Colby's Hope

The other day I went to Bowl of Heaven with my friends for lunch. It is a place that sells organic, healthy smoothies, juices, and acai bowls. They use fresh fruit and no ice, dairy, or processed sugars. And they top it with granola and raw honey. 

I got the North Shore organic bowl and it was super good! It has fresh bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and 100% apple juice. It is topped with flax seed granola and fresh bananas. It was very refreshing and delicious. 

I would highly recommend Bowl of Heaven. They have many fun juices and smoothies that you can try. I am definitely going back!

Always have hope,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with your families and remember what you are grateful for. 

In seminary the other day we were talking about sacrifices. We read in the book Leviticus about the people of Moses and all of the sacrifices they had to make. Then my seminary asked what sacrifices we have to make today as members of the church. 

I had to think about this question for a little bit. I know that as a member of the church I make sacrifices, but I don't think about it very much because I'm just so used to making them. But it was good for me to realize all the stuff that I do, that could be seen as sacrifices by other people. I'd like to list some of those now. 

No Drugs or Alcohol
Not Dating until 16
Standards on family 
Modesty
Sunday Activities
Extra Piercings
Tattoos
Missions
Young Women and Young Men 

Even though some of these can be hard at time, I'm grateful for them and the challenges they bring make it even better to be a member of the LDS church and have it bless my life. 






Also here is a special Willa sale going on this weekend with holiday products and free shipping. Visit my Willa website here if you are interested. 


Always have hope,

I've always wanted to do something like this, so I thought it would be an awesome blog post. Create a list using the alphabet of things I'm grateful for. Of course, there are too many things in my life that I'm so grateful to have that I couldn't name them all, but I can do some!

A - Animals, Atonement, Adults
B - Books, Basketball, Braces
C - Chocolate, Cards, Computers 
D - Divinity, Dove, Drinks
E - Electronics, Evenings, Education
F - Families, Friends, Food
G - Goals, Gospel, Goldfish 
H - Home,  Hallmark, Holidays
I - Ice cream, Igloos, Ipads
J - Jobs, Joy, Journals
K - Kisses, Kohl's, Knowledge
L - Love, Laughs, Life
M - Mom, Movies, Memories 
N - Notes, Napkins, Nutella
O - Oxygen, Optimism, 
P - Panda Express, Parents, Parties
Q - Questions, 
R - Roads, Rakes, Rocky Road 
S - Salt, Shelves, Service
T - Traveling, Treats, Tables
U - Uniqueness, Understanding, Umbrellas
V - Violins, Voices, 
W - Words, Wander, Walks
X - X-Rays, 
Y - Youth, Young Women's
Z - Zebras, Zoos

I'm very grateful for the Thanksgiving season and the opportunity it gives all of us to remember the things we are thankful for and how much we take for granted in this life. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a great time with your families. 


Always have hope,

I was reading another blog the other day that had a post that really inspired me. In the December 2011 Ensign there is an article written by Anthony Sweat and John Hilton III titled, "Take a Gratitude Challenge". In preparation for Thanksgiving in just a few weeks, I thought it'd be good to start thinking about things we are thankful for. Everyone go and "Take a Gratitude Challenge" . 



10 Physical Abilities I'm Grateful For:
1. Walking/Running
2. Biking
3. Hiking
4. Talking
5. Hearing/Listening
6. Sight
7. Taste
8. Touch
9. Writing
10. Eating


10 Material Possessions I'm Grateful For:
1. Books
2. Bed
3. Movies
4. Clothes
5. Shoes
6. Phones
7. Pictures
8. Glasses
9. Clocks
10. Candy



10 Living People I'm Grateful For:
1. Tracey Christensen
2. Joel Christensen 
3. Logan Christensen
4. Cooper Christensen 
5. Nancy Wilson
6. Ross  Christensen 
7. Duretta Christensen 
8. Thomas S. Monson
9. Lindsey Gordon
10. Emma Jarman 









10 Deceased People I'm Grateful For:
1. Richard Wilson
2. Laura Roderick 
3. Chad Roderick
4. June Buys
5. Gordon B. Hinckley
6. Richard G. Scott
7. Our forefathers
8. Joseph Smith
9. Brigham Young
10. Boyd K. Packer


10 Things in Nature I'm Grateful For:
1. Flowers
2. Trees
3. Leaves
4. Animals
5. Waterfalls
6. Mountains
7. Rocks
8. Sand
9. Grass
10. Air


10 Things About TODAY I'm Grateful For:
1. Be Alive
2. My Family
3. School
4. Seminary
5. Scriptures
6. Prayer
7. The Gospel
8. Journals
9. Friends
10. Doctors 






10 Places on Earth I'm Grateful For:
1. Temples
2. Homes
3. Churches
4. Schools
5. Oregon
6. California
7. Bathrooms
8. My Bedroom
9. Disneyland
10. Park City









10 Modern Inventions I'm Grateful For:

1. Cell Phones
2. Computers
3. Internet
4. Email
5. Social Media
6. Television
7. Texting
8. Febreeze
9. Netflix
10. Vacuums








10 Foods I'm Grateful For:
1. Ice Cream
2. Burgers
3. Chicken
4. Pork
5. Salad 
6. Pasta
7. Strawberries
8. Cake
9. Chocolate Pie
10. Sandwiches







10 Things about the Gospel I'm Grateful For:
1. The Book of Mormon
2. Temples
3. Patriarchal Blessings
4. Young Women's 
5. The Sacrament
6. The Atonement
7. Eternal Families
8. Priesthood
9. Prophets and Apostles
10. Revelation











I'm glad that we have the gift of gratitude and can express thanks for the things we love in our lives. I would like to challenge all of us to be more grateful for the things we have and express gratitude to the people who influence our lives. 

