I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.

He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul's complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives, my kind, wise heav'nly Friend.
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while he lives, I'll sing.
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.
He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"
He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

And when I think that God his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died, to take away my sin.

I am grateful every day to know that my Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, came to Earth and suffered, bled, and died for my sins. For I am a sinner and I would surely be cast into eternal damnation if not for His atoning sacrifice and I fall to my knees daily in humble gratitude for this perfect act.

My friends, He lives, and I know He lives and I proclaim it to all who will hear my words. I know that my Redeemer lives.

We are almost to the point where I can confidently say that spring is fully upon us. The temperatures are soaring into the 60s and the final threats of frost will soon be withdrawn. Rain falls when the skies darken, and snow is naught but a melting memory of months now passed. The sweet fragrance of flowers will catch in the breeze before long, and the bees, spiders, and boxelder bugs are as abundant as the sunshine they are found basking in. The landscape made bare by the harshness of winter is transforming. God's chapel will soon be restored to all its natural glory.

The thawing of the ground brings more changes than the earthly ones. Frisbees are being dusted off, volleyballs, footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls are being pumped up for play. Shorts are being unpacked from storage, t-shirts too. Bikes are tuned up, running shoes are purchased, BBQs are uncovered, sunscreen becomes a staple.

Yes, the beginning of the outdoor season has come. In this season, friendships are strengthened, life lessons are learned, and tranquility is achieved.

I just finished my workout routine that accompanies my running program.The Insanity Workout.

I made it through and was halfway through the cool-down stretches when I gave in to my body's demands and collapsed to the floor. My heart was not doing the usual *thump-thump*. It was more like one, steady *thuuuuuu*, as if it were yelling out "WHYYYYYYYYY".

I laid helplessly on the floor for a half hour. I was only able to move my left thumb and forefinger and I could only open my left eye for a few seconds at a time. Exhaustion is an understatement. And it was actually literally 30 minutes I laid there without moving.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I probably should not have started working out for another day or so. I have been battling a slight head cold that has caused some periodic lightheadedness just being on my feet all day at work. Nothing serious, but my body is probably only at 75% from fighting it. I have got to work on my stubbornness. I like pushing myself to extremes, but too often I do so in unhealthy situations like this for no reason other than my own refusal to accept that I am mortal.

Insanity is the devil. We'll see if I choose to stick with it or adopt a lesser program to get me into shape for my race and then try it again later. I'm in this to be healthier and challenge myself more, but I am undecided on whether Insanity is the best approach for my goals right now.

 I have to go either harvest all this salt on my body and clothes or shower it off now. And I'm still unsure if I wet myself or if it's sweat...

Exercise...what was I thinking...

Song of the Day is the Funeral March :)

Every day people go through life unhappy, or, more likely, not as happy as they could be or want to be. The only question I have for those of you who may be in this situation is: Why? What is keeping you from your happiness?

I have no degree in psychology. I have no experience in therapy. I have no formal training in any field that qualifies me to make any sort of medically acceptable recommendations for you. What I do have, however, is an extremely happy mind and soul that a few months ago was as down and dreary as a downpour on the darkest night. And now, my happiness increases every day and my life gets better, and I would be selfish and it would be wrong if I did not share a little of my experiences with those who will hear me.

The absolute first thing you must understand is that you and you alone control your life. Debts may burden you, consequences of wrong actions may trouble and hurt you, bad friends may make it tough to choose the right decisions, but you and you alone control your life.

Once you truly understand your control of your life, you have to know that you are not alone. You are the decision maker of your life, but you have a loving Father in Heaven who will not forsake you. If you seek Him, He will help you. Do not expect Him to solve your problems overnight. You are here to learn and to grow, to make mistakes, to be wrong, to experience pain, to be weak. But you will be made strong if you do the things He has asked you to do. Go to church, kneel in prayer, humbly read the scriptures, sacrifice your tithing, fast for guidance, give service to others, be honest. The world will offer you little peace and there is no solace in unclean places. Create an atmosphere pleasing to God and seek His help and you will receive it.

Once you have grasped these foundational principles, then you can really begin to work on the individual problems that are robbing you of your happiness. If debts are your problem, you will find the strength to cut expenses you once felt necessary and to give up luxuries you can do without. You will find that creating a budget is easier and your resolve to strictly adhere to it will be greatly increased. If bad friends are your problem, new friends will literally appear out of nowhere. Learn from them and grow with them. Every person we know has something we can learn, even if it is attributes we do not want to have.

I promise that if you are unhappy in life and you go back to the essential principles of owning your life and living it according to the way God, who gave you everything you had, have and ever will have, asked, NO problem will ever be so great that you cannot overcome it.

