Long Time

I know it has been literally forever since I posted! So sorry! Things have been pretty busy here for me. I'm getting ready to move out in about 3 weeks. I'm getting super excited but also kind of super nervous too... just because I'm not quite sure what to expect. But I can't think of any two better roommates I could have to help get through it.

Parker is doing great on his mission! He's in a new are called Rockhampton, it's about 8 hours north of Brisbane. He compared it to Provo, a lot of city but also farm area. His companion is from Moroni, so pretty close to home. There's only one other missionary couple in the area, and it's a senior couple from Salt Lake, so that's pretty cool. They have had A LOT of success in Rockhampton. For example, here's an article from the church news website that Parker told us about. They helped baptize this man named John Jordan.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/61155/Blessing-in-disguise.html

What an amazing story, and my brother was a part of it! YAHOO!

Also, I'm gonna go private here pretty soon. I have a lot of your emails but if you wanna keep reading then please leave it in a comment and I will invite you!

More to come later :)

New Chapter

So I know I haven't been on here, and I'm sorry. Life has been pretty crazy.

I got to talk to my brother on Mother's Day, acutally my whole family did. We got to Skype with him. It was so awesome! To see him and talk with him made my year pretty much. And to see Everett react when he realized this Parker wasn't in a picture and that he was actually interacting with him was sooo awesome. Carver even was reacting a little bit and he doesn't really remember Parker. My brother is awesome, and I miss him.

Lindsey and I found a condo to move into with my friend, LaDawn, who I work with. We don't move until August but I'm so so so excited! I love being home with my parents and I definately will miss hanging out with them on days that they are home but I am so excited to start a new chapter in my life and be on my own. Independence. Feels good.

I promise I will be better about being on here. And it won't be "Wo is me" posts anymore. They will be awesome.

Can't. Sleep.

Yes it's 12:47 am and I can't sleep. :( I don't know why. Okay, maybe I do. I have so many things running through my head right now. #1 - My brother. I miss him dearly! These past four months have gone by soooooooo slow and I haven't even been counting. He's doing awesome though, and has his health and wits about him. That I am grateful for. He is loving being able to serve the Lord still and has grown to love Australia and the people there. He enjoys being a missionary and all of the privileges and blessings that come with it. #2 - I'm not gonna lie I have really missed Elder Pike this week. I thought I was all moved on and then a song came on that reminds me of him and wham! I was back to thinking about him. It makes it easier when he's not here, and when there is another guy that I am starting to like here at home. But I know that no matter what, Elder Pike will always be at the back of my mind and he will always have a place in my heart. #3 - I have slipped backwards from my spiritual progress again. #4 - I have been bad and haven't posted much on here lately... I still have to tell you all about my trip to Arkansas and what else has been happening in my life. So there you have it. More to come later on today. Maybe putting this down will help my brain stop.

Day #4 and #5

Day #4: "Never Stopping, Ever Searching"

The story of Jarius and the woman who touched Christ's garment is told in this chapter. After reading this story in the scriptures, I have come to learn that my trials, especially my one with my church situation, is a way of testing my faith to grow closer to the Lord. You know how the saying goes, "It always gets worse before it gets better?" That was the case for both Jarius and the woman. Jarius learned his daughter was dead before she was able to rise again, and the woman had a disease for 12 years before she was finally healed. I believe my situation may be that I am pushed to the brink of temptaion and heartache before I finally find a ward that I love. Who knows whether it's a family ward or a singles ward? Only the Lord. What do I need to do? Go back to church. Stay for all of the meetings. Go for my faith and my love of God before I go for the interaction. If I go for the true purpose and the right reason, everything else will follow and fall into place. The author quoted Joseph Smith saying:

"Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire."

I love that quote! Everything TRULY does happen for a reason and it truly does happen in the Lord's, time. The invitation for this chapter is to think of a time in my life when I had to search for the Savior to "find strength beyond my own". I believe that I am in the midst of that right now. I am growing my faith and understanding. I promise the Lord that I shall be "Never Stopping, Ever Searching."

Day #5: "Who Is This Jesus?"

After reading about Jesus and the Samaritan woman in the scriptures and reading Emily Freeman's explanation and interpretation of the story, I have come to realize I am like the Samaritan woman, in that I believe that I am not good enough to have a relationship with the Lord because of who I am and my knowledge of him. I have been taught about Christ and I have been told about Christ and His teachings and His life, but I really truly don't know who He is. Up until this time in my life, I believed that I wasn't worthy enough to have a relationship with him, and it has been preventing me from going to church and learning and understanding more about him. It has also prevented me from looking for Christ, as part of day #4. All of this has been making me suffer spiritually, among many other things. The invitation for this day is to find a simple learning moment daily until the end of this challenge. My challenge to myself? To do this everyday for the rest of my life. I need to be constant and diligent and I will get to the relationship I would like to have with the Lord and feel better about myself. Who knows if that's a few months from now or a few years from now, but with my constant diligence I will be able to get there someday.

Sorry for my boring entries lately, they will get better. At the moment I just feel the need to blog about this right now in my life.

Love you all!

Day #3 - "A Common Thread"

These pictures are just the pictures that they put with each of the days. Just sharing them with you all.

