Simply Smiddy - The Idaho Convert

For the past few weeks I have been doing some self reflection. For the whole month of October I deleted all of my social media's. It was relieving. I saw blessings where I was able to follow promptings to call old friends and actually catch up on their lives rather than relying on social media to update me. I have been thinking about how many people rely on social media to know what is happening in someones life and how misleading social media generally is. For example, I have one friend in particular in which I was prompted to call because I thought I needed her advice, I thought I needed her to help me (and she did) BUT even further God needed me to know what was happening in HER life so that I could at the very least pray for her. Social media did not make it obvious that my friend was in need of ministering, I needed to listen to the spirit and CALL HER. After hanging up that one hour phone call, the spirit confirmed to me that I had followed a prompting to call her even though...

I love art. I love that art can be expressed in writing, in dancing, in music, and in pictures and paintings. Art is my safe haven. I first learned to turn to dance. Dance was my outlet, my therapy, its where I went for healing. Dance is amazing alone, but the part I loved the most was finding a song that spoke to me, the spoke the things I was feeling AND THEN creating movement to double express what was deep inside. Dance and music is what got me through junior high and high school. Its what helped me cope with my moms divorce. Its what motivated me to keep going. Its what made me believe that regardless of my circumstances and trials, my life is MINE. Its what helped me to stand tall and be different even when I was alone. Dance was my best friend when no one else was. Dance was my everything.  April 2015, I had to leave my dance competition with only 2 dances left to perform to go to the emergency room to get an emergency procedure done. For one month after that I couldn't...

Why do we allow other people to decide who we are and what we are like?  From a very young age, we allow OTHER people to decide what kind of personality we have, who we get along with, or if we fit in. I am so bothered by the fact that I can look back to my elementary years and remember the rumors that society made me believe even from such a young age. For example:   "I am not very book smart. I won't fit in with the all of the intelligent students at BYU. I am a very bad reader. I hate reading. I am not good at it." - Thought I have made myself believe. When I break down WHY I am thinking this about myself I think back to the small events that made me believe this about myself. One in which is POPCORN READING. Guys, I am a passionate HATER for POPCORN READING. I think it is the devils creation and should be removed from classroom settings.  Just kidding.  Well, kinda.  Popcorn reading was one of the worst parts of my da...

I often feel like a hamster running on a wheel but making it no where. I run and run and run and then occasionally life gets ahold of me and I rotate around and crash and burn like hamsters do. I look at all my friends around me and they all have been running, but they are in beautiful fields of happiness and success. What am I missing? What am I doing wrong? Something always brings me back to where u started. I’m tired of running and tired of trying. I’m mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Heartbreak after heartbreak, trial after trial. I wonder when it’ll be my time to shine. My time for happiness.

One year ago today I sent you all this email... (attached, well quoted, below) It was the hardest email I ever had to write. I cannot express to you how hard it was to align my will to God's will. Coming home was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I loved serving. I don't think I would have wanted to come home even if it wasn't early.  Serving my mission was something I always dreamed of. I loved it, EVERY SINGLE SECOND! Even when the rain was chucking it down.  The past year has been full of surprises, blessings, and growth. I have gone through hard time which have made the good times even better. I KNOW that the Lord has a plan, he had a specific plan in sending me home and he has a specific plan for you, even when you dont quite understand it.  Some of the highlights of the past year have been... 1. I got to take Kaylee and Kalin (my half brother and sister) to the temple open house. Now this is a HUGE deal because, their mom, my step mom past away seve...

You are a divine, amazing child of GOD !  You are the offspring of God almighty. When you come to understand that, the light within you will come alive. You will shine like the prince or princess that you are. When you live up to your potential as a divine child of God, you will have a shield of righteousness protecting you from the sins and stains of the world. When you are right with god, doing his will, you will be blessed and you will be HAPPY. Don’t expect to be perfect before you go on a date, just be in a state of repentance that allows you to have the Holy Spirit with you. YOU NEED THE SPIRIT in order to be protected! The Holy Ghost is your shield from the sins and stains of the world. We should be in a constant state of repentance and we should also understand that the people around us are consistently changing, progressing and doing their best to be the person God needs them to be. Dating has always been an EXTREMELY scary thing for me. I grew up with the stronge...