Sundays, Sing-Alongs, Sickness, and Choices

It's true. Sundays are wonderful. Yesterday in particular. Besides the fact that I was sick and I didn't get go to church. (I didn't want to get my Nursery kids sick). I stayed home and slept and watched/reread conference talks and read my scriptures. One talk in particular really struck me, Faith--the Choice is Yours by  Richard C. Edgely. We don't know the future, what's coming, or the reasons that certain things happen. But choosing to have faith in our Savior that He knows what's best for us and will help us through everything, that is a critical choice. As Bishop Edgely so eloquently stated,  

"Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours." 


Faith takes work and discipline. It is not something that can just come to us. I've been working on having more faith. I'm the kind of person who has a love/hate relationship with surprises, just ask my husband. He can't tell me about a "surprise" or I'll BEG him until he tells me what it is. The future is something that is sometimes hard for me to handle. Why can't I just KNOW what's coming?! What Bishop Edgely said regarding the future really helped me, 

"...But while I don’t know everything, I know the important. I know the plain and simple gospel truths that lead to salvation and exaltation. I know that the Savior did suffer the pain of all men and that all repentant people can be cleansed from sin. And what I don’t know or don’t completely understand, with the powerful aid of my faith, I bridge the gap and move on, partaking of the promises and blessings of the gospel. And then, as Alma teaches, our faith brings us to a perfect knowledge (see Alma 32:34). By moving forward into the unknown, armed only with hope and desire, we show evidence of our faith and our devotion to the Lord."

And I realized that I know the important things too. I know that Heavenly Father loves me, and I know that I have a testimony of the restored gospel. I know my Savior lived and suffered for my sins, and died to pay the ultimate sacrifice. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet. I know that President Monson leads and guides this church because that's what God wants. And most of all I know that I want to make the right choices and do whatever I can to make it back to my Heavenly Father.  The future becomes less scary when you think about it with an eternal perspective. So what if I don't know what's going to happen next Thursday, with faith I can get through anything! I loved this talk, it really helped me gain a more eternal perspective. I highly recommend reading it!


    UWhen Michael got home I was feeling much better. (I think I needed some serious sleep and vitamin C, I've been trying to head off a cold). We talked to our parents which was great as always. And then Michael spoiled me. He sat by my side on our comfy couch while we watched my favorite movie,

And he was very patient with me while I sang all the songs, and quoted most of the lines. He even tolerated my "Oh my goodness she's so cute!" comments every time Gretl was on. He really does love me! Thanks for making my birthday weekend the best! (more to come on the happenings of the weekend!) During the movie we were talking about the fact that Hollywood just doesn't make movies like this anymore, wholesome movies with no filth, good plots, good dialogue (albeit somewhat cheesy but I'll take that over swearing anyday!) great music, and a good moral. I miss good movies like this. The world really is changing, getting scary in a whole bunch of ways that I often don't even want to think about. But we can let that affect us and we can get scared, and want to hide from the world or we can choose good entertainment, hobbies, books etc. and choose to have faith in the future rather than fear. So today as I look to our future, I think of one of my favorite childhood books,

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go!"
 Oh the Places You'll Go, Dr. Suess

Today I choose to have faith. Faith in the future, faith that I will be able to conquer any challenges that come my way, and mostly faith in my Savior Jesus Christ. Yes indeed it was a great Sunday.