Music

Music is a beautiful and powerful carrier of the spirit. This principle affected me a lot on my mission. Just about everyone knows that missionaries have a different standard than the world when it comes to music.

Instead of trying to tell you what missionaries could and could not listen to, I'll just post this. This is what the missionary handbook says:

"Listen only to music that is consistent with the sacred spirit of your calling. Music should invite the Spirit, help you focus on the work, and direct your thoughts and feelings to the Savior. Do not listen to music that pulls your thoughts away from your work, merely entertains, has romantic lyrics or overtones, or dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity. Listening to music must never interfere with your personal preparation or proselyting...."

As I went through my mission I adjusted more and more to fit this standard. There were things at the beginning of my mission that I felt like may have fit into this standard, but as I continued to grow closer to the Lord, I realized that some of my music was distracting. I learned a lot about myself and my motives of why I listened to music. And as I did so, I weeded out some of the music I was listening to. I figured "hey, if I can feel wonderful while listening to music, why not always listen to the stuff that makes me feel wonderful?"

I also began to listen more to the lyrics to the music and I was blessed to have answers come to me as I listened. The music was powerful, the messages were pure and simple, yet overwhelming. The spirit was able to testify again and again to me that what I was doing (not just with music) was right.

There was a song that stood out to me then that still stands out to me now. Part of the lyrics of that song are these:

"...Don't be afraid to live as you know you should,
nothing bad can come from being too good.
You never can keep up with the praise of the world, it comes and goes.
You're born with His light, now let it show!
Don't give up what you want most for things you may want now,
though there are obstacles placed in your way, you'll overcome somehow.
Don't think that no one notices if you do what's right,
and don't think that nobody cares if you win or lose this fight,
'cause I know that He cares." -He Cares by 4 ordained (The album is called Bring Me Home)

This part of the song gives me courage to live according to what God has asked me to do. There are times when it is so hard to bring my will into line with His. There are other times when I feel as if I am being judged for being "too good", when in fact, that isn't a problem. I also love the line "don't give up what you want most for things you may want now." When God says "wait, I have something better in store." or "Hang on, that's not what you need." it can be hard to swallow. But I know that as we wait patiently and cheerfully on the Lord, that we will receive the fullness of all the gospel blessings if we are living righteously.

To close I want to just stick in this link to the First Presidency preface to the Hymns. I too want to testify that music can bring joy, peace, and consolation to the soul. We can receive answers from God. I also know that just like any other good tool the Lord has given us, the adversary has also put his music into the world. Music can be had for good or evil. I challenge all of us to go through our music and think about how it makes us feel. Think "would I be comfortable listening to this is front of my family, friends, or the Savior?" Evaluate, and come unto Christ. I know this will bless you because I have seen the changes in my own life as I have done the same thing. I also know it will help because the Lord promises us the same thing in D&C 25. Let us fill our lives with good things. :)

Study

Sometimes the best way to study a topic is to have others study it with you.

I came to know this on my mission, and once again was reminded of it recently. There have been a few topics of doctrines and principles that I have been meaning to study more and more about, and at times I have studied them more in depth. But there are times when I feel like I can't get any more revelation on the topic. There are questions that I just don't have answered.

When this would happen on my mission I would often ask my companion for their opinion. If she didn't have answers I would go to my leaders and my mission president. I would have already looked up these topics online on LDS.org but wasn't satisfied. More often then not, my companion or leaders would get back to me on the topic and would answer it in an inspired way.

I understand that this isn't always the case. There are times when the answers do not come even after much pondering, fasting, praying, and going to the temple. I understand that there are times when our leaders give us answers that don't satisfy the questions that we have posed. I understand that you may feel like you have exhausted all your resources to get an answer and will still be just as confused, if not more, than you were before.

This is when we wait with patience for the Lord to reveal to us the mysteries later.

D&C 25:4- Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come.

There are my two cents for this week. It's a little weak, but there you go.

here's a link to a talk that isn't really related, but can be in some ways...

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/murmur-not?lang=eng

Goal setting

Goals were always before me on my mission. We would set daily goals, weekly goals, transfer goals, etc.

http://firecider.com/blogs/news/16395573-setting-s-m-a-r-t-goals

So one would expect a returned missionary to be good at setting and accomplishing goals right? Well, unfortunately, many of us don't keep up on that skill. Yet, there are some that do. 

