Fear Erased

It's natural that each of us have things we fear. It's simply part of our nature. We're all different so things I'm afraid of may not be a problem for you at all and visa versa. We have small fears and we have big fears, but no matter the size they hold us back. The person whose always afraid of making a mistake may never find success. The one whose afraid of being ugly may never realize how beautiful they are.

I instantly fell in love with this picture the moment I saw it. How wonderful would it be if you could write down all of your fears and then just erase them never having to worry about them again? Which fears would you put on the wall? What would you do with your life if you weren't afraid any more?

One thing I know about fear is that it can be overcome. Fears are nasty little tricks our minds play on us but the courage in our hearts can be stronger. It requires taking a step into the darkness and taking a chance that your fears will come true, but if you don't take the chance you can never prove them wrong. In my experience once I've looked fear in the face and taken that first step my heart does a little victory dance because I discovered things aren't as bad as I thought they would be.

Believe

"There comes a moment in everyone's life where you stop wondering and begin to believe" 

Do you have a bucket list? I have a bucket list; a long list of things I would like to do before I die. I also like to call this my dream list; a list of all the things I dream of doing. Things on my bucket list range from visiting Ireland to finishing an entire coloring book. Every day I add something new onto my bucket list, probably because I am always dreaming, wishing, and hoping. Life is full of so many amazing places to see, people to meet, and experiences to have. The unfortunate thing is that life is short, and so there is no way I'm going to be able to accomplish every single thing on my bucket list. For example I have a dream of going on a no budget shopping spree, but I highly doubt I will live long enough to make enough money for that to ever happen! (unless I marry Adam Levine, which is also on my dream list!!) I don't see anything wrong with having a dream of doing something that is probably impossible. From the time I was a little girl I have been taught that dreams can come true and to never stop dreaming no matter what. 

Alongside my bucket list I have what I call my been there, done that list. This is a list of all the things that were on my bucket list, that I have actually done. Things on this list range from donating blood to petting a giraffe. I absolutely love the feeling I get when I get to move something from my bucket list to my been there, done that list. The best feeling in the world is making dreams come true. 

Throughout my life I have found that the above quote is true, we all have moments in our lives where we stop wondering if our dreams are going to come true and we begin to believe that they will. When that belief in ourselves as well as our dreams is strong enough we can accomplish anything no matter how big or small. The power to make our dreams come true does not lie in riches or fate, it lies within ourselves. 

Go take a look at your bucket list and choose your next dream come true!

Loves & Hugs!

Distraction

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said,  "We cannot and we must not allow ourselves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most." 

Where is your focus? Is your mind distracted? 

The internet can be a very useful tool. We can communicate with friends and family instantly, even reconnecting with people we may have lost contact with over the years. We can use the vast amount of information available to us to learn a new skill or study up on any topic of interest to us. I personally use the internet every day. I talk with family, share photos of fun events with those that weren't able to make it, watch tv (I'm too poor to pay for cable and the internet), chat with friends around the world, get all sorts of new writing ideas, take online classes to increase my knowledge of things, etc. The internet is a big part of my life, but it can also be a huge distraction. I am amazed at how easy it is to lose track of time when checking email, Facebook, and browsing Pinterest. These sites are thieves of time and productivity. Once lost you can never regain the time you wasted pinning a recipe you're probably never going to make or Facebook stalking that cute boy in your ward. 

This doesn't mean these sites are horribly bad and to always be avoided, but they are to be used sparingly. I'm reminded of the scripture in Luke chapter 10 verse 42; "But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her". We need to chose the things that are better! Communicating with friends and family face to face is much better than through email and Facebook. Playing a game as a family is better than pinning ideas of games to play with your family. Writing in your journal is better than updating your Facebook status. Reading your scriptures is better than reading your email. 

In this world full of distraction we must be far more vigilant on how we spend our time, and where we place priorities. We cannot afford to lose focus on the things that matter most. Distraction is one of Satans greatest tools. The more distracted we are the more he can get us to forget who we really are and what our purpose really is. Let's take a stand, refine our focus, and vow never to forget!

Down Syndrome Awareness

October is Down Syndrome Awareness month and in looking at beautiful children with Down Syndrome on Pinterest I stumbled upon a fabulous you tube video. The little girl in this video is adorable, I just love her facial expressions! It reminds me a lot of Tara at that age. The video has a powerful message and is wonderfully presented. I am sharing it with all of you in hopes that you will take a minute to really think about Down Syndrome and truly become more aware of how amazing these extraordinary people are. Let's all re-think the amount of love we can give them.

