Thanks, pal.

A few days ago I got involved in a phone conversation that somehow turned from "hey, how are you?" to discussing deep religious views.
I gotta say, I didn't see that one coming.
I learned really quickly by talking to this person for about 20 minutes, that for the entire 2 years i've known them, they've been full out lying to me.
Awesome, right?

I had to try so hard to not to full out yell at him, shove a Book of Mormon in his face and say "read it! it will change your life!" It was the first time in my entire life that I had to hold back and say "Look, I respect you for your views, and you should respect me for mine." The pressure that built up inside of me to defend my religion was almost too much. I wanted to convert him right then and there.
But I guess it doesn't work that way. My dad told me "You just provide information, they convert on their own due time and with the Spirit."
Which is true.
The more I've thought about it, though, Im starting to realize that this is how missionaries must feel sometimes. Especially because they're so in tune with the gospel, and they have such powerful testimonies, wouldn't they just want to mass-baptize everyone? I would. If I'm going to go on a mission, I need to learn self control and more patience.

I'm really thankful for missionaries. And the guys that they are before they leave. One of my favorite things on this entire planet is to see a missionary diligently serving the Lord. I don't know how to explain it, but the light of Christ emits so brightly from all of them. It makes me smile.

Im also really thankful for the guy friends that I have now. And how I can see them being missionaries in a few years. It makes me sad to think that I'm going to have to start saying goodbye soon, but Im so pumped for them because I know they're all going to be such studs when they get back. Well, they already are, but even more so after 2 years of epic gospel-immersion.

I was hanging out with some of my closest friends last night, and I kind of had one of those 'out of body experiences.' where you kind of zone out look at things from a different kind of perspective. In that moment, all I could think was "This is good. This is how life should be."

Im so thankful for my friends. And the people in my life that get in my face a little bit when I screw up. I need it; I'm too hard headed to listen to any other method. I'm thankful for the time people take to figure me out and break down all my walls. I'm thankful for people who aren't afraid to say "I love you," or "You're my best friend." I think sometimes we take those phrases for granted.
We shouldn't.