Despite an optimistic post and new resolve to begin blogging more often...nothing much has happened blog-wise in over a month since promising to post more regularly.
Nothing at all, actually.
So naturally I turned to Pinterest for help. After a search for "blog challenge" and a quick glance through the results, I decided on one 30-day blogging challenge I like well enough. I'm not sure what the original source is, but I found it posted on Writer's Hub.
And now, without further ado - the beginning of my 30-day blogging challenge.
DAY ONE // a photo of yourself and a description of how your day was
This is definitely not a picture from today - but the prompt never said it had to be. This is a picture from a happier time of year, when the temperature wasn't in the triple-digits every day.
And now for a brief description of my day.
Thank goodness for afternoon church. I'm still adjusting to my new ward, but today was the first Sunday that I didn't feel totally awkward and out of place. We had an ice cream-themed "Linger Longer" after church, featuring all varieties of ice cream and popsicles, and I actually met several new people - and even carried on conversations with them.
I also found out that being assigned to be the assistant organist doesn't just mean that they want me to play when the regular organist is out of town - it means they want me to regularly trade off playing organ with him. This gave me a mild heart attack, considering that I haven't actually played organ in over a year.
But hey - if I can manage to begin to make new friends, maybe I can pull off playing organ, too.
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
7.20.2014
Even Though It's Tomorrow Already
As far as I'm concerned, if I haven't gone to sleep yet, the day hasn't changed. So although this post will publish saying that it is Sunday, it's still Saturday in my head. And I will write accordingly.
I intended to start a 30-day blogging challenge today (meaning Saturday the 19th). In fact, I had already started the post, which I will finish and publish tomorrow (meaning Sunday the 10th). I can't bring myself to write it today. The prompt involves a description of how your day went. Which is what I'm going to ramble about in this post anyway, but it just feels wrong to include it in the 30-day challenge.
I thought I knew exactly how my day was going to go. I was going to end up writing a pretty boring post about how I spent the morning having fun at the pool with my family, and the afternoon being amused and occasionally mildly annoyed with the customers at work.
Both of those things did actually happen. But I spent the rest of the day with a grieving friend.
Being with someone dealing with a debilitating loss generally leaves me feeling totally inadequate. There's really nothing you can say to make anything better. Although I think it's better to hear the truth - that it's not going to stop hurting, but you're strong enough to push through the pain - than to be told that it's going to get better.
Because it's not going to get better. I don't think the pain from a loss like that ever goes away. If anything, you get used to it. It becomes so much a part of you that you hardly notice it anymore, until something brings it back to the surface and it hurts just as badly as it did the day you lost them.
The amount of times I heard "Jesus will take the pain away" today frustrated me. I believe in the power of the Atonement. I believe that all things will be made right in the end - so I suppose saying that Jesus will take the pain away is a very accurate statement. But I don't think he's going to take it away in this life. Leaning on Him with bring peace, but the kind of peace that comes from knowing that God has a plan, not the kind of peace that comes from the absence of pain. So stop telling her that Jesus is going to take the pain away. Tell her that Jesus will make the burden light.
I intended to start a 30-day blogging challenge today (meaning Saturday the 19th). In fact, I had already started the post, which I will finish and publish tomorrow (meaning Sunday the 10th). I can't bring myself to write it today. The prompt involves a description of how your day went. Which is what I'm going to ramble about in this post anyway, but it just feels wrong to include it in the 30-day challenge.
I thought I knew exactly how my day was going to go. I was going to end up writing a pretty boring post about how I spent the morning having fun at the pool with my family, and the afternoon being amused and occasionally mildly annoyed with the customers at work.
Both of those things did actually happen. But I spent the rest of the day with a grieving friend.
Being with someone dealing with a debilitating loss generally leaves me feeling totally inadequate. There's really nothing you can say to make anything better. Although I think it's better to hear the truth - that it's not going to stop hurting, but you're strong enough to push through the pain - than to be told that it's going to get better.
Because it's not going to get better. I don't think the pain from a loss like that ever goes away. If anything, you get used to it. It becomes so much a part of you that you hardly notice it anymore, until something brings it back to the surface and it hurts just as badly as it did the day you lost them.
The amount of times I heard "Jesus will take the pain away" today frustrated me. I believe in the power of the Atonement. I believe that all things will be made right in the end - so I suppose saying that Jesus will take the pain away is a very accurate statement. But I don't think he's going to take it away in this life. Leaning on Him with bring peace, but the kind of peace that comes from knowing that God has a plan, not the kind of peace that comes from the absence of pain. So stop telling her that Jesus is going to take the pain away. Tell her that Jesus will make the burden light.
