Wow, I just got done giving a talk in Sacrament meeting. It was very stressful!!! But it feels good to have it over and behind me. Looking back on it, it was kinda fun to prepare for it. The talk was based on a General Conference talk given last October by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled, "Of Things That Matter Most". I liked being able to read it and prepare my own thoughts about it. It really strengthened my testimony on on focusing our lives on the important things that surround us.
What was really cool was being able to speak with my family (minus Julie and Mark) :( They gave wonderful talks that really inspired and uplifted me.
This week was a little depressing/exciting for me. Of course the stress of having to give a talk didn't help much. Wednesday I went with my Aunt Dee Ann and Uncle Darrel and their kids to drop off my cousin Dalton at the MTC! He is going to serve in the Independence Missouri mission. So he gets to serve where the New Jerusalem will be! (I am so Jealous) :) It was a depressing time to see him leave us. He has been a HUGE example to me in my life and I hope to be as good and kind as he is. It's a little sad and a little exciting that i actually won't see him for 31/2 years! Right before he gets back it will be my turn to leave and that is exciting and depressing. It will be really cool to be serving at the same time as my cousins and friends. Exciting days ahead!
Well, just for a little news flash, today is Julies B-day!!! Happy Birthday Julie, I LOVE YOU SIS!!! She is turning #20 years old! I can't believe it! She better get married before i leave on my mission or she will have to wait till I get back. ;)
Well, I hope that whoever reads this is having a wonderful day and that they are enjoying life to the extreme!!! If they are not then just know that the Lord loves you and that you are Amazingly Awesome!!! :)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Few Pictures
Just thought I would post a few pictures:
My Cousins Dalton, Austin, and I planning our future business's together.
My Cousin Gary and I eating a delicious meal at the Olive Garden
Riding the Trolley in Park City!
Going to the Temple. I have really been blessed with the opportunity to go to the Temple more often with my cousins, imparticularly my cousin Austin. We don't have seminary Friday mornings, and so we usually spend that morning doing Baptisms at the Salt Lake Temple.
I can't get any of the other pics to upload, so this will have to do. I am loving life, and my adventures are many. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful and loving family. To have wonderful cousins that fill my life with so much joy and so much laughter. They are awesome, and great examples to me in my life!
My Cousins Dalton, Austin, and I planning our future business's together.My Cousin Gary and I eating a delicious meal at the Olive GardenRiding the Trolley in Park City!
Going to the Temple. I have really been blessed with the opportunity to go to the Temple more often with my cousins, imparticularly my cousin Austin. We don't have seminary Friday mornings, and so we usually spend that morning doing Baptisms at the Salt Lake Temple.
I can't get any of the other pics to upload, so this will have to do. I am loving life, and my adventures are many. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful and loving family. To have wonderful cousins that fill my life with so much joy and so much laughter. They are awesome, and great examples to me in my life!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Blog Long Neglected
I have long neglected writing in my blog and I hope that I might be able to start out afresh once more.
There has been a lot of things that have happened since I last posted. I am now living in a place called Grantsville Utah!!! It was quite the sudden change for me, but I am learning from it and loving it. But constantly I am reminded of my home in Tennessee and I miss it very much, but I will be able to take with me all the fun memories and faces of all my good friends with me wherever I go.
I hope to write down some of my thoughts and impressions in this blog that I have a harder time expressing vocally. I am somewhat of a quite person, (unless you get to know me really well) and I have been often told that I don't socialize very much. (which actually I really don't) I have often told people that I am an AntiSocialist :) But to tell the truth, I do love being around family and friends, they are the best thing that I have, other than my testimony. I hope that in the future I might come out of my shell a little.
Just a few thoughts that I have been having:
Today in Seminary we talked about Charity. Bro. Baker is my Seminary Teacher and I absolutely love him! He is really awesome and brings the spirit into all of his lessons. But he told us some really good insights into this word called charity. as found in Moroni 7:47 "Charity is the pure love of Christ" But what is the pure love of Christ, and how do we obtain it?
We are studying Doctrine and Covenants this year and we were reading yesterday about spiritual gifts found in section 46:12-25. Bro Baker went into today's lesson by saying that charity is the greatest spiritual gift that we can obtain! So what is charity? If it is the Pure Love Of Christ, then it must be the greatest love that there is. Bro. Baker told us that Charity is "loving those who don't deserve your love."
One of my favorite scriptures that talks about this topic is 1 Corinthians 13. I love how Paul illustrates the importance of charity in this chapter. In verse 13 it states, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." In the next chapter, verse 1 it says to "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts". How do we "follow after charity?" If you turn back to Moroni 7 you will find one of the ways we can obtain this precious gift. In verse 48 it says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..." To obtain this great gift, we must pray and fast "with all the energy of heart" that we can obtain this spiritual gift.
