Sunday, October 23, 2011

Reflection from the good ole G.C. part 2

Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions of the 181st Semi Annual General Conference were fabulous!

President Henry B. Eyring

We promised to rise to "it", now it's time for me to RISE! How? see below *grin*
Be charitable, Be a Witness of God, Endure! (Think of Moroni, he encouraged charity and faith in Jesus Christ, even when being faced with death all the way to the end.)


Elder Robert D. Hales

We may weepeth for a night, but JOY will come in the morning!
Let us be kinder to one another and kinder to ourselves.

Elder Tad R. Callister

The genius of the Book of Mormon is that it has no gray; it is either black or white. True or false. We must make the choice; it's either God or the devil.
Feast upon the words of Christ
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism and the Book of Mormon confirms or clarifies all that is in the Holy Bible, or all that had been changed.


Sister Elaine S. Dalton
*** This was one of my favorite talks this G.C., and maybe one of my favorite talks EVER! It just made me feel good inside to know that I am looking for the right guy. Someone who will love me enough, and by his words and his deeds be setting an example for our children on how they should be loved ***

How can a father raise a daughter in THIS world?
        ~SHOW LOVE TO HER MOTHER!
Your daughters won't settle for anything less is she recognizes her worth!
Be the guardian of virtue (clean thoughts and pure actions.)
Abish's strength of conversion came through her father! Through Abish's conversion came the Stripling Warriors.


Elder M. Russel Ballard

Names are important, they distinguish each of us.
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! and this is the name that the Lord will call us at the Last day.
Remember to retain the name of Christ always in my heart.


President Thomas S. Monson

"We love ya Bob" How sweet that was to hear!
We DO NOT ring our hands in despair! We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The laws of men have changed, but the Laws of God have not and will not.
God is unchangeable, His constancy is something we can rely on!
"There is nothing else that can bring joy and peace to our souls than following and keeping the commandments of our Savior!" What a promise!
COMMUNICATE with the Lord
      This is where I felt the most amazing peace. I really felt that President Monson's talk was an answer to my own personal prayers and was being said for my own learning. I know I had to write the post on communication before I went to bed on Saturday and how sweet it was to hear it talked about by the Prophet!
All will be well. Be worthy of it. Trust it. Do it with the communication of our Father in Heaven!
"Fear not, I am with thee..."

Elder Russel M. Nelson

Make, Keep, and Honor the covenants I have made to the Lord!
We are "children of the covenant" and we have the right to receive the blessings of Abraham because we have been adopted in.
Patriarchal Blessings bring a view of the future and a connection to the past.
Missionary work, the ancient promise of "Gathering Israel".
Gather His children of COVENANT Israel.
When we realize we are the committed children of the covenant, we know our potential and where we came from.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

What do I really believe about Jesus Christ? What am I doing about it in my life?
Remember what Christ taught... who He was and why He came into this world!
FOCUS ON CHRIST NOT THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD!
Seek ye first the Kingdom on God.
I must desire and obey so that I may have the same knowledge of Christ of who He was, and why He came into this world.

Brother Matthew O. Richardson

Becoming "real". Real learning is from real teaching.
We are all teachers, but we have to recognize that the Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher!
Teach BY the Spirit!
There are 2 fundamental ways the Spirit teaches... line upon line, here a little and there a little and by prompting/inspiring us to act. He cannon learn/act for us, but can invite opportunities to do so.
Learn values, not just about values.
Turn around and see how far you've come, then take one step at a time to move forward and upward!
Real Parents Real Teachers Real Leaders Real Learners

Elder Kazuniko Yamashita

Stand on the Mountains!
Through our love toward others, we impart the love of God.
Continue to be missionaries and act as Disciples of Jesus Christ!

Elder Randall K Bennett

Evaluate the choices we are making... will there be a current that takes you far away from your loved ones and the safety of the shore?
Decisions lead to destiny... we have a divine nature and destiny as children of God.
We can inherit eternal life IF we choose to follow Christ! Hearken to God and CHOOSE eternal life!
Am self disciplined enough to be able to detect early when I am going down the wrong path?
Am I seeking divine revelation?
Am I following the world?
Am I helping to rescue others?

