"Why Do Mormons Hate Gays?" Here's Your Answer.

Hey you. Yes, you awaaaaaaay up there on your high horse, waving around your rainbow flag and chanting “LOVE WINS” at the very top of your lungs. I heard you mentioning the bigotry that exudes from the LDS church towards the LGBT community. What was that all about? Come down here for a second. I want to tell you something. You want to hear this.

Whoa, careful. It would really suck to fall from so high up. While you struggle to return to reality, let me ask you something:

Have you ever given your support to the LGBT community in any other way than your Twitter and Facebook posts? No, coloring your profile pictures with a rainbow filter does not count. You've joined quite a massive conglomeration of saints, I see. I've thought about picking up that rainbow flag myself, so that you and nearly every other soul in my generation will treat me like a generous, loving hero, too. How must it feel?

But I wonder, what will happen when the praise dissipates? The gays are long gone. They rushed off to be legally married, just happy to finally have the right. But what of those that fought for them? What of those that joined the rejoicing? Now that the war is over, now that the confetti has settled, what will come next? I can already hear the whispers begin to escalate as my peers stand still in a sea of deflated balloons and crushed party hats, finding boredom in peace.

“Now what?”

“I heard the Mormons still don't agree with same sex marriage?”

“Really?”

“Well, that's perfect!”

“What hateful monsters!”

“Those bigots!”

“Let's get em!!!”

With the birth of positivity, negativity has stemmed from the remnants of cheer. I was astounded to learn how many of my peers were SO supportive of the LGBT community, but I was even more surprised at the abundance of immediate retaliation against Christians. Ladies and gentlemen, behold this tiny portion of my social media feed:

"Why are Mormons so judgmental? God also teaches to love your neighbor; you can't pick and chose which commandments to abide by. If God isn't going to change his mind about this, why did he change his mind about the blacks holding the priesthood in the 70's? The absolute bigotry that comes from those that call themselves “Christian” is absolutely disgusting. If only the Mormon's could see the good in this decision. Seeing all of the hate and bigotry in Utah about the gays is heart-breaking."

It seems a common conundrum that this world can't seem to understand: why does the LDS church hate the gays?

I may not be the shiniest advocate for the LDS church, but I was raised in it. I have lived inside the white walls of religion. I have learned the teachings of the gospel. I have listened to my leaders preach their belief in the works of God. As an insider, I am here to answer your question. Why do Mormons bare such hatred and bigotry towards gays? Oooooh this has got to be good! Drum roll, please!

They don't.

There is your answer. Happy? I'm going to give you a word of advice that those sweet Christian's wont: shuuuuuuut up. Shut up. Just . . . shut up. Please, please, please for the love of all that is good and holy, find a new complaint to file because this one is invalid and quite frankly, overdone. The ranks of the LDS church hold no animosity towards the LGBT community, nor have they ever declared otherwise. The LDS church disagrees with the concept of same sex marriage for the same reason they disagree with abortion, blasphemy, premarital sex, lying, stealing, and any other guideline you can think of. Because they base their lives around what they truly believe to be God's word: the Scriptures. The Mormon's have lived by the teachings of the Bible and the Book of Mormon for decades. Just because you have put up a big enough fight, does not mean an entire religion must bend their beliefs to accommodate yours. Get over yourselves.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement Friday acknowledging the Supreme Court's ruling. “The court's decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine. While showing respect for those who think differently, the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice."

There is a thread of complaints that I have found impeccably common among my generation: “The LDS church is not accepting. They do not love all of God's children. They can't open their minds and their hearts to an opinion that differs from theirs. They are so closed-minded, they shun a belief that they don't agree with. Preposterous!”

I have customized the frequently used template to my own liking below:

“Christian bashers are not accepting. They do not love all of God's children. They can't open their minds and their hearts to an opinion that differs from theirs. They are so closed-minded, they persecute and disgrace a belief that they don't agree with. HYPOCRITICAL!”

I will say it again. The LDS church does not hate the LGBT community. The LDS church simply stands by a different opinion. Though you may loudly disagree with their disagreements, they will continue to disagree with yours.

