Lessons Learned

Otherwise known as

"Things my mom tried to teach me but it took a mission to learn"

Be happy where you are.
Tell your friends and family you love them but show it too.
Support your Priesthood leaders. No matter what.
Read your scriptures every day.
Clean as you go and always drink your green smoothie!

I'm sure not perfect at any of these things yet, but I'm working on them and this woman right here taught me my whole life by her example. Moms are great. Mine is the best. Just sayin' :)

Study Journals 2.0

So these posts about journaling are based of of a mini-training I did a few weeks ago with a few missionaries.  I was worried that it might end up being me talking about something I love with no one else really caring. Can I just tell you how excited I was when Elder Lund tapped me on the shoulder the other day and held up his journal showing me the last page with notes scribbled all the way down the the very last inch?? Hooray for note taking!

When I grab a pen I never put it down!

As I was preparing the training I thought of reasons why I take notes in meetings or when I am studying the scriptures. It used to be that I'd take notes or doodle during devotional meetings in college to keep myself awake (at least I'm honest about it right?) but then I realized how much more I gain out of a meeting if I take time to review what I'd written.

There is a phrase used repeatedly in the scriptures that says, "Ask and ye shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Seek and ye shall find." It is one of my favorite promises that the Lord gives us because He's always going to hold up His end of the deal. If I'm searching for answers He is going to give me answers. Therefore I coined a new phrase, "Seek and ye shall find, not sit and it will fall in your lap." My study has more meaning when I write down the answers I find so I can go back to them again.

I have a few different approaches to writing. The picture above shows a whole ton of journals that I'm using right now! They each have a unique purpose with specific things I write in them. One is my blogspiration book, personal journal, scrapbook, family history, "bye bye book" for when I leave an area, and 3 study journals. Sometimes its a little frustrating to have things written in so many places for instance right now there is a poem in one that I would love to share but I don't have it with me. But the great thing about having so many is that they are organized and I know where to go back and find what I've written.
Some days I just write bullet point lists of things I've done. When I'm frustrated or trying to make a big decision I make pro and con lists. If someone says something silly I write it down because I know in 10 minutes we're going to forget about it and it will be funny all over again. There is absolutely no right or wrong way to record your personal history. The most important thing is to just do it! You'll be grateful you did :)

Books About Myself

I've always been a writer. My mom will roll her eyes and tell you about the dresser drawer full of journals tucked away in her office that I can never bear to part with. Most of them are probably filled with "Oh my goodness the boy that I loooooove was sitting next to me at lunch today. It probably means he likes me" and other such sappy 13 year old thoughts. Some of them are poetry books where I expressed my high school angst with phrases that didn't rhyme and meters that didn't quite add up correctly, and others have lists of what food we ate when we were on vacation...general oddities of life.

Its fun to go back to read how weird I was but I'm realizing how what I write is leaving a legacy for my family. One hundred years from now all that my posterity will know about me is what I have shared with them through my journals. My journals are most importantly written for me so I can go back and learn from what I didn't want to forget. Have you ever done that? Gone back to read the books you've written about yourself? It's GREAT! Sister Jasper was laughing at me the other day because I grabbed a highlighter and I was basically finding my favorite quotes from myself.

Want to know what is so cool about that highlighter? The journal that I was reviewing was one I filled with notes during my time at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) back in May and June. Those notes were taken during classes and meetings that were begun with prayer where we invited God to open our hearts to receive revelation so we could learn by the spirit as well as from our teachers. The things I have written in that notebook are my own personal revelation! They are in essence scripture for Elle!

I'm going on longer than I thought I would about this so I think we're going to have to leave it at this point TO BE CONTINUED....

(and if I wasn't so lazy I would have taken a picture of my own journal. The one I used is stolen from Pinterst)

Mix It Up!

We had a district wide exchange for Monday and Tuesday this week. I went to Bellevue to serve with Sister Koford! We had a great time with lotssssss of walking. We do exchanges to mix up companionships a little so we get more opportunities to learn about missionary work. It's easy to get set in our ways of doing things. I think that's pretty much true about anything. We came up with a little tag line of what we learned together, "Different isn't bad, it's just different!"

Here we are along part of our mega journey. We had some wonderfully helpful members who drove us to appointments in the evening but during the day we used these great things called feet! Want to know a cool fact about that great blue book I'm holding up? It works as a Kroger card! (Kroger is a southern grocery store) At the checkout line I told the cashier "If this book is true then it will give me a discount." I saved $6. So it's definitely true and I gave him a copy to keep.

