2015: A Year in Review

2015 has been a great year! I went on a lot of adventures and was able to have experiences that have helped me learn and become better. I'm looking forward to the new adventures that await in 2016! 

Here are some things I did throughout the year...

1. Finished my first year of college at Utah State. Hard to believe that was still in 2015...seems like ages ago! 

2. Went to General Conference twice (in both April and October) and Women's Conference! I also was briefly on T.V during the intermediate hymn in April General Conference, my cousin captured a picture of me on her T.V. Haha! 

April General Conference 

My .5 second of fame...

Women's Conference 

October General Conference 

3. Had the amazing opportunity to sing in a Young Adult Worldwide Broadcast with the Logan Institute Choir in the tabernacle. 

4. Went to Disneyland during the summer with my parents! It was a blast!

5. Worked in the cherry factor with Kenzie and Emily during the summer. Nine hour days staring at a conveyer belt full of cherries.  I think I would have gone crazy if they weren't there to endure it with me...well, crazier at least. 

6. Went on our traditional Jensen family girl's trip to St. George to Tuacahn to see Beauty and the Beast.  

7. Payson Temple Open House, Cultural Celebration and Dedication. 

8. Started my sophomore year of college and finished up my experience being an Aggie at Utah State. 

9. Chose a major and made the decision to transfer from Utah State to BYU (starting January 2016) to become a Family History-Genealogy Major. 

10. And I went on a bunch of other random and fun adventures throughout the year! 

Hiking with Dad 

Bridal Vail Falls with my buds 

My cousin, Brennan and I after baptisms at the Payson Temple 

Lunch with my cousin, Holly 

Manti Pageant with these ladies 

Christensen Family Christmas Open House 

Lindsi and I at Christmas breakfast 

Thank you for the memories, 2015!

Ponderize #13

D&C 76:22-24 "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."

Jensen Family Christmas Party

Merry Christmas!

Love, the Christensen's

Ponderize #12

Luke 2:15-19 “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” 

We Need Our Savior

This Christmas season, we have the opportunity to reflect on the birth of our Savior and his example. One of the videos the LDS Church put out for this Christmas season makes us really think about how much we truly need our Savior. (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-12-1000-why-we-need-a-savior--a-christmas-message-about-our-savior-jesus-christ-asaviorisborn?category=topics/christmas&lang=eng) If we didn’t have a Savior, our very lives would be meaningless. We would come to Earth to live and die for nothing. We would make one mistake, maybe a minor sin and everything would be lost for us. For “no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God.” We wouldn’t have the means or ability to repent and we could never return to the presence of our Heavenly Father again. We would be without love, without faith, without hope. Our loved ones would pass on and we would never be able to see them again. They would be lost to us forever. In a world without a Savior, why even bother? What would be the point of anything? We would have no one to look up to, no example to follow, no means whereby we could repent. No one to turn to, to comfort us, no one would be able to understand us. There would be no way we could live again; no way we could see our loved ones again. 

As Elder Holland said; “What a plight! The entire human race in free fall—every man, woman, and child in it physically tumbling toward permanent death, spiritually plunging toward eternal anguish. Is that what life was meant to be? Is this the grand finale of the human experience? Are we all just hanging in a cold canyon somewhere in an indifferent universe, each of us searching for a toehold, each of us seeking for something to grip—with nothing but the feeling of sand sliding under our fingers, nothing to save us, nothing to hold on to, much less anything to hold on to us? Is our only purpose in life an empty existential exercise—simply to leap as high as we can, hang on for our prescribed three score years and ten, then fail and fall, and keep falling forever?

                              The answer to those questions is an unequivocal and eternal NO!”

        There is hope because we have a Savior, even Jesus Christ. We need a Savior! Oh! How

desperately we need a Him every hour! In 2 Nephi 2:8, it reads “Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.”

 Helaman 5:9 adds “…remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.”

