Testify

   I would like to apologize to any of you that were following this blog solely because it breached happy topics without directly bringing up religion. Today I am going to break that trend. Please don't hate me.

   Over the past while a lot has happened. I have grown closer to the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, gained a greater love for the scriptures, extra specially the Book of Mormon, and become much closer to my friend, brother, savior, and guardian Jesus Christ. I have come to realize that my religion is very important to me. This reflects in the fact that I did finally turn in my papers to serve and LDS (Latter-Day Saint (short name for the church)) mission.
   For a very long time I have not been ready. I did not love the doctrine and I had little to no desire to go share it with others. But now I have found my desire. It has come through my growing testimony that this church is true, and through my love for Christ. I know that I need to go do his work. Besides a more specific promise he has made me. :)

   I would just like to say that I am a firm believer in 'why'. I don't just want you to know that I'm going to serve a mission, I want you to know why. I don't just want to ask someone how they are, I want details. I want to know why they feel the way they do. I am planning to become a psychotherapist (a shrink). I want to learn about people. Learn about the why. And help them with the now. I mostly wanted to explain this concept because it explains why the preceding section on my religious growth was so lengthy and in depth. :)

   Now! I would like to actually address the main topic of this particular post.
   My stake president said something to me that stuck out quite a bit. Forgive me if I am misquoting something, but here is the gist: every time we testify of Christ, a multitude of our sins is forgiven. He told me this after asking me to bear my testimony to him. As I testified, the spirit had filled me to the point that I became choked up. I realized that I hadn't given a real straightforward testimony in a long time. It felt wonderful.
   I would challenge you all to testify of what you feel. What you believe. Stand up for what you truly feel is right. Bear testimony of Christ and His doctrine with real honesty and a full heart, and you will open the door for countless blessings, and you will be filled to the brim with the spirit. Bring your testimony with you in your heart, write it down or recite it to yourself. Stating it in a straightforward manner, even if it is just to yourself, will strengthen that which you already know and give you the light and power to move forward in life.

   Heavenly Father is -always- watching out for you, and Christ attends you always. My favorite scripture: "1 Nephi 21:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me." I love that. Think about that last part. Thy walls are continually before me. What does that mean to you? To me it means that He is always with us. Wherever we are. He is as close to us as we let Him be.
   Let Him in. Let him give you a huge hug and let his love for you bolster you up no matter where you are in life.
   I bear testimony that Christ lives. I know of a surety that He loves us unconditionally. He empathizes and loves us so much because through the atonement, He knows our lives better than we know them ourselves. He's been there. He's there with you. Let Him in.
   And I say these things in the name of our brother Jesus Christ amen.

   Make today wonderful. Set your life going in a good direction. Let yourself be happy. Smile. :) You'll like it. I promise. Peace be with you till we meet again my friend. :)

Smiling

I want to revisit an old topic. The second one I ever posted about on here. Smiling. There's a movie called Eat Pray Love. I can't remember what kinda rating it had or whatnot, so I can't vouch for it. (Though I'm pretty sure it was pg 13 or some such.) In this movie, the main character visits a wise man in a third world country to learn from him. She is on a journey to find herself. One of the things that this wise man councils her to do, is to sit down for a short amount of time each day and smile. But not only with her face. He tells her to smile with her whole body. From the crown of her head, to the tip of her toes, to the recesses of her liver. He advises her to smile with her whole being. I know we have all felt these kinds of smiles. Those moments where you're absolutely beaming and you can feel the smile all the way through your body like a warm wave. I would urge all of your to search out that feeling. Maybe when you wake up in the morning, just sit down for a moment and attempt to smile with your whole self. Lighten up your spirits. Make it last through the whole day. Repeat the exercise as much as you need through the day. I can promise you that it won't go amiss. Go live a happier life my friends! Smile! It's a wonderful day!

I have discovered super powers.

As mentioned in the title of this blog, last night, I was just sitting there, when all the sudden I realized that I have super powers. And I have unlocked the secret to everyone having them. You know what it is? Love. JUST HEAR ME OUT. Now, many of you are probably thinking "Why this pretentious little knave, thinking to draw me in with promises of latent supernatural abilities, only to dash all of my wonderful hopes and dreams beneath his terrible boot." And though I don't necessarily blame you for thinking as such, I would like to beseech you to keep reading.

