Trust in the Lord

Obedience to the commandments of God can give us the greatest happiness. Why is it then that it is so hard sometimes to be obedient to the commandment of God? When our unified goal is to have that true inner happiness of the eternal nature. We need to take precautions to shield us from Satan's enticements. Commandments are for our eternal happiness. Why do we obey His laws? When obedience is our goal we will receive God's power. Where we are giving our obedience freely, we will also be blessed freely, and enjoy Christ love and power in our lives. God will prepare us to be able to obey. He gave us many weapons to fight against the adversary. We should never overlook the tools He gave us. Handing our lives over to Him is never easy. He has a different plan for us than we do. His expectations are different from what we have for ourselves. He also knows we can handle any situation we are dealt, He knows our abilities and our strengths and weaknesses and knows what we are able to handle. In Proverbs 3:5 it says 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not thy own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths' We need to trust in Him with all our hearts, with every fiber in our beings. Moses 5:6 is a great example of this. Adam didn't know why the Lord was asking him to do a certain task but he did it because of his trust and obedience in the Lord. As well as Abraham when asked to sacrifice his son Issac, to him that was the hardest task that the Lord could ever have asked of him but because he trusted in the Lord, he was obedient, thankfully Issac wasnt killed because of the interferance of an angel, but he was obedient to the Lords commands. What great examples these are. Most times in our lives we dont know why the Lord asks us certain things, but it needs to be obeyed because He commands it and as we obey Him, He will bless us. We also to counsel with the Lord often, He has given us everything, what we can give him is our love and trust and obedience. He will guide us every step of the way. We need to lose ourselves helping others and we will find ourselves. Sometimes there is someone that just needs us, a smile, a phone call, and it can be one of the best things, and we can feel an inner peace and joy within us that nothing else can give us. Let us be fully committed to the gospel, Obedience can enrich our lives. Faith and obedience is there for a purpose. Let us strive to become more like the Savior and follow Him closer and lets rely and trust in the Lord.

'The Atonement can heal what we can't'

Through a program adapted from the 12-step addiction recovery program, any Latter-day Saint can overcome the natural man or woman, said Kevin Hinckley at BYU's Campus Education Week on Aug. 21.

As with every classic hero tale, the greatest struggle man has on earth is against himself. People often have a predisposition for obsessive-compulsive behaviors, alcoholism, depression and other similar disorders, Brother Hinckley said, but these can be overcome with the power of God through the Atonement of Christ.

"The Atonement can heal what we can't, period," he said.

He referenced Ether 12 in which the Lord reveals that He gave man weaknesses in order to strengthen and humble His people. His grace is sufficient to make up for any weakness, it reads.

Brother Hinckley said in working with addiction recovery programs as a counselor, he has found that the steps to the LDS program can easily be translated into any weakness, not just addictions. From that, he has developed what he calls "Hurts, Habits and Hangups: the 12-step Program for Putting off the Natural Man." This is applicable to everyone, he said, as everyone has some aspect of the natural man they desire to be rid of. He cited Elder Jeffery R. Holland's statement that a person's heart desires goodness in the end, rather than worldly things.

The steps in the program include admitting one is powerless to overcome certain trials except with the help of the Atonement, coming to believe that the power of God can "cure all ills," decide to return one's will back to God, making a searching and honest inventory of one's shortcomings and strengths, a readiness to have God remove shortcomings, a humble supplication for the healing of such shortcomings, forgiveness and other steps. The full explanation can be found on his Web site, www.kevinhinckley.com.

Giving up one's will to God is the step most people have the hardest time with, he said.

"It takes us forever to give up our will because we work so hard to hang on to it," Brother Hinckley said. However, he noted, it is when a shortcoming is recognized and given to God for repair that true healing comes.

To Graduate!!!!

Last week my best friend Kristina graduated from BYU with her bachelors degree and I am so thrilled for her and I am very proud that I can call her friend and sister.

Here is Kristina and I after her graduation

Here is Kristina and I and her other friend that she works with after her graduation!!!

Here is Kristina, her husband and her parents and friends all happy for her big day!!

Eye Surgery!

About 6 Weeks ago I went in to get contacts, and my eye doctor, told me that I had a Detached Retina and so I went and saw the specialist and they did tests on my eye for about two hours and than they told me I had this Detached Retina for over a year and if they didn't do surgery soon than my vision in my right eye would be ruined for the rest of my life. So that Saturday I went in to have surgery in the out patient center, and came out of the surgery feeling pretty normal, so for the two weeks after that I took many walks, listened to books on tape and watch tons of Tv ( which is good for the eye, since it relaxes it) So when my recovery was over I saw my Doctor and he said that my retina had detached again so they went in that weekend and did another surgery, and apparently because I had the Detached Retina for so long that my retina was way thin and the problem they had to fix the second time was that my retina had all these holes and it was falling apart so they lasered it all back together and so now its all fixed,thankfully!!!! I am so grateful for this experience because it has helped me learn patience and diligence!!!!