rich, indeed.

Memaw from Milestone Creative on Vimeo.

"Let me tell you how rich we are. Whatever money can't buy, death can't take away from you."

"It doesn't matter if you're hurt or what. Nobody can take away my good name. Nobody can take away the peace that passes all understanding.
"It's amazing how rich we are."


How rich are you?
As far as God's blessings go, you are very rich indeed.
We are so blessed. So favored. So, so fortunate to be endowed with so many amazing privileges.

God is so loving and so merciful to me. I can see His hand daily in my life, and I know that I always have reason to rejoice in the Lord.
No matter how tough life gets, no matter how confused or broken-hearted we may be, God is still there. He is unwavering, ever-faithful, and ever-loyal.

He desires to enrich your life and to see you living in peace, joy, and righteousness.
He desires to see you embrace the blessing and the comfort that is Christ's grace.
He desires - more than anything else - to have you home with Him.

My friends, the day is not too far off where we will be home with Him. But in the meantime, He has promised not to leave us comfortless. We have so much to be happy about. So much to live for, and so much to look forward to.

Begin each new day with happiness and gratitude. We can all experience richness, just the way Miss Betty Sue Cox does. All you have to do is have a positive attitude, recognize God in your life, and live every day of your life to the fullest.


Have the richest and the loveliest of weeks,
Haley

give it to GOD.

I had an interesting experience a couple weeks ago. I got to meet a woman that my dad knew while he was on his mission in Virginia.
We spent a while catching up with her and she mentioned how her daughter had had a baby unexpectedly a few years ago. No one knew she was pregnant, not even the daughter (how does this happen?!?!?).
Anyways, she said something that I really loved. Her daughter had just had a baby! Meaning she had had sexual relations with some man before she was married, something that our church frowns upon quite a lot.
So what did the mother do?
This was basically what she told me:
"I gave it to God. I didn't have to beat her upside the head for her decisions! It was too heavy of a burden for me to carry, so I gave it to God. He handled the whole thing for me. He's still handling it for me, I don't have to worry about it. I never had to worry about it."


I was so impressed. I was so impressed and am still impressed at her faith in God. She was willing to trust completely that God was over all. She explained that if she kept worrying and asking about her troubles, she was showing God that she didn't trust Him to handle it.

My friends, when you have troubles, give them to God! Give them to God and then let go of them. God can handle it. Christ already carried your burdens. He suffered for you already, so you don't have to keep carrying around regrets and burdens, worrying about whether or not they're taken care of.

Let go. Let go of the heartache, of the regret, of the guilt. Let go and let God take care of it.
TRUST that He can take care of it. He doesn't need you to keep reminding Him about troubles that you should have already let go of.
Don't let your past weigh you down. Surrender completely to God and His grace and trust that things are taken care of, that you can proceed with your life with a light heart and a bright smile.

Show God that you are willing to move on with your life and that you are thankful for the bright future He has given you.


She was such a neat lady and I really learned a lot from her. Join with me as I lay my trials before God and then let them go completely. Join with me and show God that you trust Him enough to let Him carry your burdens. Join with me in giving it to God and forgetting about it.

Haley

so much beauty

There is a lot going on in the world right now, a lot of negative things. And it's true, society looks not so pretty sometimes. 

Every person gets to choose what to make of their life. And some choose to do really bad things. 

Probably most people, though, are just mediocre. We all have selfish tendencies, we are all rude sometimes, maybe more than we realize, and we've all been on the receiving side of rude comments. Sometimes it just feels like the world is feeding us crap. 

But there is so much good. So much to be cheerful about. 

There are the exceptional people, the inspiring news stories, and there is always a silver lining in even the worst of situations. 

Society is still overwhelmingly good! The world is not against you!

For every rude, seemingly uncompassionate person, there are two people who are kind, happy and trying to do what's right. 

The world is full of intense beauty if you seek it out. 

There are marriages that make it. There are young people who will do incredible things with their life. There are good, honest politicians. 

When you change the way you look at the world, it becomes a whole new place to you. 

When you rise above, as you look at the big picture and have a joyful outlook on life, your life begins to change.

It takes practice to see even the bad things in life as brilliant learning opportunities.

It takes practice to see the good in people the rest of the world sees as bad.

But, like most things, practice makes perfect!


I know I've shared this video before, but I just love it. It makes you feel so happy for the world and the incredible things people are achieving here.



When we look at things from a worldly, narrow-minded perspective, it seems like there is a lot wrong with the world.
And... there is, I guess. But don't let the negative outweigh the positive.

When you notice all the good things, like the things shown in the above video, it is easy to see how God's hand is in everything.

This is His world, we are His people. And His hand is always around us, and if you notice God's hand, your life will be touched in incredible ways, and you will begin to always see the world as a beautiful place.

Many say they have no hope for humanity. But when you stop to remember the purpose of life, stop to remember your potential, stop to remember that God is always looking out for His children, and that his children are good people, it's hard not to have faith in humanity.

