Geology 101

Simply put, the earth is made up of rock! Lots and LOTS of Rock! I had a spiritual thought process (after memorizing a scripture in The Book of Mormon [side note: which by the way is one of the coolest experiences of my life to be able to memorize scripture and I KNOW that it is not because I am cool like that, but because the Lord is helping me too! Ahhmazing and highly recommended!]) one night after leaving my Geology class that went something like this…

Rock is EVERYWHERE… it’s on the earth, in the earth; it is something that is always replenishing. When it gets put into the atmosphere because of a volcanic eruption, it comes back down to earth and goes through the rock cycle… coming up in the earth and going back down in a continuous cycle of recycling (remember I said “simply put”). It will even go through the erosion process mixing with dirt, it will be swept in the oceans and be deposited on the sea floor and go through the rock cycle there too!

Okay, rocks are pretty cool now that I know a little bit more about them, but I LOVE the fact that in a science class I am able to learn even more about Jesus Christ and how I can live my life according to His Gospel too! Now onto the scripture and connection with Rock *grin*

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build, they cannot fall”.    –Helaman 5:12

Jesus Christ is the ROCK! He is EVERYWHERE! He is even as the earth (in oh so many ways, but I’m only going to touch one main thought process here) in the sense that He is made up of Rock… the earth has three layers… the crust (rock) which we can see and what we can literally build our foundations on… the mantle (more rock) where pressure and heat are necessary to refine and makes rock stronger through physical and chemical change… and the core which is made primarily of iron (think of what “The Rod” is made of ;) which I look at as Christ being centered on the word of God!

If we build/center our lives on the ROCK our Redeemer Jesus Christ WE CANNOT FALL! What a glorious promise! I don’t want be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand, because we all know that when the rains came down and the floods came up, the house on the sand washed away! I want to be like the wise man and build my house on the rock because after those rains and floods the house on the rock stood still!

30 x 30

One of my goals this year is to be in better health. This includes living my old mantra of "No Fried, No Sweet, No Soda" while continually trying to eat better and exercise more. I'll be focusing on the Word of Wisdom as my dietary guideline and starting to bike (which is possible in the winter in Arizona :) and taking an exercise class this semester at Pima.

I already wanted to get healthier and then my brother Riley suggested he and I compete in a weight loss competition against one another during this semester of school. Yeah, I am totally down! This semester I also happen to be turning 30! Woot! Woot! My birthday is in April so my goal is to lose 30 by 30.  Achievable? I think so! It'll take a lot of hard work and determination, but healthy eating with healthy exercise and a healthy competition between siblings success is inevitable and will be a great story in the life of Sarah!

Plus, I hope this will be the nudge I need to stay up with my food blog! As of today I have not posted since November (Eeeek!), but when I get home (since I'm out of town til Friday/Saturday) PlanCookTaste.blogspot.com will be back in action! Keep an eye out and hands ready to cook.

I am so excited!!! Better health and a stronger testimony of the Word of Wisdom? Yes please! Thirty by thirty here I come!

p.s. Thanks to you both, the amazing Ereeen and Selica for being great examples of determination and will power. Truly you are both SpecTaCulaR! (picture lots of fire works going off with this word :)

Life Changing Resolutions

I do agree with looking at the new year with hope in making some much needed changes in our lives, however I do not agree that it is the only time of year we should be doing it. Every. Single. Day. We have the chance to change and become better. We have the chance to set goals and accomplish them. We are given this time in mortality to learn and to grow, to progress higher.

Two things have recently happened that have me thinking more on the subject of goals and using my time more wisely. First, there was a General Conference talk by Ian S. Arden of the Seventy that I have re read recently that talks about "We must devote our time to the things that matter most." Second thing is this past Stake Conference for the Sauharita Stake, President Hardy spoke about setting goals and how important they are. He emphasized that they help us to achieve greater/accomplish more when we have a goal in sight.

