Tip of the day: pay attention to the music you listen to because it really DOES affect your spirit.

Ok can I just tell you something really quick?

Faith.

Faith in our Savior, even Christ = Essential.

Additionally, faith in yourself = also essential, in my opinion.

It is. EXTREMELY. HARD. to get ANYWHERE if you don't believe in yourself.

For real, you are stronger than you think.
get it through your head.
(I mean that in the nicest way possible.)

JUST PUSH YOURSELF.

Do something you don't think you can do!

Can I tell you-

I didn't think I could get through that trial I talked about in my last post.

But I did.

Because I know that my Savior can help me every single time I need it,

and so I rely on Him and the strength that He blesses me with as I strive to do His will.

"Not MY will, but THINE be done."

Trust me, it IS the better option

"Faith is a principle of action and of power, ...[T]rue faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action;" 

(Bible Dictionary: Faith)

So here's a thought:

Actions speak louder than words.

Show your faith in your Savior.

James 2:17-18

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

God's not going to give you ANYTHING you can't do.

So, in the words of Nike and Spencer W Kimball,

JUST DO IT.
Do SOMETHING.

STAND. He's THERE.

Put your whole faith and trust and Him

AND DO NOT SAY, "I can't do it!"

bull freaking crap.

you can.

Learn to embrace pain.
Like when you're running 4 laps (1 mile) in the morning
and you get to lap 2 and you think to yourself,
"Maybe I should stop after this one..."
but you know that you've finished the mile before
and so even though you're so out of breath
and your legs feel like they weigh 100 pounds
and you still have half a mile to go in the frigid air,
you keep going.
Learn to embrace pain.

Pick yourself up and do everything you can do yourself.
When you do, God blesses you with the strength and the ability to do more
and this is how we learn and grow.

Does that make sense?

If you can do it yourself, do it.

When you need help, ask for it. God will help you.

But He probably won't do something for you that you can do yourself.

How do you grow that way?

See, it makes sense.

(Imma try to find the General Conference talk I learned this from...)

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Have faith in your Savior.
(He knows exactly how to help you
for He has overcome the world.
Rely on Him.)
Have faith in yourself.
Show that faith.
I can promise you that He will help you to overcome your trials
and come off conqueror.

Let your light so shine.
Don't let it die because you lose a little faith.
God loves you. :)

life is a beautiful thing. :)

Faith In My Savior :)

Hello World. :)

John 11.

Famous for verse 35, which is the shortest verse of all scripture.

Quick Recap:

Lazarus, Mary and Martha are siblings. Also good friends of Jesus. In John 11, Lazarus gets sick, and Mary and Martha ask Jesus to come heal him. He says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Jesus waits for two days and Lazarus dies. After Lazarus has been dead for four days, Jesus arrives at their home. Mary and Martha both say to Him, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Jesus weeps with them.

(verse 35. "Jesus wept." shortest scripture.)

He then asks where Lazarus has been laid. They open the tomb and Jesus says, "Lazarus, come forth." Lazarus rose from the dead and came out of the tomb.

miraculous. :)

Take a look at Mary and Martha.
"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."
They know that Jesus had the power to heal their brother.
They had faith in their Savior.


Even though Lazarus had died, they still had faith.


Sometimes, in our lives, things die.
We ask for help, we do all we can, and things still die.
A loved one still passes away.
An opportunity is lost.
Someone walks out of our life.


Honestly, if I were in Mary and Martha’s place, I probably would have thought, “I’ve done all that I can do, I’ve asked the Lord for help, and now he’s dead. ...What just happened? What did I do wrong? What could I have done more?”


Wanna know something cool?


Jesus says to Mary:
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”


There is a purpose for everything. I feel like that sometimes, we have to reach that all-time low. Sometimes, some things in our lives have to die so that we can learn to turn to our Savior and let Him help us.


Experience (this is why this lesson touched me):


Recently, I lost an opportunity. I had never in my entire life been in so much pain. I honestly felt like something had died, and that I had lost. It was extremely hard for me to deal with. I had done all I could, I prayed for help, and I still lost. But I know that no good comes from dwelling in grief, pain, etc. So I knew I had to pick myself up, but I didn't even have the strength to stand. So I kept praying for strength to get through this trial. I needed my Savior. But I knew that I couldn't just ask for something and expect to receive it without any effort on my part, so I tried to move forward. He blessed me with the strength to at least do that much. I felt like I was crawling. I strived to do the things that I know God would have me do. I gave my greatest effort at all times. Through this struggle, He continued to bless me with the strength I needed. Now, I'm still climbing, but He has helped me to come so far from that low point. It still hurts a little, but I have faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I've been recovering. Though I don't know exactly why I had to lose this time, I believe that one reason was that I needed to learn to increase my faith in Christ and exercise that faith, and also to rely on Him. I know that through faith in Jesus Christ, we can do all things.


Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."


Jesus went through the Atonement for us. He knows ALL of our pains. Not just the ones that we feel when we sin. EVERY single one. He overcame it all. THUS, He knows how to overcome every trial we face. He knows exactly what to teach us and how to teach us how to conquer anything that comes our way.


Even when we don't think we can do it.


Cause I sure didn't think I could. 


But He helped me. :)


Bottom line: You can always trust in your Savior. Have a little faith in Him and exercise that faith. :)

God loves you.
life is a beautiful thing. :)

Intro.

oh. hello. :)

aright.

(yes, I do mean "alright," and yes, I did mean to spell it that way. that's what it would sound like if I said it aloud right now.)

I am Stephanie. This is a blog that I have chosen to write about faith.

There are a few things that I think you should know about me.

1: I am in no way an expert on anything.  Except for parking cars and making playlists. got sKILLZ, yo.

2: I am a shy person.  Well... mostly.  I'm not afraid to talk to people unless A) you're super attractive and my brain, sarcasm, jokes, wit, charm and all that good stuff is wiped away, or B) it's about something that's coming from somewhere just a little deeper than, "Hey, my name is Stephanie and I like to party." This blog? It's me sharing my thoughts, insights, etc. on the subject of faith, particularly rooted in the study of the New Testament. aka: I am shy here. But I'll do my best to overcome this and hopefully create something worth your time to read, maybe something that you find even at least somewhat enlightening (ideally). So... please be patient with me? :)

3: Most importantly, I am a sTRONG advocate of being yourself.  That said, I tend to be true to who I am. So when you're reading my blog and I say something like, "got sKILLZ, yo," don't be offended. If it bothers you that badly, ignore it. The point of this blog is for us (us. you + me.) to increase our faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ. It shouldn't matter if you don't really like my personality- I'm well aware that not EVERYONE in the world is going to like me, though I haven't yet met anyone who doesn't. just kidding. :) But truth is truth, and that's what I hope to share with you and what I want us to take away from this little experience. So. Just so you know, I'm jus' going to be muhself. :)

great. well, let's go. :)

thought of the day: go outside! It's so beautiful out there! no, I'm not going to see this outside my door either... but seriously. This earth is one of God's greatest creations. LIVE in it! :)