Where Good Friends Lead You

Every now and again, I think about my decision to serve a mission. I want to serve a mission, but I've heard that if I meet "the one" and I have the option to either get married or serve a mission, that I should get married. "It's not really your calling to serve a mission. You're calling is to get married in the temple and raise a family. It's okay to go on a mission, but you have to choose, you need to get married." I've also heard," You won't ever regret serving a mission, but you might regret not going on one." So, at fifteen, still six years from making a final decision, I'm in a dilemma. But I expressed my uneasiness about this decision to a very close friend of mine, and what he told me helped me to make my final decision. After explaining both sides of what people have told me, this is what he told me: "Go on a mission. I want my wife to be a return missionary, because that tells me she has a firm testimony and knowledge of the scriptures, and faith. It tells me she's serious about the gospel, that it's the most important thing to her. And also, it gives me more time to finish school while she's on her mission. Kat, you definitely should go on a mission." If I never become anything else in life, I want to be a strong, faithful mother who would do anything and everything for her family. I have no doubt a mission would only help me progress and become that kind of mother. I now have an answer to my question. I want to prepare myself for that special day that I go to the temple, and I can't think of a better final-action than to serve an 18-month mission at 21 years old. I'm so grateful for my friend, and for the example he constantly sets for me. I will always be grateful for him, for helping me decide what to do. It just goes to show where good friends will lead you. :)

The Power of Music

I heard a song on WAY-FM, a Christian-rock radio station, that was absolutely beautiful. It seriously sounded like an EFY song! It's about how the hard things we go through in life aren't curses, even though we see them that way. I've not had any super serious problems going on, but if you've gone through high school, you know what I'm trying to get at. It's cool to reflect on my past trials and look at them as a blessing. It's difficult, but I can see how those trials blessed me.
The song made me think a lot about Kelsi Caten, and the way her cancer has affected her family. I know it almost seems cruel to call something like that a blessing, but if you really take the time to think about it, it has and will bless the Caten family so much. We are all seeing what the power of prayer does for people; her progress is evidence of that. If we can all look at our problems and obstacles and keep in mind that those will make us stronger, having faith that they are indeed blessings, we would live in a happier, less self-centered world.

Here are the lyrics to the song, "Blessings" by Laura Story.

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family
Protection while we sleep
We pray for healing
For prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand
to ease our suffering
And all the while
You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

Chorus:

Cuz what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know you’re near
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness
We doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
Lord, that we’d have faith to believe

(Chorus)

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not
This is not our home

(Chorus)

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain
The storms
The hardest nights
are your mercies in disguise

Performance Fit for "The King"

This past weekend was the last competition in which the WCHS Pioneer Pride Marching Band would perform our show, "Elvis."  Over the weeks, we've added in fun things like dancing, leaning (that's the best word I can come up with!), horn flashes, cheering, and at the end, air guitar with a base drum pounding like a heartbeat. We had so much fun cleaning up our show for the final and most important competition. We traveled to Marietta, Georgia with our hopes nearly completely beaten down as a result of our not-so-great performances at the past two competitions in Trousdale County and Chapel Hill. At Trousdale County, we still didn't completely have our show on, and barely any of the fun stuff was there to make it enjoyable. At Chapel Hill, we did well with our completed show with more fun stuff, got good ratings (all ones!), our drum major got a trophy, but our guard and band got no plastic at all. I didn't really mind at first, standing there on the field as the awards were given, but when you're the band with the smallest and least amount of trophies, it's somewhat disappointing.
However, the excitement of going out-of-state for a big competition with big bands, we couldn't help but be pumped. We rode charter buses down to Marietta, stopping twice along the way. At the Georgia Welcome Center, my friend Zach and I ran two laps around the park next to the rest stop. We were laughing and smiling, and everyone else was too.
When we got to Sprayberry High School, we passed the time by playing EFY games that Lucy Hale and I explained to everyone: The "Wah" Game, "Ha Ha" Game, Ninja, and Ninja Tag.
Soon it came time to strap on the shakos, zip up the jackets, and assemble the instruments. We warmed up, and then, excited yet relaxed, we marched onto the field, ready to blow everyone away.
I played my heart out. I didn't care if I was too loud. The best part about being a flute is that you can pretty much play however loud you want, because you're barely heard anyway (haha). I played all the hard parts of the music I'd struggled with at the past competitions. I stayed in step, remembered all the fun things we threw in, and I just had a blast being out there doing what I love. At the end, I couldn't help but smile as we marched off the field. I knew I had done well, yet I prayed that we had done well as a whole.
We changed, came back and watched the bigger bands perform. Soon enough, it was time for leaders and seniors to go back to the buses to change for the awards. My heart seemed to have pounded louder and harder than Dylan King's base drum had during our performance. They announced awards for best overall band, field commander, and guard. Then came the placements for our class, Class AA.
" The second place band in Class AA is... Warren County!" the enthusiastic announcer said. My jaw dropped and immediately turned into triumphant grin, bursting into laughter. I looked at the leaders and seniors and I wasn't the only one.
Hearing our band screaming was the best feeling in the world. It felt even better walking back to the buses, knowing we had finished this season strong.
I know that hard work does pay off. This weekend was proof of that. I love music, in all its aspects. This year, I felt more joy in our accomplishment because I watched how we progressed. The twelve hours spent every day for a week in July were not in vain. All the hours of practice everyday at school were not a waste. Every drop of sweat, every aching muscle was worth it, and that applies to everything we do in life. By devoting our time to good things that we love doing, we will therefore become the people who will make the difference this world wants to see.

We put this "formal" picture together all on our own! :) haha. I'm in the front row behind the drumline in the center.

