Church Talk - Why Don't We Do What We Know We Should? Prayer - Scriptures - FHE - Temple

Why don't we do what we know we should? Prayer - Scriptures - FHE - Temple

It is like riding a Bicycle. Richard G. Scott - Conference Oct. 2014

This life is full of challenges and heartaches. We were taught in the premortal world that we are here to be tested, tried and stretched. We MUST take time to Come Unto Christ. There are tools that if used, provide the easiest way to find peace in our challenging world.

1: Prayer - Daily - and don't forget about family prayer.

Promise: Richard G. Scott - "Parents, help safeguad your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. Children are bombarded every day with the evils of lust, greed, pride, and a host of other sinful behaviors. Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer. Family prayer should be a nonnegotiable priority in your daily life.

2. Scripture Study - We talk to God through prayer. He most often communicates back to us through His written word.

Don't yield to Satan's lie that you don't have time to study the scriptures. It is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, and video games, or social media. If you need to reorganize, do it!!!

Promise:Richard G. Scott - As you dedicate time every day, personally and with your family, to the study of God's word, peace will prevail in your life. That peace won't come from the outside world. It will come from within your home, from within your family, from within your own heart. 

Challenges are an important part of mortality. Through daily, consistent scripture study, you will find peace in the turmoil around you and strength to resist temptations. You will develop strong faith in the grace of God and know that through the Atponement of Jesus Christ all will be made right according to God's timing.

3. Family Home Evening - Once a week have family home evening. Be cautious not to make this just an afterthought of a busy day. Do not let employment, sports, extracurricular activities, homework become more important than spending time with your family.

4. Temple Attendance - There is no more peaceful place on earth than in the temple.

Richard G. Scott - As we do these four things we are Actively Coming Unto Christ. "The more we develop these habits, the more anxious is Satan to harm us BUT the less is his ability to do so."

"I am not suggesting that all of life's struggles will disappear as you do these things. We came to mortal life precisely to grow from trials and testing. Challenges help us become more like our Father in Heaven, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible to endure those challenges. I testify that as we actively come unto Him, we can endure Every temptation, Every heartache, Every challenge we face."

 Why don't we do what we know we should?

There are a few ideas that I think we can agree on.

-Your life will be better if you turn it over to God and let Him be in control.

-When it comes to PRAYER - The Lord's answers meet your needs while motivating you to grow?

-D&C 90:24 - all thing shall work together for your good.

SO...

Why do we not turn our lives over God? Why do we so often think we know best or feel like we have to be in control?

Why do we get frustrated when our prayers aren't answered immediately or the way we want?

Why do we complain when challenges come?

"Why don't we do what we know we should?"

Do I lack faith?

BUT:

Last week I walked into the RS room after church and saw some comments on the board that caught my attention. Faith...Power. I found out that Ashley Stock had given the RS lesson and heard that her remarks came from a Conference Talk from Elder Holland in 2013. I read that wonderful talk where he talks about the man who pleaded with the Lord to bless his only son,

“If thou canst do any thing,” he said, “have compassion on us, and help us.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”1

We also know that to move mountains we only need the faith of a mustard seed. 

Surely I have that much.

Am I not Obedient?

I've always thought of my husband, Dan, as a Rock. He's just so strong and so sure about a lot of gospel topics, but I think even more than that - He has a testimony of Obedience and the power that it brings.

D. Todd Christoffersn, “As we walk in obedience we enjoy a continual flow of blessings promised by God in His covenant with us. Those blessings provide the resources we need to act rather than simply be acted upon as we go through life. ...Obedience gives us greater control over our lives, greater capacity to come and go, to work and create.”

A word of caution:

But I thought of Laman and Lemuel. They were obedient. They left Jerusalem. They went back for the plates and for Ishmael's family. Why didn't they gain the power or the character to carry their faith forward? They didn't do it "with REAL intent". How many times do I pray without real intent?

