Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.



Many may wonder what makes us tick: we are happy joyful people who love to laugh (but only at certain things). Many have mentioned a "Mormon Glow" that surrounds us, that reaches out and touches people, makes their lives brighter. Many have pondered at what in the world would make teenage boys give up two years of girls and fun and freedom, and girls give up a year and a half.

What are some other things that make us a peculiar people? Most certainly, in the world, we are the weird ones. Have you ever wondered:

What drives us to love our siblings (that's crazy, right?) ?
How we are willing to give up tea and coffee, and (gasp) all alcohol as adults (even adults?!)?
What reason does a fourteen year old boy have for stating up til midnight studying the words of dead people in books with hundreds of pages? (It's called the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in case you were wondering)
Why that girl decided to wear a modest swimsuit when it was obviously not the "cool" thing to do?
Why an eight year old all of a sudden feels the need to visit an elderly member of the community?
How we have the courage to stand in front of a history class and simply and clearly speak about our beliefs?
Why we smile so much?
Why we all love Star Wars and the Princess Bride?
How we convince our boys to give up their Saturday to do yard work for people who can't do it themselves?
How we keep our hope in any trial that besets us? And how we continue doing all these things even though we are going through something really hard?
What we bribe the high schoolers with in order to (now listen to this one) get them to wake up an HOUR AND A HALF early to attend a class at church BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS EVERY DAY?
What prompts a 12 year old girl to walk up to the pulpit once a month to share her feelings with the whole congregation?
Why we decide to fast for 24 hours (that's right, no food or water) once a month?
How our teenagers find fun in clean humor?
What is so much fun about churchy summer camps? (Wahoooo EFY!!!!!!!!!)
Why a girl keeps a journal?
What makes it enjoyable for us to do family history work and then take names to the temple?
Why we look so happy when we come out of the temple?
Why our ancestors have up everything they had to cross the plains to go to Utah? (Of all places ;) just kidding)
How our young men all decide to be ordained to the Priesthood as Deacons (age 12),Teachers (age 14), and Priests (age 16)? Yes, that is true. We do that.
What we do to get the whole family together to sit and watch general conference for ten hours in a weekend twice a year? In which we listen to the Prophet and other church leaders, men and women alike?
How our mothers are so good at making our homes a place where we can feel the Spirit every day?
Why our fathers give us blessings when we need comfort or healing?

There are many other things we do that definitely count as peculiar. My head hurts right now so I can't think of all of them.

What is the answer to all these questions? (Well, maybe not the Star Wars and Princess Bride one, but..)

We believe.

We believe in Jesus Christ. We want to follow his example. We know his commandments, and we want to do his will. We know these things to be true, and we want to live them. We are not ashamed of this gospel, and we will do whatever it takes to help others feel God's love. The world may see that as weird, peculiar, and confusing, but The Lord doesn't.

I'm so grateful for this gospel. 

And I'm proud to be peculiar. 

<3 Eliza

Our True Identity

Today you readers are going to do a little activity with me. Yay! (I know, you love it!)

If you want to leave your answers in the comments, that would be great! I know you will help others with your testimony! But if they are too personal to share, then by all means, it had better go in a journal or something. I won't be offended :)

Fill this out in your head or on a piece of paper (or in my comments. That's great too!)

(Alright people, don't quit! I promise this is an uplifting exercise! I'm not trying to be gloomy)

Wait wait! But this post isn't supposed to be gloomy!

Soooo..... What I like/don't like about myself______________________________________________

Names I have called myself in the mirror (keep it PG, kids) _____________________________

What I wish I could be like______________________________________________________

What I would do if I weren't scared_______________________________________________

Now do this part honestly:

Times I have complemented myself today (hard to remember?) ______________________________

Times I have thought negatively about my situation, appearance, skills, gifts, etc today _______________

If you are anything like me (and the rest of the world) then there are a ton of things you would change about yourself, tons of opportunities you hold yourself back from because of fear, little good about you that you see, lots you wish you could have, and there are more negative thoughts about your life than there are positive.