Rise above. Seek for the good in the world. Be the good in someone else's world.

Your life will be so much more happy and fulfilling.
When you think you have it all, do you not truly have it all?



I hope you all had a great Sunday and continue to have a great week!
Before I finish up here, here's a great Sunday song for you!

Never Alone by Lady Antebellum


Goodnight!

overcoming

All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.

- Helen Keller

Is life hard sometimes, or what?! Have you ever heard stories of those people who seem to just have the worst life ever? Maybe you are that person - that person who has simply come across a lot of heartache. 

Life's pretty much tough by definition. But your life story should not be one of sadness! You have such an incredible future ahead of you! 

I recently read Anthem by Ayn Rand. Basically it is one of those futuristic dystopia type books where the government controls everything and people are not allowed to think for themselves. *Spoiler alert: In the end, the main character recognizes society's flaw and runs away into the forest to live a life of his own... alone. 

Yeah. The end. 

So I was asked the question today in English, "why is this a story of hope and liberation instead of one of despair?"

Well, let me tell you. A blank slate - a future that is yours for the taking - is such a beautiful thing. Whatever is behind you, whatever you have learned, can only help you from here on out. 

You could start a brand new life tomorrow, you know! Wake up and decide "today I am going to be someone important." 

Our God is a God of second chances. He offers peace. He offers a new perspective. 

You can make your life a beautiful one of service, love, and happiness. You have a blank canvas in front of you, it is up to you what colors to paint it with. 

Be optimistic. Life comes with trials, bumps in the road. But life keeps moving forward, and if you do your best to move along with it, you will see amazing things you could never see before. 

Thomas S. Monson said that often "We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone.”

Having a negative attitude always makes things seem worse than they really are. When we have hope and look for bright days ahead, even the days we are living now will feel more glorious. 

I've been so so blessed with school this year. I have always been one to stress a lot about school. Even though I keep excellent grades, I've always stressed often about all the homework I have to do, all the tests to study for, etc. etc. 

I was so scared for this year because not only is it junior year in high school - in my opinion one of the hardest and most important - I am also taking 10 credits at the college a half hour away so that I can get a couple years of college in before I graduate. Anyways, over the summer I was so scared I was going to be overwhelmed and had a knot in my stomach every time I thought about all that I was trying to take on. 

Then something crazy happened. School started, and I really do have quite a lot of homework. But I am not stressed. I really don't even know how that happened. I have just gotten into a routine where every day I look at my planner, I make sure I am prepared for the next day, maybe I do some homework due in the future, and I call it a night. 

I'm not sure what changed that I have been so much more chill about schoolwork this year. I work just as hard. But I don't let myself worry so much. 

The days will pass. I could spend all day stressing about a test, but whether I spend the day stressing or not, the next day will come. The test will pass. It will all work out, and in a week I will have forgotten about being worried in the first place. 

Things are never as bad as they seem. Life is full of tender mercies and happy surprises. Be happy. Don't worry so much, and you will be more satisfied with your life. YOU can overcome. And you can help others overcome. 

I thank God for bright futures.

half full.

There once was an oyster

Whose story I tell,

Who found that some sand

Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain,

but it gave him great pain.

For oysters have feelings

Although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate

the harsh workings of fate

That had brought him

To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government,

Cry for election,

And claim that the sea should

Have given him protection?

'No,' he said to himself

As he lay on a shell,

Since I cannot remove it,

I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around,

As the years always do,

And he came to his ultimate

Destiny ­ stew.

And the small grain of sand

That had bothered him so

Was a beautiful pearl

All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral,

for isn't it grand

What an oyster can do

With a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do

If we'd only begin

With some of the things

That get under our skin.

~author unknown

Do you guys have any idea how good you have it? You could be the poorest person in America... but you would still live in America. 

Wherever you live... you are reading this, which means you have access to the internet. 

I'm sure you've used a telephone in your life sometime and you've probably had a good education.

That's not to say that hard things haven't happened to you. I'm willing to bet you've seen and experienced things that I never will in my lifetime. And vice versa. 

Happy people are people that make the best of everything. 

I've heard from family and friends that have travelled to far away - perhaps third-world - countries that even though so many people in so many places have so little... these people practically personify love, gratitude, kindness, and happiness. Though they have so little compared to some, they are the first to show how grateful they are for what they do have.


The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. I've read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth thinking. 
-Adam Kahn

Remember the video I posted just yesterday? (here)
About typical people?

And how less than 25% of people in the world have a bank account...

And many people have to work the whole day just to obtain a little water...


You have it good.

So start seeing it that way.

If you aren't already, become an optimist. 

See things how they are, or better than they are, but don't look at bumps in the road like they're the end of the world. 

See the glass half full. 

It's kinda fun taking optimism tests on the internet... 

Just google optimism tests and see what comes up. I like the one on stress.about.com.


I got only 4 optimistic answers out of 15... haha. 


I guess I have some work to do.