Unimaginable.

Not enough people have real hope. I will admit I have my days where I really can't see through the thick fog in front of me. That's human. But to think day after day that nothing ever great is going to happen to you--is ridiculous. 

You and I are designed to have the best thing imaginable in our reach. Right now. I know I'm a crazy optimist, but sometimes we think that good things only happen to your best friend, your cousin, or your co-worker (who doesn't seem to be really working that hard,) but guess what? Now here goes the unimaginable...our Father in Heaven has plans for us that are literally so good that no one can imagine them yet. Those He has saved for YOU.

"And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands." (1 Nephi 2:20)

Read it again, and make sure you substitute the word "land" for something that you've been praying hard for lately.

Now, here's the million dollar question: Are you willing to live for it?

I'll be home for [Thanksgiving.]

The holidays have arrived! We're leaving right now to go up to this place:

Tetonia, ID

It's obviously not this green anymore...

And there is now snow on the ground.

So remember how I was talking about my bridge the other week? It keeps getting better. I think the only reason it gets better is because I've kept a miracle journal, and I can go back and actually see what I prayed for and what happened. It's amazing the things you think you'll remember, but you really don't until you go back and look. Like this for instance...

...I got my job back at BYUtv! I start right after I get back from Washington, D.C.. Before my mission, I worked as a PA for BYUtv sports--total dream job as a student, right? That was one of the hardest things to let go to serve, and I prayed a lot to be okay with it. Although sometimes it's hard for missionaries to come back and start sprinting right as they rush into life, that was something I knew The Lord would help me out with. Not specifically that job, but enjoying life and working hard to make it seem seamless.

Speaking of being on TV and Thanksgiving...they would have never allowed me to if I had worked there ten years ago:

Thanksgiving 2003/2013 with Felicia and Mary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Song of the week:

"I've got nothing left to lose, but I'm no pair of dancing shoes...Don't push but don't hesitate. 
Wake me from this slumber...Rush me, but leave time to wake." -Gavin DeGraw

Concept of hope.

“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” -C.S. Lewis

I think I started to understand the concept of faith on one of our trips to Disneyland...

                                                                            

Even when you're not a little kid, it really is as magical as everyone says it is. I don't think anyone could ever go to Disneyland and have a bad day (unless you're really trying to.) It put a hope in my life at such a young age, and gave something to me that I couldn't quite pin down. I didn't have to logically explain why it kept a smile on my face--it just did. 

Alison, Maddie and I went to President Christianson's institute class on Wednesday. He said, "Are you going to question the heart surgeon because you don't know how it works? I don't understand it one bit. And that's why I love it." 

He went on to talk about how none of us really have any idea how He will accomplish this huge task of "saving the world." When we were missionaries, I remember President saying the reason it sounds so familiar, and why we feel a pull to be more faithful is because it's literally in our DNA. It's in our nature to be like Him.  So C.S. Lewis is exactly right. We already have a glimpse of Heaven inside of us. We have to find that talent, that little something that God has given us, and use it to our fullest potential in order to find some sort of concept of hope.

Anyway, onto the events of the week. This one was probably the most fun besides the institute class on Wednesday:

NYRM groupies to the best intramural game on Thursday at 9. I've missed BYU.

Share the good news!

“Sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. . . . Perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to ‘open [your] mouths’ might today include ‘use your hands’ to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! . . .with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard . . . around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”  — President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I thought I would just copy the quote from the title page of the Church's social media site because it's fantastic...and because I can't come up with anything better myself. So, does everyone know why social media was even invented in the first place? Satan wants us to think that he created it for his own purposes, but in reality, God's always in charge. He always knows what's going on. It was created for us to share the gospel--plain and simple. Have you ever thought of how we are going get the gospel to the four corners of the earth? Like I said, He's a genius.

When I got an iPad today (!!) after selling my laptop, I realized I could not just read the scriptures and listen to conference talks, but I can have Preach My Gospel read to me and I can study from the most cherished book of the NYRM--Church History in the Fullness of Times. (Okay, I don't know how cherished it was to everyone else, but to me it is like gold.) AND IT'S FREE! Aside from the cost of the actual iPad...but it's the same price as a textbook. Totally worth it. And right now, I'm typing this up right on it. And I could e-mail my investigators back in New York, or post a scripture on a member's wall on Facebook. I'm in a technology shock right now, you'd think I was living under a rock for 18 months! Oh wait...

Anyway, missionary moment of the day I just have to share: I called my landlord in Washington, D.C. today to introduce myself. It didn't take five minutes to have him invited to lessons with the missionaries, and he is excited to talk to me more about it in January. All I had to do was say, "I just returned home from an LDS mission..." and that was it. They ask all the questions, you just have to know how to set the questions up. 

You see, it's all quite simple. People won't think you're stupid. In fact, they'll be wondering how in the world you love your Church so much to share it in everyday conversation, and they'll want to be a part of something that great, too. 

Just open your mouth...or in this case, your hands!

Building my bridge.

My mom calls them bridges. It's those awkward periods in life where you are coming from one thing and going onto the next. Sometimes it's fun to be on them, but if you're on one very long, you get very anxious. Fortunately, I'm building mine pretty fast.

Friday, Allie and I went all out and made it a girls' night--manicures and pedicures included! Finishing out the night cuddling with her while watching 

"The Emporor's New Groove," however, was the best part.

Saturday, right before our session at the Salt Lake Temple, Kadi and I tried to go to Taco Bell for some authentic Mexican food. But of course, on our way, we saw a sign for "New York Delicatessan," and said no more. It was really cool hanging out with my first companion again. Especially our adventures the next night...

After failing to find a single-adult group our age (walking into a 31+ single 

adult activity is kind of embarassing) we ended up here.

Everyone keeps asking me how the transition is going. Really, every returned missionary that talked to me about it before I left New York scared me into coming home--and I think that's what helped! Although everything I do seems pointless, I know in the long run it isn't really. Everyone has made it a very smooth landing back down to earth. I enjoy trying to put my life back together, because I get to start at ground zero. I don't have to do anything I did before, and I don't have to remember any stupid things I did in my pre-mission life. I scored one big tabula rasa.

The best advice was from President Francis. In my exit interview, we counted up the times that I prayed in a day as a missionary, which turned about to be about 30-40 times. He noted that it really wasn't going to be that much anymore, because of a total decrease in lessons taught, companion/site study, etc. However, if I kept up a constant communication with Heavenly Father, by trying to pray just as much, it would be a great landing. My scripture study and strict temple attendance have been crucial in my sanity as well. I didn't even want to risk dropping off the spiritual map.

Let's be honest, though...the biggest I've help I've had is from Jesus Christ. He doesn't just help His full-time missionaries, He helps all of His children. Anytime something gets even close to more than I can handle, I hand it over to Him. He can't do it for me, but He sure can help me find a better way. It's a heck of a lot easier to hand it over to Him from the beginning. 

Eternal perspective, people...it really helps. You can do anything for five minutes. It's basically the same idea with God; our life is like five minutes long in His eyes. 

So yes, the transition has been fantastic.