Suit Up and Embrace It

Today I'm being awesome. And even if I'm not feeling awesome I'm telling myself that I am. I'm so sly I can trick my own brain into making it think what I want it to! This sign was a friend's Christmas present but I loved it so much I had to have a picture of it for posterity's sake. Today I'm embracing awesomeness that comes from sharing the gospel!

You may recognize this quote from a picture on my goodies page

O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. - 2 Nephi 9:39

Want to know something cool about that scripture? It has a fun little reminder hidden in it. Spiritually Minded Is Life Eternal: S.M.I.L.E.

True Story.

From The Journal

Ok, as Brooke requested, here is an excerpt from a journal:

November 13, 2011

The Collier's were confirmed today :)
Sacrament meeting has been all about reverence. Not just being reverent at church but being reverent every day. Sister Jasper is writing in her journal right next to me right now. About me. But really about the baptism. 
It was the most spirit filled baptism I've ever been to. There was nothing different about the service to make it stand apart from any baptism that I've attended. What made it different was that I was part of it. These are my friends who I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with. And they were willing to listen and change their lives to become members of His church. That is the best kind of baptism ever.

I haven't been able to attend the baptism services for many of the people I have taught but I feel extremely blessed to have been a part of the process for a few people.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me! -Doctrine and Covenants 18: 15-16

So This Is The New Year

&

And I have no resolutions. 

Except to take each moment as it comes. Even it that means working things out until plan x, y, or z.


Next up: My friend Brooke gave me some ideas for posts and they're harder to come out than I thought they would be. Hmm....

Women of God

Art by J. Kirk Richards

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."
                                                                                 ~Margaret Nadauld

Facing My Fears

What do I fear?

Sharks.

Papercuts.

Dirty Bathrooms.

Clown Zombies.

Obesity.

Abandonment.

Failure.

It's blatantly obvious that when I started this blog I was facing some big time fears. For heaven's sake that's where the name came from. My point was to teach other people how my faith is helping me overcome the things that terrify me. Perhaps not things like sharks. Those will always give me the creeps. The question is, have I faced the real fears yet? Have I stepped my game up to learn to have faith instead? In some cases, yes. In the more serious cases, probably not.

I don't want to just get rid of these things because they bother me, but for this reason:

*

A prison where we build the walls up around ourselves one brick at a time. I don't want to trap myself into a holding cell a moment longer. I will admit that sometimes I try to pick up a brick and my fingers get stuck in the mortar. The way to get those walls knocked down for good? Like my friend Yevette always says "just keep swimmin'" and "read those scrips!"

"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." -- Doctrine and Covenants 68:6

Blank Slate.

I don't know what to write about.
Anyone have some ideas?

Yep.
The writer's block is hitting hard.
If you read this then I wouldn't mind knowing what it is that you like :)

I'm A Mormon

I just saw this video yesterday of Norman Tolk and I had to share it!
Last weekend we attended the 25th annual presentation of the Messiah by The Nashville Community Choir and it was so incredible.



 Mormon.org is the best website to go to if you have questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are lots of these fun videos where members of the church tell a little about themselves and why their faith is so important. They are great because there is so much debate out there in the world right now about what it is to be Mormon and they give everyone a glimpse into the life of some pretty awesome people.

Continue In Patience

A few thoughts thrown into blog form:

This morning I read through one of my favorite talks given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Here's a highlight and a thought from it.

Patience is more than just waiting.

"Patience requires actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results don't appear instantly or without effort."

Isn't it interesting that we call servers at restaurants waiters? I think it's kind of funny how the word "wait" has two meanings. One is kind of lazy, just delaying action until a desired thing happens and the other is selflessly helping others.

We can wait for the Lord or we can wait on him

Yeah, ok, silly picture right? I was a server for a summer and if there was a picture of me I would have used it. But most of those days I was sweaty and greasy from running around like crazy. We'll just pretend I looked like Barbie while I worked.

I love blogging because of the great people that I've met online and their stories that they've shared with me. I have a few friends in mind that I'd like to share with you and I'm going to start with this great girl!  Al joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2009 and since then she's been sharing the joy that she's found through awesomely inspiring youtube videos and images. She truely is using the internet for the reason it was created, to spread the gospel!

[blog] {twitter} (youtube)

[enos 1:7-8]

Have you seen her video Dear Elder yet? It really touched my heart when I read the letters she wrote to the missionaries who introduced her to the gospel of Christ. This week she's been my motivator and a constant little voice in the back of my brain saying "Don't give up! You can do it!" 

[alma 5:12]

Sometimes I worry too much about what other people may think of what I'm writing or if it's even worth my time. Even before I left on my mission it was almost like I was sort of ashamed of my faith. When I said I was giving up a year and a half of "free time" to preach the gospel I got some weird looks and I felt pretty judged. The people here in the south are curing me of that nice and fast. People here are not ashamed! They are proud to let everyone else know how much they love Jesus!

[genesis 1:31]

And it doesn't really matter what those naysayers may think because I love it. I've seen the joy that comes from my friends joining God's church and the pure happiness they have gained. I know that my Reedemer lives and He wants us all to find this same happiness!

Thank you Miss Al Fox for your determination to not defend, but to define the gospel with as many as you can! 

Not Alone

I may not be strong enough to make it on my own, but that's not the way life was planned to be.  Even though I'm a big strong girl, it's because of Christ that I have become that way and can continue to be stronger. 



What can I say? Radiohead Elle is flipping through a lot of channels right now!