Christmas miracles

 I definitely believe in Christmas miracles.

This may hurt my pride a bit to tell this, but it needs to be shared. This year my family has been pretty tight on money. Not extremely tight, we still had more then we could ever need, but we weren't planning on haveing much of a Christmas. We were told we were getting a secret santa from someone in our ward, but we weren't expecting more then a few gifts.  When they arived Christmas eve, the first package they brought in was HUGE (it ended up being a foosball table). After that people kept walking in with more and more gifts. They kept coming, and coming, and coming, and coming until we questioned how they fit everything in their cars. They didn't only bring gifts, they brought piles of cans, toilet paper, jars of sauces, pies, frozen goods, fruit and any other kind of food you can think of. As more and more people went back to get more loads, the tears began to fall. Before they all left, one of the ladies read a letter to us that was taped to a beautiful painting of Jesus. Our eyes became redder and our tears more constant. After my sisters were able to speak to "santa" and we all hugged, we watched as everyone drove away.

Then the fun began.

Chance and  I opened our gifts first, because we had to leave soon to go to our dad's house. We had many gifts- so much more then we deserve- but there were a few in particular that brought tears to our eyes again.
My first gift: I opened up a giant boot box, to find piles of art supplies, probably $50-$100 worth. Water color paper, bruhes, scetch pads, etc..  I was stunned.
Then there were Chance's gifts. The secret santas bought Chance: a $200 gift certificate to Missionary mall, his cap, gown and yearbook for graduation, and super nice dress pants, along with his other gifts.
  Emma's gift was one of the most moving. She, being the smart girl she is, has been saving for months to buy a moter scooter for herself. When I saw the people bring in a big box with Emma's name on it, I had a feeling that she may be getting what he wanted a little sooner then planned- and I was right. When she ripped the paper off, she stepped back with her hands on her mouth, and started bauling. There was hushed silence as we all stared at the box, and tears all around.

At this point, we were all emotionally unstable and hugging eachother like the strange people we are. My dad told us that this was everything he had wanted to get us, but couldn't.  I am guessing they spent a couple thousand dollars on us, looking at everything we got. may the Lord bless them, they deserve it.

It wasn't the gifts that made this so amazing, though. It was how unexpected it was, and how happy it made my mom and dad.

BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER.

Lovely

Sometimes we do things.

Sometimes we say things we shouldn't. 
Sometimes we do it simply out of pride. 
Sometimes, we realize we said what we said out of pride, yet we are too stubborn to stop. 
Sometimes our minds cannot accept that in some circumstances, the easy road is the best way to go. 
It can be, you know. 

At least I do now.

Sometimes people mean what they say.
Sometimes, just sometimes, other people may know what they are talking about.
Sometimes, you are wrong. 
And sometimes your stubborn nature hurts the people you love.

Sometimes we have to be strong. 
Sometimes we have to do hard things.
And sometimes, those hard things consist of doing nothing at all.

Sometimes all you can do is breath. 
One of those things essential to survival.
Sometimes, all you can do is survive.

Bridges burned, pages turned, and lessons learned.

Welcome to my week.

PICTURES!

Highlights from this years Etiquette Simulation November 9-10 2012!! These are some of my favorite pics that were taken by the lovely Sonja Brooksby :) 

Tournaments are... interesting

Yes, I know I am speaking through a sad-clouded mind, but I cannot decide how I feel about the judging methods at our Wasatch Debate League Speech and Debate tournaments.  I mean, 98% of the judges are inexperienced parents. The last 2% are older students who are also friends or siblings with the people competing. There is no real way for them to judge according to only their speech, presentation, topic, emotion (or lack of), when they have personal biases to the students somehow. I know, everyone is biased to some degree, but you are particularly biased when you know someone personally. This can be either harmful or beneficial to the students chances of placing in their event.

No, I am not just saying this because I didn't place very high :) I have been thinking about this for a long time, even back when I got really good places. There has got to be a better, more accurate method of determining the scores! Some ideas:

1- Martineau could hire professional judges in no way tied to any of the competitors. Benefits to this would be: less biases toward specific students, They would be trained and actually know what to look for, they would be more professional and give more accurate scores. Losses: This would cost a LOT more money than our tuition covers. also, they would not be able to use the same judges twice, because they would have biases from the last tournament.

2- We could have multiple judges in each room. This would make it so there was not just one mindset scoring the speeches, therefore more likely to give an accurate score. Losses: don't have enough people.

