December 25th CHRISTMAS!

Wow, guys. I'm crazy!!! I've had an extreme amount of sugar, that probably wasn't good for me, but I don't even care, because it's Christmas!! Haha! So I took a little while and took pictures of my gifts. You know, today has been quite free... and sort of empty... Ohohoh!!! Except that I got AWESOME things from family and friends and I even got to read a book that one of my friends wrote last year!! It was AWESOME!! Okay, here we go. I won't be surprised or offended if you think these are boring...

Yeah, terrible lighting...

I got a TON of journals!! YAY!!! I love journals!!

Okay, that little dolphin was just a cute thing. Sort of just my parents being funny. :) And I meant to kind of smile and make a funny face but it didn't really work. Oh well...

And no, I am not getting another dog. I wish... I just wanted a leash and collar. That's me for ya...

I also got a coupon from Alex for the privilege to be the very first reader of the next comic of her series that she's drawn! YAY!!! Oh, yes, and free hugs from her whenever I want. Thanks, Alex!! :D

And I also got a hug from another friend as my Christmas present from them because they are just so awesome like that. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed all my Christmas ranting... I'll probably post something more meaningful in the next few days. Hopefully...

I love you all!! Thank you for all of you inspiring and heartfelt words to me. They mean so much.

Merry Christmas!!!!

A. J. McKay

December 19th An Angel Returned

In my last post I talked about a song called An Angel Came Down, by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.  Well, I finally listened to the end of the CD.  There is another song called An Angel Returned.

An angel returned
That night through the sky
The time it was short
He had to decide

And so as he flew
Back over the land
A gift for his Lord
Was there in his hands

It was the glow of a light
It was the heart of a song
It was the tear of a child
Where they never belonged

It was the wish of a soul
On an old neon light
And the Lord smiled at him
On that cold winter night

(Chorus)
Hear the bells ring through the night

Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Hear as they ring through the night

Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Hear the bells ring through the night


Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Kyrie among nations
Hear as they ring through the night

Listen to the bells as they ring
Listen to the message they bring
Listen to the sounds as they
Sing as one voice in the night

Hoping that we'll all understand
Every dream in there in our hands
And for every bell
Let them ring all through the night

Repeat chorus

Hoping that we'll all understand
Every dream is there in our hands
And for every bell
May they ring all through your life!

If you go to this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOlrkscD44U) you can listen, but the words on the screen aren't the same as the words they actually sing.

I really like this song.  Its message makes me smile.

A. J. McKay

December 17th My Christmas

I have two things.

This is my sonnet for my Writing and Literature class -

My Christmas
By Amory McKay

I feel the love around me when I sing
The Spirit brings a gladness to my soul.
I love to see the treats which people bring
All neatly tucked with care inside a bowl.
I prance off for snacks in between the songs
Eating the scrumptious, perfect, heav’nly fudge.
As I return to the music that throngs
I give my good friend a fun, loving nudge.
I sing with my heart my praises to God
I sing, a miracle lifting my voice
I sing the high notes of Hallelujah
I sing, my heart glad that I made this choice.
This is why I love the Christmas season.
And the Grinch, no one quite knows his reason.

This is a song by the Trans Siberian Orchestra (I think that's how you spell it), and it's my favorite one on the CD that I have (also here's the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDqRdatSsoU) -

An Angel Came Down

An angel came down
One night to the earth
A mission from God
To find out the worth

Of everything bad
His children had done
Since that winter night
The birth of His Son

(Chorus)
And then a sound filled the night
In the cold winter air
And in the midst of his flight
It was holding him there
And as he looked towards the earth
For the source of this sound
On that cold winter night
It was pulling him down

To bring something back
This angel was told
That no one could touch
What angels could hold

So on that night
When the sky was cleared
Among all the stars
An angel appeared

Repeat chorus twice

I don't know why I like this song so much.  It seems sort of mysterious to me for some reason.  And I think it's beautiful.

A. J. McKay

December 11th A Miracle

I have two things to say.  The first one has nothing to do with the title - I am turning fifteen this week!!  I am so excited!!!  HAHA!  :D  Mostly because of what I get to do on my birthday!  THE HOBBIT!!  YAY!!  And there's even going to be Battleguard!!  YAY!!  It will be cold...  BUT YAY!!!!!  I'm counting that as my birthday party even though it's not for me...  Okay?  Okay, good.  :D

The other one...  I was having a hard time today.  I was sick and tired of quite a few things: school, homework, being mad at my own siblings (yes, that happens to me sometimes...  It's quite annoying...), and some other things - and I was just in a bad mood...  I was talking to my good, great friend over chat about it.  Here's the miracle - she knew EXACTLY how to make me happy.  She sent me an email with the song in that link down there.  I clicked on it, and I just started smiling as I listened to it.  Not only did she know somehow that that is practically my all-time favorite song, but this is my favorite version of it!  I've just been happy ever since!  And, yes, I count that as a miracle.  I love her.  I love all of my friends.  Thanks guys!!  And especially you (you know who you are!)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5wCzNYU8kU

A. J. McKay

December 7th Rambling

Hello everyone!  I'm eating ice cream!  Do you know why I'm eating ice cream!  Because my mom said I could, and it's yummy!  :D

Tomorrow is the speech and debate tournament.  Earlier today (which seems like yesterday because it was such a long, drawn-out day for me), I was saying, "You know, I'm actually kind of excited for the tournament tomorrow.  I finally get to give my speech!"  It's not memorized, so I wouldn't place anyway, but I think I'm more excited for the people that will hear it, and the message I want it to convey.  But now, for some reason, I'm thinking, "Wow.  I am really not excited for the tournament tomorrow."  I mean, I am, but I just don't want to wake up, and I don't want to just be sitting most of the day...  I'm SOOO excited for the people that I get to see there, just not for the boring parts I guess.  (Oh, yeah, and getting up at 7:00, which means I know that I will get less than 8 hours of sleep, but I guess it's not really that bad when I only got six the other day...)  Anyway.  I'm excited but I'm not excited.

