Letter to a Graduate

We recently attended the graduation of my daughter from high school.  She worked hard to pay her own way and earn the many scholarships and grants that she will need to continue her education.  I am very proud of her and the things that she has accomplished in her life.  

As a graduation gift to her we got her a Seussism book, a necklace and an adventure bear.  Inside the cover of the book we enclosed the following letter.



Dearest Jessica,

We are so very proud of you. Now, as you prepare to embark on a new journey–your own journey–we’d like to share one piece of advice we wish we’d learned at your age:

Always remember that adversity is not a detour, it’s the path.

You will encounter obstacles. You will make mistakes. Be grateful for both. Your mistakes and failures will be your greatest teachers. And the only way to not make mistakes in this life is to do nothing, which is the biggest mistake of all.

Your challenges, if you’ll let them, will become your greatest allies. Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand. All history bears out that the great–those who have changed the world–have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not, it’s precisely those challenges that, in God’s time, lead to triumph.

Abhor victimhood. Denounce entitlement. Neither are gifts, rather cages to damn the soul. Everyone who has walked this earth is a victim of injustice. Everyone.

Most of all, do not be too quick to denounce your sufferings. The difficult road you are called to walk may, in fact, be your only path to success.

Remember, in the end, it is not the destination, but the manner in which you walked that reveals who you are . Walk well. Walk with love. And as you walk remember, always, that we love you.

With all our affection,
Mom & Dad

( Letter is adapted from a letter written by Richard Paul Evans)
 
Please feel free to share this letter with the graduate in your life.  If you are a graduate reading this letter, I commend you for your persistence to get the job done.  I hope you have done the very best that you could have done and make a solid effort to try even harder now that you are starting a life of your own.

The road of life is difficult at best, but as I said before, the difficulties in life make us stronger and will be your greatest teacher.  

Don't be afraid to ask for guidance from someone who has "been-there-done-that".  Someone you can trust.

In the words of Walt Whitman, 

"Now Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."

Girls Camp

 

My oldest left for Girl's  Camp this morning for the very last year.  This makes me kinda sad cuz she is growing up so fast!  Our church has a camp for just the girls in the youth group and they go to some not-so-exotic places to experience the "outdoors".  It is really a time for the girls to get away from mom and dad for a week and see what it is like to be around a bunch of giggly girls.

It isn't always camping in a tent, it is sometimes in a cabin that is owned by the camp director.  And in some cases, they have gone to the same place more than once.  My daughter went to Bear Lake four times in a row and said that even though she LOVES the lake, she really didn't want to go back to Bear Lake.

Actually, my daughter has had some really amazing experiences at girls camp.  If you have ever watched the movie Once I Was a Beehive you will understand just how amazing a girls camp can be.  All in all the movie is pretty accurate on what goes on at a girls camp, it only exaggerates a tiny bit.  Oh, have a box of tissues handy, you WILL need them by the end of the movie.

I can remember when my daughter was getting ready for her first year at camp.  The packing list came out an entire month before the selected date of departure.  THAT is when she packed her bags.  If she needed anything from her bag she would pull it out, use it, wash it, then repack it.

The next year was a little better.  She was only packed three weeks before.  The next year was down to two weeks, then the next was down to one week.  This is her very last year for camp and she was packed....at 7:00 am this morning (2 hours before they were to leave).

I am really amazed how much she has learned from her years as part of the youth group.  She has gained a strong testimony of Heavenly Father and has been an amazing example to the other girls.  She has set her sights and goals high so that she can be found worthy of the blessings that Heavenly Father has in store for her.  It hasn't always been easy, at times it has been downright grueling!  I have seen her experience the hardest trials in her life but still reach out and lift up another girl who is having a rough time.  If my daughter was struggling, she never let it show.  She always had a way to show others that even though times are tough, as long as you pray with faith and work like mad, things would all work out in the end.  These are the things that camp has taught her.

If your child, or if you are a young girl reading this post, and you have the opportunity to attend a girls camp in your area with a local church group, I say DO IT!  Don't let the opportunity pass you by.  You will have your faith strengthened and you will be able to develop a compassion for the other girls that you are spending time with.

Let Them Eat Cake

This is a cake kind of day.  In the past month I have made six different cakes for family birthdays.  My sister asks me to decorate a cake for each of her children and then I have my own family.  The thing of it is, all the birthdays are within a three month time span.  I have eaten so much cake I will have to run a marathon to work off all the calories!

The following pictures are the different cakes that I created.  I really enjoy the whole process.  You take some flour, eggs and sugar, mix them in a bowl and bake it into a fun shape.  (That is the very boring part).  The fun part begins when the frosting is mixed up.  Then you can use your imagination to create something fun or beautiful.  Either way, I love to do this. 

 

One of my favorite "quick cakes" to make is my Chocolaty Chocolate Cake.  The recipe is as follows:

Chocolaty Chocolate Cake

1 Devil's Food Cake mix (Betty Crocker is best)    1 (16 oz) tub sour cream

3 eggs                                                              1/2 package mini chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Batter will be very thick!  Pour into a greased and floured bunt cake pan.  Cook 350^o F. for 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (should be a little moist).  Remove from oven and let cool for 8 minutes.  Dump out onto dinner plate or serving platter.  Drizzle with icing.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar                        little bit of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla                              1 Tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)

Mix all together in small mixing bowl until drizzle consistency (not too thick and not too thin).  Drizzle over top of warm cake and let drip down sides.

I have been decorating cakes for some time now.  I inherited my cake-decorating talent from my own mamma who was a professional cake-decorator in her younger years.  She would do some really beautiful cakes - she even did my wedding cake!  My dad tells of a time when my older brother turned two and my daddy thought my brother needed a cowboy cake.  As my mamma started to decorate the cake my dear dad started "hepping"  decorate the cake.

Now, if you don't know the difference between "hepping" and "helping", let me give you a little insight.  "Hepping" is not really helpful.  You are just in the way or are making the task more cumbersome than it really has to be.  "Helping" is just that, you truly are making the task easier for the person in charge.

Ok, back to my dad "hepping" with the cake decorating.  It started out with a simple cowboy on a horse.  He then proceeded to tell my mamma (the professional cake-decorator) that there needed to be a prairie, then some sagebrush, then a barn, then a blue sky, then….well, you get the general idea.  Needless to say, my mamma promptly asked him to remove himself from the kitchen.

As I said before, I love to decorate fun cakes.  As I was decorating my cakes one time, I started to think about how fun it would be to start-up a party business.  I would have life-sized games like bowling, hungry hippo, and sorry.  I would do an entire theme for the party!  My oldest daughter thinks it would be an amazingly fun thing to do.  Can't you just picture teenagers as life-sized bowling pins?

Anyhow, I feel that it is important to expand our talents.  We all have them, sometimes they just need to be discovered and explored.  I challenge you to find yours.  When you find it, please share with me.  I love to see what my friends and readers can do.