He called Some Apostles..For the perfecting of The Saints

So last Friday I had the great opportunity to go see David A. Bednar in Orlando across from our temple. It is such a rare occurrence to have an Apostle in our area, let alone a fireside with one. He did a Q and A session for 2 hours, which was very enlightening and uplifting for everyone in attendance. Some highlights of things mentioned were..(I'm mainly recording this for myself) It's going to seem very unorganized, but the answers depend on the question of others.

That it doesn't matter where any of us came from as far as background in the church, we have the potential inside of us to become anything we want or need to be. It doesn't matter if we had the priesthood, family prayer or Family home evening in the home. All that matters is that we have the desire to have that in OUR own homes in the future. He then went on to say that when his wife was pregnant with their son, she threw up constantly and by the time she was at the end of her pregnancy she was physically exhausted. Their son had colic and was up all during the night. She would breastfeed him and he would stay up for hours with him reading scriptures to him while he had the Mormon tabernacle choir playing in the background. He said no body told him to do that, but he always wondered what kind of family he would have if he did those things. He never had a father with the priesthood and he wanted to be that example in his own family. The main point he was trying to make was when Heavenly Father is with us we truly can do anything and be the type of parents he wants us to be regardless of our backgrounds.

He said When we raise our hand to sustain someone in the church, we are promising to help them succeed. That means to help them in anyway we can. (I thought that was an interesting thought).

When someone asked him how to keep the Holy Ghost with us more frequently, he said that we shouldn't gear up to receive the Holy Ghost, but rather simply keep our covenants that we have made at baptism, sacrament, temple etc. It's not studying the scriptures a certain way that better benefits us, it's how we live our lives. Asking, and seeking is how we receive revelation.

Along the same lines he talked about prayer and how it's a common misunderstanding about prayer. Too many people want the assurance and sit and wait for the answer to their prayers when that isn't how God answers prayers at all. We need to have more FAITH in things we hope for and can't see. FAITH is the principle of action he wants us to take the STEP and the LIGHT assures us we are on the right path. So our prayers should work like this

• FAITH
• ACTION
• ASSURANCE

He then went onto say that Peter didn't know he could walk on the water until he took the FAITH and stepped out of the boat and through his ACTION he got the ASSURANCE.

That was one of my favorite points of the night.

The gift of tongues is not just learning a bunch of languages, but rather the gift of tongues is knowing the right thing to say at the right time and place through the spirit of the Lord.

The reason Pornography is so detrimental to our society is that it darkens our understanding of what God intends for us as his children on earth, and we forget who we are and what heavenly father wants for us. We need to be prepared to face the evils of the day and know how we will stand up and be a man or woman of integrity. We make that decision one time in our lives and we never waiver. If you don't know how your going to handle a situation when you are faced with it, you are spiritually dead. He went further and said that it isn't enough to have a testimony. It's simply the beginning not the conclusion. A testimony is not enough for you to withstand. You need to be converted to the Lord. To be converted, you stand up and are willing to follow the Lord. That's the way we all must be. Alma 23:5-6*

The #1 thing he wants for all of us is to be doctrinally grounded in the simple doctrine of Jesus Christ. We live in a world that thinks Good is evil and evil is good. Unless we understand the simple doctrine we will wonder in the darkness of the world. We want those around us to know WHY we obey, WHY we attend church meetings-- To feel the companionship of the Godhead (Holy Ghost) That's WHY we become doctrinally grounded and the power of Satan will have NO hold on us.

Someone stood and asked how we learn to forgive what seems like an unforgivable sin. To which he responded.. YOU cannot forgive them. It's only in and through the power of the Atonement that we CAN forgive. You cannot forgive someone of your own will but of the Lord's.. When we take the sacrament we do it for a remission of not only our sins, but others. Mosiah 24:13-15

Notice that the covenants are central to ordinances.

The power of Godliness is manifest in the power of the priesthood.

and the power of Godliness is the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Ordinances of the gospel is what helps us forgive and manifest the power of godliness.

Forgiveness of sins is overcoming the sins of the fall of Adam.

We forgive through and only through the power of the Atonement!

He also said that Satan only attacks the things he hates.. The reason he HATES it so much is because he will never have those things, and so he attacks them the strongest. He will never have a body, he will never have a family, he will never be able to make covenants, he will never have eternal life. How much sense that makes! I had never quite heard it like that before.

He invoked a blessing on us that according to our faithfulness that we would not let our fears rule our lives. That we would never take council from our fears.

*Most of this is me paraphrasing what he said, as a result it's not word for word. It's my own interpretation.

