A Pivotal Moment

I've been running out of ideas of pictures to use for this blog lately. Google has begun to fail me...haha. Anyways, I decided to look on Deseret Book's website to see if there was a picture I liked. When I got to this picture, I knew I wanted to use it. It just makes me so happy to see Christ sitting down with little child and looking so happy. The child seems to be telling him a story and Christ looks enthralled in the story. He seems so happy and joyful with what the child has to say. I love this picture because I can see myself being the little child and Christ sitting next to me, enthralled in what I have to say. Christ has so many people to help and serve and yet, He has time for me, to talk to me and hear what I have to say.
This painting is by Liz Lemon Swindle and it is titled "Friends." I think this is the perfect title because Christ is my friend. He is the ultimate friend. My friend that will always listen. The friend that has the best advice. The friend that will never hurt me or stab me in the back. The friend that will ALWAYS be my friend. He will never leave my side. My friend that atoned for my sins and died for me. John 15:13 says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Christ has the ultimate love for me. What better friend could I ask for? I tell you that I could not ask for a better friend.
I'm so grateful for my Savior and that He is always there to listen to me. I feel that I say that a lot in my blog posts and discussion boards. But maybe that means that that is the thing I am most grateful for. In the past I've had so many "best friends." They just change continually and I have become sort of jealous of those people that have a best friend since their childhood that they still hang out with. I think I've more of accepted the fact that now that I'm in college most people lose those best friends or grow apart more. When I met Max and he became my best friend I thought I finally found my best friend forever. But that obviously didn't last as long as I thought it would. Then I thought Kiley was my best friend but now we don't talk a whole lot or hang out a whole lot. Now I mostly hang out with my roommates and they are just so incredible! They are becoming my best friends. Anyways, the point I'm making is that friends come and go but Jesus Christ never leaves. He is forever my friend which I am so grateful for because it's nice to have some consistency in my life.
I think I just hit a pivotal moment where I discovered how amazing this project is and how it is bringing me closer to Christ. The last few weeks I've been wondering if it has just been busy work but tonight I've discovered something incredible! I've realized the thing I am most grateful for: that Christ is always there for me and that He is the best friend that anyone could be. I feel closer to Him simply by discovering this. The title of this post is even completely different than I thought it would be! It is truly amazing what you can discover when you take a little time to sit and write your thoughts down and actually think about what you are saying. (The thinking part is incredible right now since I am so tired!!! I am so close to falling asleep! Anyways, tangent over.)
This picture also makes me look forward to the day when I can personally sit down with Christ and just talk. I love talking. I talk to my roommates everyday about what is going on in my life. (Mostly about boys, but I'm trying to not talk about them so much.) And from this picture it's obvious to me that Christ is willing to sit down and listen. I bet if I put myself in the picture instead of the little girl, I would be talking about boys and He would be laughing about how silly my stories are and how I worry about it too much haha. (How can you not when they're just so dang confusing??) I really enjoy that picture of sitting down with Christ and just chatting with Him. The thing is, I can talk to Him and my Father in Heaven right now. I think I want to make a goal for this week to try to talk to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a more personal way. I think this will strengthen my relationship with Them and make my prayers better. I'm excited about what I've learned about myself tonight and I can't wait to embark on my journey this week. As Bro. Griffin always says, "Onward and Upward!"

