How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God,

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy Hand hath made,

I see the stars,

I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed; 

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art! 

 

Stuart K. Hine, 1899-1989 

 

Yesterday, I took the time to experience fall in the Wasatch Mountains.  Part of me longs to live elsewhere, just for the experiences such a change would bring.  But, as I climbed higher and higher and looked out over the magnificent mountains, I repeatedly thought I cannot believe I live in this beautiful place!

 

I hiked by myself on purpose.  This was the first time since the leaves began to change this year that I have made it to the mountains. I wanted to see them up close.  I wanted to meander through them, looking closely, picking out the ones I loved most.  I wanted to be above them and look down.  And I wanted to do this uninterrupted.

I've had many emotions running through me the last two months with so many changes happening in my life.  I have felt much peace through it all, even though I still feel like I'm adjusting and getting settled and organized.  Hiking Grandeur Peak yesterday took me to a place for which I've been longing.  So much peace comes from being alone in the midst of God's creations.

 

As I approached this colorful opening, I recalled a few lines of the hymn, I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go

 

"But if, by a still, small voice he calls to paths that I do not know, 

I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine: 

I'll go where you want me to go"

 

I've been studying the hymns, their origins, and the meaningful doctrine in my institute class this semester.  I find myself singing them with more passion, more conviction, and in so many more places.  Yesterday was a testimony of the words I sing so often.

Only by the powers of heaven are we able to enjoy, to bask in, to appreciate the miraculous creations on the earth.

How grateful I am to live in such a beautiful place and to experience His creations so closely.

I can't imagine having spent my day any better.

 

Fall Break

Fall Break.  

Ahhhh.  Something I've never had before in my life.  

BUT I AM SO EXCITED!

The U has a full week off for fall break.  I've never had a fall break before because apparently BYU does not believe in it, and the closest I ever got in grade school was a 2-day break for UEA weekend.  So, this is just glorious!  I have all sorts of plans for this week.  I have some furniture to stain, a Halloween costume to design and sew, lunch with a few friends, finish putting all my boxes into storage since the move back to my parents' house, studying (probably a good idea to get ahead while I've got some time), and a couple other smaller things.  Its going to be a fantastically productive week, which is my favorite kind!

I started this glorious break with an exciting weekend.  I went on a fun double date: 2 male best friends going out with 2 female best friends.  It was a blast!  We carved pumpkins, played the piano, ate pumpkin pie, and got down with "Just Dance" on the Wii.

Then on Sunday, my sister Becca and her family came down from Layton to eat dinner with me.  It was a really nice gesture since I'm living here alone while my parents are driving cross-country.  Although, I suspect it might actually have been the fact that I had chicken they could use for dinner, but either way, it was fun having them here...especially when Angry Birds made an appearance.  My nephew, Gus, may or may not be addicted to Angry Birds.  :)  You decide.

I hope you can tell how much Becca and I were laughing!  Each time we watch this video, we just laugh even harder.  I think we had a good 10 minutes of "Anga Birds" tantrums from Gus.  It was so hilarious!

So here's to a fantastic start to fall break! 

Internal Conflict

Mid-August, right before school began, and even for the first few weeks of school I felt like my childhood Utah Fan was beginning to burst out from my chest.  As many people know, I grew up going to Utah football games with my dad.  I was a pretty committed Utah fan.  That is, until I went to BYU.  I remember standing in the bleachers at my first BYU football game and feeling like a traitor.  It took several months of being in Provo before I started feeling like a true cougar fan.  Then I got my job doing events for BYU and my Cougar-love really took over!  So as you can imagine, I was a little confused as to where my true school allegiance lies now that I'm in school at the U.  Just like I did when I went to BYU, I decided to embrace the school I am attending and see what happens.

So, I geared up and went to the first football game of the season.  I don't have season tickets, but bought a couple off a friend who got stuck going to his brother's wedding dinner instead (poor planning, right?)

My roommate, Sarah, and me

Maybe it's because I cheered in high school, but I always find the stunts entertaining!