What a blessing it was to see an Apostle of the Lord! I do know that we are a blessed people to have such men of God lead and guide us in a way that is pleasing until the Lord. I know that if we follow their counsel and direction that we will make it safely back home to our father in Heaven and he will tell us well done thou good and faithful servant! :) What a wonderful time it is to be alive and to be able to participate in such goodness! It was evident as I shook hands with him and he looked into my eyes that he was a servant of the Lord. He brought the love of the Lord with him, and I felt it so deeply.

One Step at a Time

Today had an unexpected turn towards the right direction! When I went on PSC's website to register for graduation in May, I was informed that I had two classes to finish up aside from the one I'm currently enrolled in. My heart sank as I had prepared for this to be my final semester at PSC, and now to have this hurdle in front of me made my mind spin. Yesterday I walked into an adviser (a new one because my old one retired) and she said the same thing, but called the advisor coordinator. He said he would review my information and would meet me the following morning at another campus to go over it all. I woke up early so I would be early for my appointment, and as soon as he saw me he said I have some very good news for you, you won't have to take those classes *sigh of relief* , so I'm just going to go over to administration and make sure we input it into our system. So I sat there for what seemed like forever (25-30 minutes) and he finally comes back and has a huge smile on his face and said "It's your lucky day, not only do you NOT have to take those classes, but you've fulfilled all the requirements, and have GRADUATED, congratulations!!!! I looked at him dumbfounded and said, you mean after this semester, right? He said no, right now, today, You're graduated! I couldn't believe my ears.. What!?!, I don't understand, I don't know what to say was all I could say. He said with a smile on his face, yes, you are finished with your AA!! I was completely shocked and didn't know how to react! How thankful I am to be FINISHED! -At least with my AA, now on to my BS!! I'm more than excited, and what an incredible way to start off my day! I don't think I've ever been so happy and felt so accomplished any day of my life so far! :) Heavenly Father has blessed my life so richly, and so over-abundantly! My debt to him just gets bigger and bigger!

=D Life is so very GOOD!!!

The Prime of Our Youth!

As of last Sunday my brother, Rusty got called to serve as the Young Mens president of our ward. I would have been excited for him anyways, but I'm even more excited because I'm the Young Womens president, and that means that I will get to work right along side my brother! :) I was called as the YW president in August of last year. My mouth hit the floor and I couldn't believe that I was being called because I had never heard of a single sister being called as the president. Once I understood what he was saying, I felt mounds of inadequacies surround me. I then knew that I had to rely on the Lord that obviously he was aware of something I wasn't.

It's now been 6 months since I've received this calling and I can't believe how much it has changed my life. I've never felt so humbled, so called out about my own weaknesses (due to assessing myself), so helped and brought to the level I need to be in my entire life. I never thought I could love someone the way heavenly father loves someone. To see, act and feel personally his love for each of these girls. I'm in love with my calling, I'm in love with these girls and all the things they bring into my life. I couldn't imagine myself without the growth that these girls and my fellow counselors have afforded me. I have so much fun it hardly feels like a calling. This past Wednesday we did Just Dance 2 on the nintendo Wii, which the youth had an absolute blast, and the attendance was up more than it has been in a long time. I'm just over-whelmed by the fact and knowledge of how much Heavenly Father cares for these youth and allows me to see and feel of his love for them. I feel so unworthy to be in this calling, and yet I'm so very thankful that for some reason I'm being allowed to witness all of these fantastic events. I'm so grateful my heavenly father loves me enough to show me so many of life's lessons! :)

How blessed we all are!

Time for 2011!

I think of the movie Ghost when I hear that song about time. "Time goes by so slowly, and time can do so much." With another year passing it seems like there is no stopping the clock. I kind of feel some panic that I might not accomplish all I need to. The minutes slip into hours and the hours fast forward into days which leads to weeks and then to months which speed into years. How precious our time on earth is. I look at all the people around me and I can't help but think of the things they have done with their time. Some have done adequate amount of things, some have not been so ambitious. I sincerely hope I'll be able to sufficiently use my time to allow opportunities to open for me. To press forward and allow myself to grow and learn all that I need to. To be in situations that allow me to learn new material.
The past several months I've observed people of all stages of life and have checked their mentality. Things that are important to them, the things that they don't care about any longer, the things that make them happy, sad, lonely, accomplished, defeated, etc. In observing them and how they might feel in situations, I've come to see how fast the cycle of life is. It seems like yesterday I was a shy timid little girl, and yet years have gone on and I'm an adult of my very own. My siblings have families of their own, my young parents are now grandparents, my grandparents are now older, and some have passed on. Time is so valuable! I see the loneliness they battle when I visit, and my heart hurts every time I leave them because I don't like them feeling that way. My parents house that was once the cause of much chaos and noise is now very quiet without the rest of us.
I think we all take for granted the time we've been given and don't use it sufficiently. We all think we will always have the time to do as we want, and that not today, but tomorrow I'll do it. Well what if tomorrow is too late? I just feel like for me, I need to manage my time more efficiently. Expand my mind on a greater scale, love on new levels, and have great adventures exploring the fun facts of life! I think that is the greatest resolution I have for myself this year.
Hope you all had a great 2010 and an even GREATER 2011!!! Cheers to a new year of learning and growing into who we need to be!

