"This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for you when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life." -unknown

"The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my exsistence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed."

~I love this quote. It pretty much sums up alot of how many people may feel. During tough times, its always hard to be "smiley" or "bubbly" or even an encouragement to be around. But thats OK. Tomorrow is a new day. No matter what comes, you can always try again tomorrow. And realize your blessings...that today...there is something good. As in any day. There is always something to be grateful for.

One Step At a Time.

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go." -Hermann Hesse Have you ever had to let go of something, a desire or dream, or even a person, and with everything in you-you did not want to-but you knew you had to? Sometimes we think that because we are able to hold tight and firm, that we are being strong. When in some cases, we must let go completely in order to show true strength. This is a hard concept to fathom at times. Doesnt always make a lot of sense. I have succumbed to the fact that I will not understand 3/4 of my life-why things happen, why certain people enter my life when they dont even get to stay, why situations are brought upon me, why I cant ever have my own desires. I think this is because I have become selfish, thinking that my way is the right way, that my choice (if not selfish thinking) is the right choice, and that I can have my own righteous desires and they should come to pass. This is wrong. ha. I have had to humble myself a lot lately, and realize that this isnt true. Until my entire will becomes the Lords will for me, I will always struggle with this-as will anyone. Its not up to me to dictate all the great and incredible things to happen in my life. Only the lord knows the full picture..and only he can be the one to lead me there. Only he knows all the answers, and only through him can we obtain pure strength, and ultimately... happiness. Its by giving up our will, and allowing God's will to be the will we desire, that we then show true...honest...pure...STRENGTH. Strength in God, in his power, in his miracles....and strength to get through every moment of every day, even when it seems impossible to do so at times. He is our one and only anchor. Find your true strength. Your strength, through the Lord.

Power of Darkness

"Neither Satan nor any other power can destroy or undermine your growing character." -Elder Richard G. Scott "Beware the Tempation to retreat from a good thing (or a bad thing). If it was right when you prayed about it (or wrong) and trusted in it, it is right now." -Elder Jeffery R. Holland (my favorite apostle) -During my entire life, I have always been aware of the power that the adversary (or in other cases-evil, negativity, darkness, or Satan) has over us-it is very strong-especially for members of the true and living church on the earth. The closer you are to God, the stronger that power is, the more it increases temptation in your life. This I have experienced many times in my life. Three points I want to make concern this topic: 1. You are what you think you are-dont let the adversary allow you to believe anything differently. You are a choosen son/daughter of God, regardless of what you do, or your belief in him, or the life you choose to lead. YOU are part of his heavenly family. He created you in HIS image. We all have his light dwelling inside of us. We choose to believe that or not-but it is truth. The world will tell you anything to grab a hold of you and make you think you are worthless and nothing, if you arent "this mold" that the world has created. If you arent a size zero and have flawless skin, and can achieve the impossible-you arent a desired woman to the world. If you dont have muscles the size of boulders and can have a successful career making millions- you arent an appealing man to the world. This is FALSE. You are who you are because God created you that way. WHO you are is much more important than what you look like or how successful you can become. GROW to become more like him, every single day. LOVE yourself the way he does. Walk around in life knowing that you are priceless. Your worth is GREAT in the sight of God, and THAT is what matters. 2. Turn to God in times of decision. However small or undermining that decision may seem-it could ultimately alter your entire life. If he says no, dont do it. If he says yes, do it-no questions asked. Have a relationship with him, TRUST him, that he knows best-because HE DOES. If he says to not go to a certain party, or not date a certain person, or to stay home instead of going out, LISTEN TO IT. If he says yes..I want you to do --blank-- or go to school --here--or whatever...DONT question it. Act. Every time we try to take control of our own lives-it never ends the way we want to. Most often times, it ends in a lot of heartache, betrayal, sadness, hurt, or guilt. This is a very hard thing to do at times, especially when you do not understand the meaning behind whatever answer is given. But in the end-the reason will be known and it will bless your life. This too I have experienced many times in my life. Believe in him, and allow him to guide you to reach your fullest potential. 3. Pray to always have God's spirit with you. It can be the only thing to save you from a bad choice, or the dark moments of sadness, or negative actions. In the lowest of low moments of your life, the only thing to help you through is God. Sometimes he works through other people-and grants you with a friend to show up randomly at your door. Sometimes he comforts you with words from a song that you were inspired to listen to. Sometimes...his spirit is there, to hold you and be with you while you cry. No matter what way, he is always there. He never leaves us. And if we choose it, he will always show his love in whatever way he chooses to grant us with it. ~Be aware of God's love. Of your worth. Of Satans power. Of the constant need to have goodness and spirituality lifting you upward. His strength. His peace. And..his blessings.

If you want..

"If you want to change the world, begin by changing yourself. If you want the world to be more fair, treat the world fairly even when you are treated unfairly. If you want the world to be more kind, treat the world with kindness and return a blessing for every insult. SHOW the world by your good actions-not by empty protest or violence-that you are willing to love according to what you profess to believe."

-Every change of heart, every change of circumstance, every ounce of happiness comes from YOU.

Standing For Truth

Moroni 10:32

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God"

-There is a painting up at the temple visitors center-Book of Mormon painting exhibit-that is mesmerizing with this scripture underneath. Its a picture of Moroni holding one of his "friends" in battle that had been slain. He is weeping...saddened by it. This painting and scripture stuck out to me so much. Its applicable to my life right now, and it is absolute truth that we CANNOT deny Christ. No matter what. No matter who we may loose in our lives, no matter what chastisement we may bare, no matter what the world tries to convince us of. Christ is our Savior and redeemer who died for us, and lives for us, and loves US. HE is our way back to living in Heaven in happiness and peace. HE is the answer to all life's troubles. HE is the way, the truth, and the life. Love him with EVERYTHING you have. Stand true to what YOU believe to be true, no matter what, and in the end...you WILL be blessed for doing so. Sometimes it is not the easiest thing to do. Sometimes we get hurt, or loose people we love in the process...but in the end, the only person that matters is the person who walks every moment in life with you-never changing-always constant-Our Lord and Savior. In the end...it will be worth all we endure. And we can come to learn more of the Saviors love for us through it all.

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.