Your reproach has come to no surprise to this religion, or any other, for that matter. Their scriptures, their prophets, and their leaders have been predicting the persecution of Christian's for hundreds of years. They have always known the day would come that they would be shunned and hated for their beliefs. They have prepared for it with conference talks and biblical quotes. They have learned how to stand strong in the face of sheer contempt, they have been taught to keep their standards high, to never bow to the demands of society.

 

Luke 6:22

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.”

 

As you rant on Twitter and seek out articles to post on Facebook, I truly, sincerely want you to know that when Mormons join together every Sunday morning, you and your words of intended destruction never even cross their minds. They sit in their classes, they pray with one another, and they listen as their leaders promote love and forgiveness for all. They read quotes from their beloved prophets that encourage them to strengthen their testimonies for the impending devastation of mass persecution. As you climb to the rooftops and spread your profound wisdom and insight, they gather with their families and bow their heads in prayer as they begin Family Home Evening.

Your tangents are ignored, because they know you haven't the slightest clue as to what you speak of. Go away. Leave the Mormons alone. They will not give you the fight that you so desperately seek. Stop spreading your lies and rumors, and try learning for yourself. Step inside a church, and gather your own opinion, rather than base it off of what you've heard from your peers.

Enjoy your victory with the new-found rights for the LGBT community. Rejoice in your pride for this country. I hope you find happiness in a world that cherishes it's underdogs, and shames a massive organization that aims for righteousness and the Heaven that they so strongly believe in. When you decide to enter a church out of pure curiosity for the secrets that lie within, they will be ready for you. They will welcome you with open hearts and open minds. And until then?

They'll be praying for you.

Matthew 5:44

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

Gordon B. Hinckley: Picking Me Up Since 1996.

I don't know if this is a common occurrence for anyone else, but I find myself in these random moods of dark and dreary, hopeless despair anytime I contemplate the human race. That happen to you? I hope so.

I mean . . . not that I hope you suffer from devastating mood swings . . . but that I hope I'm not the only one that feels this way. And also because I hope you suffer from devastating mood – Nah, I'm only joking. Anyway!

The regression of mankind is a subject I try to avoid at all costs, because it really weighs on me for days - sometimes even weeks - at a time. I turn away from the news channels, I separate myself from conversations regarding current events, I even limit the amount of movies I watch that are anything less than cheerful. Sheltered? Fine. I'm happier that way. Because the human race disgusts me.

With all of the murder, rape, torture, terrorists attacks, mass shootings, sex slavery, bigotry, racism, and music videos of Miley Cyrus' flabby bum, it's no wonder depression is such a pressing issue for so many Americans.

We live in a day where every night before we fall asleep, we're just grateful that we and our loved ones are alive and well. “Nobody I know was brutally murdered today, so that's good news.” And we pray for another blessing tomorrow.

The world and its inhabitants have gotten to this point, and that is wrong and heart-breaking. I wonder, when God granted us free agency, did he know that it would get this bad? Isn't it interesting to think that the man you see on the news, the one that was busted for a basement full of children that were battered and sold for sex, was once standing (or floating?) beside us before this life, cheering at the announcement of God's plan? Eager to embark on the journey of a mortal life and prove his worth, Adolph Hitler once stood among the ranks of the children of God. If we were given free agency to prove our worth, then I would have to say that, as a whole, all we have proved is how undeserving we are. How ready we were not.

It's heavy. And it hurts.

And the dangers of this world are so much more concerning now that I have a child of my own. Out of sheer trust, this tiny angel was gifted to me to cherish and protect. With the ever increasing crime rates, I can't ignore the cold gripping fear of failure in the most crucial task I have ever been granted: keeping my daughter safe.

Today, as I jokingly explained why I should be deemed the supreme ruler of this planet because I would really put everyone in their place, the humor was corrupted by the shadow of reality. The horrors of this world crept into the corners of my mind, pressing against my thoughts throughout the day. It did not take long to realize I had unwittingly found myself in a very bleak state of mind.

