There is still my joy

Be sure to push pause on the music playing below.  I don't love the little slideshow but it was the only video I could find with this song that was somewhat watchable. 

Lesson Learned:

I fell in love with this song. It's been such a long two weeks for my family. One thing I have learned though is exactly what this song portrays.

"There is still my joy."

Through all of life's experiences, trials, hardships, and afflictions....It is comforting to know that the one thing I have through all of it is my joy.  I can still have joy.

(2 Nephi 10)
"23 Therefore, cheer up your hears and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
24...that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."

(2 Nephi 11)
"5....my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.
7 For there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time."

Because of that child we celebrate this time of year,  we can still have joy. We are free to choose that joy.

Plans

I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting, waiting, waiting to hear where we are going for the next 3-ish years. Sometimes it's very frustrating to be patient, ha.  I look back to even a year ago and remember that I was NOT excited to move, be an Air Force wife, etc... Funny how that wasn't my plan and yet it was the Lord's plan. And how it was when I was fully committed to letting Him guide my life that I found peace in my future. In His plan for me. Funny how that works. Be obedient, have faith, and He guides and blesses you. It's perfect, nothing can change that. If you do your part He has to do His.  I could be totally freaking out right now with the unknown of my future but for some reason I just have peace. Peace and excitement. Why? Because I know the Lord will do His part in guiding me to where I need to be. Because I feel I have done my best to be obedient and have faith in Him. (Really, it's a daily process, but I continue to try and do better everyday. I'm not perfect. Far from it.) Why else do I have faith in Him? Because I know He wants me to be happy, and I know He knows the best way to get me to perfect happiness. Doesn't mean I won't have trials along the way, because without those trials I can't find that perfect happiness.  You can still be happy and have trials. Trust me.

Lesson Learned:
"...whatever is meant to be will work out perfectly."
(Avril Lavine, "Hold On" lyrics)

"Having faith in the Lord is also having faith in His timing." (Unknown)

I have learned over the years that all we can do is be obedient to His will and in doing so things work out how they are supposed to.  Sometimes we cannot clearly understand His purpose and plan for us, but I have faith knowing "...whatever is meant to be will work out perfectly." His plan never fails. Period. We just need to trust Him a bit more.

Change

I had an experience when I was younger that was really a defining moment on how I perceived change. And that is was a good thing. I had just had a summer of pure bliss with a really good friend.  Everyday was spent doing something unproductive and fun. I really felt I had gained a "best" friendship, so to speak. Then it seemed to happen overnight, suddenly we stopped hanging out and our friendship dwindled really fast. There were never any hard feelings or anything to end it. . .  it just stopped. I had a really hard time with this.  I kept thinking why something so great would just end.  Why couldn't that friendship be what it was forever. Then one night as I was praying I had this overwhelming feeling of happiness. And I realized a couple things. First, that change is good. Second, that sometimes Heavenly Father puts people into our lives for a specific reason and then when that reason has been fulfilled they leave. Simple as that. I look back and realize she was my friend at a crucial time in my life and helped me gain the confidence I needed to overcome future trials that were coming my way.


Lesson Learned:
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."
(Helen Keller )


I feel as though change is coming on. It's that same feeling I got when I graduated from high school. It's the same feeling I got when I started college, when I first met Brian, when I got married, when Porter came into our lives. Whatever the change may be, I still have a hard time with change, even though I know that it is a good thing. I just hope to remember that one good thing is ending to make room for another good thing later.

Priorities

It's interesting how sometimes I find my self "stuck in a rut" (so to speak) and it sneaked up on me oh so subtly. Are there ever times in your life when suddenly you feel "stuck"? Suddenly you realize you are not progressing the way you should. Kinda like your watching the world move around you but your not moving with it. And then you start to wonder why your not content or at peace with your life. Funny how that happens (probably too often). 

