помню, Vergessen ,记住爱, Ingat, Tandaan, Remember

I'll shortly be posting another guest post, but wanted to share a quick thought that I had.

I like to look at the stats for this blog, even though I don't actively market it more than just putting it on my Facebook page. And over time, I've noticed a steady stream from around the world, most notably Russia. Unfortunately, I don't know any Russian to formally greet these viewers, but it is intriguing to me that something I say here can reach across the world.

So, if I could tell the world to remember one thing, it would be to remember to love and follow God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. That's a very brief summation, and one would need to explain what that sentence means, but another time.Google translate is pretty good, so I hear... So, I want to use it, to translate my message into more languages. Please forgive me for grammar and incorrect usage as I have no way to know if it's right (and if you're reading this in another language, I think Blogger uses Google Translate, so it would be consistently wrong anyway).

помню, чтобы любить и следовать за Богом Отцом и Его Сыном Иисусом Христом.
Vergessen nicht Sie lieben und Gott den Vater und seinen Sohn, Jesus Christus.
记住爱，并按照上帝的父亲和他的儿子，耶稣基督。
Ingat untuk mencintai dan mengikuti Tuhan Bapa dan Anak-Nya, Yesus Kristus.
Tandaan na ibigin at sundin ang Diyos ang Ama at Kanyang Anak, Jesu-Cristo.
N'oubliez pas d'aimer et de suivre Dieu le Père et son Fils, Jésus-Christ.
Pamatovat milovat a následovat Boha Otce a Jeho Syna, Ježíše Krista.
Lembre-se de amar e seguir a Deus, o Pai, e Seu Filho, Jesus Cristo
Recuerde a amar y seguir a Dios el Padre y Su Hijo, Jesucristo

זוכר לאהוב ופעל אלוהים אב ובנו, ישווע המשיח.

Please remember that. We can improve our relationship with Them and in order to find peace and happiness in this life, we must.

I just read that on the popular blogging platform, Word Press, alone there are over 500,000 new posts and 400,000 new comments each day. That's 20,833 posts each hour. I started feeling like my blog could never make much of a difference. Then I got to thinking about how important it is to lift where you stand, and what that means for me and my blog. I may not speak Russian, German, Chinese, Malay, or even Spanish. I don't have the most well thought out posts, the best arguments, or even original ideas.

Reach out how you can, turn to God and find a way to utilize your talents and the gifts He has blessed you with to help change the world in the way that only you can. Lift where you stand. It does make a difference

A Time to Dance

It is time to dance. It is time to be happy in the journey, no matter the trial we’re facing. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven….A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

At Church Today

I just started a new blog, which is going to be my journal for promptings and other thoughts that I had while in my church. This is to avoid just sitting in church, and not just going through the motions. I once heard a quote that says: 

"Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car."

Learning and growth is an active process. I desperately need to heed my own advice from this blog, to truly act and remember and look at myself, see how I'm doing. I don't want to just ask the questions to others. I struggle so often, and I need to critically look and see how I'm doing, and choose something each day to work on.

So, I have posted some of my older notes from church, and will continue to do so each week, so that I am actively listening and accountable to pay attention and learn continually.

Hold Your Peace

In the first video I posted below, one line stuck out to me more than the others. It relates to how the Savior held His peace. This Easter, and always, may we hold our peace close to our hearts, and remember to try a little harder to be a little better.

The Savior held His peace. He treasured and recognized its worth and did not let it out of His heart, nor give way to the trials and persecution around Him.  One day at a time, we can become more like Him. 

Remember His divine Atonement and its infinite power to heal even your broken heart. He lived for us. He died for us, and He lives again, to bring to pass His work and glory, the immortality and eternal life of man. Remember to follow Him a little more steadfastly today. 


"Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place-the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed. The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job's question, 'If a man die, shall he live again?' To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again. We know for we have the light of revealed truth." --President Thomas S. Monson

(a Prophet's testimony)

I know that my Redeemer Lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives. 

He lives, He lives who once was dead;

He lives, my ever living head.

He lives to bless me with His love

e lives to plead for me above.

He lives, my hungry soul to feed

He lives to bless in time of need

He lives to wipe away my tears

He lives to calm my troubled heart

He lives and loves me to the end

He lives, and while He lives I'll sing

He lives, all glory to His name

He lives, my Savior still the same

Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

  (MOTAB singing this Hymn)

Puzzles and Perspective

Puzzles

Puzzles

Puzzles

Puzzles intrigue me. I have two main metaphors that I use with puzzles, which I find calming, bringing life back into perspective. They are by no means perfect, but fun to think about and to remember.

When putting a puzzle together, I often find a piece that looks perfect. It has the right colors, it has the basic shape. But it does not fit. The angle is wrong. The corners don't line up. I usually fight with it for a little while begging it to just go where I want.

I love to plan things- I love to watch my plans unfold in my life and I love seeing how everything just fits together. Sometimes, like with a perfect job, or a perfect school, perfect life, everything just seems so close that it physically hurts when it does not fit together. If the angle was changed in just the right way it would fit perfectly.

But where does that leave the rest of the puzzle, the piece that was meant to go there? What about where the altered piece was supposed to go? 

There is a Hebrew proverb that fits here- "if you ever want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." We don't have the perspective to always know what is right for us. We have our ideals and our visions of grandeur, but sometimes they fall apart. The pieces don't fit together.

I'm at a point right now in life where for myself and those around me, life is starting to fall into place. When we continue on doing the best we can with the pieces of our lives we can see and manage, we can take a step back and see the picture of what is to come. Because of Him, all the pieces have a place. Each piece contributes a vital piece to the puzzle of our individual lives, and the puzzle of the entire world. 

My second metaphor is closely related and I can sum it up in one sentence:

I figure, if God can guide the tiny pieces into their perfect places, He can surely guide the big pieces.

Sometimes in my day, I am just miserable about something. It is probably small and of no consequence, but still it is hard. One semester, I had to walk a long way to class, up and down this really long set of stairs at least 5 times a day, and was always almost late for class. This was in the summer and it was really hot. I would come up the stairs after the second time and just want to cry. Luckily I kept walking. But everyday, for just thirty seconds, this little breeze enveloped me. I felt better and refreshed because of it. Other times I will be in an extreme hurry or coming home from a long day, and I just want a good parking spot. And I can tell you that I found them. I found the comfort that I was seeking. 

If He can give me what I need just when I need it, these little moments, I know He can put the big ones in place, like the rewards of my work, education, job, spouse, health, etc. It's in the little blessings that we truly find the Lord's magnificence. Big puzzles are easy to put together. The little puzzles that look so close together and have so much detail its hard to distinguish, are for the more advanced puzzlers. He is already the master of the small things so I can trust that He will take care of the Big Pieces too, and He has.

Keep life in perspective. Keep moving forward. Remember Him. Remember that even if your life puzzles you with all its confusing intricacies that there is the Master at the helm, He can see what goes where, He knows what your puzzle will look like when it is finished, He knows how to connect it to the entire world, everything has a place. Trust in Him.