Like a Lost Lamb

This picture is called "The Lost Lamb" by Del Parson. The reason why I chose this picture for today is because this past week I felt a little bit like a lost lamb. The past few weeks I've been wondering if I would be able to get into the Business program and if I didn't, what should I do? I've been enjoying Statistics this semester and I liked it in high school so I thought it would be a good alternative. As the weeks went on I really started wondering if I would be able to get into the program. A couple of weeks ago at the Major Fair I went to both the Business: Finance and Statistics booths. After talking to the girl at the Finance booth and seeing that I have to take more Econ classes I started feeling like I didn't want to go down that path anymore so I starting looking into Stats a little more. Then came last week...one of the worst weeks ever. I had 2 mid-terms, a mid-term paper, and a final all in the same week. I also had meetings, dumb Econ homework, cleaning checks, and roving. To top it all off I was sick all week. Not my kind of week...Anyways, on Monday I took the Excel final and I failed the test...which also meant I failed the class. I was SO upset and so close to tears. If I hadn't had to go to class, I probably would've cried for reals. So failing that combined with Econ (which I'm thinking I'm not going to do well in) I really started doubting going into the Business program. All week I prayed about if I should switch to Statistics or not. And all week I still wasn't sure. I didn't feel like I was getting an answer. On Tuesday, the professor giving the devotional discussed his career path and how he discovered that it was okay to be rejected from medical schools and go into another field. From that I started to think that switching to Statistics wouldn't be bad but I still wasn't sure. Then one day in New Testament class this week we were discussing the Canaanite woman. Here's the story: Matthew 15:22-28 "And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (1) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. (2) But he answered and, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. (3) Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is they faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." After this story we discussed Elder Scott's talk where he said there are three kinds of answers to prayers: (1) silence (2) no (3) yes. I had heard about this last year in my Book of Mormon class but had forgotten it. This is what I needed to hear to remind me that oftentimes I'm going to get silence as an answer to my prayers. That's okay because it means that the Lord trusts me enough to make my own decision. If that decision isn't right then He will send me a warning sign before I go too far down the wrong path. With that said, I have dropped taking my Powerpoint class because it's not applicable anymore and I am switching to Statistics! I feel this is a good path for me to go, even if I do get called 'boring' for it ;) Along with switching my major I feel I will be able to handle this major and working as an RA at the same time so I am most likely going to be an RA here in Wyview again next year! And Chalese is probably going to do it too so that will be fun! Yay! Last week was a crazy, hard week and I definitely felt like a lost lamb. But now I don't feel that way so much anymore. I have direction again. And hopefully this will be the last time I change my major! I don't think I can afford to change it again and I don't know what I would do anyways. I am grateful for prayer and the answers that I do get, even if they aren't what I was expecting.

Christ Lifts Me Up

Along with the semester-long project, we are required to do a discussion board each week for New Testament. I really love that assignment because it gives me the opportunity to read through my notes from the week and have the things I learned really sink in. In my other classes I hardly read over my notes unless I'm studying for a test. So having that opportunity is great for me and really strengthens my testimony. Anyways, the point of this is that today in my discussion board I found a recurring theme of strengthening our individual selves. This begins with finding yourself and being your own person. This year I have found myself and learned to not care what others think. I love being me and doing what I like to do. As long as I am doing what the Lord wants me to do, it doesn't matter what others think of me. I also read posts about strengthening our faith and going through trials. From reading these I thought about how we are here on this earth to be tested so we will always have trials. We are expected to work hard and get through them. However, the Lord is always there to pull us up and strengthen us when we don't have enough strength. That's where the picture comes in. This picture is called "Be Not Afraid" by Greg Olsen. Christ's arm is always outstretched to help us. In Philippians 4:13 it says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." This fits perfectly with what I have been talking about. We have trials and hardships but we also have Christ. My life isn't perfect and I for sure have hardships but I make it through with faith in Christ. My faith isn't perfect either and I know I need to work on it everyday. Christ is patient with me and helps lift me up. I know that with Christ in my life He makes it possible for me to do all things. We learn from the scriptures about Christ walking on water and that Paul did too. What faith Paul had to ask if he could walk on water with Christ. My faith seems tiny in comparison to Paul's faith but it's my faith. I wouldn't want any other person's faith. I am grateful for the opportunity to strengthen my faith through my struggles. I am so grateful for a Savior that is always there to lift me up when I need Him. I know He is there when I need Him, waiting for me to ask for His help. This gospel is so great and helps me through so much. I don't know where I would be without it. I am so grateful for my Savior and I want to do the best I can so that He can be happy with me and my decisions. He is great and my Savior.