I start to evaluate my life and my daily routines. Found the problem. Were my priorities in the right spot? no. Good intentions? yes. It's that cycle we live: 1.trial 2.humility 3.faith 4.lessons learned 5.life is good 6.pride 7.back to step "1"  I always vow to never get to step 6 but somewhere between step 5 and 6 I start to get comfortable with things and slowly but surely the little things start to slip there way in in front of God. Reminds me of the on going battle in the Book of Mormon, the people sin, they repent and come to Christ, life is good, and then with the abundance of blessings they receive they slip back into pride and do it all over again. 

I'm not just talking about the big things, but little things like (don't judge, don't worry I've changed my ways): Playing words with friends before reading my scriptures or watching that TV show instead of spending time with your family. Silly I know. But really. How many things in your life do you put before the few simple things God asks us to do. It's not that doing those things are bad, but are we letting them take to higher portion of the day or letting it even just affect our way of thinking. Is it helping us progress? Good, better, or best. I choose best. 

Lesson Learned:

"When we place God first in our lives, everything else falls into place or drops out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern: 

the claims for our affection, 

the demands on our time, 

the interests we pursue, 

the order of our priorities.

We should place God ahead of everything else in our lives."

-Ezra Taft Benson

It's when we put Him first that we become our "best" selfs. Our lives become His path. His path isn't always easy but it is worth it. It is best. Best for us. I know that when I focus on putting Him first everything else around me falls into place. That doesn't mean I'm without trials, hardships, or afflictions but it does mean I have the peace I need to overcome such times and I have a clearer perspective on my path to Him. So yes in a sense life becomes much smoother. I no longer feel "stuck".

Happy

Lesson Learned:
"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."
-Unknown

To be or not to be

Sometimes I wonder why I make the choices I do. I know what is right. I know what is wrong. I know I am a child of God and that He loves me and that He has given me everything. I am breathing because of Him. So if He has given me everything, if He has suffered the ultimate for me, then why? why do I still do things I ought not to do?! Or why do I think the way I do sometimes. Why am I so quick to judge, or get offended, or put someone down? And then after doing those things I wonder why I am not happy. 


Lesson learned:
"To be without God in the world--in other words, to refuse to live His gospel and therefore lack the companionship of the Spirit--is to be in a state contrary to the nature of happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ is, in fact, the--note that this is singular, meaning it is the only--'great plan of happiness' (Alma 42:8). If you opt for any other way of life or try to live only the parts of the gospel that seem convenient, such a choice will cheat you of the full, resplendent joy and happiness for which you were designed by our loving Father in Heaven and His Son."
(Marcus B. Nash, "The Great Plan of Happiness," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 49)


The spirit cannot dwell with us at all times when we are partly living the gospel. Cause when we are partly doing things that the Lord has asked us not to, we are partly living two lives. And somewhere down the road we can't live both lives and we have to choose. It is simple. Make wrong choices and be not happy. Make good choices and be happy. I think everyone could agree with me they would much rather be happy right? He knows we are not perfect. But He also knows that we can become perfect. When I think of perfect I think of happiness. Purely happy. Joy. Perfectly happy. So why not choose to be happy.  As I make my day to day choices and decisions I will strive to remember why I'm here. I'm here to find happiness. I'm here to become perfect like Him. So why choose to be bitter, when He is forgiving. Why choose to judge, when we are just as imperfect. Why choose to put her down, when she is a daughter of God too, just as loved, just as important to Him as me. Once again, why not choose to be happy. Live to be happy.

Good things to come

Lesson Learned:

(be sure to push pause on my music playlist)

Sometimes I just need a reminder that there are always good things to come. "Some blessings come soom, some come late, and some don't come til heaven. But for those who embrace the Gospel of the Jesus Christ, they come."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Not a state of mind... but a lifestyle

Lesson Learned:

"When I was little, my mom told me that the key to life is happiness. I went to school & they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They said that I didn't understand the assignment. I said that they didn’t understand life."

