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.

Unique, Just Like Everyone Else

At this particular moment in time, my life is pretty dandy.  The plans I thought I had all neatly set out for myself are no longer there, but they've been replaced by something much better.  I'm quite content with where I am right now.  In fact, I haven't dealt with anything really hard for quite some time now.  That always worries me a little.  Maybe that it's the calm before the storm.  I don't know.  But anyways, there's gotta be someone out there who's having a tough time, so hopefully this will help someone.
In Acts 7, Stephen is giving a not-so-brief history lesson.  At least that's what it looks like at first.  But if you look at little closer, Stephen is describing lots of the major characters in the Old Testament.  He talks about trials they went through and how they each reacted.  One of those "bitter or better" sort of things.
Well, as it would turn out, I've heard that people today also have to deal with hard things.  While our problems are different than those of Moses and Abraham, we all run into those rough patches.  I hope I can be strong enough to withstand my personal storms when they come, and I hope that others will find that strength too.

New Life Resolutions

Usually around New Year's, I spend some time reflecting on my past and what I've accomplished with 365 days.  I've also been given another 365 more to fill, hopefully with many wonderful things.  I've decided that one of those wonderful things shall be actual scripture study.  Old fashioned scripture reading is great!  Love it.  But scripture study is where it's at.  I certainly still need to work on that, but this being the case, I want to continue learning about the New Testament this semester, beginning with the book of Acts.
Let's start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start, yes?  In Acts 1:1, Luke addresses this book to Theophilus.  While he was likely a real person, here's a fun fact for you.  "Theo" means God, and "philus" means lover or friend.  So, the name Theophilus is translated as Lover or Friend of God. I like to think of my Heavenly Father as one of my closest friends, and I hope you feel the same.  So really, this book was written to you and me!  Cool, right?
I suppose the next reasonable question would be why this book was written.  Cue verses three and eight.  Using the "infallible proofs" (v. 3) that Christ gave, the book of Acts "shall [help us] receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me." (v. 8).  I have been so blessed to have a knowledge of the Savior in my life, so I suppose the least I could do in return is to help share my happiness with those around me.  I guess a good way to start is to continue to learn about my Savior.  You can't teach what you don't know.
So, cheers.  And here's to a New Life.

Wonderful to Me

I love learning!  It makes me feel powerful, having all of this knowledge at my command.  I used to only feel that way about secular things, but now, I've learned to feel that way about the gospel too.  It seems the more knowledge I gain, the more I want.  I like the way it makes me feel.
Learning about the life and ministry of Christ has helped my testimony grow, and I love that our last three lessons covered the Atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, just in time for Christmas and the chance to celebrate His birth once more.
Let's start with the crucifixion.  What I didn't know is that, while on the cross, Jesus once again felt the pains of Gethsemane, but even stronger.  While He was physically being tortured, He was also suffering all of our pains.  Folks, what love the Savior must have for us.  I'm so glad to know that He will always be there for me, with whatever is going on in my life.
One of the great beauties of this gospel is that you never have to be worthy to come to Christ.  He is the one that makes you worthy.  He has overcome both physical and spiritual death for us.  I can't imagine what it will be like to meet Him again one day.  The more I study and learn about Him, the more I can feel His love in my life, and I encourage you to do the same.

Yes, I Know That My Savior Loves Me

I feel like it's been forever since I've written!  And I will be trying to pick back up again with our Savior's atoning sacrifice.  I'm warning you now: there is no way I will be able to do this the justice it deserves.  And, as I've been learning, the more I try to understand the Atonement, the more I realize just how very far away I actually am from doing so.  Here we go.
As you probably know, Jesus has never sinned.  Because of that, He's also never experienced the things that follow, namely guilt, shame, remorse, feeling unworthy, sorrow, horror, solitude, and so forth.
That is, until now.
He fell on His face.  He needed an angel to come and comfort Him.  He asked not to do this, but finished it anyways. He experienced every emotion, every sensation, every feeling, both good and bad, up to the point of spiritual death.  That sounds exhausting.  Why would someone ever want to do that?
Because it was all for you.
That's right, you right there, looking at this here screen.  It was for you.  Because Jesus Christ loves you.  He suffered every negative feeling you could ever think of so that one day, you wouldn't have to.  He loves you so much that He wanted to give you a chance.  A chance to return to live with a Heavenly Father who wants you to be with Him so much, He was willing to send the Only Begotten to die for you.
I suppose one of the best ways this can be summed up is here in this lovely children's song.  Enjoy :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueGIP8VzoDw