Recently I have been trying harder to keep up on my goals. And truly the way to keep up on them is to be accountable for them. It's also good to set goals that actually mean something to you so that you stay motivated. 

Preach My Gospel has a great section on goal setting and using time wisely as well as accountability. Check it out! Here's a little bit from it:

"Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith." -PMG

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”

–Elder M. Russell Ballard

I love that we are not expected to always meet our goals, we can tweak them to fit us better. Sometimes we set our expectations too high, not only for ourselves but for others too. It's rough when we don't reach our goals, but instead of beating ourselves up about not reaching the goal, we can take a step back and figure out what we can do with a little bit of stretching. 

Someone who isn't very flexible is not going to be able to touch their toes in one day, they will have to stretch just a little bit every day until they can touch their toes. 

God doesn't expect us to become like Him in one day. Becoming like God is a process, it takes time to get to that point. It takes time to stretch and grow and become like Him. We are spiritually so so young! And we only have been in a body for a few short mortal years! We have so much to learn and grow that we don't really have time to beat up on ourselves. 

God sees so much more of our potential than what we see ourselves, we must learn to trust in Him and His plan. He will help us reach our potential more fully than anyone else can. As we prayerfully set goals, we can reach the stars! 

Three temptations

One of my favorite zone meetings was about fulfilling our purpose. The way that the leaders decided to present the topic was to present the three temptations that prevent us from fulfilling our purpose.

Now, before I write those down, I want to make clear that these things prevent any of us from fulfilling any of our purposes. Whatever may be on your to do list, completing a project at work, etc.

Some of us may wonder "what is my purpose?" There are many answers I could give to that question, the most basic being to become like God and return home to Him. For more specific ways on how to do that, I encourage you to turn to the Lord through study and prayer and He will help you find specific goals of how to fulfill your purpose right now.

...

First off is TIME... here's an example from Elder Oaks
"None of us should be like the fisherman who thinks he has been fishing all day when in reality he has spent most of his time getting to and from the water, eating lunch, and fussing with his equipment. Fishing success is related to how long you have your line in the water, not to how long you are away from the apartment. Some fishermen are away from home for twelve hours and have their line in the water for ten hours. Other fishermen are away from home for twelve hours and have their line in the water for only two hours. This last type may wonder why they do not have the same success as others."

As we go out to fulfill our purpose, how much time are we really focused on fulfilling our purpose and how much time are we sitting around eating lunch or fussing with our equipment? Yes, there does need to be time for those things, but how much time are you wasting as you strive to fulfill your purpose? Two minutes every day does build up. What ways can you spend your time more wisely? How can planning help that?


I know that I am guilty of being the lax fisherman who doesn't have his line in the water very long at all. Yet, I am beginning to see that and I'm figuring out new ways of how I can plan more effective and productive activities for my day to help me fulfill my purpose and progress. All of which have been found through study and prayer as I have carefully and thoughtfully planned out my days. The Lord answers (Matthew 7:7).

Next is INDECISION...
What makes us indecisive? Fear, lack of revelation, lack of plans? There are many reasons of why we may be indecisive.

One scripture that was shared with us was 2 Timothy 1:7- "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Sometimes we are so caught up in the "I have to pray about this" that we forget that the Lord has also given us a sound mind and that at times we must make our own decisions. As long as we are anxiously engaged in a good cause, and we have also made the decision to follow God as He guides us, then we are fine.

One of my favorite quotes "you can not steer a parked car." Many times we must go forward with faith and trust that all will be well.

Another thing that will help us all with indecision is having back up plans. When you are trying to fulfill your purpose and all your plans to do so don't work out, go try fishing in a different spot. Don't just go home and call it a day, but say, "hey, maybe the water is better over here. I'll drop my line here instead."

Last is "My will vs. Thy will"
John 6:38  "For I came down from heaven, not do to mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
Sometimes we are so gung ho and think we are doing everything that God wants us to do, but in reality, we are not. We forget to pray and find out His will. We think we know better. We think that because of our experience, we can figure this problem out on our own.

http://pixshark.com/kneeling-in-prayer.htm

Well, why not ask God, the being that knows all things past, present, and future? His experience and His knowledge is much more vast than yours. Hmm....

