Begin Now

"...In life no road can be re-traveled just as once it was. We can't begin where we were. But we can begin where we are, and in an eternity of existence, this is a reassuring fact. There is virtually nothing that a man cannot turn away from if he really wants to.... there is virtually no habit that he cannot give up if he sincerely sets his will to do so."

-Elder Richard L. Evans

I have had my share of roads traveled in life. There are a few I wish I could do over again, but that isn't possible. What I must do is go down the roads that lie before me and hope that I make some better choices in the roads that I travel down. Life is surprisingly like a backpacking trip. You start out on a trail sometimes it goes up sometimes down. At times you can see where you are going and at times not. some parts of the path are strait and others wind. For me life is the same. It is challenging and interesting and you can never re-travel the same path because there is always something new. so begin to live life today. If you have things you need to change then change them. Act now because you never know what tomorrow will bring your way.

Unthoughtful

"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me."

Doctrine and Covenants 9:7

Apparently I have been a very unthoughtful person as of late. As I pondered this passage I have realized that lately my life has been full of a lot of asking and not a lot of acting. Heavenly Father wants me to think before I ask and then to roll up my sleeves and get to work. How desperately I need to learn the principle of action. Life demands more than just an idle hope or a thoughtless prayer. What is required is good hard work. If I am to become what I know I have the potential to be I will have to work hard and not let my days be wasted in idle pursuits. So now the trick is to take my time and be a more thoughtful person and a more active responder to my own prayers and my own needs.

To Truly Hear

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."

Doctrine and Covenants 8:2

How I long to feel the constant and consistent influence of the Holy Ghost in my life. It is not easy in this crazy wild world we live in to be tuned into that still small voice all the time. I know I fail daily to listen as closely as I ought to. I am left wondering how will I get to the place I need to be if I am not able to be in tune with that guiding voice? I have concluded that I need to learn to listen. I think in life one of the most important and most commonly overlooked skills is that of listening. How often do we take the time to really listen to what the people around us are really saying? How often do we lend our ears without casting judgement, or giving our two bits worth? I think that if we have such trouble listening to the people we love who are here with us then we will have big problems learning to listen to that still voice of the Spirit. I have worked a lot on trying to listen more to those around me and to the Spirit since my mission. As I take a survey of my life it is clear to me that I have a whole lot of work to do on my listening skills. I think it may take a lifetime to perfect the art of listening but I am sure that as I make real efforts at listening more to others and to the Spirit I will have a more full life that will bless and touch others in a much better way. So now the work and learning to listen not only with the ears but also with the heart.

Peace Be The Journey!

For those of you who don't know "Peace be the journey" is a quote from the movie Cool Runnings. It came to mean a lot to me on my mission. At particularly hard time on my mission my little sister sent me a letter that had that quote written on it and I adopted it as my motto. Here is what "Peace be the journey" means to me. Life is crazy and if you haven't figured that out yet you are going to soon. Life seems to rage about with trials stacked upon trials. We cannot control life no matter how hard we try what we can control is ourselves. So to me "Peace be the journey" is not peace in the world around us but it is peace inside us. That inner peace cannot be taken by anyone unless we let them take it. We are in control of that peace. I need peace in this world and the inner peace may be the only way I can really find it. I hope that all of us can find a way for peace to be our journey. 

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

John 14:27

Perseverance; The Power of Action

"Perseverance is a posative, active characteristic. It is not idly passively waiting and hoping for some good thing to happen. It gives us hope by helping us realize that the righteous suffer no failure except in giving up and no longer trying."
-Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Perseverance is something I think my life has lacked a little in the past few months. I do not think, when I look back honestly, that I have been actively working to overcome the difficulties I have had in life lately. Rather I have been hoping that my problems would fix themselves and that I would somehow wake up and I would have no problems. That is not the way life works. You would think that I would have figured that out by now. Unfortunately it seems when it comes to life lessons I seem to be a bit of a slow learner. Heavenly Father has me in the remedial trials class year after year it seems and I just can't seem to get it into my head that if I want different results from my life then I have to take the first step and act. I hope that this time I learn my lesson once and for all (don't hold your breath on that one).

A Time To Change...

Well it is general conference time again and I know there are some things in my life that I need to change. I am praying that I can get from the messages what I need to be able to move forward and get past all my stupid little inconsistencies and all of my pride. There is so much that has been holding me back and I am just sick of it. I want to move forward and become a much better person. I want to be someone who is sanctified and pure like my Savior. I still have so much growing up to do. Some days I just wish things were a little bit easier. So I face another day with all its challenges and hope for the best. I guess that only time will tell if I can beat down the demons inside me and triumph.