Yeah.  I hope you enjoyed my rambling.  Or not...  :P

Until next time!  I miss you all tremendously!!

A. J. McKay

December 4th Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?

One of my awesome friends from Summit posted this on her blog.  Ho-... ly...  COW...  She... is...  AWESOME.  These are EXACTLY my views on how we are as women.  This is a must-read.  She wrote everything in the red.


10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.


 I noticed that strength was a common word used, which surprised me because it isn't usually attributed to women. I just love these verses! 

I have noticed that as time has progressed and immorality has strengthened, the value of women has decreased in the world's eyes. Women are one of the target markets when it comes to vanity, immorality, materialism, discontent with themselves and others, coveting, etc... They are the most highly affected by the idea that "we can never be completely content with who we are and what we have- we need to improve ourselves with the worthless things we don't need." We are put in the mindset that we do need these things to be beautiful, to be worth anything. 

You girls may be reading this and thinking "of course! This is a horrible epidemic in our time, but I'm not part of it. All of those girls who covet and buy meaningless beauty supplies, and those girls who only see themselves as beautiful if they are decorated, those people over there. not ME." But I hate to break it to you: we are ALL like that. yup. No matter how much you want to deny it, we all feel this way at some point (some more or less then others). Now, don't go and send me a strongly worded email telling me exactly why I am completely wrong-- bare with me for a moment. If you will listen for a few more minutes, I will explain everything.

Firstly: It is partly not our fault. We have been brought up in this society (no matter how much our parents have tried to shelter us) and we are dealing with the consequences. The Lord didn't send his strongest angels to this time for cake and ice cream. The 21st century is TOUGH. We most definitely have our work cut out for us. This makes it almost impossible to go through this life and not somehow be affected by the media and propaganda screaming in our ears. Unless you sew every piece of clothing you wear (if so, brownie points to you) then you buy clothes. From a store. made by someone else. You probably also wear shoes, or scarves, or hats, or all the above. No matter how much as you claim innocence, you ARE affected by our society and it's current styles and trends.

Secondly: We aren't perfect (shh, don't tell the boys!! :P). Sad to say, we make mistakes, we long for what we don't have, we sometimes think more of what is cute then what is modest and respectful. You girls are peculiar to the rest of the world: you exceed expectations. But WE ARE NOT PERFECT. 

I am not trying to accuse anyone of not being modest enough. My goal with this post is to make sure we do not discount the little sins; make sure we don't give ourselves the exception because we are doing better then others. I find myself doing this constantly, and I need to improve in this area. 

TO ALL YOU MEN:
Take care of the girls, will you? We are having the war of our lives, just trying to pick out an outfit every morning or feeling like we are worth something. Please make it a little easier for us to see our true worth. Be respectful. Offer to help. Yes, we are stubborn and independent, but secretly we long to be treated like a woman, even if that means letting you open the door for us. We want to feel loved. We want to feel like it will make someones day that we showed up to class today. We want someone to smile and wave excitedly when we enter a room. We can tell ourselves we are beautiful for hours, but that doesn't even compare to having a guy friend take 5 seconds to tell us instead. I seriously means the WORLD to us, no matter how much we say we don't need or want it.


(Girls, don't even try to deny it, you were all thinking the same thing. :D)

A. J. McKay

December 3rd Cardozada's Pathway

I FINiSHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I wrote a book, I finished it, and now I get five free copies of my own!  And plus, I just posted it.  It's on the page "NEW!! - Cardozada's Pathway."  PLEASE tell me what you think!  I wrote part of it with my friend Ironfist.  Enjoy!

A. J. McKay

December 2nd Snow

My friend, Oreo, got snowflakes on her blog!!  AHHH!!!  I LOVE snowflakes!!  I REALLY want them on my blog, but it isn't working!  So instead, I put on some snow.

I love snow.  If you haven't figured out by now that I love snow, you haven't actually met me.  Or you at least don't know me at all.  It's one of my very favorite things!

I was wearing flip-flops during this year's first week of snow, before I got better shoes as an AWESOME early birthday present from Laura and Lisa!  Anyway...  So there were a few inches of snow on the ground.  While I was waiting for my ride home from the place I was having art class, I decided to run around in the snow with just my flip-flops.  I don't know why I keep doing it.  It's painful.  But it is so much fun!  I think it has something to do with the texture.  I've always liked the texture of it.  And anyway, I was waiting for my ride and decided to run around in the snow!  But I lost my flip-flop!  I stopped running and tried really hard to find it, but I couldn't and my feet were getting colder.  I ran on the asphalt, trying to warm up, but that hurt!  I found a patch of grass and stood on it.  I was VERY hyper!  My friends had voluntarily begun to look for my flip-flop.  It was bright yellow.  But for some odd reason, they just couldn't find it!  It got lost!  So I got into the car missing a flip-flop.  It was Thanksgiving break.  Luckily, soon after, I got new shoes, but it was two weeks before I got my flip-flop back.

See?  I love the snow!  I can't wait for it to snow again so I can run around in it!  But next time, I will be taking my flip-flops off.

A. J. McKay

November 27th DISCOVERY!

I just found something out!!  If you're typing the word prepared and you miss the "p" and type the "o" instead, and you only type the first four letters, look what it spells!!!

Oreo

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  That's AWESOME!!!!

Oh, yeah, and if I told you to look at my most recent post, I actually meant the one below this one...  Yeah...  Because that makes perfect sense...

Okay, I'm done.

A. J. McKay

November 26th You Don't Know

I wrote this poem because I was inspired by the song "Princess," and because I want every girl to know that they are something of worth.

