choose GOD

Sometimes it is hard to feel worthy.
A lot of times, actually.

We go through the motions, we try to do the right thing, we feel guilt over our mistakes, we repent. And yet, we never feel good enough. We always are stuck wondering, "is it enough??" "Am I on good terms with God?" "If I died now, would I go to the Celestial Kingdom?"

"In the end, after all the mistakes I've made, would God really choose me?"

This, my friends, is where we go wrong in our reasoning. Understand this: God will always choose you. Always. In reality, it is He who is hoping to be chosen by us.

It is He who is hoping that we will choose to be close to Him and choose to desire heaven. He wants you in heaven! And if you show Him that you desire heaven, that, in the end, you are willing to choose Him, Celestial glory will be yours one day! Even in spite of your mistakes!



I'll let Brad Wilcox explain:
"In the past I had a picture in my mind of what the final judgment would be like, and it went something like this: Jesus standing there with a clipboard and Brad standing on the other side of the room nervously looking at Jesus.

Jesus checks His clipboard and says, "Oh, shoot, Brad. You missed it by two points."

Brad begs Jesus, "Please check the essay question one more time! There have to be two points you can squeeze out of that essay." That's how I always saw it.

But the older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption, the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, "Let me stay." No, he will probably just be saying, "Get me out of here!" Knowing Christ's character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, "Please, choose to stay. Please, use my Atonement - not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you WANT to stay."

You guys, Christ's grace is sufficient. We are never going to be perfect, we won't even be close. But heaven is not just something you spend your life trying to earn. It is something you spend your life preparing for.

Choose God. Choose Him in everything you do. Draw close to Him, stay by Him. Work to please Him, and understand that when you let Him down (because you will, we all do), you can be saved by grace. You can be changed by grace, and the changes you undergo when you strive to be close to God are ones that prepare you for heaven better than anything else.

The Afterlife isn't about scorekeeping. It isn't about guilt or punishment.
It's about choosing God and being happy with your choice. Brad Wilcox also said, "Heaven will not be heaven for those who have not chosen to be heavenly."

Do you think the unrepentant sinners will want to dwell with God after they die? No! They would feel more comfortable and more happy elsewhere.

If heaven is what you want - if God is whom you choose - then heaven is what you will get.



God will always choose you. He will always want you near Him.
Choose the same. Choose heaven. Choose GOD.


Haley


P.S. Read this article about our liberal (what - liberal??) theology. I really enjoyed it. Salvation is for everyone!

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

abide

Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God 

(1 Corinthians 7:24)

Sometimes we pray and we don't get an answer.

Sometimes we do all that we can to keep trying, keep moving forward, and keep trusting in God, and we fall anyways.

Sometimes we try to call upon the Spirit, we try to feel God near, and we just can't.

And sometimes we've repeated, "Everything happens for a reason" to ourselves so many times that it's simply impossible to believe it anymore.


Sometimes, folks, it really feels like God doesn't care. I can assure you that He does, but still, sometimes it doesn't feel like it.
Sometimes it is hard to feel close to Him, sometimes we can't feel Him reaching back when we stretch out our hand.

Despite all of this, please, please keep reaching out anyways.
Sometimes we have to wait upon the Lord for a long time before we get our answers.
But I promise you, everything the Lord does, every answer He waits to reveal, He does that for a reason.
It's important to show God that you are willing to stay by Him, you are willing to abide with Him even when times are hard, even when you are barely holding onto your faith and your trust, show Him that no matter what happens, you will abide with Him still.

It is important to make the Lord understand that you love Him and you want to build a relationship with Him, not just ask for blessings. When your prayers aren't answered right away, don't stop praying! If you give up and cease to pray and reach out, you are showing God that all you want is for your problems to be solved, you don't want to talk to Him and trust Him and love Him.

Does that make sense?

Sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers right away.
Sometimes He doesn't answer them in the way we wanted Him to.

It doesn't matter. He hears you, He does. And he will answer your prayers in His own time and in His own way.

Until then, show Him you are willing to love and trust Him regardless.
Abide with Him and keep your hand stretched out always.


Haley.

Because of Him

Because of Christ, I can find peace.

Because of Christ, I can look forward and know that my future is bright.

