Live, Laugh & Love

I've been thinking.

I know, I know. You didn't know I was capable of thought.

I've been trying lately to study Christ's actions on the earth and to be more like Him through following what He did. Here are just a few of my thoughts today:

If we are not supposed to let our left hands know what our right hands are doing, imagine how much more Christ must have done in His life. Our lives and service are supposed to be kept secret, and Christ's was written about and preserved through the years. I guess I have never thought about how much He must have done that is not documented.

Also. I have been trying to be more like Christ--thinking the way He did and acting the way He did. In institute, we were talking about how when we are in the service of our fellow men, we are only in the service of our God. Therefore, the service is really coming from God. I have been trying to think and be like Christ, when what I really could be doing is trying to think and act like God, which is all Christ was really doing with His life. I donno--I guess that thought was more of an eye opening thing as I was sitting in institute this morning.

I was watching a movie on Emma Smith last night. I liked a couple of the quotes in the movie like, "when the spirit of truth touches your heart, then there is no room for doubt," "shall we not go on in such great a cause?" and "sometimes you know things with your heart that you don’t know with your head." It was a good movie. You really had to know the church's history in order to understand it though because it jumped around without transitioning into the next thought!

I loved General Conference this past weekend. I laughed really hard when C. Scott Grow started talking :D Here are just a few of my favorite quotes from the speakers throughout the four sessions I saw:

"Everyone is tested. One might think it is unfair to be singled out and subjected to a particular temptation, but this is the purpose of mortal life—to be tested. And the answer is the same for everyone: we must, and we can, resist temptations of any kind." –Boyd K Packer

"Inside the footlocker was a wooden tray and package of sacrament cups so that we could be blessed by the peace and hope of the Lord’s Supper even in the conflict and despair of war." –L Tom Perry

"Warn them that they will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments." –Russell M. Nelson

"It is true. We live to die, and we die to live again. From an eternal perspective, the only death that is truly premature is the death of one who is not prepared to meet God." –Russell M. Nelson

"...tithing will keep your name enrolled among the people of God." –Russell M. Nelson

"I testify to you that our Father in Heaven loves His children. He loves us. He loves you. When necessary the Lord will even carry you over obstacles as you seek His peace with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Often He speaks to us in ways that we can hear only with our heart. To better hear His voice, it would be wise to turn down the volume control of the worldly noise in our lives. If we ignore or block out the promptings of the Spirit for whatever reason, they become less noticeable until we cannot hear them at all. Let us learn to hearken to the promptings of the Spirit and then be eager to heed them." –Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Often, the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us…By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own." –Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service." –Thomas S. Monson

"I express my undying gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the temple now being built in Rome and for all of our temples, wherever they are. Each one stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony that God, our Eternal Father, lives, that He desires to bless us and, indeed, to bless His sons and daughters of all generations. Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth. I so testify." –Thomas S. Monson

"Brethren, do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the home? Do you tell your wife often how very much you love her? It will bring her great happiness. I’ve heard men tell me when I say that, “Oh, she knows.” You need to tell her. A woman grows and is greatly blessed by that reassurance. Express gratitude for what your spouse does for you. Express that love and gratitude often." –Richard G. Scott

"As I have thought back over our life together, I realize how blessed we’ve been. We have not had arguments in our home or unkind words between us. Now I realize that blessing came because of her. It resulted from her willingness to give, to share, and to never think of herself." –Richard G. Scott

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences—together." –Richard G. Scott

For the past few years I have been thinking that I will be a better person when I am older and more mature. I would be better at following the commandments (and not being a cafeteria chooser) when I am older. In the past few weeks I have been thinking about how I will never reach that point when I'm older unless I find a place to start. I'm wondering, why not start now? Why not be the best I can be right now? I have no answer for the why not. I just know that I have a new approach on my life, and I'm starting NOW. I hope it sticks with me.



Take every opportunity to live fully. Laugh often to firm up your tummy. Love with all your heart. :)