Happiness knows no bounds. It is possible that your happiness can increase every day for the rest of your life and beyond. Never settle for less than you are worth, and we are all worth an eternity of happiness.

I have a blog that people read,
I post it to my Facebook feed.
I write of life, the good and bad,
of times I'm happy and times I'm sad.

I write the lessons I have learned,
the many chapters I have turned.
I share with all who care to hear,
the tales of how I beat my fear.

I also write of silly things,
of laughter and the joy it brings.
I hope to make my readers smile,
we all need to once in a while.

On Sundays, I share words of choice,
with music that brings heavens voice.
For God sent us his only Son,
and His message is for everyone.

Occasionally, I'll have a rant,
I try to suppress them, but usually can't.
Things like acronyms and grammar,
I come out swinging with my hammer.

I write these things not just for me,
I write them very publicly.
You people read, and like it too,
I don't deserve so much from you.

And so today I write this post,
to the people I appreciate most.
I thank you for your readership,
and with this poem to you, my hat I tip.

As previously noted, I am working to eliminate my debts so I can begin investing my money and putting money away for retirement. The sooner I do that, the better.

I still have a long, long way to go, but I have done a few things to save money I thought I would share.

Firstly, if that is even a word, I finally decided to permanently quit paying someone to cut my hair. Last summer we shaved our heads, but that was for funsies more than saving money. I do not know much about cutting hair, but I have a length I like that I buzz it to now and I have a roommate clean up the neck, though I think I need a more competent person doing that as the roommate I had help this time left me bleeding and bruised, literally, all over. He pretty much jabbed the attachment-less buzzer at me, not realizing that sharp, pointy metal objects are not gentle. Thankfully it has almost all healed now.

Nummer zwei (that means number 2, in German), now that the weather is warming up, I will wash my car by hand. Rather than paying $8-$10 per wash, and I wash my car at least twice a month in summer, I'll be paying only for the cost of soap, which I have not yet bought because I have not researched the best options yet. It will be almost 50 degrees this week though, so I will get on that ASAP (look there, I used an acronym...but it's a nostalgic, cool acronym, not a lazy, pointless, worthless acronym such like unto the ones we find today).

Tres lechesly (now I know that is not a word, but I love Tres Leches), I own a lot of stuff. Not much is worth selling, if anything, but I do have one or two items I do not need or use that I can sell that would bring in a small sum of cash.

The number of parts of a whole quartered and added with a "th" and "ly"(that's fourthly, for those who are as confused as I), a penny saved is a penny earned. I have always collected spare change on a small scale both in my car and in my Korean pig piggy bank in my room. Generally, when the pig becomes full, I take it to a coin machine, collect about $15-$20 and deposit it into my account. The change in my car usually buys me a couple McDoubles when I'm craving them. However, I will be upgrading my coin-saving operations to save for the long-term. I have a large, plastic jar I would like to fill. That jar is not to be touched until it is full, at which time I will get an even larger container for my coins. I will save every coin I get as change, as well as every coin I find on the ground.

Those are the main things I am doing, aside from limiting my expenditures and working to reduce my cost of living. I generally have to drive to work due to the cold, dark, and lack of public transport at the early hours I work, but if I ever work later and can take the free public bus that stops not a half block from here and would get me within walking distance of work, I will do that. I have a bike but it is in dismal shape and may be dead now. I did pay a required student fee as part of tuition where I can rent a bike for three months if one is available. I can cook on the rare occasions I have company over, so there is little need to go spend money on the plethora of sub-par restaurants in town.

Having a car is a huge blessing, but having the one I have is also a thorn in my side. I enjoy imagining having an extra $406 to pay off debts and invest in my future, but I know in the end I need the car. I just have to keep it healthy.

It is Sunday, so our Song of the Day is an uplifting one. Whether working to achieve financial stability or trying to find peace and solace in the busy world, I can personally attest that only the fool tries to do it alone. We need help from our Heavenly Father, the heavenly hosts of angels, and the atoning sacrifice of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Our Song of the Day is "I Need Thee Every Hour" sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

If you know me very well, you probably know that I get around to doing what I am best suited for at my own pace. People tell me time and time again I should do this or I should do that. Even more people think it to themselves, and then, one day, I come to the realization that I ought to try that thing and everyone says, "It's about time you started doing that!! We thought you should have gone into that forever ago!"