I'm the person closest to the front on the right, sticking out kinda funny (I promise that's where I was supposed to stand!)

All the leaders and seniors after winning second place in Class AA. :)

General Conference, October 2011

This General Conference was the first one I've ever sat through all four sessions of. Thanks to my amazing Young Women's leaders, I was really excited for it.

As a Wednesday night activity, the Young Women played a game where we split up into two teams and had our knowledge of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles put to the test. My group was the Marvelous Moroni Maidens (see Alma 48:11) and the opposing team was Stripling Warrior Wives. Aren't we just too stinkin' cute? :) The winning team got first choice of the Conference Books that were put together by our leaders (packet from sugardoodle.net , search "conference packets", and scroll down to Youth/ Adult conference notebook).

Filling out my Conference Book was such a fun experience! The first page had a place to list your goals for conference, and what to do before, during, and after conference. There was a page for each member of the First Presidency and half a page for each of the Twelve Apostles. Each speaker had a section for notes, a margin for scriptures they mentioned, which session they spoke, and a box to write "in one word" what the talk was mainly about. For the First Presidency, you could color their tie and do a crossword puzzle about their lives. At the end is a section for more notes, a big crossword puzzle, and a talk called "No Ordinary Blessing" (Pres. Uchtdorf, September 2011 Ensign).

Several of the other young women and I got together for the first two sessions on Saturday at the ward building for a conference party. We had three boxes of oreos, a gallon of milk, a box of sandwiches, colored pens, crayons, markers, pillows, blankets, and our notebooks. We had so much fun together that day, and decided to make it a tradition for every Saturday session of conference from now on. :)

Sunday, I watched the last two sessions at church with my parents. Between sharing gummies, drawing pictures, and comparing pens with a little girl named Rylan, I managed to get a whole lot written down by the time the day was over. My mom and I made a special conference dinner: Cordon Bleu Chicken Casserole! Yum!

I got so much out of General Conference, and by putting together the hours for playing the game, watching conference, setting up the party, and preparing dinner, it added up perfectly to a ten hour Personal Progress project! I do feel like I've grown and progressed as I wrote down everything word that meant something to me. I have a strong testimony that my Savior lives and that the things spoken by the general authorities are words from our Heavenly Father. I know he loves us and will do anything to help us come to know him and our purpose here on earth. I'm so grateful for my teachers, leaders, parents, family members, and friends for all that they've done for me. :) I've really enjoyed this General Conference, and I'm excited for the next one in April. :)

Rachel and Latha :)

All of us :)

I was loaded with all the pens, pencils, highlighters, lip balm, and sharpies we needed :)

Delaney, Kara, and Ella  :) I love these girls to death.

The Conference Book.

Thomas S. Monson's tie :)

Henry B. Eyring's tie. I think they all coordinated that day :)

Lucy :)

BYU vs. U of U

I'm a big BYU fan (if you already didn't know) so of course I'm cheering on the Cougars tonight as they play against the Utes. I had an argument with my friend, Nico, the other week when they went against Texas and got beaten by one point. I told him the Cougars would make a comeback, so right now I'm really depending on BYU to win so I can rub it in Nico's face at school on Monday. :)
My brother, Russell, is there right now, and I'm extremely jealous!!! When I'm at college at BYU, I'm going to go to every football game, not miss a single men's volleyball game (woot woot!), and I'll do it all while drinking a Caribbean Passion Jamba. :) I've got this all planned out, don't worry ;)
GO COUGARS! :)

Here are several times where I've shown my Cougar Pride haha :)

At Ball State University in Indiana at Drum Major camp. :)

Hiked to the Y in Provo, Utah. :)

At the BYU bookstore with my friend, Grace. :)

At school in good 'ole Tennesse. :)

Fair Day

Fair Day is like a major holiday in McMinnville. All the county schools even get out of school the Friday of Fair Week. Let's just say you see a lot of weird people there, or as my dad puts it," There are people in McMinnville that live under rocks and they only come out for the County Fair." If you've ever been, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
There are rides, fried EVERYTHING (that includes oreos, twinkies and butter-- yes, a whole stick of butter that has been fried), music performances, pageants, and horse shows. And of course, there's a petting zoo with a huge camel with the same name as one of my friends (his name is Bo the Camel). There's BoBo the Clown, too, that shouts obscene remarks to people passing by (sometimes using colorful language, as well).
So, as you can see, this is a very important day, and I'm going to spend it with my three little "brothers" Cole, Noah, and Eli and my second mom/sister/ best friend Mary Beth. :)

Sampson and Brittany came down with Phoenix and Eva, too. :) Eva looked so stinkin' cute!

The girls LOVED this chicken!

Me and Eva in the duck barn. :)

The boys on "High Energy." Love their facial expressions. :)

Everything Has A Meaning

I named my blog "The Light in Me" because it symbolizes me and the meaning behind my name, Katherine Lenora. "Katherine" means "Pure" and "Lenora" means "Light." The name "Lenora" has been passed down to me from my mom, who was named after my great-grandmother. As I continue to learn more about my family, myself, and my purpose here on this beautiful earth, I am discovering what exactly that "light" is, the meaning behind that name that I was given.

My Light is so many things: my membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my big family, my musical talents, my natural motivation and ambition, my love of traveling, the will to keep pushing forward, my optimism in a world of denial, and the passion for service and hard work. We all have a Light in us, and we need to let it shine. I'm grateful for the Light I was given, and that it has shown me the way through darkness so many times before in the past.

As you read my blog, you will find things that are positive and uplifting. I hope that by giving a little of my Light to you, that you will also give your Light to others. I know that we are put in certain places and situations so that we can be made stronger and strengthen those around us as well. I know that all the trials we go through have a meaning behind them.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16