All fall we've seen these weird greenish yellow balls along side of the road. Don't they look like a pile of giant tennis balls? When we got to our appointment we asked the family if they knew what they were. In steps wikipedia with the answers! The tree they come from is commonly known as a Hedge Apple tree and the green "fruit" part has bug repellent qualities! They are super sticky so I don't plan on rubbing them on my skin any time soon but it was fun to learn about some of the local vegetation.

Lesson learned in the south: don't expect any of the streets to make sense. We were really grateful to have Sister Koford's GPS with us for this adventure! It's nice to be back in the Old Hickory area again with Sister Jasper but it sure was fun to experience a different area and see how the work just goes on no matter where I may be!

The Anniversary of My Birth

I love then and now comparisons so I thought I'd throw some birthday footage your way! Yes, October is the best month out of the entire year because it's my birthday month and Halloween too! So here's a treat, a shot from my 5th birthday party! I'm the little blonde one :)

And my birthday as properly celebrated at a member's home this past week with AMAZING pumpkin cheesecake! It was seriously the best birthday I could have ever asked for!

And it was finished by opening a package from home! My mom has made it a tradition to theme the birthday packages she sends me based off of whatever I'm obessesing over at the moment. The only thing I'm really obsessed with right now is the Gospel and also...Menchies Frozen Yogurt (probably going to get a post all to itself) so I just said...hmm..bees! Here's what wonderfully amazing things my mom put together for me!

Isn't she the greatest? Such a fun day and I felt so loved by everyone I met. I think I want to always treat people like it's their birthday. Blink-182 may claim that "nobody likes you when you're 23" but I have different plans for this year!!

Loving Prayer

I am so excited about the response that I have gotten about this blog so far! In a few lessons that my companion Sister Warwood and I taught I stopped and thought to myself, "wait, didn't I just write about this topic on my blog?" It's awesome to see how the preparation I do in my own study is exactly what I need to share with people later in the day.

Sister Nestman asked me a great question about my post on prayer.
"What do you think was the key turning point for having your prayers go from a duty to a loving conversation?"

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My understanding of God's commandments changed when I realized that perfect obedience isn't just about doing what I'm told, its the attitude that matters as well. Growing up I was always a "why" questioner. I didn't do things until I knew how it would benefit me or what the importance was. I'm sure I drove my parents crazy. The good thing is that I usually did what I was asked. It's after doing things that are asked of us that we recognize the importance. Like showering.

Um yes. I was a disgusting child and I hated taking showers. I'm pretty sure my parents would take us to the beach because that was the only time I felt gross enough to want a shower. But as I grew up and realized the wonderful blessing of cleanliness in my life (ie., people would actually talk to me because I wasn't stinky and dirty) that I enjoyed getting clean and ready in the morning.

Following God's commandments works pretty much the same way. When I told myself as a 13 year old that I was going to pray before I went to bed each night it was because I knew I was supposed to. It was the way I knew I could start good habits. I don't remember the first time I received and answer to a prayer, but I do know that when I really poured my heart out to God and entrusted the deepest feelings of my heart to Him that I felt His presence in my life. I knew I wasn't alone.
That recognition that I was praying to get to know the feeling of the Holy Ghost and to let the Lord know that I wanted His help is what led me to love and cherish the time that I spend to pray.

Has anyone else had experiences with prayer that they would like to share?

If you want to find out more about prayer, check out this website!

Pray Often

In the past 4 weeks I have learned the immeasurable importance of prayer.

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I have always understood that prayer is a connection between myself and God but I think as I've used it in the past it has been out of duty rather than love. In 8th grade I started a habit of praying before I went to bed each night and I wouldn't let my tired body fall into bed until I had at least said a tiny prayer of thanks for the day. I formed a habit of always kneeling at night to pray, but I don't think I was really communicating with the Lord.

As a missionary we are given guidelines for our day and before every meeting or planning session and in every lesson we pray. Prayer establishes a connection between us and God. It is how we build our relationship with Him.  How can we expect to know someone if we don't take the time to talk with them?

My relationship with my Heavenly Father has been strengthened as I come to realize just how much I need the Lord's guidance in my life each day. The words "pray often" no longer mean each night and morning and before most meals. Every time I think "hmmm... maybe I should pray about this" I do. I know that as I continue to heed to those sweet promptings that the Lord will trust me and I will come closer to Him.