So...lay it on me. You've all said I had talent in writing for years and pushed and shoved me towards writing opportunities, but beyond my private writings (mostly witty poetry), school papers, and this blog, I never tried. Now, as I mentioned before, I will be writing for the University Catering blog. When I announced it before though, it was a limited role, and now, after some meetings and lots of thought, I have agreed to be entirely responsible for all content on the blog. This week I am revamping the look and my first post will likely come Friday, with weekly posts coming each Wednesday. I see the catering blog as a valuable marketing tool that provides entertainment as well as information. I expect two kinds of people to read it. First, those with a vested interest in it, such as some of you who will undoubtedly want to see what I write and also some people on campus with an interest in catering. Second, those who happen upon it either because they want to know more about catering, because they are interested in using our services, or those who happen upon it by accident and click around to read things they may find interesting. No matter who sees the blog, the goal is to have enough content on there that they get to know who University Catering is, and hopefully they will remember that so if one day they or someone they know does need some catering, they will come to us. I am excited to build our blog. I have always had an interest in marketing, but I have no formal experience and these days, no experience means essentially no opportunity. Who knew that experience in a personal blog would translate to venturing into the world of marketing!

That is basically the only exciting news I have. I did go to the library and now have a library card so I can continue reading without having to buy books. Currently, I am reading a book called "Living Your Life for Half the Price". Next up are some political biographies and Utah history books. I have also been re-reading the Book of Mormon and on Sunday I finished 2nd Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, and the Words of Mormon. This week I will get to Alma. Sundays are my main reading days as I have chosen to keep my Sundays free of all housework, homework, and really most any work. Most weekdays, I usually manage a half hour to an hour of reading before bed as well, and because I work between 6 and 7 every day, bedtime is no later than 11, but usually by 10-10:30.

The weather has finally been sunny and we had a few temperatures up in the mid to upper 30s and some rain. I chuckle at the people talking of spring, because spring doesn't really come until mid-April. Expect a couple more significant snowstorms before things stay warm. But, don't forget that THIS SUNDAY, our clocks "spring forward" an hour.

Alright, I'm back to rambling so it is time to split. Look for a new post here Friday that will announce my first post on the catering blog.

Song of the Day is an instrumental version of "Sail" by Awolnation. I chose instrumental because that's the catchy part. The lyrics make no sense to me. Though be warned, as I'm sure you realized since you are already at the bottom of this post, it's not a full instrumental, they just cut the lyric track minus the "SAIL!" yelling and some "lalalas". I guess they were worried you might not know the name of the song...who can forget now.

First of all, I have to reiterate for the umpteenth time how incredibly perplexing, interesting, yet undeniably humbling it is and how grateful I am that anyone would not only read the seemingly unimportant things I write, but that you all comment on my writing and seem to find it at least mildly appeasing.

My blog began years ago. When I moved to college and was living 1500 miles from home (which was Kentucky at the time), I began a newsletter that I circulated through email to family and a few friends. I created an entire template and each issue was even numbered. Sadly I do not have any surviving copies I can find or I would show a picture of what it was. After doing a newsletter for some time I began a blog. It took my a good year or more to actually do much with it and 2010 was finally the break out year. It was originally just a way to keep family and friends updated on what I was doing. Then it became somewhat of a journal. It has evolved since its inception and now my blog is a place where I talk about all sorts of topics ranging from lessons I've learned to interesting or funny things I saw or heard. I share personal stories of hardship not meant to garner pity, but rather to remind myself of the growth that resulted from my distress and hopefully to inspire someone struggling with similar circumstances. I share political views to get myself and others thinking about how we can better approach tough issues. I also share uplifting and spiritually edifying messages, particularly on Sundays, because above all else, I want people to walk away after reading my blog feeling that in some way, I have been able to influence them in a positive way. Those who read my blog are generally my good friends, and anyone else who reads I consider a friend and I would give all that I am to improve the lives of those I care about.

Now, having said all that, I need to get a little ranting done. The topic of my frustrations will come as no surprise to many...it is acronyms. Not very long ago, acronyms were a novelty. We had ASAP, FYI, TTFN (ta ta for now!), ATM, and other simple acronyms. Then came the SMS, or Short Message Systems. Texting. The beginning of the end of mankind. An incredible tool gone awry. Now we have LOL, ROFL, BTW, BF/GF, BFF, BRB, FWIH, YOLO, TTYL, WTG, OMG, WTH, IDK, IMO/IMHO/JMHO, NSFW, and on and on and on. I hear new ones every day. I just don't get it. I still punctuate my text messages. I capitalize words, use correct spelling, use proper grammar. I can't even abbreviate extra as xtra. I try every time, but every single time, without fail, I shake my head in disgust and write the "e" on the beginning and mutter to myself why the heck I would do such a stupid thing. Is the world in such a hurry I can't even write that one little "e"? I would like to issue a challenge to you acronymizers. Go one week without using a single acronym. See if your life falls apart. It won't. I guarantee it. Use your words guys...

Song of the Day is "ABC" by Michael Jackson.