Humility is key my friends, take time to kneel and ask the Father what He would have you do. I promise you that as you do so, your mind will be clearer of which path you ought to take to fulfill your purpose.

I just want to wrap this up by saying that I know that our Father in Heaven answers our prayers. He is anxious to help us, all we need to do is ask. He is so pleased when we come to Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit ready to learn from Him. He loves seeing us grow up spiritually. He loves to see us take accountability for our actions and our growth. He is happy when we decide to be agents unto our selves and take our purpose seriously. I am grateful that the atonement is real and that is makes it possible for me to change and grow, for without it, I would be nothing. I am grateful for the enabling power of the atonement, grace, which gives me the strength to fulfill my purpose.

God speaks through...Poetry

Something I learned before and on my mission is that God speaks to all of us differently.

Many times the most powerful answers I received took form of a poem. I would have a question or two and God would grab my pen and let the words flow through my head, heart, and hand onto the blank page in my journal.

I have posted poems before, and here is a new one in it's first draft:

Father, I don't understand what is eating me.
What is making me feel incomplete?
I do not need others' approval to know I am fine,
Just yours and apparently mine.
So why do I wallow in despair,
When I know You've always been there?
How come I writhe in pain,
As if I've been hit by a train?
The adversary throws his darts,
But I do not need let them enter my heart.
I am strong and bold,
He doth not have power to afflict my soul!
For Christ is my strength and my song,
And with Him, nothing will go wrong.
He is my Savior and my King!
To Him, my praises I'll sing.
I shall not ever fear,
For I know that He is always near.
He is my rock and my salvation,
No matter what storms I'm facin'.
To Him I will cling
For I understand the peace He can bring.

https://toleavealegacy.wordpress.com/

He makes me complete,
And one day I'll kneel at His feet.
I'll wash His feet with my tears,
And these are the words I'll hear-
"I'm so proud of you and what you've done,
Look at all the battles that together we've won.
Well done my good and faithful servant,
Look around and welcome home- you have done it."
He'll pick me up and give me love,
My Friend I've trusted from above.
He's done everything and pulled me through,
It seems not enough to only say "thank you."
I know to Him I'm worth it,
Therefore I can not wallow in my pit.
For if I mean so much to Him,
This is where my story must begin.
He saves me again and again,
So that I'll be beautiful in the end.
His light is inside, I can feel it grow,
It's time to open up and let it show.
For He is who I am deep down inside,
It's now time to let Him control the ride.
Give Him my all, my life, my best,
And then sit back and forget the rest.
I thank Thee Father for this day,
And for this great opportunity to reflect and to pray.

I'm grateful for the love God shows to me each day and for the opportunity to see His hand in my life. He lifts me up and carries me through. Also see 2 Nephi 4: 15+

Service is a gift

This week was good. I got back on my feet and learned some good things. I am so grateful for the gift of service. Yes, doing service is a gift. 

I remember on my mission I sometimes really really wished to be in a leadership position so that I would not focus so much on myself and my stuff. I wanted to be there for others. I wanted to serve. Why? Because I understood the blessings that came from serving others and thinking about them. About half way through my mission though I never really got another chance at a leadership position. 

Or at least that is what I thought. Just because I wasn't in what I thought was a leadership position, didn't mean that I wasn't a leader to those around me. My example, my tag, and my experience automatically labelled me as a leader. People looked up to me just because I was a missionary. I was a leader.

As a leader, I prayed for those I had potential to influence. I prayed for those under my care. I prayed for those around me. I prayed for the members. I prayed to receive inspiration of how to help those I interacted with. I was so focused on others that I truly lost myself in the work. I truly loved. I truly cared. And as a result, I was happy and I was taken care of. I didn't have to worry about my own life. I saw how blessed I was every day as I served others. I forgot my troubles and I trusted that God would take of them either by helping me overcome them, or helping me to realize that they weren't really troubles in the first place.

Those are some of the many blessings that come from service. Service is a gift. And I am so grateful for it.

Book of Mormon-short testimony

On my mission, I served in an area where there was a member that had such a powerful testimony of The Book of Mormon. He changed my outlook on missionary work.

I wanted to hand out the book to everyone that I came in contact with. It had impacted my life so much, and I just wanted to share it. It was awesome. As I concentrated more on the Book of Mormon in my teaching and finding techniques, the work hastened.

