you're invited...

to learn more about my mission! haha :) 

like any good first-grade journalist... i've decided to write out the "5 W's + H" of my mission {please tell me i'm not the only one who learned those in elementary school haha}

WHO 

Jesus :)

missionary me :)

Here's the thing... it's really not about me. It's mostly about Jesus, and it's mostly about other people. :)

WHAT

A mission is a voluntary act of service to God & humankind. We serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people. :)  My purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I'll be waking up early, studying my scriptures, meeting new people, sharing my testimony of Jesus Christ, teaching the gospel, and inviting people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and follow His example :)
I'm dedicating this part of my life to Him as completely as possible, so I'll be very selective about the music I listen to, I won't be on facebook or twitter or anything, I won't be using my phone, and I'll just be emailing my family once a week. Every one can please write me letters though! :) :)

WHEN & WHERE

I report to the Missionary Training Center on November 14th. I'll be there for a couple weeks, and then I'm headed to the Wisconsin Milwaukee mission for 18 months! :) 

HOW

I'd like to quote a Book of Mormon prophet here:

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." Alma 26:12

He is how. :) 

WHY

I first considered serving a full-time mission when I was like... seven. But mostly just because my aunt was the age to go and she was thinking about it. She didn't end up serving, but the idea stuck and it felt good :) So I've sort of always planned on it, and experiences during high school and college have only strengthened that desire. 

Then, while I was working at efy, it became less an option and more a necessity haha. I felt and still feel very strongly that a mission is where I need to be as soon as possible. The gospel of Jesus Christ is something I love more than anything, and I can't think of anything more important that I could be talking about or more beautiful that I could be doing.
 I know that God lives, and I know that He loves & is aware of us. Some people don't know that. How can I not at least try to share my happiness with them? Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world. Because of Him, we all can have hope. How can I not share this hope with people? God has a plan for our happiness. We can be with our families forever. There is life after death. There is a purpose to our life here on earth. Somethings are too important to keep to myself.

While I was at efy, my angel Amanda shared with a group of us a verse that hit me as very few verses have before or since. I knew I wanted to serve a mission, and my application was already in the works, but I was struggling with how much I'm going to miss the things I love... my friends, my home, my family... even stupid stuff like my music and my clothes haha. The Savior's question to Peter - Lovest thou me more than these? - hit me SO HARD, and I knew my answer. I knew that this is why I'm leaving everything else I love behind. I love home. I love my friends. I love my family. But I love Jesus more. And He has asked me to feed His lambs. So I'm going.

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." 3 Ne. 5:13

From my call letter:

"The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary."

aaaaaaaamen! WISCONSIN HERE I COME. :) :)

holding hands

The other day I learned something that completely blew my mind and changed the way I think about a lot of things. I'll try to walk you through it :)

First of all, this scripture:

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. {Isaiah 54:5}

Thy Maker is thine husband. The metaphor the Lord chooses to use for His relationship with us is husband & wife. Interesting.

Let's next look at two of the ten commandments:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to [idols], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. {Exodus 20:5}

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife... nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. {Exodus 20:17}

Doesn't there seem to be a discrepancy here? God calls Himself a jealous God, then commands us not to covet. How can this be? Look closely at the commandment not to covet... not to covet what, specifically? Thy neighbour's wife. Here's the thing though... we aren't "His neighbour's" wife. We are His, by covenant and by marriage. He is jealous for me. I am His. He bought me with a price & by covenant I am His. Thank God, literally! What love He has for me. He will never break that covenant.

Jehovah Himself said,

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness...

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." {Isaiah 41:10,13}

"Other comforts fail and comforts flee," as the hymn says, but He will not.

Neal A. Maxwell taught,

"God has no distracting hobbies off somewhere in the universe. We are at the very center of His concerns and purposes." [Compare this with the god Baal in 1 Kings 18:27, who might've been off on a journey or sleeping somewhere in the universe.]

I need to be as devoted to Christ as He is to me. Jesus comes first, above and before everything and anything else. No "holding hands" with anyone or anything else! And no cuddling with my fears. This is what it means to be faithful.

Being the bride of Christ takes faith. It takes faith to choose Him first, run to Him first, turn to Him first. 

Remembering this metaphor He gave has taught me a great deal about my relationship with Christ. For example, husbands pay for things. Jesus paid for everything; my job is to let Him and stop trying to pay for things myself. He already suffered for sin, I don't need to suffer for it again.