I learned a few weeks ago from one of my Young Women, Charlotte Chipembere. She mentioned that she had said her prayers out loud and I thought, "I haven't done that in awhile." What a wonderful example the Young Women are to me. I can tell you it makes a huge difference when you pray outloud. It makes it "real".

I try to be Obedient and I try to make it Real.

I sat in testimony meeting and heard wonderful testimonies from everyone. Two seemed to touch on what I had been thinking. 

Dan Greding spoke about going through a tough time when he had to "Pray as if everything depended on God and then Work as if everything depended on you." He said he turned it over to the Lord and let him have control. "I had Heavenly Father steering me."He increased his prayers and the intent of those prayers. He said he then saw things differently. Problems seemed to be challenges and opportunities for growth. Things got better but didn't seem to last and he testified that he knew that things work better when we turn ourselves over to Heavenly Father.

Bob Adams also testified that Blessings come when the struggles are the greatest and the greatest blessings come often in the greatest trials.

I would like to add that to our ideas that we agree on from the beginning.

-Your life will be better if you turn it over to God and let Him be in control.

-When it come to PRAYER - The Lord's answers meet your needs while motivating you to grow?

-D&C 90:24 - all thing shall work together for your good.

AND

Blessings come when the struggles are the greatest and the greatest blessings come often in the greatest trials.

So is everything always a struggle? Why can’t we do it?

Nephi talks about the time when the Lord sent fiery serpents to the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. 

1 Nephi 17:41 - And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

If it's so simple, why can't I seem to do it?  And even more sad, MANY perished. I don't want to perish.

But as I was studying I read about Jesus growing up. It gave me hope. It made me realize that he truly is our example in everything.

In Institute Class this year we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants. I was reading in the manual covering Section 93:11-17 it talks about Jesus, "Received Not of the Fulness at the First, but Continued from Grace to Grace".

President Lorenzo Snow said: "When Jesus lay in the manger; a helpless infant, He knew not that He was the Son of God, and that formerly He created the earth. When the edict of Herod was issued, He knew nothing of it; He had not power to save Himself; and His father and mother had to take Him and fly into Egypt to preserve Him from the effects of that edict. 

Well, He grew up to manhood, and during His progress it was revealed unto Him who He was, and for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him." 

In verses 19 and 20:  

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

 20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.

This indicates that all people MAY grow to the point of receiving a fulness if they will follow the example of the Savior:

GRACE for GRACE

Riding a Bike:

I'd like to give the analogy of riding a bike. A long time ago, in my day, riding a bike was a wonderful thing. I remember on my 8th birthday getting a brand new beautiful shiny red Schwinn. It was raining a little that day, but I still remember going out and riding it. Now, I'm old so you know it was special because I'm a little surprised I can still remember it. It was a little too big for me. A bike back then was a great thing. It was great to ride and lean into the turns and there was a certain feeling of power and control. It was a feeling of elation. 

But when we're first starting to ride a bike, it doesn't create a feeling of elation. It's scary. It's wobblely. We fall. We skin our knees. It hurts. When we were first learning did our parents expect us to master it the first time and have that elated feeling?

Of course not.

Riding a bike is not difficult. You sit on a seat. You hold the handle bars. You balance and you put your feet on the pedals and push. (Skateboarding, on the other hand - I've always thought that was hard, so I commend all you skateboarders out there). When you are first riding, it's new, it's uncomfortable, you're not sure if what you're doing is really right. In fact, it's easy to just quit because it may even feel like you are falling more than you are moving forward. You usually are pretty good at holding on to the handle bars, but balancing and pedaling is a different story. AND when you just start getting the hang of things, you keep hearing your parents, "Don't drag your feet!" You can’t truly enjoy riding a bicycle if you are constantly dragging your feet. You have to trust that these simple things will set you free. There are many stubbed toes caused by dragging your feet.