The game was exciting!  All the crowd cheers came back from deep in my childhood memories. Sarah and I had some good laughs at the frat boys who were standing behind us... it was the end of Greek RUSH week so the conversations revolved around a lot of pretty stupid things, if you can imagine.  By the end of the game, I was sure I could be a Utah fan again!

A couple weeks later was the BYU-Utah game.  All my friends, and even some family, asked what color I would be wearing that day and I had no idea.  I ended up telling everyone black!  Then the day of the game came.  I had some studying to do so I watched the game from home...in white.  

Talk about slaughter house!  Two minutes into the game BYU fumbled the ball right by the end zone and Utah was able to pick it up inside the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.  And that was just the first of SEVEN turnovers.  Every time we went to commercial break, ESPN showed a mash up of BYU fumbles. It was just awful!  However, by the end of the first quarter I had figured out what color I truly bleed.

I cringed for the first 3 quarters of that game and every time the fumble mash up was shown.  By the fourth quarter, I couldn't bare it any longer (I went upstairs to clean the kitchen and just listened to my roommate's commentary).  It was such an awful game!  But, when your team is losing and you still root for them, you know it is real.  I might be a Utah student right now, but I will always be a Cougar!

GO COUGS! 

Fall 2006 - with the ROTC after I shot off the George Q. Cannon

Whirlwind

Where did the summer go????

It feels like just yesterday that the sun was beginning to shine.  And now its fall.  I'm starting to take light jackets with me to school.  And when I wake up in the mornings at 6:30am, its dark and a measly 50-something degrees.

Summer came and left again so quickly that I am amazed I found the time to do anything!  But true to the way I want to live, I managed a few exciting things.

Here's what I loved about my summer.

* running Ragnar Wasatch Back with 11 amazing people: Team "Risky Business"

* going to the Oakley Rodeo with my cousins

 

* Stadium of Fire - the military flyover, the crowd, the patriotism, the music, the skydivers, the fireworks.  LOVE.

* Hanging out with family on the 4th of July (my favorite holiday ever)

*Taking my CNA course.  Maybe it wasn't a major highlight, but it was a great start to my future nursing career.  It took 3 weeks out of my July - 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and 2 8-hour clinical shifts.  And ya know what?  I still want to go into nursing!

*Skydiving!  Best "IQ Demands It" experience yet! (See post below)

*Bear Lake with my old Holladay 30th Ward (now the Holladay 3rd YSA Ward).  No pics, sorry.

*2nd Annual R.S. Keddington Family Reunion in Eden, UT
     -including: "Minute to Win It", Lagoon, and other great stuff (I missed the first day because I was in Bear Lake as previously mentioned.  But my fam had fun then, even without the COOLEST AUNT EVER!) :)

Quick Post

One thing I have missed since quitting my job to start school...

Being well-informed on what is happening in the world, in the government, the stock markets, and all other current events--local, national, and international.

As a student, I am finding it hard to stay informed when all my free time is needed to study for the next exam or read the next chapter in a text book (not to mention social and religious obligations I commit to).  Even so, after spending the last few years in an office with a constant stream of information, I can tell I am left with a void from not being informed.  So, I am trying to up my ante and make time for important things in addition to my scholastic studies.  It it hard, and I am grateful for sweet apps on my iPad which help me to know what is happening at any time I might be available to listen.  And today, I heard a quote I particularly like.

"I am not defined by my government.  I am defined by the constitution. I am defined by the principles that God laid out, and I am defined by my actions; but not by my government and who my president is, or who's in congress.  I refuse to be that way."  -Glenn Beck

This comment stuck with me immediately.  Regardless of what is happening with the government, etc., I still have the right to choose how I will conduct my life.  It is my responsibility to take charge of the things in my life and to make a small difference in which ever way I am capable. I must do my best.

Ready, Set, Jump!

That's right my friends.  After at least three years of saying I wanted to do this, I finally took the plunge..er..uh...flight!

Yep, I went skydiving!  My friend, James, needed to get in a few more jumps this month to keep his certification current, so I decided to tag along.  After all, this was a Bucket List item for me!

