It's never too early...

image via google

This morning I decided to spend 45 minutes sitting in front of the Provo temple, reading scriptures and basking in the sunrise that slowly crept over the mountains. After reading for a while I got back in my car, plugged in my ipod and let it resume its random cycle. To my surprise, the first song to pop up was Josh Groban's O Come All Ye Faithful. I was even more surprised when my first reaction was to let it play. "I LOVE this music!" I quietly exclaimed, out loud, in my car. As I listened to that beautiful baritone-of-a-hunk Mr. Groban, my morning doubled in brightness, hope and motivation to be a little better.

I love Christmas music. And it is never too early to start listening to it. Perhaps you will find the lyrics below inspiring like I did:

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

I am reminded of all the Christmas concerts and musical performances I participated in as a child in elementary school, junior high and high school. Today I feel incredibly blessed for those experiences. I don't think I realized back then how close my music helped me feel to the Savior, especially at Christmas time. I hope that someday I will get to play again for Him. 

O Come, let us adore Him, 

O come, let us adore Him, 

O come, let us adore Him, 

Christ the Lord.

A quick thought on something quite important

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"God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve." (Elder F. Enzio Busche, Unleashing the Dormant Spirit). 

I don't have much to say other than the fact that I believe our Savior when He says He will comfort us if we will come unto Him. Of course, I haven't always believed this phrase. I think I liked to imagine this process of comforting could happen, but for a while all the Savior's promises sounded a bit too good to be true. However, life's lessons have been humbling, and the spirit has testified to me of the importance of believing Jesus Christ. Not just believing in Him, but actually believing Him. I know He can calm our fears just as he did Peter's as they both walked on the Sea of Galilee. I know He loves us enough to listen first as we express our pains, fears, and sorrows about the current trials or future circumstances, just as He did with Alma. I know he can heal us and make us whole, just as He did with women in the New Testament. I know He is one in purpose with our Heavenly Father, and this brings me comfort because it supports the fact that all his teachings are the same teachings our Heavenly Father would have me understand. I know it is because of our Savior that I can overcome my imperfections--my many, many imperfections, and weaknesses. A lot of times this life feels overwhelming, but Christ's atonement makes it joyful. I know our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, and so, He sent the Savior to teach us how to become just that: happy. I pray for the strength and courage to follow the uncomfortable suggestions the Spirit makes to lead me to a great level of peace, joy, happiness!

Happy Thursday!

Hymn 124

Sea of Galilee, March 2011

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I'm just so grateful...

for this beautiful woman: her strength, her testimony, her faith. I hope I can be like her someday. 

Tennacity

When you're up and abroad, you learn very quickly how privileged you are in the States. For example, you have clean toilets (with toilet paper), high-speed internet, parasite free water, cars, instant electricity, and even warm water. But more importantly, you get to watch conference. All of it. Live.

Due to political policies, we were only permitted to watch the Saturday sessions. And because of the time change we had to watch some of conference late into the night/early morning. While my parents have always known me as the night owl of the family, even I have to admit paying attention to every talk and every insight is hard to do once the clock strikes 12. It's not my intention to complain; I just never realized how blessed I was in America to be able to watch conference whenever I wanted, including the live sessions.

Click here!

ANYWAY...

The night before our group left for Jordan (oh yeah, I forgot to mention I've been in Jordan [the country] for the past 4 days), I was determined to download conference so I could listen to it during free moments on bus rides and in between fieldtrips. However, getting conference turned out to be a daunting task.* My downloading party started at 1 AM and ended at 4 AM. Keep in mind, I had to be awake 5 AM in order to get ready and leave on time for our Jordan trip. (Yeah...don't ask my professors how awake I was for our first stop at Mount Nebo). Some of the downloads took longer than others, like when I had to try 5 different times to download President Monson's talks. Not sure why.

Overall, my attempts were as successful as they could be. The Sunday sessions weren't posted before we left for Jordan**; but I was able to grab all of Saturday's and the Priesthood sessions. Even though I lost a lot of sleep waiting for each talk to download from the LDS website to my desktop, to my iTunes, and then to my iPod, alls I gots to say is....it was worth it!

CONFERENCE IS WONDERFUL. And I'M GRATEFUL for it.

Of course, as soon as I returned from Jordan, I hopped on my computer and started downloading the Sunday sessions. Somehow the process went much more quickly. Divine intervention perhaps?

All craziness aside, I can now officially declare I have ALL of April 2011 conference on my iPod. Hurray! I can listen to it whenever and wherever!

me + conference on my iPod = delight.

Now, where's that Ensign....

 *Our internet at the center is relatively slow, especially when all the students are using it. So it's obvious why any attempts to download something requires lots of time. But like I said. I was determined to get those conference talks on my iPod.


**Can we give huge props to the communications team that posted conference so quickly on LDS.org? 

What we should BE

Standing on the Mount of Beatitudes with Sea of Galilee in background. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

-Matthew 5, Sermon on the Mount

When we visited the Mount of Beatitudes, my professor asked each of us to choose a beatitude that seemed particularly potent to us at this time. I was personally affected by Christ's invitation to hunger and thirst after righteousness. I have reflected on how I can get to the point where I am consistently hungering and thirsting for more scripture study, more personal prayer, more...everything. 

How do we develop a sincere desire to grow in the gospel and let it change us? How do we open our hearts to the "filling" we have been promised? 

By the way, the Mount of Beatitudes is beautiful in the spring time. The weather is comfortable, and beautiful poppies blanket green hills with the blue Sea of Galilee at the center of the beauty. 

By small and simple things

Garden of Gethsemane

 

"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sickness of this people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities [...] the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance."

-Alma 7:11-13

A big thanks to this girl for teaching me that sometimes the best way to describe a special experience is through simplicity of (wise) words and (pleasing) aesthetics.

Jericho

The wilderness where Jesus walked, located between Jerusalem and Jericho.

Today I walked where Jesus walked. 

I learned of his ministry and 40-day fast, 

the roads by which he traveled, 

and the people he touched. 

Today I stood where Jesus stood. 

I shuffled my feet against the soil 

where he would have sat and taught the faithful, 

the curious, and the wounded. 

Today I tried to be what Jesus asks us to be, 

humble, prayerful, childlike, meek, 

And patient, long suffering, grateful, true, 

happy, joyful, submissive, and kind. 

Ok. So I'm no poet. I was looking for a creative way to explain our field trip to Jericho today. I guess I'll just keep it simple: Jericho was hot, dry, and interesting. I saw King Herod's palace, Elisha's Spring, the wildness between Jerusalem and Jericho, and Tel el-Sultan. Awesome? I think so.

Friday Affirmation

Today, I feel like I can do 

ANYTHING

I can be the best version of 

MYSELF

I can succeed at anything I

CHOOSE

I can challenge my fears with

COURAGE

I can choose to be 

HAPPY