Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly, too.

It's hard to believe that it's almost the new year. Christmas was wonderful and I'm so grateful for all the reminders of why we celebrate this special holiday. As this year comes to a close I find myself thinking about all of the things I want to accomplish and become in 2011. I always try to think of New Year's resolutions and find that I never actually keep them, so this year I'm only going to have one. I want to be the type of person that makes everyone feel loved and important. I want to be a better friend this year. I want to bring out the best in others and see the best in others. I understand that there's a lot that goes into fulfilling this resolution, but I'm not afraid of doing the work. I want to do some character studies on people I feel have been great friends - in my life as well as throughout history. I think most importantly I want to study the life of the Savior and how he showed an example of perfect friendship. I hope I never again, knowingly or unknowingly, injure one of my friends emotionally or make them feel like they are less than they are. I want to be able to see everyone through God's eyes and love them as He does.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

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I realize after experiencing this week and celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, how selfish and ungrateful I have been. I have been having little pity parties for myself when I should have been thanking God for what He has given me. I've been dwelling on all the challenges I'm facing and all of my inadequacies I see now that I should be thanking God for who I am and the adversities I experience; I am better for them. If I'm smart I learn from my mistakes and find ways to strengthen my weaknesses. If I am truly grateful to my Heavenly Father I use whatever he gives me and find ways to use it to better my experience here. I am grateful for those times of chastening and these eye-openning experiences. I know my Father is always looking out for me. He gives me what I need to become better and make it through the hard things life throws at me. I'm also thankful for Thanksgiving, and that it helps to remind me to show my thanks to my Heavenly Father who loves me.

Advice from Elder Busche

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream (Boyce Avenue piano acoustic cover/version)

Continue in Patience

I am learning a great deal about patience. I realize that a lot of times the things we want to have been promised don't come immediately, they come in the Lord's time. Patience has always been a struggle for me. I often act on impulse.

Something my mother taught me when I was about 15 has always stuck with me. She said, "Never give up what you want most for what you want in the moment." it seems in my life that I have difficulty learning this lesson, in more ways than one. But, God is patient, even when I am not. He is also persistent. The key to learning something is often repetition. He sees fit to give me opportunities to try my patience and willingness to follow His commandments. It's still a struggle for me and I hope He never stops giving me oppotunites to show my faith in Him is real. I know He loves me and has a multitude of blessings to give me. I just have to wait, continue in patience, and act in all diligence. I pray that I will have His Spirit to help me along the way, because I know it's something I can't do on my own. He has a plan for me and wants me to uinderstand and follow that plan as well. It will bring me the greatest joy I could ever imagine.

If He can be patient with me as I stumble through life, I can be patient with Him as He blesses and teaches me every day.

It's All About Becoming

"More Holiness Give Me," (Hymn #131)

More holiness give me,
More strivings within,
More patience in suff'ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.

More purity give me,
More strength to o'ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy--
More, Savior, like thee.

Lately, I have been asking myself, "Who do I really want to be, and what do I really want to become?" I know that the greatest joy in life comes from being who God wants you to be. This song really puts my feelings into words. I want to be the best I can, and Jesus Christ is the example I need to follow.

My bishop this last semester, Bishop McKellar, gave me a copy of the bookThe Infinite Atonement, by Tad R. Callister as a gift. I think what struck me the most in the entire book, was this statement referring to Christ's godliness. "Every moment of every day his godly attributes were etching themselves on his outer shell. They manifested themselves in every smile, every glance, every spoken word. Godliness exuded itself in every thought, every action, and every deed." I have learned that this is what I want to become. I want others to be able to see who I represent. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I want people to be able to know that without having to ask me. I don't have a badge saying that I belong to His church, maybe someday I will, but I shouldn't need one. I pray every day that I can become what God wants me to be and that He will bless me with His Spirit to help me in becoming who I have the potential to become. I am a daughter of God, who loves me, and that's all I need to know to keep me on the right path.