So let's think about this for a bit. What can one do with love? You may not be able to run faster than a speeding bullet, or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but think about it. Love does a lot. One person filled with love can change an entire household. We've all had those moments where we were in the depths of some despair or another, and the caring words or actions of another saved us with remarkable speed and power. I personally have been witness to one persons love changing a whole group of people in a matter of minutes. Bringing the group from a negative unhappy consensus, to an uplifting and happy conclusion.

I know that most of us have been in situations in which we are torn with a desire to help someone, but seem completely unable to procure any kind of positive effect. I declare that love is the answer to that situation as well. You can always help them by finding pure love and caring inside yourself and expressing it in some way or another that is not romantic. They may not accept your love, but I can guarantee that is is helpful. They will either be boosted deep inside and not realize it, or look back on it later and be amazingly thankful for the love you shared with them.

Love is the magic one size fixes all. In you fill your life with love for others, you will lift them up. I promise you. And you will find yourself lifted as well. I testify of this in Christ's name amen.

Peace be with you until we meet again. And smile! It's good for you! :)

Love

"Love is like oxygen! Love lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love!" - Moulin Rouge. Admittedly, that is a quote that seems to be more leaned towards romantic love, and I want to focus on the more general love. I am constantly surprised by how much love is forgotten these days. How much resentment and negativity people hold for each other. It is so unhealthy. You're only tearing yourself apart my friends. I would like to challenge you all. I want you to love EVERYONE. It is not an easy task. Start small. Let go of resentment and anger. It does you no good and will only breed more of the same. To coin a painfully old phrase, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." This applies to thoughts as well. Thinking negatively about others makes you unhappy. It makes you forget the happiness in your life. It makes you mean and rude and grouchy. Even towards those you care about. Think positively. So what if they cut you off? Maybe they have a good reason. Maybe they didn't see you. What does it matter anyway? It won't make a difference in the long run. Smile. Let go. Relax. Everything will turn out. And I can guarantee you that as you share love with others and love everyone freely without bias or resentment, you will get more love in return. You will live a happier life. You will find it easier to smile. :) I hope you all can start finding ways to love everyone. And I hope you all can find smiles wherever you are. Peace be with you until we meet again my fellow blog-goers. :)

Relax

So many of the wonderful people around me (yes I'm talking about all the people around me) are so caught up in everything and anything and it's all nothing! Life isn't that stressful! And even if it is, getting stressed and worried about it will just make you unhappy. Being mindful and responsible is one thing. Worrying and over-thinking and stressing until your mind begins to fray is quite another. Let go people. Smile. :) Things will work out. Just do your best and STOP worrying! :D You'll do a lot better if you're not freaking out about whether everything's going to work. And you'll lead a much happier life. Life is to be lived, not conquered. :) I hope you all make today the glorious day that it can be! Smile to others and to yourself as well! Peace be with you till we meet again my friends. :)

Kindness

How many of you have had an experience where you were having a bad day, or your shift at work was just way longer than you wish it was, or some other similar negative kind of day/situation? Of course you all have! Now, how many of you have experienced those moments where a small act of kindness have turned those kinds of days around? One of the customers smiles at you and tells you to have a good day. Someone complements your clothes or some other thing about you. Someone gets a door for you. You've all had these moments. They're wonderful little tid bits aren't they. :) I want to challenge you all to be that someone. Help someone pick up the stuff they dropped. Tell the cashier to have a good day as well. SMILE at people. Etc. There are all manner of things you can do to brighten up the lives around you. And you can't help but brighten your own day when you do so. So go be the light you want to see in the world! Make today the beautiful day that it is! Smile! I'll talk to you all later. :)

Meditation

Blog readers, today's post is about meditation. I never really put much stock into the idea until lately. But when I really started trying it, it was awesome. It helped me to be a lot more calm and get my emotions and such to turn around when I need them to. I would recommend it to anyone. If you're LDS, then heed the fact that many general authorities have referred to their own meditation, and if my memory isn't failing me, they have counseled us to do it as well. And hey, if they think it's a good idea, then it probably is. :P I hope everyone is fantastic! Make today a good day! Talk to you all later!