The Book of Mormon is a blessing in our lives. It can influence us for good. It can give us peace in times of darkness. It can shed forth light in our pits of despair. It can lift us. Well, the book itself can't do those things, but the message and the spirit that come from reading the book with a open mind and heart can. If one is willing to read The Book of Mormon and read it with the intent to receive an answer from God, they can and will receive that answer.

March 23rd 2013- Elder Bednar

On March 23rd 2013, Elder Bednar came to our mission and we were able to have an All Mission Conference.

There is so much that he said that carried the spirit to our hearts. As long as our hearts and minds were opened, we learned so much from this meeting.

I don't know where to begin or what to say about this meeting or how to convey everything I learned.

One topic that was prominent in the conference was agency and being agents unto ourselves as well as allowing others to be agents unto themselves.

If you want to get an idea of what he told us about this topic, check out his "Seek Learning by Faith" or "Ask in Faith" talks.

I loved realizing that I don't have to react in certain ways, I can choose how I want to react and learn. I can act in faith. I can work towards goals that I want. I don't have to sit around waiting for something good or bad to happen to me and then decide how I want to react. I can take things into situations and plan and prepare so that I can learn more. I can pray with real intent-real intent to act upon my answer, no matter what it is. I can choose to have faith in God and in His timing. I can own the doctrine, not just know it.
I can ask the Lord "will you show me who I really am?" and then be willing to ask as well "what can I do to improve?" and then be willing to do what He directs. I can learn to preach the gospel instead of giving talks. I don't have to be in control as long as I am under His control- I can choose to be spiritually self-reliant. I can act in faith, knowing that He will fill my mouth. As I ask questions, not only in my own study but to others as well, I can help them become agents unto themselves too. No one really wants to be talked at or have things shoved in their faces, but as they are taught truth and are asked questions they can have light bulb moments, they are guided to the truth and then they will own the truth and the solutions to their questions more fully. guided discovery is a great thing. As we step back and ask the question "what do they [or I] need?" and wait, then the Lord is able to teach us so much easier. Silence is often when the Spirit will speak to us. And it takes patience and effort to really teach and learn in this way, but as we do, wow. The changes that come are great.

Another thing I wanted to touch on from this conference was this concept. I don't know if I am quoting Elder Bednar quite right, but this is what I wrote in my journal that day: (someone asks about returning home)

"When the day comes when you ask 'what is wrong with me?' remember the answer is that there is nothing wrong with you. You were just an effective missionary. Your focus is changing a little more inward, and it's awkward. It will be a hard transition, but you can do it."

There is nothing wrong with being an effective missionary. The transition will be hard, but we can do it. I believe this is true with all transitions in life, just remember, that nothing is wrong with you. Nothing is ever wrong with you. As a friend once said : "you are not broken...there may be things to learn about yourself, there's always changes to make..." You are not broken. God doesn't make mistakes. You can be refined sure, but remember that you are loved. As I was writing this blog post, I happened upon this quote online and I thought it would be a good way to close. Just strive every day to do your best and you will be fine. Remember my post from last week? Yupp. Just keep on trying. You got this. I don't know who I'm writing to, but there you go. Keep pressing forward. The night will end and there will be a beautiful sunrise.

March 20th ish 2013- Failure...

As I thought about writing this blog post, I actually didn't want to, mostly because I want to go to bed... yeah...

So this will probably be pretty fast. Sickness calls you know..

As I reflected in my journal, I was pretty discouraged at the beginning of my mission because we would set goals and rarely meet them. I didn't understand why we would set such lofty goals if we really didn't think that we would meet them. What was the point of trying? We were failing.

This brings me to what I want to talk about. This morning I sent out a thought of the day from a dear friend "There is no such thing as failure, just temporary setbacks."

Another friend responded saying that they believed that the only time you fail is when you stop trying. (and here's an awesome talk too... Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying)

And a quote from Confucius: "it does not matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop."

So in all of these cases, we weren't failing as long as we were trying our best. We had no reason to be discouraged because we were succeeding, not failing.

It was a temporary setback. Just because we blew out one of our tires didn't mean we couldn't get it fixed and do better the next day. If we had failed, we would have given up, and never tried to get to our destination. We would have stayed inside all day and took off the missionary badge. But we didn't do that. We got up each morning, studied and prepared for the day and honestly did our best. Therefore we succeeded. We did not fail.