You Don't Know
By:  3a


A maiden sat upon a chair
Combing her sweet, angel-like hair
She stopped mid-stroke and looked in the mirror
Listening to a voice that in her head she could hear
It told her of people so worldly and vain
She could not measure up, even with her most effortful strain
She burst into tears and leaned over her lap
Sobbing and shaking in her dress of burlap
Before she could finish she heard the horse neigh
And forced herself up to feed it its hay
When she sidled back into her rickety dwelling
She found her father lugging in potatoes for selling
When he saw her he smiled, and greeted her with the name Princess
She frowned and said, “I am no princess.”
Her father likewise frowned and inquired the reason
Why she would say something of the sort in that day and season
The tears began to flow once more
And she leaned against the frame of the door
She related how the voice in her head
Had told her that she had been mis-led
She was not beautiful or even pretty
She was merely a farmer’s daughter, all gritty
She could never please a man
The may ever want to ask her hand
She could never be a wife
Nurturing and ending strife
She could never keep a house
Driving out even the smallest mouse
She could never be the one
Whose beauty a man’s heart ever won
She would never be alike
To a girl whose worldly looks can strike
Her father solemnly replied
With a dullness of sorrow in his eye
That the voice in her head had lied
There was no reason she should have cried
She was a daughter of God, a king
King of all, his angels would sing
He loved her with all of his heart
She was beautiful to Him from the start
She was a princess, and always would be
And someday she would even be a queen
She would wear a crown, shining with the Light of Christ
She would reign as a daughter of God, whose Son is Christ
A man would take her home with love
And they would praise their Father above
They would take sacred vows, becoming husband and wife
And together they would end strife
“You see, my sweet, wonderful girl,” her father said
As I sat by him and he stroked my head
“You are indeed a princess
And you should be a happy girl, twirling in your dress.”
At this he stood, and with a bow
Took her hand and taught her how
Twirl after twirl, he swung his hand
Until she was almost too dizzy to stand
And he caught her in his arms with a laugh
“Just remember my dear, to always take the right path,”
Her father said, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear
“You are a treasure, and one to keep, my dear.”

November 24th Twelve Days of Christmas

My favorite Christmas song besides any hymns is probably The Twelve Days of Christmas.  I don't know what it is, I just love that song!  What are all of the things that this true love gave to his wife?

A partridge in a pear tree

Two turtle doves

Three french hens

Four cally birds

Five gold rings

Six geese a-laying

Seven swans a-swimming

Eight maids a-milking

Nine ladies dancing

Ten lords a-leaping

Eleven pipers piping

Twelve drummers drumming

Wow.  That's impressive.  And then you put it all into song!

On the first day of Christmas, my true love have to me a partridge in a pear tree

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five gold rings, four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree

Of course, on the last verse, I just have to add the embellishments!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying...  FIIIIIIIIVE GOOO-OOOOOOLD RIIIIIIIIIINGS!!!!!... four cally birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, AND A PAAAAARTRIIIIII-IIIIIDGE IN A PEEEAAAR TREEEE!!!!!!

WHOO!!!  That made me happy!  And that took so long...  If you read that whole thing through, twenty brownie points!  Wow!  Whew!  That was a lot on my fingers...  Oh dear...  But my point was...  Isn't that some amazing poetry?  It makes me want to laugh and sing and shout with joy!  Oh...  It's just so... I don't know what it is, but it fills me with a feeling of love and happiness.  I love this song...  One day, when I'm married, if my husband does something like that for me, I think I might cry.  It's so cool!

I hope you enjoyed my "singing," if it can be called such.  It made me happy to think of the song.

I love you all!  Happy Thanksgiving!  And (soon to be) Merry Christmas!

A. J. McKay

November 23rd

Wow...  I just went back and read "Today I Felt Like it," my post from September 16th.  I sort of surprised myself.  Guys...  I didn't write that.  The Holy Ghost told me what to say and I typed it onto the computer.  I barely remember even doing that.  When I wrote it, I was so close to the Spirit.  I read it and thought, "Wow.  I need to be in tune like that all the time."  It woke me up.  The comments made me smile.  Guys, if you read my blog, please comment!  If you see something you like, or even a mistake, comment, because it makes me so happy, even just to know that someone read it.  I love you guys!  I want to hear from you more often!

Today was sooo nice.  I had pie for breakfast; checked my email; watched Merlin, a TV series that's also on Netflix; went to the temple; sang songs with my friends; wrote a poem; and just completely RELAXED.  It was wonderful.  HA!  Now I see why everyone likes summertime so much.  I used to always think, "Summer is lame, there's never anything to do, and I never get to see my friends because they are all on vacation."  But I sort of get it now.  I'm never complaining of boredness again.  :)

I love you guys!  I hope you've liked my posts.  Happy (late) Thanksgiving!  :D

A. J. McKay

November 18th Crowned

At Etiquette Simulation, everyone was crowned.  We were told about the meanings of our crowns and tiaras.  For the men, they had crowns that were round.  This signified eternal life.  For the girls, they had tiaras with sparkling white jewels.  This was like the girls, the jewels reflecting the Light of Christ.  Now I wear my tiara all the time, from the minute I wake up to the minute I lay down in bed at night.  It helps me remember to reflect the Light of Christ in everything I do.  It even reminds me to sit up straighter, because it reminds me that I am a daughter of God, and daughters of God don't slouch.  :)  I got some pretty cool pictures of mostly young women being crowned.  There were hardly and pictures of the young men, I think because the young women would probably want pictures more than the young men would.

This one's me.

This is the daughter of the person who runs Etiquette Sim., queen Amy.  She is the one crowning her daughter.

This is Oreo.  :)

(No code name yet...)

(Same...)

(Same...)

(Same...)

(Same...  You guys need code names!)

I love and miss all of you people!  And just all of my friends in general!  I want to see everyone.  I love you all!

A. J. McKay

November 18th Thanksgiving (and One Other Thing...)

The week of Thanksgiving...  Ah...  I love it!  I love all of the beautiful smells; the colors; the people.  I love the purpose of it.  It makes me so happy and grateful to be alive!  I'm so grateful for so many things.  I'm glad to be able to realize that to a greater and greater extent each year.  I've started a gratitude journal.  It's so great!  I write in it every night.  I usually just do a long list.  But it's really cool because then I just keep thinking of more and more things to be grateful for every day.  I love it.  It's really cool.  I challenge all who dare to do the same.

To all of you people that are reading this - you are awesome.  Girls - you are beautiful.  Guys - you are handsome.  And if any of you forget it, tell me, and I will come shove it into your head.   You need to know and remember it!!!  Got that?  Good!  Now go give someone a hug.

