Love, happiness, and service.

I decided to write about several things today when I found a quote by President David O. McKay, which says, "True happiness comes only by making others happy." And I love this quote. It reminds me of the scripture "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17, I believe). And in order to be happy, and full of love, you have to make others happy because that's the best thing. When I'm babysitting and the kids aren't happy, I do my best to try and make them happy, because, like the saying "when mom isn't happy, no one is", "when the kids aren't happy, no one is". Everyone is just miserable. But when everyone is happy, everything is just fine. Love, happiness, and service go hand in hand. Life is just better all around when everyone is happy. 

Influence.

Youth conference (June 11-13, 2014) was amazing! I learned a lot about my Savior and I grew closer to Him. It was an amazing experience. 

Today is Father's Day. I'm so thankful for my daddy, and my grandpas and all the men that have influenced my life for good. Like my great-grandpa Harker. He died a couple years ago, but I still remember him. 

People may leave us for a time--or for ever--but they will always stay with us in our hearts. They may never know the influence they had on our lives. And even though people leave, we are never alone, because Jesus Christ is always with us. 

Girls' Camp.

Last week was girls' camp. I had an AMAZING time!! I absolutely loved hanging out with all of the girls and our leaders. I learned a lot from all of them and I'm sure they learned something from me. I love them all very much and I'm glad I was able to go. Our theme was The Wizard of Oz and so we learned about love, courage, and knowledge throughout the week. One amazing thing that happened that really touched me was at the ropes course. We did the zip line first on Wednesday, which was also the day that we learned about courage. Every single one of the girls went. Even the girl who was quite determined not to go. She was so, so scared. But she did it; after another of the girls went first to show her it wasn't scary or hard (and she, too, was scared to do it. She froze up the last time she'd tried), she did it. She didn't like it, she said, and it was scary, but she did it. We were all so, so proud of both of them because they faced their fears and did it anyway. I love girls' camp with all of my heart. It's an amazing experience every time and I love it. I always learn and grow and I always gain a testimony or strengthen my testimony of the gospel or certain aspects of the gospel. And I always make new friends and strengthen friendships. Girls' camp is one of the highlights of my summer, and I will never, ever forget them.