The Spirit of God

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.” 2 Nephi 22:2

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (New King James Version)

Looking at these two verses, it amazes me at how similar they are, and how similar the effect is on my heart. Proverbs 3:5-6 are my favorite verses in the Bible, and reading that verse from The Book of Mormon immediately reminded me of that scripture from the Bible. I’m a few chapters away from finishing 2 Nephi for this 40 day Book of Mormon challenge, where instead of giving up something for Lent, a group of us are reading straight through The Book of Mormon. I had a bit of a head start, but I haven’t been very consistent with my reading either so I’m sure I’ll end up following the schedule eventually J

The connections that I’m noticing are slowly building my testimony of the truthfulness of this book. I can feel it in my spirit, when it brings to mind things that I’ve never noticed or considered before. Connecting passages with American history, or church history. The teachings that are prominent in 2 Nephi. What Nephi and Jacob write about Christ, His teachings, and how all of us can receive eternal life ( I almost wrote achieve, but we can’t achieve eternal life; we can only receive it as it is a gift from God)… It’s amazing, that’s really all I can say about it J

Thanks, Eve

“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden…”

“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”

“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.”

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

-          2 Nephi 2:22-25

I’m sure that most of us here are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, and how because Eve listened to the serpent and Adam listened to Eve and they both ate the forbidden fruit. I’m sure we all know what happened after that as well; they were kicked out of the garden of Eden, cursed to work the land, and Eve was cursed with painful childbearing, so on and so forth (this can be found in Genesis 3, if you want to read it!).

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of this (and I apologize if it’s a little TMI), but during that time of the month, if the cramps are especially bad or I’m just in a crappy mood because of it, I sarcastically state, “Thanks, Eve.” Because we all know that if she hadn’t have listened to that serpent, we wouldn’t have to deal with periods, or times of painful childbearing.

But what would we have had instead?

Slowly but surely, I’m making my way through reading The Book of Mormon. I just finished reading (and practically highlighting the entirety of) Chapter 2. It’s about how we can be saved through Jesus Christ and His Atonement; how there has to be an opposition to everything in life; WHY Adam had to fall; and that because of the Atonement, we have the agency to make our own decision to choose eternal life in Christ, or death. As first I felt weird for highlighting just about this whole chapter (really, I just underlined in red pen, and shaded the parts that really stood out to me), but as I was re-reading while I was underlining, I couldn’t help but think, Why wouldn’t I highlight so much of this chapter? There is SO much to learn from this, so much that explains why things are the way that they are. It’s ALL important, and it ALL should be highlighted or underlined.

Now, back to my original question- what would we have, if Eve hadn’t done what the serpent said, and Adam hadn’t done what Eve said? To put it simply, we wouldn’t be here. Verses 22 and 23 explain what would’ve happened if The Fall didn’t happen:

“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden…”

“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”

How crazy is that? If Adam and Eve had obeyed God, and refused to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, WE WOULD NOT BE HERE. Reading those verses really opened my eyes. Maybe some time down the road, God would’ve come up with some idea for His spirit children to come to Earth, but as far as we know, we wouldn’t be here without Adam and Eve’s disobedience.

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (v.25)”

Think of some event, person, anything that has happened in your life, that has brought you joy. I can think of a few myself: spending time with my family, falling in love for the first time, graduating high school, joining the military (kind of), but mostly anything having to do with my daughter. Now, try to imagine those events minus the feeling of joy. Could you do it? I couldn’t. For a while, I didn’t understand why this particular verse was my ex’s favorite verse; but now I see the significance of it, and how it plays an integral part in the Plan of Salvation. Adam and Eve fell, so that we could come to Earth and have our own experiences. They fell, so that we could experience the happiness and joy that we couldn’t experience without bodies. How amazing is that?

I don’t 100% know if The Book of Mormon is true or not, as I’m still reading it. At the same time, when God shows me realizations such as this, it does strengthen my testimony. I believe that this part of The Book of Mormon that I just read is true. I believe that if I continue reading, that I will slowly gain my testimony about the truthfulness of this book, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m grateful for the prompting God placed on my heart to write this. I hope that it has an impact on someone, and if not, I’m grateful for being able to share my thoughts on this. I’m excited to continue reading and seeing what else God has to show/teach me!

