at the end.

This is probably my last post as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Let me tell you, 18 months have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. Well, looking back on it it's gone warp speed. I feel like two weeks ago I was waving good-bye to my mom at the airport. But if you'd asked me how fast it was going 16 months ago, I would have told you that this day would never come because it still felt impossibly far away.

These past 18 months have been full of a lifetime of experiences. The good kind, the bad kind, the laugh-til-you-cry kind, the learning kind, the heart-breaking kind, the tears-of-joy kind, the frustrating kind, the friendship making kind, the spirit-filled kind, the tender mercies kind, the hidden blessings kind. But at the end, they've all been blessings.

If there is one over arching theme to what I've learned in the last year and a half, it's that

we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every single one of His children.

No matter who we think we are or what we may have done, we are never too far away from the love of God. No one can take that love away from us. We can try to say that it doesn't exist, but we're only kidding ourselves. He loves us. And I'm living proof. 

I'm proof that he gives us infinite second chances through the Atonement of His son--our Savior, Jesus Christ.

He wants us to return to live with Him. So he has a perfect plan for all of us. It's individual. And it's prefect. We don't have to doubt. We just have to have faith. And trust. Because He knows us perfectly. He knows our weaknesses and faults, our triumphs and successes, our talents and abilities.

And as we keep His commandments, He has so many more blessings in store for us than we can even imagine.

I love the Lord. And I've fallen in love with His work.

I'm eternally indebted to Him for this opportunity I've had to serve him.

Un desafío a ser agradecidos: Dia 1.

Escriba 10 habilidades físicas por las cuales esté agradecida.

Estoy agredecida que yo puedo...

1. ver.
2. caminar.
3. masticar. Porque la vida seria aborrida si pudieramos comer la comia rica de la Navidad..
4. Tambien estoy contenta de que yo pueda digerir los alimentos.
5. cantar. Me encanta cantar. A veces. Tambien, me encanta que todos podemos contar. De veras. Solo, no todos podemos cantar muy bien...
6. nadar.
7. escribir.
8. manejar un carro. Esto es una habilidad fisica, verdad?
9. respirar.
10. oler. Aunque esto no es una habilidad de que siempre estoy agredecida..

 Nuestros cuerpos son dones de nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial. Son parte de Su plan para ayudarnos a todos de nosotros llegar a ser como El.

"Y creó Dios al hombre a su imagen, a imagen de Dios lo creó; varón y hembra los creó." [Genesis 1:27]

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Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for.

1. Seeing.
2. Walking.
3. Chewing. Because life would be pretty boring if you couldn't eat food.. especially at Christmas.
4. I'm also glad that I can digest food.
5. Singing. I love to sing. Sometimes. I also love that everyone can sing. Really. Just not everyone can sing well...
6. Swimming.
7. Typing.
8. Driving a car. That's a physical ability right?
9. Breathing.
10. Smelling. Even though that's one that I'm not always that appreciative of..

Our bodies are a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. They're part of His plan to help us become more like Him.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." [Genesis 1:27]

grateful.

El tiempo de Navidad siempre parece ser un momento donde los sentimientos esten tiernos un poco mas y todos se ponen un poco mas sentimental.

Estoy segura de que es un buen momento para darse cuenta de las muchas bendiciones que tenemos.

El Mensaje de la Primera Presidencia de este mes es por el Presidente Henry B. Eying. Se llama "La opcion de ser agradecidos".

Y al final, hay grandes maneras de aplicarlo a los jovenes y los ninos tambien.

Como este.

Un desafío a ser agradecidos

Por John Hilton III y Anthony Sweat

¡No sólo hablemos de contar nuestras bendiciones; hagámoslo! Escriban una lista de 100 cosas por las cuales sientan agradecimiento. Si les parece demasiado, prueben esto:

1. Escriban 10 habilidades físicas por las cuales estén agradecidos.
2. Escriban 10 posesiones materiales por las cuales estén agradecidos.
3. Escriban el nombre de 10 personas vivas por las cuales estén agradecidos.
4. Escriban el nombre de 10 personas fallecidas por las cuales estén agradecidos.
5. Escriban 10 cosas sobre la naturaleza por las cuales estén agradecidos.
6. Escriban 10 cosas sobre el día de hoy por las cuales estén agradecidos.
7. Escriban 10 lugares de la tierra por los cuales estén agradecidos.
8. Escriban 10 invenciones modernas por las cuales estén agradecidos.
9. Escriban 10 alimentos por los cuales estén agradecidos.
10. Escriban 10 cosas acerca del Evangelio por las cuales estén agradecidos.

Cuando hacemos una lista como ésta, nos damos cuenta de que una lista de 100 cosas no es ni la mínima parte de todo lo que Dios nos ha dado.

Entonces, si usted esta dispuesto, hacer que este tiempo navideno esta llena de gratitud un poco mas y hacer un desafio a ser agredecidos conmigo.

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The Christmas season always seems to be one where feelings are a little more tender and we all get a little more sentimental.

Pretty sure that's a great time to realize just how many blessings we have.

The First Presidency Message this month is by President Henry B. Eyring and is called "The Choice to Be Grateful".

And at the end, there are great ways to apply it to youth and children too.

Like this one.

Take a Gratitude Challenge

By John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat

Let’s not just talk about counting our blessings—let’s do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for.
If that sounds like it is too many, try this:

1. Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for.
2. Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for.
3. Write 10 living people you are grateful for.
4. Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for.
5. Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for.
6. Write 10 things about today you are grateful for.
7. Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for.
8. Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for.
9. Write 10 foods you are grateful for.
10. Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.

When we make a list like this, we discover that a list of 100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the things God has given us.

So if you're up to it, make this Christmas season full of a little more gratitude and grateful challenge with me.

mis pies.

Monday we were at an apartment complex that some members live at and all of our plans [and backup plans] fell through.
We sat down on some steps to pray for some direction in where we should go, who we should go see, or what more we could do to receive some guidance.
As I opened my eyes I saw this.

I'm really thankful for my feet.

Random?
Maybe.

True?
Definitely.

But really, sometimes I think that I'm just not thankful enough for my body. And of all things, I don't think I ever think about my feet. [Except when they hurt..] But really. Life would be much harder without them.. Or if they didn't work as well as they do. And I wouldn't be able to have the great blessing of being here, in Nashville, Tennessee, on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and more importantly, for my Heavenly Father.

Flashback:

I used to never wear sandals. Ever. All through middle school. Until like my senior year of high school.

Why? People told me I have weird toes. [I do.]

But after spending way too many years sufficating my feet, I got over it.

How? Because our loving Heavenly Father has given us our bodies as a gift. Sure, they definitely have their limitations. Each one differently. But they're all gifts. Without which, we could have no possibility of returning to our Heavely Father's presence. He wanted us to have all that He has. In order for that to happen, we needed a body. Because He has a glorified, perfected body of flesh and bones, but we were only spirits.

True, our body that we got when we came to Earth, isn't perfect. Yet. We all have our individual strenghths and weaknesses. But ultimately we will all be resurrected, just as Christ was. And as we are here on Earth, and we do the things that we're here to do, if, as we are tried and tested, we make good choices, then we will have the chance to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father again and truly be as He is.

So I am truly grateful for my body because it allows me to live in the presence of my loving, Heavenly Father again.

I'm thankful for my feet.

[and comfy sister missionary shoes..]