You matter to Him. Never give up.

Lift

This hit deep in my soul, and brought tears to my eyes.

Religious or not, this video is a good reminder of what really matters in life.  And how to be happy. 

:-)

Peace.

Which Way Do You Face?

"Courage is...the form of every virtue at the testing point.  ...Pilate was merciful till it became risky."

- C.S. Lewis -

Here's a one-minute video on Christ's example of courage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a6BcSolTeo&list=PLClOO0BdaFaNmUqc3ItZJgiuQC9AuoGVo&index=3

I add my witness that these words are true.

For further reading, click here!

Why all this talk about God?

Ever wonder why I can't shut up about God and my religion?

Take 5-10 min to read this talk by David A. Bednar.  He explains why better than I can!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

Peace out!

Our powerful roles as women, and men. As God's children.

Though I don't know everything, I know this:  

I am a daughter of God, my Heavenly Father, who loves me, and has great plans for my growth and happiness.  

This speech is pretty long (almost an hour), but it is worth listening to, especially if you have concerns about how Mormon's regard and treat women.  Please, listen with an open heart to the beliefs of Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services and LDS Charities.  I enthusiastically agree with her.  There is more to life than this temporary world!

Link is here

The Savior wants to forgive

I met this humble and good man at the Utah Valley University Addiction Conference last year.

These words are true.  God is still with you, with His hand stretched out still.

(see Isaiah 5)

Beautiful is the peace that repentance brings. 

No matter how many times you have to do it.

Prophets speak today

I'll be watching every session.   I hope you will join me, wherever you are in the world!

Heaven's help is there

this one-minute video is beautiful.

very, very well worth your time.  i promise.

#didyouthinktopray?

this video brought me back to my knees.

Do your best, and forget the rest!

photo from lds.org

“The Lord doesn't expect us to work harder than we are able. He doesn't – nor should we – compare our efforts to those of others.” –Dieter F. Uchtdorf
{quote from the mormon.org facebook page}

This truth gives me comfort when I start to feel pressured about school assignments

(Especially essays!)

peace

This really hit my heart strings (and tear ducts) tonight.

I needed it.  

I hope it helps you, too.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

"To the individual who is weak in the heart,

fearful in the heart:

be patient with yourself.

Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life.

Don't demand things that are unreasonable,

but demand of yourself improvement.

"As you let the Lord help you,

through that, He will make the difference."

Peace in the knowledge of God,

and our identity as His children,

is beautiful.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

We need food

Our bodies, this world, our lives... are all symbolic of eternal truths.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

{there is beauty in the seemingly insignificant}

peace.

Rethink how you treat others

It's only about 3 minutes.  You'd spend that much time trying to decide whether or not to watch this, anyways!  I promise you won't regret pressing play.

Beautiful:  The Savior loves each and every one of us, His children, more than we can comprehend.

Rolling waters

This quote really hit me this morning:

"You don't need an invitation before you start moving in the direction of your righteous goals.

You don't need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be. 

You don't need to wait to be invited to serve..."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -

{photo from lds.org}

"How long can rolling waters remain impure?"

When you move forward in faith,

Everything else falls into place.

Now that's beautiful.

Our Savior's Love

I was so moved by how much the Lord loves and cares for this man.

He longs to embrace you, too.

peace.

An update, a favor, and a video

So.

It's been a while since I've posted anything about myself, hasn't it?

Well, here's an update:  I'm applying for grad schools right now.

The End. ;)

When I first started this blog, I was graduating high school.  Now, I'm applying for Ph.D. programs.  

That's just weird.

High School graduation

I've changed a lot since then, though.  

Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

But here's the thing.

I was trying to figure out how to have time for all of this:

School, work, taking care of my physical and spiritual health, applications....

And I realized, I needed to sacrifice something in order to do the most important things.

So what goes first?  

Facebook.

[duh]

Yes, I've deactivated my Facebook account.  Temporarily.  

{Unless I like living without Facebook.  Who knows!}

But here's one problem:  how can I share these blog posts without Facebook?  Granted, I don't expect to be doing much blogging this fall, either.  But there is one 3 minute video I really, really want to share with you right now.

So here's what I'm asking:

Since I can't post my blog updates on Facebook anymore, will you please share them with people you love, if you think it can help them?

Also, I'm pretty nervous about this whole application process.  Any prayers on my behalf are greatly appreciated!

Thanks, you guys.  And now, the video.

Watch it in a quiet place.

This right here is what keeps me going.  

He is the reason I do all that I do!

{Well, YouTube won't let me attach or upload it here... so I'm afraid you'll have to go so far out of your way as to click on the link blow instead ;)}

<click here for video>

peace out

Perfection

{Image from the Mormon.org Facebook page}

"There is certain frustration awaiting anyone who attempts to perfect themselves without the aid of the Holy Spirit.  It is not uncommon for someone to make a list of everything they feel they should be doing in their lives, then select a few to begin working on.  As wholesome as this sounds, it will only create feelings of impotence and frustration.  Read all the scriptures, and nowhere is there an account of someone achieving spiritual power by making lists of needed improvements, and then working the list!

They all did it by obedience to the voice of the Lord.  You must also; there is no other way...The Lord knows the exact course our lives should take, which sin should be eliminated first, which weakness should be addressed first, and which blessings we will need to accomplish these things...He will direct us, step by step...He will change and purify our hearts...

The way to perfection is not through the disciplining and reshaping of the soul by the will of man, but through the discipline of obedience and reshaping of the soul by God...To what are we to be obedient?  It is the voice of the Lord in our hearts and minds."
(see Enos 1:10-11, 1 Nephi 22:2)

- John M. Pontius -
From the book Following the Light of Christ into His Presence

Wake up!

The most important things we can do:

Love God

Love ourselves

Love each other 

that's beautiful.

[peace]

we are all different, and that's the way it should be

"While the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. 
Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe...that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father....

"As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are united in our testimony of the restored gospel and our commitment to keep God’s commandments. But we are diverse in our cultural, social, and political preferences.

"The Church thrives when we take advantage of this diversity and encourage each other to 
develop and use our talents to lift and strengthen our fellow disciples."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -
Second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

lovin the quotes

“The Lord has determined in His heart that He will try us until He knows what He can do with us.

  He tried His Son Jesus….Before He came upon earth the Father had watched his course and knew that He could depend upon Him when the salvation of worlds should be at stake; and He was not disappointed.  

So in regard to ourselves.  He will try us, and continue to try us, in order that He may place us in the highest positions in life and put upon us the most sacred responsibilities.”

  

{Teachings of Lorenzo Snow}

beautiful thing Father:

God 

{and His complete understanding of us}

peace

a friend

we all want a friend 

who understands us completely, 

fully, 

and loves us 

unconditionally. 

and who is strong enough 

to understand what we're going through, 

but still lift us up, 

encourage us, 

and inspire us to be better.  

who we can 

confide 

everything 

in.

that's the Savior.

{peace}