Ps. Another aunt moment... After the flu has violently been spread around my sister's home, my 5 year old niece says "Lydia, I think my belly is mad at me" hahaha She is too dang cute!

I LOVE to see the temple!

On October 30, 2010 in the Orlando Temple, I received my endowment. The day couldn't have been any prettier! The skies were dreamy, and the sun was smiling down. It was a beautiful experience that my parents flew in from out of town for. Many people that I love and care for made great strides to be there with me on my special day.

Over the past several transfers we have gotten really close with the missionaries serving in our ward. They thought it was a far fetch to ask the mission president for the opportunity to come with me, but they asked anyhow, and were granted permission. :) It was weird afterwards hugging everyone else, and following up with a handshake from them haha.

Many others made great efforts and sacrifices to be there. Emily took half the day off work so she could be WAITING on me when I got out. She cut my hair before I went in for my session, and it was a great experience being with her before I went in. I love her dearly, and am so thankful she is apart of my life. Once I got to the temple, mom and I met up with my dad and the missionaries. Dad had just finished his canoe race, so he wasn't there a minute too soon. Once inside the foyer there, I handed mom and dad stacks of family history names to take with them through my session. I wanted as many of my family members to experience what I was at the same time. I went on to the next foyer and was waiting for some paper work to finish, and low and behold coming out of a session was Mike Latu and Boots there to surprise me!! My jaw dropped because Mike had told me he had to work. Little jerk! James, one of my best friends was in town making wedding arrangements, missed my session by 5 minutes, but he was inside the Celestial room when I finished. That was almost better in my opinion. It had been months since I had seen him so it was a pretty joyous reunion accompanied by his parents. It was nice for my parents to finally be able to meet all these people that have been such an important part of my life here in Florida. My high councilman, that I worked next to when I had my Stake YSA calling came, along with his lovely wife. Some of the sisters that I most admire in my ward came, childhood friends drove 3 hours and purchased a hotel room just to be there. I felt so blessed, and so loved. They all truly made my day so bright and special. There were a couple of others that had every intention on being there, but opportunity wouldn't allow. I still felt their presence in spite. My family made it so special most of all. My sister and all her children, and my brother Rusty and his family came. When I came outside and saw them I almost got emotional. It meant so much to me to have them be there with me even if they couldn't come inside.

As mentioned earlier in the post, I had family names to take through. When I was in Young Women, one of my projects was to do family history. I at a young age was inspired and led to do family history by family members from beyond the veil. One in particular, was my great-great-grandmother, whom I've never met in this life. I have a real connection with her even though I've never met her. Since I did her baptism in 2003, I've always dreamed of the day for me to take her name through to get her endowments. When I learned I was getting my endowment taken out, I was excited that I could finally take her name through. I had already planned on going to back to the temple the first day possible to take her name through. I kept having experiences that made me understand her anxiousness. I kept thinking okay, let's not get crazy, I'm doing it as soon as I can.. This same experience happened to me 3 times in a 4 day period, and finally the last time it happened, I knew what she wanted. She wanted to experience it WITH ME. As soon as I thought that exact thought chills flooded my body, and I knew that's what she wanted. I waited for mom to get back from the store, and I called her into my room. I explained to her that someone else wanted her to be their escort on Saturday. That Emily wanted to go through, and I wanted her to do it because I couldn't. Mom sobbed because she knew how much that meant to me. The funny thing is, I wasn't hurt, I knew that's what she wanted, and how magnificent it would be to go through it together for the first time. I felt her in the temple with me, and I knew that she was as excited as I was to be going through the temple for the first time. How grateful I am for my great-great grandmother that has changed my life even though I've never met her.

What an awesome experience it was on October 30th! I was surrounded by many people that I love and cherish. Tasting a little bit of heaven on earth. People were still coming to lunch with us so they could be in on the celebration of the day. I'm so grateful for all those trials that I thought were ripping me to pieces at the time, but in looking back I realize that the Lord wasn't ripping me to pieces, he was building me, piece by piece on my way to become who he needs me to be.

