sunday thoughts

my lesson today for all the sweet beehives in my ward was on taking the name of Christ upon ourselves - a covenant we made at baptism and continue to renew every time we partake of the sacrament. 

how do we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ? 

President Henry B. Eyring said, “We promise to take His name upon us. That means we must see ourselves as His. We will put Him first in our lives. We will want what He wants rather than what we want or what the world teaches us to want” (“That We May Be One,” Ensign, May 1998, 67).

i LOVE that quote.

So I asked the girls 3 questions:

1. What does it mean to see ourselves as Christ's?
2. How do we put the Savior first in our lives?
3. What does it mean to want what the Savior wants?

I think these our wonderful questions for us to ask ourselves on a regular basis. How important

finding peace

are you guys overwhelmed with the sadness happening around the world these days? because i sure am.

i turn on the news & my heart just drops. it's scary. 

i start to worry about the world rooney will grow up in. it is already so different from the world i knew as a kid.

so over the last week or so, i have started thinking of things i could do to be prepared & also to find some peace in all of this turmoil.

1. prayer! i am trying to talk to my heavenly father the minute i become worried, overwhelmed, or anxious. he knows.

2. scripture study! i wrote a post awhile back about how i am trying to study my scriptures more diligently again. i am not perfect at it, but it is getting better & i am finding strength in the knowledge i find as i study.

3. i gave a lesson to my beehives today about our baptismal covenants & i think they are good things for us to be practicing daily. PLUS, as we keep them in mind, he pours out his spirit upon us & that is exactly what i need right now (& always, right?).

 this is the handout i gave the girls & i strongly felt that focusing on these covenants would make me better, stronger, & help me find the good.

4. spending time with rooney. letting her happiness & love for life wash over me. following her lead for adventure & curiosity.

5. look for the good. there's a lot that makes my heart heavy right now, but there are also stories that will lift & strengthen too.

6. be the good. need ideas? see number 3. but simple things help. smile. take someone cookies. offer to put someone's cart away. write a letter.

7. love. like i have said before, choose to love. 

what are some things you guys are doing to help when the sadness of the world threatens to take over?

also - aren't sundays just the best? church, rest, recharge, family time. i am ready for a new week.

being happy

if you've been reading my blog, you know that my downs have been outnumbering my ups. miscarriage is hard. waiting (for blood tests & your next cycle for more tests) is hard. everything else that comes with life is hard.


but something happened this weekend. i taught a lesson about the priesthood to the beehives in my ward & while preparing it, i was filled with the spirit & a reminder of the love i have in my  life.


i was prompted to read a letter from porter who is currently serving an lds mission in san jose, california. he sent me a clip from my great great grandma Lerona's journal. she was blessed with many visions & the records she kept of it are now blessing me & i am sure all of her posterity. anyway, what she wrote is very special & dear to my heart & it helped me feel peace.


i also spent all of my last post talking about choosing how we react. & mel has told me so many times that after she lost eloise, she had to choose to be happy. & like my dad said after my first loss, "can you be happy along the way?".


after reading Lerona's journal, it just clicked. things changed. my heart felt healed. that does not mean i don't get teary eyed or stop missing my three angels, but i am full of comfort & a surety that they are waiting for me. it also doesn't mean i haven't stopped reaching out & talking to my friends who are struggling with loss as well. while i have finally accepted things & truly been happy again, talking about these trials continues to bring peace.


i am choosing to stay happy.


won't you be happy with me?

why opposition is a good thing

as i mentioned earlier, i am pushing to read my scriptures every day. & not just read them, but actually study them too.

i was studying 2 Nephi 2. the whole chapter is Lehi addressing his son Jacob, giving him some wonderful words of wisdom. words that we all could benefit from hearing.

in verse 10 it reads: "for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." he goes on to say that without the good, there would be no bad. no law, no sin ---> no sin, no righteousness ---> no righteousness, no happiness ---> no righteousness & happiness, no sin & misery. without these things there would be no God & if there was no God, there would be no us, no earth, no creation! what a humbling thought.

he also that because of opposition, we have the choice to act or be acted upon. James E. Faust once said, "being acted upon means someone else is pulling the strings." it is my life, & with the help of my heavenly father, i would like to be the one making the decisions. we need to act for ourselves, which includes deciding how we want to react to situations.

