Having a Perfect Brightness of Hope

So this week has been rather rough. But I'll get to that in a minute. The highlights of my week were going to the temple with a couple of my friends. One was my friend Crystal; the other is a new friend named Mia. It was fun to go with those two crazy girls. The other was having a "short" lunch with my sister Megan. By short, I mean it only lasted an hour. For those of my readers who are unaware, my family tends to be very talkative. I imagine some of you will understand a bit better now, why I tend to be rather talkative.

This week, I also got to break out my winter gear which was disappointing. This week I'm slowly closing in on the end of The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. It is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series.

My roommate Risto pictured in my last post is letting me read it. I also bought the next book in the series called The Son of Neptune. I may like this series a lot considering that when I met one of the new sisters in my home evening group that I thought she looked like Annabeth.

Okay, so my week started and I was slowly coming to a decision. The decision I came to, around Monday evening, was that I was finished with the dating scene for the semester. I won't provide details just know that this was not quickly made decision; I'll just say that my dating history is best summed up by the French phrase "C'est toute une histoire." The next day I was going to do my scripture study and I asked the Lord that if He had anything in particular that He wanted me to read that he would direct me to it. I was prompted to read "Continue in Patience" by President Ucthdorf. As I read I felt the Spirit elbowing me and letting me know that this talk was meant for me to APPLY right now, so I changed my attitude and continued to read. Eventually I got to the part when he talks about how patience requires that we work towards our worthwhile goals and don't get discouraged because results don't instantly appear. I then read this line that was a sharp divine call (for me) to repentance "patience is not passive resignation". I knew right then, that I needed to repent. That afternoon, the devotional was on the Atonement and the temple which reinforced the Lord's message to me. That afternoon I went home and repented.

Well the rest of the week was characterized by lots of homework stress and no progress on the dating front. At first I was annoyed when the Lord reminded me that there must be opposition in all things; this includes dating. On related note, I will say that one of my roommates got engaged this weekend and right now, I am happy to be single because I know I couldn't handle all of the stress of an engagement on top of everything else I have to deal with.

I feel a bit uncomfortable writing this... mainly because I don't talk like talking my love life outside of a small group of people. They know who they are.

So I hope that you will try to listen to the Holy Ghost, especially when it tells you to repent. But more importantly, I hope you don't lose hope in the Lord's promises. I know that they are real, no matter how distance they may seem to you. God loves you. He knows the details of your life and understands your feelings perfectly. Never lose hope; the Atonement can heal you and help you regain the hope that you need. Remember the blessings and many answered prayers that you've had, if those are not great reasons to hope; I don't know what is!

I pray that you all have a good week!

And the Lord Was With Us

This week was good. It was not much of what I expected but it was good. I finally finished the Percy Jackson series which was a bit sad. It's one of those series that when you reach the end, you feel like you're going to leave some good friends behind without knowing when in the future you're going to see them. I also found the photo of one of the books that I thought I had deleted.

Tuesday I went and volunteered at community event called Celebrate Youth. It was neat to help out and meet lots of new people. I got food and a free t-shirt which looks like this (food not pictured below).

You may not be able to tell but the shirt is lime green. I'm going to keep it, not because it fits (which it really doesn't) but because it reminds me of the Camp Half-Blood t-shirts which are bright orange.

Wednesday morning I went to the temple which was really nice. It was a great way to start out my day. Then I came home and got ready for the day. I went shopping at Desert Industries and dropped off some clothes that are a bit out of date but still in decent condition. I bought a couple shirts, a belt, and a tie. I also bought three books in the Chronicles of Narina which I finished earlier this year. While I was there I also ran into some friends that I haven't seen for five years. It was neat to talk and get a bit caught up.

Saturday I taught French to a few people in the afternoon which was a nice refresher. Later Megan and I went to visit an old friend of mine who just returned home from his mission. It was cool getting to talk to him and seeing how he's grown and matured. It also reminded me that I've now been home from my mission for over two years.

This week I have been richly blessed and had many topics come to my mind upon which I should write my blog. I will split up my ideas and post again tomorrow and hopefully have some more pictures to put in; nevertheless, I digress. Recently I've been rereading through The Book of Mormon. I was reading the chapter in which Nephi breaks his bow and his brothers' bows lose their spring so their whole family goes hungry for a period of time and everyone starts complaining. Eventually they get food and continue on in their journey. A few verses later Ishmael dies and Nephi records that "the daughters of Ishmael" complained against Lehi and Nephi. Laman and Lemuel exacerbated the problem and most of the group seem ready to threaten the lives of Nephi and Lehi. At this low point, Nephi records "And it came to pass that the Lord was with us..." What I got out of this phrase was that at our low points in life, we must recognize how the Lord is guiding us and how He is with us especially in our low points. I know that sometimes when I'm in those low points, sometimes the adversary tries to convince me that I have been forsaken by the Lord. I have learned that this statement is not true. The Lord does not abandon us, no matter how many times we may abandon Him. So when you are in a low place in your life, look up. Heavenly Father is there for you, and He will help you if you just but take his hand.

Another topic that I wanted to talk about is patience. These last few weeks, I have been learning patience due to a certain situation. When I was a teenager, I believed that I was extremely patient. Many people told me that I was patient. One of my bosses even said that I was "as patient as a saint". Before my mission I thought that patience was a virtue that I was have to work very little on. Then I entered the MTC, there I was put with a companion who was one of the most unusual people that I have ever met and had the strangest habits. I found out quickly how impatient, I really was. Ever since that time, I have found that I am not as patient as I thought. I have found that patience requires self-control and remembering how insignificant the thing that irritates you is in the realm of eternity.

I hope that these little lessons that I have drawn from my week will be able to help you in your week. May our Father in Heaven guide you to make the right decisions in your life is my prayer. Have a good day!