Faith, Love and Charity

Welcome back! Sorry I've been gone so long, I promise I will upload some videos and some photos. A lot has happened in the past two weeks, this has been the best month of unemployment ever. : D A few weeks ago Jake and I packed up and lived out of my sister in law's house in Santaquin and we attended the Edwards Family Reunion. Lots of stuff happened, pig wrastlin', game playing, laughing, talking and eating, lots of eating. I didn't go on any of the hikes but it sounds like they had lots of fun. Then, last week Machiel came to town (Jacob's Mother for those who aren't following) and we have been shopping and gone to st.george and it has been all sorts of crazy.(Bentley is currently lying on his side, trying his hardest to grab the computer while screaming in a very high pitched voice. :D I love him.)

This week alone has been full of insights, so let me take you on my journey of self improvement and self discovery.

The first encounter with myself happened on a walk with Machiel. We were discussing events in our life and past experiences and our thoughts when we stumbled across a conversation about forgiveness. God expects us to forgive everyone. Bar NONE. We must forgive all people no matter what they have done to us or what we have PERCEIVED that they have done to us. Even if they really have done something it doesn't matter. Machiel said something to the effect that She won't let anyone keep her out of the Celestial Kingdom and, what a smart thing to say. We have to forgive everyone of all things or we cannot enter into the kingdom of God and far be it from me to allow someone to hold me back because of something petty that I think they did. We were also discussing friends and fellowshipping in our ward and neighbor hoods. We came to the conclusion that friendship is work. And perhaps, in my area one of our difficulties is that we are all nice, but only as far as we need to be. We don't put work into our relationships, we are content with what we already have and we are expected to be nice, which perhaps makes us seem insincere. Either way, Love your neighbor is the second of God's commandments and It probably WILL be the commandment that keeps many of us out of heaven. I mean, really, how well do you really love your neighbor as yourself? Your family? Strangers? People on the street? Your next door neighbor? That girl in the ward whom you don't get along with? I'm not saying it's easy, just saying it's necessary.

Two; In Corinthians 13 Paul was talking about Charity, the pure love of Christ, which of course fits perfectly with what I am learning this week. In order to love your neighbor you have to have charity. Paul says that not only is Charity the most important of the FHC trifecta but you must have charity. What is it to have charity? I quote Moroni when I say:

"45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

If I am going to be one who has charity then I need to start working on these things. This is a long laundry list of things that I am not entirely sure I possess.


The last is Faith. Having faith in God, having faith in others and in yourself. Having Faith in God is primary. You have to not only believe in him but believe him when he speaks or when he commands you. You must have faith that He put you on this earth with a purpose and that he believes in you and that He loves you. When you come to the point where you have low self esteem or you are afraid to accomplish something you must have faith that you are capable, and that you have an endless potential. And you must have faith in others, faith in you spouse, your friends, your family that they have good innately in them, that they won't let you down. And sometimes they will, but that's okay. Don't be offended, don't be afraid. Just be believing. God will take care of everything in the End. Just be full of love, charity and faith.

Courtney

An early morning post!

There is just something sacred about an early morning, the tight excitement in your chest, the fresh, clean air, the way your molecules seem to fizz with energy. And then there are breakfast foods that seem to complete the early morning experience, light, delicious foods that stimulate your brain and make you happy. Today's breakfast is strawberries, Zucchini Bread and a sliced banana. Oh, yum. Breakfast food, how I love you. On a morning like today I feel like writing, or cleaning. Whichever task I can actually dedicate myself to, although lately cleaning has won over my discarded passion. Summer seems to be speeding by, however, and I know that with the cold will come fog and ice; the winds will change and I will feel that creative desire once more. Perhaps I will even fill the pages of my notebook with beautiful sounding words.

My father said he collected 25 lbs of Zucchini from his garden consequently we have been eating zucchini stuffed, steamed and now, in bread. This is by far my most favorite version of the Italian squash. Unfortunately I did not have a cheese grater so I had to be a bit nontraditional, but after searching the internets for awhile I came across a lovely pureed Pumpkin Style Zucchini Bread . Feel free to click on the link. It was heaven. Absolute heaven. Who knew a vegetable could be so delicious.

Today my thought comes from Romans Chapter 6 verse 23

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord."

Sometimes I have a problem with judging others. It's true, I'm not perfect. I know. How shocking! It's not that I mean to be rude or malicious I just feel like I have to form an opinion about a person or what their are doing with their life. It always happens when I think I am open minded and accepting of others and their choices...then all of the sudden I see someone who ISN'T that way and then I get all worked up over them. The next thing I know I am neck deep in assumptions and misinformed opinions. I know that judging is a sin, as well as gossip and backbiting. So why do I do it? Not only do I have to form my own opinion but then I feel like I have to share it with someone--which is totally asinine. Good intentions or not, I have no right to share my thoughts on someone else's life with another individual. If I have a problem with someone I should talk to that person and then it should be done with.

I know I am not the only person who does that, come on, people raise your hands. Or don't. That could cause some judging and probably a little bit of gossip in and of itself.

Anyway, it is something that some people, especially myself, seems to have a problem with and it is such a vicious cycle I know I am just shoveling one shovel sized load of dirt at a time buying my way to death by the wages being dealt to me by gossiping and judging. With such imperfect practices (and that being only one of my many flaws) how in the world are we supposed to become like God?

I thank our Father in Heaven for the second part of that statement "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord."

We are not perfect and we are going to buy a substantial amount of debt but as we strive to utilize the atonement and internalize the gospel of Jesus Christ we are given the gift of forgiveness. When we stand at the judgement bar, if we keep our covenants and remember the Savior always he will stand on our behalf to excuse the rest of our debt. There is NO WAY we can pay off our debt BY OURSELVES. Remember that next time you decide to haphazardly fling mud in someone's direction (on accident or intentionally), I certainly will. Of course, none of us are perfect, and some will have more to forgive and others less, but the important part is that we are striving for righteousness so that we CAN be forgiven. Not how big your debt is. That being said, try your best to keep your debt smaller. Ha ha.

Use the atonement in your life! Pray unto God for the strength to overcome your weaknesses and your frailties. Ask him to bless you with the healing love of the Savior and be a better person today! I promise he will help you when you need it. He helps me all the time. 

I know you will all be disappointed this week that I didn't load any pictures. I apologize that you read through my whole post and still didn't see any pictures. :D But I promise next time it will be worth it, and a girl can't come through every time. You'd get bored!

Courtney