The Atonement

"The Atonement is fundamentally a doctrine of human development, not a doctrine that simply erases black marks. One who chooses Christ chooses to be changed.... The Atonement (is) the means whereby our hearts might be cleansed and our souls transformed and prepared to dwell with Christ and our Eternal Father.... The Atonement does more than fix the mistakes. It does more than balance the scales. It even does more than forgive sins. It rehabilitates, regenerates, renews, and transforms human nature. Christ makes us better, worlds better, than we would have been had there been no Fall." -Brad Wilcox (The continuous Atonement)

-I LOVE this quote. Its in a book I am now reading about the Atonement. This alone, proves that the only way we can heal-heal our hearts, our wounds, our mistakes, our sins, our sorrows-is by finding the Atonement and allowing it-through Christ our Savior- to heal us. To change us. To make us better. And make us who we need to be, and who we want to be.

Peace

"Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on him who has all things safely in his hands." -Elizabeth Elliott

This is something I need constant reminder of, on a daily basis. I am not in control. I can do all within my own power to change, fix, or make decisions for myself, but everything else is left up to the Lord. He is the only one. When we sit so long in confusion, idylness, impatience, or even doubt, all we do is disrupt and destroy our own peace. The only way to have true peace, is by faith. Leaving our lives, and our worries, our doubts and our fears, our love and our inner most desires, and putting it all into the hands of our Savior-this is how we can achieve steady peace. This is not easy. Especially in the life we live in, with instant graitification, temptation surrounding us, and giving in to the natural man has become an every day acceptance by the world. But we wont be truly happy without it. Peace is the only thing to keep us going when it seems impossible. To help us keep fighting,when we really dont want to. To lift us up, when we feel we have sunk. Peace, which is felt through God's love, can be contentment and strength that we didnt know we had. Surround yourself with love, have the faith to push forward blindly, and allow God to fill your soul with never-ending peace.

Gratitude...SMILES!!

"Gratitude unlockes the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, an stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." -Melody Beattie

~It is said that gratitude is one of the most valuable things of life. To be grateful, is to be in acceptance, and acquire of pure selflessness. Gratitude can change your views of everything important in this life.

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable." -Joseph Addison

~I, personally, feel that smiles are one of God's greatest gifts given to man. Along with physical touch and kind words, a smile is the softest, simplest of gestures that can enliven your soul and feel you with a moment of undescribable joy. Its a way of showing kindness, responsiveness, and love to man kind. I LOVE SMILES. :)

God's Love

Its fascinating to me, how much we can feel God's presence and love in our lives if we all but allow it. Just a change in thought, or attitude, can allow you to see things in a different way than you never saw before. Allowing our minds and our hearts to be free from anger, frustration, disappointment, self-pity, and pride-will in turn give us a complete opportunity to open ourselves to love: love of others, love of ourself, and most importantly, love of God. Nothing can be more fulfilling and gratifying to our own beings, than feeling of God's love for us, and in turn showing our love for him. In this earthly life that we have been blessed with, people-come and go, decisions-have to be made, hardships and trials-never cease, consequences for all actions-are inevitable. There is only one thing that is constant. One thing that can fulfill us fully. One thing, that can give us never-ending happiness and peace. God. HE is the answer to everything. No matter where we turn, or what we do, the road to happiness, joy, and love will always turn directly to him. Allow God in to your life. Into your heart. Let him fill all voids within you. Let him work through you. And allow him to turn all your sorrows, all your mistakes, all your flaws, into nothing but unconditional love.

New Year's Resolutions

Its that time of year....where it comes to... an end. haha And the typical response to this is, "Oh! Its a new year! l Lets right a list of goals for our New Year's Resolution!" Well, I'm here to convey that this... doesnt work! haha I cant even being to describe how many times I have sat down and done this, only to find myself a few months later, completely off track and lost sight of everything I had just made a list about! I feel like I always try to perfect everything..so my goal list is of 10 resolutions or more. ha. Maybe thats the problem. But...this is my advice to you. ONE. One thing you want to better yourself. One goal you have that is completely realistic. Maybe even go up to two or three..but dont push passed five. And work every week in striving towards this. Allow yourself time, and dont force it within the first month, but give yourself the complete FULL year to finish. Here is an example that I will share with you.

One of my #1 New Year's Resolutions is to be a better example, to emulate more of Christ in my life. Not just in doing, for myself and feel his love and presence in my life more, but in others lives. Now...there are probably hundreds of ways I could do this. Hundreds of things I could write down to better myself to meet this particular goal. But I am not writing one single thing down. However this may happen, will happen. It might change daily, depending on who I am with, and what circumstances I am under. But I hope that by the end of the next year, I will feel like this goal was completed, however that may look.

