faith

I did this for my free choice journal entry in my english class, and realized that it is pretty much my testimony. So I felt like sharing it and remembering it. (I also posted it on facebook hehe)


What is faith? In primary I was always taught that faith was like a little seed and if planted it will grow. In young women’s I was taught that “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” - Alma 32:21

And it means so much more to me now. I have learned through my experiences so far in life that faith is drastically more important to me than I might have thought before. When I look back on what has happened to me, two completely different things enter my mind: that those things were extremely hard, but yet that there are many other people, even people that I know, that have been through worse. I like to think that my gratitude for the things I have been through is because of my faith in my Heavenly Father.

However, sometimes I feel inadequate to have faith. When a challenge is really hard to face, sometimes the faith needed to overcome that challenge is even harder to come to terms with. I worry that I do not have enough faith to go through it.

But, as I have recently realized, I will never be inadequate of faith. It is not something that I need to deserve in order to have. If I plant my faith firmly, it will grow, even if it seems like there is not enough sunlight for that little seed to sprout. Yes, it isn’t easy. Yes, even my very testimony in my loving Savior Jesus Christ will be threatened with challenges that need faith. Faith that knowing the sun will rise and brighten each new day. Faith knowing that I will be able to get up every morning.

When I again look back, I also realize that maybe my faith has been more than adequate. So far I have been able to get through challenges and I’m still breathing. At the same time, I have been incredibly blessed with many miracles. And I truly believe that this is because of my faith in Christ. I think that every time I tell myself that everything will be okay I am saying a prayer to my Father in Heaven asking him to bless me with faith. I wouldn’t be able to ask for faith and receive it if I didn’t have faith that He would give it to me. Faith, no matter how much or how little, I will always have.

blessings!

okay so the seven week break was long but good, and now there has been like three weeks of fall semester! survival rule #12: count your blessings.

so even though i've been enjoying this semster, its been a bit hard at times. for instance, pretty much NOBODY has gotten their loans yet, including me....even though that kinda has to do with the fact that my mom and i didn't complete the fasfa for this year quick enough...but still. so i have no money. and a computer that sucks. BUT. i know i say this a lot but you really gotta count your blessins. so i try :)

so here is a list of exciting things that have already happened/are soon to happen so far this semester!

1. my roommates are fantastic (heres a couple of our roommate pics! chyaa i took them again hehe...i rock)

2. i'm busy. which can sometimes be a bad thing. but its good.

3. i'm workin on my health

4. i'm learning how to shoot with film!!

5. i feel like i'm surrounded by amazing people with amazing testimonies (especially in my ward)

6. my teachers are way bomb. and unique. more on this later :)

7. i'm in utah at the moment visitng my twin and i get to go to conference!! and see mis padres!

8. life is good

9. the weather is freaking rad at the moment...warm!

10. its almost my birthday :)

yeah so i'd say i've got some pretty great blessings. and the Lord loves me! i realize this more and more each and every day.

and oh, i caught our kitchen on fire. :)

the camera stays around the neck at all times.

survival rule #11: don't ever let go of your camera!

haha so today i had my very first voodoo donut!!!!!!!!! voodoo donuts is this way popular place downtown portland known for its crazy donuts, like maple-bacon bars! but i just had a raspberry romeo, which is basically just a jelly filled donut. and it was delicious. and even though we had to wait in line for a long while (or so it felt) and even though i ate it in like 2 seconds, it was way worth it!

sooo soo i was in downtown p-town because my crazyawesome friend katy asked me to do her senior pictures! (along with the rest of the world). and she wanted to do them someplace cool where we could find original places....and lots of brick walls....and i was so happy because i love love love doing that! taking pictures at the park all the time can get really lame and you can only push your photographing limits so much at a park. haha. so we rode the max and walked all around downtown! it was awesome and i ended getting some really great pictures! and we have some funny/crazy/wayscary stories now too....

like, for instance, katy and i were just chillin, takin some pics up agaisnt a wall of some sort, and this dude (long scragily hair and beard ish face, worn out pants and tshirt, beer bottle or something in hand, you get the idea) comes up way close to us...and we were in a parking lot or something and there weren't a ton of people around but thank goodness there were enough...and he asks us if we had 50 cents and we said no and he pretty much freaked out on us! he couldn't understand what we were living on if we didn't have 50 cents and then he was like what are ya doing and we were like oh we're just taking some pictures and i could tell katy was getting nervous and i know i was! and then he was still kinda angry and was like "well can i take a picture of the both of you" and i was like ppppppppppsssssssssssh no son you aint getting this camera! haha no, not really. but i did say no, thats fine. and then he started swearing in our faces and rambling on about sharing and crap haha and continued rambling as he walked away. and then katy and i were laughing from being so scared and it being so ridiculous. mhmm lets keep portland weird. lets just say i'm glad my expensive camera was around my neck. never let go of your camera folks, especially when theres an angry 50 cent-wanting old man in your face. and especially when your camera is your main form of getting money that you oh so very much need to live in school!!! :)

well, time to go to bed on the mattress in lydia's room and hope i don't wake up with her on my face again (which happened last night). we have a japanese exchange student staying with us for like a month so my parents made me move out of my room already even though i still had a good week and half ish left at home! grr haha. but the girl, misaki, is way nice. (just like all the other japanese exchange students we've had before).

