Happy Post-Thanksgiving

[I know that this is a couple days late but we should have "an attitude of gratitude" every day.]

My first post, which I posted on Thanksgiving day, had nothing about thanksgiving or gratitude. I feel bad about it so I thought I'd take a moment right now and express my gratitude.

As I mentioned last time (and I will continue to mention it probably for the rest of my life) I recently returned home from my mission... 11 days ago. Serving a mission was so hard for me. It pushed me outside, way outside, of my comfort zone and it took me away from the things I knew best. However, despite the difficulties that came, all the growing pains, and all the heartache that came from serving a mission... I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my Father in Heaven. I made mistakes (I'm only human) but I learned from them. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my mission and all the many people that I met and taught and learned from while I was there. I am grateful for all of them too. Without this amazing and incredible experience, I would not be who I am now. I like who I am now... and who I am becoming...

I have to express my gratitude for my family. They were so supportive of me while I gone. My mother wrote me a letter every week. My dad frequently told me how proud he was of me. My siblings didn't forget about me. I would not have made it without their prayers and support. For that I am so thankful. I know that God blessed me with this family for a reason. We may not be what we term "nomal" (yes, purposely miss-spelled) but we love each other and we support each other in our righteous efforts.  

Along with my family, I am grateful for my friends. Their love and support of me has been so tremendous. And I am grateful that we can still maintain such great relationships even 18 months (or nearly 3 years) later.

Lastly, I want to mention my gratitude for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This ties in a lot with my mission. For it is on my mission that I learned how the Gospel has really and truly blessed my life. I had the extreme good fortune and blessing to be born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint... I was born of goodly parents who taught me about Jesus Christ, took me to church every week, and helped me plant that seed of faith. It was only a short time before I left on my mission that I allowed that seed of faith to really grow. And as I served the Lord, it blossomed and bloomed (are those the same thing?). I cannot imagine my life without the Gospel or the Book of Mormon in it. If all else fails in this life, I know that these won't. God is our loving Heavenly Father. The gospel does bless us personally and as families. When we trust in God, allow the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us (namely the Atonement) work in our lives, we can have a peace, a joy that last far past the thrills of what the world has to offer.

I am grateful for this knowledge. I know it is true.

There you go... some of the things I am grateful for. I have many more that I can list but these few are what came to my mind as I was writing.

I also want to share one of my favorite videos with you. I love the simplicity and message it contains:

I am grateful to be alive and for the circumstances in which I have been blessed with.

What are you thankful for?

Smile Always,

Chuck

A girl named Chuck

There is a story behind the name "Chuck". That's not really my name... it's not anywhere near my real name (which is Nicole). I just recently returned home from serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That's where I got the nickname "Chuck" from. My family doesn't even call me Chuck. Only a handful of people even know me as Chuck. However, I like it and I think it makes for a fun blog title- whose story I am getting around to telling.

First the story of how I got the name Chuck. As I write, I realize that the story isn't even that interesting but I think it'll help explain the title so I'm going to share it. As missionaries, we go by "Elder or Sister [insert last name]". Our identity become tied into our last name and that's who we are for 18 months to 2 years. My first three months of my mission, I served with a companion, Sister B, who liked nicknames. She searched in vain for a nickname for me. Finally after our first 6 weeks together, she settled upon "Chuck". The reason being my love for Converse All Star sneakers which I dubbed, "Chuck". I became Chuck. There were only a handful of people who called me Chuck- there was a rule about having nicknames in the mission. I wasn't very obedient with that rule, I suppose.

I had another companion, Sister M, from a foreign country who preferred Chuck over my last name... easier to say. I would always be Chuck to her. Now for the story behind the name of this blog. Being a missionary is very hard. It has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole 24 years of life. Sometimes, I would get so discouraged. I would just feel like it wasn't worth it. Sister M, upon seeing my discouragement, would smile at me and say to me, "Smile always Chuck". Those words would help me break through the low points and press forward. As we continued to serve around each other at various times in the proceeding 12 months, we would say it to each other. "Smile always."

I wanted to start a new blog because I'm a new person. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a hopeless romantic... don't think that will ever change. But there is a difference in who I was before and who I am now. Don't we all deserve a fresh start? This is an experiment of sorts. I don't know if this blog is going to be much different than my old one but I like the idea of a clean slate.

So who is Chuck? Chuck is a mixture of The Hopeless Romantic, my real life counterpart: Nicole, and anything else I've become in the last 18 months. I don't have a clue who I am right now or what my future holds. I guess you could say that I'm on a journey to find myself and my purpose in this world.

This is a girl named Chuck.

Smile Always,

Chuck