"New" Adventures in 2015

Hello my dear family and friends!

I hope this finds you well and happy and enjoying this wonderful holiday season. I wanted to give you a quick rundown of some of the NEW things that happened this year in my life!

                                           

I went to Washington, DC in a new season-winter. The only season I have left to visit DC in is fall… It was so wonderful to go there and to celebrate a friend’s wedding. It was great to visit with dear friends and loved ones.

I went to a new state-Texas! I had a wonderful time visiting with friends who were down there for the wedding, as well as a visit with a friend who recently moved down there, and a lovely visit with my great aunt and great uncle.

A new friend came with my other friends on our yearly trip to Bear Lake. My friend, Jennie, joined the Pickleville Playhouse posse and it was a true highlight of my summer!

I have a new niece! Woot! Josephine joined my brother and sister-in-law’s family in September. I feel blessed to live about 5 minutes from them, and to get to see 2 nieces and my nephew pretty regularly. Our family is also looking forward to another little one joining my little sister’s family in May. I do love my niblings! (Niblings…it’s a word meaning collective nieces and nephews, and so fun too!)

I guess my personal biggest new thing this year is my new job. After 5 years as a Hall Advisor in Heritage Halls at Brigham Young University, I felt ready for a change. The opportunity for change came through the opening of the Office Specialist position at Heritage Halls. I am so grateful to still be working for the Residence Life organization at BYU. I am blessed to work with such incredible people, and to continue supervising student employees and helping students in their transition to the university. With the change in jobs came the need for a change in housing. I moved into a house with 2 roommates and it has been a good experience, but definitely a learning experience. It is interesting going from living alone for 5 years to having roommates. It is fun having people to come home to each evening. I am also attending a family ward at church, which has been an interesting change as well. I am enjoying getting to know people and for the new opportunity to work with the children in the Primary organization.

Overall, this change has brought an overall newness to my life, where I am learning about myself again. I am adjusting to a new daily schedule and routine, to having evenings more free, to not having mornings open. I am trying to discover hobbies, interests, passions, and fun. I am working at cultivating new friendships, as well as renewing friendships, and going out and doing things with friends, instead of just ‘liking’ things on social media. It isn’t always easy, but I am grateful for the learning and growing that has happened, especially over the last few months, and I look forward to adventures next year.

May you and your family and friends find joy and peace and understanding this Christmas season. I am grateful each and every day for the birth, life and sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. When the world gets more and more confusing, convoluted, and chaotic, He is there to guide, love, and comfort. May you all find that comfort, love, and guidance in your lives.

I love you! Always, Kristen Kennedy

A new perspective

Last Christmas, I bought my sister and I the same book:

I FINALLY decided to start reading it, and let me tell you, it is an amazing book. I had to stop reading on vacation, because I wanted to be able to take notes and to get my sister to start reading it too, so we could talk about it.

Let me tell you how it has already changed my perspective. On page 11, yes, I was 11 pages in and my mind was blown...

There is a shaded square on that page with the following verse from the Book of Mormon, "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds,...even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." (Mosiah 4:30)

I have read, reviewed, and recited this verse many times in my life, but in the context of this book, it has taken on a new meaning. This book is about how we see ourselves, and adjusting that view to make it as accurate as possible. With that perspective, this verse means that we need to watch how we think of ourselves, how we speak of ourselves, how we treat ourselves...WHAT!?!? I have always thought of it in the way of making sure we are good to those around us, that we are kind, nice, thoughtful, etc. This outward view is a great way to think of this scripture, BUT how much more will we care for ourselves throughout our entire life (as it says in this verse) with this new mindset? In turn, the more we care for ourselves, in a healthy way, the more we will care for others. Our self love can radiate from us, and we can help others find and feel that love for themselves.

I am so excited to continue reading and studying and applying this book!

Connections

I have been thinking a lot lately about how the little things in life that people do help me feel connected to them, and my love just increases for them!

For example, a few weeks ago, my niece was giving me a good-bye hug. She pulled back, and said, "Lala, you have the most beautiful earrings! Let me fix your hair so everyone can see them!" She proceeded to tuck my hair behind my ears in such a loving, careful way, so that the world was able to see my earrings.

Tender. Loved.

Joy in our Journeys

There has been a concept rolling around my mind for a few weeks.

It hit me that a lot of times my attitude about doing some things is because I should, or it's just what I do. These habits and activities are sometimes rote, because I have been doing them for so long. The concept that has been rolling around because of this thought was:

How much more would it mean to me if I looked forward to/was excited about doing these things?

I have been thinking of this mostly in the context of spiritual habits, but I am sure it can extend beyond that. How much more would church  meetings mean to me if I were more excited about participating in some ordinances, like the sacrament? How much more would I get out of it if I truly looked forward to these experiences? I have been doing them for longer than I can remember, so how do I get more involved and personally invested? How do I look forward to  my morning and evening prayers? How can I make it so I jump out of bed (or roll out, some days) and the first thing I want to do is talk with my Heavenly Father through prayer?

There are a number of things I am trying to truly be excited about doing the 'little things'.

Having these thoughts in my mind has definitely helped. I am more conscious, more 'there' when it comes to the daily, weekly, regularly occurring habits. It comes to making a decision to be there and be able to take time to prepare myself.

I know I am not very good at just being. I don't take time to think, meditate, to prepare myself spiritually. My mind wanders all sorts of directions and I don't feel skilled in guided mindfulness. I know that is something I want to work on, a skill to develop to help with this excitement of my own spirituality, That is what it really comes down to-there is a huge difference between religiosity and spirituality.

Sometimes doing things we know are right because it is what we do, and a mindless habit is the way we keep plugging along. BUT as we become more mindful of what it all means, WHY we do it, and the blessings we have seen in our lives by truly developing a personal relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we can genuinely feel the strength of those habits, and truly feel excited about the person we are becoming through these experiences.

In other words, it really is about finding joy in the journey, and sometimes letting the journey BE the journey.

Personal Scriptural Connections

In Relief Society last Sunday, our teacher asked us a question about the personal connection we have felt and the blessings we have seen in our lives through scripture study.

My thoughts went to the miracles and epic events that I have read and learned about, and then my thoughts narrowed down the stories to the individuals in the scriptures. In my reading of the Book of Mormon right now, I have been looking for experiences of the people when they were blessed with strength beyond their own, or when the Savior blessed them with an increase of knowledge, help, assurance, peace. There were examples of dramatic occurrences, to be sure. However, what has stuck out to me more is how individual and personal many of these boosts of whatever was needed at the time have been. It may not have changed the outcome of battles or changed the history of the world, but it changed that person for the better.

Because of that question in class, I have remembered that as much as Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are involved in the major events (from parting the Red Sea, to feeding thousands on minimal amounts of food, to 2,000 young warriors being protected in battle), they are also involved in the seemingly insignificant moments and personal battles.

While our loving Heavenly Father doesn't micromanage our lives, he is aware of us, and wants to be a part of our lives. As much as we invite him into our lives, our decisions, our woes, he will be there and will bless us. He is as mindful of the one as he is of the billions.

Basically, I know that Heavenly Father is as interested in us as individuals, on a one-on-one basis as he is in the larger scale population. I am so grateful to know that as his daughter, he loves me, he wants me to include him in the processes, problems, and particulars of my life.