Since it is the end of 2011 and the new year is FAST approaching (holy momma I feel like life is flying by; what happened to the days when we were kids and days seemed to last forever?). I completely see a need to devote my time to things that matter most and set goals to achieve those things because I will be able to achieve greater and accomplish more of the Lords work if I have those goals in sight.

Some of these things that matter most I recognize already, but may not be doing the best at them or working on them at all. Which means that I will be starting some new things this coming year while others things that I already recognize will be worked on even harder, with goals set.

I thankfully recognize that I will find success in these life changing resolutions as long as I rely upon the Lord for my support. I know as I look to Him and His teachings for the example of setting goals and realizing what matters most; everything will work out. I do also humbly realize that I am far (remember the FAAAAARR...) from perfect and will have to forgive myself when I fail.

{Failures will come because I am human and may not always put my support in the Lord first (pride is one of my vices) but I recognize that attitude will still make the difference in reaching goals. Always remember that a broken heart and contrite spirit will guarantee goal success.}

To the New Year!

I Glory in My Jesus!

"I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell." 2 Nephi 33:6

This scripture has now been committed to memory because of a pure love I have in knowing that I GLORY IN MY JESUS! These last 2 months have been AMAZING in strengthening my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ especially in strengthening my testimony about my Savior!

I have had the opportunity to share my testimony over and over and over again recently and have seen how amazing it is that the Lord prepares each of us to do His work. Over the last 2 months I have learned more about Faith, Hope, and Charity than I could have ever imagined. I comprehend that there is sooooo much more to them to even what I have learned and am in awe that the Lord has helped me to learn what I have.

Prior to these last two months I was feeling a little overwhelmed with life, family, friends, school, and what I felt was a stand still with my progression in life I guess. I decided that I would take the counsel of President Hinkley's father and "get to work". I knew that I should be doing more and that there were amazing chances to see what Faith, Hope, and Charity truly are.

I remember posting a long time ago that charity is when we do things because we love people of our own accord instead of loving them because we know that God wants us too. I've know to increase my faith it needs to be tried and I should testify of what I know. Hope I have realized is patience in a sense, but sweeter because it is waiting with purpose and love. Hope is an eternal perspective.

I am FAAAAAAAAR from perfect (that FAAAAAAAR... can go on forever, but for blog space I shortened it), but I have tasted the sweet fruit of faith, hope, and charity in the sense that some of the things I have done recently I've done because I have a love for God's children, I have been able to testify of what I know and strengthen my faith, and I am patiently waiting, knowing that my Father in Heaven sees the big picture and is not holding anything back that is not for my good, has helped me to have hope. It's been a HUGE life lesson and I pray that I can continue on the path to partake more fully of this sweet fruit.

To be able to be in a place to experience these things, I have found that service, aka getting to work, has increased my faith, hope, and charity and has allowed me to see them in my life. Service = Good! I have been able to serve in my community, serve in my ward, serve with the missionaries, serve in the Temple and serve my family and friends. I have felt these last couple weeks especially that service outside the Temple makes me feel as good as service in the Temple. I didn't know that I could find the same peace inside myself outside the Temple until I started to serve more. Which is a duh Sarah, you didn't know that? How amazing this life lesson has been and I am now thankful to know for myself that "When ye are in the service of your fellow men, ye are in the service of your God."

I had said I had shared my testimony over and over again. No joke, I have been able to testify of Christ everyday for at least a month now and seem to be on some kind of missionary roll! I LOVE SHARING THE GOSPEL! I am especially thankful for being able to share so much of my testimony with Ken. He is figuring out his life and what he wants for it, and what he feels that God wants for it and I completely commend him for that. He is freaking smart and I hope that he does what will bring him the most joy and happiness in this life. He has "challenged" my faith though, in a good way, which has allowed my testimony of the truth-fullness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Prophets, Modern Revelation, the Holy Ghost, Eternal Families, the Temple, the Bible and the Book of Mormon and most importantly Jesus Christ and His infinite sacrifice for each of us to be FIRMLY planted in SOLID rock!  The rock which is my Redeemer.