This world isn't getting better. The prejudice, the wars, the greed, the hatred, and the violence. If anything, it's getting worse. As my daughter ages, our society will only continue to rot. The crime rate will continue to escalate. Our safety will begin to dwindle.
On a planet so wicked, what is the point in hoping for a pleasant life? Even if we are lucky enough to tread the years of mortality without facing a single demon, we will do so in fear and in dread, knowing so many of our fellow souls are suffering every single day.
I don't want to exist with these sick, twisted monsters that claim to be human. If this is the gift of free agency, I do not want it. Take it back.

I was heading towards the bottom of this pit. Digging myself deeper, and deeper. Once I realized that I had been staring at my computer screen for twenty minutes, pondering the tragedies of life, I knew I needed a distraction.

Enter, social media.

I shut my laptop, sat back, and pulled up Twitter and its never ending stream of mindless chatter to get my mind out of such dreary places. Do you want to know the first post that I saw on my feed?

It was a quote from a session of General Conference in April of 1996, from the beloved Gordon B. Hinckley.

“Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

If it weren't for this marvelous quote popping into view at that exact second, I know I would not have recovered from my own thoughts so easily. Once I read his wise words, I set my phone down, I opened my laptop, and I continued to write.

Just as he had done so many times in the past, when he was still smiling at me from the television on Sunday morning, Gordon B. Hinckley lifted my spirits when I needed it most. He reminded me that this life is wonderful, that this life is meant to be enjoyed.

We are here. What more can we do than take advantage of this time and live a life we can be proud of? Happiness is a choice that only YOU can make. It is not a choice the world can decide for you, no matter how hard it may seem to try.

When you're feeling blue, when your thoughts are hopeless or dark, I hope that you can look to this quote for the spark of light that you need. I hope it brings you as much peace as it did me.

Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.

This New Era of Love: A Contradiction I Can't Make Sense of.

So, pretty big week for the homosexual community, am I right? I woke up that morning, checked my social media, and was blinded by rainbows and exclamation points from every post. Big day, big day. Congratulations, people. You can finally get married. You are officially legally entitled to the scalding chains of marriage. I hope you enjoy the two simple words that will crumble your carefree, exciting relationship. Welcome to the club! I crossed marriage off of my bucket list when I was 19. Can you believe that? Not surprisingly, I was divorced within the year. I'll spare you my negative views on the concept and skip to the point.

Personally, I am not against the legalization of “gay marriage.” I believe that we are all loved by our God, despite the choices we make. Even when you take religion out of it, we are all human beings. We are all on one Earth. We are equal. With that being said, I stand with the Live and Let Live philosophy. Just because our beliefs and opinions differ, does not make one of us better than the other. It's diversity that makes this world so interesting. I'm not writing this to offend anyone. I'm not lashing out. I only wish to share a conundrum that I have pondered for years, and perhaps someone can clear up the confusion.

Homosexuality. By definition it is, “sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person of one's own sex.”

(I couldn't find a definition that didn't revolve around sexual intent. Perhaps you guys need to work on that . . . Try to implement a definition that revolves around love or attraction. Come on, Websters. Get with it.)

To put it bluntly, homosexuality is a concept I do not understand based on what I have witnessed. Here's why.

There's no denying that homosexual men act feminine. It's okay; it's not an insult. They TRY to behave that way. The way they walk, talk, and even dress. In my experience, gay guys are just a blast and so much fun to hang out with, though they can tend to be more drama than even us drama queens. Right? Can we all agree?

Now look at lesbian women. How do they walk, talk, and dress? They're portraying masculinity, right? The short hair, T-shirts, the punching your shoulder every time they laugh at one of your jokes. These stereotypes are not just in the movies, but they dominate the homosexual society. Of course there are the rare few that defy these unspoken laws, but for the most part, gay men portray femininity and gay women portray masculinity.

(Gentlemen, we are not discussing those two hot lesbians in your porn clips. The one's with all of the makeup and the long hair and the high heels. We're talking about those that you see in real life.)

So here is the contradiction that I can't fathom:

Homosexual men have a sort of beacon. It's like a mating call. Where a straight man would flex and flaunt his manliness in the club to attract females, a homosexual man would flick his wrist and dress fabulously to attract males that are attracted to males. Still with me? Okay. Gay men portray femininity to attract feminine men that are attracted to that man and his femininity. Just like the straight man, it seems gay men are attracted to femininity. Do you know what the quintessential form of femininity is? It sure as hell isn't Feminists (don't let the title fool you.)