Keeping the Commandments is like riding a bicycle. We don't do what we know we should because we have to be patient and realize that it will come grace for grace. That by small and simple things, great things will come to pass. Starting to pray is like holding on to the handle bars, but praying with real intent is like making your first turn, trusting in doing what you've been told, exercising faith. Pedaling is like reading your scriptures. You have to keep going to reach your destination. Balancing is living in the world, but not letting it overcome you. AND remember, "Don't drag your feet!" You can’t expect to get the real joy if you are always dragging your feet. Dragging your feet just stops your progression. It's like trying to ride a bike in the mud

Why don’t we do what we know we should? It’s simple, but we’re weak. We need to do it long enough to make it a habit. Once it’s a habit, it will make us strong. We will see the Atonement working in our lives. 

Not “IF”, but “When” we slip, we need only to pick ourselves back up and keep going. We will feel the joy that comes from exercising Faith in Jesus Christ and feel the cleansing power of the Atonement.

Alma 37:6 -  Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

Say your Prayers Daily - morning and night AND don't forget about family prayer.

Read your Scriptures Daily

Have Weekly FHE

Attend the Temple - and I'd like to say, Monthly

Time invested - 

Generous - 5 min prayers, 2 min family prayers, 15 min scripture daily, 3 hrs/wk fhe, 4 hrs/mo temple, Sleep 12 hours

31 hours the Lord is asking. There are 460 hours in one month.

It's about 7% of our time.

It will make all the difference in this world AND in the world to come.

Hebrews 12:1 - ...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Big Changes: Grad Application Sent!

Big changes!

So I am figuring out my life. Little by little.

This last week, Cassie texted me about living with her. Provo wasn't really in my plans. I would rather live in Salt Lake. It just seemed like the more fun thing to do. But, the more I have thought about it, I feel really good about moving to Provo and living with Cassie. It'll be an adventure for sure.

So tonight I applied for graduation. I hit "Send Application" and it all of the sudden made me really nervous, like officially my life is going to change. That moment you send in your mission papers and realize, this is for real, not just something I have talked about.

I feel good where things are though. I just am so grateful for the testimony I have of the gospel and the fact that we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Really though, how do people make hard decisions without it? I'd go crazy! I'm grateful that the Lord knows what I should be doing and guides me little by little. I don't have it all sorted out yet, but getting there.

Love you guys!

I am Sick of Being Thrown a Bone ;)

So this last week has been pretty busy with school. So no dates :( Actually had to sit down and talk to the guy and be like hey, I am going on a mission, this won't go anywhere... But we are still friends and still talk occasionally so thats nice. Anyway back to school, I have chemistry down, thats easy, I even understand most of my anatomy and physiology class, I however cannot remember the bones for the life of me. I have an A in the class but this week we have a test on all the bones and what each part of the bone is. So a little stressed out with that and then I have a chemistry test on Friday, which is just memorizing and I already know most of it. So busy, busy, busy.

I have been super stressed and worried about my roommate Sarah, she is currently in the Behavioral Health Center, and has a court hearing sometime this week to see if it will be safe for her to leave. Just keep her in your prayers, We have been trying to help her set some goals for herself and just trying to keep her positive.

I will end on a positive note. So I was not a hermit this weekend. Friday I went out with Haley, Nikole, WR, and Jordan. We just hang out and talk, and it was actually a lot of fun. I then started to "get tired" (it was 1, and thus curfew summoned me home), and left them to watch the fault in our stars. Jordan, we found out lost his mom to cancer when he was 10, and cried the whole movie. So Haley and I decided to cheer him up Saturday, and we went Lazer Tagging, played arcade games, and got pizza for Jordan cause he hadn't eaten yet. We had a lot of fun and are going to start a super heroes club, where I get to be CatWoman. Anyway, I like my life, I enjoy the friends I have, and feel like all the stress is manageable right now. Oh and still trying to find Carly a hot husband.