Lifting Burdens: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

God's Truths: Even a Child Can Understand

Unmotivated and Distracted

I seem to have lost all motivation to do anything that requires effort. I hate that. I have always been an extremely hard worker, and somehow that ethic that my family is known for has gone down the toilet. I'm sick of it. It doesn't help that I am very easily distracted. I find something even just slightly more interesting than what I had previously been planning to do, and I decide to forget my plans and waste time doing something that is not only extremely unproductive, but that makes me complacent in every facet of my life. I can't let it happen anymore. I've been ignoring the Spirit, to the point that its voice seems muffled. I hate that. I have lived my life by the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I don't know how I let myself drift so far from its influence.

Lately, I've been studying about zeal. I have learned that to be zealous means so much more than being diligent or dedicated to something. It means to obey with exactness. My freshman year of seminary, I was given the "Zealous Peter" award. Our teachers made up an award for everyone that year, and I don't know if anyone else remembers what their's were, but I do. I also remember that, until now, I had no idea what it meant. Now that I know I want to live up to that award, to deserve it. If I can learn to obey with exactness, I will be able to always have the Spirit with me and always listen to its promptings. I will be more motivated to become what I know I can be and won't be so easily distracted.

Reflection

I like to keep things simple, hence the title of my blog, but I've realized everyday since that first post, that life isn't simple. It's possible that it should be simpler than I make it, mostly because I am overly analytical and I tend to complicate everything. But life isn't meant to be simple. We are supposed to have challenges. What we need to remember that it's not the challenges that define us; it's how we deal with those challenges and how we allow them to change us as people. I've had my fair share of challenges lately, and I am grateful for them. They are teaching me about the person I want to become. Perfection is a process, not an event. I'm not saying that I'm perfect or anything like that, but it's my divine potential as a child of God. We struggle through life, learning from our mistakes and making sure we don't repeat them. Sometimes I wish we could learn from other people's mistakes and not have to deal with the pain, but God knows us better than we do. He has a plan for us and that plan does not include a life without suffering, self-inflicted or not. Life is beautiful. Embrace every moment, even if that moment is covered in spikes. Bring them close to your heart and let them change you into a better person than you were before.

New Beginnings

Well, this is my first blog post ever. I didn't really ever think I'd be doing something like this, but here I am. Journal writing is one of my resolutions for this year and I have learned that you get to know a person much more deeply from what they write, so I hope this blog will help my friends get a glimpse of who I really am.

It's 2010 now and I don't think I ever imagined my life this far; I don't think I imagined anything past high school. Of course, nothing really happened the way I imagined it, but it was nice to have some idea of what might be coming. Now I have no idea what to expect. It'll be a new and grand adventure....I hope. I look forward to this year and all the surprises and challenges it will bring.

My mom does this journaling class in the Relief Society in her ward and I decided to participate, even though I won't be here every time they meet together. This month's topic was "In 2010, I want to..." This is why entitled this post "New Beginnings." I plan to make a few changes and start something new and better. Here's what I wrote:

I've decided that I'm going to be more open minded. In reflection of the past year I have realized how many people I have overlooked or misjudged because I didn't look past my first impression of them. I have always felt that first impressions are important, but they're not everything and you can't always control the impressions you make on others. I need to learn to suspend judgment until I have really gotten to know someone. I hope those I come in contact with will be patient with me as I learn; I expect to make mistakes.

I've been so selfish this last year. Everything seemed to be about me and it really wasn't. Almost none of what happened really had anything to do with me. I let my judgment of others keep me from getting closer to the people I met. I've gotten so used to moving away and moving on that I forget that the people I met and befriended in each place are still there. When I go away to school, I'm not going away for good. I'll be back and my family and friends will still be in Kansas City. I can't just start over and forget they're there. I've made a big step in my decision to live with my roommates again in the Spring. Previously I preferred to just move to a new complex on different end of campus, using the excuse that I wanted to meet more people. The problem was that I was just meeting them. I didn't actually get to know them and see who they were as individuals. I want to be able to pass someone on campus and honestly be able to say that I KNOW them. I saw the movie "Avatar" this winter. The tagline for the movie is "I see you." It means that I see into you, that I understand you. That's what I want to do in 2010. I want to actually SEE the people I meet for who they are, not just know their names and a few facts about them. I might not know as many people by the end of the year, but I will actually know the people I will have met.