Looking back, so many of my forum letters seem to have something to do with trusting in God, including the one you're about to read. Learning to trust in and totally rely on God has been something of a focus of mine for the past few years. It's something that I find difficult sometimes, but it's something that gives me peace when I manage it.
One of God's attributes is charity and everything that goes along with that: patience, kindness, willingness to teach and to aid. He is always willing, wanting, and waiting* to give us that help that we need. Not necessarily the help that we think we need, but the help that he knows that we need. As it states in the book of Hebrews, "he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (13: 5). Think about it: God has promised that there will never be a time when He will leave us. I feel so small sometimes, just one person in the vastness of the world but God cares about me. I may be only one person out of billions but He still cares and still gives me the personalized help that I need. And He does that for each and every one of His children.
This kind of knowledge gives me courage, so that I "boldly say, The Lord is our helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13: 6). With the Lord as my helper, what should I fear? There is nothing that is impossible for God and He has promised that even trials will be for my good. Why should I fear? Everything will work out, not according to my will and desires, but according to God's will. What better assurance could I have that there is a divine plan for my life and that my Heavenly Father will help me to accomplish it? I cannot think of any.
Trusting in God can be hard. It means that you have to trust someone other than yourself. But I challenge you to put even just a little more trust in God who loves you. I promise that it will bless your life. God has promised to be your helper. You just have to let Him.
Love,
Elicia
*Thank you Alfred P. Doolittle for that splendid piece of rhetoric
Monday, March 31, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Breathing in Words
There are times when I just want to write. Need to write. To build a woven nest of words around me, words of all colors and hues, branches of sentences that build up a world around me. There are times when I cannot sit still with the voices waiting to be written and the words that will not be silenced. There are many times when I cannot think, speak, taste, be! until I release the words that are-- And not just any word will do. It has to be the exact right one. Professors call that diction. I call it necessary art. Don't people realize that each word is a slightly different color and you have to get the exact right shade for the painting of your paragraph to have the right effect?! Not paying attention to your words is like trying to paint a beautiful scene without caring what colors are on your palette. Writing, by which I mean choosing words with precision, is as necessary to me as breathing.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Body Image
Why are we, humanity I mean, obsessed with celebrities and especially with what they look like? Why do so many news stories and magazines have celebrities splashed across their pages? And why, oh, why are there so many diets, fads, and even affections fixated on celebrities?
Celebrities are not show dogs, to be walked around and judged and valued based on their appearance. They are people. PEOPLE. Famous people, yes, but people nonetheless. So why do we care what famous people look like in their swimsuits? Or what their dress size is? Or how much they weigh?
I can understand being concerned from someone's health on either end on the spectrum of size and weight, but other than concern for their health, why do we care so much about what famous people look like?
As far as I can tell, the reason their appearances matter so much to us is that they become a standard by which to measure ourselves. But why? What is the point?
Bodies are such incredible, almost magical things. I mean, think about it. Think about all of the functions that your body performs endlessly without you even being aware of them. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration, hemoglobin carrying oxygen through your bloodstream-oxygen that your lungs previously filtered out of the air you breathed in. All of the muscles that work together when you move or speak or sing. All of your brain functions and your heat beating and I could just go on and on. Even having the combined knowledge of hundreds of years of study, our best scientists still don't understand everything about how the body works.
The body is absolutely amazing.
I think that when we look at our body with a sense of disgust, shame, or a longing for it to be more like someone else's, we are being disrespectful and ungrateful. We are devaluing the miracle that our bodies are in favor of envying someone who probably, no definitely, isn't secure about what they look like either. We are saying that there is only one kind of beauty and we putting up a false standard for perfection.
Take care of yourself. Be healthy and enjoy being attractive. But stop looking at yourself and feeling shame. You are in control of yourself. If you think your health habits need a change, change them! Learn to look at yourself realistically. You are not perfect. But neither are the people in the gossip magazines or the people in the movies or the people making headlines. Instead of wishing that you looked different than you do, learn to appreciate the individual wonders of having a body.
