Praying rests the weary, Prayer will change the night to day. So when life seems dark and dreary, don't forget to pray.

I've been so blessed lately. I've taken a semester off from school, to kind of focus on myself and refocus everything in my life, and of course to save up some money so I'm not such a bum on my parents. One thing I've been able to focus on is prayer. At night it seems when I get on my knees to pray, those prayers are quick little things, because my warm bed seems so much more inviting than being cold on the hard floor next to it. But I've realized my morning prayers are often the ones that I'm on my knees for a good while. I need to refocus and make my night prayer the same, but I just want to share what I learned this morning. 

I woke up and saw a new Mormon Message out, so of course I watched it. Then, I decided to get my Ensign and study it for a while. I read one page and realized I didn't say my morning prayer yet, and starting out a study sesh with prayer is a must, also. I crawled out of my warm bed and got on my knees. I've been focusing lately on making my prayers as if I'm really talking to my Heavenly Father, and so many days, I literally feel him hugging me as I pray. I know he's there. I know he's listening to me. I know he loves me with all his heart. I know on my worst days, he's standing right next to me, waiting for me to call on him to come rescue me and take away any burden or stress I have. He never fails me. 

Lately, I've been focusing on praying for others. This morning opened my eyes. Countless days I've prayed for this friend or that friend, but today I realized that the list never ends. We all could use a prayer. We all have trials, and prayer really is the best comfort in this whole world. 

I've been starting to realize what I want in this world, too. My mom and sister both got married really young, and I really don't think I will. lol. But I've started to realize when that day comes, I want my husband's best friend to be his Father in Heaven. I want a man who recognizes the power of prayer. I want a man who prays for me before he buys me flowers to comfort me. 

A girl I know told me when her husband was on his mission, she wrote him and during that time her parents got divorced. She didn't want to burden him with her sadness, so she didn't tell him until months after it happened. His response to her was the sweetest most loving response, he responded and said he had wished she had told him sooner, because he would have prayed and fasted for her comfort through it all. He knew that through prayer, he could have helped her not be so alone through that trial in her life.

My goal is to be a strength to myself. I want to be strong enough and close enough to my Heavenly Father, that through my trials, I'm strong enough to know to lean on him and to let him carry me through it. I know he's felt every pain I will ever feel, I know he knows every weakness I have, and he's there to give me strength beyond what this world will ever give me.

Just Do It

Blessed are they who desire with all their hearts to be righteous as Christ is righteous, to be perfect as he is perfect, who long for it and seek it, and who would give anything for it, though they do not have it. 

- Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson

My whole blog so far has been pretty spiritual. I kind of did it, so I can see my growth. I've been trying to set the gospel as my focus for all aspects of my life. Maybe that's a little extreme, maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but maybe just maybe it's exactly what I need. Before I had a testimony and before I lived the gospel pretty good. Yeah I've made my mistakes, but I've never not believed in the church. I feel like before I let the gospel act upon me, whenever I went to church on Sundays or whenever we had firesides or whenever someone else put the opportunity in my life for me to feel the Spirit. I'm starting to realize more and more everyday though, that I need to act upon it myself. I need to put the church in my life, instead of waiting for everyone else to put it there for me.