ha11oween

halloween costumes 2011! :)

 asian woman. christmas tree. biker chick. pinata.

 i beat him up and take his candy.

 elizabean, my christmas tree :)

vampire. cow. christmas tree. asian woman. biker chicks. bella swan. pocahontas.

God wants our lives to make a difference

In thinking about what happened last monday, I admit I asked myself why God would let something like this happen. I know He is always watching over us and that He cares for us infinitely, I just couldn't see a reason for Him to allow this to happen. I know that we have to be allowed to use our agency, even to make wrong decisions, but the girl involved has a mental illness. How does agency come into play in a situation like that? Only God knows. This world is so wicked... but at the same time there is so much more goodness. As Helen Keller said,

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

Keeping up with the news stories this week I have been inspired by the people of my hometown and how God has answered prayers for healing and compassion. It has been truly amazing. I have been especially impressed by how the young people have been handling the situation with grace and courage.

One of my friends who goes to that high school posted on facebook,

"We want our lives to make sense, God wants our lives to make a difference. This week, we did it, together."

I've been pondering the first part of that post a lot lately. "God wants our lives to make a difference." I definitely see that this incident has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of people. At times when my life doesn't make sense, I can remember that God is using me to make a difference. It changes the way I live my life. God has a plan for my life, different from the one that I might have imagined. But my life doesn't have to make sense to me. God's in control of it, and I trust Him absolutely to use me to make a positive difference in the world if I let him.

I choose to see God's hand in everything. The recovery of the young girl who was hurt has been miraculous. Doctors say that if she had been stabbed just 4 millimeters to one side, she would have bled out immediately. They also say that if the emergency respondents had chosen to send her to the trauma hospital farther away instead of the one they chose, she would've died en route. As it was, she died several times that day and the doctors were able to bring her back. I believe that God was with her that day, answering hundreds of prayers for her and her safety. God truly did take care of those in need that day, and in the days since and still to come. Miracles sometimes come down to minutes and millimeters.

God allows us our agency. Terrible things happen, I don't always know why. But I know that God is always in control, and that He loves us, and that He has a plan for us. I know that He answers our prayers. I know that He is always with us, even and especially in the midst of tragedy. And when we follow Him, our lives will make a difference.

those autumn leaves :)

a prayer for healing and peace

This morning as I got on facebook and started scrolling through the newsfeed, I noticed several posts by kids from my old high school about a lockdown. As I looked further into it, I learned that there had been a violent incident involving three young girls. {If you'd like the details, you can get them from the school website.} I called my mom and texted a few friends to see if they'd heard the news. I have three siblings at that high school, and I was worried about their safety and emotional well-being. I was able to talk to my oldest brother on the phone tonight, and he says they're all doing fine, though obviously shaken by what happened.

In thinking about what has happened, a few thoughts and quotes have come to mind.

One thing that always boggles my mind is the dichotomy of good and evil in the world. How can such awful and sorrowful events occur on the same day in the same world, same town, and same facebook page as such beautiful and joyful events?

Gordon B. Hinckley said,

‎I have seen much of ugliness in this world. Most of it is the work of man. But I think I have seen much more of beauty. I marvel at the majestic works of the Creator. How magnificent they are. And they are all the work of the Son of God. 

The ugliness of what happened today is shocking. But beauty is still present in this world, even in tragedy.

Today I have had a continual prayer in my heart for the girls involved in the incident, both the two who were victims and the one who attacked them. Everyone needs our prayers and our hearts. God's love is infinite. God's love is Healing. "I am the Lord that healeth thee." {Ex. 15:26} Please pray for healing for these girls, their families, and all who were affected today.

I have been inspired and brought to tears by the unity I've seen among people in my hometown who have banded together in prayer and hope, and by the courage demonstrated by a close friend of my brother who heard the girls scream for help. I know that, as Helen Keller said,

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. 

Witnessing my young friends and siblings overcome and unite has been inspiring. I pray that they will continue to be able to overcome, and that they will have peace.

It makes me terribly sad that my younger siblings and friends have had to experience this. No teenager should ever have to deal with the emotions that come when a peer and friend is involved in such a violent attack at school. It's unfair, and I feel for the young people involved. I pray over them, that they will have peace and healing at this time as well.