3- Everyone who judges could have training sometime before. They would be trained on: What to look for pertaining presentation, speaking skills, and other notable things, how to accurately keep time (which hasn't been a problem, but it never hurts to make sure), and how to tell if the student has spent much time on his/her speech/case/topic/etc. Losses: lots of time and money. and forethought.

That's all I got, any ideas people? Anyone else feel the same way as I do?

You'll get it Lyssa, you'll get it.

As a few of you may know, I have been having a violently painful battle with movies. Well, that's a little dramatic.

 Basically: I have always hated swearing. I have lived in California twice, and I have always been around some type of swearing. Before I joined homeschool, I was insensitive to swearing- but as time has passed I have been able to clear my mind. And now swear words, when heard by my poor homeschooled mind, sear my earlobes and make me want to curl up in a corner.

I had a friend inspire me beyond comparison. My dear friend Sierra Brooksby and I went to see the new Avengers movie. We had been dying to watch it for months. As we were watching, I noticed she walked out after 3 swear words, and I followed after 5. I have no idea how the movie ended (it can't be any different from every other action movie), but I am so glad we made that decision. I wouldn't trade it for a million movie tickets. I don't think I would have walked out if I were by myself.

Because of this, I have had many people very dear to me that I love question my mental health (not really, but you get the point :P) and batter me with every reason why I am being completely ridiculous and wasting money. I guess I am, but what is worth more, a movie ticket or my soul? (another dramatic statement, I guess I'm in a mood today). I understand where these people are coming from, but it hurts me to think that you do not trust my judgement of what I want in my mind, enough to allow me to make this decision. I know, you have a million reasons why I'm wrong, but trust me. At least I know God's on my side, if no one else will be.

If you are someone who battered me reading this now: I still love you!! Please don't hate me, ok? 

 While my values and tolerance have changed, my circumstance hasn't. This is particularly painful because my dad (whom I see maybe 2 times a month) has always used watching movies or going to a theater as ways to spend time with my brother and I. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the movies my dad and brother like tend to have minimum courtesy for the innocent minded, swearing strongly included. For a while I just tolerated it, would "go get a drink" during the violent parts, or strongly suggest the newest Disney cartoon. But as time went on, it became harder and harder to avoid watching the bad movies- so I had to say something. 

This was kind of a turning point for me. My dad brought out the new movie my brother got for his birthday: AVENGERS.(seriously, universe? you had to pick that movie??) I nicely tried to suggest we watch Brave "for the kids", but he insisted. So I basically had to state it bluntly that I would not watch any movies that have immorality or more swearing then the average PG rated show. He questioned me, but eventually agreed to disagree, and has kindly respected my wishes ever since. Except for the occasional " I want to take you to a movie, but we wouldn't be able to watch anything" (which kind of hurts my heart to hear how it distresses him) things have gone pretty smoothly. 

That's my story so far, I'll be sure to update if anything else interesting happens pertaining to my "movie extravaganza". 

+ in addition to the last post

http://acelebrationofrealbeauty.com/

This is a link to a website my aunt suggested, it's really cool! Girls check it out!

"Who can find a virtuous woman?"

Proverbs 31:10-31
King James Version (KJV)


10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.


 I noticed that strength was a common word used, which surprised me because it isn't usually attributed to women. I just love these verses! 

I have noticed that as time has progressed and immorality has strengthened, the value of women has decreased in the world's eyes. Women are one of the target markets when it comes to vanity, immorality, materialism, discontent with themselves and others, coveting, etc... They are the most highly affected by the idea that "we can never be completely content with who we are and what we have- we need to improve ourselves with the worthless things we don't need." We are put in the mindset that we do need these things to be beautiful, to be worth anything. 

You girls may be reading this and thinking "of course! This is a horrible epidemic in our time, but I'm not part of it. All of those girls who covet and buy meaningless beauty supplies, and those girls who only see themselves as beautiful if they are decorated, those people over there. not ME." But I hate to break it to you: we are ALL like that. yup. No matter how much you want to deny it, we all feel this way at some point (some more or less then others). Now, don't go and send me a strongly worded email telling me exactly why I am completely wrong-- bare with me for a moment. If you will listen for a few more minutes, I will explain everything.

