Spring Time: A Time for Rejuvenation and Renewal

Ahhh...Spring. You wake up to the sound of birds, the earth is green, life blooms, and you can breathe in that innately fresh smell of Spring air. Spring always feels like a time of renewal and happiness, or at least it does to me! Some of my favorite parts of springtime are: Easter, General Conference, wearing shorts, listening to birds, grilling outside, planting the garden, and just feeling so... alive!

For me, Spring is a time of renewed focus and energy. In January and February colds are going around, kids are inside all day, and people's lips seem eternally chapped. School gets frustrating, homework seems to pile up, and the days seem endless. (Sometimes.) When it's Spring, I can take a deep breath of fresh air and rejuvenate myself. Here's what I do in the Springtime to refocus myself.

• Start thinking about Easter.When it's close to Springtime, and during the time before Easter, I like to read the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These apostles recorded the life and ministry of the Savior on the earth. I don't necessarily read them straight through. Sometimes I will pick a certain event, such as the Savior's experience at Gethsemane, and read each of their accounts of that part of His life.  I have found this to be a very fulfilling, enlightening, and inspirational method of studying. Doing this really helps prep my mind for the celebration of Easter.
• Get super excited for General Conference.  General Conference is so inspirational. I have learned much and really felt the Spirit through intently listening to what the Lord wants us to hear. Not only are the messages phenomenal, but it is so cool to see how you can receive answers to prayers and receive inspiration during that time.  My family has many family traditions that we participate in during Conference weekend. If your family doesn't have any, I would recommend  trying to start some with them. You'd be surprised how much more you and your family will look forward to Conference when you have exciting family traditions to also look forward to. And to those whose families are not LDS or do not wish to watch Conference, you can share it with them! Or, develop traditions for yourself, or start conference traditions with your friends! Here are some of my family's conference traditions:  Buying and eating seasonal candy during Conference (Easter candy in April, and Halloween candy in October). Sometimes we make games with the candy too. When I was younger, my mom would print out packets of coloring pages and word searches about Conference that I loved to do ,and  during the October Conference, my mom and I start making Christmas presents for family and friends. But, my favorite part about General Conference is having the Spirit in our house and getting to spend the WHOLE weekend with my family!
• Look back at my goals. For me, Spring is a time of self-evaluation. This includes refocusing myself on goals that I made in the beginning of the year.Spring is a perfect time to do this because it's only been a few months, so there's still time to reach your goals, but because it's been a few months, you can evaluate your goals to make sure they're realistic. Like for me this year, one of my goals is to to save 80% of my income. So whenever I get paid I put 10% into tithing, 10% into spending, and 80% into savings. I have done pretty well with this goal and am proud of myself for upholding it so far. However, I have not done a good job with another one of my goals: keeping my laundry done. This one is much harder for me, so I need to reevaluate myself  and renew my energy and will to keep up this goal.
• Learn new things.  Learning stuff is fantastic because the more knowledge you have, the more power you have. You  do better in school, know more stuff to have cool conversations, and understand more jokes. :D  Also, when you learn things, you feel so accomplished!

I feel so blessed for the beautiful weather we're having and that I am able to enjoy it. Presently I am typing this right by an open window in our family room, and my grandparents (who are visiting) are sitting here enjoying the weather too. Life just feels so wonderful right now!