Joy in the Temple

This week has been unbelievably stressful. My personal job, and school lives each imploded within 72 hours starting on Monday. Granted, I still have both jobs, I still have school and I'm no longer behind on homework, and I still have all my amazing and wonderful friends. But I started to listen to a lot of negative thinking as I wandered through last week in a lot of emotional pain. Sunday it hit me like a ton of bricks, "You are enough! The Atonement will help heal this pain if you move forward, despite what anyone else's decisions are. You are your own person." Well, dang! Haha! The sacrament helped a ton and I just want to emphasize to each of you that when you trust in the Lord, and move forward doing the things we know we need to do, you will be blessed and comforted. 

I’m coming to the conclusion of my studies on hearts in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine, and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The next topic I am studying is joy. This is something I need to relearn how to have, given the events of last week, I want to be able to find more godly joy in my life. 

My study begins in Ezra (as this is the first mentioning of the word joy in the Bible). Ezra 3:11-13, “And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.”

Why were they weeping with joy? Why was there such an explosion of emotion? Because the temple was being rebuilt. The house of the Lord. Can you imagine being without it? I was just depressed when I found out the Raleigh temple was going to be refurbished for a year so I’d have to drive down to Columbia, South Carolina when I needed to go to the temple! But I can’t even imagine how amazing it will be when the temple reopens and we have the cultural celebration and we’ll basically throw an amazing huge party celebrating the house of the Lord being open once again in the state of North Carolina.

I love the temple and I know of the peace that it can bring as we attend worthily and we seek the Lord with our whole hearts. I love the Lord so much and I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Missing the Mission

Hello all! This past Monday was a great day! I invited my best friend Karis to come to FHE and she came and she loved it! She's so excited to come to more activities and everything! 

This week I've been given responsibility over some of the social media of the publishing business I work for. It's been fun making little picture quotes for the facebook pages I'm in charge of, and in fact I've seen progress on these pages, slow progress but it's progress. 

This was also my first week of classes and I love them all so far. My classes all have to do with my major, early childhood education, and I just get so excited about my classes and what I'm learning. It feels so right. I'm so grateful for the Lord's guidance and my listening to Him. 

Haha on Saturday I was driving home from class (I have a Saturday class five times this semester), and I pass this man who is working in his yard. I had the thought that I should pull over and ask him if he needed any help. So I did, and I left the keys in the car. I asked him if he needed any help and he said no thank you but that was so sweet of you. I go back to my car and I realize I locked myself out of my car. So he notices that I can't get in my car and he offers to take me to my house and get my key with me. So he went to get his wife and she took me up to my house to grab my dad's key to help me unlock my car. We had a very nice conversation, but I felt like an idiot the whole time. I literally couldn't stop laughing when I got home. BUT I listened to the Spirit, and who know she what blessings will come from this. 

I need y'all to pray for my friend Cindy Poma, she's been missing since Saturday and it's driving me nuts. Everyone on Facebook is losing their minds and her family is worried sick. She needs to be found soon safe. Thank you! 

I miss the mission so much, every day. Yesterday I asked my branch president if he still missed his mission and even he said yes! The mission is a wonderful place with structure, the Spirit is in everything you do, you have a purpose, etc. But moving on is inevitable, but that doesn't mean you forget your mission either. I am finding opportunities to share the gospel with my friends every day. I got to share a pamphlet with my boss on Friday because she had questions about the Plan of Salvation. These little things build up and one day you get to have moments like I had on Monday with Karis at FHE. It's so cool to share the gospel with the people you love. I know these things to be true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

God's Timing

Soooooo I'm so sorry this hasn't been kept up as it should be... I will try to do better, I promise.


So this week I was able to get fully registered for school (stupid high school), got my books, and today I started my classes. I'm so excited! All of my classes are mostly online (there are two that are online but also meet 4 times this semester). I am able to work on school work while I'm at work if I'm not busy with a customer and everything seems to be going great! I spent half of Saturday helping a member of my branch get started working on her family history. It was so cool because she was in the foster care system so she doesn't know a ton about her biological parents besides when they were born and when they died. But her brothers (all active members of the church) have done some family history so we had some stuff to work with. We found out that many of her ancestors served in the Civil and Revolutionary Wars! They came over while our country was still being colonized and that was so neat! How cool to know that your ancestors helped set up the foundation of our country! (Haha mine just came over and saw the east coast and went, "Hmm this is nice, whelp, bye!" And then went west).

I really truly love it here in Carthage and am so grateful for God's timing. I asked my dad yesterday for a back to school blessing. In my blessing, I was told over and over that the major I have chosen is the one that God wants for me. I will help many people that can't help themselves and that whatever obstacles come up they are not from the Lord for He needs me in this path. I know that I am doing the right thing by pursuing a degree in early childhood education in preparation to get my degree in special education. I know that the Lord has a plan for each of us in this life. If we but follow him and seek him out in prayer and fasting, we will receive answers. I leave these things with y'all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.