Firstly: It is partly not our fault. We have been brought up in this society (no matter how much our parents have tried to shelter us) and we are dealing with the consequences. The Lord didn't send his strongest angels to this time for cake and ice cream. The 21st century is TOUGH. We most definitely have our work cut out for us. This makes it almost impossible to go through this life and not somehow be affected by the media and propaganda screaming in our ears. Unless you sew every piece of clothing you wear (if so, brownie points to you) then you buy clothes. From a store. made by someone else. You probably also wear shoes, or scarves, or hats, or all the above. No matter how much as you claim innocence, you ARE affected by our society and it's current styles and trends.

Secondly: We aren't perfect (shh, don't tell the boys!! :P). Sad to say, we make mistakes, we long for what we don't have, we sometimes think more of what is cute then what is modest and respectful. You girls are peculiar to the rest of the world: you exceed expectations. But WE ARE NOT PERFECT. 

I am not trying to accuse anyone of not being modest enough. My goal with this post is to make sure we do not discount the little sins; make sure we don't give ourselves the exception because we are doing better then others. I find myself doing this constantly, and I need to improve in this area.

TO ALL YOU MEN:
Take care of the girls, will you? We are having the war of our lives, just trying to pick out an outfit every morning or feeling like we are worth something. Please make it a little easier for us to see our true worth. Be respectful. Offer to help. Yes, we are stubborn and independent, but secretly we long to be treated like a woman, even if that means letting you open the door for us. We want to feel loved. We want to feel like it will make someones day that we showed up to class today. We want someone to smile and wave excitedly when we enter a room. We can tell ourselves we are beautiful for hours, but that doesn't even compare to having a guy friend take 5 seconds to tell us instead. I seriously means the WORLD to us, no matter how much we say we don't need or want it.


( Girls, don't even try to deny it, you were all thinking the same thing :D)

"Are Mormons Christian?" part 1

So is the question stated by many a religious philosopher, teacher, and anyone who cares enough to ask. Mormons certainly believe in Christ, but are they Christian? There have been many arguments for and against.

What brought this up you might ask?

Well, I have found a new hobby of looking up anti-Mormon propaganda to try to understand what arguments and logic people use to "prove" The LDS church is a hoax. For me, I have been raised in the church, gone to Primary and Sunday school, learned the lessons and gained a testimony for myself that this church is the only true and everlasting church.  Because of that, It is hard for me to completely understand why and how people don't believe. And that bugs me. A LOT.

So I have been surfing the web the last few weeks, looking for anything of worth about why people dislike the LDS church so much. A very common topic I found was if Mormons are Christian. I guess Mormonism has been at the front of everyones minds lately, with Mitt Romney running for president earlier this month, and The Broadway play 'The Book of Mormon: The Musical' (which I hear is horribly mocking of the LDS religion) made by the same creators of 'Jersey Shore'.

This has the basic story line of the play, if you are curious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Mormon_(musical)


I also found this article from the New York Times that was written by a Member, stating that he is Mormon, but not Christian. it is a pretty short article- I suggest reading the whole thing. It really get's your mind thinking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/opinion/im-a-mormon-not-a-christian.html?_r=0

Before I leave, I want to make one thing CLEAR: I am NOT trying to convince you to abandon the LDS church. I am not trying to instill doubt of any sort. This is just simple studies sprouting from a teen's curiosity to understand. 

Just in case I get sued :) 

What a quote :)

So, I was wondering if I could just make this my motto... It's so perfect! I don't know what you think, but I think it screams 'Alyssa'. 'Cept for the guy with a scarf. I am not a guy with a scarf, if you weren't aware. 

Poetry... what a prospect

So, I have decided to take up poetry. Not sure this is such a great idea, but you never know til you try, right? I should probably study some professional writers to further my education and give me a core to base my unique poems off of......... maybe next week. Here is my first attempt!

SISTERS

A friend will let you cry on their shoulder when things get tough. 

A sister will help you find the beauty in the adversary.

A friend will cheer you on as you fight your battles.

A sister will be fighting right beside you, watching your back.

A friend will show you how to fly.

A sister will help you build your wings.

A friend will call you when you are having a bad day.

A sister will be over to your house- tissues and chocolate in hand.

A friend will tell you you need to shape up your life.

A sister will lead by example.

