empathize

If you could see others the way Jesus sees them, how would you treat them differently?
Would you be kinder? Would you think them more important? Certainly!

It is impossible for you to know all of the thoughts going through another's mind.
Even if you know them really well, even if they try to explain their emotions to you, there is still no way you could really know what it's like to be them.
People have so many different layers to them; so many different interwoven thoughts and stories and emotions.
Sometimes, when we look at them from the outside, people seem to do weird things.
Sometimes we can't fathom what their motives are for the decisions they make.

But know that just about everyone in the world, I'd say about 99.99% of the population, are just trying to do what's right. But people have different ideas of what's right, and sometimes people find themselves in sticky situations.
So don't judge others too harshly by their actions or their words.

They're just trying, they're just doing what they can.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has lovely things to offer the world. Everyone is important to God.





Let us all try a little harder to consider what others are going through, to see them as Jesus does, and to walk a mile in their shoes before we judge them.

People are good, they really are.


Haley

serve often, judge never, love always.

I remember when I was in school in seventh grade and one of my teachers was telling the class something about how he knew some homeless people in Salt Lake City. One of the kids asked about giving them money and our teacher said "oh no - you don't give them money." He said that you would be smarter to give money to organized charities.

Well… I totally see where he's coming from. He's not the only one who thinks this, and I see why people doubt that their money is going to the right person and will be used for the right purpose.

But you know what I think? It's my responsibility to help others. God didn't bless me with all that I have just so I could sit here and do nothing.

Shipping your money off to charities is awesome. It really is awesome if you are doing that. Many people are not able to and probably even more just choose not to. I'm sure your money is doing amazing things.

Maybe I'm just selfish. I like to see people's reactions! I like to walk away from serving an individual with that good feeling that I helped someone with something specific.

But still, I see nothing wrong with giving money to homeless people.

EVEN IF they aren't really homeless. EVEN IF they are just going to buy drugs. EVEN IF it just"encourages them."

SO WHAT?

Like I said before, it is my responsibility to do everything I can to help others and serve God's children. I don't care what they do with the money; that is their responsibility, and I guess they will be held accountable for their decision.



I'm tired of judging others, of distributing my acts of service like precious nuggets of gold that I can only spare so many of.

I don't have a hundred dollars to hand out to people. Goodness, I wish I did!
BUT there is work for me to do. There are lives for me to change, even if it is just through simple acts.

And I know I should be thinking of Every. Person. I. See. the way God sees them. If I can't, I should at least pretend that I can. If you tell yourself something over and over again, you start to believe it.
Think of how you would see people - see life! - if you always tried to think the things Jesus would.


Last week we had Evening of Excellence for the young women in our ward, which is where we kinda celebrate the things the girls have accomplished throughout the year. The room and setup were darling, and there was a cute black and white picture framed of every girl in the ward on display next to some objects each girl had chosen to showcase that represents her.
Anyways, it was darling and I was just sitting there thinking how cute it all looked and how cute the pictures were and how close I feel to all those girls when this incredible feeling came over me. For just a few moments, I feel like I was seeing those girls the way God does. It was like this overwhelming feeling of love and pride at all their talents washed over me. It only lasted a moment, and I don't know how I got so lucky or what I did to invite the Spirit into my heart so strongly at that moment, but I loved it.

It made me realize how much differently I would see the world if I just thought those things on my own all the time.

I know that when I let the Spirit into my heart, try my best to serve others ALWAYS in any way that I can, and remind myself to always see the good in others, my life will be exponentially happier and more fulfilling.

I love God and I feel so blessed right now. I know that He wants me to feed His sheep and help others return to Him. So this I'll do, because I want nothing more than to be His servant.

Have an awesome week guys, and commit right now to serve often, judge never, and love always.

-Haley

the miracle of forgiveness

This video was shared in my YWs lesson last week... I usually kinda shy away from the longer videos (silly me), so I hadn't seen it before! :)

Enjoy!




I think that the miracle of forgiveness is such an amazing thing. Albeit unintentionally, the young man in this video still took a lot away from Chris and his family. And the fact that Chris was so ready to forgive is such a cool thing.

So why is it so hard to forgive people for the little things? If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am a firm believer that most people are just trying to do what's right. And even if they don't always go about it the right way, at least not in your opinion, it's important to keep in mind that people are trying. 

I make so many mistakes in my life that cause me to beg for forgiveness. And if the Lord is willing to forgive me, why should I be slow to forgive the little things that others do?

I want to live a life filled with love for others. I never want to be one who holds grudges. I don't want to judge people because of things I hear about them. And I want to be the kind of person where if anyone said something negative about me, others wouldn't believe it.

I want people to think of me as the person who will love others for who they are and for what they are.

So how about we start being slower to judge, more rarely offended, and quicker to forgive.

----------

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 
-Mother Teresa

judge not.

First of all, saddest comic ever.
Second of all, I haven't blogged in 11 days. I have been a waste of human cells the last little bit because of school. I'm ready for summer. Actually, no. Because then I'd be closer to another year of school. I'm seriously only half kidding.
Oh, and third of all, when I think of blogging, all I can think of is what an uncreative, repetitive person I am. I've been feeling like my posts have been topic-less lately. Instead they are just a mosh of repetitive thoughts. Is this just me?

 *sigh*

Kay. I'm good. I'm golden, in fact.

But the man in the above pictures is definitely not golden. (That was a pretty good connecting sentence, if I do say so myself.)