Because of Christ, I don't have to let sorrow overcome me. Ever.

Because of Christ, I know who to turn to in my times of greatest need.

Because of Christ, I know that I will never be alone.

Because of Christ, I live.

And because of Christ, I will live again.


What does Easter mean to you? I am reminded every Easter that there is One who was willing to suffer all things, not just for a world of sinners, but for each sinner individually.
And He didn't just atone to redeem us from sin, He atoned to feel what we have to feel. He atoned so we would never have to be alone.
And He atoned to be obedient to the Father.

There are so many things we can do to take advantage of His sacrifice. We can look to Him. Repent. Allow His peace to fill our lives.
But most simply, is it too much to ask that we all at least remember what He did for us?

Commit today to remember Christ and His sacrifice. Let His light fill your life. Let His truth touch your heart.

Follow His example and be obedient in all things. Show that you are grateful for His infinite atonement.


Happy Easter. This holiday brings the greatest message of all. We celebrate not just that He was born, not just that He lived, but that He lived again. 


Haley.

acceptance and bright futures

One of the hardest lessons we have to learn while on earth is that some things are beyond our control.

Bad things happen. They happen to good people, they happen to bad people. They have always happened, and they will continue to happen.

Why? 
I think everyone needs to find their own answer to that. It depends on the person. Truly.


I can only speak from my own experiences. But here's what I do know:
Bad things happen for a reason. They are an essential part of God's plan.

Now hopefully I have a lot of living left to do. I'm only seventeen and many of you readers have been through a heck of a lot more than I have.

But I've still got a little experience under my belt. I lost my sister, most notably, and with that, I lost the picture-perfect life I had basically lived up until junior high.
I've felt lonely. I've changed friend groups. I've taken the Spirit for granted. I've become busier and busier taking on so much schoolwork, and with that I've had to give up a lot more than I thought I would, including some of my favorite hobbies.

I think we have this idea in our minds that if we do what we're supposed to do and try our hardest, our efforts will always reap visible and even tangible rewards.
So what do we do when that doesn't happen? Because sometimes our efforts fall short. Sometimes our hearts are broken. It's how life is.

The fact of the matter is, our lives aren't going to be perfect. But we have to learn to accept things as they are and free ourselves from the sorrow that would overwhelm us if we let it.

I lost my sister when I was thirteen. Did I do anything to deserve that? No. I mean, could anyone really do anything that would make them deserve that? But it happened anyways, and I have to come to terms with that reality. I've already come to terms with it, actually. I've accepted it. I'm at peace with it.
Does that mean I can't still be cripplingly sad about it if I let myself be? No, of course I'm still sad about it. I never won't be. But I'm never going to move forward if I let myself keep living in the past.

I would never ask for the trials I've been through. But I have to make the best of them. The death of a loved one is just one example. But I've learned that with all trials, when we accept them and decide to make the best of them - instead of trying to change them - we are inviting the Spirit into our hearts and allowing God to shape us into better people.

We learn to be more compassionate people. We learn to see things from God's perspective. We learn to trust in Him and rely on Him when we have nowhere else to turn. We sometimes learn that our priorities are not where they should be.

One bad thing happening to you could weigh you down and haunt you for your whole life if you let it. But when you accept the past for what it is, and also accept the present for what it is, then will you be free to look to the future and shape it how you will.


Notice how the picture at the beginning of this post says, "It is what it is" and "it was what it was," but makes no reference to the future.
Your future will be whatever you choose for it to be. Don't let trials and sadness hold you back.


Decide today that you will let go of whatever is keeping you from moving forward. A lot of things are in our control, I'd even say most things. But some things aren't, and we have to learn to accept the things we can't change.
Does everyone feel pain sometimes? Yeah. But there is more good in the world than bad, more happiness than sorrow, and more beautiful things than ugly things.

Trust in God and in His timing. He knows what He's doing, and His grace is sufficient to carry you through every up and down in your life.

When it comes to trials, always search for the silver lining and look for the reason why God may be putting this in your path.



I know I shared this video before, but it's been a while, and it really is worth a second watch if you've already seen it.


Remember that trials are a part of life. You are never alone when you suffer.

Learn to accept what you can't change and help others do the same. Search for the good in every situation. I'm reminded of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk Come What May, and Love It. (Watch it here.)