Why is this? It's sad really.

There is so many more uplifting things you can do than point out the wrong in your life. But we do it all the time, self-consciously. When you look in the mirror, give yourself a break! Nobody is perfect!

So, now, wipe all those negative thoughts about yourself away. (Thanks Eliza. You just made me unhappy. Now what am I supposed to do?!) It might take a little work. Need some help? Watch this video: (Please, it is only like 3 minutes long, and I promise it will help change those negative feelings to positive ones)

Okay, that was a tear-jerker. But it is so true! Who has ever felt like the ugly duckling? Like no one loves him/her, like they are unusually large (I am SO there with you, bro) or ugly or untalented. The world taunts you because of your imperfections. But that is because they don't know who we will be.

Heavenly Father sees us as we truly are and who we can become. When you look into the mirror next time, I hope you can see beyond imperfections, and see the true beauty that lies within you.

So try this again:

What I like about myself_____________________________________________________________

What I can do to remind myself of my true worth (like putting a sticky note on the mirror to remind you to not let those criticizing thoughts creep up on you, but that you are a child of God) __________________

What I will do now_________________________________________________________________

Things I am grateful for, reasons I am grateful for being me____________________________________

If I were to meet Uchtdorf, what I would say to him :) ________________________________________

How I can help others realize they are swans________________________________________________


I feel like I use this topic a lot, but I think it is really important. Remember that God made you who you are, that all trials will work together for your good, and that you are a swan. Even if you feel like an ugly duckling, you truly are a swan!!

<3 Eliza

Sparrows/One by One

(Copyright Intellectual Reserve)

Okay first I'll share the scripture, and then ill share an experience I had. I couldn't decide which title this should be so I left both!

Matthew 10 says (and listen hard to this, because this is YOUR SAVIOR speaking:)

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 

Look at that sparrow up there. Now, I love birds. I spent a majority of my middle school years bird watching. But believe me when I say I had to look long and hard to find a sparrow picture that was pretty. And even that one is not as effervescent as a hummingbird or as glorious as an eagle.

So, I guess it's worth is not in beauty. Maybe function? The sparrow serves as prey for snakes and cats, it eats seeds, and lives a couple years. Not much of a niche to brag about (haha ecology word!). We can count out function. The sparrow is not valued for its strength, or cunning, or beauty.

It's the value of their meat then! That must be it! No wait, Christ just said they were only sold for half a farthing (I looked it up, it was the smallest roman coin in use, and small in Greek as well. Under the value of two US dollars)

So why is it that God is aware when just one falls? It is because God loves the sparrow, he created it, and nothing more is needed to earn his love.

What about us? We are of more value than many sparrows (thanks, that makes me feel a lot better :). But hold that sarcasm. Because God knows when each sparrow falls.  There can be no doubt in our minds that he knows our small victories and weaknesses, our service and shortcomings, our pity parties. We are God's children, and he is our Father, and he loves us. 

Never fear! God loves you. However, these things are easier said than applied. The world just wants you to get down on yourself.

These past couple months have been kinda a roller coaster. I have days when everything's great, I'm so grateful to have moved away from drama and into a great neighborhood, I have friends, and everything's great. Then it seems in a few hours I could be crying and pleading to feel God's love for me because I don't feel love anywhere else. Sitting alone at lunch is awful. People gossiping about you is awful. Not having inside jokes with people or knowing everyone's history is awful. But you can know that God is always there for you, and knows your struggles and joys.

One thing that is so great though, is that God gives tender mercies to all his children. I'm so grateful for the tender mercies I've been shown just this week. For this week, two people who i admire so much from Va emailed me to see how I was doing.  I don't think that's a coincidence. It really helped me see just how much my Heavenly Father cares about me.

God loves us one by one. He knows your name, and all your pain. He knows your smiles, and wants to help you. One of the greatest comforts to me has been this song. Listen to it, and remember, there is always someone who loves you.