C.S. Lewis

There is just something about C.S. Lewis that I love. Of course the fact that all his writings are from a Christian point of view, but also I think it is his writing style. He is able to take big, complicated and often overwhelming things and state them clearly and bluntly. This really relates with me because that is how I think. Everything has to have a meaning, a point. It all has be explained clearly so there is no room for doubt. My mind usually longs for proof and evidence for everything. C.S. Lewis has a way of satisfying those things when I read his books. 

Right now I am reading Mere Christianity. One word: AMAZING. I highly suggest reading it. I can't really explain the entire book, but it has basically (so far) talked about how Christianity is the only logical explanation of moral standings and such, using plain logic and natural facts that we all agree on. I particularly like it because I have always been secretly looking for logical proof that Christianity is the way to go. I mean, I of course believe in Christ and what He has done for all of humanity, but there was always a tiny little nagging at the back of my mind searching for more solid proof- and here it is!

One of my favorite quotes:

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."

                                                                             - Mere Christianity, pg. 52

(I also suggest The Screwtape Letters) 

My little sister Abi and I, on our girls day. We washed dishes (exciting), drank cocoa (yum) and baked cookies (more yum). Oh, and took strange pics. She is the most darling 6 year old!  With a little attitude no less! What a blessing <3

????

Sorry, don't know what was up with my last post... I guess it just wanted to be white. Can't blame it, I'm pretty white myself :)

** TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!! **

A Psalm of Life

Dear 8th grade teacher, will you forgive me for hating you when you made me memorize this? It is now one of my favorite poems.

Sinscerely, Your not-so humble student :)

A Psalm of Life

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

   Life is but an empty dream!

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

   And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

   And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

   Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

   Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

   Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

   And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

   Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,

   In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

   Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!

   Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act,— act in the living Present!

   Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

   We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

   Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

   Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

   With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

   Learn to labor and to wait.

K-pop

I have this new-found obsession with Korean music (k-pop). Well, as new-found as last August is. For some reason, it is extremely entertaining and catchy, even if you can't understand anything they are saying. It is kind of annoying when they get stuck in your head but you can't remember the Korean words they were saying so it just plays the same tune over and over and over in your head and it won't go away.... anyways! It is really fun when you can remember the words and people ask you to pick your favorite song to sing at a karaoke party- just stand back and look in awe at their star-struck faces as you spout a string of funny sounding words you don't even understand. PRICELESS.
I have a few particular songs that hold a lot of personal meaning to me. Some because of memories, what I was doing/thinking/feeling the first time I heard the song, and some because of what they are actually saying and how it has influenced me as a person. I like to look up the English translations to my favorite songs and see what they are actually saying. You would be surprised, I haven't found any with bad language or that talk about immorality- you don't see much of that in U.S. modern music ( another reason I choose it over our country's music).

Here are some lyrics from one of my favorite songs FACE by Nu'est (English translation)

If you look down on people, it’s bitter

There’s nothing to see below
There’s no one
Even if you jump, you’re just a flea
Even if you demand, you’re just a spot in front of me

This is a story about a dwarf and giant
But it`s gonna end just like David and Goliath
Keep up with my pace, if you can
Don’t lag Wil E.Coyote cuz I’m Road Runner, fast!

This song talks about bullying and how it is meaningless and empty. Earlier in the song it talks about how it doesn't matter what people say, you need to keep fighting and you can't stop for anything. This, along with many other songs, has strong moral standings- something I really admire in k-pop. 

Sierra and I have a blog on k-pop and a Facebook page if you wanna check them out. For the Facebook page, just look on my wall in my "likes". Here is the link to the blog:
 http://k-popdomination.blogspot.com/

Hello everyone!

Hey guys, welcome to my blog! I saw all my friends starting blogs, so I thought, why can't I? (good moral to live life by, right? :P) I should probably tell you a bit about myself so some of my posts will make more sense.

My name is Alyssa Rose Hokanson

I am 15 (I bet you didn't know that)

At this moment I take classes online and a few co-op classes, I also take seminary at the local High School

I have 6 siblings: 2 brothers and 4 sisters (they are all simply adorable)

I love anything artistic, particularly painting, sketching, dancing, self-defense, music, and making accessories

I love public speaking and debating (I told you I was weird!)

I love love LOVE reading (even though I rarely have time for it lately)

I have a deathly fear of lobsters. Yes, LOBSTERS. They are creepy! *shiver*

I've been in love twice in my entire life

I love Mexican food- well, pretty much everything about Mexico. The food, culture, music, people, colors, excruciating heat, Mexican sodas, and of course the memories I have there!

Enough for one post? I think so.