-XOXO Katie

PS some guy said he loved soccer today in his talk and a girl from the congregation, fist pumped and said "woot woot" back... SO FUNNY then he was like well yeah its great and she then talked back to him again. I have never experienced a sacrament meeting that was so interactive with the ward. Well needless to say I think those two weirdos should date...

Here's a weekly funny

Brazil, big test, library and religious freedom

Alright, so this week. It's starting to get hard remembering what happens from week to week. Tuesday George and I drove to Brazil (a small town in Indiana, not the country. I wanted to take a picture for George's first time to Brazil but he was asleep when we got there and it was getting dark on the way back. I have a good friend who moved out there (she's been put in charge of all the music for the upcoming temple dedication). So when George fell asleep, I put him in the car seat and we took off. He woke up as I got him out of the car-perfect timing. Anyways it was good to see her. I got some more children's book recommendations along other things and we just got to talk. She needed it too. They moved out there and it took her awhile to make friends (because of different callings, most of the people in a similar situation were all in primary and she didn't see much of them at first). But even now that she has friends, the closest ward members live about 45 minutes away. (Weird ward boundaries-she has to drive through another ward's area before getting to the other members. ) Anyways, I had a lot of fun. we didn't time things as well heading home. George wasn't tired and it was getting dark. I sang and then let him cry for a little bit. I timed it and then pulled over. There's not much in between. I ended up stopping in a small town called bowling Green. You know you're there because there's a billboard for the town but there's no gas station, no restaurants or fast food, there's a city park and like 3 side streets. Anyways, I think it's a safe town but just in case, and since it was cold, I locked the doors and got in the back with George. I nursed him and played with him for a bit and then we took off again.

Wednesday-Jon had his big test. 8 hours. I told him is bring him lunch- anything he wanted if he told me. He didn't tell me, so I ordered take out from a place i'd been to with friends. I got three things- a salad and two entrees is be willing to eat so he could choose (we ended up splitting them all). They have really good sweet potato fries and hamburgers. We ended up saving the salad to eat with dinner.

Friday we took George to the library- not his first time, but the first time we went to the kids section. We read books with him and Jon tried playing with a train set with him. We rented three- one that was recommended to me and two others that looked good. George only seems to like the one that was recommended to us. Oh well, we'll exchange them and get new ones this week.

Weather. It has been very nice here. Everyone kept saying this year was supposed to be worse than last year. Last January and February it never got above 10 degrees. This year the lowest high was 21,but most days have been in the 30s and 40s. :-)

Ward choir has been struggling. We were happy with the turn out today. We had 2 sopranos, two basses, one tenor and two Altos! Usually we have two Altos and one for the others. Our ward is very musical but people just won't come. The thing is, the people who do come probably have the best excuses not to, but they come anyways.

Spiritual thought. For a few months I've been thinking along the lines of same-sex marriage. The thing is, we believe it's a sin. People get offended by that. But we also think drinking alcohol is a sin. My drinking friends know what I think but don't seem to get offended. We believe heterosexual pre-marital sex to be a sin. But our friends don't get offended by that. We believe so many little things are sins. And we ourselves sin, but we don't offend ourselves. if acknowledging something is a sin means we hate the sinner, who is there left to love?