My mom told me the other day about this company called Willa. Willa is a company that sells skin care products for young skin. They are not tested on animals and don't have a lot of the toxins other products have. 

But the cool thing about Willa is that when girls turn 13, you are able to be a consultant for them. With the help of your mom, you can sell products and host parties so that you can make some money! 

I'm really excited for this opportunity to work as a consultant for Willa. Through this I will have an opportunity to learn business skills and be able to earn some money. Another cool thing is that they offer a college savings plan. I also get to spend some time with my mom! 

If you would like to learn more about Willa, you can visit my own Willa website here. You can also visit my business Facebook page Willa with Colby. I would love to have more consultants and help with what I'm doing. I will post and tell you about it every time I host a party or do an activity. I think I will also make a page that talks a bit more about Willa and what it is. But feel free to email me or comment if you have any questions or interest in Willa. Thank you!

Always have hope,

I know you probably thought that I was done talking about Brain Balance, and frankly I did too, but on Monday night, I had my Brain Balance graduation. This is an activity where they celebrate and recognize the things I have accomplished through Brain Balance.

In one of my classes at school, my teacher's big focus is to help us become master students. A lot of the things that we do is to help us do better in school so that we can live successful lives. Another thing that we do often is have presenters come and talk to us about a variety of things. 

Last Friday we had a guy named Mike come and he is from Ireland. He began by telling us some of thew struggles and things that he had to deal with growing up in Ireland. Some of it was really heartbreaking and it made me more grateful for what I have. 

His main topic was talking about after school programs and how it can benefit any students. The statistics he shared were quite interesting about future successes and their parents' jobs. Although I've never had to go to an after school program, I'm sure it has helped a lot of people. 

Hearing his presentation made me think about education and how important it is. Education opens up many doors for people. You can get a steadier job and have the degree that you want. 

In my church we believe that whatever knowledge and learning we gain on earth, we take with us onto the next life. So education can be a life long blessing as well as carry on with us in the future. 

We are very fortunate in America to have so many places and ways that we can get an education and do the things that we want to. I'm very to be able to go to school and learn and grow in ways that I wouldn't be able to learn otherwise. I know it will continue to bless my life and I will be grateful for it forever. 

Always have hope,

On Wednesday night we had a young women's activity called Young Women's in Excellence. This is an activity that we do at the end of each year to celebrate the things that the girls in my ward have done in Personal Progress. 

As you probably know, I am very passionate about family history and finding our ancestors. I think it's amazing that we now have so much access to technology and other things that allow us to find and receive more information.

One of my favorite parts and ways to do family history is something called Indexing. It is fairly easy and really fun to do! I got started on it quite a few years ago because my grandma dos it often and is really good. 

It is really easy to start doing it and you will be hooked in moments! Here's how:

1. Download the program Get Started Now!
2. Click Open to install
3. Doing this should save it to your desktop
4. Get an account (If you have an LDS account, it is the same thing)


It is really simple and definitely rewarding! If you want to learn more about Indexing, why we do it, and how it affects others, you can visit this link . 


I love Indexing and how it is such an easy process that everyone can do. I hope you will take a chance to try out Indexing for yourself and see how fun it really is! Have a great day!

Always have hope,

One of my classes this year is AP Human Geography. I wasn't expecting to take it at the beginning of the year, but it has been really fun!

I had never thought of studying the geography of people and the way they do things. I think there's a lot I can learn from taking this class. My knowledge has already grown so much and I have a better understanding of the world and the things that occur in it.

One of the first things things that we learned about was globalization and how it influences different parts of the world. Globalization is when a practice or culture is spread throughout the world. For example, technology has been globalized throughout the world. 

Globalization is also similar to diffusion. It's when something starts in an area and diffuses to other places. Like how hamburgers started in Germany, and then when they came to America, they were changed slightly. And then went they went to India, they got changed into a veggie burger.

One of the most interesting things I've learned so far this year is the situation with world hunger. A large percentage of the world, particularly in India, is malnourished and suffering from hunger. And one of the saddest parts is that we have more than enough food in the world to feed everyone, the countries are just more concerned about weapons more than food. 

We started a discussion on an interesting topic after one of our assignments last week. We've been learning about child birth and death rates all over the world. In our assignment we had questions about China's one child policy. Then we came back the next day only to have my teacher tell us that China changed their policy!

Well I hope this wasn't too boring for you to learn some fun facts about AP Human Geography! I've really enjoyed taking this class so far this year and learning more about our amazing world!

This month during Sunday School and Young Women's we are learning about spiritual and temporal self reliance. 

I've been reading The Giver for English and I found something very interesting. All of the people in the community are given "jobs" when they turn 12. You can do a variety of things like work in the care center or on a farm. One of the "jobs" you can have is to be a mother to all of the babies that are born before they are given their names and go into families. 

When the main character, Jonas, turns 12, his mom explains to him some of the "jobs" he could have. When he asks about what the mothers do, his mom tells him that no one would want this because it's not as big of a responsibility, and only lasts for a short time. 

I was very shocked when I read this because I totally disagree. Motherhood is a sacred responsibility that everyone should take seriously and realize the value of it. In The Family a Proclamation to the World it states, "Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children." This partially describes the important role of motherhood. 

I'm very grateful for my mother and all the examples of good motherhood that I have in my life. Learning and watching the examples of these women has made me want to be a mother someday and have that sacred opportunity. 

This is one of my favorite videos talking about motherhood and the blessings you receive from it. I suggest that you go watch it and your perspectives on motherhood will change just as mine did. I'm very grateful for motherhood nd the amazing opportunity that it is.