The gospel is to have faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, to repent, to be baptized, to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and to ENDURE TO THE END.

You keep going. No matter what. Hold tightly to that iron rod and press forward. Sure, you will stumble and fall, but you get back up and you keep going. Another quote by Confucius "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Yupp. You just keep going.

And I did my best today, it didn't equal my best on a normal day, it didn't even equal my average, but I did my best in my circumstances, and therefore I did not fail. I succeeded gloriously with what I was given.

March 17 - 18, 2013

Faith.

Yeah, that's right. Faith.

I saw a quote in my journal that said "Faith has a lot to do with feeling awkward...even at the end of my mission there were awkward moments."

I think this is true. and I think that awkward isn't the only feeling that can come when we act in faith. Many times nervousness also can be present. There is sometimes the fear of the unknown. There is the uncertainty of what will happen next. But, if you have faith that something will happen, that something good will happen, you've got to act on that even if it puts you out of your comfort zone.

Obviously an example would be missionaries out on the street. They see someone working in their backyard and walk over to the fence to talk with them. They have faith that God will put people in their path for them to teach. The person in their backyard may think "this is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me." And it may be awkward, but the missionaries acted on their faith. And the person may not even be receptive, but if the missionaries never talked to them, it would have automatically been a no, so why not try?

There are many other examples in our daily lives where acting on our faith may be hard. But if we ask for a blessing and don't do our best to receive that blessing, how can we expect it to come?

And that is all I have to say on the matter today. Mmmm bye now! Oh and here's a good talk by Elder Bednar: Ask In Faith

March 16, 2013 - Do Good

Wow, as I have been reading my journal I have realized that there is so so so much that I can share from my mission every week. So, just fyi I will probably not be putting a whole week each week, but I will be writing lessons chronologically from my journal. That probably won't phase any of you, but like I said, just fyi.

We all struggle with receiving answers to prayers, if you have never struggled with that wow, that's impressive. But I think it is safe to say that we have each struggled at some point.

So, how do we follow the Spirit if we are having a hard time receiving answers? and how do we receive answers and what are they? How can we distinguish? Was it me? Was it the Spirit? Was it the devil?

It can be stressful sometimes. But, we can know that "when [we] dedicate [ourselves] to the Lord, He will not let [us] down." -Elder Bybee. If we are trying our best to follow, He will take care of things. Start filling your life with the things that you know to be true and good principles of the gospel. As you become more spiritually minded, it will be easier to determine what you should do because your connection with God will be greater.

Elder Bednar says to quit worrying if it is the spirit or if it is you (the source of the answer). He says that as long as it is good then it'll be ok. As long as you are being a good girl or a good boy and are doing what you feel is right, we can know that things will work together for our good. If something good comes into your head to say or to do, do it. Have confidence in it, do it, throw it out there and see what happens.

As we build our relationship with God, we will become more and more like Him. We can become one with the Lord just as the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, and the Father are one. We can reflect them in our countenance. We can walk with Them. We can be bright, we can do what's right. When we become so much like them the Lord can trust us to do things more fully like He does with Nephi in Helaman 10. The Lord says "...all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will." Nephi didn't have to worry if it was him or the Spirit that inspired something because he wouldn't have asked for anything contrary to the Lord's will. Wouldn't it be great to get to that point? Where we desire the Lord's will so much that we will sacrifice anything to do it? That we will have complete confidence in Him?

To wrap up "Let the Lord...hold the reins in your life...give yourself over to Him and you will have a happy life." -Br. Neubert.


I know that this is true, that as we come unto Christ, we can be perfected in Him. It is a lifelong journey. And we mess up often, but it is well worth it. Just think of the wonderfulness that comes from walking with Christ. Keeping the commandments really does bring joy.

March 6- March 15

As I hit the 2 year anniversary of the beginning of my mission this week, I came up with a brilliant idea for my blog posts for the next 18 months. :)

Relive it every week. So here we go!