Gathering Israel

I didn't know what to do this week for a picture so I did what we all do when all else fails: I googled. As I was looking through the many pictures of Christ, and many pictures of people that were clearly not Christ, I found this painting by Simon Dewey. It's called "The Lord is My Shepherd". When I saw this picture it made me think of how we are Christ's flock and that He watches over and protects us. I also thought about the scattering of Israel and how there are so many people in Christ's flock that are lost. John 10:16 says, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Last Sunday I received my Patriarchal Blessing and this weekend was General Conference so I've been hearing a lot about the Gathering of Israel. In my Patriarchal Blessing I am told that I am of the tribe of Ephraim and that with this heritage comes the responsibility in the gathering of Israel. In General Conference I felt I was hearing a lot about missionary work and how it's important that we help bring those sheep back into the fold. I may or may not serve a mission, at this point in time I most likely won't, but whether I do or not, I still have a mission on this earth to help seek out those who are lost and give them a lending hand. I think one way I can do that right now is by talking with Taylor and Aubree. Taylor has had all of the discussions and wants to be baptized but her parents do not approve at all. I'm sure this is very hard for her so I feel that maybe part of my mission there is simply to be there for her and a support to her for when she needs it. Aubree is reading the Book of Mormon and is thinking of taking the discussions soon which I am so excited about! I've always thought that Aubree would want to be baptized into the Church someday; she just seemed like that kind of person. By sharing my testimony with her and answering any questions she may have, I can be a missionary to her. "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." -Matthew 10:6. Again, it is written that we are supposed to seek out the lost sheep.
As I mentioned above, this weekend was the 181st Semi-Annual General Conference. Throughout it, I felt missionary work was a recurring theme. Elder L. Whitney Clayton said, "our work has no boundaries." A bold and true statement; missionary work is being spread all across the globe and those sheep that are lost are being gathered. What a hopeful and joyful statement, that many people will be able to hear the gospel and come unto Christ. Elder Jose L. Alonso expressed the importance of seeking out the one and bringing them back. I loved that he added that we cannot delay in seeking them because if we do, they could be lost forever. Our dispensation has a great duty to fulfill, but we were also chosen to fulfill this because our Father in Heaven and Elder Brother has faith in us that we can do this. Now we must have this faith in ourselves. President Uchtdorf said to never wonder if the Lord has forgotten us; He never has and He never will. Not only has the Lord never forgotten us, He also has never forgotten the lost sheep. He loves those people as much as He loves us. He wants them back into His fold and we are the ones that can do that. It is our duty and responsibility to find those people. Elder Ian S. Arden gave one of my favorite talks of Conference this weekend. He didn't necessarily talk about missionary work but it can be applied to missionary work. Elder Arden expressed the importance of using our time wisely and that we will have to give an account of how we used our time. I truly believe a great way for us to use our time is by doing missionary work and serving in the Church. By doing this, we can help the Church grow and seek out those that are lost. Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. also discussed the importance of rescuing the less active members of the Church. Missionary work is not always about finding those who have never been taught the gospel before. It is also about rescuing those who have been part of the Church but have fallen away for whatever reason. I remember in my home ward that the importance of rescuing the less active was stressed greatly. Elder L. Tom Perry talked about how we can share who we are and by that, many people may come to know Christ. We can share who we are and what the Church is about by simply being an example to others. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." If we are living worthily, we have the Light of Christ in us. Therefore, by simply doing what we're supposed to, the Light of Christ can be shown unto all men. It is important for us to be doing what we're supposed to not only for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others. To add to this, 1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." There are so many things we can do to be an example of a follower of Christ. I strive each and every day to do what I am supposed to. I am by doing that I am being an example of the believers in all of those things.
I know this post was kind of everywhere and I'm not very good at organizing it, but these are my thoughts. I know it is so important for us to seek out those lost sheep. The Lord loves us and He loves those lost sheep and wants them to have what we have. Shouldn't that be enough for us to seek them out? The knowledge and happiness we have and the want to share that? I am so grateful for this gospel and all that it does for me. I'm grateful for those missionaries that sought out my ancestors and brought them to the knowledge of the gospel. I am going to "try a little harder to be a little better" so that I can be an example of the believers and bring the lost sheep back into the fold of Christ, our Lord and Savior.