A missionaries shoes.

These are my favorite shoes. For the first 7 1/2 months of my mission we didn't have a car. We walked for HOURS every day.

my sweet grandma sent me these new shiny shoes for christmas. I cant wait to walk through them.

stepping into the future with dry feet.

My past is officially behind me

Thanks mommy.. These shoes were much needed.

My grandma and papa and my mom and dad love me. NEW SHOES TO WEAR OUT!!

 

Alright. there is a reason I am posting pictures of my shoes. The reason for this is to tell why I am a missionary and how it has changed who I am and who I have the ability to become. FOREVER.

 





 God is good. He has blessed me in many ways.  I am going to start with a story about these shoes. These shoes saved our lives today. I am a time stickler... I HATE WASTING TIME. We were ahead of schedule this morning and we actually finished lunch early. We had a little spare time so I did my companions hair for her because she wasn't feeling well. Then I started looking at all my shoes. My new Christmas shoes, and my old tattered shoes. Then I thought "I should take pictures of my shoes to send to my grandma!" So I started to take pictures. As I was taking these pictures my heart felt warm. full of the spirit. I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. I then looked at the clock and it was 12:10 "WE SHOULD HAVE LEFT TEN MINUTES AGO" So we gathered our things and left as quickly as possible. By the time we got to our car it was 12:24... Which normally I would be freaking out about because it takes 45 minutes to get from our apartment to palmyra... We had to be there at 12:45... However I was not panicking. We started to drive and cars were every where. THERE IS NEVER THIS MUCH TRAFFIC AT THIS HOUR.. So we remembered we forgot to pray! So next red light we prayed and the traffic was parting like moses parting the red sea! It was beautiful. THEN.... We drove up over a hill and there was a HUGE car accident. At that moment my heart was full of gratitude for my God protecting us. And instant sorrow for those involved. The lord knew where we would be at the specific time. He used my weakness of attention deficit/discipline disorder to bring forth our safety. He needed us to be protected. The Lord calls us in our weaknesses then He qualifies us to perform his labors.

 

Why did I decide to quit my job put my career and school on hold to be an un paid missionary for 18 months?

 

I have been rescued by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like my shoes in the pictures above. I was worn out and I needed a fresh start. I wasn't in active in my church, however... I wasn't exactly active either. If that makes sense. I went when it was convenient. If if it fit into my sleep schedule. I didn't realize what I was missing by not going to church. It wasn't until a friend reached out to me and invited me to come back. To be my support at the activities and to help me feel comfortable. The sense that I was needed there began to come back. And the greater sense that I NEEDED THE TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IN MY LIFE AGAIN was burning with in my soul.

 

I slowly made my way back to church. I was happier than I had been in a long time. I was taking the sacrament weekly and renewing my covenants I made at baptism and before I knew it I was full of life and energy I had been longing for. I then began to realize more fully the hand of my savior in my life. I started to see my blessings and wanting to give something back to my Father in Heaven for all that he had given me even when I was straying from the simple things He has asked me to do.

 

Through out my little kid/early teen life I always liked the idea of a mission. All three of my brothers served missions and being the baby I look up to my older siblings a lot. My brothers/brother in law and my sister/sister in laws are my hero's. I ALWAYS wanted to be like them growing up. As a teenager I had a lot of really special experiences that pointed I need to serve a mission. I finally reached 21 and decided it was exactly what God needed me to do so I could become like my older brother.

 

He has taken me in my weaknesses and he has shown me what I am capable of doing. Today he taught me something very important, that he is in control. That He knows of my trials, my weaknesses and my short comings, However.. He will use those weaknesses to bring forth his purposes. He takes us as we are. Perfectly imperfect yet so loved in his eyes.

 

Through The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ my soul has found its worth. I know who I am and who I can become. It is my mission to deliver peace, happiness, joy and belonging to the soul who hasn't found it's worth and to lift the broken hearted, and to bring light into a darkened world. Not my light, But his light. The light of the Savior. A light that I am not afraid to let shine. A light I will no longer hide. Jesus Christ and God the Father are the only way to happiness. True happiness. I am here to deliver the good news. To bring souls to Christ and to be help others along with myself in finding our way home. Home to our Heavenly Family.

 

How glorious the day will be that we can stand before our Saviors feet and embrace him. Knowing that we gave this life our all. That we did our best to repent each day, that we are did our best to serve our fellow me, that we did our best to rise above the worldly things, to become more like our brother. My greatest hero. He is greater than any batman, or super man icon. He gave his life to pay for ours. I have never felt so great a joy as I have here. Serving him each and every day. My heart is filled with peace and love as I labor among Gods children bringing them hope and peace, repentance and great change. My heart and my weaknesses are refined as I witness the miracles in the lives we come in contact with.

 

So why am I here? In a place where to often doors are slammed on my face? We are rejected, pushed away and ignored? Because I know the message I have to share is true. Because I know that this is Jesus Christs church. That the world can be changed if we all would follow Jesus Christ a little more closely. There are people out there who have been searching for this truth and I NEED TO BRING IT TO THEM. Because I love my fellow brothers and sisters here on earth and I want them home with me Jesus Christ, Heavenly father and the rest of my Heavenly as well as earthly family.

 



Keeping your eye single to the glory of God.