It is simply, females.

Show me two masculine men that are madly in love with one another's masculinity.

Homosexual women bare the same beacon. Lesbians portray masculinity to attract masculine women who are attracted to the women that carry themselves with a strong sense of masculinity. The quintessential form of masculinity?

Men.
Show me TWO feminine females are madly in love with one another's femininity. Outside of porn.

With the claim of an attraction to their own sex, why on earth do they work so hard to resemble the opposite sex to please others that also claim to be attracted to their own sex? In what universe does that make sense? Homosexual men act as if they're attracted to femininity. Homosexual women act as if they're attracted to masculinity. It is a massive contradiction, is it not?

I explained this reasoning to a woman I worked with that embraced the title of, Lesbian, in every aspect. Her reply was, “that's a good point, but I don't know how to explain it. It's confusing.”

Is the attraction purely sexual, as dictionary definitions claim? I'm not sure that there's a straight woman that is just absolutely infatuated by the sight of a penis. Come on. Let's be real. A female's body is nothing to turn your nose up at. The curves, the details. I can appreciate the female body, but I am still attracted to masculinity. That does not make me a lesbian any more than it does anyone else.

Confusing, indeed. What's your opinion on the subject? I'd love to hear it!

 

 

8 Things You & Your Daughter Need to Know Before Her First Day of High School.

 

There she goes. Your pride and joy. You knew your little girl would grow up too fast. You knew there would come a day when you'd look at her and realize with a shock that she's grown into a beautiful, intelligent young woman. That day has come. The two of you have made it through the awkward, hormonal years of middle school and she's about to step onto the field to play with the big kids. High school can be exciting, concerning, and exhausting all at once, but here are a few key guidelines to sooth the transition.

1. Know Your Route.

We'll start with the basics. It's a new school, new teachers, and loads of new faces. You may be able to point out your classes on your marked up map, but it's a whole new world when you find yourself standing in that hallway, being pulled along with the frantic current of students who are either trying to find their class in time, or are getting annoyed with all the newbies that are stopping every ten feet to glance down at their map.

I would HIGHLY suggest you take your daughter on a walk through those halls while they're still empty and calm. Start at her locker and walk your way to each class. If the labyrinth gets a little too confusing, return to her locker and plot the best route from there, as it'll be her pit stop between classes. If your daughter isn't interested in letting her mommy hold her hand and show her around, have her round up a group of friends and drop them off at the school so they can figure it out together! Equally as helpful and even more fun!

There is nothing worse than being tardy to nearly every class on the first day. Venturing through a maze packed with people to find a new classroom eight times a day can be overwhelming, embarrassing, and frustrating, coloring her new school in a negative shade.

2. Be Prepared to Introduce Yourself a Billion Times.

I'm not just talking about the easy, “Hi, my name is Storm.” I'm talking about the horrible, awful, get-to-know-each other, activities that every teacher ensues on the first couple of days. Even on my senior year of high school, after we were all seated in our desks surrounded by friends and enemies, the teacher would announce that we were doing an activity to get to know each other. In my mind, what they were really saying was this:

“Listen up, brats. I didn't want to end my summer vacation to wake up early every day and endure this hell hole anymore than you did, so I have nothing prepared. Talk about yourselves with your neighbor while I finish the last chapter of 50 Shades of Gray and spend the final hour texting my girlfriends about how boring our sex lives are.”

Seriously.

In case you don't remember from middle school, these activities consist of mumbling your name, sharing an interesting fact about yourself, listing off 3 hobbies, or sharing a summer experience. Some have even resorted to making each student stand up and go through the motions for the whole class to hear. I didn't expect this routine to continue in high school, so I was completely unprepared and I panicked when faced with the nerve-wracking challenge of announcing who I was as a human being to a classroom of two dozen judge-mental teens that were more interesting than me. It would go a little something like this:

“I'm Jimmy and I race stallions through fields of fire in my spare time.”

“My name is Susie and I ate at every authentic restaurant in Europe with Johnny Depp over the summer.”

“My name is Storm and . . . . I . . . I can breathe really well through my nose.”

