A beautiful cup filled to the brim with Goldfish Crackers. What better way to keep you going then to reward yourself minute by minute with the tiniest, most delightfully delicious crackers. I love them. And i'm sure if eating them didn't mean the end of their little lives, then they would love me too!!
Tomorrow I think i will need them in bucketloads…oh dear.
Today in Sacrament meeting we were blessed to hear some absolutely beautiful talks about CHARITY. I am so grateful for such inspired instruction to help me discover more about becoming charitable.
One aspect of instruction today that strongly impressed me was about how we receive charity. The only way to actually have charity is to PRAY for charity. Charity is "the pure love of Christ" and therefore, it being something divine, it must be bestowed upon us by divinity.
What we bring to the alter is our great desire for charity.
Then, when our heart is swollen with the love of our fellowman we change our character to be naturally inclined towards loving others. I think it is at this moment that we have grown to love God so much so that we understand now His love for us.
When we know the love He has for us then we can see how dearly he loves
the person we pass in the store,
the woman waiting for a bus,
the man behind the counter,
the friend,
the family member,
and every single individual who lives, who ever lived and who will live.
When we see this, our eyes are opened and suddenly it becomes clear that in order to love God we must treat what He loves with the most gentle care and kindness possible.
As we love God through loving others He then imparts that love of us to each other and we can love others as He loves them. We then know, not just from lessons taught or scriptures read, but from lived experience, that true JOY comes comes from a focus on bringing joy to others. It all begins with the heart and character we bring to the Lord in prayer. In those moments, we prove ourselves trustworthy with his gift of charity and He can bestow it on a humble and worthy heart that will use it to BETTER the lives of what He loves most.
"If we will put our lives, our thoughts, our actions and our hearts in tune with the Lord, and worship the Lord in His holy temple, then step by step, through the gift of the Holy Ghost will be "distilled" upon our souls as the dews from heaven, and we will be empowered to open the many "gifts" of the Holy Ghost in our lives." (from House of Learning)
What a miracle it is to think that in baptism and our strivings towards righteousness, we make ourselves worthy, not only to receive the blessings and guidance of our Heavenly Father, but to have a member of deity rest within us, to guide and protect and inspire our hearts and our minds towards our potential and our greatest happiness
- A member of the Godhead with us individually -
How remarkable and incredible that is! I feel that in growing up knowing this I have forgotten to really see it for the miracle it truly is.
I was also taught today that charity is not in fact doing good deeds for others, but is rather becoming more like Christ. Charity is a change in one's character where selflessness, thoughtfulness, kindness, humility, and empathy have full residence in one's heart.
We do not HAVE charity per se, but by desiring charity and praying for it we BECOME charitable.
What more could a girl ask for? Seriously… nice suits, chiseled jaws, british accents, fast cars, all the right moves haha glorious! I think if more CIA men were walking around DC we would have women smiling everywhere. The question is, where are these beautiful men!!!??? and more importantly why are not kissing me!! haha oh…..
So newest dream date: flying trapeze. The man who happens to take me out for flying trapeze will have captured my heart.
My patient this last week was a Polish man who had lived through WWII fighting for the Polish army. His wife had been separated from her family and sent to Germany to work. They met in England, fell in love and have been married for 62 years.
They were beautiful.
In the midst of their story they shared their recipe for success in love. In a lovely polish accent his wife said "Communication, Understanding and Being in Love are the key to a happy marriage." That's it! The recipe for a long, happy marriage according to some very wise experts in the field.
January Report: So I have never looked more beautiful, nor felt as amazingly happy as I have this last month getting sleep. I feel that it is so much easier to be myself and make everything around me and expression of that self. It has been a hard sacrifice putting things aside so that I take time to sleep but in the long run it is much more important. I hope to always make my health and therefore my sleep a priority so that I can live a long, very very very happy life. Good sleeping dear friends!
CHARITY: The Pure Love of Christ
On to a new month! I have felt such a push towards Charity this month. For many reasons.
1. I have felt such a great closeness with my Savior as I have prepared to receive my endowment and in drawing closer to him I have loved Him more. In loving Him more I want to show that love and I know to show it is to love whom He loves - us.
2. In the community here we have been talking a lot about becoming the best version of ourselves with the hope that in so doing we will find the spouse we are looking for. I want to be someone that my future husband can admire and adore. I hope that someday someone will fall in love with me because of who I have become and hopefully that will be a woman who has charity.
3. There is no greater joy than that which comes from making others happy.
So this month I turn to the Lord and use His incredible example to guide me in my relationships with others. May I see more clearly who our Saviour is and may I love with more of myself than I ever have.
Saw a man today who was so handsome and kindly looking that made me feel like rays of SUNSHINE were POURING out of me. Don't know a THING about him. He just had that appearance of goodness. You know the Cary Grant kind. Don't you just ADORE those moments when you're happy just from the idea of something? Oh boy!! Do I hope we meet soon...