Let us commit to loving what comes our way. Always look up. Choose to go forward rejoicing.

The future is truly bright.


Haley


P.S. Don't forget about General Conference this weekend! Watch here this Saturday and Sunday!

LIVE

CONFIDENT.
SURE.
BOLD.
INDUSTRIOUS.

To me these are all words that describe members of our church.
We are committed. We work hard at what we do. And we are all in. 

I like this video because it reminds me to live life to the fullest.
We all have different roles in the church and in life. But whatever your role, give it all you've got.
Whether you're the stake president or the ward librarian, magnify your calling to the fullest extent.
Whatever you decide to do with your life, do it with full force.

"If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." -Napoleon Hill 


Your life will take so many turns. It will not take the exact route you planned on it taking, probably not even close.
But if you want to be able to look back on your life with fondness, you have to be powerful and confident and throw yourself into whatever work you take up.
Whatever trial comes your way, look it straight in the eye and don't back down.

This is how you can live a happy and fulfilled life.
This is how you can find joy in the journey, even when things don't go your way.


"If you must leave, leave as though fire burns under your feet."
"If you must speak, speak every word as though it were unique."
"If you must fight, fight with yourself and your faults in the night."
"If you must work, work to leave some part of you on this earth."
"And if you must live, darling, well, just live."

Hopefully the video seemed relevant. I just thought it was neat.

Happy Weekend!
Remember who you are!

Haley.

a thought on GOALS

Okay, is this man not the cutest thing ever?

So with watching the Olympics so much lately, I've been thinking of all the amazing things that people achieve.
Granted, most don't make it to the Olympics, but we all have something or another that we love to do, something that we have dedicated a lot of time to.
We all have different goals and every person will live their life in a different way.
BUT we are also all united. We are united in Christ. We are united as children of God.

"One thing that has stood the test of time is God."

I guess in some ways we are united in our goals. We all want to be happy. We want to be able to look back on our lives and know that we gave our all.
We all, believers and nonbelievers alike, crave satisfaction and praise.

I love when he says, "I've experienced much in my lifetime. And all of it wasn't good. And certainly all of it wasn't bad."

I've recently been doing a lot of family history work, and every time I read someone's story, it reminds me that our lives differ so much. We are all born, we all die, but it is what we do in between that defines us. 

Why do we do the things we do? 

Keep in mind your final goal. Who do you really want to please? 

Is it the world? Certainly not. 

Is it yourself? Well sure, but what, in the end, is going to make us the most happy?

It's God. God is who we want to please. 

"I belong to the greatest Hall of Fame that any man or woman can ever belong to. And when you belong to that, and you know you belong to it, you don't worry about these halls of fame that men create down here. It don't mean that much to you."

Remember that there is nothing you could ever do that would be worth giving up your relationship with God, with Jesus Christ.

I look at my own life sometimes and I wonder what difference I am making, what I am even accomplishing.
Sometimes I just feel like a robot that goes through the motions.
But I have to remember that sometimes my best is enough. As long I have the right goal, and am at least trying to live my life right, I'm doing okay.

Take heart in the fact that you don't have to win a gold medal or make it into the hall of fame to live an accomplished life. These are just silly things created by men.
An accomplished life is one filled with service, filled with love, and filled with faith.

So keep in mind your goals. Remember that our lives are a gift and we have to use them to make the world a better place.



You guys are awesome, and I have been so blessed with your support over the years of having this blog. I'm sorry I haven't been posting enough lately. I have had an extremely long-lasting case of writer's block that I can't seem to shake. Often I sit down to write and I just can't find the right words. So thank you so much for being patient with me.

Happy Sunday.

Haley

can ye feel so now?

Alma 5:26 - And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? 


If the Holy Ghost has prompted you to become better in your life,
Can ye feel so now? 

If you have felt Christ's love wash over you,
Can ye feel so now?

If you have felt the cleansing power of the Atonement, I ask,
Can ye feel so now?

Our lives are always changing. I am not the same person I was when I was in seventh grade, I'm not even the person I was last year, or last week, for that matter.
Sometimes we grow and become stronger, sometimes we regress, and sometimes things just change in other ways. Many changes aren't good or bad necessarily, they are just changes.
Life is always changing.

