Wake up and do it again

There are moments...or weeks....or months....and sometimes even years, where there is so much on our plates, that we don't know how to function or even face another day of

 blugh. 

But today I found a scripture that sums up how you keep moving forward:

Psalms 3:3-5    

"But thou, O Lord, art ... the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me. ... I laid down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me."

Which Road am I on?

I do not know the answer to this question currently, but...

Which Road Am I On?

Her is a beautiful Mormon Message Video from my Favorite Apostle of all time, Jeffrey R. Holland.

the Tenders (part 5)

Tender Mercy 6: This Girl

http://www.steightofmind.com/

This is my dear friend. We couldn't figure out how we became friends, or how it became so close so fast....and then our lives both took turns we didn't see. And they were similar paths. And we realized Heavenly Father put us together so we could draw strength from each others insight. I love her. You should follow her blog. Its a bit more intense than mine, probably because she is a bit cooler than me...but only a little bit ;) You can click on the image to take you to her blog.

The Tenders (Part 4)

Tender Mercy 6: My Dad

Have you talked to my dad? You should. He makes me laugh. All the time.

ALL. THE. TIME.

This week he had 2 particular episodes that made me laugh more than I have in a while....

#1....Today we got Google Fiber at the house, and he is pretty excited about it. But he texted me frantically: "QUICK! think of something clever to name the wireless network!" So I rattled off a bunch of silly phrases we could name it....but then I found the winner. Its a phrase heard often in our house.....

PANTS OFF PARTY!!!!!!!

He loved it. And I love him for loving it.

#2....When I was at the house earlier this week, he was prancing around the kitchen trying to kill a fly. He was able to carry on a conversation too...but I thought he was distracted by me when he stopped moving. And then.....

WHACK!!!!!!

He takes his fly swatter and slaughters the ugly black bug.

and then he BOOMS.....

"DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!!!!!!!!"
(name that movie)

The Tenders (Part 3)

One of the greatest blessings in my life is morning scripture study. I often wake up with a natural man mindset and thing, "No, not today. I will do it later. I must do something else now."

But then the still small voice whispers in my ear and nudges, "Do it now. You will thank me later."

After serving the Lord for 18 months, I have learned to listen when that voice comes.

This morning, I felt like a mortal human, with things to do...

...but I listened...

and at this moment, I feel calm, empowered, and hopeful.

Who doesn't need those? That is the perfect way to start the day.

Tender Mercy 4: The Ensign article I read this morning.

Becoming Men & Women of God, by Elder Craig A. Cardon. You can click on the image above to take you right there.

It was amazing. I love the individuals Elder Cardon describes. I love the strength and power of his wife. I strive fro the characteristics he highlights. Please read it.

Tender Mercy 5: 2 Nephi 31:20

This is my ABSOLUTE favorite scripture. (Which is saying something. I don't like to be a band-wagon member...I don't want to like something, just because everyone else likes it. This is a scripture that everyone likes...so by default I should DISLIKE it. But I love it)

This scripture was written for me and the struggles in my life. It has given me strength during NUMEROUS life trials, and I am sure I will find power in it forever more.

 20) Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

I bolded the parts that are most influential for me. What inspires you?

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the 9 Month Anniversary of me returning from my mission! That is HALF OF A SISTER'S MISSION!!!!

UGH

I have been reflecting upon my mission a lot the past couple days....so when I had the opportunity to give the spiritual thought in class today, I spoke on a major lesson I learned in the field.

Obedience.

I realized:
1) as a missionary it can sometimes feel hard to follow ALL of the rules. It seems restrictive and confession, sometimes there is the desire to rebel
2) coming home and following the rules is different, and harder
3) the path is not laid out straight in civilian life, like it is a missionary.
4) its harder to know what the right choice is, and its harder to be EXACTLY obedient when there are so many choices

I shared some of these thoughts with my class....and then later in the day heard a quote that also connected to the topic.

M. Russell Ballard:
"Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant....But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants."

Civilian life easily turns towards convenient-focused rather than covenant-focused. I want to be covenant-focused,  like I was as a missionary.

I want to be exactly obedient to commandments and promptings, because "exact obedience brings miracles."

The tenders (Part 2)

To continue with my Tender Mercy list...
3. Brian Thacker. Brian is a wonderful friend from before my mission. He pops in periodically to check in on me. Sunday night, I started to feel really ill right before the CES Fireside. Brian had met up with me to watch the broadcast together, as we have done many times before. Well, me being sick, I was probably not very good company...but Brian stuck it out and helped walk me/support me back to my apartment, listened patiently to my woes, tried to use his pre-med knowledge to help with my knees, nursed me back to health, and did my dishes. Tender mercies don't get much more blatant than that.