My sister is my best friend. When I was in second grade I wrote a story for the reflections contest about how proud I was to be the sister of a child with Down Syndrome. I am happy to say that I am still proud of that fact today. I'm also very humbled by it. Tara has taught me so much through her fun personality and example. I know I would not be the person I am today without her influence in my life. She is the source of my joy and is my rock when I really need someone to lean on. I love her more than words can express.

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

Lessons from the Playground

Saturday night I walked over to the park with my mom and sister. I had not been on a swing for years and thought it would be fun. As I slowly started going up and down I found I loved feeling the wind through my hair. I started going higher and higher and found that I loved that "butterflies in my stomach" feeling as I would get really high and then quickly swing back down. I started to laugh at how much silly fun I was having...then I started to get motion sick and realized I was too old to be swinging, time to try out the slides!! I spent the next few minutes racing my sister up the stairs and down the slides. It was thrilling!

Life is full of up's and down's, so why don't we enjoy them just like we enjoy the up's and down's at the playground? From the time we are a toddler we are drawn to the up's and down's of swings and slides. We love the feeling we get as we soar through the air or speed towards the ground. Do we lose this love of adventure as we grow older? I don't think we do. You don't find many adults running around at the park, but go to Disneyland and you'll see plenty of adults experiencing these same thrills on fast moving roller coasters.So how do these adventures differ from the ones we experience in our daily living?

Each day we are faced with new high's and lo's. Each day is an adventure. Each day we get to choose how we are going to react to it. We love life when things are looking up. Sometimes we love going up so much that we take advantage of it and miss the opportunities to be grateful for the good times. When we realize that life is starting to pull us downward it can be scary. It's easy to want to curl up in a ball and never get out of bed. We don't like to face the down side of life and often cry out that it's too hard or too scary. We get those nervous butterflies in the stomach and wonder why we have to go through this. However, I believe that if we could take a lesson from the playground we can discover the thrill of going down in life as well. When you start going down in a swing or a roller coaster, and you get those butterflies in your stomach what do most people do? Laugh. Kids laugh the hardest as they swing down, all over amusement parks you hear the laughter as people raise their arms up and head downward. Is it scary? Yeah it can be, but when we laugh our way through the fear we find joy in the journey. When we laugh at the hard stuff we find our burdens become a little lighter.

The next time you find yourself experiencing the up's and down's of your life, I encourage you to appreciate the up's and laugh through the down's. I promise you will find life to be much more enjoyable when you treat it like a day at the park!

Slaying Dragons

"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten." G.K. Chesterton

Dragons, evil witches, magic spells, and curses all plague our fairy tales and give the prince and/or princess something to fight against. These stories are always a battle between good versus evil. Life is the same way. We may not run around talking to animals and singing our innermost thoughts, but we are all waging a battle with some sort of dragon.

Snow White had the evil queen, Prince Philip battled the dragon, Cinderella had an evil step-mother, and The Beast struggled with a life long curse. Just as each character has it's own specific foe our battles are very specific to us as well. You may be fighting a chronic illness, struggling to find your true love, or even dealing with tough family issues. No matter what you are going through isn't it comforting to know that good always triumphs, the hero always wins.

Is the battle always an easy one? No. In stories and in life all battles take a great deal of hard work, courage, perseverance, and faith. As we approach our inner dragons we must be properly armed, we need to have our sword and our shield. We need to have a belief in ourselves and our ability to overcome anything that comes our way. When we stand strong with a firm determination to never give up no matter how hard life gets we arm ourselves with a power that is extremely difficult to beat.

So, let us take a lesson from the stories we grew up with as children...we can win! Is life always going to be  sunshine and rainbows? No, but just as every life has struggles and dark times; every life has victories. Don't give up the fight and one day you will slay a dragon of your own.

Everyday Blessings

I saw a quote on pinterest one day that stopped me in my tracks and really got me thinking. It said, "God gave you 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank you?" I wake up every morning and kneel to pray. In that prayer I thank Heavenly Father for bringing me safely through the night, but after reading this quote I had to stop and think; what had I thanked Him for throughout my day?

Here is another quote I love about gratitude:

"The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude. I presume most of us have not thought of that as a great sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers and in our pleadings with the Lord to ask for additional blessings. But sometimes I feel we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. We enjoy so much." -Pres. Ezra Taft Benson (God,Family,Country, Salt Lake City. Deseret BookCo., 1974, p.199)

Everyday we are blessed with so many things that even if we used every one of our 86,400 seconds to say thank you it would never be enough. It is important that we take time to say thank you anyway!

Here are a few of the things I am grateful for today:

• My Family
• A Living Prophet
• Temples
• Friends
• Sunsets
• My Home
• Scriptures

What would be on your list right now?

Peter Breinholt sings a song on the topic of gratitude that I love! As you watch this clip I hope you hear a few things you could add to your list of everyday blessings to be thankful for. Enjoy!