Elder J. Devn Cornish

Heavenly Father WANTS to bless us! Pray!
The Lords Prayer! Commit to do my part, repent, forgive, seek for leadership and guidance... "For this is Thy glory and power forever."
Secrets to a joyful life are recognizing doing things the Lords way, and not my own.
Prayer is the provider of spiritual peace! Miracles are wrought by prayer!

Elder Quentin L. Cook

Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
    ~Our Father in Heaven knows and loves us and our pains
    ~He has a Son, Jesus Christ who FILLS ALL THE UNFAIRNESS OF LIFE
    ~There is Eternal Glory available
Those without knowledge of the first and second acts will not understand the play if they walk in during the third act.
Happy endings are not always possible in this life, but prayers and pristhood blessing can still be given.
THE REFINERS FIRE IS REAL- PERFECT PURIFYING TO PREPARE US TO MEET GOD!
The Titanic did not have enough life boats, but the Saviors Atonement has enough for all!
Look through the clear lens of the Gospel; don't look through the limited lens of the world.

President Thomas S. Monson

A most inspiring Conference!
Heavenly Father is mindful of us! Acknowledge His hand in all things!
We are Gods hands here on the earth.
Each position in the church is fulfilling the work of the Lord.
Do Gods will, serve Him, and serve His children
Prayers: Remember Gods servants.
Every man, woman, and child has a part to play in God's Plan!
OUR SAVIOR LIVES!
He is willing to come to us and go far to help us! He has promised Peace!

How sweet it is to partake of the goodness that is Conference. I feel a new sense of self. A new awakening in my spirit to GO TO WORK! I sense that Satan knows that about me too and that is why these last few weeks have been kinda hard. I am sorry I haven't finished this post sooner. How good it has been for my spirit! I see now the true love of my Father in Heaven! How sweet it was to re read these talks and see that the Lord really was answering my prayers and adding to the areas that I am learning right now. Was it me, or did you guys see the strong connection a lot of the speakers had with the sermons of King Benjamin? It was amazing! Time to study and I mean STUDY his words and do so with a spirit of learning and humility.

Thank you my dear kind and wise Father in Heaven for loving all of us enough to prepare us during this life by teaching us where to find the tools we will need to combat Satan so we can return to live with Thee again! Thank you Jesus Christ for taking on yourself my imperfections and mistakes. How sweet it is to KNOW Thou knowest me and Thou knowest what I need right now in my life. I, a 29 year old, single student, who is trying to learn to love people and life more and more each day. THANK YOU!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I'm proud of myself for this one...

So, it's not the coolest drawing, but by golley, I am proud of it. It's the first graphite drawing I have ever done and I don't think it's to shabby. The assignment for art was to take 3 black and white images and make a 4x4 collage of them and then take that image and use pencil to increase it to an 8x8. We are learning about shading at the moment. Have I mentioned how much I love my art class? Have I? No? Well, I DO!!!

This is the final draft, I darkened my shadows and tried to remove all the lines by using shading instead. I listened to my teacher and it looked way better, it's like he's been teaching art for 30 years or something? lol. 

This is the pic that I was going to turn in and then my professor recommended what I did to the above pic. I like what I turned in a lot better. Yay for art and learning and the B pencils!



This image is a of bubbles in glass, with a ship and the obvious plate with an oyster and lemon *grin*
 Here is the original 4x4 with my grid lines on it



Somehow my art work has been about the Gospel and food; Which is pretty funny to know that is a lot of what I think about. lol.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Christ is the LIGHT!

I happened to be re reading "Explanation of Findin' My Ore" tab above and had an amazing and sweet realization. Not that I haven't known that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, but in applying that knowledge to Findin' My Ore, the thought came:

CHRIST IS THE LIGHT! He is the LIGHT I need in the mountain to see the ore! He is the LIGHT that will make things visible!

EVERYTHING truly does testify of Jesus Christ! I know He Lives! I know He Loves us! I know if I trust Him, I can live eternally with He and our Father in Heaven again!

How sweet it is!

Thinkin' a lot... About a lot of things.

Disclaimer: This is a super old post! It's from August 28; I didn't realize I hadn't posted it, so here I go, posting it 2 months later :)

Where my head has been.

