Living for RIGHT NOW

So I was going to title this "...just for the sake of writing..." but I decided that is not appropriate for what I want to write about. I feel impressed to write about how important it is to be happy with where you are. Life is a journey; a really fun journey. I am really bad at this actually so don't feel bad if you are not terribly good at being happy with where you are. That being said, I realize how important it is and I see the need for it in my life. I love my friends. I have met some of the most amazing people over the past few months that have really changed my life. They are awesome people that truly love me for me. They don't judge and they are able to put up with all the stupid things I do and say. That is true love. My family is fantastic. I was thinking about my sister Kaylese tonight and I felt a huge smile come across my face followed by tears welling up in my eyes. The thing that shocked me was how familiar that feeling was. I love my family so much. When I think about them I feel so much love. I felt the need to express these things because I am happy to be with my friends in Utah, but I struggle being away from my family and friends in Arizona. Truth be told though... I am happy. I am happy where I am. I have all that I need. What more could a guy ask for? A wife? maybe.... Smile my friends because it's contagious and certainly worth catching.

Follow your heart

I am amazed again at how well the Lord knows me. He knows what I need and when I need it. I could feel myself starting to slow down in my progression toward eternal happiness and the Lord brought me back. I have realized that it is better to be honest with someone about how you truly feel about them instead of trying to protect them. We as human beings are strong and able to withstand adversity. To try to protect someone from hearing what you truly feel is quite the disservice. I have realized that I do not have to apologize for my true feelings. Proverbs 3:5-6 says this:
5 ¶ ^aTrust in the Lord with all thine ^bheart; and lean not unto thine ^cown ^dunderstanding.

6 In all thy ways ^aacknowledge him, and he shall ^bdirect thy ^cpaths.
I believe that the pursuit of marriage is a divine one and should be guided and sanctioned by the Lord himself. The Lord needs to be your confidant and the guide to who you choose. The Lord has given me impressions as I have met certain people. I can tell that some of them will be life long friends. I had a conversation with a great friend of mine and I was scared to tell her that I was not interested in dating, but I wanted to be friends. I was surprised to hear that she felt the same as me. She said that she realized that our relationship was not supposed to be a romantic one. We have such a strong friend connection that I know we will be friends for life. I now have a renewed sense of my friendships and I am eternally grateful for them. Again I turn to the Lord and place my trust in him.

The past...

I have been thinking a lot lately about how things have been going so well in my life. I feel like I have been reborn. I have a new desire to help others and I have seen some great opportunities for such. I am concerned, however, that in an effort to help I have actually damaged a friendship that I worked hard to build. I had no intention of damaging the relationship, but I feel that sometimes we cannot control how someone will react to things we say. I feel strange because I feel that maybe I should not have shared so much. At the same time I feel like maybe I shared exactly what needed to be shared. I am very confused. Whatever the case may be, I know that God is in command. The reason I have titled this entry "The past..." is because I want to leave the past the past. I am tired of having my past follow me. It is time to look to my future. That is where the true beauty lies. I see that my future is full of wonderful bumps and obstacles to be overcome. I am excited to meet those obstacles faithfully with my family and friends by my side. I love the Lord. I love his teachings. No matter what anyone says about me, I know that I am clean. CLEAN. N0body can take that from me. So to my past I say, "Good riddance!" and a faithful "Hello" I express to my future.

I LOVE YOU

Have I told you lately that I love you? I am sorry if I haven't. I may know you very well or maybe we have never met.. but I want you to know, right now, today, that I love you. I LOVE YOU! Have a good day.

D&C 1:27-28

D&C 1:27-28:

27 "And inasmuch as they sinned they might be ^achastened, that they might ^brepent;

28 And inasmuch as they were ^ahumble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive ^bknowledge from time to time."

I was reading this passage of scripture tonight and I did what I was instructed to do, and I applied it to my life. My thoughts were that the Lord wants to chasten us only to the point of repentance. Nothing further. The Lord's only goal in chastening us is to get us to the point where we begin the repentance process. The Lord will bring that chastisement in different ways depending on circumstance. It may be as simple as a tiny whisper/thought that we shouldn't stay up so late. Or it may be as outwardly public as an intervention put on by those that love us. Or it may even be as serious as a near death experience. However the Lord needs to get our attention, He will. When we begin to sorrow in our hearts for our sins, the Lord ceases to chastise us. Then as we repent the Lord will ensure that we will be "made strong, (be) blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time" (italics added). The Lord does not promise that we will receive his knowledge every minute of every day after that. We receive knowledge from TIME to TIME. The Lord knows what we need and when we need it. That is why He is Lord and we serve Him. Let us be mindful of who is in charge. He has not and will not ever lead us astray.

Service

Friends! It has been so long. I am truly sorry that I have not posted in such a long time. That being said, some old ideas and thoughts have been brought to my mind and I thought I would share a little message about it. I have had the opportunity of helping out a girl lately who has a brother who has been struggling. It was a chance meeting with this girl and ever since I met her things have changed for me. I have found myself wrapped up in the service of her and her family. I am beginning to feel a bit selfish actually because my life has been so fantastic. What a blessing it is to serve others. I feel immensely blessed. So for all of those who read this, please don't hesitate to ask for help from others. It brings eternal happiness to those who are able to help. Along with that, if you are normally the one serving others, let someone serve you for a change. They need the blessings too. May the Lord bless your life with the gift of service.

Loneliness

Have you ever felt lonely? Have you felt like you just aren't meeting people that you can connect with? This has been my life for the last while. I have felt like I am all alone and being the social person I am that has not been easy for me. Last night I was up way too late and I talked to a friend of mine who had just returned from the ER. She helped me a lot with some encouraging words. She reminded me that the Lord has a plan. She reminded me that the Lord has made promises to me and he has not left me without guidance. I immediately thought of my patriarchal blessing. I had not read it in so long. As I woke up today I decided that I needed to read it. It took me a while to find it because I just moved and it was buried in the bottom of a box, but I found it. When I read it I felt an immediate peace. My thoughts turned to the Lord. I thought about all the tools that I have to make sure that I am on the right path. I thought about all the ways the Lord lets me know that he is near. Prayer, scriptures, patriarchal blessings, Ensign, Jaren's blog, etc. Ok maybe Jaren's blog was a bit of a stretch, but it was worth a shot. The Lord sent us to this earth to be tested, but he did not send us alone. He gave us one another, but more importantly he gave us the Holy Ghost. It is imperative that we live worthy of His companionship. May the Lord bless us all. Use the tools given you and please help me to do the same. Thanks for all your encouragement and kind loving words.