Putting My Life in His Hands...

So...long time no see! Needless to say, I have not been on top of my game as far as posting this last week.

I don't know what it was. I just lost all kinds of motivation. I missed the last week of my 30 Day Photo Challenge, I haven't wanted to post anything, and I sort of jumped the wagon as far as weight loss goes, resulting in my gain of 2+lbs this week. I am recommitting myself to it all though! 

I realized today while at church that I have been learning a great lesson over the last little bit of my life. In Relief Society, we were talking about tithing, and a sister subject of that, of course, is Faith. Our Relief Society President asked us to define faith without using the scriptural definition. (Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1) Many women said faith is putting your trust in the Lord. I wrote in my notebook, "Faith: Putting my life in God's hands and trust that He will direct it in a way that it is meant to be and what is best for me." As I sat there, I've realized that I've been blessed the last month or so to greatly increase my faith in Heavenly Father and His plan for me. 

I was visiting with a sister from my old ward. She wanted to see me to let me know how proud she was of the choices I had made concerning my last relationship. She mentioned to me that by receiving and acting upon revelation given to me from my Heavenly Father, I showed him that He could trust me to do those things he asks of me. Another sister in my ward told me that she knew that there were great blessings in my future for listening to the Spirit. I know this is true for anyone. Though it can be a scary, and sometimes painful, thing to do, when we get direction from our Lord we need to let go of what we want and give ourselves wholly to the will of Our Father. 

I found a link on Facebook (of all places! Click here to follow the page it was on. A note, the picture is theirs as well) that I really loved! This picture had a caption that read, "And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better." This really touched my heart. I definitely feel like I've had some opportunities that I would not have had if I had stayed the course and gotten married. And I would not have ended up as happy in the end as I will by listening to the father. Another quote mentioned in RS today was, "When we turn our will over to Him, He will make more of us than we could make of ourselves."

I cannot wait for the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for me. I also testify that if you try like I am to listen to the whisperings of the Spirit and do what it prompts you to do, you can find a joy and peace in your life beyond anything people can give you.

--Lexi Lou

P.S. By the way, guess who is getting their patriarchal blessing next week?! WOOT WOOT!! The blessings just keep pouring out... 

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 20, 21, and 22

Looking at the next three categories, two of them are kind of depressing. I'm hoping not to be a downer on this post, so I'll do my best to put a positive spin on them. (Besides, ITS FRIDAY! Everything should be good, right?)

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel...

I want to go to Europe so bad!!! I want to entrench myself in the romantic, historic, rich culture of it all! I want to be able to go to quaint little bookshops or cafes and try all kinds of delicious food. I want to be able to look around me and hear the people speaking in a different tongue, and maybe be able to understand them. I want to go to all the landmarks I've heard and read about and seen in the movies. I want to see the lights and hear the music. I want to be able to look at pictures and say, "I've been there. And it was AMAZING!"

When (if) I get wealthy (don't ask me how, because I'm not even sure yet), I want to be able to pick up and jump on a plane and go whenever I want. Feeling like a romantic anniversary with my one true love? BAM! Dinner underneath the Eiffel Tower. Hungry for the best pasta in the world? ZOOM! Off I'll go to Italy. I just want to be able to experience the world and let it help me grow. 

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget...

Everyone makes mistakes. Some of them that I've made I wish I could forget. And no, I'm not thinking relationships. I'm meaning things that hurt me or someone else.

Then again, some of those mistakes I've made I feel were necessary for the person I am today. Each mistake shapes me, and possibly those around me. I want to be able to use my experiences to help others. Let them learn from my mistakes instead of making the same ones themselves. I really hope this will be the case for my children in particular. Any unnecessary pain I can spare them will be a blessing, and I can't wait to help them. 

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at...

I know what those of you who know be are going to say. I'm a decent dancer. However, there is always room for improvement. I always have fun dancing (though I haven't done it in a while). I want to step onto that dance floor and have people's jaws drop when they see me move. I want to be graceful, something that I probably won't be able to pull off until I've lost some more weight (no worries, I know I don't have far to go. I'm really trying to not bash myself). 

I also want to improve my ballroom dancing. I took a semester of ballroom my sophomore year, and I LOVED IT! For that, I'm going to need to get out and find a partner about the same level as me. Then, we're going to learn more together...that's the plan anyways. 

--Lexi Lou