7.29.2013
Finding Strength
Next week, I get to team teach a lesson to a bunch of kids ages 14-17 on "Faith in Challenging Times". We decided that the most important points we wanted the kids to get out of this topic were
1 // The gospel is the key to getting through anything,
2 // You have the gospel, therefore you CAN get through anything, and
3 // We can learn and be strengthened through our trials.
We were given the opportunity to experience mortality so that we could be tested - and often, that testing comes through trials. Everything we go through is meant to strengthen us, so that we can become more like our Heavenly Father. Leaning on Him and accepting His help is the only way we can get through our trials. The most important aspect of the trials is that we learn from them. If we can't do that, they're kind of wasted.
I know that I need to work on developing the humility necessary to rely on God's help, and to learn whatever it is I'm meant to learn from the challenges in my life. That's the only way I'll get where I need to be. It's the only way I'll become the imperfectly perfect me I want to become.
Happy Monday, and here's to the amazing week ahead of us!
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7.28.2013
Making It Up on the Spot
| {Such an interesting leaf....} |
| top: thrifted {from the boys' section...} // skirt: thrifted // shoes: target // necklace: earned, church |
Today I gave a talk in church (Mormons do this thing where members of the congregation give little "sermons" during our meetings). I printed off my notes before we left for church and stuck them in my purse...except apparently I didn't. So I had to go up there, armed only with my scriptures and "Preach My Gospel" manual, and make it up on the spot. "Let the Holy Spirit guide", you know. And naturally, this happened on the Sunday that both the Stake President and the mission president and his wife were visiting (they're kinda a big deal, locally).
So I guess you could say I was a bit nervous.
Fortunately, though, it all went just fine.
I talked about developing Christlike attributes and true conversion. The gospel wasn't made for perfect people; it's for every normal, flawed human being. God doesn't give us impossible tasks - He's given us everything we need to become like Christ, and by doing so, to become like Him. Consistency in developing these attributes leads to conversion: a change of heart, when we really only want to do good. The saying "every member a missionary" is a something we hear pretty often. I'm coining a new phrase, though: "Every member a convert".
3.17.2013
12.22.2012
In the Midst of Celebration
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I know I'm a bit late with posting about this, but I wanted to say something.
Losing a small child is a pretty personal issue for me, but I still can't imagine what the families
in Newtown are feeling right now.
I was caroling with my church group on Wednesday night, and we were singing
"Away in a Manger" at an elderly couple's house. When we got to the third verse, I
couldn't help but tear up, thinking of those children...
Be near me, Lord Jesus;
I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray!
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care,
And fit us for Heaven
To live with Thee there.
I know they were welcomed with open arms. Those families are strong, incredible.
They have felt every prayer, every wish for hope and peace sent their way.
I still believe in the innate goodness of people - if anything, this has strengthened that belief. One man hurt thousands, but those thousands have held each other up, helping one other heal.
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And I think that is what Christmas is about.
12.10.2012
Believing in Something
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I noticed a lot of these posts floating around the bloggy world a while ago, and
I've finally decided to make my own. Kudos to whoever did the original one!
I've finally decided to make my own. Kudos to whoever did the original one!
I believe....
+ that socks are always a good gift
+ in second chances
+ in a loving Heavenly Father
+ that I am His daughter
+ in lots of whipped cream
+ that rolling down the windows and playing
loud music makes a minivan cool
+ in working hard
+ in taking breaks
+ perfection is attainable...some day
+ my best is good enough until then
+ people are placed in my life for a reason
+ trials are blessings
+ chocolate and mint were a match made in heaven
+ in living prophets
+ baby hedgehogs are pretty much the cutest things ever
+ somewhere out there, I've got a Stripling Warrior waiting for me
+ in staying up all night to finish a good book
+ popcorn is better with cheese
+everything is better with cayenne pepper
+ in answered prayers
+ that no is still an answer
+ not yet is an answer, too
+ Christmas is amazing
+ Josh Groban was one of the lead singers in
the choir of angels in heaven...as was David Archuleta
+ in running
+ that I can share my testimony through music and the way I live my life
better than I ever could with words
+ in singing and dancing around the house
+ that love can conquer all
+ in a Taylor Swift song for every situation
+sweet pickles are NASTAY
+ adding a scarf automatically makes any outfit super-cute
+ that people are innately good
+ in getting stuck on the Ellen DeGeneres channel on Youtube
+ hugs and kisses can fix anything
+ in dressing up
+in breakfast for dinner
+ that I can still be a princess and a ballerina...childhood
fantasies never really expire
+ in the Law of Compensation: tears of sorrow will be
repaid a hundredfold with tears of joy in the end