 Gearing up!

 Climbing aboard the small plane

 If you notice the altimeter, you can see that it says 12.8, which means we were 12,800 feet in the air when we jumped!  Crazy!

I'm pulling the cord to open the parachute here

 Coming in for an insanely smooth landing.  About 0 mph wind that afternoon

Phil (instructor) and me.  I made it back to land safely, despite my now-crazy hairdo!

For a more in depth look, here's a sweet video!

COPS

Have you ever seen a live drug bust?  After last night, I can say that I have.  And not just those times when you see a bunch of cop cars with handcuffed guys sitting on the hood of the cars.  I'm talking about THE WHOLE SHEBANG! 

Here's the story.

I was driving home from my evening CNA class in Murray.  It was about 10:15pm.  I typically choose not to fill up my car this late at night, but I knew I didn't want to think about it in the morning when I would be hurrying to work.  So, I stopped at 7-11 on 4800 S. State Street (not the smartest/safest thing this late, I know).  There were a couple other cars at pumps so I had to pull around a car to get to the available front pump.  I'm now sitting halfway in my car, with the driver door wide open and my legs out the side while waiting for the pump to finish.  I see a K-9 Cop truck zoom up to the opposite side of my pump.  The driver flew in and parked so quickly I wondered what was going on.  I'd seen this truck a couple times already... I was behind it on State Street before I turned into the gas station and then I'd seen it pull through the station once already.  What was going on?

As I turned to look behind me, I realized there were already 10 cop cars parked with their flashing lights brightening the station!  I counted them, so this is an honest number.
There were probably 6-7 men and women standing around two cars with their hands in the air.  I have a clear view of several cops with their guns out, aimed at these alleged criminals.  After only a split second, the K9 cop was out of his truck with his police dog and passing between MY pump and the pole next to it.  This guy was literally next to my car!!! I could hear the cop say to his dog, "Watch him...watch him.  Keep you eyes on the guy in the black."  That dog was ready to pounce at the earliest command!  His back legs were straight, his head up watching the guy in the black for any quick movement, ready to just go!

Are you kidding me?  I am seriously seeing this go down? Yep.

I probably have the only citizen view possible during this showdown.  The station parking lot is a pretty small one and the 10 Cop vehicles have filled almost all available asphalt, with the exception of my car.  In fact, I had helped block in the two drug cars.  Go me!

Then I heard the mega phone. "Red shirt, down on your knees.  Crawl this way."  I watch the guy in the red shirt crawl to the opposite side of his pump where he was handcuffed and pulled back up to his feet.  The mega phone again, "Step out of the car with your hands in the air."  Oh my gosh, this is just like the show COPS!  The car door opened and I see two hands peek out above the frame.

Its probably only been 1-2 minutes at the most.  So much has happened and so many thoughts have run through my head in such a quick time.  Should I take a picture with my phone?  Would there be legal reprocusions if I did? ... What if gunfire starts and I'm sitting here halfway out of my car?  What if my car gets hit and the pump is still in the side of it? ... These 'criminals' are staring at me ...  Man, where did all these cops come from? ... Should I just leave?

Final thought.  I should leave.  I get out of my car (yet another dumb idea) to put the pump back on the handle and get my receipt.  I get back in my car, turn it on and pull away.  As I drove away, I realized just how dumb I was.  Who in their right mind gets OUT of their car when guns are pointed at people?  That was stupid.  But its what I did. 

I have no idea how many arrest were made last night, or where all those cops had stashed themselves or how they simultaneously appeared out of what seemed like thin air.  I figure they had been tipped off and were waiting in alleys, on the side of State, in the parking lot behind the gas station that services Desert Star Play house.  They could have been anywhere just waiting for the deal to go down so they could attack!

I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of a COPS episode.  Everything in that show is apparently real.  The phrases they use, their tactics, their precautions.  It was freaking awesome!  Overall, I'm just glad I made it home safe and have a rad story to tell. 

Hope your week has been just as exciting! :)
xoxo, Rachel