Being married to Him, I get to go where He goes. It's almost like a marriage visa ~ I can be sealed to Him and brought to heaven because of the covenant. My job is to cleave unto Him, keep my covenants, love Him, be faithful to Him, & put Him first in all things. :)

I feel my Savior's love :)

What does it mean to be a child of God?

Hello friends :)

As part of my job this summer working with efy, I got to take some nice long car trips with friends :)
~ fun fact about me ~ 

Sky & Katie :)

I love talking with people. It's seriously my activity of choice, listening and thinking out loud with someone. 

And so on one particular car trip, I got to talking with my friend Sky about the issue we and some other friends have with the oft-taught idea that all girls are "princesses." Certainly, this is true. We know that we are all "children of the Most High" (Psalms 82:6) and I think that this knowledge of who we really are is very important for us all to have, especially teenagers, who seem to struggle so much with self-worth and the source of their identity. However, my worry is that we sometimes stop too soon. "You're a princess!" we declare, never following up with what it means to be a princess.

To Whom then can we look to discover how children of the King really act? Why, Jesus of course! (Seems like He's always the answer, isn't He.) :)

Like His Apostle Simon Peter, we "believe and are sure that [He is] that Christ, the Son of the living God." {John 6:69} There isn't any better example of One who truly is the Son of God, and knew it. So what did He do, this Divine Son of God, when He was here on earth?

He washed people's feet.

He "went about doing good," yet was despised for it. {Acts 10:38}

He "walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead." {The Living Christ}

He came to serve.

As John records,

"Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded." {John 13:3-5}

In other words, knowing who He was, where He came from, and where He was going impelled him to serve.

This, being a child of God means that you have been called to serve.

As Christ Himself taught,

"Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." {John 13:13-15,17}

You are a child of God. The supreme Governor of the universe, the Creator of everything, the all-powerful, all-knowing, infinitely loving God is your eternal Father.

What this means is that you can be like Him. You can be good, and pure, and happy as He is. :)

What this means is that you are loved.

And what this means is that you and I have been called to serve. Go, and do as Christ did :)



**for another example of how children of a king behave, go here.** :)

motivation

First of all, a story. 

There was once a man who had a dream. And in that dream, he "beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy." He also "beheld a rod of iron, and it led to the tree by which I stood." He observes two different groups of people moving forward along that rod of iron, towards that tree and its fruit. The first is described thus:

"I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost."

He then saw a second group, described as, "other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."

What makes the difference between the first group, who were afterwards ashamed, and the second who were not? The answer, I think, is found in the difference between "clinging" and "continually holding fast." Clearly in this context the word clinging has a negative meaning. The word "cling" can denote fear, and I think in this case it certainly does. By contrast, "continually holding fast" denotes the same amount of dedication to this rod of iron, but with a significantly different motivation.

Interestingly, the first group - the clingers - mentions a "mist of darkness," (certainly frightening) while those who continually hold fast do not. Did they just grab onto the rod of iron to help them escape the darkness, and not necessarily to get to the fruit?

So let's break the metaphor apart. Let's say that the tree is Jesus Christ, and the fruit is His love. Let's also say that the rod of iron is Christ, because He can do that - be both the Way, the Reason, and the Result. :)

What we have are two reasons for following Christ ~ fear, and the opposite of fear - love. Our first group, motivated by fear, eventually becomes ashamed and falls away from the Savior. The second group, motivated by love, does not.

I think this has an important message for us about why we should do the things we do and how we should motivate others. Do we follow Christ because we're afraid that if we don't we'll be somehow unbearably punished? Because we're afraid of what others might think of us? If so, that will eventually fall away, and we'll be left with nothing to stand on - no reason to stay.
Fear is infinitely weaker than love.

By great contrast, Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that,
"His pure love directs and encourages us to become more pure and holy. It inspires us to walk in righteousness—not out of fear or obligation but out of an earnest desire to become even more like Him because we love Him.
 Divine love is the factor that transforms reluctant compliance with God’s commandments into blessed dedication and consecration. Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple." {emphasis added}


As a second witness of this truth, Henry B. Eyring testifies that,

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others... It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."

May we be ever more motivated by love for our Savior, and not keep His commandments motivated by fear or obligation. As we come to know Him more and feel more strongly of His infinite and abiding love for us, we will be inspired by this love and be able to continually hold fast to Him and eventually taste of His Love and never be ashamed :)  

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.

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."