A. J. McKay

November 11th Perfect

Etiquette Simulation was AMAZING - indescribable.  I'm not going to try to explain it.  It was just so amazing, all of you who are reading this should go.  But my favorite part, I have to say, was a song.  (Explanation in order, yes?)  While all of the attending girls got ready for the formal ball and banquet, all of the guys were across the building where we couldn't hear them, memorizing a song called princess.  Click on this link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR2RhHLak60

That is such a cool song, right?  You feel so loved when you listen to it.  Now imagine 50 guys all gathered around a baby grand.  You know half of them.  One is your brother.  One of the guys is playing the baby grand and the rest of them are singing this song - to you.  The guys in the etiquette simulation all memorized that most of the way in 40 or 50 minutes.  All of them sang it to the girls at the simulation before the Royal Banquet and Ball.  I could tell by the way they sang it that they meant what the lyrics said.  Then the guys escorted the girls to the banquet.  How touching is that?  I wanted to cry.  They also sang it again to us after the ball and some of us were just... crying.  I mean...  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and heard in my life.  The guys I know from there now all have a very special place in my heart, and so does the song.  It literally was a dream come true.  It was perfect.  I can't wait to see all of them again.

A. J. McKay

November 9th This will be fun!

Okay, so my friend (whose name I shall not utter (just because... well, I have no code name)) tagged me for this thing called Leibster Awards.  I don't get why they chose that name or if they did, that's just what it is.  When you are tagged, you just have to answer 11 questions that your tagged has set for you, and then make up 11 more and tag other bloggers that you're following to answer those.  So...  Yeah!  Here are the ones that I was supposed to answer.


Q1:  What is your favorite color?
A1:  Purple and anything closely related to it like red or blue and variations of those colors.

Q2:  If you could go to any fictional place where would you go?
A2:  Hmm...  NARNIA!

Q3:  If you were an ice cream flavor which one would you be?
A3:  Um...  Peppermint or cookie dough.

Q4:  What is the first thing you notice about people?
A4:  Usually whether they look nice or look like they want to be by themselves.

Q5:  What is your opinion on chocolate ice cream?
A5:  Love it!!  If I have to choose between chocolate and vanilla, it’s usually chocolate.  (And by the way, were you hungry when you wrote this (talking to my tagger here...)?)

Q6:  Dogs, Cats or neither?
A6:  DOGS!!!!  (If you know me, you know I’m ALWAYS AND FOREVER for dogs.)

Q7:  If you could ask someone a really random question right now, what would it be?
A7:  If you could ask someone a really random question right now, what would it be?

Q8:  Where did you live when you were 7?
A8:  Umm...  Mom?...  That’s half my life ago!!!  I lived in *BLAH!!!*  (That's not for the blog...)

Q9:  Do you have any weird talents?
A9:  Um...  I’m good at...  Well, losing my mind.  But where I’m from, that’s normal.

Q10:  If you had to dye your hair right now what color would you dye it?
A10:  Probably very light brown.

Q11:  Do you have any desire to do a back flip?
A11:  Um...  No.

Here are my questions for you!  (Anyone who wants to answer them in free to email me or do this on their own blog.  This is fun!)

Q1:  What did you do for your favorite birthday of your life so far?

Q2:  What do you look for in a friend?

Q3:  Dogs or cats or neither?  (*whispering*  Answer DOGS!)

Q4:  What is your favorite season?

Q5:  What is your favorite event of the year?

Q6:  Do you have an imaginary friend?  If you do, what is their name and/or what are they like?

Q7:  Do you want to go on a mission?  If you do, where would you like to go?  If you already have, where did you go?

Q8:  What is your favorite book?

Q9:  What is your favorite phrase?

Q10:  What is your favorite song?

Q11:  What do you do when you have absolutely nothing else to do?

Have fun!  I'm really tempted to answer these myself...  But maybe another day.  I can't wait to see if any of you want to answer!

A. J. McKay

October 29th This Morning, I Ate Breakfast

Usually on seminary mornings (Monday-Thursday) I don't eat breakfast before I leave because I don't have quite enough time, and then when I get home I might eat something.  But this morning I ate cereal and blogged before seminary!  How did I do it?  I skipped a shower.  My alarm went off at 5:30, as always, and I thought, "You're kidding me, right?  Ugh."  I set my alarm to two minutes later and turned it back on, thinking that two minutes is worth a lot when it's still dark, only to be disappointed two seconds later when it went off again.  So I got out of bed and decided on my way down the ladder that I was not going to take a shower today.  I was going to get ready and brush my hair without doing that, and this morning I was going to eat breakfast and...  Well, I was going to do something.  I wasn't sure what, but I was going to happily use my time for something other than what I usually do.  So here I am!  I have this strange feeling of pleasantness giving me happy shivers.

A. J. McKay

October 28th

Wow.  I've been blogging a lot lately.  I had an idea.  Sometimes there is not much to say.  Sometimes I just don't feel like writing a whole huge long post.  Sometimes I need to say something but don't have much time.  Sometimes a meaningful phrase will do the trick.  So if all I write is a meaningful phrase, that means I want you to take what you can from it and make it a part of you if you want to.  I have a meaningful thought today, and a meaningful phrase.

While discussing one of my new favorite phrases, "we will shake the world" (thank you friend), my dad was saying what he thought of it, what role he saw us playing in that; us speaking of me, my siblings, and our generation.  He said that when he thought of us shaking the world, he thought of us turning it upside down and shaking it; shaking it.  And when we shake the world, the bad things fall out and only the good, strong things stay there.

Meaningful phrase:  Sometimes we need to let the Savior take the reins.

I hope you enjoyed today's post.  Have a great week for me, okay?

A. J. McKay

October 27th GUESS WHAT!!! (And one other thing...)