the really neat part of this post is what happened hours after i had these thoughts about my scripture study. i was with my mother in law & we were talking about life & the roller coaster that i seem to be on. she pointed out the fact that this sadness i might be feeling will make the happiness so much happier. she also mentioned that rather than dwelling on these trials forever & questioning why we are experiencing them, we should be looking for the lesson. (i seriously got the greatest mother in law. she lets me open up & never judges me. plus she's full of the advice i always need to hear.)

we have to experience the trials & i believe we have to let ourselves go through the emotions too. that is something i have really been fighting - trying to push those emotions back, but we need to let it happen! & as much as we need to have those feelings, we also need to choose to not let them take over.

i don't know if any of this post makes much sense - my brain has been going nonstop (especially when i was trying to sleep last night). but i hope someone is able to see the good in opposition the way i have the last few days.

xoxo


oh. & i should add this article. a friend recently sent it to me. life is hard, suffering is optional. remember, we get to choose! 

what it all comes down to

well, i have been thinking a lot today about the changing world we live in.


this post isn't about my stance on the so many controversial things happening, but more about how we are going about it all wrong. you might not live the same lifestyle as me, believe the same things as me, or have the same opinions as me. that is and should be ok!


i have seen lots of hostility on social media. one opinion has to be "right" and if you don't agree, you must be "wrong". we are constantly judging. we are always comparing.


the way i see it though, is that we are lucky to live in a country where we have the freedom to believe what we want, have our own opinions. it's sad to me that we might be afraid to share them because of the terrible things others might say.


i have come up with a simple solution.


all we have to do is love


love before you speak. love before you act. love before you judge.


support those around you. build them up. hand out smiles and compliments (they are free!). you're opinion might be different, but there has to be a way for you to share it without tearing the other person down or not get offended if someone doesn't agree.


we don't know what is happening in another's life, but we do know that life is hard!


so, as we start a new week - make sure that love comes first.

e a s t e r

I am so grateful for this time of year.

Please watch this video. It is less than three minutes long and I promise it is worth every second. It is a simple message. It reminds us that it is because of Him.

Because of Him, I have hope.

Because of Him, I can find peace, especially in times of trial.

Because of Him, I have someone to turn to when I am lonely, when I feel sadness, and when my trials seem too hard to bear.

Because of Him, I am never alone.

Because of Him, I am stronger.

Because of Him, I love and I love a lot.

Because of Him, joy is easy to find.

Because of Him, I can start over.

Because of Him, I can be better.

Because of Him, my family is forever.

Because of Him, I will be able to return to live with my Heavenly Father again.

He lived and He died for you and me.

Easter of 2012 was two days after Porter was diagnosed with cancer. That post is full of my heart. Things that brought me joy and also ways that my Savior was carrying me and my family through a very hard trial.

This Easter, Ashton and I have been going through our own trial as I have miscarried twice since the start of the year. It has been unbelievably hard and trying in ways that I never thought possible, but, as the video pointed out, "Because of Him, despair becomes hope." So many people have reached out to me, have held me up with their prayers and kind words - they were answers to my prayers in a time of need. I have felt my Savior's love and I am grateful to know that this isn't the end. (I have lots to say about my current trials and just miscarriage in general. I have spent many hours writing out my thoughts - and there are lots of them. Hopefully, with time, I can organize them and share my experiences.)

Because of Him, I can be a better me. My testimony is strongest in the knowledge that He is there to help me through sin and trial, but also to celebrate with me through joys and success.

I love my Savior. I love celebrating His life and His resurrection. He lives! I know that He lives. I also know that as we do those little things - read our scriptures, pray, serve - we can build a relationship with Him.

Happy Easter

 xoxo

General Conference

We spent this past weekend in CHICAGO! Wooo. I can't wait to share those adventures with you, but I have something more important to discuss right now.

Because of our little getaway, we weren't able to enjoy General Conference. General Conference happens twice a year - the first weekend in April and the first weekend in October. It is a time for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (and whoever else would like to join us) to gather worldwide to listen to a series of two-hour sessions, receiving inspiration and instruction from Church leaders. As I have said before, it is one of my favorite weekends.

If you are like me and missed this wonderful weekend event, do not worry!

You can find all of the wonderful talks here. I am so looking forward to studying the words and hopefully sharing some of the inspiration with you.

xoxo