Baseball Game and Sabbath Thoughts

Last night I went to a Salt Lake Bee's [semi-pro] baseball game with my roommates and friends.

[This picture wasn't taken last night, but a few weeks ago at a different game!]

It was nice to be with some friends. 

What wasn't nice was when a foul ball bounced off the rafters above us and when whizzing just inches over my head.

That. was. scary. 

Today in Sunday School at church we talked about this:

"Give us strength according to our faith in Christ."

We talked about how having faith can strengthen our hope and even help us to be less stressed. 

I thought about how scared I am for a new job this fall. 

How worried I am to have to plan lessons again, to manage a class of 25 kids, and to make sure they are all learning and succeeding. 

Being a teacher is hard, and quite frankly, terrifying. 

I realized, though, as I listened to the teacher, that I don't have to be stressed out about it if I keep Christ there with me. Yes, I need to work hard and do my best, but the Lord will step in and He will not let me fail. After all, my students are His children. I just need to always pray for them, and pray for guidance in helping them to succeed. He will give me strength. 

My Famous Baby Brother. NBD.

Check it out.
My little brother is on my church's website!
And if you don't know, my church is worldwide. Literally.
When I lived in Ghana I went to my church there and learned the same principles that I would have in the U.S.
My point being...people all over the world will see him.

So you can too!

Ok...so maybe his picture is kinda small...and he's blurred out...
But I am still proud of him!
And what this represents.
He gets up crazy early every morning and attends our church's "bible study" class, which we call seminary.
All before he goes to high school.
what. a. stud. 



If you want to see it on the actual site go here.

You Can Join me in my Weekend

 

This song was played in church today and really touched me.

Listen carefully to it, and try to ignore the cheesy video. 

In fact, I'd suggest pressing play and not watching the video at all.

"And behold, and lo, I am with you to bless you and deliver you forever. Amen."

Doctrine & Covenants 108:8

"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

-Matthew 28:20

Thankful Thursday

I see all around the blogging world these fun weekly posts,

such as Wishful Wednesday or Awesome/Awkward Thursday,

and I wanted to do my own.

But do one that fit more my personality,

and what I am trying to accomplish with this blog.

I want this to be an uplifting blog. 

Maybe only to myself, but uplifting nonetheless.

I don't want to have a list of all these thing I wish I had, 

when I already have so many blessings in front of me.

Don't get me wrong, its still fun to look at other's wish-lists and the like,

but this is what I want to do. 

Maybe eventually I'll even be as cool as the other bloggers,

 and have a button and link so others can join me in Thankful Thursday.

I'm not yet that cool, though. So just enjoy this. 

Thankful Thursday

Since this is my first one, I want to get the basics done.

My family. 

My roommates (past and present).

My two jobs.

In this economy I am so blessed to be able to have two jobs that help me pay all my bills. 

My apartment.

The Gospel in my life.

I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I am so happy to have a personal relationship with my Father in Heaven.

I love knowing simple truths, such as the fact that my family will be together forever.

My health.

I don't have any major health problems.

I am so thankful to be alive!

:)

school teacher in a D.C. failing school.

Conference Weekend

Ok I have a second to tell you about my weekend!

via

It was General Conference weekend. General Conference is when the leaders of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, speak to us. We believe that there is still a prophet on the earth today, just like Adam, Moses, and Abraham. And he has Twelve Apostles, just as Christ did when he set up His church on the Earth. All of those men spoke to us and told us what God wanted us to hear. Needless to say, it was amazing.

There were 4 two-hour sessions, beginning on Saturday Morning.

I watched the first with my roommates, my brother, and his roommates. The boys so nicely provided breakfast!

In between sessions we headed to the park to play some Frisbee golf! It was my first experience and I totally loved it! [Don't ask about my score though...]

After the second session, my big brother, my little brother, and I drove up to Bountiful to spend the night at our aunt’s house. Of course, the boy’s left immediately for the Priesthood Session of conference. So, naturally, I watched a chick flick and Gilmore Girls.

Sunday was again more conference! We ate breakfast and watch the first session with my aunt, then headed to Salt Lake City to attend the last session in the Conference Center. My brother’s girlfriend joined us.

[note the difference in attire from Saturday to Sunday. Thank you, Utah weather.]

It was so amazing! We were so close to the prophet! 

"We thank Thee, oh God, for a prophet

to guide us in these latter-days"

Hooray for conference! Next month it comes out in the Ensign magazine and I can read it all again!

Conference weekend is really the BEST weekend. 

p.s. don't forget to vote for my picture here! you can vote everyday! thanks! love you all! 

what a wonderful weekend.