I've heard a lot said about the objectification of women. But I think that the issue is more about the objectification of the body, whether is is male or female. Each person deserves to be looked at for who they are, not for what they are encased in. So please make sure that when you admire someone's looks, you look at them as more than a body. And please, the next time you find yourself distressed by your own appearance for whatever reason, stop cheapening something amazing and remember how incredible you and your body are. You. Are. Amazing! Remember that.
Love,
Elicia
Celebrities are not show dogs, to be walked around and judged and valued based on their appearance. They are people. PEOPLE. Famous people, yes, but people nonetheless. So why do we care what famous people look like in their swimsuits? Or what their dress size is? Or how much they weigh?
I can understand being concerned from someone's health on either end on the spectrum of size and weight, but other than concern for their health, why do we care so much about what famous people look like?
As far as I can tell, the reason their appearances matter so much to us is that they become a standard by which to measure ourselves. But why? What is the point?
Bodies are such incredible, almost magical things. I mean, think about it. Think about all of the functions that your body performs endlessly without you even being aware of them. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration, hemoglobin carrying oxygen through your bloodstream-oxygen that your lungs previously filtered out of the air you breathed in. All of the muscles that work together when you move or speak or sing. All of your brain functions and your heat beating and I could just go on and on. Even having the combined knowledge of hundreds of years of study, our best scientists still don't understand everything about how the body works.
The body is absolutely amazing.
I think that when we look at our body with a sense of disgust, shame, or a longing for it to be more like someone else's, we are being disrespectful and ungrateful. We are devaluing the miracle that our bodies are in favor of envying someone who probably, no definitely, isn't secure about what they look like either. We are saying that there is only one kind of beauty and we putting up a false standard for perfection.
Take care of yourself. Be healthy and enjoy being attractive. But stop looking at yourself and feeling shame. You are in control of yourself. If you think your health habits need a change, change them! Learn to look at yourself realistically. You are not perfect. But neither are the people in the gossip magazines or the people in the movies or the people making headlines. Instead of wishing that you looked different than you do, learn to appreciate the individual wonders of having a body.
I've heard a lot said about the objectification of women. But I think that the issue is more about the objectification of the body, whether is is male or female. Each person deserves to be looked at for who they are, not for what they are encased in. So please make sure that when you admire someone's looks, you look at them as more than a body. And please, the next time you find yourself distressed by your own appearance for whatever reason, stop cheapening something amazing and remember how incredible you and your body are. You. Are. Amazing! Remember that.
Love,
Elicia
Friday, March 14, 2014
Forum 8B- Free Born
While reading the story of the arrest of Paul at the temple in Jerusalem, I was struck by some of his words. He said "I was free born." (Acts 22: 28) What a powerful statement.
Now I know that this statement has a very specific context. Paul had just claimed the rights of his Roman citizenship and the chief captain of the band of soldiers that had him in custody was verifying it. Roman citizenship was not given like citizenship today. Just being born in the Roman Empire did give you the rights of a full Roman citizen. There were even different degrees of citizenship. Higher levels of citizenship could be earned in military service, awarded for service to the state, granted as a favor by someone in power, or something similar. However, a child born to Roman citizens was given their status. Being a citizen in a conquered country gave you extra rights and protection. So in this instance, Paul was laying claim to the legal rights associated with his status as a citizen.
That;s all very well and nice and has interesting implications for later, but I love thinking about the concept of being "free born" outside of the context of that particular moment. Think about it. We are all "free born." The second Article of Faith states that "we believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." That means that when we are born, we are born free of sin. At that moment, we are unstained and innocent. We do not remain that way, but when we begin life, we begin by being free.
It is our choices as we grow up that entangle us. Not just sins and misdeeds, but we are also caught in distractions and habits. How often do we find time or options sucked away because of something we had chosen earlier? Sins and mistakes also trap us in places we do not want to be with consequences that are difficult to face.