Then, on the same topic of same-sex marriage, I was reading Dallin h. Oaks' talk from last conference, where he says, " In public, what religious persons say and do involves other considerations. The free exercise of religion covers most public actions, but it is subject to qualifications necessary to accommodate the beliefs and practices of others. Laws can prohibit behavior that is generally recognized as wrong or unacceptable, like sexual exploitation, violence, or terrorist behavior, even when done by extremists in the name of religion. Less grievous behaviors, even though unacceptable to some believers, may simply need to be endured if legalized by what a Book of Mormon prophet called “the voice of the people”" ("loving others and living with differences") I think what he's saying is we have the right to believe as we do, but the country, politically may make other laws to allow others the right to believe as they do. It reminded me of a class I took at byu. I was assigned to defend legal abortions. In my studies I actually changed my opinion. I think I won us the debate. The thing is, I may believe it is wrong but making it illegal in the past didn't lower the number of abortions, but it increased the amount of injuries to babies and pregnant women. Those who wanted abortions still found ways, but sometimes they didn't kill the baby but only severely injured it. I wish I could change everyone's opinion, but I would much rather have a quick death for a baby than an increase in babies that were abused in the womb due to a failed abortion attempt. And I hate the term pro-choice. I consider myself pro-choice but also pro-accountability. Women who get pregnant from a choice to have sex should be accountable for the known chance of having a baby. Those who had no choice in the first place I feel should be given a choice to have the baby or not, though with how much I love George I hope that they don't choose to abort. It's like robbing a bank. If someone chooses to rob a bank there's a chance they may get caught. If they get caught they don't get to choose whether or not to pay the consequences.

Anyways, back to same-sex marriages. I don't think the country should treat same-sex couples differently. I believe marriage is a religious thing, but the country acknowledges marriages for various things, including taxes. To allow freedom and not discriminate I think the best option is to allow people and religions to marry as they see fit but the government should only see unions, regardless of what type. I can't stop the world from sinning, I can only teach my kids what is right and wrong. " In dedicated spaces, like temples, houses of worship, and our own homes, we should teach the truth and the commandments plainly and thoroughly as we understand them from the plan of salvation revealed in the restored gospel. Our right to do so is protected by constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and religion, as well as by the privacy that is honored even in countries without formal constitutional guarantees." (Same talk by Dallin h.Oaks)

Oh, George also tried real food this week. Just cheerios. Doesn't like them yet.

His Answers Meet our Needs while Motivating us to Grow?

President David O. McKay testified, “It is true that the answers to our prayers may not always come as direct and at the time, nor in the manner, we anticipate; but they do come, and at a time and in a manner best for the interests of him who offers the supplication.” Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase. There is a relationship between those two: the greater your faith, the stronger your character; and increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith.

Your life will be easier when you accept that what God does in your life is for your eternal good.

He will reply in one of three ways. First, you can feel the peace, comfort, and assurance that confirm that your decision is right. Or second, you can sense that unsettled feeling, the stupor of thought, indicating that your choice is wrong. Or third--and this is the difficult one--you can feel no response.

What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision.

His answers meet our needs while motivating us to grow?

Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/using-the-supernal-gift-of-prayer?lang=eng


These are my thoughts this week. They are from my YW lesson on the Godhead and How Do I Know My Heavenly Father. I've been sick for awhile and I don't have any energy, but I've been thinking a lot. Thinking of the choices I have in my life. Thinking about how my life is changing, that you guys are growing and have families and lives of your own. I miss you, but I am so proud of you. I am happy for the people you are and the families you have. It's a good feeling to know that I have been a good steward. My life isn't over, but there are changes. It's made me think and pray. What do I really want? What does my Father in Heaven want me doing right now?

In reading it's made me think of my mom and when she would ask me to do something that I didn't want to do (like go to the neighbor's and ask them if I could pick their prickly pears or another time when I was going somewhere and she made me make my own arrangements). It wasn't a big deal and she knew I didn't like it so why didn't she just do it for me? She would always say, "It builds CHARACTER." (I used to respond and say "I have enough Character." Obviously I didn't). I am so glad she made me take those opportunities that gave me character - they gave me strength, strength gave me courage and courage gave me power.

I also remember writing either Cassie or Carly and talking about TRUST. When you are doing everything the Lord has asked you to do you can trust Heavenly Father. And when you are in that place it is a good feeling because you know the Lord can Trust you - trust you to do His will, trust you to listen and to follow. It is then that our faith is sure and time is ok - we don't have to understand everything all the time. We can be patient and we can be content. We can feel joy in the moment. We can be thankful for where we are that moment.Sometimes we think that we can only feel joy when something big is happening. We can feel joy when practically nothing at all is happening. It is a serene feeling.

