Where Much Has Been Given, Much Will Keep Being Given

I know that God loves me.  And I know that He loves each of us perfectly as well.  This is something that I have just been learning for myself recently.  Now that my testimony of this principle is growing stronger, I am starting to see it more in the scriptures, and I love that.  I love finding those little places where I can throw myself into the scriptures.  It is very fortifying.
One of my new favorite places happens to be in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, which read:
"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of    the Spirit in our hearts."
I would like to point out that I have italicized the word "earnest."  During this time of the Lord's church, earnest is a financial term.  It refers to a down payment.  In other words, each time we feel the  Spirit in our hearts, God is making a down payment of sorts on our souls.  He gives us a small taste of what it is like in the celestial kingdom and how it will be if we live righteously.  He does this over and over again for us.  And when you make a down payment, it is done with the intention that you will at some point pay everything in full.  I know that the Lord has wonderful things in store for us, especially when we strive to be like our Savior Jesus Christ.
I love feeling the great care that my Heavenly Father has for me.  He wants me to be happy now.  He wants me to make the right choices now so that, hopefully one day, I can live with Him again.  What a wonderful moment in time that will be.  I hope I can always live up to His expectations.

The Refiner's Fire

I think one of the most painful and inconvenient things is getting a paper cut.  That probably sounds silly, but really.  They're very possibly the worst.  But when you do get a paper cut, do you proceed to smash your finger with a hammer, telling it that it's so stupid for getting itself cut?  Nope, I don't either.
The same should go for people.  When people mess up, including ourselves, we shouldn't just give up on them.  It says in 1 Corinthians 12:23, "And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness."  Through the Atonement, we can be spiritually healed of our mess ups.  Jesus Christ can heal everything from spiritual paper cuts to major bruises.
Another scripture I really liked was verse 24.  "For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked."  Tempering is a process using heat and pressure to refine metal.  As it would turn out, Heavenly Father likes to use that process on us as well.  Who knew, right?  Sometimes in life we must go through the refiner's fire.  But we need to have faith that our Father in Heaven is helping us to become something wonderful and useful.  I know that is something I need to remember in my life.  I hope that I can be somebody wonderful, and I know that Heavenly Father has great plans just for you.

Dancing Through Life

One great thing that I have been working on is gaining a testimony that I am a daughter of God.  I have always thought that there is no way that little old me could be a child of the Almighty.  But there is a scripture in 1 Corinthians that has helped me as I have been learning and thinking about this.  

In 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, it says the following: 

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.  

My spirit is of great worth unto God.  But not just my spirit, my body as well.  I suppose that is one of the reasons why I love dancing so much.  It it a way that I use my strong and healthy physical body.  It is a way of expressing myself.  It is a moment when my body and my spirit can be fused, working together as one and giving glory to my Father in Heaven.  

I feel very fortunate to have a knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father, and that I chose to come to this earth and receive a body.  Even though it is imperfect, it is still a place for my spirit to reside.  It is a place for the Holy Spirit to reside.  I hope I can treasure my temple more, and all of things that it does for my spirit.  

*See Blog Title

I'm sure you've heard the term "decade of decisions."  Or at least something similar.  As it would turn out, I'm in that very period of my life right now!  It's still a little strange.  It's almost feels like I'm playing house or something.  

But with the way I am, I am a planner.  I like knowing that I'm heading in the right direction.  And being in this decade of decisions will determine what direction I go in, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right.  

Something I've been thinking about lately is if I'm headed in the direction that my Heavenly Father wants me to be going.  I wonder about His will for me and what exactly He wants me to do.  Fortunately enough for me, I came across this in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

This wasn't quite the answer that I was expecting or even looking for.  I'm going to have to keep working on relying on the Lord and having faith that things will work out the way they should.  I'll need to play it by my spiritual ear for a while.  But the one thing I do know at this point is that Heavenly Father wants me to be happy.  And I know the same goes for each of us.  I guess I've been guilty of spending too much time looking at the map, and consequently forgetting to enjoy the scenery around me.  

I hope you remember that now is a time for us to have joy, not just someday.  Even if you have to fake it til you make it, that's a start.  And now, looking at the top of this page, I can see the title of this here blog of mine.  I hope you choose to find joy in your journey too.