Right? How humiliating. Be prepared with some fun facts about yourself or an interesting experience you had over the summer so you're not drawing a blank when it's your turn to convince everyone else that you're a cool person they want to be friends with.

3. The Counselors are Your Friends!

It's important to know that the student counselors are there for YOU. It's their job, and I've found that most of them are very helpful. I wish I would have known sooner that I could address nearly every problem with a counselor, because it would have saved me a lot of stress. If you're struggling in a class, if you're having a problem with a bully, if you're feeling overwhelmed, the counselors are there to help you. Not only can they aid with the emotional strife of high school, but they're also a gigantic help in planning your life after graduation. My counselor was able to pull up my transcripts and print out a list of recommended colleges, scholarships, and grants that I would be able to apply for. It's never too early to start seeking scholarships!

If you find yourself with a moody, unhelpful counselor, explain the problem to the front desk and ask if you can be assigned to a new one!

4. Just Like a Snake.

Let's face it. You're young. Your interests and your opinions are constantly changing. You're hormonal. You're insecure. You're trying to figure yourself out. The thought of stepping into an unfamiliar building crammed with dozens of peers can be pretty scary or nerve-wracking. Will they like you? You're not even sure if you like you. Are you too dressed up for the first day? Are you too casual?

The most important thing to remember as you embark on the journey through high school is that everyone else around you is thinking the exact same thing. Just like a snake, they're more afraid of you than you are of them! There's no need to be shy. No need to wonder if your jeans are too flashy. Most of the people that you think are judging you, don't even notice you. They're too consumed with praying they don't trip as they walk past you in the hall.

You're surrounded by countless kids your age. Introduce yourself! Strike up conversations! Nobody is going to think you're weird for doing so; they'll just be relieved that someone thinks they're cool enough to talk to! Make friends! With a school packed with people, there are bound to be at least a bus full of others that share your interests and hobbies and once you graduate, you'll find that it's a lot harder to make new friends.

5. A Little Sucking Up Goes a Very Long Way.

 

 

As you conquer the first few weeks of high school, you're going to learn a lot about your teachers. You'll discover their teaching methods, their pet peeves, their likes, their dislikes. During my first year of high school, I paid little to no attention to my teachers' mentalities. What did I care? I didn't even want to be there in that dreadful math class. I was just waiting for the bell to set me free. As I struggled to obtain the grades that I so easily earned in middle school, I learned one very important lesson about the teachers in high school: they care about your grade only as much as you do. No more, no less. One day, I remember a group of us making fun of a friend for being such a suck up to his teachers. His shameless reply was, “My teachers love me and I get better grades than any of you, just for taking the time to get to know them and treat them with respect.”

None of us could rebuke. He had an excellent point. I'm not advising you to agree with everything your teacher says, to be the first one to class and the last one to leave. Just take the time to get to know them and act accordingly. Show them the respect that they deserve. Show them that you CARE about your grade by staying after class to discuss an assignment or asking for extra credit. I promise you, if you show your teacher how much you care about your education, they are going to put in the effort to help you as much as possible. A little sucking up never hurt anyone.

6. Prepare For Battle.

I regret to inform you that there are dangers that you must prepare for. Dangers in your school that you cannot avoid. It's disconcerting, the thought of what lurks in the deepest corners of the halls. Perhaps you would rather ignore the possibility. Perhaps you think that it won't happen to you. You are wrong. There are those that seek to destroy, and you must stand strong against their thirst for doom. No matter what crowd you slip into, no matter how you behave, there is a 99% chance that you will have to face the monster in the shadows. And there's a 99.99% that the beast has taken the form of a teenage girl.

Are you scared yet? You shouldn't be, silly! A spoiled brat with daddy issues is nothing you can't handle! Mean Girls in not just a hilarious movie, people. Mean girls are very real and there are at least a handful of them in every school.

I would have to say that if you learn anything from this blog, you learn about how to handle the malicious, deceitful girls at your school. They may be young, but an encounter with a pack of these vicious beasts can really harm your self-esteem and your daily life at your home away from home. Read up. Study them. Understand the enemy with my guide, A Word on Mean Girls. Once you've learned about the monsters, learn the art of taming them with my instructional post on Taming the Girl Pack.