Utah! Oh how I miss you! I miss my family and friends! I miss the weather! I miss the pretty mountains! I miss the fact that it takes less than 15minutes to get to 2 Temples from my brothers house and make it a 30 minute drive and you just added 3 more! How I love the Temple! Well, I don't always miss everything about Utah... the construction on I-15, so not my favorite! I don't miss the gas prices either. It's like 20cents more a gallon up there. And wait, I found out that the community college up there is waaaaay more expensive than down here.

OK, I'll keep livin' it up down in Tucson. I have family and friends here too! And I have facebook (unless of course the threat from the hackers for a take down on Nov. 5 is real, then I'll at least have it til Nov ;) The weather is heading to the cooler side of things, I do have a "set" Temple trip once a month where I get to meet new friends and catch up with old ones. Along with trying a new restaurant all in the same day. Construction is at a minimum down here right now, and gas prices are some of the cheapest on the west coast. Plus, Pima CC is waaaaay cheaper!

Speaking of Pima, school started! I know, I know. I already posted my art homework, but I wanted to catch you up with the other classes too.

It's all kinds of cool. I feel really good about my classes, about my ability to succeed in them, and all of the teachers this round teach in a very structured manner. Which is sooooo what I need! I don't do well when things are not organized. I can do it, it is just way harder!

I thought it would be weird because of the age thing, me being grown up ya know, but first day, it wasn't bad. All of my classes, except intro business, I am one of the oldest students in class. All the professors are older than me thankfully though. lol. My Sign Language class is going to be fun. My teacher is deaf and we are not allowed to use our voices during the 2 1/2hrs in the classroom. Hopefully I catch on quick with Sign, otherwise, it's going to be really hard for me to stay quiet for that long. haha.

I am still really thankful to the Lord for being patient with me going to school. I love how it just feels right. I don't want to set myself up for failure. So, I have a plan. I'm challenging myself to do homework the same day, or by the end of the next day and to absolutely keep up on all reading! I feel that if I don't keep up on it, it could overwhelm me. I also gave myself time between my classes, so I can actually do some stuff during them too.

I do however see the probability of adding in an afternoon nap now. My ASL teacher told us how tired we are going to get because we are taking in so much visually. Weird huh?

Anywho. Other thoughts...

I have finally decorated my living room and dining room/kitchen! I'm in a small little apartment, but it's cute now! I went with browns, reds, yellows, teals, tans, and black. It works really well together. I got the inspiration from a really cute apron, that I got as a gift last year. I even have stuff on the walls! It's been really fun! I feel like I am "nesting" and have this freaky, FREAKY desire to have everything in order. I guess it comes with age. haha

The End.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

More on Communication!

Going back to my "Communication is Key!" post, I wrote about verbalizing, this post is more about listening and how it is an action word.
Last week I was talking with one of my moms close friends about communication. It was the coolest conversation and I was able to put together a spiritual thought process on the subject with the help of the previous weeks Institute class. Here ya go...

Distance from God comes from LACK of communication! This thought process stems from a question that Brother Gardener, my Institute Instructor asked... How is it that someone who is active in the church, gets to a point where they are no longer active?

Simple answer, they stopped listening. When we pray, we are usually the "talker", starting the conversation, but how is it that we hear the answers to those prayers?

Thought process went something like this, not in any particular order.


1. Study the scriptures because our Heavenly Father is speaking to us through those words! He can tell us what we should be doing, how we should be doing it, and why we should be doing it.
2. Listen To/Read the words of the Prophets because our Heavenly Father is speaking to us through their words just as much as He is through the scriptures! His Prophets and Apostles are Special witnesses of Jesus Christ and speak on His behalf! I personally want to know what He wants me to know. 
3. Silent Meditation because, how can our Father in Heaven speak to us if we don't give Him the time too? Reflection and pondering are a big part in communicating... they give us time to see where we want to go with the conversation or topic.
4. Fast because it's a way to show Heavenly Father our utmost attention, it will deepen an already good conversation and help to make the path clear so we can find/feel the answer(s) to our prayers.
5. Attend our Church Meetings and Participate because our Heavenly Father has placed His children in our lives for a reason, He has called them to the positions in the Ward/Stake for a reason. Give Him a chance to use them as His voice too.
6. Be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost! Because, He is the connection between Heavenly Father and ourselves... It's a lot harder to know what He is saying through His Spirit when the world is playing a little to loud in our hearts and minds.
 
