Growth

A couple of summers ago my friend and I took a trip to California. One of the many places that we stopped at was the Redwood National and State Parks. It is an awe inspiring place. I love nature and have been to other parks but this place truly stired deep emotions in me. The trees are just so majestic. The more and more I saw of them the more I wanted to be like them. Strong, firm, immovable, tall, reaching constantly to greater heights. As my love of these magnificent trees grew I just new I had to have one for myself. So I bought a redwood tree and it is really small. It is just a wee little thing. It is amazing that something so small has the potential to be something so big.

Lately I have been feeling really small. That my spirit is really small. Feeling small leads to me feeling defeated. Leads me to thinking that I cannot reach my full potential. But as I look at my baby redwood tree in all of its smallness I don't see that in it. I only see what it can become. So I have decided to see my self as a baby redwood tree. Small for now but with extreme potential.

God doesn't expect us to become perfect over night. He knows we start small. He knows right now compared to others we might look like we don't amount to much. He knows this but He doesn't see that. He sees what we can become and will do everything that He can to help us reach our full potent potential. He said that Himself, "For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the mortality and eternal life of man.  (Moses 1:39)

Being Lazy

 I have never really liked to work out. I don't like to run. I don't like to lift weights. I am not very motivated to exercise by myself. The other day I realized that I need to do something though because I weighed myself and I am the heaviest that I have every been. I do not like this fact. So me and some family members have set up a workout routine so that we can get in shape and stop being a couch potato.


Sometimes I am just lazy. Sometimes I like being lazy. I would say that for the past 6 months I have been really lazy.  I have been slowly coming back to myself and now I am kind of disgusted about how lazy I have been. The thing about being lazy, at least for me, is it is so easy to fall into the lazy pattern but hard to get out of it.

The sad thing is that I have not only been physically lazy but I have been spiritually lazy as well. Just like you have to build up to get to the level of exercise that you like I have to build back up to the level of spirituality that I was before. I wish I could just jump back to that place but it doesn't work out that way.

So here is my Spiritual workout that I have set so that I can reach that Spiritual strength that I want to be at. 

Everyday
Personal Prayers(Morning, night, and multiple times in between)
Scripture Study 30 minutes
Write slips for my gratitude bowl
 
Weekly
Study the lessons for Sunday School and Relief Society
Attend the Temple
Partake of the Sacrament
Serve someone

Do Not
Read or watch things that aren't "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy"
Think negative thoughts about others.
Think negative thoughts about myself.

Once I have this done then I can add more and more until I have my Spiritual strength back.

Thank You!

Laura, for listening to me when I am just being weird. Thank you for clearing off my car this week. Thank you for being my friend and not casting judgement.

Dallin, for helping me to become a better person but at the same time accepting me for me.

Uncle Tony, for just calling to check up on me and see how I am doing. Thank you for being that wonderful example of what a priesthood holder can do for a family.

Savannah, for wanting to talk to me on Skype and being so excited to do so.

Mom, for always being there for me and caring about me so much. Words really can't describe how much I am thankful for you.

Dad, for showing me that people can change. Thank you for constantly loving me and looking out for me.

Irina, Brenda, Jordynn, thank you for showing me the love of God and how much the Gospel and the gift of the Atonement can change lives.  

Lately I have been feeling very grateful for the people that God put into my path. I know that I don't always express my gratitude as well as I should and I feel awful about that. There is so much for me to be thankful for. Mostly I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and my loving Heavenly Father. They help me become that person that I am meant to be. They help me change, they help me stay strong, they help me feel important. They make it possible for me to be with all those that I love for eternity. One way to give back to them it to show my gratitude.

This week I am starting a new goal. My goal is to make sure that I express my gratitude more frequently. I am not going to be stingy with the words "thank you". I really feel that by simply doing that, by expressing my thanks, I will feel even more blessed.

I encourage all those who are down or just need a pick me up to start this challenge with me as well. I think it will be just what we need. 

Thanksgivingnesses

I love Thanksgiving!

I know that I have talked about this before, or at least I think I have. But the reason that I love Thanksgiving so much is because it always reminds me of family. Most of the time when our family gets together it is on Thanksgiving.

My very first Thanksgiving memory was in first grade. We had a Jensen family reunion down in St. George at my Grandmothers home. Since then most of my family gatherings have landed on Thanksgiving. So in my mind Thanksgiving equals family.