7. Take Advantage!

I'll be honest, I regret how I spent my time in high school. I did not have a good time. After years of mastering the craft of taming Mean Girls and moving onto high school, I was so over the monotonous scene. I hated being there. I hated my classes. I graduated early so I wouldn't have to engage in the motions any longer. And I regret it.

 

In a school full of people, surrounded by opportunities to make friends and learn new skills, I took advantage of nothing! You're only in high school for a few years before you're kicked to the sad, dirty curb of adulthood. Embrace it!!! Join clubs and sports teams. Take a variety of different classes to broaden your horizons and discover new interests. Go to school activities like dances and sports games! High school can be a long, boring, hellish nightmare, OR it can be a wild, exciting, super fun party! It's up to you to make your experience a great one. Since you're trapped there for years to come, you may as well enjoy it, right?

8. Have Faith in Time.

For some, the adolescent years spent in high school can be harder than they are for others. It's a stressful time. As if your grades weren't enough to worry about, you need to start planning for your future. With the burden of securing your education, you're going to be dealing with mean girls, boys, relationships, friendships, social events, and whatever may be happening in your life outside of school. There's a lot on a teen's plate and you have every right to feel overwhelmed or maybe even hopeless.

Please, have faith in the power of time. The inevitable, constant, secure pulse of each second. Keep moving. Even when it seems that you have nothing left to give, when you think you can't take another step, pick up your foot, move it forward, and place it on the ground. Roll with the punches. Even if you're feeling the worst you've ever felt, whether it's about a break-up, a crumbling friendship, mean girls, your home life, or your grades, you just keep on going. Take each day one at a time, and one morning, you'll wake up to the sun streaming in and vanquishing the night. As you lay there, you will realize that the trials have passed. The drama will be over. And you will get out of bed, and you will take the next step.

If you have faith in nothing, have faith in the power of time and the strength it has to pull you along when you can no longer continue by your own will. These things will pass. I swear on my life.

Who am I to make such a promise? I have no idea what you're going through or what challenges you will face. No, but I can still promise with absolute confidence that any dreary point in your life will fall behind as the minutes push you forward. I have been severely bullied, heartbroken, married, and divorced. I have experienced the death of peers. I have lived in distress at home. I have kept moving. And I am so happy.

High school is what you make it! Know your way around, earn good grades, and fend off the mean girls hiding in the bushes! You're going to be just fine!
I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you find some use of it on your first day of school! Thanks for reading! Good luck!

Self-Efficacy: The Key to Building Confidence in Children as Young as Two Years Old.

I stood at the door with my toddler in one arm and an obnoxiously large diaper bag hanging from the other. It was crammed with everything my sweet little girl might need on her first day at daycare. I had researched many options before I found Melissa, a lovely woman who ran a small daycare in her home, comprised of only three other girls that were the same age as my daughter, Melody.

Melissa answered the door and ushered us inside, where the other kids were relishing in heaps of books. Knowing that my daughter loves books more than candy, I put her down and encouraged her to go read with her “new friends”.

As I filled out the sign-in sheet, Melody clung to my leg and assessed the girls who watched her with excited faces. I found it odd that my rambunctious, gabby, sassy baby who approached kids at the park and waived and babbled to strangers in the store, was now bashful and withdrawn. I introduced her to the pack, sat her down beside the nicest looking child with the face of a China Doll, and got her started with a book about shapes. She watched me leave with a blank stare and despite the number of “Bye bye's” and “I love you's” that I gushed, she didn't offer a single word. You would think I had just checked her into a rehabilitation center.

I couldn't focus on my work for the rest of the day. Melody's reaction had concerned me and I began to realize that even toddlers had their own level of self-esteem. I had never contemplated the idea. I just sort of assumed that kids thought as purely as angels do, without judgment or doubt, before the trends and customs of society caught up with them. How could I raise my daughter to be a confident and secure young woman? Is it even possible to begin building confidence in children as young as two years old? I thought of my parenting methods thus far. Was I building Melody's self-esteem effectively?

 

I pulled up my search engine, and the research began!

The fact of the matter is, even outstanding parents have the potential to unknowingly wear down or stifle a child's confidence. Perhaps their expectations are too high, their methods of discipline or encouragement are having the opposite affect, or they're failing to adjust their methods to the appropriate age. The key to raising a confident and successful young man or woman lies within our understanding of self-efficacy.

