Comparison

"Comparison is the thief of joy." -Theodore Roosevelt.

How true it is. There is always going to be someone skinnier, smarter, prettier, etc. If we focus on that, it gets depressing.

We each have something unique to offer. Sometimes others don't see that in us, unfortunately, but what matters is how God sees us.

Let Him In

This Christmas has been really special for me. I guess it has just felt more "Christmasy" than the past couple of years. Why is this? Because I made a choice to make it special. (Lately I've been thinking about the power we have to chose- to act and not be acted upon.)

I've listened to Christmas music nonstop, watched several Christmas movies, seen Christmas lights at several places. But, most importantly, I've been thinking a lot about Christ.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus." 

It makes me think of the painting where Christ is knocking on the door. 

We have to chose to let Him in to our lives and our hearts. He is always there for us, waiting for us to come to Him.

I am so thankful our Savior came to this earth and was willing to suffer and die for me. I can be forgiven of my sins because of Him. I can find peace through Him because He's been through what I've been through and felt what I've felt.

Prayer

I was reading in the Book of Mormon last night, Mosiah chapter 24. There are so many good things I drew from that chapter.

One verse in particular stood out to me:
 "And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God." (verse 5)

How true it is. When we're going through great afflictions we "cry" unto God. At least, I do.

I think our times of greatest prayer are definitely times when we are facing hard trials. I am reminded of a quote by Abraham Lincoln: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” I can say I've definitely felt that way. There have been many times I've cried "mightily unto God" as I've realized how weak I am and how dependent I am upon Him.

Prayer is such a wonderful tool we have to help us through this life.

Changing

I was thinking about change/repentance/becoming better today. I had this grand (not really) 

realization/reminder. In order to truly change, one's desire to change must be greater than the desire to remain where they are.

So many of us like our sins (whatever they may be. We all sin in one way or another). We want to stop sinning, but at the same time we don't. It isn't until we're willing to put off the natural man that we can become better. We have to decide what we love greater- our sins or our Father. 

Mosiah 3:19 states, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing a of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ The Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which The Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." 

A lot to think about there. Changing ourselves is hard. But we won't change unless we deliberately decide to and have the desire to do all that is required to bring about that change.

He's There. He's Real.

The other night I spent some quiet time on the balcony of my apartment. I sat there looking up at the bright moon and the shining stars. I thought of God. How He is so real. There is no way He couldn't be. I thought of His plan. There's no way there couldn't be a plan.

I thought of me. There I was sitting on a balcony in Glendale, Arizona. How did I end up here? It must be part of His greater plan.

And that led me to remember that He does have a plan. I am His daughter. While I struggle at times to understand the whys of His plan for my life, I am grateful for opportunity I have had to grow close to Him. My trials have helped me to realize how dependent I am upon Him. I am nothing without Him. I'd be so alone if I didn't have God in my life.

I know He is real.

Remember Who You Are

Came across this poem today. I love it. In this crazy world we live in, it is so easy to remember everything we are not. But, I've realized more and more lately that that's exactly what satan wants. Don't give in. Our Father in Heaven, who created us and loves us, wants us to remember who we really are.

This Christmas

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.  

Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of its true meaning—with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most. ^"  -Howard W. Hunter