+ in an infinite Atonement that will make all things
right and fair in the end
+ in a loving Heavenly Father
+ that I am His daughter
+ in lots of whipped cream
+ that rolling down the windows and playing
loud music makes a minivan cool
+ in working hard
+ in taking breaks
+ perfection is attainable...some day
+ my best is good enough until then
+ people are placed in my life for a reason
+ trials are blessings
+ chocolate and mint were a match made in heaven
+ in living prophets
+ baby hedgehogs are pretty much the cutest things ever
+ somewhere out there, I've got a Stripling Warrior waiting for me
+ in staying up all night to finish a good book
+ popcorn is better with cheese
+everything is better with cayenne pepper
+ in answered prayers
+ that no is still an answer
+ not yet is an answer, too
+ Christmas is amazing
+ Josh Groban was one of the lead singers in
the choir of angels in heaven...as was David Archuleta
+ in running
+ that I can share my testimony through music and the way I live my life
better than I ever could with words
+ in singing and dancing around the house
+ that love can conquer all
+ in a Taylor Swift song for every situation
+sweet pickles are NASTAY
+ adding a scarf automatically makes any outfit super-cute
+ that people are innately good
+ in getting stuck on the Ellen DeGeneres channel on Youtube
+ hugs and kisses can fix anything
+ in dressing up
+in breakfast for dinner
+ that I can still be a princess and a ballerina...childhood
fantasies never really expire
+ in the Law of Compensation: tears of sorrow will be
repaid a hundredfold with tears of joy in the end
+ in an infinite Atonement that will make all things
right and fair in the end
Happy Monday!
What do you believe in? If you write up one of these
posts {or have already done so}, let me know - I'd love to see it!
What do you believe in? If you write up one of these
posts {or have already done so}, let me know - I'd love to see it!
10.07.2012
This Weekend, I'm Watching...
You know, when it rains, it pours. It never fails, even if the pouring is just going on inside my own head. That's kind of how this week has been, but then this comes along:
And suddenly, everything's okay again.
Anyone else watching General Conference? What's your favorite part so far? Elise has come up with some way cute printables for some of the talks already - here and here. Check them out!
P.S. I will be coming back later for that post on my October goals that I talked about forever ago...actually, it was only on Monday, but it's just been that kind of week.
10.01.2012
It's Here!
Here's my big news...but I need some background first.
So by raise of hands, who has read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin?
Good, good...if you haven't, you really should.
That was the first bit of background. The second is that it's my birthday month.
I read The Happiness Project back in July, and I immediately thought that I could use something like that. It's not that I'm unhappy, but couldn't we all be happier? I was crazy-excited to start - my only problem was, I didn't know when to start. Then I thought about how October wasn't too far away...
So I'm giving myself the best birthday present ever:
the happiest year of my life.
I've turned my happiness project into something that is going to help me make the most of myself, and make me the best me possible. It's going to be hard - I've planned the monthly goals around my weakest points. But that's the only way I'm going to improve, right? Every impossible moment is going to be worth it! I'm also aligning my monthly themes/goals with different Personal Progress experiences...it never hurts to do them again, and I don't think you're ever too old! I'll probably be posting about it pretty regularly during this coming year - it'll help keep me accountable.
I started off the year with a pretty easy theme. October is all about Vitality. I'll post more specifics later this week, but I've got to finish my school work for now - one of the goals has to do with time-management and monitoring my computer time...yikes!
I read The Happiness Project back in July, and I immediately thought that I could use something like that. It's not that I'm unhappy, but couldn't we all be happier? I was crazy-excited to start - my only problem was, I didn't know when to start. Then I thought about how October wasn't too far away...
So I'm giving myself the best birthday present ever:
the happiest year of my life.
I've turned my happiness project into something that is going to help me make the most of myself, and make me the best me possible. It's going to be hard - I've planned the monthly goals around my weakest points. But that's the only way I'm going to improve, right? Every impossible moment is going to be worth it! I'm also aligning my monthly themes/goals with different Personal Progress experiences...it never hurts to do them again, and I don't think you're ever too old! I'll probably be posting about it pretty regularly during this coming year - it'll help keep me accountable.
I started off the year with a pretty easy theme. October is all about Vitality. I'll post more specifics later this week, but I've got to finish my school work for now - one of the goals has to do with time-management and monitoring my computer time...yikes!
9.15.2012
You Know Those Super-Crazy Life-Changing Moments?
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Those moments where you know you are totally okay with Heavenly Father taking you and turning you into whatever person He always intended you to be, no matter how far out of your comfort zone it is and how hard you have to work to get there?