Let’s get real here. Life is hard. Temptation is knocking at every door, waiting for us to open up and let weakness loose. We all pass through trials and we all have felt alone. Truth is. You are never alone. You have weaknesses as do I. Here is where I let go of who I was to become who I am and who I want to be. I am done running from my past, and coming up with excuses for myself. This is the time where I will stand up and face my future with hope, faith and an abiding trust in my Savior Jesus Christ. You do not have to face the future alone, and heal from the past by yourself.

We have been given great gifts from a God who loves us. He has given us the beautiful gift of agency, or the ability to choose right from wrong. 

 Sometimes... we use that agency in a way that would not be exactly pleasing to God. With agency comes accountability. The ability to own up to what we have done. Or in some cases not done. I once was a girl of many excuses. I had an excuse for anything "I didn't do that because..." "I am this way because..." "I was late because...." Yes our experiences make who we are. But we cannot make up excuses and let our past bind us. "The past can hurt... You either learn from it... or run from it" Don't give your past, or Satan that power to bind you down and drag you into misery. The past can be the greatest blessing or burden. Will it make you better or bitter? What will you have your past be?

We all have that...."I wish I would have done this differently moment."

I am about to share one.. that is embarrassing. and a little silly, however it taught me a VERY significant lesson.

I cannot believe I am doing this. But here we go. As missionaries we are not to date, flirt, or take part in ANYTHING romantic for the time we are dedicated to this service. So one beautiful spring evening at the beginning of my mission we were driving through this town, it's basically all farm land. As we are approaching this light there is a backup of traffic and as we all four looked around to see what was going on we saw that a trailer full of manure had tipped, my first instinct was to giggle and make some jokes, then as we all four missionaries must have seen the same thing at the same time the car got dead silent.... As we saw a man in a cowboy hat who was shirtless... scraping up this manure. As we all sat in silence and observed this situation the sister driving didn't realize the car in front of her had come to a stop... as she slammed on her breaks we luckily were able to stop before anything bad came of it. This was a reminder to me that I MUST NEVER LET MY GUARD DOWN. God gives us laws, and commandments to protect us. They are not to be broken. In this moment my Father in Heaven taught me a very valuable lesson that I will remember forever. God’s laws are to be followed as closely as humanly possible. I have learned the valuable lesson to let go of the natural man instincts and to follow Christ more closely. There is danger as we allow our mind to wander. Not even just a little. There is safety for the soul as we stay close to Christ.

"And now, my sons,(or daughters) remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Heleman 5:12 

Growing up we sang a song in primary:

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

And the house on the rock stood still.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

And the house on the sand washed away.

Who will you be? 

As we build our foundation on Christ and keep our eye single to his commandments and follow the pathway home, our weaknesses will have no more power over us. Satan will come at you; he will hound you and do his best to beat you down. But because you are built on Jesus Christ HE CAN NOT BIND YOU. Do not give Satan an excuse to creep into your life!! He is one of those things that if you give him and inch he will take a mile.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Weaknesses can become strength. Only through Jesus Christ. We are given trials, and weakness to over come to make us soft, and workable in Christs hands. 

So how do we keep our eye single to God? How do we over come this?

READ YOUR SCRIPTURES. Daily. PRAY. Daily. Follow the commandments. GO TO CHURCH. 

God has given us sooo many great tools to become better. DO NOT let them go to waste. I promise you if you read from the book of Mormon every single day you will become a new creature through Christ. Your past will no longer hold you back, Christ will set you free for the future. 

 "And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.

 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."

1 Nephi 7 

Nephi teaches us something here. That when you are bound up by ANYTHING sin, grudges, hate, anger, temptations... rely on the Lord. Pray. Not for a change of situation, pray for the strength to over come it. 

"And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren 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. "

Mosiah 24 

No more excuses as to why you didn't do something :)  Face it and say "I didn't do it because I simply was scared." "I was late today because I was slow to get ready this morning, because... I was slow" "I didn't wake up to my alarm because I went to bed too late last night. Now I woke up late and will not be on time to work... I will be better tonight and tomorrow morning." As I have learned to accept my short comings and ask for help from my Savior Jesus Christ my past is losing power. It is no longer holding me ransom.

My I wish I would have moments are now stepping stones into the future. As I overcome each obstacle and face it with Jesus Christ my fears are lost in faith. My regrets turn into rejoicing as he surrounds me in his love through the enabling power of the atonement.

When I have that pushing feeling to talk to a person, assist them with loading their groceries, or feel the need to help them shovel their walk I will do my best to not hesitate. I will do my best to follow the promptings. I will step up and do my best to be an instrument in the hands of the lord.

Let Jesus Christ come in. He is the way. There is no other way. He came to earth and gave his life. He suffered all that you will suffer, and have suffered. He made it possible for you to be cleansed from sin. 

Take his hand and walk into the future with a new brightness of hope. Become a better version of you. No more looking back to what hurts, look forward to what heals, find what sets you free and fly. 

Keep your eye single to God and Christ will walk with you daily. Build your foundation on Christ and you will not fall. Surround yourself in good company. You are strong enough to move past what ever is holding you down. You are powerful enough to break the binds. Christ gives you strength when you feel you don't have enough. Trust in him and let him into you life.