Cool huh? This really was a very sweet realization so I wanted to share it. I know it is so simple and they are the "seminary" answers, but it's always good to know WHY they work. I really want to communicate better with my Father in Heaven and now I understand how to.

Any perspective on this thought process?

Reflection from the good ole G.C. part 1

So the last few weeks and even today I've had a few ups and downs. A large player in the "downs" for this week has been the fact that I've had a headache/migraine for a week now. Boo! I mean SUPER BOO! I have however had a few very enjoyable moments today that have helped to offset my pains... One being, today my oldest nephew, Cake, turned 10! Happy Birthday Babo! Second being, GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

I love... LOVE ... Love General Conference! I wanted to let you know a few of the things that popped out for me personally that I want to work on... I love re reading the talks (which I am not always good at doing, but I usually try) and getting a different insight to the talks written than I did in hearing them. Well, here I go. (Clicking here, you can watch them too)


Elder Richard G Scott

Keep the Prophet and Apostles (and their families) in my prayers!
Try to memorize a new scripture every week (or every two weeks if it's a long one) by having it "play" on repeat in me noggin'.

I also really want to read the Bible more. I read it sometimes, but not regularly. I want to know all the goodness that is in that book of scripture too! Well maybe not "all" of it, cause that is a lot and I don't know if my brain could handle it all, but I should at least try!

Sister Barbara Thompson

I want to nourish and strengthen my testimony (especially in the knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ.) So that when I feel weak, my testimony can sustain me.


Elder L Whitney Clayton

Be one of those who uses Joseph Smith's name for GOOD!
Testify of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!

President Thomas S. Monson

Sacrifice and go to the Temple twice a month and donate to the General Temple Patron Fund once a month. How amazing it is to know that we can physically help people to be able to go to the Temple and receive the blessing there in?!

Elder Jose L Alonso

Serve more willingly.
Study Christ and His examples of service!
Remember to do the right thing at the right time and not delay in service.

President Boyd K Packer

Live a life worthy of having an eternal family. Get married and have a family.

Talk Reverently

Remember with Emphasis: Satan will LOSE!!!

President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

HOLD ON - BELIEVE IN HIM - LIVE THE COMMANDMENTS

Elder Ian Arden

This is the TIME to prepare to meet God! Time is never for sale and we can't buy more of it. Use my time wisely. Don't waste time, because my busy should equal productive!

Place the Lord and my family at the top of my "time" priority list! " In families, love is spelled T.I.M.E."

Find the distractions in my life and grind them to dust!

Elder Carl B Cook
LOOK UP! Even when the burden(s) feel heavy and looking down seems easy... LOOK UP!

Elder LeGrand R Curtis Jr.

Do better with Visiting Teaching and uplift those who's heads hang low!

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Repent! It is a message of LOVE!
Strive to change, but recognize within myself that sometimes repeated attempts are needed.
Abandon sin and commit to keeping the commandments!
Allow my faith in Jesus Christ to turn my despair into HOPE!

Elder L Tom Perry

Be a VISIBLE member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, don't be afraid to stand out and be different.
Be BOLD in my declaration of Jesus Christ
Let my light so shine before men that they may see my good works, so they can recognize that I glory in my Father in Heaven.
Keep up my BLOG and posting spiritual impressions on facebook and add more to my profile on Mormon.org

Ask questions back! Not just in religious conversations, but in every conversation. Work on not being selfish in conversations. (this is where that whole, talking a lot thing, gets me into trouble. I don't like it, so want to work on it)
Avoid arguing and conflict, be holy in all manner of conversation!

Elder David A Bednar

DO FAMILY HISTORY WORK! Get their names to the Temple!

Elder Neil L Andersen

Keep preparing for motherhood and search for a righteous father for my future chillins!
I love the quote, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling!"

I am so thankful to be a member of the true church of Christ and I really LOVE that we have Prophets and Apostles on the earth today who are leading and guiding us! Here is to feeling/hearing/seeing more love and guidance from the speakers tomorrow!