Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Look at that man run!



On September 19th, my dear hubby ran his first marathon! It was the Logan Top of Utah marathon, and We went up the night before so he'd be ready to go in the morning! Most of the local hotels were booked so we stayed in the Anniversary Inn! (are you allowed to stay there when it's not your anniversary?) Anyway, we got to stay in "Pirate's Paradise" and it was pretty cool! They even bring you yummy breakfast in the morning! Too bad the mister was off torturing himself so I had to enjoy a breakfast for one!;) Anyway, enjoy the following pics of Timmy at the finish line (he's not such a fan of that picture) and our Pirates Paradise!



I was so proud of my marathon running husband!
It was interesting to be at the finish line and see how some people get very emotional, and some people barf! Kind of inspiring..kind of gross! When he finished, Tim said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done and he wasn't sure he'd do it again, but now he's already planning his next one!



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Be yourself!

I just liked this! Sometimes it's hard not to compare ourselves to others and think that we need to be like them, or that we would be better if we were like them. I am always comparing myself to others and I thought this was a refreshing take on being ourselves!

Being Ourselves
-- by Patricia Holland

“Our Father in Heaven needs us as we are, as we are growing to become. He has intentionally made us different from one another so that even with our imperfections we can fulfill his purposes. My greatest misery comes when I feel I have to fit what others are doing, or what I think others expect of me. I am most happy when I am comfortable being me and trying to do what my Father in Heaven and I expect me to be.

For many years I tried to measure the oft times quiet, reflective, thoughtful Pat Holland against the robust, bubbly, talkative, and energetic Jeff Holland and others with like qualities. I have learned through several fatiguing failures that you can’t have joy in being bubbly if you are not a bubbly person. It is a contradiction in terms. I have given up seeing myself as a flawed person because my energy level is lower than Jeff’s, and I don’t talk as much as he does, nor as fast. Giving this up has freed me to embrace and rejoice in my own manner and personality in the measure of my creation. Ironically, that has allowed me to admire and enjoy Jeff’s ebullience even more.

Somewhere, somehow the Lord “blipped the message onto my screen” that my personality was created to fit precisely the mission and talents he gave me. For example, the quieter, calmer talent of playing the piano reveals much about the real Pat Holland. I would never have learned to play the piano if I hadn’t enjoyed the long hours of solitude required for its development. This same principle applies to my love of writing, reading, meditation, and especially teaching and talking with my children. Miraculously, I have found that I have untold abundant sources of energy to be myself. But the moment I indulge in imitation of my neighbor, I feel fractured and fatigued and find myself forever swimming upstream. When we frustrate God’s plan for us, we deprive this world and God’s kingdom of our unique contributions and a serious schism settles in our soul. God never gave us any task beyond our ability to accomplish it. We just have to be willing to do it our own way. We will always have enough resources for being who we are and what we can become.”

(Portraits of Eve: God’s Promises of Personal Identity, Patricia T. Holland, LDS Women’s treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today’s Woman {Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997}, 97-98.)