But through Christ's Atonement, we become free again. When we take advantage of the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf, He loosens the bands that we have put around ourselves and frees us from the pain and suffering that have come. Christ's Atonement is infinite and eternal and applies at all times. It applied the moment that we were born ("all little children are alive in Christ" -Moroni 8:22), it applies now, and it will apply to each of us in the future. Christ's choice to take our sins and pains and everything upon Him made it so that we, like Paul, are "free born."
It doesn't matter what your past has been or what mistakes you have made. In Christ, all are "free born" and are able to be free through the miracle of His Atonement. "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" is my invitation to you. (Moroni 10: 32) Leave your sins and your pain behind and learn of the Savior who has made it possible for us to all be "free born."
Friday, March 7, 2014
Why I'm Choosing To Leave For 18 Months
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! I am very excited to say that I have submitted my papers to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that my call should be coming either this week or the next!!!!!!!!!
"What is this mission thing entail?" some of you might be thinking. Well, I'll tell you. Serving a mission be spending 18 months serving somewhere in the world. I'll be teaching people about Christ, trying to help better their lives, and performing service. I don't know where; that information will come with the letter that has my call. I could go almost anywhere in the world. Basically to almost any place found on this list: Mission.net Current Missions List . I'll be one of about 80,000 people out serving others.
Right before I leave to go wherever it is that I'm going, I'll be set apart as a missionary. Missionaries are encouraged to keep in contact with friends and family but in order to avoid distractions, these communications will be limited to letters, or depending on the mission, email. I'll be assigned to a companion (another sister missionary) and we'll stay together until either of are transferred. I'll get up at 6:30 am every morning, go teaching, and then be in bed by 10:30 pm. I might be learning a new language or I might be speaking English. I could be staying in the States, or I could be leaving the country.
Maybe right about now you're wondering why I've signed up for this and why I'm so excited about it. I'll tell you!
I'm excited to serve a mission because I'm excited to be able to go out and have the chance to spend a year and a half that's dedicated to serving people.
I want to serve a mission so I can teach people about Christ. I've seen the difference that Christ has made in my own life and how much happier this Gospel has made me. "Gospel" means "good news" and for me, that's exactly what it is. Christ's gospel is the most joyful kind of news that there is. So I want to go out and share as much of the good news as I can!
Love is why I want to serve a mission. I want to go out and heal people. And I believe that the best way to do that is to bring people to Christ because as our Savior, He is the best healer of all. I want to help people to feel Christ's love for them. I want to teach them and I want them to feel God's love. I'm not going out to baptize. That's just something secondary to me. I want to go and spread God's love and to teach and to heal. I feel like I am supposed to go to be an extension of Christ's open, loving arms and share His invitation to come unto Him. I'm going to do the work of the Lord, I'm going to love, and I'm going to heal.
I'm going because I feel called to this work and I want to be obedient. I have a testimony that there is a God in heaven, that He is our Father, and that He loves each and every one of His children and that includes you. I believe with all of my heart that Christ lives. I know that He is my Savior and Redeemer as well as my greatest friend and supporter. I have received a witness of the truth of The Book of Mormon and the LDS church. I believe that prophets are called of God and that God continues to bless the earth with revelation. I believe that God has a plan for our ultimate happiness. I testify that there is a God who cares and loves you and waits to bless you. I have seen the hand of God in my life and I hope that through my mission, I'll be able to show God's love to the world. I cannot wait to find out where I'll be called. Of course I'm nervous, but I have faith that wherever I go will be place that I am needed and that I'll be able to do whatever needs to be done if I rely on the strength of God.
In interviewing with one of my church leaders for my papers, he brought up 1st Corinthians 1:27 which says that God calls the "weak things of the world" to do His work. While that may not seem very complementary to be compared to the "weak things of the world", I find it immensely comforting. I am not going out on a mission and leaving everything that I know behind me to go talk to strangers for a year and a half because I think I'm just that amazing. That's not it. For one thing, I don't really like talking to strangers. Especially not about something so deeply personal as my religion. So that's not it at all. Instead, I recognize that I'm really very weak. But God doesn't expect me to do everything on my own. It is His work that I'm going out to do and so He will give me the strength to do it.