Gueeeeess what!!!!!!!!  Guess what, guess what, guess whaaaa-at!!!!  The Hobbit is coming out on my birthday and I am SOOOOO excited!!  Guess why!!!!!  Because I get to go see the midnight showing!!!  ON my birthday!!!!!!  HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  I am SOOO excited!!!!!!!  AHHH!!!!!  *pant pant pant pant pant*  Okay, I'm done now...   :P  That was my excitement for the day!

Ok, the other thing is this.  Have any of you heard of McKay Hatch?  He is the president of a 35,000+-member club called the No Cussing Club.  He is 14 years old.  Read the story on how it started - http://nocussing.com/aboutncc.html.  Then his sister decided to start a club for modesty, the Modesty Club to bring awareness about modest dress and dressing for success.  Since she started it a few weeks ago she has been bullied.  Their parents got eggs thrown all over their cars.  Guys and girls can join.  Go to modestyclub.com and if you want to see what you would be signing up for, click on "Take the Challenge" under the silhouettes and then click "Join" at the bottom of that page.  That will tell you what you would be signing up for.  I joined it.  I am so excited!  They need help from people who sign up so that they can show those people that people really do care about modesty.  Please sign up if you can!  Thanks everyone!

A. J. McKay

October 26th Keepers

Dear Keeper,

 

I grew up in the  50's and 60's with practical parents; a mother who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it,  then reused it (she was the original recycle queen,  before they had a name for it...), and a father who was  happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.               Their marriage was good, their dreams focused.  Their best friends lived barely a wave away.  I can see them now, Dad in trousers, a t-shirt, and a hat, and Mom in a house dress, broom in one hand and dish-towel in the other.  It was the time for fixing things; a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, the screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress, and things we keep.  It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.  All of that re-fixing, eating, renewing; I  wanted just once to be wasteful.  Waste meant affluence.   Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.       But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.  Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away, never to return.  So, while  we have it, it's best we love it, and care for it, and fix it when it's broken, and heal it when it's  sick.              This is  true.  For marriage, and old cars, and children with bad report cards, dogs and cats with bad hips... and aging parents, and grandparents.  We  keep them because they are worth it, because we are  worth it.  Some things we keep.  Like a best friend that moves away or a classmate we grew up with.  There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.  And so, we keep them close!          I received this  from someone who thinks I am a "keeper."  You don't always see them, but you  know they are always there.  Keep them close.

I got this in an email that someone that I love sent me.  I am very appreciative of that.  I was touched.  I don't forward emails chains on, but I thought this one was worth blogging about.  Thank you all for being my "keepers."

A. J. McKay

October 26th The Amory Wars

I was typing in my blog address on Google Chrome and it suggested "amory wars" for me.  I thought, "What the...?  Cool!"  So I pressed go and it brought up the wikipedia article for "The Amory Wars".  This is AWESOME!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amory_Wars

Heeheehee...  That was my excitement for the day.  :D

A. J. McKay

October 22nd Cuteness and Awesomeness

My brother.  Is.  So.  Cute.  The Frog, age 3, was watching a little movie on my dad's electronic device.  I said, "Hey, can you take that in the Big Room, please?"  (The Big Room is... well... the Big Room.  It's the biggest room in the house and where we do most of our work and activities.)  He looked at me, turned the volume completely down, and kept watching his video.  "Thank you," I said.  He looked up and nodded.  Cutest.  Thing.  Ever.  He realized after a minute that the movie was sort of hard to understand without sound and turned it up just a tiny bit.  AWWW!!!!  I can't believe how cute he is!  Thanks for being born, little guy!  And thanks for having him, Mom!

I am so nervous.  In two weeks, I have a Speech and Debate tournament.  I switched at the last minute from Impromptu, an event in the tournament that is very easy and takes hardly any preparation, to Oratory, an event that is not as easy and is all preparation to compete in.  I now have to write and memorize a speech within two weeks and my nerves have been driving me crazy.  After the tournament, I will probably put it on here.  The topic is Self-Esteem.  I am very excited but just way nervous.  Wish me luck!  I'll need it.

Also, I am so very excited for this new book that is coming out!  Queen Emily wrote it!  And that beautiful girl on the cover, that is one of my awesome, amazing friends!  Check out this link.

http://www.emilygrayclawson.com/2012/10/22/things-hoped-for-cover-revealed-and-a-giveaway/#comment-166

I can't wait to read it!!

A. J. McKay

October 20th Flashback

I had a moment today that I haven't had since May.  My uncle brought his dog over to my house today while he was doing some work on some lights.  After a while, we relaxed about having her wandering around the house.  We're used to dogs now and just needed a warm-up.  Later, I realized that the front door was open and I couldn't find Rosie anywhere.  I called and whistled outside for her for a few minutes and then my uncle walked out and I told him we couldn't find her.  He started calling for her and after a minute or two she came back.  My heart is still beating fast.  I've been scared like that before - when Bounder would disappear at least once weekly to wander the neighborhood.  When he was still here, I had actually gotten relaxed about him disappearing.  We would check his usual spots and usually find him pretty quickly.  But I can't remember the last time I was as scared as I was just now.  It was terrifying.  As I've heard her footsteps on the floors today, I've missed my dog.  It's that familiar clacking noise on the wood that I recognized.  When my uncle got here, I thought, "Yay!"  And then I heard the clacking - that old, familiar noise that I miss - and I was flashed back to the past.  I miss my dog.  I wish he was here to play with her.

A. J. McKay

October 19th Insanity

And no, I am no talking about the workout.

One of my friends was over today.  She was eating one of my cookies and thought they were really good.  She said, "Can I just have one more and I promise I won't eat anything ever again?  It would be worth it!"

"E, you're insane!"

"People tell me that all the time, it's actually very flattering," she says, taking a bite of the cookie.

We then burst out laughing and I came to the computer to post.  She was serious but she's sitting next to me laughing.  :D

A. J. McKay

October 18th New Poem - Take My Hand

I wrote a poem today that I called Take My Hand.  I put it on the Poems page.  You have to scroll to find it, it's about half-way down under Couplet Poems.  One of my Young Women's leaders said she thought it would be cool if I wrote a poem about the Savior so I wrote one about how He can lift us back up if we need Him to.  He will take your hand, that's what I mean by the title.  It's also really long.  And not very good.  But tell me what you think anyway.  :)  Thanks!