What a blessing these last two months have been in my life! I have never felt so good! Don't get me wrong there are still rough days because life can sometimes be hard. I have prayed, pondered, fasted, and studied my scriptures more than in my whole life too. That whole being imperfect thing is still very much a part of me (take today for instance, I was not super nice Sarah, even on Christmas when I knew better), but because of these recent life lessons "I glory in my Jesus for he hath redeemed my soul from hell." I know I have the chance to repent each and every day. I have the chance to try and be better each and every day. I have the chance to be forgiven and have my sins "as thou they be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow" every single day.

With all of this learning it makes sense why this Christmas season has been entirely different for me than any other in my life. I can truly appreciate my Saviors birth as I have never done before and I recognize a thousand times over that this appreciation should be and can be happening every single day of my life and that I can be sharing it with others.

Gifts this year were not bought, but they are sharing a part of me with those I love. I pray I can sacrifice my wants for those who are in need of knowing our Savior. I want to continue to learn more of faith, hope, and charity and want to earnestly try to do better each day. I know I am not perfect and will have my set backs, but I know I have to try.

"Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith, there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity. And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope. And if ye have no hope ye must need be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity. And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me."
                                                                                        Moroni 10:20-23

I know I have to try! I know the Lord is in each of our lives and can direct us for good if we allow Him into our lives. I know that by relying upon our Savior Jesus Christ we can enjoy this life we have been given. I know that hard times may come, but that they are only for a season compared to eternity. Mortality is a probationary state, a time for us to prepare to meet God. I know if we live the commandments given to us in the scriptures and through modern revelation that we will not only have the best chance of success, but we will succeed in this life as we rely upon our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that prayer works. I know that if we ask our Father in Heaven for His help, if we ask Him for His guidance, if we ask Him for peace, He will give it according to our needs and His will. Our Father in Heaven knows what we each need to be the best (not just good, but the best), He knows what we can handle and how to teach each of us. We are His children and were before we came to earth, are while we are here, and will be in the here after. He loves us and wants us to succeed. I know we have the tools to learn to be like our Savior, "What manner of men ought ye to be? Even as I am". Faith, hope, and charity are those attributes that are attainable in this life that will help us to become more like Jesus. I had a friend who wrote a blog post about "Love is all you need" and that it was not true. I completely second her perspective and want to replace the word love with Christ. Christ is all you need. Christ is all we need to be happy and have JOY in this life.

How very thankful I am for this life lesson and the sweet peace that comes from knowing my Savior Lives!

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Good Example of Knowledge

Last week I had the chance to get to talk to and get to know a guy in my business class, Ken, (he knows about my blog and this post so all is good ;), a little better and can I tell you something? He is pretty amazing. Not in the sense that I know that much about him or that many details about how he has become who he is. Confused? Let me esplain. I should define why I think he is amazing huh? I say he is amazing because he has a desire to seek for truth and has been able to find some of it on his own. He is actively searching for knowledge which always impresses me. Still confused? Read on, hopefully it will clear itself up *grin*

I'll first have to tell ya more about me before I tell you more about him.

I have been actively living the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for almost 9 years or so. Again, I grew up in the church, but in my youth being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was more a habit than testimony. Going to church because it was expected, not because I wanted to. As a child I loved going to church though and I don't discredit my lack of pursuing truth and knowledge then, I was a kid and didn't know how. However, I feel after my baptism, where I had made covenants with God, I was old enough to know how to seek out what I wanted and the Gospel sadly wasn't always in my view. I don't count it as an active time of living the Gospel. Active to me includes pursuing truth and knowledge and I wasn't doing that until my early 20's.

Since then however I feel differently about myself. I know I am doing better, hence my previous knowledge post about recognizing I need to study and search The Book of Mormon to increase my knowledge and understanding of God more. I have seen my progression over the last 8 years as moving upward not just standing still. I realized from the previous post that even though I know I need to increase my study of the BOM to gain further knowledge, I have been really blessed to have more resources than most people to gain knowledge about God and Eternal perspective.

