oprah's final words and tornados.

so yes, i watched the final oprah show.

and i may have teared up a little bit.

she's pretty inspiring, no?

k, so i didn't watch all 25 years

(i wasn't even alive for all the shows)

but i can say i learned a few things from her and i admire she's such a giving person.

i really loved what she said on her final show:

"What I knew for sure from this experience with you is that we are all called. Everybody has a calling...It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world."

i love that.

and totally believe it.

oprah totally found that and smacked it right on the head, right?

i'm still unsure of what my "calling(s)" might be in this world, but i bet your bottom dollar that i'm going to find it and "live from the heart of myself."

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the storms that have ripped across the great plains have become much more of a reality in our lives.

as you know, my in laws are living in oklahoma city right now with their two youngest boys because they were called to serve as mission presidents of the oklahoma city mission.

all day tuesday they were on a tornado watch.

things were looking good and the storms weren't predicted to be close to where they live.

within a half hour, the storm had changed it's path and the sirens went off.

they were at the stake center with some missionaries and had to take cover in the girl's restroom.

meanwhile, they were texting us updates.

i think at one time, there were four tornados surrounding them, but after about a half hour or so they were safe.

the storm had moved on.  and i was so relieved because i really love my family!

k, no more tornados for at least two more years and two months.

while we never felt extremely concerned for their safety, i'll admit it was a tense half hour.

they were most definitely watched over and protected by our heavenly father, which i am so grateful.

the devastation has been heartbreaking.  my heart aches for those families.

and if you haven't seen these before and after pictures

you must do so now.

please pray for these people.

i will be.

i kind of love this quote.

"Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two."
-Louis de Bernieres

"love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only what you are expecting to give - which is everything. what you will receive in return varies. but it really has no connection with what you give. you give because you love and cannot help giving." -katharine hepburn

image via sabino

"one of the most tragic things i know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. we are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon- instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today." -dale carnegie

image via sabino

"People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. this empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves."
-Salma Hayek

imagine via sabino

"the world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
-Ernest Hemingway


imagine via sabino

some thoughts.

"life gives to all the choice. you can satisfy yourself with mediocrity if you wish. you can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless; or you can channel your life so that it will be clean,vibrant, progressive, useful, colorful, rich. you can soil your record, defile your soul, trample underfoot virtue, honor, and goodness, and thus forfeit an exaltation in the kingdom of God. or you can be righteous, commanding the respect and admiration of your associates in all walks of life, and enjoying the love of the Lord. your destiny is in your hands and your all-important decisions are your own to make."

"the greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of the soul. a victory on the inside of a man's heart is worth a hundred conquests on the battlefields of life. to be master of yourself is the best guarantee that you will be master of the situation. know thyself. the crown of character is self-control."

"there is an old man up there ahead of you that you ought to know... whether he is miserable or happy, depends on you. for you made him. he is you grown old." -Unknown

"happiness is an elusive thing. it is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. if we go out deliberately to find it, we may have difficulty in catching it. but if we follow directions closely, charting our course properly, we will not need to pursue it. it will overtake us and remain with us."

all quotes from The Miracle of Forgiveness
written by Spencer W. Kimball

all photos via Sabino

success

image

Once upon a time Grey's Anatomy used to have awesome quotes like this one...

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the dang poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the heck out of never trying."

-Dr. Meredith Grey

ingrid

"we all write about love don't we. but love is the thing. it is the thing that will always need the most nurturing and attention. it is the thing that we can taste when it is gone. it is the thing that makes a smile that can not be unsmiled. it is the thing that the world beats to."

-ingrid michaelson

*if you haven't already experienced the musical talent of ingrid michaelson, please do so now.