I'm definitely guilty of judging grumpy people. Grumpy people are talked about behind their backs. They're the horn honkers. The people who scowl at whoever bothers them in any way at the grocery store. And you know what? They drive me nuts sometimes! That's why it's so important to be happy and thoughtful. Because people will like you! Or at least they won't be bugged by you. :)

I really liked the above picture because it shows really well how people hide their feelings.

And it's a reminder to me that people live hard lives. And they try. And they fail. And they sometimes unintentionally take it out on the people around them.

 And then people talk crap about them.

That kinda makes me sick, actually.


I believe I've shared this video before, but it goes perfectly here.




"From the moment I laid eyes on him, I judged Charles."

 People are often times so different than we imagine.

You know what, this is starting to sound like my last post. Dang it. eeerrrgggh. Seems I am the queen of repetition.


I do have one more fun video, though.



Isn't that cool?


"There are more ways to be good than bad."

People are so cool.

And they live hard lives. So try not to judge.

And I'll try to blog more often. If I can think of something different to blog on. haha.

Have a great Friday!

My Conference Highlights [Part Two] - Judging and Sharing the Gospel

     Why am I blogging at this hour? It is TOO LATE for me to be blogging right now... whatever... I am going to die at soccer practice tomorrow... I suppose I will worry about that then. :)
     (Bad idea)

     So. I suppose that I will finish up my General Conference favorites...

-----

A:

     I would first like to talk about something that Elder Quentin L. Cook said in his talk last Saturday afternoon. (full talk here.)

     I loved these two lines...
     "Our great desire is to raise our children in truth and righteousness. One principle that will help us accomplish this is to avoid being overly judgmental about conduct that is foolish or unwise but not sinful."

     That last part that I have bolded really stood out to me.
     Here's why:
I am in ninth grade. I go to a school with seventh, eighth, and ninth graders.
Can I just tell you how incredibly immature some junior high kids can be? It is seriously ridiculous.
    I'm honestly not thinking of certain kids, and there are plenty of kids who are very well-grounded and are realistic about things... but still.

     I hear things all of the time that cause me to wonder, "WHO THE CRAP CARES???"

Haha... well...

     Then I listened to General Conference. I realized that if kids - or adults - care about things that seem really dumb and pointless to me... it really doesn't matter.

     None of it is my business anyway, I mean, I shouldn't be judging them either way, but that talk by Elder Cook made me realize that if something matters to someone else, that's fine, and I shouldn't question it or let it bug me.

Ya know, people all mature at their own rate. Some people may never grow out of the drama that seems so pointless to me right now...
     But... some people will.

     Life is a journey. We should spend our entire earth lives learning and growing. We just all do it differently, and that is perfectly fine.

     If people like to chat about dumb stuff, I'll be okay with that. I will stop judging. They usually aren't even doing anything wrong.

     I suppose that I was the one doing something wrong after all.

-----

B:

     My last thought that I starred in my General Conference notebook was from David F. Evans' talk found here. 

He said:

"The work of naturally and normally sharing the gospel with those we care about and love will be the work and joy of our lives."

Naturally and normally. 

     I totally can relate to this one. 

     I remember in elementary school, around second or third grade, me and some other girls actually bribed a girl with jolly ranchers if she would listen to us tell her about the Church during recess.   

     I mean, that's pretty funny. I kinda laugh about it now. 

     BUT, for some people, even as they get older, this seems to be their method of sharing the gospel. Granted, maybe not with jolly ranchers, but some people are so desperate to share the gospel with their friends, that they end up making it an awkward, forced situation.

     Fast forward. I have several friends now that are not  members of the Church, and I'm fine with that. I really wish that everyone would be eager and ready to hear the gospel right when they meet you, but that's understandably not often the case. 

     There have actually been many days at lunch when our conversations have naturally shifted to religion. That is when you share with them your feelings on the gospel, as long as they are willing to listen. 

     I promise you... so much more will be accomplished if you are not forcing the messages on someone. 

     I think that we all think of converting someone as a cool idea, and we hope that we have the chance to do that someday. If that happens, it will be because they opened their heart and were willing to listen. 

     Do not approach it the wrong way or always pester someone if they don't want to talk about religion. Just be patient, and hopefully they'll come around. 

Trials (Part II)

I did a post a while back on trials... you can find it here. It includes an awesome video that I really love.
 
      I mentioned before that I usually find things that would've gone perfectly with my posts after I already posted them... (really annoying) :) Since then, I've discovered this song about trials that I can totally relate to... it's beautiful and touches me every time I listen to it.



      I know that this is a very short post... mostly because I've already done a post on trials... I just had to share.
     My favorite part is at the end, when everyone holds up their signs. It reminds me to always give people the benefit of the doubt. Most of those people didn't look scarred on the outside. Because we humans are often very judgmental, we get annoyed when someone doesn't act the way we think we should.
Maybe someone being cranky and snappy. Maybe they are just being boring. Maybe we are bugged because our neighbor doesn't care enough to take care of his lawn. Maybe you see someone at the store who is very poorly dressed.
We sometimes jump to conclusions and think that we know everything about someone just from what we see on the outside. Don't forget that you never know what someone is going through.

EVERYONE goes through hard things. Some people go through very hard things. Don't judge them until you get to know their story.

"I used to pray He'd take it all away, but instead it became a beautiful heartbreak."