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

The Great Blondin

Charles Blondin was basically the Evel Knievel of his day. But instead of riding motorcycles, he walked tightropes. And in 1859, he decided he was going to tightrope walk across the gorge below Niagara Falls. 

Great idea, right? But he did it! He walked all the way from the American side to the Canadian side, and when he got there, over the thunderous applause he cried, "That's not all!" and turned around and walked back. The crowds watching went wild! When he got back to the American side he bowed and said, "Thank you! Now, who believes I could do it again?" The people cheered loudly. The Great Blondin smiled and asked, "Who believes I could do it again - while pushing this wheelbarrow across with me?" The people cheered even louder! They believed! And then the Great Blondin asked - "Then who wants to get in the wheelbarrow!" and the crowd was suddenly silent. 

It seems clear, then, that there is a very important difference between belief and the sort of faith that would lead us to action. James E. Talmage wrote: 

"Belief ... may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action ... Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief." {Articles of Faith, p. 98-99, emphasis added}

In order to have "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," {Articles of Faith 1:4}, we must not only believe in Him, but also place our trust in Him {Proverbs 3:5}.

trust

Let's start with a personal weakness of mine: I sometimes find it hard to picture God concretely, like as a real person. I know a lot about Him, but it's hard to know Him, especially when I can't see Him. Luckily, I believe He gave us relationships with other people to teach us about Him. So when I'm having trouble imagining God, I think about the people I know personally who sort of embody certain characteristics of Him.

Today, I'm thinking about trust. Trusting God to do what is best for me, and for the people I love. So I’m thinking about the people I know I can really trust. What is it about them that makes them trustworthy? Six main characteristics came to mind:

1. I know them. This might seem like an obvious one, but think about it. I have a basic trust in humanity just because I like to believe that most people are good, but I would never give a stranger the keys to my car. I know all the people I trust very well, and the more I know them them more I know I can trust them.

2. They are consistent. They don't change on me. If they say they'll be there, then they are. They've never not been there for me when I needed them. 

3. They are honest.

4. They are wise and/or knowledgeable. When we were younger, my dad would make up these silly rules for us. Like, don't jump on the banister. He said that he knew it would break because he had done it himself when he was younger. But we ignored the rule. What did Dad know? Turns out... he was right. The banister broke, and we got in trouble. Or what about when Mom said, I think you should do this, or not do that? What does she know. It's not like she was ever a teenager herself. Oh wait. Mom was right too. Maybe I should trust the people who know a little bit more than me about life. :)

5. They have power. You know that trust-fall game, where you fall backwards and trust the person behind you to catch you? I would never play that with a little kid as the catcher. I would crush them. They just don't have the power or ability to catch me. I like to play it with people who are strong enough to support me and hold me up :)

6. They love me. I am absolutely confident in the love that these people have for me, and that above all else allows me to trust them completely.

So then, if God is perfect in every way, I can safely assume that He is perfectly consistent, honest, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.  And I can assume that the more I know Him, the better I will be able to trust Him. So, let's learn more about Him and how He is trustworthy :)

a collection of quotes and verses on the subject of love

Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." {Matthew 22:37-40}

"God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."
dieter f. uchtdorf

"God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hours with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions. He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all that He has. If all that is not enough reason to love our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can learn from the words of the Apostle John, who said, “We love him, because He first loved us."{1 John 4:19}"
dieter f. uchtdorf

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments," {John 14:15} and, "A new commandment I give unto, that you love one another, as I have loved you." {John 13:34}

"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."
c.s. lewis

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked."
dieter f. uchtdorf

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. {1 John 4:11}

Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endures forever. Charity suffers long, and is kind, and envies not, and is not puffed up, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, and rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Wherefore, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love. {Moroni 7:45,47-48}

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others... It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."
henry b. eyring

"Joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is."
henry b. eyring

:)

to forgive

Growing up, I had forgiveness explained to me a lot of different ways.

One was simply that God asked us to forgive, so we should. This is a good reason. Sometimes we do things just because God said so; we don't need a reason, we just trust Him. But it's not very convincing to me.