A. J. McKay

October 15th Awesome!

The Puppy found this on Youtube.  It's a different version of "Sixteen Tons," a song that we're singing in Choir.  I loved it!  It sounds amazing!  Enjoy!  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJnERje97jw

October 14th Bursting Forth

My friend was talking to me the other day.  If any of you have seen or read Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, that is what this post is sort of based on.  Like the hobbits, we were talking about how our generation is going to burst forth and shake the world.  We share a belief that sort of seems silly but to me, it isn't.  This generation, the ones in my generation, are all connected.  Somehow we share a connection.  Lately, as in approximately the past three weeks, most of the people that I interact with on a regular basis have been having a hard time.  Just struggling; being sad, stressed, or upset.  I really do believe that we somehow all share an emotional connection.  It is so fascinating to me.  We were talking about how most of the people we know, in our generation, are around us, waiting as little homeschoolers in Mormonville, UT to burst forth and shake the world.  I can't wait.  All of the people I know, not just homeschoolers, not just people in Utah, but all of you youth, are going to shake the world.  Did you hear that?  I will repeat it.  You youth, my wonderful friends, are going to shake the WORLD.  THE WORLD.  That is HUGE.  The mission ages changed for a reason.  We were sent to earth now for a reason.  I am SO excited.  I can't wait to find out what the reason is.  I can't wait to shake the world, standing with the sons and daughters of Heavenly Father that I know and love.  I can't wait to stand with you all when Christ comes again.

A. J. McKay

October 13th Ow...

Limping.  Sore.  Overly cutified.  Overwhelmed (in a good way).  Excited.  TIRED.  This is what dances do to you.

I'm limping because...  Well, my knees hurt sometimes and I don't know why, but especially after a lot of walking or running.

The next four go together.  Ok, before I lose control of my breathing, just be warned.  I am VERY ecstatic.  My friend, MacKenzie (sorry if I spelled that wrong!  :-/), sh-sh-sh-sh-she m-m-made th-this ad-d-d-dorable l-little p-puppy.  And it's.  The most.  Ad-d-dorable.  Thing.  In.  The whole.  Entire.  World!  (*Pantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpant*)  It's s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-so cute!  It's quarter sized.  (*Pantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpantpant*)  And it's so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so cute!!!  (By the way, I'm hyperventilating.)  Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm.....  I got a picture of it!  This.  Thing.  Is the.  Size.  Of.  A quarter!  Ooooooohhhhh!!!!!  It's.  So.  CUTE!

Ok, at a dance I went to last night, MacKenzie brought that and I was hyperventilating for at least twenty minutes.  Really, REALLY fast.  Even Caden was worried about me.  It.  Was.  Awesome.  I seriously could barely talk!  I would go up to everyone I could and tell them about it but I couldn't get the words out!  A lot of them said, "Amory.  Take a deep breath.  Caaaaalm down."  One of my friends said, "Blow bubbles.  Ready?"  But I blew too hard and she said, "No, no, no.  You have to do it slowly.  See, there's this film on the bubble wand that makes the bubbles but if you blow too hard it will break and you don't get any bubbles."  But I couldn't blow soft enough!  After such over-cutification (no, that is not a word.  Yes, I am using it anyway), I realized how tense I had gotten.  I was so worked up about this puppy!  Thank you MacKenzie!  You made my whole WEEK!  I love my friends.  :)  Yes, even you who I didn't see yesterday.  Goodbye!

(Limping away)  Ow.....

A. J. McKay

October 12th Shoes

Have you ever thought...  about shoes?  That seems a little ridiculous.  But really, when you think about it, shoes are just like people.  I mean, there are millions of things that are just like people.  Shoes are just included.

What about stories?  No story is ever going to be exactly the same.  No written story, no poem, no song, no life.  Every single one is different.  Thoughts and actions change them.  Worries, reliefs, smiles, frowns.  Every single life story is different.

Every fictional novel is different.  Different words, pages, covers, authors.  They all have their unique aspects.

Every poem is different.  They all have different words and rhymes and thoughts and structures to them.  All of them.

Every song is unique.  Not one person can sing two songs without realizing they are different.  Not even a two-year-old.

Two-year-olds are so innocent.  They have no idea what is wrong and right yet.  They haven't learned. We need to be innocent.  Stay away from bad things.  Bad pictures, music, language, etc.  Make wise choices.  Choose the right.  The scriptures say we need to be as little children.  To me, this means pure of heart, mind, thought, and spirit.  Be thoughtful of others.  Do your best to keep your mind free of inappropriate thoughts.  Do all you can to make the right choices.  Listen to the Holy Ghost.

That was my thought flow for the day.  Something interesting:  This "thought flow" started with shoes.

A. J. McKay

October 11th Update

Hello everyone!  Today's update:  I posted drabbles on the Short Stories page.  If you don't know what those are, they are stories written using exactly 100 words.  I wrote them all today and yesterday, plus a few more that I will not be sharing.  Enjoy these ones!  :D

Also, I changed my pen name (pseudo nym) to 3a.  Ammie A. Athena's initials are A. A. A. (three a's!).  In class on Tuesday, we were talking about pen names and one of them is 2e.  Ironfist said, "Hmm...  2... e...  3a!"  He laughed.  But I said, "Oh, oh!  I-!  Nevermind..."  I didn't want to interrupt class more than that...  Heh heh...  But now I have a new pseudo nym!  I won't be changing it for all of the stories and poems and things on my blog but from now on it will be 3a.  Ta-da!  I thought that was something worth mentioning.  Have fun reading (if you dare)!  :)

A. J. McKay

October 7th Friend

What does it?  What makes it so that I can feel happy when I blog?  I don't get it.  Is it the talking?  And what makes it so that when I talk to friends and family, I cry, I sigh, I worry, I laugh, I smile, and they don't care?  They listen.  They understand.  They talk to me more.  They lift me up.  They lift me to my highest.  They really, really do.  All you have to say is, "Amory, you made me smile," and I will smile way broader than you did.  I've been practicing smiling.  I'm good at it.  :)  You can say, "I'm sad today."  I will edge forward on my chair.  Almost literally.  Well, I usually sit up more.  What can I do to help?  I want to help.  I want to be trusted, relied on.  I want to become stronger by helping others with their burdens.  I have this knack for telling people how amazing they are.  It makes them feel good.  Because I tell them what's true.  They are amazing.  You are all amazing.  And then I'm happy.  Why?  What makes it that way?  I think it's because it's is a form of service.  My favorite form, actually.  I'm lifting self-worth and bringing people up when I let them talk to me and tell them back what I am inspired to say.  It is so fulfilling...  That's what it is.  I feel so full when I do that.  Please, oh please, if you feel sad or inadequate or upset or anything like that, I am so ready for you to talk to me.  I want to help you.  I want to be your friend.