But one thing that should never change is your testimony. Your conviction and your knowledge of what is right should never waver.

Have you ever had a change of heart?
It wears off sometimes.

I mean, not to a downer, but it just does. Not always, I think all of us have experiences that change us and sometimes there is no going back.
But other times, well, it is hard to remember how the Spirit made you feel, or it is hard to remember why you decided to do what you did.

Think back on times that you felt the Spirit, times when your knowledge was sure.
Can ye feel so now?

Has Christ called upon you to sing the song of redeeming love? Have you felt those moments when you just want to shout from the rooftops: "Christ lives! He is Lord!"
Can ye feel so now?

Let us always be strong and faithful, remembering the times the Spirit has whispered the truth to us.
Keep your testimony strong always. 

Have a good week!

Haley

gratitude brings happiness

First, I feel the need to take back anything I ever said about not being stressed about school this year. I am a walking zombie all the time because I am so tired because I was up all hours doing homework. And it would be one thing if I always just put homework off until the evening, but I don't. I am literally that busy and I am doing homework every waking moment I am at home.

SO that is why I haven't blogged in over two weeks. Several of my hobbies are being severely neglected, actually. And I don't even have time to read BOOKS other than on the weekends. And I love reading. In fact, Saturday I didn't finish my english project until 11pm, and I had a book that had been overdue for over a week (and could not be renewed) that I hadn't started but really wanted to read, so I stayed up until 4:30 finishing it.

Okay, I really have no idea why I just wrote all of that. But I don't think I'll erase it. Anyways, the POINT is that I am so loving this break for Thanksgiving! I spent all day Monday and Tuesday doing ALL my homework so it is not looming over my head! And today I cleaned my bathroom and bedroom AND vacuumed out and washed my car. I probably haven't vacuumed out my car in months and it's probably been at least a month since my bathroom was cleaned. Gross, I know, but it makes you appreciate a clean bathroom more!!!

We are also decorating for Christmas on Friday! And watching White Christmas, one of only two old movies that I love (the other is Calamity Jane)! I am so excited!


Now that all of that is out of the way, let's talk about Thanksgiving. My very first post on this blog was a Thanksgiving post, you know. That was two years ago!! That means that I was fourteen when I wrote some of these posts. I feel the need to point that out every so often just so that you don't judge me too much!! :) I always wonder what people think of me who only knew me in like seventh grade or something. Wow, I have changed so much!

I was driving (in my slippers, mind you, to preserve my pristine car) to the library this afternoon and the whole city was so busy because, you know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I love LOVE things like that. I am really bad at describing it, when I first tried to explain my thoughts to my mom, she just stared at me like I was crazy.
But I feel like it is such a human thing to go out and buy last minute turkeys and pumpkin pies, the same thing happens the day before the Super Bowl and on Christmas Eve. It is just one of those things that brings people together and it is neat to see things that affect a whole society like that. It makes me appreciate humanity and the people around me a bit more, and it is really hard to explain why.
It's like when I pass someone who has a parking pass to my high school hanging on their mirror, and so do I, and I just kinda take a second to appreciate the mutual, unspoken camaraderie I feel towards that person, even though we only have that one thing in common.
It's also kinda like when our ward had missionary week and there was a night when all of the youth were being hosted at different homes for dinner, and it felt like the whole ward was outside either walking to others' houses or giving people rides or welcoming visitors.

I just love stuff like that, when everyone is just out being friends, participating in something that brings them together and defines their social group, even if they don't realize it.




Okay. I am going to stop rambling and making myself sound dumb and get to the video. Sound good?



It probably isn't surprising to you that being grateful can make you happy.

When you see everything as a gift, you are more joyful, more compassionate, have kinder thoughts, are closer to God, and are, quite simply, a more lovely person in general.  

Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to be grateful, but we should also practice gratitude all year long, not just during the holiday season.

What things are you grateful for? How are you going to express your gratitude, like the people in the above video did?
If you are grateful, you are happy. But perhaps other people will be happy, too!

Let us resolve to more often recognize the people, places, and things God has given us - and let us express gratitude! 

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a happy Thanksgiving! And as we jump into the holidays, which I am very excited to do, please never forget the reason for the season!

Love, 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