Those moments when you forgive everyone who you've been holding things against because you realize how little any of it matters in the eternal scheme of things?
Those moments when you're willing to do anything it takes to have the light of Christ with you so strong that it pretty much lights up whatever room you're in?
Those moments when you love the entire world and everything and everyone in it?
I wish those could last forever. I had one of those last Sunday, and is was warm and fuzzy and soft and sweet and I wanted to cry and sing and never be the same!
The feeling only lasted a few days, but I've been able to make changes in myself since then, and I've gone out of my comfort zone for the better so many times this week! This is just another example of what I'm constantly being reminded of lately - the power of me. If I make a choice and have Heavenly Father backing me up on it, I can really accomplish anything.
This Autumn is definitely going to be a season of many changes, and I can't wait!
Have a fabulous weekend!
The feeling only lasted a few days, but I've been able to make changes in myself since then, and I've gone out of my comfort zone for the better so many times this week! This is just another example of what I'm constantly being reminded of lately - the power of me. If I make a choice and have Heavenly Father backing me up on it, I can really accomplish anything.
This Autumn is definitely going to be a season of many changes, and I can't wait!
Have a fabulous weekend!
9.10.2012
I Chose...and It Happened!
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So I woke up today, and I was like, "Hey - I'm going to have a great day today!"
And guess what?
I did! Choosing joy has such a huge impact on everything - and letting Christ light up my life makes that possible.
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On a side note, I'm on this "spiritual detox" right now, and it's doing wonders for me. It goes like this:
+ pretty much no popular music. Not that all popular music's bad or anything, it's just that I know that the Spirit is much better able to communicate with me when I don't have lyrics of popular songs running through my head all day. I do still listen to music, it's just more church-y stuff.
+every morning, right when I wake up, I do a Vinyasa. Yoga is really soothing for me, and a great way to start off my day.
+after that, I read from the New Testament.
+right when I get home from classes, I read from the Book of Mormon.
I've been doing this ever since this post last week. I guess it's my version of that vacation in the middle of nowhere that I wanted.
Have you ever realized that you just really need to get back to basics? How did you do it?
9.09.2012
Beware of Pride...
I printed this talk by Ezra Taft Benson off a while ago, and it's just been sitting in my room . I finally picked it up and read it the other day, and what a slap in the face! I hadn't ever really thought of myself as prideful, but it turns out I was crazy wrong ... especially in light of a certain issue that has come up.
[A] major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them.
The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: 'Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. ...It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.'
Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. There is, however, a far more common ailment among us - and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.
The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judges to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, 'If you succeed, I am a failure.'
If we love God, do His will, and fear his judgment more than men's, we will have self-esteem.
Pride is a damning sin in the truest sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. The proud are not easily taught. They won't change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.
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I'm going to have to work hard to change this attitude of mine. Lately, I've been discovering new imperfections every day ... which is a good thing, I guess. It is something I prayed for, I just didn't realize how well it would work!
Let's make this a wonderful week!
Read the rest of the talk here.
9.04.2012
I Don't Even Know...
....and that's why I need to learn to just turn things over to God. Some things, I can't control, and that's okay. What's not okay is holding on to them and letting it eat me up. I do that a lot - constantly wondering If I had done such-and-such differently, would it have turned out better? Could I have done anything? Why is this happening???!
I'm kinda just feeling guilty about life in general right now. And to make things even better, I started my homework without reading my scriptures. Blech. I'm going to go do it right now, so I won't just be half-reading it while I'm pretty much asleep, but still.
I need a vacation. Like, one of those spiritual ones, where you go to some cabin in the wilderness with nothing but food, your scriptures, and a yoga mat. That seriously sounds fabulous right now.
I need a vacation. Like, one of those spiritual ones, where you go to some cabin in the wilderness with nothing but food, your scriptures, and a yoga mat. That seriously sounds fabulous right now.
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Look at that picture...If God can make something as magnificent as that, He can help me through anything and everything, if I let him. I've just got to let him!
This week is going to be great, guys. It's a wonderful world, and we have a wonderful Father.
9.02.2012
Priorities
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I've only been in school for a couple weeks now, but I feel like I've already got my priorities mixed up.
Last year, I would come home and have scripture study before I did anything else. This year, I barely get a chapter in before I collapse in bed.
That's not how it's supposed to be, guys, and I'm already feeling the side-effects.
Everything really is easier when I put God first. So starting Tuesday (because we have Labor Day off!!!!!!), I will get back in the habit of reading my scriptures as soon as I get home, and reap the rewards!
Have an amazing week - and have an awesome holiday tomorrow!