A friend is someone to trust with your life.  Someone to rely on for anything.  Someone who will bring you up and lift you to your highest.  Someone who will encourage you to give yourself a high standard and help you keep it.  A friend is someone who will help you whenever you need it, no matter what.  A friend is someone who respects your requests.  A friend is someone who keeps every single one of their promises.  Even the little, seemingly meaningless or jokingly made ones.  A friend is someone that loves you for who you are, no matter what.  A friend is someone who supports you in your decisions even when they don't agree with you.  A friend is someone who will let you talk to them even at twelve o'clock at night when you need it.  A friend is loyal and true, never, ever leaving your side.  I am careful about my friends.  I choose the ones that are what I said just now.  I love them all.  And I am doing all I can to be that kind of friend.

A. J. McKay

October 6th

To go on a mission in four years.  That seems so close.  I want to do it.  I want to go on a mission.  I haven't made a firm decision that I will but I really want to.  It will help me throughout my life and give me an experience I will never forget.  This is such great news!  I can't wait to see what happens.  :D

A. J. McKay

October 2nd Memory

Have you ever wondered what your very greatest memory is?  I have.  Mine could be Summit.  It could be the best day I ever had with one of my friends.  It could be the best day I ever had with a small cluster of my friends.  It could be my first temple visit.  It could be my patriarchal blessing.  I don't know...  Someday, I will find out.  I might figure it out on my own.  I might find out when I die.  I just don't know.  I think about it sometimes.  Have you ever thought of this?  It's certainly something to think about.

A. J. McKay

October 1st

I have been posting so much lately.  But like I said, my mind has been reeling really, really fast.  I need to try to slow it down.  Blogging is a huge way for me to do that.

By the way, see that little thing to the right that says, "Follow By Email"?  That is for if you want to get an update every day that I post.  Then I don't have to send emails out!  And then you guys can just choose whether you want an email or not and I won't annoy anyone...  Sound good?  Yes?  Ok.  Good.  So please put your email in there!  I would like people to read my blog and I figured that was a good way to get it to maybe happen.  :)  I won't be sending any more emails about my blog.  And thanks so much if you are reading this.

I'm trying to think of what to write about.  I knew that today I wanted to write but I wasn't positive on what to write about.  So now I'm thinking...  Got it.  I'd like to write about the Book of Mormon.

This year in April I started for the third time to read the Book of Mormon.  I finished it today.  It is so interesting to me that no matter how many times you read this book, it will always mean something different to you.  This time I looked at it as a history book.  A very interesting one.  It wasn't boring.  And I understood it more this time than I ever have.  Something spoke to me.  I was able to think of it as something that really did happen.  Not just a book compiled of numerous little stories of fiction.  That's sort of what it was to me before now.  I mean, it meant something, and I knew inside that it had actually happened.  But this time I really realized it.  I felt different emotions - sadness, happiness, anger, relief, disappointment, excitement.  I had never really felt that before.  This time I really connected with the people in this history.  I knew that they went through what the book said it did.  I know that.  I know that everything in it is the truth.  I have developed a love for this book.  I know it's true.  And I know that if we want to listen and try to understand, Heavenly Father can use the Book of Mormon to tell us what He wants us to hear.

A. J. McKay

September 30th Amazing

A couple of my friends and I were arguing about each other's levels of amazing-ness and awesomeness.  We could not agree on who was "awesomest".  I thought about it for a while and something came to mind.  Everyone has their own level of awesomeness and amazing-ness.  Each person in the world is the "awesomest" in their own special way.  We are all amazing children of our Heavenly Father.  None of us is more amazing or awesome than the other.

Speaking of amazing, the same two friends were telling me to be happy.  They are two of my very, very best friends in the whole world.  I have almost always felt my happiest around them.  I kept trying to tell them that without them, I could be happy, which I was, but that I couldn't just be "so happy I was overwhelmed" happy.  Then one of them told me just to try to have a happy, amazing day.  I told them again that I couldn't have a VERY amazing day without them.  It just wouldn't work.  But they said to just try to.  I could make my day amazing if I wanted.  This is what happened:

After church, The Puppy came up to me and told me that my dad had assigned us to walk home.  Five kids, no adults.  So we did.  I was pessimistic at first.  I can't stand walking to or from church.  I just don't like it at all.  But this time something was different.  The Puppy and I held The Frog's hands and swung him back and forth in between steps.  We did it with The Otter, too.  We took the way home that had less business buildings and more houses and trees.  There was a breeze.  It made the walk more enjoyable.  It was pretty amazing for five kids that usually fight all the time. 

Sunday school was my teacher's last week.  He's going on a mission.

We had some amazing testimonies.  My grandma and great grandma left today after sacrament meeting.  (They came for my mom's birthday.)  My great grandma isn't LDS, which makes me sad.  But she listened to the speakers.

YW's was about self-worth.  We read one of my favorite scriptures.  (Another thing which was unexpected and pretty funny was that I got a whole box of whale crackers [like fish crackers] with my handout.)

I've been journaling.  My mind has been reeling really, really fast these past two weeks.  I've been stressed out.  But today...  It has been amazing.