Lessons I learned from March 6, 2013 - March 15, 2013

As I read through my journal and notes from those days, the things that stood out to me were these:

• As you lose yourself in the work, the Lord will take care of everything. Questions that can trap you are these- Am I inspired? Did I do it right? Do they like me? All of these take the focus and put it back on you. Instead focus on what you can do to help them "what can I do to help them?"
• Trust God, it will all work out
• It's ok to make mistakes- no one expects you to be perfect right now.
• Like a house that is being added on to, there is some breaking down that has to occur before the building up

http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/poems/the_lad_with_the_lunch.html

Now to expand a bit more. God will not ever tell you that you are inadequate. He takes what we have and He uses it for His purposes. What we have is always enough as long as it is our best. John 6:9 "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" As the story continues, Christ takes the loaves and fishes, blesses them and feds five thousand men, plus women and children and there were left overs! At times we may look at the crowd and say "what are my five loaves gonna do?" And the Lord says "My child, what you have is enough. Trust me." And wham-o. He fulfills His purposes with your meager offering. Your best offering. 

When life gives you lemons, you start to make your lemonade, and then God says "wait! I need you to make orange juice" Your brain then says "uh right. Like that's gonna happen...ok. We'll try making orange juice." You then find somewhere in the depths of your refrigerator a few oranges. A man walks up to you and reads your sign that says "Lemonade 5 cents" and promptly asks you for orange juice. You are prepared because you followed the Lord's prompting. (this may seem a little hard to follow...) But, basically, the Lord knows all of His children personally and will use each of us to help each other in the ways that He needs us to. He knows and will use the resources that we have to help, we just have to be prepared to change our ways to follow His even when it seems odd. 

Hey, but you may make the mistake and didn't make the orange juice. That's ok. No one is perfect. There is time to grow and become better. Maybe the next time you will make orange juice when the Lord asks. If not, just hit the reset button and promise to do better. Don't get down on yourself for the mistakes you make. Let them make you want to become stronger and better. 

That being said, sometimes we slip up quite horribly. Old habits die hard. Breaking down the walls of the house so you can add onto it, or changing your lemonade recipe to be an orange juice one, or .... whatever it may be will take time to perfect. Change doesn't happen over night and that's fine and dandy. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with others. Change takes time. As long as we are doing our best, we are in the right. We are in the line of our duty. We will be fine.

Come What May and Love it

So this isn't because I have been reviewing my journal, but I have been thinking about this for quite a while.

My mission president's father was Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. 

There is a talk titled the same thing from him... Come What May, and Love It

Anyways, now that that is out of the way, I will begin my post. 

While on the mission I often wanted to be in control of what was going on. I thought many times "I am the Lord's missionary! Why isn't He making this easier for me?!" Other thoughts were similar "Why does everyone cancel on us?" "Why don't they get it?" "why is every door being closed?" "Why does it have to be raining when I don't have my umbrella?" Etc. 

Thoughts are super powerful and gratitude is one of the best things ever. When we are positive and see the good in our lives, we are soo much happier. The more negative we are, the more it seems that we have a rain cloud over us constantly. 

President W. would always say "If you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, get back in bed and wake up on the right side of the bed." When he was asked how he was able to be happy day after day, he would simply say "I wake up and decide that today will be a good day. And it always is."

The last few days have been a bit colder than it has been previously. Today we even got snow here (I know, all you in NY would be happy to not have snow at this point.) Many friends and acquaintances began to complain about the snow and the cold weather, and I thought to myself "Hey, we can't change the weather, and it's actually really great that we are getting moisture now..." I also thought a lot about my mission too. I have never experienced a winter like I did on my mission. I now love snow and cold because it reminds me of NY. As the snow came down tonight, I stood in it and looked up to the sky. I breathed it in, I laid in the snow, made a snow angel and spun around. How enjoyable snow can be! 

There is so much that we can not control, so why try? Come what may and love it. We can be agents unto ourselves. We can choose to act and not be acted upon. We can choose our thoughts and actions. We can choose how we react to each situation; if we want to respond with anger, sadness, laughter, or joy. 

Buddha said "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." We can choose how we react to every thing. Laugh or cry, well as Sister Hinckley said "crying gives me a headache." haha. So, laughing is usually what I pick. :)

We can all find joy in each situation. Way harder to do than say, but as we practice, it will become a habit. Like Elder Scott says (and I know I have quoted this before) "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to be become each day." 

I'm going to keep this short, but I do love how I have been able to see recently the power of positive thinking. I encourage all of you to begin now to try and be more positive in your life. It's definitely worth it. :)