Oh The Places You'll Go, The People You'll Meet!

September has been filled with travels yet again. Labor day weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Nauvoo with my original ward family. Accompanied by my oldest niece, Cortney. What a wonderful, spiritual, outstanding trip that was! We all stayed in the Nauvoo House, where Emma Smith died and lifted her hands to say, "Joseph, Joseph". There is no doubt in my mind he was there to receive her and take her home. God bless that woman who suffered, and sacrificed so much for the gospels sake. She was 4 months pregnant when Joseph and Hyrum died at Carthage Jail. I can't imagine what kind of courage it took to keep living on, and have hope for the baby that was soon arriving. Cortney and I flew directly into Indy, and my parents picked us up, and we drove straight to Nauvoo from there (another 5-6 hours). We were exhausted by the time we got there. It was so nice to be among my ward family from Indiana again. I love those guys so much!

Then, the following weekend, my sister and I went to Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma vs. Florida State game. We witnessed first hand that massacre! It was still a fun weekend. We have a friend that grew up in Oklahoma just 20 min from where the game took place. We stayed with her parents, and enjoyed catching back up with them. Oklahoma is a beautiful place in my opinion. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time outside the game, but it was a fun time enjoyed with great friends! I also was introduced to Hideaway Pizza (PHENOMENAL PIZZA!!). If you ever get the chance, go there! Regardless of the score, it's always a fun time when Seminoles are around! I'll support them if they win or lose! GO NOLES!!!

Then the following weekend, I was off to my Cousin, Tara's wedding in Indiana! It was a very beautiful occasion, which the bride and many others slaved away many hours getting every detail together. She looked flawless! She had an amazing dress, and just radiated beauty and grace! After we survived the 1 1/2 ceremony in the Catholic church, I wanted to break dance on the way back down the aisle. I was excited to share in that special day with her, and be a bridesmaid. Minutes before lining up we discovered the bride left her shoes at the reception hall, because she was up there late in the night trying to make everything perfect for her wedding. Someone quickly ran over there, and as we were all lining up, she slipped on her shoes. (Nobody noticed the behind the scenes work). We were off on a hay ride following the ceremony. Thankfully, I was able to pop off my 4 inch heels before making the climb up. (FYI, wearing heels when you are already 5'10" makes you look like Jolly Green Giant!) It was fun seeing all my family, and being able to interact with some that I hadn't seen in a while. As usual, many thought I was drunk. I guess they don't know that I am this crazy on a day-to-day basis. Other than peeing freely in the parking lot, I guess I fit in with the ways of the drunks haha... (I'm not sure that's a good thing). I loaded the plane with an hour of sleep, and grabbed my car and headed to church. I was able to completely change while driving. I was impressed with myself. I got to church and had only missed the opening song... POINTS!!! However, I was pretty useless. I felt to out of touch with reality.

Now this weekend, I am happy to report, we will be celebrating the engagement of my brother, Craig!! We are so HAPPY and EXCITED for him! He has waited a long time, and we couldn't be more thrilled for he and Hannah! I'm excited for the adventures that Hannah and I will accomplish together. She has a great zest and zeal for life that I can appreciate. She is a wonderful girl, and I'm elated to have her as apart of our family in the near future!! CONGRATS CRAIG & HANNAH!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Out of the Mouth of my nieces!!

Kayla and Grace were playing around with our new set of Cutco food scissors, which are VERY sharp!! Kayla ended up cutting Grace's finger on accident. Kayla just sobbed because she had hurt her sister. The next day I was talking to Grace about the importance of keeping her finger clean and we needed to be sure to keep a fresh bandage on it so it wouldn't get infected. Grace said "Can my finger fall off!?!?!" I said well, its unlikely, but if you don't take care of it, and it gets infected, yes it could fall off.. She responds "Well, then I'm keeping my bandaid on until Jesus comes, so when I meet him he can heal my finger." How freaking cute!! hahaha

Another Cute Story--

To preface this my mom's little Chihuahua died about a month ago and she was a little demond dog to everyone. If you looked at her cross eyed she would attack you. While Lori and I were in Europe, the girls were with my parents in Indiana. They got to be there when Hailey (the dog) died.

So today I took the girls for lunch after school. Grace is in my backseat with a very contemplative stare, and finally erupts with "Lydia, do you remember Hailey, Nana's dog that died?" Yeah Grace I know. She then laughs and says "Its funny to think of her as an angel." hahaha Then Kayla chips in "Yeah, she probably bit Jesus when she met him." hahahaha These kids are such comic relief!! I love them to BITS!!