One of my young friends at the high school wrote,

Everyone has a story. God's taking care of those in need today. Praying for safety & compassion at our school.

I join in her prayer for safety and compassion and add a prayer for her as well. God's hand is over everything.

I believe in hope. I believe in thinking of others before myself. I believe in God's infinite love and care for all of us. And what I believe is what gets me through.

God has told us,

Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I with strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee.

Tonight, as I pray for peace and healing over all who were affected, I trust in God's great love and compassion for all of us. I know that I cannot fully fathom what happened today, but I know with my whole being that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that His Love brings peace, and healing, and that He understands. I know that He lives, that He loves us, and that He cares about each and every person in this world. I pray that others can know this as well.

I've been listening to beautiful things and there will be a day tonight, along with some instrumental hymns.

There will be a day

with no more tears

no more pain

and no more fears...

but until that day

we'll hold on to You always.

pray for love. pray for peace.

oh yeah. this happened.

 

So I guess I'm twenty now.

Cool :)

my obsession

i have come to realize that i have a compulsive love for the mountains here; basically i can't walk past them without being awestruck by their beauty and taking a picture {or five.} :)

The Prodigal Son

Today in New Testament we also talked about the story of the Prodigal Son, which is of course very famous. Today however we added some details that really deepened my understanding of the story.

One was that the Prodigal Son basically said "I wish you were dead" to his father when he asked for his inheritance immediately. When he gathered all his things together, he was saying that he wasn't coming back. And when he took his journey to a far country, he was trying to get as far away from his father as possible. Ouch.

One of the best lines of the parable is, "When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran." His father had been watching for him, waiting for him. He knew his child would return. The image of a father running at breakneck speed toward his child makes me choke up a bit. He had compassion. He ran to his child, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

The father gives his wayward son three gifts: a robe, a ring, and shoes. All of those have to be fitted. You can't just give someone a random ring or a random pair of shoes and hope that they fit. This shows that the father knew his child would return and was waiting for him. He had forgiven his son long before the son ever returned home and thought to ask forgiveness.

This shows me how my Father in Heaven feels about me, and how He forgives me and loves me even before I repent and return to Him. It also shows me how I ought to forgive others. I don't need them to come to me and ask forgiveness; I can freely forgive them as my Father has forgiven me.

You Matter to Him

So I feel as though I may just give it up and turn this into my New Testament blog.......... because every class is seriously SO great. :)

Today we talked about a few stories from Luke. One, found in Luke 19, is the story of Zacchæus, who was chief among the publicans, rich, and "little of stature." When Jesus comes, Zacchæus tries to see him but can't because he is too short. So he runs ahead a bit and climbs a tree. When Jesus passes under, He looks up, sees Zacchæus, and says that He will dine in Zacchæus' house. Zacchæus recieves him joyously, and promises to give half of all he has to the poor and to restore anything he has wrongly taken away {in his job as a publican this happened a lot} fourfold. Though the other people call him a sinner, Jesus says that this day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

One of the lessons I learned from this story is that we all have weaknesses, but I don't need to let these keep me from seeing the Saviour. I may be a little short in some areas, but that shouldn't stop me. I can show a little gumption and determination and "climb a tree" if necessary to get to my Saviour. I would imagine that Zacchæus lost a bit of his dignity as a grown man climbing a sycomore tree, but getting close to Jesus was more important to him. Is it most important to me? How desperate am I to get to Christ?

Another thing I learn is that we are never lost to the Saviour. How often is a person walking along when they just randomly look up to see if a person is in the tree above them? Jesus knew exactly where Zacchæus was at all times. We are never lost to him. We are never insignificant to him. We matter to him. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

BYU :)

I am loving all my classes right now. I'm taking 16 credits, which sometimes gets a little stressful, but I love all my classes and I couldn't pick one to drop haha. Right now I'm loving how all of them are interacting and adding to each other. We talk about Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy in Classic Civ that goes right along with what I'm learning in my C.S. Lewis class, or we learn about Greek myths that go along with our discussions in C.S. Lewis and what I'm writing a paper on for Book of Mormon as Sacred Literature! My Old and New Testament classes are always interesting, and my History of Ancient Israel class is adding to my background knowledge. Basically, I'm just loving it. I'm getting such a good education, it's so interesting, and I'm just fascinated by all the new and awesome things I am learning that make me feel like a scholar, and are adding to my religious knowledge. Go BYU! :)

The Good Samaritan

Surprise, surprise........ it was another great day in New Testament. :)

We talked about the story of the Good Samaritan, one I'm sure almost everyone is familiar with at least the premise of. Today, however, we learned an allegorical interpretation I've never even considered before, although if I had looked around a little more I would have seen it taught by Martin Luther, John Welch, and others.

