We do hard things; for Him

It really amazes me how big life is. How fast it moves. How fragile it is.
Subtle moments can change the course of our lives.

I've been thinking about how little things can truly impact so much. Like building a house or a building, if it doesn't meet the necessary requirements, a simple piece of paper can halt the progression or even finishing of a project. Sometimes, it seems as though life throws those at us. 
It can be something as small as wanting a bowl of cereal and realizing that there is no milk, to losing a loved one in an instant.
And when it's the single instant choices that others make that cause us grief and pain. yeah, ain't nobody got time for that. The pain can sometimes seem too much to bear.

When I'm faced with these moments,

Which I feel are daily,

(Perks to being in a fallen world)

I think about moments that the Savior had.

Whether in His premortal existance,

His mortal existance,

or His resurrected existance.

I wonder about the happiness He feels when we are happy,

When we're truly happy, and His kind of happy.

I think about His giggles when He laughs with us.

I ponder His sadness when we are sad,

And His hurt when we are hurt.

His pain when we have pain.

His disappointment when we are our imperfect selves.

I think about the Garden of Gethsemane,

The tears He shed, 

The drops of blood that fell.

Our moments sometimes seem too hard to bear,

But His were impossible to bear by anyone else.

His moments.

They were all for us.

Because of our Savior Jesus Christ, our moments can be borne.

Because of our Savior Jesus Christ, our happiness can be magnified.

Because of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can heal.

If a survey were taken of history's most significant events, common answers might include the harnessing of fire, the discovery of America, the splitting of the atom,

landing on the moon, or the invention of the computer. 

Each is a wondrous event, but absent the backdrop of the Atonement each is of but transitory importance--no more than a shooting star illuminating the sky for a brief moment, and then vanishing into the night.

The Atonement gives purpose and potency to every event in history. 

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of its relationship to other events in world history:

"When all is said and done, 

when all of history is examined, when the deepest depths of the human mind have been explored,

there is nothing so wonderful, so majestic, so tremendous as this act of grace."

 -The Infinite Atonement

The greatest example of our Savior Jesus Christ, I think,

Is the fact that He came and fulfilled His purpose for what He was sent here to do.

Christ fulfilled His mission, in humility and love.

The important part that we must always remember

Is that we, too, have a purpose that we are here to fulfill.

And just as the Atonement is full of moments full of hurt and hardship,

Those were accompanied by fulfillment of a very vital purpose and mission.

We have moments that are used for our vital purposes and missions.

Every moment defines who we will become, big or small.

Are we allowing the Lord to form us into who He designed us to become?

Are we allowing our moments, whether happy or painful, to fulfill our purposes?

Do we forget the bigger picture? 

Or remember that 'If it be thy will, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine.'?

The truth is,

It's all better left in the Lord's hands.

The greatest things are brought to pass if we will but submit to our All Knowing, All Mighty God.

And do His will, not ours.

 

words;

Words; Speech or talk: to express one's emotion in words; Words mean little when actions are called for.

Do we think before we speak?

Do we think before we type?

Do we think before we write?

Do we think about the words we use?

The things we think truly reflect everything we do.
What we say not only reflect our true selves, but they leave an impact on others.
I've come to realize how much we influence one anothers lives.
The words which I chose to listen to will dictate how I feel about myself,
how I feel about others,
and how I feel about life.

I've noticed that the books I read can either build my confidence, 

or deminish it.

They can increase my relationship with my Heavenly Father,

or deplete it.

They can enhance my knowledge, 

or keep it the same.

The songs I listen to effect my moods.

I can either be happy,

or sad.

I can be cheerful,

or angry.

I can feel the Spirit,

or dull the Spirit.

The words which I speak effect those around me

and myself,

but most importantly, my Heavenly Father and my Savior.

They can lift and inspire,

or harm and discourage.

They can comfort,

or hurt.

Do the words that we associate with always reflect

our relationship with Jesus Christ?

Do we choose to share the sensative information we have

with those who don't necessarily have the trust to know it?

Do we gossip?

Do we degrade?

Do we destroy others?

We will never know the whole story of a person's life and their feelings.

So it is not our place to judge,

to speak unkindly,

to be harsh,

to gossip about them.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, 

but that which is good to the use of edifying, 

that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29

If the Savior stood beside me, 

Would I say the things I say?

Would my words be true and kind

if He were never far away?

Would I try to share the Gospel?

Would I speak more reverently

If I could see the Savior standing nigh

Watching over me?

Take a chance on Him

So I will have you all know, that last night while I was laying in bed after I finished reading my scriptures and reading from The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox, I had the best inspiration for my blog tonight.

Aaaaand, I've been sitting here for hours and that idea still has not come back to me so...

My mind has been focusing a lot on happiness.

 The Savior isn't our last chance;

He is our only chance.

Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become.

Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean.

Our only chance to purify our hearts, subdue our weaknesses, and avoid the adversary.

Our only chance to obtain redemption and exaltation. 

Our only chance to find peace and happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

Sheri Dew

Here I am, a day later because I got distracted.

What is it like to be happy??>>

I mean, real happiness.

Is happiness reflected in a smile?

A peaceful expression?

Or tears?

And how do we obtain this happiness??

Some of my happiest moments in my life involve more emotions than just happiness. 

Usually love, trust, forgiveness, service, and appreciation are involved as well. So how do we aim to find and feel these emotions more often?

The Atonement of Jesus Christ

  We have the ability to truly heal from all things in our lives.

Which gives us the opportunity to love.

To trust.

To forgive.

To serve.

And to appreciate.

There will always be experiences in our lives that make these emotions hard,

they never get to see the sunlight.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

Mediocre means halfway up the mountain. "It doesn't describe how far I can go. It just indicates how far I have come. If I am halfway up the mountain and on my way to the top, it is better than being at the bottom and refusing to try. No matter where I am on the mountain, the motivation to climb higher is found not in trying to impress God and Christ with my sacrifices, but in letting their sacrifices be more deeply impressed upon me." -Brad Wilcox

Allowing Christ's sacrifice to be more deeply impressed upon me

has truly changed me.

I can now experience true happiness.

I'm not perfect, nor will I be in this life.

I make mistakes-every single day.

But happiness doesn't come from living perfectly.

We are here to experience.

We have emotions and fears and feelings for a reason.

They are much more meaningful when embraced rather than ignored.

Remember that one of Satan's strategies,

especially with good people,

is to whisper in their ears:

'If you are not perfect, you are failing.'

This is one of his most effective deceptions...

We should recognize 

that God is pleased 

with every effort we make--no matter how faltering--to better ourselves.

-Elder Gerald N. Lund

Do not accept procrastinating your happiness.

Don't put off forgiveness.

Don't put off healing.

We only have this life, to learn as much as we can.

To change the best that we can.

Never forget that you deserve to be happy.

You deserve to have all that the Father hath.

And He has the keys to happiness. 

Ultimate happiness. The kind that counts.

Christ's requirements are not so that we can make the best of the Atonement,

but so that--on His generous terms--the Atonement can make the best of us.

- Brad Wilcox

Be brave.

Take a risk.

Take a chance on Christ.

Because true happiness is worth it. 

And we are here because we believed in Christ.

And when you know it's going to be a cloudy week,
buy flowers on sale.
I did it, and it brings me joy.