Sabbath Sayings

Yesterday there was a double rainbow. The colors were so rich and vibrant. It was gorgeous! It was actually such a tender mercy. When I saw it I thought about Noah and how hopeful it must have felt to see the first rainbow after 40 days and 40 nights of rain and to know of God's promise to never flood the earth again. I felt hope yesterday. I felt hope that whatever is coming in my life is going to be better than what has happened so far. Not saying that my life has been bad in any way, but sometimes when I get too caught up in myself I tend to feel the gloom and doom of the future. 

Reality: there is no gloom and doom of the future. 

Maybe this is a little too personal to put on a blog, but this is what has been weighing on my mind lately. Over the past couple of years I have felt a serious amount of disappointment. Laced with these disappointments have been innumerable tender mercies, but these disappointments have triggered a lot of pondering, questioning, growing, pain, joy, and sadness. Lately I have realized the impact these disappointments have had on my trust; in myself, my Heavenly Father, and those around me. This is what I have learned. 

My older brother, who knows me so well, sacrificed his life, his hopes, his dreams, so he could do what our Father asked him to do. He not only gave up his life, he took on all of the experiences of my life, and all those around me. Because he did this I have hope no matter what. I am pretty sure that I have quoted from this talk before, but I love it and it has truly changed my life. 

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.  

God does not look on the outward appearance.  I believe that He doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. 

He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked. 

What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."

I am sorry, that is kind of a long quote, but it is just so good. It is from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk in October 2009 titled, "The Love of God."

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is my Savior. Through him I have hope. 

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear..."
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind. 
1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 

There is a song that I sang in Inspiration choir last year called, "Behold the Wounds in Jesus's Hands." It is an amazing song that you should look up and listen to, but I just want to share the last verse. 

"Behold his wounded hands and feet! Come touch, and see, and feel the wounds and marks that you may know his love for you is real. Then as you fall to worship him and wash his feet in tears, your savior takes you in his arms and quiets all your fears."

The gospel that is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. Whether you are a member or a kind passerby I invite you with all my soul to come unto our Savior. Give him room in your heart to fill it with love and hope and faith. 

He Lives.

 

Future

Consider the lilies.

Luke 6:28-30

In My Own Little Corner

Tender Mercies.

How can we deny them? 

Even our most simple thoughts God listens to. He is tuned in all day and all night. He is the most understanding being that exists. If I could just be a little more like him. I am convinced that he is so eager to bless us with happy little blessings along our major journey here. How deeply grateful and joyful I feel when I am humble enough to recognize them. 

It's my birthday tomorrow! I am turning 21! Wait...WHAT??

I know, right? 

I went to the bank today and the lady said, "Oh, you renew your license this month." Boy was I glad that she reminded me. Pretty weird though. 

Just some highlights from my little corner in Provo:

• One day, we were talking at work. Two of the full-time employees that I work with were in the front office. One of them is more sensitive and humble and just a cutie pie (Kevin). The other one...well...let's just say he is all boy; snips and snails, and puppy dog tails (Craig). We were mentioning movies and first Kevin confessed that he looses his "man card" because he likes Anne of Green Gables and The Sound of Music. "Man card?" Who says that? Then Craig told us that he saw a chick flick with his wife over the weekend and fell asleep. We asked what movie he saw and he said Here comes the Boom. He generously explained that it was about a teacher that becomes a cage fighter to save his high school band or something like that. I looked at him confused and said that that didn't sound like a chick flick. He kind of paused and then responded, "Well, nobody died and my wife cried." There was a kind of awkward silence while everyone processed what he just said and then we all lost it! "No one died!" So every movie that doesn't have killing in it, but makes girls cry is a chick flick! Who knew? 
• My friends, the Sandberg's, came to Provo and I was able to visit them. My Senior year of high school they had an exchange student that stayed with them. She was my same age and we were the only two girls in my mom's Laurels class. Before she left back to Brazil my mom took us out to Pizza Factory. It was pretty fun. Anyway, she is back in America living with the Sandberg's and going to Dixie. So I got to see her. It was so fun. She is so cute and we had so much fun giggling and catching up. The Sandberg's are just great. A good, faithful, loving family. I am so thankful for their friendship and light in my life. 

Okay, so maybe those were the only two things that I have to write about. It's probably a good thing since I need to get on some homework that is crushing my conscience. 

I have an exciting weekend coming up....an update soon!