"We renew our appeal for the keeping of individual histories and accounts of sacred experiences in our lives -- answered prayers, inspiration from the Lord, administrations in our behalf, a record of the special times and events of our lives. From these records you can also approprately draw as you relay faith-promoting stores in your family circles and discussions. Stories of inspiration from our own lives and those of our forebears as well as stories from our scriptures and our history are powerful teaching tools. I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records they will indeed be a great source of great inspiration to you, each other, your children, your grandchildren, and others throughout the generations."

-- President Spencer W. Kimball

I have always been pretty good about keeping a journal since I was a Freshman in high school. Granted, I don't write everyday, and when I don't I usually write on here, which can be counted as a journal, right? I should probably print off the pages and keep them in folders or something so that it will count more. Anyways, I have been slacking on keeping good entries. Usually my hand written journal entries consist of church meetings (when I used to go), scripture study (when I actually studied randomly), or times that I need to vent. Sometimes there are good entries in there too. My goal with this subject is to write more diligently, not just here on my blog, but also in my regular journal. In the future, who knows if my future generations are going to be able to have access to this blog. Technology will be WAY WAY different then than it is now. (Hence the reason I should probably start printing off everything since I've been on here.) I want my future generations to be able to find a common thread between my life and theirs, and hopefully they will find something that reaches out to them and helps them in their life, whether they are going through the exact same things as me or whether it's different.

Part of the invitation in this section is to write down my testimony. I won't do that this post, but next post I will have it for you. Also it encourages to keep a journal, and more specifically of this 21 day journey I'm on. I'm considering this blog as my journal for that... but I may need to write ideas down in my other journal.

I encourage each and everyone of you to write and keep a journal. Not only will your generations benefit from it, but I truly believe that you will also.

Day #2: "Take His Name"

That's right. Day 2 in my marvelous 21 day journey.

"Take His Name"
This section talks more about the sacrament and the purpose for it. It says, "By partaking of the sacrament we covenant that we are willing to take upon us the name of His Son, and always remember Him, especially in our daily walk and conversation." It asks to think of situations in my life that I have encountered in the last week where my actions have been consistent with the covenant I made during the sacrament.... There isn't much that I can think of. How sad. Sad that I can't think of a time that my actions have been consistent with the things that I have promised the Lord. I didn't always remember Him, and I tried to represent him. Not remembering him though hurts my representation of Him, and honestly, that hurts me. I am ashamed. Honestly, I am very ashamed of my actions and my inability to remember the Lord in all my doings and to not represent Him the way that I should be.

My goal for this week? To think of the covenants that I make with the Lord every week that I attend church and partake of the sacrament, and then to make my actions consistent with those covenants. Also, I will remember Him in all that I do and represent Him better.

"When we take His name and always remember hHim and keep His commandments, He gives us the greatest blessing He can give us; that is to always have His spirit to be with us."

- Elder Robert D. Hales

21 Day Challenge

I have many things that I am going to do this year to change myself. Since now you all know that I am struggling with myself spiritually, among other things, I am going to do something about it. For real.
I found this book a few months ago at Deseret Book, when I was at the realization that I was starting to have problems, thinking that I would right away pick it up and do it. But instead, I have let it sit on my bookshelf. I knew there was a reason I had gotten it that day, besides the fact that I wanted to start it that day. I would eventually really use it to my advantage.


It is called, 21 Days Closer to Christ. This is going to be my 21 day challenge. To read each of the days in this book to help me become closer to Christ.

At the beginning of the book, there is an "Introduction". In the introduction, the author says, "This is an invitation for you to take a journey to come to know and recognize more clearly the hand of the Lord in your life. Scattered throughout this book you will find treasures that can make the journey more meaningful to you. The celebration will come from the moments and experiences that bring you closer to Christ...

"...This is your journey, your treasure, and your celebration...

"...If you begin this process with a humble heart, seeking for a stronger testimony, and come with a desire to truly find the Lord, I believe the spirit will guide you in the direction you need to travel to find yourself closer to Christ. Remember, these twenty-one days are only the beginning of a journey that will last forever..."

I am ready to take that invitation and run with it. I am entering into this process with a humble heart, desire to have a stronger testimony and to truly find the Lord and his hand in my life.

So here it goes. DAY 1: COME AND SEE

As I was reading this chapter, there was a paragraph that caught my eye. It said, "We are pulled at on every side by distractions that entangle us. Time constraints, daily chores, work demands, worldly pursuits, pride, or other pressuers may prevent us from developing a relationship with Christ. If we are to be truly happy, if we are to reach our full potential, I believe we must create a place for the Savior in our lives. I testify the sacrifice is worth it. The precious moments that will come as we cast aside our nets will allow us to discover something of much greater worth."

That is one of my many faults. I don't make enough time to put the Lord in my every day life. So what is my goal? To get up early enough everyday to read at least 10 or 15 minutes of scriptures before I get up and get going for my day. If I don't do that, then read at least 10 or 15 minutes worth before I go to bed. Another thing I need to do to put the Lord in my life? Prayer. Pray once in the morning and pray before going to bed.

If I truly make an effort to put the Lord in my life, then everything else during this 21 day challenge and in my life will fall into place, and I will be happier then I am now.