focus

"We would do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

We have been taking a mighty big slow down in our home.  Operation "focus".  What are we focusing in our day to day routines?  What are we making time for?  What are we focusing on that distracts from the truly most important moments and lets them slip by without a notice?  Put the iPad down, turn the T.V. off, stop cleaning for a second, quit reading this blog post.  And go focus on what matters most in your life. Focus on the moments you've never noticed before. While some things are vital to our day to day routines, remember to look up from them time to time and focus. It will only lead to a happier, healthy life.  You'll be surprised what you've been missing. 

Can I Give 1%?

Did you know that 15 minutes is 1% of your day. 

I am most happy when I study the teachings of Jesus Christ. I am most happy when I take time to study the scriptures. Living a healthy life is also living a healthy spiritual life. 

I was thinking we have been asked to study the scriptures everyday. Then during one of my group scripture studies someone pointed out to me that 15 minutes of scripture is only 1% of your day. Is it that hard to give 1% of your day to the Lord? 

Then it got me thinking can't I give more than 1% of my time to serving, or teaching, or learning about Jesus Christ and his gospel? I began thinking about tithing and how we pay 10% of what we earn to the Lord and his church, wouldn't it seem like we should at least be giving 10% of our time to the Savior, so we can be instruments for him to bring people to the gospel? 

10% of your day is 144 minutes thats 2 hours and 24 min. I am not saying that this time should just be studying the scriptures, but if we get so busy in our lives that we can't give the Lord, who gave us everything he had, 10% of what he has already given us, shouldn't we filter out some of the less productive things in our life to make us happier by giving back to our Savior? If 10% seems like too much at least strive to make time for 1% of your day to get to know our Savior better. Can you give 1%?

I Love...

This past week my cousin came home from serving an LDS mission. He started his talk off stating he was not blessed with public speaking, the very next words were "But I love Jesus Christ". It was instantly then the entire congregation became silent and his entire talk was his testimony. He battles with Asbergers Disease. Yet the Atonement allowed him to serve a mission, and for him to bring people to the gospel. 

Also this past week I was able to go to my friend's Baptism. This child of God, was someone I would have never expected to accept the teachings of the LDS faith, yet he did.

 These two experiences taught me a lot about love. Yes I know, how did a baptism and a homecoming teach me about love? Well, I believe that when we LOVE Jesus Christ he will fill in all the spaces missing in our life. 

Imagine the kind of love that performs miracles. The kind of love that accepts everyone. The kind of love that is within all of us. This kind of love is the pure love of Christ. I have been thinking a lot about charity lately and how I can acquire more of it in my life. I realized that to have more love for other people you need to love Jesus Christ more deeply. My cousin's mission president had a theme for their mission and it said:

 " Obedience is the Price. 

Faith is the Power.

 Love is the Motive. 

The Spirit is the Key. 

Christ is the Reason."

I have realized that being obedient is a great way to start, Faith is the way to act. Love is the way to move forward. The Spirit tells you the direction. And Jesus Christ is the person that makes everything possible. 

The pure love of Christ not only allows us the use His power but to become like Him more than we could ever imagine. His power is Happiness. His power is Love.

Turn on the Light

Over the summer, I picked up this book at the library:

It is a book with daily tidbits of inspiration and suggestions 

that stem from one woman's journey to find peace and happiness in her life.

I didn't read it cover to cover,

but I did find many ideas that were meaningful to me.

 I especially love this excerpt about accessing spiritual light in our lives.

"Making the absolute best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit, it is the reason we were born, but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance. For many of us it also requires prayer. That's because we find it far easier to learn to live by our own lights when we access a Higher Source of Power to illuminate our path. The filmmaker and writer Julia Cameron calls this switching on "spiritual electricity" that transcends our own limitations.

"In my own journey I have found this to be very true. Usually I limited the times I requested that the Power be turned on to the occasions when I was appearing in public: giving workshops, lecturing, holding business meetings. Then it occurred to me that this was like living in a house with electricity but turning on the lights only for a couple of hours every few months. And I wondered why I was frequently bumping into obstacles. So I started to ask for the Power to be switched on in my daily life: as a mother, a wife, a writer, and a friend. When I asked, it was turned on. When I didn't, I stayed in the dark. You don't have to be a master electrician to understand what's going on here: someone has to turn on the switch. Asking is the way of activating spiritual electricity. When there is Light we see remarkably well. We see with clarity. And what we can see if we look deep within is that the authentic self is the Soul made visible.

"Do not try to remake yourself into something you're not. Just try making the best of what God made. The sacred art and craft of nurturing our souls and the souls of those we love is Simple Abundance soulcraft. Begin today by turning on the Light.
(February 4: The Authentic Self is the Soul Made Visible)

Sometimes it can be hard to see things clearly. 

Sometimes when we look at others or our experiences or even ourselves,

we are looking in the dark.

We see only the negative things, the failings, the weaknesses.

We see only how things are hurting or inconveniencing us.

We see only our mistakes and disappointments.

I believe that turning on spiritual light in our lives

can help us to see things as they really are.

We can see the good in others and in our experiences,

even if they are painful or challenging.

But most importantly,

we can see who we really are.

We can see and understand the worth in ourselves

and that can give us the power to do both simple and hard things.

finding a purpose

It amazes me how the world molds and shapes our minds to believe that we have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, weigh a certain weight, live in a certain kind of home, drive a certain kind of car, and work our way towards a certain career so to speak in order to be somebody. In order to be "ideal".  In order to be of worth. 

I truly believe that in order to be in a healthy, happy state, we need to push aside the worldly views and appreciate who we are as individuals.  We are all different, and all of great worth. There is no "ideal" person.  That is the beauty of this world.  There has never been one individual exactly alike.  Ever.  And I believe that it is not a coincidence.

It is important to live up to your best self and be happy with it.  Living up to your best self does not include molding yourself to be what the world says you should be.  And as hard as it is to push that aside, the already skewed perspective,  the more you do it,  the more you realize who you are and what your great purpose is. When we have purpose, it is amazing what one individual can accomplish. 

Finding your purpose is the first step to a happier, healthy life.  I found my purpose here.  A divine purpose that has provided me with happiness that has never left me, and I believe never will.  They say to find joy in the journey, but I heard someone else say that the journey is the reward.  

Health and Holiness

I have been thinking about spiritual health lately. 

I think so often we compartmentalize our health.

We focus on our physical needs separately from our emotional well-being. 

I believe true health and happiness come from strengthening all aspects of who we are.

Including our spirituality.

Source: trivita.com

Although spirituality is typically defined by religion,

 it can mean many things to different people.

In general, it can mean connecting to your inner self-

the core of your identify, values, and beliefs.  

For me, I find that when I feel a connection to God;

a connection to personal holiness.

 I love this thought from Patricia Holland:

"I have pondered long and hard about the feeding of our inner self. It is no coincidence that we speak of "feeding the spirit" just as we would speak of feeding the body. We need constant nourishment for both. The root word hale (as in hale and hearty) is the common root to words like whole, health, heal, and holy. Our health and our wholeness are unquestionably linked with our holiness. We need very much for body, mind, and spirit to come together, to unite in one healthy, stable soul."

Connecting with our spirituality can be an individual and personal process,

as our needs and perspectives may be different.
Yoga, prayer, meditation, time in nature, journal writing, creative pursuits...

however you choose to feed your spirit,

I believe it can positively impact your overall state of health and well-being.

I know it has for me.