I hope this New Year not only brings joy, but peace to all those who read this, and all those who dont. All that matters as we set goals and strive to be better, is the effort we put in to trying, not necessarily how far we get, but that we did try. I pray that we all continue to try every day to be better than the day before.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!! <3

Grown-Up Christmas List

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown-up now
Can you still help somehow?
I'm not a child, but my start still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself, but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
very man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end

This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list

Love....this song with all my heart. <3 Enjoy this Christmas Season

Time. Choices. Productivity.

Time is NEVER a waste. No matter how it is spent, or what you choose to do....no matter what your definition of "fullfillment" looks like. No matter the choices that are compiled, or the mistakes that have been made. No matter how many hours, days, weeks, months, or even years are spent on patiently waiting for answers to prayers. Everything happens for a reason. There is always a season for everything. "Time" is irrelevant. What you choose to MAKE of the time that is given to you here on earth, is what is most important.

Every moment, whether positive or negative, can be a good thing. Can lead you down the path that you were MEANT to be on. Its always a learning experience in the making. You cant make a wrong choice. Only BAD choices. Because every choice you choose to make, leads you to where you need to be. There is always a good path to take from a bad decision. Doesnt ever mean it was wrong. It wasnt. It lead you to the NEXT choice. Thats all life is. Choices. Choosing to be happy, choosing a career, choosing who to love, choosing who to hate, or even choosing to envy or hold harsh feelings towards others. Everything is a choice.

How productive you choose to be, also, does not always matter. In the world's point of view, staying busy, always having a task to do, or a place to be, or even steps to a certain goal, is what makes you a productive person. How far you go in life, is what creates you, who you are, and the reputation you should desire. This is all FALSE. You can sit, in an empty room, alone, and have the biggest break-through within yourself that could ultimately change your life forever. You can lay down and read book after book, and gain more information and knowledge about life than if you traveled the world. You can sit and watch people, and understand human nature, better than the best schools could teach you. You can have lived a good fullfilled life, with no extended education, living in a shack- but having the best atittude, creating the best relationships, and being the greatest example to all those around you...you can create the most honoring reputation than any scholar could have ever had.

What you choose to MAKE of your time...the type of person you CHOOSE to be, the choices you make at every single turn, whether those choices are positive or negative, and the growing moments you allow in your life...THAT is what counts, THAT is what matters most, and THAT is what will make ALL the difference.

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late. And some don't come til Heaven. But for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they come" Jeffrey R. Holland

A really good friend of mine shared this beautiful quote with me and I just had to share.

Something that has been a struggle in life, with many people, including myself, is holding on when things are so tough, you feel as if your hanging by a thread. Or even when there not, but you aren't finding pure happiness and contentment. But the ONLY thing that will keep us going, and the ONLY thing that will bring us undeniable and everlasting happiness, is Christ and his gospel. Just like it states in this quote, blessings WILL come, as we embrace what the Lord has given us here on this earth, which is the gospel. You have to have hope. You have to endure. And you have to walk forward in faith, putting your trust in him, and his word. Doing everything in your power to uphold the commandments of God, the things HE asks of us. Then, and only then, will he grant us with happiness and love in our lives. People... they can always disappoint. Wishes granted... can always fail us or not bring lasting joy. But the one thing that is consistent, everlasting, and full of the greatest blessings and fulfillment in this existence is our Savior. Live through him. Live for him. And choose HIM as your anchor. Nothing in life is worth living for if he isn't the center of it. Don't give up hope in what he promises as we choose to do his will.

Welcome Home...

As some have heard already, yesterday was the unexpected passing of my Uncle Rick. Only 43 years old, passed away while he was sleeping in the night. This was devestating news to our family, and we will forever miss him. But I find peace knowing that I will see him again, and that he up there keeping Lorin and Grandpa company, til we all reunite once again. Times like these always makes me think of life in a new perspective. Realizing that our time to leave this earth, can be at any time. Will we be ready? Have we done everything in our power to live a God loving life? This time can be a beautiful thing, or it can be a very saddening thing. How we percieve it makes all the difference. Here is a song by a favorite christian artist of mine...one of my favorite songs about leaving this earth. I pray that whoever may have gone through something similiar in this life of loosing a loved one, find comfort in the words in this song. Know you are not alone, and that God is always with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ILJuZdabKM

When Life Give you Lemons...you Make Lemonade!!

Ive always loved this saying. Taking it apart it is using the symbolism of lemons (which alone are tart, bitter, and sour-not typically appealling on its own)...but when smushed and sweetners added, along with a dab of sugar, they can turn into a delicious and tasty drink..Lemonade! I like using this analogy a lot in life, and can be seen in many different scenarios. But one I am focusing on now is- just us, as human beings, spirit children of God, living on earth at this time. Alone, we are nothing of extravegance..nothing worth tasting, not desired. But after some trial and error, added faith, and strength with our view completely on God, we can become exactly what we WANT, and become the sweetend, desired people we are destined to be. For with God...anything is possible.