let's have a little happier family now, okay?

motivational phrase of the month (on a sticky note, of course):

"journeyings without murmurings"

this fabulous little phrase is found in 1 nephi chapter 2 of the book of mormon, and it's my favorite right now!  see, every time i travel, i have a tendency to get a little cranky.  in the car, i just want my space.  in the hotel/tent/cabin/trailer/etc. i just want a tiny bit of privacy.  in the morning, i wish i had more time for exercise.  but.  remember that we're positive-thinking right now!  things have to change.

see, my family is taking a vacation, leaving this monday.  we'll be staying a cabin about two hours from our house for a week, and i am determined to make this a happier vacation than average.  i don't need more space because we're taking the trip to get closer together.  i'll be just dandy without extended privacy because i've already had my share for the summer while i was living alone!  and just to ensure that i'll be perky, i'm going to wake up early to exercise because that usually sets off a not-very-easily annoyed mood.  this time our journeyings will be void of my murmurings completely!  

p.s.  tomorrow's friday.  hasn't the week absolutely flown by?

joshua

although i'll admit that i read the book of mormon more than any other book of scripture, lately joshua - in the old testament - has really drawn my attention.  there is such great strength in this prophet's words, so much that has sustained me, reminding me that everything will work out (i'll find a job, be able to perform as well as i need to in school to keep my scholarship, find the words and time to keep my relationships strong and help my friends in their struggles) because i'm relying on the only source of power that can never let me down - the Lord.  these few scriptures help to me worry a lot less, and pray a lot more.

joshua 23:8-11 (my favorite parts)

     "but cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day... for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.  take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God."

joshua 1:9 (what i turn to most when i worry)

     "have not i commanded thee?  be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."

joshua 24:15 (to strengthen my resolution)

     "...choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

during church today, this last scripture made me think a lot about my priorities.  a thoughtful man sitting a few rows in front of me made a comment that i liked quite a bit.  "priorities are not determined by your stated purpose," he said, "they're determined by how you are actually spending your time."  i'm a list-maker. at this very moment, i have seven different lists just on my desk next to my laptop, and at least another three hanging from my bulletin board on sticky notes.  but i realized, just because i wrote it down on the top of my list, doesn't make it my priority.  it's whether or not i actually do it.  i think sometimes i need to stop making lists and just do it (not promoting nike here, no worries).

on another note, i've always thought of this scripture in a "decide today what you're going to do forever" sense, but today i thought of it a little differently during sunday school.  sometimes you have to take life one day at a time, and i think that might have been part of what joshua meant here.  choose what you will do to serve the Lord, today.  not what you did yesterday, not what you have to do tomorrow, just today.  just choose for today. one day at a time.  it makes the concept seem a little more personal, right now in my life, easier to grasp.

ps. i successfully haven't fallen asleep during my morning scripture study for more than a week now.  my roommate was right, reading on the floor instead of on my bed made all the difference!

pps. in the last two days i've eaten more than nine cookies. after how many weeks of resisting every sugar-filled, white-flour yum that passed under my nose?? more to come on that ridiculousness later.

  

scripture of the year

on a particularly difficult night at the beginning of fall semester 2009, natalie came into my room with her scriptures.  i had been crying - again.  why in the world do people move far away from their families? why did i move away from my family??  yes, i was a little bit home-sick at the beginning of fall semester, and facing a more daunting challenge ahead than i had comprehended before the move.  luckily, i was blessed with a sister that knew how strengthen me.  opening her scriptures, she read to me from Mosiah 24:15 (read verses 13 through 15 to get the complete picture):

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren [jessica and her sister] were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

this scripture has been the source of strength that i look to when i start asking myself, "why? why in the world did i move out of the home that i love and away from the best family anyone could ever ask for?"  the answer: because the Lord wanted me to.  and drawing my confidence from this scripture, i know that because i came here, in accordance to the Lord's will for me, he will strengthen me, help me through the hard times, and let me see the joy through the difficulty.  written on a sticky note and tacked to my desk, this has given me comfort, and been my dictating scriptural reference throughout these two semesters.  as life changes a little bit more with the passing of winter semester, i can see that where ever the will of my Heavenly Father takes me, i will be strengthened and supportive by His great and divine love.