[Giveaway] Giveaway Botanica Science

Bing Giveaway! Free Microsoft Surface 3!

Happy Monday, readers!

I am thrilled to start the week off with my very first sponsored giveaway! And let me tell you, this is a prize that I am super excited about, as you can tell by my opening photo.

Mom's Affiliate has teamed up with Bing to reward a FREE Microsoft Surface 3 to one lucky individual to sign up for the totally awesome, totally free Bing Rewards Program! Are you already a member? Simply log in with your email or Facebook account and you're automatically entered to win!

Now, if you're a natural born cynic like myself, you're wondering what type of scam this must be. What's the catch? I did a little research on the contest before posting it and here's what I found!

To enter, you must sign up for the free Bing Rewards Program or already be a member. If you're an avid user of the Bing search engine, then there's no reason you shouldn't already be enrolled! If you haven't jumped on the Bing Bandwagon, then a free laptop might be good enough reason to hop aboard!

What does this program entail? As a member of Bing Rewards, you earn credits when you search with Bing. You can put these credits towards great rewards like popular gift cards, sweepstakes entries, or even donate them to a charity of your choice! They say that it's similar to a frequent flyer program. All you have to do is stay signed in as you search with Bing and bing! You're earning credits!

Trust me, I'm a huge fan of anything Windows creates, and if I could enter to win that brand new Surface 3, I definitely would. Unfortunately, with great blogging power, comes great blogging responsibility. Laptop or not, you can bet that I went to Bing and clicked that Sign Up link. Guess what? I already have 26 credits! When I purchased my new Windows Toshiba Touch, I created a new Outlook account that was automatically connected to the Bing Rewards Program and I've been earning credits without even realizing it!

And you know what? I have always been a Googler. It's my go-to and it works, so I never felt the need to explore other options. I very rarely, VERY rarely used Bing, yet somehow, I already have 26 credits to my name and I'm stoked! After learning I was already a member of this awesome program, I decided to dig a little deeper. Did you know that Bing will customize your account to accommodate your commonly searched interests? You can select a variety of your favorite topics and Bing will add them right there to your homepage! You also have the option to receive updates on your choice interests right to your phone! Local news, weather, stocks, etc. How cool is that?

But anyway! This is not a Bing tangent; this is a giveaway contest, so I will quit the rambling and let you get started! To enter to win a brand new, completely free Microsoft Surface 3, follow these steps below!

Step 1: Enroll in the Bing Rewards Program by clicking this link, here. If you're already a member, skip to Step 2.

Step 2: Return to the giveaway on my page and enter the contest with your Bing email, or sign in with your Facebook account.

Step 3: Sit back, cross your fingers, and check your email for that big flashy “YOU WON!” notification that we all dream of when we enter contests like this.

Step 4: Search with Bing and reap the benefits!

I hope you take advantage of this super cool giveaway! Though I will be frowning from the sidelines, I'll definitely be spreading the word to my friends and family!

Happy Monday, everyone!

[Giveaway] Microsoft Surface 3 Giveaway Contest

Vaping: A New Way of Life. (Or Maybe Death)

Everywhere I go, I can almost always find at least one source from which little puffs of smoke rise and dissipate. In close quarters with the right lighting, I see smokey streams drifting to the ceiling, dancing slightly with the movements below.

 

It reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and the movies of her time, shrouded in an ever constant haze of smoke. Nobody knew just how lethal those enjoyable white sticks of toxins really were. The glamor of the 50's, when nearly every arm in America was perpetually cocked and red embers winked at the end of the cigarettes between their fingers as they unknowingly smoked away years of their life. In cars, in restaurants, in theaters, and even in nurseries. Foggy ceilings and constant gray clouds of breath.

 

Just like today. Only this generation is wiser. We learned from their mistakes. We watched our grandparents in hospital beds, we witnessed the dramatized advertisements in health class, and we grimaced at the scent of tobacco as we passed on the streets. We know better than to sicken ourselves with such an obvious ailment. Instead, we puff on an alternative. A safer, smarter alternative.