If Charity is about loving others, even if they don't want our love, than what else would help us to obtain this great gift? Bro. Baker showed us an Especially For Youth video that shed some light on this subject. The video was about a girl who went into talk to her bishop. She was having a hard time with her self esteem. She felt like everyone made fun of her, she didn't have any friends, she didn't feel like she was beautiful. She wanted to know what was wrong with herself. The bishop handed her a mirror and asked her what she saw in it. She took it and said, "I see me,is this necessary?" she asked, "look again" he replied. She looked again and said, "I see a mouth, a nose, a chin. I don't see what this has to do with anything!" The bishop told her, "Look closer" She stared long and hard until she gasped, "I see the Savior" right behind her, hanging on the wall was a picture of the savior. The video went on to talk about how our "Focus" is what helps us be Charitable. When we aren't looking at ourselves all the time, but when we focus on those around us, and their needs and feelings, that helps us to gain charity in our hearts. It made me think of Jesus and how he loved the sinner and the poor and afflicted, how he spent his life visiting, teaching, healing all those that surrounded him. His focus was on others. We need to focus on others to gain the greatest spiritual gift called charity.
It was a wonderful lesson and I loved learning about this wonderful gift and I hope and pray that I might be filled with charity, which is the "Pure Love of Christ."
There has been a lot of things that have happened since I last posted. I am now living in a place called Grantsville Utah!!! It was quite the sudden change for me, but I am learning from it and loving it. But constantly I am reminded of my home in Tennessee and I miss it very much, but I will be able to take with me all the fun memories and faces of all my good friends with me wherever I go.
I hope to write down some of my thoughts and impressions in this blog that I have a harder time expressing vocally. I am somewhat of a quite person, (unless you get to know me really well) and I have been often told that I don't socialize very much. (which actually I really don't) I have often told people that I am an AntiSocialist :) But to tell the truth, I do love being around family and friends, they are the best thing that I have, other than my testimony. I hope that in the future I might come out of my shell a little.
Just a few thoughts that I have been having:
Today in Seminary we talked about Charity. Bro. Baker is my Seminary Teacher and I absolutely love him! He is really awesome and brings the spirit into all of his lessons. But he told us some really good insights into this word called charity. as found in Moroni 7:47 "Charity is the pure love of Christ" But what is the pure love of Christ, and how do we obtain it?
We are studying Doctrine and Covenants this year and we were reading yesterday about spiritual gifts found in section 46:12-25. Bro Baker went into today's lesson by saying that charity is the greatest spiritual gift that we can obtain! So what is charity? If it is the Pure Love Of Christ, then it must be the greatest love that there is. Bro. Baker told us that Charity is "loving those who don't deserve your love."
One of my favorite scriptures that talks about this topic is 1 Corinthians 13. I love how Paul illustrates the importance of charity in this chapter. In verse 13 it states, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." In the next chapter, verse 1 it says to "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts". How do we "follow after charity?" If you turn back to Moroni 7 you will find one of the ways we can obtain this precious gift. In verse 48 it says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..." To obtain this great gift, we must pray and fast "with all the energy of heart" that we can obtain this spiritual gift.
If Charity is about loving others, even if they don't want our love, than what else would help us to obtain this great gift? Bro. Baker showed us an Especially For Youth video that shed some light on this subject. The video was about a girl who went into talk to her bishop. She was having a hard time with her self esteem. She felt like everyone made fun of her, she didn't have any friends, she didn't feel like she was beautiful. She wanted to know what was wrong with herself. The bishop handed her a mirror and asked her what she saw in it. She took it and said, "I see me,is this necessary?" she asked, "look again" he replied. She looked again and said, "I see a mouth, a nose, a chin. I don't see what this has to do with anything!" The bishop told her, "Look closer" She stared long and hard until she gasped, "I see the Savior" right behind her, hanging on the wall was a picture of the savior. The video went on to talk about how our "Focus" is what helps us be Charitable. When we aren't looking at ourselves all the time, but when we focus on those around us, and their needs and feelings, that helps us to gain charity in our hearts. It made me think of Jesus and how he loved the sinner and the poor and afflicted, how he spent his life visiting, teaching, healing all those that surrounded him. His focus was on others. We need to focus on others to gain the greatest spiritual gift called charity.
It was a wonderful lesson and I loved learning about this wonderful gift and I hope and pray that I might be filled with charity, which is the "Pure Love of Christ."
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