Powerful Words

For those who know me and still read this blog, I love to read. I enjoy being sucked into a good story, and actually seeing the story play out in my head. I don't so much enjoy the downside of finishing a book, but I do enjoy finding a good one and sticking through with reading it until I'm done. That's my problem. I enjoy reading so much, that I find myself reading 3 or 4 books. At once. I don't know why; I just start one book, and then want to start another, and another, and another... It's a never ending cycle haha. Anyway, I just recently finished a few books on my Kindle (GO ME!!!), and am in the process of finishing another one. I don't know what it is, but since I read "Confessions of a Prayer Slacker" (a REALLY good and relatable book, I don't think I've read a religious self-help book like it before), and started back reading T.D. Jakes' "Power for Living", some of the things that he's written has REALLY stood out to me, and I wanted to share some of those things with you guys who still read this thing. I'd explain why I like these quotes so much, but I'm sure my added emphasis (via the bold, underlined, and italicized words) can shed some light on my reasons. So if you're looking for a good Christian self-help book to add to your reading list, I highly suggest this one, and "Confessions of a Prayer Slacker"!

Here are the quotes:

“There is a root that produces an embalming agent the Bible calls myrrh. Myrrh was one of the major ingredients used by the priests and prophets to anoint and ordain people, places, and things that were set aside for the sacred service of the Lord. Myrrh is a fragrant substance. It grows from a small stick-like shrub. On the surface, there’s nothing spectacular about it. It’s not appealing to look upon. It is just a root-like shrub. Myrrh is also very bitter to taste. But if you throw it down on the ground and crush it, it exudes a lovely, wonderful, and heavenly fragrance.

The more you crush it, press on it, bruise it, and beat it, the more wonderful and delightful the scent that emanates. The more it becomes battered, bruised, and treaded upon, the more potent the release. It’s nothing delightful to the eyes. It’s a shattered root, but it sure smells good. God says in this hour to His servants, “If I’m going to use you to show forth MY glory and MY power, I’m going to have to crush you to extract MY fragrance (the anointing) out of you. TRUST ME IN THE CRUSHING, because when the crushing is all over with, it’s going to bring about MY purpose…. I’m going to make you so aromatic that whenever you come into a room people will know that they have encountered someone who has been in the presence of Almighty God.”

“If you want to be anointed-if you want to receive the power for living- you’ve got to be crushed. If you want to be anointed, you’re going to have to go through some things.”

“Sometimes we’re confronted with problems and situations that are so complex that they very often go beyond our ability to understand and comprehend. That’s exactly why the apostle Paul said “…the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: FOR WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR AS WE OUGHT: BUT THE SPIRIT ITSELF MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). By Infirmities, Paul means human weakness that indicates the inability to produce the desired results or fulfill the necessary need. The notation for infirmities in the Ryrie Study Bible, as it relates to Roman 8:26, says that these particular infirmities are “our inability to pray intelligently about ‘certain’ situations.”

“As the saints of God, if we are serious about submitting to and obeying the will of God for our lives, we need to have TOTAL RELIANCE upon the Holy Spirit to direct us in all our daily affairs, “…because He [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD” (Romans 8:27).”

“You need to speak the Word of God with boldness, not with your feelings, your problems, or situations. You need to set your mind on God’s promise and God’s Word, and begin to speak the Word of God with boldness. We need not let external circumstances and situations dictate our feelings, behavior, and mindset. STOP BELIEVING WHAT OTHERS SAY AND START BELIEVING WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS. What does the Word say?”

“If you don’t have peace, feel free to petition and request of the Lord answers for your situation.”

 

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Finding my way to God

Originally written August 3, 2014

Yesterday I went to the Ogden Temple open house. I wanted to go because I've never been inside a temple, and I also wanted to see if going inside would help give me insight on whether being LDS was the right choice for me. While walking through the temple, I had various thoughts about the different rooms I was seeing (mainly on the decoration), but two thoughts were more prominent: 1) I want to get married here (as in the temple, not a specific one); and 2) the hymn "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing" was playing in my head the whole time. I didn't feel confused about whether I should be LDS or not. Maybe that's God's way of saying that I should?  Also, I wasn't sad or depressed that I was there by myself. I wanted to focus on being in the temple and having that experience, and that's what I did.

There's a blog that I follow on Tumblr called Spiritual Inspiration, and lately parts of a few of their posts have really spoken to me:

"Many people expect the voice of God to boom like a loudspeaker, but scripture tells us that He speaks in a still, small voice. To us, it seems like an impression inside."