Prophets are still on the earth today.

The Lord still speaks to us through these prophets.

The Heavens are still open. 

A deeper post on this will come later. 

For now, just know that I know those three things. 

That is what is most important. 

A Gay Mormon

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to a blog entitled "(Gay) Mormon Guy." Intrigued, I clicked on the link.

 I am so glad I did. 

This man has more faith that just about anyone I know. I cannot even imagine what he goes through each and every day, yet he still loves the Lord and has hope for the future. It makes me wonder if I would be as stalwart as he.

The first post of his that I read was a commentary on President Packard's talk from this past General Conference. He didn't even touch on the changes that everyone is freaking out about, instead he wrote on the content. I strongly suggest you got to his whole post (here) and read it, but at least read these few excerpts:

"The reaction was immediate and vehement, from all corners of the world and seemingly every walk of life. From the Church and without. From men, women, family members, and hundreds of others. Some simply disagreed with his statements; others wished for violence to befall him. Everyone seemed up in arms.

...

"President Packer was not claiming that we could change homosexual attractions... he was simply stating that each of us has the power to choose to overcome or give in to temptation.

...

"President Packer gave a clear, direct, and concise talk on pornography and other sexual sins. I don't know if he realized that everything in his talk could also be applied to same-sex attraction... or how painful that application would be. But I know that his final statements were heartfelt and true.

...

"As I read the talk again this evening, the Lord confirmed to me that I'm on the right path. I'm doing what I should be. I'm moving forward. And that is what matters.

Ultimately, as I go through life, it is my responsibility to listen with both my ears and my heart - to know when the Lord is speaking to me - and to follow Him. Then President Packer's promise will come true in my life. I will find peace and happiness... and the strength that comes through Christ the Lord."

I hope someday to acquire the faith that this man has. 

To read more of his blog posts (each one is amazing, I just spent forever going through many of them), click here to go to his blog. You won't regret it. 

The Knowledge the Gospel Brings

I flipped on the TV this morning as I was eating breakfast, and there was some sort of religious show on. The host was answering questions that people had emailed in. Listening to this made me so very grateful to be a member of Christ’s church and have the true knowledge of His Gospel. Here is the question that was posed:

Did we pre-exist with God in Heaven before we came here to live on Earth?

The Host’s Answer: “Before you formed me in the womb you knew me.” The host explained that this Bible verse just means that God knew who we would be, He did not literally know us. We did not exist until we were formed in the womb.

The True Answer From the Restored Gospel: We existed with God before we came to Earth. Abraham 3:22, “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was…and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” The Lord literally knew us, as beings, before we were formed in the womb. We existed in a pre-mortal life with our Heavenly Father.

Why this knowledge matters: It means there was a plan. There was a reason we came to Earth. God simply didn’t just make the world and decide on the spot to throw people into it as well. We each existed before we came here, and CHOSE to come here so that we could prove to the Lord that we can live with Him for all Eternity.

Learn more about where we came from, why we are here, and God's plan here. 

The Book of Mormon

This video, this man's testimony, is incredibly powerful. Take a few minutes to watch this. You won't regret it.

The Book of Mormon is true. I know it. 

CREATE

I get down on myself a lot because I feel like I am not a creative person. I can’t draw (unless you count stick figures), I can’t design anything to look cool, even my room decorations struggle. My lack of skill (p.s. that is also the title of an awesome song by The Early November) is extremely depressing, especially in the field I chose to enter into, and especially this semester at school.

I am an Elementary and Early Childhood Education major, and this semester is what is called the “arts” semester. I have to take dance. And drama. And music. And learn how to teach it all to children. Don’t get me wrong, its way fun, but it’s a TON of work. And especially so when I feel like I am lacking creative abilities. I not only have to learn how to teach these things, but I have to do it in a way that will be intriguing to children, while not loosing its academic edge. Sure, it sounds easy. IT”S NOT! For example, I spent a couple hours coming up with a lesson plan for teaching dance. A THREE MINUTE lesson plan. Not even a full lesson! That’s just a taste of what I do everyday.

But today I learned something very important. I CAN be creative. We watched the following video in one of my early childhood classes. It was definitely meant for me.

“Think again. And remember that you are a Spirit Daughter of the most creative being in the universe.”

I’ve been stressing a lot lately because I feel like I am insufficient in this major. I feel like because I thought I wasn’t creative, that I will never be able to be a good teacher. Heavenly Father reminded me today that because I am His daughter, I can be creative, I can be a good teacher. I may need His help, but I can do it all.