A Perfect Ordinary Day

Well, still trying to figure out this whole blog thing. Hopefully, I can start to do it weekly. It's a process! It always takes longer than I think just to write a bit. So, let's do this!

So I want you to imagine your perfect day. What is it? I bet a lot of us are imagining some sunny beach on Hawaii (if your Elder Perkins you're use to this so you're thinking of 3 feet of snow in DC) or maybe you spent the day with someone famous you admire, I'm just throwing out the first celebrity that comes to mind so, Oprah!, or maybe it's just a day without any stress and just carefree and you get to nap! Now, most of us can't quite spend everyday in Hawaii on the beach, or be with Oprah all the time (she's a little busy) and I hope you don't nap everyday! So how can we make the other 29,199+ days of our life as perfect as we can make it?
I want you to imagine again a perfect ordinary day. How did it go? Maybe you were able to get up on time, got the perfect amount of sleep. Maybe you made it to the gym, got a good workout in. You then made an awesome omelet to celebrate the sleep you achieved, peppers, cheese, the works, oh, and your kids love it too. You head off to work, your favorite song comes on the radio. You're doing good, and then some guy cuts you off! But that's okay, you're not going to let him ruin your day, it's gone great so far. You get to work, and you accomplish all that was due, but the computer crashes! And you lose part of you work. You explain to your boss, and he understands. He can see the work you put into it, and decides to take you to lunch. He mentions how he admires how happy you always seem to be. When you return to work, all falls into place, and the work is made up. You drive home, your favorite song again comes on! And then it stops just in time as you pull in the drive way. Nice! You get inside, and the kids aren't fighting! Dinner gets started, it's your favorite! Kids start to fight a bit, but you bribe with some ice cream, and they stop. After dinner, you play a game with the family, have some ice cream, catch up on some of your favorite shows, and back to bed you  go. Now, wait. There were some things in there that didn't go perfect. There is one common thread through the day, and that is our attitude! We did the best we had control of and did the best with the things we didn't. We stopped and admired the small things that make us smile.

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." - Doctrine and Covenants 123:17

Let's do all we can to take control of things cheerfully and remember our purpose in this life. Let's serve others, let's notice the little things, let's be happy for Gods plan for each of us.

The New Year: New You

For those of you reading this, you are witnessing history in the making as I attempt to try and express my thoughts and beliefs as a young 19 year old missionary from Utah living in Northern Virginia, about something so vast, huge and so exciting. How to obtain Eternal Life. So bear with me, as it is my hope that you will be able to gain a better understanding of our Heavenly Fathers plan.

It's crazy to believe it's a New Year! With the New Year, comes change, if we allow it to we can obtain  better progression. One of my favorite talks from the leaders of our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called "The Best is Yet to Be." In the talk he shares   the Saviors warning "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). He shares the story of Lot and his family leaving the city of Gomorrah. The Lord warned them to "look not behind thee..."(Gen. 19:17) And as they left, Lot's wife turned around, looked back... and Poof! Turned into a pillar of salt. So what was so wrong with looking behind? Well some may argue that you need to turn around to see how far you've gone, however the problem here is that Lot's wife was urning and wanting to be back in the city and lifestyle of Gomorrah.

We can think about this story and relate it in our own lives. Many of us have tried to set New Year goals or resolutions, and haven't been able to follow through with them. What sounded like a good idea to begin with often quickly fades the more we realized the effort we need to put in. A good example is those who are trying to loose weight, workout more, be healthier, etc. I once talked with a man who was a super buff, ripped guy, and he would always joke about how the gym was just going to be packed for the month of January and part of February, and then return to the regular guys who come with the exception of few new people. He said he could always tell who was going to be the people to stay committed to coming. It was those who really put there heart into it, and had the mindset of they needed this and not just a "good idea." I would think that Lot's wife thought it was a good idea to leave Gomorrah, but didn't have her heart in, she fell to quickly back to old habits.

Recently we went to the Vienna Metro station and tried to talk and see what different goals or resolutions people are setting. It was a bit surprising that most of those we talked to said they didn't bother setting goals for the New Year because they knew that they weren't going to keep it up. I thought this was interesting. If we look at the definition of repentance, we see that it really is to change.
In order for us to become better and grow, we must step out of our comfort zones and strive to become the best. In the book of Alma, from the Book of Mormon, chapter 5 v:14 it states, "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" Let us do all we can to have a change of heart sot that we can be those who stick with their goals. Let us rely on the Savior to help us change ourselves and become more as he is.

Happy New Year everyone, 2014 is the year we all can be changed through Christ. 

This video shows how the New Year is the time for opportunity. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/mormon-channel-daily/385?v=910930409001

this is also a link to the talk "The Best is Yet to Be" - Jeffrey R Holland

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2010/01/the-best-is-yet-to-be?lang=eng&query=lot's+wife