The Hour Glass

Once again we had an awesome lesson in my Provident Living Sunday school class.  We talked about the plan of happiness.  I really liked the way the teacher portrayed which way we can live our lives. He said we can either follow God's path or Satan's path. Which would you choose?  

Obviously the one to the right looks pretty promising.  The further you go it seems as if you just get more and more freedom.  More and more possibilities for life. The one on the left all you see is that your path gets smaller and smaller.  It seems as if you will end up with no freedom at the end.  No more possibilities. Sure Satan's path is wide open.  SUPER FUN.... While God's path seems limited.  That's the way Satan works though.  He doesn't show you the rest of his picture. He makes you think and believe that his way is the best and will give you more freedom.  He deceives the image of a happy ending.  While if you were to live God's path He will show you the rest of his image and you can clearly see that his ending is by far much better then Satan's.

I know that it's not always easy to follow the Lord's commandments.  It's not always easy to choose His way.  Especially in times when it would involve embarrassment or loss of pride.  But in the scheme of things Pride is the cause of all sin. Pride is what gets you to lead the path of Satan anyway.  All God wants for us is happiness.  He wants us to experience the things we experience and make those hard decisions because he sees the bigger picture.  He can see that if we follow his path to the narrow way that just beyond that is a never ending path of happiness.  So think twice when you have those moments of "Do I choose this? or do I choose that?"  No one is perfect but I know remembering this helps me to try and make the right decision.  It gives me comfort knowing that living the gospel is all worth it in the end.  The hard things bring good things. Lessons Learned:

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with  his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."  -St. Matthew 16:25-27

Why do you live the gospel?

My ward has just started this new Sunday school class on Provident Living.  I LOVE it. We talked about temporal and spiritual needs.  We discovered that all things are spiritual.  Everything given to us is God's.  All the way down to our talents that able us to work to provide for our families.  Brian made the comment that when we pay tithing it isn't giving God our 10%, it's that God gave us 100% and we are just giving back 10%. I really liked a comment someone made in the class though.  The question was "Why do we live the gospel?"  Why do we live the gospel?  Why do we do the things we do?  Why are we obediant?  Why do we keep coming back to church? There are many answers and I'm sure you have your own point on it but I liked what he said. He said: 1. We live the gospel because we are afraid of the consequences. 2. We live the gospel because we desire blessings. 3. We live the gospel because we love God. 
Lesson Learned:
"If ye love me keep my commandments." (John 14:15)   so "Keep my commandments, If ye love me."
I would like to add a number 4 though to the list of why we live the gospel.  4. We live the gospel because it brings us happiness. I don't think any of us want to be in a state of unhappiness.  Yes we have hard times in our lives but with the Atonement we can have those hard times and still be happy.  Like I stated earlier.  We choose happiness.

Choose Happiness

Recently I have found that I get to choose the way I feel. Sounds pretty obvious but I have discovered that with my new lifestyle of being a full time mom you don't get a lot for yourself. Sometimes I even find I have to find time to go to the bathroom. I felt myself getting more and more stressed out and feeling well not quite "my-happy-self." My wonderful husband gave me some advice that normally I would be giving to someone else in need, but in this case I got some of my own "medicine." He asked me if I had been saying my daily prayers and reading my scriptures. "Whoa!" I thought. I had been but not with real intent. It was more of a hurry and get it done because I have to kind of thing! Of course everything changed once I chose to make it meaningful. And then in return it became a lot easier to choose to be happy. To this day it still amazes me how the gospel works! All I know is that it does work and even sometimes everyone needs a bit of reminding that it does! Lesson learned:

"Yes, my beloved brothers and sisters, life is good if we live in such a way to make it so. Believing, desiring, deciding, and choosing correctly are the simple actions that define an increase in happiness and an increase in the inner assurance that transcends this life."
(Benjamín De Hoyos, "True Happiness: A Conscious Decision," Nov. 2005, 32)