We need a Savior in order for us to repent through His

Atonement, be cleansed and return to our Father’s presence again someday. We need a Savior for He understands us perfectly and is always there for us. He knows every worry, every pain, every sorrow, and every fear. He also knows every joy and every success; he knows our hopes and desires. If we just reach out for Him, He is always there, ready to take our hand and lead us along.  In his talk, Because He Came, President Monson said; “Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow…Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence. Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be. Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came. Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life…”

We all need a Savior and I am so grateful for Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I am very grateful for His peace, comfort, love and all that He’s done for us. I’m grateful that because of Him we have hope and our lives have meaning that we can be with our families forever and dwell in God’s presence again. I am grateful for this Christmas season when we can celebrate His birth and reflect on what He has done for us all through the year. As the apostles say in the Living Christ, "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." 

If you haven't already watched the church's Christmas videos, "A Savior Is Born", watch them! https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-12-1000-a-savior-is-born-christmas-video?category=topics/christmas&lang=eng 

Thank You, Utah State

Well, I finished my last final online yesterday for my classes at Utah State! Woo hoo! Going to Utah State was definitely a unique experience for me and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity be a student there even if it was only for my Freshman and half of my Sophomore year.  While living in Logan, I've had good times, hard times and learning experiences. I was able to have adventures I otherwise wouldn't have experienced and was able to meet friends I otherwise wouldn't have met. I definitely couldn't be who I am now without my experiences at Utah State. Now I'm ready for a new adventure when I start school at BYU in January! 

Thank you, Utah State for giving me the opportunity to explore a new place and experience living further away from home. 

Cache County 

Thank you, Utah State for giving me the opportunity to make awesome new friends.

Ginger Friends 

So grateful that I was able to meet Emily! 

Love this girl! 

Thank you, Utah State for giving me learning experiences from living with roommates.

Thank you, Utah State for teaching me both things academically and life lessons.

I couldn't find anything to really represent this, so here's a picture of a giant leaf I found on campus

And most of all, thank you, Utah State for being a grand adventure!

Ponderize #11

Luke 2:10-14 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." 

Ponderize #10

Luke 1: 27-39 "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest...And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end...For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

Word on the Street #11

*Texting my Mom* Me: What are you having for dinner?
Mom: Hamburger enchiladas, what's for dinner?
Me: I don't know yet. Here in the wild, we don't know what we're eating until we're eating it.

Emily: "I get to go to campus and use their wifi!!!"
Me: "That is positive thinking at it's finest."

Lyndsey: "When I'm married, I'm going to make my husband do the laundry and I'll do the dishes. Eh...he'll mess up my clothes. I'll just do both...men..."


Lyndsey: "Next year, my goal is to have a boy take me to Temple Square to see the lights."
Me: "Just a boy?"
Lyndsey: "Well preferably one with a heartbeat, but I'm not going to get too picky at this point."

One Week More

One week more. "Another week another destiny..." (Les Mis reference). This is my last week living in Logan and going to Utah State! I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm leaving and I'll be going to BYU in January. I guess it won't feel real until I move into my new apartment or go to classes at BYU or don't leave to go back up to Logan after Christmas break. I've really enjoyed going to Utah State, it's really been quite the adventure! I've learned a lot about myself and other things that I probably wouldn't have otherwise learned if I hadn't come up here. I met new friends up here that I wouldn't have otherwise met. I'm really grateful for this experience of being at Utah State, there are definitely some aspects that I'll miss. I'll miss going with my friends every Sunday to sing to our elderly friends at the rest home. I'll miss going to institute. I'll miss sitting in the living room with my roommates while we do our homework.I'll miss driving around Cache County and exploring new suburbs. I'll miss going to the Logan temple to do baptisms. I'll miss going on random food runs with Lyndsey and Emily.  
But I'm also really excited to go to BYU and open a new chapter and go on a new adventure. So here's to one more week in Logan and one more week of classes at USU!