I not only have The Holy Bible (If you would like a free copy of the KJV, click here) to learn about Christ and the Plan of Salvation, but I have many many other sources to glean that knowledge from. I have The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ (If you would like a copy of the BoM, click here), I have modern scripture through the current and past Prophets of this dispensation (aka General Conference twice a year). I have the written revelations of Joseph Smith in The Doctrine and Covenants, along with the revelation and translation of the words of Moses, Abraham, and Matthew in The Pearl of Great Price. I even have the footnotes in my scriptures that connect different passages that are related. I have the Bible Dictionary that defines historical things and even beautifully and simply defines such things as charity; the pure love of Christ. I have had Institute classes and the manuals created for them: Old and New Testament, Doctrine and Covenants, Eternal Marriage, etc.

I have church manuals that are put out for my learning during Sunday School and Relief Society classes. I have teachers’ manuals that have lessons which have been designed especially for little children to understand the doctrine of Christ which means that I have had the chance to learn how to be a teacher of His doctrine. We have The Family: A Proclamation to the World and many other resources to help us gain deeper understanding and knowledge of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I have my own Patriarchal Blessing that is revelation given to me about my own life, about where I came from, what I can accomplish in this life through faithfulness. It also tells me how to prepare for this journey through mortality. Most importantly I have had the Temple, The House of God to learn in for almost 5 years now, a place where uninterrupted learning from on high can take place.

We truly do have UNLIMITED resources to the Gospel of Jesus Christ if we choose to use them!(Which I have even more humbly realized are at our fingertips as I've linked all of these resources to this post)

Here is the tie in with Ken.

He has had only The Bible to study (don’t worry, I've tried to remedy that ;) That man however, knows so much about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! He is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but in our conversations he knew things that I had been studying for years through all of the above mentioned sources. He only has had the Bible! How sweet it is to know that those who seek knowledge truly do find it and that Christ will give us the light we need, His light as we search diligently to find the answers we have searched for. He is an amazing example of 'the believer".

I know I wouldn’t have as much knowledge (which I humbly realize isn't that much) without having read and studied The Book of Mormon and other resources over and over and again, I know I need to study harder to learn more. I am thankful however for all of the resources we have to learn more of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the Holy Bible and that the truth contained in it can be felt by everyone if they but diligently seek. I truly wonder if I would even know a part of what I know now if I only had The Bible though? I am thankful the Lord knows each of us and what we need to know and how we are able to learn it.

I just realized that even though life can sometimes seem harder because we choose to follow Jesus Christ, because of the great responsibility placed on us and all of the opposition that comes from Satan. I am so thankful for that responsibility because it means I am CHOOSING to be chosen. Heavenly Father hasn't asked us to do any of this alone though. He hasn't asked us to face mortality without His guidance and instruction being available to us. How sweet it is to know that no matter where I am, I have the resources around me I need to be the best me. I hope that by being the best me I can help to better this world by testifying and by being a representative and a disciple of Jesus Christ.

How truly thankful I am for good people and good examples in my life. Thank you Ken for the amazing insight and amazing conversations!

Knowledge is Power!

I have recently realized that I am on a knowledge KICK! I can't seem to get enough of it. I am reading, talking to people and trying to get as much info from them that I don't know about as I can to watching documentaries, etc. I am a sponge at the moment. It's kinda weird, but oh soooo cool! I have been doing these things as much as I can. For example, in my possession right now (besides my school books and thanks to the library) I have books on robots, calligraphy, and two fictions that have been awesome on perspective. I have a couple dvds on influential scientists, a documentary on becoming a member of one of the military's special forces units. I also have a Charles Dickens book that has been turned into a movie, Little Dorrit and the BBC car show Top Gear complete season 15.

This obsession might have to do with starting school and having the thought process of being a student? I don't know for sure, but seriously it's been like this rotating library and new information obsession for a couple months. I just hadn't realized it until the below thought process occurred.