Each of those things to me is  amazing.  I barely even tried.  But when I just kept in mind that it could be amazing...  It was.  Now I want every day to be like this one.  In its own way.  If I try, it can be.  Just with a little extra effort.  That is now one of my goals.

A. J. McKay

September 25th Two Things

Whoo hoo!  On the 16th, with the post "Today I Felt Like It", I got 53 pageviews.  Fifty three!  RECORD!  That was pretty cool.  Yes.  I will be writing more meaningful things.

Something Funny:

The Turtle was reading his verse in the Book of Mormon for our family reading.  He messed up, like we all do, but it was funny.  When he was reading, he said this:  "...the window mourning for her husband..."  Um, wait.  That's wrong.  Haha!  "Window" was supposed to be "widow".  Which brings me to something even funnier.  He was reading the word fatigue.  He didn't know how to pronounce it.  So he sounded it out, of course!  And it sounded like this:  "Faaa-teee-gyoo?..."  HAHAHAHA!  His voice was PERFECT.  It was hilarious!

And that's all I have for today.  Love you, Turtle!  :D

A. J. McKay

September 24th *SLAP*

Did you hear that just now?  When you read the title?  I just got slapped in the face.  By myself.  Not literally.  My mind slapped me in the face.  I was just reading in Mormon chapter 6 of the Book of Mormon, where it tells about a terrible...  No, terrible isn't strong enough.  Horrendous.  Horrifying.  I can't find it.  It's telling about a war between the Lamanites and the Nephites, who are both very wicked at this point.  Mormon and his son Moroni led armies of ten thousand each.  There were 21 other armies of ten thousand.  I think they were all joined together with Mormon, the prophet at that time.  This is near the end of the Book of Mormon.  All 230,000 of the men in these armies just died in battle.  Did you read that?  I will say it in letters.  Two hundred and thirty THOUSAND.  Did you just read THAT?  That is INSANE.  I cannot believe...  At Summit, there was a battle of about 300 people.  Three hundred.  I thought THAT was a big battle.  Then I read this.  HOLY COW.  Can you imagine almost 800 times that many people?  Eight HUNDRED?  There were only twenty four left, including Mormon and Moroni.  TWENTY FOUR.  I'm sorry but I just have to exaggerate.  That's CRAZY.  I am having a hard time believing that TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND people died in that battle...  I mean, I can, but it's a whole lot to take in.  I can't even imagine that number in my brain except like this:  230,000.  It makes me SO sad that that many people died.  Because they were wicked.  Only Mormon and Moroni are righteous.  I'm about to get choked up here.  Can you imagine if that many people died in America?  That would be a horrendous tragedy.

My resolve is to fight for the right.  I don't want to die like that.  And I'm guessing I won't have to, not like that exactly.  I will fight for the right in our society.  I will have courage, honor, and victory in my heart.  And I will go in a straight line down the narrow path.  That "straight lines" thing really got me.  At Summit, the Master Knight I was working with and the other Master Knight in our camp would yell, "Straight lines!" as we marched in between activities to keep them all together.  But for some reason it took on another meaning for me.  I think of it all the time now.  When I'm tempted to do something that maybe I shouldn't, I think, "Straight lines!" and remember to take the straight and narrow path and choose the right.  And if nothing else prevails, I will.  I will march my way home even if everyone around me falls.  But I don't think they will.  The people I know are strong.  They know how to keep standing.  And they help me to stand.

A. J. McKay

September 22nd

Hello all!  I just decided that for my blog posts from now on, I will be posting thoughtful things like my last post called "Today I Felt Like It".  Sometimes I will tell about an event or post pictures but for the most part I will just be posting thoughtful things.  I felt great when I posted that and I felt like it did the most good.  So that's what I will do.  Thanks so much for reading!  I love you all!

A. J. McKay

September 20th A Few Changes

Hey, everyone!  Just letting you know that I've made a few changes to the pages.  Old Stuff and New Stuff are gone.  Go ahead and browse through whatever.  Now they are organized.  I didn't make any changes to the actual story pages, where the full stories are.  Thanks for reading!

A.J. McKay

September 16th Today I Felt Like it

Today I felt like it.  I felt like I was the person who knew it - what I was doing; who I was; the reason I was set here, my purpose, my passion; my love.

I'm striving to be an influence.  I'm striving to better the world.  I'm hoping to be an asset to all who come across my path.

I am who I am.  No one can change that.  I am a person who knows why she's here.  I am a person who loves the feeling of being herself.  I am a person who loves the feeling of happiness and enrichment her best friends give her.  I am a person who tries her best to live the seven standards of Terra Libre (this is about Summit) - Work Hard, Serve Others, Seek Knowledge, Promote Peace, Protect the Weak, Respect Women (or in my case, men), Live By Faith.  I am someone who would fight with courage, honor, and victory.  Courage, knowing that, no matter what, God would deliver me.  Honor, fighting with the knowledge that I am standing for what is right.  Victory, knowing that even if the battle fought on ground is not won, I have already won in my heart.  I am a person who walks in a straight line, following the straight path that will lead me home.

I was set here to live a life of trial, tribulation, hardship, and enduring.  I was set here to live in the family I'm in - to be an example.  I was set here to learn.  I was set here to gain a better knowledge and understanding of the gospel so I would know my Heavenly Father better in the next life.  I was set here to be a woman of virtue.  I was set here to multiply and replenish the earth according to the way God wills me to do it.  I was set here to teach the standards of the gospel to my prosperity.  I was set here to raise a generation of noble, virtuous saints that would glorify God and His works.  I was set here to live life to the fullest.

I love life.  I love the people in it.  I love all the opportunities.  I love my family, my friends.  I love who I feel destined to be.  I love my dreams.  I love myself in that good, confident way.  I love aspiring to be better at being myself each day.  I love everything I can do.  I love everything about myself.  I love knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me.  I love knowing my family loves me.  I love knowing that my parents and my friends are always there for me.  I love knowing that God is always there for me and He will love me more than anyone ever can and that He is always there for me, even when I think no one is.

Thanks to everyone I know for being who they are.  For being a friend.  Thank you for knowing what to say.  For being there.

A. J. McKay