What a perfect matching up. The first thing that I am thankful for is my family. I love that they accept me for me yet they let encourage me to fix my failings. I love the fun times we have together. The late nights filled with board and card games, balderdash, scattergories, yahtzee, skipbo, and uno. I love the late gifts that we can never seem to send on time. I love the hikes we go on. I love the random words we say that most of the world still doesn't understand. I love all the bedtime stories we watch. I love while there is a big span with our ages that other people say that we remind them of another sibling. I love that we can be silly together. The main thing that I love is that we love each other and we can always depend on each other. I know that my family will always be there for me and I am so thankful for that.

I am also grateful for temples. It is through temples that someday I can live with my family forever. This is something that I look forward to with all my heart. I love my family so much that I can't wait for that day where I can be with them forever. I love the fact that I can continue to do the things that I love with my family. Hopefully someday that will want that to.

So this month I challenge everyone to continue to have loving bonds with your family or if you don't have those strong bonds then create them. Believe me having a great relationship with my family is the best thing about living on earth and it can be the same with you. Also if you would like to learn how you can be with your family forever read this blog about temples.

Spiritual Anorexia

Weekly Schedule
Monday
Kind of hungry not a whole ton but it would be good if I ate. Oh well there is always tomorrow.
Tuesday
I am hungry. For realzies I am hungry. Oh I will eat tomorrow. Mental reminder, "Remember to eat tomorrow."
Wednesday
Oh dang I should eat today. I got to make time to do it. Kind of feeling a little woozy.
Sunday
Oh I am hungry. I haven't eaten all week. Oh I need to remember to eat more. Really not eating is not good. Ok so what to eat. Well I really don't want to go through a whole bunch of trouble.....ummm....Oh I will some crackers. Just a couple though I really don't have a lot of time to eat.
Next week the exact same thing happens.

If this was what your life is like than that sucks. I can't imagine going through the week not eating. If I did that I would be so sick and I wouldn't have energy to do anything. As a college student I sometimes only eat one meal a day and that is awful in and of itself. DO NOT DO THAT. So taking care of our bodies is super important. I know that when I eat healthy food regularly I have more energy and I can think properly. It is so important to take care of our bodies.

When taking care of ourselves I think we, me definitely included, forget the most important part to take care of, our spiritual self. Look at the above schedule and replace food with scriptures. Do you ever find yourself in that pattern putting off reading your scriptures? I will admit that I do sometimes.

Scriptures are fuel for our spirits. They help keep our spirit strong. Now if we are only feeding them once a week and only small amounts then we are going to have a real weak spirit. For some reason it is so easy to put off reading scriptures, icky Satan has his approval all over that. But I say that enough is enough. Let us all make the goal to read our scriptures everyday.

 If you don't feel motivated to read a lot everyday work yourself up to a good study time. Start off by reading a column, a page, a chapter, for 5 min, for 10min, for an hour. It doesn't come all at once but through steps forward, small or big, it will come.

The greatest motivator I have to read scriptures is that I honestly feel mentally and physically better. I just feel more fresh and uplifted.

So get out your scriptures and read. Your very hungry spirit will be so grateful you did. Just think of it has giving yourself a hug.

Change

I have a new pet peeve. This is something that I have been told a lot recently and it really bothers me. Ok are you ready? I have been told many times that I can't change, that there are just qualities that I have, that aren't good, that are so imbedded in me that I can't change them.

Have you ever been told that you can't change? That there is no hope for you? Well I am here to tell you that it isn't true. Everyone can change, everyone has the ability to change. Through Jesus Christ we can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

If that isn't change I don't know what is? Now I am not saying that change is easy or that it will happen overnight. But I do strongly believe that anyone can take a bad trait, a weakness, and make it into a strength, you just have to have enough faith. With Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ anything is possible. This is truth and don't let anyone tell you that it isn't.

Trails = Love

Have you ever reached a time where you just felt that you had too much on your plate? That once you reached that limit that you were given one more thing?
Lately I have kind of been feeling like this. Life just has way too much in it that I have to do and really not nearly enough time to do it. It really can be overwhelming. There are times where it takes all my effort to not just break down in tears.
I have really been thinking of trials and why we are given them. My mom just the other day commenting on life wisely said when it rains it pours. Why is that?

 As I sit here pondering that I think of the talk by Elder Christofferson. In it he talks of the gardener that cuts down a currant bush to help the bush out. Sometimes in life we are that currant bush and we are being "cut down". This talk really helped me realize that life is never what we expect it to be. It isn't only roses and lazy days. It requires effort and work. But the thing about work and trials it helps us grow.

So I have realized that God gives us the trials because He wants us to grow and become who He knows we are meant to be. So while I am going through these trials I just have to remember to say, "‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down.’” I encourage you to remember the same.