i go back to the burrrrrrrg in exactly a week now!!!! and pray i don't die from taking-too-many-pictures-disese! loves!

you make me smile.

survival rule #10....? i can't remember. haha. anyways. rule #10: always smile. even if you have bad teeth. always smile when a kid says something cute. today in sacrament meeting, mid arguement with brynn, eli looks up at me and asks "how did God make eyeballs?" of course i had to smile. even though that kid can definitely get on my nerves on a daily basis....he makes me smile. and thats what i love most about my little brother!

whenever you're having a bad day, a smile can, and should, always make it better. i know it sounds cliche ish, but its true!

sooo something that i'm smiling lots about....going back to school!!! fall semester starts in like 2 and a half weeks! and for some reason i'm way excited. i'm pretty sure i've got all the classes i want, roselanni is living super close, i'll have a new computer within a month, and i'm starting a new, better chapter in my liiiiife!

i've decided to change some things. i want to be healthier, so i'm goin on a diiiiiiiiiiet. not necessarilyyy because i need to lose weight, (even though i do...sonja's freshman year wasn't very good to her in that department) but also to just be happier! its called the mediterranean diet...look it up!! (i'm too lazy to put a linky here. you know how to google...use that skill!) i'll probably be bloggin about it. and i'm gonna do what my twin melanie suggested i do....20/20! which is exercise for 20 mins and then read scriptures for 20 mins. and its gonna be awesome!

now, i promise i'm not vain....i'm quite the humble person :) but i'm also a photographer, and i find that i learn ways to take better pictures by taking/editing pictures of myself. my mom, sisters and eli and i went hiking this last week in vernonia for just a bit...and there was this cool building so i jumped at the opportunity!

but i made brynn take the pictures.

which was actually not as easy as you think, because (sorry brynn) she's not the best photographer....well i mean...she doesn't see things the way i do. so i had to kinda direct her and be the model at the same time....rough. haha. and we ended up with these! after i edited them :) and i love them!

speaking of photography....i haven't updated my photo blog in forever...but this is changing!!! i'm gonna be a busy busy sonja these last two weeks that i'm at home. i have a couple senior shoots scheduled for this week and will probably do a few more. and its so great cause i'm earning money from it. and quite the good amount i might add :)

and on friday i took pictures of darling baby asha!! isn't she the absolute cutest?!?! i'll post more on my photo blog when i'm done with them. ps...i could hold this baby all day. no joooke.

so as i'm preparing for all my shoots, i like to do some 'studying' and get some ideas on how to make my pictures better, more fantastic. and i stumbled gracefully upon this very helpful blog about posing! i adore it! i repeat, very helpful!

i'm so excited.

accchhhhooooooo

survival rule #9: always have benadryl on you. at all times.

so the semester is over (has been for like 2 weeks...)

and i officially kinda suck at blogging.

but i'll get the hang of it.

summer semester ended fantastically! even though it was kinda sad...leaving all my favorites. but i lived.

i'm not sure how long that will last though, because this

is me right now. its awfuuuuuul!!! i think i have some kind of curse, because whenever i come home to oregon my allergies flip out on me. and i don't like it. right now i'm suffering painfully from itchy eyes, itchy throat, itchy nose, itchy!!!!! also, mind you, itchy eyes = watery eyes. blah!

but other than that, being home has been....okay. i love spending time with my fam and my friends, but i must say, i miss rexburg. strange?

also, everything is just super stressful because my little brother elijah broke his arm the DAY AFTER i came home, and so now my parents have to fork out another $1,000 that we don't have. but. the important thing is that he's okay. he even had to have surgery, poor guy. his story isn't even that cool. he fell off our front porch's railing...onto the porch.

and i was already stressin about money so now its even harder to breathe.

but i shall not complain!!!

i could, but i'm not gonna.

my parents have been trying to help me figure out ways to get more money, esp since i NEED a new laptop. since mine is a big piece of poop.

and i was lucky enough to help out my friend's mom at her daycare all this week, and so i'm gettin like 200 bucks from that so thats niiiiice.

and!

our family had a garage sale last weekend.

:)

we got a good amount of money from that too, and a bunch of the stuff that we couldn't sell is going to the massive garage sale for risa that's goin on this weekend. (by the way, some of MY pictures of risa are going to be in the oregonian tomorrow!)

well, i'm out.

i would post more pictures...esp more from the semester....but i kinda hate blogger's photo uploading job. it kinda sucks. i will soon though.

oh yeah, always carry benadryl on you, cause well, you never know when the evilness of allergies will come upon you. it has pretty much saved me these past 2 weeks.