"Scripture says, "Seek first." That indicates that we should take time for God at the start of the day. Don't give Him your leftover time. Make Him a part of your normal routine. Make Him your first priority. Seek Him first, seek Him earnestly, and watch what He will do on your behalf."

"When a grain goes

through a tunnel and

it gets dark, you don't 

throw away the ticket

and jump off. You sit

still and trust the

engineer. Trust God

today no matter how

dark your situation.

God says, "You are

coming out!"

I know that I need to put God first in my life, and to trust that He has a plan for my life and that I need to stop trying to control it all the time (I mean, look where it's gotten me?). I know it's not something that will happen immediately, but if I stay consistent, I know that good things will happen.

My thoughts on becoming an NCO

Originally written July 30, 2014

I'm going to be sewing on Staff Sergeant soon...and I thought occurred  to me while I was at work:

What kind of NCO do I want to be?

How do I want to portray myself- my work ethic, beliefs, personality, to my airmen, coworkers, and supervisors? How do I want to lead, guide, and counsel my airmen? What kind of example do I want to set? What should I expect from them? What should they expect from me, as their supervisor?

Being a Staff Sergeant, or any NCO or SNCO rank is more than just getting a larger paycheck (although that's a nice bonus/incentive to make rank) and being able to tell people what to do, or expecting people to automatically respect you as a person because of your rank.

Being an NCO or SNCO is about leading by example. Caring for and about the people who work for you. Respecting those same people as actual people, and not just their rank. Earning their respect (without being a complete pushover just to get people to like you). It's about being tough on them when they need it, or pushing them to do better because you can see their potential. 

Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. Everyone is different, and does things their own way, but I feel that leading by example and being a good role model for those we supervise should be an important -if not the most important- universal characteristic of an NCO and SNCO.

That's just my two cents.

Jesus take the wheel...literally.

*This is part of an entry from my journal that I wanted to share with you guys (if there's anyone that still reads this thing, haha). I've felt an impression that there are things that I've written in my journal that I should also share on my blog, so the next three posts are either full entries or excerpts for recent journal entries.*

Original date written: July 27, 2014

I've been reading a book suggested to me by a friend called "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success", by Deepak Chopra. I've been doing A LOT of underlining in this book, starting at chapter 2 since my notes from chapter 1 are in a notebook. I'll transfer what I underlined into that notebook once I'm done reading it. Anyway, I'm currently on chapter 4, The Law of Least Effort, and I underlined this part that really stood out to me:

"Attention to the ego consumes the greatest amount of energy. When your internal reference point (mentioned also in chapter 1) is the ego, when you seek power and control over other people or seek approval from others, you spend energy in a wasteful way."

This stuck out to me because I have this problem, where I feel I HAVE to be in control of things that I do, or that could concern me. When I have plans made, or an idea of how I want my day to go (outside of work), I expect it to go that way. When they don't go how I planned or how I thought it would, I get frustrated and irritated. The smallest thing could go wrong, and my whole day could be ruined. However, this quote stuck out to me. I'm wasting my energy trying to exert too much control over my life (and also trying to please others, but that's not the point right now). I could let this incident ruin my whole day, or I could sulk and be mad for a little bit, try to focus on the positive aspects of the incident (not being stressed over time, having more time for homework, getting more sleep), and go about my day. So I went with option 2 and sulked, after which I cut my backyard, worked out for an hour, ran the dishwasher, cooked dinner, and worked on my beachbody coach website. 

I know that it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but I can't keep trying to have so much control over things that aren't really in my control, and stressing out or being frustrated when it doesn't go according to my plan. The same goes for things that are in my control.

"Acceptance simply means that you make a commitment: "Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances, and events as they occur." This means I will know that this moment is as it should be... When you struggle against this moment, you're actually struggling against the entire universe." 

I think that once I learn how to properly meditate, along with prayer, reading my scriptures, and God's help, I'll be able to relinquish the iron grip of control that I have on my life and be able to actually be happy and realize my purpose and go after it. 

This book is really good so far. I'm eager to read the other book that I bought (by the same friend's suggestion) that Deepak Chopra wrote. This is some insightful stuff!

*current edit: I finished the book mentioned in this post, and it was definitely something that I needed to read. It had a lot of things that I needed to think about and incorporate into my life now. I would suggest this book to other people, for sure.