First of all, to understand it you have to know that topographically Jerusalem is the highest point in the Holy Land. People always spoke about going "up" to Jerusalem, the way we in America talk about going "up" if we're headed north. By contrast, Jericho is the lowest city in the world, below even the Dead Sea. So when Jesus talked about a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, he was really going down. This represents the Fall of man.

Next we read that this man "fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." The thieves are Satan and his angels, and the wounds are sin. We are spiritually dead (being separated from God) but not yet physically dead.

Next, "by chance there came down a certain priest that way" who did not save the man. "And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side." Neither the priest [Law of Moses?] or the Levite [Priesthood] could save the fallen man. They came by chance, not on purpose. By chance certain children were born into the family of Israel and lived the Law of Moses. By chance they had the priesthood. But these things cannot save.

forgiveness.... again :)

I hope with all these posts about forgiveness I'm not making it seem like I have a lot to forgive someone for, cause that's not the case. It's just been on my mind lately :)

Today in New Testament (I know, I know....) Brother Smith pointed out the difference between Matthew 7:3 and Luke 6:41. One reads:

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

and the other:

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Then we talked about the difference, and which is scarier. To me, I'm much more concerned that I have faults that everyone else can see clearly that I'm just not perceiving. I know I do, because sometimes they are made quickly and painfully apparent to me.

I've never thought about these verses in this way before... I'd always thought it was just to remind us that we have our own big sins to worry about, so don't judge your brother. Now it's a reminder to me that I have huge faults that I'm not even aware of that people are forgiving me for every day.  If I can't perceive a beam, how can I blame them for not perceiving a mote?

If I remember have my own beams that I need to just work on perceiving and removing, forgiving my brother for his little motes becomes a lot easier.  They might not be aware, or they might be. Mostly, I need to work on relying on the Spirit, fixing myself, and remembering that I am so, so, so far from perfect.

Thanks, God, for this amazing lesson today :) Perfect!

#LDSconf

Today I decided to try joining the #TwitterStake and tweeting my conference notes. I kinda liked it. It probably looked like I was texting during conference, but really, I was taking notes and posting them online in a more permanent {for me} space than a notebook. I always lose my notebooks haha. Plus it was fun to see what other people were getting out of conference. & so here, is a picture of my twitter profile today. for your viewing enjoyment. :)

Can you read that? I hope it's not too small.... anyways, happy conference weekend! tomorrow I get to go and watch it in the Conference Center - yay! the tickets finally came! :) #sohappy

:)

forgiving

This I know: God is all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful.

Because He is all-loving, He wants us to be happy.

Because He is all-knowing, He knows what will make us happy.

Because He is all-powerful, He can make us happy if we only use our will to choose His will.

One of of His commandments designed to bring us ultimate happiness is forgiveness:

"I say unto 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; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt 5:44-45, 48

Of course, this all sounds like a great idea until you're faced with actually having to forgive someone who doesn't deserve it, or love someone who persecutes you. C.S. Lewis wrote,

"I admit that this means loving people who have nothing loveable about them. But then, has oneself anything loveable about it? You love it simply because it is yourself... We have then to go on and apply the rule to all the other selves. Perhaps it makes it easier if we remember that that is how He loves us. Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves." 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf teaches us more about how God loves us:

just fyi

God gives us calm

and forgiveness

and love

and peace

and i'm incredibly thankful.

what an awesome God we have

how loving, how kind,

how present

♥

Jesus takes care of us. 

Forgiveness is in His hands, and He's all I need to make me happy. :)

‎"It is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself."
~Corrie ten Boom