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Dear Boys 29: Dear Brother

Dear Brother,
You left today.

I am so proud of you and that you can do what I'm not.

I held it together tonight at Ashley's reception.
You should be proud.

I turned my iPod on shuffle tonight and Imagine Dragons was the first song to come on.

A part of me went missing today.
I think it's in Provo.

2 years is a long time. Dance party when you get back?
Good. It's a date.

I miss you. Photo courtesy of ML Photography
 Brought to you from the mind of Becca Swindlehurst at 1:09 AM 3 comments: Labels: Boys, Family, Missionaries, Music, Weddings


I Know.

This last week I had the opportunity to go to Young Women's Girls Camp with my ward. I have the calling of "Assistant Camp Director", which is part of the reason why I am still in my home ward and not going to a Young Single Adult ward, cause I refuse to grow up and move on from going to Girls Camp ;)

The theme for this year's camp was "RODEO", with it being an acronym for "Respecting Ourselves, Demanding Excellence, and Obeying the Lord". Each day was assigned a topic within that saying and the Young Women leaders and the YCL's would each give devotionals throughout the day having to do with the topic for the day.

I am so grateful that I was able to go up to camp and to hear those devotionals. It allowed me to reflect on my life, on what I am doing, on if I am progressing or just staying stagnant. And I learned a lot, not only directly from what was said in the devotionals, but also from the Spirit that spoke to me in those moments of reflection.

This post is really hard for me to write, but I know that I just have to get everything out in the open, to let others know of not only my beliefs, but also of my struggles and trials that have come.

As many of you know, I am not serving a full-time mission for the LDS church at this time. (read more about that in this post.) When that decision was made and the reality that my plans had changed set in, I struggled. I didn't know what to believe anymore. At that point, I was just going through the motions. I went to church, went to institute, read my scriptures, said not the most meaningful prayers, and fulfilled my responsibilities and callings. I wanted to believe, but because of the hustle and bustle of life, I didn't take the time to truly re-find out for myself.

Then, I was presented with a choice. A choice between having a life with someone who treated me like a princess and loved me and could talk anatomy with me and was standing in front of me with open arms, or choosing the Lord and His plan for me. So, I had to find out for myself if I truly believed.

It was hard. And I spent many nights crying and I still do. But now I not only believe.


I know that the Lord has a plan for me. I know that there is a worthy priesthood holder that will someday be my husband. I know that His plan is worth waiting for. I know that times are and will be hard, that there will be times that I won't want to wait anymore.
But I also know that my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows me personally! And He knows what is best for me and what will help me to grow and achieve greatness in my life! He knows of the struggles that I go through each day, when I feel that I am alone.

But I'm not alone.

My Savior, Jesus Christ, knows everything that I go through, every feeling of inadequacy and doubt. And He is right next to me, holding me up. He is my best friend, a constant companion, and a shoulder to cry on. I am so grateful that I have this knowledge that I am never really alone! The amount of peace that this simple truth brings to me is indescribable!

I am so grateful for the trials and heartache that I have had to go through. They have taught me so much about myself and about my Savior. I love this gospel! I am so grateful that I have been able to be raised in a family where the doctrines and principles of it have been taught! I am so grateful for the priesthood leaders in my life, for the example that they have been to me, for showing me the kind of man that I want to marry someday!

I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father with all my heart. I testify of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I say these things in the sacred name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Brought to you from the mind of Becca Swindlehurst at 11:30 AM 1 comment: Labels: Church, Friends, Institute, Missionaries, My Life, Summer


MGM: Give Someone an Hour

This week's challenge for "Making Good Mondays" was to give someone an hour of your time, with no distractions from technology or anything whatsoever.

On Saturday, my brother was getting his mission pictures taken by our awesome cousin Morgan. We decided to make it a family trip downtown, with my parents, brother, sister and brother-in-law. We all dressed up so that we could get a family picture as well, and then we went out to dinner after the pictures were all taken. To see the pictures, they are up on Morgan's blog here :)

Because I am so lucky and don't have a smart phone, and there is no wifi on temple square, this challenge wasn't super hard for me. I was invited to go with some friends to a Bees game that night, but I spent it with my family instead :) We were able to hang out by the Salt Lake Temple, which is just a wonderful atmosphere to be in, and then we went to dinner at a place by the Gateway Mall called Biaggi's! It was like a fancier Olive Garden and so so delicious!

I was grateful I was able to spend this time with my family, especially my sister and brother-in-law cause I don't get to see them super often, and my brother because he goes into the MTC on June 26th!

Happy Monday! :) Brought to you from the mind of Becca Swindlehurst at 11:38 AM 3 comments: Labels: Family, Link Ups, Missionaries, Photos, Summer, Weekend



Last week, Brooklyn started a new linkup called "Making Good Mondays". This week's challenge was to write a letter to someone you have been thinking about.

Well, I am super bad at writing handwritten letters. Probably because I have already developed what is most lovingly referred to as "Medical Handwriting." Basically, my handwriting is not the prettiest.

Because of this, the new policy that friends can also now use email to write to missionaries is one of the greatest things ever! I am all about emailing, especially when sending an actual letter takes over 2 weeks to get to it's destination.

This new policy has also started what I call #MissionaryMailMondays! Yes, it is a hashtag. Yes, I use it multiple times on twitter. Yes, it's a thing now :)

#MissionaryMailMondays has also now caused me to check my email about every 5 minutes on Mondays. I'm sure there is someone that works for Yahoo! that monitors things like the number of refreshes on a page that thinks I am some sort of crazy person. Nope, just waiting with baited breath for a few emails from people all over the world. That's all :)

I love being able to hear from my friends that are serving the Lord on a regular basis. It is so fun to hear about all of their experiences and adventures as a missionary :) I am so glad to have such wonderful friends and what an amazing example they are to me! I am so so grateful for them and their sacrifice :) Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, and so many more, you are all very lucky to have such amazing individuals in your presence :) Brought to you from the mind of Becca Swindlehurst at 10:36 AM 1 comment: Labels: Boys, Friends, Missionaries


Summer Lovin' Swap

When Brooklyn first posted about this swap, I was skeptical about if I should do it or not.
For some reason I was worried about putting myself out there or something dumb like that.
Then I just decided to go for it and signed up!

I got my partner a few days later and was assigned to Shayna Savage. We emailed and come to find out, she is rooming with one of my good friends from high school, Jocelynn!

So, it came time to buy and send off my package. We were supposed to send things that remind us of summer, or some of our favorite things, or really just whatever, as long as it was within a $20 limit. So, I of course headed to the Target dollar section, cause that is one of my most favorite places to shop in the world. I got her some things that I know I love about summer, including sunglasses, aloe, and fruit snacks :)

A few days later, I received my package! The things I received were:
Goldfish crackers (my fav!)
Goldfish cracker holder (legit!)
Orange Nail Polish
Twizzlers (a staple for any day at the pool or, better yet, Bear Lake)
Ramona and Beezus movie (which I have never seen, but have heard it is cute!)

This was tons of fun and I was so excited when my package came! I'm glad I could be a part of it! :)
 Brought to you from the mind of Becca Swindlehurst at 8:23 PM 2 comments: Labels: Bloggy Blog, Friends, Movies, Summer