So another reason offered is, how can we expect forgiveness if we do not extend it ourselves? Jesus said,

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." {Matt. 6:14-15, NKJV}

In the Parable of the Unjust Servant, Jesus teaches me that I can't expect God to forgive me if I withhold forgiveness from others, and reminds me that I have been forgiven a much greater debt than I can ever imagine. I owe Jesus Christ such a huge debt, and He frankly forgave me. How then can I withhold forgiveness from my fellowman, for such a pitiful debt in comparison? "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" {Matt. 18:33, NIV} C.S. Lewis wrote,

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgive the inexcusable in you." {“On Forgiveness” from The Weight of Glory}

I have done so many incredibly stupid things in my life, yet still I hope that I will be forgiven. Can I expect that God will forgive me, and not them? If I believe that I can change and be forgiven, then I have to believe that everyone can do the same; that nothing is outside the scope of Christ's infinite Atonement.

infinity means forever

I love my advanced religion class this semester. Today I learned that we will never stop relying on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is infinite; we never get to check off "apply the Atonement in my life," or be like, "thanks Jesus, that was cool," and move on. We will always be relying on our Savior who ransomed us and provided the way for Eternal Life. He is the reason there is a life after death; the reason I can be reunited with my Father in Heaven and live with Him forever.  I will always be indebted to my Savior for his great Atoning Sacrifice.

"He is my Savior and my Redeemer. Through giving His life in pain and unspeakable suffering, He has reached down to lift me and each of us and all the sons and daughters of God from the abyss of eternal darkness following death. He has provided something better—a sphere of light and understanding, growth and beauty where we may go forward on the road that leads to eternal life. My gratitude knows no bounds. My thanks to my Lord has no conclusion." --Gordon B. Hinckley

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever. ~Ps. 86:12 

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

~Amazing Grace 

Perfect love casteth out all fear; I fear not what man can do.

If I love perfectly, then I will have no more fear. If I can love as Christ does, then I will feel only happiness for the good things in other people's lives. I need to see people as Christ does. That is what I will pray for - that I will love them with a perfect love. I need to pray to love more, with a Christlike love. Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in inquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all those who are the followers of his Son, Jesus Christ. {Moro. 7:45, 47-48}
Charity will make me happy and bring me peace. Charity never faileth.

He is jealous for me

God is jealous for me. When he sees me spending my time with others and not with Him, or when I turn to others when I should turn to Him, it hurts Him. He is happy for me to be happy and have friends, but nothing and no one should replace Him as #1 in my life. He wants to talk to me, all the time. He should be my best friend. I should turn to Him first, before all others. Jesus will always be there for me. He will never betray me or fail me or let me down.

Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side. With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still my soul, thy best, thy Heavenly Friend, through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Christ should be my best friend because he's the only one I can really count on to be with me throughout my entire life. He's a real person, why wouldn't I have that kind of relationship with Him? Other people will come and go, I grow close to friends and then we grow apart, people move, people change, life happens. Jesus is the only one I can count on to always be there with me every step of the way. He knows me better than anyone and yet he still loves me infinitely more than anyone ever could. He is perfect. He understands exactly what I'm going through. I need to turn to Him in times of need, the same way I turn to my human best friends. I need to nurture the relationship, to put as much effort and investment into it as into my earthly friendships. Relationships cannot exist one-sided. One person can't be expected to give and give and give into the relationship. It has to be two-way. Mutual loving. I don't have to give equal to what He is giving, but it has to be my all, 100%, because that is what He is giving me. Christ is perfectly loving and forgiving and understanding. He wants me to rely on him, to turn to Him when other sources fail me. Perhaps that's why other sources have failed. So that I will be forced to turn to Him. He loves me. And I know that he will always love me. I can trust him with my life, because he gave His life for me. I belong to Him. I want to belong to Him. He offers salvation to his friends. "Greater love hath no man than this - that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." {John 15:13-14}

Good friends talk often. {Every day at least.} They consult each other. And not just when it's convenient for them or when they need something. They want to talk to each other.
Good friends do things for each other out of love. They sacrifice for each other.
Good friends listen, and they care.
Good friends do things together. They like to spend time together, doesn't matter where.
Good friends say "I love you," and mean it.
Good friends defend and protect each other.
Good friends put each other first.
Good friends express appreciation.

Be still my soul: Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul, The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
God is in control. He's got it. He rules over over the universe. All things are within his power. He will take care of me. He has a plan for me.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord, when disappointment, grief and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last :)
Everything has a purpose. He knows me. He is aware of me. He has a plan for me. He will not abandon my. My God is faithful.

Jesus gave His life for me. Shouldn't I return the favor?

He paid the highest price for me, and still He tells me I am free.

"I love you this much."

He is truly my Redeemer, my Savior, and my God.