Humbling moment time! A very humbling thought did cross my mind... The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

Than by ANY other book! or... person or... documentary...

The knowledge I have searching for, the knowledge I have been striving for has been "of the world" to a point. I don't think it is bad to seek that knowledge, but in my case, I was seeking more knowledge from the world than from God. The scale of where my knowledge is being gained has been off balance.

I know that if I put as much effort into searching knowledge out from The Book of Mormon and abiding by it, I would be nearer to God! He who KNOWS ALL!

Yeah, how amazing is it to know that we have a source, The Book of Mormon, to be nearer to God and His knowledge?

I've been slacking.
Initiating change is now commencing.
Delving, searching, praying about, and pondering The Book of Mormon, here I come!

If you want a Prophet of Gods testimony about The Book of Mormon, look here

Choosing to be Chosen!

WE CHOOSE TO BE CHOSEN! For this thought process credit can be attributed to the Holy Ghost AND my friend Megan and her sweet insight on a scripture in 1Nephi! (She commented on  this post a few months ago with that exact phrase give or take the capitalization and boldness. I also talk a little about it in this blog post) Even though I had read it when she wrote it, the realization of it has only recently hit me, and thankfully, it has hit me hard! The Holy Ghost has reaffirmed this truth to me over and over again these past few weeks.

I have had amazing conversations after amazing conversation about this subject with multiple people. I even brought it up in my Institute class the week before last when we were in the Book of Abraham where we were reading about fore-ordination. I feel this realization is one of those tender mercies the Lord is letting me continually see in my life. Maybe so my testimony of being chosen will be firm and on a solid foundation.

The knowledge of being chosen is truly powerful; it allows us to recognize or divine parentage and that there is a divine work for us to accomplish on earth. Our Father in Heaven is loving and still allows for us to choose though. He allows us our agency. We can choose what we do or what we don't do, but we cannot always choose the consequences of our actions.

Two weeks ago I was talking to someone I love very much that has chosen a different course in life than what I would hope for them. They have chosen to go their own way and I am finding it very hard to accept. I see them struggle in ways that are not necessary, but I cannot change their minds. They have their agency. I did however have a very sweet conversation with them that I hope affected them as much as it affected me. It went something like this (these may not be the exact words, but the main theme of the conversation will be recognized and hopefully the sweet spirit of it too)...

Me: "you know how you get mad at me because you say I hold you to a different standard than I do other people?'
Them: "yeah"
Me: "I figured out why."
Them: "why?"
Me: "because you are different! You are AMAZING! You are SPECIAL! You are a CHOICE SPIRIT of GOD! You are one of His CHOSEN! You were meant to be different!"
Them: "Why?! I don't want to be different! I want to be like other people."
Me: "WHY?!"
Them: "because it is easier."
Me: "I see the difference... You are chosen, but you are not choosing to be chosen. I want to throw it out there that life has a lot more meaning when you chose to be chosen. It makes decision making easier when you don't have rely on yourself, it makes everything have purpose. You recognize your worth in this world, you recognize your worth in the eternal perspective when you see that you are chosen. When you see that Heavenly Father trusts you with His children it should help to solidify the love He has for you. He wants to help us, but we have to recognize when the time comes to ask for help or in other words when we choose to be chosen."

I was in awe of the spirit that filled our conversation that day. I am in awe the Lord has seen fit to have me learn this specific lesson over and over the past few weeks. I was in my institute class last week and we were reading, Joseph Smith Matthew. The tie in with this lesson was that we talked about the word elect (v. 22).

We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, those of us who try each and every day to obey His commandments, listen to and heed His prophets, communicate with Him through prayer and scripture study are, His elect. To be His elect, we have to choose to be chosen. We have to live a life very different from the worlds standards. We have to live a life where Jesus Christ is the center of our universe. He should be at the center of every choice, every decision, every thought because we will be making them with Him in view.

I pray that I will always recognize my worth and choose to be chosen! I pray that you too may choose to be chosen. Be His Elect!

I. Love. The Gospel of Jesus Christ!