God is good always. He can do more with my life than I can. He loves me and all things shall work for my good. His answers meet our needs while motivating us to grow? Learning to listen and trusting him enough to act on his promptings is what I need to do right now.

More routine and talents

George now eats his feet, likes grabbing onto them, rolls, likes sucking in my chin, especially if I'm talking and moving it (he thinks it's funny) and grabbing things.

 

It's been a good week. I don't know if I got too much done but I felt on top of things. Almost every morning George and I listen to a chapter in the book of Mormon, first in English and then the same chapter in Spanish. Sometimes we'll multitask and nurse at the same time. Then we go downstairs and play and most days I've started a load of laundry. Then he'll take a nap. This is my time. I usually shower during this nap and do personal reading. I'll clean or something else if the nap is long enough. Then the second period of George being awake we do educational things. We have a book of animals. We read about one (it's 2-4 pages with lots of pictures) and then look for a short YouTube clip of the same animal, playing or making a noise or something. We do 2-3 animals a day depending on George's interest. I think his favorite this week was either lions or cheetahs. He talked and made happy sounds when he saw them playing. Then more playing. This includes reading books, dancing, rolling on the ground, peek a boo and putting lots of toys in his mouth. Then another nap. This is cleaning, cooking, working time for me. Next awake time is playtime and sometimes running an errand, like to the grocery store. If I Cook during this time I put him in his Bouncer and bring it in the kitchen and he likes me to sing 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed.

 

A few specific things. George is now 4 months! Tuesday he came with me to book club for relief society and was one of three babies. He can't move as easily as they can but he still liked seeing other babies. We did some missionary work with a lady the sisters are teaching. I went to a relief society conference on Saturday which was really good, which is where my spiritual thought will come from. And we went on a short outing on Saturday with jon. One of the animals we read about were Canada geese. The Canada geese are actually in two of George's books and there's a pond in our neighborhood. The weather has been very nice for winter, and so we took a walk down to the pond where there was a flock of Canada geese. We walked around and showed them to George. He was happy and seemed to be talking but didn't love the wind or being put back in the stroller.

 

So, spiritual thoughts revolve around my Stake's Relief Society Conference. We chose to go to 2 workshops. I went to one called, "A Personal Witness of Who We Are" which was on talents and one on "how are we treating our husbands" and then the last talk was on abuse (weird topic but actually very good on how to recognize it, either for yourself or those around us and how to help. One of the counselors in our stake RS Presidency is divorced but stuck with her husband for several years despite the fact that he tried to murder her multiple times.) So on talents there was a story of one lady who was told her talents would be taken away if she didn't develop them but she didn't feel she had any. So she just started acting on her desires. I really liked it. I know I have talents but my patriarchal blessing mentions talents that I am not aware of. I never fully understood how I was supposed to develop what I didn't know, but this lady acted on promptings and her desires. Anyways, some talks quoted included, "Quick to Observe" by Elder Bednar, "If Your Talents Come Incognito", Ensign, June 1991 by Anya Bateman, "I Dug Up My Talents" by Nancy Seljestand, Ensign, Mar 1976, and Marvin J Ashton's "There Are Many Gifts: Ensign, Oct 1987. One quote was from President Monson (Ensign, May 1992, p. 101), "Every woman has been endowed by God with distinctive characteristics, gifts, and talents in order that she may fulfill a specific mission in the eternal plan."

