My savior

To be honest this blog cracks me up, I go back and forth deciding if I should just delete it or keep it all the time. I look back at my posts and laugh at all the silly little details, stories, and photos I share, but then I am so grateful for some of the deeper posts I have written. Sometimes the deeper post were easy to write/share and sometimes they weren't; but it is one of the many ways I can share the gospel and that is the most important thing we can do in our time on earth. I hope this is transparent in all my posts, I'm just trying to do what I feel the Lord wants me to and how much the gospel means to me.

As Christmas is approaching, I wanted to share one of my previous "deeper" posts expressing my love for the Savior. It is still as true as the day I wrote it!

{I was thinking about a funny conversation my mom, my brother Matt, and I had awhile ago. I have pretty much followed in my brother's footsteps in every aspect of schooling. We have had the same teachers all throughout elementary, we shared multiple classes in jr high and high school, and I have transferred to every college a year after he does studying the same major. He had to teach me all about applying for school, scholarships, credits, and more. Matt was saying during our conversation that he had go through all the hard stuff so I could just follow after him. My mom called him my "pathfinder." 

I was thinking, Jesus Christ is our ultimate "pathfinder." Just like how Matt has had to work hard so I can learn from what he has gone through, Christ has done the same thing for us. He came to this earth, he was tempted, he was baptized, he kept the commandments, he studied the gospel, he prayed, he served, and much more. Jesus trudged a path as part of Heavenly Father's eternal plan so that we can follow it to return safely back to them. As long as we follow the ways of Christ and try to become more like him, our journey will be a lot easier. President Uchtdorf said "We acknowledge that your path will at times be difficult. But I give you this promise in the name of the Lord: rise up and follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer and Savior, and one day you will look back and be filled with eternal gratitude that you chose to trust the Atonement and its power to lift you up and give you strength." 

I'm so grateful for our brother Jesus Christand for the example he set for us. I'm grateful for my eternal brother Matt and for all he has taught me and gone through to make life easier for me! I know that God's eternal plan for us is perfect and I seriously can't wait for the day to live with him again. I recognize the hand of the Lord in my everyday life. Lastly, I'm just so grateful for the gospel in my life. I know there is no way I could ever be this happy and blessed as I am today without it. Especially with how much the world is changing, I'm so grateful for the standards and values the gospel teaches and that I strive to live by them. The church is true!}

With Love,
Miss Madi Mans 

Traveling Through Time Zones

Dang, I feel like this years blogging has just been my travel logs. I seriously can't believe I have been to 7 states and 2 countries this year. The two most recent stops consisted of HAWAII AND FLORIDA YAHOOOO!!! Both trips were amazing for such different reasons. First Hawaii-Last year I had seriously the best crew of people including Derick Johnson and Devon Paraso. We did everything together and learned so much from each other. Derick moved to Hawaii this summer and decided to stay for school. Devon and I decided why not go visit him. Heavenly Father seriously made the trip happen. Cheep flights right during fall break, no troubles traveling, perfect weather, perfect timing to leave in our lives, and much more tender mercies happened. Each day we woke up exhilarated with adventure, love for each other, and the most beautiful place we were surrounded by. Some of the highlights were hiking in the rainforest in the pouring rain (haha reacting Lost and Jurassic Park there), snorkeling almost everyday, searching everywhere for Dole Whip, Visiting the temple, learning about new cultures at the Polynesian Culture Center, and.... SWIMMING WITH SHARKS!! haha you heard me right, we drove a few miles outside the shore and jumped out of a boat and swam with a dozen sharks... talk about an amazing experience:) I think my favorite moments were the "in between moments" of talking about life/trying to navigate through what we are going through, laughing so hard at inside jokes on the drives around, listening to the rain, and the quiet moments of being with my friends and feeling the spirit! 

A week and a half later, Next stop was FLORIDA!!! I was able to go to Florida for a conference for Student Government. I flew out with eight other council member and one of our amazing advisers. We had THEE best group ever. We were able to spend almost all our days learning about how to become better leaders and represent our school better and then party like crazy at night. We got to go to Universal Studios including Harry Potter world. I don't think I have felt so much like a little kid as I did in Harry Potter world. It was like every memory and emotion I had in my childhood with Harry Potter came to life. I giggled like a little girl drinking ButterBeer, testing out wands, walking down the Alleys, and riding the Hogwarts Express. My experience there was unreal. Another night we got to go to Disneyworld. It seriously was magical. Between the classic rides like Splash Mountain to the amazing firework show I was in such aweee! OH and you can't forget the amazing Dole Whip there! hahaha. I had SO much fun with the people there. I enjoyed cracking jokes getting to know their stories. Shout out to Trevor as well, he was my buddy the entire trip. I don't think I laughed so hard, made so many puns, and ran around like a crazy person as I did with him. I LOVED every second of it. 

After ever trip I take, I seem to leave with such gratitude for how my life is and for the gospel. I write in my journal on the plane rides home little lessons I learned during that trip. I just wanted to share a couple with this blog. From Hawaii I walked away with a new sense of eternal perspective. My life lately has been full of tedious tasks like creating agendas and editing minutes. While those are important, people, experiences, learning new things are so much more important. I learned not to get so caught up in the little things, but to breath and enjoy whats around me. Also while sitting in church I had a reminder that the gospel is so simple, we just need to follow it. As I heard the amazing Hawaiian singles ward bear their simple testimonies, I remembered how much God just wants us to be happy by living the gospel so we can return to him. In Florida I remembered the importance of having fun. It is so much fun to be goofy, crack jokes, laugh so hard you pee your pants(ahhh hahah whoops...), and do crazy things. Also everyone is so unique and offers so much to the world. I love learning about peoples' stories and how they got where they are now, and it was fun on this trip to get the time to do that. 

Well that is all for now. Who knows where I will be next, but I seriously can't wait for whats in store. Until then.

With Love,

Miss Madi Mans 

DC, St. George, and everything in between

Happy Summmmer!!

Summers are always a dream. Just wanted to share some pics from my resent adventures! The boys invited me on their road trip to St. George where we enjoyed every second of waterfalls, hiking, skim-boarding, soccer games and more. DC was my next stop, it was so much fun. Jakell and I got to go to a AIPAC conference. We met so many amazing people and able to swap view, opinions, and even religious ideas. We got to go to the capital and lobby against the Iran nuclear deal! I have not been one for politics before this trip, but enjoyed it A LOT and can't wait to be more involved! Yay for summer! 

I FINALLY CAUGHT A FROG! 

Mets vs Nationals game 

Lobbying at Congressman Jason Chaffetz office 

Laughing because we got lost, ended up in Heber, and no joke got shot at by a cowboy. hahaha