This mission will be one of the most challenging things that I will ever do but it will also be one of the best decisions of my life. And so, I'm sitting here, waiting for my call to come, impatient, nervous, and absolutely ecstatic. I cannot wait to find out where I'm going and to meet the people I'll be serving!
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them!
Love,
Elicia
"What is this mission thing entail?" some of you might be thinking. Well, I'll tell you. Serving a mission be spending 18 months serving somewhere in the world. I'll be teaching people about Christ, trying to help better their lives, and performing service. I don't know where; that information will come with the letter that has my call. I could go almost anywhere in the world. Basically to almost any place found on this list: Mission.net Current Missions List . I'll be one of about 80,000 people out serving others.
Right before I leave to go wherever it is that I'm going, I'll be set apart as a missionary. Missionaries are encouraged to keep in contact with friends and family but in order to avoid distractions, these communications will be limited to letters, or depending on the mission, email. I'll be assigned to a companion (another sister missionary) and we'll stay together until either of are transferred. I'll get up at 6:30 am every morning, go teaching, and then be in bed by 10:30 pm. I might be learning a new language or I might be speaking English. I could be staying in the States, or I could be leaving the country.
Maybe right about now you're wondering why I've signed up for this and why I'm so excited about it. I'll tell you!
I'm excited to serve a mission because I'm excited to be able to go out and have the chance to spend a year and a half that's dedicated to serving people.
I want to serve a mission so I can teach people about Christ. I've seen the difference that Christ has made in my own life and how much happier this Gospel has made me. "Gospel" means "good news" and for me, that's exactly what it is. Christ's gospel is the most joyful kind of news that there is. So I want to go out and share as much of the good news as I can!
Love is why I want to serve a mission. I want to go out and heal people. And I believe that the best way to do that is to bring people to Christ because as our Savior, He is the best healer of all. I want to help people to feel Christ's love for them. I want to teach them and I want them to feel God's love. I'm not going out to baptize. That's just something secondary to me. I want to go and spread God's love and to teach and to heal. I feel like I am supposed to go to be an extension of Christ's open, loving arms and share His invitation to come unto Him. I'm going to do the work of the Lord, I'm going to love, and I'm going to heal.
I'm going because I feel called to this work and I want to be obedient. I have a testimony that there is a God in heaven, that He is our Father, and that He loves each and every one of His children and that includes you. I believe with all of my heart that Christ lives. I know that He is my Savior and Redeemer as well as my greatest friend and supporter. I have received a witness of the truth of The Book of Mormon and the LDS church. I believe that prophets are called of God and that God continues to bless the earth with revelation. I believe that God has a plan for our ultimate happiness. I testify that there is a God who cares and loves you and waits to bless you. I have seen the hand of God in my life and I hope that through my mission, I'll be able to show God's love to the world. I cannot wait to find out where I'll be called. Of course I'm nervous, but I have faith that wherever I go will be place that I am needed and that I'll be able to do whatever needs to be done if I rely on the strength of God.
In interviewing with one of my church leaders for my papers, he brought up 1st Corinthians 1:27 which says that God calls the "weak things of the world" to do His work. While that may not seem very complementary to be compared to the "weak things of the world", I find it immensely comforting. I am not going out on a mission and leaving everything that I know behind me to go talk to strangers for a year and a half because I think I'm just that amazing. That's not it. For one thing, I don't really like talking to strangers. Especially not about something so deeply personal as my religion. So that's not it at all. Instead, I recognize that I'm really very weak. But God doesn't expect me to do everything on my own. It is His work that I'm going out to do and so He will give me the strength to do it.
This mission will be one of the most challenging things that I will ever do but it will also be one of the best decisions of my life. And so, I'm sitting here, waiting for my call to come, impatient, nervous, and absolutely ecstatic. I cannot wait to find out where I'm going and to meet the people I'll be serving!
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them!
Love,
Elicia
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