 

Concerning the "How Are We Treating Our Husbands" it mentioned how sometimes our husbands are the problem, but still all we can change is ourselves. One of the pieces of advice was to say thank you for the "invisible" things- like going to work, doing dishes, the stuff that you notice if they don't happen but sometimes take for granted otherwise. The teacher was our new Stake President's wife, she also said, sometimes guys are dense, so sometimes we just have to say, "You should thank me that the kids are alive today. (Instead of waiting for him to say thank you for your invisible work) You're now in charge, I'll be back in 10 minutes." Not that that should happen every day, but when we aren't being thanked we can just tell them what they should be thankful for that day and in essence thank ourselves. Just try to make it humorous instead of accusing. (As a side comment, she mentioned how some therapist suggests that a lack of eye contact can make a confrontation less intimidating. So possibly sitting side by side instead of face to face.) I can't remember exactly how she tied it into the rest of her talk, but she brought up Disneyland and how expensive it is to go on the rides. She also mentioned how at a State Fair, the rides are much cheaper. She said, Why is Disneyland so expensive? Because it's the Happiest Place on Earth? So why is there more requirements to get to the Celestial Kingdom? Because it's better.

I'm sorry I haven't done pictures recently. The pictures have been on my phone and my app hasn't been working. I know I could've put them on the computer but I didn't get to it, so I'm catching up on some photos now

Ready...

So these past few weeks have been crazy to say the least, but I think I am finally in a good routine. Now to the fun stuff. Brody the idiot is in my ward and wants to be friends... But better yet, I have been dating ;) WHOOP WHOOP haha. Anyway so I went on a date with this one kid Bryce. So Bryce and I have gone on 3 dates, and all were a lot of fun, but I'm just not feeling it. The first date was a lot of fun, and we played N64, went to a haunted swing which was really creepy, mainly cause it was super foggy, and went to an abandoned radio station... I think he was trying to get me scared, but I try to turn things into a joke when I am scared.. So nice try Bud, I was laughing the whole time. So our last date, we played arcade games... YAY? I stink at arcade games... I did win at air hockey though. But he didn't fill the car up with gas so we ran out of gas on our way to get ice cream. He had to push the car to a parking lot!! LOL so anyway thats been the high lights... My life is not super exciting, but I am really happy Haley is here this semester cause I like seeing her almost everyday, she has a fun group. Oh and this friend of Haley's wants to set me up with his nerdy little brother, so wish me luck with that one :)

I am Kinda ready to just go on my mission.... Boy stink... BTW I am pretty sure I am going to Russia.... ~XOXO Gossip Girl haha jk

Crazy weeks.

So I know it's been a while. Life has been crazy the last couple of weeks.

My roommate Sarah was having suicidal thoughts so she checked herself into a Behavioral Center. It was probably the last thing I was planning on. Driving down to Idaho Falls is not the most convenient drive in the middle of the week or even in the middle of the afternoon on the weekends.

However, through it all, I really have seen how grateful I am for Mom and how she has raised us. Everytime we go visit Sarah, she just hugs us and tells us how truly grateful she is to know people like Katie and I.

I remember when we first showed up to the Behavioral Center. As most of you know, I HATE hospitals. They make me sad and that's definitely not my strength. You are supposed to be strong for the people who are suffering, and I'm the one crying. When we walked into the center, a few tears rolled down my cheek and I thought, "Great, I can't be crying right now." Somehow I sucked it up and I remember when Sarah looked at me and said, "Carly, I can't do this," that the Lord somehow gave me some strength not to say, "I wouldn't be able to do this either" and just cry. Instead I was able to give her a hug and say, "You can do this," and "It's going to be ok."

It's been really nice to see how much my Bishop truly cares. He has called Sarah a couple of times, and I send him updates occasionally. It's nice that after he listens to what's going on, he always asks how I am doing.

I'm so grateful for the gospel and for the power of prayer and just the simple reminders that the Lord really does care about His children.

I still can't hear out of my ears really, but besides that, I don't feel sick. I've been trying Mom's recommendation of Bragg's vinegar (which really clears up my sinuses and makes my nose run) and then lemon and echanshea tea. I'm not sure if it's working, but worth a try.

Well, this week's goal is to get up early every day and study my scriptures instead of just reading them at night. I hope it goes well. Love you all.