Last year, I would come home and have scripture study before I did anything else. This year, I barely get a chapter in before I collapse in bed.
That's not how it's supposed to be, guys, and I'm already feeling the side-effects.
Everything really is easier when I put God first. So starting Tuesday (because we have Labor Day off!!!!!!), I will get back in the habit of reading my scriptures as soon as I get home, and reap the rewards!
Have an amazing week - and have an awesome holiday tomorrow!
8.19.2012
Lesson #3: The "Gray Area", or the Lack Thereof
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Here's another tid-bit from my trip to the coast a few weeks ago!
So there's this really great quote.
Our second speaker, Brother Johnson, shared it with us and told us that it had always bugged him - life can't really be just black and white, can it?
Then he told us about an image a young woman had received when pondering the quote:
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Picture two rooms: one is white and full of light, and the other is black and entirely without light. There is a door in between the two rooms. When you open it, the light goes from the white room into the dark room, creating a gray area. That gray area is on the dark side.
The second we step into that gray area, we give Satan power over us to drag us in even further. There is no such thing as a sin that's "not so bad" - a sin is a sin, and we cannot afford to dwell in a gray area.
{There goes all the justifications I ever give about something not being "that bad"....}
I'm definitely going to be working harder to stay on the Lord's side, keeping His commandments with as much exactness as I can!
8.14.2012
Lesson #2: Perfection
This also qualifies as a Flashback Tuesday post! Win-win!
I think the prompt for today might've actually been to do something about your childhood....but I want to post this. I was a fabulous, adorable child, just in case you were wondering.
At the camp we were staying at last week, we got to hear some pretty awesome speakers. One of them was this guy I LOVE - I look up to him so much. His name is Boris, and he is seriously amazing.
He gave this really great message, but there's really only one part that I remember. It really stuck out to me, and I know it was something I really needed to hear...and will definitely need to remember.
Matthew 5: 48 has always bugged me.
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is is heaven is perfect."
What kind of commandment is that?
I've never had any problems with the other commandments - they all seemed reachable. I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could conquer them. But then there was this commandment - "Be ye therefore perfect". How was I supposed to attain perfection?
I've gotten pretty worked up over this multiple times in the past, reducing myself to a sobbing, sniffling mess over the thought that I will never be good enough.
Enter Boris.
He read this scripture and then referred us to 1 Nephi 3:7.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
{emphasis added by me}
Duh! I've been hearing this scripture all my life, but I never made the connection between the two.
"Be ye perfect" is a commandment - therefore, I can attain perfection. I know I will not do it in this life, but it will come. Because of Christ's sacrifice, I can become perfect. It's just up to me to make the decision to work hard enough to do so.
Matthew 5: 48 has always bugged me.
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is is heaven is perfect."
What kind of commandment is that?
I've never had any problems with the other commandments - they all seemed reachable. I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could conquer them. But then there was this commandment - "Be ye therefore perfect". How was I supposed to attain perfection?
I've gotten pretty worked up over this multiple times in the past, reducing myself to a sobbing, sniffling mess over the thought that I will never be good enough.
Enter Boris.
He read this scripture and then referred us to 1 Nephi 3:7.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
{emphasis added by me}
Duh! I've been hearing this scripture all my life, but I never made the connection between the two.
"Be ye perfect" is a commandment - therefore, I can attain perfection. I know I will not do it in this life, but it will come. Because of Christ's sacrifice, I can become perfect. It's just up to me to make the decision to work hard enough to do so.
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8.12.2012
Lesson #1: Service
People aren't putting pictures up on Facebook fast enough, so you get to hear more than you ever wanted to about my trip without the pictures of me!
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We kicked off the conference with a service project. We went door-to-door collecting canned food and monetary donations for the local food bank.
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The group that I was with was assigned a very poor neighborhood of run-down duplexes. These people might have been on support from the food bank themselves, but they just gave and gave...it was crazy in the best way possible. Their kids {ADORABLE kids} would help, and they would bring bags of cans to the door, or dollar bills.
{fun fact: every dollar was the equivalent of 10 pounds of food}
They were so willing to give of themselves!
After we were done with our neighborhood, we said a prayer of gratitude in the car for their generosity and asked Heavenly Father to bless them for it. I hope that I can develop the same attitude of willing, selfless sacrifice.
Have a beautiful Sunday!
{fun fact: every dollar was the equivalent of 10 pounds of food}
They were so willing to give of themselves!
After we were done with our neighborhood, we said a prayer of gratitude in the car for their generosity and asked Heavenly Father to bless them for it. I hope that I can develop the same attitude of willing, selfless sacrifice.
Have a beautiful Sunday!
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