'll quickly find that in our minds, almost no one goes by the name that's typed up all prettily on their birth certificate. Everyone's got a separate name for us.

Now, nicknaming has always been a simple commodity of my life growing up. Each member of my family responds to a multitude of different names, as do many of my friends. I didn't realize that this may not actually be the norm until I was having lunch with some friends a few days ago and they told me they've never nicknamed people… Like never in their lives. This came as an absolute shock to me, considering everyone in my mind has about fifty names. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but you get the point.)

Apparently I have some really nice, polite friends who like to call everyone by there given name. But nope, not me; sorry folks.

Odds are, if I've associated with you in some way, you've got a nickname. There are generally two types: Stranger Nicknames and Friends and Family Nicknames. But have no fear, the stranger ones are not all that bad. ;) Honestly, they are just a way to refer to a person so a general audience (or a best friend) can know who I'm talking about without necessarily knowing who they are.

To be honest with you, I used to be more creative with my nicknaming, but recently my nicknames have lacked a certain splendor. But that's probably because I'm giving them to strangers rather than people I've known all my life. Most of the recent ones follow the simple formula: "Something-That-Describes-You-Or-Is-Associated-With-You Guy/Girl," or something like that.

Thought you may enjoy a laugh, so here are some lovely examples:

Baseball Guy
Golfer Boy
Track Boy
(^this is what happens when your roommate is "Softball Girl" ;))
Kitty Girl
Austin East
Austin West
LLC Austin
(the differentiation factor is very important, here)
Rapunzel
Instagram Girl
Hercules
Wheelchair Cowboy
Neighbor Guy
The Roommate (Neighbor Guy's Roommate, to be exact)
Hyena Girl
and
The Little Lumberjack

Well, that's pretty much that, friends!

Come up with any good nicknames lately? I'd love to hear them!

Marley

Lamp Melting and Other-Dumb-Things-I've-Done-Lately

*** DISCLAIMER: this is a repost of the my latest on the Mia blog, thought I'd still share it since I promised embarrassing moments and tales of #collegelyfe. Enjoy!***


One night I got to bed way later than than my roommate so when I came in I was feeling all bad for the ruckus I was causing and for having my lamp on. Being the Mia I am, I threw my blanket over my lamp to block the light a little while I finished getting ready for bed...

A while passes and I'm all snuggled up in bed reading my scriptures when I smell something odd... something burning. I look over to my shelf and what do I see?! (For your information, it was NOT popcorn popping on the apricot tree.) Oh, just my blanket melting to my lamp.

Like no big deal, it's fine. It's the middle of the night, all my roommates are asleep and I nearly cause a house fire. I obviously could not freak out about it because it would wake up my roommate but what else was there to do? I had a baby little panic attack where stared at my mess and hyperventilated a little and decided to brave up and take action. I turned off the lamp, unplugged it, grabbed a flashlight, and peeled off the blanket from the melted plastic.

Luckily, the blanket wasn't hurt at all, (if you wondered, blankets are a high commodity to poor college students up here in freezing cold Logan, Utah) but the lamp was just a little distorted... guess I'm now in the market for a new one.

Oh, not to mention cleaning checks were the next morning so I had to hide my melted lamp from my RA so as not to be docked and/or fined.

Also, It seems like I am really not getting along with doors these days... I swear, there is this door in my building that whacks my back every time I go through it. The phrase "don't let the door hit you" has never made so much sense. And it seems like every time I approach a door, someone is already opening it on the other side! Take this occasion for example:

I was walking home from class, blasting my favorite Pandora station in my head phones and silently rocking out in my mind, as usual. I check my phone while simultaneously opening the door to my hall. I look up and WHAM! I run headlong into some random stranger guy I've never met.

Of course Random Stranger Guy scares the living day lights out of me so I, like, dramatically gasp for air and say,"you scared me!" to which that sassy little voice in my head replied, "Well, thank you, Captain Obvious, I'm sure he could tell by your dramatic air sucking." Random Stranger Guy of course, said nothing, looked at me like I was crazy (can't blame him for that one), and walked away.

As long as we're on this "dumb things I've done lately" streak, I gotta tell you about Angie's the other night.

So last week, roommates and I were really bored. One of my roommate's cousin was visiting and we wanted to do something fun so we decided to go to a corn maze out on the edge of town. There was seven of us total, so we split ourselves up between the two cars and were on our way.

We hardly made it around the block when one group has to pull over for car troubles. We took the car back to the parking lot and decide we still wanted to go to the corn maze. We had to hurry though, because someone heard that the last tickets were sold at 9. All seven of us piled into the working car, that fits four comfortably and legally, and set off again.

To make a long story short, we got lost. We wondered around, decided to switch to Plan B: a different haunted house place, which we couldn't find either, and then finally to Plan C: cleaning the sink at a restaurant called Angie's. (Let's remember that there were five girls crammed in the back seat loosing feeling in most limbs while all this wondering-about-town and going-through-the-Alphabet-of-Evening-Plans was happening.)

Now, with this "sink," I'm not talking taking bleach and a sponge to a legitimate kitchen sink in the restaurant or anything. I'm talking a sink full of ice cream sundae. If you can scrape it clean you get a bumper sticker, a picture on their bulletin board, a whole lot of pride, and generally a big stomach ache (especially if you're lactose intolerant like me).

It wasn't so bad between seven of us, but I can't say the ride home was any bit pleasant. But hey, it was one of those hard to forget nights because of it so, I guess it was worth it.



Guys, #collegelyfe is the funniest thing that's ever happened to me. Every day is a whole new adventure full of Mia's (like when Neighbor Guy called me "invisible". Yep, for reals, he did. I am Mia Thermopolis in real life.) but I can't complain, it's pretty great.


#MiaFor(College)Lyfe

Marley

number one

Hello, bloggers!

Sorry for the confusion over the web address and stuff...
But don't worry, I'm still here!

I decided it was time for a new blog. I've recently entered a new chapter in life and have had nothing but change for the past couple months so thought to myself "hey, Marley, why don't you just change your blog while you're at it!" So here we are on this lovely Untitled page.

Life lately has consisted of moving out of my parents home and into a dorm room in Logan, UT to attend my freshman year at Utah State University! Let's be real, I love it here. Cache Valley is absolutely beautiful,  even if it's about 10 degrees colder than I'm used to.

I can't promise anything amazing out of this blog, but I can promise a whole lot of random. You may expect tales of #collegelyfe, word-vomit thoughts-of-the-day, embarrassing moments on campus or off, latest inspirations, etc. etc. etc.

I certainly hope you'll click the little follow button over there and join me in my adventures.

love always,
Marley