We Are His Hands

It is terribly arduous to witness one who steps into a trap of sin. Satan is very real and very deceptive. He is my brother; he is my tempter. I weep for him but stray from him. I often inquire of The Lord- why would the wickedness of the devil abide in the hearts of those I love? Why have my peers been blinded to the truths surrounding them? And perhaps they have recognized those truths; I am not to judge.

Let us be a pillar of light- let us surround others with a beacon of truth. 

We can not change others. People ultimately change themselves, with help from our loving God. He will provide a way. May we act as a stepping stone for those lost in darkness. Let us fill their lives with purity. Why must we partake in sin? Why must we tarnish our speaking with words of disgust? The things we do in this age will affect our future immensely. Let us strive to set good patterns and perform good deeds.

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

We can help others receive a desire to change. Together, we can help show them the light. It is a quiet light- but is brighter than the galaxies. Let us invite those in need of that light into a loving environment. We are his hands. Through Christ, great and wonderful things will be achieved. May we choose to stand in holy places and invite others to stand in the same place. May we forgive all men and repent of our own iniquities. 

God is love- let us share that love by the example we offer.

I See Christ

Truth: Life is hard. As humans, it is in our nature to both endure to the end and want to give up. It is a reoccurring thing for me to sit down and cry over nothing. And that's just it. I cry over the things I don't know; the things I am ignorant to. I cry over the things I can't control. I often feel lost in a maze and being the very impatient person I am, that often doesn't go over too well. I want to live with my heavenly father again, and I miss him more than anything. But I was sent here for a reason, and joy can still be found in the darkest of times. Today in sacrament meeting, I took a chance to notice all of the Christ-like qualities of people in my ward. For each person I knew, I thought to myself: I see Christ in them because           . It was a lovely opportunity to see light, as opposed to darkness. I am a firm believer that the sacrament can do wonders for us if we choose to use it as a time of worship and healing. I invite you all to look around you and notice the Christ-like qualities of your peers- it is a beautiful opportunity. We can see Christ in many different things. I will make my own list of things I see, and I invite you to make your own.

I see Christ in...

• The homeless, who are sure to show gratitude for acts of service
• My father, who seeks to bring others joy
• My mom, who wants her children to feel loved in her home
• Newborn babies, because they have a heavenly innocence that is sent from heaven
• My friends who wouldn't let me go down the wrong path if I tried
• People who say "hello"
• My coaches, who push me to my full potential

We can choose to see Christ in anything good. I know that my savior loves me and wants more than anything to see me succeed and grow. I hope to remain worthy, because I owe all of my service to him. I hope to stand a witness of God not only now, but when Christ comes to the earth again. I love this gospel, and I know without a doubt that it brings true joy.

Composition 1 - The Claustrophobe

The walls keep creeping on my toes

As children play along the rows

Enclosing all my thought and moods

My claustrophobic attitude.

They think they know their life in bold

Few think that it will be of gold

I think back to my adolescence

And wonder if I grasped the essence.

It's only when I ride this bus

That youngster yells bring me disgust

My life is crammed inside the box

Of children's tales of Goldilocks.

I sit on the rubber bound bench

And think of the wild air whooshing past this body binding vehicle

I want it now.

A Miserably Wonderfully Terribly Amazing Thing.

Life is a miserably wonderfully terribly amazing thing. That gramatically incorrect sentence is so true for me this week. At this stage in my life, I have no idea whats in store. But all I can do is  

Now let's see what God has in store for me through these next few months of my life.

A week's worth of inspiration.

It always baffles me just how extraordinary a few simple days can be, and how much you can learn within them.

1st

Every girl has her dreams. She dreams of her future home with her prince charming, a dream house suited to her taste, and she most likely thinks up every little detail of how her life will be. As a young girl I would often ponder at my reflection and stop to think,

"What will I look like when I am older?"

or in a deeper sense,

"What will become of me?"

To this day I look at my reflection and think the very same questions. It seems that I am a very inpatient girl. I can't go a day without wanting to move on with my life. If only it were so easy to just get married, live happily ever after, raise children, 

la dee da dee da.

But I must constantly remind myself:

Not every novel can be read overnight. To truly read the novel, you have to lose yourself in each turning page, and feast upon what you've read.

Each novel has their cliff hanger, each novel has their drags. But do we skip to the last page?

Well, maybe.

I've found that my patriarchal blessing has granted me a mere glimpse at that precious last page. Though it is too sacred and precious to discuss, it has given me bundles of hope for my future.

It has given me the hope that I will one day be able to live, and even love my dreamed up fairy tale. I pray that anyone as impatient as me will gain the courage to get their patriarchal blessing. It gives so much hope to life and it's upcoming events.

I am proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I am thrilled that I can one day be with my dream family for all time and eternity in the highest glory of heaven.  

2nd

I was born to play volleyball, though I've never realized my true potential up until yesterday. Never have I realized that running 201 volleyball lines can change your whole mental game. If I would've ran those lines two years ago, I would have gone home crying to my mommy. But now I have the mental attitude of "keep it coming coach". After all, the worst possible thing that could happen is thowing up, and that really isn't too bad. A few months ago when I was deciding whether to participate in the team I'm on now, I realized something. After praying several times I got the answer, "Alexis, you are 6'2. You can go far if you set your mind to it. Do you think I created you as tall as you are to have you live on your athletic career inside a skill binding box? You were born with a special gift. Use it." And so I followed my council, and I am hopefully getting that much closer to a scholarship.

Now, on to the next week of inspiration.

A daring leap.

The daring leap I took this year has been so incredible. I've been able to experience so much joy already playing my favorite sport with a new team.We were so blessed to win 1st place in our very first tournament this season.

Nationals,

Here we come.

The most wonderful time of the year. (Belated)

And what is the holidays without family game night?

I'm so happy to call this boy my nephew. Just look at that cheeser! #Poser

It seems that I can still hear the sweet bells of that great day. I'm so extremely lucky to have been surrounded with a loving family this December 25th. Because without family, what is the Christmas spirit? I am so blessed by the Lord to live in the family that I do. I may just also be blessed that I only see most of them a few times a year. Who knows if I could take the stress of that many people living in my home regularly. As much as I love company, I love my quiet writing place. I'm so grateful to live in such a great home, and am forever in debt to the lord for his blessings.

Oh, how I adored this holiday season.  

Because I'm a slacker, it has taken me until now to post about the greatest holiday of the year.

But, it is better now than never, right?

I also just had to post this pretty cool discovery at my front door. Frozen spider webs! How cool is that?